Black Immigrant Daily News

For the first time ever, all sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) have filed their statutory declarations with the Integrity Commission, as required by law, during the reporting period under review.

The revelation was made by the Commission’s Chairman, Retired Justice Seymour Panton, in the Commission’s Annual Report for 2021-2022, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Panton, in the chairman’s remarks, noted that the Commission has been giving serious attention to the statutory declarations of assets and liabilities of public officials.

He was pleased that all 63 MPs had complied with the law, stating that “in this regard, Parliament is setting a good example for other public officials to follow”.

“The Commission is also pleased that there has been a significant increase in the number of public officials who have been complying with the requirement to file. Those who are delinquent are urged to comply as delinquents can expect prosecution,” the chairman added.

Continuing, he said: “All declarants are expected to make full and truthful declarations and should take note that the Information and Complaints and Investigation Divisions of the Commission are committed to a careful and probing examination of declarations. The Commission expects full declarations of bank accounts, and declarants are reminded that the law provides for significant fines and imprisonment.”

The public release of the Commission’s annual report comes on the same day that the former Member of Parliament for Northern Clarendon, the People’s National Party’s Horace Dalley, was fined $80,000 for failing to file his statutory declarations under the Integrity Commission Act. He was accused of failing to file his statutory declaration for the period 2020-2021.

Meanwhile, Panton again stated that he was very concerned that Parliament has so far not addressed the Commission’s repeated requests for amendments to be made to sections 53 and 56 of the Integrity Commission Act, which dictate that the Commission must not communicate to the public even the mere fact that an investigation is, or is not taking place.

“The Commission is firmly of the view that this is a serious impediment to good governance,” he said.

He argued that given the mandate of the Commission, the right to communicate ought to be concomitant.

“It is clearly ridiculous that whereas the police, quite rightly, can say that they are investigating a criminal matter, the Integrity Commission is not allowed to say it is, or is not, investigating a matter that does not involve criminality,” he said.

The chairman added: “The Commission will, therefore, continue to impress on Parliament the need to make the necessary amendments. And I wish at the same time to assure the public that every allegation or complaint made to the Commission is treated seriously and dealt with in confidence. I encourage public officials and members of the public to continue to inform the Commission of any act or transaction that they think may indicate corrupt behaviour by a public official, wherever such official may be located, at home or abroad.”

Panton said it is to be noted that the term “public official” means “any person holding an executive, an administrative or a judicial office, or a parliamentarian, whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary, or whether paid or unpaid; any other person who is employed to a public body; and any member of the security forces”.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Prime Minister Gaston Browne is urging regional countries to collaborate more to ensure the region is fully served both in maritime and air transportation, saying it is necessary for further deepening the regional integration process.

Browne, who is attending the 43rd Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit that ends here later on Tuesday, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that it is critical to the issues of connectivity that both maritime and air transportation is adequately addressed.

“You can’t sustain an integration movement if you can’t move goods and people effectively and that has been a major problem with the integration movement from since its inception,” he said, adding that he hopes the summit here would “come up with a new model for air transportation one in which we can sustain|.

He said he was looking towards a model ‘to which member states can contribute, so you would have a model of shared burden and shared benefit.

“In the past we have seen situations where some countries have been loafers, they benefit from the services but they do not wish to contribute. You cannot sustain air transportation or maritime transportation for that matter on that type of model in which some pay and others don’t.

Browne told CMC that an examination of both the air and maritime transportation needs of the region “they cannot be sustained by any single member state.

“So it requires a collective effort and it requires collective burden,” he said, noting that Barbados has already indicated it has done some work in that area “clearly they would have to broaden it to include all of CARICOM and to provide the kind of maritime transportation mechanism which we can move goods and even people throughout the region”

Last month, the chairman of the CARICOM Commission on the Economy, Professor Avinash Persaud, said that Barbados and some of its CARICOM neighbours could be inching closer to having a fast ferry system that would see faster and more affordable transportation of cargo and people and help put a dent in the region’s food import bill.

However, the initial investment is estimated to be a major one – in the region of about US$100 million – and the plan could take close to two years to materialise.

“We are currently in negotiations with some potential private partners who will deliver that if governments provide some support, but it is early days yet,” Persaud said, noting that the discussions included examining the possibility of two specially-built vessels.

One passenger vessel would be similar to the one that operates between Port of Spain and Tobago, while the other would be a smaller one to transport cargo.

Prime Minister Browne told CMC that the region could benefit from the research, Caribbean countries could import food from Guyana, Suriname and even Brazil “that would be far cheaper than the foods we are importing from North America.

“So in terms of keeping the price of food down it is important that we establishment maritime transportation, reliable and sustainable…,” he said, adding that he believes the region needs “combo assets” that could both transport people and goods “and by so doing you will be able to move people and goods more effectively within the region and certainly to sustain our integration movement.’

“I think it is a critical aspect of sustaining our integration movement. I would say that within recent times there has been heighten discussions and greater commitments coming from the leaders,” Browne said, making reference to the situation in Guyana where President Irfaan Ali would have developed an Agri-plan for the region aimed at reducing the import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.

“I am pretty sure that the opportunities that would be created for Suriname and Guyana in particular would be enormous, “he said give that these countries have a lot of land, fresh water and capable of producing much food for the region.

“We should not be relying on what is most exclusively imports from North America when we have countries within the integration movement that can supply us,” Browne said, giving as an example, the importation of water melons to his country, which would be much cheaper even with a 100 per cent mark up for transportation etc.

“So we need to unlock those opportunities or the potential of these countries to supply the rest of the Caribbean and only how it will be achieved is if we establish reliable and sustainable air and sea transportation.

‘Again it requires an all of CARICOM effort in which all the countries come together and subsidise these assets …because generally speaking because of the small population size, you will find, especially for an airline it is difficult to turn a profit.’

“So it will require some level of subsidy, but when you look at the economic gains and even the social gains, it is a public good to have reliable and sustainable regional transportation and therefore the countries of the region should not hesitate to provide whatever subsidy is necessary,” Prime Minister Browne told CMC.

Photo caption: Prime Minister Gaston Browne being interviewed on the CMC/DIME “Caribbean Connect Show (CMC Photo and story).

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Participating Steel Band Orchestras in this year’s Panorama Competition announced that they are excited and ready for this year’s competition, set to take place this Sunday, July 10 at the SAAB in Vigie.

A total of five bands will compete in the following order:

Appearance Order 
Band Name 
 
1
Caribbean Grains Laborie Steel Pan
Laborie
2
Pantastic Muzik Steel Orchestra
Banard Hill
3
LUCELEC Pantime Steel Orchestra
Gros Islet
4
Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra
Babonneau
5
Can-Beats/SM Steel
Canaries/Soufriere

Arranger for reigning champions Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra, Alisson Marquis, said “We’ve been practicing since we heard that there would be a return to Saint Lucia Carnival 2022 and we’re working hard to defend our championship. No rain or storm can stop us. I wish all the other pan sides the best of luck and encourage the community of Babonneau to come out to watch us take home the crown.”

Lance Shepherd of Can-Beats/SM Steel, new comers to the competition, explained that his band is a mix of young persons from the Soufriere, Canaries area. “The kids are really looking forward to competition day and we have something great in store for attendees. Canaries and Soufriere will not be disappointed.”

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Public Relations Officer for the CPMC, Chelsa Jongue, ended the ceremony by encouraging communities to come out to support their pan sides in this year’s competition. “It’s always nice to see the participation of persons of all ages coming together in their various orchestras to demonstrate their musical talents and put on a show for us. This year’s competition will be nothing short of that and we wish all the teams the best of luck.”

Tickets for Panorama 2022 happening on Sunday, July 10, at the SAAB in Vigie are only $30 and available for sale from Steve’s Barbershop, Castries and the Cell outlets island wide. Show starts from 8pm.

Source: Carnival Planning and Management Committee.  Headline photo: Reigning champions Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra

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