Black Immigrant Daily News

The Integrity Commission (IC) is increasing the pressure on Parliament to remove the so-called muzzle clause in the Integrity Commission Act (ICA), which forbids it from commenting on an ongoing probe involving public officials.

According to Section 53(3) of the ICA, “Until the tabling in Parliament of a report under Section 36, all matters under investigation by the Director of Investigation or any other person involved in such investigation shall be kept confidential, and no report or public statement shall be made by the Commission or any other person in relation to the initiation or conduct of an investigation under this Act.”

In its submission on Wednesday to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament examining the Act, the IC noted that the primary justification that has been advanced for imposing and retaining the ‘gag’ is that it prevents the commission from injuring the reputation of public officials when it makes an announcement of its commencement of an investigation into allegations of corruption, misconduct, impropriety and/or irregularity which may directly or indirectly implicate a public official.

It added that: “The proponents of the ‘gag’ generally contend that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that this presumption is undermined, to the detriment of the implicated public official, when an investigation is announced or otherwise commented upon. The IC does not share these views.”

The IC has, by way of its three annual reports to date, tabled the following recommendations in Parliament regarding Section 53(3):

Recommendation in First Annual Report 2018/2019 (Pages 7-8) “With respect to Section 53(3), which deals with the confidentiality of investigations and reports, it is widely believed that the present provision is inconsistent with the objective of transparency in the functioning of the commission. It is our view, that the commissioners should be given the option of reporting in general terms the stage of an investigation, without commenting specifically on the individuals being investigated or what they are being investigated for.

“We are further of the view that such disclosure should be restricted to the Government entity that is involved and the cause of the commission’s interest if the commissioners deem such disclosure appropriate, and taking into account the need for the protection of the reputations of individuals and institutions whose culpability have not been established to the satisfaction of the commission.”

This position was repeated in subsequent annual reports.

In its submission to the JSC, the commission reiterated its previous recommendations and added the following:

(1) The IC believes that the maintenance of the ‘gag’ is inimical to the public interest and the public good. Considering that Jamaica is perceived to be highly corrupt, the ‘gag’ only serves to further undermine public confidence and trust in the country’s institutions and leaders. Corruption loathes transparency. It thrives in the dark. The ‘gag’, because it suppresses information is, therefore, self-defeating.

(2) The IC is not aware of any similar statutory ‘gag’ being imposed on any other law enforcement agency in Jamaica. The IC, therefore, believes that the ‘gag’ should be cause for significant public alarm and concern.

(3) The announcement of an investigation by the IC, it being a law enforcement agency, does not, …, undermine the presumption of innocence.

(4) More particularly, the announcement of an investigation by the IC, into an allegation, cannot logically undermine the presumption of innocence, or tarnish someone’s reputation, when the announcement follows an allegation that has already been introduced into the public domain by a third party.

(5) The IC does not make allegations against persons or entities, nor does it tarnish or impugn their reputations. Rather, the IC, as a quasi-judicial body, seeks to unearth or to determine, via its investigations, the veracity of the inferences or allegations of misconduct that have already been made by third parties against public officials. This is a statutory mandate of the IC.

(6) Public allegations or inferences of corruption, misconduct, impropriety or irregularity that implicate public officials, typically arise from proceedings of the Committees of Parliament, published reports of agencies of the state, media reports, or public statements or requests made by parliamentarians and politicians, or by others, to have said allegations or inferences investigated.

(7) The Office of the Contractor General (OCG), an IC legacy agency, in its 24th and 2010 Annual Report to Parliament, at pages 37 to 41, lists a matrix of 21 major OCG Investigations that were initiated and/or completed by it during the four-and-a-half year period which preceded February 2011.

The commission argued that in all 21 instances, announcements of the investigations were made. It said the the matrix clearly establishes what is a glaring double-standard on the issue regarding, (a) the making of allegations, and (b) what has been deemed by some to be damage done to the reputation of the persons who were implicated by the announcements that were subsequently made by the OCG of the commencement of its investigations into the allegations.

According to the commission, the matrix discloses that it was parliamentarians and politicians themselves, and not the OCG, that had made the initial public allegations which, in turn, had prompted eight of the referenced OCG special investigations, and the making of the subsequent public announcements regarding the commencement of the investigations.

“It is also noteworthy that in eight of the remaining 13 instances, the allegations that led to the OCG’s investigations were allegations that were first publicly made in the print and electronic media by third parties,” it said.

Said the commission: “To say, therefore, that in such circumstances the OCG or the IC has tarnished someone’s reputation by its mere announcement of an investigation is not only misleading, but raises the following germane questions: (a) When a public allegation which implicates someone has been made by a third party, in what way does a subsequent announcement by the IC of its commencement of an investigation into that allegation, injure the reputation of the individual concerned? (b) What good purpose is served by hiding from the public the fact that the IC has commenced an investigation into said allegations? (c) When a public request is made by a third party for an investigation to be conducted by the IC into a specific allegation which implicates someone, is the making of that request viewed as tarnishing the reputation of the person who is implicated by the allegation? If no, then why should a subsequent announcement by the IC that it has acceded to the request be regarded as tarnishing the person’s reputation?”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Antigua and Barbuda government says every territory to which the cash-strapped regional airline LIAT flies will be asked to purchase shares in the new company as efforts continue to revitalise the embattled airline.

A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting, noted that three officials from the LIAT’s administrative office held discussions with ministers on the future role and expansion plans for the airline.

“In the proposed new LIAT, the salaries, wages and other emoluments will take up a smaller part of its cost of operations. Currently three aircraft are being utilized, as opposed to 10 aircraft before the collapse of LIAT,” the statement noted.

It said that the schedule plan for the new LIAT is intended to reflect the commercial needs and fulfillment of the territories and that “any destination requiring more flights than has been deemed necessary, would make a special payment to realize its ambition.

“A minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) would be applied in order to determine what that cost would be. Every territory to which LIAT flies will be asked to purchase shares, so that the burdens and the benefits can be equitably shared.”

The statement said that the revenue earned by LIAT over these past 20 months “shows a small operating profit”.

The airline entered into court-appointed administration in July last year after a High Court  judge granted a petition for the airline’s reorganisation. The Guyana-born chairman of BDO Antigua and Barbuda, Cleveland Seaforth, was appointed LIAT’s administrator for the duration of proceedings.

The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said previously that a decision had been taken that would allow Barbados and SVG to turn over their shares in LIAT to St. John’s for one EC dollar (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) .

Last year, St. John’s had put the cost of restructuring LIAT at EC$108 million of which 50 per cent will come from the Antiguan government with the remainder expected to come via other shareholder governments or even private investors.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Browne appealed to Caribbean trade unions to re-think their positions regarding the latest offer made to laid-off workers of the airline.

The Antigua and Barbuda government said it was providing $2 million dollars “to meet partial satisfaction of the cash component of the compassionate pay-out” to former local employees of the regional airline.

Late last month, the Leeward Islands Airlines Pilots Association (LIALPA) said that terminated workers have been on the breadline since April 2020 and are in dire straits.

The pilots said they hoped the shareholder governments would emulate the “commendable responsible leadership” of the St. Lucia Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre, who announced that his administration would be honouring the debt of the St Lucian workers of LIAT.

Meanwhile, Antigua’s Information Minister Melford Nicholas is defending the policy to seek financial assistance from countries wanting LIAT’s services.

“In the past, many states would have required and demanded certain flight schedules that made it uneconomic. I think, in this new arrangement, they will be proposing a minimal number of flight operations.

“And where member states would want to go beyond that, then they will be asked to supplement that operation with minimum rates guaranteed – much like the North American carriers would have done in the Caribbean,” Nicholas told reporters in Antigua.

“I think, based on those discussions, we are satisfied that LIAT 2020 has a very good potential of rising from the ashes of LIAT 1974 Ltd, meeting and going beyond the expectations that currently exist for intra-regional travel,” Nicholas said.

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El director de la Región Este de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA), Enrique Rosario Agosto, informó que en continuidad a iniciativas ya realizadas conducentes a optimizar la operación del pozo El Verde en Comerío, que también suple al barrio Bayamoncito de Aguas Buenas, se realizarán nuevas tareas para evaluar condiciones actuales y encaminar una rehabilitación, de ser necesario. Esta nueva fase de esfuerzos cuenta con una inversión de $72,465 con fondos propios de la AAA.

“Continuamos con los esfuerzos para lograr estabilizar la distribución de agua potable en las zonas de servicio del pozo El Verde. El lunes, 11 de julio iniciarán labores para realizar una limpieza profunda de los componentes de extracción del pozo. Además, inspección con cámara de la perforación conforme a la profundidad de este y una prueba de rendimiento. Estas labores tendrán una duración de 5 días aproximadamente y nos proveerán información adicional para ejecutar nuevos ajustes operacionales que contribuyan a la estabilización del servicio a los abonados que se suplen de este pozo”, explicó Rosario Agosto.

Para la realización de los trabajos es necesario dejar fuera de operación este pozo, por lo cual abonados que residen en El Verde, Cejas y El Naranjo de Comerío, así como, Bayamoncito de Aguas Buenas, experimentarán interrupción del servicio. Como medida de mitigación, se distribuirá agua potable con camiones de acarreo entre los abonados que se suplen de este sistema.

Previamente, el personal de Mantenimiento Preventivo y de las áreas operacionales de Cayey y Caguas realizaron mejoras electromecánicas, que conllevaron una inversión de $22,000 así como, la instalación de una válvula de línea en la zona del barrio El Verde, y el reemplazo de componentes de una válvula reguladora en la zona de Bayamoncito en Aguas Buenas. También, la división de pitometría llevó a cabo una inspección apoyada por la tecnología en la que se identificaron salideros ocultos y se repararon.

El funcionario añadió que, “diariamente se realiza monitoreo del comportamiento de la red de distribución y realizamos ajustes operacionales, estas acciones no cesarán hasta que se estabilice el suplido de agua potable para los sectores de Comerío y Aguas Buenas”.

Se les recuerda a los clientes que, una vez se restablezca el servicio luego de los periodos de intermitencia o interrupción, ante la posibilidad de turbidez, se hierva el agua destinada para el consumo humano por un periodo de tres minutos.

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