Peter Espeut | ‘We are not a parliament of children’... Really?

“The development of the Code of Conduct is an important exercise in the agency and maturity of the Jamaican parliament. It cannot be good for this institution that the society must tell us the standards to which we must adhere. We are not a parliament of children. We must be the body that leads the setting of standards, and carry the people with us”. – PM Andrew Holness in Gordon House on Tuesday, June 20.

In 2017 the Andrew Holness government passed the Integrity Commission Act. Section 6 (1)(g) of that act provides as follows:

“Subject to the provisions of this Act, the functions of the Commission shall be to – (g) prepare codes of conduct and other advisory material relating to corruption and guide public bodies in respect of matters within the purview of this Act.”

Just six years ago, the Holness government established the Integrity Commission to prepare codes of conduct for public officials. Did the Holness government know what it was doing?

In October 1994, the government of the United Kingdom, under Conservative Prime Minister John Major, established The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) to advise him on ethical standards in public life. In 1995 the CSPL, chaired by UK Law Lord Michael Patrick Nolan, produced its first report which documented the Seven Principles of Public Life, also known as the Nolan principles.

The UK government accepted the Seven Principles of Public Life, and has enshrined them in codes of conduct across the UK public sector, from schools and government departments to hospitals. They are incorporated into a variety of government-related codes including the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code, and the House of Lords Code of Conduct. These principles have also informed the debate in several other countries surrounding political ethics.

In its obituary for Baron Nolan PC DL (1928-2007), the UK newspaper The Guardian stated: “Lord Nolan … made a profound mark on national life by substantially cleansing the Augean stable of corrupt politics as founding chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.”

AUGEAN STABLES

We have our own Augean stables in Jamaica! And they seem to be harder to cleanse than those in the UK!

On April 29, 2002 – more than 20 years ago – PM P.J. Patterson advanced “Ministry Paper No.19/2002 – Conduct of Ministers” which was “informed by the Code applicable to Members of the Government of the United Kingdom, and, in particular, the recommendations of a Committee headed by Lord Nolan”.

The Jamaican government at that time was not ready to accept the Seven Principles of Public Life, and the Ministry Paper went nowhere.

In furtherance of its mandate, between November 9, 2020 and February 15, 2021 the Integrity Commission of Jamaica conducted a series of “Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Workshops” attended by members of the (Jamaica Labour Party) cabinet, during which the Seven Principles of Public Life – the Nolan principles – were discussed in detail. Similar workshops were held between November 15, 2021 and May 30, 2022 for the (People’s National Party) shadow cabinet. Congratulations to the Integrity Commission!

On November 15, 2022 the Executive Director of the Integrity Commission wrote both PM Holness and Opposition Leader Golding stating (you can read the letter for yourself on the Integrity Commission website):

“In a further effort to promote adherence to the highest standards of good governance and integrity on the part of those who discharge public functions and duties in Jamaica, the Integrity Commission is of the considered view that Public Bodies and Officials to whom the Commission has administered its Anti-Corruption and Good Governance workshops should be asked to commit to the Seven Principles of Public Life. ”

These seven principles of public life as defined by Jamaica’s IC are:

1. Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or friends.

2. Integrity: Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to individuals or organisations that might seek to encourage improper behaviour in the performance of their official duties.

3. Objectivity: In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

4. Accountability: Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

5. Openness: Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest demands.

6. Honesty: Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

7. Leadership: Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

The opposition members have signed to the Seven Principles of Public Life, but the government members have not; and now PM Holness has told us why: “It cannot be good for this institution that the society must tell us the standards to which we must adhere. We are not a parliament of children.”

CHILDISH PETULANCE

What childish petulance! “Nobody in the Jamaican society can tell us political monarchs the code of ethics to which we must adhere. A we rule!”.

And never mind that the same PM Holness led the process to create the Integrity Commission with a mandate to do exactly that!

Which one (or more) of the Seven Principles of Public Life does the Holness administration have a problem with? All of them, it seems to me. They have problems with openness, objectivity, and all the others! They refuse to make criminal offences of nepotism, cronyism, and breaches of procurement guidelines, and so they break no laws when they do them!

It is a breach of the Nolan Principles to give contracts to your personal friends, but not a crime. And so the Integrity Commission can always identify the breach, but will have to clear the offender of criminal charges because the politicians refuse to criminalise breaches of political ethics.

No wonder the Joint Select Committee reviewing the Integrity legislation wants to defang the Commission. They are getting too serious!

Interestingly, in 1997 under Labour PM Tony Blair the British Committee on Standards in Public Life went on to deal with corruption in the funding of political parties, and in 2013 under Conservative PM David Cameron to address non-elected and non-appointed officials.

And we still cannot get our politicians to accept the Seven Principles of Public Life. The popularity of the Holness administration is plummeting, because by their resistance to accountability they dig their own graves.

Peter Espeut us a sociologist and development scientist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com