Urgent need for oversight and review of operations at Integrity Commission - Phillips

Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips, is reiterating his call for the immediate establishment of the parliamentary oversight committee of the Integrity Commission as mandated by the Integrity Commission Act. 

Phillips says this is an appropriate time for a review to be undertaken given recent developments at the agency.

He said a joint select committee should conduct the review at the earliest date.

The opposition leader, in a statement this afternoon, said the resignation of acting director of corruption prosecutions, Dirk Harrison and now the resignation of chairman, retired Justice Karl Harrison, highlight the crisis surrounding the body “and has plunged the corruption investigation apparatus of the state into uncertainty.”

READ: Karl Harrison reportedly resigns 

READ: Dirk Harrison set to depart from Integrity Commission

This, Phillips said, signals that there needs to be an urgent review of the operations at the Commission.

Phillips noted that in May he moved a motion in Parliament calling for the strengthening of measures for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of acts of corruption.

“The motion spokes to the importance of the work and functions of the Commission and that public confidence in the Commission and the Commissioners are indispensable for the effective attainment of the objective of the Act, which is critical in the fight against corruption in public life.

“The current uncertainty surrounding the Integrity Commission in the face of public concerns about the cancer of corruption plaguing this government must be urgently addressed,” Phillips said.

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