Jamaica Council of Churches warns against removing auditor general from Integrity Commission

The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) is warning that removing the auditor general from the Integrity Commission risks weakening Jamaica’s anti-corruption oversight framework.

In a statement issued Friday, the influential church group said the proposal to excise the auditor general from the commission “does not appear to comport with good governance or good reason,” particularly amid incomplete and unresolved investigations.

“To change the composition of the Integrity Commission in midstream appears to be disingenuous and may call into question the integrity and motivation of this intention,” the JCC declared.

At a meeting of the Joint Select Committee reviewing the Integrity Commission Act on Wednesday, government lawmakers voted to remove the auditor general from the commission.

They argued that, as the commission receives an annual budget of $2 billion, it should fall under the auditor general’s oversight and not include that office within its own ranks.

Two opposition lawmakers objected to the move. A final decision will be made through votes in both Houses.

The JCC argued that the Integrity Commission plays a vital role in Jamaica’s development, international reputation, and efforts to break with a past marred by corruption.

“We admonish the government, therefore, to recant from the reported course of removing the auditor general from the Integrity Commission,” the group said.

The JCC said the current composition of the commission has helped reinforce accountability, largely due to the long-standing inclusion of the auditor general, who it said has played a crucial role in financial oversight for more than five decades across both the current and former iterations of the commission.

“There is an important moral argument to be made for the contribution of the auditor general in the work of the Integrity Commission,” the statement continued. “This office turns the keys of financial probity in the work of the Integrity Commission and provides the required and particular capacities for the examination of the serious issues that our nation's anti-corruption agenda demands.”

In that context, the JCC said the absence of any actual instances of conflict of interest undermines the legitimacy of the concerns raised by government lawmakers.

The church group also said it is awaiting more substantial reasoning from the parliamentary Opposition regarding their support for the auditor general’s continued inclusion on the commission.

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