EDITORIAL - Dawdling over corruption cases

Perhaps the director of public prosecutions (DPP) has an alternative perspective, in which case we look forward to her comment. But Paula Llewellyn would not be surprised, and ought not to be put out, by the perception that dawdling at the office contributes to the seeming impunity with which corruption is pursued in Jamaica.

Or, put another way, it seems to take an inordinately long time for the DPP to decide whether to take a corruption-related case to court, judging, at least, by her handling of referrals from the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. That is the agency to which government employees, who earn above a benchmark salary, must yearly file declarations of their income, assets and liabilities. Most never do.

But when they file and the commissioners believe that their investigators have identified corrupt behaviour, they seem to have a problem getting the DPP to act with expedition. For example, according to the commission's 2012-13 report, up to that year it had referred 18 cases of suspected serious breaches of the anti-corruption law, in which four, or approximately 22 per cent, had gone before the courts and been resolved.

Outstanding cases

The commission, therefore, was awaiting the DPP's decision on 14 cases (78 per cent), albeit eight of them were referred during the year of the report. Nonetheless, some of those outstanding cases had been languishing at the office of the DPP for up to five years.

"... (T)he commission hopes the director of public prosecutions deals with these matters quickly," it said in that report. So, too, does this newspaper. Indeed, we expect a new, more aggressive approach to the prosecution of corruption cases to be reflected in the commission's next report, which we expect to be available soon.

This, for us, is not merely an academic exercise. Jamaica is perceived to be a highly corrupt country (over 80 per cent of us say so) and that perception is among the hindrance to the country's social and economic development. Corruption, and the economic distortions and unlevel competitive environment it engenders, sap entrepreneurial energy and creativity.

Defeating corruption

Defeating corruption demands more than moral declarations. It also demands the practical enforcement of laws to their ultimate conclusions. That is why when cases of the type proffered by the Integrity Commission go before the DPP, we, like the commission, expect them to be evaluated and, if so determined, prosecuted with dispatch.

It is in this context that we support the proposed omnibus anti-corruption agency, with its independent prosecutor, thereby eliminating reliance on the DPP to institute prosecution for corruption offences. Until that happens, we look forward to a change to the seemingly dilatory approach of Ms Llewellyn's office to these matters.

But it is not only the office of the DPP that needs to take stock. So, too, must the courts, which seem to be far too lenient with the fines imposed on government employees (52 per cent in 2012) who fail to file declarations, or to do so on time.

The 314 persons taken to court for this offence since the law came into force were fined approximately J$3.9 million, or an average $12,500 a piece - well below what is allowable under the law. Perhaps sentence guidelines should be contemplated for these and related cases.

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