Integrity Commission working to clear 1,000 case backlog

Director of Investigations at the Integrity Commission Kevon Stephenson has revealed that the anti-corruption body is currently carrying out more than 1,000 investigations involving alleged acts of corruption in the public sector.

At a meeting of the Integrity Oversight Committee of Parliament earlier Tuesday, Stephenson told committee members that the commission was still probing 37 legacy investigations which were started by the now-defunct Office of the Contractor General (OCG).

Stephenson also reported that the investigation division was being reorganised to deal with the significant backlog indicating that there were four investigators at the commission.

In 2018, the OCG, the Corruption Prevention Commission, and the Integrity Commission were merged to form a single anti-corruption agency called the Integrity Commission.

Committee member Peter Bunting quizzed directors from the commission about several investigations that had started more than two years ago but had not yet been concluded.

He mentioned an investigation into the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) which seemingly went off the radar for an extended period.

In 2017, the then Contractor General Dirk Harrison announced that the OCG was conducting a probe into the operations of the FLA.

Bunting argued that if there was still no conclusion to 37 legacy investigations, resources at the Integrity Commission must be woefully inadequate.

“The longer you take to bring these matters to a conclusion, the less likely you are to mount a successful prosecution,” said Bunting, adding that he was disturbed that the anti-corruption body had not yet disposed of a single case.

However, Greg Christie, who was recently appointed executive director of the commission, pointed out that the agency had been faced with many challenges since its establishment.

He argued that with a six-month contractual arrangement for workers, the security of tenure had become an issue and staff morale was at an all-time low which led to several resignations.  

Christie also pointed out that in the past four months, appointments have been made to key positions such as executive director, director of corruption prosecutions, director of investigations, and director of information and complaints. 

Prior to these appointments, persons were assigned to interim posts.

Since its establishment in 2018, the first chairman has resigned along with another commissioner.

The current chairman, retired justice Seymour Panton, was appointed in August last year.   

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