Clarification
In a story headlined: ‘Commission wants Corruption Prevention Act amended’, published on D7 of yesterday’s Gleaner, it was reported that the Commission wants the Act to be amended to increase the threshold from $2 million to
$3 million.
The story stated that, if this proposal is approved by Government and passed by the legislature, public sector workers earning less than $3 million would not be required to submit statutory declarations to the commission. However, only certain categories of public sector workers earning less than $3 million would be exempt from submitting statutory declarations. There are other criteria set out in the act, which require some public servants to submit statutory declarations to the commission.
The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption wants legislative changes to the Corruption Prevention Act to prohibit civil servants from performing duties, where conflicts of interest arise.
In its 2006 annual report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the commission also proposed that Section 3 of the regulations of the act be amended to increase the threshold from $2 million to $3 million.
If this proposal is approved by government and passed by the legislature, public sector workers earning less than $3 million would not be required to submit statutory declarations to the commission.
Power for commission
Late filing of statutory declaration has irked the commission, which recommended that Parliament amend the act to give the commission power to impose a penalty on public servants who are tardy in filing this information.
In 2006, the commission reported 115 public servants to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) after they failed to comply with the requirement to file statutory declarations with the commission.
Meanwhile, thousands of public servants continue to file statutory declarations without supporting documents. According to the commission, this presents a difficulty to verify the accuracy of declarations filed. The law stipulates that declarations must be accompanied by a bank statement or letter from the financial institution confirming the amount reported.
