Assessing Integrity Legislation in Trinidad and Tobago – 09th March 2011
Is Trinidad and Tobago’s legislation beneficial or is it too restrictive? Does the somewhat “intrusive nature” of the legislation deter some of the country’s best and brightest from offering their services to the State? Decades after this country introduced such legislation, which provides for the establishment of the Integrity Commission, the debate about the effectiveness and the necessity of it rages on.
Integrity itself can be defined as moral soundness or an absence of corruption. As such, integrity legislation refers to laws and rules of conduct that are there to encourage and measure moral soundness, and deter and eradicate the presence of the immoral conduct. Professor Clement Imbert, Dean of Engineering at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine said such legislation is of utmost importance to monitor the increase in assets of high level public officers and persons in public sector positions (Members of Parliament, Board members, etc) and to observe any unexplained increase in the assets that may arise from correction.” Speaking from his own experience, he says the legislation as it stand and the questions of declaration which are put to would-be public officers are actually quite intrusive and could be a deterrent to some. “It also requires an account of the assets of other people (e.g., spouses) who are adults and may not wish to disclose their assets.” Further, says Professor Imbert “Given the state of crime in T&T, it is very intimidating having to put all your information out there, then being offered no protection by the state.
In the lead up to the last general election, the issues of government transparency, corruption, bribery and nepotism were on the front burner. This brought about an unofficial public debate about the state’s inability to convince the public that the nation’s executive officers were being held accountable and that shady dealings among public officials would not be tolerated. The heated debate came on the heels of the long struggle to appoint a new Integrity Commission. On the front pages of the newspapers, on the radio talk shows and the television discussion panels the President’s ability to select a Commission that was truly in a position to oversee all the officials who fell under the integrity in Public Life Act came into question. These include, according to author Professor Julian Kenny “all members of the House of Representatives, Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of the Tobago House of Assembly, Members of Municipalities, Members of Local Government Authorities, members of Boards and Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises, as well as Senators, Judges and Magistrates, Permanent Secretaries and Chief Technical Officers.”
But some members of the public question the legislation’s effectiveness. In light of the issues aired by the media before and after the last general elections, the question has been asked “What is the point of integrity legislation, when everything slips through the cracks?”
The issue of bid-rigging and insider trading have been two of the corruption topics which have received major currency in T&T within the last three years. Several professionals say there is much overlap in this country, with heads of State Enterprises being close friends, companies having overlapping boards and cousins or brothers working within similar State utility companies. Professor Imbert, having worked within both the engineering field and state organisations, says in a small country like T&T familial ties are not always an indication of corrupt intent, since “Trinidad and Tobago is on the move, so to speak, industrially and otherwise, it is difficult to find persons who are not connected in one way or another to persons and organisations who may constitute a conflict of interest.” He therefore elaborates that “We need rules and regulations that are practical and relevant to our size, culture and state of development, which would differ in some ways from what pertains in more ‘advanced’, larger countries but we must not compromise on integrity and morality in public affairs.”
Former Head of the Public Service, Reginald Dumas, was one of the frontrunners in a debate about whether or not integrity in public offices could be further increased if public officials were better paid. While the verdict on that is still out, Professor Imbert, like Mr. Dumas, believes that while public officers should be better paid – and better pay should decrease temptation – better salaries are not the only, or even the major, deterrent against corruption within the public service.
