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PNP candidates to face integrity test
Published: Wednesday | September 1, 2010
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
All People's National Party (PNP) candidates for the next general and local government elections, including its top-tier leadership, will have to face the party's recently established Integrity Commission and pass a fit and proper test.
However, the commission will not have the final say as the party's
leadership will retain the right to sign off on candidates.
The findings of the commission will also not be made public as it will submit its report to the party on the results of the fit and proper tests.
The potential candidates are slated to start appearing before the commission after the party's annual conference later this month, and PNP executives say it is unlikely that any person who fails to pass the fit and proper test would get the nod to contest any election.
Speaking yesterday at the first official media briefing of the commission, PNP President Portia Simpson Miller scoffed at persons who claim the body has no teeth and is just a publicity exercise.
Critical element
"The formation of an integrity commission is a critical element of the changes being made by the PNP," Simpson Miller told journalists.
"While it may not be a cure-all and while the procedures continue to evolve ... the Integrity Com-mission is one element that distinguishes the PNP from any other party," she declared.
"I assure you, this is neither a publicity stunt nor is it a baseless activity. The qualities of the commissioners who have agreed to serve ... attest to that," said the party president, as she pointed to the five-member commission led by Bishop Wellesley Blair.
Other non-party members are former head of the Public Service Commission, Daisy Coke, and retired Permanent Secretary Cedric McCulloch.
Attorney-at-law Fredrick Hamaty and former government minister Burchell Whiteman are the two PNP members of the commission.
While admitting that the commission will act in only an advisory role, Blair argued that it would still help guide the PNP in making decisions that can improve its internal operations and its approach to governance
.
"The Integrity Commission sees itself as a watchdog body with integrity and honesty at its core," Blair said.
"On it sits persons with no aspiration for political positions, who were chosen because of their stance on integrity and proven track record in this regard," added Blair.
He said that, in the short term, the commission will focus on party financing and financial reporting; the establishment of fit and proper criterion for candidate selection and the establishment of a code of ethics for the party.
Blair noted that the party's Internal Affairs Commission will continue to deal with internal disciplinary matters while his body will ensure that integrity is the hallmark of the people, particularly those in leadership positions.
The clergyman underscored that the commission will not report its findings to the public.
"It is not the purview of this commission to provide any information to any individual or body about whether the investi-gations are in progress or what the results of possible investigations are outside of its reporting structure, for obvious reasons," Blair claimed.
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