Our integrity commission

The Integrity Commission still falls under the preview of the New Garden Street Palace. Sadly, since its Commissioners were sworn in more than 4 years ago the Commission has not investigated a single politician.

The History of the life of this recent Integrity Commission started with a sorry story of Robert Corbin challenging the Constitutionality of the Commission. This is after King Jagdeo appointed the Commissioners without consulting the dear opposition Leader.

This Court action that still lingers in the wall and halls of our bugged down High Court should not have held up the Operations of the Integrity Commission but I guess it did since daily and operational orders still come from the Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Chief Henchman Luncheon.

According to the 2010 National Budget, the Integrity Commission still falls under the Office of the President budget and received just about $1.5 million annually for its operations!

Despite this we know the Commission cannot make any independent decisions or conduct any independent investigations - Bishop Randolph George resigned (never served a purpose anyway), while Fazeel Feroze keeps following King Jagdeo on his overseas trips and the wife of a Former Gun minister serves on the Commission.

NO wonder the Commission cannot check on the integrity of our politicians and one man can be a miner, dolphin exporter and real estate mogul while a New Garden Street employee can invest in a Media entity, own shares of a supermarket outside this country and has personal bank accounts in Europe.

Given the relationship between Jagdeo and Corbin, one cannot but help concluding that the court action was orchestrated - to set up the commission and to stymie its ability to function. After all neither side can afford to have an investigation!

We wonder yet again, meanwhile Guyana continues to slide in the morass of corruption.