Eventual abolition of income threshold being contemplated

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s premier anti-corruption body for the public service, the Integrity Commission (IC) is pushing for a tripling of the current $3.5-million threshold for statutory declaration for public sector workers.

The IC is recommending that the threshold be increased to $12 million meaning that public sector workers earning below the threshold would no longer be required to file a statutory declaration of assets and liabilities to the anti-corruption body. According to the commission’s Director of Information and Complaints, Craig Beresford the recommendation was being made against the background of the anticipated increase in declarants, owing to improved salaries to public sector workers under the Compensation Review.

Beresford was giving testimony at the Parliamentary Oversight Committee reviewing the Integrity Act, which met at Gordon House yesterday. The IC is expected to consider and come to a position on the proposal by early October. 

Only 563 of 40,000 expected declarations examined

The parliamentary committee heard that for the period ended December 31, 2021, more than 40,000 public officials were required to submit statutory declarations but the IC has only examined 563 statutory declarations.

Of the 563 statutory declarations examined, the anti-corruption body signed off on only 439. The IC submitted to parliament a three-page document outlining its justification for the proposed $12 million threshold increase and recommended a ‘position-based’ criterion for selecting public officials, who ought to be mandated to file declaration and not the current emolument-based threshold.

The document stated, “the consideration to move to a ‘position based’ criterion for selecting public officials is informed by a review of other jurisdiction, which requires assets disclosure, as part of their anti-corruption framework. The referenced review has revealed that no other implementing jurisdiction reviewed uses a threshold for emoluments as a criterion to identify public officials, who are required to file.”

Planned gradual migration to ‘position-based’ criterion 

Various jurisdictions require different levels of public officials to file asset disclosures. The document indicates that “the increase in the threshold is a planned gradual migration to a purely ‘position based’ criterion for selecting public sector officials required to file.

The IC is also recommending that a detailed review of public sector bodies be undertaken in the current 2023/2024 financial year to determine the high-risk positions and the eventual abolition of the use of an income threshold as a basis for determining who should file statutory declaration.

The commission acknowledges that while there is no argued best approach for the selection of public official to file declaration, “a risk-based approach, which is informed by jurisdictional peculiarities and the resources available, would be suited for the Jamaican model.” 

Beresford argued that the IC is striving to strike a balance between the objectives to be achieved by the requirements of the asset disclosure regime and its effectiveness. Beresford said the IC is contemplating a ‘position-based’ criterion for selecting public officials, who would be required to make assets disclosures.

He advised the parliamentary committee that parliamentarians are the most compliant in submitting their statutory declarations to the IC noting that in some instances, legislators register a 99% compliance rate. However, the IC reported in its last annual report for 2022/2023 that six parliamentarians are under investigation for illicit enrichment. 

The lawmakers under investigation for illicit enrichment are yet to identify themselves while 28 public officials are being probed for illicit enrichment.