Last Updated on Sunday, 25 January 2026, 23:09 by Writer
The Integrity Commission Act should be amended to pave the way for the release of some information about the assets of public officials including those elected, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentary leader Dr Terrence Campbell said at the weekend.
“The answer really is a tightening up of the Integrity Commission Act so that public summaries of declarations should be available,” he said.
He said Guyana should follow in the footsteps of Jamaica where summary declarations for the prime minister and opposition leader are published in the Official Gazette. Dr Campbell said such an approach not only leaves it to the Integrity Commission, police or government ministers but also to the press and civil society to follow up and investigate those declarations.
Dr Campbell’s recommendation came against the backdrop of recent questions by the opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) about the real estate properties of Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Tourism Susan Rodrigues and then Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Sherwyn Greaves. They have separately denied corruption claims.
He believes that the Integrity Commission should have publicly assured Guyanese that the claims would be investigated. “In fact, the Integrity Commission of Guyana should have issued a statement saying, ‘We have noted allegations in the public domain. We take our job seriously and we will be investigating these allegations. That’s what they should be saying’,” he said.
The PPPC has often accused APNU parliamentarians of failing to file declarations to the Integrity Commission.
Any public official who fails to file a declaration to the Integrity Commission or the President can be fined GY$25,000 and to imprisonment of not less than six months or nor more than one year.
The magistrate is also required to order that person to make full disclosure within a given time and if that public officer fails to do so, he or she is liable to a further fine of GY$10,000 for each day that the offence continues.
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