Tavares Finson launches broadside against Integrity Commission

President of the Senate, Tom Tavares-Finson, launched a broadside against the Integrity Commission (IC) on Friday, accusing the anti-corruption watchdog of attempting to muzzle him.

Tavares-Finson was peeved that the IC did not publish his message in its newspaper supplement to mark International Anti-corruption Day on December 9. He was especially upset that the IC, having reached out to him for the message, did not publish it, ostensibly because it found the contents to be libelous.

But, Tavares-Finson disagreed with that position and made his position known during Friday’s sitting of the Senate. Declaring that he will not be silenced, the Government senator stated that the credibility of the IC was diminished.

One of Jamaica’s most prominent attorneys, Tavares-Finson said: “When I read the message, and I have lawyer friends…there’s no libel in it, none whatsoever”.

He told the Upper House at the start of the sitting that he received a letter from the IC on November 6, signed by its Executive Director Greg Christie, asking him to contribute a brief written message for inclusion in the newspaper supplement. The Senate president said that it was after noticing that his message was missing, which he initially thought was an oversight, that he realised that the IC had written back to say that his message was not suited for publication.

Insisting that he will not be silenced, Tavares-Finson read his message so it could be recorded in the Parliament’s Hansard records. According to him, “it is in the interest of democracy that my statement be placed on the record of the society”.

In his message, Tavares-Finson encouraged all Jamaicans to become agents of positive change by taking a strong stance against corruption. He also said it is encouraging that the Government of Jamaica has passed several laws, including the Integrity Commission Act, to strongly support the anti-corruption fight.

However, he said he was disappointed that the IC in its current dispensation is perceived across major sections of the Jamaican society “as having lost credibility.”

“The slow rate of addressing matters, which come before the commission, anti-Government comments by the commission’s executive director, inflammatory and puerile remarks by the Integrity Commission’s chairman and the police revelation that a senior director of the commission who reportedly habitually transported wads of cash refused to cooperate with the criminal investigations where he was allegedly robbed, have dealt a near mortal blow to the credibility of the commission,” he remarked.

“It would be a significant boost to the perceived fairness and the anti-corruption fight in Jamaica, should the current composition of the Integrity commission be reconstructed,” he continued.

Tavares-Finson reiterated that there was nothing libellous in his letter, adding that “...I don’t feel that I should have been gagged by the Integrity Commission”.

After reading the letter, he told his fellow senators that he would not entertain any discussion on the matter. However, that did not stop the Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, Senator Peter Bunting from commenting off-mic. Bunting was heard saying that Opposition senators were disassociating themselves from Tavares-Finson’s statement.

He said: “That message was highly inappropriate, and I’m glad they rejected it because it was highly inappropriate”.