President Kangaloo criticised for Integrity Commission Chairman's appointment

President Kangaloo is under fire for her newly appointed Integrity Commission Chairman, ironically accused of bias, lack of transparency and hypocrisy.

Established in 1997, the Trinidad Integrity Commission (IC) is an independent body brought to life under the Integrity in Public Life Act of Trinidad and Tobago with the intent to preserve integrity in public life.

The IC works to ensure that the act is being complied with; including receiving and verifying income, asset and liability declarations, and to investigate probable breaches of the act.

They also work to detect and diminish corrupt and dishonest conduct; the IC has the ability to investigate allegations of corruption against public officials and refer them for prosecution if necessary.

A complimentary function of the IC is to educate the public about the importance of integrity among officials.

The commission consists of a chairman alongside four other IC members, who are appointed by the presiding president of Trinidad and Tobago.

Former banker and CEO of the Trinidad & Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission (TTSEC), Hayden Gittens, was sworn in as the new chairman of the Integrity Commission with President Kangaloo presenting him his instrument of appointment on the 12^th of January. The opposition is concerned with Kangaloo’s choice of appointing Gittens accusing both the president and chairman of the IC of lacking integrity, namely since they failed to recognize the need to disclose Gittens's close ties to higher ranking individuals in the People’s National Movement (PNM) party.

The opposition also wants Gittens to disclose any family member of his was previously appointed to a state board by the Keith Rowley Government.

The accusations if proven to be valid would demonstrate vast irony and hypocrisy with the decision, since the appointment would be built on nepotism, cronyism and bias toward the sitting government.

Prime Minister Rowley himself has been vocal about an investigation into his financial affairs by the IC under Professor Ramlogan’s watch.

The commission was accused of being “politically motivated” with the intention to smear his reputation.

The IC had also received a drastic cut in its funding making it more difficult for them to carry out their previously established duties.

The logical conclusion is that the government does not wish for the IC to be a truly independent body, but rather a body of subservience and passivity.

Since the decision to appoint the chair of the IC is meant to be recognizably neutral and impartial, the president must now give a detailed explanation as to how she decided to appoint Gitten in the first place.