ALARMING instances of dysfunction and insubordination are highlighted in the Integrity Commission's latest annual report rendering the ability of the commission's ability to effectively monitor politicians and other people in public life to be less partly effective.
The controversy involving the commission, which serves as the watchdog agency to examine the assets, liabilities and registrable interests of people in public life, is not the first as on two previous occasions the board had to resign over improper conduct.
In the 2021 annual report, the chairman Prof Rajendra Ramlogan said the entire Investigations Unit of the Integrity Commission resigned over their opposition to plans to introduce performance parameters for staff.
He also alleged that top managers at the commission had defied the instructions of the board of commissioners.
Ramlogan said the commission had requested a status report on all outstanding investigations, amid "serious issues with performance" as 15 investigations were outstanding, some since 2013.
The report said that among 462 files listed in an audit, some 92 which were done over 20 years remained undetermined. Five files were mysteriously missing, 330 were closed and 27 were pending. The report also said staff to monitor the compliance of the submissions of declarations of people in public life had been reduced by 70 per cent between 2017-2021 leaving some 4,500 outstanding declarations and statements of registrable interests.
As a consequence many declarations and statements filed since 2014 have not yet been reviewed by the Compliance Unit, Ramlogan said.
Ramlogan lamented "a total dysfunction" between staffing arrangements and the commission's core statutory duties.
"While it is customary for administration to be between 20-30 per cent of staffing arrangements in business operations, this (administration staff) stood at 63 per cent at the commission. "Compliance (officers) made up 20 per cent of the staff and investigations 17 per cent.
"These are stark numbers that perhaps can explain the public perception of the failure of the commission to carry out its statutory mandate."
Under Ramlogan the commission established an investigations sub-committee "to enable increased scrutiny of the workings of the Investigation Unit on individual investigations."
"The commission sought to introduce performance appraisals of the work of all investigators before the renewal of contracts of employment.
"Investigators are required to account for their performance before the Support Services Sub-Committee of the Commission to discuss performance issues before contract renewal."
The chairman said the Director of Investigations was told of specific concerns with performance.
"However, the Director of Investigations refused to attend the meetings.
"The Commission then took a unanimous decision not to renew his contract, yet his contract was renewed by the Registrar in defiance of the Commissi
