BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH the passing of several deadlines, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Adali Smith, has sent a strong signal to public officials, who are yet to file their declarations of assets, to get their acts together.
The call comes as less that 1/5 of those who are required to file with the Integrity Commission under the Integrity in Public Life Legislation have failed to do so, while missing all of the stipulated deadlines and refusing to respond to the letters dispatched.
Now, the DPP has sounded the alarm bells that he had requested the names of the defaulters and charges will be subsequently laid against them for failing to file in the stipulated timeframe.
“I inquired, have there been any filings? There are persons who are outstanding. I said, ‘Oh’. I have asked the Commission to furnish me with the names of those persons, and when those names are furnished, it’s just a matter of putting in the names of the individuals into the charges, which I’ve already drafted. I am not playing!” Smith said during a press conference ahead of the World Anti-Corruption Day.
Smith, who replaced his successor last October, stated that the defaulters had 100 days in which to file within the given timeframe.
It was noted that two elected officials have not declared their assets, and that the Commission did not make public the names and exact number of people who have not provided their information.
In an invited comment, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew reminded that the IPL is a new piece of legislation and the people within the Federation might need more education in order to properly fill in the blanks.
“This is something new to St. Kitts and Nevis. We have to accept that! This has never been done before…And so we are still in the process of educating our people on how to fill out their forms and what the documentation is. So, we are making a transition, and we have recognized that more education is going to be needed,” Dr. Drew told SKNVibes News.
But DPP Smith has warned those who are refusing to furnish the names to the Commission that they would be held liable, and subjected to being charged: “ you could be charged even with aiding and abetting under subsection 2.”
“If we are trying to find the names now, if you haven’t filed them, and you fail to produce the information, we will charge you with Accessory After the Fact for failure to furnish information.”
As noted by the Prime Minister, the lack of education might be to blame as many people who would have taken up their post after the initial July deadline are not aware that they are subjected to filing.
However, not responding to the letters from the Commission is another area of concern for the Government, since, as Attorney-General Garth Wilkin reminded, the legislation stipulates who should be filing and when.
