CABINET has given the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service approval to design a fee structure for members of the Integrity Commission.

Minister with responsibility for education, youth and information, Karl Samuda, made the announcement yesterday at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

Samuda confirmed that the commission has had some 22 meetings since coming into effect February 23, 2018, but have received no remuneration for their services since the appointments.

However, pressed for more information on the issue, which was included in the commission’s first annual report tabled recently in Parliament, recently, the minister said he could offer no further details on the matter.

The Jamaica Observer reported on July 13, in an article headlined “Work and no pay: Integrity Commission says members of body yet to receive any emoluments’, that the commission’s chairman, retired high court judge Karl Harrison had noted in his remarks in the report that:

“Compensation for commissioners also requires the approval of the oversight committee. We are surprised that, to date, there has been no determination as regards to our compensation. We understand that the process of getting a recommended compensation structure is still being pursued, so we are yet to receive any emoluments in relation to our roles as commissioners.”

The Integrity Commission Bill, 2017, under which the entity was established and which was approved in 2018, states that: “There shall be payment to the chairman and other commissioners [and] such remuneration, whether by way of honorarium, salary of fees, and such allowances, may be approved by resolution of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively.”

The commission is mandated to promote and enhance standards of ethical conduct for parliamentarians, public officials and other individuals, by consolidating laws relating to the prevention of corruption and the award, monitoring and investigating of Government contracts and prescribed licences.

It is also mandated to strengthen the measures for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of acts of corruption.

The other commissioners are: Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis, chartered accountant Eric Crawford, and lawyer and former contractor general Dr Derrick McKoy.