The ongoing kerfuffle surrounding the work of the Integrity Commission (IC) in relation to Jamaica’s elected representatives should be of tremendous concern to every well-thinking Jamaican citizen.

The IC reportedly operates at an annual cost of some $1 billion, borne by the Jamaican taxpayer, at the same time, it has been revealed that corruption costs the country in the region of over $100 billion annually.

Interestingly, it is against the backdrop of the high level of corruption in the public sphere, primarily involving our politicians and other public servants, that the IC was ironically established by our politicians who are the nation’s chief legislators and seen as the main perpetrators of corrupt practices.

The Daily Star, a Bangladesh newspaper, in one of its most recent editions had the headline: “Is ‘honest politician’ an oxymoron?” An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which contradictory words appear together. Some common examples of this are “old news”, “deafening silence”, or “organised chaos”. In Jamaican parlance, we often hear the expressions “genuine counterfeit” or “pedigree mongrel”. The definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Do any of our politicians have these attributes?

In its biting editorial, the Daily Star expounds that, “To politicians – most of whom lack an iota of personal integrity – power is control over their citizens, patriotism is servility, and democracy is absolutism. Politicians come in all shapes, sizes, and colours. Some come from the ruling parties [also Opposition parties], some from the military, some from the world of business and entertainment, while some have their roots deep within the security sector of the State. Some politicians are charismatic, some are boring, and some are full of hot air.

“Politics is all about power… They use their power to rig elections by allowing their cadres to stuff ballot boxes, and/or encourage their supporters to vote under the cover of darkness the day before the election. Or like Richard Daly, mayor of Chicago from 1955 to 1976, they are adept at making the dead vote for themselves. Or, as Stalin said, ‘The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes [lackeys of the politicians] decide everything.’ Or, according to a former governor of Louisiana, where election fraud is rampant, he could make the voting machines sing any tune he wants to.

“Politicians manipulate public employees, use State funds for political campaigns, resort to terror by unleashing their ancillary groups that are thinly conceived and at times crudely manoeuvred, and grant extensive power to law enforcement agencies to arrest their opponents without warrant.”

Although, thanks to deliberate electoral reforms pursued over recent years by the Jamaican political directorate in tandem with civil society and the prodding of the private sector, some of these infractions are no longer part and parcel of our electoral process, but many other insidious practices still remain, oftentimes below the radar. In the meantime, the trust deficit, with respect to our politicians and the people, has continually been at an all-time low, so much so that Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader and prime minister, Andrew Holness, recently bemoaned the fact that the political directorate is viewed in a despicable light, especially among the younger population. But who is to blame, if not the politicians themselves, for this sad state of affairs, including Holness?

The IC was established through an Act of Parliament to combat corruption through the development, implementation, and enforcement of anti-corruption legislations, policies, and initiatives through its highly competent staff and efficient systems, processes, and procedures. All of this sounds well and good, but as Jamaicans say, “Uno raise up cock chicken fi come dig out uno eye.” From minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works Everald Warmington’s war of words seeking to muzzle the IC to Minister of Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte’s malarkey about scurrilous attempts to name and shame, and, not to mention, Member of Parliament Robert Montague’s accusation of bias, the onslaught against this august body has continued unabated while we stand aside and look.

One is not saying that the IC should be treated as a sacred cow, but it boggles the mind why our politicians cum legislators should go ahead and establish such entities as this one and others, including the Office of the Political Ombudsman, then turn around and pillory them with the intention, it seems, to make them useless and ineffective.

The IC comprises individuals of proven integrity, public servants who have contributed much to this country. Surely, if the commission oversteps its mark, then its findings and utterances should be subject to judicial review, but to suggest that the necessary protection as accorded to judges should be removed from the commissioners so that they can be subject to litigation is a flagrant attempt to neuter the IC, and Jamaicans should not condone such virulent attacks on one of the bastions of our democracy.

As for the gag order and accusations of overreach, surely the prime minister, in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding, should establish a committee to be chaired by the governor general to examine all such contentious issues and have them resolved by way of meaningful consensus rather than this ongoing “cass-cass” in the public space, which, in the final analysis, will be an ill wind that benefits no one.

In the meantime, those politicians who would want us to believe that they are Mother Teresas and are above reproach need to get real and give up the pretence. Once you enter public office you are no longer a private citizen and must, therefore, subject yourselves to scrutiny, and if you cannot take the heat in the kitchen, then get out!

This brings us back to the potent question: “Is there such a person as an honest politician?” The jury is out.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved in Jamaican media for the past 47 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmial.com.