OPPOSITION Senator Professor Floyd Morris has urged the Integrity Commission (IC) to, without fear, go after all public officials and parliamentarians who have breached the rules.

“I say to the Integrity Commission, no matter who the person is – they could be big, they could be small – go after them. Once they take the oath of office to serve our country, they are not bigger than the Integrity Commission and its mandate,” declared Morris during last Friday’s sitting of the Senate.

Morris, who was making his contribution to the debate on the Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act, declared that he will not join in bashing the IC because it has a job to do.

“As a parliamentarian I pledge my support for the institution and I pledge that I will do everything to make sure that they get the requisite legislation to do their work,” said Morris as he added that parliamentarians must ensure they walk the line carefully when it comes on to public resources.

“There are institutions [like] the Integrity Commission that I personally want to see us as parliamentarians strengthen and make sure that they have all the tools possible to deal with the job that they are mandated to do,” he said.

Morris, like his Opposition counterparts, sided with the IC which has been involved in a war of words with some Government parliamentarians who have been critical of its work.

The latest criticism came from Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Western Everald Warmington, who, last month, called for an audit of the IC before it receives any more funding from the Government.

The commission, which is funded to the tune of $2 billion annually, seeks to combat corruption through the development, implementation and enforcement of anti-corruption legislation, policy and initiatives.

Last year, Warmington had called for the prosecutorial powers vested in the IC, through the post of director of corruption prosecution, to be removed.

The IC is mandated to receive complaints in relation to alleged acts of corruption and instances of non-compliance with the Act; investigate alleged acts of corruption and instances of non-compliance with the Act; and prosecute acts of corruption and offences committed under the Act.

The entity also has the task to monitor and investigate the award, implementation, and termination of government contracts; and adopt and strengthen mechanisms for educating the public on matters relating to corruption.

— Alecia Smith