SENATORS on the Government benches are demanding the resignation, or removal, of the executive director of the Integrity Commission Greg Christie following the imbroglio over the corruption allegations against Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

On Thursday, general secretary of the governing Jamaica Labour Party, Dr Horace Chang — who is also the deputy prime minister and minister of national security — said that his party has lost confidence in Christie who was appointed executive director of the commission on May 18, 2020.

On Friday, it was the turn of the Government senators who, despite a release from the Integrity Commission seeking to bring clarity to the matter, demanded that Christie must go.

In a release, the Government senators argued that organisations such as the Integrity Commission operate successfully in a democratic society only when they enjoy the confidence and support of the society as a whole and are able to attract and retain the confidence of key stakeholders.

“This confidence must be earned and nurtured by fairness, impartiality and fearlessness, which will together allow the organisation to gain credibility in the exercise of its mandated authority.

“The unjust treatment of the recently tabled Integrity Commission report and belated publication of the related ruling has been presided over by its executive director. This unusual and bizarre treatment of the issue has been exacerbated by the executive director’s republication of material on Twitter maligning the official and posts by both the executive director and the commission itself which curiously omitted any mention of the exoneration of the official,” said the Government senators.

They added: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the entire Integrity Commission has been brought into public disrepute and subjected to ridicule as a result of the executive director’s management of the affairs of the commission and his public deport on social media.

“The damage to the country, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the commission itself was compounded by not only the commission’s silence following the tabling of the report and prior to the delivery of the ruling to the Parliament, but also the executive director’s republication on Twitter, of both domestically and internationally issued material maligning the head of one of the three branches of Jamaica’s Government as well as posts made by both the executive director and the commission itself which curiously omitted any mention of the prior exoneration…”

According to the Government senators, “The reputation and governance of the commission as an institution must be restored by immediate action, which must include an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the actions described above, and the resignation or other removal of the executive director,” said the Government senators in a release.

They argued that the statement issued on Friday by the commissioners of the Integrity Commission failed to adequately answer several questions:

1) Why did the commission fail to deliver the ruling on the report tabled contemporaneously with the report?

2) What is the explanation for the commission’s silence after the report was tabled and prior to the delivery of the ruling at a time when they had the legal authority to publicly correct the speculation and misinformation circulating in the local and international media?

3) What could explain the actions of the executive director on social media at a time when he must have been aware of the exoneration contained in the ruling?

4) Is it in the best interest of the commission and all stakeholders concerned that the commission continues in its present incarnation and under its current leadership?