KINGSTON, Jamaica — Executive Director of the Integrity Commission Craig Beresford says the anti-corruption watchdog has been advocating since 2021 for an external body to examine the statutory declarations of its staff, disclosing that the proposal predates fresh calls from parliamentarians for such a move.

Beresford made the disclosure during the IC’s annual report press conference on Tuesday, days after Government Member of Parliament (MP) Matthew Samuda, speaking as a member of Parliament’s Integrity Commission Oversight Committee, proposed that the Financial Investigations Division (FID) take over the examination of statutory declarations submitted by MPs serving on the committee.

Samuda also suggested that the statutory declarations of Integrity Commission staff and commissioners should be reviewed by an independent body, such as the FID or the auditor general, arguing that the current arrangement creates an inherent conflict of interest.