After the Cabinet Meeting on Monday, July 31, 2023, the Members of the Federal Cabinet, along with H.E. Ambassador Kenneth Douglas, walked in unison to the Delisle Walwyn & Co. Ltd Building on Liverpool Row, Basseterre, St. Kitts, where the Office of the Integrity Commission is located, to submit their declaration to the Commission as outlined in the new Integrity in Public Life Act, which was passed in the Federal Parliament on February 22, 2023.
The information outlined in the Integrity in Public Life Guidelines states that a person who was appointed a public official prior to April 22, 2023, shall file an initial declaration with the Integrity Commission on or before Monday, July 31, 2023. Additionally, a person who is appointed as a public official on or after April 22, in any year, shall file an initial declaration within 100 days of becoming a public official.
Also, a public official shall in each succeeding calendar year that he or she continues to be a public official, file further declarations on or before April 30. The declaration of a public official shall continue to be filed for a period of two succeeding calendar years after a person has ceased to be a public official, otherwise than by reason of his or her death.
The Integrity in Public Life Act outlines those public officials for the purposes of the Act. Public officials include those in Parliamentary Roles, Constitutional Roles, Executive Officers, Statutory Corporations, Government Interest Corporations and Statutory Bodies.
The Integrity in Public Life Act seeks to further strengthen the Federation’s good governance agenda of transparency and accountability in public office.
Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs et al the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, and Ambassador Leon Natta-Nelson are currently away on national duty and are expected to make their declarations upon their return to the Federation.