The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder touted the Davis administration’s Independent Commission of Investigations Bill, saying it offers a comprehensive and effective solution to combating corruption.

He said the bill’s broad scope would ensure transparency and accountability across a wide range of government sectors, addressing the concerns of both the public and various stakeholders.

“This new anti-corruption regime is robust, it’s transparent, it’s authoritative, and it has significant independent investigatory authority,” he said during his remarks at the closing of the University of The Bahamas Law Society Legal Week on Thursday. 

Matt Aubry, executive director of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), recently told The Tribune that an Integrity Commission Bill — introduced but not passed by the Minnis administration — was still necessary to proactively prevent corruption rather than merely investigate it after the fact.

He pointed to other Caribbean models, such as Jamaica’s, where an Integrity Commission and a separate investigative body exist to address corruption from multiple angles.

However, Mr Pinder said unlike the separate Integrity Commissions seen in other Caribbean jurisdictions, his proposed bill combines investigations into security forces and public officials under a single commission. This approach, he argued, would better streamline and strengthen efforts to tackle corruption at all levels of government.

“In some Caribbean jurisdictions, and this is notable for the topic today, you will see both an independent commission for security forces and what’s called an Integrity Commission, which is intended to investigate civil servants and politicians and parliamentarians,” he said. “We’ve taken that approach on the broadened scope of what we are now looking to pass. However, we have integrated both the civil servant and the parliamentarian investigations and the security forces into one single commission. 

“The bill establishes the Independent Commission to be comprised of three persons, two lawyers who would hold high judicial office and one who is an accountant.”

Addressing concerns that police investigations should not solely be handled by the police or that political figures may influence investigations, Mr Pinder said the commission would have the powers of a court to conduct investigations, summon witnesses, and review documents, with the findings forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for possible criminal charges.

Despite Mr Pinder’s optimistic outlook, critics have raised concerns about the bill’s ability to effectively address corruption. Kahlil Parker, president of the Bar Association, previously cautioned that the bill alone might not resolve the public’s concerns regarding corruption and law enforcement accountability. 

He argued that while the bill grants significant investigatory powers to the proposed commission, it does not go far enough in addressing the underlying issues of police and government accountability. 

Lemarque Campbell, an anti-corruption specialist, echoed this sentiment, describing the bill as a “window dressing exercise” and questioning its potential to combat corruption effectively. He expressed scepticism about whether the bill would lead to meaningful change, pointing to the failure of existing anti-corruption measures that have not been properly implemented.