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IC braces for change as Panton bows out

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 10:20 AMJovan Johnson - Senior Staff Reporter

Integrity Commission Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton will be demitting office next Tuesday.
Integrity Commission Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton will be demitting office next Tuesday.

The Integrity Commission is bracing for a major shift in leadership as Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton confirms his impending departure, turning attention to the governor general who will choose his successor.

“I will complete my term of office on 25 February 2025. I have not sought – nor am I seeking – to continue on the Integrity Commission. If asked, I would decline,” Justice Panton told The Sunday Gleaner last Friday.

The announcement comes amid rising tensions between the commission and some government parliamentarians, casting a shadow over the country’s main anti-corruption body.

Panton’s decision, coupled with the impending expiration of terms for other key officials, brings the seven-year-old institution to a critical juncture that some key figures in the Andrew Holness-led administration believe should be taken advantage of.

“It certainly presents a useful opportunity for change and we have to ensure that the re-population of the positions is strategic,” said a government official, who did not want to be named. “What we have had over the last few years is intolerable in terms of how we feel certain members of the administration have been treated by the IC. But I know that a lot of it has to do with how the law is structured and that is under review.”

In a February 10 farewell message to staff, Panton detailed the hostile environment he faced. “I am saddened by the fact that some parliamentarians are unhappy with the provisions of the (Integrity Commission) Act although it was passed unanimously by the Parliament. So unhappy are they with this law that they have adopted a posture of attacking the commission and its members as we seek to follow the provisions of the law.”

Panton also talked about the personal toll of the attacks.

“This attitude by these parliamentarians has seemingly emboldened certain persons who have taken to the (anti-)social media to spew venom at the commission, and particularly at me. It is no secret that I have been the victim of vulgar abuse, falsehoods, libel, and threats by these persons. The threats have been such that the police have had to be engaged.”

He also said he was disappointed in Parliament’s silence on the attacks, given that the IC is a commission of Parliament.

“I am disappointed that Parliament has not seen it fit to publicly condemn the behaviour of these miscreants, given the fact that there are parliamentarians who are fully aware of what has been happening,” Panton said in the message.

URGED STAFF TO BE FAIR, FOLLOW CONSCIENCE

Nonetheless, the outgoing chairman urged the staff of the IC to “hold fast to that which is good”.

“Continue to follow the law as you perform your duties. Be fair, and act without fear. Follow your conscience,” he added, before saying he was “heartened” by the support from civil society organisations. “They will no doubt continue to do so (support the IC) as the commission continues to play its part in ensuring that good governance prevails in our country.”

Some lawmakers believed that Panton, a retired Court of Appeal president, did not show enough deference to legislators, and have pointed to comments as recent as last October when he led an appearance of commissioners before the IC Oversight Committee.

“I don’t know if something is wrong with the water in Parliament why some people, the moment they get into Parliament, they say certain things and behave a certain way. I don’t know if that is it. As a result, I wasn’t going to take the chance of drinking water here,” said Panton as he exhibited a bottle of water he carried with him.

At the same meeting he joked that some lawmakers might need to see a psychiatrist.

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck accepted that it was a joke, but other government officials sought to rebuke Panton. Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson said he should have apologised for the “disrespectful and contemptuous” remarks. Government member of parliament Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn called for Panton’s resignation.

Panton rejected the calls, saying “there is nothing to apologise for, so nobody should hold their breath waiting for an apology”. The stridency of Panton’s response marked many of his efforts to rebuff attackers and defend the work of the commission, a situation that transparency advocate Jeanette Calder said last December could impact whether talented persons may want to join the agency.

Panton has said he will not analyse his tenure while he remains in office “Any assessment by me of the performance of the commission will only be done after I have left the commission,” he said in December.

Last December, The Sunday Gleaner reported that the terms of six top officials, including Panton and Commissioner Eric Crawford, are set to expire between February and July 2025.

The five-year tenure of Executive Director Greg Christie, a lawyer and former contractor general who leads the day-to-day operations of the commission, is among the officials. He was sworn into office on May 18, 2020.

Three other directors are also nearing the end of their terms. They are Director of Corruption Prosecution Keisha Prince-Kameka, who was sworn in on March 24, 2020; Kevon Stephenson, the director of investigation, who was sworn in on May 18, 2020; and Craig Beresford, who took his oath on July 14, 2020, as director of information and complaints.

All four are eligible for reappointment.

The five-member commission, the final decision-making authority of the organisation, comprises the auditor general, who is a commissioner by law, and four others who are appointed by the governor general “after consultation” with the prime minister and the opposition leader, according to the Integrity Commission Act

Legal scholar Dr Lloyd Barnett said “after consultation” means the governor general is not bound to follow what either leader said. It is unlike “after advice”, which would leave no room to exercise discretion.

Two of the four appointed commissioners must be retired judges of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal. The law also stipulates that the chairman, who is appointed solely at the governor general’s discretion, “shall” be a retired judge.

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica has challenged the narrow field from which commissioners are drawn. It has recommended that a parliamentary committee reviewing the IC’s law consider proposing an amendment to include persons with integrity from the private sector.

The fifth commissioner is retired banker and business and leadership consultant H. Wayne Powell, who was appointed in March 2020.

King’s House in December acknowledged Sunday Gleaner questions on the status of the process to select a new chairman but has still not provided a response.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com