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Several changes are being proposed for the operation of the Integrity Commission which lower the gift reporting requirement from $5,000 to $1,000 and require financial declarations every two years instead of annually.

The governor wants members of the Consultative Forum and public persons who are required to submit reports to send comments to commission Director Eugene Otuonye on or before Feb. 10, according to a Feb. 2 press release.

The proposed change to require declarations every two years extends the deadline for the current two-year period until June 30, 2012. Those who did not meet the June 2011 deadline will not be penalized.

It also is proposed that the commission have the power to extend filing deadlines up to six months in exceptional circumstances.

Public persons were required to report any gifts they received in excess of $5,000, but that amount would be lowered to $1,000 and include gifts to family members. It is proposed that gifts must be reported within 30 days.

New provisions would apply the same requirements to employees of the Integrity Commission, as well as protecting commission staff members from liability for acts done in the course of their employment.

All information on declarations is held in confidence by the commission and not made public.

The governor currently has the power to amend the list of persons in public life who must file declarations. It is proposed that he exercise this power only after consultation with the commission.

Public persons who fail to file declarations or who give incomplete or false information can be punished with jail time of up to one year, a $15,000 fine or both. Those convicted of an offence would be barred from seeking public office for five years.

Other proposed changes include:

• Tightening up the definition of “spouse” to include married persons and persons who have been living as husband and wife for at least a year.
• Enabling the commission to hire a secretary who may or may not be a public officer;
• Giving the commission the power to order a person in public life whom it believes is likely to contravene the Ordinance to place his assets in a blind trust;
• Giving the commission the power to issue a compliance certificate to a person who makes an incomplete declaration where it is satisfied, after a formal inquiry, that the person does not have access to the information required to complete the declaration.

The proposed changes have been approved by a working group that includes the permanent secretary of finance as chairman, the attorney general, deputy attorney general, principal legislative drafter, permanent secretaries, relevant heads of departments, director of the Integrity Commission and the European Union team led by Professor Rose-Marie Antoine.

Public persons should submit comments to Integrity Commission Director Eugene Otuonye on or before Feb. 10 at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Click HERE to read the proposed amendments

Click HERE to read the list of public persons and the declaration form

Persons in public life

These public officials have been required since 2011 to file financial declarations with the Integrity Commission. Proposed additions are starred and in bold type.

1. Members of the House of Assembly (except the Governor)
2. Members of Cabinet (except the Governor)
3. Deputy Governor
4. Permanent Secretaries
5. Under Secretaries
6. Judges of the Court of Appeal
7. Judges of the Supreme Court
8. Magistrates
9. Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the House of Assembly
10. Chief Financial Officer
11. Chief Auditor
12. Accountant General
13. Complaints Commissioner
14. Chief Economist
15. Chief Medical Officer
16. Director and Deputy Director of Planning
17. Director and Deputy Director of Surveys and Mapping
18. Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Deeds
19. Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Lands
20. Director and Deputy Director of Education
21. Director and Deputy Director of Immigration
22. Collector and Deputy Collector of Customs
*23. Deputy Heads of Departments, where the Head of Department is not called a Director
24. Deputy Attorney General
25. Crown Counsel
26. Clerk of Courts
27. Registrar and of Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court
28. Supervisor of Elections
29. Members of the Public Service Commission
*30. Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner and Officers at or above the rank of Superintendent
31. Members of the Advisory Council (except the Governor)
32. Members of the Consultative Forum
*33. Members and Staff Members of the Integrity Commission
*34. Chairman, Executive Officers, Directors, Deputy Directors and Members of any commission, statutory board, public authority or body of any description established by statute
35. Any person who has a statutory duty to record the minutes of meetings of a commission, statutory board, public authority or other body referred to in item 32 who signs the entity’s books and is involved in its business and affairs
*36. Any person who acts in an office referred to in this Schedule for a continuous period of 6 months or more.