Warmington again calls for audit of Integrity Commission

By Clinton McGregor    

 

Member of Parliament for St. Catherine South Western Everald Warmington has again called for the government to conduct an audit of the Integrity Commission.

 

Mr. Warmington reiterated the call during Thursday's deliberations of the Standing Finance Committee of the Parliament.

 

He again took issue with an increase in the budget of the Integrity Commission.

 

"I see that this year the amount to the Integrity Commission is increased by $164 million, but yet I have not seen any auditing of that department or financial report from this department. This year they're getting almost $2 billion and that's taxpayer money and there must be accountability," Mr. Warmington maintained, adding that he cannot support the entity being given more funds in light of this.

 

He insisted that although the commission had supplied financials, this was simply a financial statement and not an audit as required. 

 

Finance Minister Fayval Williams said she could not answer the questions posed by Mr. Warmington about the IC.

 

"Member, my understanding is that...it's through the IC committee that those matters are addressed. At this moment I do not have the information about where they are in terms of their financial audit. This is something I could inquire into, but again my understanding is that those matters would go through the IC committee for them to interrogate and address," she said. 

 

The Integrity Commission has consistently dismissed the claims of Mr. Warmington, declaring that its accounting and financial affairs have been audited every year in its six years of existence.