The National Integrity Action Forum (NIAF) has urged Jamaican authorities to aggressively seek to prosecute corrupt state officials who undermine public confidence and tar the country's reputation.

In a release after the first outreach meeting at the University of the West Indies, Mona, participants in the civic forum called for the "speedy bringing to justice of the 'big fish' among the corrupt, in the interest of restoring public confidence in the rule of law and in improving Jamaica's rankings on global corruption ratings."

Recommendations

Addressing the session, forum director, Professor Trevor Munroe, pointed to the "exceptional importance, particularly in this time of deepening crisis, of ensuring that the corrupt do not siphon off scarce resources intended to help relieve the burden on the poor and do not further undermine the rule of law in the society."

Other recommendations included the targeting of those who perpetuate payola in the media.

The Integrity Commission also recommended that support be provided for and accountability be required from "the main officers involved in combating corruption, in particular, the contractor general, the commissioner of customs, the assistant commissioner - Anti-Corruption Branch Jamaica Constabulary Force, the director of public prosecutions, the anti-corruption commissions and the auditor general, among others."

Session members also recommended a multidimensional engagement (e.g. media campaign, school-curriculum reform) of the society on the meaning of corruption and on the extent to which the poor are its greatest victims.

They also called for the University of the West Indies' Centre for Leadership and Governance to create a website and become a focal point for anti-corruption interests in Jamaica.

The maiden outreach meeting of the NIAF was held at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies on Wednesday, March 4. The NIAF was launched on January 28 and has been endorsed by both the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition.

Consultations

The NIAF is an initiative of the UWI's Centre for Leadership and Governance, a collaboration of the Department of Government and the Mona School of Business.

Session members also passed a resolution to engage in dialogue with selected newspaper columnists, talk-show hosts, television presenters and other opinion shapers around recommendations to combat corruption more effectively and to strengthen Jamaica's integrity framework.

Consultations with National Integrity Action Forum participants will resume mid-April.