Dear Editor,

On August 31, 2010, the People's National Party unveiled its five-member Integrity Commission, which is a self-policing mechanism. They vocalised that all of its parliamentary and prospective members would be assessed and a determination would be made if they are fit and proper to represent the party.

Based on the allegation laid against the PNP's deputy mayor of Montego Bay Michael Troupe and Councillor Sylvan Reid about involvement in the lottery scam it appears that the said Integrity Commission was asleep at the wheels. I would like to know if this integrity commission is still in operation, and if so, is it being funded by the PNP to pursue corruption within the party? Does it have teeth to bite or is it just capable of baring its gums?

The lottery scam task force disclosed that Troupe and Reid are major players in the international lottery scam. If the Integrity Commission was vigil and competent, it would have detected that these individuals were not fit and proper to serve the PNP and especially the great people of Jamaica.

The governing PNP must arm their Integrity Commission with fangs to go after corrupt members within their party and weed out those who are implicated in corrupt practices. They should also require the alleged corrupt members to give up their sources and cronies. The commission should perform its due diligence and it must be robust, impartial and act without fear or favour.

Thus I am calling on Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the independent members of the commission - Bishop Wellesley Blair, Daisy Coke, Cedric McCulloch, Frederick Hamaty and Burchell Whiteman - to be the gatekeepers for the people of Jamaica. They must stress that the bar for holding public office must be set to the highest standard of probity and integrity.

Patrick Callum

patrickcallum@yahoo.com