The three-man Public Service Integrity Board is now set to investigate conflicts of interest among the 700-strong government employees. In addition to being armed with the legislation that created it, and led to its appointment by the Governor in October last year, the Board is now circulating an awareness leaflet outlining its functions. The publication, which also sets out guidelines for the civil service, will be sent to each employee and will be available to members of the public as well.

L-R: Pastor Cecil Richardson, Deputy Governor Mark Capes, Judge Don Mitchell, Stanley Reid and Allister Richardson

The Board comprises retired High Court Judge, Don Mitchell, QC (Chairman), retired Permanent Secretary and Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Allister Richardson, and Pastor Cecil Richardson, a well-respected Baptist Minister.

The Board held a press conference at the House Assembly Chambers on Tuesday with Deputy Governor, Mark Capes, and Permanent Secretary, Public Administration, Stanley Reid in attendance.

“The Public Service Integrity Board will principally do two things,” Mr. Mitchell explained. “It will examine requests from public officers to do private work and where the Governor has a complaint made to him, he may refer that conflict of interest to the Board. The Board will investigate the problem and report to the Governor.”
Mr. Mitchell went on: “The real problem in Anguilla that the House of Assembly wanted to deal with, as it appears to me, is the problem that exists in so many countries in the West Indies (if not the world). It is the problem of public servants being involved improperly in private sector work. There are many different private sector activities that a public servant could be involved in that would not be considered improper by anyone.

“Under General Orders, all public servants are required to declare their private sector interests and to get permission from the Governor’s Office. We all know that many civil servants do not in fact obtain permission from anybody, but set up their own businesses …because so many of us need additional sources of income…The problem is that it is being done…constantly in Anguilla without permission or declaration.

“The question then arises - what are the standards that the Anguillian community is willing to accept? How much private sector work the community believes is proper and what types of activities are improper for a public servant to be engaged in?

“Is it OK for a government technician who is licensing various activities to become involved as a private contractor in that area? He not only inspects private sector work, and approves it, but he is also inspecting and doing his own work in that private sector. Those questions arise in several government departments. To what extent is it permissible? Are Anguillians happy that somebody who is hired and paid by government to do these inspections should also inspect his or her own work; approve it while refusing to approve the work done by a private contractor, whom he or she is competing against?”

Mr. Mitchell warned that unless Anguilla established standards in the public service, there was a risk that public confidence in the civil service would be lost. He pointed out that the Public Service Integrity Board was appointed to set standards in the service and that the introductory leaflet was attempting to explain that.

He stated that the principal activity of the Board, in this early period, was not to act as a policeman by finding fault and making recommendations of a very penal or strict form. He explained that the function of the Board at this stage was to help its own membership, the Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Department, the general body of the civil service and the public to establish what standards were acceptable in Anguilla.

The leaflet noted that the people of Anguilla were paying for, and were entitled to, fair, honest and transparent government free from oppression, corruption and partiality. It stated seven universally-recognised principles of public life which ensured good government.

These principles were read by Allister Richardson. In short, they are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

The Deputy Governor commended the Public Service Integrity Board for the great enthusiasm and hard work it demonstrated since its appointment. He thought that the decision of the Board to initially raise awareness of the need for integrity and ethics in Anguilla was a good premise on which to begin its work.

“If there is no confidence in the public service, then it undermines all that public servants are doing,” Mr. Capes remarked. “I see the Public Service Integrity Board as being not just in the interest of all public servants, in that we can be more assured that there is no bad business going on under the table. It also serves the interest of the people of Anguilla that they can be confident that their public service is there to serve them and that things are being done properly.”

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