Parliament Approves Increased Threshold for Submission of Statutory Declarations

• Thousands of public servants will no longer be required to submit statutory declarations to the Integrity Commission (IC) following parliament’s approval of an order to raise the threshold for submissions from $3.5Mn to $12Mn.
• The Integrity Commission (Total Annual Emoluments Exempt from Statutory Declaration Requirements) Order 2023 was approved following a resolution moved by Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, in the Lower House on December 19.
• The IC recommended the increase in September, citing the anticipated rise in declarations due to the increased salaries of workers under the public-sector compensation review.
• With the increased threshold, an estimated 10,000 public-sector workers would now be required to submit their statutory declarations instead of over 40,000 public-sector workers in December 2021.
• The IC is an anti-corruption body which functions under the Integrity Commission Act. Public servants, at a particular threshold of salary, are required to file their assets, liabilities, and income on an annual basis. This indicates to the Commission that they are not undertaking any activity as a result of their being employed to the public service that is detrimental to the service.

(Source: JIS)