The Integrity Chamber of Sint Maarten has released its 2021 Annual Report. The report provides the history of the organisation, as well as an overview of the activities and the financial information. The COVID-19 pandemic presented limitations to the planned activities for the year 2021. Nevertheless, the Integrity Chamber was successful in the execution of its three core tasks, namely: to render advice and give proposals, to investigate suspected misconducts, and to provide awareness about integrity.
The Integrity Chamber provided four (4) advices. Three (3) of the advices were on its own initiative. These were (1) the Implementation of the Civil Servant Code of Conduct, (2) the Advice on Confidential Advisor, and (3) the Quick Scan of the Integrity Infrastructure of the Ministry of Justice. An advice was also provided on (4) the Draft Long Lease Policy, requested by the Ministry of VROMI. In addition to the advices, the Integrity Chamber submitted two (2) proposals related to Facility Services. These proposals were requested by the Ministry of General Affairs to enhance the existing Facility Services Policy. These were the Government Housing Management proposal and the Government Vehicle Management proposal. The published advices and proposals can be found on the website of the Integrity Chamber.
Notifications of suspected misconducts were reported to the Integrity Chamber. The notifications fell within various categories, including but not limited to, undesirable workplace behaviours, the abuse of authority, and the misuse and manipulation of information. The submitted notifications were assessed to ensure they fulfil the necessary requirements and were handled in accordance with the National Ordinance Integrity Chamber.
2021 also featured an Introduction and Awareness Campaign. The campaign provided information concerning the tasks and authorities of the Integrity Chamber, as well as discussions on the importance and necessity of integrity in the community. The campaign featured several activities on a broad range of platforms, including radio and TV interviews, informative social media posts, press releases and newspaper articles. Brochures were also distributed to several organisations, including those serving senior citizens to ensure that this group was included. Outside of the awareness campaign, various interviews and other activities meant to boost awareness of the Integrity Chamber, and the importance of integrity, were performed and published on the website.
The Integrity Chamber has several projects currently in the works based on its year plan. Some of the highlights of the plan are a series of information sessions provided to various administrative bodies, and Quick Scans of the Integrity Infrastructure of the different Ministries. The 2021 Annual Report of the Integrity Chamber can be obtained from the website at www.integritychamber.sx/publications.
