The Integrity Commission has turned its focus toward this country’s youth, imparting knowledge that will ultimately foster integrity.
In keeping with its theme, “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity,” the Commission held its Anti-Corruption Day Seminar 2025 on Tuesday, which featured a panel discussion with representatives from the Police Complaints Authority, the Office of the Procurement Regulator, the Financial Investigation Unit, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau to address this issue.
Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Haydn Gittens, noted that corruption remains a challenge in Trinidad and Tobago, often linked to gaps in collaboration and information-sharing among authorities.
“Make no mistake, in our tiny democracy, corruption is endemic and rife and feeds into the crime that we have been dealing with for quite some time, and the bad actors out there, the criminals, they rely on the fact that we’ a’re not working together, that we’re not sharing information, that we are not collaborating.”
The Director of the Police Complaints Authority, David West, also touched on the sharing of information among State institutions and the time frame in which it is done as major concerns some State institutions are faced with when carrying out their functions.
“And that’s the problem: sharing of information within these bodies is the problem. That is why we say we need a national commission against corruption, where everything can come to one body and be delegated and, you know, be investigated properly.”
According to Ombudsman Jacqui Sampson Meiguel, corruption does not only look like missing or altered files but can also take the form of officials participating in decisions that affect themselves.
Mr. Gittens explored the Commission’s reason for shifting its focus to the youngsters and imparting knowledge of ethics at a young age.
“I always find it an eye-opener, because as students, we kind of put them on the spot in terms of basic behaviour, and I’m always enthused by how they respond and the extent to which it is influenced by their communities, and their families and so on, and their perception of what is right and what is wrong, and what is proper behaviour and what is improper behaviour.”
Students and teachers of the Morvant Laventille Secondary School were present and received feedback on values they too can adopt to foster integrity and prevent corruption.