By Staff Writer
With the deadline approaching for public officials in Cayman to declare their interests, income, assets and liabilities, the Commission for Standards in Public Life (CPSL) has set up an online portal to facilitate the process.
The Commission says as of this year declarations for the period ending June 30th 2021 can be submitted via its new online Register of Interests portal which it expects to be fully operationally by July 1st.
After receiving the first filings of annual declarations last year under the Standards in Public Life Act, the CPSL said it embarked on the development of a system to allow for electronic submissions by those persons categorised as Persons in Public Life.
The core objective is to eliminate the risk of conflict of interest by government officials and others functioning in capacities on behalf of the jurisdiction.
The CPSAL says the new portal will utilise a CIGNET account (users without a CIGNET account can easily create one) to securely register personal details, including the uploading of a current Government issued ID, to submit their declaration form(s).
The portal features convenient functionalities such as auto-save, automatic email confirmations, the ability to update your declarations as needed, the ability to copy information from one reporting period to the next, and the convenience of being able to view all of your previously submitted declarations in one location.
It was developed by the Commission, in partnership with the Computer Services Department, and the CPSL assures that the system has been vetted for optimal security and compliance with the Data Protection Act.
The categories listed as Persons in Public Life are: Members of Parliament, including the Speaker, Chief Officers and Deputy Chief Officers, Chief Financial Officers and Deputy Chief Financial Officers, Heads of departments, sections or units and their deputies.
It also includes any other organised entity within a ministry or portfolio, statutory authority, statutory body, government company, department, section or unit and their deputies.
Chief executives of statutory authorities, government companies and their deputies and persons holding a full-time or part-time position in a public authority are also included.
The regulations stipulate that this pertains to persons “who engage in an activity that is in conflict, is likely to conflict, or may be perceived to conflict with, his position in a public authority”.
Members of governing bodies of statutory authorities, government companies, and all constitutionally-established Commissions are advised to use ‘Schedule 2’ to submit their annual declarations.
The CPSL reminds individuals listed as Persons in Public Life that there is a legal requirement to make a submission by no later than July 30th this year for the period ending June 30th.
Those unable to complete their declarations online that may continue to complete the recently updated PDF-fillable Declaration Forms by contacting the Commission at 244-3685 or emailing info@standardsinpubliclifecommission.ky.
Comments (0)
We appreciate your feedback. You can comment here with your pseudonym or real name. You can leave a comment with or without entering an email address. All comments will be reviewed before they are published.