Former Member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland, the PNP’s Dwayne Vaz, is dismissing allegations that he failed to give information to the Integrity Commission concerning his statutory declarations for the year 2019.
In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Commission’s Director of Corruption Prosecution, Keisha Prince Kameka, recommended that Vaz be criminally charged.
But as we hear in this report from Robian Williams, Vaz is adamant he’s in the clear.
Dwayne Vaz provided a timeline of events concerning his 2019 Statutory Declarations.
He says he initially filed his declarations in March 2020.
He admits that a request was made by the Integrity Commission for additional documents.
Mr. Vaz notes that despite facing delays in accessing the information, he remained in constant dialogue with the Commission and sought extensions to gather the required documentation.
He says on February 18, 2021, he was informed by the Commission of a potential fixed penalty for the delayed submission.
The former MP insists that the additional information was submitted with all necessary documents by March 2021.
According to Mr. Vaz, on May 18, 2021, he received confirmation from the Commission that his declarations up to December 31, 2019 were completed in accordance with the provisions of the Integrity Commission Act.
Mr. Vaz issued a copy of a letter dated May 18, 2021, to the media, which he purportedly received from the Commission certifying his declarations.
Fast forward to 2024, and the former MP says the matter is now being ventilated in court.
He says he received a summons to appear before the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on April 9 to answer charges of failing to provide required information to the Integrity Commission.
Speaking on Nationwide@5 with Cliff Hughes and Chevon Campbell on Tuesday, Vaz notes that the attorneys for the Integrity Commission were unaware of the 2021 letter that allegedly cleared him.
The PNP caretaker for Central Westmoreland says he thought he was being charged with failure to pay the fixed penalty.
Mr. Vaz is reiterating that he has been compliant.
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