Staff are leaving the Integrity Commission at the highest rate in its history, and the anti-corruption body is pointing to uncompetitive pay, a high-stress work environment, and leadership challenges over the past year.
The details are in the Commission’s newly tabled annual report, which records a staff turnover rate of 19 percent.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
The figures are set out in the Integrity Commission’s annual report for the 2025-to-2026 financial year.
It shows that 29 employees left the agency over the year, pushing the staff turnover rate to 19 percent.
That’s the highest level in the eight years of figures published in the report and up from 12 percent the year before.
Of the 29 who left, two departures were initiated by the Commission while the remaining 27 left voluntarily, most by resigning.
Their exit interviews pointed to three main reasons.
The first is low pay tied to what the Commission calls unresolved problems with the government’s new public-sector compensation system.
The second is a high-risk, high-stress working environment, with staff leaving for better-paying jobs in other public bodies.
And the third is leadership challenges the Commission says it experienced during the year.
That last point comes against the backdrop of a leadership shake-up.
The Commission’s first executive director, Greg Christie, demitted office in May of last year.
Craig Beresford, previously a director at the agency, was appointed to the top job months later.
Perhaps most striking is that the Commission’s core anti-corruption services programme accounted for half of all the staff who left.
Chairman, retired Justice Carol Lawrence-Beswick, says the retention problem is driven not only by the pay the Commission can offer but also by limits on the level at which staff can be appointed within the approved salary scales.
This leaves it unable to compete for skilled and specialised professionals.
She argues that those who step forward to fight corruption, often under significant pressure, must be properly and safely compensated.
For his part, executive director Craig Beresford says he has raised the compensation and staffing concerns with key stakeholders, including Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness.
He warns that, if left unresolved, the issues will continue to limit the Commission’s oversight, weaken coordination among agencies, and undermine the wider push to strengthen Jamaica’s integrity system.
