The contract of Navin Beekarry as general director of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) has been renewed by the government. He had been appointed to head the institution in June 2016 but had assumed office in July 2016.
Since 2005, following an amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act 2002, the Director-General holds office on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Prime Minister. Moreover, it is stipulated that he shall be appointed for a term of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
The Leader of the Opposition was notified of the government’s intention to renew the contract of Navin Beekarry. Xavier-Luc Duval publicly said last week that he strongly opposed this decision. However, the views of the Leader of the Opposition had no effect on the government. It shoud be noted that Navin Beekarry has often been the target of the opposition because of a lack of results in the investigations targeting those close to the government. He was also criticized the new stance of the Commission in the MedPoint case before the Privy Council in January 2019.
It should be noted that Navin Beekarry joined ICAC at the same tenure from 2002 to 2005. In 2005, with the advent of a new government in 2005, he left ICAC. He worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2005 to 2008. Since then, he has also been an academic at the George Washington Law School.
