By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said yesterday that staffing for the Independent Commission of Investigations and the Office of the Ombudsman will come from an $11m global fund provision in the 2025/2026 budget despite their small individual line-item allocations.

The government has allocated only $30,000 to the newly established Independent Commission of Investigations, a body the Davis administration promoted as key to its anti-corruption efforts. The Ombudsman Office, tasked with upholding citizens’ rights and ensuring government accountability, received $39,890.

The Free National Movement criticised the government for the small budgets, suggesting the Davis administration is not supporting its legislative reforms with sufficient resources.

During his budget debate in the Senate, Mr Pinder said the allocations for newly established institutions are effectively placeholders. He said that new hires for the Office of the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission of Investigations will not be found in the line items but will be drawn from the Ministry of Finance’s global provision line, which totals approximately $11 million.

He added that all new hires in the budget, regardless of agency, are found under this global provision line item.

“It should be noted that the facilities for each of the institutions are already secured,” he said. “The payment for those facilities are found in the public services line item. The public service is responsible for paying for all accommodations of the government.”

Mr Pinder stressed that there are adequate provisions in the budget for both the Independent Commission and the Ombudsman Office.

“As new institutions, those allocations are found in other line items throughout different ministries,” he said.