Airport Inquiry — Week in Review

The Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco airport project ended on Friday. It was the 170th day of sittings. Sixty-six witnesses were called. The Inquiry began on August 23, last year.

The Commissioners have until August 31 to submit their report to President George Maxwell Richards. Although the sittings have ended, the Commission is yet to receive written responses from Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC), project managers on the project and Calmaquip, the company which got the contract for specialty equipment. Those companies have until Tuesday to submit their responses.

Monday
Tempers flare as Bayley wanted for questioning

TEMPERS flared again on Monday at the Inquiry as Commissioners indicated their intention to question former NIPDEC Chairman Edward Bayley. The Commission is expected to send a second summons to Bayley for him to appear to be questioned by the Commission’s attorneys, led by Theodore Guerra, SC. The announcement by Chairman Clinton Bernard took Bayley’s attorneys Sonny Maharaj, SC leading Stuart Young by surprise, causing Maharaj to complain that the Commission “must follow established principles.” Bayley was not present at the sitting.

Maharaj’s complaint was based on the fact that Bernard had indicated last Friday that attorneys for the Commission would have responded to his (Maharaj) “in camera” submissions. Maharaj said Bernard’s announcement at the start of the sitting demonstrated that the Commission, “for no reason, had abandoned that position.” Bernard agreed that no response would be given by the Commission’s attorneys, but Maharaj hotly demanded that a “reasonable response” be given to him on the Commission’s course of action. Bernard did not oblige but instead asked if Maharaj was ready to question Noel Garcia, the former NIPDEC General Manager, who was available for questioning. Maharaj insisted that his submissions had asked the Commission to note that there was no evidence to implicate Bayley. Bernard’s attempts to interrupt Maharaj were met with a loud “you must listen to me” from Maharaj.

Bernard explained that there was evidence against Bayley. But a persistent Maharaj demanded, “Tell us what it is,” as he continued to insist that the evidence given by Garcia had been discredited by NIPDEC’s attorney Christopher Hamel-Smith and therefore the Commission could not rely on it. Bernard reminded Maharaj that in his submissions, he had described Garcia’s evidence as “mauvais langue,” which he couldn’t do from the bar table, but there was other evidence on which Maharaj could question Garcia. As the exchange between the two continued with raised voices, junior attorney for the Commission Margaret Rose attempted to explain that the matter be dealt with “in camera” but her advice was not heeded by Bernard. Instead he and Maharaj continued their verbal exchange with Bernard insisting, “Notwithstanding what you say, we want to hear from Mr Edward Bayley.”

Tuesday
Local contractors cleared

A local project manager and all local contractors who worked on the Piarco Airport development project were on Tuesday exonerated from the Commission of Inquiry into the project. The manager, Krisendath Joe Ramkissoon, of Lee Young and Partners and the contractors, Thomas Peake and Company Ltd, Engineering Services Consortium, Electrical Trading Company Ltd, Damus Roofing Ltd and Jusamco Pavers Ltd were initially among the “subjects” of the inquiry. On Tuesday they were summoned to appear before the Commission. Representing the respective companies were Paul Peake, George Butcher, Jadoonanan Seerattan and Dave Aqui together with their attorneys Deborah Peake, Denyse Gouveia, Joan Charles and Nalini Sharma. Mr Sampath of Damus Roofing, who was represented by attorney Nyree Alfonso, was absent. Ramkissoon was represented by attorney Nathaniel King. When their names were called by Chairman Clinton Bernard, they were each told that nothing adversely affecting them was called at the Inquiry and therefore they were “completely exonerated”. They were all relieved from the Inquiry.

Seereeram Brothers, another local contractor which was also involved in the project, had been cleared earlier in the Inquiry. The only local contractor not cleared was Northern Construction Limited. Also at Tuesday sitting, Bernard complained about a story which appeared in the daily Express, which he claimed contained misinformation. Bernard took issue with a statement in the story which said that the Director of Public Prosecutions had cause to warn the Commission regarding its proceedings. Bernard repeated that the Commission has always maintained that its proceedings did not affect the criminal matters in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court, where several persons were charged with offences arising out of the project. He stated categorically that the Commission was answerable to no one except the President, and the Director of Public Prosecutions  “cannot warn the Commission.” The Inquiry’s public hearings are expected to be completed by mid-July. The Commissioners have until August 31 to submit their report to President George Maxwell Richards.

Wednesday
Bernard: ‘Crane was a drunkard, sue me if you dare!’

CHAIRMAN of the Inquiry, retired Chief Justice Clinton Bernard, on Wednesday said that the late Justice Richard Crane was a drunkard. Bernard  challenged, “Sue me, sue me if you dare,”as he made the allegation. He became highly emotional, with his voice cracking as he promised to reveal the truth about the Crane matter if “(you) tempt me,” saying for many years people had been uncharitable and unkind to him. But Bernard said he knew as long as he lived “somebody up there (pointing skyward) loves Clinton Bernard.” Bernard’s comments were made in response to Newsday’s editorial on Tuesday headlined “Prejudicial or Not” and an Express story in which the Director of Public Prosecutions Geoffrey Henderson cited the Rees v Crane case in a letter to Bernard as it pertained to fairness at the Inquiry.

Bernard’s response to Newsday was that the comments made by the Commission’s lead attorney Theodore Guerra, SC, about Maritime being a spider in a web of corruption formed no part of its evidence by any witnesses at the Inquiry. Bernard said Henderson’s reference to the Rees v Crane matter was an attempt to “tell me, or so it seems, that I should know better because I was involved.” But an obviously hurt Bernard denied that he was part of the Committee that sat to deal with Crane’s matter. He said he merely received reports from people, which he referred to the Commission (Judicial and Legal Services Commission). He recalled that the Privy Council said, “That body of which I formed no part should have given Crane the opportunity to respond to complaints against him, but I was not part of that body or whatever decisions they made.”

He asked the DPP how the Commission had breached the rule of fairness when it had given everyone implicated the opportunity to question those who implicated them. Bernard implored the DPP not to take a case and seek to apply it to a situation that does not apply. He maintained that the Rees v Crane matter did not apply to the Commission and that the matter raised by attorneys for certain people was that of pre-trial publicity, a matter for which other cases like Chadee v State and Grant v DPP were applicable. Bernard added that he had to reveal certain things based on the fact that Henderson had “implied that I was involved (in the Crane matter).”“I did not act alone ... sue me, sue me if you dare, I will reveal the whole story about Justice Crane and his career. I got several letters complaining about Justice Crane from the Law Association. People sitting as judges complained about him bitterly. I have letters, I always keep records, don’t tempt me. Crane was a drunkard!”

Friday
Inquiry ends, report before August 31

AFTER 170 days of public sittings, the Inquiry ended yesterday. The Commission began public sittings on August 23, last year. The Chairman of the Commission, retired Chief Justice Clinton Bernard, made the announcement in a 10-minute “thank you speech” during the 20-minute sitting at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Port-of-Spain.

When the sitting began, lead counsel for the Commission Theodore Guerra SC said he would not be leading any further evidence. Former NIPDEC General Manager Noel Garcia, present to be re-examined by Guerra, was relieved. Also present yesterday were attorneys for NIPDEC Christopher Hamel-Smith and Jonathon Walker. Hamel-Smith noted that the system put in place which allowed him to challenge evidence worked smoothly and fairly for which he thanked the Commission. In response, Bernard said the kind sentiments were a consolation to the Commission that it had observed all tenets of fairness. Bernard said now that the public sittings have ended, the Commissioners will proceed to consider the evidence and compile its findings and make recommendations to the President, George Maxwell Richards. The deadline for the submission of the report is August 31. Originally the Commission’s deadline was December last year. Pointing out that it had been a “long and arduous exercise,” Bernard thanked all those who participated in the inquiry — attorneys, witnesses, 66 gave evidence, as well as the print and electronic media.

To members of the public who attended and those viewing the live coverage on The Information Channel (TIC), Bernard said, “I trust you have heard a lot and were satisfied with the way we conducted the proceedings.” With a smile he added, “We are finished, and maybe you have to look at some other show.” Bernard said the Inquiry had been a pleasant experience for the Commissioners, who encountered “some storms, but the storms were imperfect, they did not last for long.” Bernard further noted that such situations which occurred at the Inquiry when persons lost their cool was all part of the process. He said some persons who appeared were his friends, and although some were bitter “rightly or wrongly,” he knew they were still friends and in due course “we will be teasing each other.” The other Commissioners are Marie Ange Knights, Victor Hart, Keith Sirju and Peter Bynoe.