Rowley: Commission’s conclusion ‘unfair, unjustified and unacceptable’

According to Rowley, the Commission of Inquiry — to examine the circumstances arising out of the movement of materials, equipment and labour and the circumstances behind the award of contracts to NHIC and Warner Construction — could find no evidence of wrongdoing on his part; no involvement in "any freeness"; no involvement in the award of contracts and no role in the obtaining of materials from the Scarborough Hospital project.

Rowley was speaking at a news conference at his office yesterday.

In spite of these observations, however, the commission went on to state: "Whatever part Dr Rowley played, it displayed a total lack of discretion."

Rowley said the commission should have identified the specific area in which he displayed this lack of discretion. In the absence of such specificity, he found the commission’s conclusion unfair, unjustified and unacceptable.

"A Commission of Inquiry should have been able to identify the specific action on my part and so report to the population that paid for the Inquiry, to say to the population that ‘whatever part I played, that unknown part, displayed a total lack of discretion.’ What does that mean?" he asked.

Rowley also noted that the commission then proceeded to offer him "gratuitous advice" that "he should be more sanguine in his relations in matters concerning the development of the project as further issues of impropriety may be raised." Rowley stated that he could not prevent his parliamentary colleagues from making "spurious allegations."

He added, "If what the commission is warning me about is to stay far from my wife who is developing land in Tobago, I can tell them I reject that advice. How I treat with my wife is my business, so long as I stay within the laws of Trinidad and Tobago. And if my wife buys property in Tobago or in Timbuktu and is developing it under the laws, I need no advice from any person, most of all a Commission of Inquiry, to tell me how sanguine I should be with it."

Rowley also responded to the commission’s observation that it regretted that it didn’t have the power to bring contempt proceedings against himself and the Rev Barrington Thomas because of the ‘"vitriolic language" used by both of them.

"Again commission is being unfair to me," Rowley said, adding that he was not aware of behaviour on his part which warranted this comment or contempt proceedings. He recalled that the commission had to strike off the record Thomas’ "vile and ridiculous" statements about him.