AG: Govt is focused on rooting out corruption

Annestine Sealey is back. Over Opposition reservations, Government brought back former High Court judge Sealey to chair the Commission of Inquiry into the “Keith Rowley Affair.” Also named to the three-man Commission were engineer Chandrabhan Sharma and architect, Eustace Hobson. Sharma is the president of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) and a senior lecturer at UWI, while Hobson is an experienced architect who lives in St Kitts. Both men are expected to have the necessary expertise and understanding in construction contracts and construction practices, sources said yesterday. The three Commissioners will be sworn in on Monday and have been “requested” to report in six weeks. Government appears to have taken on board the UNC suggestion of the three-man Inquiry.

As he made the announcement in the House of Representatives yesterday, Attorney General John Jeremie stressed that no one was above the law. He also revealed the Cabinet, “in the absence of Rowley,” discussed and agreed on the Commissioners and the terms of reference at its meeting on Thursday. The Commission is mandated to determine whether Rowley was directly involved in the removal of materials, equipment and resources from the site of the Scarborough Hospital to the site of his family’s Mason Hall Development. The terms of reference are the same as those announced by the Prime Minister on October 19 in the House of Representatives, with one change. This probe goes beyond Rowley, with the Commission being mandated to examine the award of all State contracts to NH International and Warner Construction.

According to the Attorney General, the terms of reference are: “To inquire into the allegation (first made by UNC MP Ganga Singh) of the removal of materials, equipment and resources from the site of the Scarborough Hospital to the site of a private construction project called “Landate” at Mason Hall, with particular reference to the following issues:

a) whether the materials, equipment and resources were in fact removed in the circumstances as alleged;
b) if materials, equipment and resources were in fact removed as alleged; whether there was any impropriety on the part of any minister. The Commission is also mandated to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the procurement processes and the awards of all contracts made to NH International and Warner Construction Ltd from 2002 to the present, with particular reference:
a) to whether the awards of those contracts were made in accordance with law and the established practices and procedures governing the award of public contracts;
b) to whether there was any impropriety on the part of any person or authority in relation to the procurement process or the award of any contract to NH International or Warner Construction Ltd.

The Commission also has to make “such observations and recommendations arising out of its deliberations as the Commission may deem appropriate.” Jeremie disclosed that as Attorney General, “acting in the public interest,” he investigated the man who appointed him — the Prime Minister — “two months after I was sworn in,” for the Repsol private jet matter. He said the Integrity Commission, “independently of me” and also acting “in the public interest,” had investigated the very issue. “Whenever evidence arises, once it passes a minimum threshold, which is determined by law, an investigation is warranted,” he said, adding, “The principle of the rule of law must be applied with most vigour to persons in public life and to the so-called examplars in the society.” In accounting for Government’s actions on the issue of corruption, the AG praised the PM for being “responsive and flexible” in attempting to ensure that any investigation ultimately gets at the truth.

Taking a dig at Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, Jeremie said of Manning, “He has not responded dismissively by saying, ‘Take it to the Police.’ The decision to appoint a public Commission of Inquiry, into matters relating to a sitting minister is without precedent in our recent history, and speaks to the Government’s commitment to transparency,” said the Attorney General. Jeremie also paid tribute to the Integrity Commission, (which has been severely chastised by UNC politicians for previous investigations,) saying, “it marches entirely to the beat of its own drum.” He said some Opposition MPs had expressed confidence in the Integrity Commission’s ability to adjudicate on the matter. Jeremie stated that as Attorney General he had been focused on reversing the stigma of corruption which continued to tarnish the country’s reputation, locally, regionally and internationally. “We have to battle corruption. We must arrest this decline. (We must) declare to all who might live here or come here to invest that you’ve come to a land in which the law is upheld at all times and is scrupulously maintained,” he concluded.