Investigate PM’s Repsol plane ride

UNC MP Roodal Moonilal has written to the Chairman of the Integrity Commission asking the Commission to investigate whether Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s acceptance of trips sponsored by Repsol and British Gas constituted a breach of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago, particularly the Integrity in Public Life Act 2000. “I believe that this is a case of a ‘conflict of interest’ since both companies are heavily involved in the energy business in Trinidad and Tobago and will of necessity regularly seek the assistance, facilitation and support of government agencies and officials,” Moonilal said in the letter. Noting that Repsol had just recently placed bids for off-shore blocks, the UNC MP said it has been suggested that Manning’s decision to ride a private jet paid for by Repsol, in one instance, and British Gas in another, were more than a mere “indiscretion” and may indeed constitute a violation of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

“I believe that there are grounds for your Commission to investigate, or cause an investigation into, the circumstances under which the Prime Minister received such benefits from those energy companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago,” Moonilal said. He noted that the Code of Conduct in Part IV of the Integrity in Public Life Act, by which public officials were bound, stated that “a person to whom this Part applies shall not accept a fee, gift or personal benefit — except compensation is authorised by law — that is connected directly or indirectly with the performance of his or her duties of office”. He added that one was only exempted from this legal constraint if a gift or the personal benefit “is received as an incident of the protocol or social obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of office. “One is left to wonder whether those unpaid trips aboard the private jets of energy corporations doing business in Trinidad and Tobago are an incident of the protocol or social obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of office. Or whether such acceptance can be considered dishonest or conducive to corruption”.

Manning has admitted that Spanish energy giant Repsol and British Gas provided private jets so that he could keep engagements in London and Madrid during his recent trip in December to Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Spain. The acceptance of these trips came as bids for ten offshore oil and gas blocks were being offered. Both Repsol and British Gas are bidding for acreage.  Asked whether his action compromised the Government in dealing with the bidding process, Manning said there were clearly established  criteria on which bids were assessed “and it does not include private jets or no private jets”. British Gas has also placed bids for acreage. Manning, who signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Spanish company, failed to tell the country initially about the meeting with British Gas, saying that it slipped his mind. The Prime Minister has insisted that he held no negotiations with the two companies and that there was nothing improper about private companies footing his travel expenses between Madrid  and London. “That is standard in the industry; there is nothing unusual about it,” Manning said.