Rowley asked to withdraw comment

Prior to hearing Rowley’s evidence yesterday, commissioner Annestine Sealey read the comments from the record and expressed the commissioners’ displeasure with the allegations.

Rowley had described the commission as a continuation of the political allegations made against him in Parliament.

"Political speeches are for elsewhere," Sealey said, adding that the comments were disparaging.

The minister apologised, saying he never meant his comments to be "disparaging" to commissioners Sealey, Dr Chandrabhan Sharma and Eustace Hobson, and "unreservingly" withdrew them.

Immediately after yesterday’s hearing, the minister held a press conference to put his comments to the commission "in the right context."

According to Rowley, he viewed the "coming of the Commission of Inquiry" as an extension of Parliament, where his political opponents have raised allegations against him.

He said Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, in the October 2004 budget debate, began the allegations with a quotation from an article in the Tobago Pillar written by Barrington "Skippy" Thomas.

This, he said, was followed by the allegations by Opposition Chief Whip Ganga Singh in Parliament. Singh, he said, never mentioned one word about the $27 billion budget he was supposed to be debating, and instead spent his allotted 75 minutes of speaking time dealing with the controversial NH International (Caribbean) Ltd (NHIC) documents.

Rowley said Senator Jennifer Jones Kernahan then alleged that Wasa and TTEC were providing $1 million of free service to Landate project. He said he had to present to the Senate, a copy of the cheque his wife had paid to TTEC for its services, and had to tell the Senate, and by extension the country, that WASA had done absolutely nothing on the Landate project. The next allegation, Rowley said, was made by Wade Mark, who claimed that he (Rowley) was marketing the Landate project at $1 million to NHA contractors.

Rowley said this was followed by the allegations by UNC Senator Robin Montano that he (Rowley) had been instrumental in giving $1.1 billion worth of projects to NHIC. Rowley told the media that Montano then had the "temerity" to "pretend to take off his political hat" and take a legal brief and come to an inquiry as counsel for "that thief Barrington Thomas."

He said Montano lied to the commission when he said he never said anything about Landate in Parliament. Montano’s allegations, Rowley said, were on the Hansard dated October 22, 2004.

He described the allegations and the "coming into being of the Commission of Inquiry" as "a tissue of UNC lies, engineered and prosecuted by half a dozen of UNC politicians."

Rowley said his 20 years in public service remains in tact and was a record he was proud of.

He added that it would take more than UNC politicians to interfere with his public record in this country.