Mitchell: I have done nothing wrong

MERE HOURS before the start of the Commission of Inquiry into allegations that he accepted a US $500,000 bribe from an American national, Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell made it quite clear to the people last night — “I have done nothing wrong.” In a radio/television address to the nation last night, Dr Mitchell said he intends to cooperate fully with the investigation. The Commission of Inquiry begins this morning at York House in St George’s before lone Commissioner — Barbadian Queen’s Counsel Dr Richard Cheltenham.

Dr Mitchell, who spent yesterday on Cariacou Island, told the nation: “I firmly believe than the Office of Prime Minister is more important that any individual who holds that office. Those who hold the reins of power must always keep this in mind because politicians will come and politicians will go, but the Office of the Prime Minister will remain constant and the sanctity of that Office must always be preserved.” He continued, “although your current Prime Minister is, in large measure, the subject of the inquiry, it is not really Keith Mitchell, but the very democracy which  we cherish so much that is on trial.”

The Prime Minister said the inquiry, whatever the final determination, will lay the foundation for the future as this is the first time that a sitting Caribbean Prime Minister has subjected himself to a Commission of Inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing. According to Dr Mitchell, the bribery allegations laid against him are nothing new in West Indian politics. “We in Grenada have decided not to allow these allegations to fester because we are well aware that once charges such as these are allowed to linger in the public consciousness, they translate themselves almost into a ‘law of expectation’ that once a person takes political office, he is going to steal and become corrupt. We, the people of Grenada, must change that thinking.”

Dr Mitchell said when he was voted into office in 1995, the people of Grenada placed a tremendous trust on his shoulders. “I hold that trust sacred and absolute and given the tenuous state of politics, my vision is that the performance of my administration must serve as the benchmark for succeeding generations, not only in terms of political performance and improving the quality of people’s lives,  but also in terms of honesty and integrity.” Dr Mitchell, who holds a slender one seat majority in the House of Parliament, has agreed to subject himself to public examination before the Commission of Inquiry. “Let me assure you that I shall be going before the Commissioner with a clear conscience, safe in the knowledge that I have done nothing wrong.”

The Prime Minister said he has full faith in the objectivity and independence of  Commissioner Cheltenham and he feels sure that at the end of the inquiry, he will be vindicated. He assured the country that his government will abide by the conclusions of the Commissioner and will implement whatever recommendations he may make. Dr Mitchell urged Grenadians to come forward and submit evidence to the Commission so that the truth will come out. Former Guyana attorney general Fenton Ramsahoye SC is the counsel to the Commission, while former UNC attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC will represent Dr Mitchell at the inquiry.

THE TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Commission of Inquiry’s terms of reference:
 
To inquire into:
 
1) The circumstances surrounding the appointment of Eric Resteiner as a diplomatic representative of the State of Grenada;
2) The criteria employed and the protocol governing the appointment of non-Grenadians as representatives of the country;
3) The truth, or otherwise, of allegations published in the issue of the 30th day of April 2004 of the publication known as Offshore Alert in Miami in the State of Florida in the United States of America that the Prime Minister of Grenada, the Hon Dr Keith Mitchell MP accepted the sum of US $500,000 as a bribe from one Eric Resteiner in consideration of the appointment of the said Eric Resteiner as a diplomatic representative of the State of Grenada;
4) The statement made by the Prime Minister, the Hon Dr Keith Mitchell MP that he received the sum of US $15,000 from one Eric Resteiner as reimbursement for expenses duly incurred by the said Prime Minister on behalf of himself and other officials of the government of Grenada on official business of the said government on a visit to certain European countries and Kuwait;
5) The procedures for the payment or reimbursement of the authorised expenses of ministers of the government and other public officials incurred in connection with official travel and other expenses incidental to and in connection therewith;
6) To identify deficiences, if any, in the functioning of the public administration of the country as a result of the inquiry into the matters identified herein and to make such observations and recommendations for the correction of deficiencies, if found necessary, and for the improvement and strengthening of the system of public administration.

THE ALLEGATIONS

Eric Resteiner was appointed by Cabinet as Trade Counsellor for Grenada in 1999. Resteiner then ran afoul of the law in the United States in 2002 and was imprisoned on charges of fraud. When the Grenada Government heard about this, they revoked Resteiner’s appointment as Trade Counsellor. It was not long afterwards that allegations of bribery were laid at the feet of the Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell. The allegations appeared on April 30, 2004 in the Offshore Alert newsletter in Miami. The allegations, now the subject of the Commission of Inquiry, spread like wild fire throughout the tiny Caribbean island. Here was a sitting Prime Minister being accused of accepting a bribe in consideration for an appointment.

It was alleged that Resteiner handed over a Louis Vuitton briefcase with US $500,000 to Dr Mitchell. It was also alleged that one of Resteiner’s associates video-taped this transaction. Dr Mitchell has denied any knowledge of the Louis Vuitton briefcase. He stated as false receiving US $500,000 as alleged in the newsletter’s article. There is also the question of another US $15,000. When plans were underway for Dr Mitchell to lead an investment and promotions mission to Europe and an official visit to Kuwait, Trade Counsellor Resteiner offered to cover expenses for Grenada’s representative to the European Union, two police officers and the Prime Minister.

The mission was undertaken in June 2000. Dr Mitchell is on record as stating that he accepted US $15,000 from Resteiner while in Switzerland. He had travelled from Grenada to Paris, using his own credit cards to finance the trip for his delegation and himself. This procedure was in keeping with a Cabinet conclusion that the expenses would be reimbursed, in accordance with the offer from the Trade Counsellor to meet the expenses of the investment mission.

Dr Mitchell has reiterated that the US $15,000 he received from Resteiner was strictly for reimbursement for expenses he had inccurred, a fact he says can be verified by receipts. Dr Mitchell says he has absolutely no knowledge of any briefcase, except his own, in which he kept his official documents and personal effects. The imaginary Louis Vuitton briefcase referred to by his detractors “is simply the concoction of malicious minds.”