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Guarding the guards
Things may get uncomfortable for Finance Minister Karen Tesheira as the extent of her deposits, investments and shareholding in CL Financial and its subsidiaries are revealed. Her shares in CL Financial were worth $11.7 million. She closed two US-dollar accounts with Clico Investment Bank on December 31, 2008, before the maturity date. The minister now faces the task of explaining why she told the nation she didn’t “break” her fixed deposits before the crisis worsened.
Documentary evidence shows that she did indeed “break” these deposits and paid a “break rate” of 3.5 per cent. In Parliament, she indicated that the account had in fact matured, seeking to give the impression that she did not take pre-emptive measures to secure her personal funds before news broke about Clico’s apparent insolvency.
Worst yet, she failed to mention that she had shares in CL Financial. The plot thickens when one considers the Guardian report that Ms Tesheira made a partial declaration of her investment of 10,410 shares in CL Financial to the Integrity Commission in 2006, but not in 2007. PM Manning’s flippant response at last week’s Cabinet retreat that almost half of his Cabinet had some form of investment with Clico does not bode well. It signals that he intends to defend his Minister of Finance no matter what the facts are.
Private interests
With no new Integrity Commission despite the lapse of over one month, the stage is set for the weight of public opinion to force the hand of the PM into doing the right thing by firing his minister. The Code of Conduct in the Integrity in Public Life Act prohibits the use of public office for the improper advancement of one’s family or personal benefit or indirect private gain (section 24). Section 25 deals with insider information and prohibits the use of information gained in the execution of one’s office that is not available to the general public for personal benefit. It would seem that the minister breached the code of conduct in several respects.
Section 29 of the Integrity in Public Life Act states that a conflict of interest arises when:
“29. (1) For the purposes of this Act, a conflict of interest is deemed to arise if a person in public life or any person exercising a public function were to make or participate in the making of a decision in the execution of his office and at the same time knows or ought reasonably to have known, that in the making of the decision, there is an opportunity either directly or indirectly to further his private interests or that of a member of his family or of any other person. “(2) Where there is a possible or perceived conflict of interest, a person to whom this Part applies, shall disclose his interest in accordance with prescribed procedures and disqualify himself from any decision-making process."
Fill promptly
All of this highlights the need for a new Integrity Commission and the unreasonable delay in appointing one. This matter requires urgent and immediate investigation by the Commission to determine whether any offences were committed and restore public confidence in the critical Finance ministry.
At present, we have no Integrity Commission and no permanent Commissioner of Police, Solicitor General, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority and DPP. The Government has a free hand and the failure to fill these offices has created a constitutional crisis. This fiasco with Ms Tesheira has underscored the need for these independent offices that are checks and balances in the system to be filled promptly. The track record of the Integrity Commissions of the past isn’t something we should be proud of. It dragged its feet and let many people off the hook. I hope the new commission will have the backbone of independence to understand that its very existence is prompted by the question “Who will guard the guards?”
By Anand Ramlogan 2009-03-15
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Nunez-Tesheira is yet another symptom of a gangrenous system. So, I pay little attention to that, instead focussing on the core pathology which Anand rightly spotlighted.
"At present, we have no Integrity Commission and no permanent Commissioner of Police, Solicitor General, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority and DPP. The Government has a free hand and the failure to fill these offices has created a constitutional crisis."
And I wonder if the President Max Richards is factually aware of all the above that indeed amounts to a Constitutional Crisis? After all the President, who in Constitutional terms is in the analogous position of the Queen to England's constitution (largely unwritten as it is), has the power to do something.
The current state of affairs over the last year in T&T's history amounts to a Constitutional Meltdown. Enough is enough!!
I appeal to the President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago to do something to stop this abuse of democracy!
...more recently, with each passing day the PNM Regime headed by the Prime Minister himself has been pushing the envelope, with highly questionable actions which demonstrated nothing but undiluted contempt for the citizens of the country, and it begs the question how far will it go unchecked, before democracy as we know it disappears completely, and to quote Lord Mustill, like a "Puff of Wind"...?
...each continuing action by the Prime Minister and his Ministers escalates and raises the bar to new heights in despicable actions aimed towards its citizens in rendering them helpless, while the regime and its leader "raid the pantry" incessantly with increasing bravado, all the while the people are becoming more and more paralysed by acts in Parliament, as their rights are diminished to the extent that they have no recourse mechanism left in place to seek or get help...!
...so this commentary by Anand further outlines a predicament for the people, as they have no one or office to turn to for redress against these type of atrocities being committed by individuals who holds high offices in Government, especially when the Prime Minister himself, by his statements to date, has already absolved the individual of wrong doings without even examining all the facts that have been presented over the last while...? We might all recall the Ministers refusing to answer questions in Parliament, refusing to respond to enquiries about the "hand out of scholarships"...who were the recipients...? ...along with the hundreds of questions left unanswered on the question paper in the House...and more recently, the highly questionable "VETO" by the Prime Minster...who has indicated that he does not have to provide any explanation to the people under the constitution, nor the reason why he vetoed the decision of the appoinment of the Commissioner of Police...??? ...to add it all up, one only has to also recall the respone of Hazel Manning, Senator, Minister, and wife of the Prime Minister himself, whose famous words remains like a broken record when she retorted...." The Prime Minister has spoken"...!!!
...perhaps this was a signal of some kind to the people that Dictatorship was in the wind, and then all the talk about Constitutional change was being bandied about by the Prime Minister, and "Executive President" was also being given the proverbial "trial balloon" just to see how far they can go while the people slept the sleep of the tired and weary, the hungry and weak, ready for the kill by the unsuspecting tyrant, who had since stripped away all their means of defence and survival in the country...stripped them of their right or recourse under the constitution...and all the while, the lame duck President of the day dozed away in a stupor like a drunken sailor unable to get out of a bad hang over...while the Prime Minister and his gang of "pirates" had a field day with the treasury of the people....and all the guards were in deep slumber, like drunken sailors themselves, just following their lame duck Leader...???
...so I am not too sure, if things have already gone a bit too far, the horses have bolted out of the barn, while the people have now awakened and trying to close the barn door...?
...there is so much talk lately about the Constitution and now about a Constitutional Crisis....but it may very well be, that the Prime Minister has already accomplished his deed, has already achieved his goal...and that the Constitution remains in name only, as the spirit and intent of it has already evaporated like a "puff in the wind"...so that he and his merry gang can do as they please, as they have been doing, with utter contempt for the people...and not a damn dog bark...???
...so the hanging question is...who will make him heel?...who will make him accountable and responsible for his actions or inactions...Is this the kind of Transparency he boasted about...Or is this a reflaction of the Moral and Spiritual values he touted to the people while quoting verses from the holy scriptures...?...is this the Preacherman's way of life...the so called Leader of the Nation...?
...is it not all so obvious that the Finance Minister is simply following in the footsteps of her Leader...the leaderless Leader...what a collosal shame on all of them...what mentoring by the Father of the Nation...???...may help come soon for our people, deliverance from the clutches of graft and corruption from the highest levels being perpetrated on our helpless citizens at every turn and opportunity with impunity...!!!
...and don't look for any remorse either...they all just keep on pushing onwards to the "trough" like their illustrious Leader...they just don't care about the people...their heads are too deeply buried in the trough...they will only take time to come up for air...and then back to the trough again and again...until "the treasury runs dry" just like the "oil boom"...ask Enill, he says look at the "big picture" and "not at what the Finance Minister is doing or has done"...what foresight.?..what thinking..?..what brilliance...? ..and what a PNM philosophy and mentoring..???!!!...
...may help really come soon...if not in time for me, at least in time for our children's sake...and their future...before its too late...!!!
...goodluck...Trini.t.o.o
"Nunez-Tesheira is yet another symptom of a gangrenous system. So, I pay little attention to that, instead focussing on the core pathology which Anand rightly spotlighted."
I'm right there with you Trini, keep on preaching the truth!
- James, Resveratrol Consultant
right there with you trini, keeping on preaching the truth which changes nothing in this country, but when and who is going to take some from of action to initiate change as action speaks louder than words
Ask not "..who is going to take some form of action to initiate change.."
Actions do speak louder than words. I agree.
However, the attitude on Monkey Rock, renamed Donkey Rock' - after dee recent Integrity Commission balls-up - is 'somebody go do eet fuh wee'. Daize why dee blasted Nation in dee shit it in! Dey always expec'ing somebody else tuh take akshaan (aka action).
As I have consistently and mercilessly maintained, it is for the electorate to take action!! It is the electorate who put them there and it is for the electorate to remove them. Daize it!! No questions and no further silly arguments.