HCU gave Maha Sabha $800,000 as charity: Harinarine

Harry Harinarine says two loans that the Hindu Credit Union gave to the Costa Rican ambassador amounting to $269,000 between march 2002 and June 2003 were approved after a top PNM official made a recommendation on behalf of the diplomat.

That loan was one cited in a report prepared for the Commissioner of Cooperatives in documenting activities of the HCU.

The report noted that the ambassador did not make any repayment on the loan and that the outstanding interest was $234,556.10 as at September 15, 2006.

In an interview with the Guardian the HCU chief agreed that the organization approved loans too easily and that contributed to the problems that eventually led to the closure of the HCU. He also said HCU interest rates were also lower than other credit union.

Harinarine said while people have been quick to knock him and the HCU few of them understand what was really going on, including those who have benefited from the credit union.

He told the paper his organization approved a loan of $800,000 to the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) in 2000 to build two secondary schools. He said he was trying to help the Hindu organization and approved the loan without any security based on a letter from Sat Maharaj, Secretary General of the SDMS.

Harinarine said one year after approving the loan the HCU cancelled the SDMS' liability and wrote off the full $800,000 as "charity".

Maharaj has not spoken about that issue in his attacks on Harinarine and the HCU.

The SDMS boss has been one of the most vocal critics of the HCU and has used the SDMS's Radio Jaagriti to launch a series of attacks on Harinarine, which might have contributed to the fall.

Maharaj even urged authorities to seize Harinarine's assets and probe him and every member of the HCU board.

Allegations of misuse of company funds for personal gain, mismanagement of the organisation’s funds, violation of loans policy and the relentless media attention into his personal affairs led the current state of affairs, Harinarine noted.

And he said there was another element: race and religion.

The HCU was formed in 1985 primarily as a Hindu organization to serve that community. But when Harinarine took over the credit union in 1997 he decided to expand it while maintaining its basic principles.

He opened up membership to non-Hindus. By 2001 the HCU had grown from 14,000 shareholders to more than 50,000 and it continued to make quantum leaps as it diversified into real estate, communications and other business ventures.

Harinarine also claims that his coziness with the People's National Movement (PNM) led to his organization's downfall.

He said on the one hand it caused his base - which was mainly rural Indian - to become angry for supporting the PNM while on the other the PNM didn't respond when he appealed for help to rescue the organization.

Harnarine said the HCU’s cash-in-hand was always one-tenth of its deposits, which is standard with most credit unions.

But he said demand for repayment exceeded the supply of cash after bad publicity caused depositors to begin losing confidence in the organization.

"This run was not caused by mismanagement, it was an institutional run. In our case, our run can be described as a public relations damaging run. There were statements that were made that was (sic) very damaging," he told the Guardian.

"I should have liquidated and closed the company in 2004 when the run began. But I tried to hold on and turn it around and look at it today," he said.

Harnarine said the HCU—which at its peak boasted of 190,000-plus members and an asset base of $1.1 billion—has reached the end.

About 900 employees are out of work, the HCU has $776 million in liabilities and a liquidator has been appointed by the High Court.

A glance at where the HCU today show that the organization is $153 million in the red. That's based on the following breakdown quoted by the Guardian:

Liabilities Total: $776 million including:

• Members’ deposits/shares: $700 million
• Loan from Exim Bank, USA: $24 million
• Borrowing from Intercommercial Bank: $12 million
• Mortgage from Clico: $35 million.

Assets Total assets: $623 million comprising:

• Fixed Assets: 181 million
• Investment properties: $185 million
• Loans to members: $164 million
• Available for investment: $33 million
• Investment in subsidiaries (litigation): $60 million

Grumbling in the ranks as T&T gets new appeal court judges

Trinidad and Tobago has three new Appeal Court judges - Peter Jamadar, Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Nolan Bereaux. Jamadar and Yorke-Soo Hon would take up their appointment in time for the ceremonial opening of the new law term on September 16, but Bereaux will join the court in 2009 after completing several cases still before him.

The appointments have left some judges grumbling that they have been bypassed in favour of the three new appointees.

The Trinidad Guardian says it spoke to some judges who are not pleased with what has happened.

It says five judges were bypassed for promotion to the country's highest local court: Carlton Best, Herbert Volney, Humphrey Stollmeyer, Rajendra Narine, and Gregory Smith.

According to a seniority list, Jamadar and Bereaux stand sixth and seventh, while Yorke-Soo Hon is listed at 10th behind Prakash Moosai and Sebastien Ventour, the paper reported.

It said both Best and Volney have been bypassed on several occasions in the past.

There was speculation Narine and Stollmeyer were the front runners for the Appeal Court seats. And the paper said Narine and Stollmeyer had cleared up cases in prepration for the move.

But Chief justice Ivor Archie ended the speculation and announced the new appointments on at a luncheon for judges earlier this week.

Jamadar and Bereaux have been presiding in the civil courts and have both delivered high-profile judgments.

One handled the Trinity Cross constitutional motion filed by Satnarayan Maharaj, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, and Inshan Ishmael, president of the Islamic Relief Centre.

TT remembers failed 1990 coup, but uprising leader unrepentant

A.N.R. Robinson lays a wreath to mark the July 27, 1990 attempted coup against his NAR government. Inset: coup leader Yasen Abu Bakr surrenders

Arthur N.R.Robinson laid a wreath at the eternal flame at the Red House in Port of Spain Sunday to mark the 18th anniversary of a violent uprising that almost toppled his government. Notably absent from the proceedings were Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Opposition leader Basdeo Panday.

The event was marked by more calls for a Commission of Enquiry into the events that led to the Jamaat al-Muslimeen seizing the Parliament and taking Robinson hostage while other members of his group took control of the national television station and announced that they had toppled the government.

Diego Martin MP Leo Des Vignes and 29 others were killed during the insurrection. Robinson had called on the army and police to attack with "full force", and was shot in his leg. The rebels also burned down the police headquarters in Port of Spain.

Reflecting on the failed uprising, Robinson said, “People should have recognized the stupidity of it by now, that it achieves nothing for anybody.”

He added, “If it had succeeded it would have been disastrous for everybody and the nation as a whole.”

The former prime minister who later became president said after 18 years the greatest need is for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago “to understand what it means to be a nation in an international community.”

Just opposite from where the event was being held, hostage survivor of the attempted coup and executive member of the National Alliance for Reconstruction, Wendell Eversley, staged a one-man silent protest.

"I am fighting for justice for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. There must be a commission of enquiry. The truth must be told," said Eversley.

He was there from six in the morning and moved only to lay a wreath.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives noted the poor attendance at the solemn event. Barry Sinanan drew loud applause when he remarked, "People need to be more aware of the significance of this event."

Journalist Dennis McComie, who worked at what was then Radio 610, called for closure to 'this dark period' of the country's history. And like so many others said an enquiry is long overdue.

"I would welcome that investigation into the events proceeding July 27, 1990, that has been called for so many times, a call which has been studiously ignored by each government that has held reigns of power over the past 18 years," he said.

He said there must be a professionally managed effort to gather and document all the data relevant to the attempted coup. The nation, he said, has a responsibility to ensure that July 27, 1990 does not repeat itself.

"May we understand that in order to ensure that it does not recur-as current endemic and murderous violence seems to have all but taken over our society-we cannot and must not relapse into the wilful ignorance that pre-dated July 27,1990," he said.

The man who led the uprising, Yasin Abu Bakr, has refused to apologize to the country for the events of July 27, 1990.

Speaking on I95.5 radio, Bakr said, “I am sorry about the citizenry.” But he made it clear that he was not apologizing for the deaths and widespread destruction of Port-of-Spain.

“If I do that I would be telling the citizens they don’t have the right to defend themselves,” Bakr explained.

Would he do it again?

“There is a different way to do things, you have learnt from your mistakes. We made a few errors, but for security reasons, I won’t divulge that."

Read a New York Times report on the TT uprising

Sat Maharaj calls for freeze of Harnarine's assets

The man who was one of the most vocal critics of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) and its President, Harry Harinarine, is now urging the government to seize Harinarine's assets.

The call comes from Sat maharaj. Secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) who says this should be done as a precaution the HCU assets are being liquidated.

"The Government should freeze all Harnarine’s assets until this thing blows over. I also feel that the authorities should correspond with the Attorney General of Florida to unearth information about Harnarine’s properties in the USA," Maharaj told the Sunday Guardian.

Harinarine has acknowledged that he owns properties and is a joint owner of at least one business in Florida in addition to properties and business in Trinidad.

The Maha Sabha, the country's largest Hindu organization, has been engaged in an open feud with the HCU since 2002 when it called for a forensic audit and urged the Hindu community to invest elsewhere. And the SDMS has used its radio station - Radio Jaagriti - to launch a constant attack on the HCU and its president.

Harinarine blames the SDMS for some of its troubles, saying its constant attack caused a run on the institution.

The SDMS complained earlier this month of receiving death threats against Maharaj and the Radio Jaagriti's CEO, Devant Maharaj, and its staff. It said it knew where the threats were coming from but didn't name any one or any organization.

The SDMS chief claimed that there was a million-dollar hit that had been put out on him and the staff at the radio station.

In reporting the matter to the police commissioner Maharaj claimed that he had "reliable" and "credible" information that the threat stemmed from the fact they (Radio Jaagriti) were exposing the operations of a certain institution.

"They want to silence us because we have been speaking out for the last five weeks... keeping this matter on the front burner."

The Maha Sabha advised that all distressed depositors and shareholders of the HCU seek immediate legal advice from an attorney of their choice and send, in writing, a claim to the Commissioner of Co-operatives or R.D. Rampersad and Company to possibly secure if not all, at least some portion of their funds.

"So far, the Government is not advising HCU members what they should do. People who were given loans don’t know if they will lose their properties in the morning. Some measure of comfort should be given to members," Maharaj said.

Maharaj noted that many former Caroni workers invested their entire VSEP money in the HCU and now stand to lose everything.

About 190,000 members of the HCU are wondering what will happen to their investments and how to recover deposits now that the organization is in receivership.

The credit union has $776 million in liabilities and assets to be liquidated. People who have money in the HCU are not getting any comfort from the organization.

Harnarine blames Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira for some of the troubles, saying she had promised to inject $42m into the HCU to help repair loss of public confidence caused by the constant barrage from critics like the SDMS.

He said the Minister of Public Administration had agreed to buy HCU’s property to the tune of $250 to $300 million.

The Sunday Guardian says it has been "reliably informed" that Harnarine sent a letter to Manning on Thursday, outlining its grave situation and requesting his urgent intervention.

HCU’s attorney Odai Ramischand said the organization plans to take legal action against the liquidator, who took the decision to fire several workers and close the doors of HCU’s subsidiaries, which was against the court order.

DPP says there's no need to probe former Attorney General

Director of Public Prosecution Geoffrey Henderson has responded to the Criminal bar Association's call for an investigation into allegations about the involvement of former attorney general John Jeremie in the Home Construction Limited repurchase of land, owned by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls. Henderson says there's no need for any probe.

The President of the Criminal Bar Association Desmond Allum wrote Henderson earlier this month asking for an investigation into possible criminal conduct committed by Jeremie. Jeremie.

Henderson replied in a letter dated July 22.

He said, "Having reviewed the material in my own right...I have been unable to find any basis to conclude criminal conduct on the part of Mr Jeremie".

Henderson also noted that his office has no investigative powers, "either express or implied" under Section 90 of the Constitution.

"Such powers reside solely with the police who have conducted investigations into this affair," he wrote.

"As you will recall, both the Chief Justice and the Chief Magistrate registered complaints against each other. The Chief Justice aired his complaints publicly by way of press releases. The Chief Magistrate complained by written statement submitted to the Honourable Prime Minister and subsequently passed to the Attorney General, John Jeremie," Henderson said in his response to Allum.

Henderson said he had carefully considered the contents of Allum's letter and had since had an opportunity to consider the contents of the Police investigator's report.

He suggested that if Allum had additional material he should present it.

"The police investigator in his report, found no material to provide a basis to conclude any unlawful act or conduct on the part of Mr Jeremie. Neither in the police report and witness statements contained therein, nor in the record of the evidence given in the Section 137 Mustill Tribunal hearings, have I been able to locate material that asserts that Mr Jeremie received a cheque from HCL as your letter suggests. If such does exist, please identify that material so that this may be considered," he said.

HCU violated rules, was in breach of CU rules

A report prepared in June 2007 by an inspection team from the Commissioner of Cooperatives found evidence that the Hindu Credit Union violated most of its written policies. It said the organization breached the rules and replaced its core business of granting with the acquisition of properties.

The report said the practice adopted by the credit union created major problems. It found that the acquisition of properties placed the HCU in an adverse cash flow position.

It said although the organization had a "written, detailed and comprehensive loans manual" it violated its own policies.

One example cited by the investigators was that people became members by buying a membership for $25 and getting an unsecured loan approved for more than $100,000 the same day.

It said there was evidence of interference in the granting of these loans. It pointed out that an examination of members' files revealed that while some members did not qualify for loans, the loan officers handling the cases were instructed to violate the rules.

In one instance the team found that the HCU had granted loans of $269,000 to a non-member described as a "Costa Rican employed at the Costa Rican Embassy" between March 2002 and June 2003.

That loans were not repaid and they had accumulated interest of $234,556.10 by Sept. 15, 2006.

The report noted that the person was granted membership after he received the funds for the first loan.

It also noted that:

• Officers with delinquent loans continue to serve on the board of directors of the HCU in contravention of the by-laws
• Loans were not granted in accordance with relevant legislation in the Co-operative Societies Act
• There were cases where officers had more than one mortgage loan, in violation of legislation
• Huge loans of over $500,000 were granted with members holding only $30 in shares
• Delinquent loans were refinanced in contravention of loans policy
• There were incomplete loan application forms but persons received the funds anyway

The inspection team found that one HCU director had $19,380.29 in shares with a total loan balance of $1.6 million to purchase property.

That loan was classified as an "ordinary loan" and the interest rate charged was 0.5 per cent.

In another example, the report showed that another member working for a subsdiary company had $25.33 in shares and a delinquent loan of $150,651, with outstanding interest was $58,754.

On February 6, 2005, the report noted, the member sold a 1.5 tonne Isuzu truck to the credit union for $152,242.73.

Here is what the report said of that transaction:

"This sum was used to clear off the loan principal. On August 18, 2005, interest in the sum of $58,754 was waived. No valuation for this vehicle was carried out. Member is a relative of (an official of HCU), as such a proper valuation of the vehicle should have been done in order to ensure transparency and accountability with respect to this transaction."

On the issue of the land and buildings owned by the HCU, the inspection team found in some cases:

• There were no valuation reports for some properties
• Proper and thorough searches were not conducted thus resulting in the loss of investment
• Valuation and searches were completed in some cases after the transaction
• Deeds of conveyance were not seen for some properties purchased
• Deeds were not registered
• Properties were sometimes purchased for amounts in excess of their stated in the valuation report

The team found that the HCU Convention Centre was valued at $1 million in November 2001. The property was purchased by an HCU member in March 2002 for $710,000 and sold seven months later to HCU for $2.5 million.

Another example was the purchase of the twin towers on Mulchan Seuchan Road in Chaguanas for $16.9 million in June 2003. In January 2005, the HCU was still owing $7 on the property, which was bought from a director of the credit union.

In January 2005, the director signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the formation of a limited liability company (World Select Gem Ltd) with a share capital of $16.9 million, making both persons who signed the agreement equal owners.

The report noted that while the HCU had $621.9 million its "members were unable to cash in their fixed deposits upon maturity."

Warner, Panday fear UDeCOTT has time to "cover tracks"

Jack Warner says there appears to be a cover-up plot at UDeCOTT. And Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday is demanding that all UDeCOTT documents be frozen, adding that the 2009 scheduled start for the probe into UDeCOTT gives the company enough time to clear its tracks.

"I believe the announcement…that this enquiry will take place in 2009 is a plan to give UDeCOTT time to clean its books and therefore the Commission of Enquiry is being tainted, however, I do hope that it will be an enquiry with forensic ability to trace documents and to find out what really takes place in UDeCOTT," Panday told the Trinidad Express.

"This Government does not want this enquiry at all and will delay for as long as possible and will give UDeCOTT all the time in the world to wash its books and to wash its hands," Panday said.

The former prime minister didn’t offer any comments on the British chairman of the probe, Professor John Uff, saying he "never heard of him before and therefore it will be unfair of me to be critical of him without knowing him and what he is capable of and what is qualifications are."

But he said he hopes the other members will be local people who understand the industry here and "who know about the kind of corruption that takes place here".

Panday’s colleague, Chaguanas MP Jack Warner, also sounded an alarm.

He also slammed government noting that the delaying tactics appeared to be the brainchild of the PNM since Professor Uff had a history of "expeditious dispatch of arbitration proceedings".

In a news release, Warner gave examples of the professor's work. "Sitting in an Australian tribunal in the case of Anaconda Operations Proprietary Ltd versus Fluor Australia Proprietary Limited, Professor Uff employed the 'stop clock' approach involving expediting witness testimony and evidence, and was able to complete the enquiry in six weeks, which may have otherwise lasted 18 months in Court."

The UNC-A MP added: "In his report into the Southwall Railway Accident in 1997, Professor Uff is quoted as saying, 'It is also anticipated that some degree of expedition would be introduced into the criminal proceedings to reflect the obvious conflict of public interest resulting from the delay to the start of the enquiry'."

Warner added: "In the instant case, Professor Uff was critical of the delays associated with the commencement of criminal investigations following the major rail accident in London".

Warner called the timeline given by Works Minister Colm Imbert for the completion of the Enquiry "interference" with a Commission appointed by the President, whose duties and responsibilities are enshrined in law. He scoffed at remarks that certain procedural matters such as finding accomodation would take months to complete.

"This apparent desire to dictate the pace of the COE, to impose a time table and to further delay the beginning of hearings, have fuelled perceptions that something is terribly wrong at UDeCOTT and that an unprecedented cover-up is in the making.

"The delay in the announcement of the COE, the failure to expedite basic procedural formalities for its commencement and the prescription of a protracted and time-consuming process is an affront to the principles of natural justice and the rule of law.

"It is a typical PNM display of flippant disregard to proper governance and equity before the law and a further reflection of their perpetual yearning to control all independent machinations of the State", Warner said.

Read Prof. Uff's profile and case history

Government says UDeCOTT won't destroy documents

A Trinidad and Tobago government minister on Thursday defended UDeCOTT, the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago, and gave the assurance that the organization won't destroy any documents. UDeCOTT is the subject of a commission of enquiry that does not begin hearings until next year and critics say it has an opportunity to destroy documents that might implicate it.

Information Minister Neil Parsanlal confirmed that no one is shutting the door on UDeCOTT and agreed that members of the organization would have free access to confidential documents that might be detrimental in a public probe.

But he said he is sure UDeCOTT would do "everything in its power" to ensure that its records are preserved and not destroyed.

When reporters asked Parsanlal what assurances he could give the public that records would be preserved, he said: "UDeCOTT has a board of management in place and they would take the necessary steps to do what is necessary to protect their records. No Government minister is going to open or lock doors at UDeCOTT. There is a UDeCOTT board and management and that is their responsibility".

When reporters pointed out that UDeCOTT's Executive Chairman, Calder Hart, was implicated by allegations made in the Parliament, the minister reiterated that the board and management of UDeCOTT has a responsibility to secure records.

And he refused to answer further questions, stating that Planning Minister Dr Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde, who is responsible for UDeCOTT, was not present at the media conference.

UDeCOTT handles major government construction projects worth billions of dollars and came under scrutiny after former cabinet minister questioned why it was building a 60-room hotel without proper authorization from cabinet.

That got Rowley kicked out of government and at the same time opened a Pandora's Box of accusations of impropriety by the organization and its executive chairman.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning refused opposition and independent calls for a public probe for weeks, then changed his mind and announced a wide ranging enquiry into the construction sector to include UDeCOTT.

After a delay of two months government announced this week that a British engineering professor and prominent jurist would head the probe, but there is still no word on the other members.

And in making the announcement in Parliament, House Leader Colm Imbert said the probe would begin hearings in January next year and its report would be due by October next year.

That has caused a storm of anger from opposition and other groups who say government appears to be directing the commission and leaving the door open for UDeCOTT to cover up anything that might implicate it.

Chaguanas MP noted that it was farce to hold the probe so far away when the chairman, Prof. Uff, is known for his style of handling such matters expeditiously.

Keith Rowley, the man in the eye of the storm, noted that it was a "pappyshow" to get a probe started several months after the issue arose. He predicted that the budget would likely throw more money at UDeCOTT.

Health Minister Jerry Narace confirmed Rowley's assertion. He told the media that Cabinet has approved UDeCOTT as the developer for the Point Fortin hospital.

When reporters questioned why cabinet decided on this when there are so many allegations hanging over the organization, Narace informed them that he was not aware of any wrongdoing by the state corporation.

He stressed that under the tenders policy, there was nothing improper about what he, as Minister of Health, was doing.

Reporters also wanted to know why UDeCOTT's boss was present at the recent PNM convention.

Parsanlal tersely informed reporters that matters relating to the PNM convention are not discussed at the Cabinet and therefore were irrelevant at a media conference to discuss cabinet decisions.

Rules relating to certain appointments to state boards clearly state that appointees must not have political connections. Hart is head of at least one state organization that requires that the holder of that position be independent.

Harry closes the book on Hindu Credit Union; 9,000 out of work

Harry Harinarine is closing the book on the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) and the HCU group of companies. The president of the organization told reporters Thursday all the HCU assets are to be liquidated and promised that the 190,000 members would get their deposits within six months.

"I don’t think we can recover from this," Harnarine said yesterday, during a news conference at the HCU’s Edinburgh office, noting that liabilities amount to $776 million. About 9,000 people would be out of work.

On Wednesday, the High Court granted the Government full control of the HCU, freezing its assets and ordering the management to turn over all documents to chartered accountants Ernst &Young, which is conducting an audit of the HCU’s books.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday night the board of directors ceased management of the HCU group. The legal move followed the HCU's reluctance or inability to pay depositors, some of whom had sought legal advice and taken legal action against the credit union.

In February 2007, a High Court judgment, in favour of an HCU depositor, criticized the Commissioner of Co-operatives, who supervises the country’s credit unions, for his failure to act promptly in the case of a customer who had made an application to withdraw his deposit from the HCU.

Harnarine said he takes full responsibility for the crisis and credit union's demise. Harnarine didn't want to look into the long-term situation but noted that, "At this point, we can only speculate. It’s hard to repair and rebuild credibility."

The HCU boss alleged political motivation behind the move and wondered, "Who is the watchman of these assets? It was a long battle just to sell assets for cheap."

Harnarine said the state of affairs was not a result of bad management. And he accused Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira of "double-crossing" the financially-strapped institution.

Harnarine said he had asked the minister for help but in her haste to go to Cabinet, she asked him to hand over the credit union's management to a Central Bank team headed by Wendy Ho Sang.

He said there was an agreement with Public Administration Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh for the purchase of HCU properties for $250 million. He said government reneged on that deal.

"The assistance I was led to believe that I would receive was that the Ministry of Public Administration would purchase properties belonging to the HCU for use by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago as negotiations were ongoing between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Administration to that extent," he said.

He said based on the government's promise he was advised to forego the sale of HCU property on the open private market.

Harnarine was disappointed with the way the matter was handled by the finance minister, saying he was "appalled that the confidentiality and mutual trust agreed to by the Minister of Finance and myself for the benefit of the HCU was breached as I was assured that the sensitivity of the issue of illiquidity required confidentiality."

He said, "The effect of liquidity caused financial crisis as the institution was forced to pay depositors, lawsuits, satisfy judgments rather than service its corporate debts."

Harnarine said he had been working to "get the best option available" for HCU shareholders and charged that the minister did not give him a chance to set up an interim management team to deal with the crisis.

Harnarine explained that the HCU closed its offices to auditor Ernst &Young “not to avoid audit, but to protect the credit union’s assets that still provide service.” He said a liquidator had been appointed to get back money for HCU depositors.

The two radio stations it operates are on "auto-pilot", Harinarine explained. One of those - Massala 101 is owned by the HCU. The other - Shakti97.5 hotlikepepper - is by Upward - Trend Entertainment Limited, which sells air time to HCU.

He also blamed the HCU's failure on the negative criticism from head of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), Sat Maharaj, from the media and the Congress of the People (COP).

Harnarine told the media while HCU was a Hindu-based organization it served the wider public and Hindus had no excluvie right as members.

He said the problem arose after all the negativity resulted in a run on the HCU's finances. “In so doing, we decided we are going to use up our reserve funds, slow down the loan portfolio of lending and sell off some of our loan portfolio for the larger loans we carry in our books.
And we also looked at negotiating time with some of the depositors with which to pay them," he explained.

"We were able to put a plan in place which allowed us to cushion and repay the cost in the shortest period of time. We did not go beyond nine months."

Court frees HCU assets; liquidators waiting to sell assets

All the assets of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) and the HCU group of companies in Trinidad and Tobago have been frozen. And a High Court judge has granted an application to appoint R. Rampersad and Company as a provisional liquidator for HCU's assets.

The decision comes three years after credit union members reported difficulties in getting their savings from the Chaguanas-based organization and started clamouring to their money.

Related story: HCU pays $200,000 to avoid levy

The move has apparently been approved by the board of the credit union. And according to the Trinidad Express, the credit union's President Harry Harrinarine is pleased with the judgment.

The HCU's lawyer, Odai Ramischand, told the paper people who have money in the credit union have nothing to fear. He said the HCU group has assets of between $700 million and $800 million with liabilities at $200 million.

The biggest single liability is a $4 million mortgage owed to Intercommercial Bank. He said other priorities include debts from the court hearing and deposit repayments to its 160,000 members.

About 40,000 members have left the institution within the last few years but the organization believes that the court's decision to freeze the assets and ensure debt repayment will safeguard the survival of the business.

He said the assets include land, housing settlements, two radio stations, a medical centre, a bank and a security firm.

One of those radio stations - Shakti97.5fm hotlikepepper is owned by media company Upward - Trend Entertainment Limited, which sells air time to the Hindu Credit Union.

Labour Minister Rennie Dumas confirmed Wednesday that the ruling was backed by the company's board members. Dumas told reporters at a news conference that it was the cooperation of the HCU board that helped expedite the process.

Information Minister Neil Parsanlal told the Express the liquidation company is now waiting for the ministry-appointed auditors Ernst and Young to fully access the value of all the company's assets before the sale of any of the properties is arranged.

He also said that debts from the court hearing and deposit repayments to members are among the top priorities in the repayment scheme, though he said the board along with the liquidator would have to finalise the list of priorities.

Harnarine told the Sunday Express recently that the credit union had paid out $420 million to frustrated depositors who initially could not access their money.

British professor to head UDeCOTT probe

After a two-month wait, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has named the Commission of Enquiry into the construction industry and UDeCOTT (Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited). It will be headed by British jurist, Prof. John Uff.

Government House Leader Colm Imbert said Wednesday Uff is a "a world-renowned expert in construction practice, engineering and law."

Read Prof. Uff's profile

He said the other three members of the commission would be citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Their appointments would be finalized in the next few weeks, he said.

Imbert told the House of Representatives, "It should now be apparent that the Government had approached this very serious matter in a responsible and professional manner". He said Government wanted to make sure that the person who was eventually selected had the ability to conduct "this important task in the proper manner".

He added, "Because of the nature of the enquiry, the chairman's credentials had to be impeccable and beyond reproach. Ironically, it is axiomatic that if we had not approached this assignment properly, the same people who are criticising us for taking too long to commence the enquiry would have condemned us for making a poor selection".

Imbert justified the choice of a foreigner to lead the enquiry by suggesting that no local was capable of handling the assignment.

"After consideration of other potential chairmen in the domestic environment, it soon became apparent that because of the comprehensive nature of the enquiry and the interlocking interests in the local construction sector, it would be difficult to find a chairman in Trinidad and Tobago who would not be deemed to be unacceptable by local interest groups, for one reason or another".

In the House Wednesday, Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj criticized Government for dragging the process.

Latee at a news conference he charged that Government wanted to kill public interest in the whole issue and allow "the perpetuators to proceed untrammelled in the nefarious acts."

Maharaj was not impressed with timetable and suggested that it would be a "useless enquiry." He said the start of hearings in January means UDeCOTT has "all the time in the world" to destroy documents and records relating to all the transactions which have been criticised.

He said Uff "would be impotent to deal with matters in which there is no evidence...in which evidence has been destroyed".

Maharaj was also not impressed with Uff's credentials, saying a check with the Who's Who in law in London would uncover thousands of people like him.

Maharaj charged that Government intends to continue frustrating any proper investigation in serious allegations of misconduct at UDeCOTT nand suggested that it should have appointed the Commission within two weeks of the PM's announcement in the Parliament two months ago.

He suggested that the Government could have appointed one of the many retired local judges or could have approached Chief Justice Ivor Archie to provide a sitting judge for the assignment.

Maharaj said the Manning was never serious about investigating UDeCOTT, noting that the enquiry is now lumped with an investigation into the entire construction sector.

He said if the PM was really serious, he would be appointed an Independent Counsel and provided a special forensic team to the DPP even before the Commission of Enquiry started.

He served notice that the Opposition would file a motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister in the context of his role in respect of the contracts given to Sunway and in the context of Calder Hart's front-row seat at the People's National Movement's convention.

TT opposition "coup" forces TV broadcast of finance hearings

The Trinidad and Tobago opposition has staged a "coup" in Parliament and has forced hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to be broadcast live on television on Friday. It happened because three government members failed to attend the PAC meeting, leaving the government in a minority position.

The PAC comprises 10 members: six from the ruling party, three from the Opposition and an independent.

The resolution to broadcast the hearings was presented on June 27. On that day three PNM members were absent: Senator Hazel Manning, Senator Tina Gronlund-Nunez and MP Roger Joseph.

That created an opportunity for PAC Chairman, Dr Roodal Moonilal, to put the matter to a vote. Three Opposition members - Moonilal, Senator Adesh Nanan and MP Vasant Bharath - and the Independent Senator voted for the motion; the Government side had only three votes and the motion was carried.

The deciding vote in favour of broadcast came from Independent Senator Corinne Baptiste Mc Knight.

The PAC deals with matters relating to government spending and the report of the auditor general.

Traditionally its hearings are held in private. But on Friday it will be a public affair starting at 9.30 in the morning locally on Channels 4 and 16 and cable Channel 11 unless government uses its majority to pass another resolution to reverse the earlier one.

The agenda for Friday includes discussion on the annual audited financial reports of the Arima Borough Corporation as well the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA). Members expect to call the board of the SWRHA to give evidence before them.

Wade Mark, a former PAC chairman welcomes the idea of a public broadcast.

"The principles of accountability, transparency, scrutiny and probity of public affairs are crucial and lie at the heart of any democratic structure. That is why information and the sharing of information are the currency of any democracy," Mark told the Newsday newspaper.

"It is the right of the people to witness what is taking place at the level of the PAC, JSCs and the PAEC. There is no room for secrecy," he said.

TT government in contempt of parliament?

The Speaker of the House of Representatives made an unprecedented move Friday and ruled that the Government be taken before the House Privileges Committee for its failure to answer questions by the opposition. Barendra Sinanan made the ruling in response to a motion by Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

Sinanan had previously warned the Government that it has an obligation to answer question, but still about 100 question remain unanswered.

In moving for a ruling against the Government Maharaj said, "The Opposition members have been severely prejudiced and adversely affected in their duty to scrutinize the Government and to make the Government account to the House.

He said the Government's action of ignoring the questions amounted to "an affront to the House."

Maharaj said, "The Prime Minister as Head of Government and as Head of Cabinet is responsible to the House for the aforesaid conduct of the Government and its Ministers. My research shows that nowhere in the Commonwealth have a Government conducted itself in such a manner."

Sinanan agreed with Maharaj that the Government should answer to the House. But he made it clear that it was not his responsibility to hold an enquiry on the matter.

"All I am required to do is consider whether the rather novel submissions of the honourable member for Tabaquite point to a reasonable possibility that contempt has occurred," he said."

However, I have carefully considered this matter which has been submitted to me earlier today, against the background of principles relating to contempt. In doing so, I have examined all appropriate authorities, including our own Constitution, and I am of the view that a prima facie case of contempt has been made out," Sinanan said.

He maintained that the issue is one for "your Committee of Privileges to do, after a full consideration and investigation of this issue. In the circumstances, I refer the matter to the Committee of Privileges of this House for investigation and report."

Opposition members congratulated themselves on their moment of victory against the govening party.

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, who was suspended from the House by Sinanan, expressed shock.

He has always stated that the Speaker is biased against the opposition. He called it a miracle and welcomed Sinanan's change in attitude.

However, Panday was not in a celebratory mood. He said he will wait and see how the Government reacts to this ruling and the outcome of the Privileges Committee before he makes any further comment.

Some observers called the development another Public Relations exercise by the government noting that the committee is dominated by the governing party and will do no more than hand the Government a slap in the wrist and ask it to comply with Standing Orders.

Members of the Privileges committee are the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, Pointe-a-Pierre MP Christine Kangaloo and Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh.

They say Gopeesingh as the only opposition member will have little or no influence on the PNM dominated committee.

Mandela turns 90

Read more

Read Mandela's eight lessons of leadership

Read Mandela's biography

By Mike Cohen

July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, celebrated his 90th birthday today, hosting a private party for family members and friends at Qunu, near his birthplace in the Eastern Cape province.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison for seeking to overthrow the apartheid state and emerged to become president after the nation's first all-race elections in 1994. Since retiring in 1999, he has become increasingly frail and has scaled back his public appearances, spending some time raising funds for charities he established.

``Your life continues to inspire all of us to work for a better world, freed from the strangulation of poverty, hunger and oppression,'' South Africa's cabinet said in an e-mailed statement.

Today's party is one of a series of events organized to celebrate Mandela' birthday and bolster his philanthropic efforts. On June 27 he attended a concert in London's Hyde Park, where the line-up featured Will Smith, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox. A similar event is scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 30.

An annual lecture, delivered this year by Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was delivered in his honor in Kliptown, Soweto on July 12. The event was held near the site where the African National Congress adopted the Freedom Charter, which demanded a universal franchise and equal rights for all the country's people, in 1955.

``I would like to pay tribute to you, a man who paved the way for a new generation of leaders and emergence of democratization in Africa,'' she said in her speech. ``You have taught us that if one believes in compassion for humanity we can all make a difference.''

Newspaper Headlines

Johannesburg-based newspapers including the Star, the Citizen, the Mail & Guardian and the Times led with stories about Mandela's birthday with the Citizen showing the national rugby team, the Springboks, celebrating his birthday in Perth, Australia where they are on tour.

Mandela's foundation has organized exhibitions, book launches and lecturers in his honor, while stamps bearing his image have been printed and a commemorative coin minted. The ANC plans to hold a birthday rally for Mandela in Pretoria, the country's capital, on Aug. 2.

``Madiba has spent the greater part of his 90 years at the helm of the liberation movement, tirelessly and selflessly leading the people of this country in the pursuit of freedom,'' the party said, referring to Mandela by his clan name, in an e- mailed statement. ``He remains an inspirational leader whose moral stature is recognized and valued across the world.''

Convicted of Treason

Born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo, Mandela fled to Johannesburg to escape an arranged marriage. There he qualified as a lawyer and immersed himself in politics, joining the ANC in 1944. He was convicted of treason in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He was freed in February 1990 and four years later led the ANC to victory in elections. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Mandela served one five-year term before stepping down. His tenure was marked by efforts to unite a society scarred by centuries of racial conflict.

After retiring, Mandela sought to broker a cease-fire in a civil war in the central African nation of Burundi and campaigned against the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

A year ago, he announced the formation of a global think- tank called The Elders, which aims to help find solutions to conflicts and use its influence to attract donor aid. The group's other members include former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations.

"There is still too much discord, hatred, division, conflict and violence in our world,'' Mandela told a group including diplomats, church leaders and sportsmen on July 12, ahead of Johnson-Sirleaf's speech. ``A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net.

Bill coming soon to change rules to appoint police chief

Leader of Government Business in the Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives Colm Imbert said Thursday he expects to present legislation to Parliament in September to speed up the process of appointing a new police commissioner.

The government refused to endorse candidate recommended by the Police Service Commission (PSC). It said while Senior Superintendent Stephen Williams was well qualified for the job, it had to turn down the recommendation because the system was "flawed".

Related: Government rejects Williams as police commissioner
Related: PSC says there were no flaws in recruitment process

That's a position that the PSC and Williams rejected. However they had no choice but to accept the decision since the law governing the appointment allows Parliament to either accept or reject the PSC recommendation.

Imbert told reporters at Whitehall the proposed amendments would allow consultants to handle the entire first phase of the process, from advertisement to assessing candidates.

It will also allow the Police Service Commission to interact with consultants on the issue along the way, instead of at the end.

Imbert hopes the changes would shorten the process by six months, and take less time than the 11 months the process took recently.

The PSC disputes Imbert statement that the process took that long.

Imbert refused to say whether the government would prefer a foreigner for the job. "We just want the best person for the job, whether foreign or local," he said.

He also announced that whoever is appointed police commissioner would be able to negotiate a compensation package instead of just accepting the current salary of $25,000.00 a month.

Related column: CoP affair an administrative scandal

Crime in Canada drops to 30-year low

Official crime figures released Thursday show that Canada's crime rate fell last year to its lowest rate in 30 years, continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s. That's in stark contrast to Trinidad and Tobago, where the crime rate has been steadily rising every year.

The overall Canadian crime rate in 2007 was down seven per cent from the year before with fewer serious violent crimes, such as murder, and a lower rate of "high volume" crimes such as minor property thefts.

It was the third consecutive year in which the national crime rate dropped, according to Statistics Canada the agency that complied the report from police data.

One of the most notable figures that would be interest to Trinidad and Tobago is the homicide tally.

There were 594 homicides in 2007. That works out to be about two for every 100,000 people.

It's a decline of three per cent over the previous year in a country that stretches across North America, touching three coastlines with a population of 33 million.

If the figures were applied to the Trinidad and Tobago population, it would mean that there should be 20 murders. But the murder figure for TT in 2007 was a record 395 and so far in 2008 it's heading for a new record.

In reverse, if the Trinidad and Tobago per capita murder rate is applied to Canada, the homicide figure for the country in 2007 would have been more than 12,000. That's one of the highest murder rates in the world.

In spite of the declining crime politicians and police in major centers consider crime one of their major problems. By contrast, Trinidad and Tobago doesn't consider crime to be its biggest problem and writes off most killings as "gang-related".

In Canada, the minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is hoping to capitalize on the "high" crime rate in the next federal election, which could be held as early as this autumn.

Analysts are saying the figures might dilute his anti-crime campaign. But Canadians are very concerned about their safety and many still consider the level of crime in the country unacceptable.

A survey released on Monday by Angus Reid Strategies suggests that 50 per cent of Canadians still believe the crime level in their community has increased in the past five years although 82 per cent said they had not been victims.

Police in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver have complained of increasing gun use by gang members.

Both of those cities have suffered several high-profile shooting incidents in recent years.

Among the few crimes to increase last year were drug offenses and impaired driving.

UNC-A rejects deal with PNM, will file Panday reinstatement motion

Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj says the UNC-A will file a private motion Friday for the lifting of the suspension of Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday from the House of Representatives. But it would likely be a public relations exercise since it can only pass with government support.

In any case government sources have indicated that the matter would not be up for debate until at least after a break in August, and even then there is no likelihood that the motion will get support from the governing party.

When Panday was thrown out of the House in March for using his laptop computer without proper authorization the government called it "lawlessness" and insisted that it would not support any move to bring back the former prime minister unless he makes an apology to the House.

Panday is not going to do that. He has rejected the reasons given for his suspension and he is firm in his position that his suspension was an attempt to erode his rights to freedom of expression.

And he has said repeatedly that Parliament is no more than an irrelevant talk shop because of the government's majority.

Last Friday the government appeared to be ready to cut a deal when Prime Minister Patrick manning and Maharaj met behind the Speaker's chair.

Manning's pound of flesh was one that the opposition was not likely to give: government support for a reinstatement motion in return for opposition support for amendments to the integrity legislation to exempt chairman of state boards from declaring their assets.

As expected, the UNC-A caucus rejected that outright at its regular meeting Wednesday. Maharaj said the members agreed that any move for Panday's reinstatement in the Parliament must not be linked to Opposition support for any measure.

He was clear that there was no way the opposition would support the integrity amendment because that would have the effect of "diluting integrity in public life".

The former Attorney General said the Government has a duty to end the suspension.

"It is the same duty that we had when we were in Government and Mr Rowley was suspended. The then Prime Minister Panday and then Opposition Leader Patrick Manning met, went to the Speaker and both of them made a statement in the Parliament, after which Government and Opposition voted together to reinstate Rowley, because they recognized that the Parliament and its legitimacy were involved. And we are calling on this Government to similarly do its duty to the people of Trinidad and Tobago".

For its part the Government has said the Rowley suspension was not similar to Panday's.

The Opposition Leader's suspension has a clear time line, ending with the close of the current session in December. Rowley was suspended "for a period to be determined by the House".

Death threats against Radio Jaagriti's executives, staff

Listen to Radio Jaagriti

Police have increased security at Radio Jaagriti 102.7FM following reports by the radio station's Chairman that death threats have been made against its top executives, Sat Maharaj and Devant Maharaj, and announcers. The station is owned and operated by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the main Hindu body in Trinidad and Tobago.

Sat Maharaj, who is the station's chairman, said the phone threats are acts of cowardice. He said he knows who is doing it and made it clear that "we are not intimidated by it."

The head of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) said he has reported the matter to the acting police commissioner, James Philbert, and Prime Minister Patrick Manning in his capacity as chairman of the National Security Council.

The SDMS fought a lengthy legal battle all the way to the Privy Council to get approval for its radio station.

It began in 1999 when Basdeo Panday was prime minister. By 2001 the government changed and the new government under Patrick Manning rejected the application.

The organization took the matter to court and won its case on the basis of discrimination. In February 2004, Justice Carlton Best ruled that the SDMS was treated unequally when Cabinet bypassed its application and awarded a broadcast licence to PNM supporter Louis Lee Sing.

The judge agreed that the Maha Sabha had been denied equality of treatment before the law by the State. However, he stated there was no need to declare that the SDMS had been denied freedom of expression. He also declined to give a court order directing Cabinet to grant the Maha Sabha a licence.

The State appealed and lost. The Appeal Court, in an unanimous decision, ordered the government to award a licence as a matter of urgency.

When the cabinet failed to act the SDMS took the matter to the highest court and won at the Privy Council.

The unanimous decision confirmed a case of discrimination and also held that the Maha Sabha's constitutional right to freedom of expression had been violated. It found that there had been "a conspicuous failure" to deal with the Maha Sabha's application for over three years and ruled that there was 'unexplained and unjustified discrimination in favour of Louis Lee Sing's Citadel.'

The court noted that the Maha Sabha's application had been approved since the 1st September 2000 and found that no explanation was given for the sudden award of a radio licence to Louis Lee Sing's Citadel Limited.

Despite the ruling the Manning administration continued to refuse to grant the licence. The SDMS wrote the Attorney General, John Jeremy, accusing him of demonstrating contempt for the judgment of the Law Lords.

On Friday 23rd September 2006 the six-year wait ended when SDMS secretary-general Sat Maharaj signed the relevant documents to grant it a radio licence at the Telecom Authority's offices in San Juan.

Maharaj commented that it was unfortunate that this kind of treatment could be meted out to anyone in a democracy like TT, adding that he hoped that no individual or group would ever have to endure the "torture" his organization endured.

Panday won't do deal with Manning and PNM

The caucus of the United National Congress Alliance (UNC-A) meets Wednesday to discuss proposals made in discussions between Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Prime Minister Patrick Manning for the possible reinstatement of Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday to Parliament.

But Panday isn't interested in any deal with the Manning and the PNM.

Panday has been suspended for the rest of the current session for using his laptop computer in the House of Representatives without the permission of the Speaker.

Maharaj and Manning spoke about the matter last week behind the Speaker’s chair. Sources say Manning might be willing to support a motion to have Panday reinstated if the opposition votes in favour of certain pieces of government legislation that require a special majority.

One of the bills for which the PNM is seeking support will exempt state board chairmen from making declarations under integrity legislation. The Government indicated that the legislation might be tabled as early as next week.

The Manning administration has repeatedly said people are unwilling to serve on state boards because of the need for filing personal declarations of assets to the integrity commission.

But that is one matter that Panday personally opposes. And the UNC has repeatedly taken issue with accountability concerning state board chairmen. Panday said allowing them to be exempted from filing declarations is not an acceptable option.

He is concerned that people like Andre Monteil, Prof. Ken Julien and Calder Hart, the executive chairman of UDeCOTT – the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago would escape scrutiny.

Monteil was engaged in some questionable business dealings and was censured by Manning himself. Julien, who is president of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), has been accused of “reckless” spending at the UTT without proper accountability.

And Hart is under attack for controlling billions of dollars of state funds. He became an object of national attention after Manning fired Dr Keith Rowley from cabinet for questioning UDeCOTT’s plans to build a hotel in Port of Spain without prior cabinet approval.

Panday’s suspension could only be lifted if the House approves with a simple majority. That means the governing party must support the motion or abstain from voting on it.

But Panday isn’t interested. “No way; no how; not at all,” Panday told the media. He said the UNC-A MPs and Maharaj would decide the issue.

However he stressed that he is against both the offer for his reinstatement and the proposed legislation.

"This is not democracy. I will not be party to any horse trading or bartering. They seem to want to reduce the parliamentary process to mere bartering," he told the Trinidad Guardian.

Panday said Manning and the PNM don’t want him in Parliament and he refuses to be used as a pawn in their political game.

Related story: Ramesh and Manning talking about bringing back Bas

Strong reaction to constitution reform; Sir Ellis disowns it, Ryan "shocked"

Sir Ellis Clarke has disowned the constitutional reform proposals outlined on Sunday by Prime Minister Patrick Manning in an address to the national convention of his People's National Movement (PNM).

The country's first president is the main architect of the existing 1976 Republican constitution and the author of a draft revised constitution presented last year to Manning.

That document proposed an executive president, but the reformed Manning outlined on Sunday have no such office.

Manning said the president under the reforms would preside over cabinet and would have authority to appoint ministers, but would lack executive power like that of the U.S. president. Instead, the president and the cabinet would act collectively and answer to Parliament.

But Sir Ellis told the Newsday newspaper: "I disown it completely." He says it’s not his.

"I don’t know whose draft it is, it certainly is not mine and I don’t think anybody on the round table will claim it. It’s nobody’s baby," Sir Ellis said. "If it is nobody’s draft then let’s wait and see," he told the paper.

Manning said the ideas came from a round table of academics and politicians but he didn't name members of the group. There are reports that some members, including some in the PNM caucus, were taken by surprise.

The details the prime minister announced appear to severely diminish the independence major institutions such as Parliament, the Judiciary, the director of Public Prosecutions and Permanent Secretaries.

Sir Ellis said it's too early to form an opinion on most of them since the prime minister has not made the details of the proposals public.

On the proposal for reforming the financing of the Judiciary, he said, "It depends on what sort of financing.... I don’t know which is better: for a ministry to be erecting court houses or for a Chief Justice to be going around looking at buildings?"

Former Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma called the reforms "frightening." He said the proposals warrant immediate cause for concern in the Judiciary. "It seeks to undermine the Judiciary and to make the administration subservient to the executive," Sharma said.

And Senior Counsel Martin Day also spoke of the need for a fully independent Judiciary. "The independence of the Judiciary goes far beyond preserving the independence of the individual judge. The Judiciary is entitled to institutional independence. The proposal to control court administration is a poisonous one and I expect the so-called round table to advise accordingly," Daly told the Trinidad Express.

"For example, we cannot have the Executive carrying out the function of rostering and assigning of judges to try cases," he added.

However he noted that he was expressing his personal views not those of the Law Association, which he heads.

So far two members have been identified - Dr Selwyn Ryan and Dr John Spence.

Commenting on the proposals, Ryan said said he was "shocked" that there would be no executive president under the new constitutional arrangement.

He agreed that it was not Manning's proposals. "I thought he was fair in disavowing ownership of a document. I don't think that he was out of line in saying that the document is a discussion document, that it is not cast in stone, that it is not the Government's position, or his position, or the position of the round table, and that it is open to be torn up," Ryan told the Express.

He told the paper the document to be laid in parliament would not have the unanimous endorsement of anybody "because there are people with strong views on many, many things... I certainly disagree with a lot of stuff".

He said people have registered agreement with and objections to some of the proposals. "It has been an open, almost seminar-type of discussion, a seminar of governance. The Prime Minister has his preferences but he has not pushed anything down anybody's throat."

Dr Spence said he wants to wait until the document is laid in Parliament before making any comment on the proposals.

Read the Express Editorial: A Diversion from Mr Manning
Read the Guardian Editorial: Take constitution reform to the people
Read the Newsday Editorial: Wrong Focus

Manning unveils constitutional reform plan; Panday says it gives PM absolute power

Prime Minister Patrick Manning told a convention of his ruling People's National Movement (PNM) Sunday new proposals for constitutional reform would include a presidential system of governance and significant changes to the the judiciary and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Manning said a key to the new proposals is accountability. And he made it clear that the recommendations are neither his, his party's or the government's.

He said a "round table of academics and politicians" produced the working document, which would be laid in Parliament in about a month.

The PNM leader told supporters, the guiding principle in the document is accountability.

“Everybody must be accountable. One of the biggest mistakes we could make is to allow certain people to feel they are above the law—that they are independent...Everybody has to be accountable to somebody, because the one thing PNM know is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Nobody must have absolute power.”

The proposals include:

• A presidential system of government, rather than an executive president. Ministers will be advisers to the President. A role for collective decision-making by a Cabinet will be enshrined in the Constitution. It will preserve Cabinet governance while moving to the superior arrangement that the presidential system will afford.
• The President will address Parliament twice a year on the state of the nation. This will be subject to debate. The Finance Minister will present a budget. Government departments will be accountable to a parliamentary committee.
• The Cabinet will be selected largely from outside the Parliament. It would include six persons from either House of Parliament. This frees MPs to participate in five committees providing oversight for government activity in energy, foreign affairs, public accounts, public accounts enterprises and ministries.
• The judiciary remains independent in judicial functions, but it is proposed that administrative functions associated with the judiciary are a matter for the executive, and will be carried out under normal public service arrangements through a Ministry of Justice.
• The Director of Public Prosecutions must be independent on criminal matters, but regarding official secrets, terrorism and state-to-state relations, the DPP must have prior approval of the Attorney General. The system also allows for consultation between AG and DPP.
• Recruitment of permanent secretaries for ministries from outside the public service, allowing governments which change, to be free to appoint a PS. The person can also be from inside the service, but the situation will not be tied to any arrangement that constrains the appointment.
• Senators from the local government sector will give local government a say in Parliament. Each body will nominate one person to the Senate. This will increase Government Senators from 16 to 24 and Opposition Senators from six to ten.
• If Trinidad and Tobago wishes to integrate politically with another regional state, it can do so by law requiring a three-fifths majority for parliamentary passage.
• No position will be formulated on Tobago until discussions with the Tobago House of Assembly.

Manning said a special majority of Parliament would be needed to pass the proposals. That would include support from the opposition, which is unlikely. He could also gamble on taking the matter to the people in a general election and hope to win the special majority to pass the new constitution.

In an immediate reaction Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday said the measures would give Manning "absolute power" and predicted, "That won't fly."

Manning doesn't appear to be counting on opposition support. He lambasted the UNC-A members as "the worst we have seen", describing them as "an absolute waster of time." He accused opposition MP's of collecting their salaries and doing no work.

Panday asked Manning to identify the round table members who drafted the proposals. And the former prime minister, who agrees with the principle of an executive president, wondered why Manning wants everyone to be accountable when he himself isn't.

“Manning’s approach to constitutional reform is wrong. We need to look at the people’s problems and remedy them, rather than the piecemeal approach to certain aspects he’s displaying."

Panday added: “The proposal regarding the judiciary is interference. And anyone who says the idea concerning the DPP is a good one will only be those who feed at the PNM trough.”

Ramesh and Manning talking about bringing Bas back to Parliament

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Patrick Manning are talking again about Basdeo Panday. But this time the former Attorney General and the Prime Minister are discussing the Opposition Leader's suspension from Parliament and whether the government would support a move to have Panday reinstated.

The Speaker of bthe House of Representatives kicked Panday out of the House in March for refusing to obey the Speaker's ruling on the use of his laptop computer.

• Related story: Bas kicked out of Parliament, what's next?
• Read Jai Parasram's column: The laptop affair was not about the laptop
• Related column: Laptop affair is brilliant strategy of distraction

The Opposition Chief Whip Manning held discussions on the matter Friday behind the Speaker's Chair.

The Trinidad Express says its sources say Maharaj had to consult Manning because the Government's support is necessary in order to lift the suspension. The matter would be raised at the next caucus of the UNC-Alliance.

Maharaj told the paper on Thursday the Government is using its majority in the Parliament to frustrate the results of the general election.

"Democracy is under threat if the Government can use its majority in the House of Representatives to keep elected officials out of the Parliament," he said.

The Express says it understands that the Government is insisting on certain conditions to support a resolution to end the suspension, including a deal for opposition support for certain bills.

The paper says these include the Bail Bill, amendments to the procedure for the selection of the Commissioner of Police and a Children's Legislation package, all of which require a special majority to pass.

Panday can be reinstated if the House passes a motion stating that it resolves to have the suspension lifted, notwithstanding the provisions of the Standing Order 43 (10), which mandates an automatic suspension for the rest of the session.

What does Panday have to say about the matter?

"The party has set up a committee to determine how it would deal with that issue and they have several proposals for action. Maybe you should speak to the Chief Whip, he would be able to tell you more than I can," he told the Express.

He added that he did not have a personal position on the issue.

"I spent 40 years of my life fighting, struggling for the people's lives to be improved. I don't intend to give up that. Electoral politics is only incidental to that struggle."

And he didn't seem to care to return to Parliament, noting that he would not be able to function in the House with Barry Sinanan, whom he described as "stupid", in the chair.