There is a major distraction at the Uff enquiry into the construction sector and UDeCOTT - commission member Israel Khan. He has been hammering UDeCOTT executive chairman Calder Hart and now Hart's lawyers want Khan fired, accusing him of bias. But Khan says he's not going anywhere.Hart's attorney Frank Solomon told the commission Thursday Khan's conduct has "reached a level of unacceptable abuse and hectoring, insinuation and derogation of Hart’s dignity."
Solomon said if the commissioner is allowed to continue with the “interrogation” of his client as he did on Wednesday the hearings would "incurably affected and the time and effort we have all put in the proceedings will all come to naught." Solomon accused Khan of bias. "There was some bias operation, consciously or unconsciously,” he declared, accusing the commissioner of xenophobia.
He submitted that Khan's line of questioning was "an unforgivable abuse" and asked the chairman to advise the president to remove Khan from the tribunal so that "the integrity of these proceedings be restored."
UDeCOTT’s lawyer Andrew Goddard said if Khan failed to recuse himself immediately, the commission chairman should “forthwith take such steps...to secure the removal of Mr Khan as a member of this commission, including but not limited to requesting of the President of T&T for Mr Khan’s appointment as a commissioner to be revoked.”
Goddard also made an unsuccessful attempt to have the proceedings suspended pending the revocation of Khan’s appointment.
Uff said: “We are not presently satisfied that we have any power to render any decision that would affect Mr Khan’s position.”
He ruled that he would keep the situation under review for a few days and refer the application to the President "together with a report that we will drat. that report will be submitted some time next week."
Attorneys representing state agencies with much at stake in this enquiry share Solomon's views. Former attorney general Russell Martineau, who is representing NIPDEC, another state agency, said he believes that it may be appropriate in this case "for Mr Khan to recuse himself".
The attorney for the Attorney General, Douglas Mendes, believes what is critical in the matter is what "the reasonable observer" thinks.
Deborah Peake, attorney for state-owned Housing Development Corporation expressed "a great deal of discomfort" in the manner in which Khan conducted himself on Wednesday.
She said, "As a matter of fact, I think it is fair to say that the room felt silent when Mr Khan was interrogating the witness," she observed, adding that what "we saw was a predetermination of the evidence. For me that is what is very troubling. But we must, at the end of the day, do what is right and fair. And I expect that Mr Khan will do what he knows to be the proper thing.”
And the lawyer for Hafeez Karamath, Ravi Rajkumar, said the matter is of some concern to his client.
Other legal participants have an opposing view. Alvin Fitzpatrick, who is the lead attorney for the Joint Consultative Council on the construction sector expressed confidence in the commissioner. “We have every confidence that Mr Khan is capable of discharging his responsibilities to this commission fairly and faithfully,” he said.
It's a view shared by Dr Keith Rowley's lawyer, Gilbert Peterson. “I feel as counsel, I have the greatest confidence in Mr Khan. I note his integrity and I have no doubt that he would be able to put all of this behind him and assess the evidence in this matter fairly."
For his part, Khan is staying put. He rejected the calls saying he has a duty to the people and "I do not intend to abdicate that responsibility."
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