Jack asks president to extend life of Uff commission

Jack Warner has written to President Max Richards on behalf of his constituents in Chaguanas West asking the head of state to save the Uff commission of inquiry into UDeCOTT and the construction sector.

In his letter dated Oct. 4, 2009, the UNC Deputy Leader noted that the Interim Order of Justice Mira Dean-Armorer in the Court matter connected to the commission binds the hands of the Commission until February 2010.

However, he noted that according to media reports the tenure of the commission expires later this month. "This means that when the High Court next sits on this matter to hear substantial arguments from both sides, the commission would not be able to function because its tenure would have expired," Warner said.

"The Commission would therefore be deprived of the opportunity to receive and consider all available evidence relative to the matter under enquiry and its report would be fundamentally flawed and incomplete since it would be lacking in the consideration of vital issues.

"Many of the questions that it set out to have answered would remain hanging. The Commission itself would be null and void and all that flows from it would be ineffective in law," he observed.

Warner said several serious allegations have been made regarding the conduct and dealings of persons connected to UDeCOTT. "The allegations of corruption regarding the handling of billions of public dollars are very troubling to the citizenry. Unless these issues are fully ventilated, the anguish of the minds of the population would not be released," he said.

"Bringing closure to these issues is perhaps the most burning issue facing our nation. That is why it was established in the first place, and may I add at the expense of tens of millions of dollars from the public purse.

"In the public’s interest, in the interest of justice and for the maintenance of law, order and good governance, every possible avenue for achieving the objective of closure must be explored," he said.

The MP added that the president can save the commission by exercising his constitutional powers under the Commissions of Enquiry Act.

He said extending the tenure of the Uff commission would ensure that it continues to have legal status pending any and all court action and so give it sufficient time to complete its work.

He urged the president to exercise his power and extend the tenure of the commission "to ensure that its full mandate is fulfilled". He noted that doing that would not conflict with the work of the Court "and does not infringe upon the rights of any of the parties involved in this enquiry, inclusive of the claimants in the matter before the court."