Ramesh, Seetahal say Government must fire UDeCOTT board

Independent Senator Dana Seetahal has suggested that if the government does not fire the entire UDeCOTT board it would be an acknowledgment of collusion.

Seetahal told local media, "If the position stays as it is and nothing happens from the Government, it means that Government is in collusion with UDeCOTT that Government wants the commission to be stayed indefinitely.

"All this ole talk about UDeCOTT's rights, UDeCOTT is not a person, it is a company in which the Government is sole shareholder. Government can fire the board. I don't think a State board should be acting contrary to the publicly expressed will of the Government".

Seetahal said, "If UDeCOTT can mislead the attorney general, that is another reason for firing the board".

Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has described what is happening as unbelievable. "This smells...worse than Watergate. This is O'Hallaron, not squared, but quadrupled," Maharaj said.

"The Government has allowed an injustice to be perpetrated on the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Government has the power to get rid of the UDeCOTT board, and it has the power in respect of UDeCOTT's objections to the Commission of Enquiry, to give instructions to the UDeCOTT board on policy or to appoint a new board.

"UDeCOTT is subject to the directive of the Cabinet. But this Cabinet deliberately leaves the board of UDeCOTT in place during a Commission of Enquiry, in which the members of that board are under scrutiny by the commission.

"And the prime minister allowed and continues to allow UDeCOTT to spend millions of dollars in legal fees," Maharaj said. "This is not UDeCOTT responsibility, this is the Government's responsibility. And all the statements by the attorney general are just to hoodwink the population."

He said, "It’s not too late. Government has 100 per cent ownership of UDeCOTT, and has the power to fire the board, appoint a new board, and direct the policy the way it wants it."

He pointed to last week's cabinet directive to the boards of Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) and Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) to rescind planned decertification moves against sitting trade unions.

"How come, therefore, the Government couldn’t instruct UDeCOTT, a wholly-owned state enterprise, to withdraw its action against the commission of enquiry?

“What bias is Udecott claiming? How could the Government seek to legalise the commission, after non-publication in the Gazette, and then not give a policy directive on the legal action?" he asked.

The former attorney general suggested that the Manning administration does not want the commission’s work to proceed.

Attorney General John Jeremie told the Senate Thursday, "My understanding is that ...Udecott will not seek to stay the proceedings." The next day Justice Mira Dean Armour ordered the inquiry not to write any report until next February when the court hears UDeCOTT's challenge to the commission on the grounds of alleged bias.

And Energy Minister Conrad Enill, who is chairman of the ruling party, has expressed serious concerns over the fact that UDeCOTT has used public funds to challenge the commission.