"I think I have a totally unblemished character": Gaffor

One of the people appointed to the new Integrity Commission is former Industrial Court judge Gladys Gafoor. She was also a member of the previous commission that resigned within days of being appointed.

Gafoor had faced harsh criticism for allegations that for six years she accepted cheques in the name of her dead husband, who was paid as her chauffeur.

But she told reporters that is not an issue that bothers her.

She said, "The court had put to rest any false allegations that had been made against me. These allegations were made by persons serving their own self interest who were dissatisfied by what happened to them."

Gafoor said: "I cannot be responsible for people’s concerns. Because I would not know what their concerns are. My life is an open book. I think I have a totally unblemished character and I think that my integrity cannot be questioned. I cannot be responsible for what people want to say.

"It is what God thinks of me. I am more concerned with what God thinks of me, and you can quote me on that," she told the Trinidad Express.

The Industrial Court pay records showed monthly payments of $2,500 to Anthony Gafoor, who was named as a chauffeur of Mrs Gladys Gafoor. Her husband died in 1995 but she collected the cheques until officials stopped the payments.

In 2002 Gafoor took the matter to court and won.

Justice Mira Dean-Armorer ruled that the issue before the court was whether Gafoor was entitled to have the chauffeur allowance paid to her, or whether it was payable to the chauffeur.

In that context the judge ruled that it was illegal to withhold direct payment of the chauffeur allowance to Gafoor, stating: "The allowance is a perquisite of the office holder and in my view, she is entitled to have it paid to her directly if she so wishes."

She said stopping the payment to Gafoor "would be altering the terms and conditions" of Gafoor's appointment and ordered officials to compensate Gafoor for the months that she was deprived of the allowance.

When Gafoor served as Acting Solicitor General, she gave advice to the then Registrar of the Industrial Court, who sought an opinion on the issue of the chauffeur allowance.

In a circular dated May 26, 1986 Gafoor pointed to the Ministry of Finance Circular in which it was agreed that "a chauffeur allowance be paid to holders of offices under the purview of the Salaries Review Commission for which a chauffeur allowance is payable, only if the holder of the particular office actually employs a chauffeur".

Gafoor concluded that, "In view of the foregoing, I am of the opinion that such allowance should therefore be paid to members of the court only when a chauffeur is actually employed. And I so advise."