Letter: Is the Integrity Commission biased?

The Indo Trinbago Equality Council [ITEC] questions the process and agenda of the Integrity Commission regarding the alacrity in which the Commission arrived at its decision regarding Minister of Works and Transport Austin Jack Warner.

The complaint on the issue of Mr. Warner holding ministerial portfolio and his FIFA position was decided upon virtually under a week of being made by the Leader of the Opposition Dr. Keith Rowley.

It is very disturbing and suspicious that given that ITEC has lodged over eleven complaints with the Integrity Commission over the past two years and that these complaints have not been reported as concluded that the Commission.

Some of the complaints lodged by ITEC appear to not require intense investigation since the circumstances were very open such as the instance with the illegal protest in Woodford Square where the Commissioner of Police did nothing to prevent it or against the Minister of Culture for the distribution of secret scholarships.

While some of these complaints are well over a year the Integrity Commission has not expressed any status update on these issues other than the initial response of that the matter is receiving attention.

ITEC no doubt was shocked and amazed therefore to discover that the Commission arrived at a conclusion on the Jack Warner issue mere days after being receiving the complaint from Dr. Rowley.

Given that the President appoints the Integrity Commission and that the President was appointed essentially by the then ruling majority PNM Government ITEC wonders aloud if the President’s appointee also holds a similar PNM bias.

ITEC draws this inescapable conclusion given that the Commission appears to have acted with a different speed with a complaint from the PNM Leader of the Opposition regarding a matter involving the ruling Peoples Partnership, while at the same time failing to act with similar speed when issues involved investigating the PNM by complaints by others.

The complaints which ITEC has with the Integrity Commission include:

• Against the NLCB Chairman
• Against the Minister of Public Utilities for the errection of a PNM sign at Mon Repos Roundabout
• Against Prime Minister Patrick Manning over the Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church at the Heights of Guanapo
• Against the Ministry of Culture’s secret scholarships
• Against the Commissioner of Police for allowing PNM supporters to meet in Woodford Square during the no-confidence motion in Patrick Manning
• Against the Tobago House of Assembly (THA)’s alleged provision of land to the Spiritual Baptist Shouters but not Hindus
• Against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for allegedly telling staff to attend a political meeting
• Against Attorney-General John Jeremie for alleging seeing secret Commission documents on Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley
• Against the Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira for alleged insider-trading regarding her stake in CL Financial

ITEC calls upon the Integrity Commission to explain this inequality of treatment being meted out to the Peoples Partnership as opposed to the PNM. Why the apparent and naked bias in favor of the PNM?

Devant Maharaj | Chairman, ITEC