Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the Trinidad and Tobago cabinet are standing firmly with their colleague Jack Warner who has come under scrutiny following a complaint by opposition leader Keith Rowley about Warner's continuing role as Vice President of FIFA while holding a cabinet position.Speaking at a news conference following Thursday's cabinet meeting, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said he is seeking independent legal advice on the matter.
He said he has asked three legal luminaries for their opinion. They are former attorney general Russell Martineau, former Guyanese attorney general, Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, and English QC Michael Beloff.
Ramlogan also said he has written to Warner - who is in South Africa for the opening of the World Cup - "to get clarification on the exact terms and conditions which govern his position" as a FIFA executive.
Warner has been a member of the FIFA executive committee since 1983 and currently holds the Works and Transport Minister portfolio in the cabinet.
Rowley raised the possibility of a conflict and sent a complaint to the Integrity Commission.
On Wednesday, the Commission issued a media release outlining the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics for ministers, stating that members of cabinet must divest their private interests upon accepting office.
Ramlogan complimented the Commission for its efficient "advisory opinion and general guidelines" on the issue but noted that the matter is not "as clear cut as it appears at first blush".
He said that is why the government decided to seek the advice of three outstanding lawyers who are also constitutional experts.
And he has called on the Commission to provide to the public "a comprehensive listing of each and every allegation that has been made and the status of the investigations".
The Attorney General said such disclosure would ensure that the public has confidence in the "Commission’s own operations so that allegations and perceptions of political bias will not bear fruit and fall upon fertile soil."
Ramlogan also questioned the Integrity Commission’s delay in investigating several long-standing issues including an allegation against Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.
Ramlogan called on the Commission to make public the decision of the Landate affair which resulted in an investigation into allegations that material from a State-owned Scarborough Hospital project site was being siphoned to a private housing development in Mason Hall, Tobago owned by Rowley’s wife, Sharon.
Rowley challenged the Commission’s decision to refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions without him being given an opportunity to be heard. He won the lawsuit prompting the then Commission members to resign.
"If Dr Rowley was vindicated I ask for the report be made public so that proper vindication and true public justice can take place.
"And if it is the matter was suddenly closed or shelved under a misapprehension or a misunderstanding as to what the court ruled, then they must reopen that matter and bring it to its closure in accordance with the principles of natural justice so that the rule of law will prevail," Ramlogan said.
He added, "There cannot be one rule for Dr Keith Rowley and another rule for Jack Warner."
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