Gordon's aide-memoire

Definition:

In international relations, an aide-mémoire is a proposed agreement or negotiating text circulated informally among delegations for discussion without committing the originating delegation's country to the contents. It has no identified source, title, or attribution and no standing in the relationship involved.

The aide-memoire written by Integrity Commission chairman Ken Gordon after his meeting with Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley is transcribed below:


At the end of a meeting at the offices of the Integrity Commission on Wednesday May 15 I received a telephone message from my secretary that the Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley had called me at approximately 2.23 p.m.

He requested an “urgent meeting”. He asked that I return his call and left his cell number to facilitate my doing so.

I attempted to reach him without success and left a message on his answering machine.

Not having heard from him (by 6 p.m.) and mindful of the urgency expressed earlier I tried again to reach him and this time did so. He stated that he was on his way home and that the “urgency” still existed.

Since we live in the same general area I suggested that he could stop over to see me on his way home. He did so and arrived some ten minutes later. I offered him a drink which he declined and we moved straight to the business of the meeting.

He advised that prior to former president Richards’ departure, he (Dr Rowley) brought to the President’s attention a matter he considered to be very serious.

Dr Rowley had reason to believe that the President may in turn have brought such matter to the attention of the Integrity Commission.

Now with more than two months having elapsed Dr Rowley proposes to embark upon a certain course of action. He is therefore, enquiring whether the matter he had referred to President Richards had been passed to the Commission.

I reminded Dr Rowley that it is not the practice of the commission to disclose the matters which are before the commission. Even more significantly it was pointed out that the four new appointments to the commission had not as yet been made by President Carmona.

While non-policy day-to-day operations continue to be addressed by the commission, until the new commissioners are appointed and sworn in new matters cannot be addressed until at least a quorum exists.

The matter which he had referred to former president Richards is not therefore before the Integrity Commission.

Wednesday May 15, 2013