Integrity Commission members resign
Rowley: Decent thing to do
FRANCIS JOSEPH | 9:09 PM
Published: February 5th, 2009
Keith RowleyIn the aftermath of a demoralising court defeat to former government minister Dr Keith Rowley on Tuesday, the four members of the Integrity Commission submitted their resignations to President George Maxwell Richards yesterday morning. Richards, who accepted the resignations, is now searching among qualified nationals for five new Commissioners to fill the vacancies left by sudden departure of John Martin, chairman, Justice Monica Barnes, deputy chairman, Peter Clarke, and Vindar Dean-Maharaj. The fifth Commissioner, Brian Nicholson, died last year and was never replaced.
Rowley, who called for the members of the Commission to resign, said last night that he was not surprised that they had done so. “It was the only decent thing to do; that was to be expected. A finding of misfeasance in public office is a very serious matter, especially when it comes from the Integrity Commission, a body established under the constitution to preserve a high level of integrity. They really had no choice.” “This was not the first time that the Commission has found itself in trouble. Very early into my matter, very prominent persons were calling on them to resign. It is a sad thing for this to happen. There was no pleasure in seeing that.”
Martin, Nicholson, Barnes and Clarke were appointed Commissioners on August 24, 2006, for a three-year period. Dean-Maharaj’s appointment took effect on September 1, 2006. They came into office weeks after the last meeting of the Commission (August 7, 2006), which took the decision to submit a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to have Rowley investigated over the Landate project in Tobago, without telling the then minister he was being investigated. In a statement issued yesterday, Martin said, “The members of the Integrity Commission have given consideration to the judgment of the High Court, dated 3rd February, 2009, in the proceedings commenced by Dr Keith Rowley.
“The members of the Commission accept and recognise that the Commission acted wrongly by failing to give Dr Rowley a full opportunity to be heard. While we consider that the Commission acted in good faith, we recognise that the Commission must respect the court’s decision. In the circumstances, all of the members of the Commission have decided to resign. “We have met today with his Excellency, the President, and have informed him of our decision. My fellow Commissioners and I wish to express our deep regret and sincere apologies to his Excellency, the President, to Dr Keith Rowley, and to the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” Martin added. On Tuesday, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, presiding in the Port-of-Spain High Court, awarded Rowley more than $100,000 in damages, interest and costs against the Integrity Commission, which pursued the controversial Landate project in Tobago.
The judge ruled that the Commission acted in bad faith in relation to Rowley, and was guilty of the tort of misfeasance in public office. She also found on the facts that there was an unfair abuse of power on the part of the commission in leading Rowley and his wife, Sharon, to believe that the investigations in relation to Landate were ongoing and that Mrs Rowley had a continuing obligation to provide information to the Commission. After the court judgment, Rowley called on members of the Commission to demit office. On Wednesday, members of the Commission met in an emergency meeting and decided to tender their resignations to the President, just six months short of the completion of their term. This is the first time that an entire independent commission has resigned in the aftermath of controversy.
Members who resigned:
John C Martin, Chairman
Martin is a Chartered Accountant with over 36 years experience. He is currently director of Allied Hotels Limited, Furness Trinidad Limited, Trinidad Building & Loan Association and Furness Anchorage General Insurance Limited. He has also served as President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Justice Monica Barnes
Barnes is a retired Supreme Court Judge. She was Chairman of the Tax Appeal Board and before that, Chief Parliamentary Counsel. She has been a member of several key Commissions including the Law Reform Commission and the Caricom Company Law Task Force.
Peter Clarke
Clarke is a Financial Consultant. He is a director of a number of companies, including the General Building and Loan Association, Allied Hotels Limited and the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, a member of the UWI Development and Endowment Fund and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain Finance Council.
Vindar Dean-Maharaj
Dean-Maharaj is a Chartered Accountant. He is a full-time member of the Tax Appeal Board.
