Sandy: I feel set up
By NALINEE SEELAL and LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Wednesday, January 26 2011
Embarrassed by being kept in the dark over the appointment of Reshmi Usha Ramnarine to the post of director of the Strategic Security Agency (SSA), and also being forced to read a statement in Parliament on Friday that Ramnarine was the holder of a university degree, an angry Minister of National Security Brigadier John Sandy met on Monday afternoon with Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to vent his concerns over the appointment and the questions being asked over his integrity.
The meeting between Sandy and the Attorney General (AG) took place in a committee room of the Parliament at about 1 pm on Monday, following a parliamentary sub-committee meeting.
Sources revealed that during the meeting Sandy expressed outrage over not being told of Ramnarine’s appointment, and felt embarrassed that he was only informed after reading the appointment in the press.
It was Sandy who had objected to Ramnarine’s appointment during a National Security Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar earlier this month.
Newsday understands Sandy pointed out to the Attorney General that he felt “set up” after being given a statement to read on Ramnarine’s appointment while on his feet during a presentation in the Lower House last Friday.
The prepared speech was reportedly given to Sandy by Government Chief Whip Dr Roodal Moonilal.
But while Sandy in Parliament and in a press release claimed Ramnarine was appointed to the SSA as an acting director, this was contradicted by an official press release from the Office of the President on Friday.
As the Opposition called for Ramnarine to be fired, Sandy told MPs that Ramnarine was appointed to act in the post for six months as part of a process of streamlining3 the SSA with the controversial Security Intelligence Agency (SIA).
Without naming Ramnarine, he said, “the appointed officer was installed to act for a period of six months in the Office of Director of the SSA. The officer was not appointed to head the SIA. The appointment was made to assist in the rationalisation, streamlining an amalgamation of the SIA into the SSA. The merger has been ongoing for some time.”
A press release issued by the Ministry of National Security’s corporate communications unit mirrored Sandy’s statement in the House on Friday.
But an official release from the Office of the President, issued at about the same time that Sandy spoke in Parliament on Friday, made no mention of an acting appointment and also said the new appointee would head the SIA, not the SSA, as claimed by Sandy.
“In the absence from the country of His Excellency Professor George Maxwell Richards, His Excellency Senator Timothy Hamel-Smith, Acting President of the Republic, issued the instrument of appointment to the new SIA director on Friday January 14, 2011,” the release said.
Questioned by Newsday on the issue outside one of the committee rooms at the Parliament on Friday, Sandy said the decision was taken the week before. He was, however, reluctant to comment further. Asked if he thought Ramnarine was a suitable person to helm the SSA, Sandy said, “I am not going there. I am not going there.”
Newsday understands that one day after telling the Parliament that Ramnarine had a university degree, a very uncomfortable Sandy was later informed that Ramnarine did not have a university degree, and this caused his integrity to be questioned.
During the meeting on Monday, the minister also pointed out to the AG that he was again asked to issue a press release on Saturday afternoon indicating Ramnarine had tendered her resignation to him and he also expressed concern over that, since it was not him who had appointed Ramnarine to the post.
According to reports, Sandy told the AG that the last few days were a great source of embarrassment to him, and he wanted to know why he was put in such a situation.
Sandy also asked the AG for advice on how to respond should the PNM bring about a motion of privilege against him for misleading the Lower House.
SANDY from Page 5A
Newsday understands the AG listened to what Sandy had to say and promised to discuss the matter with the appropriate parties. The AG yesterday declined to comment on whether he met with Sandy over the issue this week. Sources close to Sandy said he will be contemplating his next move due to the series of events over the last couple of days. Sandy again distanced himself from the selection of Ramnarine yesterday when questioned by reporters at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain where he attended the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association seminar for parliamentarians.
An uneasy-looking Sandy said he did not interview Ramnarine and did not know who interviewed or recommended her.
In his statement last Friday, Sandy said a deputy director of the SSA had recommended Ramnarine, which the Prime Minister reiterated when questioned on the issue last Saturday. There are two deputy directors at SSA–Julie Brown and Keron Ganpat.
Sandy also said yesterday he was misinformed regarding Ramnarine’s qualifications for the post. “I was advised she was qualified that is why I made the statement, and I am advised now she is not,” he told reporters adding he had not seen her qualifications.
Asked why Ramnarine’s qualifications were not scrutinised instead of accepting a recommendation, Sandy said, “everyone is entitled to their considerations in that respect, I’d rather not comment on it.”
A new director for the SSA was now being pursued but Sandy could not say when someone would be hired. “We hope it will be as soon as possible. Under the circumstances we must recognise there will be certain procedures which must take place with respect to that,” he said. Sandy said the SSA is the legal entity while the SIA was not. Responding to a question on the possibility the Opposition would seek to have him referred to the Privileges Committee, Sandy said some may feel there were grounds, others may feel there were none. He preferred not to comment.
Giving his personal view, Sandy said it was unfortunate the way in which the issue has erupted and he would not venture to say more. He did not think anyone in the People’s Partnership has lied. “I would say it was misinformation,” he said.
Asked if Ramnarine’s qualifications and experience did not become an issue would the Government proceed with the appointment, Sandy referred reporters to the head of the National Security Council— the Prime Minister.
Questioned about talk that Ramnarine’s appointment was linked to “pay back” for supporting the Partnership, Sandy said he was not part of the election campaign and did not know.
Persad-Bissessar yesterday said it was time to move on from the issue since Ramnarine had resigned. “She has now resigned, let us move forward,” Persad-Bissessar told reporters after the sod- turning ceremony for the construction of a highway from Golconda, San Fernando to Point Fortin. She said Sandy, being a member of Cabinet and the National Security Council, was aware of Ramnarine’s appointment.
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and deputy political leader of the Congress of the People Prakash Ramadhar, who also attended yesterday’s seminar for parliamentarians, gave varying responses when questioned on the issue.
Asked by a reporter about Sandy saying it may have been an error on the part of government and a recommendation was accepted and Ramnarine was not interviewed for the post, Rowley replied, “A minister of Government says it is an error they appointed somebody without the necessary basic information to head a security agency and they took a recommendation from a subordinate person and what am I supposed to do? Not understand that, accept it and excuse it?”
Moonilal said, “the matter has been dealt with, the resignation has been tendered. I imagine there will be another recommendation and we will deal with it.”
Ramadhar said he did not know Ramnarine and “would not have made any statement I believed to be false.” In his contribution to the Lower House last Friday, he said Ramnarine was a UWI graduate.
He apologised to the nation if his statements conveyed anything other than what he honestly believed to be true.
