Saturday, September 5 2009

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Under arrest?: A policeman stands watch over Prime Minister Patrick Manning, right, and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday as they met each other in the ...

THE Opposition UNC yesterday filed a motion in the House, calling for the establishment of a tribunal to investigate whether President George Maxwell Richards should be removed from office for his role in appointing five persons to the Integrity Commission who resigned within one week of their appointments.

This the first time in the country’s history that steps have been taken to remove a sitting President from office.

Chief Whip Dr Hamza Rafeeq informed Speaker Barry Sinanan that in accordance with Section 36 (1b) of the Constitution, 14 UNC MPs signed the motion calling for the establishment of a tribunal to investigate whether Richards should be removed from office.

Under this provision, no less than one third of the 41 members of the House (13) must sign the motion to give it effect. Renegade UNC MPs Jack Warner, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Winston “Gypsy” Peters were among the 14 MPs who signed the motion.

Rafeeq said the Opposition believes Richards breached the Integrity in Public Life Act by appointing Jeffrey MacFarlane to the commission because he was the National Insurance Board managing director and held directorships in other state companies. He claimed the President erred in appointing Fr Henry Charles as chairman because of questions of plagiarism and misled retired Justice Zainool Hosein into believing he would be appointed as deputy chairman of the Integrity Commission. Sinanan replied this was a “novel item under our Constitution” and he would report back to the House on the procedures involved, after he studies the motion. Section 36 (1c) states the motion must be adopted by no less than two thirds (48) of the total membership of the House and Senate (72) for a tribunal headed by the Chief Justice to be appointed to investigate the President’s actions.

Constitutional experts yesterday said given Government’s superior numbers in the House and Senate, the UNC ’s motion will be defeated. The Opposition also convinced Sinanan to refer the Government to the House’s Privileges Committee for denying them three consecutive private members days over the last three months.

Claiming that House Leader Colm Imbert ignored requests to have these sessions, Rafeeq charged that Government has committed “an abuse of our rights and has served to bring this House into disrepute.

The Speaker accepted the UNC’s argument that it only had one day per month to raise its matters while Government virtually has an “unlimited time” to discuss its business.

“This is a very important issue raised by the Opposition. I find it important enough for the committee to look at it,” he said. Sinanan later turned down a request by Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar to raise a lack of water in certain parts of her constituency as a definite matter of urgent public importance.