By Clint Chan Tack Saturday, October 3 2009

DESPITE yesterday’s ruling by the High Court ordering a freeze on the Uff Commission of Inquiry, the Validation and Immunity of Proceedings Bill 2009 is not dead and will still be debated by the House of Representatives.

The Senate passed the bill on Thursday night.

The court ruled yesterday there would be no further sittings of the inquiry and its final report will not be released until after a hearing takes place in February. The Commission was due to submit its final report to President George Maxwell Richards next month.

In response to the court’s ruling, Opposition Chief Whip Dr Hamza Rafeeq yesterday said the proceedings of the inquiry thus far still has to be approved.

“Even though there will be no further sitting of the inquiry, it still has to be validated,” Rafeeq said.

This was necessary to reinforce the passage of the bill in the Senate and preserve the work which has already been done by the inquiry, he said.

Rafeeq added that even though the Commission’s final report cannot be released until after the court hearing in February, it was necessary for Parliament to complete the passage of the Bill so this can happen once the court allows it.

He explained all the court’s ruling has done is eliminate the urgency which had been placed on passing the legislation. Rafeeq said Government may push the Validation Bill on to the back burner and bring forward legislation such as the Proceeds of Crime Bill. The Senate sits on Monday at 1.30 pm to debate the Proceeds of Crime Bill and again on Tuesday at 10 am to debate the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Bill. The House passed the FIU Bill on Wednesday and has been adjourned to a date to be fixed.

In light of yesterday’s ruling, Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj declared the House must debate the Validation Bill as a matter of urgency. “This is worse than Watergate. The Government must be held fully responsible,” he said. Maharaj added, Government owes the population an explanation about why no steps were taken to prevent the inquiry from being hijacked.

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s office issued a statement in which he reiterated the UNC’s belief that Government has been trying to sabotage the inquiry from day one. The statement said nothing about the court’s ruling.