By ANDRE BAGOO Friday, August 29 2008

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Information Minister Neil Parsanlal...

INFORMATION Minister Neil Parsanlal is listed among more than120 persons in public life who have failed to file declarations of income assets and liabilities to the Integrity Commission.

Parsanlal’s name occurs on a list published yesterday under Section 11 (6) of the Integrity in Public Life Act 2000. The act requires persons in public life to declare assets and income annually.

In the Commission’s list, which was one of two lists published yesterday, Parsanlal is named as a member of the defunct BWIA and is said to have not filed a declaration of income, assets and liabilities as well as a statement of registrable interest.

However, Parsanlal, a former BWIA board-member, yesterday said that he was not required to file for 2003, as far as he was aware. “I was not on the board of BWIA in 2003. I actually came on the board in 2004,” he explained. A second 80-person list for persons who failed to file in 2004, does not feature Parsanlal.

PNM Senator Laurel Lezama, however, appears on both lists in her capacity as a member of the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme. Former National Carnival Commission head Richard Afong also appears on both lists.

Pan Trinbago President Patrick Arnold appears alongside Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation founder Micheal Leggerton in their capacity as NCC board members in 2004.

“I’m on the board since 1997 and I never had that problem before,” Arnold said yesterday. His name does not appear on the list for 2003.

Arnold expressed confusion over the filing procedure, saying he believes the requirements of the Integrity Commission legislation, have to date, not properly been explained. “I don’t understand what is happening. I don’t think that was ever properly explained to us,” he said.

Also appearing on the 2004 list for holding positions which placed them in public life are Gary Cross of the Business Development Company, Harry Ragoonanan, husband of senior magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan and Malcolm Jones, member of Petrotrin.

Newly appointed University of the West Indies principal Professor Clement Sankat also features on the 2004 list in his capacity as a member of the National Agricultural and Marketing Development Corporation Limited.