Wey, Trinidad and Tobago really is a hotbed for underhanded, sneaky dealings. Look at today's newspapers and you would determine exactly what I mean:
- Hart wants documents 'sanitised'
- Uff gets tough
- Udecott gets 72 hours to produce documents
- Uff: Hard to find forensic expert in T&T
- Uff: Udecott papers 'manifestly incomplete'
By the way, the press was barred from the first meeting, which makes me wonder how on earth the public can be assured of any transparency in the process. Seems that the notion of inviting the press 'slipped through the cracks'.
The commission of enquiry ent even start yet, and Hart (and by extension UDeCOTT) already 'braksing'. Hart wants to 'sanitise' documents before posting them on the website, in order to prevent Hart's name from being defamed. Solomon said he did not want "rumours and innuendoes" about his client.
I could tell Frank Solomon that it is a little too late for that, and by 'sanitising' to prevent rumours and innuendo, he (Hart) has actually created an atmosphere to encourage rumours and innuendo. I for one am very curious as to what Hart has to hide.
The Express was unable to ascertain who would be paying Hart's legal bill.
I am amazed that the interested parties have retained some rather 'big' names in the legal field to 'represent' them. Take a look at the list:
- The Joint Consultative Council (JCC) has retained Alvin Fitzpatrick, SC.
- Dr Keith Rowley has retained Gilbert Peterson, SC.
- Nipdec, another State company chaired by Hart, which also handles State projects and which is also an interested party, has retained two SCs, Russell Martineau and Deborah Peake.
- The Attorney General has retained Douglas Mendes, SC.
- Calder Hart has retained separate legal counsel Frank Solomon.The Express learned that Solomon was hired specifically to deal with issues of defamation of character, which was considered to be separate and apart from the allegations made against UDeCOTT
- UDeCOTT, has retained a battery of attorneys, led by British QC, Geoffrey Robertson.
- The commission has retained Seenath Jairam, SC, and two juniors.
Notice 5 and 6 above eh. Calder Hart has to have someone protect him against defamation of character. Which brings to mind, what if the Commission is finding him to be less than reputable, will the evidence be suppressed so as to not defame him? Would possible defamation win over the public interest of finding him corrupt?
UDeCOTT now has a 'battery of lawyers' (as an aside, why is a group of lawyers called a 'battery'?). This is to be expected; I have long since suspected that they have cocoa 'rottening' in the dark somewhere.
Bear in mind that all these legal beagles command top prices, that the money is coming out of the state's coffers, and what do you find? That we will have almost as much spent on finding out who is corrupt as we had being spent on the grafts and kickbacks themselves. No one would even get a 'tap up'. Lose-lose for the nation.
Papa-trick's land of milk and honey also has rivers of money flowing. I kinda regret I ent there; I mean I coulda get close to some ah dem and get meh share too. Instead, I in a cold blasted country with meh privates shrinking in horror, both from the cold and the cronyism I am seeing going on.
The life of Riley indeed.
