Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:13 hours 20 min ago
Consent agreement granted...
UFF probe stalled
Published: 3 Oct 2009
Professor John Uff, Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott) and the construction sector, has been blocked from producing the report, which he had promised to deliver by December this year.
By a consent agreement between lawyers for Udecott and the commission, it was ordered that Uff’s report, even if it was completed, could not be released or published until a judicial review case was completed. That may take years, and cost millions of dollars if it goes all the way to the Privy Council in London. The agreement stated that counsel for the defendants (the commission) gave an undertaking that there will be no reinstatement or resumption of the inquiry by way of further hearings or reception of evidence, preparation, publication or dissemination, of any report until the hearing of the judicial review application brought by the claimants, Udecott. Udecott had gone to the Port-of-Spain High Court seeking a review of the decision of the commission to continue hearings, although the inquiry was not gazetted. The State company is also claiming bias against former commissioner, Israel Khan and present commissioner, Kenneth Sirju.
Last Friday, Justice Mira Dean-Armorer granted leave to Udecott to file for judicial review. She fixed yesterday to hear applications for interim relief. But when the lawyers turned up, they decided to have discussions, rather than go into court and make submissions. Dean-Armorer stood the case down on three occasions on the premise that an agreement could be reached without arguments in court. At 11.30 am, Andrew Goddard, QC, lead attorney for Udecott indicated that both parties had reached a consent agreement. It was then agreed that the substantive case will be heard between February 8 and 12, 2010. Appearing with Goddard were Frank Solomon, SC, and Devesh Maharaj, Ian Roach and Kerwyn Garcia represented the commission, but at the full hearing, they would be led by English QC Michael Beloff. Udecott filed the judicial review action against Uff, Sirju and Desmond Thornhill. Udecott is challenging the validity of the commission on the basis that is was not gazetted. Udecott contends that although the commission started public hearings on January 12, it was not until September 11 that the commission was published in an extraordinary edition of the Gazette. According to Udecott, this does not have retroactive effect.
The State company is also claiming bias against Khan and Sirju. The Senate passed the Validation Act on Thursday, to validate the work of the suspended commission of enquiry. That means all the evidence taken at the inquiry in the last eight months, would be saved and used for a final report. Speaking in Parliament on September 11, Attorney General, John Jeremie, announced that retired Justice of Appeal, Anthony Lucky, would conduct an “urgent probe” on how the Government failed to comply with the legal requirement to publish in the Gazette, the holding of the commission of enquiry. The Guardian was reliably informed that Lucky handed in a six-page interim report to Jeremie on September 16, before he flew out to Hamburg, Germany, to sit with the other judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
MORE DELAY
MORE DELAY -
More delay, more costs.
Ramesh I have named you the
Ramesh I have named you the best legal mind in the Caribbean and this is how you repay your public, oh I stepping down, look the public need to slap you around or what? how you can have the AG dealing with the Law Association and the general public like this, like you do care for we, yo bro let me know, because ryan4party can be the same way. Hart less, lol.
If you riding, ride now, don’t stop, just go. I will help you, we the people giving you one week, where u at.
People of Trinidad and Tobago, Ryan4Party said it before, I will take anyone and make them the PM, Ryan4Party vote for PM is Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Time for the first woman to run things for real, whatever party she choose, UNC or COP, jack where u at, I think the women can bring back our country, the same way they take care of our families, ever a PNM said it “I will be like a house wife”. Anyone want some intelligent debate on this one, you are welcome to bring it.
La Diva, Kitty, Gardenia, and all other female bloggers, please note, Ryan4Party don’t have any issues with the women running things, I think it will be a good thing; it will help our nation as a whole and not just our political conchants. Now does not mean I will leave out the male bloggers out, guys what you think about my choice. I think I can`t go wrong for 5 years, who take care of you guys from the day you born.
Time to stop the political
Time to stop the political game between the parties and so call rulers, you have all had your time, you are all rich, now it’s the people time, by avoiding the debate we can see who is political motivated on this forum, UNC how the PNM have the country someone better call the COP, but guess what its all a game, we the people suffer, how many bloggers have been online in the last week, who they support, what they see, who are they! Told you people don’t have time for games, but since some people want to play, I with it. Welcome of the game you cannot win because of evolution of human minds.
Panday has no case, it is
Panday has no case, it is all a game –
1. How can you have a case for some one that is publicly on the media on a daily basis for a man that was the PM of our country, then we read articles on the media, Abu got issues with pre publicity, so what will you say about Panday, you can never try this man in Trinidad and Tobago.
2. How the hell you cannot prove a ethnic cleansing case for Panday, (Just remember we in Trinidad and Tobago court, what we doing here with this man case) Look at the media, everything in the media including the comments go into history, Google ryan4party, mike see, I am writing history, just you did not know, go Google it and tell me how it looks for the PNM and where Manning brought our founding party. (Please see attributes of ethnic cleansing, Mr. Panday and the last CJ are both victims) Panday has no charge or case, but the state owes him some money.
Now people I said I will work for panday daughter for free, I did, there is Panday case that the PNM got on him, Manning what up sir. Sad the people know the truth, sad the people can see through you sir.
People suffering! And Now!
Ryan4Party
Gardenia what do you
Gardenia what do you think,
Ryan4party@live.com
Please remember people the
Please remember people the PNM said they know who is ryan4party, ok who am I, you can’t say, I am taunting you. Mr. Manning who I am, see if someone don’t sue u sir. Take your best guess, just like the UNC or COP. No direct link or ip.
Ryan, take a deep breath and
Ryan, take a deep breath and a cup of coffee. Watch your blood pressure guy
'Pressure does bust pipe'
'Pressure does bust pipe' Bro Des, won't you suggest instead that Brother Ryan4 not drink that cuppa, as it may further elevate the 'pressure'? The 'steam' he's letting out may actually 'ease the tension' (Shadow, Tobago Calypsonian).
ajfyzabadbutlertown
I only drink Guinness, so
I only drink Guinness, so got no issues with my pressure, proven since 1759.
LOL, ok Bro, appreciate your
LOL, ok Bro, appreciate your blogs.
ajfyzabadbutlertown
I always felt that here was
I always felt that here was no need for this C'ssn of Enquiry in the first place. These millions should have been used for forensic and criminal investigations which the DPP & Police should have instituted. The suspects are well-known and should have been suspended and excluded from the crime scenes so they couldn't destroy evidence.
Apart from the obvious why was the whole construction sector dragged in, when only UDECOTT and those at the helm were and continue to be the main suspects?
It is is time to forget these costly games. Maybe someone with some legal brains could come up with some ideas. There have been many examples of individuals being used to bring suspected cases before the courts. In the early days of our self-government, the Opposition used a mattress maker by the name of Patterson to bring a charge of misbehaviour against gov't minister PJV Solomon concerning car loans. I can't recall the details, but there were similar cases where individuals were used as the complainants. I'm sure the lawyers can find some legal mechanism to force the State to take some serious measures, starting with the suspension of the suspects.
If they continue with this C'ssn of Enquiry, the alleged culprits and their spoils would have long disappeared by the time the whitewash circus gets on the road. I have said before and I repeat that here is sufficient information/evidence in the public domain to make a start. The time for action is now. Stop pussyfooting. The C of E, I'm sure, can still continue to run in parralel with other criminal investigations, unless there is some legal impediment to this.
If we can understand that in
If we can understand that in the mix of enquiries time passes and it becomes all a game. A game going back an forth we cannot find any solidity. Its an unstable game that people dont want. When peoples lives are at stake, we all know who feels it most.
Kamla going to run things for opposition party.
Hey Dude you need to take a
Hey Dude you need to take a chill pill, all this rambling.Who in their right mind will vote for Kamla. I think your still sleeping.Wake up
Don't get frightened by that
Don't get frightened by that comment. Its all fairplay. As long as Hart and Manning have nothing to do with anything right now. People seeing through a lot of what games being played, im sure all of us here understand it. If not ryan4party can elaborate. We get so caught up on the day by day blog, but is there any significance in the words being said? Talking is talking, and walking is walking, you want to talk or walk? So far no one has shown any purpose or significance. What do you all want? I know for sure no one voting for Panday.
Apparently, the main actors
Apparently, the main actors thought this Commission would have been a convenient way to sweep dust beneath the carpet. But is it possible that when they saw how much dust was hitting the proverbial fan that they decided that the 'joke has gone too far'? UDECOTT knows that a lot of damning evidence has been made public here. Sometimes I got the mistaken impression that I was looking at some Al Capone movie instead of this enquiry. Maybe it's not real and this is just a movie, in truth?
ajfyzabadbutlertown
You see TT is not running on
You see TT is not running on modern grounds: Every govt agency or by law all corporations should have gatekeepers
1> gate keepers- an accounting dept in house
2> a Financial controller
3> an internal treasury dept
4> Internal auditing system
5> financial lawyers
Then with sytems in place, and the workers signing that they work by corporate law, that the worker can be held accountable. But this system of gatekeepers, stop the management and directors and CEOs from putting fishy actions in place. Now with a host of signatures from the accounting dept, the controller, the treasury and the auditors, checks are in place.
Business decisions are challenged by the system in place. All in authority have to sign off.
Petrotrin should have worked this way and it would not be near bankrupt.
In spending money to set this up, then you will have an external auditor going through all the financial paperwork for contracts for bids, for buying and looking that all approvals were in place.
That projects do pass corporate cultures and strategies and lie within budgets.
If something is out of line it raises a red flag. There will be workers in a company who will be able to flag a red herring to the company controllers.
There are large automated accounting sytems with these controls in place. THe money spent on tribunals will be saved in using these transparent systems.
Come on TT, what a mess you find yourself in. What has gone wrong? Who are the financial and legal advisers to treasury and UDECOTT? Remember its the big finance companies and their external auditors that help the Wall street and London crashes, all for greed, all bypassing systems?. They did not advise properly that there is too much risk involoved.
Here we have questionable risks in TT and no one is holding the reins as maybe what has been done has flown through all gateposts, unchecked, no approvals?
Bro Des, I'm sure you would
Bro Des, I'm sure you would have read in the 'papers' (well,not really papers) where a whole lot of 'companies' and agencies have been set up by this current administration to bypass all those checks and balances you have mentioned above. Some are: UDECOTT,RDCOTT,PSAEL(Palo Seco Agricultural Enterprises Limited, fixing roads etc), EFCL, Sports Company etc etc. The rationale? The old time procedures were slowing things down. Is it any surprise, then, that accounting procedures have been 'fast tracked' or even side-stepped altogether?
ajfyzabadbutlertown
When IsraelKhan made his
When IsraelKhan made his admission that he was biased (and he deliberately was) I made the observation that the Uff COE was headed into a long dark tunnel from which it will not emerge. This has now come to pass. I not a prophet but like most of you it was easy to see the set up in place. What we have now is the result of a well orchestrated and implemented plan that was hatched in the bowels of the PNM. The AG's sentiments are all grandstandings, he is mouthing positions to make it look like the government has done it's part to keep the COE moving along, but in reality he would have been one of those who planned it's demise.
Now while the COE is lost in legal Neverland, would we ever learn of the contents of the Lucky inquiry into the non-gazetting of the COE? I'm sure you all know the answer to that one.
So here we are, no COE anymore and most are saying that there is enough evidence in the public domain for investigations to begin. While we all know this to be true, there are those who donot want this to happen and sure enough they will have their way. The office holders of the post of CoP will not "Rock the boat" as the PNM is in power. The PNM broke the law and held an illegal assembly in Woodford Square and no action has been taken, this is the land of one law for PNM and another for the rest of us. This has been an official cover-up my friends.
This sate of affairs is vexing, it's scandalous, stinks and is a massive embarassment to all the citizens of T&T. Are we going to accept this mess and move on to the next baccahanal in "One day wonder country"? Will we cool it and say "If it was another country they will never get away with that".
It's time for Trinidad to have it's own Velvet Revolution a non-violent citizens movement to take back this country from mad men and women foaming at the mouth, drunk with delusions of grandeur and practicioners of narcissism. Let us start, slowly but surely building momentun as we go along. Let us set a date to drive with our lights on as a start or something else. Any ideas out there? Please let us begin to register our disgust with all that is happeneing in our country
Whatever your response to this contribution, please don't sit by idly and accept this state of affairs in sweet T&T.
Gospelspy, amirjairam, get
Gospelspy, amirjairam, get back your TT from the hijackers. These guys cant manage a drink up in a brewery. You cannot do this, Gospel, on the Guardian blogs as the topics change every day. There must be a society set up to do this irrespective of the Guardian.Everyday these guys in Govt open their mouths, we see their stupidities, You see Colm, he does not speak up anymore as you guys slammed him. Now we have Browne and JJ to deal with.
...we the people have been
...we the people have been taken to the cleaners on this one....we are the victims of an elaborate and carefully conceived plot by Manning, JJ and the gang, to institute and subsequently scuttle this entire process....from the appointment of sycophant Israel to JJ's mouthings-off...the die was cast....and here's the kicker....we're paying money we don't have for this charade.....
Zando, no balls are being
Zando, no balls are being bowled disguised as real balls by them? Seems like a lotta them balls coming on the 'Uff' side instead of the leg side? What's next? A commission to investigate the commission which is investigating this commission? The foreign commissioners and the imported queens counsels and them having a ball with the emptying treasury.
ajfyzabadbutlertown
Senator Mark did say in his
Senator Mark did say in his contribution to the debate on the Validation Bill that the government and UDECOTT were a unified force. We see now why the attorney general could not give any assurances to the opposition before the vote was taken, that the report of the commission would be laid in the house and made public.
By the time all of this is completed the government would be submitting the 2011 budget and in it will be an increase in the marginal income tax rate; this would provide the additional revenue needed to fund the mounting costs of this enquiry.
Help Lord!