Now that the Attorney General has announced the details of the CL Financial/HCU commission of enquiry, renewed concerns are being voiced as to whether or not the enquiry could compromise criminal cases that the DPP might bring arising from the forensic and police investigations.
On the face of it, the disclosure of evidence at a public enquiry could possibly compromise matters before the courts but, with care, that risk could be avoided. Similar circumstances existed when both the enquiry into the Piarco Airport Project and the first Piarco criminal case before the courts were in progress at the same time. I served as a commissioner on the Piarco Enquiry and can confirm that pressure was brought to bear on the commissioners by the then DPP, the Law Association and others to abort the enquiry so as to avoid the possibility of compromising the court case. Chairman of the enquiry, former CJ Clinton Bernard, stood strong in the face of intense pressure on us and, with care, so conducted the enquiry to avoid any compromise of the court case.
If, therefore, criminal charges are laid before the enquiry is completed, it will be incumbent upon Chairman Sir Gavin Lightman to follow the example of Chairman Bernard and so conduct the enquiry and draft his report to avoid any compromise of other matters. Based on my experience on the Piarco Enquiry, I have every confidence that it can be done. Concerns are also being voiced that key players in the matters under investigation might not co-operate and refuse to appear and testify before the enquiry, notwithstanding the commission's power of subpoena. In the case of the Piarco Enquiry, some key players, including a government minister, refused to appear before the enquiry.
Other key players, including chairmen of state boards, attended the enquiry, cross-examined witnesses, but withdrew from the enquiry before taking the witness stand themselves. The commission decided not to exercise its coercive powers under the Commission of Enquiry Act and the assistance sought from those individuals was never had. I hope that, if necessary, Chairman Lightman will use all his power under the Act to force compliance by all key players in order to fully satisfy the commission's terms of reference. I hope too that the AG, in keeping with his government's commitment to transparency, will ensure that the Lightman Report is laid in Parliament and published without undue delay.
Also, I hope that he will publish the many outstanding reports, eg Piarco Airport, Health Sector, Caroni Bridge etc that the previous administration kept from the public's eyes.
Victor Hart
Via e-mail