The Uff Commission of Enquiry presented its report six months ago, but taxpayers are still paying for the exercise. Cabinet has agreed to pick up the Value Added Tax (VAT) tab on the legal fees, which comes up to $378,000. This follows the payment of $4,635,260 in briefs and refreshers to attorneys who represented the State during commission hearings. The legal team retained by the commission of enquiry set back taxpayers by $3,070,000. Payments to attorneys for the State and the commission were made last year.
But Guardian sources said that Cabinet was recently asked to consider making the VAT payments of $153,000 to a senior counsel and $75,000 each to three junior counsel. The sources said that Cabinet agreed to payment of the fees. The legal team retained on behalf of the State was comprised of a senior counsel, two junior counsel and an instructing attorney. There were one senior counsel, three junior counsel and an instructing attorney on the commission's legal team.
All the attorneys were retained from the private bar.
Fees to the attorneys were increased in March last year when the terms of reference of the commission was expanded. All expenses associated with the commission of enquiry have been met by the Office of the Prime Minister. The Commission of Enquiry into the Construction Sector was appointed by President George Maxwell Richards on September 9, 2008. The commission was headed by Professor John Uff. An exhaustive report, presented in March, includes 191 recommendations. A Cabinet committee is examining the proposals.