DAREECE POLO
Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt
Oropouche West MP and chairman of the United National Congress (UNC) Davendranath Tancoo is accusing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of disrespecting the legacy of the late Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
Tancoo was speaking during a livestreamed tribute to the UNC’s founder in a special edition of the party’s Sunday media briefing.
Noting that Panday established the Integrity Commission (IC) and Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), Tancoo said Rowley’s recent critique of the IC was an afront to the organisation which was set up to prevent corruption among state officials. He added that was an insult to Panday.
“As we pay tribute to Basdeo Panday, this incident highlights the importance of his legacy. It highlights the very things that Mr Panday fought against to ensure that there was an absence of corruption, to ensure that there was clarity and transparency and as I said it is a shame, it is a despicable act that at this juncture... it’s a slap in the face of the legacy of Basdeo Panday that the prime minister is openly attacking the integrity commission which was set up for the purpose of clearing political office holders. Mr Panday’s legacy deserves better,” he said.
His comment followed an exchange of words between Rowley and IC chairman Prof Rajendra Ramlogan last week when the latter was criticised by the Prime Minister.
Rowley took issue with the IC’s press release which lamented the reduced budget for the institution and indicated that it had accepted free legal work to initiate legal proceedings.
Rowley responded saying the issue was “far too many ill-advised and politically motivated investigations” after his ownership of two Inez Gate properties was investigated and cleared three times. He called for more circumspect investigations in accordance with the spirit of the Integrity in Public Life Act.
“We wish to remind Dr Rowley that the commission is duty bound to consider all complaints that come before it. It was regrettable that Dr Rowley has so many assets that he seems to have forgotten to include a recently purchased town house in his declaration,” Tancoo said in reply.
Ramlogan, whose term in office as chairman of the 17th commission comes to an end on January 11, was also criticised by the Opposition over the course of his two-year tenure.
Last August, Rowley said the IC lacked integrity while the UNC called on all members to resign over the IC’s clearance of Rowley.
Meanwhile, Opposition senator Wade Mark questioned whether Rowley’s critique of Ramlogan was an attempt to block him from receiving an extension in tenure as President Christine Kangaloo will choose the next head of the integrity commission.
Moreover, the Opposition is once again seeking to clarify its relationship with the late prime minister, noting that they were all friends by the time of his death.
Mark said, “While there are many reports of many bodies that Mr Panday would have placed in the political cemetery, I think from my own recollection, that many of those who he viewed as political opponents, many of those who he chastised publicly and otherwise remained very, very close to Mr Panday. In fact, many of those are now considered amongst his friends. So, Mr Panday was never a victim. He always rose above the allegations and the chastising etcetera of those who wish to bring him to a lower level because that was the mark of the man. He had said before, it’s a well-known story, ‘if you see a lion and myself fighting feel sorry for the lion. Mr Panday was nobody’s victim. Far from that, he was a leader of leaders.”
The UNC will hold crime talks at 6 pm on January 15 at the La Joya Sporting Complex.
Tancoo made the announcement yesterday as he slammed Rowley for failing to set a date to hold crime talks with the opposition.
“The Prime Minister has refused to meet to date, despite acknowledging and accepting that crime is a major factor creating us,” he said.
T&T has recorded 13 murders so far this year.