Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s action to quell the public outrage over the early proclamation of a controversial section of a bill was decisive. She laid the blame for the fiasco squarely at the feet of Minister of Justice Herbert Volney and fired him, saying he had misled the cabinet.
The public disquiet was because Section 34 of the Administration Of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011 enabled people who stood accused of an indictable offence to apply to a judge to throw out a case if more than ten years had passed since the commission of the offence, and if the trial had not yet started.
Its early proclamation provided a loophole for businessmen Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson, both leading financiers of the prime minister’s ruling party who are facing fraud charges relating to the Piarco Airport construction project, to apply to the court to be freed.
The Trinidad and Tobago Parliament had to move swiftly to repeal the controversial section last week.
Persad-Bissessar said Volney had misled the cabinet when asked whether he consulted with the Chief Justice and Director of Public Prosecutions on the particular section.
Volney contends that he was a sacrificial lamb thrown to wolves to cool the public’s passions.
How this matter was dealt with is of relevance to Barbadians concerned over how the handling of the Bagatelle Metal Dump affair.
The common thread is a cabinet minister’s statements being disputed and the response by his Prime Minister.
Let’s review this matter.
July 29 – THE NATION revealed that Government, through the Sanitation Service Authority, was no longer operating the metal dump at Bagatelle, St Thomas. The property had been transferred to businessman Andrew Bynoe as part-payment for Government’s use of his land at River Bay, St Lucy.
As a result, Bynoe’s younger brother Paul, who operates B’s Bottle and B’s Recycling at Cane Garden, St Thomas, would close that operation and transfer the business to Bagatelle.
The residents became aware of the change in operation only as a result of the noise generated by the installation of new machinery.
August 1 – Andrew Bynoe confirmed he attended a meeting on July 30 with officials from the Town & Country Planning Department (T&CPD), and that stopped operations at Bagatelle pending the submission of an environmental impact study.
August 2 – Senator Kerrie Symmonds, the Barbados Labour Party?candidate for St James Central – the constituency in which Bagatelle Metal Dump is located – called on Minister of Environment Dr Denis Lowe to produce the transfer licence within 24 hours or resign.
Symmonds said Lowe must explain the circumstances of the disposal of Crown land and the change of use. And if the transfer was done by way of a licence, to state the licensee, the grant’s purposes and when it occurred.
He explained the necessary approval of Parliament had not been acquired.
September 12 – Lowe finally broke his silence. He said Government had made no swap of land. Rather, a Cabinet paper written by his ministry had asked Government to consider the transfer of the Bagatelle facility to B’s Recycling.
“In that paper, the ministry indicated to Cabinet that once it had given consent to contemplate the decision that was asked for, that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) would have to be satisfied that the necessary studies would be done,” he said.
B’s Recycling would have to, of necessity, submit an operational plan that included all of the stipulated requirements of the T&CPD, and that once that was done, then the Cabinet would consider whether the decision asked for would be granted . . . So no decision has been taken.”
September 13 – Symmonds, in response, said there was a paper trail dating back to the beginning of the year which showed the decision to move B’s Recycling was made without T&CPD consultation, and that an “exchange” of land was proposed for the resiting of the recycling plant.
Symmonds produced correspondence indicating that the Chief Town Planner and EPD were not consulted on the relocation of B’s Recycling. He also showed that Cabinet approved the move in March, that the Ministry of Housing granted a licence for B’s to relocate, and that discussions were held about the exchange of a portion of land at River Bay, St Lucy, for the Bagatelle site and a lot at Fort Denmark, St Peter.
September 20 – Symmonds and fellow attorney Gregory Nicholls filed an injunction in the High Court representing six residents of the Hoyte’s Village, St James, seeking judicial review of a Cabinet decision to allow B’s Recycling to operate its metal recycling plant at Bagatelle.
What is the truth in this matter? Given the correspondence from Symmonds, it seems all the facts have not been presented. Unlike Persad-Bissessar, our Prime Minister has not responded. He needs to be candid on this matter. And if his Cabinet was misled, he should act decisively. For the sake of good governance.
• Sanka Price is the SATURDAY SUN Editor.
