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We will never know the real reason
By now, the long-awaited Lord Mustill Report should have been delivered to the President. The ambitious public declaration by the tribunal that it intended to deliver it before the general election fell flat, as Prime Minister Manning immediately announced the date for the election.
We will never know whether Manning was influenced by Lord Mustill’s ominous announcement—that the people should have the benefit of their findings before they go to the polls—into suddenly pulling the election date out of his back pocket.
Equally, we will never know the real reason why the report is being delivered now, more than a month after the election.
Did Manning checkmate Mustill by announcing the date for the election so soon after the tribunal had completed its enquiry and voiced its intention to spill the beans?
Was it simply a case of the tribunal underestimating the amount of work it had to do? Or, was the tribunal influenced by the letter from its own independent counsel, Mr Reginald Armour, SC, who advised against delivering the report in the height of the election campaign?
It is hardly likely that such experienced jurists would underestimate the time needed to complete their report, after what was a relatively short enquiry with few witnesses.
It must be that members of the tribunal saw merit in the argument that the possibility of such a report being made public during the election campaign could create quite a splash, and it did not want to be responsible for the ripples.
I trust there would be some explanation from Lord Mustill as to why his tribunal did not meet its own deadline.
This deadline was publicly announced in the context of a carefully-reasoned speech, in which Mustill made it abundantly clear that he felt the public should know what was decided before they decided to vote.
This report could either vindicate the Chief Justice’s allegation of a political conspiracy to hound him out of office, or establish that there were reasonable grounds for the Government to act in the manner that it did.
If the charge of misconduct is made out, the Government would be vindicated. On the other hand, if the tribunal clears the CJ and condemns the failure of the key player, former attorney general John Jeremy to testify, then the constitution would have suffered a serious fracture.
Sadly, the Mustill report is now largely of academic value, as the long delay in appointing and establishing the tribunal and the length of time it took to commence its enquiry ensured that CJ Sharma loses in any event.
This is so because the CJ would have to automatically vacate office in January, 2008, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age.
There was never any real sense of urgency, and every one took their time in dealing with this matter, despite its obvious importance.
Whether it was by design or not, when all the dots are connected from beginning to end, Sharma was going to be removed from office, regardless of his guilt or innocence.
If he is found guilty of misconduct, the message and penalty would have been far more effective if he was expelled from office before he was automatically bound to vacate same by virtue of his age.
The report is also academic because other impeachment proceedings involving allegations of interference in the Vijay Narayansingh murder trial remain unresolved.
This provides sufficient basis for the continuation of Sharma’s suspension. The public must be reminded the CJ had sought judicial review, and this case has now reached the Privy Council on the narrow issue of whether he is entitled to cross-examine the Prime Minister.
The trial of this case has been stayed, pending the outcome of this appeal.
If Sharma wins the State in the Mustill Report, it is left to be seen whether the Government will nevertheless pursue the Narayansingh impeachment matter, or whether it will simply allow him to retire quietly and gracefully.
If Sharma is found guilty of wrongdoing, then there may be no need to proceed with the Narayansingh matter, as it makes no sense to have him removed from office twice, and there are no related criminal proceedings pending.
This knot would be untangled soon enough. Time will tell how miscellaneous Mustill was in this entire game.
By Anand Ramlogan 2007-12-15
- 992 reads
This whole sad and unfortunate saga is steeped and tangled in Politics, and I wonder how blameless is the President in all of this, as he dragged his feet in delays and excuses to move the Tribunal Hearings forward from April to September, and then only on the pressures coming from and brought to bear from a variety of different places.
One cannot cease to wonder how impartial the President is and can be, when his re-appointment to office is resting with the incumbent Prime Minister, who stated after his re-election and the "retreat" in the news media on November 15, 2007 that there was no vacancy in the President's Office, and he (Manning) intended to re-affirm his appointment (the President) for another five years. (And the President clapped his hands in glee like a little child reaching our for candies, thankful for the re-assurance and confidence from Father Manning, long before parliament was even re-convened)!
You don't normally bite the hand that feeds you, and you only dance to the music that's being played. In this case maybe it was the "slow waltz" (Blue Danube from Germany,maybe?) coming from the "Divine Echoes" band that was funded by the Prime Minister with over a million dollars of our taxpayer's monies!.
In any event, the whole thing stinks to the high heaven,(from above?) and yes, whatever is now contained in the report is purely academic. The only losers are CJ Sharma himself and the people of Trinidad & Tobago who have been and are continually being duped by an unscrupulous and manipulative Prime Minister and his regime, along with those who are dependent on him for their "hand outs" to maintain their lavish lifestyle at taxpayer's expense.
As I said before, Lords are only human indeed, and are subject to their own weaknesses, temptations and follies, including corruption. (See the current trial of Lord Black of Cross Harbour, Conrad Black who has been convicted in a court in Chicago, USA and sentenced to 78 months - six and a half years, in jail plus must forfeit $6.5 million dollars and fined $125,000 for mail fraud and obstruction of justice, for pocketing and using shareholder's monies as his own?- including using their Private Jet for himself and his wife to globe trot?)
So yes, as we await the final Tribunal Report, nothing will actually surprise me, either way it goes. I truly emphatise with CJ Sharma, guilty or not, just for the manner in which he was treated by people in high places, who would like to be looked up to in our society as being fair, honest and above scruples, but turns out to be just the opposite, in name only, a charade in the end! What morals and spiritual values? What mentors for our young people?
Whatever the verdict, there are no real winners here, only losers, mostly the people, think about it!
But then who cares? Certainly not The President, The Prime Minister nor his cronies and stooges (the yes people) who sit in as the blank and empty faces of his government living high off the hog! Feeding at the public trough!
What a "tangled web they've weaved"? Soon to be untangled, maybe, I won't hold my breath on Lord Mustill's report until I see it in writing, and then still.....maybe?
In any event, anyhow you look at it, the people of TnT loses....tragic as it may be ...very tragic indeed!
Goodluck.Trini.t.o.o
I don't know if it is just me...but I've noticed that crime seems to bring the biggest and most rapid hits on topics at this site. I wonder if it is true of topics at other websites?
In contrast to 'banal' topics like Lord Mustill's report and preservation of democracy, crime seems very 'sexy' - yuh know everybody wants to peep at crime. Who murderin' and rapin' who - boy dat is t'ing tuh read eh?
Well ah cyah blame people for dat because crime is what immediately affects their security and safety.
Is it an inherent flaw in democracy that that the electorate will naturally lack foresight and focus on equally important but longer term matters e.g. Constitutional matters? By extension the State reacts to immediate needs of the electorate without actually planning ahead in a more strategic way?
Its a very interesting observation Captain, and more likely holds much truth to it.
...Crime is like a magnet that draws attention, and people get caught up in it, wanting to know the finest detail, as if it actually stimulates their mind into thinking the proverbial "who dunnit" and how was it done?
It also sells newspapers, and becomes the "headliners" on TV newscasts.
In the end, it is real, and people connect with it, relates to it, and can "feel it" around them on a daily basis.
Things like Mustill's report is mundane stuff and too indepth for our thinking, too abstract as to how all of that will play out in the end, and so we could care less...It too far down the road for us, it hurts our head to think about it...!
But in addition to your observation on crime...have you noticed the "press" have also stopped printing the "murder count" recently? Any thoughts about why? What prompted this?
Is it because people are definitely connected to it, and now that government is back in Parliament, they don't want the people getting too riled up with them about the escalating crime? Just seem so strange the counting stopped all of a sudden, maybe based on a "direction" from above?
So yes, crime has its immediate impact on people and like they say "curiosity killed the cat", so I think that government will like to "shift" people's focus away from it, from the real world they have us living in, even if we all get killed in the process, who cares..!.
For these same reasons, and based on the advice given by phsychologists, some North American cities don't have press releases on details on "suicides" on the subway system, along with some of the most sickening crimes, including rapes, for fear of "copy cats" going out and doing the same.....!, so there must be some truth to human reactions and attractiveness to crimes being committed, maybe fear or or just plain curiosity...!.
But we Trini's have very imaginative minds and we like "comess" at the same time, so with crimes of any kind, we want the tiniest of detail given, we thrive on it, we have all the time in the world..! For gossip, that is...!
But for other stuff, the really long term important stuff, we don't have time for that, we too busy? But thats we Trini's for you..go figure..!
goodluck! Trini.t.o.o