COMMENTARY

Law and Politics: The inquiry, cricket and crime

by Lloyd Noel, a former Attorney General of Grenada, prominent attorney at law and political commentator

Tuesday,  November 15, 2005

The Commission of Inquiry, which was issued by the Governor General early last year, and which was initially opened by the lone Commissioner, Dr. Richard Cheltenham of Barbados, in August last year, has been on hold (adjourned) since June 17 this year.

Readers may recall that the passage of “Ivan” in September last year, brought a stand still to most of everything in Grenada -- including the Inquiry.

Then, quite out of the blue, it was announced in early June (6th or 7th) that hearings would begin on the 13th June, 2005 -- and so it was.

By then, it was well known that Dr. Fenton Ramsahoye, a Guyanese Attorney but residing in Barbados, was appointed by the Governor General as Legal Counsel to the Commissioner.

And since the Inquiry concerned the actions and omissions of the Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, he was entitled to be represented before the Commission of Inquiry, and so he was by Mr. Ramesh Lawrence Maharag, S. C. and former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago.

In the short time available, between the dates of the announcement and the resumption of the Inquiry, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Tillman Thomas, wrote to the Commissioner seeking his leave to appear and be represented by Counsel at the Inquiry.

The Commissioner invited Mr. Thomas to make the application at the opening of the Inquiry on the 13th June, 2005, and that was duly done by Mr. Ruggles Ferguson, Attorney-at-Law, on behalf of Mr. Tillman Thomas.

As is well known, the application for leave was denied by the Commissioner -- after objections were made by the said Dr. Ramsahoye and Mr. Maharag.

And of course the show got under way, with witnesses being called and hardly ever examined by Dr. Ramsahoye -- who was supposed to be representing the People of Grenada at the Inquiry.

The whole exercise was so ridiculous, when viewed against the seriousness of the Terms of Reference as laid down by the Governor General, that the Commissioner himself was doing the examination of the witnesses -- although not in any depth and with very little probing.

The one week of the giving of evidence by public servants, as well as the two policemen who had accompanied the Prime Minister on that fateful trip to St. Moritz in Switzerland, ended on the Friday with the Prime Minister’s Counsel, more or less, making a submission to the Commissioner that the show should stop there, and he will submit his arguments in writing to the Commissioner to convince him that there was no case for the Prime Minister to answer.

We learned later that, up to that Friday, the Prime Minister had not even submitted a written statement to the Commissioner; and without any meaningful examination of the witnesses who had given evidence -- especially the two policemen who were present with the Prime Minister in that fraudster’s house in the Swiss countryside -- there was really nothing of significance presented to the Inquiry for that whole week.

And needless to say, those three high profile and experienced attorneys were being paid very tidy sums by the Treasury -- to the extent that Mr. Maharag was moved to add in his submission, that the Grenadian people should be spared spending more scarce dollars that were badly needed for reconstruction.

Mercifully, the Commissioner did not go along with Mr. Maharag's submission, and in closing he announced that he was due to return a phone call to Mr. David Marchant in Miami (of the Offshore Alert publication), presumably to check out his willingness to appear before the Commission to give evidence -- since he was the person who published the affidavit from Timothy Bass from Chicago, that started the whole briefcase saga.

Since that statement from the Commissioner, a whole lot of “dirty water” has passed under that bridge -- to the extent that some people are quite rightly saying, that the claims and counterclaims, and the statements and open denials between the Commission of Inquiry personnel and Mr. Marchant are such, that the whole thing needs another “Inquiry” to ascertain the facts and point out the way ahead.

However, in the midst of all the foregoing, the Opposition Leader had filed a court case in the High Court, seeking a judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision to refuse his application for leave to be represented before the Commission of Inquiry.

The case was heard on the 4th November, 2005 and the Judge reserved his decision to a date to be advised.

The Commissioner was represented in court by the said Dr. Ramsahoye, who is the legal counsel for the Commission of Inquiry, and the Opposition Leader by Mr. Elliot Motley Q. C. from Barbados.

The Commissioner may not be sitting again until the decision of the Court is handed down; so the waiting game continues on that score.

I suppose that when we talk about cricket, in the context of the World Cup in 2007, we are all thinking about our own West Indies team and how they will perform in their own backyard.

But then again, judging from how they have been performing these last few years, and continue to embarrass us all down under in the current series, our thoughts must be very silent on the issue.

So much has been said and written, about the whole set up of our W. I. Cricket, that nothing said now would be new or novel.

It continues to bother those of us who love the game and follow it closely, nevertheless, because those in control make the same mistakes over and over again, and they never seem to learn anything from their past mistakes.

Look at the team selection, for example; they are picking the same so-called fast bowlers from the bigger territories all the time, and they are failing to perform all the time.

The Windward Islands performed better than most with both bat and ball, and in particular Captain Rawle Lewis, who scored plenty runs, and took many wickets, and was very outstanding in the field. There is no better leg spinner than him in the region.

But they are leaving him out every time, and going for those bowlers who are too damn FAST to call themselves fast bowlers. And the end results are always the same -- more cut (a...) tail.

They were forced to pick Devon Smith, and only he raised their noses in the first Test; but just let him fail twice, and out he goes.

And even with the players that they have on tour, they are picking four so-called fast bowlers who cannot bowl out any opposition, and among them they cannot make ten runs.

And they leaving out Bravo and Dwayne Smith who can bowl much better than three of the four, and are by far superior batsmen who can prop up the otherwise weak batting.

So what are those Selectors and the “Super Coach” trying to prove with the repetitive thrashing we are getting?

I am tired of hearing, every time we get thrashed, “that we have to go back to the drawing board.” What are they hoping to produce -- “draughtsmen and architects?” And the more the team fails, the longer those in control keep the same Selectors in their positions.

So what are those in control telling us -- that success and good performances are treated with disdain, whereas failure has no price to pay no matter how repetitive?

Another area that is becoming increasingly worrying is that of the escalating criminal activities in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago. And let no one even try to, in any way, minimise the very real probabilities of some of those culprits utilising the “free movement of labour loophole” in the forthcoming CSME to “trade” in our fertile surroundings.

Our ever-rising unemployment nightmare, coupled with the galloping increase in the cost of living, are ready-made avenues for providing “idle hands and empty bellies,” for those smart men from Trinidad and Tobago to recruit willing aiders and abettors to help carry out their criminal pastimes.

And that is essentially why the powers-that-be must ensure, that the men/women in uniform in our security services are treated with fairness and greater appreciation -- so as to create the stabilising atmosphere of trust and confidence in those who are supposed to be controlling them.

And the police officers must themselves engage in the very worthy exercise, of cultivating good community relationships in all areas, to be able to secure the tip-offs and up front “intelligence” of any and everything that looks in anyway suspicious, in the bye-ways, and bushes, and coastal areas around our very exposed coastlines.

We have a lot of US citizens in our midst, and it is beyond any doubt that their presence contributes greatly to our economic survival, and therefore it behoves all of us to be particularly vigilant -- in the south of the Island especially -- to help safeguard that investment.

In addition to that wider picture, the local daily actions and omissions are also becoming too frequent and disturbing for comfort. There can be no denying that crime prevention and frustrated intentions, are far more satisfying and comforting than crime detection or solution after the event.

And the way to stem the raging tide of criminal behaviour patterns, is to nip the disease in the bud before it takes root.

There are far too many loose activities being tolerated for whatever reason, and those are the ones that will grow into major calamities, if allowed to flourish or develop unchecked.

Some of our young folks are going about as though they have no respect for the law, or other persons in society -- they are behaving as if they have to answer only to themselves.

That is where urgent remedial action is overdue -- not in the area of the working masses who are protesting to secure their legitimate rights.

Time is not on our side -- India and Jordan are already next door in Trinidad and Tobago -- tomorrow could be too late.

  Back...

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version