PM: Nelson case not part of Cabinet business

THE Prime Minister has made it clear that his office holds no role in the criminal prosecution of any person in Trinidad and Tobago.

However, he said the Government will continue to oppose white-collar crime.

He was speaking on Wednesday night at the Diego Martin South Community Centre, Four Roads, Diego Martin, at his Diego Martin West constituency conference.

His remarks came against the backdrop of DPP Roger Gaspard on Monday dropping corruption charges against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and ex-UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen. This was after King's Counsel and main witness Vincent Nelson declined to testify against them until the hearing of his civil lawsuit against the State for an alleged breach of indemnity.

Responding to repeated queries by the Opposition Leader about whether he was aware of the indemnity deal with Nelson, Dr Rowley said, "The PM of TT has no involvement and no role in the prosecution of any person in this country."So stop asking for me. And as for the Cabinet, we are not running a parlour but a Cabinet." He said the Cabinet should not mull the details of whether a person had turned state witness.

He then complained, "When Mrs Persad-Bissessar starts her stupidness, her echo chamber is the media.
"It's time we get serious on serious business."
He alleged Persad-Bissessar had misrepresented facts regarding San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi in the Ramlogan/Ramdeen case, but  vowed that nothing she could do would shake the PNM's resolve regarding those who had committed white-collar crimes.He alleged she had tried to muddy the waters on Tuesday so as to normalise certain behaviour by people who have serious questions to answer. He said Ramlogan and Ramdeen were not exonerated, as Persad-Bissessar was claiming.

Rowley complained that the ethical standard in TT was on the decline as he recalled visiting a foreign parliament with some MPs on criminal charges. However, he said TT was simply too small to endure that.

He said that was why the PNM had objected in the past to UNC and PDP members on criminal charges being election candidates.

He warned, "We are normalising a kind of behaviour in this country that's not going to do us well."
Rowley urged the public to ask about leaders who accept such conduct. He said the opposition whip (David Lee) was recently defended to the hilt by Persad-Bissessar.

Lee was charged alongside businessman Hugh Leong Poi with conspiracy to defraud, over the purchase of a $2.3 million Mercedes Benz AMG G 63. As an MP, Lee received $1.4 million in tax exemptions.

The PM said in Tobago a leader who was under a charge had got elected three times to ultimately head Tobago (seemingly referring to PDP head Watson Duke, who was charged with rape).

Rowley rejected such a state of affairs as "a dagger at the heart of TT."