PM on chief administrator issue: I’ll resign if I’m wrong

The Prime Minister is staking his job on his version of the events that have led to no one's being appointed to the office of chief administrator in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) since May 17.

On Wednesday, Rowley delivered a lengthy statement in the House of Representatives on the issue, saying the matter has finally been resolved, more than a month after Ethlyn John’s retirement. He said an acting chief administrator will be appointed.

He said if his version of events was wrong, he will resign his post.

He also laid a dossier in the House on the appointment of a chief administrator.

Since the issue was first made public on June 9, Dr Rowley and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine have been at loggerheads, publicly accusing each other of telling untruths.

Rowley said on June 22, he received correspondence from the Public Service Commission, dated June 21, advancing an officer to fill the vacancy of chief administrator. But he did not say if or when the officer is to be appointed.

Chief administrators are appointed by the commission.

“It should be noted that this is the first letter that I have received from the Public Service Commission advising of the vacancy and its intention to fill it,” he said.

Having had a prior agreement with the Chief Secretary on the officer who has been designated to fill the vacancy, Rowley said, he replied on June 23 “clearing the way for the commission to finally appoint an acting chief administrator for the THA.”

Rowley said the appointment is being made in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 121 of the Constitution.

“It is to be noted that contrary to the Chief Secretary’s fulminations and confused state of mind, there is no requirement for any consultation with the chief secretary before a designated officer is made known and available to the Prime Minister. It is only when the Prime Minister receives correspondence identifying a designated officer that the law requires that the Prime Minister consults with the Chief Secretary prior to the appointment of the officer.”

Alluding to Augustine’s statement on the issue in the Assembly Legislature on June 22, Rowley said he felt compelled to set the record straight in the interest of maintaining cordial relations between central government and the THA.

“The Chief Secretary, in a fit of, hopefully genuine misunderstanding, made some very serious allegations against the Prime Minister and the Government. It is the view of the Cabinet that such accusations and misinterpretations, if left unattended in the public mind and domain, could grossly mislead the citizenry, not only in Tobago but across the nation, with grave consequences leading to the deterioration of the relationship between the people of Tobago and the rest of the nation.”

Rowley said he feels strongly about the allegations made against him, and is prepared to resign as Prime Minister forthwith if his version of the events is found to be untrue.

“Madam Speaker, so seriously do I take the slander and insinuations of the irresponsible Chief Secretary that as I make this statement of clarification and rebuttal, I laid in this House today, as a paper, a comprehensive dossier of all the relevant correspondence in support of what I have said here today.

“I go further: if it can be truthfully shown by any of the authorities that I have mentioned or impacted here today that I have misled this House, I will immediately resign forthwith and hand over the reins to another in the interest of peace, good order and progress of the people whom I have continued to serve to the best of my ability.”

The PM outlined the process of appointing a chief administrator.

He said there is no role for the Prime Minister in public-service matters of ranking and selection until a designated officer is identified by the Public Service Commission for appointment to the post of chief administrator.

Rowley said, “A proper interpretation of the law would show that in pursuance of an appointment to be made, the Prime Minister’s role only comes into being when the Public Service Commission identifies a designated officer and seeks to confirm from the Prime Minister whether he has an objection to the selection put forward by the commission.

“This is the first time that the Prime Minister is to be involved in the process, to be followed immediately, as per the law, by consultation between the Chief Secretary and the Prime Minister.

“It is clear, from the behaviour of the Chief Secretary ascribing his own skewed interpretation to the consultative process, that the Chief Secretary does not have a proper understanding of the phrase 'designated officer,' the meaning of the phrase 'subject to,' and the words 'selection' and 'appointment.'”

He added, “In thoroughly disregarding or misinterpreting these words and phrases, the Chief Secretary has been driven to operate in the realm of conspiracy theories which seek to implicate the Prime Minister in a fleet of wrongdoing or suspicion, for which the record will show there is absolutely no basis, once a clear understanding of the law is invoked.”

Rowley maintained the issue of the THA's being without a chief administrator for over a month is entirely an outcome that had as its origin the commission’s designated officer having to be withdrawn because that officer,named in May 16 correspondence from the commission, was concurrently named by the THA in its correspondence of May 17, advising the commission that the officer was the subject of allegations of misconduct and was being put on charges, as effected in a letter from John.

Rowley also responded to Augustine’s statement last Thursday that he would not provide him nor the Minority Leader with copies of the preliminary audit report into projects undertaken by the former PNM-led THA.

Augustine said offences identified in the report have already been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Commissioner of Police, Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau, Fraud Squad and Financial Intelligence Unit.

“I want to make it abundantly clear that contrary to statements, insults, accusations and insinuations made by the Chief Secretary, that neither I nor my office have expressed any interest whatsoever in obtaining his audit report for pleasure or for nefarious purposes as he described, namely 'to assist friends of the Prime Minister' who the Chief Secretary accuses of criminal conduct.”

Rowley said at no time during any of their discussions, in person or otherwise, did he ever discuss or request any information from or copy of the audit.

“To the best of my knowledge, no person in any of my offices or any officer reporting to me has ever sought to obtain information from the Chief Secretary about his forensic audit.

“Therefore, for the Chief Secretary to wantonly put on the record of the THA that he will not give a copy or provide any information about his audit to the Prime Minister, because he is satisfied that such information is to be used by the Prime Minister to assist persons whom the Chief Secretary wishes to see face criminal charges and put behind bars, is scandalous in the extreme.

“The Chief Secretary stating that he is satisfied that the Prime Minister wishes to have this audit to provide technical escape loopholes for his friends is a slander most grave.”