Rowley to take legal action against Gary Griffith

THE Prime Minister has signalled his intention to initiate legal action against a former commissioner of police (CoP) who claimed to have received money from him to prosecute his political opponents.

Dr Rowley said all documents pertaining to the matter would be provided to his attorney on July 15.

He claimed the actions of the former commissioner were similar to the Section 34 scandal which happened under the former UNC-led People's Partnership (PP) government."

Section 34 was a clause introduced to the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Bill 2011 by former Justice Minister Herbert Volney which allowed for charges to be dropped if a trial had not started ten years after charges had been laid.

UNC financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson, who were charged in the Piarco International Airport corruption case, went to the courts calling for the matters to be dismissed after the legislation was proclaimed.

The section was repealed two weeks after it was proclaimed on August 31, 2012 as a result of public protests against it.

Rowley described the allegations made against him by the former commissioner as "Section Griffith."

He made those statements when he addressed the 51st annual PNM San Fernando West constituency conference at San Fernando City Hall Auditorium on July 13.

Rowley told party members that while Trinidad and Tobago was highly respected by other countries for the way it conducted its affairs, some local politicians did not respect the country.

"That is why I take serious umbrage at a former CoP who will go and tell the world that he was given money by me and instructions to use that money to go and persecute and lay charges against my political opponent. I tell you this so that you will know that former CoP is a dangerous liar."

He said, "So I tell you tonight. I am making this very clear to the world as prime minister this country. I have had absolutely no personal  instruction or involvement in this matter."

Rowley told members there were documents, including cabinet notes, which supported his position."

"Therefore on Monday, I'm passing all these documents, including the ones signed by the said CoP and the cabinet notes to my lawyer."

Rowley said if he had done what it was being alleged that he did, he would have offended several laws.

"So I am being accused of a crime. But it is a lie."

Rowley said the allegations being made against him were not an innocent statement and had consequences.

"A statement that says that the prime minister provided millions of dollars directly and personally to the CoP to have people prosecuted, is very useful to the people who are to be or being prosecuted."

He reminded PNM members that one of the biggest issues in the 2015 general election campaign was the "humongous level and general frequency of corruption at the existing government that was there before us."

After the PNM won that election, Rowley said  the state's machinery "started to bounce up against some of the evidence or the information of that period of corruption, and the state's machinery was responding to it."

As a result of that, he continued, "As a result of which, some persons are before the court or that there are some serious investigations under way."

Rowley said in 2018, British law firm Edmonds Marshall McMahon (EMM) was hired by the police to assist them with investigations of possible fraud and corruption in matters that happened during the PP's tenure in office.

He identified issues relating to the Estate Management  Business Development Company (EMBD) and the Lifesport scandal as two of those matters.

In the former, Rowley claimed people "dispensed with hundreds of millions of dollars before 2015 general election."

In the latter, he said, "There are people in witness protection programmes abroad who would have given the police chapter and verse about what happened in Lifesport and being protected abroad to the knowledge of the CoP and the TTPS (TT Police Service).

Lifesport was a programme under the PP designed to move unemployed young people away from crime. It was shut down in August 2014 as a result of allegations of massive corruption in the programme.

Rowley added, "I can tell you, at the level of the Cabinet, I have seen requests from the police to pay money to send police officers abroad to take testimony from people who are abroad as witnesses in that matter and this company (EMM) is there assisting the police, providing the skills and the support that the TTPS (needs)."

He claimed the allegations of the former commissioner is "giving a defence and an argument in the court by the defence lawyers for all these people that their prosecution by the TTPS is politically motivated."

Rowley said that could have the effect of undermining all of the cases he alluded to earlier.

After reminding party members that the PNM had always sought TT's best interests, in or out of government, Rowley claimed the same could not be said of its political opponents.

"In other words, they have a right to thief public money and if anybody go after them for the public money, it is political."

Rowley said he rejected that argument.

He recalled that efforts by political opponents to tarnish his public reputation were not new and none of them had borne any fruit. Rowley cited the Landate project in Tobago as an example. In 2005, Rowley was accused of corruption in the alleged transfer of material from the construction site of the Scarborough Hospital was sent to a the Landate project at Mason Hall.

"That cost this country $15 million, investigation and inquiry, nothing to it but lies."

Rowley repeated his question about why the Opposition chose to boycott an ongoing inquiry by the Parliament's Land and Infrastructure Joint Select Committee into the Solomon Highway Extension Project which happened under the PP.

He believed the UNC was "hoping that it doesn't go anywhere and you don't find out how OAS (Construtora – former lead contractor on the project) left here with $971 million, election week 2015."

Rowley scoffed at an opposition parliamentarian recently writing a newspaper article which raised an alarm about human trafficking.

"He only has to do so in the Parliament and see who trafficking. Just turn your neck 45 degrees."

Rowley recalled that a former PP government minister had publicly spoken about the matter as well.

He told PNM members that the party's political opponents believed the population would take them more seriously as their statements became more boldfaced.

Rowley said they only had one political objective.

"They are about trying to get political office for one reason and one reason only. To get their hands on the Treasury again and dispense with the proceedings that are taking place now, for what they did the last time."

Rowley said, "It is same thing. Section 34 all over again. Trying to allow criminals, if they are guilty to get away from the long arm of the law.

"But I say to all of them. You can do what you want, the wheels of justice may turn slowly sometimes, most times, but they do turn."