Leonce’s laxness

WHEN ADRIAN Leonce was appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Development on March 17, it was a surprise.

Mr Leonce, who had been the Laventille East/Morvant MP since 2015, had signalled his exit from politics; he declined to be screened by the PNM in December.

But more surprising have been disclosures since this appointment, as well as the minister’s seemingly blasé approach to the serious questions that have, predictably ahead of the April 28 general election, now emerged.

Mr Leonce has been tied, in UK company paperwork, to a figure of interest to law enforcement authorities.

According to the minister, after ten years of public service, he decided to leave politics and return to his old engineering business. He planned to “establish operations” in the UK. A friend in London “put me in touch” with someone who “had a business in the UK and would be able to register a company on my behalf.”

Yet, according to Mr Leonce’s statement of March 24, a company was registered in September 2023 – eight years into his tenure, not ten. It was in July 2024 that it was terminated.

And the person he had been put in touch with turned out to be someone he had met twice before.

Saying this matter was at once possibly “the subject of legal action” while also being no “big deal,” Mr Leonce has not been shy to speak to the media. That is laudable.

But, as with so much in public life, the more that is said, the more questions that arise. Which is why the minister should not be in this situation in the first place.

The issue here is not necessarily lawbreaking or wrongdoing. In doubt is something more fundamental: Mr Leonce’s judgment.

The Integrity in Public Life Act stipulates officials should arrange their private interests “in such a manner as to maintain public confidence.”

The Code of Ethics for Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries demands officials “resign directorships in all companies” and cease to be involved in business.

Mr Leonce is a civil engineer by training. Perhaps this accounts for a certain lack of sensitivity to long-standing governance conventions.

Despite this, he’s played a larger role than simply that of an MP. He served, first, as a parliamentary secretary in the public utilities ministry from 2019, and then as a minister in the housing ministry from 2020.

It looks bad for a government official to start a private company, regardless of timing or location.

We question whether the minister failed to appreciate this, whether he adopted enough precautions as a politically exposed person and what this might all portend about his governance style. The standards seemingly flouted here exist for good reason.