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MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah says Government could have avoided the mess created by the collapse of the corruption case against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, and former opposition senator Gerald Ramdeen, had it taken advice offered to use a special prosecutor to pursue corruption matters.
He said this during a virtual news conference on Sunday.
A purported agreement to indemnify Jamaica-born Vincent Nelson, KC, from civil and criminal prosecution in return for a notarised statement led to the case against Ramlogan and Ramdeen being dropped.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard announced the discontinuation of the matter against Ramlogan and Ramdeen on October 10.
But Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, on the same day, said the matter is not yet over.
Armour said Nelson has not recanted any admission of wrongdoing he made in the criminal proceedings.
He promised to take the advice of eminent local and foreign senior and King's Counsel "to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of justice for the people of TT."
Abdulah said he was not going to deal with the statements being made by the government and opposition on this matter. He also said he was not going to pronounce of the innocence or guilt of people involved in the Ramlogan/Ramdeen case.
But Abdulah recalled that shortly after the PNM won the September 7, 2015 general election, he met with the Prime Minister. That meeting with Dr Rowley involved a conversation about the PNM's campaign promise to combat corruption and deal with a plethora of corruption allegations against the former UNC-led People's Partnership government.
Given Dr Rowley and the PNM's public stance for seven years about dealing with corruption, Abdulah said it was important that the PNM "ensure that the right steps were taken to bring anyone who may have been guilty of corruption to justice."
He added, it is indisputable that successive PNM and UNC governments have failed to tackle the longstanding problem of corruption.
"No one in this country is being held accountable for corruption and white collar crime. Corruption and white collar crime have proceeded with impunity."
Abdulah said the suggestion was made to Rowley seven years ago to establish an office of special prosecutor to deal with corruption matters. Such a prosecutor could be given a budget by the Cabinet that allowed him or her to hire the necessary forensic and other expertise to investigate alleged corruption and white collar crime.
Abdulah said this would have prevented the direct involvement of the attorney general or any other cabinet ministers in the prosecution of such matters.
He added that former AGs Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and John Jeremie, SC, had offered similar advice to Rowley.
But Abdulah lamented that Rowley and the PNM did not heed this advice.
"Let me remind people of the old saying, stick break in their ears."
Abdulah said Maharaj, in his tenure as AG, had Karl Hudson-Phillip act as a special prosecutor with respect to the Piarco airport scandal, resulting in the gathering of evidence against people accused of wrongdoing in that matter.
While observing that locally no one has been found innocent or guilty in that case for the last 20 years, Abdulah said some people in the United States who were connected to that matter, were found guilty and either served time in prison or paid fines.
He also recalled that Desmond Allum served as a special prosecutor under the George Chambers government in 1985-1986 with respect to the Scott Drug Report.
"There was a template."
Abdulah reiterated that had Government gone this route, it could have avoided the situation it is in now.
These kinds of situations, he continued, could lead to a lose-lose scenario where taxpayers' money is lost to prosecute legal matters, and people who may actually be guilty of wrongdoing may get off scot free.
"We are losing both ways, and this is unacceptable.”
Abdulah reiterated that Rowley and the PNM must accept responsibility for this.
The post Abdulah: Stick break in PNM ears on fight against corruption appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.