Blog

The amendment to the Financial Intelligence Bill is to clean up the mess created by the People’s National Movement, which made an illegal appointment when it appointed David West, former Director Designate of the FIU, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said yesterday.

He was responding to statements from Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, who charged that the amendment to the bill, which was “sneaked in” last Friday, was designed to fix the improper and illegal appointment of Susan Francois by the People’s Partnership Cabinet to the office of Director of the FIU. Rowley had maintained that the Public Service Commission was the proper authority to hire Francois and had sought clarification from the PSC. However, the commission said the provisions of the act were ambiguous.

Ramlogan, in a letter dated April 11, to Public Service Commission chairman Christopher Thomas, stated that his attention had been drawn to a letter which he sent to Rowley concerning the appointment of the Director of the FIU that the relevant provisions of the said act were “ambiguous”.

The Attorney General said he received advice from senior counsel which confirmed that Cabinet was the competent authority to appoint a serving public officer, on contract, as the Director of FIU.

“I am further advised by senior public servants that there is ample precedence for an appointment of this kind to be made by Cabinet,” Ramlogan said in a telephone interview.

“I agree with you, however, that the act, as drafted, in indeed ambiguous. It is silent on the role of your commission, if any, and fails to provide clear guidance on a number of important issues, including the role of the Salaries Review Commission, if any.”

The Attorney General said given the divergence of legal opinion, and given his view that it was not in the public interest to have this matter (the divergence) settled by the Court, the Cabinet had decided to clarify the law via an amendment to the FIU Act.

“This will be done as part of the annual review of the entire act. Out of an abundance of caution, the proposed amendment includes a validation clause to validate the past and present appointments to the offices of Director and Deputy Director. This would cure any defect in the appointment process of these two office holders,” Ramlogan said.

Ramlogan told the Express he was of the view that Francois was properly appointed because unlike West, she was a serving public officer.

“However to mop up the mess created by the PNM and to avoid a protracted legal battle, I have introduced a validation clause that would cure any defect in the appointment,” he said.

“They recklessly or negligently misrepresented the position (of West),” he said.

The AG said he will not allow Rowley to “pull wool over the eyes of the people of this country”.

Source: Trinidad Express