The 2011 Lake Asphalt (LATT) audit report containing allegations of corruption, which mentions PNM Deputy Leader Marlene McDonald and other PNM officials, is being scrutinised by the Attorney General to determine if there are grounds to lay a charge of misconduct in public office. Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said this after yesterday’s T&T Guardian article on the report in which McDonald’s name appears.
The audit report concerned a review of contracts and conflicts of interest in that company where a senior LATT official allegedly told a company in 2007 to make contributions to foundations run by McDonald and Peter Taylor, in order to get more LATT jobs.
The audit also noted concerns had been expressed regarding due process in relation to procurement of contracts, payment of contracts and possible conflict of interest between the former LATT senior official and Tramway Marketing Ltd. McDonald was secretary of that company up to 1999.
Ramlogan said yesterday: “The report is engaging the attention of my office with a view to determining whether there are any grounds for misconduct in public office or any violation or potential violation of T&T’s laws.” He said all aspects and issues concerning persons involved would be examined.In the absence of replies from PNM leader Keith Rowley and PRO Faris Al Rawi yesterday, PNM Deputy Leader Rohan Sinanan said he had no comment.
But political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said the PNM would have to deal with this and other allegations concerning McDonald. “As the PNM will want to enter elections as clean as possible to ensure they’re not compared with the PP.
“To that extent they may have to rethink some candidates. Currently, however, the PNM seems more occupied in doing damage control in defending why they didn’t vote for the Procurement bill in Senate on Tuesday and abstained on it, so McDonald may be secondary business for them,” Ragoonath said.
Fixin’ T&T yesterday called on Rowley “to demonstrate responsible leadership by publicly insisting on a thorough, transparent and independent investigation into this matter (the foundation) or providing irrefutable evidence that one was conducted and she was cleared.
“The PNM’s handling of the recent allegations of corruption against MP Marlene McDonald mirrors that of the Government’s initial responses to allegations of corruption made against Jack Warner, Anil Roberts and Anand Ramlogan etc, as they have chosen to attack the accusers and reduce the matter to political mischief.” The group said the PP Government and the Opposition PNM “are two sides of the same coin,” reiterating appeals to the PP and PNM for campaign financing reform.
The group said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s “gift” of $55 million to churches, using public funds, was apparently ably supported by the Opposition without any system of accountability in place: “This is the same Government and Opposition that recently unanimously bypassed the Salaries Review Commission and passed legislation in our Parliament to raise their salaries and pensions...Similarities can also be seen in the Prime Minister’s unwillingness to provide full disclosure on the source of funding for her ‘toy drive’ and the Opposition Leader’s response to calls for complete transparency in the raffle for the three BMWs.”