ILP MP Jack Warner has alleged that House Speaker Wade Mark is the beneficiary of four Cepep contracts including two via a company involving Mark’s wife, Sushilla Ramkissoon-Mark .
Warner made the claim in Parliament yesterday while piloting a motion of no-confidence in Mark.
Warner said Mark was unfit for office following Mark’s admission of making an error last month during a motion by Warner. He said Mark had lost credibility and it would be a mockery of the office of the Speaker if he continued in the post. The motion was seconded by PNM leader Keith Rowley.
Mark recused himself from proceedings and deputy speaker Nela Khan presided over the debate.
Warner based the motion on Mark’s admission that he had made an error during his statements in a January 23 debate concerning a motion of censure Warner had brought against Finance Minister Larry Howai. That debate collapsed after Mark cautioned Warner to stick to the content of the motion and Warner eventually walked out of Parliament without completing the debate.
Warner noted Mark had said in his statements that day that he had received notification from the High Court of a matter Howai had with Sunshine Publishing (Warner’s newspaper) in the court and Mark had drawn attention to the sub judice rule. The judiciary subsequently stated no notification was sent to the Speaker.
Mark subsequently admitted he’d erred and that the notification had come from Howai—not the court—and he then apologised to the Judiciary.
Warner, however, said Mark had misdirected the Parliament and his conduct had brought it into ridicule. He said Mark hadn’t corrected his statement when the PP House leader had asked if the notification had come from the Judiciary nor at other times in the January 23 debate when he had an opportunity to do so.
Warner asked how Mark could “look at the Minister of Finance and mistake him for the High Court.”
He said it might well be Mark made an honest mistake but even though Mark apologised, “no one believed it was a genuine mistake.”
Warner noted that UK Speaker Michael Michael Martin had stepped down amid a scandal about MPs’ expenses and Mark should do the same since he should not want to be perceived as feeding at the trough. He then alleged Mark was the beneficiary of “four Cepep contracts.”
Warner said: “An honourable Speaker would not allow himself to even be perceived as feeding at the trough. He would not even allow the perception. In fact, I wonder if the Speaker of the House of Commons, given similar circumstances, would have had a beneficial interest in four Cepep contracts as the Speaker of this House has with two companies.”
He said there were two Cepep contracts in the name of Regal Construction Services formed in September 2007 with two directors, one of whom was Sushilla Lisa Ramkissoon-Mark.
He claimed in 2013 she resigned as director and two others replaced her. But Warner said, a month later equity was converted to 100 shares owned by Sushilla Ramkissoon.
Deputy Speaker Khan cautioned Warner to stick to the content of his motion. Warner repeated his concern about the perception of “feeding at the trough” plaguing Mark due to the four CEPEP contracts owned by the two companies. He said people would feel Mark was biased due to the contracts.