PPP wants Speaker to send AFC MPs to Privileges Committee

– cites conflict of interest

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Monday said it was still awaiting a response from Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman about the conflict-of-interest claims involving Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan and member Cathy Hughes.

General Secretary Clement Rohee said the PPP, through its Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, had written to Speaker Trotman, calling on him to refer both Hughes and Ramjattan to the Committee of Privileges over two matters of conflict of interest. According to Rohee, Hughes’ company was hired to handle the public relations of Sithe Global, a company working with the Government on the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project,;  while her husband, Nigel Hughes, was employed as the Company Secretary on the same project. However, neither of these financial interests was voluntarily made public.

“Neither of these pecuniary interests were made public at the time of the debate on the first hydroelectric bill and the debt ceiling motion which were defeated, nor on the second hydroelectric bill, which was passed as the debt ceiling motion, which was amended by the AFC.”

Rohee said the House and public have every right to be made aware of the pecuniary interest of Hughes as she had benefited financially from such an engagement. More than that, he said, the party takes note of such transgression by Members of Parliament (MPs), citing the Erskine May Parliamentary Practice, which states that the offer of money to any parliamentarian for the promotion of any matter whatsoever to be transacted in Parliament is considered a crime.

In the absence of this public disclosure, Rohee said, Hughes should have recused herself from participation in the voting process.

Meanwhile, AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan’s alleged conflict of interest is weighed in the level of support given to the Specialty Hospital. Rohee noted that Ramjattan’s client Fedders-Lloyd had placed a bid for the tender of the Specialty Hospital in 2012. During that time, Ramjattan had supported the budgetary allocation for the hospital. However, in 2013, when his client lost the bid, he voted against the allocation for the hospital.

The General Secretary’s claim is that Ramjattan reportedly did not declare his interest in the project, and was, therefore, in violation of Standard 107. Ramjattan, he claimed, did not recuse himself from voting on the budgetary allocation on the Specialty Hospital.

According to him, the PPP will move motions concerning these MPs in accordance with Standard Order 32:2, and looks forward to the Speaker’s support in sending the matter to the Committee of Privileges.