A second round of closed-door deliberations of the House of Representatives Privileges Committee is set for next week Tuesday to determine whether action will be taken against Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley for his alleged contempt of Parliament. Yesterday’s first meeting was inconclusive. Rowley was referred to the committee by Speaker Wade Mark on May 22 at the end of the debate on a no-confidence motion he had brought against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
The motion of privilege was moved by Persad-Bissessar in the absence of Rowley and the other Opposition MPs, who walked out as Persad-Bissessar rose to wind up the debate. She said Rowley, who, in his contribution, revealed the contents of 31-e-mails he claimed to have received from a whistleblower, was in contempt of the Parliament because of the words he uttered in his presentation of the no-confidence motion.
Speaker Mark, in an immediate ruling, said a prima-facie case had been made out against Rowley and consequently the matter was referred to the committee for investigation and report.
Yesterday, the members of the committee, including Mark (the chairman), House Leader Dr Roodal Moonilal, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar, Minister in the Office of the PM Rodger Samuel and Opposition MPs Donna Cox, Paula Gopee-Scoon and Colm Imbert, attended. Transport Minister Chandresh Sharma was not seen. Most members said they were unable to say anything about the meeting which lasted more than two hours.
The T&T Guardian understands the meeting was inconclusive and a second meeting set for the same venue, the Parliament Building at the Waterfront Complex, Pot-of-Spain, for 10 am next Tuesday. At the conclusion of the probe the committee is to submit a report to the Parliament. The Parliament is expected to be prorogued in a few weeks. The matter must be concluded before the Parliament is prorogued or it will lapse. A year ago, Rowley had another matter before the committee involving alleged statements made by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan in the United States but Parliament was prorogued before it could be determined. That matter lapsed.