Attorney for the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar could be charged with misbehaviour in public office for failing to abide by the findings of the Dr James Armstrong Highway Review Committee Report.
He wants acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to investigate whether the Prime Minister reneged on her promise to adhere to the findings of the report and await the outcome of legal proceedings challenging the construction of the contentious Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin.
“The Prime Minister must be kept to her word, the public must demand that she keeps her word,” Maharaj said yesterday during an HRM media conference at the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Paramount Building, San Fernando. “If this government does not, at least, take heed of these findings, or show that there is an overriding public interest not to take heed of these findings, the members of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, can be liable to be prosecuted for misconduct in public office.
“Whether it happens this year, next or any other year, they are liable to be prosecuted, and liable to be punished.” Maharaj said the central problem is that the Government has been “careless, reckless, negligent and it was an abuse of power to go ahead with this part of the highway in the light of the failure to have these investigations done.” He said the Government’s failure to take heed of the report’s findings “are likely to cause irreparable injury and damage to human life and would in any event damage the natural environment.”
He said Cabinet members cannot distance themselves from the actions or inactions of the Prime Minister by remaining silent on the issue. He urged ministers to speak up or they too could face criminal prosecution. “Cabinet members have a duty to ensure that they either get the Prime Minister to follow the law, or by their silence and inaction they would be aiding and abetting of a criminal offence,” Maharaj contended.
He said the HRM is not worried about their legal action since the law is clear. The residents affected by the Debe Mon Desir leg, he said, had a “legitimate expectation” that the Prime Minister would adhere to her promise. “We are not worried about the civil aspect of this matter. But the Highway Re-route Movement is concerned about setting a tone and example that Prime Ministers and Ministers of Government must keep to their word,” he said.
He said he was giving free legal advice to the Prime Minister to adhere to the report and she has a duty to satisfy the public that there are adequate reasons to show that the public interest is overriding the report’s findings. “If those reasons are not good enough and constitute reckless behaviour in respect of their duty it would be misconduct in public office, then we would ask for a criminal investigation.
“If it is that we look at the facts and we see the facts merit prosecution and we see the CoP and the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) do not want to take action then citizens can determine whether they want a public prosecution,” Maharaj said. He said the ten recommendations of the report say “if you construct this highway there is a risk of serious damage to human life and to the natural environment.”
Moonilal responds
In response to the issues raised by Maharaj, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said the National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Nidco) is looking at the recommendations of the Dr James Armstrong Highway Review Committee Report. “It is up to the Nidco technical people to look at the report and see if the recommendations can be implemented in good time,” he said.
Moonilal said the report never called for the highway construction to be stopped. The report, which was submitted to the Government in February, made ten recommendations, the first of which was: “A significant amount of work still needs to be undertaken to obtain approvals before any additional site activities are carried out.
“It is recommended that no further work be undertaken on the Highway site until all of the conditions contained in the CEC (Certificate of Environmental Clearance) have been fulfilled, including the need for all plans specified in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) to) to be submitted to the EMA, and for approvals to be obtained from the relevant agencies. Moonilal said Nidco is “implementing recommendations of that report.”