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PM Kamla Speech at UNC Monday Night Forum Felicity
Posted On 18 Jun 2013
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THE HON. KAMLA PERSAD BISSESSAR, SC
PRIME MINISTER &
POLITICAL LEADER OF THE UNC
MONDAY NIGHT FORUM, FELICITY
June 17th 2013
1. INTRODUCTION
Thank you… thank you my friends.
It’s always a joy to be among you … and when I see the faces in the crowd I always say thank God … we have grown up together and we are one.
Never before have we witnessed such political cohesion and unity as we have under my leadership and the leadership of our People’s Partnership.
We will always stand as one family… working together for the greater good of our country.
HISTORIC LOCATION
Brothers and sisters we are meeting at an historic location.
It was right here more than two decades ago, I launched my political career on a UNC platform, to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
And I have never looked back.
We have never looked back.
We have never turned our backs on the people.
However there have been some major developments that have become the focus of the national conversation and as a responsible leader I want to make sure you get the facts so you could make your judgment on these issues.
BYE ELECTION CHAGUANAS WEST
We are in the constituency of Chaguanas West and I know many of you are eager to hear what is happening with the bye-election
You may recall that I announced that the Bye Election will be held on Monday July 29 2013.
Nomination Day for the bye-election is July 8th 2013.
UNC CANDIDATE
Our partners have agreed that we would field only a UNC candidate for the People’s Partnership.
Our party is yet to decide on who will represent you in this election.
There are many who are seeking the nomination including your former MP.
And as I have said before we will follow the party rules and its constitution to select your candidate.
To those wishing to contest this bye-election, please be advised of the following:
We have already received several nominations.
Persons who wish to be nominees should file their nominations in accordance with the UNC Constitution at the Rienzi Complex on or before Friday 21st June 2013 no later than 4pm.
Thereafter screening will take place during the week of June 24 2013.
We know how important the bye-election is to you and to all of us in our party and in government.
We must make sure that the PNM never wins this seat for this is a UNC seat, a partnership seat which must stay in government with the rest of the partnership.
When you look around at the developments that have taken place in the past three years in your communities, you know that your government has been working hard for you … and we will continue to do so after this election.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Before I go into pressing national issues, I want to raise a matter that is close to many of you in this constituency.
HINDU CREDIT UNION (HCU)
A young woman was asking for information about payments to the depositors and shareholders of the Hindu Credit Union.
And I know that many of you here and at home who were affected by that situation would also like a clarity…
Your government made a commitment to all the people who had invested their life savings in the HCU that we would find a way to help.
And we have kept that promise.
We devised a two-pronged approach.
In the first phase we looked about those citizens who were more vulnerable and who had lost under $75,000 through the collapse of the HCU.
I am pleased to tell you that as of May 31 this year, 17-thousand, 201 persons had received all their money, which amounted to $130.6 million dollars.
So if your claim is below $75,000… and you, have not received your money… You need to go and submit your request for payment at the Hindu Credit Union office in Chaguanas…
In the second phase, persons who had more than $75,000 would receive their money.
They would get cash up to $75,000 and 20-year coupon bonds from the government.
There are some legal issues to be resolved and the Honourable Minister of Finance is giving them his urgent attention.
My sisters and brothers, what we are doing is ensuring that we remove all the legal and other hurdles so you could get your money.
It’s a promise that we have kept in the same way that we are committed to delivering on our other promises to you.
And, please, continue to use our social media to write to me and send me messages…
Let me know what we can do to make life better for all of Trinidad and Tobago…
That is what I am about… Nationwide development…
AREAS OF CONCERN
Tonight I want to address some other major national developments that have become the focus of the national conversation and as a responsible leader I want to make sure you get the facts so you could make your judgment on these issues.
a. Fake Emails
I know you have been following the issues…
And so I want to assure you again and to make it abundantly clear that I did not send or receive any emails as mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Keith Rowley.
Nor did I authorize anyone to send any such emails on my behalf.
I assure you of that.
Indeed, I am of the opinion that persons unknown have hatched a plot to damage and scandalise my good name and the reputation of members of my cabinet and your government.
It was all part of an effort to bring the Office of the Prime Minister and your duly elected Government into disrepute.
Indeed there appears to be a conspiracy to remove your democratically elected government by extra constitutional means.
I have agreed to comply with the request made by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Mervyn Richardson that I make available to the police investigators the electronic devices that were used by me to send and receive emails during the month of September, 2012, but on condition that this is done in the presence of my Attorney-At-Law and my Information Technology (IT) expert.
This is because as Prime Minister, I also chair the National Security Council and there is sensitive data on the said electronic devices concerning the safety and security of the State and other matters of a confidential nature.
So this is not to hide anything, but to be cautious with sensitive information concerning the State.
I want to also note that my lawyer, Mr. Khan, commissioned Mr. Jon Berryhill, a computer forensic investigator, of Berryhill Computer Forensics Inc. based in the United States, to give a professional analysis of the authenticity of the purported emails disclosed by Dr. Rowley.
Mr. Berryhill has been working in and around the computer industry since 1983.
I am advised that:
he is a former officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Office of Special Investigations and was a federal agent with formal training in computer security, data recovery, evidence handling and computer crime investigation
he has worked as both the lead investigative agent and in support roles in a wide variety of cases including fraud, homicide, theft, drugs, and counter-intelligence
Mr. Berryhill has experience testifying in military, federal and state courts and has provided expert testimony in and been certified by California and Federal courts as an expert in the field of computer crime and computer forensic analysis.
I do not wish to go into all the details of the audit conducted by Mr. Berryhill, except to point out that in his report he concluded that the analysis of the documents provided overwhelming proof of the fraudulent nature of the documents.
According to Mr. Berryhill – and I quote from his report –
“There are many inconsistencies and questionable points that by themselves would lead any analyst to conclude that none of the documents can be trusted…there are several fatal flaws, which would remove any doubt or opinion from even the most skeptical analyst.”
Those are not my words … those are from a highly respected expert in the field.
This is nothing but a fraud.
Indeed some persons say these e-mails were concocted by two persons Mr. Cut and Ms. Paste.
Cut and Paste.
Dr. Rowley is a man who holds one of the most important offices in this country and through his recklessness he has dragged down the reputation and status of the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
The people at Balisier House must be in shock because every time Dr. Rowley opens his mouth, “he puts their feet in his mouth”.
b. Secret Back Door
Now let me tell you about Dr. Rowley.
Imagine calling the media to tell them he found a back door in his office.
According to him, he used the back door to go to Mr. Ken Gordon’s home on May 15th.
He maintains that Mr. Gordon’s house is at the back of his house.
For those who do not know, Dr. Rowley lives in Goodwood Park and has to pass his house and drive another seven minutes to reach Gordon’s home at Newbury Hill, Glencoe.
So that was no backdoor.
The man is just confused.
Dr. Rowley is only interested in scandal, bacchanal and rah rah.
In three years he has not come up with one plan nor policy to develop our country – no plan no policy.
Since his scandalous email story didn’t work, he had to find something new, so he found a backdoor.
In the last three years, Rowley has hatched, created, manufactured, and concocted issue after issue, all in an attempt to divert national attention from Government progress and performance to distract from his own incompetence.
Remember this is a man who insisted for months that he met staff in the New York consulate, whom he said told him that our Attorney General was there inquiring about the ethnicity of staff.
He kept on with his lies, even getting one of his members to say it was true and she was there.
Now you have a back door so you could make a quick exit and no one would see.
You and the PINK PANTHER could make a secret escape through your secret back door.
[PINK PANTHER MUSIC]
c. SECRET MEETING
The other issue I am here to discuss with you tonight…. is that secret meeting that Dr. Rowley had with the chairman of the Integrity Commission, Mr. Ken Gordon.
It was a big secret but you know they say the only way to keep a secret is not to have one.
So just five days before Dr. Rowley went to Parliament with his fabricated email story, he called up Mr. Gordon to discuss an urgent matter.
And Mr. Gordon invited him to drop in at his home on the night of May15th to discuss the urgent matter.
And you know what the matter was?
It was this fraudulent email business that he wanted to bring up in Parliament to try to embarrass your government.
The Leader of the Opposition and the Chairman of the Integrity Commission had their secret meeting at Mr. Gordon’s house at the invitation of Mr. Gordon and they didn’t tell anyone.
You see they thought no one would know so they kept the whole thing a secret until Dr. Moonilal went to Parliament last Thursday and asked a question.
He wanted to know if Dr. Rowley could say whether he had a private meeting with a high official of the Integrity Commission.
He didn’t name the official, but one of Dr. Rowley’s MPs … the same one who didn’t know about the emails … wanted to know if it was Mr. Gordon.
Dr. Rowley was not in Parliament to answer the question but when reporters caught up with him he brushed off the question in his usual arrogant, “raging bull” style:
“I MEET WITH ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE, SO WHAT IS THE POINT?”[1]
The point is that Dr. Keith Rowley had a secret meeting on May 15th with a high official of the Integrity Commission.
And that high official was a man named Mr. KEN GORDON, the Chairman of the commission.
That is wrong.
That was a violation of the ethical rules that guide the commission.
So I was shocked when I found out that these two men had this secret meeting and that the Leader of the Opposition would come out and say it was no big deal.
Can you imagine if I had that secret meeting with Mr. Gordon what would happen?
All hell would break loose and Dr. Rowley would be demanding my resignation and a general election.
But there is a God.
And God looks out for the righteous.
So we learned about Dr. Rowley’s clandestine rendezvous with Mr. Gordon.
And that is why Dr. Moonilal wanted to hear if Rowley would be honest and tell the truth for once.
So an enterprising reporter felt that he should ask the Integrity Commission the same question that Dr. Moonilal was asking.
And guess what? HE GOT THE ANSWER.
He found out some startling things.
The Integrity Commission sent the reporter Mr. Gordon’s notes from the meeting with Dr. Rowley and what the notes revealed was that one of the cardinal rules was breached.
The Chairman invited the Leader of the Opposition to his home, where by his own admission, he divulged confidential information to Rowley five days before Rowley went to Parliament with his fabricated story about an email conspiracy.
Dr. Rowley was reckless and has compromised the Office of Chairman of the IC.
Dr. Rowley misled the Chairman of the IC.
he lured him into a trap.
He misrepresented the nature of his business as something that was so “urgent” that it could not wait until the following morning.
He met with Mr. Gordon on May 15 and the motion of no confidence debate did not start until May 20.
This means that Dr. Rowley had more than sufficient time to make a proper inquiry via a letter to the Registrar of the Integrity Commission in accordance with the usual practice and procedure.
His business was clearly not as urgent was he made it out to be and one is therefore left to wonder whether he is speaking the truth about his reasons for wanting to see Mr. Gordon at his home.
In any event, why would Dr. Rowley want to know if the Integrity Commission is investigating his fake emails when it is public knowledge that there is in fact no Integrity Commission at present because the President is in the process of making the necessary appointments?
Dr. Rowley must surely have known that any investigation into these fake emails will necessarily involve him.
He will obviously have to explain the source of this bogus document.
There exists a strong possibility that he could be treated as a suspect in the investigation.
In other words, he would have featured prominently in any investigation.
Why then was a potential suspect seeking to lure the Chief Judge (Chairman of IC) into such a clearly inappropriate meeting?
No matter how you spin it he was out of place.
Mr. Gordon himself responded to a leak of confidential information in 2012 by calling upon the police to investigate the matter.
He knew that it was a felony and a breach of the Commission’s mandate to release any information to outside parties without a court order.
This is what the Commission stated in an official release in March 2012:
The Integrity Commission … is a fundamental independent institution created by the Constitution.
Its work is founded in its ability to preserve the confidentiality of matters before it so that justice and equity is served.
This is a basic tenet of its operations.
The Commission regrets that this confidentiality has been compromised by an on-going and worsening pattern of leaks to the media over an extended period; conduct which is both destructive and illegal.”
And this is what Mr. Gordon told the media in March 2012:
“HAD WE NOT REPORTED THIS WE WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE.”
What was Dr. Rowley doing in a secret meeting held after dark at his home?
Was that not irresponsible?
I would say that it was beyond irresponsible.
If Dr. Rowley genuinely wanted to find out what was going on at the Integrity Commission with respect to the documents he gave the President, he had time to do it the right way.
So he cannot come now and tell you this was no secret meeting.
Why didn’t he report that it happened?
Why did they only talk about it AFTER Dr. Moonilal exposed them in Parliament?
There is another flaw in Rowley’s tale.
He claims that he met Mr. Gordon because he wanted to know whether the fictitious thread of emails was the subject of an investigation by the Integrity Commission.
If it was, he claims that he would not have filed the no confidence motion.
What Dr. Rowley forgets however he had already filed the no confidence motion, one week before on May 7, 2013, so it cannot be that he wanted to consult the Chairman of the Integrity Commission to decide if to pursue a no confidence motion.
If he wanted to do so, he would have consulted him prior to filing same on May 7, 2013.
And why has Dr. Rowley now said he told the parliament that had that meeting.
He never did so.
This is a very serious matter.
This was not a casual encounter.
And it was not urgent.
Listen to what Dr. Rowley said in Parliament:
“I waited for six months. I waited for six months to see what would happen with the information that I consider to be extremely important…”
He waited six months and never reported to anyone what he claims was a serious conspiracy involving the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and a senior public official.
Then in January, he went to the President, who waited another two months before passing it to the Integrity Commission for “authentication”.
My sisters and brothers you have to understand the implications. When Dr. Rowley found out that Mr. Gordon admitted that he and Dr. Rowley met, this is what Dr. Rowley told one radio station …
He said he was preparing to go to the Parliament with this matter and it is in that context that he wanted to ensure that his conduct in the Parliament would be in keeping with what was expected of him as a Parliamentarian.
So he went to the Chairman of the Integrity Commission to find out if his conduct would be what was expected of him as a Parliamentarian.
Why would he go to Mr. Gordon for such advice?
Is he saying that Mr. Gordon is a political adviser to the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the People’s National Movement?
And is he saying that is why he wanted the Chairman of the Integrity Commission to offer advice on how he would present himself in the Parliament five days later?
Here is more of what Dr. Rowley stated.
He said that he went to Mr. Gordon to take steps to find out if the Integrity Commission was investigating the matter of the emails.
Rowley said he went to see Mr. Gordon for what amounts to political counseling and to get confidential information about the work of the Integrity Commission and wants you to believe that there was nothing wrong with that.
Conclusion
But here is another interesting story.
Just last year Dr. Rowley stated publicly that he had no confidence in the Ken Gordon led Integrity Commission.[2]
So when it suits his convenience, the Integrity Commission is of no value … and when he meets with Mr. Gordon on the eve of his frivolous charges in Parliament, the Commission is the only organisation fit to investigate his scandalous charges.
My sisters and brothers, this matter of a secret meeting is not to be taken lightly.
It strikes at the very heart of our system of governance and the independence of our institutions in this country.
I am of the view that the Opposition Leader acted improperly and in breach of established conventions
As I leave here tonight, I ask whether Dr. Rowley should not be charged for misconduct in public office.
BE READY
Now the election bell has rung: be ready on July 29th and vote the UNC so we can continue to deliver to you.
Roads and bridges, pavalions and recreation grounds and much more.
Good night friends of Chaguanas West,…
God bless you, God bless Trinidad and Tobago.
-End-