Opposition Leader Demands Investigation into Imbert After Government Defeat

The Government’s defeat at the hands of the Auditor General shall forever remain a blot on our democracy. Mr. Imbert’s attempts to intimidate, harass, and bully Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass backfired spectacularly when Ms. Ramdass decided to stand up and defend herself and the Constitution from the government’s unwarranted political attack.

The dramatic hearing in the Privy Council has been followed by every single citizen who heard and saw the British Law Lords grilling the Government’s lawyers on the issue of political bias. Lady Simler pointed out that if the Government were interested in the truth related to the missing monies, which were originally put at $3.4 billion (and then dropped to $2.9 billion), it would have investigated Finance Minister Imbert’s conduct. Indeed, the Auditor General should never have been the subject of investigation by the Government because she did absolutely nothing wrong. She refused to allow the Government to rush her over her office by turning a blind eye to the missing billions.

Mr. Imbert’s personal telephone calls to Ms. Ramdass were a clear attempt to unduly pressure and influence her in the performance of her duties. They were nothing but a calculated assault on her independent office to try to get her to bow to his demands and dictates in his usual arrogant manner.

The political spin and damage control cannot and will not work this time around. Nothing can erase the robust and tense exchange between the British Law Lords and the Government’s lawyers. It will forever remain indelibly etched in the public psyche as one of the most humiliating and embarrassing Privy Council appeals any Government has lost. The burning question that the Government has not answered is the one Lady Simler repeatedly posed: why isn’t Mr. Imbert under investigation?

Independent Investigation into Imbert’s conduct

The UNC calls Prime Minister Keith Rowley and his sidekick Stuart Young to immediately launch an independent investigation into

i) Mr. Imbert’s conduct regarding the missing $bs of taxpayers’ dollars and

ii) to answer where the missing money has gone.

The half-baked investigative report the Government says it received was a ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money. As noted by the Privy Council, Mr. Imbert himself drafted the Terms of Reference, handpicked the investigators, and ordered them to report to him. In circumstances where Mr. Imbert’s conduct and integrity have been called into question, this reeks of bias and political “smart-manism”. It’s a classic case of playing smart with foolishness!

How on earth could the Government not account for 2.9 billion dollars and try to force the Auditor General to ignore this? It is the worst form of political misconduct.

The UNC is unconvinced that the biased Imbert investigation could adequately explain the missing billions of taxpayers’ dollars.

The Attorney General and Mr. Imbert vilified and attacked the Auditor General in Parliament. They insulted and humiliated her and said her conduct was “bizarre.” Today, we say Reginald Armour and Mr. Imbert must eat their own words, for they are the ones whose behaviour was “bizarre” and dangerous.

The government did not disclose when it received the biased Imbert investigation report. However, it must explain why it took this matter all the way to the Privy Council and how much money it spent on legal fees, airfare, and hotel accommodation. That money could have been used for the public’s benefit to patch potholes and buy hospital beds and medication.

While we are happy that this nightmare is over for Ms. Ramdass, we must not let Imbert and Armour off the hook. There is far more in the political mortar than just the pestle. We demand answers from the Government on whether Imbert’s conduct will be the subject of an independent investigation, and the amount of money wasted on this matter. How much money did Imbert pay his investigators to exclude him from the investigation and to investigate his own Ministry?

We salute Ms. Ramdass for her integrity and fierce independence in defence of the people and the Constitution and congratulate her winning legal team led by former Attorney General Anand Ramlogan SC.