Trinidad's Opposition
United National Congress is calling for the resignation of President Max
Richards over the collapse of the Integrity Commission.
The President appointed the five member commission last week but three members have since resigned and there have been suggestions from the public that people are losing confidence in the watchdog body.
Since the five-member Commission was appointed last Friday, three members, including the chairman, Father Henry Charles, and his deputy, business executive Jeffrey McFarlane, have resigned.
Former Court of Appeal Justice Zainool Hosein resigned hours after being appointed, contending that he had not been given the post of deputy chairman as promised by President Richards.
Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Panday says the President, who makes the appointments to the Commission after consultation with both the Prime Minister and Opposition leader, should resign.
"The President should have known about the position of the people he was appointing and he has really failed in his job.
"Having failed, I think there is no alternative except that the President should resign and the process restarted. He has made an awful faux pas and since he has done so he can hardly be the person to appoint a new commission," Panday said.
Mr. Panday claims that the Opposition's inclusion in the consultation process was not genuine and that as a result the nomination process to select the committee members was flawed.
He says that the Integrity Commission fiasco reinforces the need for constitutional reform and that appointees should be subject to a new system involving scrutiny by Parliament, which would have the power to reject any candidates they deem unfit.
The new Integrity Commission would have replaced members who resigned in February after a High Court criticised their role in the investigation of former housing minister Dr. Keith Rowley.
The President appointed the five member commission last week but three members have since resigned and there have been suggestions from the public that people are losing confidence in the watchdog body.
Since the five-member Commission was appointed last Friday, three members, including the chairman, Father Henry Charles, and his deputy, business executive Jeffrey McFarlane, have resigned.
Former Court of Appeal Justice Zainool Hosein resigned hours after being appointed, contending that he had not been given the post of deputy chairman as promised by President Richards.
Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Panday says the President, who makes the appointments to the Commission after consultation with both the Prime Minister and Opposition leader, should resign.
"The President should have known about the position of the people he was appointing and he has really failed in his job.
"Having failed, I think there is no alternative except that the President should resign and the process restarted. He has made an awful faux pas and since he has done so he can hardly be the person to appoint a new commission," Panday said.
Mr. Panday claims that the Opposition's inclusion in the consultation process was not genuine and that as a result the nomination process to select the committee members was flawed.
He says that the Integrity Commission fiasco reinforces the need for constitutional reform and that appointees should be subject to a new system involving scrutiny by Parliament, which would have the power to reject any candidates they deem unfit.
The new Integrity Commission would have replaced members who resigned in February after a High Court criticised their role in the investigation of former housing minister Dr. Keith Rowley.
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