Opposition Leader says Speaker Wrong on AAJ Stance

Opposition leader, Mark Golding says the house speaker was wrong in her approach to the Transport Minister’s refusal to answer questions regarding the AAJ/First Rock deal recently.

Golding was also concerned that despite the secrecy clause preventing the Integrity Commission from speaking about matters under investigation until a report is tabled, the Minister was able to tell the Parliament a probe was underway, without a report from the Commission.

Golding had warned the Parliament it was taking a slippery and dangerous path by blocking the responses from the Transport Minister because the AAJ/First Rock matter was reportedly under investigation.

The Opposition leader maintains his stance with even more concerns, he noted that the Integrity Commission, under the current law, is not supposed to reveal or disclose when its is embarking on an investigation until it has tabled its report. Golding insists the speaker was wrong in upholding the Minister’s stance while urging the Opposition to await the Integrity Commission’s report.

He notes the Commission will be seeking to uncover whether there were acts of corruption or malfeasance. Golding draws a parallel between matters coming to parliamentary committees such as the Public Accounts Committee, which were later brought before the court.

More in this CVM Live story from Neika Lewis: