By Sue-Ann Wayow
OPPOSITION Member of Parliament for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal is calling on retired Justice Stanley John to answer questions relating to the investigation into the issuance of firearm licences that took place under former Police Commissioner Gary Griffith.
Speaking at the Opposition’s media briefing on Sunday, Dr Moonilal produced a letter signed by former chairman of the Police Service Commissioner Bliss Seepersad.
The letter was shared with the media.
The letter dated August 30, 2021 states, “The Police Service Commission is in the process of selecting and appointing a commissioner of police pursuant to its constitutional remit under section 123 of the Constitution.
“In this regard, we wish the following issues to be investigated: 1. Allegations of corruption in the issuance of Fireman Users’ Licences 2. The handling of the reported incident at sea involving the Head of the Legal Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
“It is the view of the commission that the above matters should be investigated as the matters may touch and concern corruption and or impropriety within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and these are issues that could impact decisions on selection and appointment.
“Please sign below indicating your acceptance of this appointment.”
Dr Moonilal questioned the brief letter, and asked why there were no terms of reference attached.
How the report was handed to a parliamentary committee since it was commissioned by the PSC was also a question he asked of John.
Dr Moonilal said, “If the PSC as an independent institutional body appointed John to do a report for them, how can (National Security Minister) Fitzgerald Hinds indicate on a radio station, that John gave the report to a group of politicians, who constitute a Cabinet sub-committee, called the National Security Council.
“John did a report for the PSC and Hinds has said on the public record that the politicians, ministers, that constitute a sub-committee of Cabinet, received the report from John. I would like to know from John on what basis the report was handed to politicians whose names were also allegedly in that report.”
And Dr Moonilal also again called on the Government to state what losses it had incurred when Shanghai Construction Company prematurely terminated its contract with the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) for the Port-of-Spain Central Block project.
