A former United National Congress senator is trying to stop the sale of the Petrotrin refinery in Pointe-a-Pierre through a constitutional motion filed in the High Court.
Wayne Sturge, an attorney, filed that matter against the failure of the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert, as the chairman of the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Energy Affairs, to convene a meeting of that committee for close to two years.
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Sturge is seeking to have the court grant an injunction preventing Government from making any further decisions regarding the sale of the Petrotrin refinery until the matter is heard and determined.
The matter was filed by attorney Gerald Ramdeen, another former UNC senator, on Monday in the Port-of-Spain High Court.
It is claiming that the failure to hold a meeting of the JSC on Energy over the last 20 months has the intent and effect of preventing Parliament from holding the government and the executive, in particular politically, to account when the government and the executive were taking decisions that will have irreversible impacts upon the country and its citizens.
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According to the claim, “This fundamentally alters the balance of the Constitution by allowing the Government to govern at this crucial time without accountability.
“This is not and cannot be a lawful exercise of power. The chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Energy has exercised his power for an improper purpose and in bad faith.”
