PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Monday May 16, 2011 – The House of Representatives will today discuss what punishment to impose on former prime minister Patrick Manning.
This is after the Privileges Committee found the San Fernando East MP guilty of contempt of Parliament following statements he made about the acquisition of funding for the construction of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s home in South Trinidad.
As a result, Manning could be suspended, reprimanded, ordered to make an apology or, in the worst case scenario, be expelled from Parliament.
However, he will not be in the island while his fate is being considered.
Manning has informed the House that he will be seeking medical attention in Cuba this week, a trip he said was planned before he was found guilty of contempt.
He had been sent to the Privileges Committee because of suggestions he made in Parliament about how the prime minister got the money to build her house. He’d said that her People’s Partnership (PP) government had been undermining the anti-drug effort that his People’s National Movement (PNM) administration had put in place as it (the PP government) carried out the agenda of its election campaign investors who were involved in the drug trade.
He said Persad-Bissessar’s house had cost TT$150 million (US$23.6 million) and said: “To what conclusion do you expect us to come? They were struggling to build that house before the election”.
In its report which was laid last Friday, the Privileges Committee said Manning had made a serious allegation against the prime minister without in any way supporting such claims, even though he was given considerable opportunity to do so.
It said that Manning refused to respond to the allegations and did not show up to several meetings and at those he attended, requested adjournments of proceedings for various reasons.
“Members felt it was most regrettable that the Committee was limited to deliberating on the verbatim notes of Manning’s contribution and the personal explanation given by the Prime Minister, without the benefit of hearing from Manning,” the report said.
The Committee also pointed out that Manning refused to apologise to the prime minister after she gave an explanation and provided documents to refute his allegations.
It was on the basis of all this that the Committee found Manning in contempt of Parliament and said that his attitude toward the proceedings also suggested contempt for the Committee itself.
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