(Trinidad Express) – Jack Warner can keep his two posts. His is free to pursue both his position as Works and Transport Minister in the People’s Partnership administration and Vice-President of Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).
This is the considered opinion of four eminent Senior Counsel who were engaged by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to advise him in this matter.
Former president Sir Ellis Clarke, former attorney general Russell Martineau, Caribbean jurist Fenton Ramsahoye QC and British QC Michael Beloff in separate opinions found that there was nothing illegal and they did not appear to see any clear conflict of interest between the two jobs.
At Thursday’s post-Cabinet media conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, Ramlogan released the opinions to the media.
Clarke commented that the Integrity Commission in presenting its position on the matter achieved brevity, but that brevity was obtained “at the expense of accuracy”.
He noted that the commission’s release stated: “This Code (of Ethics for Parliamentarians including Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries) requires that Cabinet ministers divest themselves of their private interests upon their assumption of public office”. However, Clarke pointed out that the code provides: “Ministers should resign directorships in public companies, but they may retain directorships in private companies under specified conditions.” Furthermore, Sir Ellis stated that the functions of the FIFA Vice-President were
“mainly ceremonial” and did not fall within the very Sections a, b and c of the Code. Clarke noted that in the “overheated but not enlightened discussion on the matter” reference was often made to a ’conflict of interest’. Defining what constituted a conflict of interest under the Code of Conduct in the Integrity in Public Life, he said: “It is difficult to see how a conflict of interest is likely to arise as a result of a Cabinet Minister being a Vice President of FIFA.”
Martineau’s opinion was that there was no legal prohibition on Warner from holding both offices. “The question of whether Warner is in breach of the Code of Conduct under the (Integrity in Public Life) Act or the Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians including Ministers will depend on the extent to which he is required to devote his time and effort to the executive committee and other Committees (of FIFA) (and to CONCACAF) in disregard of his ministerial duties,” he said.
