The terse tone in the exchange between AG John Jeremie and former DPP Geoffrey Henderson must be a cause for concern. The nation owes Mr Henderson a huge debt of gratitude. The pressure applied by the AG was intense, and cannot be casually dismissed, because it was being applied in sensitive, high-profile matters involving opposition politicians/supporters.
I doubt Jeremie showed similar interest in ordinary cases, and hence the cause for concern. To mask this dedicated focus on certain cases with a distinct political flavour behind a genuine constitutional concern by the AG for accountability to Parliament is naive and absurd. There are many ways to skin a cat, and it seems as if the PNM was trying to bully the DPP to have its way. The correspondence was not in the nature of consultation, but rather an overstepping of boundaries.
Jeremie’s tone was that of a condescending schoolmaster to an errant student. The power to institute and continue criminal proceedings was vested in the DPP by the framers of our present constitution, because of fears that were expressed about the possible manipulation and misuse of such an important function. Well-timed criminal prosecutions against political opponents or supporters can create a much-needed distraction, and divert attention from what the Government is doing or not doing. It takes the heat off.
If charges are laid on the eve of a general election, this can boost the political fortunes of one party.
(Remember how Basdeo Panday was forced to face the electorate with an undetermined rape charge hanging over his head, while the magistrate withheld his decision until after the elections? That was wrong and the court should have given its decision instead of playing political limbo.)
Independent budget
The Anti-Corruption Bureau takes its orders from and reports directly to the AG. It was the UNC, under Ramesh, who created this, and Jeremie has gleefully embraced this inheritance. Panday had accused Ramesh of using this unit as a private police force under his direct supervision and control, for the purpose of investigating his own Cabinet colleagues for corruption.
He accused him of building private dossiers with the intention of blackmailing his own colleagues into supporting him as political leader. Ramesh claimed he was simply carrying out his duty as AG by investigating political corruption. Dr Keith Rowley has made a similar allegation now. Word is Jeremie is the hatchet man to finish off the job Bridgid Annisette-George couldn’t: to prosecute Rowley.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau will be the private police army that can secretly do the bidding of the party in power. It can bypass the regular Police Service and its hierarchical chain of command from the Commissioner of Police. Mr Jeremie is their Commissioner of Police. The main criterion for appointment and retention of officers in this elite unit is political loyalty. These officers are the envy of their colleagues, who face bullets and bandits, as they work in beautiful offices and are given special allowances that significantly inflate their regular remuneration package.
If anything, it is the DPP who should have this Anti-Corruption Bureau under his command. The DPP has no resources to investigate corruption, and is an independent official who is better-placed than the politically appointed AG to operate an anti-corruption agency that can function as a watchdog over the politicians and other state officials. Also, the DPP should have an independent budget, so that he/she does not have to go cap in hand to the AG to beg for money to buy anything from a paper clip to a photocopier.
Political influence
This lack of financial independence undermines the independence of the office of the DPP, and gives the AG (and by extension, the ruling party), a “hold” over the DPP. Accountability can be secured by the laying of an annual report in Parliament, like the service commissions and independent external audits, to ensure that the monies allocated are being properly spent.
The creative and innovative techniques employed by Jeremie to undermine the DPP and usurp his function as chief prosecutor must ring alarm bells. He was acting as if he is the DPP’s boss. Demanding that he, AG, must have the right to select a lawyer of his choice to prosecute criminal cases against opposition politicians is dangerous.
Political parties all have their legal loyalists, who contentedly feed at the trough of the nation’s treasury, wearing the disguise of “independent” counsel. It is a “lick arse” culture of the highest order, with its own unique system of incentives and rewards as gifts of senior counsel appointments and juicy briefs are dished out. An independent budget for an independent DPP will minimise the opportunity for political influence, be it direct or indirect, and whether under Ramesh or Jeremie.
By Anand Ramlogan