PRIVY COUNCIL RULES AGAINST GOV’T

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The Privy Council has cleared the way for the Auditor General to file her judicial review claim against the Finance Minister for launching an investigation into her office.  The ruling was handed down on Thursday. Urvashi Tiwari Roopnarine has the details.

Transcript

00:00Why is the conduct of Finance Minister Kom Imbert himself also not being investigated

00:07over a $2.5 billion understatement in this country's 2023 public financial records?

00:15The question was posed by Lady Simla, one member of a five-judge panel at the Privy

00:20Council in London, England, as the British law lords unanimously dismissed an appeal

00:26brought by Imbert and the Cabinet against Auditor General Jaywanti Ramdas related to

00:32the understatement.

00:34During the hearing, Lady Simla questioned Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who represented

00:39the Finance Minister, on why Ramdas but not Imbert was being investigated, suggesting

00:45that the investigation was one-sided.

00:48The ruling marked a defeat for the government and Finance Minister Kom Imbert when the panel

00:53of five law lords dismissed Imbert's appeal of the Court of Appeals' decision to grant

00:59Auditor General Ramdas' leave to file a judicial review claim against Imbert's decision

01:05to set up an investigation into her office.

01:08The substantive matter involves an understatement of between $2.6 billion and $3.379 billion

01:16in the Auditor General's report on the country's 2023 public financial records.

01:22The panel, comprising Lords Hodge, Sayles, Stephens, Lady Rose and Lady Simla, did not

01:29ask to hear the submissions from Ramdas' lead attorney, Anand Ramlogan, Senior Counsel,

01:35before making their decision.

01:37Following submissions from Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes on behalf of the Minister,

01:42the law lords briefly stood down the hearing.

01:45They returned a few minutes later when Lord Hodge announced the Board's decision that

01:49the local appeal court was correct in granting leave to Ramdas to file her claim.

01:55Given the importance of the matter in this country, Lord Hodge said the Board felt it

01:59necessary to deliver its ruling immediately and would provide written reasons at a later

02:05date.

02:06Now, there's nothing standing in the way of Ramdas from filing her claim.

02:11The investigative team, which is headed by retired High Court Justice David Harris, was

02:16appointed by the Cabinet based on Imbert's advice.

02:20The local judges have ruled that the High Court Justice Westman James had erred in law

02:26when he refused to grant Ramdas permission to file the claim.

02:30Ramdas' attorney argued that Imbert's recommendation to Cabinet to initiate the probe, select the

02:36investigative team, set its terms of reference and have it report directly to him was biased.

02:42She also complained through her attorneys that the Harris team was mandated to make

02:47the findings on her conduct and that Imbert was responsible for their remuneration.

02:53The Minister does not usually respond to queries posed by media, opting instead to post to

02:57social media.

02:58A search of social media showed no comment or response attached to his social media handles

03:06following the judgement.

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