No one could say that Minister Kellawan Lall does not contribute a bit of theatre to an otherwise drab Cabinet. It seems he can be depended upon to plant a none-too-agile foot firmly in his mouth now and again, and enliven the rum shop scene with the odd brawl. The problem is, cabinets are supposed to be drab, and if they do boast a colourful character or two, they are not supposed to be colourful in quite the way Minister Lall espouses.
It is not either as if his performance as a minister has been particularly stellar, but then in fairness to him no one with that portfolio could really succeed; they are constrained by PPP policy in relation to local government. That policy views autonomy at the local level as anathema, which is the underlying reason (although not the only one) why the capital – to cite the most high-profile example – is in the appalling state it is. The whole idea is to undermine local authorities which are not under PPP/C control, and in the case of Georgetown that has meant starving it of funds, reducing its revenue base and precipitating a series of garbage crises with a view to imposing a government-appointed Interim Management Committee on it.
It has to be said that during the last garbage drama Minister Lall did the citizens an incidental favour by letting the cat out of the bag about the administration’s intentions. When he was asked whether the government would prefer to spend millions on a health crisis rather than help the city council clean up Georgetown, he responded, “Well, if there is a health crisis in the city I’ll be glad because it will remove the city council. They’ll be responsible for it.” The extraordinary callousness and irresponsibility of this reply from a minister would have got him into serious hot water in any other democracy, but it was probably the frank revelation of government designs – which were quite obvious to everyone before this, even though they were undeclared – that must have made his colleagues cringe. Still, he seemed to weather that storm unscathed.
If Mr Lall’s ministerial conduct has not been above reproach, then neither has his private behaviour. His latest escapade involves an accident in which a vehicle he was driving hit a motor cycle. Questions have been raised about how the police are treating this case as opposed to how they deal with ordinary citizens in the same situation. It should be said, however, that these kinds of questions were raised before, after Mr Lall was involved in an affray in a rum shop. On that occasion the Minister struck a teenager with his gun, and then followed him outside in his vehicle, jumped out and fired shots in the air. He was subsequently to say he only fired one shot and was attempting to effect a citizen’s arrest.
It was later reported that the Minister and the teenager had decided to settle the matter; however, the issue of the firing of the weapon could not be disposed of so easily. Where that was concerned the police sent the file to the DPP, but nothing ever came of it. An unnamed senior police officer, however, told this newspaper that Mr Lall could have been charged for negligent discharge of a firearm, and that the police did not need to seek the advice of the DPP at all, because the case was clear cut. The circumstances under which a citizen can discharge a firearm were very limited, he said, and there was no justification for him doing so in this instance.
So now there is this latest incident referred to above whereby on Saturday, September 4, on a bridge under repair at Annandale, a vehicle which Minister Lall was driving hit a motor cycle, causing sufficient injury to the pillion passenger for him to be admitted to the Georgetown hospital. Mr Lall immediately left the scene of the accident, and made no attempt to render assistance to the victims. It was reported much later that he did turn himself in at Sparendaam Police Station, although exactly how long after the accident this happened has not been made clear.
When this newspaper spoke to Mr John July, the injured pillion passenger three days later, he said the Minister’s vehicle was “coming toward we wid one speed,” and that they really didn’t know where it came from. He expressed fear that the authorities would try and pin the blame on them, as if they were drunk, but they weren’t drunk.
Well Police Commissioner Henry Greene has indeed pinned the blame on them, saying at a press conference early last week, “it does appear that the other parties were wrong, but we will have to get that from the final evidence.” Pronouncing on the case before he had the final evidence is unprofessional, to say the least, but in a statement on Friday the police defended him by saying that the Commissioner’s remark was based on the motor cyclist’s statement given on September 5 in which he said that he struck the metal rail then hit the Minister’s vehicle, as well as on measurements taken at the scene.
Even if it is indeed true that the motor cyclist was at fault, it still does not explain why the Minister should leave the scene of an accident, let alone why he made no attempt to render assistance to the injured. A minister of government of all people should know better and should demonstrate common humanity, not to mention observe the law to the letter. And since he did not do that, the question then arises as to why the police did not hold him, as they would have done any other citizen. One might have thought too, that they would have breathalysed both the motor cyclist and the Minister, given the circumstances. Mr July and the rider had come from a wedding party, which was the basis of police suspicions about them drinking, but if no one was breathalysed, suspicions are not good enough.
When asked at the press conference about why Mr Lall had not been held, the Commissioner responded, “I cannot explain that.” In the circumstances the police should hardly be surprised that both the WPA and the PNCR have raised questions about equity in the application of the law, accusations which the police statement on Friday hardly handled with any deftness. The public is still waiting to hear from Mr Greene, therefore, as to why Mr Lall was not held after the accident, and exactly when the Minister turned himself in to Sparendaam Police Station. In a case like this the Commissioner owes it to the public to reveal all the relevant details, so the police do not appear as if they are attempting to avoid preferring charges against a public official in circumstances where these might be warranted.
For his part, the President, who appointed Mr Lall, is silent, hoping, no doubt that the whole episode will pass and be forgotten.
And as for the PPP, this latest escapade on the part of the Minister will undoubtedly wash over them too. At the time of the bar brawl, the Central Executive apparently spoke to Mr Lall, which General Secretary Donald Ramotar told the media was “seen as a reprimand by the party.” He then went on to say, “We are not a party that would just kill people for the first mistake they make,” and that the PPP had disciplined in the past, but not for one incident; “It has to be over a series.” The party has had absolutely nothing to say so far, so one imagines Mr Lall has not yet achieved a “series.”