Dear Editor,
I noted certain statements in the press allegedly made by Dr Nanda Gopaul, former Permanent Secretary of the Presidential Secretariat now Minister of Labour and Mrs Shalimar Ali-Hack, Director of Public Prosecutions concerning the Ombudsman’s report on a complaint by Mr Maurice Aijoon, former Director Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the New Building Society (NBS) Ltd.
The Ombudsman’s report was sent by me to Dr Roger Luncheon, Head of the Presidential Secretariat for transmission to His Excellency the President Mr Donald Ramotar, Dr Ashni Singh and Dr Nanda Gopaul. I also sent copies to Mr Anil Nandlall, Attorney-General, Mrs Elisabeth Harper, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Commis-sioner of Police and Mr Maurice Arjoon, Complainant, and to no other person.
The copies of the report sent to the President, the Attorney-General, Director-General and the Commis-sioner of Police were generally for information to these officials.
I sent covering letters with the report for the other named persons and invited them to make such comments as they see fit. In other words, anyone affected by anything said in the report was and is at liberty to write me expressing their views and to dispute any statement or any erroneous finding.
The Ombudsman Act requires me to submit the report to anyone affected by anything contained in it and in all fairness, to allow that person to dispute anything in the report affecting him or her. I did not release the report to the press. The stage for that is still to come.
Should anyone affected by the report make any comment or dispute anything contained in the report, I have to consider these comments and if necessary revise any finding or statement affected.
After observing the procedure outlined above, I may then lay a special report before the National Assembly. I may also in the public interest release the report at that stage for public consumption.
It follows therefore that I cannot and will not at this stage debate the report in the press.
I repeat that anyone affected by the report is at liberty to communicate with me in the proper manner and also the opportunity can be taken by that person to remedy any default.
I did read certain statements attributed to Dr Nanda Gopaul in which he claimed that I made findings on decisions taken by the NBS Board of Directors without ever affording the Board an opportunity to be heard. I spoke to Dr Gopaul by telephone on Friday, November 14, last advising him to read or re-read my report and to point out where in the report I made any finding on anything done by the NBS Board. The only mention I made of the NBS Board is stated in one sentence on page 23 of the report as follows:
“I have no jurisdiction to pronounce on the action of the NBS Board in firing the managers and I therefore refrain from any comment.”
I also annexed to the report the full text of a letter written by Dr Nanda Gopaul addressed to the Head of the Presidential Secretariat in response to a query by me to him through the Head of the Presidential Secretariat.
I trust that Dr Nanda Gopaul will now do what is honourable.
Yours faithfully,
Winston Moore
Ombudsman
