If the standards for assessing conflict of interest lead reasonable persons to conclude that such a risk exists despite safeguards then Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes should take the honourable course of action and demit office, according to former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran.
In his accountability column in today’s Stabroek News (see page 8), Goolsarran revisited the issue of conflict of interest in light of questions that have arisen about the position of the minister after her spouse, Nigel Hughes inaugurated a law office in Houston, Texas, USA on September 28 this year with the intention of attracting oil and gas business.
Goolsarran, who adverted to an earlier matter where questions had been raised about the roles of both Hughes in connection with the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and two associated companies, said that “in deciding whether there is a conflict of interest, the overriding consideration, indeed the standard test, is whether a reasonable, unconnected and uninformed person, weighing all the specific facts and circumstances available at the time, would be likely to conclude that the risk of conflict of interest exists, despite safeguards that may be put place to mitigate the effects of such a risk”.