While insisting that she has nothing to hide, Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes yesterday disclosed that she has declared her assets and interests to the Integrity Commission and that Cabinet was informed about the intention of her husband’s law firm to open an office in Texas for oil industry clients but she stopped short of saying how she will deal with the potential conflict of interest.
“Are you serious?” Hughes asked when contacted by Stabroek News to comment on the length of time between her July 4th declaration to the Integrity Commission and her October 9th disclosure to Cabinet.
During the brief telephone conversation, the minister proceeded to remind this newspaper of recent comments made by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo that he and a number of his party’s Members of Parliament (MPs) have not declared their assets to the Integrity Commission as mandated by law. “I have done so. I have nothing to hide,” she said.