President Irfaan Ali has said he is “very comfortable” with the actions taken by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond to renounce her American citizenship.
“…I am very comfortable that Minister Oneidge did what she had to do. Minister Oneidge is an honourable woman and before she was sworn in she came and advised the president of her dual citizenship…,” Ali said, while speaking on the sidelines of the swearing in of Regional Democratic Council Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen yesterday.
Since Article 155 of the Constitution prohibits dual citizens from becoming MPs it has been argued that the President should have withdrawn the offer on learning of her status.
Ali added that he has since been advised by Walrond that she has received her certificate of renunciation.
Asked if the minister submitted a copy of her certificate to the Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs, the president responded in the negative.
“I can tell you she did it (the renunciation) and she has advised me she has her certificate. She is an honourable woman. I have not checked [but] I have no doubt that she would communicate to the Clerk and to the Speaker [Manzoor Nadir] and would have demonstrated what I would have told you,” Ali explained further.
The president stressed that his minister has nothing to hide as she is not in a category of persons who went to the elections on a slate and did not renounce their citizenship.
On Friday, questions were raised about whether Walrond had renounced her American citizenship before becoming a Member of Parliament (MP). Up to Friday last, Isaacs had said that he had not been supplied with her certificate of renunciation.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, Walrond detailed the steps she took from the time she was approached by President Ali to take up the ministerial position up to the point that she was sworn in.
She explained that on August 5th, she was invited by Ali to join his Cabinet. Walrond said she accepted the offer, which she considered as an opportunity to serve the country.
As an attorney, Walrond noted that she consulted with other lawyers on the whether the constitutional provision against elected MPs extended to technocrats as she was not selected from the PPP/C’s candidates list. “…I sought the counsel of other attorneys on whether the sections of the constitution prohibiting elected members from being dual citizens applied to me as a technocrat minister,” she said.
She added that although she was advised that the provision did not extend to technocrats, “out of an abundance of caution”, she took a decision to renounce her US citizenship. “…I decided to renounce my citizenship to put the matter beyond all doubt and avoid any distraction to the good work of the government,” she said.
On August 18th, Walrond further explained, she wrote to the US Consular office renouncing her US citizenship with immediate effect.
She said she was then informed of the administrative procedure she was required to comply with in order to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the US.
“I complied with that process by August 27. I have since received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality,” Walrond stated. She did not provide the date of this certificate. If the date was after her swearing in as a MP it would mean that she was illegally sworn.
The constitutional injunction against MPs holding dual citizenship was upheld in the case brought last year against Charrandass Persaud and which ended up at the Caribbean Court of Justice. Since then, political parties and Parliament Office have reiterated that dual citizens cannot sit in Parliament.
The opposition APNU+AFC maintains that Walrond was a dual citizen at the time she was sworn in and as a result it is calling for her immediate resignation as a MP. It also said it is considering mounting a legal challenge against her membership.
Opposition Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde had said the coalition is considering the institution of legal proceedings to effect her removal from the National Assembly since it is not satisfied with the explanation given.
