Shadow Minister of Home Affairs Geeta Chandan-Edmond yesterday reiterated her call on the government to provide answers and send Home Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas on leave pending an independent investigation.
In a statement, Chandan-Edmond, a member of the People’s National Congress Reform and opposition parliamentarian, said it has been 18 days since the first report of Thomas’ phone being confiscated. She said that while in the initial days subsequent to the Stabroek News report, the government was trying to defend “the indefensible” the nation was no wiser on the issue.
“There has been no announcement of significance on the status of the Permanent Secretary and worst, no hint of any accountability or administration action,” Chandan-Edmond said.
Toussaint Jr Thomas submitted a report on the April 8th incident to Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and this was to be transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable further dialogue with the US authorities. It is unclear if that report was forwarded to the ministry.
Stabroek News had reported that Toussaint Jr Thomas was carrying a significant amount of cash but below the threshold for declaration when she was selected for a secondary inspection on April 8th at Miami International Airport. Her cell phone was subsequently confiscated.
Sources close to the government said that Toussaint Jr Thomas was carrying around the equivalent of US$9,000 when she was questioned by the authorities in the US. She then continued on to China.
Since the government had said that she was on a PPP-related training programme, questions have been raised as to why she was carrying that amount of cash.
According to sources, several months ago, a close relative of Toussaint Jr Thomas who is a US citizen also had a phone seized at a US airport, underlining that the US authorities have been keeping a close watch on their movements.
