According to this article by the Political Editor (Ria Taitt) of the Trinidad Express, there will be no more public meetings of parliamentary committees. In the continuation of an era where government is being accused more and more of corruption and overspending, it seems counterintuitive that a government that wishes to stay in power would remove public hearings. From the article:
...Government intends to discontinue public hearings of parliamentary committees, Government sources stated yesterday. The biggest impact, from the public standpoint, would be the effect on the Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) and the three Joint Select Committees (JSCs), which, over the past four years, have held their meetings in public.
Sources said Government desire to hold the meetings in camera is motivated by a determination to protect public officials from the "brutal treatment" which they (the Government) feel many of them have suffered at the hands of Committee members before the viewing public.
Some of these persons, such as EMBD (Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited) Chairman, Uthara Rao, and UDeCOTT Chairman, Calder Hart, were buffed. In fact, Rao complained bitterly at the last PAEC meeting in the 2002/2007 Parliament, that he was treated like a criminal whenever he appeared before the Wade Mark-chaired Committee.
So far, the PAEC, which is again chaired by Opposition Senator Mark, has so far held its meetings in private. Sources said "from the get-go, the view was expressed by a Government minister that the Government wanted to have the meetings in private"...
Uthara Rao has endeared himself through some of EMBD's acts, such as destruction of $2.5 million worth of crops and agricultural equipment. UDeCOTT, of course, is in the firing line and Calder Hart should expect to be in the public light given his many fingers in many pies.
And for those of you confused by the Political Editor's use of 'buffed' in this context, it is not a dictionary definition of buffed, meaning polished in some places, but meaning 'made rough', or better explained through another Trinidad and Tobago colloquialism, 'roughed up'. Why an Editor would do this is beyond me, but there it is.
It is sad that, after World Press Day, the media will have to depend on being given interviews to inform the public instead of being able to report on public hearings.
My personal opinion is that this is censorship of the worst form, and if there was an Opposition in Parliament they should oppose it. So much for World Press Freedom Day. Politicians are now controlling the flow of information about themselves and those that they put in charge of projects.
To quote a close friend of mine, "No good can come from that."
Technorati Tags: 
Post new comment