Antigua Breaking News

Top Trusted News Source in Antigua

Search
Previous slide
Next slide

  • Home
  • Regional News
  • Integrity Commission clears PM Rowley of wrongdoing in purchase of townhouse

Integrity Commission clears PM Rowley of wrongdoing in purchase of townhouse

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

(CMC) — The Integrity Commission has cleared Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Keith Rowley, of wrongdoing in the purchase of a townhouse in Tobago, saying that it had ended a probe into the matter.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

While the Commission acknowledged that Rowley had omitted to disclose the purchase contrary to the Integrity in Public Life Act, it said that the omission was not deliberate.

It maintained its position that it could not find reasonable grounds to draw the inference that the prime minister made a false statement of the estimated value of the townhouse in his Form A declaration of income, assets and liabilities.

Prime Minister Rowley has always maintained he did nothing wrong when he filed the necessary documents,but the Commission has asked him to amend his declaration to reflect the true state of his affairs.

The Commission said that it had conducted a “meaningful investigation” of the complaint first raised in December 2021 by opposition legislator Saddam Hosein over the purchase of the townhouse.

Be part of the conversation.

Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!

While it said its first investigation into the matter had found nothing wrong, the Commission maintained its position in responding to a second call by the activist for the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), Ravi Balgobin Maharaj to reopen its investigation.

Maharaj’s attorney, Vishaal Siewsaran in the second complaint, on August 17, took issue with the value Prime Minister Rowley had ascribed to the townhouse in his declaration of income and assets under the Integrity in Public Life Act.

The attorney argued that the Commission’s original 18-month investigation was done in a “piecemeal manner,” and was “skewed, biased, and incomplete.”

In the request to re-open the investigation, Siewsaran said when Prime Minister Rowley and his wife signed the deed for the purchase price of TT$1.2 million, they would have been expected to pay stamp duty on that figure, and the attorney who acted for them would have had to present a valuation report to pay the stamp duty.

“It is clear that the BIR (Board of Indland Revenue) became suspicious of this transaction and hence commissioned an independent valuation from the Valuations Division,” the attorney said, noting that it valued the townhouse at $TT1.68 million.

But the Commission said it found “no evidence of any alteration from a lower stamp value to a higher stamp value to raise an inference that there was a change in the circumstances which was so significant that Dr Rowley had to be made aware of same.

“Additionally, the commission reiterates that it had no evidence suggesting that Dr Rowley knew of the valuation of the said townhouse unit for stamp duty purposes.”

“The Commission is compelled to point out that what ought to have been done by the attorney responsible for the transaction and what was actually done are two distinct matters.

“In this regard, the commission is required to make its decision based on evidence.

“Certainly Dr Rowley may have been informed of the stamp duty which he was required to pay in the sum of TT$33,500. However, based on the evidence obtained during the course of the commission’s investigation, there was no indication that a valuation report was submitted to the Inland Revenue Division as regards the transaction.”

Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].

———————————————————————

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on Twitter @ABNAntigua and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-868-704-9864 or email us at [email protected].

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES:  CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Join the Conversation!

One response to “Integrity Commission clears PM Rowley of wrongdoing in purchase of townhouse”

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]