Moves are being made by the Parliament to improve constituency management arrangements and to ensure MPs comply with the parliament’s guidelines manual on this.
And it’s possible the guidelines will be reviewed when the Parliament takes its annual recess in August.
A senior parliament official confirmed the developments last Friday, following continued calls for clarification earlier in the week about the guidelines. This followed concerns in March about some MPs hiring relatives at their constituency offices.
Sunday Guardian was told upcoming improvements will include provision of manpower to administer constituency arrangements since there has been no compliance unit to ensure MPs adhere to the guidelines.
Questions on the guidelines—past and present—simmered up to last Monday following PNM Port-of-Spain South MP McDonald’s March 17 dismissal from the Cabinet on three sets of misconduct allegations, now under probe by police and the Integrity Commission (See Box) . One issue concerned the hiring of two persons—including someone allegedly close to her—at her Port-of-Spain South constituency office over the last 2010-2015 term.
It was later revealed that relatives of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and UNC MPs Bhoe Tewarie, Barry Padarath, and Rushton Paray, had also worked at their respective constituency offices in this 2015-2020 term.
Parliament’s 2010-2015 MPs’ manual states MPs “should not hire members of their immediate family (defined as spouse, children or parents) to work in their constituency office.”
The 2015-2020 manual states members are restricted from employing relatives including spouses/co-habitants; children/step-children/adopted children/grandchildren; parents/step-parents/grandparents; siblings; nephews/nieces; uncles/aunts; cousins.
The parliament official explained that guidelines for the last term concerning hiring practices at constituency offices were extensively changed over August-September 2015 (after the last Parliament was dissolved), not only in relation to employment issues, but also regarding how MPs contract and terminate staff.
They said, one of the reasons for the change was the issues that emerged in the last term concerning hiring practices overall, and on the recommendation of auditors, responding to public spending in constituency offices.
There were also matters before the Industrial Court due to a “pattern” of conduct in human resource practices in the last term, they confirmed.
In the allegations against McDonald, the Fixin’ T&T group claimed that in the last term, Michael Carew—described in various news reports as McDonald’s “ common law partner,” and other terms—and his brother Lennox Carew, had been hired at McDonald’s constituency office.
Persad-Bissessar subsequently confirmed two relatives were employed at her Siparia constituency office. Noting the new guidelines for the new 2015-2020 term, she’d said she was seeking clarification from the Parliament on the situation.
UNC’s Padarath had said the employment of a relative working at his office since he became MP was terminated after he received the new guidelines in February. Padarath said he contacted the Clerk of the House and offered to repay $60,000 in salaries paid to the person.
UNC’s Tewarie also said a relative had been working at his office, but no longer was.
UNC’s Paray confirmed a distant relative was among staff he inherited from the previous MP’s tenure. He said after the guidelines were issued, he sought guidance from the Parliament and was assured there was no issue. Paray said the person remained employed part-time.
In the resulting furore, Parliament subsequently issued a questionnaire about the guidelines to MPs to fill out, and their feedback has been submitted.
But MPs Padarath and Paray, who returned to seek further clarification from the Parliament recently, said they were assured there were no sanctions and they’ve called for publicised clarification.
Clearing the air, the parliament official explained to the Sunday Guardian that guideline manuals for a term are formulated by parliament’s secretariat headed by the Clerk of the House who receives recommendations on spending of public funds.
It was noted that revisions to the manual are done from time to time, generally during the dissolution of a Parliament when audit/queries/recommendations are taken on board and a review of policies can be done concerning public expenditure.
The manual is underpinned by decisions of the House Committee—the team of MPs that deals with members’ comfort in Parliament—as well as financial regulations and other legislation that Parliament follows.
But there is no compliance unit to follow up and ensure guidelines are adhered to, it was confirmed.
It was also confirmed that the House Committee doesn’t approve the guidelines, but can propose to the House Speaker that changes be made.
MPs can also use the committee to review the manual and, after the dissolution of a Parliament, the incoming House Committee can examine the guidelines.
Following comprehensive overhaul of the 2010-2015 manual, they added, guidelines for the current term involve extensive ammendments regarding all HR practices, which now allow formalised contracting and termination processes
At “this time,” they added, no sanctions apply to MPs from breach of the guidelines, “beyond public odium/disrepute which MPs will suffer if they breach it.”
How UNC MPs,
Marlene, stand
During the week, the Sunday Guardian confirmed the two employees at Persad-Bissessar’s office haven’t been paid and were sent on vacation leave.
Padarath said when he again sought clarification last month on the issue, he was told by the Clerk of the House there was no sanction concerning the former employee’s hiring, since no laws or rules had been broken, and because the manual was simply a guideline. He was also told MPs had the prerogative of challenging the guidelines.
Tewarie also wrote the Clerk in March, indicating the employee at his office—a niece—had resigned.
Sunday Guardian checks confirmed McDonald, also, sought clarification from Parliament via a March 22 letter which attempted to find out if any violation occurred with the employment of Michael and Lennox Carew.
The letter stated Carew was employed from June 2010 to September 7, 2015, and that Parliament’s 2010-2015 guidelines stated MPs shouldn’t hire members of their immediate family, defined as “spouse, children or parents.”
It was pointed out, Carew was neither spouse, child nor parent.
The March 22 letter explained when new guidelines were introduced this term, Carew was no longer in the employ of the constituency office. It also stated Lennox Carew was employed from 2010 to 2011 and wasn’t among the list of restricted groups outlined in the 2010-2015 guidelines.
In a March 23 reply from Parliament, it was stated that “having regard to the information provided,” it was considered “the clarification being sought was unwarranted.”
McDonald hasn’t replied to 23 Sunday Guardian queries posed to her since March 24 on issues including Carew’s status or the other matters facing her, and remains mum.
Padarath said, “It’s about time specific clarification is made to resolve the guidelines issue including who approved it, when it was approved and why specific measures weren’t taken to inform MPs.”
Padarath said proper arrangements should have been made to inform MPs of the manuals for the new term.
Paray added, “I’d hoped by after Easter the matter would have been given closure via a public statement from Parliament. Closure has to come if no rules were broken; something should be said in terms of people’s reputation, particularly regarding new MPs, such as myself seeking guidance.”
GUIDELINES
The guidelines for the current 2015-2020 parliamentary term weren’t formulated or approved by either Speaker Wade Mark in 2010-2015 or the current House Committee which recently entered office.
This was confirmed by Mark and House Committee chairman Camille Robinson -Regis during the week.
The current House Committee, appointed October 20, 2015, is chaired by Robinson-Regis. The TT Parliament Web site listed no meetings as having been held. Robinson-Regis said nothing was listed because the Committee hasn’t yet met since its inception and has had no matters referred to it. Since the Committee hasn’t met, it wasn’t the body which approved the 2015-2020 guidelines.
Robinson-Regis added, “The guidelines weren’t formulated or approved by the current 11th Parliament or current Speaker,” she added.
Mark said the 2010-2015 Parliament operated with guidelines from the previous term (Ninth Parliament) when the PNM was in office. “When I became Speaker in June 2010 I never saw any new guidelines. These matters are addressed by the parliament’s secretariat.”
He said a Speaker remains in office until a new one is elected. But he said at the end of the last 2010-2015 term he resigned two weeks before the convening of the new Parliament since he was asked to serve as a UNC senator.
He added that the date on the guidelines for the 2015-2020 term was “September 2015” without a specific date. “Those guidelines therefore weren’t seen or approved by me. Maybe it was done by the Parliament secretariat at the dissolution of Parliament.”
PROBE OF ALLEGATIONS
Several people—including certain PNM members—have been interviewed by police so far in the probe of allegations against McDonald concerning the Calabar Foundation, a source said.
Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge and Fixing T&T had pursued that matter, requesting a police probe as well as action by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Integrity Commission (IC) following allegations of misconduct against McDonald.
Sturge had also referred to the police, DPP and IC, allegations that McDonald assisted Michael Carew—described as someone with whom she had a personal relationship—to obtain a Fidelis Heights house during the Manning administration’s tenure when she was Community Development minister. Several past HDC officials, including the former CEO, have been interviewed by the IC on this, a source said.