COMMISSIONER SHARPE PROMISES IMPARTIALITY By John Denny Observer Reporter
(Charlestown, Nevis) – Queen’s Counsel Thomas Sharpe conducting the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of wrong-doing by the last Nevis Island Administration promised the proceedings would be conducted in a fair and impartial manner “First of all, I am not a politician, not in the UK and certainly not in Nevis. I am very much aware that this inquiry was started by the Premier, but once sworn in, the politics ended and the legal process began,”he said. “I swore an oath that I would ‘faithfully, fully, impartially, and to the best of my ability, discharge the trust and perform the duties imposed on me by the GG’s Commission.” And I mean to stand by every word of that oath.”Sharpe was adamant that he was here for no one except the people of Nevis. I am not engaged in a witch hunt and I approach this task with no pre-judgment or any prejudice toward anyone. I am only prejudiced in one way and that is my strong desire to assist Nevis and its people in any way I can,’said the commissioner. “I told Premier Parry that there is a chance we will not find anything, but he seems willing to take that chance,’said Sharpe. “Obviously he thinks this inquiry has merit and it is something that needs to be done.”During the first hearing last week, the commissioner mentioned that he is no stranger to the island. Several years ago, he engaged in an environmental litigation against a major hotel on the island. The outcome of the matter set a precedent in the Caribbean Court of Appeal and he donated his time to that case pro bono. Although the work he is doing this time will not be free, he has discounted his normal fees. “Sir Richard and me, we are working for a fraction of the fees we normally command in our home jurisdictions,”he said. The commission of inquiry will be looking into: circumstances surrounding the purchase by the NIA of the Marion Heights Shopping; the compulsory acquisition of 24 acres at Pinney’s; the land sale of 80 acres at Pinney’s to Hamilton Estates by Pinney’s Investment Company Ltd; the circumstances surrounding the abandonment by the NIA the legal proceedings against Pinney’s Investment Company Ltd.; The movement of US$300,000 being held at Barclays Bank, Charlestown, Nevis to the account of Malcolm Anderson at the National Bank of Jamaica; the action brought by the NIA against Malcolm Anderson for the return of US$300,000 was compromised; the selection of contractor and the financial arrangements, including the alleged payment of US$1,900,000 to the contractor and/or its subcontractors, for the construction of the Vance Amory International Airport and the resolution and/or handling of disputes during and following the construction of the said airport. The investigation is to be completed and a report presented to the Governor General Sir Cuthbert Sebastian by the end of April, 2010. Some inquiries take years to complete, Sharpe said, but he feels this particular case can be wrapped up in a few months. “My view is: inquiries take years and people forget why they were started. Also genuinely, I am very conscious of the cost of the inquiry so if you have a system that goes on for years upon years, I am not doing Nevis any service at all,”he said. “It was me who stipulated 10 months because I want everybody, our team and everybody else concerned to get used to the notion. We are all going to work hard and to that time table. Plus a lot is going to depend on the people of Nevis, unless I get voluntary help and support of the citizenry then it’s going to be extremely difficult to do it in that time frame,”he said. The commission has already begun sending letters to potential witnesses and while he doesn’t invite anonymous tips, they will not be ignored. He also expressed his hope that anyone with information regarding the inquiry should come forward, even if they received no letter. “I hope also that people who are not recipients of these letters of request will also feel able to volunteer information to the Inquiry: I hope the full address and contact details will be available soon in the press and we will have a link from the government web site which will contain details of future hearings and matters which we can properly make public. I want the Inquiry to be as transparent as possible. I hope that all the hearings will be televised or at least broadcast on radio, if possible,”he said. Once the Inquiry team has received written submissions and the fruits of various interviews, Sharpe will hold hearings on each issue. “We plan to take issue one by one and we will hold at least one hearing before the end of July. The purpose of the first round of hearings is to elucidate all the facts and take advantage of the information and knowledge possessed by the individuals most closely concerned,’said Sharpe. “They will not be on oath and Counsel to the Inquiry’s questions will be expressed in a neutral way. Let us get the facts first before I start forming judgments. It is the commonsense and fair way. I hope this be carried out in a relatively informal way, and reasonably quickly. In this way, if there is any chaff it can be separated early and easily in the process.”Sharpe further explained the proceedings. “When this process is completed, we start on the difficult part. It is a matter of elementary fairness that if there are matters which give rise to concern I should write to the persons concerned setting out what my concerns are,”he said. “This will be a private letter at that stage. I will invite that person to explain matters which puzzle me. These responses will be in writing. If I am satisfied, there will be little or nothing to add: more chaff will be separated. “But if I am not satisfied, I will hold a further hearing and Counsel to the inquiry will set our remaining concerns in open session. I will invite that person to give evidence at the appropriate hearing or, if the person is involved in more than one hearing, hearings. I have all the powers of a High Court Judge including obliging g persons to attend the hearing and give up documents. I hope it will not be necessary for me to exercise those powers but no one should be in any doubt that I will if I have to. “At this stage, I anticipate Counsel will be retained and appear on behalf of the persons concerned. They will be free to examine their client and to cross examine other witnesses if they wish to. I will pay the utmost attention to the evidence and answers to Counsel’s questions and may add a few of my own-but not too many. “Once this process has been completed for all the issues which remain, if not all of them, my task-and it is my task alone-will be to write the Report. Of course, I will seek help on factual issues from the team, but the final judgments will be mine alone, and I alone answerable for them,’said Commissioner Sharpe. After all the former has been completed, Sharpe said the most important aspect of the terms of reference will be identifying the deficiencies of the Administration and what improvements could be made to achieve better governance. “Whatever I find on the other matters, the most enduring aspects of my report will be the findings I may make on improvements,”he said. “Could the governance of Nevis be improved, could better procedures and record keeping be instituted? Are there lessons for democratic accountability, better financial controls, transparency? I will end by saying that, whatever else I may find about the history of the matters under review, it is my fervent wish, above all, that this young democracy and administration – merely 25 or so years, will find something in the Report which will improve public administration in Nevis for future generations.”
