Rodney CoI report, Commission was told to leave report at AG’s office – Chairman

Georgetown: High on the heels of controversy surrounding the handing over of the report from the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI), Chairman Sir Richard Cheltenham has clarified that he was told to leave the report at the Attorney General’s Office.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Basil Williams confirmed to the media that the final report from the Inquiry was dropped off to his Confidential Secretary, in what he described as a “disrespectful” manner. It was also reported that the Commissioners left Guyana after handing over the document.
However, in a lengthy statement Saturday signed by Cheltenham, he sought to clear the air on what had transpired, saying it was President David Granger’s Secretary who told him to leave the report with the AG’s Office after the Head of State was unavailable to personally receive it.
The Chairman admitted that the scheduled handing-over of the report on Monday was postponed because there was a shortage of ink. He explained that on Monday last, the soft-copy of the report was being printed via private printing facilities at the Mariott Hotel, where they were staying, but during the process he was informed the ink had ran out.
Sir Richard said when the Commission’s Secretariat was contacted for additional ink, they were told that it had to be sourced by the Administrator to the Secretariat, Hugh Denbow, but reported efforts to contact him were unsuccessful.
The Chairman added that around 11:15h, Denbow turned up at the Hotel explaining that he was in a meeting with aviation officials visiting the country and apologised for being out of reach. The administrator then indicated that he had already procured ink days before in anticipation of the printing and was surprised that it had run out.
He, however, left the hotel and returned 30 minutes later with the additional ink which he purchased personally and they re-commenced printing the report, which was scheduled to be handed over to the President at 12:00h.
According to the statement, the Chairman wanted to do the presentation the said Monday but was told President Granger was unavailable for the rest of the day. Nevertheless, the following day, Cheltenham added that he along with fellow commissioner, Seenath Jairam SC, went to the President’s Office to make the official hand over.
The Chairman disclosed that they were told initially that the Tuesday handover was tentatively set for 12:30h and after receiving no confirmation, they proceeded to the Ministry of the Presidency.
“We were keen to discharge our obligation and hand over the Report. At 12:45 pm with no word from the President, the Chairman instructed Mr Denbow (Commission Administrator) to alert our security personnel and the police that we were going to the President’s office at 1:00 pm to hand over the Report,” he stated.
Sir Richard went on to say that after clearing security at the Ministry of Presidency, someone came and escorted them to a room, where they waited for the President. “…after about twenty-five minutes a lady (whom we assumed to be the President’s Secretary) came and informed us that the President would not be able to see us as he was otherwise engaged. She added that he had instructed that we should take the Report to the Secretary to the Attorney General and leave it with her. That we did just before 2:00 pm,” the Chairman revealed.
Cheltenham went even further to mention that they took photographs along the way and even when they handed over the report to the Attorney General’s Office.
Moreover, the Chairman sought to also address the issue of their contract and fees to write the report. During his comments to reporters on Wednesday, the Attorney General had remarked that Government is puzzled about the request for a “writing fee” since it is well understood that a report is compiled at the end of any inquiry.
“In any inquiry, the end of such inquiry is culminated by the presentation of a report. That can only be done only after it has been written up, that should have been included in the fees charged. So we don’t know about a separate writing fee when it is subsumed in any remit of any inquiry that they have to write up the report and hand it over,” Williams had posited.
But, Sir Richard in his four-page statement explained that the terms and conditions of the Commissioners’ services were engaged and settled with the former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, on behalf of then President Donald Ramotar, who initiated the inquiry.
“There was no signed contract which is not uncommon in Commissions of lnquiry. The Chairman was careful, however, to send a letter dated 10 February, 2014, to Attorney General Nandlall reflecting the terms of our engagement which had been agreed with the Chairman and the other Commissioners at the Amaryllis Hotel in Barbados on the 8th of February, 2014,” Cheltenham said.
He continued that, “one of the elements of our engagement included a writing fee for the Commissioners, as is the norm. A writing fee is a standard part of the engagement of Commissioners. It reflects the reality that Commissioners have to spend considerable time, separate and apart from hearing the evidence, in analysing and writing up the Report. It is the fee paid to Commissioners for the final phase of their responsibilities.”
Sir Richard noted that the writing fee was due to be paid in full, ten days before the delivery of the Report. He added that a letter from the Chairman setting out the terms with respect to writing fees was provided to the Administrator during the last sitting of the Commission in August, 2015, and he was reminded of this in another letter dated January 20, 2016.
“Notwithstanding that, none of the writing fee was paid, the Commissioners went to Guyana determined to discharge their responsibilities under the Terms of Reference and have done so,” the Chairman said.