Christlyn Moore Fired From Peoples Partnership Cabinet

Fired Justice Minister, Christlyn Moore

Just after she was fired yesterday, former justice minister Christlyn Moore thanked Prime Minister Kam­la Persad-Bissessar for giving her the opportunity to serve the country.

One year ago, Persad-Bissessar appointed Moore as justice minister to replace Herbert Volney, whom she had fired following the Section 34 debacle.

In announcing the changes to her Ca­binet yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said Moore’s appointment was revoked and Emmanuel George would be the new Justice Minister. George had held the post of national security minister, which has now been given to Gary Griffith.

Christlyn Moore and London in Cordial Meeting

Christlyn Moore, Minister of Justice

Justice Minister Christlyn Moore and Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London held their first meeting yesterday following the heated January 21 THA election campaign.

Both Moore and London agreed that their 90-minute meeting at the Calder Hall Administrative Complex, Scarborough, was "cordial and productive", according to a statement from the THA.

London told reporters they agreed to hold quarterly statutory meetings, which were extremely critical at this time because of the number of projects to be undertaken, including the correctional facility at Hope.

He added that this would require close collaboration between the THA and the ministry.

"From our perspective, we were very heartened by the quality of the discussions and the commitment of the ministry to ensure that the Assembly is involved in a meaningful manner in all decisions emanating from the ministry," London said.

In expressing appreciation for the level of professionalism and commitment which the minister and her team brought to the discussion, the Chief Secretary said this augured well and expected it would be a model for future discussion and future relations between the THA and the various ministries of the central government.

London said it was hoped the new correctional facility to be constructed at Hope in east Tobago would be designed and constructed based on the needs of the people of Tobago and not just a prison and not something that went with a national model.

He said there was recognition that there were peculiar and different challenges, different issues in Tobago.

He said there was no agreement however on how to ensure that the courts in Tobago treated with those issues that were important to the quality of life and retrofit the courts to adjust to that.

Moore said it was quite exciting to be a part of corporate efforts which envision new steps in providing administrative justice services in Tobago.

She said her ministry was moving to establish offices of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and the Police Complaints Authority to serve the people of Tobago.

She added that the Director of Public Prosecutions was also invited to share space with the ministry so that a large range of criminal justice services were available in Tobago.

Moore said the meeting was very invaluable since it had given her ministry new insights into the justice system in the island.

Source: Trinidadexpress

Moore ah Wolf in Sheep's Clothing...In Other words, ah UNC in TOP Clothes

Minister of Justice
Chrislyn Moore

What side of the fence is your Tobago-born Minister of Justice Christlyn Moore? As a self defined "eat ah fooder" of the UNC, (held Briefs from both Anand and Kamla) many persons have questioned her true political allegiance.  It is no wonder that she has been described as a "straw man", a United National Congress (UNC) mouthpiece, timely introduced (for THA elections) and pretending to be a TOP affiliate to lure voters and fulfill the wishes of Kamla by securing Tobago and thus closing the circle.  

Moore, an attorney at law from Lambeau, has been critical of the PNM lead administration of the Tobago House of Assembly, lead the Orville London. Moore much like a raging bull blew steam recently in the Senate, accusing London of maladministration and taking him to task about a statement he made recently about not forgiving Tobagonians if they did not vote for the PNM. 

However, former minister and MP for Tobago East Rennie Dumas indicated that democracy was alive and well on the island, and is evident by the open show of support for the Opposition Tobago Organisation of the People, by its supporters.

"Everybody is everybody... TOP complains about victimisation, but the reality is that if you walk outside you would see taxi-drivers driving with TOP flags, people going into compounds of administrative offices flying flags in cars, on their windows, and its not a problem in any way.

"When Orville said he will 'not forgive', it was merely the old school teacher way about him. There is nothing more to it," he said.

When asked about Moore's attack, the former PNM government minister seemed unperturbed about her stance.

He said: "Moore is in a sense a straw man. She is selected from Trinidad and has taken this stance because of her relationship with the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, as she herself has explained."

He said Moore had no space in the electoral process in Tobago, and did not come to Tobagonians as a member of any political party, and certainly not the Opposition Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP).

Moore responded by saying Dumas was out of place to attempt to define her political identity and maintained that she is part of the executive of TOP. 

But the way Dumas sees it, "(Moore) is attacking from the safety of having no relationship to us. People have to understand that she is their (the Prime Minister and the Attorney General's) champion, and is in fact, a UNC champion."

He said the UNC is "attempting to clothe her and cloak her in TOP clothes", and while he was not questioning Moore's 'Tobagonianess,' Dumas said, "She is not a TOP, she did not come to us as a member of TOP, she was not elected."

He further noted, Moore had no political cost to pay for her utterances. "She is like a guerilla taking free shots from behind the protected borders of a state; in this case, Trinidad," Dumas said. He charged that she was really nothing more than the mouthpiece of the UNC, "just like Anil (Roberts) and the others, always on the attack for the PP government".

Her status, according to him, was unlike Vernella Alleyne-Toppin and Dr Delmon Baker, who are TOP MPs. "In their case, they must pay because they were elected by the people of Tobago and whatever they say, will have a cost," Dumas added.

He said Moore's political stance is move to positioned herself for prime ministerial role. "Maybe she sees it as 'she is coming', after all, if Kamla could become PM then what's stopping Moore? When Vernella was acting PM, she thought she would be Prime Minister too. "Where is she now?" he asked with a half-laugh.

Documents For the MILSHIRV BOLT Arrangement Made Public by THA

Justice Minister, Christlyn Moore

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London has made good on his word by providing the documents relating to the the controversial multi-million-dollar Milshirv deal for an Administrative Complex. The controversial Build Own Lease Transfer (BOLT) arrangement between the THA and Milshirv can be found in a 224 page document placed on the THA's Website. 

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar previously had called for a halt to the project as she questioned the transparency of the deal. Following the matter was referred to the Attorney General, Integrity Commission and Director of Public Prosecutions, with The Integrity Commission writing to London requesting the documents with respect to the contract. 

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan only last week threatened the Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London to submit documents pertaining to the Milshirv project and the aquatic centre project to  the Minister of Finance Larry Howai. 

Ramlogan stated that his request must be satisfied within a one week period or else London would be taken to court under the Freedom of Information Act, in an effort to compel him to release the documents. In response, Orville stated that his team was vetting the documents and all would be made public by Wednesday November 21 2012.

The BOLT arrangement surrounding the Milshirv deal has been a contentious one raised by the People's Partnership and Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) as the THA elections nears.

Yesterday the Senate debate was lessened to a Political Campaign by the Justice Minister. 

The Justice Minister Christlyn Moore yesterday strongly accused the PNM THA of maladministration and criticized London for not submitting the documents as she said the Finance Minister Larry Howai was not yet in receipt of the documents.

Moore further accused the PNM of finacial improprity and stirring racial contention on the sister isle. She said reports from the auditor general for 2003, 2004 and 2005 show that the THA books were not in order and millions were unaccounted for.

She added, "PNM THA insulted Tobagonians by averring that if you vote for the TOP, Indians will take their land. She then stated that those assertion were shocking and shameful, and were degrading to the person who utters it as well as it is degrading to the person to whom it is uttered. she continued  saying "It is repulsive, it is repugnant to the democratic principles espoused in a global village and the success of that odious infamous message is premised on the assumed idiocy of the listener!".

Her political campaign continued as she then criticised the PNM for hosting a Tobago day last weekend in Trinidad. She said for years people of Tobago had to suffer and come to Trinidad to get a birth certificate and other official documents.

"Now we have come here to get cold food and hot beers, height of contempt. You want Tobagonians to come to a Tobago family day but you hold it in Port of Spain? So high do you hold us in your regard and Tobago people are not blind...we are alive to these ruses and that is why, Mr president, the hot beers and cold food fiesta buss because Tobagonians are not of that," Moore said.

Documents to the MILSHIRV project can be found at this link