U.D.P. Chairman Tells Senate Committee to Stick With Terms of Reference

Michael Peyrefitte

But, is the Chairman of the United Democratic Party being sanctimonious in his criticisms against the Briceño Administration? On Wednesday when the former Lands Commissioner, Wilbert Vallejos, was called before the Senate Special Select Committee, he was reluctant to answer any of the questions posed to him. Vallejos served under the U.D.P. administration as lands commissioner for eleven years. He appeared before the committee with Senior Counsel Dean Barrow, former Prime Minister and U.D.P. Leader. Hugo Patt, the Deputy Leader of the U.D.P. and former Minister of Natural Resources, has also indicated to the Senate Committee that he does not intend to answer any questions his legal counsel deems irrelevant to the investigation. 

Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.

“There is a reason why you have terms of reference and you must stick within the terms of reference and the committee yesterday, in my view, was trying to go outside its terms of reference.  And, this is the thing. If you don’t like the terms of reference then change it. We were in a Senate meeting last week. Mr. Barrow was right in telling Mr. Cal that it is a shame you nuh adjust your terms of reference to indicate where you want to go with your investigation.”

Reporter

“You can’t have it both ways. You cannot be criticizing the PUP for a lack of transparency when all the UDP personalities involved in the land transaction or adjacent to the land transaction have been willfully obfuscatory. Now, the former prime minister has appeared to block any ventilation of this Portico adjacent issue.”

Michael Peyrefitte

“That nuh mek no sense. You have the terms of reference. If it is so important to the Portico investigation, if it is so critical, so central, such a thing that it cannot exist without it, well put it in your terms of reference. If it is not in the terms of reference of an investigation you cannot go into it. That is a simple thing. And I don’t care what anybody says, it is not having it both ways, it is one way. We have terms of reference. When they called me to testify I went. They could call me back if they want. But what I am saying you cannot go outside the terms of reference and if you want that to be in the inquiry then put that in the terms of reference.”