Trinidad PM sacks A-G

By Lindsay Mackoon, Freelance Writer

Panday

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad:

PRIME MINISTER Basdeo Panday yesterday asked President ANR Robinson to revoke the appointment of dissident Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, leader of what he has dubbed "The Gang of Four" which has been demanding investigations into alleged widespread government corruption.

Education Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was named later as the new Attorney-General.

Persad-Bissessar, 49, who taught in Jamaica before pursuing law studies, was Attorney-General for three months toward the end of 1995 when the ruling United National Congress (UNC) first came to office.

The rift between Panday and Maharaj erupted several months ago following the party's executive elections in which Maharaj was elected deputy political leader under Panday.

The hierarchy of party is now split down the middle, and efforts aimed at reconciliation over the past two weeks have proved futile.

A defiant Ma-haraj who was appointed to office in early 1996 told reporters later he would "intensify the campaign against corruption".

Last week, the Attorney-General cleared his desk after Panday threatened to take action against him and three others - Agriculture Minister Trevor Sudama, Information Technolo-gy Minister Ralph Maraj, and Housing Minister Sadiq Baksh.

Maharaj, who was jailed for contempt of court in 1972, said last week if he was dismissed, the other ministers would quit. But he announced he would stay within the fold of the party, becoming a backbencher.

He has been questioning certain deals said to run into millions of dollars, and repeatedly called on Panday to launch an investigation into them. But the Prime Minister is yet to take action on the matter.

Among the controversial issues is a US$2.2 million house in South Kensington, London, reportedly owned by a top Trinidadian politician. A picture of the luxury home was produced by Manning in Parliament a few days ago.

Last Friday, as the crisis within the governing party worsened, President Robinson summoned both Panday and Opposition Leader Patrick Manning for discussions.

But both declined to comment on their meeting with the President.

Since 1991, Maharaj has represented the Couva South district in Central Trinidad in parliament.

Last December's national poll returned the 12-year-old UNC to office for a second term, but with a razor slim majority of just one in the 36-member Parliament.

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