Letter of the Day | Don’t let up on Reid-CMU probe
Published:Monday | July 8, 2019 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
Finally, Dr Fritz Pinnock, president of Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), has decided to take a leave of absence. After months of probing the controversies related to alleged corruption and questionable expenses and contracts by the Ministry of Education and related agencies, including the CMU, Pinnock decided to take a break for six weeks to facilitate the probe by the Financial Investigations Division (FID).
Despite the controversies, neither the prime minister, nor the de facto acting minister of education, nor the board of CMU could force Dr Pinnock to step aside.
We will never eradicate corruption until persons appointed to public office are held accountable and responsible by virtue of their roles and actions. Too many feel entitled by the status of their positions.
The PM acted quickly by removing from office the then Minister of Education Ruel Reid, who is at the centre of a criminal investigation. However, Dr Pinnock seems untouchable.
Shocking testimony
Having read the shocking testimony by one of Reid’s former helpers, it is fair to conclude that the whole thing stinks, far worse than a cesspool to which it was previously compared. What an embarrassment to the Holness Government! The FID must follow the money trail from source to beneficiary. They must review documents, contracts, camera footage at bank machines, etc.
I commend the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee for its relentless oversight, as well as the media for updating the public in real time. I hope the FID will conduct its investigations thoroughly and conclude in a timely manner.
Charges must be filed, where necessary, and those responsible must be held accountable in a court of law.
P. CHIN