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MP ASOT MICHAEL'S STATEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCES
PRESS RELEASE BY THE HONOURABLE ASOT MICHAEL
I have been for several years now the victim of a vicious campaign of vilification. The campaign was engineered prior to the 2004 General Election by one or two disgruntled persons who believe that they, not Lester Bryant Bird, ought to lead the Antigua Labour Party. I became the target as I was, and remain, one of our Political Leader’s most loyal friends. Since the 2004 General Election the campaign has intensified with emotional calls for my expulsion from the Antigua Labour Party on all sorts of trumped up charges and allegations.
The latest attack, fuelled I am sure by the disgruntled, occurred last night when Comrade Patrick Labadie on Fire and Steel read out a letter written to me by lawyers for the Stanford Group and essentially called for action against me. As is typical of the agents of division in the Antigua Labour Party, at no time did Comrade Labadie call to ask me for an explanation. Yet, he proceeded publicly on live radio, in complete ignorance of the true facts, to insinuate if not expressly suggest that the letter was sufficient to call for my expulsion from the Antigua Labour Party or some other sanction. Such an action by Comrade Labadie may well constitute a violation of the Labour Party’s Constitution warranting some form of disciplinary action against him.
Let me set the record straight. I did receive the letter dated 20th July 2006 from Richards & Company. I did not reply in writing nor did I ask my Attorneys to do so. I called Dr. Austin Josiah on the same day I received the letter to explain the circumstances which may have provoked the letter. I informed him that I suffer from a medical condition that sometimes leads to vomiting which is unexpectedly triggered by particular types of food. In the course of our discussions, I offered to confirm my condition in writing but Dr.Josiah told me that that would not be necessary and that he would look into the matter. For those reasons I did not consider it necessary to respond in writing to the contents of the letter dated 20th July 2006 although I disagreed with the statements made in the letter.
However, I will say this; the insinuation or allegation being fermented by the few but evil minds in the Antigua Labour Party that I committed some deliberate, criminal, immoral or perverse act is completely and absolutely false. I too have heard the rumours circulating through the rumour mill set in motion by my detractors. Those rumours are also manifestly false. It is therefore a matter of deep regret that the agent provocateurs embedded within the Antigua Labour Party would stoop so low as to seek to scavenge on my medical difficulties simply to score cheap political points!
Dated the 23rd August 2006
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ASOT MICHAEL'S RESOLUTION TO PARLIAMENT
MP Asot Michael’s resolution
to Parliament
RESOLUTION
Hon. Asot A. Michael
Member for St. Peter
CONSIDERING that the credibility and effective performance of the democratic
institutions of our country including our Parliament is fundamental to
achieving enhanced openness, transparency and accountability in combating
corruption,
AND
CONSIDERING that Antigua & Barbuda is a signatory to the United Nations Anti
Corruption Charter and the Inter American Convention Against Corruption and
the Hararre Declaration,
THAT the UPP Government, recognizing Antigua & Barbuda as a State Party to
these charters has passed the trilogy of legislation, namely, the Integrity
in Public Life Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Freedom of
Information Act,
AND
WHEREAS these international charters and the trilogy of legislation recognise
representative democracy in its essence, as an indispensable condition to
peace, stability and overall development,
THAT corruption in all of its forms represents a serious threat to our
democracy requiring a collective effort and priority among international,
regional agencies and states parties,
AND
WHEREAS numerous studies have proven empirically that corruption has a
negative impact on investments, trade, economic growth, human development,
safety and security including narcotics trafficking and terrorism,
AND
WHEREAS the Antigua Labour Party has renewed its commitment to promote the
principles of transparency, accountability and good governance in general and
is committed to the eradication of corruption through the adoption and
promotion of additional protocols and administrative arrangements,
AND
WHEREAS corruption is a function of weak governments and institutions and the
inaction of the Parliament, Government and other democratic institutions
including, the Antigua Labour Party could be construed as aiding and abetting
corruption,
AND
WHEREAS the Prevention of Corruption, the Integrity in Public Life and
Freedom of Information Acts remain ostensibly as mere paper constructs, with
little or no implementation, enforcement and monitoring mechanisms,
AND
WHEREAS the Government does not have an administrative conflict of interest
policy requiring formal disclosure and recusal,
AND
WHEREAS corruption ultimately results in high social costs, increases in
poverty levels in absolute terms and high levels of inequity between the poor
and the wealthy,
AND
WHEREAS this could result in the development of a super class and an under
class, inevitably increasing social tension and social unrest in the society,
AND
WHEREAS the minimization or preferably eradication of corruption is central
to achieving poverty alleviation and attaining social and people- centred
sustainable development,
AND
WHEREAS full transparency, accountability and the maintainance of good
ethical standards are prerequisites to good governance,
AND
WHEREAS Justice Don Mitchel has identified several areas of conflict of
interest in the public sector in which senior members of the UPP Government
have consistently breached their ethical responsibilities related to
integrity, objectivity, competence and confidentiality,
AND
WHEREAS the learned Judge has concluded in his investigative report that the
employment of Mr. Leon Symister, Chairman of the United Progressive Party, in
such an important utility company conflicts with the expressed UPP policy
of transparency and accountability,
AND
WHEREAS Justice Mitchel concluded that Mr. Symister does not have the
technical and analytical competence or the behavioural and interpersonal
skills to manage the Antigua Public Utilities Authority to ensure its proper
and efficient performance,
AND
WHEREAS Mr. Symister has abused the authority of his office to victimize
and marginalise members and supporters of the opposition Antigua Labour
Party,
AND
WHEREAS Justice Mitchel concluded in his report that Sen. Aziz Hadeed, a
Minister of the UPP Government and head of the Hadeed Group of Companies, the
single largest supplier of goods and services to the government including
electricity services, is “saddled with a major conflict of interest and has
failed to deal with this obvious conflict,”
AND
WHEREAS Senator Hadeed, a Merchant Prince, a major campaign financier of both
the United Progressive Party and the Antigua Labour Party, with
considerable, “special interest” influence, a manipulator of elections and
other democratic processes whose family owned business, inimical to good
governance, “continues to enjoy contracts old and new with the UPP
Administration”,
AND
WHEREAS the Cabinet exercised poor judgment by allowing Sen. Hadeed to breach
the ethical provisions of the Integrity in Public Life Act, the Prevention of
Corruption Act and the abovementioned international charters of which Antigua
& Barbuda is a State Party, by allowing him to participate in a Cabinet
discussion on the request from APUA to purchase two 6.2 MW generators from
Vortex while his family owned business, Antigua Power Company was
simultaneously tendering for the additional power generation,
AND
WHEREAS Senator Hadeed has, from time to time, abused his ‘special interest’
influence to unduly influence the decisions of the Government including the
undue influence exercised during the discussions leading up to the purchase
of the Vortex Generators, ostensibly in support of the bid of his family
owned company, Antigua Power Company (APC),
AND
WHEREAS according to Justice Mitchel, the “Commissioners at APUA
understandably took APC’s offer, coming when it did, as proof that APC is
interested in being the sole provider of electricity in Antigua Barbuda, and
would oppose any measure on the part of APUA to improve its own generating
capacity and that the offer was ill-timed and suggests a failure on the part
of Senator Hadeed to deal with an obvious conflict of interest on his part,”
AND
WHEREAS the entrenchment of the prevailing conflict of interest culture in
the public sector is contrary to the ethical standards expected of a truly
transparent and accountable government and would give rise to further socio-
economic and political corruption including organised “ special interest”
extortion of state resources,
WHEREAS these conflicts of interests are demonstrative of a failure in the
ethics of the UPP administration resulting in a diminution of the integrity
of the UPP Government and a loss of public confidence,
BE IT RESOLVED:
THAT this resolution be construed not as a tool of reprisal but as a social,
just and principled bipartisan cause in the fight against corruption in the
interest of all Antiguans and Barbudans especially, the poor and the
vulnerable
THAT the UPP Government develops sound ethics management systems with clearly
defined standards of ethical conduct, to avert any actual or apparent
conflict of interest involving ministers and other public servants,
THAT THE UPP GOVERNMENTT ENSURE:
OPENESS in all of its dealings including fiscal transparency,
OPEN and EQUITABLE distribution of Government’s procurement contracts,
THE OPERATIONALISATION of the Freedom of Information Act to facilitate public
scrutiny and access to information,
MEASURES are taken forthwith to address and resolve the functional and
operational deficiencies in the office of the Integrity Commission in
strengthening its effectiveness,
THAT the Government undertakes immediately to develop and introduce integrity
improvement initiatives including a credible administrative conflict of
interest policy and legislation to combat the pervasive influence of “special
interest” elections campaign financiers to compliment the provisions of the
Integrity in Public Life Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the
international conventions against corruption to which Antigua & Barbuda is
signatory,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
THAT the UPP Government undertakes to put an end to all situations of
conflict of interest in the Public Sector including, but not limited to those
identified in the Don Mitchel Investigative Report,
THAT Mr. Leon Symister and Senator Aziz Hadeed as well as others with similar
breaches and conflict of interest, be forthwith, relieved of their public
duties which are in conflict with the national interest.
THAT abovementioned legislative and administrative recommendations be
adopted and implemented by the UPP Government in developing the institutional
capacity to combat corruption in the promotion of good governance to ensure
the advancement of all Antiguans & Barbudans.