DIPCON takes President to court over pardoning of Finance Minister from jail time

DIPCON, a Trinidad engineering company which was contracted to do massive road works in Guyana, has taken President David Granger to court over his issuance of a respite in the Official Gazette pardoning Finance Minister Winston Jordan from 21 days imprisonment over failure to pay the more than US $2.2 million judgment which was awarded to the company since 2015. In October 2015, Justice Gino Persaud had ruled that DIPCON recover the sum from government as monies due to the engineering company for infrastructural works done under the previous administration. Obviously dissatisfied with the judgment of Justice Persaud, Attorney General Basil Williams filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal. The appeal was a belated one and the Court of Appeal dismissed it. But Williams then sought redress from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) where he contended that there were good reasons for the late filing. For one, the Attorney General submitted to the regional court that the matter was handled by a private attorney and the State was not notified of the judgment until months after it was delivered. The CCJ, too, dismissed the appeal noting that it was not filed within the prescribed time limit. Notwithstanding these, the monies were still not paid and DIPCON by way of an action applied to the court and was granted an Order of Mandamus by Chief Justice Roxane George directing that the monies be made to DIPCON on or before January 15, 2019. This was not forthcoming and DIPCON instituted contempt of court proceedings against the Minister. On June 24, Justice Priya SewnarineBeharry issued a contempt order to have Minister Jordan imprisoned for 21 days if he fails to pay the monies to DIPCON on or before Monday, July 8. Following the contempt order, Attorney General Williams appealed to the Full Court to set aside and/ or reverse the order of Justice SewnarineBeharry.

However, the Full Court, in a ruling dated July 5 held that Williams’s application had no merit and dismissed the appeal and even rejected a stay of the contempt order which was requested by Williams. But four days later, the President issued a Grant of Respite in the Official Gazette signed by Minister of State Dawn Hastings which gave Jordan in his personal capacity, and as the Minister of Finance, respite of the execution of punishment imposed on him by the judge.

(Kaieteur News)