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Education Minister Anthony Garcia has been cleared by the Integrity Commission on alleged preferential treatment to Sunboom Contractors Limited concerning payments made to that company by the Education Facilities Company Ltd, the ministry claimed yesterday.
The accusation was made by former Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh.
In a letter dated May 12, 2017, addressed to the Integrity Commission, the ministry said Gopeesingh alleged Garcia committed breaches of Sections 24 and 32 of the Integrity in Public Life Act in “singling out” the contractor for payment over others with EFCL, which hired the contractor.
But the ministry said the Integrity Commission found no evidence to support the contention that Garcia or any other public officer instructed and/or influenced the EFCL to pay Sunboom Contractors ahead of other companies that were awaiting payment.
Consequently, the commission terminated the complaint, the ministry claimed.
The ministry added that Garcia’s “vindication” by the commission “was in line with Parliamentary statements he made in May rejecting Gopeesingh’s accusations on the matter.
The ministry also accused Gopeesingh of “tarnishing the ministry’s image”.
In an immediate response, however, Gopeesingh said he hadn’t been interviewed by the commission on the matter nor had he received any letter from the body informing him the matter was terminated.
“Therefore, I can’t comment on any ministry statement,” Gopeesingh added.
“The PNM Ministers seem to rely on the letter of the law but there’s a wider issue of the ethics of their conduct, which is a larger issue than the letter of the law and their conduct must be guided by strong ethical principles.”