THE Prime Minister on Thursday alleged that the Integrity Commission's failure to state that he had obeyed the integrity laws had paved the way for the UNC to claim he had failed to publicly declare his ownership of a townhouse at Inez Gate in Tobago. Ahead of Monday's local government elections, he alleged the UNC was continuing its habit of trying to scandalise his name at election time, following similar allegations that he had violated the Integrity in Public Life Act (IPLA) levelled in the last Tobago House of Election (THA) campaign.
He was addressing a post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, to respond to a UNC briefing on Wednesday where Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein urged the Integrity Commission to send its information on his townhouse to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to decide if to vent the matter in court. Asked generally about his property ownership, the PM said he and his wife owned nothing they had not worked hard for, on top of him inheriting his grandfather's land.
The UNC had complained that in his declaration of assets to the Integrity Commission, Rowley had failed to declare the townhouse under "land" on form B, a statement of registrable interests available for public viewing, while he had declared it only on form A, the confidential declaration of income, assets and liabilities.
A recent statement by the Integrity Commission said the PM "had failed to include particulars of the said townhouse in his statement of registrable interests for the said year, which constituted a breach of the IPLA, (but) it was not a breach or an offence which could be referred to the DPP."
However, he said he did not view that statement as having done him any favours.
Rowley said he had recently been pilloried in the media and accused of criminal conduct, but he would not allow anyone to fool the population. He said it was Parliament and no one else who decided which assets of someone should be on a public form (form B) and on the "not public" form (form A).
He said the commission in its 2018 proposal for amendments had suggested that "buildings" be added to the "land" to be listed in form B, and this was proof they knew that it was therefore not included at this time.
"An Integrity Commission is supposed to have integrity.
"All of this could have been avoided if the Integrity Commission had told the population that I did disclose (the townhouse) in my declaration (form A) and that form B does not require a disclosure, and they have made proposals to Cabinet to have buildings disclosed in form B."
He blamed the commission for letting the UNC level allegations against him.
Rowley added, "Because people have their own agendas, I am the subject of what happened yesterday (Wednesday) where two MPs could call a press conference to call me a criminal for submitting my declarations as per the prescribed form.
"I just want to advise the media: Don't let them carry you where they are going, because from today anybody else who accuses me of not disclosing to th
