Works and Transport Minister and chairman of the United National Congress (UNC) Jack Warner says he is appalled by the "thoughtless and reckless" comments made by chairman of the Integrity Commission Dr Eric St Cyr. St Cyr, in a newspaper report yesterday, was quoted as saying that the current controversy about the award of a $40 million NP contract-for which Ralph Gopaul was a bidder-could have been avoided if Persad-Bissessar had stayed at a hotel. Warner, in a statement after yesterday's post Cabinet news briefing in Tobago, said without any consideration to the office St Cyr held, he "prejudiced himself without availing himself of the details of a matter that may or may not be the subject of an investigation by the Integrity Commission."
"Having confessed that his findings are without merit because 'we haven't investigated or gone into the details' the chairman, whose actions resemble a man of unlimited vision and foresight offers an opinion which clearly can only be described as a colossal lapse in judgment." Warner claimed it was not the first time St Cyr had chosen to articulate on matters over which he (St Cyr) has neither the competence nor the intelligence to properly analyse, and again it will not be the first time that he is wrong. Warner said on June 21, 2010, it was St Cyr's learned opinion that "Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner should choose between his Cabinet position and his longstanding office as a Fifa vice-President and it was not long after that eminent jurists across the Caribbean offered opinions that highlighted the folly of Dr St Cyr's statements."
Warner said the issue was even graver than a matter of being right or wrong. He said if the matter was referred to the Integrity Commission, then St Cyr must now recuse himself from all deliberations because he has "publicly articulated a position that shows a bias against the Honourable Prime Minister." "The very act alone of prematurely offering opinions on matters without a thorough analysis of the facts makes him unfit to hold any office related to the Integrity Commission far more the position of chairman," Warner added. Warner claimed the bias shown by St Cyr made him unfit for the office he held.