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HFC Bank's former Managing Director, Robert Le Hunte
HFC Bank's former Managing Director, Robert Le Hunte

Former HFC boss Le Hunte to be re-instated to Ministerial post after citizenship brouhaha

The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley on Tuesday confirmed that HFC Bank's former Managing Director, Robert Le Hunte is a Trinidad and Tobago citizen and as such, will be re-appointed a senator and Minister of Public Utilities by the end of the week.

“He (Le Hunte) is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Let me make that very clear. He is not a Ghanaian,” the Prime Minister told the NEWSDAY during a tour of several major infrastructural projects in his Diego Martin West constituency.

Rowley’s confirmation of Le Hunte’s status came two days after it was revealed through the Office of the Prime Minister that the career banker was a citizen of Ghana and unsuited to hold the position of Cabinet minister in this country.

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Le Hunte was sworn in as a senator and public utilities minister last Thursday during a simple ceremony at President’s House, St Ann’s.

He replaced Rowley, who had held the position of public utilities minister after Port-of- Spain South MP Marlene Mc Donald was fired several months ago.

Rowley yesterday cleared the air on the matter, saying Le Hunte is a TT national who was on temporary assignment in Ghana.

“While he was there, he obtained in part of his residency and acceptance in the community, he obtained Ghanaian citizenship.” Rowley dismissed the recent faux pas surrounding Le Hunte’s appointment as a “communication glitch.”

“There was a communication glitch in the handling of that development and by having that in place it offended our Constitution,” he said. “That is easily rectified and by him revoking his appointment to preserve his position in Trinidad and Tobago and qualify him to hold the office for which he has been selected for.”

Asked if Le Hunte had provided him with details about his status a a TT citizen, Rowley told reporters: “I have just provided it.” Pressed to elaborate, he added: “I am saying it was a development that the communication which would have prevented it (appointment) from happening, the communication went awry and it has to be done over.

“ So, a few days of doing over and it will be all right. You couldn’t provide it before you knew what happened.” The Prime Minister made it clear that Le Hunte will be re-appointed “So, a rectification is taking place so that we comply with the requirements of the Constitution and it is my intention to re-appoint him as soon as that is done.

That will take 72 hours or thereabouts.”

Background

Four days after being appointed as a senator and Public Utilities Minister, former banker Robert Le Hunte’s appointment has been revoked after it was brought to the attention of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) that he is a citizen of Ghana.

La Hunte, under Section 42(1) of the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution, is not qualified to be appointed a senator by virtue of his allegiance to another country. In a statement yesterday, the OPM said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will once again assume responsibility for the ministry until the matter involving Le Hunte is resolved.

Rowley took leadership of the ministry after Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald was appointed as minister and then fired within the space of three days.

Responding to the issue in a statement yesterday, the United National Congress (UNC) Opposition expressed amazement at, what it described as, “the sheer incompetence once again displayed by this Keith Rowley-led administration”.

The UNC said the latest development has brought to the forefront, once again, that the Government cannot accomplish the most basic tasks of being “in charge.” “The inability of the prime minister to fill a Cabinet vacancy, without incident, is a failure of leadership in the highest order. The action taken by the prime minister today is not a simple matter. He has acknowledged that the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago has been violated and that this breach, under his hand, has brought the Office of the President into disrepute, again. A remedy to this situation cannot simply be a reappointment of Mr. Le Hunte once his situation is “rectified”.

The UNC said President Anthony Carmona acted on the advice of the prime minister in appointing Le Hunte as a senator and minister, therefore the prime minister effectively ill-advised and mislead Carmona.

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The OPM in its statement said Rowley will advise Carmona to re-appoint Le Hunte once his “situation is rectified” supposedly by Friday.

Senior government officials indicated the issue could be one of dual citizenship and it is being addressed.

They said the statement from the OPM is the Government’s official position on the matter. Several attempts to contact Le Hunte for comment were unsuccessful. Le Hunte’s retirement as executive director from HFC Bank (Ghana) Limited was announced on August 15 and 16 on the bank’s website. The announcement said he was leaving to take up a ministerial appointment in TT. After his swearing in at the Office of the President on Thursday last week, Le Hunte told reporters he had a successful four-year tenure at HFC Bank and was determined to use his business skills to serve as a government minister.

Attorney Kenneth Lalla SC said the attorney general is responsible for advising the prime minister and the Government pertaining to the law. While he said he did not know the facts of the matter, Lalla said the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs normally does checks to ensure government appointments adhere to constitutional requirements. He said the Constitution does not debar anyone who has dual citizenship from being appointed as a senator. However, he said anyone who is a citizen of another country and not a citizen of TT cannot be appointed as a senator.

Lalla said clarity must be provided in Le Hunte’s case. He did not believe Le Hunte was at fault in this matter.

UNC chairman David Lee described the situation as embarrassing and “another conundrum by the PNM government.” Lee said such a situation would never have arisen under the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration. “Where is the due diligence by the Office of the Attorney General?” Lee asked. He also claimed the situation reflected a lack of integrity by Le Hunte. Lee said Le Hunte was no stranger to the political arena and should have known what are the requirements to be appointed as a senator.

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