Opposition Leader responds to Tourism Minister’s statement

“I can ask a question of any ministry outside Parliament or inside.”

This was the reaction of Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace to a comment made by Minister of Tourism and Industry Saboto Caesar{{more}} who had issued a statement indicating that he (Caesar) was not prepared to respond to any question posed to him via Nice Radio from Democrat House.

“I regard that statement as merely a joke,” Eustace said on Monday, during the New Times radio programme.

He reasoned that a member of the House can ask a question inside or outside and that if it was not answered there, then you go to the House of Parliament and pose the question.

“And even then, they try to avoid answering some questions there,” the Opposition Leader contended.

During a press conference on Monday, July 18, Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace disclosed certain information about the establishment of a marketing company by the Tourism Authority’s Chief Executive Officer Glen Beache, which had as two of its directors, persons from Lonsdale, Saatchi and Saatchi, a public relations firm contracted to promote this country’s tourism product.

During the course of that press conference, Eustace directed questions at the Tourism minister, to which Caesar responded that if the Leader of the Opposition needed to have the questions answered, they should be placed in the order paper to be addressed in Parliament.

But Eustace maintained that there were a lot of games being played in relation to the issue, saying that the question that was initially put to the Minister of Tourism regarding the payment of $75,000 by the Tourism Authority in January 2010, was answered by Beache, although the minister himself had indicated that if he (Eustace) wanted an answer, he would have to take it to Parliament.

“What are the effects of this?” he questioned.

“If I went to Parliament and asked that, the Speaker of the House would say that it is already in the public domain, because Beache already answered the question,” Eustace explained. (DD)