Tyrone Reid & Dionne Rose, Staff Reporters
Industry and Commerce Minister Phillip Paulwell ... under fire over 500 tonnes of faulty cement released on the market. - FILE
EMBATTLED INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Phillip Paulwell has sought legal counsel from the Attorney-General as the Opposition moves to censure him in Parliament today over the defective cement fiasco.
The censure motion specifically targets the minister on the levying of penalties against Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) for releasing 500 tonnes of the faulty product into the market.
Mr. Paulwell has acted on one of the recommendations made by a special investigative committee in its extensive and uncomplimentary report on the investigation into the production and distribution of non-conforming cement by CCCL.
The report chided the cement company for dereliction of duty and strongly recommended that it face the full brunt of the penalties under the Standards Act.
The document, commissioned by the Government, also confirmed that more than the 500 tonnes of poorly manufactured cement was sold by CCCL and that the difference was not subject to the company's March recall.
The report, produced by a committee chaired by George Blankson of the University of Technology, also revealed that declining quality began to appear as far back as a year ago, but that the company's management failed to take action.
Dr. Jean Dixon, Permanent Secretary at the Commerce Ministry, told The Gleaner yesterday that the office of A.J. Nicholson, the Attorney-General, responded to their queries on the way forward.
However, she was unwilling to release the details of the response. Still, Dr. Dixon said the Attorney-General would outline the options available under law and the ministry would act on the advice.
MISLEADING PARLIAMENT
Meanwhile, Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw, moved a censure motion against Mr. Paulwell in the House of Representatives yesterday for misleading Parliament.
According to Mr. Shaw, the Commerce Minister misled the House in relation to a statement on the cement crisis when he claimed that substandard cement was confined to a batch of 500 tonnes produced between February 23 and 25 of this year.
"... Be it resolved that this Honourable House censure the said Minister (Paulwell) for negligence and gross dereliction of duty and call on him to tender his resignation as Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce," he said.
The censure motion is the latest move by the Opposition to remove Mr. Paulwell since the crisis began in March. Both Mr. Shaw and Senator Shirley Williams, the Opposition Spokesperson on Industry and Commerce, had earlier called for his resignation outside of Parliament.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has, however, thrown her support behind the Commerce Minister.
The motion is expected to be debated in the House today. But as other motions that have been brought against Government Ministers before, it is expected that the Government will use its majority vote to defeat the motion.
In 2003, a censure motion was moved against then Health Minister John Junor for what was considered his failure to either recognise or act quickly to address the abuse of children in state-run children's homes and places of safety.
Last year Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Transport and Works, also had a censure motion moved against him after making false claims about monies distributed to parish councils for road repairs.
