ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA: The island’s main opposition party is worried that Prime Minister Keith Mitchell is about to set-up a commission that will be largely a farce in “an attempt to whitewash him” following accusations of wrong doing. Prime Minister Mitchell announced in parliament a week ago that Governor General Sir Daniel Williams had informed him of the planned inquiry into allegations that he may have accepted a half million dollar bribe. But since then no details have emerged as to what form the inquiry will take and when or how it will be set up. There was even some speculation in some circles during the recently concluded CARICOM summit that the Grenadian leader, after months of stalling, may have made the announcement hastily “as a pre-emptive strike” against feared opposition protests at the summit. Opposition Leader Tillman Thomas told a press conference here this week that for any talked-about probe to be credible, it must be set up by a parliamentary committee, as advocated by the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Grenada Conference of Churches. It is the same point he made in an address that should have been aired on the Grenada Broadcasting Network twice this week, but has been cancelled by the partly government own station over what it claims was legal concerns. GBN's local lawyers, after reviewing the contents of the address said it could have been aired, but management officials informed the Opposition Leader that the station had to blank the address because a second opinion sought at parent company base in Trinidad felt there were still some legal concerns. “Our party demands that that any appointment by the Governor General must be on the advice of parliament and not let to his deliberate judgment. This will ensure the sanctity of the process,” Thomas said in the prepared address, a copy of which was distributed to the local and regional press gathered in Grenada for this week's CARICOM summit. Thomas advocates a parliamentary committee to appoint members to the panel and set up their terms of reference. “Such a (parliamentary) committee would be responsible for selecting the panel of investigators, establishing the terms of reference and putting in place all the technical, material and human requirements to ensure a fair, impartial and efficient investigation,” he said. “For the commission to be credible and effective, sufficient resources must be allocated to its operations. This is particularly important since such a commission will have to interview people overseas including Eric Resteiner, the man who reportedly handed over the money,” Thomas said. The opposition leader is advocating that the parliamentary committee include five members – two from the government, two from the opposition and a fifth member, an independent representative in the Senate. Thomas said it was unfortunate that the news about the intended probe was made by Prime Minister Mitchell himself. "Such an announcement coming from the prime minister has led a lot of our people to believe that Dr Mitchell is purporting to investigate himself. The prime minister cannot investigate himself," he declared. The opposition leader also cast doubt on whether the government even intends to set up an inquiry at all, noting that no word on it has come from the office of the Governor General itself. While the opposition has not said it openly, it also appears to be concerned about the direct role of the Governor General as the only person appointing the commission. Sir Daniel Williams was the only major senior original New National party member who supported current Prime Minister Mitchell after he challenged Herbert Blaize for the the NNP leadership. Sir Daniel subsequently served as Chairman of the Mitchell led NNP before he retired from active politics just prior to being appointed Governor General. Thomas seem to have alluded to that concern, when he declared in his prepared address: "The appearance of impartiality and independence of any commission charged to investigate the receipt of monies by the Prime Minister is an important as the fact of impartiality and independence. It is for this reason that our party demands that any appointment by the Governor General must be on the advice of parliament and not left to his deliberate judgment. SOURCE: CARIBUPDATE.COM