Samuda

A new date has been set for the Privileges Committee of Parliament to meet and deliberate on possible sanctions against Opposition MP Karl Samuda, who was accused last year of deliberately misleading his parliamentary colleagues on his pronouncements on the so-called Noel Hylton Report.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Peart, told Mr. Samuda on Tuesday that the committee would again meet on February 7 to discuss his fate.

Concerned that the matter had not been on the agenda of Parliament, Mr. Samuda asked the Speaker what steps were being taken to resolve the issue.

Clarification needed

When the Privileges Committee held its last meeting in October, Opposition Leader and committee member, Bruce Golding, argued that the motion referred by the House was not properly before the committee and, as such, should be returned to the House for clarification.

Mr. Peart, who chairs the committee, accepted Mr. Golding's recommendation and the matter was sent back to the House and again referred to the Privileges Committee.

Government MP and Information Minister Donald Buchanan had moved the censure motion against Mr. Samuda, claiming that he deliberately misled the House when he stated that the Noel Hylton Report was submitted to former prime minister, P.J. Patterson and Cabinet.

Mr. Hylton, chairman of the Port Authority of Jamaica, had been asked by Mr. Patterson to carry out an investigation into the cost overruns at the Sandals Whitehouse Hotel in Westmoreland and submit a report on his findings.

However, Mr. Hylton has repeatedly said that he had not completed the report.