Duke, Maxie Cuffie’s brother clash over PSA court ruling

2631137

If you don’t act you will face the full brunt of the law, a warning to the Public Services Association (PSA) President Watson Duke from the Head of the Concerned Public Officers, Curtis Cuffie.

This comes after a high court ruling by Justice Devindra Rampersad that the PSA President and his executive must hold timely audit of its finances.

The 18-page judgment stated that the court is “satisfied there is sufficient evidence concerning the unlawful expenditure.”

He added the court was also satisfied with arguments as it relates to the failure by the executive to hold section elections and provide properly audited accounts.

So that proper procedures are followed, for approval of expenditure, the judge said it means the PSA has to have the proper annual general conference.

He also said the holding of “all section” elections must take place by February 14, and proper, timely audits of the union’s accounts, conducted within a reasonable period of becoming due and on completion of the previous year’s audit, to determine the state of the finances which will assist in determining the actual number of financial members.

Duke told the Trinidad Guardian during a press conference, “There are some miscreants also in the PSA, I called the name of two of them, Solomon Gabriel and Curtis Cuffy, so when I picked up the papers today and I read this, I want to know if the Newsday has run out of stories or is the Newsday has nothing to print”.

Duke added, there are more important things like crime to focus on and salary negotiations.

“I am the only person who’s named in this court matter, Watson Duke but I will tell you, who the others persons are, in that matter, it’s a matter in the high court between Curtis Cuffie, the brother of government minister Maxi Cuffie both of them full of stories.”

Duke went on to show images from his phone of the Minster Cuffie with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley along with images of Curtis Cuffie on the steps of the Hall of Justice.

Duke claimed that the lawyers representing Cuffie may also be aligned to the Government.

The PSA President said he have more to say about the judgment in due course.

Responding to Duke, Head of Concerned Public Officer, Curtis Cuffie said,

“The thing about this non-sense about PNM and who is PNM, Devindra Rampersad is the judge probably he must be PNM too because he gave the judgment.”

He added, “The matter was so comprehensively done Duke did not file a defence in the matter, the case went to court as an undefended claim, we got a judgment in default, he never file a defence in the matter but what we are going to do is to get the judgment enforced and if he is saying that the court cannot do it, well, there are laws in this country, he is not above the law and we will just use the full extent of the law in this matter.”