It’s final! Rodney Commission of Inquiry ends

EVEN with hundreds of millions expended into the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Working People’s Alliance (WPA) leader Dr. Walter Rodney, and calls from Rodney’s family for an extension of the Commission’s proceedings, the Government is adamant there will be no extension of the Commission. Governance Minister Raphael Trotman was asked yesterday at a post-cabinet press brief whether Government would consider a continuation by two weeks of the Rodney Commission of Inquiry.
Trotman said the collective decision taken by Cabinet was not only to save the money of taxpayers, but also what he called “further embarrassment.” The Minister’s comments come against the backdrop of a petition currently before the Commissioners of the Rodney Commission by Counsels representing the surviving Rodney family, and Donald Rodney, the brother of the deceased party leader.
Trotman observed that close to $1B has been spent on the Commission thus far. The Rodney Commission commenced hearings in 2013 under then President Ramotar. Both the WPA and the People’s National Congress (PNC) parties were represented through the Commission’s 60+ days of hearing.
The WPA and the PNC are currently parties within the APNU bloc of the new coalition Government. Rodney had been the leader of the WPA at the time of his death, during which PNC founder Forbes Burnham was Prime Minister.