PSU President, Dean Flowers, Says Oscar Mira Should Step Aside Pending Investigation

As the PSU President is calling for heads to roll in the public service, he is also calling on the Prime Minister to be firmer in his reaction towards his Cabinet Minister Oscar Mira.  The head of the union was reacting to the Prime Minister’s recent comments indicating that while concerns had been raised regarding payments to members of Minister Mira’s family, there was no evidence at this time that the minister had personally intervened in the awarding of contracts or influenced the payment process. According to the PSU President, Minister Mira should have been asked to step aside from Cabinet responsibilities pending the outcome of a full and independent investigation into the matter.

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “The right thing for the Prime Minister to have done would have been precisely that, to remove Oscar Mira from cabinet. Look, what we’re seeing unfolding with his siblings and related party transactions isn’t by virtue of anybody’s doings other than the influence that he wields or that he wielded as a minister state and that he wields as a minister. So he can try or he can turn and twist it all he wants that he does not meddle in the affairs, in the administrative affairs of government. We all know that that’s a big joke and if the prime minister wanted to send a strong message to his other ministers where this matter is concerned definitely he should have removed, he should have already made an announcement to remove Oscar Mira from the cabinet and for this investigation to be done openly and transparently. But again, let’s see what will happen. Let’s see if like Ralph once advised the then Prime Minister if it will just blow over like a little breeze but that will happen if the opposition fails to do its job.”

Flowers maintains that removing a minister from Cabinet while an investigation is underway should not be viewed as a declaration of guilt, but rather as a necessary step to preserve public trust and ensure that any inquiry is conducted without the perception of political influence or interference.