UNC CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO FOLLOW THE MONEY
The United National Congress calls upon Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to immediately remove the former directors of eTeck whom he has appointed to high public office in light of the recent judgement of the Privy Council concerning the disappearance of over $35M in the failed investment Bamboo investment deal.
The People’s Partnership Government stands vindicated by this judgment from the highest court in the land in the action they took against the PNM appointed eTeck board which squandered millions of dollars that belonged to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. That lawsuit was filed under the direction of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar led cabinet in an effort to recover the $35M that was paid to the Hong Kong-based Bamboo Networks Limited (Bamboo), which simply vanished into thin air.
Mr Kenneth Julien and his fellow board members defended this lawsuit on the basis that it was brought outside the limitation period. There was no real defence on the merits of the claim and hence the rejection of this defence by the Privy Council now clears the way for the government to make good on its mantra and “follow the money” to see who benefitted from this deal. The AG and the present Board of Eteck must take immediate steps to prosecute this matter before the local Courts with alacrity. Any attempt by this government to compromise this action by the retention of attorneys for Eteck who are sympathetic to the government will be exposed.
It is disturbing that many of these very defendants are now in control of the coffers of some of the largest State controlled institutions. The times have changed but the players have remained the same under the PNM. Ken Julien, the other Board members who were in control of the coffers of the State Enterprise Sector pre-2010 and who cost the people of this country millions and billions in some cases, have been resurrected like Lazarus by this Rowley administration and put back in control of the patrimony of our country.
In opposition, Dr. Rowley frequently called for the removal of persons who held public office until allegations and claims against them were properly investigated. He called upon them to step down until they were cleared of wrongdoing. Today, we remind him of that principle and ask whether he is suffering from convenient political amnesia as he has appointed these very persons to high public office:
Kenneth Julien – Chairman of UTT,
Ulric Mc Nicol – Member of the Board of Governors, UTT,
Brian Copeland – Campus Principal Designate of The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine,
Eugene Tiah – Director at Trinidad Nitrogen Company Limited.
Dr Rowley must declare whether his government’s failure to trace this $35M is part of the reason why suspicious transactions reported by the FIU have skyrocketed under the PNM from $5 billion in 2016 to $22 billion in 2017. The facts in this case reveal an astonishing and sordid tale of gross negligence, mismanagement and incompetence. In June 2005 eTeck invested $35M in Bamboo which was never accounted for. This payment was made despite a warning from the Ministry of Finance that Bamboo was “in poor financial state with the Company being insolvent, the Company has a short track record and lacks a proper management structure”. There was a complete lack of due diligence as no one bothered to properly check the bona fides of Bamboo.
We call on the AG to retain external independent legal counsel to represent the eTeck board in this matter as Mr. Kenneth Julien and his cohorts are being defended by the very lawyers Al-Rawi routinely hires to represent the State. It can therefore pose a serious conflict of interest and give the perception that the PNM is more interested in the protecting and defending their political friends, financers and supporters who are accused of wrong doing instead of seeking the public interest.
We further call upon the AG to declare his position on the other action filed by the People’s Partnership against Calder Hart over the corruption and waste involved in the construction of the Brian Lara stadium in Tarouba. That claim was filed against Calder Hart to recover in excess of $500M and although Al-Rawi promised to review and pursue this case, he has been strangely silent on its progress since assuming office. Is there a silent conspiracy to throw this case under the bus and save Calder Hart? Al-Rawi must come clean on allegations of political back room machinations aimed at scuttling this important case. While he is quite vocal about cases brought against UNC members, he maintains a stony silence when the shoe is on the other foot and is therefore guilty of the worst kind of political hypocrisy.
We do not hold much hope that action would be taken by this government to prosecute this matter with diligence having regard to their record of seeking to protect their own. Today we must recall that if steps were not taken by the Attorney General to curtail the litigation against the late Malcolm Jones he might have by now suffered the same faith as Mr. Julien. Unfortunately the people of Trinidad will continue to suffer the billion-dollar loss that was represented by the failed GTL plant investment not much different from the investment in Bamboo.
The Peoples Partnership government took steps to hold accountable those who caused serious loss to the people of this country. In commencing this litigation the Peoples Partnership administration demonstrated not only the will, but the ability and the competence to enforce the principles of good governance, accountability and transparence. This litigation was an example of a Cabinet and State Board acting in the best interest of the people of our country, something alien to the Rowley-led PNM Government.