Opposition PNM Senator Lester Henry has called on Finance Minister Larry Howai to say if he approved or was aware of the dismissal of former Clico chairman Gerry Yetming. Henry did so in the Senate yesterday during debate on legislation to vary the 2014-2015 Appropriation by funding some agencies and payment matters with extra funds from several ministries.
No increases or supplementation of the 2014-215 Appropriation (Budget) were involved, Finance Minister Howai stressed. However, PNM’s Henry, bringing up the Yetming dismissal, called for explanations. He said some persons had been “giving credit for everything positive in Clico” and stating it had now been “made whole” and they had stood with the company, yet, now had been embarrassed, thrown out and “treated like a common criminal... and government says nothing,”
He added that people who had stood with the company, had handled operations quite well and government had boasted of it “so what happened overnight?” Henry asked. He said he was sure the situation would expose someone to a “massive lawsuit“ by one of the two people who were “mistreated very badly... it was a shocking development (so) I ask the Finance Minister if he approved it or was informed of it.”
Henry said he didn’t have faith in Howai’s financial data, or the Central Bank’s, though he did in former finance minister Winston Dookeran’s. He said Howai’s data was “wishy washy, flim flam.” Henry said if Government was truly interested in revenue, the Property Tax was available to utilise but the PP didn’t return it. He said all responsible governments enacted that type of tax and balanced revenue and expenditure.
”It’s only after you are gone which will be very soon, we will know the extent of your borrowings,” he added. Howai, piloting the bill, earlier said Government’s five-year expenditure totalled $289.9 billion and not the $400 billion which, he said, PNM Senator Faris Al-Rawi kept claiming. He said expenditure had increased but so had output and revenues for T&T and expenditure had been contained with macro economic indicators maintaining on par with investment-level states.
Howai said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe of the FCB IPO share issue was drawing to a close and a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) on that had gone to the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions. He said despite some of the negative publicity surrounding the First Citizens IPO, “it cannot be denied that the IPO was a financial success.”
He said the Government’s divesting of approximately $48.5 million shares in an eager investor climate generated over $1 billion in revenue and the demand created by the IPO had the effect of significantly increasing the worth of the rest of the shares in the bank which were retained by the Government.
The initial share price was $22 but currently the price of First Citizens shares stands at around $35. He said Government’s stake in the bank was valued at $4.3 billion but with the share price increase to $35, Government’s shareholding is now worth over $6 billion. He also reiterated the overview of the T&T economy which he gave when he piloted the same variation issue in the Lower House last week.