PM: Port-of-Spain losing TT$1.5b a year in diesel racket

(Trinidad Express) The national treasury was losing up to TT$1.5 billion annually because of illegal diesel bunkering, says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

She disclosed this at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference at the Prime Minister’s office, St Clair.

“He (Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine) has advised me that the loss to the treasury is in the vicinity of TT$1.5 billion because of the illegal bunkering. The seizures that are being made now are very, very important for the revenue of our country and for the state of our treasury. We can use that TT$1.5 billion to build schools and hospitals and fix roads and drainage and so on,” said Persad-Bissessar.

She added that other suspects are being targeted in this trade and authorities are working to bring an end to the illegal racket.

Ramnarine said the Ministry would be implementing checks and balances to better monitor the movement of diesel through new administrative measures.

He said all locally registered fishing vessels would now have to receive a certificate of compliance from the Energy Ministry if they are to receive subsidised diesel.

He said diesel would now only be sold based on the size of the vessel’s engine.

Ramnarine added that there would be changes to the petroleum legislation as it related to “peddlers” —persons who buy fuel from NP and Unipet to sell on a large scale.

Before the fuel is released, he said these “authorised distributors” would have to present a purchase order to the ministry.

He said at the end of each month the ministry would cross-check its records with that of Unipet and NP to ensure there are no breaches.

Ramnarine said there was a tremendous illegal leakage of diesel “somewhere in the region of 40 per cent of the subsidy on an annual basis being frittered away”.