(Trinidad Express) Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj — one of the attorneys representing the CLICO United Policyholders Group — has called on Finance Minister Winston Dookeran to provide evidence that TT$9 billion has already been paid out to policyholders.
Maharaj said it was impossible for the government to pay out that large a sum of money at one time and accused Dookeran of misrepresenting the country.
While piloting the Supplementary Appropriation Bill in the House of Representatives on Monday, Dookeran said Government had paid out over TT$9 billion in two years to CLICO policyholders.
He said the TT$9 billion was paid without putting at risk the country’s debt profile.
But Maharaj challenged Dookeran’s statement.
“I will like to call upon Mr Dookeran to provide evidence that TT$9 billion has been actually paid out to policyholders. I do not believe that information is correct. Because what happened is that the policyholders who took up the offer, they got payment for the first ten years on the basis of the bond. But in my enquiry this morning from persons who have done an assessment, they have told me that it is impossible for him to have paid out nine billion dollars,” he said.
Maharaj said the TT$9 billion would be paid out over a 20-year period.
“What he (Dookeran) did was multiply the amount of people who accepted the offer by the face value of the bonds for 20 years, so he is misrepresenting.
This Government is doing public relations exercises. I spoke with the policyholders and they are very offended,” Maharaj said.
Peter Permell, chairman of the CLICO Policyholders Group, explained that Government issued allotment letters to policyholders totalling $9 billion. He said it was incorrect to say the amount was already paid out to policyholders.
“You can’t use the word paid out in the sense that it suggests or implies from a layman’s point of view that this money has left the treasury,” he said.
Permell said the bonds issued to policyholders had different maturity dates which will add up to TT$9 billion. He said approximately TT$500 million would be paid out each year, beginning December 1.
“For the time being, the government has not paid any of those bonds. Mr Dookeran is saying that he has issued allotment letters to the tune of TT$9 billion. Had the Government had to pay $9 billion in one go, then that will be TT$9 billion in the national balance sheet of the country, showing we have an increase in debt,” said Permell.
Dookeran stated that out of 27,737 policyholders, 23,650 or 85.3 per cent have either been paid or are being paid. He said the promised CLICO Investment Fund to deal with policyholders who will receive coupons between the years 11 to 20, and whose bonds will be exchanged for units in the fund, would be established soon.
Permell said policyholders were anxiously awaiting the establishment of the investment fund.
