(Trinidad Express) – Businessman Lawrence Duprey is disappointed about what is described as the People’s Partnership Government’s poor management of the collapsed CL Financial conglomerate and he is willing to return to Trinidad and Tobago “to set things right”.
In a phone interview with the Express from Florida, a spokesperson who is a close associate of Duprey, said “with proper management”, neither the CLICO policyholders nor taxpayers will have to suffer.
Duprey, said the spokesperson, has not been contacted by the new People’s Partnership Government but if his intervention is requested, he is “ready to steer the ship out of troubled waters”.
He resigned as chairman of CL Financial and its subsidiary CLICO (the country’s largest insurer) last year after the group approached the then-PNM government for a billion-dollar financial rescue.
The spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said that Duprey has been seeking advice from global financial experts in the United Kingdom, Paris and as far as Japan.
On Tuesday, at the Senate sitting, Finance Minister Winston Dookeran acknowledged that sacrifices were necessary to rebuild the nation’s economy.
However, the spokesperson was critical of the People’s Partnership policies which were described as “painful” to the man (Duprey) who had to witness the empire he built being “mismanaged”.
“If the government cannot manage the country properly, how can it manage a conglomerate?” the spokesperson asked.
“Are they going to nationalise a private company when they don’t have the skills to run the government itself?” the spokesperson added, further pointing out that because of government’s failure to appoint State boards on time, there was no movement in the economy.
The solution, said the spokesperson, was to bring in external financial experts, ensure that the policyholders were paid their money and salvage the once very profitable billion-dollar company.
The spokesperson noted that the first thing the People’s Partnership government did after assuming power this year was to renege on the agreement made under the PNM.
In that Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the former PNM government and CLICO, dated January 30, 2009, it was agreed that steps would be taken to correct the financial condition of CLICO, CLICO Investment Bank and British American Insurance and to protect the interest of depositors, policyholders and creditors of these institutions.
However, in his September budget presentation, Dookeran announced a decision to override this MOU and instead said that an initial $75,000 will be paid to CLICO depositors and 20 bond coupons, one a year, at zero interest.
Dookeran had also said this bailout plan will also be applied to the Hindu Credit Union (HCU).
“I don’t think this is very healthy,” said the spokesperson, adding that government needs to look at the ramifications and recognise that some policyholders are dependent on their funds for their livelihood.
“There is a lack of managerial ability,” said the spokesperson who disclosed that four different plans were put forward by global advisers which were rejected by the government.
“We need prudent financial management and no more procrastination…the situation has been exacerbated from where it was,” the spokesperson added.
The United Kingdom, Belgium and other countries in the world properly managed their issues and no sacrifices were made, the spokesperson noted.
The spokesperson reiterated that government needed to stop dragging its feet and make it clear what it intended to do.
“They should hand it back to the private sector… government should run government business and the private sector should run private sector business,” said the spokesperson
“We never expected this, the policyholders do not have to suffer…One thing for certain, we do not agree with Mr Dookeran that sacrifices have to be made,” the spokesperson added.
