The assets of government holding company National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) is nowhere close to $50B, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said on Wednesday, while dismissing claims by the AFC that significant funds are being held in the company’s accounts.
“I have absolutely no difficulty in identifying that fifty billion in cash liquid in the coffers of NICIL is a figment of [AFC Chairman Khemraj] Ramjattan’s imagination or whoever said that… this notion that there is some pot of gold, fifty billion sitting somewhere in the bank account of NICIL is just an imagination,” Luncheon told reporters at a post-Cabinet press briefing.
He said that NICIL Chief Executive Officer Winston Brassington would address the issue in time, while pointing out that no one is doing a proper investigation before suggesting the figure and speaking on the issue. He added that there are audited reports that can be looked at.
Asked about NICIL’s holdings, Luncheon said “I can’t say how much money but I know it is nowhere close to $50B.”
Ramjattan last week accused the government of hiding $50B in NICIL’s holdings, while saying that the opposition will use its parliamentary majority to ensure this matter is investigated fully. The $50B figure quoted, he said, was obtained from reputable sources.
NICIL has been accused of breaking the law by retaining public funds it receives from the sale of state assets.
Chartered accountant and attorney Christopher Ram has said the funds are public assets and the law dictates that NICIL should transfer them to the Consolidated Fund. Ram has also rubbished Luncheon’s previous description of NICIL as a “private company” with the legal right to withhold public funds as “misinformed” and “mischievous.”
Acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma revealed last month that he will dedicate a special section of his 2011 report to examine issues related to NICIL and the Lottery Funds.
