(Trinidad Express) Collapsed insurance giant Clico still owes Government TT$12.83 billion, Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economy Rudy Indarsingh said yesterday.
He was answering a question filed by Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner in the House of Representatives.
However Indarsingh, citing secrecy provisions of the Central Bank Act, refused to answer the question of which CLICO assets had been sold, at what price and to whom they were sold.
“Mr Speaker, according to the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, it is barred under strict confidentiality, which falls under Section 56 of the Central Bank Act Chapter 79:02 as it touches and concerns the affairs of CLICO, an institution registered under the Insurance Act Ch. 84:01 (falling under the secrecy provisions) from revealing such information,” he said. He added that the Central Bank will “when appropriate, in the due performance of its objects under the CBA, disclose the information on the sale of the other assets”.
He said the one sale that can be disclosed was the sale of Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd (MHTL) to the minority shareholder Consolidated Energy Ltd (CEL), which was done on an Order of the International Court of Arbitration for US $1.75 billion.
Warner asked Indarsingh to read the clause of the Central Bank Act dealing with secrecy.
The Minister said he did not have the clause but he could get it at a later date for Warner.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie said that the emoluments of the chief executive of the Chaguaramas Development Authority included a salary of $60,000, a housing allowance of $5,000, motor vehicle of between $450,000 and $550,000 (fully maintained); entertainment allowance of $1,500; telephone $500; annual bonus of three months salary; executive health facility to include executive check-up annually; gratuity of 20 per cent of base salary.
In response to a question from Warner, Tewarie said the base salary of the previous CEO (in 2010) was TT$40,000.
Tewarie also said the CEO had access to a villa at Macqueripe.
