Caption: UNC political leader arrives at the Penal Secondary School on Monday evening. Photo: Facebook/UNC
By Prior Beharry
SIPARIA — Opposition UNC Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to say if the Government was “hounding” Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass out of office and plans to appoint a tribunal to investigate her.
Persad-Bissessar raised these concerns during a United National Congress (UNC) meeting at the Penal Secondary School on Monday evening. The party also lunched its campaign for the Quinam-Morne Diablo and Lengua Indian Walk bye-elections scheduled for June 17.
She said she had told the government during a Parliament sitting on April 26 that the Auditor’s General’s original report would be laid in Parliament “at the earliest opportunity” and that it was going to be presented in the Lower House this Friday.
Persad-Bissessar said all of this could have been avoided if the government had listened and lay a special report after laying the original Auditor’s General report.
She said, “I told you so. I warned them. All this could have been avoided had he listened to me in Parliament on the 26th of April when I advised the Government to request a special report.”
Using the title of he Might Sparrow’s calypso Doh Back Back, Persad-Bissessar criticised Finance Minister Colm Imbert, saying, “So Imbert has back-backed! Hang your head in shame!”
Addressing the legal proceedings surrounding the Finance Ministry’s probe, she noted that the court would address the issue on June 3. She pointed out that the law provides a formula for the removal of an Auditor General, involving the appointment of a tribunal by the President. Noting that the President is currently overseas and there is an acting President, the substantive President of the Senate Nigel De Freitas, Persad-Bissessar drew parallels to the dismissal of former Central Bank governor Jwala Rambaran by an acting president who coincidentally is the current President Christine Kangaloo.
The opposition leader said, “I’m just asking for a friend, is this the plan, Mr Prime Minister? Is this your government’s plan? Is it true that this is your plan? I’m asking for the people?”
She said, “You’ve been hounding the poor woman out of office after she stood up and maintained her independence against you, so I warn you tonight—as we ask you, is this the government’s wicked plan to get rid of an independent officeholder who’s stood her ground?”
Persad-Bissessar also said that the Auditor General’s report indicated the Government borrowed over $12 billion in fiscal 2023, with total borrowing reaching $58 billion since 2019.
She asked, “Are you doing well if you have to borrow $12.4 billion in one year? No!”
Persad-Bissessar added, “If you have to borrow $58 billion, are you doing well? No! They’re borrowing money to pay wages. The country’s broke!” She noted that the public debt had increased by $27 billion from 2019 to 2023, reaching $102 billion at the end of 2023.
Echoing Persad-Bissessar’s sentiments, Oropouche West MP Davendranath Tancoo.
He said, “Well Prime Minister, in case you were closing your fridge door and didn’t hear it, last week Colm Imbert admitted that his ministry submitted a backdated statement of revenue which reflected a new figure but with false date of submission… so the backdated letter was sent by the Finance Ministry as the Auditor General said.”
Tancoo continued, “What now Prime Minister? Where are the far-reaching consequences? You don’t need to wait on any investigation—the Auditor General’s allegation has been proven true. That’s fraud.”
At a press conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Rowley said that the Auditor General was telling the world that the government was backdating the books.
He said, “I don’t take very lightly a public official, especially one involved in audit, telling me and the rest of the world that the minister of finance has been engaged in backdating the books. That is a very, very serious allegation and it has far-reaching consequences.”
During the UNC meeting, Nicole Gopaul was introduced as the candidate for Lengua Indian Walk, and Sarah Sookdeo as the candidate for Quinam-Morne Diablo.
Gopaul had also been a candidate in the August 2023 Local Government election which ended in a tie.
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