I read with interest the recent exchanges between Mrs Kamla Persad Bissessar and Mr Faris Al Rawi about Mr Al Rawi's relationship with Arcelor-Mittal. Mrs Persad Bissessar raised several questions including whether Mr Al Rawi had prior knowledge of the Multi-National steel giant's intention to pull out of the Country; whether the Company was one of Al Rawi's financiers during the 2015 General Elections, etc.
However, the question posed by Mrs Persad Bissessar that really took the cake was "did you charge them exorbitant legal fees to disguise any financial assistance?" Judging from what this Nation witnessed under Persad Bissessar's administration 2010-2015, I would have thought that the last expression that would come out of her mouth would be "exorbitant legal fees."
The general impression in this society is that a handful of lawyers milked the state in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars with the connivance of some UNC officials. These lawyers should know that they contributed significantly to the UNC being kicked out of office together with the COP.
There is another very important aspect of this matter, which is that citizens are generally of the view that nothing can be done about this situation; that excessive legal fees cannot be recovered and those responsible for this fiasco cannot be punished. Nothing is further from the truth.
Lennox Sankersingh