If the People's Partnership (PP) Government does not handle Clico and PSA concerns properly, it may face defeat in the next general election. Please be reminded of this fact: The citizenry did not vote for the PP but against the People's National Movement (PNM) that was corrupt and ran out of ideas. It was a situation analogous to that in 1986. Under the PNM regime, public servants got an average percentage increase of 25 for three years. Just recently, teachers and police received salaries that are comparable to market rates, bit public servants are still feeding on crumbs that have fallen off the table.
With respect to the Clico issue, the general public does not know the truth. Here are some of the facts that the citizens should be aware of:
• The assets of CL Financial are approximately $100 billion. Clico's liability is close to $20 billion. Therefore CL FinanciaI's equity is roughly $80 billion. In other words, the company is in the green; it is not bankrupt.
• CL FinanciaI's assets are not as encumbered to the extent that it cannot be liquefied. In less than a year all short-term policyholders can be paid off with capital and full interest.
•Policyholders had invested in legal policies that were offered by a company. They are not to be blamed for they did nothing wrong. The main problem was with the Central Bank. It failed through the instrumentally of the Supervisor of Insurance to monitor and ensure that Clico's statutory fund was in order.
In light of the above information, the Government has every right to meet the reasonable demands of public servants and Clico policyholders. At present, it is making the PNM look good. Madam Prime Minister, please be forewarned, please listen to wisdom. Please fix PSA and Clico's policyholders properly if you want your Government to last two terms.
Selwyn Gopaul
Siparia