Kamla: Why did Central Bank not allow Auditor General access to data?

UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has queried why the Central Bank of T&T (CBTT) refused to allow the Auditor General’s request to examine the bank’s electronic cheque-clearing system.

“What are they hiding? And why?” Persad-Bissessar added at Monday night’s UNC meeting at Chaguanas.

Persad-Bissessar also listed 50 initiatives for the health sector which a UNC government would offer – from reintroducing the Baby Grant to expanding the CDAP programme’s pharmaceuticals and introducing Cath labs in hospitals to enable cardiac stenting on a 24-hour basis.

Persad-Bissessar, who said the Auditor General’s Special Report on T&T’s public accounts for 2023 was laid in Parliament yesterday, noted that in the Auditor General’s original report on the accounts, almost $3 billion couldn’t be accounted for.

She said the big news in the Special Report is that there was no change and the $3B was still “missing.”

“Where has it gone?” she added.

“On Monday I heard he (Finance Minister Colm Imbert) was very bad, bullying the Auditor General and using the figleaf of Parliamentary Privilege to lambast her because she stood for the truth and she did the right thing.”

Persad-Bissessar said Government had “lambasted the poor lady” while the matter is in court and was ‘sub judice.” She said when the Auditor General went to check the situation to find the $3B, the Central Bank refused to allow her to check the system.

“Why won’t they let the Auditor General do her job? Has the Central Bank been complicit in cooking the books with this Government? What else is the Central Bank and Government hiding?

“They both oversaw the change of the polymer bills. It makes you ask if billions were looted and stolen during the 100-dollar bill changeover. We have to ask, our confidence in Central Bank has been diminished. I call for an enquiry into the actions of the Central Bank and an investigation of the polymer $100 bills- we’ll do it when we return to Government,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said Monday was the final sitting of the fourth Session of Parliament and T&T is now in an election year. But she said while Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was saying “no election now,” acting Prime Minister Stuart Young was warning PNMites to prepare for battle.

Persad-Bissessar said Imbert had been totally emasculated, since Young “took away” his role as PNM chairman and then his role as acting PM.

“Don’t be surprised when Budget debate starts, it might be Stuart reading the Budget. He climbing all over poor little Imbert, poor fella… Faris, Foster and Penny hanging on by a thread waiting on PNM internal elections in November …” she added.

Persad-Bissessar said there is an “election budget” on its way this month.

“So look out for all kinds of promises that the PNM does not intend to deliver.”

Noting proposed legislation such as the Tobago autonomy bills and for Campaign Finance reform, which will be done in the final session of Parliament ahead, Persad-Bissessar accused the Government of seeking to “mamaguy Tobagonians” on the autonomy bills. She noted this was presented since 2020.

She also questioned if three of the Prime Minister’s friends had gone on the same flight as he did and if it was a medical check-up the PM and his friends all went on, or a “golf-up.”