Mind Your Own Business

We have been amused in recent weeks at the amount of time spent by the Government’s Principal Political Advisor, Hartley Henry on Barbados Labour Party affairs. He has morphed into the proverbial Meddlesome Mattie that our grandmothers warned us about. Latter day calypso enthusiasts would know him as Sousie.

With our small country and vulnerable economy, made all the more so by his boss’ absence and absent policies, facing the most difficult time since Independence we thought he would have his own business to mind.

Why is he not crafting explanations for the Government’s failure to bring relief from the high cost of living? He spent several weeks boring the public with tales of his overseas shopping excursions in a lame attempt to justify the rise in prices everywhere.

Next, the wicket was rolled for the impending arrival of Cost U Less. Since this strategy for rescuing us from high prices appears to have fallen off the chart, we thought he would be searching diligently for a replacement tenant for a certain piece of real estate in St. George.

Why is he not trying to paint a positive picture of the black hole that has become our tourism industry? With reduced airlift capacity from the United States and the United Kingdom contributing to a significant decline in tourism value-added at the height of the winter season, what is his political advice to explain the 8.7% decline in long stay visitor arrivals?

Could not his time be better spent on justifying two consecutive Budgets that gave no impetus to the country’s productive sectors? And whether this omission has contributed to the unemployment figures rising to double digits from a historic low of 6.7% just one month before his government assumed office.

Should he not be trying to explain to Barbadians how charitable donations will substitute for foreign direct investment and what, if any, will be the true cost of this new policy to the country?

Perhaps he might like to focus on the government’s much touted Constituency Councils and why after the ‘hot and sweaty’ rush to pass the legislation through Parliament they still have not seen the light of day?

Is there any truth to the rumour that they are a fanciful expense that the Government cannot now afford? Or the fact that the Government has dismissed a number of persons who have been running summer camps for years without pay – only to replace them with DLP canvassers and supporters who will now be paid.

What spin will he bring to the paltry foreign reserves position?

Has he adopted a hands-off approach to the reduced rating by Standard & Poors and the impact this will have on our ability to borrow money in the international marketplace and the threat it imposes on our fixed exchange rate?

And what of the stalled Integrity and Freedom of Information Legislation which was the centrepiece of his party’s election campaign? What has happened to transparency and good governance? Have they been abandoned along with the other Hundred Day promises?

What is his plan to appease the hundreds of Barbadians who are being hurt daily by his boss’ new immigration policy? Have his ‘politics of distraction’ suffered an unexpected and nasty backfire both at home and abroad?

It seems to us that he has quite a lot of his own business to mind and only another three years in which to mind it. As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t your tail, don’t wag it.’ We certainly do not need his gratuitous advice and Barbadians need answers and solutions to the hardships they face every day.

What will you do now, Mr. Political Advisor, that your strategy of distracting attention from the real issues has been exposed? What new ways will you devise to sugar coat the truth – that your government is failing and failing spectacularly?  

What Budget?

What Budget? “Yesterday’s Budget will come to be remembered more for what it failed to do than what it delivered.” Mia Amor Mottley While Barbadians breathed a collective sigh of relief that the Prime Minister did not try to tax his way out of the recession, Opposition Leader Mia Amor Mottley made it very clear in her reply that having cited the problems affecting the economy, he then did nothing to resolve them.

For Barbadians who remember the horrors of the early nineties there was an awful sense of déjà vu about the Prime Minister’s presentation. Then as now, the country’s foreign reserves were of greatest concern. Miss Mottley pointed out that the foreign reserves had not yet reached the perilous state they were, in 1990/91, but if nothing were done to arrest the slide – then Barbadians would be staring harsh economic adjustments squarely in the face. She was of the view that Thompson would have to return to the House before the expiration of the current financial year to correct the problems that he refused to address in the Budget.

It was this delay that concerned Miss Mottley, given the history of 1991. Of greatest concern to her though is the announcement by the Prime Minister to run a primary fiscal surplus of 5.9% of GDP by 2011. The requirement to run this type of surplus is a prescription normally imposed by international lending agencies like the IMF and the World Bank and means that once more, like 1991, we would not hold our destiny in our own hands. It also means that a substantial chunk of any money we generate will have to be put aside to appease the moneylenders and will not be available for either social programmes, support for the private sector or projects that will expand our productive capacity. Effectively they will lend us the money, but tell us how we must spend it – repaying interest.

This remedy is precisely what could lead to social suffering and further economic hardship. Despite those who might advocate otherwise, Miss Mottley continues to offer the Government advice and solutions out of the mess it has generated around itself. As early as last year she cautioned that the large increase in energy prices and the Prime Minister’s $104 million tax grab would lead to an increase in prices and less money in people’s pockets. The advice was ignored. She advised then as well that that was the time to go to the international market for loans when money was still available and affordable. The advice was ignored.

She suggested floating a Stabilization Bond to support employment. The advice was ignored. She called for a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs in March so that the Opposition could assist the national effort. The advice was ignored. Now that the mess has hit the proverbial fan, the Prime Minister is pleading with the Opposition to join Team Barbados and put country ahead of partisan political interests. Calls for unity must never be disguised as a silence of criticism.

It is not a part of our Parliamentary or national experience. But have no fear; Miss Mottley and the Barbados Labour Party team will continue to show the Prime Minister and his side the error of his ways. She will continue to offer the government advice in the interest of Barbados and Barbadians, even when it is thrown back in her face with all the finesse of a gully boar. Who can forget the jeering from the government benches in the first Budget Debate: “You are not in Government now.” “We don’t want your advice.” She knows that Barbados deserves better. She knows that Barbados can do better. She knows that we can do better.

Against The Tide

Against the tide

myopia, mi-o-pi-a, n. lack of imagination, foresight or   intellectual insight

Prime Minister David Thompson, supported by his Cabinet, has taken the expected reactionary view to the issue of immigration by our Caribbean brothers and sisters without apparently identifying any real solution to what is perceived as a problem by so many Barbadians.

What is even more disturbing is that his lukewarm attempt to solve the “problem” makes no mention of people who are not our neighbours, but who are here illegally. The lack of a clearly defined message makes it appear as if Caribbean people are being targeted as the scapegoats in the immigration morass.

There are a few things that Barbadians must consider when examining this question of intra-regional migration. First and foremost we cannot extract it from the larger mission of regionalism.

Half a century after the concept of a common people with a common destiny was first mooted are we satisfied that as members of a geographic region with a similar historical experience that there is more that unites us than divides us?

Are we satisfied as well that our future prosperity lies in unity and not isolation? If the answer to these two seminal questions is yes then all that remains is how we choose to accomplish the goal.

As a region we are not without experience in this regard. Despite the failure of the political structure of Federation, the University College of the West Indies, the West Indies Meteorological Service, the West India Regiment and the Federal Supreme Court and their successors are proof positive of the benefits of pooling our resources.

From Carifta to Caricom to the CSME the goal has been collective effort for individual gain. Regrettably, community has often been subsumed by sovereignty for the sake of political expediency and to the detriment of greater prosperity than we currently enjoy as a region.

So where do we go from here and why is it important to Barbadians. First, the reality of the situation – in a world where the economic pecking order is constantly being re-defined to benefit the giants it is obviously easier to build alliances with the countries you know and with whom you have something in common.

The facts already indicate that Caricom countries buy fifty-two percent of our exports; twenty percent of our tourists come from neighbouring countries and the Caribbean Basin is a natural extension of the local market for companies, large and small, wishing to expand their operations. So if we are going to continue to grow our economies in an international climate of constraint, the Caribbean community is already a natural fit.

Naturally we must expect our neighbours will wish to have the same opportunity for growth that we do. The stronger they are, the greater opportunities exist for us to trade with them in both goods and services. It therefore stands to reason that if we pool our resources to avoid the cost of duplicating regulatory, legal; research and financing institutions then the benefits will accrue to all.

People though are the market. Not companies or institutions nor even sovereign states. Once the people prosper, the market will prosper. This is why it is urgent for the Prime Minister to push for a common protocol to define contingent rights.

If a man is working and paying taxes it is not unreasonable for him to expect certain benefits from the state. Prohibition does not work. It will create an underclass that can potentially undermine the system. It is better to embrace a man for mutual gain than to try to shut him out.

When will the Prime Minister recognize this next crucial step?

Unsound Clico??????????????

The Government of Barbados earlier this year announced that its strategy to support the more than 40 000 policy holders and investors and the 1600 odd employees in the companies of Clico Holdings Barbados was to sell Clico International Life Insurance Company to ICBL.

ICBL has now indicated that they have discontinued discussions with Clico Holdings Barbados in respect of that sale. This tears into shreds the Government’s strategy for Clico and it raises a few questions.

Why should ICBL break off talks that the Government of Barbados are so keen on?

1. Is it that the assets of Clico are not as sound as the Prime Minister has assured us?
2. Is it that Clico is so confident of the Prime Minister’s support that they were not prepared to sell the company at the right price?
3. Is it that the more ICBL found out about the operations of Clico the more they wanted to get as far away as possible?

 

What is certain, however, is that the Government should now seek urgently to have the Supervisor of Insurance apply to the Court to place the company under judicial management to protect the interest of these 40 000 policy-holders and investors given the sizeable Statutory Fund deficit.

 

This still leaves Clico Holdings Barbados or the Supervisor of Insurance to pursue the option of the sale of Clico Life or any part of its assets therein under the provisions of the Insurance Act.

Amber Alert

Amber Alert “The negative outlook on Barbados reflects the growing imbalances that the inconsistent fiscal and monetary policy mix has caused.” – Olga Kalinina, Standard & Poor’s Economist

In our view this is the most damning criticism of David Thompson’s performance as Minister of Finance since he assumed that office some sixteen months ago. If ever there was a vote of no confidence in Thompson’s ability to manage our economy, this is it. We are not surprised, because it is a criticism that our leader Mia Mottley has made of him without apology. She knows the importance of consistency in maintaining confidence in the Barbados economy.

No amount of sugar coating that the region is under fallout stress from the global economic downturn and that Barbados is not unlike other countries whose ratings have dropped can negate the full import of Ms. Kalinina’s words. The Barbados Labour Party has warned repeatedly of a government adrift and unsure of which path to take; of a government that waits far too long to take even reactionary decisions, much less pre-emptive or proactive ones. The Prime Minister’s ‘wait and see’ approach to economic management singles him out as a ditherer that the country cannot afford in these trying times. And what are these inconsistent policies of which Ms. Kalinina speaks?

 Balanced budgets or deficits or both as the DLP prclaimed. Subsidies, no subsidies – yes subsidies! The government committed itself to a balanced budget and imposed the single greatest tax imposition on Barbadians in our economic history. This was done against a background of rising oil prices, which in his misguided wisdom the Prime Minister passed on to the productive sectors and the average Barbadian. Miss Mottley’s opposition to this policy has been well documented. With the implosion of the global financial markets, the Prime Minister’s response was to organize an economic talk shop two months after the Lehman Brothers collapsed.

This report is yet to be published, although he has commented on it as being a mid-term strategy. So back to the ‘wait and see’ stance. Then there was much ‘too and fro’ about whether we had or should have a stimulus package. School fences and a highway improvement project already on the cards were cited as evidence of such, amidst much continued ambivalence by the Prime Minister as to whether this was the course we should take. Under pressure to explain the fall in foreign reserves and the unrealistic revenue estimates contained in this year’s Estimates, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance decided that he had in fact implemented a stimulus package.

 Both Mia Mottley and Owen Arthur said then that the time for stimulus packages had already passed and that the failure to implement them sooner – now meant that we should be engaging in defensive measures and that a stabilization package is what is now required. We shall observe with keen interest whether such a package is contained in the Prime Minister’s Budget. While no country enjoys a downward adjustment of it’s rating or even its outlook, if there is a clear plan to implement measures that may lead to a downgrade, but yield improved results in the short and medium term results, then Ministers of Finance view them as a necessary evil.

When however, there is no plan or an inconsistent plan, then the chance of improvement becomes more remote as does an upward revision of the outlook. This is the unfortunate position in which we find ourselves today. The Prime Minister has no clear strategy for protecting the Barbados economy and no policies to ensure its growth. There is an awful sense of déjà vu hanging in the air.

Would it be too much to hope for – that the Prime Minister relieve himself of the Finance portfolio and save us all the certain hardship we shall face by his present insistence that he knows what he is doing?

Danger on the Horizon

Throughout the course of our seventy years of existence as servants of the people of Barbados, the Barbados Labour Party has never failed to face the challenges of defending the interests of the people of this country.

 

It has never been in the nature of our leaders to sit idly by in calculated defence of their own self interest and well being, while challenges face this island and threaten to devastate the lives of thousands of our fellow citizens.

 

It is therefore in the spirit of that noble tradition that we remain focused and vigilant about the need to protect the interests of 40,000 Clico Policy holders here in Barbados, notwithstanding the flippant manner in which the DLP treated that concern in the recent no confidence debate.

 

We feel even more fortified in that commitment, when we reflect on last week’s declaration by St. Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King that his government is taking steps to protect St. Lucians who have invested in the Pan-Caribbean Insurance Company CLICO.

 

Of great interest to us and unfortunately, of equal concern is the fact that Prime Minister King has now introduced yet another Pan-Caribbean company doing business in Barbados into the equation.

 

Prime Minister King is reported to have named CLICO and its Sister Organisation British American Insurance in a statement to the St. Lucian Parliament.

 

Press reports on that Prime Ministerial Statement indicate that King said that “The operations of both CLICO and British American Insurance Company are deemed insolvent and require immediate corrective action.”

 

The Prime Minister is also reported to have said that “Clico was currently unable to pay all of its debts,” and that “measures were being put in place both at the national and regional levels to deal with the fall out.”

 

He is also reported to have said that “while a regional approach to the problem was being pursued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank,” his government “was focusing on ensuring that the interests of St. Lucians who have a stake in the companies are being protected.”

 

Prime Minister King indicated that as part of that protection his government had “taken steps to secure all the registered assets of Clico in St. Lucia.”  This statement of course comes in the wake of other measures taken to protect the policy holders in other Caribbean jurisdictions.

 

We recall for example the February 22^nd Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago application for an injunction to restrain C L Financial or any of its subsidiaries or related companies from in anyway disposing of any of its assets wheresoever those assets are located and however they are described.

 

We also recall the 25^th of February application by the Commissioner of Insurance of Guyana for the High Court in that country to issue an order to place Clico Guyana under the Judicial Management of the Commissioner of Insurance.

 

Indeed, steps were also taken in the Bahamas in respect of Clico Bahamas which is now being wound up on the grounds of insolvency under the supervision of the High Court.

 

Despite all of these signals our own Prime Minster has stubbornly refused to take any action that will protect the almost 40,000 policy holders depositors and their families here in Barbados.

 

Neither has he commented on the very worrisome observations made by his colleague Prime Minister in St. Lucia about the State of these two Companies which have significant interests here in Barbados.

 

In stating that “the operations of both Clico and British American Insurance are deemed insolvent” Prime Minister King was pointing directly at us because the St. Lucian business interests of Clico fall under the operations of Clico Holdings Barbados.

 

What then is the situation with respect to Barbadian Investors and policy holders with British American insurance? When will our Prime Minister declare what steps he is prepared to take to protect Barbadian policy holders and investors?

 

In the face of the clear and present volatility in the regional and international financial market, how can we feel satisfied that our Prime Minister is being faithful to our taxpayers first and above all others?

 

 

Let Down by DLP

With the conclusion of the 2009-2010 Estimates Debate this week another major milestone in the life of the present Government has come and gone and the David Thompson Administration is yet to play a scoring shot off the front foot.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that despite all of his bravado before the election and since, that Thompson is uncomfortable in his Prime Ministerial skin.

There is a lack of confidence that erupts like a case of teenage acne whenever his handling of the economy is questioned. That it has now spread to other areas of his government’s policy, namely the Constituency Councils, does not bode well for his longevity.

But back to the Estimates Debate.

It was easily the most uninspiring opening presentation by a Minister of Finance in recent memory. There was no lucid picture of the current economic circumstances that we face as a nation and consequently the areas that the government would be targeting for either revenue or expenditure. While the country waited for some sign or signal to inspire confidence the screen remained blank.

There were lots of snapshots of Barbados’ leadership role in Caricom, regurgitated from a speech delivered two days earlier at a branch meeting, but even here there was little attempt to place its importance into an economic context.   There was also a recitation of some economic figures without any illustration of their context or meaning to the situation we face today.

As the Debate progressed and questions from the Opposition raised the pressure – there was a bilious outburst on the final day that now characterizes the Prime Minister’s response to legitimate criticism.

It is human nature that people will reflect on the previous tenure of the Prime Minister as Minister of Finance. For some there will be bitter memories, for others there will be skepticism and still others may be nervous.   Unfortunately, the Prime Minister fed into these emotions by a lackluster and less than complete analysis of where we are and where he intends to take us.

Perhaps if he would simply buckle down to the task at hand, then all the old questions of competency would disappear and he could bury the ghosts of 1991. There are some things that do not derive any benefit from an attempt at being different. One plus one equals two – no matter how you say it and people just want the facts, pure and simple!

 

Mia Mottley and Owen Arthur were able to clearly show that given the Government’s own figures that their revenue targets were in all probability unattainable and that the deficit would likely skyrocket to $1 billion.

This is against rapidly falling foreign reserves, declining export earnings and foreign investment. The further creation of credit by Government to finance this deficit in this environment will only put the country into a deeper hole.  It is precisely this lack of understanding and confidence that will not help us at this time when there must be urgent stabalisation of our economy and people’s jobs.

Insecurity on the Government benches scorns Opposition suggestions, while uncertainty heralds a unified approach to national problems. Maturity should dictate that the two cannot operate in tandem.

The Democratic Labour Party has approached governing like a twenty twenty cricket match.  Plenty of rash shots with no recognizable form or technique. It is time they learn that a five-year term – is much more like a test match where you have the opportunity to build an innings to win the game.

Stick to the basics and occupying the crease becomes much more enjoyable and productive. The people of Barbados sent them into bat and are looking for a big score.

So far they have been horribly let down.

Barbadians at Risk

But what these Estimates speak too (and I hear the Prime Minister say that the growth rate last year was 0.7%) but I must tell you that the revenue performance is such that it would otherwise be akin to a declining economy – a significantly declining economy.  I am not going to challenge the authenticity of what he says, but I am going to use what is in here.

 

Import Duties, Sir (the money paid on things when they are imported into Barbados) would you believe that this government collected les import duties lass year – than in 2007?  Would you believe that?  And there has been no change in the rate of import duties? 

 

But yet Sir, having taken in less last year (and there were then projecting that Import Duties would be increasing by more than $23 million) almost a ten per cent increase – would you believe that they come back again this year Sir, at a time when they project that the economy would decline by two per cent – last year they were saying that the economy was going to grow by three – they now say that the economy is going to decline by three per cent – would you believe that this government, this Minister of Finance – tells us that Import Duties are going to grow by $23 million, again in this year?

 

And Corporation Taxes, Mr. Speaker – Sir, Corporation Taxes – they projected, Corporation Taxes, Sir – at over $570 million.  Sir, would you believe that Corporation Taxes Sir – not only declined – they took in $44 million less, in Corporation Taxes, last year – than the Barbados labour Party took in for 2007? 

 

Sir, it is the most serious problem this country faces in terms of its revenue!  Because it speaks not just to revenue – it speaks to the non performance of the International Business Sector.

 

It speaks to the fact Sir that the International Business Sector normally makes up 65% of the Corporation Taxes.  And when you cross reference it Sir to the fees that they contemplated would be raised from the International Business Sector, last year they said they were to raise $3 million in fees.  Sir they barely made $1.5 – almost a 50% reduction. 

 

Sir when I look at the 50% reduction in International Business fees and then I look at the less than $100 million decrease Sir – of Corporation Taxes – I am of the belief Sir that the International Business Sector is serious trouble, in this country. 

 

And that has nothing to do, with the word coming from Gordon Browne and America and Germany and France – as to what further pressure they intend to put in under, it is one of the most serious problem facing Barbados today.

And Sir – I say it all the time (it appears to be un-sexy) but you know what Sir, if we did not have the International Business Sector, contributing – 65% of our Corporation Taxes – the Member for St. Peter could not have undertaken the most ambitious tax reform programme in this country since Independence! 

 

We could not have given Barbadians householders the first $150,000 off their Land Tax!  We could not Sir – have given Barbadian workers – the first $25,000 off their Income Taxes!    We could not have given Barbadian workers who do not pay Income taxes – a Reverse Tax Credit.

 

The buoyancy of the Corporation Tax and the VAT – gave him the comfort to undertake the most remarkable tax reform programme to ease Barbadians and give them more disposable income.  This government now can’t even peep on them. 

 

And instead, what do we have – two Minister of International Business in twelve months, and one now that is called International Business and International Transport and the only common denominator between them is the work “International.”  Nothing else to do with one another! 

 

But Invest Barbados now Sir – is under the Minister of Finance.  But then again all investment and all decision making and all licenses – you have to go the Member for St. John. 

 

All roads lead to him, when it comes to anything to do with investment; licensing or decision making in this country.  Let us hope Sir that he does not fall down at anytime cause then nothing will happen

Patriotism vs Clico

“Men in authority will always think criticism of their policies is                                                                           dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism,                                                           and find criticism subversive.” – Henry Steele Commager

It is notable that the Prime Minister’s response to our leader’s charge that CLICO’s statutory fund was $93 million in the red was met with appellations of “dangerous” and “panic.”  It is also significant that he did not and has not answered the bald question on the true state of CLICO’s statutory fund. It will be to his everlasting shame if he does not come clean with Barbadians on a matter that is vital to the financial security of thousands of Barbadian families and the company’s employees.

It is really very simple – if CLICO Barbados is “safe and sound” then state the FACTS, Mr. Thompson. If it is that there are concerns then state those concerns and the steps that you are taking to deal with them. This is what leadership and confidence is about. It is what you promised and what you have so far failed to deliver.

There can be no halfway measures here. No red herrings about other insurance companies or financial turmoil in other places and especially not since the disastrous mid-week news out of the Bahamas. In fact these are the very things that require the truth to shine through – transparent and irrefutable.

It is for this reason that Mia Mottley questioned the Prime Minister’s fidelity to CLICO’s Barbadian policyholders, investors and pension fund owners. If there is any loss of confidence in the local insurance giant it is amplified by the Prime Minister’s reticence to lay out the unvarnished facts. We will itemize his behaviour so far:

·         The Prime Minister assured the country that CLICO was “sound, prudently managed and well regulated.” Yet he avoided answering Miss Mottley and the journalists on the size of CLICO’s statutory fund deficit.

·         He commended the action by the Trinidad Central Bank which, among other things, protected 100,000 policy holders when their statutory fund was in deficit, but he has failed to take similar action to protect our 40,000 policyholders here.

·         He represented the buy back of the Barbados National Bank as a patriotic goal knowing all the while that it is wrapped up in his Government’s plan to rescue CLICO.

·         He provided 14 years of legal representation to CLICO and his law firm Thompson & Associates, albeit in his absence, is still their legal counsel of record

These facts do not give us confidence in the Minister of Finance’s ability or propensity to act first in the defense of Barbadians and Barbados.

Let us be clear. Mia Mottley does not want CLICO to fail. Too much is at stake for the thousands of Barbadians who have placed their trust and hard earned cash in the company. She is also concerned about the company’s employees. But she will not sit idly by and allow conflicted judgment to overwhelm the interests of so many thousands of Barbadians and the country at large.

The Prime Minister must face the problem and fix it. His first duty must be to call on the company to find a private sector solution to its problems. Why has he not called for Barbadian ownership and control of this “sound, prudently managed” company in the same way that he wants us to own the Barbados National Bank?

Would this not make more sense as a first priority given the clear and present danger that exists today? Aren’t the policyholders, credit unions, Bajans in the diaspora and at home good enough to buy this well run, profitable company? Or, is he only interested in protecting one particular job?

Can not hear you PM

Last weekend’s announcement by the Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago that the financial state of Clico Insurance is far more precarious than originally thought requires the David Thompson Administration to provide total disclosure to the country on the financial health of Clico Barbados.

In particular, the Barbados Labour Party is calling on the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who has overall responsibility for the regulation of insurance companies, to state specifically whether or not Clico’s Statutory Fund is in deficit, and if so, to what extent. The Statutory Fund is a legal requirement for all insurance companies in Barbados. Each company must place in trust enough assets to match its liabilities to policyholders. This is to protect the policyholders in the event that there are difficulties in meeting the obligations to policyholders.

We view this information as being of extreme importance since the state of health of this Fund could determine the financial future of thousands of Barbadian policyholders, whose retirement income is inextricably linked to whether Clico is able to meet its commitments to them.

Our leader, Mia Mottley put these questions to the Prime Minister last Sunday night at the Party’s Meeting opposite Tyrol Cot:

1)     “Whether the Statutory fund required by Section 25 of the Insurance Act to be maintained by Clico for its long-term insurance business, when disaggregated, is in deficit? If so, what corrective actions will the Minister of Finance put in place to protect the 38,000-plus policy holders and pension fund holders in Barbados?

 

2)     Will the Prime Minister state whether any funds, owned by the National Insurance Scheme of Barbados, are held by Clico or any of its related companies or subsidiaries? And if so, how much at January 15, 2008 and how much today at February 15, 2009?

 

3)     Will the Prime Minister state whether in his capacity as Attorney-at-law before becoming Prime Minister he ever had occasion to address and settle the legitimate concerns in relation to a deficit of the statutory fund in another Caribbean country?

 

4)     Will the Prime Minister state if Clico has now offered the Government of Barbados a place on the Clico Board? If so when was it offered and when does he propose to accept it to protect the taxpayers’ exposure?

 

5)     Given the public concern that has been expressed in Trinidad over the actions of the Minister of Finance, in the interest of full transparency and accountability, will the Prime Minister follow the lead which Owen Arthur and I took and declare his assets and more importantly, where they are held, as of January 15, 2008, December 31, 2008 and February 15, 2009.”

Miss Mottley also called on the Chairman of Clico Holdings Barbados, Leroy Parris to resign as chairman of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation. “The failure of CBC to carry on television, not just my comments relating to Clico, the Trinidad Memorandum of Understanding and the assistance offered by the Central Bank of Barbados, but now also the comments of the Governor of the Trinidad Central Bank last Friday is now clear to all,” she said

This is against the background that Voice of Barbados carried it in their newscasts at 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m on Friday 13^th February.

There is a legitimate expectation that those stories would be carried by CBC as they have been carried by other sections of the Press. CBC cannot be appearing to carry only statements that are favourable to Clico but not those that place legitimate questions on behalf of the persons exposed and the public interest. This is an abuse affecting freedom of information and the public’s right to be informed.

After all CBC does not stand for Clico Broadcasting Corporation.