Trinidad Gov’t to table campaign finance legislation ahead of 2020 general election

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley says his administration will introduce campaign finance legislation to Parliament hoping for it to take effect “well ahead and in time for the next general election” constitutionally due in Trinidad and Tobago by December 2020.

Addressing the 48th annual convention of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) here on Sunday, Rowley said that his party since 2011, has been cooperating with the Organisation of American States (OAS) with its effort to encourage Caribbean governments to enact campaign finance legislation.

He reminded supporters that the party attended meetings on that issue organised by the OAS in Jamaica and Barbados.

“In 2019 we intend to introduce this issue to the Parliament. We have a bill that is almost ready for laying in the House. When it gets there, in a few weeks, it will be sent to Joint Select Committee, for attention by way of immediate public consultation, against a specific deadline to facilitate debate and a vote by the end of this session, that is, July 2019, well ahead and in time for the next general elections.

“We have investigated, followed information, established evidence and as required, we have involved the courts and the police,” Rowley said, noting that many matters are engaging the attention of law enforcement and that explains the “lomotillary behaviour displayed by some of my parliamentary colleagues and their enablers”.

Rowley told supporters that his administration had also tabled “well- researched” whistle-blower legislation in the Parliament, and accused the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) of engaging in various strategies to stymie the bill.

“We took it to Committee. I need not tell you what their position was and how it remains. Delay, object, obstruct! Special Majority! We took the bill out of Committee. We will get it to the floor for debate with the special majority and other amendments they wanted and we will put it to a vote at the earliest opportunity, by end of March 2019.

“Monitor the Parliament and see them block it. When you see them struggling to find a coherent excuse to not support legislation now you know why.”

In his address, Rowley defended the position of his government to shut down the loss-making state-owned oil company, PETROTRIN, and replace it with three new entities.

“Our oil economy had crashed under the weight of mismanagement, inefficiency and unproductivity. PETROTRIN’s debt and losses were threatening the country’s economy and sovereign ratings. As a people we seemed unconcerned to the decade old reality that we owned an oil company that should be enriching the lives of all citizens but in the singular case of Trinidad and Tobago our oil company was taking us straight to a national financial downgrade to junk bond status.”

Rowley said that the oil company stopped exploring or trying to produce new oil, saying what was even worse was the 46,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) as being produced “was delivered to the refinery that was a chronic money loser depending mainly on 100,000 bpd of imported crude oil.

“After 100 years of oil production and generations of Trinidadians and Tobagonians knowing that the higher the price of oil the better our countries fortunes we had reached the unfathomable reverse position where the higher the price of oil the worse our countries fortunes and the more money we lost at the refinery.

“PETROTRIN had to be restructured for the benefit of all 1.3 million people of Trinidad and Tobago, to give us a new chance at prosperity by replacing a chronic money losing model with a profit making one,” Rowley said, adding that the PNM didn’t establish PETROTRIN to be about politics versus labour, or about overblown egos.

“It was about one thing! It was about facing up to creating prosperity for the people of the country. That prosperity now beckons through restructuring of the company and retooling our overall efforts to do it right on the way forward.

“Only the PNM will accept the responsibility for this assignment. Others will see us drowning in red ink in Point a Pierre but wouldn’t put a hand for fear of losing their positions, even it means losing the country,” Rowley said, adding that the former People’s Partnership government headed by Kamla Persad Bissessar had hidden for five years “billions of dollars of losses in the PETROTRIN books,” due mainly to the fear of being voted out of office.

Rowley said he had alerted the country on the “enormity and seriousness” of PETROTRIN over the past two years and that over the course of a year  his administration reviewed, consulted and deliberated with expert stakeholders and professionals in order to arrive at an informed decision.

He said when the decision was made to shut down the oil company, it was as a result of putting the interest of the entire population first.

He said the severance packages for the workers have been announced at in excess of TT$2.6 billion and workers have a TT$11 billon dollar stable pension fund.

“In addition to this, I have directed the Minister of Finance to take the necessary steps to lift the tax free limit on separated PETROTRIN workers from TT$300,000 to TT$500,000, leaving more cash in the hands of the workers to help them get over this hurdle”

Rowley said this costs an extra TT$150 million, but it leaves an additional TT$50,000 with almost every worker. One hundred years after being in the oil business we are drifting into difficulty but I can say we are finding our way back towards prosperity and seeing the light.

“The company is now being restructured and I am pleased to report that we have sold our first tanker of local crude and we have been paid in hard currency and we are now restored to the familiar position that the higher the price of oil the better the countries fortunes.”

Rowley said the losses at the refinery have stopped and it’s now a stand-alone asset that is open for proposals.

“We have also imported and distributed the first batch of imported fuel. Our goal is a complete turnaround which has begun and would only pick up momentum towards providing secure and good jobs to those who continue in the industry and permit the state to prosper as it provides support and opportunities to the wider national population,” he told supporters.