THE EDITOR: I can't remember the last time I saw this country's two mighty AGs – the Auditor General and the Attorney General – waging an open and sordid war of words along with legal action against each other.
I won't pretend I know exactly which AG is to blame and I won't take sides with either of these two powerful and critical office holders.
My issue is the sully to this country's image, both regionally and internationally.
This imbroglio is not only threatening our image but also our ability to maintain our favourable status in global financial markets.
This bacchanal couldn't come at a worse time for TT.
We are slowly emerging out of the deep, black and depressing shadows of the pandemic and its ensuing lockdown, which dealt a crippling hammer blow to our economy. You remember the pandemic? It was only three or four short years ago.
Our economy is now starting to pick back up and the last thing we would want is to cause jitters in the global financial markets. This is just what this stand-off between the two AGs is threatening to do.
[caption id="attachment_1082751" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Attorney General Reggie Armour - Jeff K. Mayers[/caption]
If this issue is not quickly dealt with, one way or the other, it threatens to damage TT's reputation as a stable economy in the eyes of global financiers, credit rating agencies and other financial entities. A threat to our reputation could mean a downgrading by the credit agencies and TT's consequent inability to raise financing to either pay debt, oversee human and infrastructural development, or save for a rainy day. Don't forget major parts of our investments are tied up overseas.
Therefore, this is not just a mere spat between Jaiwantie Ramdass and Reggie Armour, this is an issue that threatens our economic stability because financial bodies and credit rating agencies of any repute won't want to do business with a government that can't even balance its national accounts.
Let's not forget that many eyes, both in Caricom and around the world, are closely monitoring these developments.
So, with these factors in mind, I hope the two AGs can put aside their grand-charging, threats and counter-threats and show mental and emotional maturity for the sake of the country and its economic future.
They need to sit down and sort out this accounting mess. Because if they fail to do so, it would reflect a bigger failure and prove once and for all that what many have long suspected – that TT is a Third World country – is actually true.
LEE MERRICK
San Fernando
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