THE PRIME Minister’s failure to do background checks on an Indian businessman supposedly interested in purchasing the former Petrotrin refinery in Pointe-a-Pierre makes him the “laziest PM ever,” Davendranath Tancoo, MP for Oropouche West, has said.
Tancoo, speaking at the Opposition’s media briefing on July 28, also chided the PM for attacking those who raised concerns about the potential investor, Indian businessman Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, who is facing corruption charges in India.
The PM and Jindal met at the Diplomatic Centre in June.
At the post-Cabinet media conference on July 26, Rowley described those opposed to the Venezuelan oil being refined at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery as “idiots” and suggested the “attack” on Jindal would chase other potential investors.
In response, Tancoo said the PM appeared more concerned that questions were raised about the potential investor’s integrity rather than his convictions.
Tancoo rubbished the PM’s claims that he was unaware of the potential investor’s reputation since Energy Minister Stuart Young met with Jindal a year ago.
“Nobody believes that the PM, the Minister of Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (or other) persons involved in that meeting did not Google this investor before or even after the meeting with him.
“Let us not start to talk about the lack of ethics and obvious bias demonstrated by the PM, when the PM promotes his meeting with an investor interested in a refinery, while the (tendering) process…is still live and ongoing.
“But he’s not interested in meeting any of the other potential investors. This has to be the laziest PM ever.
“Ironically,” Tancoo added, “having failed to do his own due diligence, the PM, instead of thanking the UNC and the media for providing important information that he claims he was unaware of, stooped to accuse the Opposition of being obstructionists and deterring foreign investment.”
Tancoo said the PM’s comments might suggest he would have preferred nobody looked into Jindal.
He said it is an “absolute lie to say the UNC is against foreign investments in this country.
“No genuine investor interested in putting their money in TT would be and should be afraid of transparency and accountability.”
On June 23, Rowley said a special committee would be formed “within a month” to evaluate offers from “those who think they could run the refinery and have the means to convince us they are a good fit.
“I expect that by the end of August, the government will be able to say to you, ‘Yes, we have a taker,’ or, ‘No, we have no taker.’”
Tancoo said the country should always remember Rowley broke his promise to Petrotrin workers and citizens by closing the refinery weeks after he said he would not.
Apart from leaving many without jobs, Tancoo said the closure “deprived the country of one of its most valuable, one of the largest foreign exchange-earners.”
Tancoo said Rowley lost his credibility years ago after abusing Parliamentary privilege to
