Manning owes state $0.5M; Panday and others also indebted

Prime Minister Patrick Manning is still owing Trinidad and Tobago a half a million dollars.

That was confirmed in the Senate Monday by Attorney General John Jeremie.

But he said Manning is not the only person holding a debt to the state and suggested that the mechanisms are not in place to collect the outstanding sums.

Jeremie made the disclosure in response to a question from Opposition Senate leader Wade Mark. He said the debt to the state is from a failed High Court action in 1997 when Manning was leader of the opposition.

Manning had gone to court seeking a ruling on the law relating to the crossing of the floor act after two of his MPs - Rupert Griffith (Arima) and Vincent Lasse (Point Fortin) defected and joined the Panday government as cabinet ministers.

The court ruled against Manning and ordered him to pay costs totaling $1,153,811 which carried an interest rate of six per cent from the date of judgment, April 28, 1997.

"A sum of $555,000 was paid on account of the award on December 27, 2002. In 1997 there was no other matter in which a sum of money even remotely similar to this has been either awarded or collected by the State as costs," Jeremie told the senate.

Jeremie suggested that the award was exorbitant in comparison to other judgments where costs normally ran between $12,000 and $15,000.

"Matters such as the consolidated matters involving the then leader of the opposition therefore, where joint costs awarded amounted to just over one million are extremely rare and considered an aberration in practice," he said.

He added that there is no official policy position to enable the recovery of costs owed to it. He said in practice the State through the Chief State Solicitor would make written demands but that's all that can be done.

Jeremie promised to pursue a general policy with respect to cost recovery and would take into consideration a policy created by former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

But he said it is not high on his list of priorities, noting that "...there are other issues on my desk which are much more pressing".

Jeremie pointed out that there are other matters in which outstanding costs are owed to the State including the case of Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, who still owes $205,043, with an annual interest rate of 12 per cent from the date of judgment on April 22, 2005.

Jeremie said Panday's appeal in this matter also incurred additional costs and both the state and Panday's lawyers agreed on a cost of about $120,000 (£12,000), which is also still outstanding.

In addition, he pointed out that Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma owes $160,000 from a case he brought against the Attorney General and no payments have been made to date.

Jeremie also said businessmen Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh also owe the state money from their failed action against the Attorney General and Chief Magistrate. The amount, he said, is $1,095,292.