Gov't will listen to view of Clico policyholders: Mc Leod

Acting Prime Minister Errol Mc Leod told reporters Monday the government of Trinidad and Tobago would consider the views of Clico policyholders who oppose the plan to pay them a maximum of $75,000 with rest their investments in equal instalments over 20 years at zero interest

Mc Leod said Finance Minister Winston Dookeran would make a complete statement on the matter.

However he made it clear that the Government "will always respect the views, however contrary they might be, and always respect the views of others, and will consider those views and respond appropriately.”

The Newsday newspaper reported Tuesday that the Government will present legislation soon to give separate the investment and insurance portfolios of CL Financial’s insurance subsidiary Clico, citing government sources.

It stated that this move will allow the government to pay out a maximum of $75,000, with the rest to be paid over a 20-year period.

Policyholders with investments over that ceiling oppose that plan, saying it is not legal and is contrary to an agreement signed last year between Clico's parent company CL Financial and the Manning government.


They are hoping to get a meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to discuss their concerns. 

Persad-Bissessar returns home Tuesday night from a business trip to New York, which included an address to the UN General Assembly, which she delived Monday afternoon.