Ramesh call for united front in fight for Clico stakeholders

Former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is urging all Clico policyholders to unite as a single body to fight for their investments. Maharaj is representing one of the groups formed to lobby government.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Duncan Village, San Fernando on Sunday he said the government has until November 8 to deal with the issue of repaying policyholders or face legal action. He told the small group so far he has not had a response to letters sent to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

He is claiming that the government has acted unlawfully in the Clico matter and has urged the state to protect the policyholders. “I have an obligation, depending on the instruction of policyholders to go to court if nothing works,” he said.

He said a British legal team is looking at the case. However he added that he hopes the matter would be resolved and eliminate the need to go to court.

"I would hope that everyone will get together in unity of the policyholders and we will go with a concerted fight against the Government,” he said.

He told the policyholders that more than 1 million people have been affected by the Government’s plan and claimed that the Clico issue has caused stagnation in the local economy.

“When the past Government decided to intervene to give a guarantee to policyholders in 2009, the Government did that because it knew that the State was liable and the machinery of the State did not work to protect you.

“The Government knew that if the policyholders were not paid, there could have been a run on the economy. The Clico issue impacts on every financial institution and there could be a total loss of confidence,” Maharaj warned.

He also spoke of an alternative plan floated by another Clico group for an American Asset Liability Management to invest the money the government has allocated to pay Clico investors and pay everyone without the state having to put additional funds.