AG Ramlogan says each taxpayer will put $50,000 for CLICO bailout

Each Trinidad & Tobago taxpayer is on the hook for $50,000 in order to fund the Government's bailout plan for CLICO.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan made the point in the Senate to show that taxpayers who did not invest any money in the failed conglomerate must now pay for those who did.

And he reiterated that those who were culpable in the collapse of the financial institution would be brought to account. "Rest assured that Commission of Enquiry when it is completed, if wrongdoing is found action will be taken against those culpable," said Ramlogan.

Ramlogan said Government had choices; it could have done nothing or it could have acted to protect the country's financial sector and to respond to the cries of affected policyholders. It chose the latter, he said.

He pointed out that the former Manning PNM government put $7 billion in CLICO and the People's Partnership another $13 billion bringing the total to $20 billion of taxpayers' dollars into the failed entity.

"The money that we are using for this plan belongs to and comes from the people of this country, the taxpayers. Approximately 400,000 taxpayers will foot the bill for $20 billion and when you do the math that amounts to approximately $50,000 per taxpayer," said Ramlogan.

Ramlogan was making the point to respond to the Opposition's defence of the rights of the CLICO policyholders. Ramlogan stated that other taxpayers have rights too. And now they are the ones who must pay for the investment decisions made by others.

The AG said those who had nothing to do with CLICO and its investments now have to make sacrfices to pay the bills when the money could have been used for better roads and beds for hospitals.

"Don't hold us to ransom to extract the full pound of flesh because there are many arguments for and against; we hear your cries and we have listened to them and we are responding to them, but for God's sake don't tell us, don't be ungrateful, don't say we haven't done the best that we can with the inherited state of our coffers," Ramlogan declared.

He said it is wrong for anyone to suggest that government is against the policyholders, noting that on the contrary, the state is in partnership with them in the best interest of the economy.