Parliamentary Oversight committee restricted to reading newspapers- AFC

May 17, 2009 News

The Parliamentary Economic Services Committee, which has been mandated to monitor all developments as it relates to Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) Guyana, has done nothing but read newspapers.
This is according to Chairman of the Alliance for Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, who said that the members of the committee, particularly Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira, have been using the sub judice notion that was used to block a debate into the affairs of CLICO Guyana by the Speaker of the House to restrict the Committee.

According to Ramjattan this was the reason he stormed out of the last meeting some two weeks ago given that the House gave the ESC a clear mandate, restrictive as it may be, but the committee is not allowed access to any of the documents emanating from the embattled company.
According to the AFC chairman the body has been instructed to follow the updates by cutting out newspaper clippings and use that as its record.

Ramjattan recalled that the Committee had agreed to invite Commissioner of Insurance/Judicial Manager Maria van Beek to a special meeting but because of the recent attempt on her life that was not possible.
Ramjattan argued that other officials should be called to answer certain pertinent questions, which members may have, especially since the functions of the Commissioner of Insurance have now been transferred to the Bank of Guyana.

He noted that the AFC would seek to have the BOG official appear before the committee given that the relevant documents relating to CLICO Guyana are already in the process of being transferred to BOG.
According to Ramjattan, the Opposition is now severely frustrated given that there are still many unanswered questions and an inquiry, which could be very useful, now seems ever more elusive.

Following the commencement of the CLICO meltdown, leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Robert Corbin had tabled a motion in the National Assembly to have an investigation into the affairs of CLICO but the motion was watered down to call on the Economic Services Committee of Parliament to monitor the developments as these unfold in relation to CLICO (Guyana).