Lee: Will Govt privatise Petrotrin?

GIVEN recent statements by Energy Minister Franklin Khan about Petrotrin, government must say if it plans to privatise the oil company, Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee said in a statement issued today.

Lee said that at an energy conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain last Monday, Khan wondered aloud where new capital for Petrotrin would come from and remarked, “All I will say is the State has no money to give them.”

Lee said, “These statements, besides seeking to belittle an entity which has given much to the economic framework of this nation, provide a clear indication that as Government aims to stifle capital funding from Petrotrin, the state oil company would be forced to adopt some model of privatisation to gain the much needed financing.”

He said while Khan had lamented the state of Petrotrin the minister seemed to have forgot that a past People’s National Movement (PNM) government had put it in debt, citing wastage of $1 billion on the World GTL project, $100 million on the Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel Project and $100 million to build a new Petrotrin head office that is today an unfinished eyesore.

Lee said the wanton spending continues, with the Government paying $63 million in consultancy fees, while $85 million remains unaccounted for in the fake oil fiasco.

He alleged that the Government is not serious about fixing the issues at Petrotrin, having just talked of restructuring for the past 30 months, but with no tangible efforts made to improve the company’s position, but the Government actively spreading the narrative that the company is failing and is a burden.

Lee said the Government had sat idly by while Petrotrin’s leadership structure was broken apart, its capability was reduced and it lost its senior management team in March.

"Why would any proactive and productive government allow this? Because these conditions create the superb environment for privatisation.”