'CA predecessor helped Caribbean politicians win or lose for 20 years'

POLITICAL analyst Derek Ramsamooj said for over 20 years Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), the predecessor to Cambridge Analytica, had been helping prime ministers in the Caribbean to win elections and politicians to lose office.

In light of this he said the release of information in a book by CA whistleblower Christopher Wylie is purely political.

British consulting firm CA and its alleged data-mining connection to the People’s Partnership (PP) government to affect voting patterns in TT is dominating political news.

Weighing in on the debate, Ramsamooj said the airing of this issue weeks before the December 2 local government election is politically motivated.

He said there is no doubt the intention is to manipulate undecided voters as this is an old issue.

“The rationale for the release of this information at this point in time is purely politically motivated. If this information was valid many years ago, then it would have been released many years ago,” Ramsamooj said.

National Security Minister Stuart Young has called for criminal investigation, charging that the PP gave access to SCL to the country’s telecommunications servers to build files on potential voters.

Ramsamooj noted SCL was a political corporation which “grew up in the Caribbean 20 years ago and was responsible for directly and indirectly for a number of prime ministers to win office and a number of politicians to lose office in the Caribbean.

“So the SCL group is nothing new to Caribbean politics. It may be new or now being put in the public space by persons who are maturing in the politics.

“The intention at this point in time, really and truly, must be towards manipulating the undecided voters in certain marginal polling divisions.”

Ramsamooj saw some level of political fallout happening as a result.

He and Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal spoke on CNC3 on Wednesday night.

Newsday spoke to Moonilal, who agreed with Ramsamooj that the reintroduction of CA into the news was purely political.

“No member of the UNC had any institutional relationship, contract or any procurement of goods and services with that company,” Moonilal said.

He said after all this time it was scandalous that the Dr Keith Rowley administration had not one iota of evidence except a Netflix documentary and a book as proof that any member of the former government was involved with CA in this way.

Moonilal promised to address the issue on a political platform in Claxton Bay on Thursday night.