Rowley: NGC a cash cow for UNC, not PNM

THE Prime Minister has lashed back at the United National Congress (UNC) for accusing it of using the $40 billion National Gas Company (NGC) as a "cash cow."

He said it was the UNC which milked the company, pointing out that between 2012 and 2015, the UNC took out $16 billion from the NGC as dividends at a time when the oil price was at its highest and there was no cash flow problem.

He recalled the election year 2015, under the tenure of former finance minister Larry Howai, when $6.8 billion was taken out, and money was being splurged on contracts, he said, including a multi-million-dollar contract for a television advertisement asking what happiness was.

Speaking from his constituency during a live political meeting of the People’s National Movement (PNM) on Tuesday and carried online, Rowley said the happiness, “was the UNC undermining the ability of the NGC to deal with its future.”

At a recent UNC news conference, MP David Lee accused the Government of treating the NGC as a cash cow.

Saying his party had stayed away from public meetings because of the pandemic, Rowley used the PNM platform to counter the claims.

He said with oil prices dropping significantly low during his tenure, with the state owning the NGC, which was making a profit, it took dividends every year from the company into the budget.

He used a graph to show the company's profit-making record up until 2020.

“This is the year 2020, in a pandemic, when we had to find billions of dollars to feed you, to keep you in your job, to pay form medicine, to pay for vaccines.

“While we are doing that, you have to listen to David Lee accusing us of all manner of evil, and they want an enquiry into NGC and they want an enquiry into the LNG business."

Maybe there should be an enquiry, he contended, pointing out that, “From a normal arrangement of taking out a reasonable amount from the profits from the company of a few hundred million a year, in 2012 time, a billion or more was taken out of the NGC as dividends."

In 2013 and again in 2014, he said the sum taken out was $4.2 billion and in the election year of 2015, $6.8 billion was withdrawn.

“Between the period 2012 and 2015 they took out $16 billion from the NGC as dividends.

“Larry Howai was the one who oversaw the LifeSport programme, that was supposed to cost $9 million and ended up at $400 million. So when David Lee talking about cash cow and NGC in the same sentence, he knows what he is talking about.”

He out expressed outrage at UNC claims his administration was raiding the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) without accountability and transparency.

“The HSF was put in place by the Manning administration from the earnings of the NGC. That is how the HSF was created, and when we got into a pandemic, and even before, with what was happening with the earning from oil and gas, the Minister of Finance was taking out, every year, some money from the interest, not touching the capital.”

He said thankfully the assets from abroad were doing well and even though things at home were difficult, the government had been prudently taking out what was needed to the extent that the fund is now larger and growing while the country keeps going.

“It was quite all right for the UNC to raid $16 billion in four years from the NGC and to do that with aplomb and without questions from us – and they want to question us now?

“We are in a pandemic, into its second year. What are we to do, work a miracle and feed you with five loaves and two fishes?”

Pointing out that it was strange there was gas for LNG Trains 2, 3 and 4, but not for Train 1, in which Trinidad and Tobago had a ten per cent interest, he said the big players want the NGC out of the way so they could get more profits. TT also has an 11 per cent share in Train 4.

He said Government has stood up for the TPL – "These People Lucky" – party to which all citizens of TT belong and are involved in very serious discussions to ensure this country and its people are best served.