Rowley warns government: Leave Paria out refinery sale

FORMER prime minister Dr Keith Rowley has warned the government’s plan to reopen the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery could expose taxpayers to new financial losses and potentially lead to private interests gaining control of Paria Fuel Trading Company.

Speaking during a Facebook Live broadcast on November 17, Rowley dismissed claims the refinery was shuttered for political reasons under the former PNM administration. He insisted the closure stemmed solely from the refinery’s untenable financial position.

“We shut down the refinery because our local oil production was too low. We were buying 100,000 barrels of oil per day to refine, and on many instances had to be paid for from the Treasury.”

Rowley said the State is still servicing more than US$400 million in debt tied to oil purchases for the refinery, stressing that Petrotrin had been “bleeding billions of dollars.”

He argued unless the government can demonstrate a credible and sustainable oil supply to make the refinery commercially viable, any arrangement that links its reopening to Paria could be a precursor to private or quasi-private control of the country’s fuel supply.

“Paria is a business that makes over a hundred, even two hundred million dollars. If Paria falls into private hands, the owners of the supply will determine the price you pay for fuel,” he warned.

Rowley accused the government of “actively preparing” such an outcome and urged citizens to remain vigilant.

“I want the population to understand you are giving these people the option to do that. We know what they’re doing, and we are asking them to turn the game somewhere else.”

He also criticised what he described as the government’s “silence” on key details surrounding the refinery proposal.

Turning to First Citizens bank, Rowley said the government is ignoring both the institution’s origins and current risks.

He said First Citizens was established under a PNM administration “on a morning when NCB and Workers’ Bank failed and the government had to intervene” and has since become “one of the outstanding successes in the public sector.”

He claimed the only clear signal from the current administration on First Citizens has been the appointment of chairman Shankar Bidaisee who also chairs Udecott. He noted an article in another newspaper where Bidaisee said First Citizens and Udecott would help drive the government's development agenda.

Rowley discussed a principle from geology – uniformitarianism – to warn that past errors could reoccur. Referencing what he described as a controversy surrounding the UNC-led government’s first sale of First Citizens shares via Initial Public Offering, Rowley said the bank's share price has dropped from $42 to $31. He said the downward trend should command the government’s attention, given the State remains the bank’s majority shareholder and has previously indicated interest in further divestment.

“Who is driving down the shares of First Citizens when the bank’s performance does not warrant that?” he asked. He questioned whether the government would consider selling shares at a diminished value and said the government must restore investor confidence.

“The investing population would want their shares to return and to improve. If First Citizens and Udecott are to play this conflicted role, shareholders are concerned.”

Rowley warned local banks are already heavily leveraged in financing government operations and argued political interference is putting pressure on institutions that had been performing strongly.

Rowley defended his own stewardship of state entities, noting he retained former National Alliance for Reconstruction attorney general Anthony Smart as First Citizens chairman throughout his term, under whose leadership the bank continued to grow.

He said his administration also appointed a former UNC MP to serve as NP chairman, who completed his tenure without controversy.

He closed by reaffirming his intention to remain engaged in national debates.

“I am a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I have not retired from being a citizen, and I have not retired from public discourse.”