The PNM administration was “clearly against” former Central Bank governor Jwala Rambarran from the “very beginning” and is guilty of tarnishing the office of the President to get rid of him.
So said Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie who spoke on the on i95 Showdown programme yesterday.
Acting president Christine Kangaloo had signed off on the dismissal in the absence of President Anthony Carmona who is vacationing overseas.
But Tewarie, who charged that the Government has been less than forthright in the manner in which the matter was handled said, “They were clearly against him (Rambarran) from the beginning before they came into office.
“They asked him to leave and he probably said he would not leave and they decided to make it ‘hot’ for him and eventually they used executive power and the fact of a politically-friendly acting President in order to execute the act which led to the firing of the governor,” Tewarie said.
Criticising the “use” of Kangaloo to fire Rambarran, Tewarie said this has now created a situation which has tarnished executive authority and power by the Government’s refusal to show restraint.
“They have tarnished the Presidency by using it politically. They have in fact undermined an institution which is supposed to be independent.
“If they were straightforward and clear and say what they were going to do I think it would have been more acceptable but it was clear they were against him,” Tewarie added.
He also knocked members of the business sector who openly criticised Rambarran for identifying some of the major users of foreign exchange.
“I don’t think the private sector and the Chamber of Commerce can say they are entitled to certain secrets and I don’t see why if the pool of foreign exchange belongs to the people of T&T that we cannot know who is using up the foreign exchange,” Tewarie said.
He said by Rambarran’s singling out the Forex users this “lay bare” the structural problems of this country’s economy.
“The Prime Minister has also said that he wants to know where the foreign exchange is going before he puts more foreign exchange into the system.
“There were also rumours going about...people were saying the People’s Partnership was involved in the manipulation of foreign exchange having to do with their friends, that there was Syrian Mafia....that there was a little cartel that was exchanging the foreign exchange...people were saying that the (former) governor of the Central Bank was inept. All of these things proved to be false with the revelation and in some ways he has done us a favour,” Tewarie said.
In a two-page media release subsequently issued by Rambarran, he said two days before his appointment was revoked he met with Finance Minister Colm Imbert who at that time “had ample opportunity to raise such issues.”
Rambarran, who had also said he had been in contact with his lawyers over what he described as the “complete failure of Cabinet/acting President to abide by due process of law,” signalled his intention to take legal action.
Expressing confidence that Rambarran would be victorious in court, Tewarie said even if this was not the case it did not matter.
“In today’s world of transparency and accountability I really don’t think the Government can say they need to have secrets except for national security reasons,” Tewarie said.
The former central bank governor had also claimed he first learned of his dismissal through electronic media at about 10.30 pm on Wednesday and received official notice of his termination at 6.30 on Christmas Eve, some 20 hours after the news first broke.
Earlier in December, Imbert had criticised Rambarran for announcing that the country was in a recession without first consulting him.
Tewarie said in his limited dealings as former planning minister with Rambarran he found the former governor to be independent in relation to the former PP administration, adding that he was often “at odds” with its previous finance minister.
“That is not unusual. I mean he (Rambarran) was not insolent and he was not at war with the former finance minister but there were instances where they had differences of opinion and I think that might have continued with the PNM, but they were less tolerant and they perhaps felt he was a pawn of the last administration,” Tewarie said.
Bring it on
Acting Attorney General Stuart Young, who also appeared on yesterday’s radio programme, said Rambarran, like every citizen had the right to use the High Court system for redress.
“However, in this instance we have sought appropriate legal advice and we are confident in the action that was taken collectively as a Cabinet and in particular this is an instance where there is no discretion on the part of the President and he or she must act on the advice of the Cabinet with respect to the appointment, revocation or termination of the governor.
“Mr Rambarran has said he intends to approach the court for redress and at this stage we would not be commenting any further. We will just await whatever the future unfolds but in the meantime we do have a country to govern,” Young said.
He also dismissed claims that Rambarran was surreptitiously removed saying, “What you found happening was this was actually the last convened Cabinet for 2015.
“December 23 was the last date in 2015 that the Cabinet would have been sitting so that was the date we deliberated on and took decisions,” Young added.