While Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has praised service to T&T by former Petrotrin chairman, Malcom Jones, he also admitted yesterday the World Gas to Liquids (WGTL) project — done under Jones — had failed.
“It’s accepted without question that WGTL failed and it came to grief... it’s one project that went horribly bad... that isn’t an issue for debate, it’s a clear statement,” Rowley said at yesterday’s weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the PM, St Clair.
Saying Jones had resigned from Government’s Energy Sub-Committee (ESC) since March 23, Rowley said his replacement was one-time People’s National Movement finance minister Wendell Mottley.
Mottley helmed Finance under the 1991-1995 Patrick Manning PNM administration, led the now defunct Citizens Alliance and was a Congress of the People (COP) foundation member.
Rowley claimed word of Mottley’s place in the ESC had emerged after Jones resigned but he said it was now bigger “news” following an Opposition motion last week concerning Jones and the Petrotrin-WGTL issue.
He said Jones was one of two people, Ken Julien being the other, who provided yeoman service in energy development. Having said that, in the area of Petrotrin, he noted WGTL’s failure.
Rowley said the WGTL matter was a “business deal that went bad for a State-owed company.” He added it was one of many projects Petrotrin had entered into and “this one failed.”
He said Jones had been reluctant to serve on the ESC due to health reasons but was persuaded to give input on Petrotrin. He said while some could point to the “spectacular failure of WGTL,” to be fair, one had also to note Jones’ service elsewhere. He said Jones’ resignation was accepted April 8 after a successor was found.
He criticised Opposition “persecution” of Jones and rubbished the Opposition’s claim of a Government deal with Niquan.
Saying the People’s Partnership case against Jones lacked witnesses or witness statements, Rowley said the PNM would not “slavishly” follow the case against Jones. He also said a receiver for WGTL was being paid “millions” and Government had to halt that.
A proposal for Petrotrin to deal with it was being finalised, he added. Rowley said Petrotrin had payments coming in 2019 which were an issue. He said he asked Mottley to join the ESC since he brought the kind of skill Government required and “when it’s done, we know it will be done well as he has a record of excellence.”
Rowley also said Mottley was heading Government’s negotiating team on the proposed Sandals Tobago project. He said the team included Terrence Farrell, Rolph Balgobin, Michael Small, Glen Lashley, Finance and THA representatives. He said a site was identified. He said Sandals was being sought since its brand name would benefit Tobago tourism which desperately needed brand name hotels.
He must explain fiasco—Roodal
Malcolm Jones’ resignation from Government’s Energy standing committee is not the end of the WGTL matter and he must explain its circumstances and how $3 billion of taxpayers’ funds were lost in this under his Petrotrin tenure, says Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal.
Last week in Parliament, Moonilal had slammed Jones over the WGTL issue during a motion of no confidence against the Attorney General over the latter’s move in March to have Petrotrin discontinue legal proceedings started by the PP administration against Jones on the WGTL matter.
Yesterday, Moonilal said he did not feel Jones’ resignation was a vindication. He added: “He has taken a conscious decision to escape the limelight to avoid accountability but ‘Jones 34,’ as this matter will henceforth be known, lives on and before he hides from the public limelight he must account.
“His resignation isn’t to gain honour but to hide from the scandal. I will continue to use the Parliament to highlight this as his resignation raises more questions than provides answers.
“One of the questions is that when the AG and ‘assistant AG’ (Stuart Young) spoke on the motion last Friday, neither informed the Parliament Jones had resigned since March. This is mysterious.”
OWTU head Ancel Roget also said yesterday the situation did not end with Jones’ resignation since he must account for his failure at Petrotrin.