Prime Minister Patrick Manning has come out in full support of Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, who has been facing calls for her resignation over a conflict of interest issue in relation to Government's bailout of CL Financial.
"I want to reaffirm the confidence that I had in the Minister of Finance when she was first appointed to that position and until such time as something happens to cause me to want to change that, then the status quo remains," Manning said during a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's yesterday.
In fact, Manning told reporters that he had already made up his mind where the controversy was concerned, adding Nunez-Tesheira is scheduled to make a statement on the matter in the Parliament tomorrow.
"When the Finance Minister addresses the Parliament on Friday, then you are free to come to your own conclusions in the same way that I will. Indeed I already have... that's a private matter for the time being. Let's await the Minster of Finance's statement," Manning said.
He did not, however, say what his conclusion was or answer any questions on whether he felt Nunez-Tesheira's shareholding in CL Financial posed a conflict of interest.
Instead, he claimed Nunez-Tesheira is the victim of a long-standing smear campaign by the Opposition, of which he himself has been a target.
"It's the same game. It was me at one stage. It was (Government Minister) Dr Saith at another stage. It is Mrs Tesheira today and I have no doubt it will be others in the future... So we understand it well and we are going to deal with it appropriately," Manning said.
Manning had originally called the news conference to announce his four-day trip to six Latin American countries ahead of the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
The first question Manning faced, however, was whether Nunez-Tesheira will resign her Cabinet post, but he said he would address that question "after we address the Fifth Summit of the Americas".
It was when Manning eventually took questions on the controversy on Nunez-Tesheira that he announced she would be making a statement on the matter during tomorrow's sitting of the House of Representatives.
"Until such time I will suggest that we hold our fire as it were, let us get all the facts before we make any further comments. I for one don't propose to comment any further on the matter at this time," Manning said.
But it was when the Express asked Manning to comment on the criticisms of Opposition MPs and others about the allegations against Nunez-Tesheira, in the context of the need for the Government to be transparent in its actions, he said he was the target of an Opposition strategy to hold back his administration's work.
"So that when an election comes in four years' time and we are asked what have you achieved, then that list is significantly shorter because of the impediments put in our way," Manning said.
He added that this would prevent his administration from being able to give any proper excuse for a lack of performance.
"And people would say then, what the Opposition would say-but you had the power?... Why didn't you do it? You didn't do it because you were incompetent or you were unable to do it-that's the aim you know, that is exactly what is taking place. So it is Mrs Nunez-Tesheira today. I have no doubt it will be somebody else tomorrow," Manning said.
He added: "There are those of you in this audience here who believe Dr Saith owned Trintoplan. Not so? Or those of you who believe that he got debt forgiveness from a bank in relation to a loan he had in South Trinidad. Neither is correct you know."
He then made reference to a claim by Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj that he had sold a car to executed convicted drug lord Dole Chadee.
"Well that ain't true either," Manning said.
He asked reporters yesterday how anyone can come to conclusion on the Minister of Finance since "you haven't heard the other side".
Nunez-Tesheira has said that she inherited her shares in CL Financial from her late husband, Russell Tesheira, and she was not aware she was breaking two CLICO Investment Bank accounts she closed in December before they were due to mature in April and August of this year respectively.
"You haven't heard the other side of the story, have you? And that is fundamental tenet in law. One must hear the other side. You've heard one side, please don't come to premature conclusions," Manning said.
