00:00Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besasa has launched another scathing attack on the People's National Movement,
00:06this time over its opposition to the government's plans to divest several loss-making state enterprises.
00:13Using lake asphalt as an example, the Prime Minister claims that almost $280 million in the company's cash reserves
00:20was depleted during the PNM's 10 years in office.
00:24Irvishi Tiwari Rupnurain reports.
00:26The Prime Minister is defending her government's plans to divest loss-making state enterprises,
00:32accusing the PNM of presiding over the financial deterioration of several state-owned companies.
00:39In a strongly worded statement, Kamala Pesad-Besasa singled out Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago,
00:45claiming the company's financial position deteriorated dramatically under the previous administration.
00:50She declared, quote,
01:02Citing a report she says was submitted to the government by the Board of Lake Asphalt,
01:06the Prime Minister claimed the company had a cash balance of $279.34 million in September 2015
01:15when the UNC left office.
01:17But by September 2025, when the new UNC-appointed board took over,
01:23she said that balance had dwindled to just $3,400.
01:29Pesad-Besasa claimed the company was now bankrupt,
01:32blaming what she described as 10 years of PNM mismanagement.
01:36She also pointed to a significant decline in the company's asset value.
01:40According to the figures provided by the Prime Minister,
01:43Lake Asphalt's assets fell from $399.47 million to $229.8 million over the same period,
01:53a reduction of approximately $169 million.
01:57Retained earnings also reportedly declined from $173.96 million to just $1.37 million.
02:07The Prime Minister further alleged that the previous board paid a foreign company
02:12$21 million Trinidad and Tobago dollars,
02:14or approximately $3 million U.S. dollars for bitumen that was never delivered.
02:19She offered no further details in the statement about that transaction.
02:24But Pesad-Besasa maintained,
02:25government revenues must be used to benefit law-abiding, honest citizens.
02:30It should not be used to provide welfare to failing state-run businesses.
02:35She also accused the PNM of opposing divestment
02:38to preserve what she characterized as political patronage within state enterprises,
02:44saying,
02:44The government will divest loss-making state enterprises.
02:48They will not be left for PNM to thief out for years to come.
02:53The Prime Minister's accusations come amid opposition
02:57to the government's proposed divestment program,
02:59which includes several state-owned assets and enterprises.
03:03The financial figures and allegations cited by Pesad-Besasa
03:06have not been independently verified in this report,
03:09and the PNM's response to the latest accusations
03:12was not included in the statement.
03:14Our Vishita Maury, Ruknarain, TV6 News.
03:17The Prime Minister advises those employed at state enterprises
03:20to be divested by the government that,
03:24Divestment is the best way to ensure that they keep their jobs in the long term.
03:28The state cannot continue funding these loss-making enterprises
03:32with taxpayer dollars,
03:33so private sector investment and management
03:36will be needed to make them profitable.
03:38End quote.
03:39Prime Minister Kamala-Pesad-Besasa further said,
03:42quote,
03:43The alternative to divestment is bankruptcy and closure.
03:46The government will work with all investors
03:48to ensure that hard-working employees will be treated fairly.
03:53End quote.
03:54Well, that story brings us to tonight's PeopleMeter question.
03:57We're asking you,
03:58Do you agree with government's decision
04:01to divest loss-making state enterprises?
04:06To vote,
04:07text down so no to the number 766-4886 or 766-4TV6.
04:11We will bring you the results
04:13at the end of this newscast.
