Govt considering Unit Trust/FCB merger

The Government is considering a “serious suggestion” that the Unit Trust Corporation be merged with First Citizens Bank, Prime Minister Patrick Manning revealed yesterday. He also disclosed that the UTC Board had re-apppointed Clarry Benn as Executive Director. But the Minister of Finance (who is the Prime Minister) has specified that this appointment be for six months. This gives the company enough time to put  succession arrangements in place, Manning stated, adding that while the Minister of Finance, cannot decide on who the Executive Director is, he can specify a term of office for the office-holder. He said Government was trying to streamline the corporate arrangements before deciding whether the company should go public or be merged with FCB.

Officials at UTC declined comment while FCB’s Larry Howai could not be reached yesterday. Explaining why he sought to limit Benn’s term as Executive Director, Manning stressed that it had nothing to do with politics. He said Government believed that when the time comes for retirement individuals ought to retire, unless there were overriding considerations. Told that Government had persons like Ken Julien, Ken Gordon and others in serious consultancy positions who were over 60, Manning said they were not employed by the State. The Prime Minister declined to comment on the statements made by the Chief Justice, saying that constitution reform was on the agenda and that at the appropriate time Government would consider all the relevant issues, including the comments made by the Chief Justice. He said the law gave the Prime Minister that power over silk and under it change must exist, but it would be considered in the context of constitution  reform.
He said Government would not engage in this reform on a piecemeal basis, but in a comprehensive manner, involving the views of the population. On the question of the inadequacy of resources to the judiciary and the DPP which the CJ raised, Manning said they were not the only departments in that position. “We get constant request for the expansion of staff (from all departments) and not being able to satisfy all those requirements, government must determine what its priorities must be,” he said. Manning, who stated that the Budget would be delivered in early October, said that from October 1 anybody who receives an NIB benefit which is less than $1,000, would have it brought up to that level. The Prime Minister also “put on the table” that OWTU, which said it was interested in employing former Caroni workers, had requested 50,000 acres of Caroni land.

The Prime Minister defended Minister of Health Colm Imbert’s comments in the House of Representatives last Friday in speaking about the death of babies at Mount Hope Hospital. “It is a debate,” he said, adding that sometimes he wondered what people expected of Parliament. He said if a case is put forward by the Opposition, the Government had a responsibility to comprehensively reply. On Government’s bid to get the FTA headquarters, Manning said it now had the votes of 17 countries. It needs 18 to win.