La Horquetta/Talparo MP Foster Cummings has hired attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to investigate who gave an Express reporter his personal financial information.
Cummings said he took note of the news items about him, including what had been said on the UNC platform. He added that “relevant letters” would be sent to members of the UNC and others.
Speaking at a People’s National Movement town meeting at the La Horquetta/Talparo constituency office, Daisy Voisin Crescent, Phase II carpark, La Horquetta on Tuesday night, he said he will continue to serve with transparency and honesty.
“I came into politics as an established businessman, proud of what I work for, and no UNC or no UNC operative is going to try to take my name from me,” Cummings said.
Questions have been raised by a media outlet recently about a $14.5M commercial loan granted to Cummings by Venture Credit Union in 2017.
He also spoke of his work as Minister including the launch of A Music Production and Life Skills Initiative for Youth Development, the National Leadership Training Programme, Youth Agricultural Homestead Programme, the Alternative Learning and Life-Skills Enhancement Training Programme and more.
Cummings said: “We not interested in bacchanal. We are interested in planning for the future, development of TT through our greatest resource, the young people of this country!”
His Parliamentary Colleague Camille Robinson-Regis, later told the meeting she was there to defend “my friend and colleague,” saying the media should be more responsible in their reporting.
Laying out details of Cummings’s loan, she said it was a debt consolidation loan dated Nov 30, 2017.
She said the collateral proffered for the loan included four pieces of land, shares in a credit union, contracts from the HDC, a life insurance policy, accounts receivable from MTS, and a fishing facility.
Robinson-Regis said, “Foster put his life on the line to take that loan. Let me tell y’all something ladies and gentlemen, Cummings repaid this loan before he was appointed a minister of government.
“And why y’all feel Foster was vilified so? I don’t want to say Foster is a ‘blank man,’ but I feel blank man have something to do with Foster being vilified. Then again, if I say blank man, y’all know I really mean black man,” Robinson-Regis said.