Oropouche East MP, Roodal Moonilal, has denied claims by the Prime Minister, that the Opposition Leader and the UNC were scaring away investors from the Petrotrin refinery deal.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said much of what the Opposition Leader said at her Monday Night Forum were lies designed to damage the country and, he warned, could have grave consequences.
“If as a result of this behaviour Patriotic (Energies and Technologies) lose their partners in any way and are not able to continue as we expect and we do not get the refinery started, it will be a continuation of a refinery being closed down,” he said.
However Moonilal defended his leader, saying that in her role as opposition leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar was entitled to raise issues in the public domain especially when it involved billions.
He said “The matter has gone to the third empire, what could endanger the deal any further. The Opposition Leader cannot undermine any deal where there is transparency and upfront knowledge.”
As for the Prime Minister’s claim that the UNC was trying to undermine the Petrotrin sale, just as they did the Sandals Hotel deal, Moonilal said “The Sandals deal collapsed because it was shrouded in secrecy. It was shrouded in a lot of secret deals, and there was no understanding in the Parliament. If this deal is anything like that, it doesn’t speak well for the future,”
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