Why was question disallowed? – Eustace

Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace would like to know why a question he submitted for oral answer in Parliament has been disallowed.{{more}}

“I don’t know what’s the reason why I can’t ask the question!” Eustace said yesterday on his weekly New Times programme on Nice Radio.

The question, which was provided to SEARCHLGHT by the office of the Leader of the Opposition states: “Some members of the Board of the former National Commercial Bank owed substantial monies in millions of dollars to the NCB, including former Chairman Desmond Morgan and Board member Gideon Browne.

Could the Honourable Prime Minister indicate the amount owing at the time of the sale of NCB, and the status of those loans as the end of August 2015?”

According to Eustace, as far as he is aware, the loans have been transferred to “a special service vehicle which is to manage those loans and try get back the money.”

He said to his understanding there were as many as five individuals involved and he would like to know how much of the money has been repaid, if any.

The Opposition Leader, however, vowed to get the information, even though his question has been disallowed in Parliament.

“We will get to the bottom of it,” he stated.

Eustace claimed that many years ago, the Unity Labour Party (ULP) had inquired how many loans members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) had at the National Commercial Bank.

He is now enquiring if the loans to the members of the Board of the former NCB are now with the Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines (BOSVG).

“Or have they been hidden off … to a special little group… a special services vehicle; I don’t know.

“That is our money! It was borrowed from the National Commercial Bank,” Eustace emphasized, adding that the bank is not a ‘Party” bank.

“If, in fact, those loans are millions of dollars and have not been repaid and not serviced properly, I want to know!

“…It is my business to know as the Leader of the Opposition in the country,” he said.

The Opposition Leader lamented that the Government is continuously running a deficit on the current account in the budget, while there are millions of dollars outstanding.

Reiterating that the Government had to borrow $100 million from the Caribbean Development Bank to pay loans owed by Government to the National Commercial Bank, he asked: “What kind of nonsense we dealing with here in the country?

“…The answer would come one way or the other.”

SEARCHLIGHT was unable to reach Speaker of the House of Assembly Hendrick Alexander yesterday for an explanation as to why the question was disallowed, as he was out of the office attending a function. (AS)