Look at these corrupt, incompetent thieves cannot even run the nation's affairs and the talking about the bridge financing.  If it was "criminal", then bring charges you fools.

The investment was made with government funds so that the private investors would gain maximum profit from a meagre investment on their part.

Please provide source for this assertion that the government knew that this was essentially a Ponzi scheme. 

The investment was made with the hope that it will realize a profit to the BIS. How is this criminal. This is a stretch by the minister. Look how many governments and citizens invested in CLICO. Look what is happening to the stock market. Lots of pension money is invested there.  The mismanagement of the economy and the NIS und the PNC dictatorship is now going to cause problems because many of the people who entered the work force during the dictatorship are now starting to collect their benefits.

The investment was made with the hope that it will realize a profit to the BIS. How is this criminal. This is a stretch by the minister. Look how many governments and citizens invested in CLICO. Look what is happening to the stock market. Lots of pension money is invested there.  The mismanagement of the economy and the NIS und the PNC dictatorship is now going to cause problems because many of the people who entered the work force during the dictatorship are now starting to collect their benefits.

It is not as simple as that. You cannot put all your eggs - let alone the eggs of the country's pensioners - in one basket. CLICO was one basket. Yes, I say invest on stock market as an individual. I do it and my returns are quite handsome. But if you are in charge of the people's pensions you cannot put it all in one basket. You've got to find a fund that max returns and min risk. It was indeed reckless, although not criminal. The problem with you Indos like Baseman is you feel all it takes to run a country is to be a good hustler, huckster and smuggler. It turns out that things like investing require nuff nuff nuff book sense and market research. Aluh screw up NIS...and imperil the welfare of the poor. Then again...that is criminal!!

How do you rate the risks of a Govt back-stop national infrastructure, basically backed by the nation's taxpayers?  If it's criminal, then a law was broken so make the case in court. 

Regarding baseman and huckster/hussler, well tell me how datt wuk, have no clue except seeing "Cheap-Street".  If I remember well, "hucksteering" rise under the PNC.

A good investment approach is based on spreading your risk, diversifying your pOrtfolio. That is why mutual funds have blossome. Obviously, the government will be a lender of last resort, so there is that security. Additionally, what figures do we have to show that the portfolio was not diversified? The NIS did not go bankrupt when Clico collapsed so there was some diversification. The NIS was not the only institutional investor that suffered losses. Was it reckless? We need more info to address this question.

LOL! Same thing ah sey!! Jagdeo teach aluh good...just say or write something...whether nonsense the masses will not get it. Just mek nuff noise.

It was reckless, period!!! CLICO is one company...one company cannot be a diversified portfolio...

Was Clico the only company that NIS invested inIf so,,then you are correct it was reckless. How diversified was the NIS portfolio?

NIS invests largely in T-Bills and then Clico. I am not saying don't seek higher returns, but not a single company. They need to look at the Singapore model of using social security funds for industrial development. Lee Kwan Yew mastered this policy and made it into an art form.

So there was some spreading if risk. Was there no regulation in place regarding what percentage of assets could be invested in one vehicle? Somewhere, I heard about a limit. The Singapore experience was a good one but I am unsure whether the same could have worked for Guyana. The population base is small therefore economies of scale. If we are talking industrial development for the export market, this is more risky with a period of no or very low ROI in the short term. Many people invest in mutual funds and like vehicles thinking that they will be sheltered in a downturn. Obviously, this does not apply to this case because the investors were seeking the higher return. I still think that we need to know what percentage of assets was invested in Clico.

It is not about the caps or that the individual exceeding them should be sanctioned but the fact that individual, Geeta Singh was rewarded with a spot on GUYSUCO board and she is also on the Berbice river board where by the way they again covered up for her by making NIS absorb her debt (by financial slight of hand) at CLICO. This is PPP corruption to which most of those prattling about APNU corruption ( fictive at the moment) never commented on.

Berbice Bridge, CLICO investments were “criminal” – Finance Minister

– NIS lost US$9M as a result; Consolidated Fund may have to rescue scheme from drowning in losses

By Kiana Wilburg

The business of the National Assembly was wrapped up yesterday afternoon, with Finance Minister Winston Jordan reading the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill for the second time and it was passed.

But since he was on the issue of tax, Jordan felt it necessary to speak about the state of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), with particular reference to the investments made by the company into CLICO and the Berbice River Bridge during the rule of the People’s Progressive Party Civic.

The Finance Minister said that the billion-dollar investments into those two entities have “hurt us all”. He described them as being rather “reckless” investments, but said that it is even beyond this. His colleagues on the eastern side of the House suggested to him, a more fitting term. They told him, “It’s not reckless, it’s criminal.”

To this Jordan retorted, “Yes I like that word, criminal. It was indeed criminal.”

The Finance Minister said that when Guyanese make their contributions to NIS, it is expected that during times of difficulty and old age, that money would be there to assist. He said that it is expected that NIS would be prudent with its investments, especially with taxpayers’ resources which are faithfully contributed every month.

“So Mr. Speaker, all of us were hurt at the reckless investment by NIS into CLICO resulting in the impairment of over $5.6B. Between 2009 to now, NIS has lost $1.8B and if this was not criminal enough, NIS again made another suspect investment into the Berbice Bridge of nearly $1B to which they are still to collect income on,” Jordan said.

He added, “So essentially, NIS is now in the position where it is eating into its capital to make even the minimal benefits to its contributors. This cannot continue…We will have to move swiftly and come up with a strategy, and it won’t be easy. That approach includes entrenching in NIS, mechanisms to ensure it can never again do anything as reckless as this. ”

Members on the Government’s side slammed their desks in approval.

The Finance Minister continued, “We don’t want the scenario that when we are ready for our benefits we can’t get it, and actually that is the situation now because it continues to lose. It can’t give full benefits and I believe that the Consolidated Fund at the end of the day may be asked to make good on this loss”.

But Jordan’s statements apparently incensed Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo. Jagdeo could not resist the temptation of taking the floor to defend the investments made into the two companies under the PPP.

He accused the Finance Minister of using the time allotted to read a Bill to score political points. The Opposition Leader then attacked the contents of the 2015 budget which was passed on Friday last, and even sought to bring the integrity of the Finance Minister into question with various accusations.

Jagdeo then called for a debate on the matter after what seemed to be his budget debate presentation—Part two. But Jordan refused to respond to Jagdeo and his allegations.

“I said what I had to, but I did enjoy the honourable opposition leader,” the Finance Minister uttered while ending his statement with a hearty laugh.

Jordan told Kaieteur News that he has no time to enter into any debate with the Opposition Leader. He emphasized that Jagdeo cannot escape the fact that the investments were criminal and that NIS suffered as a result of it.

“I have no desire to give Jagdeo any more prominence than he gets in this honourable House,” Jordan concluded.

As for the Income Tax Bill which seeks to remove the tax levied directly on personal income, the Minister said that this is part of the quest by the coalition government to give a good life to the Guyanese people by “putting back money in their pockets so to speak.”

In explaining how this measure will work, Jordan said, “Let us assume that a person is working for $60,000 at the moment. They will be given a take home of $50,000 a month which leaves chargeable income of $10,000 a month. Now they are asked to pay 30 percent of that chargeable income which is $3000 plus, they will also be asked to pay $3360 a month in NIS contributions. So in essence their take-home pay will be $53,640. When this Bill is passed and the measure goes into effect, the chargeable income of $10,000 will have the NIS contribution deducted and that will leave $6640 and 30 percent of that is $1192, giving this person a take home pay of $54,648.

He said that this means that this person will have a saving or will have extra money in his pocket of $1008 a month or $12,096 a year. This earned him loud applause from members of the House.

He emphasised that this measure takes place this year.

The House then examined the Bill clause by clause and it was subsequently passed.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo thanked House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland for his calm demeanour during the “stormy” budget debate and deliberations.

Quoting Shakespeare, the First Vice President said, “You ‘sat like patience on a monument, smiling at grief.”

Nagamootoo also extended thanks to the staff of the Parliament and the media and finally moved the motion for the Parliament to enter a period of recess for one month.

The House is expected to meet on October 11.

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....al-finance-minister/