-Rohee clears air about financial contributions from Brian Tiwari

“NOT to this PPP! Not that I know of!” was the response of General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, regarding financial contributions made to the party by businessman Brian Tiwarie at last year’s general elections.

Tiwarie and former President Donald Ramotar have been in several tit-for-tat exchanges via letters to the editor published in the local media over the past several days.

Speaking at a press conference at Freedom House yesterday, Rohee said he was not aware of the exchanges made between the former president and the businessman, but he knows that the press is having a field day as the exchanges take place.

“The press is being given a lot of juicy tidbits,” Rohee observed.

Calling it unfortunate that the situation arose in which “the name of the former president is being bandied around,” Rohee said, “Maybe there are more letters to come.”

He said that since becoming general secretary of the party, he has not been informed of any financial contributions made to the PPP by Tiwari. Rohee said he knows of “some people” who contributed to the Opposition party since he became its general secretary.

Regarding an excerpt from Tiwari’s missive to the former president prior to last May’s elections, Rohee said, “Many people are born Catholics, but they don’t go to church.”

On the issue of campaign financing, he said the issue was active some time ago under the PPP administration, when an inter-parliamentary committee met at the then Office of the President. He said it was one of the issues discussed at the time. He noted, however, that political parties tend to be “shy and bashful” regarding their financial support mechanisms. He said attempts were made to move the issue, but the political parties paid no interest in the matter.

In the latest exchange between Ramotar and Tiwari, the former head-of-state informed that he is not his brother’s keeper. Tiwari, Managing Director of BK International, accused the former president of corrupt practices in which Ramotar’s brother benefited.

Last week, Tiwari called on Ramotar to explain why the PPP, while in government, sold to his (Ramotar’s) brother three barges and one tug for a price below $20M. The former president said the businessman made allegations against his brother in ‘Mafiosi style’.