After months of silence, former head of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) Harry Harnarine yesterday responded to statements by Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira that the Government’s best efforts to help the HCU were thwarted by untruths from the company’s management and the encumbered state of its assets.

Harnarine called on any Member of Parliament to ask that Nunez-Tesheira be brought before the Privileges Committee for her statements about the HCU last week.

Harnarine was joined by the HCU Depositors and Shareholders Group at a press conference at the company’s office on the Chaguanas Main Road, Chaguanas.

The shareholders are calling for the company’s assets to be divested.

Nunez-Tesheira’s statements came after a motion filed by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, where he called on the Government to move immediately to protect HCU shareholders and depositors from losses.

Addressing the motion in Parliament last Friday, where a number of HCU members were in the public gallery, Nunez-Tesheira said:

’That the Government, having been approached by the HCU for financial assistance, offered to buy a number of the company’s properties but found them to be highly encumbered.

Harnarine responded yesterday: ’Contrary to what is being perpetrated on the public, the HCU is not in debt and its assets are not highly mortgaged.’

Producing several letters from the period recalled by Nunez-Tesheira, Harnarine said the company approached the Government for financing up to $71 million.

No agreement was reached when he received a brief letter that he said was from Nunez-Tesheira and was dated April 25, 2008.

Harnarine said the letter indicated that there was no agreement by the Ministry of Finance to provide funding for the HCU.

Harnarine said: ’We were never under the impression that an agreement had been reached, so I don’t know where the minister got that from. That’s the extent of it, so we also don’t understand her statements in Parliament.’