| The new Government has ordered the Board of Directors of several state-owned companies not to conveneMinister of State, Joseph Harmonmeetings or make decisions until the respective Ministers are in place.Confirming that an order was given on Friday, Minister in charge of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, said that the administration decided to halt any possibilities of meetings in light of reports that assets were being removed from State agencies.Reportedly, orders were given to such companies like the Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI) which manages the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, and its parent company, the National Investment and Commercial Investment Ltd (NICIL), the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Oil Company,Wholesale Jerseys, Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Guyana Sugar Corporation and even the Guyana Power and Light Inc. These are but a few of the many companies owned by the state.Several top officials of the previous administration had been sitting on the Boards. In the case of NICIL, the Board members included former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon.At GPL, the Chairman of the Board is Winston Brassington, who is a key figure in NICIL and AHI. GGMC’s Chairman is Clinton Williams.The new administration is reportedly worried that decisions could be taken that could see taxpayers saddled with commitments and deals not necessarily endorsed by Government and by extension, the citizens.NICIL/AHI/GPL’s Head, Winston BrassingtonUnder the previous administration, several deals were inked especially by the controversial NICIL, without the express authority of the National Assembly, These included deals like the Berbice Bridge and even the Marriott Hotel in which billions of taxpayers’ dollars were spent without being authorized.The then Government argued that NICIL although using tax dollars, was a private company.Billions of dollars are reportedly being held by GFC, GGMC, GuyOil, the Guyana Gold Board and NICIL.Recently, GPL reportedly struck a deal with the financially troubled Guyana Sugar Corporation to buy out the Wartsila engines at Skeldon factory. The deal was for US$30M, an indication of the level of monies available in the companies.A few months ago, GGMC had been all set to lend the CH&PA $3B to purchase sugar lands from the Guyana Sugar Corporation. However, the transaction was blocked and later deemed null and void by the court.The coalition has vowed to investigate a number of multi-billion deals inked by the previous administration. |
