Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 20, 2014 News
– Nagamootoo expresses hope in new chairman’s management skills in pulling company out of bankruptcy
While the political opposition coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has already signaled
that it is highly unlikely that it would further support government’s usual requests for bailout money for the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), its colleague, the Alliance For Change (AFC), is reluctant to take this course.
In fact, According to Moses Nagamootoo, the AFC’s Vice Chairman, his party does not take a dogmatic approach when it comes to an entity which employs hundreds and as such he would be hesitant in stating definitively that it would withhold further support for more bailout money.
The Opposition, particularly, the APNU’s financial spokesman Carl Greenidge had slammed the composition of the GuySuCo Board of Directors which features “a few old members” and the recently appointed Shaik Baksh, who is currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Inc (GWI).
He had said that GuySuCo has been badly wounded by poor financial management, ill-informed investment decisions, conflict of interest and corruption at the point of procurement.
The former finance minister opined too that the roots of these problems lie at the interface of Government, its Board of Directors and Management.
Greenidge doubts that the Board’s new chief and old members will do much, if anything, to improve the company’s performance.
He said that if one seriously considers the poor performance of the past members and the ‘questionable’ history of its new Chairman, then the supposedly new team can in no way be seen as credible enough to ensure the revival of the state-owned company.
But his sentiments are in stark contrast to that of the AFC’s Vice Chairman who expressed optimism and confidence in Baksh’s appointment.
Asked at a recent press conference if he feels confident that the “new board” can help the company in a most needed turn around, he said, “When you have a corporation that is existing with a begging bowl as part of its industrial feature, there is no way you can use the word confidence. I don’t think we could say that GuySuCo has a clean bill of health because it is a heavily indebted corporation.”
However, “Baksh brings to the board considerable experience in the management of corporations such as GWI and Guyoil. From a managerial point of view, an academic perspective and having been a lecturer at the University of Guyana on management, I believe he would pay attention to the figures and that’s important to a company where the figures continue to get worse. I believe that his appointment could be an indication that attempts would be made to rein the company back from bankruptcy.”
Though he expressed hope in Baksh’s appointment, the tinkering of a new head, he said, is not enough to guarantee a turnaround.
“When everything is taken into consideration, we would insist that there needs to be a forensic audit of all monies given to GuySuCo so we can know how monies were used for the rehabilitation and diversification of the industry,” the politician added.
Greenidge had contended that the PPP regime has no intention of tackling the main reasons for the GuySuCo crisis.
The President, he reminded, undertook to appoint a Board that is professional, competent and charged ultimately with improving the financial situation of the company but has not done so.
“In light of this and indeed of all the foregoing, the PPP Government should harbour no illusions about the likelihood of Parliamentary support of future requests for funds for Guysuco,” The Parliamentarian had expressed.
Nagamootoo however said, “Any support to GuySuCo will be done on a needs basis and based on how past allocations have been spent. We gave a bailout to the tune of about $17B but we have not had an account of where the money went and we want to know how much went to sugar workers’ welfare and anything to do with the security of their employment.”
As it relates to the new chairman, Greenidge had pointed to his “sordid history” and contended that he is too closely associated with some major corruption scandals to be deemed credible and a changed agent for the kind of new directions needed by GuySuCo.
“On his watch, there was a billion dollar scam involving outdated books for the Ministry of Education exposed by Bohlan Boodoo, a book supplier, a matter cited in the Auditor General’s 2010 report. Furthermore, who can forget, for example, the hilarious but embarrassing performance he put on with Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh at the press conference in 2012 to defend contracts awarded to a company for the procurement of school computers. By his own admission, not one, but 38 contracts had been awarded to a company before that company existed and while one of its Directors was 16 years old,” the APNU Parliamentarian asserted.
He added that these State boards are seen by the PPP as a refuge or sinecures for loyal servants.
The politician added, “Some have had to be moved from elsewhere as a result of unsatisfactory or embarrassing performance. Thus, the most obvious characteristic feature of the membership is that almost to a man/woman it reflects the re-cycling of cronies.”
Greenidge said that obviously the PPP regime has no intention of tackling the main reasons for the GuySuCo crisis.
“The poor performance of the company, its board and management are not a coincidence. It is self inflicted and arises in part from reckless and socially irresponsible behaviour. In one swoop, over less than 20 years the board has managed, no doubt at the prompting of the PPP, to create a de facto homogeneity that is dysfunctional and poisonous,” the politician concluded.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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