Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 21, 2016 News
For months, some members of the Government have been harping on the tune that had it not entered
into a US$5M out-of-court settlement with a local construction firm, it would have risked losing double the amount.
The impression given by Government officials was that the company, BK International, filed court proceedings against the Government demanding compensation in the sum of US$10M after it was found that the company’s contract on a multimillion-dollar project was arbitrarily terminated.
To date, such supporting documents cannot be found. And the parties involved have offered little to no help.
Kaieteur News contacted Managing Director of BK International, Brian Tiwarie, on Tuesday last, for a copy of the related documents. Tiwarie said that his assistants were not in office at the time. He said that he could not confirm as well how much in compensation he was “demanding from the Government via the court.”
He skirted the question and asked to be contacted at 10:00 am the following day. Even when this was done, the businessman failed to honour this commitment. He subsequently asked for an extension to do so on Saturday. When contacted this time around, Tiwarie disclosed that he had already travelled to Miami, Florida, since Thursday, and that calls should be made to his office for the document to be uplifted. But even those efforts proved futile.
Attorney General Basil Williams was also contacted for further assistance, but he made it clear that he was not going to cooperate with the newspaper.
The Minister of Legal Affairs said: “I am not going to cooperate with Kaieteur News. Kaieteur News attacks me all the time and I see despite the fact that the ‘chatree’ (Former AG Anil Nandlall) said he gon kill all ah y’all, he is back in y’all good books on the front page attacking me. Unless you can show me a different approach, how could I give you a document with BK matter? And then you try to use the document…So if you disparage me as Attorney General, Chairman of the PNC, wha’ else? Member of Parliament…then y’all come and beg for me to pull back case I had against y’all. I don’t know nothing about BK. Go ask (Minister of) Communities.”
Just a few months ago, it was revealed that Government entered into an out-of-court settlement with BK International, whose management of the Haags Bosch Landfill was terminated, was compensated US$5.7M.
The administration which came to power last year, ending a two-decade reign by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), had vowed to be more transparent than the previous Government.
However, a number of transactions, including this settlement, have been placing them under fire.
BK is said to have close ties to the administration after a falling out with the PPP/C.
According to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, the settlement was “designed” to allow the government to pursue a better project that would see another company managing the landfill site.
Bulkan said it was crucial for Government to move forward with the development of the Haags Bosch Landfill site.
The facility was opened in early 2011, replacing the dumpsite at Le Repentir Cemetery in the city, which had to be closed because of health and capacity reasons.
Under the arrangements, BK was supposed to be paid for every tonne of waste processed.
The matter came to a halt when the administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic on February 27, 2015, terminated BK’s contract for the construction and operations of the landfill. The government said that the company missed deadlines and committed other breaches.
On March 13, 2015, BK through his lawyer, Davindra Kissoon, filed a lawsuit asking the former Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang, to overturn the decision and claimed instead that he was owed hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction and for the daily management of the Eccles site.
Chang ruled that Government was under a public law obligation to afford BK an opportunity of being heard before it made any decision to terminate the contract. He also ruled that BK was entitled to compensation for the works he did in the management of the Haags Bosch site.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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