Discussion on the 10th Parliament with Hamley Case, Clarissa Riehl and Aubrey Norton
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Berbice Bridge Company Inc. – 2011 profit increase – continued
Introduction
The serious limitations and late presentation of the audited financial statements of the Berbice Bridge Company Company Inc. and its annual returns have been pointed out before. The response of the directors and the auditors has been silence. Yet as long as the issues continue, and despite the hubris and arrogance of the directors, these shortcomings must be exposed and pursued. Once again, the disdainful conduct of the company was on full display this past week when I wrote Mr. Keith Evelyn the company’s Chairman a letter, copied to the Company Secretary Mr. Steven Rambajan, requesting access to certain records of the company. That access is a right of any person under section 194 of the Companies Act. It took the company a full week to respond with a masterpiece of which no paraphrasing can do justice. I therefore quote the text of the company secretary’s response dated September 25 but faxed to me on September 27.
BBCI acknowledges receipt of your letter dated September 23 addressed to the Chairman, and the request contained therein.
The company has noted that your letter did not allow the privilege of a proper reason or rationale behind this unusual request.
Accordingly, I am writing to inform you that the Board would be happy to consider your request objectively should you be able to give proper justification for your request, stating what meaningful objective can be achieved by this exercise; especially given that BBCI has in place internal controls, external auditors, and is subject to the Berbice Bridge Act No. 3 of 2005.
Upon receipt of a satisfactory response, the request would be put to the Board for consideration.”
Yours sincerely,
[Signed] Secretary/Accountant
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Plain Talk: Guyana Prize for Literature 2013
Discussions with Professor Jane Bryce, Chairperson of the Panel of Judges; and
Ruel Johnson and Mosa Mathifa Telford, 2013 Prize Winners.
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Security firm paying less than the minimum wage
I refer to Mr Mohamed Akeel’s letter in the Stabroek News of September 20, 2013 ‘It seems as if total confusion surrounds the National Minimum Wage Order’ which suggests that the matter may not be entirely and satisfactorily resolved. I do not wish to add to that debate and have raised through the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and other channels questions concerning what I consider a highly commendable piece of legislation. I believe that the government should take those concerns into account and forestall any action that could, in any way, affect the operationalization of the Order.
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Berbice Bridge Company Inc. – 2011 profit increase
Introduction
Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) was incorporated on April 1, 2005 under the Companies Act 1991. On January 31, 2006 then President Jagdeo assented to the Berbice River Bridge Act making provision for a privately financed Berbice River Bridge and conferring regulatory authority over the company to the Minister of Public Works. In the exercise of that power, the government signed a Concession Agreement with BBCI for the construction and operation of the Bridge. And by Order No. 42 of 2008 the Government granted to BBCI, among other things, a twenty-one year concession beginning on June 12, 2006 and expiring on June 11, 2027.
It is of course interesting that while the Act was passed in 2006 the company was incorporated on April 1, 2005. The process was then led by Bharrat Jagdeo and Winston Brassington who, like true salesmen, made all kinds of public and generous commitments. And like true politicians changed their stories about costs, revenues and investors in response to demands for more and better information.
The Concession Agreement referred to above contains what I call the “Brassington clause”. This clause binds all persons engaged in the design, construction, development and operation and maintenance of the Bridge to deal with all information in the Concession Agreement as secret and confidential. You would not think for a moment that this was about a monopoly operator granted exclusive control of a principal part of possibly the country’s second most important waterway and which by law is designated a Toll Bridge.
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