The Private Sector Commission in a statement issued on Wednesday, December 11, stated that \u201cAs far as we are aware, the Government directly or indirectly has no investment in, or liability relating to, the [Berbice River] bridge at this time.\u201d This is mindboggling ignorance given all the public revelations and exchanges over the Bridge Company\u2019s ownership and performance.<\/p>\n
The ownership structure of the company is made up of ordinary share capital of $400 million and preference shares of $950 million. The holders of the ordinary shares are NIS, New GPC, Queens Atlantic and Secure International Finance Company each having $80 million each, and Hand-in-Hand and Demerara Contractors each holding $40 million.<\/p>\n
What this means is that the Government, inclusive of the NIS, owns 76% of the issued shares of the company. Apparently, the PSC\u2019s awareness, or lack thereof, also does not extend to knowing that NICIL, a government agency, owns what is called a Special Share in the company. The Articles of Amendment of the company expressly provide that in respect of specified matters, \u201cno action can be taken by the [Bridge] Company, without the affirmative vote of the holder of the Special Share.\u201d And because the PSC claims not to know that the Government has this $950 million investment in the Bridge Company, it does not need to address the illegality of NICIL granting the Bridge Company an annual subsidy of around $110 million of dividends forgone.<\/p>\n
When purporting to speak for the private sector, the PSC is expected to be a little more careful with facts. Failure to do so may not embarrass those who cause such statements to be made but reflects poorly on the rest of the private sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Private Sector Commission in a statement issued on Wednesday, December 11, stated that \u201cAs far as we are aware, the Government directly or indirectly has no investment in, or liability relating to, the [Berbice River] bridge at this time.\u201d This is mindboggling ignorance given all the public revelations and exchanges over the Bridge Company\u2019s … <\/p>\n