Govt. inks MoU with ‘Ghost Company’ for US$30M plant

Nov 14, 2013 News

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…Owner says company cannot be found, because it do not put ads on internet

 

By Latoya Giles

The Company, with which Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to set up a US$30 Million recycling plant here, could not be found on any Canadian business registration listings.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon announced the MoU, last week and said that it was a Canadian Company.
That Company was later identified as Natural Globe Inc headed by Mohamed Osman.
When Kaieteur News contacted Osman yesterday seeking clarifications about his company and the fact it could not be found registered in Canada, he claimed that it is in fact registered in Guyana.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud, also claimed when contacted that the company is Guyanese with a Canadian owner.
Osman, by telephone, told Kaieteur News that his company, Natural Globe Inc, was registered in Guyana five years ago.
According to Osman, Natural Globe Inc has a Canadian parent company that has several branches.
He was however unable to give this publication a name for this company, only to say that it operates in Ontario, Canada.
Osman said that ‘Mogford Llc’ is one of the branches under that Canadian parent company. It is the one that is working in collaboration with Natural Globe Inc.
However a search online also failed to unearth any record of this company, Mogford.
When asked about the fact that none of the companies he mentioned can be found on the internet, Osman then said that they do not do any “internet ads.’
He said that this was because his company “uses innovative techniques which persons could steal.”
Osman in the same breath however, agreed that the “internet” was a great business market place. When asked about any other countries in which he has operations, Osman said pointed to the Caribbean but declined to name any specific country.
“I have personnel people working there but I can’t mention too much because I don’t want it blown away,” Osman said.
Meanwhile Local Government Minister, Persaud, told Kaieteur News that he could not say for sure whether Dr Luncheon made a mistake by saying the company was Canadian.
According to the Minister, he does not know if the company is registered in Canada, but he knows that it has a Guyanese registration.
Persaud said that the company is being run by a Canada-based Guyanese.
Questioned about whether any investigation was undertaken by the Ministry into the background of and ability of the Company to undertake what it has promised, Persaud responded that government is “satisfied” with all the information which was submitted by the company.
“We just needed a recycling plant which is in keeping with the needs we outlined,” the Minister said.
The Minister said that he does not know about the technical capabilities of the company, or about its business in Canada.
Ghost Company
Panther Corporation is another Canadian company that had submitted an offer to build a recycling plant but was turned down by Government.
This company is headed by Michael Mosgrove who had offered to pursue a US$26M recycling centre locally, complete with curbside pick-up for less than the garbage collection costs today.
Panther Corporation had also offered the government a Bio diesel section to the facility, but was asked not to include that.
“I’m very disappointed in how the government has concluded to go with a company that has no proven track record or experience….It’s like you’re giving it to a ghost,” said Mosgrove.
Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Mosgrove said that he has read what was reported about the company which signed the MoU and “nothing makes sense.”
According to Mosgrove, it is clear that based on what Mohammed Osman said, “he has no knowledge or experience in recycling.”
Mosgrove said, “He (Osman) speaks about a US$30M plant in Guyana that is expected to service  Georgetown, East Coast Demerara and the East Bank Demerara.
That plant would probably serve around 250,000 persons which is  nowhere close to being a national provider,” Mosgrove explained.
He said that for any company to invest $30M to service such a small market, “something is definitely wrong.”
Mosgrove also noted that Osman did not indicate any information about the type of systems he would be using.
“He (Osman) said he would be making byproducts, but still does not indicate what these byproducts are.”
Mosgrove said another thing that baffled him was the fact that Osman’s company has only ever built a prototype and not a commercial establishment.
“Everything which was said by Osman does not hold merit…it’s more idiotic, but it is unclear why the Ministry did not pick up on this,” Mosgrove opined.
Last year Mosgrove’s Canadian-based recycling company embarked on a project in Jamaica to build the first solar-powered recycling centre representing a multi-billion-dollar investment and the prospect of thousands of jobs being created.
The company invested US$26M to construct and outfit a 30,000 square foot modular facility in Retirement, St James.
With the approval of the St. James Parish council and the Mayor of Montego Bay, Panther signed an MOU with the Parish.
Over the last several months Panther worked with all the parishes to establish a National Recycling Programme.
Although it was taking time, there has been great progress with each and every parish.

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