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Corbin tables motion to suspend sale
Govt. shares in GT&T…
The leader of the People’s National Congress reform has tabled a motion for debate in Parliament seeking to call on the Government of Guyana to appoint an objective professional group to assess the cost/ benefit to the people of Guyana, of sale versus retention of the 20 per cent of shares held in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).
Robert Corbin
The motion is also seeking to have the House call on the government to suspend the decision to dispose of its shares in GT&T until the review is completed by the appointed professional group.
According to the motion, should the review group recommend that the shares be disposed of, the first option for disposal of these shares should be to the workers of the telephone company. Thereafter a transparent process, to be publicly announced, should be followed for the disposal of the said shares or for such number of the shares not bought by the workers of the company.
According to Corbin, the wholly-owned State Corporation, Guyana Telecommunications Corporation, (G.T.C.), was privatised by the Guyana Government on specific terms, which included the retention by the Government of Guyana of 20 per cent shareholding in the new privatised Company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT& T).
He noted that the said terms of privatisation included provisions for the Government of Guyana to appoint at least one member on the Board of Management of the Company to ensure that the interest of the people of Guyana could be represented and safeguarded.
“Guyana has benefited from the operations of the new Company to the tune of millions of dollars in taxes and dividends from the Company, reported in 2008 to be as high as $1.5B in taxes; $265M in dividends.”
According to Corbin’s motion that was seconded by the party Shadow Finance Minister, Winston Murray, 20 per cent ownership in GT&T did not in any way inhibit or prevent the Guyana Government from permitting other telecommunications and internet operators from doing business in Guyana as is evident from the continued operation of DIGICEL, for several years now in Guyana.
He stated, also, that the retention of Government’s 20 per cent shareholding in GT&T has facilitated a significant stream of revenues in the form of dividends to the people of Guyana, notwithstanding the existence of other competing telecommunication operators in Guyana.
“Notwithstanding this stream of revenue, the Government has announced plans of its intention to dispose of its 20 per cent shares in the GT&T Company. The retention of a 20 per cent shareholding in GT&T cannot or should not affect the implementation of a government’s policy of liberalising the Telecommunications Sector.”
Following his announcement that he would move to the parliament to block the sale, Office of the President subsequently issued a statement to the media which stated that it views with surprise the statement made by the Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin, regarding his party’s reaction to the offer of the Government of Guyana to dispose of its minority 20 per cent shareholding in Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T).
The statement pointed out that officially, the PNCR has not taken a public position on whether it supports the expressed intention of the Government to liberalise the telecommunications sector.
“The administration hopes that there can be no reluctance by the PNCR to identify with the reasoning that led to the decision to liberalise the sector, reasons that include the ability to exploit the social and economic benefits of ICT, benefits that are clearly hamstrung today by the Guyanese/ GT&T licence agreement of 1991, an agreement that was entered into by the then PNCR in Government.”
According to Office of the President, the silence of the PNCR on the matter can only be interpreted as a lack of concern for the citizens of Guyana that would benefit from liberalisation or it could reflect some consideration on the part of the PNCR for the electoral support mooted to have been provided to the party in their repetitive and futile electoral bids since 1992.
OP noted that available records would support the decision of the Government to dispose of the shares as financial returns are miserably poor based on the dividend payments received over time.
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