Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Police arrest rice milling employees
Police hauled in two staffers of the Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL) after the company reportedly refused to hand over its records to auditors yesterday.
Scores of rice farmers have accused MRL of owing them millions of dollars and have filed at least four court matters.
Recently, Jai Beni, a senior executive of the company who is based overseas, was summoned to Guyana to answer questions over the non-payments which have been blamed on global financial problems.
MRL Officers entering the Mahaicony Police Station yesterday.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Agriculture, in a release, said that officers of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) went down to the MRL headquarters at Spooner, Mahaicony but were told by management there that they were instructed not to hand over the accounting records.
MRL had been refuting the amount of money it owes to rice farmers and GRDB, the regulators of the industry, had indicated its intentions to examine the company’s books to verify the information.
There have been threats of class action law suits by farmers and yesterday, the Minister said that tough actions, in accordance to the law, will follow.
GRDB and the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), the farmers’ body, had announced that free legal help will be given to the latter’s members who want to take the matter to court.
GRDB is using the Rice Factories Act as a basis for examining the company’s records.
The Ministry explained that Manager of MRL, Taramattie Ghani, had on August 31, requested 30 days to make the necessary arrangements to pay farmers. MRL had a deadline of September 1st to pay outstanding monies to farmers.
“After some discussion, the time was granted and a further extension was granted after the Managing Director requested same.”
On Thursday last, MRL was informed that GRDB officers would be visiting the Mahaicony offices of the company and the “necessary books” were to have been made available.
However, the GRDB officers on arriving yesterday, were refused access to the records by the MRL accountant, the Ministry said in its release.
“…The accountant of MRL refused to give such information and inform the GRDB officers that he has instructions that this information should not be given. The Guyana Police Force was summoned and they escorted two MRL staff to the Mahaicony Police Station.
“The investigation will continue and the police requested the Manager of MRL to present herself to the station by tomorrow 08:30 a.m (today).”
The Ministry stressed that GRDB, using the regulations, will insist that MRL makes its books available. GRDB “will continue to work with the Guyana Police Force to examine possible interventions to ensure MRL complies with the law.”
MRL is the country’s largest rice miller, controlling over 40 per cent of the market with facilities in all three counties.
Over the years, the company has been dogged by accusations of non-payments, with authorities even saying that the there are indications that proceeds of the exported rice and paddies were being used to finance other ventures.
Recently, GRDB and the Ministry of Agriculture, were able to strike a deal in which MRL’s rice and paddies would be sold to Venezuela, under a special market arrangement.
The proceeds would have been paid under a special programme to farmers who sold paddy this crop to the company.
With no direct capacity to export, farmers have over the years been forced to sell directly to millers and then await their monies.
There have been several revisions to the Rice Factory Act which stipulates the payment arrangement between farmers and millers, an issue that has been a thorn in GRDB’s side.
Government has been blaming a few millers for consistently giving the other operators a bad name.
A number of operating licences were withheld and current reforms before Parliament are now calling for millers to put down at least 10 per cent of their last crop gross earnings as a security that will ensure farmers are paid in case of problems.
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