Businessman vows to prevent closure of sand-loading facility

Aug 07, 2011 News

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… as wharf controversy escalates

There are two sand-loading facilities in Guyana, one operated by a well known Pandit at Dora, and the other by a popular naturalized Guyanese businessman at Coverden, both on the East Bank of Demerara.

Presently, neither of the businesses could boast of a monopoly and they were co-existing peacefully, with each getting a share of the lucrative Caribbean sand market.
What it all boiled down to is who has the better marketing strategy, and from investigations, the one at Coverden which provides easier access to barges in the Demerara River is enjoying a better deal.
Now this Coverden facility is was owned by Joseph Bhaskaran, a Canadian citizen, who has been living in Guyana with his Guyanese wife and two children, and his partner Brazilian Rodrigo de Paula, who had previously operated a company called Start Metal Trading Incorporated, which was in the scrap metal business.
Each man had 50% of the shares in a company they called the Guyana Sand Port Inc.
Under an agreement reached, Bhaskaran would use his engineering expertise and finance to build a conveyor facility to load sand onto barges moored at a wharf the company was renting from Roopnarine Persaud, the owner of the property, while de Paula would be responsible for the marketing aspect of the business.
Bhaskaran, who also owns a number of sand pits and trucks, was to supply the sand for export as per the agreement.
All went well for awhile until Bhaskaran had a chance meeting with his competitor at a forum hosted by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for sand pit owners.
What transpired after is being described as greed, bullyism and fabricated lies that culminated in an attempt to shut down the Guyana Sand Port Inc.
It culminated with de Paula, armed with an injunction from the court (which is being challenged by Bhaskaran) and with the aid of members of the Presidential Guard, invading  the premises at Coverden and proceeding to damage the conveyor system, claiming that he was operating within the law.

“It all started after I met (official named) at GGMC at a meeting with all sand pit owners.  He offered me to close down the facilities at Lot 9 Coverden in return for money,” said Bhaskaran in an interview.
He said that he related that conversation to his partner de Paula and for some strange reason, the Brazilian just brushed it aside.
Rodrigo de Paula, who was given sole control of the finances of the Guyana Sand Port Inc. subsequently left Guyana for his homeland in neighbouring Brazil and on his return he was met by Bhaskaran, who demanded an examination of the Company’s expenses.
“I noticed that he looked very nervous and he kept saying that he should not have gone to Brazil and he hates Guyana.  I was to return to our Office to discuss with him further on the following Monday. But then a sequence of events started,” Bhaskaran told this newspaper.
The businessman is convinced that since then there were moves afoot to cheat him out of his shares in Guyana Sandport Inc., and if that failed, to shut the company down so that his competitor could hold a monopoly in the lucrative business.
He explained that he was barred from the Guyana Sandport office by the only two employees of the company at the time, who claimed that they were acting on instructions by Rodrigo de Paula.
According to Bhaskaran, de Paula then wrote to the Shipping Company that was contracted to ship a load of sand to Grenada, asking that the barge be diverted to Dora facilities, owned by the competitor.
He said that his former partner also requested that if the shipping company did not wish to go to Dora they should refund the freight payment advanced by Guyana Sand Port to his personal account in Brazil, a move that Bhaskaran found very untrustworthy.
Bhaskaran claims that to his surprise, his former partner had “emptied the bank accounts” belonging to the 50-50 partnership.
“I have managed to obtain a few records of the company which I have discovered over US$225,000 is unaccounted for in the financials of the Company that were wired to various accounts.  I assume that he has used some of this money to repay himself for his investment…approximately US$64,000, as some of this money I see was sent to his two bank accounts in Brazil – his personal account and Quimetal.  Therefore, he cannot claim any more to be a part of Guyana Sand Port Inc.,” Bhaskaran stated.
Incidentally, de Paula had claimed that the money he took was monies that Guyana Sand Port Inc. owed him.
“At this point of time to save my company I took over the complete operation of Guyana Sand Port Inc. – operations, marketing and financial aspects.  I split the wharf operations of loading the sand and operations into Guyana Sand Port and JB Mining,” Bhaskaran told this newspaper.
This state of affairs led to de Paula approaching the Court.
Bhaskaran is of the view that his former partner used an old lease which was surrendered after Guyana Sand Port Inc. resumed the tenancy by paying the monthly rental for the premises and also used documents fabricated from an improper Director’s meeting showing false debts to obtain an ex-parte injunction against him, preventing him and his servants from entering the Coverden location, where he claims he has lived and invested since 1999.
De Paula had produced documents to show that Bhaskaran was removed as a Director of Guyana Sand Port by unanimous decision.
But Bhaskaran claimed that the meeting was not properly called, since it had no agenda.
He also argued that as a 50% shareholder of the company, the move to arbitrarily remove him as a Director is null and void.
In the injunction, Start Metals Trading Inc, which de Paula is operating by way of a power of attorney, purported that they are the Tenant, but documents and rental receipts have shown that Guyana Sand Port Inc. has been paying the rent since 2009 to date, and is recognized as the legal tenant of the Property by a sworn Affidavit from the Landlord.
“Start Metals Trading Inc., is not the Tenant of the premises, the Company does not own any equipment or does not have any employees.  Rodrigo de Paula and the owner of Start Metals Trading Inc. were employees of a Company in Brazil, Quimetal , which came to Guyana to organise and purchase scrap metal for export. The Company went out of operations in 2008.
“During this time Rodrigo and I became friends and I told him my desire to open a sand-loading facility at the said premises and he expressed his desire to become a partner with me and to become a businessman with a small investment, so he took some money from the Start Metal Trading company and gave it as a loan to Guyana Sand Port Inc. as his part of the Investment in Guyana Sand Port Inc.  It has been 2 ½ years now since Guyana Sand Port is operating, and I have not received any dividends on my shares,” Bhaskaran asserted.
Bhaskaran was informed by his attorney, and firmly believes, that while he and his servants are restrained by the injunction, the Guyana Sand Port Inc. can continue to operate.
In fact, employees of Guyana Sand Port Inc. were on duty when Rodrigo de Paula came as the representative as Start Metals Trading Inc. to secure the premises, and they resisted his attempts.
“In the meantime, I stayed off the premises obeying the Court order and Guyana Sand Port employees continue to operate the business,” Bhaskaran said.
Having failed in his attempt to halt the operations of the Guyana Sand Port by way of injunction, de Paula contacted all Customers informing them that the facility was closed and directed them to the Dora (competitor) facilities.
Bhaskaran says that the competitor himself wrote to customers telling them that he is the only facility in Guyana now supplying sand for export.
In an e-mail seen by this newspaper, de Paula informed the customers that there were three sand export facilities. But the customers became suspicious of the new arrangement and contacted Bhaskaran to ascertain the true position.
When they were assured that the Guyana Sand Port Inc. was still loading sand for export, they reaffirmed their commitment to transacting business with the company.
Even customers who were previously supportive of the competitor had switched to doing business with Guyana Sand Port Inc.
Bhaskaran is convinced that this angered his former partner, and prompted him to orchestrate and launch the attack with his hired gang on the premises to sabotage the machinery and conveyor system.
He said that thankfully the Timerhi Police responded promptly and saved the facility.
“Had he been successful it would have amounted to millions of dollars and been disastrous,” Bhaskaran stated.
De Paula had claimed that his actions were strictly legal, since he had the sole rights to the property and the equipment was his.
But Bhaskaran is in possession of documents that purport to show that he is the sole owner of all the Conveyor systems.
“I want the relevant authorities to look at this and give me justice. He (de Paula) was never a businessman before, he was an employee of Quimetal until he become a shareholder of Guyana Sand Port. His investment of US$64,000 to build the infrastructure is coming as a loan to Guyana Sand Port Inc. The total investment into machineries and conveyors… I have invested over US$800,000 to make this venture a success.”
“I believe that when he withdrew the money he got paid so therefore he does not own anything.”
Bhaskaran claimed that he has been paying the workers at the facility, as well as the utilities, out of his own company, JB MINING, until May 2011, and from June 2011, after he was “locked out from my Office in Bel Air Georgetown by the Office employees and my partner and communication broke down.”
He said that he took over the total operations of the Company to save the investments.
He said that while he could have remained in Canada with his family, he chose to invest all his time and expertise to build a company from scratch and would not allow unscrupulous persons to shatter his dream and the livelihood of his workers.
Last week, workers attached to the facility who are now out of jobs as a result of the injunction, threw their support behind Bhaskaran by staging a protest.
Chairman of the Soesdyke/Coverden  Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Grant Stewart ,said that the business has been the backbone of the community and to shut it down would be a disaster.
“If this place should close it will create a negative impact on the community,” Stewart said.
Bhaskaran is accusing his former partner of trying to convince everyone that he (de Paula) is in the right.
“He is claiming I am wrong, which is not true, and I am asking relevant authorities to appoint special investigator to investigate. Rodrigo de Paula is not charged.  This is giving the wrong message that he has the rights to come and sabotage my properties which he is not the owner of.  So I fear for my life and for that of my family, my employees and my properties and equipment in the sand-loading facility. All can be harmed by Rodrigo and others. I need protection and justice,” Bhaskaran stated.
He said that he is also able to prove that Start Metals Trading Inc. does not exist as a registered company in Guyana.

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