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No conflict of interest in the Brassington transaction?

Jun 03, 2012 Letters

 

 

Dear Editor,
I read with disbelief the lengthy outpourings of two regular contributors to the newspapers of this country, Emile Mervyn, an incessant letter writer and Ralph Seeram, a weekly columnist of the Kaieteur News, on the Brassington Brothers alleged conflict of interest issue in respect of NICIL and Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation transaction.
These two gentlemen, both of whom I believe are overseas-based, lambasted the government and in particular, the Attorney General, Mr. Anil Nandlall, in lengthy pieces in the Kaieteur News.
They both made specific references to statements made by the Attorney General which were published in Kaieteur News to the effect that there was no conflict of interest in that transaction.
I also observed in utter amazement the news of Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, the leader of the Alliance for Change and an attorney-at-law.  “Massive illegality” and “substantial conflict of interest” were his cries.
I read the same article to which these gentlemen referred and after reading their contributions, I read the said article again.  I concluded that the problem is either the inability to comprehend or plain wickedness.
The Attorney General in that article stated that NICIL sold the government-owned shares in GNCB Trust to Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company in 2002.
James Brassington (the correct name is Jonathan) in 2009, that is, seven years after, bought some shares from Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation (the name was apparently changed).
At the time of the sale, Winston Brassington had nothing to do with Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation.  Neither he, nor any representative of NICIL, or the Government of Guyana, was a director of Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation.
As I understand it, in that context, the Attorney General concluded, and in my view correctly, that there is no conflict of interest.
Messers Mervyn, Seeram and Ramjattan all failed, either deliberately or out of ignorance, to mention that seven years had elapsed between the sale by NICIL to Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation and the sale by  Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation to James Brassington.
Where is the “conflict of interest in this situation?”  The term “conflict of interest” requires no expansive definition.  It means what it says.
Firstly, there must be a commonality of interest, and then there must be a conflict of those common interests. Only then can a conflict arise.
None of the three wise men explained or can explain the common interest in the first place and consequently the conflict.   That is, because none existed.
Perhaps, we have to impose some measures to ensure that persons who reside either comfortably or uncomfortably outside of Guyana do not contaminate our media with their overwhelming foolishness.  Let them keep it for their newfound homeland and the media there.
As for Mr. Ramjattan, the Guyanese public, I believe, has become accustomed to his constant decline.  His utterances depreciate intellectually and in substance with every passing day.  The Government and the Attorney General would be best advised to ignore unadulterated absurdities and get on with the nation’s business.
Balram Heeralall

Editor’s Note:
In 2002, NICIL, headed by Winston Brassington, privatized Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB) Trust and kept 250,000 shares in the new company, Hand in Hand Trust Corporation.
Seven years later, in 2009, based on the financial information available to NICIL, headed by the same Winston Brassington, a shareholder, and based on the returns paid as dividends to shareholders, Brassington purchased an additional 50, 000 shares for NICIL.
At the same time, Winston Brassington, purchased 2.25 million shares for his brother, Jonathan Brassington.
As a shareholder Winston Brassington had the first option to buy. As a representative of the government and with public assets, he should have bought the shares for NICIL. Instead he bought 2.25 million shares for his brother and only 50,000 for NICIL.     
If this does not constitute a conflict of interest, what does? Or is it a case of the letter writer deliberately attempting to mislead the Guyanese people or plain wickedness on his part? 

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