Brassington still part of NICIL?

Mar 02, 2014 News

Opposition questions current role in controversial state company

A controversial figure in the midst of Government’s privatization and investment deals is again the subject of a Parliamentary query.
Former Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL), Winston Brassington, will come under scrutiny for his role in that organization which time and again has left Government and the Opposition sharply divided.
Carl Greenidge, Member of Parliament for the Opposition’s largest faction, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), has tabled a number of questions to Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. The questions were received by Parliament on February 17, last.
According to Greenidge, Brassington in March 2012, shortly after the General and Regional elections, announced his resignation. The MP now wants to know the job description and Terms of Reference for the NICIL official prior to his resignation.
Greenidge also wanted Dr. Singh to provide details of Brassington’s current relationship with NICIL.
In a separate Notice Paper sent the same day, the APNU official asked the Finance Minister to provide a list of the current Board members of NICIL along with the staffers in its employ.
APNU also wanted to know the “names, designations and employment experience immediately, prior to their joining the management of the entity, of the three most senior staff members of NICIL.”
While Greenidge’s question mistakenly identifies Winston Brassington as Mike Brassington, it is clear that the MP is referring to the NICIL official.
The handling of NICIL has been a hugely troubling one for the Opposition which has accused Government of operating the entity like its personal bank account.
NICIL initially was supposed to manage state assets and transfer proceeds from privatization transactions to Government accounts.
However, NICIL’s role has evolved, with the entity becoming involved in a number of large scale projects like the Berbice River Bridge project, the Marriott Hotel project, the Amaila Falls hydro-electric project and a host of other initiatives.
A number of privatization deals including the Sanata Textiles complex and the Duke Lodge buildings in Kingston, have raised more than eyebrows.
Brassington’s role in the deals and the seeming lack of information on the transactions have led to the issue coming up time and again in the National Assembly.
Among the companies under NICIL are the Guyana Oil Company, Guyana Energy Authority, Guyana National Newspaper Limited, Guyana National Printers Limited and the National Communications Network.
Brassington has been a central figure in Government business as well, currently serving as Chairman of the Guyana Power and Light Inc and a point persons in the cooperation between Brazil and Guyana, which involves a number of large scale projects, including hydro-electric, a deep water port, and the paving of the Linden-Lethem road.
Brassington’s role in pushing for public/private partnerships (PPP) projects has also been heavily criticised since it is said to have allowed for a few investors to rake in millions of dollars while Government, putting in the majority of the investments, is left virtually holding little in terms of returns.
An example of this is the Berbice River Bridge and the Marriott Hotel financing structure which allowed several private investors, including ones close to the administration, to rake in dividends ahead of the taxpayers.

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Brassington still part of NICIL?

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Brassington still part of NICIL?

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