Tug-of-war over water well at Sanata…GWI paying almost $3M monthly for facility QAII claims it owns

Aug 28, 2016 News

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– Chairman denies any conflict of interest over New GPC sponsorship

The Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) is insisting that it is the owner of a well currently housed in the Ruimveldt compound of Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (QAII).
As a matter of fact, the entity said yesterday, it has been spending millions of dollars every month in electricity and labour costs to upkeep the facility which currently serves over 9,000 customers in the Ruimveldt area, including D’Aguiar Park, Alexander Village, Meadowbank and West Ruimveldt.
That expenditure by GWI would contradict claims by QAII, which controls a number of media companies and New GPC, that it owns the well.
The claims by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, immediately raised questions as to how the well ended up in the hands of QAII while GWI was paying for its maintenance.
The issue came to the fore over a week ago when GWI technicians, as part of its drive to collect over $4B owed by consumers- domestic and commercial- across the country, started to conduct checks at QAII.
However, the GWI technicians were reportedly stopped by their management when they started investigations.
Following the report by Kaieteur News on Friday – of the investigations of alleged water theft by QAII – Dr. Ramroop took to his newspaper, claiming in a lead article yesterday that the visit by GWI technicians was in retaliation to a story that the water company Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, benefitted from a fuel licence while in office.
QAII claimed that the well in question is in fact wholly owned by QAII, with GWI and its predecessor companies never owning it.
“Like many industrial operations, large complexes have their own well and operate these independently of GWI… QAII has always sought to be a good citizen and has maintained that there is an arrangement where the water from the well can be accessed for GWI usage,” Dr. Ramroop is quoted as saying.
QAII said it is not and never was a customer of GWI. As a matter of fact, the well and the compound, known as the Sanata Textile property, is private property.
“Over the years, the well and the environs have always been recognised as being under private ownership, and are currently owned by QAII… QAII will continue to pursue a good relationship with GWI for shared access to the water resources of the well.”
However, GWI officials insisted yesterday that while the well is in the compound of QAII, GWI has always maintained control of the well, ever since the 1970s when it was built.
It was emphasised that GWI technicians visit the well every day and electricity bills, amounting to almost $3M monthly, are being paid by the state-owned company. All the maintenance works are also being carried out by GWI.
“Workers have to pass by the security hut at the Ruimveldt compound to access the wells and there are logs to prove this,” GWI said.
According to QAII, most of the water from the well is being used by GWI, with the company never being a customer at the location, “given that QAII is accessing water from its own well.”
GWI CAMPAIGN
Contacted yesterday, the Managing Director disclosed that he was out of the country. Questioned on the allegations by QAII that the visit was in retaliation to a report on the fuel licence, the official said it was utter nonsense.
“GWI has started a countrywide campaign to collect what is owed. That is estimated at over $4B right now. We have collected almost $2B over the past year alone. Our crews have been visiting businesses, homes and other places as part of that. QAII is not different.”
Questioned why he ordered the GWI to leave the Ruimveldt compound, the Managing Director said he was asked by the Chairman of the Board, Nigel Hinds.
He advised this newspaper to call the Chairman.
When contacted, Hinds disclosed that indeed he asked Van-West Charles to cease the inspections at the complex as there were questions over the ownership of the well. Also there was the very real scenario of the visit being seen as retaliation.
The order to stand down came one day after the technicians had visited the site and not immediately, Hinds stressed.
The Chairman of the Board was also questioned about the possibility that his order for technicians to cease investigations would raise eyebrows over the fact that the sports organization over which he presides, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), was recently sponsored by New GPC, a subsidiary of QAII.
Hinds is the President of GABF and a well-known auditor.
New GPC is the main sponsor of the Guyana boys’ team which is currently participating in the 2016 CentroBasket Under-15 Young Men Championships in Puerto Rico.
Hinds, in his defence, said that the request for sponsorship was made since June and was only recently approved by New GPC. He denied that it was an overreach of his authority or conflict of interest over the sponsorship when he requested the technicians to stand down.
As a matter of fact, he said, a meeting is set to be held as early as tomorrow with GWI management for the company to determine the ownership of the now controversial well. Based on that, the water company will decide on the way forward.
Should QAII be found guilty of stealing water, it could be forced to pay tens of millions of dollars for bills dating back to around 2008 when the company acquired the Sanata Textile complex.
Meanwhile, GWI officials have confirmed that they are also looking at another property of QAII. This one is on Camp and Quamina Streets, which up to last year used to house the offices of TVG28 and Guyana Times, two media outfits owned by the group.
It is unclear where the property was getting its water from. However, inspectors found connections leading from the outside to the building.

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