Ramroop meets GWI over $200M owed for Sanata well

Oct 16, 2016 News

The Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) on Thursday met with representatives of the Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. (QAII), to discuss the ownership of a water well in Ruimveldt.
The well is in the compound of QAII but the state-owned water company has been involved in a battle over ownership.
On Thursday, head of QAII, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, met with GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, to discuss the payment of $200M-plus in arrears.
Ramroop reportedly went alone.
GWI is sticking to its contention that it owns the well.
Contacted yesterday, the Managing Director declined to go into details. He would only say that the matter is engaging GWI.
Ramroop was reportedly summoned since last week after several back and forth with GWI.
GWI wants to collect an estimated $200M that it says is owed by the group.
Last week, according to GWI officials, the state-owned entity is convinced, based on several documents, that the well located at QAII compound, Ruimveldt, was never transferred to QAII.
The well serves over 9,000 customers in the Ruimveldt, Meadow Bank and Alexander Village area.
Recently, the nation heard that the well was transferred to QAII when the Bharrat Jagdeo administration leased and then sold the Sanata complex in a privatisation deal that was described as a sweetheart one.
The news shocked the nation.
According to documents seen by Kaieteur News, in 2002, former Minister of Housing and Water, Shaik Baksh, signed an order under the Water and Sewerage Act vesting several properties into GWI.
GWI’s Schedule of Fixed Assets lists the Sanata well as belonging to the state entity. There is other evidence too that suggests that the well is GWI’s.
For example, in the records of the Privatisation Unit/National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the state entity that handled the deal, there are several references to the well.
In one case, it speaks of a Memorandum of Understanding between G&C Sanata, the Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC) and NICIL. GS&WC is the predecessor of GWI.
According to the NICIL documents, GS&WC took possession of the well in 1996, starting to manage its operations from then. The water from the well was for public consumption.
There is no evidence of the well being privatised to Sanata.
GWI recently said that it has been spending $3M monthly on electricity bills for the well.
However, GWI technicians had to access the well through QAII’s compound.
Ramroop is a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo under whose rule the 18-plus acres property was privatised.
GWI technicians, reportedly as part of the drive to collect billions of dollars owed by consumers – domestic and commercial users across the country, started to conduct checks at QAII.
However, the GWI technicians were reportedly stopped by their management when they started investigations.”
GWI officials had insisted 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 drilled.
It was emphasised that GWI technicians visited the well every day.

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