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NICIL still owed billions; takes debtors to court
By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
The National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) has finally made moves to recover huge sums of money owed to the entity.
NICIL’s Officer in Charge, Horace James
NICIL’s Officer in Charge (OC), Horace James, informed the media of this at the first press conference held since Winston Brassington lost control of the company almost two years ago.
The Forensic Audit into the affairs of NICIL had revealed that the company was owed more than $2B by several companies collectively.
James said that NICIL has started trying to collect the money. He told the media, “We have quite a few (companies) in court.”
Further, he said that NICIL has started repossession of some of the lands sold for which monies are still outstanding. “We even hired special lawyers who will be chasing down those who owe us. We got judgment in one case in Berbice and we are progressively pursuing those who owe us.”
The OC indicated the struggling Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) owes NICIL a large sum. He said that GuySuCo owes just about $61M for the rental of 199 Camp Street property.
James told the media that NICIL has tried to recover the money. “We wrote to (Finance Minister Winston) Jordan outlining those Government agencies which owe us. We didn’t take them to court at first and we thought it was wise to go to the Minister at first. He did indicate he would meet our board to discuss those matters.”
James said that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) owes NICIL $74M for works done at Sparendaam. This is for upgrades at Pradoville. These were paid for by NICIL. But, the entity was supposed to be reimbursed by CH&PA.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure also owes NICIL $174M. NICIL had paid for works done on Battery Road leading up to Marriott. The Ministry of Infrastructure is yet to repay this sum.
James said, “There are other agencies that owe us and they amount to about 30; which are just normal transactions.”
The forensic audit conducted by Anand Goolsarran indicated that companies such as Scady Business Corporation, Hong Kong Telecom, Guyana Stores, Guyana National Industrial Corporations, Linmine Secretariat, BK International and AMC Receivables owe huge sums of cash.
The amount of $1B (equivalent to US$5 million) owed by Hong Kong Telecoms relates to the sale of GT&T shares which were sold for US$30 million in 2012 of which US$25 million was received. The balance of US$5 million was due and payable before the end of 2014.
In 2008, NICIL sold 4.7 acres of land (Tract RU) to Scady Business Corporation for $115 million. According to NICIL’s publication, “Privatization in Tables: Phase II – 1993-2011”, this amount was paid to NICIL. However, an amount of $15.014 million remained outstanding for over eight years.
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