NEW GPC finally coughs up millions owed to NICIL

Mar 01, 2017 News

New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC), which is owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi “Bobby”

Dr. Ranjisinghi “Bobby” Ramroop

Ramroop, has finally coughed up the millions of dollars it owed to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) on Government’s 10 percent shares in the said company.
This is according to Officer in Charge at NICIL, Horace James. The sum owed was approximately $5.7M for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The NICIL official also stated that legal letters were sent to several Government agencies which owe NICIL over $200M.
The issue of the outstanding sums owed to NICIL by NEW GPC was revealed by a forensic audit that was conducted by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran.
Goolsarran, in his audit, stated, “In relation to the New GPC Inc., by Cabinet approval of October 1999 and September 2001, the Government had sold 60 percent and 30 percent respectively of its shareholding in the predecessor organization, the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, to Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. for $658 million.
However, there was no evidence that the New GPC paid any dividends to the Government for its 10 percent stake in the company.
Contrary to Goolsarran’s findings, NICIL subsequently revealed that since privatization, it had in fact received $6.9M in dividends for its 10 percent minority shares in New GPC Inc. NICIL said that for 2007 it collected $495, 000. The entity noted, too, that in 2010, it received $2,665,000.
The auditor made it clear however that this information was never presented to him and as such he believes that NICIL should come forward and produce the evidence of the dividends collected.
“The big question is why? Why would anyone with God-given commonsense have a share in a company and simply be so lax with ensuring that they receive dividends? What is before us points to many corrupt things and Ramroop and the company’s former Chief Executive Officer, Winston Brassington, would have to explain this,” the financial analyst had expressed.

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