GAWU concerned about lack of competitive bidding for movable GuySuCo assets

Mar 12, 2019 News

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is complaining about the suspected lack of competitive bidding in the sale of assets belonging to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
Yesterday, GAWU voiced its discovery that the Sugar Special Purpose Unit (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has been disposing of movable assets from the closed Skeldon, Rose Hall, East Demerara and Wales Estates.
These estates under the watch of NICIL-SPU had a number of movable fixed and current assets when they were closed in 2017.
GAWU claims that it is in receipt of information indicating that over the last few weeks, NICIL-SPU has been selling, among other things, serviceable tractors, motorcycles, and agricultural implements such as ploughs and harrows.
The Union’s understanding is that the assets are being disposed of without any competitive bidding.
“In fact, we disturbingly learnt that many of the items sold would have attracted superior prices had they been placed on auction. If our information is indeed accurate it is a serious cause for concern and we hasten to wonder whether the sale prices have any resemblance to the values that were assigned to the assets in question by the recently-completed valuation exercise that was conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC),” GAWU said.
Moreover, GAWU said that the sale of these useful assets comes at a time when GuySuCo rehabilitation programme has been severely hamstrung by a lack of equipment.
“Indeed, we learnt too that the Corporation had expressed interest in utilizing the equipment that was lying idle at the closed estates to further its plans to improve production and productivity.”
GAWU hastened to ask, “Who approved the sale transactions? Were they fully considered by the Board of NICIL and, if so, what justifications were advanced to dispose of the assets in what seems to be a fire sale?”
GAWU said that it also learnt that in recent times, NICIL-SPU has been selling former sugar lands and had engaged in a programme of scrap metal disposal.
GAWU said that the apparent conduct by NICIL-SPU gives rise to “serious concerns about the sale of the estates themselves and whether maximum value would be sought. Undoubtedly, NICIL-SPU, as the agent of the Guyanese people, needs to be most concerned with this objective.”
The Union contends that the assets under the auspices of NICIL-SPU ultimately belong to the Guyanese people and it is in the people’s interest that this identified authority secures the best possible returns for these assets.
GAWU said that consideration of the highlighted situation cannot ignore the compelling view that the major sale of state assets should not be pursued “due to the Constitutional issue that is presently in the public domain.
“In fact, until there is clarity on the matter, the Union is of the view that the equipment should be released to the Corporation towards its field rehabilitation programme which is necessary at this time.”

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