PRESIDENT General of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget looks today like the biggest credulous person that Trinidad and Tobago has ever seen and I wonder if he’s not tired of getting duped from the Rowley-led Government.
In his bid to purchase Petrotrin’s assets from the Rowley-run government he has been disrespected, abused and downright ridiculed for his business acumen.
Now we hear that the Quanten Consortium LLC is the preferred bidder for the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery according to media reports. Allegations by the opposition is that is a recently registered company out of San Jose, California, has a house address.
I find it astounding that the government touted that they would have signed a contract with the OWTU or should I say Patriotic Energy and Technologies Company to reopen Petrotrin as they were chosen as the preferred bidder of the coveted Petrotrin’s assets before the general elections back in August 2020 but soon after blanked them not once, but thrice.
The government, after spending so much time and energy convincing the population that the closure was the only course of action due to the massive drain of the public purse, pounding and pounding this into our heads during its determination to close down the only oil producing refinery this country ever had, in an about turn around, as an election gimmick offered up the assets to Patriotic.
However, right after the elections it rejected their bid and in so doing, has made them look like utter nincompoops.
Patriotic was the preferred bidder to buy the Guaracara refinery. Now the minister of finance after debunking their bid as utter nonsense and a terrible deal for the people of Trinidad and Tobago said in February 2021 that new bids would be considered and the refinery bidding process will go back onto the open market.
The number of times the government rejected Patriotic’s bid would be considered comical if it was not such a travesty as this comedic farce played out in the public domain.
Let’s review the timeline: In October 2020 the Government rejected Patriotic’s bid, but after that the government gave an extension for another chance to resubmit a modified bid when Roget begged the prime minister for another chance, it was again rejected in January 2021. Then a third chance was given when the Government on February 2021, rejected an offer by its preferred bidder again.
The assets of Petrotrin were left in disrepair since then and are now ageing and not being maintained hence there must now be huge depreciation in value. For instance, valuable real estate in Pointe-a-Pierre inclusive of golf course, facilities and clubs is now in dire need of renovation, maintenance and repairs due to mothballing during this transition.
That’s why it was so important to get this refinery operational again when it was initially closed down and start back the process of rebuilding all these lost and dormant assets.
If the objective was to have a more efficient company without political interference, then why was this farce played out in the public domain and the OWTU made such mockery?
Is it because Roget is no longer dancing to the tunes of the government? Is it to shut down the OWTU forever and dismantle one of the strongest unions we have ever seen in T&T?
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced recently in the Parliament that TPHL had identified a preferred bidder but refused to give any information on the preferred buyer on any name of the company. Yes folks, this after the assets have been left there for four years to depreciate, rust and rot.
So many questions and no answers are given to the population in the aftermath of the last general election. Why this hollow promise?
We are still not convinced as to the root cause of the closure when we weigh the above effects on people and country, it just doesn’t make sense.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessarily those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.
Still No Refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre
PRESIDENT General of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget looks today like the biggest credulous person that Trinidad and Tobago has ever seen and I wonder if he’s not tired of getting duped from the Rowley-led Government.
In his bid to purchase Petrotrin’s assets from the Rowley-run government he has been disrespected, abused and downright ridiculed for his business acumen.
Now we hear that the Quanten Consortium LLC is the preferred bidder for the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery according to media reports. Allegations by the opposition is that is a recently registered company out of San Jose, California, has a house address.
I find it astounding that the government touted that they would have signed a contract with the OWTU or should I say Patriotic Energy and Technologies Company to reopen Petrotrin as they were chosen as the preferred bidder of the coveted Petrotrin’s assets before the general elections back in August 2020 but soon after blanked them not once, but thrice.
The government, after spending so much time and energy convincing the population that the closure was the only course of action due to the massive drain of the public purse, pounding and pounding this into our heads during its determination to close down the only oil producing refinery this country ever had, in an about turn around, as an election gimmick offered up the assets to Patriotic.
However, right after the elections it rejected their bid and in so doing, has made them look like utter nincompoops.
Patriotic was the preferred bidder to buy the Guaracara refinery. Now the minister of finance after debunking their bid as utter nonsense and a terrible deal for the people of Trinidad and Tobago said in February 2021 that new bids would be considered and the refinery bidding process will go back onto the open market.
The number of times the government rejected Patriotic’s bid would be considered comical if it was not such a travesty as this comedic farce played out in the public domain.
Let’s review the timeline: In October 2020 the Government rejected Patriotic’s bid, but after that the government gave an extension for another chance to resubmit a modified bid when Roget begged the prime minister for another chance, it was again rejected in January 2021. Then a third chance was given when the Government on February 2021, rejected an offer by its preferred bidder again.
The assets of Petrotrin were left in disrepair since then and are now ageing and not being maintained hence there must now be huge depreciation in value. For instance, valuable real estate in Pointe-a-Pierre inclusive of golf course, facilities and clubs is now in dire need of renovation, maintenance and repairs due to mothballing during this transition.
That’s why it was so important to get this refinery operational again when it was initially closed down and start back the process of rebuilding all these lost and dormant assets.
If the objective was to have a more efficient company without political interference, then why was this farce played out in the public domain and the OWTU made such mockery?
Is it because Roget is no longer dancing to the tunes of the government? Is it to shut down the OWTU forever and dismantle one of the strongest unions we have ever seen in T&T?
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced recently in the Parliament that TPHL had identified a preferred bidder but refused to give any information on the preferred buyer on any name of the company. Yes folks, this after the assets have been left there for four years to depreciate, rust and rot.
So many questions and no answers are given to the population in the aftermath of the last general election. Why this hollow promise?
We are still not convinced as to the root cause of the closure when we weigh the above effects on people and country, it just doesn’t make sense.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessarily those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.