By Sue-Ann Wayow
WILL state-owned Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD) be shutdown like debt-ridden Education Facilities Companies Ltd (EFCL)?
This one of the questions being asked by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Speaking at a United National Congress (UNC) virtual meeting on Monday, she claimed that she received a cabinet minute from a People’s National Movement (PNM) MP who was “deeply concerned by what the PNM is doing regarding state lands.”
The minute is dated April 7 and relates to the appointment of a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister with responsibility for State Land/Single Point of Authority Project in the Office of the Prime Minister.
Former minister of agriculture Clarence Rambharat has been named as that person.
Persad-Bissessar displayed the minute which was shown via a video presentation.
After the video she said, “At the moment, there are a lot of court matters, contractors with the EMBD who did work for the Government years ago. This government has not been paying them so they filed court cases against the Government, against the EMBD to get their monies. A whistleblower has told me it appears that the Government is going to lost the cases and therefore they want to do a similar thing that they did with EFCL.”
Persad-Bissessar continued, “When the court awarded contractors who did EFCL work, that they have to be paid, what did the Government do? They shut down EFCL so it becomes a shell company, a bankrupt company and then well, people get no money.”
“Is this the plan – that the Government loses the cases against the EMBD for the hundreds of millions that they will shut down the EMBDC in the same manner to deprive the contractors from getting money for works done. A whistleblower has suggested this so I am asking the government is that your plan?” she asked.
On Monday, the Petition to wind up EFCL was heard virtually in the High Court before Justice Carol Gobin with several companies and individuals, who are owed millions of dollars by EFCL, and object to the winding up of the company.
They have until May 31 to file their affidavits in court in opposition.
