Dear Editor,
Reference is made to former minister, David Patterson’s letter in the Stabroek News edition of April 5, 2024, in response to Prime Minister, Brig. (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and the undersigned. The escapism of the former Minister is unescapable; such that his explanation that GPL is established under the Companies Act 1991, thereby implying that the Public Corporations Act does not apply, is inexcusable.
If the former minister studied the Public Corporations Act (1988) carefully, he would recognize that section 2 (b) of the Public Corporations Act (1988) states that a “company has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Companies Act; section 2 (d) states that “corporation means” ―(i) Every existing corporation; and (ii) Every public corporation established under section 3 and every corporation which comes into existence as a result of reconstitution of any body corporate under section 6 or merger of two or more corporations under section 7.
Section 6 (4) of the Public Corporations Act establishes that “the provisions of this section shall have effect in relation to a body corporate, being a company notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Act.”… This means, in my interpretation, that the Public Corporations Act applies to all Public Corporations. GPL is therefore owned solely by the State and the provisions of the Act applies.
Be that as it may, whether the Act applies or not, central to the issue at hand is one of good governance. Thus, the validity of my original contention remains in respect of the publication of annual reports by GPL, that ought to have been laid over to the National Assembly. Notably, GPL has published annual reports for the period 2009-2012.
The annual report has two components: (i) an operational report and (ii) report on the audited financial statements. As such, the cessation of the publication of annual reports for the period 2013-2022/23 is tantamount to deliberately fostering a lack of transparency and accountability. Therefore, my position remains unchanged―that is, the former minister, David Patterson and former President David Granger should not evade accountability on these matters during their tenure.
The APNU+AFC had promised “good governance”. Thus, failure thereof is contrary to the principles of the good governance mantra of the former APNU+AFC regime.
In closing, I wish to put the question once more to the former minister, why did he not ensure that the annual reports for GPL were prepared and published?
Sincerely,
Joel Bhagwandin
