Phone company’s CEO says ready for arbitration
Stabroek News
June 30, 2002
The telephone company’s Chief Executive Officer, Sonita Jagan, on Friday stressed its willingness to go to arbitration to resolve the current impasse with the Guyana government over GT&T’s monopoly, and attendant issues.
A press release from Atlantic TeleNetwork/Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Ltd (ATN/GT&T) said yesterday it did not wish to "engage in a public quarrel with its 20% partner, the Government of Guyana."
And quoting President Bharrat Jagdeo as saying that arbitration must deal with all the issues ...the contract, a fair rate of return, non-fulfilment of the expansion plan, the controversial 6% advisory fees and tax issues, the release stated: "We agree. Let us put an end to all the contention. Let us arbitrate."
According to the release, it was common knowledge that after fruitful negotiations in Trinidad with a government team that included its head negotiator, Attorney General Doodnauth Singh, and Inter-American Bank (IDB) expert, Hank Intven, the way was cleared for the IDB loan for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project to be approved once certain issues were addressed before GT&T could agree to give up its contractual monopoly in that area.
A Memorandum of Understanding to cover these agreements, the release said, was promised within a short time.
However, the government denied on Tuesday that a timetable had been set for the presentation of a memorandum of understanding to reflect areas of agreement reached with the local phone company to break its monopoly and introduce market reforms in the information and communications sector.
The ATN/GT&T release claimed that "the government seemed not to approve the performance of their negotiating team and as a result two months later the matter has not yet reached Cabinet."
Charging the government with displaying bad faith, the release said that is what moved ATN/GT&T to seek to protect the interests of its shareholders.
It also expressed agreement with Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon reportedly saying "the agreement entered into between the Government of Guyana and ATN/GT&T in 1999...is the basis of the problem."
"We are fed up and frustrated at forever being painted as the bad guys, simply because the contract that we negotiated in good faith with the Government of Guyana was a different administration to the one in power now," the release further said.
The GT&T CEO noted that President Jagdeo has reminded them that ATN/GT&T has raked in millions while only paying US$16 million for the privatized company, but she pointed out what he also did not say was that the telephone company has since further invested over US$150 million in expansion projects.
Jagan stated also that what the President knew, but most Guyanese did not, was that over the past ten years ATN/GT&T had paid US$105 million in taxes, dividends and other fees. According to her, the current corporate taxes paid by GT&T equate to over 30% of the total amount collected by the Inland Revenue Department.
"So as was done in a similar situation in Costa Rica, let’s arbitrate," Jagan declared.
She said also that it would be foolhardy for the company "not to agree that this ICT project is potentially beneficial for all Guyanese, but it does not have to be accomplished by breaking existing legal undertakings and destroying existing networks."
The release opined that even its biggest detractors would concede that GT&T had done much good, even while receiving the lowest rates in the region. "We have been good and responsible corporate citizens - organizations and people from all walks of life have benefited from our generosity," the release concluded.