US Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Jose Fourquet, has refused to vote against the proposed US$18 million loan for Guyana and US Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O’Neill, is unwilling to instruct him to so do, according to Atlantic Tele Network’s (ATN) complaint before the US District Court in Washington DC.
ATN is seeking an order of mandamus and injunctive relief from the court, directing O’Neill to instruct Fourquet to vote against any loan or other utilisation of the bank’s funds for the benefit of the Government of Guyana and enjoining the bank from considering, acting on, approving or disbursing upon any loan request from Guyana and any other such relief as may be proper.
The complaint of the company before the courts says Fourquet has refused to vote against the project for Guyana unless so directed by O’Neill and the latter is unwilling to so instruct.
ATN said that Guyana has taken steps to repudiate or nullify its contract, which has the effect of seizing ownership or control of the property of ATN with regard to telecommunication services provided by ATN affiliate, GT&T in Guyana. Further, ATN said that the IDB’s consideration of a loan request for Guyana would cause the firm immediate and irreparable injury.
Consideration of the loan by the IDB has been put off until July 24, a date before which Judge Jackson is expected to listen to the parties who would have had time to file the various affidavits in response. O’Neill, Fourquet and the IDB have been named as defendants in the matter.
The Government of Guyana is still discussing how it should respond to this latest move by ATN to block the information and communications project for Guyana and whether the government should be joined as a defendant.
A government spokesman said the move by ATN was a further indication of bad faith because even as ATN’s chairman, Cornelius Prior, was telling reporters that he wanted the government to get back to the negotiating table, he had obviously instructed his lawyers to move against the project in the court.
The spokesman said it was unconscionable that the firm would go so far as to block a developmental project for Guyana, which would introduce e-commerce and allow persons at the grass roots levels to have cheaper access to communication.
ATN, in the complaint, is claiming that since 1997 the government has failed to live up to the provisions of its agreement with the firm, which has not been earning its 15% rate of return on its investment. It is also claiming that the loan project which the government is seeking, will infringe its exclusive rights. ATN claims that by virtue of these two issues, the government has taken steps to nullify its agreement, which has the effect of seizing ownership or control of the property of ATN.
The complaint points out that Title 22 of the IDB Act provides that the President of the US shall instruct the US Executive Director of the Bank to vote against any loan or utilisation of the bank funds for the benefit of any country which has taken steps to repudiate or nullify existing contracts with a US citizen or corporation. ATN says that it is entitled to protection under this section as it is no less than 50% owned by American citizens.
The government and ATN were in negotiations to break its monopoly and the latter had agreed to give up its exclusive rights on data transmission during the most recent round of negotiations when the firm intensified its lobby against the ICT project, causing the government to accuse it of acting in bad faith.
ATN claimed that if a promised Memorandum of Understanding on the negotiations was signed in May, it would not have intensified its lobby against the project and it could have gone forward but the government denies that any date had been set for the signing of this MOU.