Cel Star's new owners say they have a valid agreement with GT&T, committed to providing service
Stabroek News
November 27, 2003
Trans-World Telecom Carib-bean (TWTC), the new owners of Cel Star Guyana, says GT&T's decision to suspend the interconnection agreement with it is "inappropriate" and the firm should resume work under the agreement in a "professional manner".
"The interconnect agreement with GT&T is a binding and valid agreement which GT&T is obligated under its license and the law to honor in good faith," TWTC said in a press release.
The Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company Limited recently suspended dealings with Cel Star following the litigation filed in Florida and the Cayman Islands challenging the shareholding of Cel Star Guyana as well as the failure of Cel Star to produce to GT&T the authority for Greg Libertiny signing the said interconnection agreement.
TWTC, however, in the statement, said it believes itself to be the true owner of Cel Star Guyana Inc and the actions it took to acquire the company were thorough and proper.
"We believe strongly that our business affairs in Guyana have been improperly interfered with by parties who have no real interest in Guyana.
This interference and GT&T's action to suspend the interconnection work have already caused delays. We expect GT&T to resume work in a professional manner and we are working very hard to deploy our network as soon as possible for the benefit of Guyana," Pierre Strasser, Cel Star's Chief Operating Officer said in the release.
Contacted previously to produce the evidence to substantiate the authority on which Libertiny signed the interconnection agreement, Nicole Johnson, Cel Star's marketing executive promised to get back in touch with this newspaper but failed to do so.
TWTC says it is committed to offering competitive mobile telecommunications service to Guyanese and continues to advance the project and hope to begin service early next year.
The company says it has hired 30 Guyanese who are preparing to launch the service and over 20 mobile radio masts have been erected from Corriverton to Parika and from the city to Linden. Five masts are in the city alone.
However, TWTC recognises that the launch of the service will be delayed as a result of litigation against Wesley Kirton by one of his former business associates. But the firm says it is unwavering in its support for Kirton who it described as a driving force in the creation and expansion of Cel Star.
TWTC says while the said plaintiff also filed a claim against it in the Cayman Islands, no statement of claim was filed as is required under that state's law and as such there is no active litigation against TWTC.
The firm is of the view that Kirton was the original shareholder of the shares, which were transferred to TWTC's subsidiary TWT Guyana.
Sonita Jagan, the Chief Executive Officer of GT&T, is out of the country and it was not possible to get a comment from her.