Court rules against Pandora
-contempt proceedings to follow
Stabroek News
June 18, 2004
Pay up Ms Ishoof: Some of the West Coast Berbice farmers owed money by Pandora Rice Inc.
A lawyer representing 36 rice farmers who have taken Pandora Rice Inc. to court for outstanding payments amounting to at least $12M, is set to file contempt and levy proceedings against the company.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Tuesday, attorney Priya Manikchand said that on Monday the Supreme Court ruled that Pandora Inc. is indeed indebted to 26 of the 36 farmers. She said judgement for the other ten would be determined shortly.
Manikchand had hoped that at the end of the case the 26 farmers would have been able to be paid since the court had made an earlier order instructing Pandora to lodge the money at the court's registry pending the outcome of the matter. This was not done, according to Manikchand, and as such she will be filing contempt proceedings against the company and will also levy on its assets.
Neither Managing Director Scheherazade Ishoof nor the company secretary could be reached for a comment and the farmers said this has been the pattern since February.
In January, 36 farmers moved to court claiming in excess of $12M owed to them between September and October 2003.
Stabroek Business was reliably informed that Pandora Inc has since been divested after the government refused to renew its lease for the state-owned Burma Rice Mill which it had operated last year. However, the company is said to be continuing to export rice.
Manikchand said if indeed the company has been divested then the farmers would not have anything to levy on.
She said some of the farmers plant rice on a small scale and as such the money was needed to continue business.
On Monday a group of them visited Stabroek News' office and disclosed that the company's overall debt to the farmers is in excess of $17M.
They mentioned that on February 11 the company had paid over a sum of $1.4M and since then, nothing.
Among the farmers who visited Stabroek News' office were; Nadir Imram who is owed $1M, C. Singh, $200,000, Nafiz Hatim $125,000, N. Yacoob $400,000, M. Zalim $231,000, Wazir Khan, $600,000, Anand Raghu $1M, Enam Noheed $155,000, C. Petam 700,000 and two other farmers, one being owed $276,000 and another $200,000.
All are from West Beribice and they complained that they have been spending a lot of money travelling to and from Georgetown for the court case.
Nadir Imram said they all have families and were forced to borrow large sums to service their crops. Imram said while some farmers were able to continue some could not.
"Some of us ain't get money to pay the man with the combine and purchase fertilizers. Some of us don't even have money to continue in the business."
In an interview with this newspaper earlier this year, Ishoof had assured that her company would honour its debts, even though contending that there were some discrepancies with regard the exact amount of money owed.
According to her, the company was strapped for cash and was indebted to several other farmers who had not taken her to court.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Rice Producers' Association, Dharamkumar Seeraj said Pandora's treatment of the farmers was unfair and cruel. He contended that the farmers have families to look after and depend on the money for a living.