Van West Charles gets fuel import/wholesale Licence

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Inc (GWI), Dr Richard Van West Charles, has been granted a licence to import/wholesale and store fuel.

The prominent supporter of the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, son-in-law of the late Forbes Burnham, and former Health Minister was handed the fuel licence by the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) in November last year and is valid until 2025.
The licence has been issued in the name of Atlantic Fuel Inc.
Checks with the Deed Registry Department on Tuesday revealed that Atlantic Fuel Inc was registered as a company in February 2015 and was issued with its Fuel Import licence in November 2015.
Directors of the Company are Dr Richard Alexander Van West Charles, Lear Solomon Goring, Andron Alphonso and Ronaldo Alphonso.
The Company Secretary is listed as Andron Alphonso and its address listed as Lot 16 Sublot ‘A’ Mudlot, Kingston, Georgetown.
Checks at the listed Kingston address however, revealed that there is no storage bond for fuel at that location, neither any signage for Atlantic Fuels Inc.
In fact, the Kingston address houses, in addition to an office for Atlantic Fuel Inc, another company Adamantium Mining.
A missive posted outside of the Adamantium Mining’s operation has listed a notice purportedly from management.
That notice identifies Ronaldo Alphonso — one of Atlantic Fuel Inc’s Directors — as Adamantium Mining’s management.
When Guyana Times visited the location on Tuesday, employees were cagey with their answers, save to say that “the boss is busy at a board meeting.”
This publication was told that he would be unable to attend to the media at the time.
Asked about Atlantic Fuel Inc’s storage facility for its imported fuel, one of the employees suggested that fuel was not in fact stored at the Kingston location, since most of the fuel imported is used for the company’s mining operation in addition to its fleet of vehicles.
According to a copy of the licence seen by Guyana Times, the document is valid for 10 years and was inked on November 5, 2015 by GEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mahender Sharma.
The Licence #: IL/0055 of 2015 grants to Atlantic Fuels Inc, permission for the importing/wholesaling of diesel in Guyana during the period November 5, 2015, to November 4, 2025 – a total of 10 years.
Permission was also granted to Atlantic Fuels Inc subject to the conditions of its licence, for the storage of diesel for the purpose of import/wholesale at 16 Sublot ‘A’ Mudlot, Kingston, Georgetown.
In June this year, Government scrapped a similar licence that was granted to China Zhonghao Inc under the previous Administration. That licence was dated to expire in January 2025 but was cancelled after Government alleged that an audit showed that the company only had a conditional licence.