Standoff ensues between old, new Chairman and Board – source

Despite the decision to appoint Special Purpose Unit (SPU) head Colvin Heath-London as Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the handover has not been a smooth one.
According to a source, Heath-London’s appointment is actually a “contentious” issue; one which has seen officials locked in discussions over the past days. With much on the plate of the Corporation, including the controlled reopening of a few estates, it is a deadlock some are concerned about.
This publication made contact with the chairmanship nominee, in a bid to ascertain exactly when his appointment would commence but he could not say. Checks with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL) Public Relations consultant, Alex Graham, were also inconclusive, as he noted he too did not have an official commencement date for Heath-London’s appointment.

“The (old) Board of Directors came to an end in February,” Graham noted. “And that is the position as it is tomorrow. The members of the new Board, including the Chairman, have been nominated. And the matter is being discussed by the relevant authorities at the moment. We will make an announcement from the SPU the moment we have clarity on the decision.”
The old Board of Directors had comprised Economist, Dr Clive Thomas as the Chairman and Frederick Singh as the Secretary. The Directors were Louise Bouyea, Fritz McLean, John Browman, Nigel Cumberbatch, Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, Nazim Ali and George Jervis.
A list of the newly proposed Board was circulated in sections of the media. On that list were Komal Singh, Verna Adrian, Fritz Mc Lean, Rosh Khan (Jr), George Jervis, Arianne Mc Lean, Vishnu Panday, Annette Arjoon-Martins and two GuySuCo executives.
At present, NICIL has direct responsibility for GuySuCo and that agency falls under the Finance Ministry. NICIL’s takeover was made official by a publication contained in an extra-ordinary issue of the Official Gazette dated December 30, 2017, which has responsibility for the divested sugar estates.
However, it was made clear that the takeover does not include any assets, lands or property for the Berbice estates of Albion and Blairmont and the Uitvlugt Estate on the West Coast of Demerara, as those entities will remain under GuySuCo for the foreseeable future.
Guyana Times was told that Professor Thomas, had been booted after first being appointed to the position in 2015, a few months after the new coalition Government took office.
Heath-London was appointed head of the SPU back in October 2017, after a decision was made by the Government to process the selling of GuySuCo assets, including a number of estates.

No changes
When contacted on Wednesday last for a comment, Professor Thomas was at first hesitant to speak but later denied that there were any changes made to the GuySuCo Board. He said, “I don’t know of any changes. I have not been officially informed. The only way the Board could be changed is if the Cabinet has decided to change it. That’s a Cabinet decision.”
Guyana Times also spoke with Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on Wednesday who also denied that any such decision was taken. “Not as far as I am aware, I don’t know of any decision. There is no appointment that has been made, at least not at Cabinet’s approval.”
Only recently, it was announced that a list for new directors was submitted to Government for approval. The idea was to have a 12-member Board constituted with diverse team members that will lead the industry in its new form and guide decisions going forward as it relates to sugar.
There were reports that Government had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the old Board headed by Professor Thomas.