The Government of Guyana may be weighing its options in the matter of the liquidation of the debt associated with the outstanding payment of US$5 million due on the agreed price of US$30 million for its 25 per cent stake in the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Business earlier this week, Chief Executive Officer of NICIL Winston Brassington said that exchanges with Datang were still to arrive at a firm position on the payment of the remaining amount. “We have discussed looking at a diplomatic solution where our government speaks with the Chinese Embassy here,” Brassington said.
However, the NICIL CEO refused to rule out the likelihood that the option of litigation may arise. He told this newspaper that if the option of an amicable solution fails “then we might have to go the more expensive route, litigation.”
However, Brassington repeated his earlier assertion that the non-payment so far by Datang of the remaining US$5 million notwithstanding, the government was able to secure as good a deal as it could have hoped for with the Chinese company. “We got the dividends before we sold,” Brassington said, adding that the fact that the dividends have not been received by Datang proportionate to the US$25 million that the company has already paid “has been an issue.”