HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, yesterday said that government has agreed to the sale of its 20 per cent share in the local phone company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company, for US$30M. The Cabinet Secretary made this announcement at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing, at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, in Georgetown.
“Cabinet yesterday approved the sale of its 20 per cent shareholding in GT&T. That sale was at a sum of US$30M. The party to which the sale was made is an Asian Chinese enterprise that had conducted its due diligence with GT&T subsequent to the decision made and communicated to GT&T”,” he disclosed.
The Cabinet Secretary said US$25M would be paid up front, with the remaining US$5M paid over the next two years.
Responding to questions about the decision to sell, he said, “The analysis does not address purely the historical. I think if you have been a purveyor of the stock market, you would quite accept that you are here today and you could be gone tomorrow.
Adding, “The analysis had to take into consideration the historical, but trends also, and I am pretty certain that the Privatization Unit that brought together the government, trade unions, consumers, private sector – that they have looked at this matter in a comprehensive way, and advised the Cabinet on the decision to sell”.
He also noted, “The recommendation has been prepared and presented to President Ramotar. It would not be the first decision coming from the Privatization Board that the Government accepted.”