FINANCE Minister Winston Jordan has said that Colwin Heath-London has not been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo, despite an initial decision by a cabinet sub-committee to appoint him to the post.

The disclosure by the minister came just about a month after a full-page advertisement was published in the dailies announcing Heath-London, Komal Singh, Verna Adrian, Fritz McLean, Rosh Khan (jr), George Jervis, Arianne McLean, Vishnu Panday, Annette Arjoon-Martins and two executives as representatives of the new board of directors.

“He is not the chairman of GuySuCo; the chairman of GuySuCo is still Dr. [Clive] Thomas. The board of GuySuCo ends this month. In keeping with his responsibilities, Minister of Agriculture [Noel] Holder has to bring to the cabinet a new board to be in place when this one is finished,” Jordan said.

The Finance Minister said he cannot speak to the full-page advertisement placed in the daily newspapers as he was travelling frequently over the past few weeks. “I don’t know what ad. NICIL put in the papers,” said Jordan, even as Heath-London said he was informed that he is chairman of the GuySuCo board via the media. However, Jordan explained that a Cabinet sub-committee comprising himself, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Minister of State Joseph Harmon had unanimously agreed, “that committee decided unanimously that the life of the GuySuCo board comes to an end and a new board put in place headed by Mr London.”

“Mr Harmon being the secretary to Cabinet, obviously carried out the instruction and issued a Cabinet decision to that effect, but all sub-committee decisions have to be carried to the full Cabinet,” Jordan continued. It was when the matter was raised at the full Cabinet, that there were objections and a decision was made to examine the selected persons carefully.

“In essence then, Cabinet deferred decision on that board…the decision that was written up by the secretary was null and void, once Cabinet did not approve the decisions made by the sub-committee.”

The Finance Minister made it clear that it is the full Cabinet that has to approve, disapprove or vary whatever is taken before it by sub-committees.