THE Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has been ordered to pay Golden Fleece Rice Investment USD$308,620.03 ($65.2 million) for the supply of rice to the Panamanian market in 2018.

The ruling was handed down by Justice Gino Persaud at the Demerara High Court.

The applicants, Nazeemul Hakh, and Shareeda Hakh, of Golden Fleece Rice Investment, had sought to have the court appoint an arbitrator to preside over their dispute.

The sum was owed for the supply of long grain white rice shipments under two contracts. The rice was supplied between August 1, 2018, and November 7, 2018.

Under the APNU+AFC administration, a trade agreement was made with the Panamanian government, encompassing the supply of approximately 9,000 tonnes of rice through the GRDB. However, this deal has proven to be deeply flawed, leading to financial turmoil and legal battles for the GRDB.

The key issue arising from the agreement was the failure to establish robust payment terms and safeguards. As the recent court case highlighted, the GRDB contended that it could not pay Vilvoorden Investment Inc for the rice as it had not received payment from Panama. They cited a “pay-when-paid” clause in the contract as a justification for their non-payment.

However, the reason did not fly with Justice Persaud who granted judgment in favour of the applicant in the sum of USD USD$308,620.03 or its equivalent together with interest on that sum. Additionally, the GRDB was directed to cover the costs of the legal proceedings, totalling $1 million.

Recently, Justice Persaud also ordered GRDB to pay Vilvoorden Investment Inc $US 77,000 ($16.2 million) for unpaid rice exports to Panama.

Justice Persaud, while delivering the verdict, highlighted the complex nature of the case, terming it a classic “Heller’s Catch-22 situation.”

He noted that the ongoing imbroglio had left Vilvoorden Investment Inc. unpaid due to GRDB’s own non-payment predicament. The GRDB had received and exported the rice to Panama for sale, but unfortunately, payment was not received.

Currently, the Panamanian government owes the GRDB over $1 billion for rice purchases and there is uncertainty surrounding the outstanding payments. Guyana has already expressed its intention to seek recourse through the International Chamber of Arbitration in France to recover the money it is owed.