Politics not hampering selection of new Monymusk owner

Western Bureau:

Dermon Spence, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF), has rubbished claims that the foray into representational politics by Phillip Henriques, chairman of the Sugar Enterprise Team (SET), is to be blamed for the delay in selecting a new owner for Monymusk Sugar Factory.

While efforts to contact Henriques, who is a prominent businessman in central Jamaica, were unsuccessful, George Callaghan, the chief executive officer (CEO) of SET, refused to speak on the Monymusk issue when he was contacted by The Gleaner.

Henriques is slated to challenge Richard Azan, the incumbent People’s National Party’s member of parliament for the North West Clarendon constituency, on the governing Jamaica Labour Party’s ticket.

Within recent times, reports have surfaced that because of Henriques’ political involvement, the process to select a new owner for the Clarendon-based sugar factory has slowed considerably.

However, in rejecting that view, Spence said that the process was ongoing but was not progressing at the pace that some persons would have liked.

“We are pursuing a process, and these things can take time,” Spence told The Gleaner in a telephone interview on Thursday. “The team has gone through the proposals, and some of the bidders have been asked for more information, in the form of their business plans, by the end of this month, and then the full team will look at them and make a recommendation to the minister as to the way forward.”

Spence also pointed out that because the Government does not own the factory, any matters beyond the expression of interest would have to involve the Pan Caribbean Sugar Company, which owns the factory.

“Also, remember that the Government does not own the factory, and therefore, it means that while the Government is trying to seek suitable investors, once there is an expression of interest, we will have to engage Pan Caribbean,” said Spence.

Minister’s decision

Spence said that any decision regarding the chairman’s political interest was something for Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw to handle. He nonetheless remained adamant that a bid to enter representational politics cannot affect the selection process.

“The matter of the chairman and anything that has taken place is something for the minister to look on further, but if the concern is whether or not the selection process is being affected, the answer is definitely no,” said Spence.

Pan Caribbean invested more than US$260 million to renovate the factories and fields at Frome and Monymusk after becoming Jamaica’s largest sugar manufacturer after its US$9-million divestment deal with the Government in 2009. The factory took a $7.3-billion hit to its bottom line by 2015, mainly because of a $5.5-billion impairment loss at Monymusk.

Years of uncertainty followed for the farmers and surrounding communities of the Lionel Town-based operation as the frustrated Chinese decided to shut down and focus on their Frome factory operation.

Jamaican firm Yallahs International Inc is among five firms that were selected for further talks late last year. The company’s CEO, Anthony James, has been openly critical of the snail’s pace at which the SET team was vetting the application.

“As businessmen, you can understand the value of time and the opportunity cost of inaction. We have been knocking at the door for almost three years, and to date, the degree of response is tepid, at best,” James said at the time.