Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson signs the contract for the 2007 Cricket World Cup expansion of Sabina Park on January 21, 2005. At left is Dr. Wayne Reid, while in background are Michael Vaccianna and Donald Ellis, director, Ashtrom, and at right, Benny Goldstein, GM of Ashtrom. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
NEARLY TWO years after it was formed to manage the Jamaica leg of Cricket World Cup - and having already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project - Jamaica Cricket 2007 Ltd. is not yet formally in the ownership of the government.
In fact, the Office of the Registrar of Companies still lists lawyer Michael Vaccianna and his partner, Pamela Whittingham, the original nominee shareholders, as the existing stockholders, with one share each. But Vaccianna said on Monday that the shares were being transferred to the Government and the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).
"The shares have been transferred [and the nominee shareholders] have transferred their shares and the other shares that the company was formed with have so been allotted," said Vaccianna, who is still on the board of Jamaica Cricket 2007 and acts as its secretary. "Seventy-five per cent [ of the shares] went to the Accountant General and 25 per cent went to the Jamaica Cricket Association," said Vaccianna. "The transfer is going through the registration process now."
It was not immediately clear why private, rather than government lawyers, were used to establish the company and nominee shareholders used and why it has taken so long for the transfer to be completed.
WASTE AND UNRESTRAINED SPENDING
Among the original board members of Jamaica Cricket 2007 was Alston Stewart, who figured in the controversies over allegation of waste and unrestrained spending at the Government's National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), of which he was executive chairman, and big cost overruns at the Sandals Whitehouse Hotel where Stewart's private company, Nevalco, was the project manager.
But Vaccianna said that Stewart and businessman Larry Sharp have since left the board, while businessmen, Senator Noel Sloley, Peter Melhado, Paul Campbell, Alva Anderson and managing director Robert Bryan have joined chairman, Dr Wayne Reid, Jamaica Cricket Association president, Jackie Hendricks, Jamaica Olympics Association (JOA) president, Mike Fennell and businessman and race horse owner and breeder, Howard Hamilton.
The Government has projected to spend about US$93 million to stage the Jamaica leg of the World Cup, which will include warm-up games, the opening preliminary round matches and the semi-final. The largest portion of the budget, approximately US$58 million, will go towards the building of new stadium in the northern parish of Trelawny, and the upgrading of Sabina Park in Kingston.
AUDITED ACCOUNTS
Bryan, the company's managing director, was out of the country yesterday, and Reid could not immediately say how much money has so far been spent on the stadia and other projects.
Jamaica Cricket 2007 did, however, have audited accounts for last year, Reid said. "Sure - we have completed [last] year's audit and we are in the process of tidying up this year's audit," he said. "I don't know if we can give the [accounts] to The Gleaner or any other newspaper. It's a government company I don't know exactly what are the rules and regulations concerning the process for disclosure of accounts before they go before the ministry."
None of the audited accounts have yet been tabled in Parliament.
