No replacement yet for ousted PCJ board

Mark Titus, Business Reporter

The government has named a slew of directors for its mining and energy-related companies, but none, so far, for the Petroleumn Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), whose board was dissolved without public announcement or explanation more than a month ago.

Kathryn Phipps, the chairman of the fired PCJ board, has declined to be interviewed on the likely cause of its dismissal and emailed questions by Wednesday Business last week to the office of information minister Daryl Vaz have not yet been responded to.

However, last weekend, days after The Gleaner's questions, Vaz announced that the Cabinet had approved boards for the Clarendon Alumina Company, the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Jamaica Bauxite Mining Lt (JBM), the Bauxite Alumina Trading Company, Petrojam Ltd, the Petroleum Company of Jamaica (PETCOM) and Wigton Windfarm.

These companies, like the PCJ, fall within the portfolio of the mining and energy minister, James Robertson. In fact, the PCJ, the vehicle that leads the government's energy-related projects, is the parent company of Petrojam, the oil refiner and distributor, PETCOM, a retail operation and Wigton, an electricity generator.

Phipps was about to head the PCJ board in 2008 after the then mining and energy minister, Clive Mullings fired Ian Moore, with whom he had policy and operational disagreements.

Mullings himself was later fired by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who named Robertson to the portfolio.

Government insiders suggest that while Phipps has won kudos - if not always endorsement for style - for her attempts to uncover and root out inefficiency and corruption in the agency, her relationship with Roberston and officials at his ministry were often strained.

Among the issues to which they point was the seeming disagreement between Phipps and energy ministry officials over whether the government should have granted more time for bids for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasfication facility in Jamaica.

With two major Korean contenders for the project pulling out when they were denied the two-and-half month extension within which the bid, a consortium led by Exmar Corporation and including a company in which Ian Moore is partner, emerged as the government's preferred bidder.

The award of that contract is now under investigation by the Office of the Contractor General.

The following are the boards named by Vaz:

Clarendon Alumina Production Ltd

Chairman - Peter Millingen, atty-at-law

Winston Hayden, general manager

Councillor Milton Brown, mayor of May Pen

Conrad George, atty-at-law

Joseph Cox, atty-at-law

Jamaica Bauxite Institute

Chairman - Timothy Wilson, atty-at-law

Fay Hutchinson, insurance executive

Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited and Bauxite and Alumina Trading Company of Jamaica

Chairman - Phillip Armstrong, banker

Olive Smith, businesswoman

Coy Roache, managing director, JBM Ltd.

David Minott, businessman

Delano Seiveright, communications consultant

Fitz-George Carty, engineer

Gary Coulton, businessman

Lloyd Bent, businessman

Peter Fakhourie, businessman

Richard Hector, businessman

PETROJAM Limited

Chairman - Angus Gordon, businessman

Dr Audley Darmand, energy engineer

Glenford Watson, atty-at-law

Leslie Campbell, atty-at-law

Timothy Wilson, atty-at-law

Petroleum Company of Jamaica Limited

Chairman - Russell Hadeed, businessman

Tracy Adams, businesswoman

Dr Earl Green, alternate energy (sustainable development) expert

Desron Graham, banker

Dwight Crawford, businessman

John Brennan, businessman

Mark Azan, businessman

Robin Russell, businessman

Steven Fong-Yee, businessman

Wigton Wind Farm

Chairman - Wayne Vaz, businessman

C. Lloyd Allen, sports administrator

William Saunders, energy consultant