Back-alley deals - Jamaica Gov't forté

By Glenn Tucker,  Guest Columnist

Saturday's edition of The Gleaner carried more news about EWI. We are told that EWI's licence is being reviewed. Isn't it amazing that this nonsense with EWI has been going on so long?

Perhaps the first sign of something strange should have been that the bid was not made via the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed company Energy World Corporation (EWC), but through its major shareholder, a shadowy entity called Energy World International (EWI). So nobody picked that up? But what about the fact that when we asked it to produce its financials proving its ability to build and operate a US$730-million power station, it produced EWC's financials.

Even if we put on blinkers to ignore this, did it also escape us that the EWC has a share market value of only US$520 million? Many Jamaicans in important positions believe that EWC is the parent of EWI. Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, West claims it's the other way round; that EWI, which is controlled by EWC's Chairman, Stewart Elliot, and his accountant, Brian Allen, owns 36 per cent of EWC.

EWC's website boasts a track record of 25 years in building power stations, and that it is "a pioneer in modular LNG development". The company has, however, resisted all attempts to provide public evidence of these claims. The website is excited about a Fiji project. EWI, through South Pacific Infrastructure (SPI), is supposed to be developing a 2X25MW biomass/refuse/coal-fired power station to serve the needs of Emperor Mines (EM). We are told that presently, PPA is being finalised between SPI and EM, and the conceptual design is nearing completion.

CONCERN FOR THE POOR

Emperor Mines? I seem to recall the military government of Fiji making a dramatic and much-publicised entry at Emperor Mines in 2007 and closing that site. And just in case some enterprising person suggests that it is just relocated, I checked the ASX, which reports that the stocks of EM were delisted.

The Sydney Morning Herald's West is very concerned about us. "In light of the enigma that is EWI, we have even more admiration for the flair of Stewart and Brian in securing this critical government project in the Caribbean. We also confess to a touch of apprehension for the poor people of Jamaica who already suffer high energy prices and low incomes."

The world has thousands of experienced, reputable, well-financed companies with impressive track records. The question that keeps haunting me is this: Why is it that every time this Government decides to do business with an international company, it wades through the sea of reputable companies and goes slumming in some back alley to hug up and do business with questionable characters?

Let's confine ourselves to the energy situation. We decide to divest the JPS. So we choose Mirant - a company hop-scotching between lawsuits and bankruptcy. Eighty per cent of the company is given to Mirant for US$201 million. It was hardly out of Customs at Norman Manley when it was implicated in one of the biggest energy scandals in the United States (US).

LYING AND FRAUD

The Atlanta Business Journal in the US claims Mirant was being sued for unjustly profiting from rampant lying and fraud during the California energy crisis that drained billions of dollars from the state and rate payers. One attorney general claimed that it "created bogus grid congestion, then received premium payments to relieve it".

But Mirant's problems would soon be behind it. Mirant had partnered with a poorly regulated cash cow called Jamaica. In a jiffy, after leaving Jamaicans bawling from some 'errors' that bore a remarkable similarity to the California experience, it was able to pay off all its debts, get out of bankruptcy, and offload JPS for a whopping profit.

Some mealy-mouthed local apologists here blamed high energy costs. OK. So, let's look there. We need a company to lift oil we are getting from Nigeria. So we take off again, dodging reputable companies and heading for another back alley where we find a company drowning in scandals.

To add to our shame, our Government seems to be searching for every legal loophole to stall the Dutch government in its efforts to launch a criminal investigation against this company that now has blood on its hands.

If you should look at the slides for the annual meeting of EWC in 2012, you will see Stewart and Brian leaving by helicopter for a 'site visit' in Indonesia, then landing safely. Interestingly, the helicopter they arrived in had a white tail, whereas the one in which they took off had a blue tail. The strategy this Government has for engaging foreign companies is as cloudy as this perplexing mid-air duco job.

Glenn Tucker is an educator and sociologist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and glenntucker2011@gmail.com.