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Jagdeo slams TCL over move to Caribbean court
Posted By Stabroek staff On June 28, 2009 @ 5:11 am In Local News | 11 Comments
President Bharrat Jagdeo adopted a hard-line position in the legal case of Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) and TCL Guyana Incorporated (TGI) against his government saying on Friday that the administration was defending the national interest which is “very important to us”.
Asserting that the government did not admit to defaulting during the recent trial, which ended with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) reserving its judgment, Jagdeo criticized the move to the court and pointed to what he described as the “hypocrisy of it all”.
He said: “Can you imagine going to the court about not being able to access countries’ markets when you cannot supply and then another country not fulfilling its obligations with regard to free movement of labour, but they want free movement of goods into your territories?
“We will have to discuss this issue at the heads,” Jagdeo added, clearly indicating that he intends to raise the issue at the Caricom Heads of Government meeting here next week.
Guyana did in fact concede at the commencement of the two-day hearing in Trinidad and Tobago that it was wrong to breach the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by unilaterally suspending the Common External Tariff (CET) on cement imported from countries outside Caricom, and adding that it was making “no justifications for doing so”.
But, according to the audio of the proceedings, when asked whether Guyana is still in breach, lead counsel Keith Massiah, SC replied, “I cannot say that the waiver is not in place and I have no information that COTED [Council for Trade and Economic Development] was approached for a waiver.”
TCL and TGI had accused the Guyana government of breaching the treaty and were later granted leave to sue the government here after approaching the CCJ.
The case underscores the issue of Guyana’s suspension of the CET and its implications for the regional treaty, but the President said on Friday that an equally important issue is whether the jurisdiction of the court extended to a private group. He was responding to a question posed by a member of the media.
“The meeting in Belize was clear… many of the countries represented there agreed on the TCL matter and the issue of whether a private group could take a case to the CCJ,” Jagdeo said at a press conference at the Office of the President on Friday.
The President said too that the decision to proceed in the case was made on “some erroneous submissions”, adding that the issue would be forwarded to Guyana’s Attorney General and likely, other Attorney Generals across the region.
“… I am not at liberty to speak about it all, but I hope that you will investigate this matter a bit more,” he said to reporters.
According to the President, Guyana was defending its interest from the beginning given that TCL has been unable to meet the demands of this country. He said its forecast for demand in Guyana was way out of line with actual use. This, he said, led to a serious escalation in prices and a shortage of the product.
“The decision to open up the market was based on that, and we were simply defending the national interest,” he reiterated. Further, he said that the region had been weighing the issue of whether CET protection should be offered to companies that are internationally competitive, some of which he said, have majority shareholders that are extra-regional.
Jagdeo said that the issue came up with Trinidad and Tobago’s oil, stating that Guyana was paying more for oil from T&T than it was selling for in the US. He questioned again why companies selling in the US market competitively should be offered CET protection in Guyana.
With respect to the issue raised by the President of whether TCL and TGI qualified as candidates for special leave to bring proceedings before the CCJ, the regional court had ruled earlier this year that the incorporation of a company in a Caricom state (which is a party to the treaty) is enough to qualify the company as a candidate for special leave to bring proceedings. It also ruled that an individual or a company may possibly approach the CCJ to seek relief against the state of which he is a national or any other Caricom state, which is a contracting party.
Further, in the judgment on whether a national of a state party to the treaty can bring an action, the court said it rejected a literal interpretation of the relevant article, Article 222 of the Treaty and took into consideration the policy and objectives of the Treaty as disclosed both in its preamble and its substantive provisions. In the judgment, the court held that it is possible for an individual or a company to seek relief from the CCJ for breach of a treaty obligation undertaken by a state whether or not that individual or company is a national of the offending state.
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11 Comments To "Jagdeo slams TCL over move to Caribbean court"
#1 Comment By blacksage On June 28, 2009 @ 7:26 am
Jagdeo has a point when it comes to the blocking of Guyana’s exports but suing for not getting into our markets.
It seems that Protectionism is on the cards for CARICOM. This institution is crumbling daily with that seems to be separatist rhetoric and approaches. There is clearly no unity among the member states, and there is the growing possibility of xenophobia and isolationism.
Perhaps it is time to be properly aligned with South America. After all, we are not an “island”, which is what these other tiny states are proud of declaring.
#2 Comment By cohore On June 28, 2009 @ 9:32 am
Jagdeo rarely has a point about anything. If the government’s legal arguments are sound then he should let thme contend in a court of law.
#3 Comment By ROSE ANN JAGDEO On June 28, 2009 @ 9:47 am
Keep them out Mr. President.
#4 Comment By SWAT (Speak Limited English) On June 28, 2009 @ 10:06 am
Your Government admitted guilt by breaching the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas when it unilaterally suspended the Common External Tariff (CET) on cement imported from countries outside Caricom, without any justification for doing so. Ignorance on your government part to NOT read the treaty FINE PRINT is no excuse. Time to reach an out of court settlement with TCL, because the CCJ will not rule in your favor….your government already admitted guilt.
#5 Comment By richardo wong On June 28, 2009 @ 1:28 pm
swat, you have to undersstand guyana’s position: tcl could not readily supply cement to the evergrowing needs of the guyanese society, hence its move to acquire cement out of the jurisdiction. trinidad refused to allow Jamaica’s patty recently with some silly excuse about health concerns. Trinidad is playing a bully. Jamaica did the same to us with the PL480 rice. We could not readily supply them ; hence it sought rice elsewhere. we did not take them to court.
#6 Comment By Brandon Samaroo (What has the PPP done in 17 years?) On June 28, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
He has a point but he is switching the topic the courts are not concerned about people vs. goods they are concerned with the issue of the Guyana Govt defaulting vs not.
Jagdeo and his administration is known for getting their apples and oranges all mixed up as a result he usually tries to sort out external issues the way he resolves internal issues through high handedness and cuss out.
You would think that as a head of state he would be somewhat more diplomatic and be able to resolve these issues amicably but when have you ever seen jagdeo be able to do this? The answer is never.
Clico is a mess, Guysucko is in the water, TCL dead as a duck, UNAMCO gone, who else is going to want to come to
Guyana and do business? yet jagdeo is busy flying all over the world under the guise that he is seeking out new investors. Who would invest in a country that does not have the basic pillars to run a business like a steady power supply and security?
IF we had a solid cheap renewable source of power we would have probably had several cement manufacturers housing businesses in GY.
This government is communist to the bone people, time for them to go.
#7 Comment By NAVYSEAL On June 28, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
I hope Jagdeo learn a lessson from here on out. Hocus pocus politics will not work.
#8 Comment By Brandon Samaroo (Have we gotten our money’s worth from the PPP after 17 years?!) On June 28, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
I am in agreement with you on this one wong, but the issue is how jagdeo does business.
There is a process you have to follow and Jagdeo needs to learn how to deal with businesses and how to follow process and law.
He has no time for due process and respecting the law. The fact that we did not take Jamaica to court is our fault, mind you I am not sure we would have been able to stand on any legal ground.
#9 Comment By Latchman Kissoon On June 29, 2009 @ 4:48 am
Why did Guyana have have to be part of the Caribbean Court Of Justice? Good for Jagdeo. He has been critising all the courts
Latchman Kissoon
#10 Comment By Brandon Samaroo (Have we gotten our money’s worth from the PPP after 17 years?!) On June 29, 2009 @ 11:35 am
what up wid de moderation? moderator got flu or what?
#11 Comment By Evan Thomas On June 29, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
Utter nonsense. jagdeo has no point. he knows fully well that the Caricom countries are taking persons who are eligible under the rules and categories of people who can produce the certificate. Not all the uneducated illegals.
This is not like the days when the colonies took the pressure off of the mother country. marx predicted that England would have been the first to have a socialist revolution but no, she had colonies to ship her people. I am sure that some of the hardworking leaders and governments like Bdos and T&t have no intentions to be colonies of their lesser capable and able colleagues like Jagdeo, Gonsalves and the one from Stephenson.