Dear Editor,

The long overdue day of rescinding has finally arrived for GT&T and its parent, Atlantic Tele Network (ATN). Guyanese will now officially be told of the creaming of six per cent of earnings by these combined telecommunication companies.

This particular correspondent has previously and consistently condemned the original sale agreement between the then Hoyte/PNC government and ATN, describing it as a sweetheart deal. The price, to use an American term, was a ‘steal.’

It was a shameless and avaricious deal indeed. Government representative Winston Brassington said that the government viewed the six per cent advisory fee, which is quite significant, as a distribution. Within the last five years, Brassington said, over $5B in advisory fees had been paid, averaging over a million dollars per year.

The government’s 20% shares should be exposed to international tender.

Yours faithfully,
David DeGroot