Dear Editor,
The claim by Winston Brassington that his brother has not received any dividends from Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation (HHTC) refers. Apple Inc, the most profitable and the largest technology corporation in the world has not paid dividends since 1995, yet shareholder benefits have far exceeded those of large corporations that pay dividends. The returns to shareholders from both dividends on ordinary shares and capital gains from their investments in blue chip giants like Exxon, IBM, Wal-Mart and General Electric, pale in comparison to the gains Apple shareholders have enjoyed over the last seven years without Apple shareholders receiving any dividends.
It is thoughtless to limit return on investment to dividends paid; the focus should be on the value of HHTC from the period Mr Jonathan Brassington bought HHTC shares in 2009 and the value of HHTC at the end of 2011. Some of the valuation and investment information should be accessible in the audited financial statements of HHTC which are now available, as indicated by Christopher Ram in Sunday Stabroek of June 3. From the audited financials we can determine 1) the change in valuation of HHTC from 2009 to 2011; 2) HHTC returns on investment in preferred shares of the Berbice River Bridge; 3) the large shareholders of HHTC – HHTC is a transformed corporation after NICIL virtually gifted them GNCB Trust.
I do hope that the opposition’s request to defer the sitting of the National Assembly is to properly prepare for the necessary review of NICIL and its funds.
The Guyanese people, both political and non-political have voiced their concerns over NICIL, including the exposure of the 2009 US$1 million investment in HHTC by Mr Jonathan Brassington, the brother of then NICIL CEO Winston Brassington. Conflict of interest is but a splinter from the possible violations of NICIL.
What more is being hidden from the public by NICIL? Hopefully we do not have to spend more time pleading for opposition leaders to take action with our relentless letters to the editors of the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News. Let the principals of NICIL be brought before a parliamentary committee and let the full story of NICIL become public.
Debates are useful; however when one side has all the facts and the other side is using extrapolations and guesstimates, the purpose of the debate is not only undermined but also allows the NICIL principals to control the debate and hide what they want.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Hinds
