EFCL faces $550M in litigation claims

JSC chairman David Small expressed shock at the sum, that includes $70 million in 11 claims by one company and $250 million in 30 claims by another.

Small said many claimant companies seemed to be interrelated.

Ministry of Finance acting permanent secretary (PS) Lisa Phillips said she had not known before of these claims, but Small said it is a rule that her ministry be notified of claims against State companies.

“This is shocking to us” said Small “$550 million in potential litigation matters is huge. It is worrying.” Ministry of Education acting PS Angela Sinaswee-Jervais also said she had not previously heard of the claims, to Small’s chagrin.

EFCL acting general manager and chief financial officer Dennis Cox said the size of the $550 million in claims was worrying, saying several court judgments had been made against the EFCL.

Small was upset that this information was unknown to the JSC, and the Ministries of Finance and Education.

Cox said the EFCL is trying to devise a strategy to handle those claims, working with the claimants and their attorneys, in the country’s interest, for which Small sought more details, plus the EFCL’s legal fees. Wesley Herbert of the Ministry of Finance’s Investment Division told Opposition Senator Wade Mark that a report into the EFCL’s operations will be ready within two months.

Mark said an existing report on funds owed by the EFCL suggested to him that 460 companies are owed $340 million, even as the Office of the Attorney General probes the validity of these claims. Cox said not all claimant companies are under scrutiny. Mark asked if the 625 companies claiming against the EFCL – 324 small, 248 medium and 50 large companies – were pre-existing clients or newly- contracted? Cox said they were on a new pre-qualification list of companies already checked by the EFCL.

Mark asked how many contracts (and of what value) had the EFCL issued to these companies, and hadn’t the EFCL paid such sums? Cox in reply promised to undertake this “tedious task” soon.