NAWASA not yet affected by Taiwan loan

User Rating:  / 0

Details

Parent Category: Nov 2011

Category: Week ending Nov 12th, 2011

Published on Saturday, 12 November 2011 23:31

Hits: 1131

State-owned National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) is still to receive any official communication from lawyers representing Taiwan, which is seeking to recover millions of dollars, owed to the Asian nation by the Grenada government.

 The Grenada Port Authority (GPA) has confirmed that it had been targeted on the Taiwan issue and had been notified that it will not be able to collect monies from cruise ships that dock on the port.

 The lawyers for Taiwan have served court notices to cruise liners and airline companies doing business with Grenada requesting that they pay into an account in New York any funding owed to Grenada.

 Speaking to reporters Monday at a press briefing held at the Flamboyant Hotel in Grand Anse, St. George’s, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NAWASA, Terrence Smith said that the utility company has not received any notification to pass on the finances it obtains from cruise ships to the lawyers.

 Finance Minister, Nazim Burke has stated publicly that state-owned entities like NAWASA face the prospects of receiving subpoenas to hand over any funds given to them by cruise ships for the sale of water while in Port St. George.

 Smith told reporters that the sale of water to ships is a very small proportion of NAWASA’s annual revenue.

 He said during the dry season, the Authority is not compelled to sell water to the ships.

 “The extent to which the Authority could be affected is limited by the sale of water to ships,” he remarked.

 Grenada is indebted to Taiwan after failing to service four loans amounting to EC$76 million that was contracted between 1990 and 2000 from the Export-Import Bank of China.

 The Taiwanese moved to collect all outstanding monies owed to them by the island when St. George’s severed ties with Taipei in favour of Mainland China.

 The Export-Important Bank of Taiwan obtained a default judgement against Grenada’s then ruling New National Party (NNP) of Dr. Keith Mitchell in a New York court to recover the outstanding millions.

• < Prev
• Next >