LiveInGuyana

Guyana Stores Limited found in breach of Companies Act
-shareholders demand audited reports, dividends Shareholders of the Guyana Stores Limited ( GSL) have demanded explanations why the company has not been complying with the relevant legislation regarding the Registrar of Companies, the Guyana Securities Council ( GSC), and the Guyana Revenue Authority ( GRA). Documents filed with the Registrar of Companies reveal that Mohan Lall, also known as Glenn Lall, owner of the Kaieteur News publication, is a director of GSL. GSL’s majority shareholder, Royal Investments Limited, is controlled by Tony Yassin, who was recently in the news as a defendant for unpaid sums due to the state for the privatisation of the company. GSL and Royal Investments are defendants on three legal matters filed in connection with the privatisation of the said company. Lall has been very vocal in his attack on the government of Guyana and other companies, using his newspaper almost on a daily basis to publicise alleged cases of corruption in public office. One shareholder, a former employee of GSL, has inquired why Lall, as a director of GSL and close associate of Tony Yassin, has not seen it fit to ensure that the company complies with the law. GSL has failed to file an an nual return with the Registrar of Deeds ( as evidenced by the lack of such documents on file), or to hold a sharehold ers’ meeting for over a decade. This newspaper understands that the company has not paid any dividends since it was privatised over a decade ago. Shareholders’ inquiries on when accounts would be available or when a shareholders’ meeting would be held have been ignored. Given Lall’s pursuit of transparency, shareholders are calling on him to publish his role in the delinquent GSL. One shareholder also blamed the Guyana government for giving special preference and other concessions to the company, despite the fact that the new owners have not paid for the shares of the company, and are delinquent in their stewardship. The concessions were given to the company, another shareholder said, becasue Lall is a close friend of the government. Another shareholder complained about being embar rassed in finding out that no audited reports of the company’s accounts were available and that taxes to the GRA may be outstanding. The shareholder also blamed the Guyana Securities Council for not taking firmer action against the company when it was discovered not being in compliance with the laws of Guyana.

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