RAMPS fell short on requirements for certificate – Local Content Sec. justifies
- reminds of fines for false info.
Guyana’s Local Content Secretariat on Monday confirmed that it has denied RAMPS Logistics a local content certificate, saying it did not fulfill the requirements as set out in the law.
On Thursday last, Head of the now divested Trinidad-owned company, Shaun Rampersad had begged the Secretariat for reasons for the denial and noted that the company was ready to remedy its shortcomings, as it stands to lose in a major way.
RAMPS Logistics was confident that it had reached all the requirements to be added to the local content registry.
But in a letter to the company’s attorney, C.V Satram, Director of the Local Content Secretariat Martin Pertab said that from the list of documents submitted by RAMPS Logistics the certificate could not be granted for a number of reasons.
Among them is the fact that Ramps Logistics submitted Articles of Incorporation (without the schedule on share transfer restrictions annexed, although the said Article expressly refereed to such an annexure) which only authorised the issue of 100 ordinary shares at the price of $1.00 GYD each.
Pertab claimed, however, that other documents submitted by Ramps Logistics purports that Deepak Lall, who the company said it sold 51 per cent were sold for $210 million, ultimately exercises voting rights representing 51% of the total number of issued shares at a value of $1,000,000USD, while Ramps Logistics Limited (“Ramps Trinidad”) exercises voting rights representing 49% of the total issued shares at a value of $960, 680USD.
“No Amended Articles of Incorporation nor the corresponding resolution were submitted to the Secretariat which authorised the increase in the total number of shares Ramps Logistics is authorised to issue. As a result, Ramps Logistics does not satisfy the fifty-one percent beneficial ownership required under the Act,” the letter noted.
Pertab went on to detail that no signed, filed and certified Company Resolutions, nor extracts of the share register or a share certificate were submitted to the Secretariat which authorised and evidenced the sale, transfer or issue of the number of shares allegedly issued to Guyanese national, Deepak Lall, nor Ramps Trinidad.
The most recent annual return showing the information required in relation to the allotment and issue of shares was not submitted to the Secretariat.
Ramps Logistics reportedly only submitted a draft of an unsigned financial statement which still did not set out the total number of shares issued and who were allocated those shares.
Ramps Logistics submitted a Notice of Change of Directors filed with the Commercial Registry and signed by the certified clerk as a true and certified copy detailing five Directors. The initial submission contained information showing that only 40 % of the Board of Directors were Guyanese.
But Pertab said Ramps Logistics resubmitted another Notice of Change of Directors, which included Deepak Lall, to increase the initial 40% of Guyanese nationals to 60% with three Guyanese nationals and two non-Guyanese nationals sitting in the executive management of Ramps Logistics. These changes still did not meet the required 75% as stipulated in Section 2 of the Act.
Several other reasons were preferred in the letter by Pertab, who said as a consequence of the review, and based upon the foregoing observations, the application of Ramps Logistics was refused.
RAMPS Logistics was reminded of the offences set out at sections 6(7), and 23(2) and (3)(a) of the Act. These offences include the offence of submitting any false or misleading information for the issuance of a certificate of qualification to be registered on a Local Content Register which is punishable by a fine of $10,000,000 on summary conviction.
In a brief response, the company acknowledged that it had received the letter and said it made “reasonable documentation requests” that its lawyers are already working on submitting.
“We are grateful for the prompt response by the Secretariat since we held our press conference on June 23rd, 2022. We look forward to working together to promptly resolve this situation. Ramps Logistics Guyana is committed to meeting all reasonable and lawful demands of the Secretariat,” the statement added.
