In elections campaign hustle, PNC sells $83 million Republic Bank shares to Trinidad company

The main opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) recently sold $83 million worth of its shares in Republic Bank (Guyana) to a Trinidad company, as it struggles to finance an elections campaign it is running under the APNU coalition banner. It has been revealed that the PNC owns half a billion dollars in shares with Trinidad-owned Republic Bank.

The News Room has been reliably told that the shares were sold to Maritime Life (Caribbean) Limited of Trinidad, without any real overtures to local companies. Republic Bank appears to have facilitated the transaction in favour of a fellow Trinidadian company.

The PNC is in a desperate scramble to raise funds for the elections campaign as it is failing to attract campaign financing and has been getting very low attendances at its meetings and rallies, even in areas where it once dominated.

The buyer, Maritime Life (Caribbean) Limited, is an insurance company with growing interests in the Caribbean financial sector.

While the terms of the sale have not been publicly disclosed beyond the price tag, there are  questions about whether the PNC offered Maritime incentives—perhaps future business rewards or policy favour—should the party return to power.

Senior members of the PNC are concerned about accountability in this recent sale, given that it disposes of a sizeable chunk of the party’s financial assets.

These concerns are given the recent saga in which the PNC treasurer had resigned and revealed that he was asked to sign blank cheques by the party leadership.