Ronald Thwaites
RONALD THWAITES, the Member of Parliament, for Central Kingston has asked Minister of Mining and Energy, Robert Pickersgill, to inform Parliament about the state of negotiations for the sale of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo).
Mr. Thwaites tabled questions on the House, Tuesday, asking the Minister to indicate: "The stage and prospect of the negotiations for sale of the JPSCo and the likely timetable for completion, bearing in mind that the Hon. Minister of Finance stated in his Budget presentation that the revenue expected from the divestment of the JPSCo will go towards the balancing of the 2000/ 2001 budget."
He also asked the Minister to assess any likely impact on consumer supply and cost of electricity, as a result of the proposed divestment.
In his budget presentation in April, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson had stated that two companies - Houston Indus-tries Energy and Southern Electric International - had submitted "firm offers" for the purchase of majority shares in the company.
He said, however, that the decision to have the JPSCo pursue its business plan, did not preclude minority equity participation. The Government anticipated the listing of the JPSCo on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in due course, to enable broad-based ownership participation and to create opportunities, he said.
But, although Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, had indicated that the privatisation was essential to fill the revenue gap in the budget, nothing further has been heard on the matter, since.
