"Minister Phillip Paulwell throughout this all has been a very outstanding and dignified person in this project. The only thing that he has ever wanted is to create jobs for his people..."
The following is a statement from the principal of NetServ, Paul Pereira. The company, which received $180 million from the Government, is at the centre of a current scandal.
THE NetServ project began several years ago with a dream I had to build a fully integrated Caribbean network. In pursuit of this dream, the informatics and in particular the call centre business in Jamaica fit perfectly with NetServ's objectives.
Both Mike Dawson and myself had met with representatives of JAMPRO at an exhibition in Florida who indicated a keen interest to develop this industry and consequently invited us to Jamaica.
Senator James Robertson quickly got into the picture through Mike Dawson as a result of a previous business relationship he had with him. I was subsequently introduced to Mr. Robertson who began to play a role assisting with scheduling meetings and picking and dropping us to and from the airport and driving us around to look at various office buildings.
Mr. Robertson took us on several occasions to meet with Mr. Edward Seaga who also expressed keen interest in the project and Mr. Seaga himself took us to see some buildings in his constituency. Mr. Seaga expressed a keen interest in having us open a facility in a particular building.
Mr. Robertson had a function at his house in honour of the NetServ team and present were Mr. Seaga and members of his party with whom we had lengthy discussions regarding the project that we were proposing. Mr. Seaga went into great detail about his involvement with the Teleport project in Montego Bay several years prior and made close comparison to ours. It was at this function that James Robertson also introduced me to Paul Burke and his wife.
We also had meetings with Minister Phillip Paulwell, JAMPRO and NIBJ on many occasions and began the very long and tedious process of presentations and proposals for what we felt the project could become.
Members of my team and Mike Dawson and myself came into this project very enthusiastic and diligent to make a great success of it. On many occasions some of our managers even went without salary due to limited funding. I personally have not drawn a salary for over twelve months. Our commitment to NetServ and its project in Jamaica is unwavering as well all have a tremendous belief in the potential of not only the financial benefits but also the impact that it would have on socio-economic environment in Jamaica through the creation of jobs.
I personally have spent enormous hours and with great sacrifice not only financially but also to my personal and family life. As a result of the intensity of the project in Jamaica I would not see my family for extended periods of time.
McKinsey and Company, a major international consulting firm, based out of Florida, got involved and prepared a business plan for NetServ, an investor presentation and project rollout schedules. This process took several months with their team of four as we felt it important for the success of the rollout. Our intention was to have as precise and exact a rollout as possible.
Upon being granted the NIBJ loan for the start of the project there were very rigid guidelines for disbursement. Firstly, all disbursements were done by:
1. Either NIBJ made direct payment to the suppliers upon presentation of the supplier's invoices brought to NIBJ by Mr. Mike Dawson who was the chief operations officer or
2. Mr. Stevens Wedderburn, a director of NIBJ was required to sign all cheques that were written on the account in which the 90 million JA was deposited. Mr. Wedderburn had to sign and authorise every cheque before disbursement. I personally have NEVER signed any cheque on any account pertaining to the Jamaica funds. NIBJ's representative, Mr. Wedderburn and NetServ's COO, Mr. Mike Dawson have always handled these matters. I do believe that the process was always managed with great care and diligence. NetServ would also provide progress reports to NIBJ. All the details of every disbursement would be with NIBJ also.
Prior to the final signing of a business relationship with the Jamaica Government, Mr. James Robertson had been pressuring us for an agreement that would give him some sort of payment arrangements. ...We were advised [after we had commissioned a background check] to distance ourselves from Mr. Robertson... It was at this point that there was the start of agitation against the project. The aggression towards NetServ started shortly after the breakdown of the relationship with Mr. James Robertson.
Our team was determined to keep focused and press on towards the completion of the project. We had been working with NEC and Active Link to complete the integration and had some delays as a result of the high tech nature of the system. NEC were very proud of the cutting edge technology that both themselves and NetServ were integrating and subsequently made the attached press release dated August 29, 2001 done by NEC directly referencing the Jamaica project and the NEC infrastructure installed at NetServ's offices. Mr. Rex James and others have on numerous occasions been to the Florida offices and seen the equipment infrastructure and seen it working.
The project required additional funding and NetServ was having some problems securing the funding primarily because of the following:
1. The loss of a major investor directly as a result of the July 7th 2001 violence in Jamaica.
2. The loss of other investors as a result of the September 11th 2001 WTC attacks.
3. The loss of yet another investor as a result of the unfounded and non-factual propaganda continually being published in the Jamaica newspapers that were being fuelled by members of the opposition party.
4. Political controversy surrounding this project continues to deter many investors.
These factors have made it almost impossible to successfully move the NetServ Jamaica project forward. We are not a great big company with huge deep pockets and never purported to be one. We always made it clear that we were a growing company with a brilliant idea. An idea and a dream that I truly believe in and many members of our staff whom also sacrificed so much also believe in.
What I cannot understand is why anyone would want to destroy a project that could create so many jobs and train people with a skill that they could take anywhere in their lives. I thought that everyone would want to see this succeed because it meant jobs and better lives for people of Jamaica. Today NetServ employs 209 people in Jamaica. It may not be the 500 or 600 that we had projected but we had a few delays like any other project and would eventually get way past the 500 or 600 jobs. But why would anyone want to deprive even one of those 209 people a job. By destroying the NetServ project people are doing just that. This not only deters the investment in the NetServ project but investment in Jamaica on a whole.
In addition to this, I am a businessman with a dream. I wanted to turn my dream into a business. Anything that I have done is always to the best of my ability with honesty and integrity. I and all the members of the NetServ team wanted to build something. Something that we could be proud of and our families would be proud of. Instead, I am financially poorer, emotionally strained and my character and reputation desecrated without justification. This project has got caught in the middle of politics in an election year.
Minister Phillip Paulwell throughout this all has been a very outstanding and dignified person in this project. The only thing that he has ever wanted is to create jobs for his people... I have seen Minister Paulwell stand in support of this project because he believes in it and has been the greatest ambassador of our cause. My respect and best wishes will always go out to him no matter what. I hope that the people of Jamaica remember what Minister Paulwell and the Jamaican Government tried to create and the goodwill behind it and what others may have tried to destroy.
Finally, I want to make it abundantly clear that the management team, shareholders and stakeholders of NetServ are committed to this project in Jamaica and stand ready to see it to successful completion.
