Cabinet approves sale of CEMACO!!
…Frank B Armstrong Ltd new owner
By Stanford Conway
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CENTRAL MARKETING CORPORATION [CEMACO] will soon be under new ownership and management as a result of the government’s decision to sell the public entity.
The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, made this disclosure while in discussion with media practitioners at his Monthly Press Conference in the Parliamentary Lounge at Government Headquarters on Tuesday, April 22.
Dr. Douglas told the media that the decision to sell CEMACO originated from the government’s programme for stabilisation of the country’s economy. He explained that in the past, his government had indicated some public assets would be sold and some government services would become more commercialised.
“CEMACO was one of those institutions that came up for discussions for sale. The government, over the last few weeks, has been engaged in the final sale of CEMACO. As to whether the actual sale has taken place, I am not in a position to say at this time. But I know that the Cabinet has given the full approval for the sale of CEMACO,” Dr. Douglas said.
The PM further explained that only one party had shown interest in purchasing the entity, and that is “the company known as F.B Armstrong; and I believe that the Cabinet has given its okay for that to be sold”.
With regards to the workers welfare, Dr. Douglas said the same procedure would be conducted as in any place of business that has become defunct.
“I believe that they would be properly compensated under the existing laws that are being pursued through the Labour Department…and I believe their interest will be well looked after and nobody there should be disadvantaged,” he said.
He added that if the new owners were to continue operating the type of supermarket that CEMACO had provided, the workers may be available for re-employment as any other person would have the opportunity to apply. “In fact,” he added, “it would be good if they were given first preference…I am not certain as to what the exact details were when they were exiting.”
Asked at what cost was the entity sold, the PM said he was uncertain. He however admitted knowing what the figure was from earlier discussions but “I do not want to misquote, so I won’t say a figure here. But I am sure it will be public knowledge…we have nothing to hide”.
He pointed out that two independent as well as government’s evaluations were done, and the purchaser’s bid appeared very reasonable with very little difference and variations to the value of the business entity.
Dr. Douglas declared that the CEMACO experiment had not been fruitful for many years. “When my government took over CEMACO was simply a supermarket. I believe very firmly, and the government believes very firmly that government should not be running any supermarket. What we have done is that we have made it possible for the Farmers Cooperative Society to have access to the CEMACO building on Central Street so that they would have the opportunity to utilise that.” ~~Adz:Right~~
The PM said the government had asked the Farmers Cooperative Society to bid on the sale of the supermarket in Newtown, but they declared it was beyond them. The workers were also asked to bid, but, like the farmers, they were unable.
Dr. Douglas said the farmers were again asked to bid for the Central Street outlet, but, as it was with the former, the response was negative. He said CEMACO was first established to sell the products of local farmers and the Central Street outlet was the venue for this venture.
Prime Minister Douglas further explained to the media the main reason for the establishment of CEMACO, noting the farmers had an avenue for the sale of their produce to the public but the experiment was unsuccessful.
