Agriculture Minister: Inquiry Is Not to Dig Into B.S.I. Business

Jose Abelardo Mai

G.O.B. has said that it will not nationalize the sugar industry. But what will be the scope of the inquiry? Will the unresolved commercial agreement be settled?

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“It is not an exercise to go in and finger only on B.S.I. it has to be a holistic approach. It is not that we are fishing out and trying to find a way to dig up into B.S.I.’s business. No, it is to look at the entire industry. When the Commission of Inquiry is over, there will be reports and there will be empirical measurements. If you say that your mill is ninety-eight percent efficient, then the experts go in and analyse and evaluate your efficiency. And it could be that they are ninety-nine percent efficiency or it could be ninety-seven. But after that is done, the empirical measurements are used to help guide a very well, fair for all commercial agreement and a sound and fair legislation that will include fairness to everybody in the industry.”

Duane Moody

“Sir, will the B.S.I. give access to its finances? Its reports? Because that would be, I assume, part of it. They would have to show proof that this is how much I’ve invested in the industry, this is my yields and all of that.”

Jose Abelardo Mai

“Well that is a question for B.S.I. to answer.”

Duane Moody

“But will they allow the government to?”

Jose Abelardo Mai

“I would hope that they would do so because under the Commission of Inquiry Act the prime minister authorises and who doesn’t comply, I think there are penalties. I am not a legal person, but I suspect that there are penalties for those who don’t want to comply with the Commission of Inquiry Act.”