PM – I gave ECGC the go ahead to make a bid for Bottlers Ltd.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves was in full support of the East Caribbean Group of Companies’ (ECGC) bid to purchase the now defunct St Vincent Bottlers Ltd.{{more}}

The prime minister said he had been advised by owners of the company that Bottlers would have been operational again by August 2011 because they had a partner from Trinidad.

“They came here, I spoke to them,” he told members of the media at a media briefing on Tuesday.

“Bottlers will tell you, I have helped in every way possible to facilitate their purchase or acquisition because Ju-C is a household name and I know the investors had invested in it,” Gonsalves said.

The prime minister explained that he had informed one of the shareholders of Bottlers who had come to visit him accompanied by his lawyer, that he (Gonsalves) had given instructions to one of the state’s directors on the board of ECGC to support the bid to purchase the company.

Gonsalves also said that ECGC’s Chief Executive Officer, Osmond Davy also met with him and gave him the framework of that company’s plans to which the prime minister said he gave the approval for ECGC to go ahead and make a bid.

There was a presentation made by the shareholders of Bottlers and their auditors to the board members of ECGC, and that there was some additional data, which the board and in particular some shareholders of ECGC had requested.

But the prime minister said that he was always in full support of ECGC, where the government owns 20 per cent of the company’s shares to make a bid for Bottlers Ltd.

Gonsalves comments were made following statements made by Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace, who on Monday said that the time had come for the workers of Bottlers to receive their severance payments. (DD)