Unpaid benefits to retirees of the National Maintenance Training and Security Company Limited (MTS) were brought sharply into focus during the second sitting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on State Enterprises.
It was noted that discussions are continuing with relevant authorities to have outstanding financial matters addressed.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Utilities, Neela Ram-Atwaroo, highlighted the state of the company, specifically updating the Committee on payments to retirees.
“We have the retirees who have not received their gratuities and so on. We have a number of companies who have not been paid for services, so we are working closely with MTS to look at all the issues and to come up with that plan that will incrementally deal with all of these issues. I do not have the quantities at this point of time, member, but I do know it is currently in the amount of arrears of 42 million.”
Chairman of MTS, Dr. Adrian Barran, assured that the matter is being addressed.
“So we have been in discussion again with the management and the PS. We do have a plan on the way forward in order to get the monies in order to do that payment, and we are looking at our receivables, and a proper way forward in order to get those receivables from the Ministry, from Ministries that are owing MTS.”
The executive of MTS indicated that the company owes $180 million to contractors, a matter that is being addressed by the Ministry of Finance.
Director, Agro-Based Manufacturing and Services Sector, Ministry of Finance, Investments Division, Mr. Ryan Maharaj, said, “The invoices for those contracts, the projects, are to be submitted now to the Ministry of Education, to the Budget Division, to be paid from the Consolidated Fund. So it is no longer being paid from those loan funds, as the money was returned to the Central Bank.”
It is estimated that MTS is owed over $850 million by State Agencies.