Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath said the government is taking a closer look at the financial burden Amplia continues to place on TSTT while preparing to launch an investigation into the controversial acquisition of the company.
The Minister was speaking to the media following the launch of bmobile’s 2026 Future Leaders Internship Programme (FLIP) on Thursday.
He said the acquisition continues to burden the State-owned telecommunications company and questions remain over how the deal was approved.
“First we have to determine in whose pockets or did anybody’s pockets this money went into? Who was his special interest that created a situation where a company valued at just over $20 million was purchased at $277 million. So first we have to get to the bottom of that because when it was asked of the former administration, both the then Minister of Finance and then Prime Minister claimed that they had no knowledge about it. And therefore we must determine who put TSTT in this situation.”
The Minister said an investigator will soon be appointed to examine the circumstances surrounding the purchase, while the TSTT Board continues reviewing the company’s financial and operational structure.
Minister Padarath said Government is also exploring whether some of Amplia’s operations and employees can eventually be absorbed into TSTT to reduce duplication and avoid job losses.
“I’ve asked TSTT to start looking at whether or not we can subsume where we have Amplia employees. Should the government take the position that we are going to axe Amplia? That decision has not been taken. I am waiting for the financials, and I’m waiting for that investigator to go in to determine what is the status of the company, because there’s a lot of duplication in efforts, and therefore whether we can subsume both into each other and make it work so that we can ensure that persons remain employed.”
Despite the challenges surrounding Amplia, the Minister noted that TSTT has recorded a significant profit for the first time in 11 years.