The shareholders of National Flour Mills (NFM) will vote today to appoint nine people proposed by majority shareholder National Enterprises Ltd to its board.
The names, put forward by NFM's corporate secretary Gillian Pollidore in a letter to shareholders about today's special shareholders meeting, are Jacqueline Burgess, Bridgelal Neebar, Mayanti Beharry, Harrisford McMillan, Sardanand Ramnarine, Doolarchan Hanomansingh, Sterling Chase, Suresh Maharaj and Monique Patrick.
Peter Permell, minority shareholders' rights advocate, said seven of the nine people being proposed by NEL "have stated their "business occupations" as housewife, water pump technician, teacher, retiree (three over the age of 70 years) and co-ordinator of the Ministry of the People and Social Development with responsibility for co-ordinating the Ministry's Poverty Reduction Programme." Further, Permall observed that under the section "Other directorships (if applicable)" almost all of the nominees stated "none."
"As a consequence, in my capacity as a shareholder and an advocate for the rights of minority shareholders, I am now questioning whether the individuals being proposed have the requisite knowledge, experience and expertise to properly manage the $380-million-dollar company," he said.
Permell said he felt compelled to raise these concerns ahead of today's special shareholders meeting in light of the fact that:
• NFM is not a special purpose company or state enterprise, but a publicly-listed company on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock.
• Five of the company's directors were constructively removed last October by the majority shareholder for reasons that are not readily apparent.
• The company was "strongly reprimanded" by the TTSE on February 11, for failing to notify the exchange of the resignation of five of its six directors, the effective date of the resignations, and the notice convening the special meeting as required by the Rules of the TTSE; and in breach of Section 64 of the Companies Act, which provides that a public company shall have no fewer than three directors.
Permell said: "I am also concerned whether these individuals will be sufficiently insulated from possible government/political interference to allow them to make decisions that would be in the best interest of all its shareholders and enhance shareholder value going forward. "I am therefore also curious to know what would have been the rationale and/or thinking that would have informed their selection," he added.