Public servant, 63, elected to chair NFM

Jacqueline Burgess, a 63-year-old regional co-ordinator in the Poverty Reduction Programme in the Ministry of the People, has been elected to the chair of National Flour Mills (NFM). Burgess was one of nine new directors at NFM who were elected at a special meeting of the company’s shareholders held on March 3. The other directors are: Bridgelal Neebar, Mayanti Beharry, Harrisford Mc Millan, Sardanand Ramnarine, Doolarchan Hanomansingh, Sterling Chase, Suresh Maharaj and Monique Patrick. Among the directors they replaced were retired permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy, former UTC executive director Clarry Benn and veterinarian Dr Vincent Moe.

The nine were elected as directors to serve on the Board until the next annual meeting of shareholders.
After the special meeting, the directors met and elected Burgess to the chair. Forty-nine per cent of NFM is owned by individual and institutional shareholders, while 51 per cent is held by state-controlled National Enterprises Limited. In a statement last month, the board of the T&T Stock Exchange strongly reprimanded NFM for the breaches of not informing it that five of the company’s six director had resigned, the effective date of their resignation or disclosing the notice of the convening of the special meeting.

The length of time that NFM took to fill the vacancies also meant that NFM was in breach of Section 64 of the Companies Act which provides that a public company shall have no fewer than three (3) directors.
The board of the TTSE said that it “would have taken stronger action if the special meeting of shareholders had not been called to fill the vacancies in the board of directors.” The TTSE reminded all publicly listed companies of their obligation under the Rules of the TTSE to immediately disclose to the TTSE and the investing public all material changes and material information.