Superb Caterers tells Ramdeen: Keep us out of political bacchanal

MANAGING Director of Superb Caterers Ltd, Wayne Ali, is robustly defending his name and the reputation of his company after a revelation in the Senate on Tuesday that he submitted inflated catering bills to Petrotrin for meals provided to the company on November 11 and 17.

Ali said he and his company are already facing a backlash because of false statements made by Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen in the Senate on Tuesday. He urged politicians to be honest in their deliberations and not injure innocent people and the businesses they worked hard to establish, just to score cheap political points.

He said his company’s phones have been ringing off the hook and his staff have been abused by people accusing them of corruption and charging $1,000 for a plate of food.

“My company is being implicated in something that is totally false. I have already contacted my lawyers and they are presently discussing the next course of action.”

Ramdeen made the allegations of wild spending by Petrotrin in the days leading to its shutdown on November 30, during the debate in the Senate on the vesting of Petrotrin’s assets in Heritage Petroleum, Paria Fuel Trading Company and Guaracara Refining.

“My hands are clean. My company is reputable. I have never been involved in any scandal or bacchanal over the 25 years I have been in business, and I want my name and my company’s reputation cleared,” Ali said at a media conference at his Ghandi Street, Marabella office on Wednesday.

“I was never paid $23,770 for providing meals for two meetings held at the Pointe-a-Pierre staff club, Petrotrin on November 11 and 17 as reported in the Guardian Newspaper.”

He said when he saw the television newscast on Tuesday night, indicating a caterer had been paid this whooping sum, he was not bothered because he is just one of several caterers used by Petrotrin for more than 20 years.

“But I am a bit disturbed this morning, after I saw the name of Superb Caterers being identified as the company in question by this newspaper.”

He presented to the media the two invoices submitted to Petrotrin to substantiate his claim.

The first invoice, dated November 11, showed he provided hot and cold beverages for 120 employees who were collecting their letters of termination in the Ballroom and Hummingbird Lounge, plus 26 box lunches at a total cost of $5,130.

On November 17, he billed the company $1,715.63 for the provision of 25 hot and cold beverages, plus 15 box lunches for a meeting held at the same venue.

The total cost of those two events added up to less than $7,000 and Ali said if the situation was not serious, he would be laughing because the irony of it all is that, “I have not yet been paid a cent for those two catering jobs.” He produced a thick stack of paper indicating that represented outstanding bills from Petrotrin dating back to 2013.

He also gave the media copies of an advice from Petrotrin dated November 15, indicating that they had settled an outstanding payment in the sum of $24,771.26 dating back to 2014.

“Petrotrin owes me a lot of money. Although my overdraft is high, I have been tolerant with the payments because I get a lot of business from the company, but I have a business to run and a staff to pay.”

Ali said he was very concerned about Petrotrin honouring its debt as it prepares to wind up the company by the end of the month.

“They are saying we would be paid. That whatever company is coming in there they would honour the debt. But I am concerned about my survival, because it is not only Petrotrin that owes me money. A lot of government agencies and ministries are owing us.”