THE Joint Consultative Council on the Construction Industry (JCC) says it is alarmed at the manner in which the Government has chosen to deal with the winding up of the Education Facilities Company Ltd.

It says it now appears the Government intends to wind up the company instead of dealing with its debts to legitimate creditors.

In a statement on Tuesday, the JCC says the EFCL owes “well over $600 million” to its creditors of which the majority represents money owed to contractors and consultants going as far back as 2015.

Last month, Newsday reported on Government’s plans for EFCL’s future with a winding-up petition being filed in the High Court. No date has yet been set for the hearing of the petition nor has it been published to give notice to the company’s creditors of the proposed position. So far, neither Ministers of Finance Colm Imbert nor Brian Manning has responded to questions on the winding up of the EFCL.

In its statement, the JCC said the EFCL, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Education, engaged private companies to provide goods and services “for which they did not have the funds set aside.”

“ The financial hardship imposed on companies by this refusal of the MOE/EFCL to pay legitimate debts after carrying out their own several due diligence audits, and even after lawful judgments, since 2016, has forced some private companies to downsize and others to simply fold up.”

The Finance Ministry has said the matter “was now before the court and a liquidator appointed by the court will be charged with the responsibility of asking creditors to prove their claims and adjudicate on them.

“It is only when that stage is reached that the Government can give consideration to such matters.”

The JCC said “the fact remains that while many contractors and others have already sought and secured judgment against the EFCL in the courts, some with lower value judgments have chosen to levy on the EFCL assets, which are virtually nil and were left trying to liquidate furniture.

“The government is repeatedly on record, promising that all legitimate debts incurred by the EFCL will be paid. It appears, however, that the Government holds themselves above the law and is using the Companies Act to sidestep its responsibility to pay the legitimate debt.”

The JCC said the EFCL was created by the Government, and funded by the Government to satisfy the need for works and services of the Ministry of Education.

“In a liquidation scenario, where the assets of a state-sponsored company like the EFCL cannot cover such enormous debts, payment can be made at a discounted rate by the liquidator as he has to pay off all others as well as creditors based on the EFCL’s asset value.”

The JCC says it appears that the Government has taken a decision to wind up the company instead of dealing with legitimate debts ordered by the courts and other creditors over the past six years.

“This is an extremely dangerous precedent to set in a country where we have over 50 special purpose companies, like the EFCL, all of whom hav