Skip to main content

Canadian 'farmer logic': Who benefited from GSFC's obscure investment in Karnalyte?

By A Representative 
On November 8, Counterview carried an article titled “Pump and dump strategy? Erosion of GSFC's Rs 250 crore investment in Canadian firm”, by a 1975 batch IAS bureaucrat, who was called a “turnaround man” by the Times of India way back in 2006. Second article by Luke on the subject (the first one was on January 4), it is based a letter he wrote to Gujarat chief secretary Anil Mukim protesting against a 2013 Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals investment of Rs 250 crore in Canadian firm Karnalyte in 2013, whose value has now fallen to Rs 10 crore!
Based on the article – which argues that the PSU investment was allegedly made without taking into account the Canadian firm’s profile the for production and supply of potash, facing glut in the international market – the “Indian Express” carried a follow-up on November 10, even as quoting GSFC CMD Arvind Agrawal as stating he had not seen the letter, as it “is very long”, adding, “It is a seven-year-old matter and there is no point in going in, digging (sic!).”
This was followed by the Congress-controlled “National Herald” doing a detailed story on November 20 (following it up with a front page flier on November 22 in its Sunday print edition), titled “Gujarat rope trick”, and wondering, “Who decided in 2013 to invest Rs 250 crore in a dubious company in Canada? The investment has turned into junk and the Canadian company with three employees did not fulfil its commitment in the last eight years. But somebody benefitted. Who?”
Based on these article, Stockhouse, a top Canadian financial portal, one of North America’s largest small cap investor communities, whose members include affluent investors actively researching stock and looking for new opportunities, carries a scathing letter on the GSFC investment by one of its members. Titled “Farmer Logic”, the letter has been apparently written by a Canadian farmer, referring in passing that Luke, on retirement, has taken up farming. Read on:
*** 
Interesting articles out of Gujarat! Thanks for putting those on for me to read. A few months ago when I started my thoughts on here, I had a hard time aligning why a State run enterprise would invest in a foreign country to get something they could buy on the open market. Those posts were around August 17th.
Having been to India many years ago, I saw (and it happens here too) that a Government might not be corrupt but people in the Government can and sure will be, and they try to get their hands on some money.
In one of the articles Mr. Luke who is on the back 9 of his life and has taken up farming (God Bless him) said he has no personal interest in this but wants to bring the truth to the people of Gujarat. Note, no personal interest but he knows something was up all along. 
At another point in one of the articles, it says that money went down the drain.....and farmer logic says check the end of the drain to see who that money benefited.
Who has zero-NO Shares in this venture but yet have a personal interest and are getting paid?! The current management and board members! Doesn't anyone else see that?
Of course they want to keep things the same and conserve cash.....to pay themselves.
Those of you who are from the farm or are handy will know that when issues/problems come up, people look for someone or something to blame. I have an adopted brother who many years ago used to help on the farm. Everything he touched broke or got smashed. He could blame this or that or another person but it turns out he was the common denominator involved in every wreck and managed to survived with excuses and blaming others and other things until my Dad (he loved that boy and gave him many chances) realized that the boy was the problem.
Who is the common denominator and has survived all this turmoil? Danielle and GSFC board members (individual people) have continued to be personally paid since this all started and in the meantime have invested not one dollar personally into this company!!!?
Danielle and the current board have seen Mr. Phinney get run over and out of the company, along with all the other board members who actually owned shares as well as an interim CEO who owned a good amount of shares and a recent CEO.
Danielle and the current board are at the end of the drain receiving all the money and the benefit. I looked through the Proxy materials. Danielle and the whole board who own no shares are the ones getting paid and they are disparaging proposed board members who actually own shares? Doesn't anyone else see that as upside down?
in one of those articles from Gujarat media Mr. Luke or the writer says that the current interim CEO is unknown!!!
Read the Proxy that was just sent out, Danielle is praised as having all this experience and knowledge....in what operating/producing fertilizer venture? In Political alignment with the personal individuals from GSFC on the board it would appear she is well versed at. She, along with the GSFC individuals took home good personal money and survived Mr. Phinney and everyone else ever involved and not one of them owns a share!
To me it is right there! They are the only ones benefiting Can't anyone see that? It appears the higher ups in GSFC and people in the State of Gujarat and the Government are figuring it out.
The Fox is in the Hen House. There is no one left for Danielle to throw under the bus and survive, unless someone from GSFC will be the fall guy.....or will GSFC turn on Danielle?

Comments

TRENDING

King Corona and his descendents: How long will the Dynasty last?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  “Corona ” is in the media once again, precipitating a déjà-vu feeling and some amount of panic among the people. Among viruses and microorganisms King Corona and its descendents enjoy Royalty Status. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." This classic quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is well known. But does it hold well in current times? The events during the past five years challenge the Bard's view.

India’s 2021 excess deaths: was it the virus — or the containment frenzy?

By Bhaskaran Raman* Tyagu (name changed), a vegetable vendor recalls of his brother’s death in 2021. The victim had a normal fever, but was forcibly taken away to the hospital saying that it was Covid. He had been coerced into taking the Covid-19 “vaccines” by that time. After 10 days in hospital, he died. There was no proper information during his hospital stay, and no one was allowed to visit, saying that visitors could also get Covid.

Old bias, new excuses: How western media misrepresents India’s anti-terror strikes

By Gajanan Khergamker  The recent Indian military strikes on Pakistan, dubbed Operation Sindoor, have sparked a storm of international media coverage. Several prominent outlets have portrayed India as the aggressor in the escalating conflict, raising concerns over biased reporting. This commentary critiques coverage by foreign media outlets such as The New York Times , Reuters, BBC, and CNN, which have often been accused of framing India’s actions as escalatory while downplaying or omitting critical context regarding Pakistan’s role in fostering terrorism. By examining historical patterns and current geopolitical dynamics, this analysis highlights the recurring selective framing, omission of evidence, and a tendency to favor narratives aligned with Western geopolitical interests over factual nuance.

जैविक जीवित संसाधनों व प्रकृति पर निर्भर मजदूरों की व्यापक आर्थिक सुरक्षा कैसे हो?

- राज कुमार सिन्हा*  भारत में  60 करोड़ से अधिक लोग भूमि, जल, जंगल और समुद्र जैसे प्राकृतिक स्रोतों पर निर्भर हैं । देश में 14.6 करोड़ छोटे और सीमांत किसान, 14.4 करोड़ खेतिहर मजदूर ( बड़ी संख्या में दलित हैं), 27.5 करोड़ वन निवासी, 2.8 करोड़ मछुआरे, 1.3 करोड़ पशुपालक और 1.7 करोड़ कारीगर हैं जो सीधे तौर पर  प्रकृति के साथ और प्रकृति के भरोसे काम कर रहे हैं । लगभग 6 करोड़ मौसमी मजदूर हैं जो काम के सिलसिले में लगातार अपने गांव से बाहर जाते हैं और लौटते हैं। प्रकृति निर्भर समुदायों की आर्थिक गतिविधियां जो बड़े पैमाने पर जीवन निर्वाह और छोटी आय के लिए है। वर्तमान आर्थिक नीतियों के कारण, जो कॉर्पोरेट्स और बड़े व्यवसायों का समर्थन करती है, प्रकृति निर्भर समुदाय के लिए अव्यवहारिक होती जा रही है। 

राजस्थान, मध्यप्रदेश, पश्चिम बंगाल, झारखंड और केरल फिसड्डी: जल जीवन मिशन के लक्ष्य को पाने समन्वित प्रयास जरूरी

- राज कुमार सिन्हा*  जल संसाधन से जुड़ी स्थायी समिति ने वर्तमान लोकसभा सत्र में पेश रिपोर्ट में बताया है कि "नल से जल" मिशन में राजस्थान, मध्यप्रदेश, पश्चिम बंगाल, झारखंड और केरल फिसड्डी साबित हुए हैं। जबकि देश के 11 राज्यों में शत-प्रतिशत ग्रामीणों को नल से जल आपूर्ति शुरू कर दी गई है। रिपोर्ट में समिति ने केंद्र सरकार को सिफारिश की है कि मिशन पुरा करने में राज्य सरकारों की समस्याओं पर गौर किया जाए। 

Crying air, water, and earth: A call to conserve our dying natural resources

By Dr. Gurinder Kaur*  Air, water, and earth—these natural resources are essential for the survival of all living beings, including humans, animals, and plants. Life in any form is impossible without them. These are precious gifts of nature to humankind. However, in the pursuit of economic growth, modern humans have severely polluted these valuable resources in an attempt to satisfy their greed.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement: Why India should reconsider its stance

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  For more than the past three years, the WHO has been trying its best to push the Pandemic Treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations in unholy haste, instead of conducting a proper appraisal of the impact of the measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic—a routine exercise after any pandemic to guide future strategies.  This raises questions about whether the WHO, under China’s influence, is trying to conceal its acts of omission and commission during the pandemic, including obstructing investigations into the origins of SARS-CoV-2. The WHO recently faced a setback when the USA decided to cut all ties with the organization. 

21-day security operation targets Maoist presence, prompts questions on civil impact

By Harsh Thakor*  Union Home Minister Amit Shah has described a recent counter-insurgency operation along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border as a significant achievement for Indian security forces in their efforts against Maoist groups. The three-week-long operation in the Karreguttalu Hills reportedly resulted in the deaths of 31 individuals identified as members of Maoist formations.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by  Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the  Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."