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ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER

Monday February 15, 2022

GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO INVITE THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION TO ENERGY CONFERENCE

AFC REPORTS THAT JAGDEO MOVING TO SELL GUYANA PASSPORTS …IT COULD BE A REPEAT OF FACILITATING TERRORISM

CIVIL SOCIETY GROUP CHIDES OVER REPLACEMENT OF EITI HEAD ON FALSE POLITICAL GROUNDS

Tuesday February15, 2022

Government refuses to invite the political opposition to energy conference

The Organizers of the International Energy Conference and Expo has not formally invited the main political opposition, APNUAFC, to the conference.

It was admitted today that a formal invitation was not sent out to the main opposition but rather there was an open invitation.

Public Relations Adviser to the

conference, Alex Graham, said that the Organizers by no means excluded the main opposition from the conference.

“I don’t think that we sat down to invite these groups or not these groups. The conference was put together as…I don’t want to say publicprivate partnership because that’s too formal of titling but in a sense

that is how a lot of it has evolved.

“The conference has been promoted that people of all kinds have reached out. I don’t want to tell things out of school. I don’t want to seem to defend nobody but as far as I know some of the groups you are referring to have reached out and they have arranged for this participation in ways that

everyone had.”

Over the weekend, the APNU-AFC Opposition said that while being a representative of half of the population, it remains disappointing that not one of the members has been invited to an important conference when it was under the former APNUAFC that the Industry in Guyana started.

“One would have considered that the

initiative put forward by Dr. Irfaan Ali for a ‘One Guyana’ would have been a selling point at such a conference which would have displayed Guyana internationally, but this current posture of deliberately excluding these elected officials only seeks to provoke aggression in an already toxified political atmosphere.

“The hope that

government and the opposition would come together on a common ground for the prosperity of the nation has been shattered in front of the diplomatic community and now also the major stakeholders in our energy sector.

“This speaks heavily to investor confidence in the present state of affairs,” the APNU-AFC statement noted.

AFC reports that Jagdeo moving to sell Guyana passports

…it could be a repeat of facilitating terrorism

The Alliance for Change (AFC) is expressing concern regarding a pronouncement by Bharrat Jagdeo, during a televised interview on Monday February 7, 2022, that the Guyanese passport has “rediscovered” its value and citizenship.

The passport would be sold to international applicants.

The AFC said Mr. Jagdeo confirmed beyond any doubt that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration has returned to its pre-2015 modus operandi of facilitating the sale of Guyanese passport and citizenship to odious

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Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo,

types. This will bring serious reputational harm to Guyana.

Jagdeo’s statement is not without merit, the AFC said. The signs

of a repeat are evident everywhere as reports are rife of politicians and officials selling passports to anyone willing to pay the right price.

“Every right-minded Guyanese should be outraged by this development because the scars from previous experiences are still too fresh to ignore. For example, it was not long ago during the heyday of Al Qaida that Adnan Guls-hair el Shukrijumah, a Saudi Arabian-born terrorist who headed the Operations of Al Qaida, carried a Guyanese passport.

Since then, the public record shows that the passport was acquired during the previous PPP/C regime. This caused tremendous embarrassment to Guyana’s patrimony and prompted several

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western democracies to impose sanctions against Guyana.

In addition, two previous PPP Ministers with responsibility for Home Affairs – the late Ronald Gajraj and Clement Rohee –were restricted from travelling to any significant western democracies, the AFC said.

The ‘el Shukrijumah passport affair’ was an international security failure of epic proportions.

It highlighted that Guyana’s borders were porous and susceptible to widespread infiltration.

Though el Shukrijumah was later killed in Pakistan, the question remains

as to how he obtained a Guyana passport while being wanted by every international law enforcement agency.

“Jagdeo should have used the exposure given by the interview to answer the question and enlighten the Guyanese audience, which remains anxious to have closure of this episode. He is well aware of the buzz in the public space that the “big ones” in Guyana facilitated el Shukrijumah’s passport and presence in Guyana for a brief period.

“It is regretful that with the PPP, Guyana finds itself on the same destructive trajectory as before, only this time moving at a faster rate.”

Tuesday February15, 2022

Civil society group chides over replacement of EITI head on false political grounds

Dr. Prem Misir

Article 13 notes with deep concern the replacement of Dr Rudy Jadoopat by Dr. Prem Misir as Co-ordinator of the Guyana-Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI).

The international body, EITI, sets the recognised standard for accountability and openness as it relates to

the proceeds from the extraction of all-natural resources.

In the context of Guyana, where the extractive sector is fast assuming a position of dominance in the economy, meeting those standards is critically important.

Guyana became an EITI Implementing

country in October 2017 and its Guyana’s Validation under the EITI Standard commenced on 1 October 2021.

The GYEITI website contains a user-friendly Timeline – graph and all – showing the key events in the life of GYEITI Guyana from as far back as 2010.

While Article 13 agrees that all contracts of employment must follow processes, there is nothing in the public domain to suggest that Dr. Jadoopat has not delivered under his contract. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case.

GYEITI has published all the Annual Reports required for the years 2017 – 2020 and the preparation of the report

for 2021 is in progress.

We understand that GYEITI has completed the 1st and 2nd EITI Reconciliation Reports but that the third Report has been delayed as a consequence of the government’s inaction.

In seeking to justify the replacement of Jadoopat with Misir, the Ministry of Natural Resources has raised the issue of Jadoopat’s relationship with the Alliance for Change (AFC), raising the suggestion that Jadoopat served as an executive member of the (AFC), a claim denied by both the AFC and Dr. Jadoopat.

Article 13 is deeply concerned that the Government gives itself the right to terminate the contract of employment

of persons who have any association, perceived or real, with an opposition political party. The resonance with the days of the Party Card is frightening and completely unacceptable.

The Ministry, it seems, does not see the irony in offering Dr. Jadoopat’s association with an opposition political party as a reason for the termination of his employment while endorsing the recruitment of Dr. Misir, a long-time supporter of the ruling party.

It is a matter of public knowledge that Dr. Misir has for decades served the PPP/C while they were in government and was publicly identified with

the banning of ads for the Stabroek News, in breach of several provisions of the Constitution of Guyana.

Article 13 fears that by replacing Jadoopat with Misir, the integrity of the work of GYEITI will be compromised and that Guyana and its people will be the loser internationally, among international investors and multilateral institutions.

Article 13 calls on the Civil Society representatives of the Multi-Stakeholder Group which oversees the work of the EITI secretariat, to reconsider their participation in the MSG as offering legitimacy to a compromised organisation.

conversation about what the energy future is going to look like globally.

“It will examine how Guyana will be able to participate in that energy future, how Guyana makes itself the competitive and related subject.”

Mr. Graham also noted that Government heads will be discussing the future in their own setting, with the inclusion of talks from the conference. Local content will be at the forefront.

Mr. Graham added that another aim of the conference to get the attention that Guyana needs, the attention from which the country and its people will benefit fully from the resources and not only foreign companies.

“We want to ensure that in this generation and in their era Guyana

is not just seen as a place where you can go, get some resources, and leave. This has been an old model that we probably have suffered from in the colonial past.

“We want to demonstrate that in addition to being resource-rich that we could provide the thought quality leadership for the development of these sectors and for the contribution to the future.”

This conference is about and how Guyana itself contributes to the sustainable future, Graham said.

During the next four days, key stakeholders in the industry will hold talks with various business owners on how the industry in being run in Guyana and how all can contribute to the development of Guyana in a manner that benefits all.

International Energy Conference opens in Guyana

Speaking on the aim of the conference Public Relations Adviser to the conference, Alex Graham,

Guyana is set to be centre stage yet again, in relation to the Oil and Gas Sector for the next four days, starting from tomorrow. Several world leaders and delegates are set to discuss the focus of the world and Guyana in the Oil and Gas Sector and at the same time seeking ideas to guild policies.

Dubbed the International Energy Conference and Expo, the venue, which is the Marriott, is set the host the entire conference

from start to end.

President, Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley; President of Ghana, Nana AkufoAddo; Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil; President of Suriname, Chandrikaparsad Santokhi; Vice President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo; and other local and foreign dignitaries are the main attendees.

According to Angie Abel, CEO of the International Energy Conference and Expo,

the conference will carry a hybrid settling; in which some 500 delegates will be facilitated in-person and some even online.

It was also pointed out that during the four days the conference will facilitate an expo in which some 150 companies, including 40 local companies, will be showcasing their products and services.

Speaking on the aim of the conference Public Relations Adviser to the conference, Alex Graham, said

that organizers of the conference want to have three categories of people–the policymakers, industry practitioners, and professionals.

The conference will focus on networking and talks around policymaking to shape the energy future.

“We have worked hard to get policymakers, industry practitioners, and professors (the people that are from a university, the think tank, and so on) into the same

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Tuesday February15, 2022

AFC STANDS BY STATEMENT ON DEMERARA BRIDGE PROJECT

The Alliance for Change (AFC) says it is unperturbed by the frightened and hurried response of the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) regime to a statement of facts issued by its General Secretary and former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson.

Patterson described the government’s ineptitude on the Demerara Harbour Bridge project.

Based on research and information, he said, it does not matter the angle

or explanation to the cancellation of the bid process at this ninth hour.

It is reeking of suspicion, maladministration and corruption, a feature of the previous PPP regime, he added. “ U n f o r t u n a t e l y, the excuses proffered by the PPP regime to whitewash their sagging image do not answer the fundamental question. Why was the contract award process aborted only after a foreign journalist raised questions of transparency

and integrity directly with Bharrat Jagdeo regarding his association and the benefit derived from the awarding of contracts?”

Patterson said that the Government must tell the people of Guyana the real reason behind the withdrawal of the contract and what due diligence was undertaken before the said contract was awarded “We are confident that no amount of name-calling and diversionary antics will change the fact that the PPP administration’s handling of the Demerara Bridge project stinks to high heavens.

“The AFC will continue to reveal the facts about these contracts, including the lies and corruption whenever and wherever they are present. The

Man Fatally Stabbed Over Woman, Police Searching For Alleged Murderer

Police in Regional Division #1 are currently searching for a known male who has gone into hiding after allegedly killing 43-year-old Venezuelan national Rafael Antonio Aquino Soto between February 10 and February 11, 2022, at Return Baramita, N.W.D. A party of policemen has traveled to the area where the incident occurred and investigations so far have revealed that the

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suspect and the victim, who are not known to each other, were at a shop at Return Baramita, NWD, consuming alcohol about 16:00 hours on 2022-02-10.

They both left but met up on the Return Baramita Road where the victim convinced a female to go with him instead of with the suspect. When she did, the suspect allegedly became annoyed and a heated argument

ensued.

The suspect then pulled out a knife from his pants waist and dealt the victim one stab to his chest and made good his escape.

Medex Edghillo visited the scene and pronounced the victim dead on scene. His body was transported to the Port Kaituma mortuary for a post mortem examination.

The suspect is not yet arrested as police continue their search

people of Guyana deserve full benefit from the country’s resources which for many years have been concentrated in the hands of a few.”

The AFC said that the nation will recall that in 2014, the Cabinet of the then PPP administration cancelled a contract abruptly for

the construction of the East Coast Highway, which was later awarded to another Chinese company – China Harbour Engineering Corp (CHEC).

This left many to wonder whether any due diligence and investigation was completed in that

process, the AFC said.

“It is clear, the PPP has resorted to a campaign of false and misleading information in the public domain and malicious personal attacks on individuals within the AFC to cover up their incompetence and scandalous behaviour.”

The AFC says termination of the Demerara Bridge contract negotiations raises serious questions

The Alliance for Change (AFC) says the decision by the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Government to terminate contract discussions with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCECL) raises serious issues of due process, contract evaluation, and probity by the administration.

AFC General Secretary and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, says that the announcement on Tuesday that the government had terminated talks with the Chinese contractor and moved to the next bidder on the replacement of the Demerara Bridge was suspicious. It requires a proper, detailed, and coherent explanation.

In a statement today, Mr. Patterson said the initial reason was given

by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, that the financing costs were too high is rubbished by their project

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evaluation process, which the cabinet received.

It granted in a “noobjection” approval to the Ministry of Public Works to engage CSCECL from November 2021 based on a Design-Build-Finance (DBF) model.

“For the country to believe the Vice President now raises questions as to why in November he clearly stated that the financial terms and conditions would be no less favourable than those submitted in the preferred bidder’s price proposal and that the construction cost of US$256.6 million was the lowest among all bidders,” Mr. Patterson said.

Therefore, he said it was not credible for the sudden termination of negotiations because the financing costs were too high. He further called on the engineering and financial advisers to speak up on this questionable decision.

Mr. Patterson said

the announcement’s proximity to corruption revelations in the recent Vice Media Group interview is also curious and of great concern to the Alliance for Change.

It is also no secret there is great suspicion that one of the contracts referenced by the interviewer is the proposed contract with CSCECL. There is now a strong belief that the two events signal that there was more on the” mortar than the pestle”.

Mr. Patterson said openness and transparency were the only solutions to this conundrum facing the Guyanese, who believe the government’s secrecy posture fuels speculation about the lack of probity within the PPP Administration.

He said it was essential to recall that this project was shovel-ready during the APNU+AFC government, but the new PPP government chose to discard all the work and start all over again