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Halt granting NEWS exorbitant concessions - AMCHAM to foreign investors Pres. tells Govt.

AIETEUR

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Sunday Edition August 25, 2019

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Online readership yesterday 82,088

Trotman breaks silence on 1% royalty in - says he was Orinduik deal following orders Danger Approaching: Neri dos Santos Silva watches an encroaching fire threat after digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading to the farm he works on, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil on Friday. (Leo Correa AP photo)

Berbice Bridge open to sale offer by Govt.

Beware of fake David Granger profile offering affordable - Ministry of housing the Presidency

Scholarship for law students lacks transparency - Lawyers Norway team due Forestry Commission Deputy CJIA Chief this week as Brazil considering export charged with sexual fires place spotlight licences for sawmillers assault interdicted on Guyana's forest and timber dealers from duty

UK company quietly moving into Guyana basin

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

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New fires in Brazil's Amazon as army mobilises to fight blazes Fires shown as of August 22, 2019

- More than 1,000 new fires spotted in the Amazon as six states request military's help to combat the blazes

B

razil (Al Jazeera) - Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, according to official data, as six of the nine states in the region requested military assistance to combat the record blazes.

The states of Para, Rondonia, Roraima, Tocantins, Acre and Mato Grosso requested the army's assistance, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said on Saturday, a day after President Jair Bolsonaro authorised the military to step in.

Data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday. More than 1,200 of those fires were spotted in the Amazon region.

The official figures show 78,383 forest fires were recorded in Brazil this year, an 84 percent rise over last year's figure. More than half of those were in the Amazon region.

Environmentalists have said farmers clearing land for pasture were responsible for the uptick in fires.

The Amazon is the

world's largest tropical rainforest and its protection is seen as vital to the fight against climate change because of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide it absorbs.

Some 44,000 troops will be available for "unprecedented" operations to put out the fires, Defence Minister Fernando Azevedo said, adding that forces were heading to the states that asked for help to contain the blazes.

The military's first mission will be the deployment of 700 troops to the area around Porto Velho, (continued on page 15)

Deputy CJIA Chief charged with sexual assault interdicted from duty

A

ndre Kellman, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), who had been charged for sexual assault has been interdicted from duty, airport officials disclosed yesterday.

While not disclosing the details of the airport's actions as it regards Kellman, officials attached to CJIA confirmed the Deputy Chief will remain off the job till further notice. “We cannot divulge further information because at the board and police are still handling the matter� an official told Kaieteur News yesterday.

Kellman was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly on Friday on a charge of sexual assault.

Ac c o r d i n g t o information, the charge read that on July 30, 2018 at Timehri, East Bank Demerara, he made sexual contact with a woman without her consent. The 56-year-old Kellman of 67 Craig Street, Campbellville, was released on $70,000 bail and instructed to make his next court appearance on August 29, 2019.

The charge was laid against the defendant one week after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised the police to do so.

In June, a woman had alleged that she was held and kissed twice in the office of

The red spots indicate the magnitude of the number of forest fires in Brazil

CJIA Deputy Chief, Andre Kellman the manager when she visited him last year to seek his help in removing the wheel clamps on her employer's vehicle which was left overnight in the parking lot of the airport.

While in the office, the woman said she was blocked from leaving and kissed twice without her permission. She claimed she did not have that level of (continued on page 18)

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Let’s use this pre-election period to forge a sense of nationhood, regardless of party affiliation DEAR EDITOR, Having had the good fortune of being involved in Sports, Academia, Business and Politics as a Guyanese; be it in the community where I reside, the business I manage, giving solicited or unsolicited advice to politicians; it seems to me that it is time for us to now look directly at the sunlight and cast off the Guyanese shadows of race identification that have tormented and divided Guyana for over sixty years.

We have to enable and embrace a culture, especially at the political, business and governmental level that de-

emphasizes the use of such terms as African-Guyanese, Indian-Guyanese, Portuguese-Guyanese, Chinese-Guyanese and similarly the use of black, brown, red, white and yellow to identify Guyanese in different ways.

Referring to Guyanese in a hyphenated or racelabelling manner, should not be the primary means of communication on our population demographics; we can instead convey the information using inclusive language, with the tone and prosody of what is being emphasized. The use by

Without a Local Content...

From page 4 crumbs that fall off the big table.

APNU/AFC does not believe Local Content is important; the task was not treated as Priority One, it was left to Dr. Mark Bynoe, a parttime lecturer at the University of Guyana, with no know experience in the business world. Bynoe was not furnished with a large budget to hire experts globally, he was given a small budget and he plunked for Mr. Wilks, a retired oilman and DAI Global, a company already in the employ of ExxonMobil locally. This level of neglect may not attract a criminal charge, but it should.

Clues as to why Local Content has not garnered the serious attention it deserves are in the actions of the APNU/AFC; The structure of the National Resource Fund as passed (illegally) puts control of revenues in the hands of one man, a politician, whomever is the Minister of Finance would have an

unhealthy control over every person associated with the management of these funds.

APNU/AFC has passed legislation that has no effective checks and balances. Given the APNU/ AFC track record of corruption, incompetence, jetset lifestyles and incompetence, I cannot envisage a fund that grows; it will be more like the Gold reserves which have declined from $16.268 Billion in June 2015 to $589.3 Million today, a decline of 96.4%!

No doubt, Bynoe will respond to my charges of his incompetence with charts showing how many buckets of local KFC are consumed annually by the Oil; Bynoe may also list the all-expenses paid trip to Singapore from ExxonMobil as ‘local content’.

The businessmen of Guyana know how badly APNU/AFC has failed them, now, you, the People, can judge for yourselves.

Respectfully Robin Singh

Guyanese of self-hyphenation and race-labelling tends to create racist and other destructive divisions amongst our people.

A disturbing visual and widespread occurrence resulting from the partial consequence of this racialization and destructive practice is cornerstoned often times in segregated local employment practices in governmental organizations and private businesses.

Some of our leading private sector institutions present this social malady, and to a lesser extent this perversion occurs far too frequently in the public sector.

Having studied the evolution of two great leaders, namely Malcolm X and Walter Rodney; and having seen their transformation to believing in integrated, multiethnic, multicultural, and multiracial

societies and nations, I will let their progressive wisdom guide me.

The following quote is an extract from Malcolm X’s last speech in Detroit on February 14, 1965: “I am not racist in any form whatsoever; I don’t believe in any form of racism, I don’t believe in any form of Discrimination or Segregation”.

Similarly, we have Walter Rodney concluding the following in a 1978 lecture: “… It seems to me that we are in a position to illustrate and to illustrate not just from the distant past, but the recent history of Guyana that race is an aberration viewed from a

working class point of view, that it is maintained deliberately by classes whose interest contradicts with the interest of the working class…”.

Tackling problems of poverty, housing, education, security and unemployment, should be done without the use of race labels. We can do so in a nation building manner that advances Guyanaism to unify our country and not instead have a mixture of hyphenated Guyanese hordes that are easily ignited racially by our baser instincts, where these baser instincts are invariably politically

instigated.

The Guyana system I am advocating for, will not allow for employment, property ownership, social services, financial services, among other systems, services, structures or industries to be determined on a discriminatory basis. Instead, the economic, social and cultural components of Guyanaism will be implemented, using principles and policies that are reflective of demographic parameters in a Guyanese context.

We cannot and ought not to ignore or try to wish away Continued on page 7

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Are people going to vote for who is the best to lead them?

Rice is in trouble – GRDB and the Minister are in La La land

DEAR EDITOR, In my letter “Disaffected APNU+AFC Supporters don’t want Bharrat Jagdeo as puppet master” (18th February 2019) I noted that the PPP/C cannot win over disaffected APNU+AFC supporters and is now likely to lose the next General Election.

This is because even with the misdeeds of the APNU+AFC Government, David Granger is still seen as “descent” and “trustworthy”. In comparison, the PPP/C have fielded Irfaan Ali who makes outlandish claims of being able to create 50,000 jobs. Yet, Irfaan Ali is not in the spotlight; Bharrat Jagdeo is.

APNU+AFC supporters view him as wanting to maximise and monopolise money and power. I am inclined to give people a second chance if they turn over a new leaf but this has not happened.

What is needed is for the PPP to rebuild itself with a new breed of politicians (“newbies” who are not tainted by the politics of the past). This means Bharrat Jagdeo needs

to be gone; Donald Ramotar needs to be gone and now Irfaan Ali needs to be gone.

The misdeeds of the APNU+AFC Government do not mean their supporters are about to abandon them and join the PPP/C (they are, of course, exceptions).

The only way that the PPP/C can win elections is if the APNU+AFC continue with their determined effort to subvert the democratic process and not hold elections. The longer it goes on the more damage it does to David Granger “decency” and “trustworthiness”.

When one listens to supporters of the APNU+AFC Government and the PPP/C Opposition it is recognised that people are not voting FOR THEM because they love them; they are voting to keep the other side out. Essentially, people are not voting for who is best to lead them. They are voting for who is not worst to lead them.

Yours Faithfully Sean Ori

Was Vishnu Bisram in hibernation during the rule of the PPP?

DEAR EDITOR, A letter in KN, August 20th, captioned “Political victimization in Guyana” completely blew me away on account of its truthfulness and relevance on our political landscape. It is no secret that Dr Bisram has been affiliated to the PPP, scores of articles written by him in support of the PPP is testimony to that.

It is ironic that while “political victimization” was rampant in the reign of the PPP, Dr. Vishnu did not recognize it or did not find it necessary to pen a missive about political victimization in Guyana during the reign of the PPP.I would rather suspect that Dr. Bisram was afraid of becoming a victim himself for penning

anything in the vicinity of” Political victimization in Guyana” in the PPP reign or at that time he felt the PPP was doing the right thing silencing dissidence.

Time changes opinion, even harlots give up on their profession after a while for want of a better way!

Dr. Vishnu wrote, “People worry that they could become victimised by the directorates of the political parties for giving opinions that are not in sync with their party leadership or government. In short, people, business persons in particular, have become victims of political speech – which is a crime related to political oppression.” Dr. Vishnu had

to be in hibernation during the rule of the PPP! What about the victimization of professional people? Bisram is still not prepared to shed a tear for these victims- the likes of Maurice Arjoon for refusing to lend NBS monies to the Berbice Bridge, Freddie Kissoon dismissed from UG for being critical of the PPP, Leonard Ghildarie of Kaieteur being threatened by a Minister for working at a news agency that he felt was critical to the PPP. There is a reason for everything! Bisram wrote, “Many expressed the view that while during colonialism, people blamed the white man for all their ills, after independence, people tend to be worse off (sociopolitically) than when the white man governed them.” I am in this group, I don’t give a flying fish who thinks I am Continued on page 7

DEAR EDITOR, I visited rice farmers in Regions 2,5 and 6 over the last couple of weeks. Rice farmers, small and large, are experiencing a torrid time, the livelihoods of their families in jeopardy, and throughout it all the Ministry of Agriculture and the GRDB are no way in sight. As trouble escalates in the rice industry, as farmers fight to stay afloat, struggle to make ends meet, the GRDB, the Ministry of Agriculture and the caretaker Ministers of Agriculture are lost in “lala” land. The President is comfortably ensconced in State House, the PM avoids farmers like a plague, the other Ministers, including the AFC-designated PM Candidate, behave like all is dandy with rice. This government is so clueless they cannot comprehend rice has been helping them to keep the economy afloat.

Dismissing the challenges and the problems rice farmers face, insisting rice is a private sector activity is dangerous and repulsive. Rice is too important a part of the economy for the government to be at arm-length, too large to fail, employing a large number of people, directly sustaining the livelihood of almost 60,000, one of the more important foreign currency earners. The truth is, with rice farmers and millers investing easily more than $50B annually in the economy, the rice industry is a public-private partnership. Certain inputs necessary for a successful rice industry are public good. The fight against paddy bug and redrice are not the exclusive role for the farmers; the government has a mandate to be involved, to invest and to lead the fight.

As of right now the Paddy Bug problem has led to the loss of almost 20% of the rice crop in Region 6 and even worse in Region 2. In Region 5, the red-rice problem is equally devastating to farmers, even as they too struggle against paddy bug. For Region 6 alone, this loss translates into the loss of 500,000 bags of paddy, equating to the loss of $1.4B in revenue for farmers. In Region 2, the farmers have lost more than 500,000 bags of paddy because of paddy bug. In Region 5, they have lost more than 600,000 bags of paddy with the combined onslaught from paddy bug and red rice. Overall, Guyanese rice farmers will lose about $9B this year, having already lost more than $8B in 2018. Most of these are poor farmers and it is unconscionable that the GRDB and the Ministry of Agriculture are largely missing in action. Even more unforgiveable, the President andAPNU+AFC have ignored the suffering farmers, more obsessed with trying to bribe people with giveaways like a green school bag with the President’s name.

The paddy bug and red rice problems are not

the only obstacles rice farmers face. Farmers in all rice-producing regions face alternating struggles with floods and dry conditions, with clogged canals, pumps not working, etc. Neither, the NDIA nor the Ministry of Agriculture has provided any support as farmers try to desperately battle against flooding and try to irrigate their fields. These are times when the government must not be just an active partner, these are times when the government must carry out its mandate, providing public-good services.

Even as they fail the farmers, even as they refuse to carry out their mandated functions in the rice industry, they have gone out of their way to make life more difficult for rice farmers. Land lease rates were increased. In the MMA, lease rates have increased from $1,000 per acre to $7,000 per acre.

This unconscionable increase is even steeper in Black Bush Polder. At the same time, Drainage and Irrigation fees have increased across the country. Supplies such as pesticides have increased in cost and subsidies for equipment in the rice industry have been removed. When farmers protest the unconscionable rate increases, the Minister of Agriculture rebuked them for objecting to a “measly one beer per day” increase.

This is not the first time rice farmers are battling the elements and the government at the same time. The previous PNC government between 1964 and 1992 similarly was unfriendly to farmers and almost crippled the rice industry out of existence in Guyana. But the present APNU+AFC Government is even more hostile to farmers. That the rice industry still helps to keep the economy afloat is testimony to the resiliency of the farmers.

In spite of the grave difficulties farmers face, they tightened their belts and have kept production high, without which the economy would have tanked further. In 2014, Guyana produced more than 637,000 tons of rice. In the first crop of 2015, production reached almost 400,000 tons, far ahead of the pace to meet the 2015 target of 700,000 tons.

But Guyana failed to reach the 2015 target because of a significant drop in production for the second 2015 crop, reaching only 697,000 tons. Guyana failed again in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and now Guyana will fall far short of the 700,000 target in 2019. But the failure to attain the 700,000 tons target must not detract from the achievement of sustained high production, above 600,000 tons, helping to keep GDP positive. Yet, our Government is ungrateful and irresponsible, failing to keep their commitment, failing to carry out their function. While rice is in trouble, APNU+AFC is fiddling.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

It was Jagdeo who damaged and demoralised the GDF during his tenure DEAR EDITOR, It was with great concern that I listened to the statements of former President Bharrat Jagdeo on the subject of the welfare of soldiers in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) sometime in June this year. Mr. Jagdeo was at the time speaking to the media at one of his weekly press conferences.

It is appalling for the former President to accuse President David Granger, a retired Brigadier, of “operational interference”. Lest Mr. Jagdeo forgets, it was under his administration that there was political and operational interference in both the GDF and the Police Force.

Mr. Jagdeo ought to remember deliberately restricting the Force’s resources and developmental opportunities. Funding was provided for projects of interest to him and his administration. Officers and ranks were seldom given the opportunity to attend training courses and seminars overseas. The stymieing of the officers and ranks of the Forces led to their demoralisation.

It was back in August 2007 that Colonels Frank Bispham, Lawrence Paul, Linden Ross and Gordon Benn were interviewed by Mr. Jagdeo and then Head of the Presidential Secretariat Roger Luncheon and informed that they were being seconded from the Defence Force to varying parts of the Public Service.

Mr. Jagdeo ought not to forget that individuals colluded to have those four Colonels removed from the Force.

The Stabroek News report of November 4, 2017 captioned “Col Pompey in Cambodia completing UN contract” speaks to the actions taken by Mr. Jagdeo during his tenure as

president. The article said that after a little more than a month after Colonel Andrew Pompey was appointed Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the GDF, he was off the job.

“Pompey is one of four lieutenant colonels who were elevated to the rank of full colonel to fill the top posts in the army made vacant by President Bharrat Jagdeo’s decision to side-step three officers who were their seniors.”

Colonel Pompey was called away from his appointment in Cambodia to be interviewed

by Jagdeo.

“Jagdeo in a move that angered some in the army, promoted Commander Gary Best to Commodore, and Pompey, Bruce Lovell and Mark Phillips to substantive colonels. Pompey replaced Paul as the Deputy Chief-of-Staff; Bruce Lovell moved to Colonel, General Staff and Mark Phillips now heads the force administration. The promotion of the officers meant that Paul was overlooked to replace Collins, while Colonels Linden Ross, Frank Bishpam and Gordon Benn were superseded.

The four men were offered secondments to the public service but so far only Ross has taken up the offer at the Carifesta Secretariat.

At present Paul, Bishpam and Benn are on leave, and according to reports the men are unlikely to take up the offers,” the Stabroek News reported.

According to that very news article, the former President defended his decision and said he acted in accordance with the Defence Act which gave him the power to appoint the Chief-of-Staff.

For the former President to accuse President Granger, a former brigadier, a man of integrity and principle who understands the

Let’s use this pre-election period...

From page 5 our admixture, yet this admixture must never be emphasized above Guyanaism, being Guyanese is what our Political Leaders must herald and proclaim.

If great men such as Malcolm X and Walter Rodney in their knowledge morphing, saw the necessity for racial integration and the vital importance of human rights, so must we. The meaning of words expressed and the context in which they are used have consequences, let us aim to use language for positive consequences.

It would be remiss of me not to recognize that the political culture of the two major parties needs to be overhauled, needs to be changed, needs to be transformed - to being proGuyanese.

Over the sixty years I referenced above, we have had two political movements that captured nationally and, in the diaspora, an ethos that we in Guyana need so much.

The political movements built under the umbrellas of The Working People’s Alliance and The Alliance For Change- were destroyed or subsumed by one of the major parties or by both of the two major parties, the destruction occurred in one instant, after the death of Walter Rodney in June of 1980, and the shredding of the Working People’s Alliance continued

with actions that followed, over a decade after his death.

What became clear with the passage of time is that Guyanaism was not allowed to flourish, because of the actions and conduct of the two major political parties.

In 2011 the Alliance For Change, at the height of its better and brighter days, inhaled, inspired and exhaled the spirit of nationhood. The soul of the Alliance For Change was subsequently subsumed and snuffed out after the 2015 General and Regional Elections, thereby losing its Guyanaist identification.

My belief is that lasting change from this ruinous race based and race-labelling culture will best be exampled and implemented from within the two major parties.

As Senator Barrack Obama said in February of 2008: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Let us use this preelection period to Guyananize the political culture and forge a sense of nationhood, regardless of party affiliation or party support.

We ought not to have rubber stamp politicians in senior office. Terms such as race traitor, house slave, race sell out and other race-based permutations should not be foisted on those who seek to

cultivate a Guyana that is inclusive and speaks for all Guyanese.

Positive vibrations are what we need in Guyana from our “Grangers” and “Jagdeos”. Our political and business leaders must set the language and tone; it is the honorable thing to do. As Guyanese, we are capable of avoiding the hyphens that cage and separate us. As Guyanese we can be one people in one nation, with a destiny of solidarity.

Yours respectfully, Dr. David Hinds

needs of the GDF, of political interference is ludicrous and hypocritical when it was Mr. Jagdeo who damaged and demoralised the Force during his reign as President.

Mr. Jagdeo and his bandwagonists are quick to speak of the one-month bonus but I agree wholeheartedly with Finance Minister Winston Jordan who said the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) paid those bonus salaries to the members of the Disciplined Services to bribe them into taking action against those who opposed that regime.

The ranks and officers of the GDF have received increases in their salaries that total way more than a one-month bonus could. The very membership of the Force has benefited from better facilities, equipment, local and overseas training programmes. Can a onemonth bonus salary compensate for all of these benefits?

The Commander-in-Chief of the armed

forces since taking office in 2015, has not acted outside of his powers outlined in the Defence Act, Chapter 15:01 of the Laws of Guyana. He has sought to strengthen the Defence Force through continuous training exercises. The President along with the Defence Board has been working tirelessly to improve the Force’s efficiency.

It is clear for all to see that the Force’s operations and training were neglected by the PPP. Under President Granger’s leadership the National Cadet Corps and the Guyana People’s Militia, the reserve arm of the Force, have been re-established.

That aside, the Force has received a large quantity of equipment from the Chinese, they received aircraft and other items to enhance its operational capacity.

With kind regards, Gordon Daniels (Retired Army Officer)

Was Vishnu Bisram in hibernation...

From page 6 being unpatriotic. The story of the white man taking away our resources as a justification for independence was a farce. Now our politicians are giving away our resources in unscrupulous contract arrangements that only seems to benefit the politicians. All the working class gets are a few jobs in return.

Patriotism is not inherent by right of birth, it has to be nurtured by the state-the state has been conveniently subterfuge by aggressive govts that victimizes dissenting ideas since independence.

After conducting so many polls in Guyana, the pollster finally got his eureka moment,

“Many spoke of being insulted, of intimidation and of threats by individuals from their own party who are in leadership positions and who could become or are government officials.

There is a scent of blood waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge on someone for speaking against wrong doings. Such behaviour should not be allowed in our democracy. It becomes a kind of mob rule. Politics and government is about serving humanity not victimising people.” Bisram’s words!

Better late than never, Dr. Bisram.

Yours Respectfully, Rudolph Singh

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Berbice Bridge open to sale offer by Govt.

The Berbice Bridge Company says it is willing to talk to government about an offer made for the bridge.

The Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) says it is open to consider an offer by Government to buy that critical link.

The bridge, which opened in December 2008, connects Berbice and Demerara.

Built via a private/public partnership model under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government for around US$40M, it came under the spotlight after it was found that a few companies close to the then Bharrat Jagdeo administration had taken control of

the board of directors.

In 2015, when the Coalition Government took over, it revisited the project which was supposed to be transferred in 20 years to the people of Guyana.

The company that ran the bridge, BBCI, was accused of failing to properly maintain the bridge in keeping with the maintenance arrangements.

The company applied for an increase in tolls but was rejected by the Government.

The Government then took

control of the bridge with the company challenging the decisions in court. That matter is still ongoing.

Yesterday, the BBCI in a statement said that it has taken note of a recent interview with Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson who said Government had offered to purchase the bridge.

“Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson, interviewed on NCN on Saturday last (August 17th) on the subject of the Berbice River Bridge, made a number of false and disconcerting

statements which have absolutely no basis in truth. The Minister claimed that the financial challenges faced by the Berbice Bridge Co. are no fault of his government. The Minister knows perfectly well that his government has consistently refused to respect its contractual obligation to address the annual adjustments to the bridge toll required by the Concession Agreement between the government and the Bridge Company,” the statement said.

The Bridge Company said as recently as November 2018, it had repeatedly requested to meet with the Minister, in writing, to discuss a revision of the Concession Agreement.

“In response, in a letter of 19th November 2018, the Minister informed the BBCI that his Ministry “in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, will be appointing an International Financing Firm/ Company to provide guidance and expert financial advice regarding the current status and proposal of the BBCI” and that his Ministry was available for a meeting.”

However, since that letter, 10 months have passed but there has been no word.

“In the meantime, the BBCI, in January and March this year, again, wrote the Minister pointing out the urgency of the need to meet on the matter of the tolls and possible revision of the Concession Agreement. The Bridge is yet to receive a response. The BBCI has

Minister David Patterson heard absolutely nothing further from the government with regard to the promised engagement of the International Financing Company.”

The bridge company made it clear that the Concession Agreement with Government is a product of a public/private partnership, but instead of recognising its role as a partner, the Government refuses to meet and has preferred to take control of the bridge and as a result has been ordered by the court to give reasons for its action.

The court hearing is scheduled to be heard on 18th October 2019.

“True to form, even while the matter is proceeding before the court, the Minister has declared the Government’s intention of appealing the Court’s ruling should it not go in the Government’s favour. The Minister’s statement can, of course, be considered to be an attempt to intimidate the Court.”

The bridge company said also Continued on page 9

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Norway team due this week as Brazil fires place spotlight on Guyana’s forest A Norway team expected in Guyana this week will likely discuss the fallouts of the Brazilian’s fires.

A Norway assessment team is expected this week in Guyana to check on the country’s progress to protect the forest in keeping a 2009 deal.

However, this time for the annual assessment, the situation is much different.

There are thousands of forest fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest and the whole world

is watching.

The rainforest, which also includes Guyana’s, is seen as critical as reducing greenhouse gas, and thus the impact of climate change.

Countries around the world have been paying places like Guyana and others to maintain forest cover.

Yesterday, Chair of the Guyana Forestry

Commission, Jocelyn Dow, confirmed the visit this week which will include a representative of Norway who is stationed in Brazil.

Among other things, the Norway team will be checking on Guyana’s progress in keeping with the US$250M forest deal.

Also likely to come up for discussions are the Brazilian

A Norway team is also expected to check on Guyana’s progress with meeting benchmarks on the forest deal.

Berbice Bridge open to sale offer...

From page 8 that to its complete astonishment, Minister Patterson in the interview said that his government has offered to purchase the ownership of the bridge from the Bridge Company.

“No such offer has been made at any time by the Government. This is a completely irresponsible statement on the part of the

Minister and a most unfortunate attempt to mislead the public. The BBCI, nevertheless, is pleased to hear publicly from the Minis t e r that his Government is willing to make a fair and reasonable offer to purchase the ownership of the Bridge and has, as a result, written to the Minister requesting an urgent meeting to discuss

the Government’s offer.”

The company said that it continues to remain available to meet with the Minister in good faith and in the public interest.

There have been criticisms that the bridge was barely making enough money to pay the investors, which include a number of insurance and drinks companies, among others.

forest fires which have seen countries banding together to offer help to fight the blaze, said to be over 10,000 separate ones. The value of Guyana’s forests was expected to rise even more in the wake of those fires.

Guyana has been looking for another deal with oil-rich Norway and other countries wanting to offer cash to keep the forests intact.

The Norway arrangement was supposed to expire at the end of 2015 but that European

country has agreed to extend it so that Guyana can fulfill its obligations for the money.

According to Dow, she is aware that the Norway team will be meeting with representatives of the Government.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Forestry Commission considering export licences for sawmillers, timber dealers The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has not ruled out the possibility of expanding export licences for logs and other timber products to sawmillers and timber dealers.

However, government warned last week, a decision will not automatically come as there are several things to consider including monitoring capacity.

The Forestry Commission over the years has been frugal in issuing those licences. For good reasons too…too many licences would prove severe challenges to an understaffed and under-funded GFC, it has been argued.

Recently, small loggers and sawmillers have been clamoring for GFC, as the regulator for the forests, to relax the stance and issue them export licences.

They said it will ease the hardships of selling to a third party, among other things.

With a number of international standards and regulations that Guyana has to meet in order to sell its forest products, the applications have been engaging the GFC board for a number of months now.

On Thursday, during a mid-year

review of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ work, Minister Raphael Trotman was questioned whether government is considering issuing export licences to sawmillers and other dealers.

“We do have a national log export policy which the board is considering and I believe that is one issue.”

The official said he has taken note that a group he met in Linden, Region 10, had raised the matter recently. “…but we have to be careful that we are not licensing will-nilly the export of logs because what that would or could encourage (is) people just going into the forest and we give every sawmill and every group licence to export. We would want to ensure that we have the capacity to monitor such.”

Trotman said that the GFC’s board is examining the merits of the applications now.

“In principle we would like to see the trade being enhanced but not at the cost of us seeing wanton destruction of forests. So that it is something that has been given active consideration…”

According to the half year report

of the coalition government, the forestry subsector is estimated to have grown for a second consecutive year, with the production of timber (which includes logs, roundwood, primary lumber, splitwood and fuelwood) rising 7.8 percent above the level achieved at the end of June 2018.

“This pushed growth in the sector to 8.5 percent in the first half of 2019. The improvements to interior roads in the latter half of 2018, saw community loggers, particularly in Region 10, realising higher production levels in the first quarter of 2019.”

According to the report, production continued to surge, driven by small scale concessions and community forestry operators.

“At the end of the first half, log production grew by 6.8 percent, mainly on account of the increased extraction of greenheart logs to meet local demand. On the other hand, weaker international demand for roundwood resulted in a contraction of this category in the second quarter, which resulted in a 2.6 percent decline relative to the previous half-year.”

The report also disclosed that

The Forestry Commission is actively mulling the possibilities of expanding the sector by issuing export licences also to sawmillers. primary lumber producers recorded gains of 32.4 percent in the first half, capitalising on increased local demand for construction.

“The outlook for the remainder of the year remains positive for this subsector, with log production expected to remain high and roundwood to stabilise. Given these factors, the forestry sector is conservatively expected to expand by 5 percent, 3.1 percentage points above the projection in Budget 2019.”

Several community and small loggers have been complaining of lack of access to markets and has

called for a change in the log export policy since the beginning of this year.

The small loggers argued that if they are allowed to export directly, then they can expand the species range.

“The domestic market for logs only buying selective species and the measurement and payments system is very unfair to the small loggers,” one sawmiller said. “We can see at least a 15-20% increase in national log production if this policy is changed where GFC, the small loggers and foreign exchange will benefit.”

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Scholarship for law students lacks transparency – Lawyers Government’s method of awarding the recently announced law school scholarship is under question over what is being described as a lack of transparency.

In an invited comment, Attorney- at –law, Sanjeev Datadin noted that the fact that the scholarships are being offered at a period when elections are due is highly suspicious.

According to the lawyer, the guidelines presented by the Government for applicants to be shortlisted are also questionable. “It is quite broad-based, opaque and therefore lacks transparency as who exactly is eligible for these scholarships.”

Datadin said too, that given the Ministry of Legal Affairs seems to have a direct involvement in the process is also worrying.

Just last week, Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams met with students attached to the Trinidadbased Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) to discuss issues of eligibility. The

meeting was at the behest of students attached to HWLS. However, Datadin said the matter raises eyebrows since scholarship offered via the State are usually handled by the Ministry of Public Service.

According to the lawyer, the subject Minister’s direct involvement in the process could mean that he is somehow usurping the authority of the Public Service Ministry.

“It is highly suspicious, so I fear what will happen in the interview process.

Will the candidates be selected by political affiliation rather than their actual qualifications?”

The Attorney stressed that no political actors are directly involved in the process.

Datadin said, “That is the work of the Ministry of Public Service, the selection and interviews falls directly under their portfolio, hence eliminating any question of hand picking, prejudice and favoritism.”

“I think making specific terms and conditions of the scholarship being offered public will also help a great deal.”

The Attorney said that nonetheless he is happy that the students will benefit from some form of financial assistance from the State.

“I believe it will bring relieve to the law students and alleviate some of the financial burdens they face. It is just a matter of how the Government intends to select its candidates.”

The Attorney believes that the Government has other options in helping the students minimize expenses to acquire their LEC via the Trinidad-based law school.

“The [previous] Government had stopped paying economic contributions to the institution for whatever reason but that has resulted in law students studying via the Regional campuses incurring a higher cost to do so. I believe if the Government renews that commitment to

pay those contributions it will also help to greatly ease the students.

Adding his voice to the issue of the scholarship, former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall agreed that there should be more transparency surrounding the selection.

“Of course, there is need for more specifics and clarity on how the candidates will be selected.”

Added to that, Nandlall said that while offering scholarship to law students is a laudable and noteworthy venture, the Government must consider other areas of expertise that scholarships are needed.

The Attorney General noted that Government should be more careful in examining whether the discipline of law is an area which requires more expertise than the others.

According to Nandlall, with Guyana’s oil future there are other types of expertise which will require capacity building.

“I am not ruling out

help for law students. I just think that Government should examine what other types of capacity is needed in the view of Guyana’s future.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Basil Williams dismissed the notion that the scholarships being offered to law students have anything to do with the coming elections. He said that Government has been committed to helping the law students since their assumption of office.

Williams had pointed out that at the beginning of his tenure as Attorney General; a three-year agreement was signed between the Government and the law school in Trinidad to facilitate the entry of Guyanese students into the HWLS programme.

He said that the agreement is expected to expire this year.

Last weekend, the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Public Service announced via advertisements in the daily newspapers

that a limited number of law students will now be offered scholarships at the HWLS in Trinidad and Tobago for the 2019/2020 academic year.

The ad announced that the scholarship will be for students to attain the Legal Education Certificate (LEC).

The offer is being made to any person who is the holder of the Bachelor of Laws Degree with a minimum Grade point Average (GPA) of 3.3 and present students at the HWLS with passes for the first year of studies of at least three courses passed with a grade A. Moreover, these individuals applying must have obtained a Bachelor of Laws Degree within the last five years and they must be 35 years old or under. Also the student must possess an offer of acceptance from the Hugh Wooding Law School for the 2019/2020 academic year.

According to the advertisement, the closing date for applications is August 30, 2019.

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

New fires in Brazil’s Amazon as army mobilises...

From page 3 capital of Rondonia, Azevedo said. He added that the military will use two C-130 Hercules aircraft capable of dumping up to 12,000 liters of water on fires.

Multiple fires billowing huge plumes of smoke into the air were raging across a vast area of Rondonia on Friday, AFP news agency reported.

Several residents in Porto Velho said what appeared to be light clouds hanging over the city of half a million people was actually smoke from the blazes.

The Brazilian military operations came after widespread criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of the crisis. Azevedo defended the government response, however. "It shows the concern of Bolsonaro's government about this issue," he said. "It was a very fast response."

The defense minister noted US President Donald Trump's offer in a tweet to help Brazil fight the fires, and said there had been no further contact on the matter.

"Any help is welcome in respect to the fires," he added.

Alfredo Sirkis, executive director of think tank Brazil Climate

Center and a founder of Brazil's Green Party, said while he supported military involvement, he doubted that anyone would be able to put out the existing fires.

"Once you have a huge forest fire like that, especially when you don't have all the kind of forest fire-fighting equipment that you have in places like the US or Portugal, it's difficult to extinguish," he told Reuters.

"They'll only be extinguished by themselves depending on the weather conditions."

Environmental specialists say the fires are coming amid increasing deforestation in the Amazon region, which in July took place at a rate four times that of the same month in 2018, according to data from INPE. Bolsonaro has previously attacked the institute, describing its data as lies and engineering the sacking of its head.

The blazes have stirred outrage globally and is a major topic of concern at the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern France. The growing crisis also threatens to torpedo a trade deal between the European Union and South Ameri-

can countries, including Brazil, that took 20 years to negotiate.

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, told reporters at the G7 that it was hard to imagine European countries ratifying a trade pact with the Mercosur bloc as long as Brazil fails to curb the fires ravaging the Amazon.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the lead in pressing his Brazilian counterpart over the fires, had earlier accused Bolsonaro of lying to him about Brazil's stance on climate change.

In an escalating war of words between the two leaders, Bolsonaro denounced what he calls Macron's "colonialist mentality".

"There are forest fires all over the world, and this cannot be used as a pretext for possible international sanctions," Bolsonaro said on Friday.

Earlier in the week, he had accused non-governmental organisations of deliberately starting the fires after their funding was cut.

Neri dos Santos Silva watches an encroaching fire threat after digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading to the farm he works on, in in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil on Friday. (Leo Correa AP photo)

Brazil's powerful agriculture sector - which strongly supports Bolsonaro - has expressed concerns over the president's rhetoric, fearing boycotts of their products in key markets.

The Folha de S Paulo newspaper, in an editorial on Saturday, the warned that Bolsonaro's "bravado" had worsened the crisis caused by accelerating deforestation.

"The damage to [Brazil's] image is done and it could have important trade repercussions," it said, adding: "Nationalistic bravado will not win the game this time."

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

UK Company quietly moving into Guyana basin Westmount Energy Limited, a UK Energy Investment firm, has slowly been acquiring shares in companies with stakes in oil blocks offshore Guyana.

The most recent announcement the company made on Friday, is that it is hoping to increase its shareholding in the Canada based Cataleya Energy Corporation (CEC) which, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Cataleya Energy Limited (CEL), has a 25% participating interest in the Kaieteur Block.

Westmount announced a conditional subscription to raise gross proceeds of up to £5M through the issue of up to 38,461,538 new ordinary shares of no par value to certain investors, to pursue its ongoing investment strategy in the Guyana basin.

Following the completion of that subscription and certain approvals, the company expects to acquire up to 313,500 common shares on or around August 30, 2019. If it is successful, Westmount will tout a 5.4% stake in Cataleya, up from 2.4% in May,

when it participated in a nonbrokered private placement through the purchase of 253,685 common shares, with a total consideration, including transaction costs, of USD$2,536,850 (approx. £1,949,324 at time of purchase).

Also, on June 1, 2018, Westmount announced that it had made market purchases of 1,200,000 participating share units in Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership, spending, inclusive of transaction costs, £248,406. Ratio has a 25% interest in the Kaieteur Block. Furthermore, on February 27 last, Westmount announced that it had purchased 1,103,770 common shares in JHI Associates Inc., the day before, by way of payment of approximately CAD$1M, as well as some shares of no par value in Westmount.

Westmount, following that purchase, owns 2,213,770 shares, representing 3% of JHIs issued common shares, as of December 21 last year. JHI has a 17.5% carried interest in the Canje Block.

It should be noted that an investigation, spearheaded by

the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), is still ongoing into the award of the oil blocks offshore Guyana. In addition to the Stabroek and Orinduik, the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks which were issued by the Donald Ramotar administration in 2015, days before the General and Regional Elections are being looked at. The Canje Block was signed away to Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas and JHI Associates Inc. on March 4, 2015. The Kaieteur Block was signed away to Ratio Energy Limited and Ratio Guyana on April 28, 2015.

OTHERWESTMOUNT INVESTMENT On May 13 last, Westmount announced that it had amended its shareholding in Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd., through the open sale of 1,625,000 common shares, resulting in net cash proceeds, including transaction costs, of £1.34M. It had held 3,125,000 shares in Eco Atlantic, which proved to be a wise investment, yielding +400% of the capital invested as of May 13, 2019. Due (Continued on page 64)

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Beware of fake David Granger profile offering affordable housing - Ministry of the Presidency

T

he Government is warning persons not to fall for the lies being peddled by yet another fake profile of a Government official. This time, the account, titled 'H E David Granger', is pretending to be the President, offering persons affordable housing.

A release from the Ministry of the Presidency stated that the profile has been “luring unsuspected

citizens to execute money transfers/transactions via Mobile Money (MMG), in order to secure homes at Providence, East Bank Demerara.”

The Central Housing and Planning Authority are advising members of the public that it is the only government department authorized to allocate housing units and lots. It stated “We are asking members of the public to be

wary of scammers who may want to rob them of their hard-earned monies.”

It noted that all payments for housing are, under no circumstance, to be made to any offices besides its Georgetown headquarters or its regional offices.

The fake account has been attempting to have persons make downpayments of $350,000 through the MMG System offered by the Guyana

Telephone and Telegraph Company Ltd. An August 10, 2019 post from the fake account, seen

by Kaieteur News, states, “Good morning to all.

The Ministry Of The Presidency is here giving out 20 homes to persons today at the cost of $350,000 GYD. ALL HOUSES ARE L O C AT E D I N T H E PROVIDENCE HOUSING SCHEME. INTERESTED PERSONS CAN INBOX

F O R M O R E INFORMATION.” Another post states, “All persons

Desired To Make Payments For The Houses Must Have An MMG ACCOUNT.”

Two of the posts made from the fake account

Deputy CJIA Chief charged with sexual assault ....

From page 3 relations with the manager. The matter was later reported to the Chief Executive Officer of CJIA who promised a probe would be launched.

However, for several months, there was no word despite her queries. It was sometime in June, after demanding a response, she was told by an official of the Human Resources Department that the matter had been resolved. She was not told how. She later complained to the police and the media.

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Ashmini Ramnauth

Sunday August 25, 2019

Meet the adorable Ashmini Ramnauth. This beauty enjoys cooking, spending time with her family and friends and reading. Her favourite quote is, "The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand bowing in prayers."

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Honouring a commitment to help educate the deprived…

Chartered Accountant

Fazal Bacchus

By Sharmain Grainger “The person who receives the most favours is the one who knows how to return them,” is an adage that best encapsulates the person Fazal Bacchus is. Over the course of his life, he has been extended many a helping hand, and these have helped him to recognise and accept that his mission in life is to do the same – help others.

Bacchus has been doing this without fail with the hope that he can continue a cycle that started some 30 years ago.

Bacchus is today a very distinguished Chartered Accountant, but remains a teacher by heart, who has helped many young people, and even some older ones, gain needed qualifications to become productive individuals in society.

This might seem a regular feat to some, but when people understand the circumstances that led to the path he has chosen, it quickly becomes clear that Bacchus is a giant of a man who deserves to be recognised for his unwavering support to help many deprived persons.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS As the elder of two children, he was born on September 10, 1968, to parents Sonny and Nearjahan Bacchus. His father, now deceased, was a carpenter and his mother was a housewife and stallholder at both the Bourda and Stabroek Markets.

During his young days he remembers that it was always a struggle to make

is a ‘Special Person’ Ruimveldt.

He attended West Ruimveldt Primary and there he wrote the Common Entrance examination before moving on to the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School. He was an excellent student and it certainly showed in his performance.

However, by the time he reached Third Form, making

“

“I want to see young people who don't have the opportunity to go to a university on a full time basis or go after any other studies on a full time basis, to always have that chance like I did, and that is exactly what I have been helping to do for over the past 30 years and I will forever be committed to doing that.”

ends meet for the family, but his parents always did their best to provide.

Reflecting on his upbringing in Georgetown, Bacchus recalled that he grew up between Albouystown, at his maternal grandmother, and with his parents in West

”

money to help the family survive became more crucial than his education.

“The focus was on getting money and not on getting an education, because we needed money to survive, so even though I was doing well in school from First through Third Forms, I had to drop out of school,” Bacchus recalled.

Needless to say, he was a natural in making sales, which helped to ensure that the family always had enough to get what was needed each day. In fact, he was so good at vending that he became quite conspicuous, even to a senior master of The Bishops' High School named Krishna Ramdaney. “He came up to me one day and enquired why I was on the market

every day and not at school…of course I told him I really wanted to study, but we didn't have the money for that,” Bacchus shared.

Fazal Bacchus is a 'Special Person' EDUCATION IS KEY Not willing to see the young Bacchus forfeit his education, 'Sir' Ramdaney came up with an idea that would not only ensure he continued to help the family generate an income, but one where he could also become qualified academically.

At the time 'Sir' Ramdaney also taught parttime at a school he'd opened called Krishna's College of Business. There he invited the young Fazal Bacchus to come and attend evening classes after his day of vending ended.

With the blessings of his mother, Bacchus was back in school and before long 'Sir' Ramdaney's tutelage saw him being capable enough to acquire some CXC subjects.

So outstanding was his performance, that 'Sir' Ramdaney wasn't willing to simply see Bacchus merely return to his vending life when it was evident he had the potential to do so much more.

As such, 'Sir' Ramdaney started to encourage Bacchus to pursue some subjects at the GCE O' Level.

He was accepted at Queen's College and as expected, yielded outstanding performance.

“I was doing pretty well academically,” Bacchus noted, as he recalled the day

Embracing his passion for teaching

Always a family man

'Sir' Ramdaney invited him to start teaching on a parttime basis at Krishna's College.

“I thought about it and I realised that education was carrying me somewhere.

People started to recognise me as a person…before that I was just a vendor selling on the market and people placed me in a certain category; there was no respect and you couldn't get what you want out of life as a vendor, but education was taking me places.

I was meeting people from different strata of society,” Bacchus shared.

Recognising that education had the potential to expand his horizon i m m e n s e l y, B a c c h u s decided he too wanted to help other disadvantaged persons be able to achieve their dreams, since he was very aware that evening classes was indeed the only way for some, much like himself, to achieve this.

“I realised like myself there were others out there who didn't have the opportunity to go to full time classes during the day, especially at secondary level, but they wanted that opportunity, and through Krishna's College they were given that opportunity to capture the qualifications

they would have missed, so they can still aim for a better life,” Bacchus added.

He started off teaching CXC Principles of Accounts and Principles of Business and, according to Bacchus, “after a while I really fell in love with teaching.” He later started teaching Mathematics and English too. He continued to vend during the day.

But as he evolved as a teacher, Bacchus' passion for vending started to diminish.

He started to develop a desire to delve into the corporate world.

PASSION DRIVEN With qualifications in hand and a passion to expand his horizon, Bacchus was able to land a job as a messenger with the Demerara Shipping Terminal which was a branch of the Guyana Sugar Corporation [GuySuCo]. He was very proactive and productive. Although he was putting his all into his work there, Bacchus allocated time to continue part-time teaching and vending as well.

At his full-time job, Bacchus' superior certainly took notice of his efficiency and ability to lead, and was soon recommending that (continued on page 53)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 23

A financial crunch is in the making

A

spanking new ivory-coloured Premio was ahead of me in the line for petrol at the filling station.

The purchase was quick; in less than one minute he was gone.

It was my turn. I look at the meter and noticed that the purchase before me was a mere $1000, just more than four litres of petrol. A person driving a $3M vehicle was only buying $1000 in gasoline.

The pump attendant noticed my interest. He said, “Dem man can hardly afford to put gas in their tanks.

Every month, they have to pay the car dealer. Things tight!�

Not only are things' tight' i n t h e e c o n o m y, b u t members of the public are overextending. People are borrowing heavily to finance consumables and durables.

The banks are now on a lending spree.

They are lending for school supplies, they are lending for people to celebrate Mashramani; they are lending for people to enjoy themselves during the Independence Carnival; they

are lending for Christmas purchases; they are lending to buy vehicles; they are lending to buy houses, they are lending to furnish the house; they are lending to paint the house, they are lending for UG fees; they are even lending for vacations.

Doctors, nurses, teachers, police, soldiers, labourers are borrowing.

Young, middle-aged and old are borrowing. Organic growth is slow in the economy and therefore the banks have created new packages for borrowing.

Every month the bank installments have to be paid.

Persons not only have to pay the banks, they are also indebted to the hire-purchase companies. They call promptly each month when the installments are late.

Some of these hire-purchase companies have also become loan agencies, lending money to their clients, with interest. Some car dealers have joined the bandwagon.

They are offering hirepurchase also. They give you the car and you pay them each month.

Guyanese people are borrowing left, right and

centre. And regardless of what happens in the economy, many of them will find out sooner or later that they are overextending themselves in debt. The next thing that is going to happen is that someone is going to drive up to a petrol station in a SUV and ask for $500 in petrol, because that is all he or she can afford to put in the tank.

The public has to be wary when the government speaks about private sector credit.

The growth in private sector credit includes all these various financial packages.

Private sector credit is also being driven by property speculation. You just have to read the classified advertisements or try buying a property and you will realise that property and land prices have skyrocketed.

Foreigners are buying up real estate and this has caused an escalation of property prices.

There is a mad rush for investments in the oil and gas sector. But this sector has limited potential for local content growth. Most of the major contracts for the supply of capital equipment

and operational supplies have already been awarded.

Yet, more and more people are building facilities under the presumption that local content will expand.

The monies from oil and gas investments are not going to filter down. Many of these firms are going to go bust; many of those being trained will find jobs hard to come by. All of these people who are overextending in their borrowing will find themselves in deep problems. A financial crunch is in the making.

The half-yearly report

paints a different picture of a rosy and growing private sector. When the bills begin to roll in and the anticipated local content does not materialise, that picture will change, and change dramatically.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Sunday August 25, 2019

What about the interests of the ordinary Venezuelan people?

By Sir Ronald Sanders

M

i c h e l l e Bachelet is a t o r t u r e survivor. She was arrested in 1975 by the late dictator Augusto Pinochet's political police and detained in the notorious Villa Grimaldi torture centre. So, she knows much about the suffering of people.

She is also an astute politician with a keen understanding of the social, economic and political challenges that face Latin American countries, both locally and internationally.

She served twice as an elected President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018. She is now the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.

Therefore, serious

attention should be paid to her August 8 statement that: “I am deeply worried about the potentially severe impact on the human rights of the people of Venezuela of the new set of unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. this week”.

The new sanctions, imposed by executive order of President Donald Trump on August 5, froze all Venezuelan government assets in the United States and barred transactions with its authorities.

While the sanctions prohibit "the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked”, as well as "the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or

services from any such person", they have caused excessive caution across the globe by companies fearful of being caught in its net.

Ms. Bachelet has noted that while the latest sanctions technically do not apply to “transactions related to the provision of articles such as food, clothing and medicine intended to be used to relieve human suffering, they are still likely to significantly exacerbate the crisis for millions of ordinary Venezuelans, especially as there will certainly be overcompliance by financial institutions around the world that have commercial relations with the governments of the U.S. and Venezuela”.

“I fear”, she said, “that they will have far-reaching

implications on the rights to health and to food in particular, in a country where there are already serious shortages of essential goods”.

The reality of the situation in Venezuela is that people are suffering as a result of a combination of circumstances that started with poor management of the economy, once among the richest in Latin America, and a political clash with the United States resulting from Hugo Chavez's desire to create a regional block in Latin American and the Caribbean, based on government-arranged trade and independent of the U.S. and Canada.

Since then, the situation has worsened as forces within the U.S., motivated by political imperatives domestically, and the desire to re-enforce U.S. power internationally, have sought to remove Chavez's successor, Nicolás Maduro, f r o m o f f i c e .

The U.S., backed by Canada and a handful of Latin American and Caribbean countries, anointed Juan Guaidó, the present President of the National Assembly, as “Interim

President” of Ve n e z u e l a , promoting a rivalry w i t h i n Ve n e z u e l a which occasioned violent clashes, injury and death, but no progress in relieving the plight of the majority of Venezuelans.

Much of the international effort to declare Maduro illegitimate and to secure recognition of Guaidó has centred in the Organisation of American States (OAS) where the U.S. and its handful of Latin American and Caribbean supporters hold sway by virtue of an 18member majority.

Resolutions directed at the Maduro government have scraped through meetings of the Permanent Council and the General Assembly, rending the Organisation asunder and adversely affecting the bilateral relations of its member states, including within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Another such resolution will be placed before the OAS Permanent Council in the coming days. But, while lofty statements will be made in the name of human rights of the Venezuelan people on the one hand, and

Sir Ronald Sanders respect for the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of a state on the other, the agony within Venezuela will continue.

The solution to the Venezuelan crisis does not reside in the manoeuvrings which have been indulged in the OAS. The Organization has been trapped in a struggle for power between the opposing political sides in Venezuela.

Support for one or the other has been based on ideological positions, historic geographical enmities or pressure on small countries in thrall to powerful ones.

The right and proper place to discuss the Venezuelan debacle and to try to find a solution is the United Nations – more specifically, the Security Council. It is the right and proper place, because it is there that the powerful players behind one faction or the other in Venezuela meet as equals – the U.S., Russia and China.

All the efforts at brokering a deal between the Maduro government and the opposition forces, now nominally headed by Guaidó, including the recent commendable effort by N o r w a y, h a v e f a i l e d , because the two sides have each been given comfort and encouragement by one external power or another.

Neither of the Venezuelan rivals will make the significant concessions necessary to end their conflict as long as they are convinced that a powerful (continued on page 49)

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

Return to the Source: Giving leadership to Radicalism in the Society In my presentation at a recent conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the Grenadian revolution, I argued that the decline of leftwing revolutionary parties that emerged in the Caribbean in the 1970s was directly tied to the demise of the revolution in 1983. The events that led to the end of that revolution, and the response of the USA, effectively brought an end to the age of revolution in the region.

Interestingly, the WPA is the only one of those parties that still exists. The others have either closed down or have joined with others to form new parties. I also argued at that conference that despite the passing of the age of revolution, the radical instinct still exists in the society at large.

As the pragmatism that was adopted by the leaderships in the wake of the debacle in Grenada failed to transform the region, there was a gradual re-emergence of radicalism in the society.

Here in Guyana, the extreme politics of domination by the PPP served to radicalise a large section of African Guyanese, and a smaller section of Indian Guyanese.

Many in this group also became alienated from the PNC which they felt had become an ineffective opposition.

The AFC was able to tap into that instinct when it arrived on the scene in 20052006, with a message of independence from the status quo. It eclipsed the WPA as the organised symbol of radicalism. However, once the AFC became a big part of the government, it adopted a pragmatic approach which ran counter to the radicalism of most of its initial constituency.

The WPA, which had lost its multiracial appeal due to a combination of factors, helped to form APNU, but was reduced to a very junior partner once the AFC joined the Coalition. The problem for the WPA was that it could not

identify its constituency. Its former multiracial and radical constituencies were gone, Multiracialism was dead, and the new radical youth did not warm to the party.

So, from 2015 we adopted a very uncomfortable dualism of pragmatism and radical critique. The public radical critique came mainly from this writer, Brother Tacuma Ogunseye and Deon Abrams, the host of the party’s TV programme, Walter Rodney Groundings, but it reflected the thinking of many within the party. At the personal level, I felt that someone had to give voice to the radical instinct of the Coalition’s base, and I did so.

We now know that this radical instinct, which cut across social class and generation, had great expectations of the Coalition when it came to power—they expected big change.

The Coalition, however, governed from the centre, did not adopt radical policies and made some errors of judgement. This led to alienation of this group from the government, if not from politics, which was manifested at the 2019 Local Government election, but not acknowledged by the Coalition.

The WPA spotted this alienation and felt that if it were not attended to, the Coalition could lose the coming election. We decided to go into the communities and confront the problem.

Our objective is to win those voters back to the Coalition, which we concluded is the better choice despite its failings. As veterans of radical activism and politics, we are confident that we have the credentials to get the job done. But we were not sure what to expect when we set out on the campaign trail.

As we travelled across the coastland these last five weeks speaking at community meetings to real people, I have been surprised at how different the real Guyana is from the one constructed by

political scribes and commentators. Despite the proliferation of social media, Guyanese are still attached to the bottom-house or schoolroom political meetings, where they get a chance to see the speakers close-up, listen to reasonings rather than speeches, and get to ask questions and express their views on a range of subjects.

I have been energised and uplifted by those gatherings, partly because most of those who have attended the meetings share my views on Guyanese politics and those of the WPA, and partly because there is still a collective passion for Guyana.

We have found out that our critique of the government and our conclusions about its tenure are shared by a critical mass.

This has allowed for relatively fruitful conversations. In effect, the WPA has begun to give leadership to the radicalism in the Coalition’s base. It is a return to where the party began in 1974—the source.

The message is diverse.

First, we have apologised for the government’s failures and acts of omissions.

Second, we highlight both the accomplishments and the non-accomplishments of the Coalition, Third, we encourage grassroots activism as the most effective means of ensuring better government. Fourth, we insist that constituents make demands of government to ensure that they get returns for their votes. Fifth, we argue that a Coalition is in theory a superior form of government to a one-party government.

Sixth, we contend that part of the coming Oil and Gas wealth must be used to directly improve the material circumstances of the poor.

Seventh, the values and policies that WPA feels strongly about, stand a better chance of being realised under the Coalition government.

Eighth, the WPA has

The Baccoo Speaks There would be a moment of panic when a fire starts in a home. The cause of the fire would be undetermined, but quick response would avert disaster.

The general advice is to avoid leaving flames unattended. ** I did warn of the home invasion that went awry. The culprit became stuck and

was beaten. This time the culprit would enter the home but an unexpected guest would spring into action.

The violence should be

expected, but sometimes the extent of the violence would cause raised eyebrows, especially when the person once shared a relationship with the intruder. ** Outings are generally for entertainment, except when two factions meet at the same venue. A fight would break out, but there would be security to avert any serious injury.

asked the communities to empower the party to become a bigger voice and influence within the Coalition, by becoming members and supporters.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper) More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ GuyanaCaribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news.

Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

Dr David Hinds

PAGE 26

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Requiem for a fallen Presidential Guard

By Michael Jordan The woman in the apartment came to her verandah almost as soon after I had pressed the buzzer a second time. She had been expecting me, since I had visited the previous day. She had agreed to have her son check her CCTV camera, for activities that had occurred on Monday July 1, 2019.

I knew that the detectives, looking into the same case, had viewed images on security cameras at a nearby supermarket. They had found no leads there. For some reason, they had not checked at this neighbouring residence. Had I found something that the cops had missed? I hadn’t.

The woman’s cameras failed to provide any clues as to how Presidential Guard, Constable Winston Cooper, had ended up injured and dying on Mandela Avenue last month.

The little I have learned is that Presidential Guard Winston Cooper was affable, quiet, came from a Christian home, had served in the Guyana Defence Force for eleven years, became a presidential guard three years ago, and that there are two people who might have wished him harm.

I also learned that the 32year-old liked to walk, and that may also serve as a clue to his fate.

Cooper is believed to have stepped out of his mother’s home, located near the corner of Mandela Avenue in East Ruimveldt, at around five o’clock on the morning of Monday, July 1, 2019. He then walked north along Mandela Avenue, to begin another round of duty at the Presidential Guard Headquarters.

At around six-thirty, Cooper’s mother, Loraine Peters, received a call that her son had been found

Presidential Guard Constable Winston Cooper unconscious in the vicinity of the National Gymnasium.

First responders from the Guyana Fire Service had taken him to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Still unconscious, Cooper was admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. He had sustained a head injury and one of his shoulders was also fractured.

According to his mother, the medical staff who were treating her son informed her that his injuries were severe, and that he could be “coming (recover) or going (die).”

While he remained unconscious, he appeared “to show signs of coming around,” and was transferred to the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

Mrs. Peters said that the doctors eventually advised that Winston be discharged,

since they had given him every possible treatment.

According to the mother, it was also suggested that Winston might regain consciousness if he was surrounded by people whose voices he recognised.

She was also cautioned that recovery would take months or even years.

Relatives agreed to have him discharged, but on Wednesday August 14, 2019, Winston Cooper “began to breathe heavily.” Relatives hurriedly took him back to the GPHC, where he succumbed.

Meanwhile, ranks from the Police Traffic Department and CID Headquarters, sought to ascertain how Cooper had sustained his injuries. The security guards who had worked the night shifts at the gymnasium and nearby supermarket

reportedly said they had neither seen nor heard anything amiss.

For about two hours, investigators pored over the CCTV footage from the Mandela Avenue Supermarket that is close to the National Gymnasium.

Unfortunately, the cameras were not focused on the area where Cooper was found. In the darkness, the security equipment reportedly only picked up the flashing lights of the ambulance as it arrived to transport the injured presidential guard to hospital.

And while the cameras at the home of the female resident I spoke to could pick up images at the opposite side of Mandela Avenue, the woman informed me that, as a precaution against theft, they had positioned the cameras to focus on the family’s vehicles, which were parked in their premises.

By then, ranks from the Force’s Major Crimes Unit had also joined the investigation. They had received information that a very persistent woman had been furious with Cooper for breaking up with her. Cooper

had reportedly confided in close associates of having received threats.

The detectives questioned the woman and her husband, but reportedly found nothing to implicate them.

Even the post mortem report, which gave Cooper’s death as being due to “complications caused by head injuries,” provided no new leads.

A traffic official did tell me that he was informed that the injuries did not appear to have been caused by a vehicular accident. That was contradicted by another rank.

Police are said to be awaiting a more detailed post mortem report.

So, was Constable Cooper struck down by a callous hitand-run driver while walking to work? Or was he attacked by individuals who had a grudge against him?

His mother, Loraine

Peters, has declined to get into such speculation.

Her response to such questions was: “My son has to get justice and he will get justice. We serve a living God.” She is also appealing to persons who may have information that could lead to the apprehending of any suspects to contact the police.

If you have any information about this unusual case or any other, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office, or by telephone.

We can be reached on telephone numbers 592-2258473, 592-225-8458, 592225-8465, or 592-225-8491.

You need not disclose your identity.

You can also contact Michael Jordan at 592-6452447, or his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com

President David Granger comforts Cooper’s mother, Loraine Peters, at her son’s funeral.

The area where Constable Cooper was found unconscious.

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

2%, then 1%, then 18 million, then Charrandass Minister Ramjattan said he was given information that Charrandass was making inquiries about buying gold, so he informed the police.

Then the police began to investigate Charran for alleged bribe-taking. Then, the Police Commissioner said the investigation also involved national security.

Then, Moses Nagamootoo wrote in the Chronicle that Charran was on the take.

But long before Charran, there was oil. First, it was Exxon who will pay Guyana 2 percent royalty, the lowest for any country that Exxon has invested in. Then Exxon gave Guyana an US$18 million signing bonus - again the lowest among countries that got a signing bonus from Exxon. Now while the investigation into Charran’s alleged bribe-taking and its implications for national security are ongoing, more oil has been found. This time by the British company, Tullow.

Tullow will offer only one percent royalty.

Now let’s ask some legitimate questions.

According to Ramjattan, Charran was asking people about the purchase of gold days before he voted yes in the no-confidence motion.

Ramjattan used what is often employed by researchers trained in the social sciences – logical deduction.

Ramjattan figured that if he wanted to buy gold, and after that desire, he went and

voted to bring down the government (which has not brought down the government even though Charran voted since last December), then he took money. Poor Charran!

Because of logical deduction

by Ramjattan, the police are now investigating him.

Could we apply logical deduction to the 2 percent royalty? Why would any regime sign an investment contract for the extraction of a huge amount of high quality oil and agree on two percent royalty from the investor? Is Ramjattan applying logical deduction here? Has he thought about informing the police, since two percent is really incredible to believe?

Should the police commissioner look at the national security angle here, if there is such an angle?

Exxon gave Guyana a US$18 million dollar signing bonus, but awarded Conservation International in Guyana, a US$10 million donation. Logical deduction should tell Ramjattan something ain’t right here.

How can you offer an entire country 18 million but gave just one organization ten million? Should Ramjattan inform the police commissioner that he should probe this inexplicability?

Tullow is offering a mere one percent royalty. Surely, Ramjattan must be as alarmed as he was when he heard that Charran wanted to buy gold

(in fact Charran wanted to buy gold from me; he asked me to sell him my presidential gold medal for being UG top student in 1978).

Does Ramjattan smell a rat here with this one percent thing? Now take your pick.

Which of the flowing has more implications for national security – Charran’s alleged bribe-taking; Government people agreeing to a deal with Exxon in which Guyana will only receive two percent in royalties for its oil; government people denying that they received a signing bonus from Exxon, then when a whistle blower blew the thing up, they claimed that Exxon gave them a mere 18 million; Tullow paying Guyana a mere one percent for its oil?

Should Guyanese not call upon Ramjattan to use his power of logical deduction, as he did when Charran wanted to buy gold and Ramjattan summoned the police commissioner?

From royalties and Charran, let’s move to expensive cars. The son of a senior minister told me in the presence of Dianne Rajkumar, Minister Ramjattan’s personal aide; AFC youth activist, Arnold Sukhraj; Ogle airport engineer, Raymond Persaud; and businessman, Timol Huggins, that the 2018 model SUV a certain minister bought for his personal use is worth 60 million Guyanese dollars with duty. Now

another minister has bought the exact model.

This columnist knows about two ordinary gentlemen that have been buying up expensive real estate to the tune of hundreds of millions. Both are close to a big one in the corridors of power. These two men are fronts for the use of corrupt money.

Glenn Lall asked me to his office last Wednesday and among the things he told me that I can quote is his belief that the APNU+AFC government is more corrupt than the previous PPP cabals.

Do I believe him? It is not a question of belief. It is a question of facts. The facts are graphic - these guys are making the PPP kleptomaniacs look like school children.

Dem boys seh that poor Irfaan got charged for selling Pradoville 2 below market price. Poor Irfaan because of the charge, he couldn’t get a visa to Canada. So dem boys asking why no charge for accepting 2%, then 1% and the insulting bonus?

Irfaan told a friend of mine, he will lock them up when he becomes president.

Frederick Kissoon (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

PAGE 28

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

THE CUMMINGSBURG ACCORD Much has been said over the past four and a half years about the Cummingsburg Accord, and its effectiveness in enabling the sharing of executive responsibilities between the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership For National Unity (APNU). As a preelection agreement, the Cummingsburg Accord was instrumental in bringing together two distinct political

entities to contest and win Guyana’s General and Regional Elections in 2015 on a joint slate. On achieving this critical objective under the terms and conditions of the Cummingsburg Accord, the two parties were then obliged to govern as a coalition as provided for in the accord.

Having tabled a noconfidence motion against the, then governing, People’s Progressive Party, and

subsequently initiated discussions with APNU leading to the formation of the APNU+AFC Coalition, the Alliance For Change shoulders significant responsibility for the outcomes of these political demarches.

The party is therefore committed to the preservation of the Coalition as a functional governing body through the complete

election cycle. This has largely been achieved, notwithstanding the December 21st 2018 noconfidence motion.

Guyana’s postindependence experiences have provided ample evidence that predominantly race-based political affiliation, in a winner-takes-all dispensation, does very little to foment an inclusive and participatory approach to national development, and everything to encourage complacency and mediocrity within the upper strata of government.

There is now a growing consensus that coalition politics, in some form or another, presents a viable alternative to single party rule and can break the cycle of ethnically-oriented political domination and its adverse impact on the quality of democracy and governance, and the pace of socioeconomic development.

The Cummingsburg Accord represented a bold move for a third party, and a victory for a new political dispensation in the form of a pre-election coalition. While a candid assessment of the APNU+AFC’s performance during its tenure in office may not reveal all the benefits that coalition politics can bring to Guyana, it certainly demonstrates the viability, utility and potential of coalition governments.

The AFC accepts that there is room for improvement, and that the model is a work in progress. Guyana’s Constitution is unhelpful at best, favouring a plurality over a combined majority, thereby forcing pre-election mergers of parties seeking to leverage joint support to win the executive. This is a deviation from what obtains in most parliamentary democracies, where the executive derives its authority to govern by virtue of holding

or controlling a majority of seats in the parliament.

This anomaly therefore requires the parties to any coalition agreement to negotiate without quantitatively demonstrating their electoral strengths and, by extension, the level of the electorate’s support for their individual policy proposals.

An even bigger blind spot surrounds the question of whether the total number of votes that the two parties would receive as a coalition, is likely to exceed the sum of those which they might receive as individual contestants. This ‘what if ’ scenario creates a much different negotiation setting than the more common postelection one in which the parties come to the table with secured parliamentary seats.

The Cummingsburg Accord was the product of a negotiation held without the benefit of the electorate’s input. It prioritised officeholding over policy positions, and received the critical public support needed to put the coalition in office.

Given the prevailing trend, the accord proved to be an effective mechanism for enhancing Guyana’s stagnating electoral outcomes. It remains a valid agreement until February 2020, and is currently being reviewed by the AFC and APNU. The question most relevant to the AFC at this point is: How will an amended/renewed accord benefit the Guyanese people?

The party is in the process of formulating a number of policy proposals for inclusion in an amended accord, and will share these with the public in the near future.

These proposals represent tangible measures for achieving the goals and objectives of the party as announced at the time of its formation in 2005. Their inclusion will be required for

the party to enter into any pre-election agreement, and the AFC will accept responsibility for their delivery within specified timelines.

The AFC is not a massbased party and does not benefit from guaranteed support. The party must, at every election, present its case to the Guyanese public in order to obtain its share of votes cast.

Given its experience in government over the past four-and-a-half years, and its desire to contest the upcoming elections as a coalition with APNU, the AFC will present to the public its commitments which will form the basis of its participation in a coalition to govern Guyana. This will be done during the first week in September.

The AFC is confident that the Guyanese people still see coalition politics as the best option for Guyana, and is committed to demonstrating, not just the value of a coalition government, but that of the AFC within such a government.

The Cummingsburg Accord has successfully held its signatories together for almost five years and, with the necessary inclusions, can become the blueprint for the future of coalition politics in Guyana, and a device for ensuring specific achievements within a government’s term in office.

The attractiveness of a pre-election coalition lies in the ability of the public to distinguish between its members and assess their individual priorities. The AFC believes that the Guyanese public has that ability. The AFC must therefore identify and define its priorities in order to bring votes to the coalition.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

My column

I FEEL FOR THE TEACHERS It is no surprise that the government keeps losing people to the private sector.

Last week the news came that the government had lost nineteen engineers to the private sector. It could have been that if the engineers were scholarship holders then they would have had to serve out a period with the government.

But then again, some people opt to pay off the debt and move on. This is possible because of the greater earning.

Over the years the salaries offered by the private sector have outstripped the government, and this is not because the job is less important when it is in government hands.

Indeed the private sector has always paid more largely, because the profits don’t have to be used to develop the country. Yes, it goes to paying dividends and the rest to the bank account of the private sector body.

The government, however, must think about the various aspects of national development. There are roads, schools and hospitals to be built, salaries to be paid to the non-earning sectors, in that they do not bring in money.

At one time the government was structured into the public sector and the state corporation. The latter paid better because they earned a lot of money, some of which went back into the corporation. And when there was pay increases, the corporations always got a higher rate than the public sector.

So it was that the salaries of teachers, nurses, and clerks lagged behind the corporations. Most people who left school therefore tried to get into the corporations or into the private sector. I stopped being a teacher back in 1973 because the Ministry of Information was paying fifteen dollars a month more.

From my vantage point, it looks as if the salaries of teachers and nurses have been moving backward when compared with the rest of the public sector.

At a Commonwealth forum in Guyana, I spoke with the Finance Minister of Malaysia. The conversation was about the salaries of nurses and teachers. She said that the country recognises the importance of teachers, who are indeed the bedrock of the society.

The result is that they are the third highest paid people in the country after the politicians and the doctors. It makes sense. With education, the money to be spent on other sectors is less. For example, the more educated a person is, the less likely that person would commit serious

crimes and necessitate the presence of increased police ranks.

Similarly, people are more likely to avoid the noncommunicable diseases and thus reduce the expenditure on the health sector.

At the same time, teachers would produce the engineers and the needed skilled individuals in the society. Were there no teachers there would be no doctors, no engineers, and certainly no computer analysts and scientists.

When I visited Korea it was the same; teachers are among the better paid in the country. The argument is the same applied by Malaysia.

The better paid people are the nurses and the teachers.

The nurses are the caregivers.

I remember the then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, telling me that he would like to pay more to the nurses and teachers, but their numbers are so large that any increase would impact the coffers, negatively.

I then asked him about cutting the money paid to some sectors, for example the contract workers. He smiled and replied that the contract workers are providing a needed service; that they have to be paid for a skill that is almost nonexistent in the country.

There is more. A teacher coming out as a rookie is paid almost as much as one who has been in the system for a

long time. One forty-year-old teacher said to me that she earns just over eighty thousand dollars a month. I couldn’t believe it.

A rookie reporter earns as much if not more. And some of the rookies have a torrid time stringing together a sentence or matching subject and verb.

Small wonder that the better qualified people do not gravitate to the teaching profession.

Young people feel that they deserve more for their qualifications. I talk to people who say that they are jobhunting. I would recommend the teaching profession, and they would almost all say, the pay isn’t worth the effort.

And the effort is a lot.

These days there are students who have no problem resorting to violence.

No teacher wants to go to school and feel like a soldier heading to battle.

I now hear that some schools in some countries have teachers who are allowed to carry guns. I am not recommending that for Guyana.

The present administration says that it is looking at the salaries of nurses and teachers. Indeed, it has improved certain areas of the take home pay. There is now a clothing allowance and something that was missing in my day, duty free allowance for vehicles.

But when I look at the

salary, I am left to wonder how the teacher is going to be able to afford a car. Some people talk about the holidays that teachers get. The suggestion is that the teacher gets large periods of rest.

But from time immemorial, teachers were made aware that the holidays were for the children; that teachers were expected to attend programmes organised by the Education Ministry. And the attending teachers were not paid travelling allowances.

I look at the money paid to the heads of certain

departments and I feel sorry for the teachers. But then again, some of them have done nothing to improve their lot. They did not try to improve their qualifications.

The good ones who were recruited by foreign agencies, including the United States, had to be good, and in the end they made money.

Not many have come back from Botswana and the Bahamas where there was no hesitation to recruit retired Guyanese teachers. The government may do well to look at this.

Adam Harris (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

PAGE 30

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

TACKLING CRIME - Dismantling the criminal state History will record that Guyanese lost confidence in the PPP and voted them out of office in May 2015 because that party persistently failed to address the people’s basic needs for safety and security.

Fast forward to 2019, just four years after being kicked out of office, the PPP is asking the people of Guyana to forget their sordid record and give them a second chance.

In other words, the PPP wants Guyanese to forget that it was

under their watch that, contraband smuggling was prevalent; narco-trafficking and gun-running were common place; gun crimes were at an all-time high; drug death squads roamed the streets causing hundreds of unsolved murders, including the murders of Journalist Ronald Waddell and activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.

Human trafficking was common place, causing the US State Department to place

Guyana on their ‘watch list’; crimes such as bribery, armed robbery, arson, inter personal violence, murder, piracy, rapes all increased under the PPP. The Guyana Police Force was starved of the resources and training they so badly needed.

Under the PPP government great damage was done to the security of our country, especially between the years 2000 and 2008, which we refer to as the

‘Troubles’. The extent of the damage during that period, was so extensive, the security sector is still recovering.

However, the APNU +AFC government is committed to security sector reform; we are committed to restoring law and order in Guyana; we are fixing the damage so that integrity and trust in our security forces is restored.

Crime is an issue that cuts across all demographics. A safe country and safe communities are extremely important in building investor confidence.

A safe environment helps to create jobs, because businesses have the confidence to invest and people have confidence to spend.

Guyana will not have a job culture, especially among our young people, if we have a drug culture. In just four short years under the APNU+AFC government, Guyana is finally moving in the right direction.

Serious crime has been reduced from over 3, 600 incidents in 2014 to just under 2, 700 incidents in 2018, a decrease of 25%.

The Guyana Police Force has been expanded and given the resources and training they need to fight crime.

Unlike under the PPP, today crimes are being solved.

Specialist police units have been established to fight organised criminal gangs that once controlled our country.

Due to these initiatives, there has been a 25% drop in murders from 149 t0 111; and also a drop in reported rapes, burglary and breaking and entering.

Guyana saw crime spiral out of control under the previous government. A narco-state developed that took hold of our country, with organised gangs and druglords calling the shots. Under the APNU+AFC, the National Anti-Narcotics AgencyNANA - was established by the Coalition government to tackle drug-trafficking.

As a result, we have seen an increase in narcotic seizures, with over 800 kg of cocaine, 65,000kg of cannabis and 1,900kg of heroin seized between 2017 and 2018.

Guyanese authorities initiated 503 prosecutions and convicted 227 individuals for narcotics trafficking during the same period.

As part of a US$17.8 million ($3.7B) grant from Japan, 7,000 LED street lamps have been installed along major roads and highways and a further 2,000 lamps in communities all across Guyana to ensure better lit roads for better safety and security. The thousands of

street lights and CCTV cameras that have been installed under the APNU+AFC have had a positive effect on public safety. In many regions, the installation of these street lights have caused a reduction in petty crimes.

Residents across 7 constituencies in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region are no longer afraid to venture out at night, all due to the newly-installed street lighting.

Great efforts have been made under the APNU+AFC government to rid Guyana of corruption. Our efforts in this regard have been recognised internationally, with Guyana highlighted as one of the four biggest improvers on the Transparency International Corruption Index.

Under this government,

role in an alleged conspiracy to defraud the state of some $174 million, and the authenticity of his academic qualifications are still in question. It is interesting and telling that on this issues that speaks to his honesty and trustworthiness, the candidate has refused to clear his name.

APNU/AFC calls on all Guyanese to support the APNU +AFC and our plan to crack down on crime and corruption. We are making progress, but it is still only the beginning. We must not forget. The PPP ruled Guyana for more than two decades and during that time they proved that they are incapable of governing in the interest of all the people.

During its 23 years in office, the PPP Government established an unenviable

“The public expects the police to enforce the law in a lawful manner. It expects the courts to hold inquests to examine the circumstances surrounding unlawful killings. It expects the administration to perform its duty to protect the public from the scourge of murder by an underworld dominated by drugs and guns. Killings have become commonplace owing as much to the criminality of nihilistic bandits and sadistic ‘phantom’ squads as to the incapacity of those who have failed to bring them to justice.” - David Granger Guyana has seen a 27.5% improvement in its ranking from this respected organisation, rising from 29 to 37 since 2015. In 2017, despite obstruction from the PPP and in keeping with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, (UNAC), the State Asset Recovery Act was passed in the National Assembly.

It is also apposite to note that APNU+AFC kept its campaign promise and established the Public Procurement Commission to monitor and review all government’s sourcing of goods and services and execution of works are done in a transparent, cost competitive and fair manner.

This government also passed the Protected Disclosures (whistle blower act) Bill to combat corruption, by encouraging and facilitating disclosures of improper conduct in both the private and public sector.

In all of this we must not forget that the PPP’s Presidential candidate, Mr. Irfaan Ali is still before the court facing 19 charges for his

record of criminality, corruption, human rights abuse, abuse of power, obstruction of justice and incompetence. The PPP would now like for all of us to pretend that none of this happened. The PPP is depending on short memories of the people that the people of Guyana whose safety and security they neglected while in office will now forget, the lessons of the recent past and allow a return of the criminalised narco-state that existed under their governance.

In four short years the APNU+AFC coalition has tackled serious crime and made our communities safer.

However, although progress has been made, real change is neither quick to come by or easy to establish, especially after decades of neglect by the PPP. There is still a lot to more to do. Together, let’s keep moving forward!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

Low Blood Sugar: Know what to do or you can die

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Low blood sugar, medically known as hypoglycemia, occurs when

levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood are too low. It is common in people with diabetes who take insulin and some oral diabetes medications. Most of the time it is preventable. It often

occurs due to misuse of diabetic medications.

Today we will discuss this condition so that you may prevent yourself or someone else from dying with low blood sugar.

HOW DO I GET LOW BLOOD SUGAR? Low blood sugar happens when a person with diabetes does one or more of the following: Ï% Takes too much insulin

(or an oral blood sugar medication that causes your body to secrete insulin) Ï% Does not eat enough food Ï% Exercises vigorously without eating a snack or decreasing the dose of insulin beforehand Ï% Waits too long between meals Ï% Drinks excessive alcohol, although even moderate alcohol use can increase the risk of low blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes WHATARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LOW BLOOD SUGAR? The symptoms of low blood sugar vary from person to person and can change over time. During the early stages of low blood sugar, you may: • Sweat • Tremble • Feel hungry • Feel anxious • Getting headaches If untreated, your symptoms can become more severe, and can include: • Difficulty walking • Weakness • Difficulty seeing clearly • Bizarre behaviour or personality changes • Confusion • Unconsciousness or seizure • If left untreated, death will occur When possible, you should confirm that you have low blood sugar by measuring your blood sugar level. Low blood sugar is generally defined as a blood sugar of 60 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/ L) or less.

Some people with diabetes develop symptoms of low blood sugar at slightly higher levels. If your blood sugar levels are high for long periods of time, you may have symptoms and feel poorly when your blood sugar is closer to 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/ L). Getting your blood sugar under better control can help to lower the blood sugar level when you begin to feel symptoms.

HOW SHOULD I TREAT LOW BLOOD SUGAR? The best way to treat low blood sugar is to apply the 15-15 rule. It means that you should have 15 grams of carbohydrate to raise your blood sugar and check it after 15 minutes.

If it’s still below 70 mg/ dL, have another serving of 15 grams. Repeat these steps until your blood sugar is at least 70 mg/dL. Once your blood sugar is back to normal, eat a meal or snack to make sure it doesn’t lower again.

This may be: • Glucose tablets • Banana or another sweet

Dr. Zulfikar Bux fruit • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of juice or a beverage • 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey • 8 ounces of nonfat or 1% milk • Hard candy (check label for amount that equals 15 grams) • Have a carbohydrate based meal or snack You should still visit your doctor and let him/her know what happened. He/she can suggest ways to avoid low blood glucose in the future.

Also, if you are on diabetic medications, your risk of having another episode of low blood sugar in the next 24 hours is high.

Your doctor may want to keep you in for observation.

If you find someone unresponsive with low blood sugar, do not try to give them anything in their mouth. You may make this worse as they can easily choke or the food can go into their airway which can lead to infections. The best thing to do is to rush them to the nearest medical facility.

CAN LOW BLOOD SUGAR BE PREVENTED? The best way to prevent lo w b l o o d s u g a r i s t o monitor your blood sugar levels frequently and be prepared to treat it promptly at all times.

You and a close friend or relative need to learn the symptoms and should always carry glucose t a b l e t s , h a r d c a n d y, o r other sources of fastacting carbohydrate.

Glucose tablets are recommended since they have a pleasant taste, but you are not likely to eat them unless your blood sugar is low.

Low blood sugar can be frightening and unpleasant, and it is common to be fearful of future episodes. This may lead you to keep your blood sugar level high, which can lead to long-term complications.

It may be helpful to discuss fears of low blood sugar with a doctor. In addition, ask about blood sugar awareness education. Blood sugar awareness training can improve your ability to recognize low blood sugar earlier and prevent the loss of a life.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

SUNDAY TULLOW OIL DEAL WORSE THAN EXXON’S… 1% ROYALTYWILL BE RECOVERED BY OPERATOR When it comes to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) governing the Orinduik Block, Guyana agreed to collect a one percent royalty. But that’s not the appalling part. In addition to collecting such a meager fee for its resources, Guyana agreed to have the operators of the block recover the paid royalty.

This peculiar circumstance was exposed in a report prepared by Hannam and Partners (Advisory) LLP, a leading independent investment bank that provides advice and access to capital.

Among other things, the document analysed and laid out, all the possible reasons why Eco Atlantic is a good bet for prospective investors.

The retained advisor noted that Eco Atlantic has several attractive prospects in its portfolio with its 15 percent stake in the Orinduik Block being one of them.

Further, Hannam and Partners highlighted that one of the most attractive provisions in its PSA with Guyana is that there is a one percent royalty that is payable to the government.

However, “it can be claimed back through cost oil and there is no corporate tax payable.”

The investment advisor also noted that the PSA allows Eco to get close to 50 percent of the profit oil. Expounding on this front, Hannam and Partners said that the profit oil share for the contractor varies between 40-50% depending on the production level.

The arrangement for royalty, however, is in stark contrast to the one contained in the Stabroek Block PSA, which was signed with ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and China’s state owned CNOOCC/NEXEN. SECURITY QUESTIONS RAISED OVER HUAWEI POSSIBLE ACCESS TO CITIZENS PERSONAL DATA Late last month, Government announced that it has placed over 100 smart cameras around the city as

part of a long-term battle to arrest crime.

The Chinese-built system all had the capabilities of facial and car licence recognition. However, there are questions now whether Guyana would have exported without realising the implications data of citizens.

With regards to the security project, according to the administration, the noose would be tightening on crime as the cameras were strategically placed across the city.

The Safe City System is a component of the US$32M National Broadband Project, which was funded by China.

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, and Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , Catherine Hughes, along with other high-ranking officials were given a preview of how the safe city system works.

The headquarters is the New National Database Centre, Liliendaal.

Minister Ramjattan said the system is crucial. He highlighted that statistics shows that 53 percent of serious crimes occurs in the city hence the decision to launch the pilot project in Georgetown.

“This is going to be one of the best developments for our country in relation to matters of security and the capacity and capabilities built in to ensure that we can track vehicles, track suspects to the extent of knowing where they are… thorough this technology, I am just so thrilled,” the minister underscored in a government statement.

The system is being built

by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Government said that the high-tech system can perform face and [car] licence recognition. Several police vehicles are also equipped with cameras and radios that can be traced and accessed at any time. From the security

control room, the operators have access to all the cameras across the city that they can pull up on a big screen as they keep watch.

The company at the center of the project is Huawei.

MONDAY JAGDEO CONDEMNS RECOVERY OF ROYALTY IN TULLOW DEAL …PPP WILL REVIEW BECAUSE THE BENEFIT EXCEEDS THOSE GRANTED TO EXXON Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo is adamant that Guyana should not have to pay the royalty it is owed by the contractors on the Orinduik Block.

Commenting last Thursday on the state of Guyana’s developing oil sector, Jagdeo drew attention to the fact that the contractor can recover the one percent royalty it is obligated to pay, on the Block.

“In the Tullow contract… the Government pays Tullow’s royalty.”

On this provision, he said “Exxon takes a lot of heat, but the Tullow contract is even worse.”

The Opposition Leader added that the repayment of royalty through recovery was a common feature, prediscovery.

But at this juncture, he believes that it should not remain so. “When [Ministry of Natural Resources, Raphael] Trotman signed the

contract, in 2016, we had three billion barrels of proven reserve. One would think that the royalty would be, in addition to the profit oil we’re getting. As it is in the Exxon contract, it is in addition.”

The Opposition Leader has argued, on several occasions, that the poor contract terms written into oil contracts pre-2015, were handed out because Guyana did not have the prospects it does now. He has become critical of the Government, arguing that since there are billions of proven reserves, it should have advocated for much better terms when it signed the Orinduik PSA in 2016.

He said that, effectively, Guyana is “not getting royalty on top of profit oil” when production starts on that Block.

Should the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) win the next General Election, Jagdeo reminded that he has said “The PPP will review any other contract which has benefits that exceed those of Exxon or akin to those of Exxon in the future.”

“That position still remains today,” he added.

The recovery of the meager one percent royalty was recently exposed in a report prepared by Hannam and Partners (Advisory), a leading independent investment bank that provides advice and access to capital. The document, purported to list the reasons Eco-Atlantic – an operator on the Orinduik Block – is an

attractive bet for investors.

JETHRO-1 OIL FIND LARGE ENOUGH TO STAND ALONE -ECO ATLANTIC CEO The Jethro-1 discovery that was made on the Orinduik Block last week by Tullow Oil and its partners is enormous enough to be a standalone production well.

This was recently noted by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eco Atlantic, Gil Holzman during an interview with Proactive Investors, a leading international source of financial analysis and share price data.

Holzman noted that the quality and porosity of the Jethro sandstone certainly boasts the confidence of investors as it is soaked entirely in oil. Further to this, Holzman said that the discovery gives the technical team more confidence about the channel that leads from Jehtro which appears to be large too.

The CEO said, “The well has been capped and cased…This is only the beginning. Once a discovery is made, you are able to better understand the play and pin point where the oil is really accumulated.”

In light of the discovery, Holzman was asked how long he foresees his team being here, since he had initially stated that his company does not intend to stay for years on end. But the CEO did not commit to any timeline. He reminded that Eco and Tullow

are the original partners of the block and there are several plays which have to be explored. Holzman said that the discovery has now put his company on the radar of almost every international financial institution and so he will see how things unfold.

He further stated that based on his information from Tullow Oil, production for the Jehtro well can be up and running at a very fast rate if they decided to.

“We will go back to our board and we make decisions with only one interest in mind, that is, creating the best shareholder value for our investors. This is only one discovery and it opens the door to more on a prospective block that holds about 4B barrels of oil. This is only the beginning and I think we will become a big company in time…”

POLITICIANS FIGHT OVER POWER AT THE EXPENSE OF GUYANA’S PROSPERITY IN OIL – NIGEL HINDS “Political misleaders care not for the broad prosperity of the Guyanese people, but instead for political power and pats and praise from their masters at ExxonMobil et al.” says Financial Accountant, Nigel Hinds.

It is the contention of Hinds, in an Op-Ed published in Sunday’s Sunday Edition of Kaieteur News, that the enduring political spat between Government and (Continued on page 33)

Sunday August 25, 2019

From page 32 Opposition, following the passage of the December 21, 2018 No Confidence Motion, places the grave consequences of Guyana’s controversial Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with oil giant, ExxonMobil, and the other contractors of the Stabroek Block, on a backburner.

What should take precedence over that spat, wrote Hinds, is that the sole purpose of Guyana’s Constitution is to have a system of governance that mandates equal opportunity and fair treatment for all Guyanese.

It is in that regard that he drew light on the two percent royalty of the Stabroek PSA. Criticism after criticism has been mounted against this royalty rate which has been described as poor.

Other oil producing nations, including industry leaders, have been getting between 10 and 20 percent royalty.

Venezuela has even managed to negotiate for 30 percent royalty.

Public discourse about this two percent royalty rate has taken the forefront of conversations about Guyana’s budding oil sector, as it will account for almost all of Guyana’s current estimated recoverable reserves.

So far, discoveries have placed Guyana’s reserves over six billion barrels of high quality oil. While a discovery was recently made in the Orinduik Block, for which Tullow is the lead operator, that discovery only accounts for an estimated 100M barrels, while the Stabroek Block accounts for six billion barrels.

Political commentators have made calls for Ring Fencing, Tax Stabilisation Removals and other safeguards in Guyana’s interest. But Hinds contends that a higher royalty would neutralize and de-risk the tax stabilization clause and lack of ringfencing in the PSA. He further contends that 15 percent – not two percent – is a fair royalty for the light crude found offshore Guyana, as there is high porosity and permeability.

TUESDAY GOVT. LOSES 19 ENGINEERS IN TWO YEARS TO PRIVATE SECTOR -MID-YEAR REPORT The roles of engineers are critical to the development of

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Kaieteur News

infrastructural works. However, from 2017 to first half of this year, 19 engineers have left the public sector.

This was highlighted in the Ministry of Finance’s Mid-Year Report which noted that the engineers have since sought employment within the private sector.

This shortfall has resulted in a shortage of critical positions which has resulted in the delay of several infrastructural projects. According to the report, “The infrastructure sector continued to face challenges with implementation, resulting mainly from a lack of staff in critical positions. Human capacity constraints also stymied planning, procurement and contract management.”

Cognizant that this is a serious issue, government has implemented a measure to attract and retain staff whereby an updated compensation structure for engineers and technicians was approved last month. Hence, it is expected that the engineering corps will be augmented significantly going forward, the report noted.

In 2016, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson had reported that there was a shortage of engineers. Patterson had said the shortage at the time was primarily the cause of delays in the implementation of several projects.

The Minister had pointed out that government could not compete with the salaries being offered in the private sector.

Patterson had explained that government was finding it difficult to recruit qualified engineers, more so graduate engineers. He had also disclosed that the Public Service Commission was offering a salary of $80,000 to a graduate engineer.

Notwithstanding this, infrastructure connectivity across all ten administrative Regions remains a core priority within the national infrastructure programme. Of the $38.5 billion allocated for infrastructure for 2019, approximately $16.5 billion was spent during the first half of the year.

Of that amount, $5.2 billion was current and $11.3 billion was capital expenditure.

MAHAICONY CREEK RICE FARMERS LOSE MILLIONS TO FLOOD WATERS Rice farmers at First Savannah,

Mahaicony Creek, are blaming the authorities at the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ ADA) for causing them to lose over $7M in bearing rice crop that has recently been destroyed by flood waters.

Monday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were “begging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.

They said a dam that was supposed to be completed to prevent flood waters from getting to their rice crops has been left unfinished for several years now, thus causing rising waters during heavy rainfall to flood their rice fields.

The farmers said that in one instance, 150 acres of bearing rice plants were destroyed, while 60 acres of land with very young rice plants came under flood waters, thus destroying the entire expected crop.

They claimed that for years now the MMA/ADA has stopped cleaning a main irrigation canal in their neighbourhood, and it has become overgrown with weeds, shrubs and even bush, preventing any form of free flowing of water.

They said as a result, even the canal overflows its banks, and does not allow excess water to seep out of their area, as would have happened if the canal was properly maintained.

They said that the MMA/ADA has cleaned areas but stopped up to Garden Table Village, an adjacent community in the Mahaicony Creek, and did not go further, despite the pleas and lamentations of the farmers in First Savannah.

The farmers said that for other areas to be attended to, they had to form large bodies and lobby their cause at the MMA/ADA Berbice office before any action would be taken.

Farmers Ramchand Bhola and Ramcharran Joshan said that when they approached the MMA/ADA office only last week, they were again promised that works will begin in their area, but nothing has happened until now. The men said that in some areas, the MMA/ADA has solicited the assistance of the National Drainage and Irrigation

Authority (NDIA), who allowed them to use machinery (belonging to the NDIA) to effect proper drainage in other areas. They said that despite their efforts, the machinery was not sent to their area at all.

GUYSUCOAIRCRAFT CRASHES AT BERBICE AIRSTRIP – CIVILAVIATION LAUNCHES PROBE The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has launched a probe into an incident involving an aircraft at a Berbice airstrip over a week ago.

According to Director-General of GCAA, Lt Colonel, Egbert Field, who recently returned home after leave, he has been briefed of an incident that occurred in Region Six. Reportedly, the plane is attached to the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

According to Berbice officials, the aircraft landed over a week ago at the Rose Hall airstrip and was said to have hit a structure nearby.

No one was hurt and from all indications, there was not much damage to the aircraft.

Field disclosed that part of the investigation will be to determine whether a timely report of the incident was made to the GCAA – the regulator of the country’s airspace.

Inspectors of the GCAA

journeyed to Berbice the day after the incident to check on the damage.

According to the DirectorGeneral, the GCAA will be calling in the pilot for an interview this week.

“We are checking on a matter. A team went up the day after the incident. The matter is under investigation,” the Director-General disclosed.

He said that from his briefings, the incident occurred less than two weeks ago.

Field said that the plane was not badly damaged.

WEDNESDAY REGION 10 TOPS IN LOG PRODUCTION – FORESTRY COMMISSION TARGETS 10% INCREASE THIS YEAR The Upper Berbice area, Region Ten, has been dominating the production of wood products this year. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the forestry concessions still have considerable stock.

The Ministry was this week responding to worry expressed about the situation in the Upper Berbice area.

A letter writer, Terrence Williams, urged assistance for small loggers.

According to the ministry, it is not true that the Region Ten concessions are out of stock. “The (Continued on page 41)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 25, 2019

COUNTRYMAN

- Stories about life in m and out of Guyana, fro ve a Guyanese perspecti

Is the world really one?

By Dennis Nichols

A

t times like this, (post-December 21, 2018) our country's fanciful motto – One people; One nation; One destiny, seems hopelessly unachievable. Nevertheless it's a very desirable slogan for politicians, and on a different level, for most

Guyanese. Unity is such a right-sounding principle for progress and getting things done that one wonders why it remains so elusive for so many for so long.

In almost every culture, humans have striven to pay lip service at least, to the idea of the oneness of humanity despite wrenching evidence to the contrary.

This notion of a collective human identity linked inextricably with the universe has gained popularity with the research and experimentation of quantum physics/quantum mechanics which in turn appears to be moving closer and closer to a kind of s h a r e d s p i r i t u a l i t y, particularly as it relates to

the message of God's love for 'the world'.

Quantum physics, simply put, deals with, and describes, how the smallest particles of matter in the universe, atoms and subatomic particles, behave.

It's what everyone and everything is made of – from humans to stars. American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse

Tyson states: “We are all connected; to each other, biologically; to the earth, chemically; to the rest of the universe, atomically. We are not figuratively, but literally, stardust.”

The way these particles behave, scientists say, proves or strongly suggests, that what we think of as reality is, in reality, not reality. How's that again?

The mind-bending concept is that what we perceive with our senses as being 'out there' and separate from us, is actually an illusion. Matter is energy, and the universe appears to be more like a giant thought than anything else – consciousness itself. A very debatable idea.

They say our human brains trick us into believing in the idea of separation when in fact nothing is truly separated from anything else, including human beings. At the minutest level of existence, a human, a rock, a gorilla, and a galaxy, are molecularly, physically, consciously, infinitely connected.

My interest in these theories is however not much concerned with rocks, apes, or stars, as it is with human beings and our 'network' with each other and with this universal c o n s c i o u s n e s s .

Coincidences, hunches, and gut feelings, like the Guyanese expression 'me spirit tek she/he', are manifestations of the psychic energy rooted in this reality, researchers say.

More than 100 years ago the French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, introduced the term 'collective consciousness/conscience' to the world. He said, “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own.”

(My emphasis) This was maybe to some degree quite different from the universe's elemental energy, but it probably helped nurture the notion.

Now if we are all so psychically joined at the hip as it were, (and everywhere else for that matter) how can we be so disunited in our beliefs and actions as individuals, groups, and nations, and cause such mayhem and misery to each other? A sobering aspect of

Dennis Nichols this idea is that our DNA; our consciousness, is so interwoven that whatever we do to others we somehow do to ourselves.

Furthermore, if the theory is sound, then wars, oppression, hatred, and discrimination should be waning globally as we embrace this new knowledge of oneness and the glorious future being held up like a mirror before us. Right now the mirror appears to be splintered into a billion disconnected pieces.

One theory why this is so has to do with what Dr. Paul Leon Masters calls 'the battle between the personal ego and one's true universal identity'. (He is the founder of the International Metaphysical Ministry) This idea, or something very close to it, is being explored by a number of physicists and experimenters in the field of quantum mechanics in which the perception of self is both subsumed by, and expanded into, in the vast cosmic consciousness some call the Universal Mind, Intelligent Energy, or simply God. It is said that this connection can be experienced when we attain altered states of consciousness, for example those induced by certain drugs, meditation, religious euphoria, or near-death experience. But generally, we are so caught up with our egos and with earthly materialism that the whole idea seems exotic, farfetched, and simply unbelievable.

Guyana is a paradox. The world is a paradox. Can reality – including our very existence, also be a paradox, based on an illusion? And if we are energy, which science proves cannot be destroyed, what happens to us after death, and is that final 'transition' also illusory, or (continued on page 49)

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Mr. Jagdeo, let GECOM do its work; you do yours

L

eader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo doesn't have the authority to instruct the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to advise President David Granger as to its readiness to conduct any election. Neither does he hold the office of President to set the date when an election should be held.

Though he is without authority in the stated areas, he continues to meddle, ignoring the areas where he has authority to effect decision-making.

This nation is in crisis.

We h a v e a n i n t e r i m Government, an interim Opposition and a substantive GECOM, yet the interims are behaving as though it is business as usual, while we are on the threshold of a massive process of exploiting the nation's resources. First oil will pour next year. This would see the greatest economic shift since slavery ended. In spite of this, our political operatives are seemingly disinterested in forging a cohesive nation to grapple with the reality and ensure Guyanese are the primary beneficiary.

As the squabbling continues, Exxon, Tullow et al are having a field day, uninhibited by any national concern, scrutiny or objection. We continue to be bombarded about the call for election, as though day-today governance and other matters of national import are unimportant. It is not that election ought not to be held, but we must reject the singular projection that election must give way to constructive dialogue.

Those questioning my interest and focus on the present political climate, as a trade unionist the historical struggles of the workers against exploitation, and to put an end to misuse and abuse of labour not only anchor my conviction, but propel me. Having come this far as a nation, we must zealously guard and build on our gains, and seek to avoid a repeat of the sordid past.

Our history has shown that despite racial and political clashes, when it came to the defence of the nation in the face of foreign forces, we set aside our differences. We did it for independence - the embrace

by Minority Leader Cheddi

Jagan and Premier Forbes Burnham at the dawn of nationhood is captured in perpetuity.

When the Burnham government moved to nationalise bauxite and sugar - the two major pillars of our economy - nation was placed above partisanship. Both Burnham and Jagan sat down, worked out strategies and programmes to give effect to the nation's aspirations, then moved to the Parliament and legislated.

In this era, national interest is being subsumed by partisan interest. There is clear absence on the part of the Opposition to discharge its constitutional responsibilities. The role of the opposition is not only to oppose or seek to dispose, but to also propose. This year there was only one major engagement between the Opposition and Government. It dealt with the selection and appointment of Justice Claudette Singh SC as Chairperson of GECOM. While President Granger to a large extent has remained silent on the aforesaid issues, allowing surrogates to address these, Mr. Jagdeo, in giving voice, continues to disrespect the constitutional independence of GECOM, and is refusing to make proposals to improve governance, including the management of oil and gas. Such conduct is a departure from Dr. Jagan's politics. The inference is therefore being drawn that for the party it is all about an election and everything else be damned.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress is on public record calling for engagement among the Government, Opposition and civil society in addressing a Local Content Policy to ensure the safeguard of Guyanese labour and business.

Recently, sections of the private sector joined the call to realise legislation.

Disgruntlement surrounding the oil and gas contracts and the benefits Guyanese will derive from these will not be silenced. Attending to the grievances cannot wait for an election.

While no contract is written in stone, the fact that the political operatives are not engaging on these and

other issues pertaining to the sector, to arrive at a national position sends an ominous signal. They are not engaging each other or civil s o c i e t y, w h i c h i s communicating that we the people are secondary in the scheme of things.

We owe it to ourselves not to have oil used as an electioneering gimmick and after election, whomever is

elected, the issue of addressing the contracts is abandoned. We have had experiences where promises to put Guyana first were never honoured.

Citizens have every right to be concerned if or when the PPP is elected it will be business as usual. Going by Mr. Jagdeo's track record as President, the recent examples of RUSAL/BCGI,

Bai Shan Lin, etc. tell a story.

The common thread in these cases is that foreigners were allowed to exploit our resources with no regard for the environment; they were given tax exemptions and low royalties, and demonstrated blatant disrespect for our laws and the fundamental rights of workers/citizenry.

With this record, the

promises that the PPP will revisit the contracts should the party secure the Executive would be seen as an attempt to hoodwink the populace.

It is not unreasonable therefore to request of the politicians that they meet, agree and put their agreement into legislation, before the election. The (continued on page 38)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 38

K O

BO

Book: Madwoman Author: Shara McCallum Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD

S

hara McCallum's stark and edgy writings explore the underworld, a place where the conscious and the unconscious self merges; it is a place of knowing, experiencing, and the habitat of the Madwoman McCallum's muse and her alter ego.

McCallum unravels and splits, only to become whole.

It is a tortuous journey that she recounts, a persnickety task that lays bare a soul teetering on dissolution. But the darkest night of the soul revivifies, enlightens, and reconciles every disparate

Sunday August 25, 2019

A Journey to

Wholeness

and warring pieces of thought.

Madwoman is, in reality, a thought-form rooted in the poet's unconscious. Over the years, it has morphed into an archetype and a permanent denizen of her space. This is hardly an implosive development. She has learnt from it, mending her broken parts. Her reflection is her catharsis. Her spry memories take the form of imagery – “whore” and “abomination” to name a couple; they are representations of an identity shattered by society, our boundless and suffocating superego.

In 'You,' McCallum is a woman consumed by neuroses. We feel her dissociation; she is psychically shredded, her candour volcanic. “You

bring out the sorriest of Bad Wolves in me. Dropped baskets, loose teeth, lost pathways in me.”

'Invention' tells how cleverly she buttresses a frayed ego with flights of f a n t a s y, h e r m y t h i c a l indulgence a salve for open wounds - "Even if smoke and mirrors, the beloved remains the rage, Love, how do I go on being your marvelous invention? If I sometimes misplace myself, who really can I blame? The... kiss was my miscalculated invention.”

In 'Grief,' she has either stumbled on truth or has assuredly decoded the mystery that is life.

“Have you really not yet learned?

Only in fairytales is disaster averted," she pens.

'Madwoman Apocrypha' is clothed in ontological inquiry: Q: Who created you?

A: A breach in the self.

Q: What caused the breach:

Author Shara McCallum A: I'd become mistrustful of beauty again, each sound perforating the moment.

Q: How do you measure the distance between the girl you were and the woman you've become?

Each question probes deeper into her being.

And her 'Madwoman in Middle Ages,' traverses time and cultures.

She writes, “As a girl I knew the world was mutable.

A beggar could pass for king.

In a new country I became a woman, mistaking what I'd love for what I lost now I tell myself...every red is not a shade...Now when tea leaves drift through steaming water, sifting into shape, I say: This portends nothing.”

'Madwoman Exiled' is brutally haunting.

Climatically raw and Freudian, it captures our unconscious drive for selfannihilation.

McCallum is at her expressive best – “Walking from the house of my earliest dreams…

Next town I enter, I will kneel on the steps of the first church I find, plant myself in the path of parishioners who turn from me...Whore of Babylon, Abomination, I

will take matted strands to stone, scouring, for all who must see, the scourge he left in me.”

In like vein, she follows with 'Salome to Madwoman' – “You too could learn what the wind becomes when it scythes the palms. A storm is an opportunity for all to be given form.”

In 'Elegy,' death has long consumed the living. It is a sobering reminder that the 'event' is an interpretive concept with divers meanings. In many a case, “death is like an ill-fitted suit that can be worn longer than we'd imagine.”

McCallum's encomium to death is telling. It is in 'Death' that she makes the final stride toward wholeness. In this transformative experience, there is vindication…and victory. This one moment is inextricably weaved into life, no longer a dreaded finality, but a spark to be revered. - “This truth you turn from has been your companion from the start.

Oh my sweet, you will remember me, anytime now,

despite yourself.”

McCallum masterfully and ever so subtly delves into the incalculability of the human mind. To call her work a psychoanalytic marvel is an understatement.

Wryly authentic, she invites us to glean from the recesses of self and its dynamic relationship to time and timelessness. Hers is a poetic treatise steeped in psychophilosophical and metaphysical enquiry. We are that much closer to understanding McCallum if we define her work for what it truly is.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper) F e e d b a c k : glenvilleashby@gmail.co m or follow him on Twitter @glenvilleashby Madwoman by Shara McCallum © Shara McCallum 2019 Publishers: Peepal Tree Press, UK

Mr. Jagdeo, let GECOM do its work; you do yours From page 35 holding of an election requires the National Assembly complying with Article 106(7) of the Constitution.

The Opposition will have to return to parliament to carry out their constitutional responsibilities consistent with the Caribbean Court of Justice's ruling.

At the same time they are addressing elections, they can address issues of governance, priority among which is the burgeoning oil and gas sector.

The refusal of the Leader of the Opposition to return to parliament is an

abrogation of constitutional responsibility, highlighting a shortcoming in his leadership as the nation's second highest political office holder.

His promises on behalf of the PPP when he has the constitutional authority to work and ensure these are realised must see us holding him to account. The PPP's Members of Parliament (MPs) together with the Coalition's MPs, must return to the National Assembly and legislate the promises now.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

THE

PAGE 40

Sunday August 25, 2019

STORY WITHIN THE

The Brazil lesson and comparative pay for oil workers

By Leonard Gildarie

T

here were two things that came to my attention last week that Guyana should be aware of - the Brazil fires and comparative pay for local oil workers. The Brazil fires have triggered a worldwide response, where countries have insisted on help to put them out. The consequences of doing nothing are frightening.

The rainforests are the lungs of the world. Scientists have provided evidence that less forest means more harsh weather, including melting of the icecaps in the Arctic and stronger hurricanes and drought. Mother Nature will become a deadly monster.

Brazil's Amazon accounts for more than half of the world's rainforest, with fires surging to a shocking 83 percent increase this year.

Those forests have been seen as a major weapon to fight climate change. Brazil, like Guyana, has been receiving cash from developed countries to protect those forests.

The Brazilian government, led by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is under pressure to do something. He has in the last few hours announced that his army has been mobilised to help put out the fires which have destroyed homes of indigenous people and killed thousands of animals which call the forests home.

Conservation workers cried and the photos of the firefighters and dead animals told a heartbreaking story.

The long term impact would be devastating for not only Brazil but the rest of the world. The President blamed the dry conditions and illegal logging, and appealed for a rejection of sanctions as threatened by a number of countries.

Reportedly, his plans for increased agriculture have raised fears of more deforestation. The house was on fire, was how French President Emmanuel Macron described the situation, with European leaders threatening to scrap a trade deal.

STAGGERING Al Jazeera reported that the Brazilian space agency,

INPE, has registered 72,843 fires this year, the highest number since records began in 2013. More than 9,500 have been spotted by satellites over the past week.

Although fires are a regular and natural occurrence during the dry season at this time of year, environmentalists blamed the jump on farmers clearing land for pasture.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he believed Brazil should open up the Amazon to business interests, allowing mining, agricultural and logging companies to exploit its natural resources.

Some foreign donors including the biggest, Norway - have slashed their contributions to the Amazon Fund, designed to curb deforestation in the region, in protest to changes introduced

by Brazil that blocked its operations. The Brazil situation has to attract our attention.

Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, said that the current situation has Government's attention, but there is no threat to Guyana with the fires.

U nder a 2009 groundbreaking deal, Norway agreed to pay up to US$250M to conserve its forest, limiting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Using a number of indicators which it failed to meet initially, Guyana received far less than the US$250M. From a Government perspective, Guyana has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, thanks to tough monitoring over the years. There has, however, been growing evidence of water polluting and the presence of a number of foreign investors with their heavy equipment has raised fears.

I am afraid of the prospects of increased migration in face of the oil and g a s a c t i v i t i e s .

It is already happening. The Brazilians are here and Venezuelans, who are known for aggressive mining practices, are also casting their eyes here.

We have limited capacity to monitor some very harsh

Leonard Gildarie terrain in our hinterlands. That together with corruption in our midst by inspectors, is deeply worrying.

As part of the Amazonian rainforest, the Brazilian fires, regardless of the origins, have presented opportunities for us to revisit our arrangements with overseas partners, like Norway, for us to get more.

Yes, you heard it‌to get more. All of a sudden, our value of our standing forests has gone up. The Coalition Government and the Opposition must sit up and take notice. I have dear friends on both sides of the House. I quarrel with them every single week to be more aggressive.

DRIVER'S SEAT I have said it before and will say again. We are in the driver's seat at the negotiation table with oil and so many other things. We are doing our country and its people, who have suffered and persevered in the postcolonial period, an injustice by accepting a pittance.

Our resources, including our oil, gold, bauxite, forests, sand, and I am hearing, rare earth, all can and should attract premium prices.

Guyana wants another arrangement like the Norway deal. The response to the Brazil fires should be enough to make out rightful demands.

The question has always been how can we balance conservation along with the needs of our people, many of whom have invested heavily, to earn a living out of the forests.The reality is that we are barely cutting a quarter of the allowable quota per year.

Again, we hurt for Brazil, as the entire world is being threatened. However, we would be blind not to recognize the opportunities.

Another issue that came to the attention is the oil workers in Guyana. We have been training scores to work in an industry which should see first oil pumped during the first three months next year.

Quite a number of the companies here have been operating in Trinidad and Tobago. It was pointed out that workers in Trinidad are battling the companies for Cost of Living Allowances (continued on page 49)

Sunday August 25, 2019

From page 33 Region Ten area has approximately 190 of the 500 small forest concessions in Guyana. This represents approximately 700,000 hectares of State Forest (or about 1.8M acres). Though a small percentage of these concessions have low timber stands, inventory studies of concessions within the region reveal that the majority of concessions have sufficient merchantable tree species with acceptable diameter classes to make the concession viable.”

The ministry said that it found that due to a lack of appropriate equipment, technical inventory skills and an interest in harvesting only the prime species rather than a wider range of species including the Lesser Used Species, it was erroneously concluded that the concessions are out of stock.

“More importantly, Region Ten concessions have declared the highest production for 2019 to date, making the notion of concessions being out of stock untrue. A summary table of concessions and area occupied in Region Ten is attached at the end of this release,” it was disclosed.

Timber is among the top 10 foreign currency earners for Guyana but in recent years, the administration had clamped down, seizing forest concessions held by disgraced Chinese investor, BaiShanLin. Thousands of hectares were also given up

by Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company.

Region Ten, especially, has seen an emergence of small loggers with a number of associations.

According to the ministry, within Region Ten, multiple concessions were granted to accommodate the increased membership.

“This is true for almost all other Community Forestry Organisations country-wide.

The statistics show, however, that Region Ten has approximately 38% of all the small concessions issued country-wide. Additional concession areas are very limited; the loggers in Region Ten, and in other parts of the country, have been consistently encouraged to reduce the sale of logs and to be involved in more addedvalue activities.”

The ministry said that unfortunately, despite the assistance of the Government, this has not materialized to any appreciable level.

HOUSTON CHEMICAL FACILITY… NALCO WAS MISLED – CH&PA OFFICIAL It

appears

Nalco

Champions, a company intending to provide chemical services to ExxonMobil when oil production starts, was misled when it started constructing what is meant to be a chemical storage facility on land owned by John Fernandes Limited at Area ‘K’ Houston.

This was the observation made Orson Simon, an official from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The company has faced fierce resistance from the residents of Plantation Houston and surrounding communities after it was revealed that it wanted to build the plant. But it was later revealed that it had not yet got the necessary permissions to do so.

During a community consultation held by the Ministry of Communities, Tuesday, at Houston Secondary School, Simon said that when CH&PA was called by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to a meeting at the proposed site, they had found that the site was already constructed.

“I am not here to make an excuse for Nalco.” Simon said, but “somebody right in our dear land of Guyana misled the people, told them they can do X. When they reached a bottleneck, and we met with them… we met at the site, and they agreed right there and then to stop the

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construction.”

The company had announced, last month, that it would cease all activity on site.

Phillip Fernandes, of John Fernandes Limited, made it clear that the current structure, which consists essentially of a shed, was not built buy Nalco.

“Nothing has, since, been added to that shed.” Orson said.

“So when they were told that they’re going wrong, immediately, they tried to take the right stand.”

The proposed chemical storage facility is on a John Fernandes Inland Terminal.

Recently, Houston residents kicked up a ruckus about the use of the land for industrial purposes, as they were given the impression that the land there would only be used for commercial purposes.

Fernandes said, “[John Fernandes Limited] was given some indication that what we were trying to do falls within the normal processes, procedures and operations within the property.”

But it was revealed by the Chief Development Planner at CH&PA, Germene Stewart, that a number of other structures on the same property were erected but had not been approved. When the CH&PA found out about the operations involving those structures, it had them brought to a halt.

The continuation of the work on the proposed chemical storage facility is subject to a series of permissions and regulations by the local actors involved.

Vital to that process is the conduction of an environmental impact assessment by the EPA. THURSDAY MMA/ADA SAYS FARMERS OWE “OVER $1B” IN FEES – RELUCTANCE TO PAY AFFECTING DRAINAGE WORKS ALONG MAHAICONY FAÇADE While rice farmers at First Savannah, Mahaicony Creek are blaming the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) for their rice crops being ruined by flood waters, General Manager of the entity, Aubrey Charles is claiming that their reluctance to pay ‘farmers fees’ has adversely affected the Authority’s ability to properly execute drainage in areas along the Mahaicony façade.

In a statement Wednesday, Charles informed that to date over $1B is owed to the entity in back charges by farmers, which adversely affects its ability to carry out timely drainage works in flood-threatened areas.

He further stated that

farmers from First Savannah, in particular, had bluntly refused to pay their fees.

“Farmers have not been paying MMA, they have not.

Now, there was a period of time when we were doing all of these works and we were not receiving any money, but the Ministry of Finance has made it clear to us, that we have to collect the money owed from the farmers to carry out the necessary maintenance work.”

He said the MMA/ADA has been sending out notices to the farmers all along the Mahaicony River. However, some farmers in the First Savannah area have refused to pay what they owe.

“If we are supposed to collect $100M, to cover the cost of maintenance, and we only collect $60M, it means we can only do 60% of the works, it’s simple, we can only do 60%, the 40% has to come from the farmers who are not paying,” Charles stated.

In response to this, however, farmers Wednesday said they were told by MMA/ ADA officials that only when projects are completed, and their areas become developed, they would be required to pay the aforementioned fees. They said that no development works were done in their areas, until WEdnesday, after this publication carried an article where farmers claimed $7M in losses of their rice crop due to flood waters.

Charles Wednesday refuted these claims, stating that he had employees in the area who had not reported any cases of losses at that location.

Farmers were irate over that statement, saying that such claims were untrue.

They explained that they were presently trying to save rice crops by attempting to pump excess water from their fields.

DIPCON TAKES PRESIDENT TO COURT OVER PARDONING OF FINANCE MINISTER FROM JAIL TIME DIPCON, a Trinidad engineering company which was contracted to do massive road works in Guyana, has taken President David Granger to court over his issuance of a respite in the Official Gazette pardoning Finance Minister Winston Jordan from 21 days imprisonment over failure to pay the more than US $2.2 million judgment which was awarded to the company since 2015. In October 2015, Justice Gino Persaud had ruled that DIPCON recover the sum from government as monies due to the engineering company for infrastructural works done under the

previous administration.

Obviously dissatisfied with the judgment of Justice Persaud, Attorney General Basil Williams filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal.

The appeal was a belated one and the Court of Appeal dismissed it. But Williams then sought redress from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) where he contended that there were good reasons for the late filing.

For one, the Attorney General submitted to the regional court that the matter was handled by a private attorney and the State was not notified of the judgment until months after it was delivered. The CCJ, too, dismissed the appeal noting that it was not filed within the prescribed time limit.

Notwithstanding these, the monies were still not paid and DIPCON by way of an action applied to the court and was granted an Order of Mandamus by Chief Justice Roxane George directing that the monies be made to DIPCON on or before January 15, 2019. This was not forthcoming and DIPCON instituted contempt of court proceedings against the Minister.

On June 24, Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry issued a contempt order to have Minister Jordan imprisoned for 21 days if he fails to pay the monies to DIPCON on or before Monday, July 8.

Following the contempt order, Attorney General Williams appealed to the Full Court to set aside and/or reverse the order of Justice Sewnarine-Beharry.

However, the Full Court, in a ruling dated July 5 held that Williams’s application had no merit and dismissed the appeal and even rejected a stay of the contempt order which was requested by Williams. But four days later, the President issued a Grant of Respite in the Official Gazette signed by Minister of State Dawn Hastings which gave Jordan in his personal capacity, and as the Minister of Finance, respite of the execution of punishment imposed on him by the judge.

FRIDAY TULLOW’S CONTRIBUTION FOR TRAINING GUYANESE BARELY COVERS ONE SEMESTER – US UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTOR Since the announcement of a significant oil discovery on the Orinduik Block, the spotlight has been placed on the provisions contained in the deal Tullow Oil negotiated with the Granger (Continued on page 42)

PAGE 42

From page 41 administration in 2016. Just a few days ago, Kaieteur News exposed that the operator will pay Guyana a one percent royalty but it will be able to recover same in cost oil.

But that is not the only provision that has transparency advocates scratching their heads.

During his perusal of the Orinduik Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) University of Houston Instructor , Tom Mitro, noted that the license holders for the block, being Tullow Oil , Eco Atlantic and Total, only make a tiny contribution for the training of locals.

The Petroleum Consultant who has over 30 years’ experience in the field, noted that the oil companies are only required to pay US$25,000 per year. “…That amount is so small; I wonder why they even bothered. That will barely pay for one semester at a university in the US,” remarked the Instructor.

In other countries, however, Tullow makes a much more sizeable contribution for oil and gas training. In Uganda, Tullow deposits with the government, or its nominee for the exploration period, US$100,000 per six months; US$150,000 per 12 months for the development phase, and following the commencement of production; and a deposit of US$300,000 per 12 months.

In the case of Ghana, Tullow hands over US$300,000 annually for oil and gas training.

Considering these and other factors, Mitro told Kaieteur News that not only is the PSA unusual but it is worse than the deal that was cut with ExxonMobil for the Stabroek Block.

DRAFT LOCAL CONTENT POLICY FAVOURS OIL COMPANIES… NO SANCTIONS IN PLACE FOR NON-COMPLIANCE – GCCI Three drafts and two local content experts later, there are still no sanctions for nonadherence, in Guyana’s Local Content Plan. First Oil is months away, and the draft plan, which details how much Guyanese will be able to participate in the sector, needs to have provisions which ensure compliance by International Oil Companies (IOC). criticised at a recent roundtable discussion, held by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) at Duke Lodge, Kingston.

Principally, the issue was noted by GCCI President, Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer. He

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Kaieteur News

said that the GCCI would like to see the policy implemented as soon as possible.

He explained, “I think that [it] can really kick off a new wave of industrialization in Guyana. And we have to recognise that we are behind in certain areas of development. So we are going to need the policy’s help to get us over a few hurdles.”

But he went on to say, of the third and current draft, “Impositions of penalties for non-compliance with local content targets, the policy does not set…”

The concern was echoed

by Executive Member of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo, who asked “If there is no provision for a breach, why do we have a policy?”

Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Vincent Adams, explained, “When you tell ExxonMobil [et al] ‘you’ve got to give priority to local content’, that doesn’t mean anything.”

It is necessary, Adams explained, that there is something which ensures compliance with its targets.

Adams noted that there are many complaints and excuses companies would make to shy away from adhering to the targets set out in the policy.

He suggested, in addition to penalties, there could on the other hand be incentives to encourage compliance by oil companies.

JAGDEO IN SUPPORT OF MORE ROYALTY IN ORINDUIK PSA Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has taken issue with the fact that the royalty payable to Guyana from the Operator of the Orinduik Block is so low.

The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which governs operations of the Orinduik Block states, “The government’s share of Profit Oil specified in Article 11 [Cost Recovery and Production Sharing] includes royalty payable by the Contractor at the rate of one percent of

Crude Oil produced and sold.”

Asked whether the royalty should be higher, Jagdeo said, “If the new standard is two percent, nonrecoverable.”

The PSA which governs the Stabroek Block, where the first Petroleum discovery was made, requires the Operator, ExxonMobil, to pay a royalty of two percent. But even that has got much flack because of how low it is.

Other oil producing nations, including industry leaders, have been getting between 10 and 20 percent royalty. Venezuela has even managed to negotiate for 30 percent royalty.

During a press conference, Thursday, the Opposition Leader said that no other oil company should be given the same benefits that ExxonMobil was given.

And for the Orinduik PSA, he said, “Tullow got even better terms than Exxon, in relation to the royalty.”

Commenting on the low rate, the Opposition Leader said “These people think that we’re stupid, as Guyanese.

They really think we’re stupid.”

Defining the low rate as a “frontier advantage”, Jagdeo said “How many times are we going to give [that advantage to oil companies?]

With ExxonMobil, they’re the first who came here. You can argue that case. But the Tullow contract was signed in January of 2016, after we knew that we had oil in commercial quantities. And you had billions of barrels of proven reserves out there.”

Last week, Jagdeo also drew attention to the fact that the contractor can recover the one percent royalty it is

obligated to pay, on the Block.

SATURDAY DEPUTY CJIA CHIEF GRANTED BAIL ON SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGE The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Andre Kellman, was on Friday arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly after he was slapped with a sexual assault charge.

He appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where the matter was heard in camera and members of the public along with media operators were asked to exit the courtroom where the matter was being conducted.

According to information, the charge read that on July 30, 2018 at Timehri, East Bank Demerara, he made sexual contact with a woman without her consent.

The 56-year-old Kellman of 67 Craig Street, Campbellville, is being represented by attorney-atlaw Glenn Hanoman. He was released on $70,000 bail and instructed to make his next court appearance on August 29.

The charge was laid against the defendant one week after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised the police to do so.

This publication had reported that in June a woman had alleged that she was held and kissed twice in the office of the manager when she visited him last year to seek his help in removing the wheel clamps on her employer’s vehicles which was left overnight in the parking lot of the airport.

While in the office, the

woman said she was blocked from leaving and kissed twice without her permission. She claimed she did not have that level of relations with the manager. The matter was later reported to the CEO of CJIA with a promise for a probe to be launched.

However, for several months there was no word despite her queries. It was sometime in June that after demanding a response, she was told by an official of the Human Resources Department that the matter had been resolved. She was not told how. She later complained to the police and the media.

Days later, she was ejected from the airport and had her security passes revoked. Kellman was sent on leave but resumed work after.

The airport’s handling of the matter had come under fire with the board of directors later making it clear that it does not tolerate workers’ victimisation. The board also said that it has ordered a review and update of CJIA’s protocols on how to better deal with issues like this.

WITH SEVERAL DEVELOPMENTS ON THE HORIZON...

GUYANAMUST STUDY ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MULTIPLE FPSOS UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON INSTRUCTOR ExxonMobil, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/ NEXEN have all indicated that the Liza field within the oilrich Stabroek Block holds the potential for at least five Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units.

These vessels are used for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, as well as for the storage of oil.

Considering the fact that ExxonMobil will soon be moving towards the development of other fields in the Stabroek Block, as well as the significant discovery in the Orinduik Block, analysts are cautioning that there are some FPSO economics involved which must be given due attention.

Specifically making this comment was University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro. During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, the Petroleum Consultant noted that the government may want to consider whether continuing to develop these offshore fields using separate FPSO configurations, still makes sense.

Mitro said, “FPSO’s are self-contained production, storage and export units that do allow a very quick start of a production, but when there are several of them, they tend to be less than cost-efficient, and do not lend themselves to monitoring and control by the government.”

The Consultant, who has over 30 years’ experience in the industry added, “Now with multiple developments on the horizon, the government may want to consider the economic and other impacts of requiring a pipeline system to be built take the oil to shore to a common terminal in Guyana for treating and export and possible future connection to domestic pipelines.”

Mitro said that this type of common infrastructure has the potential to reduce overall costs, enable more local content, and also enable future marginal oil discoveries in the region to be more economically viable by utilising existing (Continued on page 43)

Sunday August 25, 2019

From page 42 infrastructure. He opined that it would also allow for much easier and cheaper government monitoring and auditing of oil measurement and fiscalisation. Further to this, Mitro said it should be pointed out that these results would not necessarily be automatic, but would have to be studied.

“I would submit that now would be an ideal time to study these options before the government is inundated with a lot more new development plans submitted to it,” the University Instructor concluded.

CITY HIT BY WATER SHORTAGE DUE TO DAMAGED MAIN Residents of Georgetown were forced to endure several hours without potable water on Thursday and Friday after a Guyana Water Inc. main broke.

According to a brief Guyana Water Inc. online release, the disruption in water supply was due to damage to a 14-inch main in the vicinity of Cemetery Road.

The release stated that GWI technicians were “working tirelessly around the clock to rectify the problem within the swiftest possible time”.

The Guyana Fire Service’s Georgetown operations were severely affected. An official said that staffers were forced to access water from the GWI wells at Sophia, South Ruimveldt, Farm, East Bank Demerara and Melanie, East Coast Demerara.

However, water pressure was back to normal by yesterday afternoon.

An official at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) said that the services at the institution were not affected. He explained that the GPHC has several water tanks for such emergencies.

OIL COMPANIES SHOULD AVAILTHEMSELVES TO REGULAR SCRUTINY FROM LOCAL MEDIA – JAGDEO Oil companies have a responsibility to answer to the Guyanese people, the sovereigns of the oil they intend to exploit. So they must make themselves available to local media for scrutiny.

That is the opinion of Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

During a press conference last Thursday, he noted that ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice President in charge of exploration and new ventures, Michael Cousins, at a recent Town Hall meeting on Guyana’s Oil and Gas

Development in Canada, told the Diaspora that 1,357 Guyanese have already benefitted from jobs.

About this, Jagdeo said “When they do these specific numbers, you know that we’re going to probably find, again that the person who sells them bananas at the market is included in this.”

What the Opposition Leader was referring to was an occasion last year, when ExxonMobil, after being challenged to support figures it had provided on its local content contribution, submitted a padded list which included Bourda Market, Haags Bosch Dumpsite, and Shanta’s Roti Shop among the companies it has contributed to.

Calls have picked up, recently, for a local content policy – and even legislation – to set targets for oil companies, ensuring that Guyanese are given the opportunity to benefit directly from oil-related operations.

Exxon makes regular claims about its contributions to Guyana and its people, but it is difficult to verify the truth and extent of its claims.

Because of this, Jagdeo is adamant that oil companies should allow local media to scrutinise them on a regular basis.

“If you can go to Canada and send your people to speak in Canada… Why can’t they come to hold a press conference? Face our local media. It’s our oil. It’s our country.”

Jagdeo added that ExxonMobil is doing much to “hide” from the media here.

“You can’t hold a press conference here and take questions about this, and prove to them that Guyanese are getting all these jobs? I don’t know when last they held a press conference here, if they ever did, to answer all these questions.

But they go to Canada to tell a forum there, how many people they’re employing.

This is disrespect for us. Total disrespect for Guyana!”

IRFAAN ALI TO FACE FRAUD CHARGES MONDAY, AS APPELLATE JUDGE REFUSES TO STAY PROCEEDINGS Former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali heads to court on Monday to face 19 fraud charges for allegedly selling several acres of state lands way below the market price to several high ranking public officials. Appeal Court Judge Dawn Gregory yesterday refused to grant a stay of the proceedings before the Magistrates’ Courts.

Kaieteur News

While the Court of Appeal is yet to hear and determine Ali’s challenge against High Court Judge Franklin Holder’s refusal to grant a stay, Ali is scheduled to appear at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Monday before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Last November, Ali was hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where the fraud charges were read to him; they were indictable and he was not required to enter a plead He was granted selfbail.

The charges against Ali stated that between the period 2011 and 2015, he conspired with persons unknown to defraud the Government, when he acted recklessly by selling 19 plots of State Lands at Plantation Sparendaam and G o e d v e r w a g t i n g , E ast Coast Demerara.

The lands which were sold for $39.8M, are valued at $212.4M, according to SOCU.

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Entertainment Police Reserving Tuesday Nights for American’s Got Talent is totally worth it !!!

For the past few weeks, the Entertainment Police has featured the absolutely thrilling Big Little Lies series as a must watch show on the E-networks channel. But it’s time to switch things up a bit.

If you are ever wondering what to do with your Tuesday evenings, then worry no more; reserve that night for America’s Got Talent at 8 PM on NBC. For those who may not be familiar with the hit show, America’s Got Talent sees some of the world’s talented yet undiscovered

performers of all ages — singers, dancers, magicians, comics, musicians, ventriloquists and more — appear before celebrity judges who decide which contestants move on in the competition each week.

With the guidance of the show’s host, the audience learns the back stories of these amazing people as they strive to make it to the finale, in which one talented performer wins a life-changing $1 million prize — as well as viewers’ hearts.

It is a show you would more than likely fall in love with. Be sure to catch up on it this and every Tuesday.

Three of the tastiest Bacardi cocktails

More than a hundred years later, Bacardi which is distributed by Ansa McAL, occupies a leading position in the world among manufacturers and exporters of alcoholic beverages.

In fact, this rum continues to be used by the best mixologists around the world to create some of the tastiest cocktails you would ever savour. Here are just three of them you can make to entertain your friends this Sunday. Enjoy.

1. PINA COLADA Drink invented pirate Roberto Cofresi. B 1820 he treated his team this cocktail, raising her fighting spirit. But after the death of Roberto recipe was lost. Only 1954 Caribbean, the bartender Romona Marrero managed to find the right proportions. On experiments he spent more 30 days.

Pina ColadaStructure: Bacardi white - 50 ml; Black Bacardi - 15 ml; pineapple juice - 100 ml; coconut syrup - 50 ml; lime juice - 2 teaspoons; pineapple - 80 gram; ice - 160 gram.

Preparation: Mix in a blender Bacardi rum, syrup, pineapple and juice Lama.

Add ice, then whip. Pour into a cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

2. MOJITO According to one version «Mojito» translated from the

African language as a “little witchcraft”. The recipe appeared in 1942 year at Havana Bar, belonging to the family Martinez. Institution still works.

MojitoStructure: Bacardi white - 100 ml; soda (Sprite) - 200 ml; sugar syrup - 30 ml; mint - 15 leaves; lime - 1 thing; ice cubes - 500 gram.

Preparation: put mint in a glass, add the juice of one lime and sugar syrup. Then put several circles of lime and fill the glass with ice up to the top. Pour the rum and soda, mix gently. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

3. CUBA LIBRE In the literal translation “free Cuba”. Name appeared

in 1900 year, when an employee of the US Army Capt. Russell drinking in a bar in Havana your favorite cocktail, consisting of rum, lime juice and cola. By chance, he learned, drink that has no name. Russell proposed to call it “Cuba Libre” in honor of the island’s independence from Spain. Now, this refreshing drink on a daily basis by millions of people.

Cuba LibreStructure: Bacardi Gold rum - 50 ml; Cola - 150 ml; ice cubes - 200 gram; lime - 40 gram.

Preparation: fill a tall glass with ice cubes, squeeze the juice into a quarter of lime.

Add rum and Coke and mix the cocktail spoon. Garnish with a few slices of lime.

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Heineken to host grand Masquerade Party at 704 Sky Lounge The distributors of the beloved Heineken beer will be honest the most extravagant and seductive masquerade party for 2019 come August 31 at the 704 Sky Lounge.

DJ Ana from Trinidad will be there to entertain you all night long alongside Gully Ras and DJ Diamond. There will be free masks and beads on entry. It is an event you wouldn’t want to miss. See you there.

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What about the interests...

From page 24 external force is backing their ambitions for political control of Venezuela.

Should the day ever arise when the U.S., Russia and China collectively lock the representatives of the rival Venezuelan parties in a room and tell them not to emerge until they have devised a solution to whose implementation they are all irrevocably committed, nothing will change.

The likelihood of such a development is remote. Their o w n g l o b a l r i v a l r y, economically and militarily, as well as their peculiar interest in Venezuela and its oil and gas resources which, though they are not now being exploited, still exist, dictate that Venezuela will remain a pawn in a big game of global chess.

However, both President Trump and President Maduro have recently revealed that their two governments have been talking. That is a very helpful development and it could amount to something

meaningful if President Trump involves Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It all depends on whether any of them is paying attention to Michelle Bachelet who made a plaintiff call to “those with influence in Venezuela and in the international community to work together constructively for a political solution to the protracted crisis in the country, by putting the interests and human rights of the longsuffering people of Venezuela above all else.”

(The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

Is the world really one?

From page 34 the beginning of another version of reality? Science, notably quantum mechanics, is trying to answer those questions.

In the meantime life goes. The reality most Guyanese understand and face each day doesn't appear to be an illusion. Our country is wracked by turmoil – political, social, and economic. To most of us the problems are very real.

When someone is murdered, for example, our senses tell us that real blood is spilt, real pain is felt, real grief ensues, and a real funeral is held.

And there are scores of other such tragedies in our c o u n t r y, d a i l y a n d demoralizingly.

But if we are aware of a shared consciousness, and that what we do to others actually comes back to bless

or harm us, then maybe we can do something about it. I think we should at least consider the possibility that the world, and by connection we humans, are indeed one; not just in an airy-fairy, newage, feel-good sort of way, but in the purest and most transcendent sense of the phrase.

Science has been a boon for mankind, and although it has helped unleash some of the direst threats to our survival, it has also piqued our curiosity to truly know ourselves, and our raison d'être. Maybe quantum mechanics, flowering under the unifying wave of the Universal Mind, can induce our salvation.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

The Brazil lesson...

From page 40 (COLA). A few of the matters are in court.

The minute you step off the shores and start working in the oil fields, the companies are supposed to be paying workers these allowances. I don't know what is being offered.

However, as the debate of local content rages on, we must be aware of a couple of things. We have companies coming here. We have to be strong in what we demand.

The issue is not just about registering a company and

advertising for employees.

These companies must outline plans.

We must be aware what the arrangements are in other countries. While it can be argued we will not get the same benefits at this time, there is nothing stopping us from demanding. There is lots of work to be done. The lessons are there to help us make those decisions.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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Kaieteur News

Honouring a commitment to help educate the deprived…

Chartered Accountant

Fazal Bacchus Devoting attention to a student

In the company of Mr Leo Lee, former past President of ACCA Global From page 22 he be offered a scholarship to further his studies at the University of Guyana. With full sponsorship, he was able to complete a diploma in Marketing and then a degree in Management.

With the higher level of qualifications, Bacchus became eligible to become a management trainee and before long was practically running the Demerara Sugar Terminal's office. As he continued to be elevated, he was transferred to the Wales Estate as a trainee understudying the Finance Manager. He was later moved to the GuySuCo's Marketing Division in Georgetown where he quickly rose to the position of Assistant Marketing Manager with responsibility for dealing with exports to the Caribbean region. In fact, he was behind several innovative moves the sugar company implemented.

“I helped to pioneer packet sugar in Guyana, which is the Demerara Gold, under the slang 'create a stir' and the sachet sugar…prior to that, GuySuCo was only doing bulk sugar and bag sugar,” Bacchus revealed.

However, after spending quite a few years in marketing, Bacchus wanted to do even more. “I realised I liked the figures, the profitability aspect of business…I wanted to deal with the financial part of things,” Bacchus shared, as

he recalled making the move to become qualified as an accountant.

UNWAVERING COMMITTMENT As his aspiration grew, he was selected by the company to undergo the Association of Accounting Technicians programme [AAT], which is said to be the leading professional body for Accounting Technicians.

After completing this programme successfully within 18 months, Bacchus was able to easily transition to the Finance Department. But there was more work needed to be done for him to become

an Accountant, and this he did not hesitate to pursue.

He pursued and succeeded at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants [ACCA] which is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification.

Currently Bacchus is qualified as a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Accountants [FCCA], which essentially means he is recognised as a senior Chartered Accountant.

Bacchus makes no bones to highlight to anyone that it was through education that

he was able to move from the lowly position of a messenger at GuySuCo, up the ranks to Group Chief Financial Accountant, a position he held when he parted ways with the company in 2009.

Still teeming with ambition when he left, Bacchus went on to work at Demerara Distillers Limited, and there he became the Group Inventory Controller in 2010. Two years later, he was named Group Chief Internal Auditor for DDL and its subsidiaries, a position he retains to date.

But what is interesting to note is that despite excelling in the corporate world,

With some of his staffers and students of Cacique College

Bacchus has not failed to continue to avail himself to teaching.

Even when this was no longer through the Krishna College, which had expanded to include the City College [and he taught at them both], Bacchus found another institution, The Academy of Higher Learning, to share his abundance of knowledge.

In addition to his many commitments, including being a husband to his ever supportive wife Susan and father to his two children Shahid and Savianah, Bacchus sits at the helm of Cacique Accounting College, an institution through which

he is able to impart his vast accounting knowledge, during evening classes, to many individuals who otherwise would not have had such an opportunity.

“I want to see young people who don't have the opportunity to go to a university on a full time basis or go after any other studies on a full time basis, to always have that chance like I did, and that is exactly what I have been helping to do for over the past 30 years, and I will forever be committed to doing that,” said a passionate Bacchus, who is duly named today as our 'Special Person' of the week.

Kaieteur News

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g .. n i t s. s re ure e t t In rea C

T

Turquoise-throated

puffleg

he turquoisethroated puffleg (Eriocnemis godini), also known as Godin's puffleg, is a species of hummingbird from Ecuador and Colombia. It is mostly green with blue undertail coverts and white powder-puffs of downy feathers on the legs, and the male has a bluish-purple throat patch.

It is only known from a few specimens taken in the nineteenth century and its taxonomic position is unclear. The type of habitat in which the type species was recovered has largely disappeared, and recent surveys trying to find this bird have failed.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature believes it may be extinct, but there is a possibility that some individuals remain, so the bird has been rated as

"critically endangered".

Based on the few known specimens, it has a total length of 10-11 centimetres.

The plumage of the male is predominantly green with a turquoise tinted throat.

Both sexes have violet blue untertail-coverts and a straight black bill.

The upperparts and the main part of the underparts are shimmering golden green in the males. Rump and uppertail-coverts are bluish green.

The throat is pale violet blue and the forked tail is bluish black. The female lacks the throat patches, its plumage is less light and the belly more golden. Like all pufflegs it has striking legpuffs of dense white downy feather tufts.

The turquoise-throated puffleg is a subject of a taxonomical debate, at least partially due to its status and the few known specimens.

(Eriocnemis godini)

Graves (1996) assumed it could be a hybrid between E. vestita and an u n d e t e r m i n e d Eriocnemis species, while Ridgely (2001) suggested to see it assubspecies of the E. vestita.

This hummingbird is only known by six specimens which were collected in the 19th century.

Only the type specimen from 1850 has a known locality, it being from the Chillo valley, Guayllabamba plains, Ecuador, at an altitude between 2,100 and 2,300 m asl.

Two skins are simply labelled "Bogotá" - a common practice in the 19th century and not necessarily directly related to the actual locality where they were taken. It has been suggested that these two "Bogotá" specimens originated from Pasto in Nariño, Colombia.

Virtually all presumed habitat at the type locality has been destroyed. Only a

few remnants are left in the steep-sided stream-cuts in the arid upper Guaillabamba drainage.

After an unconfirmed sighting in 1976, there was a survey in 1980, but this was unsuccessful. [Source: Wikipedia]

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Oil Spill Plan 90 percent complete – CDC Head has been in the petroleum industry for more than a century, has taken the wise move to safeguard its sector with a national oil spill plan.

That plan was updated and passed by T&T’s Cabinet in

By Kiana Wilburg Guyana’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is 90 percent complete and is expected to be in place before first oil. This was recently noted by Head of the Civil Defense Commission (CDC), Colonel Kester Craig.

During an interview with Kaieteur News, Colonel Craig explained that from February to July last, a lot of planning had taken place to ensure that the agencies involved are au fait with their respective responsibilities.

Colonel Craig said, “The most important part of developing any disaster oil spill plan is the planning process. So one of the first things you do is to identify a team. Often times, people get so accustomed to having a consultant develop the plan but when he or she comes, they give you an output and the technical person is not integrally involved.”

The CDC Head added, “So the main element in planning is lost. To avoid this, we developed this process whereby we identify a team and go through the process weekly with the members. So from February to July last, we met almost every Tuesday and worked on that. We went through every single step of the plan. And we did it that way so that each agency can understand what their role is....”

The official explained that the team consists of the CDC, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Coast Guards, Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), and the Department of Energy.

Colonel Craig explained that GGMC will be tasked with offshore monitoring while GEA will monitor onshore facilities such as the shore bases. He explained that the EPA will be in charge of identifying sensitive areas that are likely to be affected while being part of the national assessment team.

The Coast Guards will be tasked with deploying booms and other response materials.

MARAD will be working with the vessels while the Department of Energy will function as the main liaison for the operators.

The CDC head also explained that the responsibilities will continue to be tweaked where necessary as they approach the completion of the document. When the plan is finished, Craig said that other stakeholders would be brought in for consultations such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry ofAgriculture, the oil companies, the Protected Areas Commission, the Guyana Revenue Authority, Customs, Immigration, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service

CDC Head, Colonel Kester Craig and the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society.

Colonel Craig said that in the meantime, all the oil operators are required to have an oil spill plan which the CDC has approved. He said, “Every rig, every FPSO, every vessel out there regarding oil is required to have a plan.”

In addition to this, the CDC Head said that millions of dollars worth in equipment have been acquired for oil spill response and most will be dispatched to the Coast Guard soon.

“So even though the plan is not 100 percent complete as yet, I am confident that we are prepared to handle an oil spill,” the CDC Head stated.

BUSY YEAR OFFSHORE As work continues to complete the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, offshore Guyana is expected to be flooded with drilling activity this year and next year too.

According to a report that was produced by Financial Analyst, Jenny Xenos, of Canaccord Genuity Corporation which is based in Canada, offshore Guyana is expected to see about 14 wells being drilled.

In an Industry Update report, the author stated that up to nine wells will be drilled on the prolific Stabroek Block which is operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess and CNOOC. Furthermore, two wells are slated for drilling on the Orinduik Block which is under the licensed control of Tullow Oil, Total and Eco Atlantic. One well is planned for the Kanuku Block by Repsol and Tullow Oil. The Corentyne Block also has one well planned for drilling by its operators CGX and Frontera Energy. The Canje Block will also see one well being drilled by ExxonMobil, Total JHI and Mid-Atlantic.

IDB URGES The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is of the firm view that Guyana should have a national oil spill contingency plan in place before oil production commences in 2020.

In its special report, the IDB noted that Guyana’s CARICOM sister, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), which

January 2013. The IDB said that with T&T’s new plan, “deepwater drilling operators will now be required to demonstrate accessibility to a containment lap system to arrest a subsea blow out event…”

The IDB believes that Guyana can take a page from Trinidad’s book and get its own plan in place soon.

Several months have passed since the first round of consultations was held on

the draft national oil spill plan. The document was submitted to Cabinet but it is still to be made public and finalized. Leading the work on the oil spill plan is the Civil Defence Commission.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Ministry provides dedicated health services to Blind Society

SERVICES

FOR SALE

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

1 (2) Storey house & land, 3 bedroom $39M, 1 (2) Storey house & land, 4 master bedroom $59M Gated community @ Schnoord WBD #650-0402/603-1402

Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

Installation, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 630-1600, 6273206 Need a land surveyor? We do surveys for: Boundaries, Leases, engineering, cadastral, topo etc. Call: 6622677 Mason- Experienced in casting, block work and plastering. Available on call/ Tel# 619-3296/231-2060

1 Male K9 German Shepherd Pup for sale $80,000 #6260243 Pure Bred German Shepherd male puppies for sale.

Contact# 697-1141/612-6672

DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643-5122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N TA L @YAHOO.COM PROPERTY FOR SALE (1) 3 bedroom house located at Middle St, Stewartville.

Tel#625-3299/268-3129 Sale of Lot 87 Albert St, Albertown $30M Cottage.

Land and Property 80x20.

Tel#669-8701 Newly constructed 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, house overlooking the sea for sale, ECD#675-1510/613-7964

WANTED

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

Fish processing workers. Call: 223-5180

Newly Renovated Apartments for rent at Peter’s Hall. #698-5800/648-1391 3 bedroom House to rent located at 1298 Diamond H/ Scheme EBD. Tel#680-4798 Top Flat of House 2 bedroom for rent. La Grange Public Road. WBD #665-7636/6924108 Self contain rooms for working couple/single person $32,000 monthly, light & water, Lodge.

Call: 623-0076 2 months security.

One bedroom apartment for couples Middle Rd La Penitence for Rent. Call: 686-4564

VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956 1-Tundra $1.8M, 1-Audi Convertible $2.5M Contact#650-0402/603-1402

2 bedroom flat @ 123 Alma Ave, Prashad Nagar. Tel# 2250805/ 627-8125 One Apartment for Rent, First Street Mon Repos. ECD. Tel#220-7330/672-0477 WANTED

Model M Truck, great condition with winch, fitness etc. $2.7M Neg. #673-4527/ 610-5732

N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/6912561/681-2808 WANTED Male & female to work in Factory and 1 Driver. Apply in Person to R.P’s Enterprise ECD. #220-2818 Clerical assistance domestic worker, live-in accomodation for Berbicians and Essequibians. Call between 8:15-4:15 pm. #219-5354 Wanted land to buy- Parfaite Harmonie, Herstelling, Providence, Farm, Tuschen, Eccles, Uitvlugt, Best Price pay & cash. Call: 666-2326 One cook to work in a bar #679-2612 Preferable from West Bank Demerara.

1- Male ablebodied clerk.

Tel#231-2029/616-5954 1 maid needed. Age 30-40. Call: 226-7766

Tailor & Seamstress. Contact #253-3070/601-9855 1 Chainsaw operator for ripping. Tel# 690-3535/6013798 Security Officer with Military and Previous experience would be an asset. Contact# 231-6052 1 Certified & experienced costmetologist, must be able to work unsupervised & fast paced salon. Tel#615-9328/ 626-6450 VACANCY Vacancy exist for a Spanish Teacher- must be able to teach (2 & 7) years old. Call: 600-6887 for more information English Tutor. Contact# 2235273/223-5274 Supervisor to work at 704.

Contact# 223-5273/223-5274 TRUCK DRIVER. Contact #223-5273/223-5274 Female Cleaner Office & Home. Call: 642-9823

VACANCY

1 experienced driver, must have license for car/van/ minibus & motorbus, residing Puri cooks, Kitchen assistant. in G/town between ages 24Apply: Shanta’s The Puri For Experience Accounts 50 yrs old. #225-1429/641-5075 Shop 225 Camp & New Market Clerk, must have passes in Pump attendant & cashier, Sts. No Phone calls Maths & English. Apply in shift rotated weekly (6am-3pm person at Alabama Trading 65 & 3pm-11pm) Shell Service One handyman/yard help to Robb St Bourda Station Providence EBD. work in Georgetown. Tel# 675E m a i l : 1647 For Sales Girl. Apply in person Shellramsburg@gmail.com (1) Able body Ice machine at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Vacancy exist for a Full time/ operator/handy man. Tel# Street, Bourda Part time teacher, must be able 220-3459/616-2222 Wanted Servicemen to work to teach (2 & 7) years old. Call: 600-6887 for more information Photo/Video Editor, Must be in Interior. Call: 223-5180 Tutor. Contact# 223-5273/223abe to events. Call: 628-8944/ Vacancy for (2) professional 5274 718-845-2700 or Email: and experienced nail s p e c t r u m i m a g i n g technician @ Natural Beauty Cook to work in Charity.

Contact# 654-7162 32@gmail.com Salon & Spa. Call: 652-5800 Trained & experienced 1 Diesel Mechanic to work in Vacancy for operators to work primary school teachers, the interior, Interested day & night shift @ Del Ice kindly send application to: Persons can make Contact on Company, must be 25 years or dukeedwardsanglicanschool Tel# 625-5136 between the older. Training provided. Call: @gmail.com/ 144 Ornoque & hours of 8am-4pm 231-1408/642-9191 Lance Gibb St, Queenstown.

Tel# 223-0211 Labourer to work at Sawmill. Tele-Sales Clerk: Maths & Mining engineering/ #619-9143/614-8857 English, Computer Literate, operations manager for Excel.

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Tel# 223-9677 contact# 223-5273/223-5274 Contact# 231-6052 1 Live-in maid. Call: 639-2037

LEARN TO DRIVE

CAR RENTAL

FOR RENT

In order to ensure that they receive basic health care, the Ministry of Public Health has been providing continuous dedicated services to the blind and visually impairs individuals.

The services are offered through the Ministry’s collaboration with the Blind Society.

According to Founder of the Organisation, Mr. Ganesh Singh, every Wednesday officials of the Ministry would visit the High Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown Blind Society to carry out various tests and medical check –ups on the targeted individuals.

He also stated that medications are usually distributed to persons where necessary, to assists with common ailments such as, pain, diarrhea, among others.

Singh explained that although the Blind Society is an underfunded organisation, it has been able to implement a number of educational and rehabilitation programmes.

Male Sales Clerk for Harware Store West Bank Demerara #254-0087/647-6075

Mr. Ganesh Singh The rehabilitation programme, he explained, is crucial so that persons can accept their situation and learn ways to benefit themselves.

Several blind and visually impaired persons said that they are very pleased with the services that are being offered by the Health Ministry.

One Mr. Jahgroo (only name provided) who is blind stated that, “this is a very good programme because when we go to hospitals we have to wait very long for treatments and because we are not seeing we are at a disadvantage.” So the assistance that we are receiving now is very helpful and we don’t have to wait a long time.

The Blind Society has also implemented the CXC programme, among other services, which has proven to be a very successful initiative.

The Society for the Blind this year achieved a 95 percent pass rate at the 2019 CXC examination.

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Improper for Chief Justice to rule on persons being removed from voters’ list - Attorney General In her judgment on the recent challenge to the legality of the house-tohouse registration exercise that was mounted by lawyer Christopher Ram, Chief Justice Roxane George made an order that would make it unconstitutional to remove persons from the voters’ list unless they are dead or otherwise disqualified in accordance with Article 159 (2), (3) and (4) of the Constitution.

However, Attorney General Basil Williams is partially appealing the

judgment of the Chief Justice.

Specifically, Williams has taken issue with Justice George ruling on the issue of persons being removed from the list because it was not an order that was sought by Ram. In fact, Williams is arguing that by doing this, the Chief Justice erred and misdirected herself in law.

In a Notice of Appeal, Williams list Ram; Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield and the Commissioner of National Registration as the Respondents. He contends

that Justice George erred and was misconceived in law in finding that Article 159 (5) of the Constitution which addresses the ‘qualifying date’ is only applicable to persons 14 years or older for purposes of registration as at October 31, and not all Guyanese citizens.

It is his view that the Chief Justice failed to apply any cannons of interpretation in order to arrive at such a conclusion. According to the Attorney General, Justice George erred in law when she failed to appreciate that the

issue of house-to-house registration and what register should be used for elections and the qualifying date were fully ventilated at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

“The learned Trial Judge erred and was misconceived in law in finding that there is no law or laws in Guyana

which set out additional requirements more particularly residence for purposes of Article 159 (2) ( c ) of the Constitution by failing to properly address her mind to Sections 6 of the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 Laws of Guyana.”

Contending that the Chief Continued on page 65

Attorney General Basil Williams

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Trotman breaks silence on 1% recoverable royalty in Orinduik deal - Says he was following orders

By Kiana Wilburg Since Tullow Oil struck black gold on the Orinduik Block, the fiscal terms of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it signed with the Granger administration has come under the microscope.

Of particular concern to transparency advocates, is the fact that the PSA allows the operator to recover a meager one percent royalty that it has to pay the government.

Earlier this week, Kaieteur News contacted Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, to explain the reason behind allowing this provision to be included in the PSA. Trotman who signed the deal with Tullow Oil and Eco Atlantic would only say, “Im unable to discuss beyond

saying that as with both contracts, I acted on directions, which I believe were in the best long-term strategic interest of the country.”

While Minister Trotman holds the foregoing view, there are several anticorruption advocates who stress that the recoverable one percent royalty is not in Guyanas best interest.

Specifically, University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro, noted that this arrangement is worse than what exists in the Stabroek Block deal.

Be that as it may, Mitro noted that the Orinduik PSA still has most of the troubling characteristics as the Exxon PSA, namely: taxes paid out of the governments profit oil, a cost recovery cap

of 75% per year, abandonment costs allowed to be recovered in advance of actual spending of the funds, interest on loans allowed to be recovered without any caps, and captive insurance company premiums allowed to be cost recovered.

The Petroleum Consultant with over 30 years experience in the field noted that the Orinduik PSA also has no ringfencing provisions which ensure that costs of unsuccessful wells are not carried over to those that are successful.

The University of Houston Instructor said, “At this point, I would say the main lesson that might be learned is that taking adequate time to fully and

critically review all aspects of any new Development Plan would be essential.

That is the point at which the government typically has the most power to influence the ultimate results, not only the technical aspects but the costs, rates of production, the local content, contractor selection criteria, PSA interpretations, and other societal and environmental aspects.”

THE ORINDUIK PARTNERS In January 2016, Eco signed a Petroleum Agreement and is party to a Petroleum Licence with the Government of Guyana and Tullow Oil for the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana.

Tullow Oil as the Operator of the Block paid past

costs and carried Eco for the first 1000km2 of the 2550km2 3D Survey. Further, Tullow contributed an extensive 2D seismic data set and interpretation.

The Company s 2550 km2 3D seismic survey was completed in September 2017, well within the initial four-year work commitment the Company made for the initial 1000km2.

In September 2017, Eco announced that its subsidiary, Eco Atlantic (Guyana) Inc., entered into an option agreement on its Orinduik Block with Total, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total S.A. Pursuant to the option.

Total paid an option fee of US$1 million to farm-in to the Orinduik Block. An

additional payment of US$12,500,000 was made when Total exercised its option to earn 25 percent of Ecos working interest in September 2018.

Following the exercise of the option by Total, the Blocks working interests became: Tullow 60% (Operator), Total 25% and Eco 15%. Last October, the Government approved of the Total farm-in on the Orinduik Block, which has the potential for almost three billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Just a few weeks ago, however, Total sold 10 percent of its interest in the Orinduik Block to Qatar Petroleum. The government is still to grant approval for this farm-in by Qatar.

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Halt exorbitant concessions to foreigners AMCHAM president tells Govt.

It is no longer necessary to grant exorbitant concessions to foreign companies in the hope that it will lure them. That practice must stop.

This is the insistence of President of the American Chamber of C o m m e r c e (AmCham), Zulfikar Ally, who presented on the third draft of Local Content Policy, on Wednesday at The Duke Lodge.

“I think we are all aware Guyana has become an attractive destination for foreign companies,” Ally said.

“In the past, all efforts were made to attract these companies to Guyana with the provision of incentives, taxes, duty-free concessions.”

This issue has long

Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

been a contention of many, as it relates to the mining sector.

And when it comes to oil, the benefits given to companies like ExxonMobil are so awful that Government has fielded heavy criticism for the provisions of the Production Sharing Agreements (PSA).

Virtually every aspect of the contracts have been criticized- fro m r o y a l t y and profits, to relinquishment and decommissioning.

Even after the discovery of oil, another c o m p a n y, Tu l l o w f r o m the United Kingston, has managed to get the Government of Guyana to agree they will take an industry-low one percent

royalty in its PSA for the Orinduik Block.

This was despite the fact that Guyana was already boasting about three billion barrels of recoverable reserves when the contract was signed.

O p p o s i t i o n L e a d e r, Bharrat J a g d e o , h a s argued that since Guyana knew it had oil at the time, Government should have go t t e n a m u c h b e t t e r deal.

Now, the draft local content policy two local content experts and three drafts later has still left many wanting. It doesnt even have penalties for noncompliance with its targets.

That was another issue that was raised at the Roundtable

Discussion, about the policy. “ T h e c o u n t r y, ” t h e AmCham President said, “no longer has to be overly generous with this policy, but to now ensure that the l o c a l p r i v a t e s e c t o r, Guyanese, especially small-sized enterprises, all benefit from these concessions and duty-free [concessions], in order to build their capacity to enter this new sector.”

For that, he said that Government must allow its outlook on business and the attraction of investment, to undergo a major shirt.

“We have to focus more on Guyanese rather than international companies, because they will come here regardless.”

UK Company quietly moving into Guyana...

From page 16 to the sale, it has a still substantial holding of 1,500,000 shares.

The sale of the shares, according to a release from Westmount, was done to further its investment in the Guyana basin.

Eco Atlantic has a 15% stake in the Orinduik Block, which holds the successfully drilled Jethro-1 well.

The well holds an estimated 100M recoverable barrels of oil.

Westmount touts the “Guyana-Suriname” basin as the worlds major emerging hydrocarbon province, where ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block partners have reported an estimated recoverable total of over 6 billion barrels.

It states that, through

its existing portfolio, it has exposure to between four and seven funded wells over the coming 1218 months, on a total of three oil Blocks offshore Guyana.

We s t m o u n t E n e rg y Limited was incorporated in Jersey, a self-governing dependency of The United Kingdom, on 1 October 1992. The Company operates solely as an energy inv e s t m e n t c o m p a n y. I t s Chairman is Gerard Walsh, a Swiss investor with over two decades of experience financing oil and gas companies, and owns significant subscription shares in We s t m o u n t .

Dermot Corcoran and To m OGorman are two Directors on the Board of Westmount, and David King serves as an Independent Director.

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Improper for Chief Justice to rule on persons being removed...

From page 61 Justice once again erred in law, Williams argues that she failed to properly construe Section Six of the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 in order to find that residency is a requirement of the Act for the purposes of registration during the period of the ‘qualifying date.’

“The learned Trial Judge erred and was misconceived in law in finding that it would be unconstitutional to remove persons from the list who had previously been on the list but was not registered during house-to-house registration period because of non-residency in Guyana.

The learned Trial Judge erred and was misconceived in law by breaching the separation of powers doctrine where parliament clearly provided in Section 6 of National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 Laws of Guyana for residency during house-tohouse registration as at the ‘qualifying date’.”

According to Williams,

there was no evidence which established that there was a breach of the Constitution, the National Registration Act or any other law, and rather the evidence was consistent with the fact that GECOM acted in accordance with Article 159 (2) (c), 159 (5) and 162 of the Constitution.

Williams, therefore, argues that, “(Justice George) erred and was misconceived in law when she breached the separation of powers doctrine by purporting to issue instructions to GECOM, a Constitutional independent actor to not remove persons who are presently registered from the current National Register of Registrants (NRR) but who are not registered under new house-to-house registration from the current National Register of Registrants.”

“The learned Trial Judge erred and was misconceived in law when she failed to appreciate that pursuant to Article 159 (5) of the Constitution and Sections 6 and 9 of the National

Registration Act Chapter 19: 08, GECOM had embarked on compiling a new National Register of Registrants (NRR) which effectively replaces the current.”

Among other things, he says that Justice George erred in law and misdirected herself on the evidence as a whole.

Last week, Thursday, Justice George ruled that there was nothing unconstitutional about the current house-tohouse registration exercise. In fact, she held that GECOM has acted within the remit of the powers invested to it under the laws, and that the court would only intervene if the elections body was found to be doing otherwise.

The Court of Appeal is yet to fix a date for hearing this matter.

Only Friday, Justice George dismissed an application by Lenox Shuman, Leader of the Justice and Liberty Party who was challenging the validity of the order for the commencement of house-to-house

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

Quality PVC pipes hinged on conformance to National Standards Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipes are manufactured locally by two major manufacturers. These two companies are meeting the specifications of National Standards and are certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

Through testing and certification based on the standards. PVC pipes are manufactured to a high level of quality to satisfy consumer requirements during installation and use.

The two National Standards, which locally manufactured pipes conform to are the GYS 107, ‘Specification for pressure – rated PVC pipes (SDR series) and GYS 99, ‘Specification for PVC pipes Schedules 40, 80 and 120’.

The GYS 107 cover PVC pipes made in standard thermoplastic pipe dimension ratios and pressure rated for water. This standard covers requirements, which include those for materials, tests methods, workmanship, dimensions and burst pressure. The GYS 99 also covers these requirements but it is specific to PVC pipes made in Schedule 40, 80, 120 sizes and are pressure rated for water.

Producing PVC Pipes, which meet these requirements, is crucial for the end users or consumers. They expect that after installation on their premises, whether at an ordinary residence or at a production facility, pipes will fit properly and be durable enough to withstand the specified pressures for extensive periods.

Poorly manufactured and installed pipes can result in high reinstallation costs and a significant threat to safety. Meeting standards and being certified under the GNBS Product Certification Scheme provide assurance to consumers of PVC pipes, which are tested to

ensure quality.

Currently, PVC Pipes manufactured by Plastic Products Limited (Gafoors) and Guyana Thermoplastics Ltd (Toolsie Persaud Group of Companies) are certified under the (GNBS) Product Certification Scheme. The aim of the scheme is to implement and monitor certification systems in industries to provide assurance to local and foreign markets that locally manufactured products conform to requirements of the relevant Guyana Standards.

In the certification process, the GNBS functions as an independent third party that permits manufacturers to affix the National Standards Mark to certified products. Annual recertification is conducted based on audits and testing by the GNBS to ascertain whether standard requirements are maintained.

Finally, the GNBS is proud of the commitment demonstrated by local companies to produce quality products, meeting the requirements of National Standards. Other products currently certified to National Standards under the GNBS Product Certification Scheme are Gold Jewellery manufactured by Steve’s Jewellery and R. Sookraj Jewellers; and load bearing and nonload bearing concrete hollow blocks manufactured by Gafsons Industries Limited.

The GNBS encourages more manufacturers to use standards to guide their production.

For further information on this subject, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064 or 219-0065.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

registration which was issued by then GECOM chairman Justice James Patterson.

Shuman had contended that the order which was issued on June 11 was invalid on the basis that Patterson’s appointment was deemed

unconstitutional by the CCJ. However, Justice George ruled that this was not the case, and that the order was made at a time when Patterson was carrying out functions as chairman of the electoral body and that his acts were saved

by the de factor doctrine. The de facto doctrine is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or state of affairs that must be accepted for all practicable purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Matarkai Sub-region Indigenous Heritage Football and Cricket qualifiers near completion

Leading goal scorer Feona Benjamin (center) is flanked

by Candacy Benjamin (L) and Ravina Benjamin.

Sunday August 25, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Are you picking up on some unsettling feelings from a friend who lives far away?

You may wonder if there's something wrong in this person's life. Perhaps you'd better give your friend a call.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Is the stock market taking a nosedive again? Is this causing you to worry about your investments? Relax! The situation is likely temporary.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Your love partner may be experiencing some minor conflicts with colleagues today, and may seem distant and preoccupied. The problem could well pass by tomorrow, but your friend isn't likely to listen to any reassurance.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Some wonderful news may come to you today, and this could send you into such excitement that it's difficult to concentrate on the situation at hand. This is OK for a while.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A friend or colleague may pay you back a small sum of money that's owed to you. You'll be thrilled, but you might feel a little guilty that you plan to spend it on something frivolous instead of putting it toward your bills.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Your home may seem lonely today, and love may seem to be absent. A family member, perhaps your love partner, could be away for the night, making the place seem far colder and emptier than it is.

CANCER(June21–July22) Recent overindulgence may have you to feel a bit under the weather this morning.

Avoid coffee and other stimulants. Try to sleep in if you can. Too much stress in your life certainly isn't helping.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Are you preoccupied today? Something that means a lot to you could require some careful consideration so you might be quieter than usual.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Feelings of love for a romantic partner could be so overwhelming today you might be moved to tears, Leo.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Money worries may plague you today, Aquarius. There might not be any real reason. You may just be fretting over possible troubles that could come up.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today the walls may seem to be closing in around you, and you're anxious to get out for a while. Your significant other could want nothing more than to stay in. Don't let this turn into a major issue.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A friend could seem distant today, Pisces, and probably won't be communicating with you much. Don't jump to the conclusion that your friend is upset with you.

The Matarkai Indigenous Heritage Football and Cricket qualifiers continued over the weekend at Sebai and Oronoque recreational ground, Port Kaituma, region one.

Host Sebai Invincible FC defeated Oronoque FC 4-0 on a brilliant outfield as they topped the points table with six points from two games in the female segment and won the bragging rights to represent Matarkai at the regional playoff schedule for September 7th and 8th, 2019 at Mabaruma.

Sebai Invincible Talons FC striker Feona Benjamin continued her brilliance with a double which took the leading goal scorer total to six goals in the competition, while Candacy Benjamin and Ravina Benjamin chipped in with one apiece.

Meanwhile, Five Star FC humbled Sebai FC in the Male segment 3-2 as the lads from

Caribbean very appreciative...

From page 70 Boxing Association agreed. ”The TTBA congratulates Mr. Ninvalle and the Guyana Boxing Association for hosting another successful Caribbean Schoolboys tournament. We view this tournament as the most important for the development of the sport in the region and will continue to give our support,” the TTBA president added.

President of the Barbados Boxing Association Richard Atwell declared that from reports he received it was a wellrun event. “Congrats to Steve Ninvalle and the Guyana Boxing Association. The report is that it was a well-run tournament,” said Atwell.

In congratulating the GBA president of the St Maarten Boxing Association, Shawn Blair, noted that he is personally cognizant of the difficulties associated with hosting such events. “St Maarten has just had an international tournament and as the man at the helm, I can personally tell of the sleepless nights and the days that seem to run for more than 24 hours. For Guyana to host this four consecutive years speaks volumes about its ability to organize. The reports received speak of highlevel of organization. I believe that this Schoolboys tournament has switched on the light on our future and it looks bright. Well done Guyana.”

Guyana hosted the first Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior in 2016. This year the tournament was renamed Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior after Guyana’s 1978 Commonwealth Games gold medalist.

the mining community ended on 6 points with 2 wins and 1 loss from their three games.

Five star FC Mark Bromes scored a double, while Karl Thompson contributed with a brilliant bicycle kick for their team which humbled the lads from Sebai as Dixon Benjamin and Sherwin Garraway scored in a losing cause.

On Sunday last Oronoque FC and PK United FC game ended in “Forfeiture” as Oronoque forfeited the game which resulted in them losing 3-0 to PK United according to the rules of the competition. As a result PK United were down

to play Matthews Ridge Junior FC in the Matarkai finals yesterday at Fitzburg Recreational Ground.

Meanwhile, the International Import and supplies Cricket competition between Sebai and Port Kaituma / Canal bank was washed out. Both teams were to reach yesterday at Turu Mission/ Canal Bank for a Selection game to form the Matarkai cricket squad who will face Mabaruma in a friendly cricket match today at Canal Bank and a chance to play in the regional Competition at Mabaruma on September 7-8.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

Sports gear and school supplies for Orealla Siparuta residents Residents of the Corentyne River communities of Orealla and Siparuta were beneficiaries of a quantity of sports gear and school supplies compliments of the government of Guyana.

The donations were part of the government’s continued drive of inclusivity and being a government for all.

The donations were made

by Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, Valarie GarridoLowe, and Member of Parliament Reynard Ward

when they visited the area.

The resident received footballs, volleyballs, football and volleyball nets and school bags and supplies for the children to head back to school.

The Minister and MP Ward assured them that the donation of sports gear is just a part of the Government commitment to being a government for all the people.

The residents were very thankful for the assistance given and assured the Minister and Member of Parliament that the donated

items will be used for the benefit of all residents in the communities.

The government recently sent two coaches, former national Football captain Gordon “Ultimate Warrior” Braithwaite and Boxing Coach Orland “Pocket Rocket” Rogers to conduct coaching sessions.

Minister of Social Cohesion, George Norton and Olympic Bronze Medalist boxer Michael Parris recently visited the area and donated boxing gear to residents in the area. (Samuel Whyte)

Children receiving school bags from Minister Lowe.

More sports gear for the residents.

Sunday August 25, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Everest partners with Starr Computers to power youth development with technology

President of Everest Manzoor Nadir (third from left) and President of Starr Computers Michael Mohan (centre) and other Members of Everest Cricket Club and staff of Starr Computers at the presentation ceremony.

One of the nation’s longstanding and outstanding sporting facilities, the Everest Cricket Club (ECC), is once again at the receiving end of a tangible boost with the handing over of a complete computer system and printer from Starr Computers. The presentation was done at the donor’s state of the art technological centre on Brickdam Georgetown on Wednesday where a desktop computer, a multifunction colour printer and backup power supply device were handed over.

Making the presentation on behalf of the computer

giant was President Michael Mohan who stated that the donation is part of his company’s corporate social responsibility to enhance sport and youth development through technology.

“Having been in existence for more than 100 years, Everest Cricket Club has a legacy in Guyana of successfully turning out international cricketers, while at Starr Computers we pride ourselves on helping children with free seminars on career developments, robotics, computer science, renewable energy among other topics to help them ‘to catch the fish’

rather than giving the fish. So this is really for the youngsters to embrace,” Mohan said.

The donation was initiated while Mohan was on a visit to the Camp road Georgetown club on the invitation of President of Everest, Manzoor Nadir.

After the visit, the top men agreed that Everest and other youth clubs need to grasp technology to be better able to run their institutions successfully including enhancing membership drive and record keeping. Nadir told Mohan that Everest was recently more focused on

Devin Persaud creates history as first Guyanese to secure a Minimum Qualification Score Archery Guyana’s Devin Persaud created history by becoming the first Guyanese to secure a Minimum Qualification Score for Recurve Men with a 640 score.

At the recently concluded Caledon Tournament, Archery Guyana was represented by Devin Persaud in Ontario, Canada who performed amazingly to cause Guyana to now be on an official List released by World Archery as one of the countries eligible to apply for the invitational place at the Olympics. The Minimum Qualification Score for recurve men is 640.

The minimum score is 640 to be eligible and he was eligible to shoot this score up to June 2020. However, he did so before this time in Ohio by shooting the score (640) at this World Archery sanctioned event. Our Archers can do so at other

Devin Persaud

WA sanctioned events, including world cups, the Pan Am Championships to take place in Mexico in March, the World Ranking Event to take place in Colombia at the beginning of June, and any other events (national or international) registered in the WA Calendar.

As a result, we will be eligible for an invitation place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. There are only two

invitation places for the whole world. Archery Guyana intends to start the process to request our best archer and have to seek to engage the relevant persons within the timeline.

In the meantime, Devin has expressed the desire to continue to participate in Berlin to shoot another qualifying score and in Mexico next year at the PanAm Championships.

President of Starr Computers Michael Mohan (left) and President of Everest CC Manzoor Nadir after the presentation.

improving the club’s facilities for practice and play but is now focusing on a capital development programme to improve the other facilities.

Upon c o l l e c t i n g t h e donation on behalf of the club Nadir expressed sincerest appreciation to Mohan and his trail blazing company and said, “Apart from infrastructure we at Everest have to move the club to the use of information technology to improve efficiency like other social groups and NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs).”

Nadir stressed that ECC is not only about producing great athletes but is a centre for community activities and training as was evident at the recently held Summer camp where the participants were engaged in many sport and life changing activities.

The passionate sport fan, Nadir, said that the computer will be well utilized more so since he is looking to develop a system where players’ biometrics will be available via software to add another twist to selection to the various teams at Everest.

He said technology will be used to tabulate individual performances which will make the naming of the most prolific players at the end of a season or year much easier.

Meanwhile, Mohan hinted at other donations to the club that he believes is well managed and has a clear vision for the nation’s youths.

To this end Mohan is extending open invitations for ECC members to visit Starr Computers for field trips where they will benefit from hands on opportunities with different devices, attend the free seminars and to pick up

the valuable platinum membership card which has many rewards including discounts and reduced interest rates on loans at commercial banks.

He is hopeful that young Guyanese will soon understand the importance of technology at the risk of being left behind since the world is moving fast.

“In Guyana with the rapidly developing oil and gas industry, the young generation need to develop their technology skills to grab the opportunities and not leave it to the foreigners to take,” the business executive stated.

Nadir also took the opportunity to invite individuals and groups to Everest to enjoy all that the premier sporting and youth development club has to offer.

Elite Club coaches for capacity building sessions with Golden Jags’ Head Coach Georgetown: As the newly-appointed Golden Jaguars’ Head Coach, Márcio Máximo, hits the ground running, preparing the Guyana-based Golden Jaguars for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League (CNL), the Elite Coaches are scheduled to benefit from his interaction with the team.

This initiative is geared towards building capacity of the local coaches where they will have an opportunity to observe the sessions and ask questions as necessary.

The schedule for the coaches’ attendance is as follows: ? Monday, August 26 and Thursday, August 29, at 16:00hrs: Den Amstel FC, Guyana Police Force FC and Victoria Kings FC ? Tuesday, August 27 and

Friday, August, 30 at 16:00hrs: Buxton United FC, Fruta Conquerors FC and Ann’s Grove United FC ? Wednesday, August 28, at 16:00hrs and Saturday, August 31 at 8:00hrs: Santos FC and Milerock FC Western Tigers FC and Guyana Defence Force FC respectively will be included as soon as coaches are appointed.

A 31-man Guyana-based provisional squad is in training at the GFF’s National Training Centre, Providence for the CNL;

Guyana’s first match is scheduled for September 6 against Aruba in Curacao.

Guyana will play three home and three away matches as follows: September 6: Aruba vs Guyana in Curacao October 9 – Guyana vs Jamaica in Guyana October 11: Antigua & Barbuda vs Guyana in Antigua October 14 – Guyana vs Antigua in Guyana November 15 – Guyana vs Aruba in Guyana November 18: Jamaica vs Guyana in Jamaica

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Kaieteur News

2019 Senior CASA tournament

Guyana clinch overall C/Ship as women & Men take team titles

Men’s Singles Champion Jamaican Chris Binnie plays a forehand shot against Richard Chin at the GT Club yesterday.

By Sean Devers On a bright and sunny Saturday in Guyana’s Capital, the sun smiled on the Guyana teams which won the Men’s & Women’s team titles in addition to the Women’s Singles and Men’s doubles titles as the South Americans captured their fourth overall Championship when the curtains came down on the 26th Senior CASA Squash at the Georgetown Club yesterday.

Guyana, who were last overall Champions in 2013 when the Tournament, which began in 1977 in Bahamas, was held in Guyana, dethroned defending Champions Barbados, winners of the last tournament in 2017 in St Vincent, to push them into the runners-up spot.

Guyana Women beat Barbados 3-2 to capture the team title while the Men beat

Jamaica 3-2 after rebounding from losses in the first two games.

Jamaican Chris Binnie won his ninth Singles title, including eight consecutive titles in the last eight tournaments.

Guyana’s 36-year-old Nicolette Fernandes, playing her first tournament in six years, beat defending Champion and USA Juniors Open Girls U-17 winner, 17year-old Bajan Meagan Best, in the Singles final to capture her sixth Senior CASA title.

The Guyanese pair of Kristian Jeffrey and Jason Ray Khalil won the mixed doubles, while Marlene West and Cameron Stafford from the Cayman Islands took the Mixed doubles, while Bajan pair of Best and Amanda Yearwood captured the Women’s doubles crown when they defeated

Leon Truss (left) & Alywn Calendar plays in the Veterans division.

Guyanese Taylor Fernandes and Ashley Khalil in the final.

The Women’s team began yesterday with a 3-2 over Barbados as Larissa Wiltshire, who was beaten 611, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 by Jodi Smith Padmore, lost her match, while Taylor Fernandes beat Sumairaa Suleman 11-6,11-5, 11-8.

Mary Fung-a-Fat and Ashely Khalil, two members of the three-woman team which participated in the recent Pan Am Games in Peru, forfeited their matches after Guyana had won three games.

Nicolette beat Best 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 after a hard fought repeat of the Singles final and while Nicolette was not as clinical as she was in that game, her superior speed and fitness worked to her advantage against the highly talented Bajan, who if she works on her weight, will make her faster and she could be dominant in Caribbean and possibly World Squash for many years to come.

In the Men’s final against Jamaica, Chris Binni, who beat Richard Chin in the Singles semis, again beat him 11-9,411, 11-3, 3-11, 1-11, while Julian Morrison got the better of Caribbean U-17 Champion Shomari Wiltshire 8-11,11-2, 11-4,11-5 leaving the host nation to win their other three games to capture the team title.

Nyron Joseph beat Tahjia Lumley 11-6,2-11, 14-12, 9-11, 4-11 in a hard fought match, while Kristian Jeffrey beat Dane Schwier 1-11, 11-9, 116,11-13, 6-11 and Jason Ray Khalil defeated Bruce Burrows 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 3-11, 4-11.

The Guyanese Veterans beat Barbados to crown an impressive tournament.

C’bean Single Squash Queen Nicolette Fernandes (left) beat Bajan Meagan Best in a repeat of the Singles Final yesterday.

Kohli, Rahane stretch India lead as Cummins crawls to 95-minute duck AFP - An unbroken century stand between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane put India in a dominant position at 185 for three in their second innings, an overall lead of 260 runs, at stumps on the third day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua yesterday.

Having dismissed the home side for 222 in the morning period to take a lead of 75, captain Kohli and vicecaptain Rahane defied the best efforts of their persevering opponents on an energy-sapping afternoon in putting on 104 for the fourth wicket.

Rahane, who top-scored with 81 in his team’s first innings total of 297, will resume on the fourth morning on 53 alongside Kohli on 51, the Indian captain displaying exaggerated care through his innings which featured just two boundaries against a disciplined but luckless attack.

Kemar Roach was the most unfortunate of the West Indies bowlers as Rahane was dropped at extra-cover early in his innings and then, within sight of 50, captain Jason Holder declined to review a not out verdict to an lbw appeal against the same batsman when television replays showed the decision would have been overturned in the Caribbean side’s favour.

Rahane had joined Kohli at 81 for three after Roach produced a superb delivery to breach the defence of Cheteshwar Pujara.

Pujara started brightly in getting to 25 but the pacer claimed him for the second time in the match.

Whereas in the first innings he edged to the wicketkeeper, this time he was bowled between bat and pad to give the fast bowler his fifth wicket of the match.

Roston Chase’s off-spin had earlier accounted for both openers with Mayank Agarwal adjudged legbefore attempting to sweep while K.L. Rahul was bowled round his legs trying a similar shot.

India had spent most of the morning session labouring to claim the final two wickets of the home side’s first innings as Holder found sturdy support from Miguel Cummins in putting on 41 for the ninth wicket.

Having slipped from 174 for five to 179 for eight late on day two courtesy of the persistent Ishant Sharma, Kohli and company would have been expecting to finish the job swiftly at the start of play.

However they did not count on the defiance of Cummins, who hung around with Holder for an hour-anda-half without getting off the mark.

When the partnership was

finally broken -– Holder caught behind off Mohammed Shami for 39 -– Cummins saw last man Shannon Gabriel pick up two singles immediately.

Attempting to get his first runs though, the fast-medium bowler, who bats left-handed, was bowled having a swing at Ravindra Jadeja to give the left-arm spinner his second wicket of the innings.

In facing 45 deliveries for his defiant duck, and spending 95 minutes in the middle without getting off the mark, Cummins goes into the record books for the second longest innings in Test cricket for someone being dismissed without scoring.

That dubious record is still held by New Zealander Geoff Allott, who survived for 101 minutes before falling for nought against South Africa in Auckland in 1999.

Scores: INDIA 297 (Ajinkya Rahane 81, Ravindra Jadeja 58, KL Rahul 44, Hanuma Vihari 32, Rishabh Pant 24; Kemar Roach 4-66, Shannon Gabriel 3-71, Roston Chase 2-58) and 185 for three (Ajinkya Rahane 53 not out, Virat Kohli 51 not out, KL Rahul 38, Cheteshwar Pujara 25; Roston Chase 2-69).

WEST INDIES 222 (Roston Chase 48, Jason Holder 39, Shimron Hetmyer 35, Shai Hope 24, John Campbell 23; Ishant Sharma 5-43, Mohammed Shami 2-48, Ravindra Jadeja 2-64).

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 73

2019 International Karate Daigaku Caribbean Karate Cup

Guyana Karate College capture 42 gold medals on day one

G

uyana Karate College (GKC) enjoyed a fine outing yesterday as they captured 42 gold medals on day one of the 2019 International Karate Daigaku Caribbean Karate Cup which commenced at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

GKC won 21 gold medals in the team kata and team Bunkai categories, 18 silver and six bronze in the team kata, 15 silver and six bronze in the team Bunkai.

Leading the medal haul were the male and female 811 teams that won three gold medals each in the 3-1 kyu division, while the male 8-11 took gold in the 1+dan (first Dan); the female team finished third.

The 12-15 male team took the top podium spot in the 3-1 kyu, while the male team won the 16-19 segment. The male 50+ team claimed the gold in the 1+ Dan category.

The male and female 811 teams continued their dominance in the team Bukai as they captured gold in the 6-4kyu, while the 12-15 and 16-19 male carted off the gold medals in the 3.1kyu division. The Guyanese continued to add to their collection of prizes as the female won gold in the 1+dan, while the male 40-49 and over 50 teams took the gold in the 1+dan.

Trinidad and Tobago won gold in the 1+dan team Bunkai, 16-19 1+dan and 20-29 male 1+dan. The Twin Island Republic also took the top prizes in the 12-15 31kyu.

The GKC female 8-11 team of Alyssa Ramotar, Alyssa Singh and Anya Insanally won gold in the individual 1+dan, while Trinidad and Tobago took the top three places in the 811 individual 3-1 kyu. The competition continues today.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

1320 Heat is on today at South Dakota Circuit Following all the hype, competitors will now have to produce with the 1320 heat International Drag race meet boosting off today from 09:00hrs at the South Dakota Circuit’s drag strip at Timehri.

Competitors were back and forth showing off their cars and their impressive times ahead of yesterday’s practice and qualification round but today’s race is a whole different story.

For the first time, cars have broken into 7 second bracket (unofficially) on the quarter mile with the absolute last run of the day featuring the rail car of T&T running a 7.9 second time.

Though the run featured a false start and an immediate disqualified time, today’s action brings about a mouthwatering prospect of speed.

Sheldon Bissessar, the Trinidadian who last year lost to the Team Mohamed’s GTR Goliath, admitted that he is back for revenge.

Still, there are an impressive array of machines for Bissessar and his rail car to

fight through including the Transpacific Toyota Alteeza, Shawn Persaud’s Toyota Caldina as well as the ‘Mad Dog’ Toyota Supra to name a few.

And, then maybe he can reach the strip record holder known to many as ‘Godzilla,” the white Nissan GTR of Team Mohamed’s enterprise.

In addition to that, there are cash prizes for the fastest 11 and 12 second (DEL ICE CO) machines as well as fastest reaction time (Imran Auto Works) and best burn out (GT Tuners).

And as it stands, the club has confirmed readiness for the event with all the final put in place including reinforced emphasis on safety and crowd control.

“We saw what happed in the last instance with crowd control and we have surely put steps in place to correct that and to ensure that we have a great and safe day of racing. This is what it all boils down to. Leave all the talking for the line,” the club concluded in a statement.

Members of the Guyana Karate College following the team segment.

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Sunday August 25, 2019

Caribbean very appreciative of GBA’s efforts to develop regional boxing The Caribbean has heaped praise on the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) and its president Steve Ninvalle for organizing and successfully hosting the recently concluded Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior tournament.

The August 16-18 tournament was hailed as the most important in CARICOM and the GBA came in for special applause from several regional presidents.

Guyana captured eight gold and three silver medals to end on 30 points and retained the coveted Champion Country title, which they held since the commencement of the event in 2016.

Johnson St. Louis, the Grenada Boxing Association president, said that the creation and hosting of the Schoolboys competition is a clear indication that the Caribbean has realized the consequences they are to face if it ignores its nursery.

“As the president of the Grenada Boxing Association I wish to extend sincere gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Mr. Ninvalle and the Guyana Boxing Association for hosting that event which I believe is critical to the development of

David Christopher (right) Minister George Norton (left) and GOA president K. Juman Yassin at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru recently. the sport here. We are also grateful for the kind gesture of some very special boxing gear being donated to our boxing delegation,” St Louis stated.

President of the St Lucia Boxing Association, David ‘ S h a k e s ’ C h r i s t o p h e r, opined that the importance of the Schoolboys tournament cannot be overstated.

“Job well done Mr. Ninvalle. To successfully host this four years in a row is no easy feat. This competition is critical for the development of boxing in our region. We never had anything of its kind before and it was through Mr. Ninvalle’s vision that it was created. It is my belief that it (the tournament) is the important in the Caribbean and my hope is that the GBA is provided the resources to keep it alive,” Christopher said.

“I was in conversation in Lima, Peru with the Minister of Sport Dr. George Norton and president of the Guyana Olympic Association K. Juman Yassin. I pleaded with t h e m t o S u p p o r t M r.

Ninvalle as he is not only doing a fantastic job for boxing in Guyana but also in the Caribbean. He is the leader of the Caribbean and Guyana needs to support him in any way possible. We in the Caribbean can boast that we have seen levels of development since Mr. Ninvalle has been around,” Christopher added.

“I would also like to applaud Mr. Ninvalle’s initiative to provide every participating country with a set of boxing gear. That I consider the true meaning of Caribbean unity spirit.”

Cecil Forde, president of the Trinidad and Tobago (Continued on page 65)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 25, 2019

PAGE 75

Seven Seas sponsors Archery Guyana’s Indoor Championship 2019 A r c h e r y G u y a n a ’s Indoor Championship 2019 has received sponsorship from Seven Seas for the event which will be held at the National Gymnasium today, Sunday 25th August and Sunday 1st September.

The Schedule for the event will see: Sunday August 25th 10am to 3pm - Ranking round and team pairing Sunday September 1st 10am to 3pm - Elimination and Finals Competition Format features: the Ranking round of 18m round (72 arrows) Elimination and Finals round - set system 18m Categories: Junior men - Archers born after 1999 Junior women - Archers born after 1999 Men - No limit Women - No limit All categories will consist of: Ranking round of 72 arrows shot at 18 meters

Softball action set for today MSC The Malteenoes Sports Club will be the venue for a four-team softball competition organized by umpire Rishi Persaud. Two semi final will be followed by the grand final and action gets underway at 09:30hrs today.

with 40cm target faces (1-10 scoring zones). Ends of 6 arrows shot in 4 minutes.

An elimination and finals round at 18 meters with 40cm target faces (1-10 scoring zones). Set system.

A mixed team round: Teams to be formed by a man and woman based on highest

ranking male with lowest ranking female and vice versa.

E q u i p m e n t Restrictions: The requirements of 11.1 (world archery rule book) shall apply in their entirety with the following additional provisions or modifications.

The bow shall be of a simple design either a take apart (with wooden or metal riser) or of one-piece construction.

In both type of bows, the limbs shall be wooden and/ or fiberglass construction.

No carbon limbs will be allowed.

The arrow rest shall be of simple flexible or rigid design and it be nonadjustable.

A simple non-adjustable pressure point may be used and shall be placed no further back than 2cm from the throat of the handle.

One (1) simple draw

check indicator, audible or visual may be used. This indicator shall give only one indication of draw length.

The sight pin may not be a fiber optic type.

Stabilization shall not incorporate a V-bar.

Arrows shall be marked with the archer’s name.

2019 Senior CASA tournament

Guyana clinch overall C/Ship as women & Men take team titles

t r o Sp

2019 Senior CASA Champs Guyana with the Golden Arrowhead yesterday.

Kohli, Rahane stretch India lead as Guyana Karate College capture Cummins crawls to 95-minute duck 2019 International Karate Daigaku Caribbean Karate Cup

42 gold medals on day one

From left Guyanese Alyssa Ramotar, Alyssa Singh and Anya Insanally took gold in the 8-11 1+dan kata.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane build their partnership. (AFP / Randy Brooks)

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