Kaieteur News

K

ANUG says... Govt. Wednesday Edition

AIETEUR marginalising NEWS

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

December 29, 2021 - Vol. 14 No.50

citizens, putting money in party hacks’ pockets

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday, 110,372

Ali defends rush to pass flawed oil fund bill ...ignores gaping loopholes for massive abuse, corruption

$14 million to clear burnt out section of school- Engineer says

“You will be murdered ...bandit tells law on the spot”student during robbery Shuman opposes new ...says citizens must have a say oil fund law on how oil money is spent

The protest continues for change to ExxonMobil’s contract.

New oil law is to 'legalise corrupt transactions' ...Glenn Lall urges massive support at protest today @11:00hrs on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM

Listen to how PPP moving to Parliament today to legalise thievery of our oil money.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Govt. marginalising citizens, putting money in party hacks pockets - says ANUG A New and United Guyana (ANUG) has knocked the PPP/C Government for breaking down the guardrails of good governance, to marginalise citizens and put money in the pockets of party hacks and friends.

In a wide ranging statement which touches on

Chairman of ANUG, Timothy Jonas governance of the country, the party also signaled its opposition to the new Natural Resources Bill which is to be debated in Parliament today, saying it will set the stage for ramped up spending spree and corruption.

“A New and United Guyana has observed the policy of governance by the People’s Progressive Party since their return to power, and regrets to note an alarming trend to dispense with necessary systemic safeguards, to marginalise the citizens of Guyana who are not perceived to number among the party faithful, and to favour those citizens of Guyana who are perceived to be supporters, while shaping statutory institutions and systems to facilitate easy access to State resources to pursue this divisive agenda,” ANUG said in a statement on Tuesday.

ANUG is one of many small parties that sprung to life in the run up to last year’s general elections and had given the PPP/C critical support in the aftermath of the elections impasse.

However, its statement chastising the government’s management of the affairs of the state represents a serious indictment on the Irfaan Ali administration which has been under enormous pressure in recent months.

“Our democratically elected Government is using the absolute power enjoyed under the current Constitutional system to consolidate its power, to streamline up its unobstructed access to State funds, and to exclude any non-PPP Guyanese from access to information which would enable scrutiny of its management of the country and its resources,” ANUG, which is one of the joinder parties that has a seat in

Parliament stated.

L i s t i n g t h e transgressions of the government, ANUG said it first used its majority in Parliament to authorise an increase in the amount of money it may borrow. “It then began to spend large sums of money on ad hoc and poorly monitored cash handouts and inadequately audited and poorly monitored contract awards,” AUNUG stated.

The party said this expenditure could only have been funded by increased borrowing, and it is likely that borrowing was done against the collateral of the Petroleum Fund. “But what was the money spent on?

Billions of dollars were given to agriculture producers and to sugar workers. Billions were spent in the award of contracts to party supporters. In respect of the awards of contracts, where kickbacks are easy and party loyalty can be rewarded, qualification criteria were and are being overlooked or ignored altogether,’ANUG said.

The party said, bidding processes were and are undermined and the best bidder is not certain to be the bidder to whom the contract is awarded. “The party faithful are receiving their rewards. Most recently, the Government has indicated its intention to use its majority in Parliament to amend the Petroleum legislation by removing any meaningful safeguard against its unrestricted access to the Oil Fund. The spending spree will now ramp up.”

According to ANUG, the hardships endured by those not numbered among the party faithful are equally unacceptable, as is the Government's treatment of Continued on page 22

Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

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Opposition highlights loopholes for corrupt practices in new Local Content Legislation The APNU+AFC submitted yesterday to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs, several amendments it believes should be made to the Local Amendment Interpretation “Guyanese national” means a citizen of Guyana; by birth

New Clause 6 (2) (a) Any Guyanese national or Guyanese company, whose application has been refused has the right to appeal to an independent review panel appointed by the Minister, comprising of not less than three persons, one of whom must be from civil society.

New Clause 6 (9)The Secretariat shall cause to be published on the website of the ministry responsible for petroleum or any other media in wide circulation the Local Content Register, which shall be updated quarterly.

Insert Clause 13 (7) – A Contractor, SubContractor or Licensee without the written permission of the Minister acting on the advice of the Secretariat, shall not enter into any contract in excess of three (3) years.

New Heading PART V delete INTER AGENCY COMMITTEE replace with LOCAL CONTENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.

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New marginal note (PART V) Establishment of Local Content Oversight Committee.

Amend Clause 20 (1) - There is to be an established committee, which is to be known as the Local Content Oversight Committee.

Amend Clause 20 (2) The Committee shall consist of not than seven members appointed by the Presi dent; after nominations from the agencies adumbrated in 20 (3) are deliberated on by the Committee of Appointments of the National Assembly.

Clause 20 (3) – The Members appointed to the Committee shall be selected from the following agencies: a) Office of the President b) Ministry of Labour c) Private Sector Commission d) National Toshaos Council e) Guyana Bar Association f) Labor Union Representative g) Parliamentary Opposition h) Guyana Association of Professional Engineers i) Transparency International Guyana Inc. j) Representative from local Petroleum Organizations Amend Clause 20 (4) The President shall appoint a Chairperson of the Committee from amongst the members of the Committee.

New Clause 20 (4) a A Vice Chairperson of the committee shall be elected at the first meeting of the Committee.

Amend Clause 20 (5) The members of the Committee shall be appointed for a term of two years, which term may be renewed by the President.

Clause 20 (7) The function of the Committee is to provide oversight of the Secretariat in the discharge of its functions and to provide the Minister with recommendations.

Content Bill 2021 which is expected to be debated today.

The Opposition said it believes several clauses, if left unchecked, could result in opportunities for rampant corrupt

Explanatory Note Based on our loose immigration laws, possibility of corrupt practices in the naturalization process. After Immigration process becomes more transparent, broader citizenship interpretation can be applied.

Seeking to ensure that no discrimination occurs in this process – i.e. the Secretariat willfully refusing to grant a person a certificate. All applications must have recourse, if application is denied.

Seeking to ensure greater transparency in the process and better public monitoring.

This is seeking to prevent companies using the exempt percentages in Schedule I, and entering into very long-term contracts (Exxon has already entered into a 10 year contract with a sub-contractor), defeating the purpose of Guyanese building capacity but beingunable to compete in the future, due to existing long-term contracts.

It would be advisable to establish a multidisciplinary oversight committee rather than an advisoryCommittee; this oversight committee can establish an inter-agency subcommittee which can provide advice.

Seeking to have parliamentary inclusion in the appointment process rather than at the sole discretion of the President.

practices. Below is a chart containing their proposed amendments to the existing legislation and an explanatory note justifying same.

Amendment Amend Clause 20 (8) The Committee may determine and document its own procedure for discharging its functions.

SECTORS 1. Rental of Office Spaces

END OF 2022 100%

2. Accommodation Services (apartments and houses)

100%

3. Surveying

90%

4. Construction Work for Buildings – onshore

100%

5. Structural Fabrication (cutting, bending, and assembling of steel products) – onshore 9. Waste Management (disposal, and water transportation services) – Nonhazardous Waste 10. Waste Management (disposal, and water transportation services) – Hazardous Waste 11. Storage Services (warehousing)

75%

This a new Committee, without an established office, staff or procedures, a great amount of time will be expended in administration issues.

The Committee will provide general oversight of the Secretariat functions as well as provide the Minister with any necessary recommendations to enhance the operations of the Act.

EXPLANATORY NOTE This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can have international partners.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can have international partners.

Surveying is a very board discipline; only certain specific sectors cannot be done locally (e.g., seismic surveys), most other sectors can be done locally. Alternatively, the discipline can be subdivided, and relevant percentages applied to the various sectors.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, companies can hire international sub-contractors.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies. The higher percentage is to encourage companies to train more locals.

100%

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can hire international sub-contractors.

60%

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can hire international partners.

100%

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if any unique facility is required, local companies can partner with a suitable international firm.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies. Importation of food is allowed under Item. 14 – no reason available why local companies cannot prepare same and distribute, partnership can be entered, such the need arises.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can hire international sub-contractors.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies. There is nothing unique, technical or sophisticated about the provision of trucking services.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can partner with an international sub-contractor.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can partner with an international security firm.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, insurance companies have been doing same for decades – if required, a policy can be underwritten by an international insurance company.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Companies, if required, they can have an international partner.

This service can be provided by Guyanese Law Firms, if required, they can have an international partner.

Engineering is a very board discipline; only certain specific sectors cannot be done locally - most sectors can be done locally.

12. Janitorial Services

100%

13. Catering Services

100%

21. Pest Control Exterminator Services

100%

26. Transportation Services a) Trucking b) Ground Transportation

The Committee shall appoint the ViceChairperson, from amongst its members.

Explanatory Note The Committee in determining its procedure, document same for its continued functioning.

PART 1 – SPECIFIC SECTORS FOR GUYANESE COMPANIES AND GUYANESE NATIONALS The Chart below explains the respective sectors, which the Opposition wants to see participation from locals as well as the extent or degree to which this should occur.

Oversight committee to comprise but not limited to Government, Opposition and Civic Society.

President can appoint the Chairperson only.

- SUBMITS AMENDMENTS AHEAD OF HOUSE SITTING

100% 100%

29. Industrial Cleaning – onshore

100%

30. Security Services

100%

34. Local Insurance Services

100%

35. Accounting Services

90%

36. Local Legal Services

100%

39. Engineering and Machining a) Engineering b) Machining 40. Local Marketing and Advertising Services (Public Relations)

75% 5% 100%

This service can be provided by Guyanese Law Firms, if required, they can have an international partner.

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Kaieteur News

NRF: Any unilateral approach is doomed for failure and dismemberment of our society DEAR EDITOR, The Editorial, “Natural Resource Fund Bill gravely deficient” of Stabroek News, December 28, 2021, shows scholarship and addresses the issue of how and who will dispense with the abundance of cash that is now and will in the future be available to the Government.

Equally worthy is the several Editorials in Kaieteur News and statements on Kaieteur Radio.

The proposal to dismantle the twenty-two member Committee to oversee the Natural Resources Fund is the slaughter of a fragile democracy and makes absurd the pontification of the President of One Guyana. I recommend that Editorials in the Stabroek News and earlier Editorials contained in several Kaieteur News Editorials is compulsory reading, particularly by young Guyanese who will be the major victims of this obvious wanton use of money available to us by the Creator.

An examination of the proposed Committee suggests that only one member, that is, one named by the Opposition Leader will be the only person without direct allegiance to the governing Party.

For example, the person named by the National Assembly will certainly be a Government nominee.

It is no secret that the existing Private Sector Commission is the handmaiden of the PPP. With a divided Labour Union, it is reasonable to expect another psychophant of the governing group to be named and with the Government in control of most of the media places freedom, justice, democracy and decency is on the chopping block. Beyond that, it ushers in for dismemberment of our society, the losing of an opportunity for healing wounds inflicted from inhumanity of slavery, the disrespect of Indentureship and the consequences of imperialism and colonialism.

Those at Freedom House who glibly shout about freedom and whose writers still talk about born dictatorship must know that this move to be taken to Parliament this week is many times worse than the claim of a Burnham dictatorship alleged by these same people for several decades. The articles referred to above should be reprinted and sold at a modest fee. I am sure many of us would buy several copies and have them circulated. This is a serious matter in circumstances where a truly by-partisan Committee should be able to ensure that the billions reaching our coffers are used to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of a previous Leader to

provide free education from kindergarten to university.

This should mean then, not the mere construction of buildings given to cronies, but the expansion of teachertraining, providing laboratories of every Secondary School, playing ground and the teaching of music and instruments and related cultural activities.

It should include the establishment of a National Service, so that our youths from the Coast to the Rupununi could meet, learn and play together in a controlled environment.

Next, the billions available should be used to increase training of medical personnel and up-to-date health, clinics and hospitals, so that every Guyanese should not suffer or die because their families could not afford medical bills.

A truly democratic Government shall have no difficulty with a truly broad-based committee to oversee and dispense the largesse of oil

money.

The contention emerging from the Government side that the existing 22-member Natural Resources Committee is too cumbersome and flawed.

That is the essence of democracy where the views of every sector must be taken into account. I urge the President to withdraw this nauseating proposal and refer it for a truly broader and wider consultation and take us out of the iron clutches of a dictatorship.

Finally, I have and continue to submit that on the questions of (a) the border issue, (b) COVID-19 and (c) Oil and gas.

The Government and Opposition should sit around the round-table and come up with a common strategy for the sake of this and succeeding generations.

Any unilateral approach is doomed for failure and dismemberment of our society.

Regards Hamilton Green

Jagdeo support for Dharamlall’s attacks on judges worrying DEAR EDITOR, The remarks and call about two judges, which were found to be unwarranted of chastisement (KN Dec 28), is disturbing.

This does not augur well and sends a worrying, veiled message that respect for independent institutions is being undermined. Let’s agree to disagree respectfully.

Regards, Shamshun Mohamed

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Kaieteur News

Sase Singh can write; let him defend himself DEAR EDITOR, My friend Mr. Charles Sugrim (Dec 23) in his reply to me stated that GuySuCo CEO, Sase Singh should be given a chance to implement his ‘strategic plan’ for the industry. I don’t know of a strategic plan. But I was the first one to say to give him a chance to do his job as CEO. As I read, those who felt unwanted or can’t function under the CEO quit GuySuCo. Pandit Panday, for example, wrote publicly that Sase was/ is unqualified for the job and stated he could not work under his leadership. He resigned to allow the CEO to do his job. Others also quit saying they could not work under the CEO’s directives.

Some were terminated or pushed out for not following directives. Clearly, no one has

blocked the CEO from implementing his plan although there continues to be complaints from current staff about the CEO’s style of management. Should these be investigated by the Board and advice given to the CEO on handling them? Regrettably, those who left GuySuCo or were terminated have faced non-stop attacks in the media with “They were riding the gravy train”. Charles, just using Pandit Vishnu Panday for an illustration – I don’t know him but everyone I conversed with says he is a man of impeccable integrity. ‘Ow, man’, you will condone an attack on a pandit. Charles, I am told, you are/were a man of the cloth, a pastor. It will not be proper to attack you personally.

Pandit Panday is a spiri-

tual leader. He is compassionate and caring for the poor.

He is held in high esteem nationally.

He wants GuySuCo to succeed. He does not imbibe or socialise. He is a vegetarian. Does he look like someone who rode the gravy train? As for the others who were attacked, there were no

specifics given on ‘their riding the gravy train’. The defenders of the CEO should step back and allow him to perform and stop attacking former and current staff. Sase is a very good writer. He can defend himself against constructive critiques.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Being given a mandate by the people doesn’t mean you should ignore them DEAR EDITOR, Being given a mandate by the people does not mean the cries and exhortations of a cross-section of society must be ignored. The campaign on transparency and inclusivity should not be seen as mere window dressing and fluff and bluff. Now is the time to walk the talk. Start with the NRF Bill.

Regards, Shamshun Mohamed

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Young people today...

From page 4 Development Agency (ILO/SIDA) partnership reported that globally, ‘More than one in five (22.4 percent) young people are neither employed, educated or in training.

Two or 16.7 percent out of every three are young women who outnumber men two to one, whereas one in seven young men are NEET for young women’.

There is no NEET data on Guyana in the UN 2021 World Youth Report. Notwithstanding, the global NEET numbers are instructive.

According to the Guyana Statistical Bureau census data for 2012, of a total population of 746,724, Guyanese youths between ages 15-24 was 148, 080 or 19.83 percent of the population.

In 2021, the country’s total population is estimated to be 772,975 while the youth population will be 135,208.

Of the 2012 total youth population, 50.04 percent are boys and 49.96 are girls.

Between 2012 and 2017, Guyana’s youth population grew by 0.8 percent of the

country’s population but it is estimated to fall by 4.1 in 2021.

For the third quarter of 2021, a Guyana Labour Force Survey recorded that the total employment rate of the country’s youth population was estimated to be 14.50 percent with female unemployment estimated at 39.50 percent with 25.80 percent male unemployment.

At present, the UN has embarked on promoting globally, a new initiative called ‘Social Entrepreneurship.’

The initiative is a model for addressing ‘unmet economic and social needs and demands of youth worldwide.’

If Guyana has not yet embraced the Social Entrepreneurship model, it should consider doing so following the widest possible public consultation with stakeholders especially youth organisations, notwithstanding their motley nature, and the private sector since the interests of young people go way beyond purely youth concerns.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee

PPP’s Natural Resource...

From page 4 representatives.

What happens if they are all duds (unless that’s the kind of folks they want)?

The religious folks let us down by their silence during the rigging, were not in the forefront of vaccination, have nothing to say about renegotiation of oil and all natural resource contracts, and had nothing to say when Indians were being dragged

out of vehicles and brutalized. Same for the unions.

I don’t buy the arguments that the PPP’s amendments will reduce Ministerial control; it increases such control.

The Minister will control the 3-5 member Board of Directors being proposed.

I suggest a parliamentary confirmation process for the Board of Directors.

Nation, we need more oversight of oil and gas and all natural resources, not less. We need more People’s Power, and less political power grab!

Sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall

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T B UN B Wednesday December 29, 2021

Kaieteur News

Stand Up! Let your Voices Be Heard!

Guyanese, we must defend this nation against those whose clear intent is to rob us our birthright.

This land is our land, every inch of this 83,000sq. miles and we must protect it at all cost, not only for us but for generations to come.

To be silent is to embrace the evils being perpetuated in this land.

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

Kaieteur News

Local Content Bill 2021 Series Pt.8

Govt. to retain advisory role for added layer of oversight for oil companies, subcontractors

A

ccording to the P P P / C Government's Local Content Bill 2021, the administration is proposing to create an Inter-Agency Committee that would support its Local Content Secretariat in its oversight of oil companies and their subcontractors.

The Bill states that the Committee shall consist of not less than seven members appointed by the President from the following agencies(a) Office of the President; (b)Ministry of Natural Resources; (c) Ministry of Finance; (d)Ministry of Home Affairs; (e) Ministry of Labour; (f) Guyana National Bureau of Standards; ( g ) G u y a n a Revenue Authority; (h) Attorney G e n e r a l ' s Chambers and Ministry of

By Kiana Wilburg Legal Affairs; (i) Guyana Office for Investment; (j) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; (k) Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, (l) Ministry of Education; (m) Ministry of Public Works; (n) Private Sector Commission; and (o) Labour Union Representative.

K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the President shall appoint a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson of the Committee from amongst the members of the Committee.

Furthermore, the members of the Committee shall be appointed for a term of one year which term may be renewed by the President.

The function of the Committee is to support the

Secretariat in the discharge of its functions in an advisory capacity. Be that as it may, the Committee may determine its own procedure for discharging its functions.

It should be noted that the Bill proposes for the President to remove a member of the Committee for: (a) incompetence; (b)misbehaviour or misconduct; (c) inability to perform the functions of the member's office arising from infirmity of body or mind; (d) conviction of any offence; (e) bankruptcy or insolvency; and (f) noncompliance

Wednesday December 29, 2021

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Kaieteur News

The Marriott Hotel was saved by the oil industry Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo would like us to believe that the controversies surrounding the financing and construction of the Marriott Hotel have evaporated simply because it is now established that the hotel is fully owned by the government.

This is far from so. The construction of the Marriott Hotel continues to be mired in controversy. While it is true that the hotel is now fully owned by the government, this was not always the original plan.

When the APNU+AFC coalition government assumed office in 2015, it unearthed a number of disconcerting facts about the hotel.

These concerns emerged from a forensic audit and review of the Marriott Hotel project.

The forensic audit and review disclosed that the original plan was to have control of the hotel assigned to a grouping called ACE which would inject a mere 12 percent of the equity, after the construction of the hotel. This was an amazing disclosure:

which entity is allowed such control with such limited contribution and, of all things, after the conclusion of the project.

The Vice President may wish now to edify the nation as to why this plan was shelved. He should also use the opportunity to explain the change in the original arrangements which would have seen the hotel being built by a USA-based individual. Hotels are supposed to be constructed by the private sector. So why then did the government have to bear the bulk of the estimated US$63M for the construction of the hotel? According to the forensic audit, the government invested US$49.042M of that sum while US$15.25M was injected via a loan by syndicated investors under the umbrella of Republic Bank Trinidad and Tobago.

The government by injecting so much money was effectively crowding out private investment.

In addition, the government provided waiver of taxes, bankrolled the costs of rerouting the sewage lines,

provided land and was responsible for the removal of a nearby structure. The forensic audit and review noted that the Marriott Hotel project was shrouded in secrecy. No wonder, to date, the people of Guyana are unaware of the identities of the syndicated investors and whether any due diligence was done on them. It is also not clear whether any member of the local economic oligarchy or any politician formed part of the syndicate which lent the project US$15.25M.The loan came at a high premium.

The interest during construction was said to be 9.15 percent during the construction phase and 8.65 percent after construction. These are very generous rates. Instead of offering these high rates to syndicated investors, the monies could have been borrowed locally and at a lesser rate.

This is especially considering the high liquidity within the banking system.

The APNU+AFC failed to press for the identity of the syndicated investors. It could have used the amendments to

“You will be murdered on the spot” - bandit tells law student during robbery “If you scream, you would be murdered on the spot,” were the words of a cutlass-wielding bandit who robbed a law student from the School of the Nations during the wee hours on Tuesday.

Anastasia Tristan Henry, a 18year-old student who resides at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) told Kaieteur News during a telephone interview that on Boxing Day night her sister, her boyfriend along with Henry attended a family wedding just a few houses away from her home.

She said while returning home at 02:00hrs they parked the car outside of her residence.

She opened the gate and as they attempted to approach the door of the house she encountered two men dressed

in dark-coloured clothing who rode up to them on bicycles. The men were armed with cutlasses.

The young lady explained to this newspaper that one of bandits attacked her sister and boyfriend and the other bandit attacked her.

Henry said during the robbery, one of the bandits placed a cutlass under her neck and told her if she screamed: “I would murder you on the spot.”

Henry noted that she remained quiet and told the bandit he can have her jewellery and to leave her. She related that the bandit had desperately wanted to kidnap her.

Henry reported the matter to the Beterverwagting Police

Law student, Anastasia Tristan Henry Station and a neighbour has since turned over surveillance footage to police detectives.

In a social media post which Henry urged: “Please be very careful guys.

Stay safe. I am so thankful that I am alive today. But at the same time I am trying to cope with it.”

Dem boys seh...

Water pull off too slow De Dutch tell we dat we gat to learn to live with water. But we trying not to live with water but to get rid ah de water as soon as we can.

But dat gan be a failed strategy because we nah gat de storage and de run-off too slow.

We fuhget dat lang ago dem houses used to build pun stilts because de water used to deh pun de land fuh days till it drain off.

But these days people turning dem bottom house into living quarters and still complaining ‘bout floods.

De British bin leff a good

system in place. Dem gutter used to be shallow but it used to be clean and de rain used to fall whole day and dem trench never overtop because dem was deep and dem koker use to drain off de water quick, quick.

Nowadays, nuff ah dem koker wah wukkin’, half dead and dem pump wah supplementing dem koker nah able to tek off de amount of water pun de land.

Nuff ah dem gutter and trench block also up. And suh it holding less water dan before.

One man did calculate dat

if we dig dem trench wan extra metre deep, dem gan hold much more water.

But de Dutch also tell we dat we gat to do de statistical wuk.

We nah know as yet how much volume of water gan deh pun de land and how fast is de run-off. So we guessing we way.

And we nah accepting dat we gat to learn to live with de water. Dah mean we gat to store de water better until we can drain it to de river and ocean.

Talk half and leh God do he wuk.

the Anti-Money Laundering and the Countering of Terrorism Act in order to make it mandatory for the identities of all syndicated investors to be made known. But it did not. As such onto now, the public is unaware of those who form part of the syndicate which enjoyed preference shares which would have allowed them to benefit from the first proceeds should the hotel run bust.There was a strong possibility of this happening. The forensic audit noted that there was a serious risk of default on the US$15.25 M loan. But the fortuitous discovery of oil is what saved the Marriott, not Jagdeo and his government.

We learnt a few weeks ago that the Marriott Hotel is

booked right through to the end of next year. ExxonMobil is its main customer.

But guess who will end up fetching the tab for the luxurious accommodation being provided to oil employees at the Marriott?

Yes, it is the taxpayers of Guyana since this expense will be reclaimed by Exxon under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

The PSA does not exclude hotel accommodation as a recoverable cost. Without the patronage of the oil companies, the Marriott would have been in deep financial distress. And so it is the taxpayers of Guyana who have to repay the cost of the hotel accommodation of the oil employees that are effectively

bankrolling the Marriott.

Without this, the hotel would have found itself in deep debt and would have to have been liquidated.

The preferred investors would receive their returns and be compensated, leaving the people of Guyana to absorb the losses. And who knows some lucky crony would have gotten a US$63M hotel at a knock-off price.

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

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

PNC Election Results, Part 3: Decency of African Guyanese We are too divided in this country to see how fundamentally decent humans are. During the months while “mo fyaah/slo fyaah” was taking place, my daughter was taking Common Entrance lessons at West Ruimveldt from the f a m o u s s c h o o l t e a c h e r, Wilfred Success.

This happened for one year and no remark was thrown at me, ever, when for one, long year, I sat in my car and waited for her. Black people from South Georgetown passed and looked at me all the time.

What is happening in this country is that questionable Black leaders are arrogating to themselves the role of guidance agents for African Guyanese.

No one in the African community in Guyana would vote for these usual suspects for any position. Yes, they listen to their Meta programme but it begins and ends there.

Black people do not think that Mark Benschop, David Hinds, Sherod Duncan, Simona Broomes, etc. are their leaders. Many Black voices like these speak in the name of Black people; tell the nation that they are the guidance agents for the African population when they are not. Did you see David Hinds with a bullhorn exhorting Black villages up the East Coast to undermine the government? The villagers just passed and watched at him as if he was a lunatic.

Here is what they do to fool African Guyanese.

When a Portuguese or Indian or mixed race person denounces a PNC leader or one of the PNC's surrogates, the reply is predictable – “what you know about Black people you are not Black, don't speak for Black people.” But they can't speak for Black people either.

After this long digression, let's get to the

point. Amanza Walton Desir (AWD) during the past year was supposed to be the face of the PNC. Khemraj Ramjattan said she is the type of politician the world needs.

She got mauled in the voting.

It was a cruel lynching with her unknown opponent securing almost double her votes.

Christopher Jones received a high profile during the election drama in 2020 by attacking the observer missions along with Sherod Duncan on their Meta programme. Jones took a beating. Two aggressive women in the PNC leadership – Simona Broomes and Annette Ferguson had poor showings.

The names of Vanessa Kissoon and Sharma Solomon were supposed to be big motifs in the PNC. Guyana was serenaded with the music that these were future leaders of African Guyanese.

That was a mirage. The

paucity of votes they got has consigned them to the department of political footnotes. Kissoon and Solomon were personalities in the enclave of Linden.

Guyana is a large country with just under 800,000 souls, a majority of which do not know Kissoon and Solomon.

So what conclusions can the analyst arrive at with the decapitation of these high profile figures? In another part in this series, I will outline why Harmon was defeated.

He lost for the same reasons that the personalities named above lost only that there were more pressing factors in the devastation done to Harmon.

The names above were torn down for one fundamental reason. People thought they were the faces of five months of lying to the nation. So did Norton but I will come to explain why he won. In fact, Norton didn't

win the PNC's leadership. It was a case of Harmon losing.

Frederick Kissoon The result of the PNC's congressional f actors in the political voting showed that certain execution of AWD and Jones. high profile figures in the But first Ferguson. She was PNC became the victims of in the news recently with her the Freudian minds of the libel writ against Mr. Jagdeo delegates. PNC delegates but that didn't help her. locked away in the inner Delegates still voted against recesses of their minds the her. Jones suffered because suspicion they had of these of Duncan. His name is large symbols of PNC linked with the extreme resistance. antics and comical display of Since March, it has been Duncan.

21 months of people like AW D w a s s e e n b y Walton-Desir and Ferguson delegates as an extremist banging away at African who is not good for multiGuyanese about rigged racial politics. elections which Guyanese This is where the decency knew the PNC didn't win. It of African Guyanese came in. was a PNC sympathiser, If she had apologised for her Sherwood Lowe who wrote wild vocabulary, maybe she recently that Black people would have received more know the PNC did not win. votes.

Delegates were fed up with (The views expressed in 21 months of lying and it this article are those of the caught up with PNC men and author and do not women whom the delegates necessarily reflect the feel should be demoted. opinions of this newspaper.)

There were additional

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

New oil law is to 'legalise corrupt transactions' ...Glenn Lall urges massive support at protest today

K

aieteur News publisher and advocate of better oil deal for Guyana, Glenn Lall, is convinced that the Government's rush to pass the new National Resource Fund (NRF) bill has nothing to do with the wellbeing of the country or its citizens but has everything to do with legalising their corrupt transactions.

Lall shared his thoughts on the NRF bill which is slated to be repealed today during a discussion which was aired

via Mark Benschop's 107.1FM Radio Station. The discussion comes hours ahead of the protest exercise which is slated to take place from 10:00 am today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Lall is urging all Guyanese to join the calls to safeguard the NRF. “Even If you are not able to come down to the conference centre, come out of your homes and call your neighbours to discuss what this means for Guyana. No

right thinking Guyanese should sit back and allow this law to pass,” the newspaper boss said.

Under the proposed Bill, the People Progressive Party (PPP) administration would be able to, not only access the funds, but do so without any supervision, since the Government has proposed to remove the 22-member oversight committee and replace it with a board handpicked by the President.

During the discussion, Lall was keen to point out

that the amendments spell grave dangers for Guyana.

“If this country allows that bill to pass [today] with what they are going to replace the old law with, we are in trouble,” he said.

The newspaper publisher noted that having the laws amended to suit the agendas of particular governments is not new to Guyana.

According to him, this practice has been replicated by both the PPP and People's National Congress (PNC) governments.

He stated

that: “Both the PPP and PNC Governments have track records of passing and tweaking laws to facilitate their corrupt transactions.

It is not now they are doing this…Both the PPP and PNC are quick to say, when they finish doing what they want that: 'No laws were broken'” “Now this government wants to install another law so when they spend the oil money, when they thief the oil money and do whatever they want to do with their families and their friends, they will say we are doing it legally.

This is why they are rushing to pass this law,” continued Lall as he made reference to similar situation which unfolded in the South African nation of Angola.

The Publisher explained that the Guyana Government's current proposal mirrors the route the Angolan government took in spending their oil earning.

He stressed that by amending the laws to allow the government access to the oil revenue, Angola opened itself to be pilfered by that very government.

He explained that in the case of Angola, the government threw away the Santiago Principles (safeguard) and told the people of Angola that the government and people should have a right to spend the oil money.

Lall added: “What they really did was to remove the independent stakeholders who were supposed to be safeguarding and protecting, not only the withdrawal of the funds but also to give them advice on how to invest in their oil money.

Angola removed those people and the President of Angola installed his own handpicked people into those committees and guess what happened? The Minister of Angola went and withdrew US $500M out of their NRF and invested it in a deep water port, all in the name of investment for the people of Angola.”

He continued: “When the media investigated what that investment was all about they found [out] that the Angola Minister took that US$500M and gave it to his best friend to build this deepwater port; this is a man who never even built a latrine and when the media went further they found [out] that the people benefitting from this investment, it was the

Kaieteur News Publisher: Glenn Lall.

Minister and the man who is head of the oil fund - the bank account.”

He went on to say that the Minister and the man heading the NRF account in Angola were not only the owners of the investment, they tied the investment project to the State which meant that if that project collapses, they would still be paid. “So, they did not only steal the Angolans oil revenues, they guaranteed the project with State funds and guess what? They have no law to jail these people.

This is exactly what President Ali and [Vice President] Jagdeo want to do with this law they want to repeal [today]…”

Given his analysis of the situation, Lall noted that when juxtaposed to Guyana the scenario is precisely in the same as Angola. He emphasised therefore, that if the citizens do not stand up and stop the politicians in their tracks, Guyana will open the door for similar corrupt transactions.

“If we allow the government to remove the safeguards that David Granger put in place to protect the oil wealth and allow them to do what they are doing with what - to me is a little oil money but it is what we are getting so far, it would be extremely dangerous for today and also future generations.”

Added to this, Lall said that with the change in law, the government will use ambiguous reasons to withdraw monies from the NRF. “The leverage and latitude they are giving themselves with this new law, they can go into that account and take out money to spend on two things; one is on natural disasters, meaning if you get a little high flooding they can call that natural disaster.

They can call, they can use anything you can think about natural disaster and spend your money.

They can also spend that money on green energy projects. I believe this is (Continued on page 22)

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Govt. Bill recognizes Granger’s Oil Fund lawfully in place ‘Guyanese Critic’ Mikhail Rodrigues (left), interviews Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo.

…even as Pres. Ali, Jagdeo disingenuously calls account ‘illegitimate’

The President in an 11th hour appeal yesterday parroted the sentiments of his ‘Deputy’ calling the oil fund - in the Ney York Federal Reserve - Illegitimate.

The proposed Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill of 2021—scheduled for debate and possibly approval in the National Assembly—is not an amendment to the existing legislation, but is in fact a Bill that proposes to replace an Act already in place.

As such, it would mean that despite the Peoples Progressive Party Civics’ (PPP/C), public postulation on the illegitimacy of the legislation, particularly a r t i c u l a t e d b y Vi c e President, Bharrat Jagdeo, its own Bill recognises the legitimacy of the David Granger administration’s NRF Act as an existing law.

REPEAL vs AMEND This much is evident in the proposed NRF Bill of 2021, being promulgated by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni K. Singh.

According to the proposed Bill, at Clause 47—its final clause—it reads, “The Natural Resource Act 2019 is repealed.” As such, it would mean that with the passage of the proposed legislation, the Bill would in fact, remove from Guyana’s law books, the law that was passed and assented to by then President David Granger. It should be noted that despite the legislation being assented to

by Granger during a time when a ‘No-Confidence’ motion had been successfully passed against his administration, it was determined that he was still Executive President at the time—until his successor, Irfaan Ali was sworn in on August 20, last year.

The Vice President in a recently aired interview with Mikhail Rodrigues, popularly known as the ‘Guyanese Critic,’ publicly dismissed the law as illegitimate—despite his

administration’s own Bill recognising its legitimacy, hence the need for a repeal clause being inserted.

ILLEGITIMATE The President in an 11th hour appeal yesterday also parroted the sentiments of his ‘Deputy,’ calling the oil fund—in the Ney York F e d e r a l Reserve—Illegitimate.

According to President Ali, during the elections campaign, he had elaborated extensively “what the agenda of the government would be and how the resources of Guyana, how the revenue that Guyana accumulates would be used…”

To this end, he was adamant that there is a need for a new NRF Bill. “Why is it necessary, why was it necessary for us to do this?”

According to the President, “this was a campaign promise. It was a campaign promise that we are going to have an amendment of this bill for a number of reasons.”

As such he stated, “the old Bill is unconstitutional and illegitimate” and adumbrated “we seem to forget that this Bill was passed in January 2019, after the No Confidence Motion had been approved.”

To this end, the President was disingenuously adamant, “the Bill has no legitimacy; it was passed in Parliament after the No Confidence (Motion), so it’s unconstitutional.”

He further took umbrage to the fact that the Act was passed in the House without an input from the opposition—something the PPP/C has done repeatedly while in government when the opposition is absent.

According to President Ali, at the time “we were not present because the National Assembly ceased to exist, not the National Assembly, the government ceased to Continued on page 22

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

Shuman opposes Ali defends rush to new oil fund law pass flawed oil fund bill ...says citizens must have a say on how oil money is spent Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party, Lenox Shuman is of the view that all Guyanese must be consulted on how the revenue garnered from oil and gas production should be spent.

In an invited comment on Tuesday, Shuman told this newspaper that not only must Guyanese be consulted, but the proposed legislation should also be withdrawn due to its flaws.

According to him, “I

manage the oil fund.

Shuman noted, “The country should be aware that that Board of Directors will all be from one political party, that you will not have any objective oversight over it, and even when it comes down to the Parliament, it will come back to their control since they have the majority”.

It is his view that mechanisms should have been put into the Bill to address this deficiency. In fact, the Deputy Speaker

Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Lenox Shuman. strongly believe that this legislation needs to be withdrawn and taken for public consultations so that the people and the public knows, because it is a fund that affects all Guyanese, so it is unfair for 51% to make decisions on behalf of 100 percent when you have another 49 percent not being represented”.

He explained that the Natural Resources Fund Bill, tabled in Parliament on December 16, 2021 and will be debated today was meant to catch the nation “offguard”.

“Parliament was on break for what seems like four months, and the Government had ample opportunity to present the Bill at that juncture for all and sundry to have a chance to see and have an input. But they waited over the Christmas break to table it and have it debated and it simply shows that it was meant to catch the nation offguard,” Shuman reasoned.

In addition to this, he also raised concerns with the power of the president to appoint the Board of Directors, which will replace the 22-member oversight committee, established by the former Government to

believes that Parliament should be given an opportunity to elect the officials for the Board.

“Every single person who should be on the Board of Directors should be given an opportunity to be questioned in front of Parliament and for them to be confirmed by at least two thirds of Parliament, similar to what the US does with the Supreme Court nominees,” the Opposition MP pointed out.

Meanwhile, he told this newspaper that even though the NRF outlines that the members of the board will be given a two-year contract, with possibility for renewal, it does not clarify if these members can serve for more than two consecutive terms or if they can remain a “lifetime appointee”.

Shuman said, “I quite agree with the Government that the previous Bill was passed when the former administration was not legitimately in office, but I do not agree with the method or the process that they are using to drive this piece of legislation through Parliament”.

LEADING PETITION As a consequence, Shuman who is the Leader

the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) informed that he is leading a petition in Parliament so that the Bill can be withdrawn for reconsideration, or that it goes to a select committee for a further input. That petition has already been sent in to Parliament.

The main OppositionAPNU+AFC said, due to the complex nature of the Bill and its importance to the management of the country’s oil resources, Members of Parliament (MPs) need more time to study it.

As such, they have called for the Bill to be sent to a Special Select Committee for fine-tuning and possible changes, before it is debated in the House. Government however, seems to be in a hurry to pass the bill into law, with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo saying, the people of Guyana gave his party a mandate at the last elections and they will forge ahead.

The amendments to the legislation governing the NRF propose that there be two key committees and a Board of Directors to preside over the management of the n a t i o n ’s o i l m o n e y.

Importantly, all of the members on these committees as well as the Board will be appointed by the President or his Minister responsible for natural resources.

As part of the governance structure for the N R F, t h e g o v e r n m e n t proposes to establish a Board of Directors, which shall comprise of not less than three and not more than five persons who shall be appointed by the President, and one of whom shall be appointed Chairperson by the President.

The amended Bill proposes that the directors be selected from among persons who have wide experience and ability in legal, financial, business or administrative matters.

Apart from the Board, there would also be an Investment Committee which shall have seven members appointed by the Minister of Natural Resources.

They will include nominees from the Minister of Finance, Minister in charge of the oil sector, the Attorney General, Leader of the Opposition, the Private Continued on page 21

- ignores gaping loopholes for massive abuse, corruption

Despite numerous criticisms in the past two weeks that he is rushing legislation which the citizenry hardly had time to scrutinise and which would ultimately pave the way for massive corruption, President, Irfaan Ali remains defiant, saying that the public has nothing to fear.

In an almost 30 minute presentation in defense of the Natural Resource Fund Bill 2021 which seeks to replace the existing law passed by the previous government in 2019, Ali stressed that the new legislation seeks to improve the disclosure of money received from the oil industry.

He said too that it allows for the government to implement its infrastructural and social projects which would not be derailed under any circumstance.

In his opening defense, Ali said the new law seeks to improve the governance structure of the oil money.

The Head of State recalled that the existing law is severely deficient in this regard as it reposes all the powers for determining the fiscally and economically sustainable amounts from the oil fund in the Finance Minister. Critics of the new bill have not insisted that the old one should remain the law of the land, but rather support broad consultation on any changes and for the canning of the amendments being proposed as they give Ali and the Natural Resources Minister enormous powers to appoint persons to the various committees.

With the new law, Ali said the government is seeking to implement a Board of Directors which will have no less than three and no more than five persons. Ali said this Board would remove from the minister, the powers to determine the moneys to be withdrawn. He said too that this approach is in keeping with the Santiago Principles; a set of international norms that prescribe how oil funds s h o u l d b e e ff e c t i v e l y managed.

Ali however, failed to note that the new law gives him exclusive power to appoint the members of the board, from groups many Guyanese are suspicious will be handpicked by the PPP/C from among its followers and handmaidens in the private sector and elsewhere.

Turning his attention to the power vested in the said board—the members of which would be solely appointed by him — Ali said it would be responsible for the investment mandate for the oil money.

He insisted that this is a fair role since it is the PPP/C that was elected to office and should determine how the investment mandate ought to be prepared. The President said too that the formula that governs the amount of money that could be withdrawn from the oil fund has been simplified while noting that there is a three to 10 year jail sentence if the Minister breaches this aspect of the law.

Continuing on the accountability line, Ali said the National Assembly which provides a space or platform for scrutiny from the media and opposition is

transparency, other local and international stakeholders believe otherwise. Just r e c e n t l y, I n t e r n a t i o n a l Consultant and Co-Director of Energy Practice at Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), Arthur Deakin said, he is of the firm conviction that the PPP/C G o v e r n m e n t ’s N a t u r a l Resource Fund Bill 2021 gives a worrying degree of power to the President which is not catered for in the existing law.

In his latest commentary, Deakin wrote, “The proposed Natural Resource Fund legislation is concerning. Although the original law gave too much power to the Minister of Finance, the new law simply transfers those powers to the President.”

Deakin flagged the fact that the oil money will be controlled by a Board of the

President, Irfaan Ali also catered for. He said too that the Auditor General will also have a role to check how the money is spent and his report would be scrutinized by the Public Accounts C o m m i t t e e ( PA C ) .

Furthermore, Ali gave the commitment that the oil money would also be spent on accelerating his government’s agenda for infrastructure, healthcare and education. He said, “I will not allow the development trajectory of the country to be derailed. I campaigned on a manifesto that must be delivered to the people…we have a moral responsibility to ensure that manifesto is delivered. We have a binding contract with the people who supported and voted for us.”

ABUSIVE CONTROL Despite Ali’s claim that the new law seeks to improve

Directors with no less than three and no more than five members, all of whom would be appointed by the President.

The analyst also raised concerns about the fact that government has done away with the 22-member Public Accountability and Oversight Committee and replaced it with a 13-member version, all of whom would be appointed by the President with no clear confirmation process.

To e n s u r e p r o p e r accountability, the CoDirector said, members should be selected by nonpolitical institutions. Either the private sector or multilateral organisations, and confirmed by the National Assembly. Overall, Deakin said the bill has moved towards less Continued on page 21

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

Bomb scare cancels Edghill’s end-of-year briefing The Ministers, along with other officials and media representatives outside after evacuating the building.

A

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, leaving the building.

bomb scare yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) forced the cancellation of the Ministry of Public Works end-of-year press conference.

Moments after Ministers from the ministry, Bishop Juan Edghill and Deodat Indar, other officials and media representatives’ settled in at the dome of the ACCC to commence the press conference, they were informed of an alleged bomb on the premises.

The bomb scare was instantly announced and the persons in attendance at the press conference were asked to immediately evacuate the building. After evacuating the building Minister Edghill said, “So I suggest that we return to our offices and I will give you a new date for when we will proceed. My apologies. Thank you.”

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) was called in and the premises were searched. However, up to press time there had been no update on the bomb scare. The press conference was set for the Ministers to give an update on projects that their Ministry had embarked on.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar (centre) leaving the building.

Teen wanted for murder of bodyguard

Dead, Garfield Newton A wanted bulletin was on Tuesday issued for 18-yearold Kevin Carter, of East Ruimveldt Squatting Area, Georgetown, in relation to the

murder of Sensei, Garfield Newton, 36, a bodyguard attached to Beharry Group of Companies.

Kaieteur News reported that the police have arrested two suspects, which makes Carter the third suspect.

Newton was shot dead during the course of a robbery just about 22:00hrs Christmas Eve night at Campbell Street, Albouystown.

According to police reports, moments before Newton was killed, he visited a goldsmith in the

Campbell Street area, where he collected a silver hand band, a gold chain and two gold rings which he had taken to be cleaned earlier. It was while heading back to h i s c o m p a n y ’ s vehicle—which was parked on Sussex Street—that the fatal incident occurred.

The goldsmith told police that about five minutes after Newton left to go to his vehicle, a teenager came and informed him that the person (Newton) who came to collect the jewelry was shot and lying on the

street. Immediately after hearing this, the goldsmith reported that he went out to the street and saw Newton lying motionless. The Emergency Medical Technicians that were summoned to the scene pronounced Newton dead on the spot.

His body which bore a gunshot wound to his chest was taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, where it awaits a Post Mortem examination.

According to reports, detectives on the scene

found that the jewellery Newton reportedly had in his possession, a firearm and ammunition, property of the company and a cell phone were all missing.

Information reaching investigators has since revealed that three men in a motorcar were seen fleeing the scene shortly after the incident occurred.

A n y o n e w i t h information that may lead to the arrest of Kevin Carter is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 2267065, 227-1270, 226-7476,

Wanted: Kevin Carter called “Lil Boy” 226-7065, 227-9271, 2271611, 227-1149, 227-1270, 225-6940-9, 225-3650, 2261928, 911 or the nearest police station.

Wednesday December 29, 2021

ACDA calls for wide public consultation, referendum on NRF The African Cultural & Development Association (ACDA) has condemned the haste, in which the Irfaan Aliled Government is moving to Parliament to remove the safeguards from the Natural Resource Fund Bill 2019 and calls for this move to be halted.

“These safeguards have been put in place to ensure that the revenues from Guyana’s oil resources are managed transparently and with input from Civil Society.

The proposed changes are a most egregious act against all the people of Guyana and their generations to come,” the association said in a statement Tuesday night.

According to ACDA, the oil wealth of Guyana belongs to all the people of Guyana and any change to the existing Natural Resource Bill must be fully ventilated in the public domain with public consultations across Guyana seeking the input of all Guyanese, thereafter a referendum should be held.

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Ali defends rush to pass flawed oil...

From page 18 oversight, instead of more.

Over the past two weeks, Kaieteur News has been at the forefront of exposing several weaknesses of the Bill which include a noticeable absence of consequences for the misuse or abuse of the oil money that can be withdrawn for emergencies or green economy initiatives.

When Guyana pursued the creation of its first NRF legislation back in 2018, it was warned to have clear penalties or the fund could run the

risk of failing to serve current and future generations.

This advice was provided by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), which also cited numerous examples from around the world of how often Natural Resource Funds become easily mismanaged, and the perpetrators go unpunished.

The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund, established in 2009, has proven to be a major source of alleged corruption and mismanagement. Designed to at-

Shuman opposes new oil...

“The wealth to be generated by our oil resource is too important to be decided by a few persons with no consultations from the Guyanese people.

The future of our country and the wealth of our future generations are at stake.”

ACDA further proposed that a reconciliatory approach to resolving this serious national issue be instituted.

ACDA warns that failure

to do so would lead to worsening the political/ racial divide in the country at a historical juncture that demands national consensus as a prerequisite to realising the transformative benefits of the oil sector to the nation.

“It is our conviction that a responsible government will step back and seek a compromise in the interest of the nation and all Guyanese,” the association stated.

From page 18 Sector and two ex officio nonvoting members: the Senior Investment Advisor and Analyst and a nominee from the Governor of Bank of Guyana.

The Committee would be required to take account of the current conditions, opportunities and con-

straints in the relevant financial matters, the principle of financial diversification with the objective of maximising risk-adjusted financial returns and taking into account the capacity of the institutions involved in the management of the fund and the nation’s ability to bear financial risk.

tract investment into Malaysia through joint ventures with foreign firms, 1MDB acquired over US$11 billion of debt by 2014. Among its more suspect transactions are a US$1 billion investment in a Saudi oil company in 2009, which has gone missing; funds that were diverted in 2012 from an Abu Dhabi state fund to a firm in the British Virgin Islands (a secrecy jurisdiction); and US$4 billion that has been misappropriated from Malaysian state firms. Malaysia, the US, Switzerland, Singapore and the UK are still trying to unravel the web of corruption and money laundering schemes that are related to the fund and which robbed current and future generations of their wealth. Taking the foregoing into account, among other cases of blatant mismanagement, Guyana was urged to have “clear consequences for malfeasance.”

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Wednesday December 29, 2021

Govt. marginalising citizens, putting money in party...

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Tel#677-9408/ 637-4605

From page 2 those categories of Guyanese who traditionally fall within the ranks of Opposition supporters. “When the nurses in Linden protested against mistreatment by hospital administration, their reward was threats to deduct the protest days from their salary. When teachers ’concerns were in the spotlight, the Government did not ‘have time’ to consult the Teachers’ Union, which it deemed to be political. Most egregious was the unilateral 7% increase for public servants.

This increase was not offered with an apology and expression of hope for better,” ANUG observed. The small party said Finance Minister,

Dr Ashni Singh was ‘pleased to announce now that your Government will be paying an across-the- board increase of seven (7) percent to public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as government pensioners.’ A clerk in the public service will therefore receive a monthly increase of five thousand dollars.

But $250,000 handouts were given gratis to sugar workers. “The reality is that the Government sees itself to be untouchable, thanks to the equally divisive and heavy-handed governance methods of the APNU before 2020, and the flagrant and failed attempt by that party to rig the 2020 elections

after it realised it had lost the vote,” ANUG said. According to ANUG, the Coalition has managed to reinforce every stereotype of its Burnhamite image - which alienates any independent voter and ensures party loyalty of the PPP traditionalists.

“Faced with criticism from its supporters about corruption, cronyism and poor governance, the PPP will simply re-

spond: ‘Do you want those people back in power? ’ A New and United Guyana asks Guyanese to consider what it is that we want for Guyana, and how those dreams can be made reality. One side cannot simply ignore the wishes and views of the other side; there must be a mutually agreed accommodation. But on what terms? It is time to formulate solutions.”

New oil law is to 'legalise...

From page 12 where they will rob you blind of every single cent…And when they speak of spending it on green energy projects they would say the gas to shore project is a green energy project. They can use any reason to withdraw the funds,” Lall warned. He said too that the new law will open the door for rampant borrowing.

Govt. Bill recognizes Granger’s Oil Fund ...

From page 14 exist because the no confidence motion was passed.”

Additionally, he lamented the NRF 2019 Act, had a number of fatal flaws “which we had to rectify.”

NEED TO SPEND It would be apposite to note, this is being attempted not through amendments as intimated by President Ali, but through a Bill meant to repeal the existing legislation being criticised by both President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo.

The Vice President Jagdeo in his interview with ‘Guyanese Critic,’ while addressing the Natural Resource Fund Bill, first tabled on December 16, last, said “we looked at what was passed and we had several issues with the legisla-

tion.”

To this end, he first listed its ‘illegitimacy’, since according to him, it was passed after the no confidence motion against the APNU+AFC administration, before launching into scathing attacks on NGOs, which has gained the attention of the National Assembly by way of a petition calling for a scrapping of the amendments by the PPP. According to Jagdeo, “when I see this group of unaccountable NGOs signing a petition to the Parliament and saying we must not consider the amendments until we get their clearance and that the Bill that was there was the most consultative Bill ever in the history of this

country, it makes me want to vomit.

That these organisations that pride themselves on being the conscience of society and they are the most accountable and safeguard accountability in Guyana, would want to associate themselves with a bill that was passed after the government had fallen, without any opposition input.”

The Bill, referenced by Jagdeo in his interview with the ‘Guyanese Critic’ is the Bill, later approved and assented to by Granger—since also recognised as a Law, in the proposed NRF Bill of 2021.

Jagdeo in lashing out at the criticisms against the move by his administration to replace the legislation put in

place by the David Granger government said, the petition was signed by “the usual suspects, many of them were pro AFC or members of the AFC or APNU in the past but now they have reincarnated themselves into NGOs so we can’t pay too much attention to them and their gripe.”

Adamant the PPP/C’s replacement represent a major improvement on what exists—again recognising what exists—Jagdeo said, “we tabled it, we need to operationalise the fund so we can start; we have to start using the resources to build the infrastructure of the future for the growth of the nonoil economy, for the creation of not 50,000 but 200,000 jobs in the future.”

Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

PAGE 23

Jordan on $3M bail for allegedly selling State wharf below market value Former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, was on Tuesday placed on $3M bail for allegedly selling a State wharf below its market value.

Jordan in the company of a battery of lawyers including the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan. The other lawyers who represented him are: Khemraj Ramjattan, Senior Counsel, Roysdale Forde and Darren Wade.

Jordan was slapped with a misconduct in public office charge which alleges that while being and performing duties of Minister of Finance and being the concerned Minister for the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), a company owned be the Government of Guyana, between February 26, 2020 and July 31, 2020 at Main Street, Georgetown, he willfully misconducted himself.

It further alleges that the former minister acted recklessly when he signed NICIL (Transfer of Property) Order, No. 50 of 2020, transferring to and vesting to BK Marine Inc. absolutely, all buildings, erections, stellings, platforms and further appurtenances that is to say, Mud lots 1 & 2, F of Mud lot 3, A, B & D, situated at North C u m m i n g s b u rg , Georgetown, being over 2.553 acres, by paying $20,260,276, for a property valued over $5B and being sold at a price that was grossly undervalued to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public trust and without reasonable excuse or justification.

Jordan was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to him. The charge was brought against him by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The Chief Magistrate placed the former Minister of $3M bail with the

Former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

condition attached that he reports to SOCU headquarters every last Friday of every month until the hearing and determination of the matter.

Jordan is expected to make his next court appearance on February 10, 2022.

One of the lawyers stated that the bail amount in which Jordan was granted was excessive and noted that an application was made for the bail to be reduced. However, that application was not granted and the bail remained at $3M. On December 2, 2021,

$14 million to clear burnt out section of school- Engineer says

The Ministry of Education is moving ahead with the demolishing of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School.

On June 19, this year, the entire upper flat of the school was demolished by fire. The section that was destroyed included the classrooms that were designated for use by students who were about to write their CSEC examinations.

According to the Ministry's engineer

estimate, to demolish the section of the school would cost some $14,990,625. During the opening of tenders at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office on Tuesday, six companies bid for the contract.

Below are the companies and their bids: Ministry of Education Demolition of building, the North Ruimveldt Secondary

Health Ministry records 32 new COVID-19 cases, 7 in ICU

T

he Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday recorded 32 new COVID-19 infections, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 39,151.

According to the Ministry's latest COVID-19 dashboard, seven patients are

admitted into the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 31 persons are in institutional isolation, 598 in home isolation and three in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, a total of 37,465 persons have since recovered, while a total of 1,050 persons have since died from the virus.

Jordan was arrested and later released on bail for a series of allegations relating to irregular transactions of public funds and state properties, estimated to value billions of Guyana dollars.

According to the police, the first transaction that he was interviewed about is in relation to the alleged sale and vesting of the state's largest wharf facilities located at Kingston, Georgetown, valued a p p r o x i m a t e l y US$40,000,000 but was reportedly sold for

US$500,000. It is alleged that the purchaser BK Marines Inc., only paid US$100,000, which is 10 percent of the purchase price, and Jordan issued a vesting order passing Title to the purchaser, without the payment of any further sum of monies.

It was further stated that the vesting order stated that the property is being sold free from encumbrance and liabilities and no further sum of money is owed by the purchaser.

Also, the transport was subsequently reportedly issued for the property and the value stated on the t r a n s p o r t w a s US$2,000,000. It was noted however, that the agreement of sale stated that title must only pass upon full payment of purchase price.

The police also reported that investigators have evidence to establish that a facility which is a mere fraction of the size of the state property that is under investigation and located seven miles upriver was sold

by a private company for US$17 million.

H o w e v e r, J o r d a n ' s lawyers are contending that the charge against their client is trumped up and political in nature. Yesterday while speaking to reporters Forde said, “Mr. Jordan did not take it upon himself to unilaterally act to sign any vesting order but that was done after a process a process that led to a deliberation and determination by cabinet.

After that process Mr. Jordan was simply performing an administrative function by which he would have been singing a vesting order.

“If the cabinet had authorised the sale and the circumstances and conditions of the sale as a consequence of receiving a report and documentation and a memorandum from NICIL itself outlining those circumstances, so at no time whatsoever Mr. Winston Jordan would have been acting solo or would have embarked on a mission on his own.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Ali says Audit Office will

scrutinise oil spending Senior Minister within the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, will today present to the National Assembly, the Natural Resources Fund Bill 2021, which for all intents and purposes, relaxes the rules for 'green economy' spending by the administration.

This, as Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo has upped the ante in his defense and advocacy of among other spending, the proposed Gasto-Shore Project, in the process blasting those in the developed world for already failing to meet international commitments.

Advocating the need for the project during a widely broadcast interview with social media personality, Mikhail Rodrigues, popularly known as the 'Guyanese Critic', the Vice President was adamant, “when we said, we would bring the gas on shore to build a 250 to 300 megawatt power plant, we made a promise. People voted for us

…as Govt. gears to relax rules for accessing account because they wanted cheaper power.” Under the new law with the relaxed rules, the Vice President was adamant there is still accountability since there must be parliamentary approval before all of the expenditure is incurred.

Meanwhile in his last minute pitch for support for his government's Bill, President Irfaan Ali in a televised addressed said that the previous incarnation of the NRF laws included 'fatal flaws' that had to be addressed, including the governance structure and the need to increase accountability.To this end, he pointed specifically to the fact that the Auditor General will eventually audit all of the spending to be had from Guyana's oil revenues since the monies would first be deposited into the Consolidated Fund and allocated as part of national expenditure.

The President in his

address to the nation said, “what we sought to do was to remove the extraordinary powers vested in the Minister (of Finance) by addressing these flaws.'

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e President was adamant the changes being promulgated by his administration simplifies and strengthens the transparency for making withdrawals from the fund; every single Guyanese would be able to understand what the formula is.”

This, he said, would promote a greater overall understanding by 'John Public' of how the fund is being utilised.

According to President Ali, the new law explicitly requires the Finance Minister to gazette information on all receipts into the fund within three months with this information being tabled in the National Assembly.

“So this whole thing about oh, we don't know

where the revenue is going, unlike what took place under t h e p r e v i o u s government—remember the US$18M signing bonus—the Minister of Finance now has to publish it in the gazette within three months, all revenue, all receipts that comes into the fund, every single cent of revenue that comes into the fund.”

Additionally, the President said too that the information would also have to be publicly tabled in the National Assembly, “so the entire Parliament which includes all members of the Opposition, the media, the government, would be there because it now has to be tabled in the National Assembly.”

Failing to do this, according to President Ali, will result in three to 10 years imprisonment, “so not only are we setting out the principles enhancing transparency but we are willing to put the harshest of

penalties because we do not intend to keep any information in relation to the management of the NRF away from the public.”

With regard the spending aspect of Guyana's share of its earnings from its sale of oil and royalty, the President said, “we are enhancing transparency by holding ourselves accountable.”

Addressing other features of the Bill that will cater to accountability, President Ali said, “let me be very clear, if the Budget is $300B, that Budget has to be approved by Parliament.”

As such, when approved, it would have to be implemented by the administration and under the existing framework, which the parliamentary Opposition is free to question any expenditure and similarly, “any project to be financed from the fund will be part of parliamentary approval.”

According to President

Auditor General, Deodat Sharma Ali, when you are talking about the use of funds, it does not move away from the existing framework as in the Budget itself.”

Speaking to an additional layer of transparency in the spending of the oil resources, “all these projects that will be financed will be subject to Audits by the Auditor General, just like every single project in the budget now.”

This report from the Audit Office, he reminds, is then transmitted to the Standing Public Accounts Committee for a further level of scrutiny, “that is the existing framework; every single project that is financed is audited.”

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

Oil money must not be wasted on PPP pet projects ...Gaskin cites gas-to-shore, Amaila Falls as examples

By Davina Bagot

A

s Government draws nearer to accessing the finances in the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) - the revenues garnered from oil and gas production, Economist Ramon Gaskin has warned that the finances must not be misused to fund projects such as the much touted Gas To Shore Project and the Amaila Falls Hydropower initiative.

In a recent interview, the Economist told Kaieteur News that the Government is planning to create a system where the politicians will make the decisions on how to spend the oil money.

He was referring to the recent announcement by the incumbent administration that the 22-member oversight committee for the fund would be replaced with a Board of Directors, appointed by the President.

“When you put politicians in charge of spending money and big, big money like that kind, you are going to have a lot of problems.

You will have wastage, y o u w i l l h a v e squandermania and you will have corruption, all of which we have at the present time, so you will get more of it at a greater degree,” Gaskin cautioned.

At the end of November 2 0 2 1 , s o m e US$534,040,707 was sitting in the NRF. Already the Head of State, Irfaan Ali has signaled his intention to utilise the funds on 'green economy' projects and infrastructural development, as was highlighted only yesterday when the President held a briefing to discuss the Natural Resources Fund.

In his statement, Ali said, “I made it very clear that one: we have to accelerate our i n f r a s t r u c t u r e transformation; better roads, better drains, better facilities, better recreational facilities, greater lighting, greater support for security services for our accelerated i n f r a s t r u c t u r e transformation.

We have already laid out what those transformative projects are”.

The President noted that

the oil funds will also go towards the traditional sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism and the services sector as well as investment into human capital to boost local content.

Even more importantly, Ali noted that the NRF will be used to bring down the cost of electricity and create 50,000 jobs as was promised on the elections campaign trail.

“We have spoken about this; that we want to bring down the cost of energy by 50 percent.

We have spoken about the type of investment that we will have to make to m a k e t h i s happen…expenditure would have to be made to ensure the promise of 50,000 jobs is realised, so investment will also be made in job creation,” the President informed.

In this regard, Ramon Gaskin pointed out that a proper investment plan must be made, only after consultations with the Guyanese public.

But in addition to the investment plan approved by the country, Gaskin warned that the fund must not be used to construct police stations and fund other “nonpriority” projects.

“They need to set out in the law the principal priorities on how this money is going to be used, rather than leave it to the politicians to waste, squander and to steal.

Politicians will steal the money because they do it all the time because they are involved in corrupt transactions,” he warned.

When it comes to the Amaila Falls and the Gas to Shore Projects, Gaskin argued: “We do not know, or we haven't seen the numbers.

We haven't seen the data to show that these investments are feasible and viable. We haven't seen it, but they want to go ahead and spend the money”.

He added, “That's how they are operating; they are not consulting with the people.

They are too secretive about all of this and they are not giving you the facts so that you could study them”.

Instead, the Economist noted that the Government

should consider directing funds towards reducing its external debts, as well as the creation of a stabilisation fund so that when the oil prices drop dramatically, it can tap into the fund to stabilise the price.

Th e c o n t r o v e r s i a l Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project was first proposed at an initial cost of US$450M— a cost that escalated in ensuing years to more than US$1B. The project is slated to

bring on 165 megawatts of power. Meanwhile, the Gasto-Shore Project could cost Guyana at the very least, US$900M. It is intended to add an additional 250 to 300 megawatts of power to the national grid.

Economist, Ramon Gaskin

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Wednesday December 29, 2021

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Shami joins 200 club as India turn the screw on S Africa PRETORIA, (Reuters) India seamer Mohammed Shami claimed his 200th test wicket and completed figures of 5-44 as hosts South Africa were bowled out for 197 on the third day of the first test yesterday.

India reached 16 for one in their second innings at the close, a lead of 146 that already looks imposing for the home side on a Centurion Park wicket that will get harder to bat on.

First-innings centurion KL Rahul (five not out) and nightwatchman Shardul Thakur (four) will resume on the fourth day trying to quickly move to a score that allows India to declare and have enough time to bowl the home side out again.

Mayank Agarwal (four) was the only wicket to fall in India’s second innings as he edged debutant left-arm

seamer Marco Jansen to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Eighteen wickets fell on the third day after no play was possible on Monday due to rain.

Shami led the Indian attack with a superb bowling display, eking out every ounce of assistance from the helpful conditions.

“Test match cricket is not rocket science. Understanding the conditions was crucial... it had rained a bit and I just wanted to hit the right lengths,” Shami told reporters. “While coming through the ranks, no bowler thinks about this (getting 200 wickets). They just dream of playing for India. It’s all about hard work... when you put in the work, results follow.”

His haul included the wicket of South Africa’s topscorer Temba Bavuma, who had reached 52 when he

India struck back by taking the wicket of South Africa captain Dean Elgar after they suffered a batting collapse in their first innings of the first Test. (AFP/Christiaan Kotze)

edged to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

Bavuma put on 72 for the fifth wicket with De Kock (34) before the latter tried to guide a Thakur (2-51) delivery through gully but succeeded only in playing onto his own stumps. It was a key moment in the game that swung the momentum back in India’s favour and exposed the South African lower order. All the Indian seamers were among the wickets, Jasprit Bumrah (2-16) weighing in despite rolling his ankle and being forced to leave the field. He returned late on to pick up the last wicket.

“Bumrah is fine,” Shami said. “He came back and picked up a wicket. Ankle injuries are always painful but hopefully he should be okay.” Seamer Lungi Ngidi had earlier taken 6-71 as South Africa made light work of

bowling India out after the visitors resumed on 272 for three. Ngidi, who took a career-best 6-39 on debut against India at Centurion in 2018, helped South Africa claim the last seven wickets for the addition of only 55 runs in 15.3 overs.

“The first session tomorrow is going to be key,” Bavuma said. “The intensity we brought today out there with the ball is what we will require. Hopefully, there will be a reachable target for the batters to chase down.

“If we can’t chase it down, then we need to find a way to make it super hard for the Indian bowlers.”

Stumps India 327 (Rahul 123, Agarwal 60, Ngidi 6-71, Rabada 3-72) and 16 for 1 (Rahul 5*, Thakur 4*) lead South Africa 197 (Bavuma 52, de Kock 34, Shami 5-44, Bumrah 2-16) by 146 runs.

Scott Boland six-for leads...

Wednesday December 29, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) If Be the star of your own movie today and be proud of the role you play, Aries.

You might find yourself adopting the persona of many different characters depending on your mood of the hour.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Take a break from your daily routine and get off the track today, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Things are flowing your way today, Gemini, and you should find a great deal of pleasure in the comfort of others.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't try to nail down any answers today, Cancer, because you'll probably just end up feeling more frustrated than when you started.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Let your childish side come out to play today, Leo. Your dreams are in full force, so let them lead the way. Enjoy lighthearted conversations with friends about the latest movies and your favorite websites.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Take a break from the trail you're on and get off the beaten path, Virgo. Today is a day to forge ahead with ideas and dreams rather than commitments and answers.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You may find it hard to take a realistic approach to your emotions today, Libra. A sensitive issue is apt to be pulling on you in such a way that it's leaving you feeling like you are way out.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Question the validity of anything you find yourself in conflict with today, Scorpio.

You might find that people are acting on incomplete information and that they are falsely accusing you of something you didn't say or do.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) It may feel like something has suddenly clicked into place for you today in which you have found the missing piece of a puzzle you've been working on for a while, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Things may seem a bit surreal for you today, Capricorn, so don't take other people's chatter too seriously.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today is a great day for you in which you should enjoy a great deal of playful conversation with others, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) There may be a rather confusing element to the day for you, Pisces, in which you feel tempted to act but not all the pieces seem to be in place.

From page 28 at gully on the first ball of the over, reviewed the lbw decision, but it was upheld on

umpire’s call on impact and hitting the stumps.

Root must have wanted to disappear when a Cummins

delivery struck him in the groin - the third time Root has suffered such an injury in just over a week. He shook it off more quickly than he did Starc’s effort in Adelaide, which came off the back of a serious knock in the nets which had sent him to hospital for scans earlier that day.

Root hung around long enough to be England’s topscorer - yet again - with just 28 this time, but he fell driving at Boland and edging to David Warner at slip.

After scoring 1708 runs in 2021, Root ended the calendar year two runs shy of second-placed Viv Richards and 80 off Mohammad Yousuf’s record.

England brought up another less-coveted record, however, when Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson departed in the space of three Boland deliveries without scoring, taking their side’s tally of ducks to 54 this year and equalling their worst performance in that department of 1998.

Wood spooned a return catch to Boland to give him his five-for and then Robinson fenced at one outside off stump, stabbing a catch to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip. It was Green who bowled last man James Anderson for 2 to seal the result on a day that Australia - and Boland - will long remember.

England, meanwhile, face a serious period of analysis if they are to prevent a 5-0 sweep.

Scores: Australia 267 (Harris 76, Anderson 4-33) beat England 185 (Root 50, Cummins 3-36, Lyon 3-36) and 68 (Boland 6-7, Starc 3-29) by an innings and 14 runs.

PAGE 28

Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Scott Boland six-for leads humiliation as Australia romp to Ashes glory ESPNcricinfo - Scott Boland’s six-wicket haul on his Test debut allowed Australia to wrap up the Ashes 30, by lunch on the third day at the MCG. Australia’s quicks continued their demolition job on England, with Boland adding to his two wickets from three balls during a devastating fi-

nal hour on the second day, with four more on the third morning to seal an innings victory as the hosts retained the urn.

Boland took six wickets in 21 balls in all, while Mitchell Starc, who had a big hand in reducing England to 31 for 4 in a cauldron-like atmosphere on day two, added the wicket

of Ben Stokes inside the first 25 minutes of the resumption, to end with 3 for 29.

Pat Cummins, whose pressure was instrumental in keeping England’s beleaguered batters under Australia’s thumb, went unrewarded in England’s second innings, having helped restrict them to a first-innings total of 185

when he and Nathan Lyon claimed three wickets apiece.

But the day - as short as it was - belonged to Boland, who was selected as an MCG specialist after his performances for Victoria and who became the fourth Indigenous Australian to play Test cricket. After taking 1 for 48 in England’s first innings, he was simply unplayable for a side with its confidence beaten and its batting in disarray. In a historic moment, Boland won the Mullagh Medal as Player of the Match, named after Johnny Mullagh,

who toured England as part of the Australian Aboriginal team in 1868.

With players from both sides cleared to resume after returning negative tests following a Covid scare the previous morning, England’s task always looked insurmountable, even with Stokes and Joe Root still in. But the emphatic way in which Australia rammed home their advantage consigned England to new lows, their 68 all-out the lowest Ashes total in Australia since 1936 and England’s lowest total in

Australia since 1904.

Starc rattled Stokes’ middle stump with a rapid, fuller ball that sailed through the gate as the batter moved forward in defence to remove the man still remembered for his heroics at Headingley in 2019 but who is in a much different place now after taking an extended break from the game.

Boland entered the attack and struck with his fifth ball of the day, trapping Jonny Bairstow lbw for 5. Bairstow, dropped by Cameron Green (Continued on page 27)

Cameron Green claimed the Ashes-clinching wicket • Dec 27, 2021 © Getty Images

Wednesday December 29, 2021

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

NBA rroundup: oundup: Ja Morant, Grizzlies nip Suns in last second Reuters - Ja Morant scored 33 points, including a layup with 0.5 seconds remaining, and Desmond Bane scored a career-high 32 points as the visiting Memphis Grizzlies withstood a fourth-quarter rally by the Phoenix Suns for a 114-113 win on Monday night. Steven Adams had 13 points and 16 rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 11 points for the Grizzlies, who led by as many as 18 late in the third quarter before registering their second straight win.

Devin Booker scored 30 points and hit a 3-pointer to put the Suns ahead 113-112 with 5.1 seconds left. After Morant scored on a driving layup, Mikal Bridges missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer.

Cameron Johnson scored 19

points for the Suns, who were without starters Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder, both in the league’s health and safety protocols. Nets 124, Clippers 108 James Harden matched his season best of 39 points and added a season-high 15 assists to lead Brooklyn to a victory at Los Angeles. Patty Mills scored 18 points on six 3-pointers as the Nets, who played without Kevin Durant (COVID protocols), won for the sixth time in seven games. Nic Claxton also had 18 points as Brooklyn improved to 13-3 on the road. Marcus Morris Sr. scored 24 points for the Clippers after missing the previous four games, three of them because of COVID protocols.

Eric Bledsoe and rookie Keon Johnson added 15 points

Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) dribbles against Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Dec 27, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

apiece for Los Angeles, which has lost five of its past six contests. Hornets 123, Rockets 99 Terry Rozier scored 27 points as part of a big outing for Charlotte’s backcourt in an easy win over visiting Houston. Rozier made seven of 12 attempts from 3-point range and backcourt mate LaMelo Ball bagged four 3pointers and finished with 16 points and seven assists.

Kelly Oubre Jr. racked up 18 points despite 1-for-7 shooting on 3-point attempts.

Trevelin Queen, who had never topped two points in his three previous NBA games, paced the Rockets with 17 points off the bench.

Christian Wood and Eric Gordon tallied 16 points apiece.

Bulls 130, Hawks 118 DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and

Nikola Vucevic combined for 89 points as visiting Chicago beat Atlanta for its fourth straight win. DeRozan scored 35 points and had 10 assists.

LaVine scored 30 points and nine assists, and Vucevic amassed 24 points and 17 rebounds. The Bulls made a season-high 18 3-pointers.

Atlanta received good news minutes before tipoff when leading scorer Trae Young was cleared to play after missing three games while in COVID-19 protocols.

He scored 29 points and dished out nine assists. The Hawks’ Cam Reddish scored 33 points and made a careerhigh eight 3-pointers. In other scores: Timberwolves 108, Celtics 103 Mavericks 132, Trail Blazers 117 Jazz 110, Spurs 104 (Field Level Media)

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Wednesday December 29 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 31

IKO Karate Academy of Guyana second grading examinations Scintillating performances given by Karatekas in quest for grades The International Karate Organization's Academy of Guyana has just held its second grading examinations since its establishment in Guyana, but the first for its dojos in Georgetown and Linden where more than seventy students were successfully tested and promoted this past week. The IKO's Academy, the largest Shotokan karate organization in Guyana, had held its first grading last year for Karatekas of the IKO Berbice dojo.

Gradings are formal assessments to review students' progress in acquiring skills in the art of Karate-do. They may be considered to be like "milestones" in learning. It is a means of giving feedback and recognition of the Karate student's skills. Each grade is signified by a different colour belt, starting with the White and progressing to Black. Wearing a black belt is a great privilege, and carries a great deal of responsibility.

Under the IKO's ranking system that is consistent with most other traditional Shotokan Karate Organizations, there are 10 Kyu and 10 Dan ranks. To obtain certification for each rank, the Karate student must fulfill the certification requirements and complete the testing procedure.

Testing – or grading – is carried out by a panel of instructors headed by the Chief Instructor and Chairman, Shihan Jeffrey Wong. Additionally, in order to be eligible for belt testing, members must attend a minimum number of classes and meet the technical proficiency requirements of the belt level they will be testing for.

At the Georgetown Dojo, which is located at the Muslim Youth Organization in Woolford Avenue in Thomas Lands, leading the promotions were Amaya Christina Ramsarup and Shemina Peroune who skipped from 10th kyu to 6th kyu (White Belt to Green Belt) and Ian Nathaniel Ramsarup and Shad Walrond who skipped from 10th kyu to 7th kyu (White Belt to Orange Belt) whilst Reian Nicketa Fredericks, Aiden Housain Baksh, Joseph Hector, Kasan Whyte, Daniel London and Zabida Parboo skipped from 10th kyu to 8th kyu (White Belt to Yellow Belt).

Students and Instructors take a photo op following the conclusion of the grading exercise.

At the Linden Dojo where training is carried out at the Mackenzie High School's Auditorium heading the promotion list of Karatekas were Susanne Hamilton, Jerrick Rutherford, Sharice Henry and Shamariah London who skipped from 10th kyu to 5th kyu (White kyu to Blue Belt), McAle Mc Rae, Rondel Rutherford, Omarion Forsythe, Javari Mc Kenzie, Reya Temaul, Jaden Temaul, Aaliyah Allicock and Carlotta Thompson who skipped from 10th kyu to 6th kyu (White Belt to Green Belt), Cleon Bristol, Shakim Bobb-Semple, Collis Jacobs, Rasheed Allicock, Jabari Frank, Quincy Smartt, Leon Fiedtkou, Rajon Alleyne, Unique Webster, Duran Fiedtkou, Sharique Mohamed, Jasezin Lamazon, Takuma Burgess, J a f a r i M u r r a y, Ty w i n Burgess, Sean Sealey, Luther Fiedtkou and Tevonne Collette who skipped from 10th kyu to 7th kyu (White Belt to Orange Belt) and Akira Bethune, Kenya Mentis, Adrian Glasgow, Jaliyah Liverpool, Sameer Khan, Ameer Khan, Amelia Wills, Amari Smith, Zylick Adams, Riyaad Ramnanan, Justin Fiedtkou and Javier Frank who all skipped from 10thkyu to 8th kyu (White Belt to Yellow Belt).

At the end of the grading examinations in expressing his complete satisfaction with the outstanding performances of the students who were tested, the Chief Instructor Shihan Wong, a phenomenally gifted Karateka whose technical mastery of Shotokan Karate is well known throughout Guyana, the Caribbean and

other parts of the world where he has successfully participated in and led teams to international competitions since the 1970s, informed that it was his absolute intention to attain and maintain the highest level of performance from each student, every dojo and from the IKO Karate Academy of Guyana as a whole.

Wo n g c r e d i t e d t h e eminently successful grading sessions by IKO Guyana so far to the traditional teaching methods being used and the high standards implemented with each student. Each student learns each technique and tradition in its original and most powerful form. As a result, the IKO Academy of Guyana produces some of

the strongest and most skillful karate-kas in the country.

The Chief Instructor stated that one of the biggest human traits that martial arts develops in practitioners is humility and even though he understood the pride his students felt in receiving their new rankings, he warned them and his instructors against engaging in self-aggrandizement and becoming enthralled with fancy titles and ranks as he has observed has been the case with some other martial arts practitioners. Amongst his plans for the year 2022 shall be the placing of emphasis on teaching martial arts etiquette which he considers to be one of the highest levels of practice in

the arts.

The Karate Master who has been in the martial art of karate for more than fifty years now, bemoans what he considers to be the recent commercialization and 'sportification' of martial arts in some quarters, and stated that the intention of IKO Guyana was not to teach karate for commercial purposes as in the case where some clubs can be seen hosting gradings as frequent as three and four times a year, or to have their students engage routinely in showy demonstrations and mediocre tournaments but rather to preserve and spread traditional Japanese karate throughout the length and breadth of Guyana through exceptional instruction.

Lieutenant Colonel Eon Murray of the IKO Academy of Guyana, who has been paying a lot of attention to the Linden Dojo said that they have been putting immense focus on the proper form and balance of each kihon, or basic technique.

Through constant repetition of such techniques, he opined that a person's body learns to move effortlessly, naturally, and their mind learns to be effortless and natural as well.

The Academy shall be hosting supplementary grading examinations in early January of 2022 for those students of the Georgetown and Linden Dojos who were unable to attend the recently held grading sessions.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 32

Guyana Police Force FC 2021 Guyana Police Force FC would want to spring a nasty surprise on the loaded Western Tigers unit.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/Kashif & Shanghai (K&S) 2021 Super 16 football tournament continues tonight at the National Track & Field Center (NTFC), Leonora, with two mouth-watering semifinal matches beginning at 18:00hrs sharp.

The first match will feature the star-studded Western Tigers being pitted against the gritty Police FC for a place in the final and a chance at the grand cash prize of $2Million.

Meanwhile, the feature match is the most anticipated, defending champions Guyana Defence Force will come up against Den Amstel FC that has silenced many doubters to reach this stage of the competitions.

Following their majorly convincing 3-1 quarterfinal win against last year's losing finalists; Fruta Conquerors

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Western Tigers FC 2021 - Western Tigers FC have designs on a date in the grand finale.

GFF-K&S Super 16 continues tonight with semifinal shindig

Football Club, Den Amstel will surely not be taken lightly by the army men, who will be able to take home the coveted BACIF brass trophy if they managed to win the GFF-K&S year-end Super 16 for a second time.

Head Coach of Den Amstel, O'Neal Yearwood, during an invited comment, mentioned that the West Demerara based club is ready for any challenge and despite the challenges, they have managed to reach this stage and they will continue to give it their best.

A total of G$3,750,000 in prize monies will be paid out to the resulting top four finishers in the event, with the eventual winners pocketing G$2,000,000.

The runners-up will collect G$1,000,000, with the third and fourth place finishers walking away with G$500,000 and G$250,000 respectively.

The GFF/K&S Super 16 is made possible by the following sponsors: Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, KFC GUYANA, Mohamed's Enterprise, MVP Sports, Dinars Trading, DDL with Pepsi, Gatorade, Diamond Water, Statement Investment Inc., HJTV & 94.1, Stars Party Rental, Namilco, Capelli Sports, Fireside Grill N Chill, Cevons waste M a n a g e m e n t , To n y ' s Jewellery Store, Daphness Foundation of New York, Ground Structural Engineering, Fast Lane Auto Spares, Bakewell, Pegasus Guyana, C MOBILE, Jim's Variety Store, New GPC – Mr. Bobby Ramroop, Secure Innovation and Concept Inc, SIMEXTRA T R A D I N G G U YA N A , Superior concrete, Fitness Express, Banks DIH and Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales.

Cricket gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana

Two benefit from trophies donated by Trophy Stall The pair of U-17 cricketers, Tomesh Hemraj and Lutesh Singh of No72 All Stars Cricket Club, Upper Corentyne, Berbice, recently benefited from 'cricket gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana' project.

Despite limited cricket on the field due to Covid 19, the youngsters were rewarded at the clubs Annual Award Ceremony for their performances on the field, education and discipline.

Hemraj was voted the best wicketkeeper/batsman and Singh for his all-round performances.

Both trophies were donated to the project by Ramesh Sunich, Owner/Managing Director of Trophy Stall of Bourda Market and branches across the Country.

The trophies were presented to Ajay Ramdhari, a representative of the club

by Miss Chitra Bedissee, Manager of Trophy Stall, Port Mourant Branch.

Ramdhari explained that this award ceremony was to help keep the players motivated more than anything with the hope of not losing too many young talents during this prolonged Covid 19 period.

He thanked the sponsor and the partners of the project for their fine gesture.

Miss Bedissee said that her Company is happy to be part of this initiative and to make a difference in the lives of young people and provide an opportunity for them to improve their skills.

Anil Beharry, a partner along with Kishan Dass in this initiative, thanked Ramesh Such of Trophy Stall for his support and encouraged all young cricketers and youths in general to stay focused, train hard, stay disciplined and educate themselves.

He added that education plays a

(Left) Manager of Trophy Stall, Port Mourant, Chitra Bedissee, handing over the trophies to Ajay Ramdhari, a representative of No 72 All Stars CC. major part in one's success.

Total cricket related items collected so far: $40,000 cash, two trophies, two cricket boots, twelve pairs of batting pads, fourteen bats, nine pairs of batting gloves and four cricket bags.

To date, twenty-one young players from Essequibo Coast, Pomeroon, Georgetown, East Canje, Lower East Coast, Berbice and now Upper Corentyne area have already benefited from a junior gear bag, two trophies, eight bats, six pairs of batting pads and six pairs of batting gloves.

In addition, the Rose Hall Estate Cricket Club benefited from a pair of stumps and bails and two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats.

This initiative to provide Cricket related items, used or new, will be distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline

and education are important characteristics of the recipients.

Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders will also assist to identify talent.

Persons who wish to make a contribution can contact Anil Beharry or Kishan Das. Beharry and Das take this opportunity to thank Javed and Imran of West Indian Sports Complex, Option Group of USA, Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers, Trevis Simon, Årïêl J. Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romesh Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy.

More distributions will be done as soon as possible.

(Sean Devers)

Wednesday December 29, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 33

Ground Structures Engineering Consultants Inc. and Charles Ceres behind GFF K&S tourney A long time supporter of football and more notably the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation over the years, Charles Ceres and his Ground Structures Engineering Consultants I n c . C o m p a n y, h a s maintained that longstanding tradition with the advent of this year's collaboration between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Kashif and Shanghai ((K&S) Organisation.

This collaboration with its many partners, which include the government through the Ministry of Sports and the many business partners in corporate Guyana, has seen three tournaments being contested at once for the first time involving Men, Women and the Indoor or Futsal arm of the glorious game of football.

M r. C e r e s m a d e a contribution to the successful staging of the

event to GFF President Wayne Forde in the presence of Aubrey 'Shanghai' Major yesterday, expressing his and company's pleasure at being able to support football at this time when players are returning to the field of play after an almost two-year halt due to the current global Covid-19 pandemic affecting all spheres of life.

Mr. Forde in accepting the support, thanked Mr. Ceres for his generosity and continued support of the sport, noting that it's these kinds of assistance from businesses and businessmen like Mr. Ceres that adds fuel to make the football machinery function and develop and aid the dreams of so many young men and women seeking to make careers out of the sport in one way or the other.

Major was also grateful for the continued support of Mr. Ceres and the events the K&S Org. has promoted and now this yearend

Russell's three wickets not enough as Stars lose to Hurricanes in Christmas Eve Big Bash encounter SportsMax - West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell's three wickets were not enough as his Melbourne Stars suffered their second straight loss, a 24-run defeat at the hands of the Hobart Hurricanes in their Australian Big Bash encounter at the Bellerive Oval.Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Hurricanes romped to 180 for six with opener Ben McDermott top-scoring with 67 off 43 balls and captain Matthew Wade chipping in with 39 from 27 balls.

Russell was expensive at the start of his spell but pulled it back to finish with figures of 3-48 from his four West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell.

overs.

Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile took 2 for 22 from his four overs.

Russell's Stars were then limited to 156 for nine off their 20 overs despite Joe Clarke's 52 and Hilton Cartwright's 26 with Russell managing only 12.

Pacers Riley Meredith and Tom Rogers each took three wickets for the Hurricanes.

With three defeats in their first five outings, the Stars are now one from the bottom of the eight-team standings on seven points, while Hurricanes now lie third on ten points, seven adrift of leaders Perth Scorchers.

extravaganza despite the weather forcing the organisers to switch matches at short notice.

The competition in both the Men and Women game have reached the semifinal stage with mouthwatering action set for today and tomorrow at the Leonora facility on the Westside.

charles Series presents to GFF K&S – Aubrey 'Shanghai' Major (left) observers as Charles Ceres (centre) hands over his contribution to Wayne Forde yesterday.

GDF the defending champs 2021 - GDF the defending champs will be looking for a spot in the final.

rt o p S

GFF-K&S Super 16 continues tonight with semifinal shindig Den Amstel FC 2021 - Den Amstel FC stands in the GDF team's way and are also looking to book a spot in the final.

Scott Boland six-for leads Shami joins 200 club as India turn the humiliation as Australia screw on South Africa romp to Ashes glory