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Pres. Ali commits NEWS to make details of spending oil money public
Sunday Edition
AIETEUR
February 14, 2021
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Consultations on draft Local Content Policy begin tomorrow Oil companies must pay the same taxes too! document proposes jobs be reserved for Guyanese only The Senior Minister within the Office of penalties for breaches making all foreign suppliers pay their fair share of taxes explores funding options for local companies promotes joint-ventures between locals and foreign companies for knowledge transfer
Govt. to spend Patrons robbed additional $2.5B while imbibing on renovated CJIA at WCD bar
Fire razes five homes Govt. to update, Return State land - AG tells finalise mining or face legal ex-lands - Finance legislation Minister proceedings director
No new policies for oil sector in 2021 budget p. 8
the President, Dr. Ashni Singh, said it himself in his presentation of the 2021 budget: 96 percent of government revenues were derived from tax collections. That amounts to a whopping G$218.3B out of G$227.4B. We encourage our citizens to take a closer look at the numbers behind that 96 percent tax collection. One thing stands out: It is Guyanese, YOU and I, who are shouldering the bulk of those taxes. It is Guyanese who are feeling the pinch as a result of the country’s high taxation on personal incomes. And that is why we are angry and disgusted because the oil companies are paying next-to-nothing in taxes. And to add insult to injury, they are ripping us off on our wealth. Why is Exxon allowed to benefit from a virtual tax free status while the ordinary man is being deprived of a share of his earnings and even has to pay VAT on some of the purchases he makes for basic items in the supermarket? Why are Guyanese burdened with so many taxes – income tax, property tax, company taxes, excise tax, value-added tax, professional fees, capital gains tax and estate duties – while foreigners, who are exploiting our oil, gold, bauxite and timber, are doing so without paying a dollar into our Treasury? What manner of inconsiderate leaders we have, who would agree to this level of tax discrimination? The Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance was proud to announce no new taxes on Guyanese. He is right! We have enough taxes already. We do not need more. What is needed is a levelled playing field by insisting that the oil companies pay the same taxes as we do.
Pres. Ali says nothing about renegotiation & insurance to protect Guyana from oil companies @ 11:00AM & 7:00PM today on the Glenn Lall Show, Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Holding back something for emergencies The PPP government has worked out and settled for a strategy that serves its interests well. But, as we know, when governments the world over decide on what is favourable for them, then the last dollar can be spent that results in what is either unhealthy or costly to the greatest number in the population. The most recent instance of the PPP’s leadership strategy is to hold back a card in reserve so as to protect party and the chiefs and make all look good that comes in the form of Taiwan. There were official reports of clearance for Taiwan to set up shop here. Then, after a flurry of sharp inquiries, there came an abrupt about face. First, the Taiwanese were coming here, then they were not. This was in no large part due to the serious pressures and reminders brought by the resident senior Chinese (mainland Chinese) diplomat to Guyana, as presented to Guyanese leaders as to the errors of their thinking and their ways. There was quick retreat with the lame-brained excuse of a communication failure issued by the Foreign Ministry. Not totally satisfied with the hollow sounding nature of that “miscommunication” release; the government has now come up with what it believes to be its ace card. That is, the Cabinet did not give approval for that Taiwan office here. In other words, a rare moment of abandoning collective responsibility occurred, under this guise of the equivalent of ‘the Cabinet was not involved’, and the decision was, therefore, premature and unsanctioned. That is just beautiful, and one must feel for the newcomer, the Hon. Hugh Todd, hung out to dry. Apparently, Guyana’s Foreign Minister is functioning in a vacuum of his own making, and for that he is made to be the fall guy. Now, who would believe such patented nonsense? Where everything in the new PPP government (just like more recent ones) are under the total control of those, and one, who do not take kindly to mavericks; who leave no initiative, and nothing, to chance. Apparently, the gods were not appeased, and another sacrifice was in order. The Foreign Minister was custommade to fit the bill. As another example of the current government’s deviousness, there were the dispositions of those highly controversial oil blocks, Canje and Kaieteur. For the longest while, the leaders of the PPP government were mum. They were missing in action, and one after the other ran for cover and did long disappearing acts. But, as always and as part of the current modus operandi of this government, the efforts to find a way out of the corrupting Canje and Kaieteur gutters that it had dug for itself continued behind the scenes. Soon enough, there was the bizarre and what could only be termed the height of brazenness. It was that ‘no laws were broken’ and there was nothing corrupt about what took place. Now, if that was so from the inception, then why stumble all over the place, like some embarrassing drunk, with one sometimes spoken, and most times unspoken, excuse after another? Why the many and continuing secrecies over those rich oil blocks? Why go the roundabout route to get right back to the endpoint, which was along Exxon? But as in the surprising and indefensible Taiwan development, there had to be the buying of time to find the right shoe to fit the situation. Thus, there came about the equivalent of the insanity defence of ‘no laws broken’. Both the PPP and PNC leaderships, in their unblended forms, are well aware that they have enough blind and untroubled citizens for supporters, who would believe any garbage that is shovelled down their throats, no matter how rotten and smelly. They know they can get away with anything, which is why they engage in the farces and corruptions that are now the norm. The unbeatable trump card is to tell the nation anything, and it is guaranteed that almost half of the population is in the corner, including so-called intellectual and professional ones, who lack the ethical fortitude to go against them. The most recent instance of holding back something in reserve to serve as cushion and cover when needed is this Wales gas-to-shore project. Out of the blue, Wales was circulated, as being the place and the best. No reason or release was put before the public. Now, the nation learns of
The 2021 budget blast can quickly transform to budget blues
DEAR EDITOR, I like some things in the 2021 budget. There is much to cheer in it, and I applaud the PPP government for the positives, some of which were expected. The everyday basics that just about all Guyanese consume will now be a bit easier in the pocket, a little more within reach. Guyanese are rice-eaters and bread biters, and in some form or the other, wheat and wheaten products
enjoy national appeal. Lower water bills help to chase down the bread; thanks. That zero VAT could make a difference between one bag of tennis roll or two, one pack of noodles, or another. Those mean something to me, and I am serious. The Old Age Pension increase was a bit of a bummer, as I think that recipients expected another nudge. What the Hon. Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance (no
four studies and why the prior sites are now thought to be less than the best. It is as if the PPP leadership, held in the poorest esteem by the few still thinking and conscientious Guyanese, had to give itself space to think of how to come up with a rabbit out of it huge hat of tricks. Months ago, Wales started being featured. Despite questions, concerns, even outrage, nothing was forthcoming. That is, not until the camouflages held in reserve could be dusted off and scrutinized for hidden holes, before being given the green light for public presentation.There is something cunning and unconvincing about all of this. It is not of clean governance
wonder he tried that slight sleight of hand) placed before the elderly is what it already known, is already being received, and what was already announced in last year s mini budget. So, to tout it as an increase is ancient history presented as 2021 PPP generosity. Refrain from this please. An itty-bitty $3-5,000 increase in this big budget would have been nice; a lot of pensioners were expecting
it. The proposed $15,000 per child assistance is a helping hand in the right direction, and to the right people. But what about the other people, Mr. Minister? More than a few parentssome of them single heads of households want the best for their children, and sacrifice to make that possible by scraping to send them to private schools. I think the Hon. Minister and the PPP were a (Continued opn page 5)
or ethical, trustworthy leadership. This is not how principled people in any walk of life conduct themselves. It is certainly not how men elected to serve the nation, who desire to be considered as moral and principled, should comport themselves. Silence is revealing, and in Guyana, it does a whole lot of dirtiness. He who hesitates is lost, for he has just stripped himself and showed the world what he is really about at the core. The defensive trumps held in reserve to be trotted out before the public do not diminish chronic distrusts; they intensify them. If the thing was right all along, then why linger in the dark so long?
Sunday February 14, 2021
Change in government did not mean the corruption ceased DEAR EDITOR, Politics they say is the epitome of corruption. Politics besiege corruption. As such, during the pandemic, coupled with all the chaos the world already offers, the current government saw it fit to dig deeper into the pockets of its poor citizens. The pandemic brought light to many facets of life. On one hand we saw nature and the environment healing itself, on the other we understand that humans are gregarious and human interactions are needed regardless of how little. The pandemic threw light on how much, family and friends meant to each other and what we truly took for granted. Then there are people and organizations, like the government who took this time to bleed its people for that little extra, because why not. They need to help their friends and family get richer too. Pay back, I supposed for the help in getting them back into power. Perhaps you will understand the tone from where my words spew the venom in my voice or my distaste. I implore you to understand that I am not against the government, nor am advocating for a party. I am merely voicing the injustice of what the current administration had me experienced. Allow me to regale you with my tale. My mother and I bought our tickets to travel back to the US, ensuring that we were compliant with all rules, regulations, and procedures. The nature of our travel was one of necessity as my mother needs her medical treatments as it was long overdue. The reason for travels should not be questioned, as I believe we have freedom to do as we please, but I share this much with you. Nevertheless, one such requirement is
having a negative result COVID-19 test prior to travels, which must be completed within the past 72 hours, prior to travels. We complied by having it done at the public hospital and here I note that it was convenient and cost effective, given the nature and time sensitivity. On the day of travels, mind you we live in the upper Corentyne, so our travels are the entire day long. Commuting is not easy as everyone who traverses from one place to the next can attest. We got to the airport, checking in etc. just to be told that we cannot travel. Why you ask? I quote that of the person attending to us, “your government refuses that COVID-19 test, it has to be done at one of these [stipulating a list of private clinics] places.” My government I asked. What does the government have to do with my travels and more so this test was completed and issued by a public hospital in other words a government medical facility, how can it not be acceptable. T his was not upsetting to begin with, it was confusing. But the agent insisted that we cannot travel. My 70-year-old mother, who by this time is beyond the term “bone tired,” and very much not well had to once again traverse back to upper Corentyne. But before that, our flight had to be changed. Oh yes, an additional expense on our part to have the tickets changed to a later date, until we can get that result from the list of private clinics. The pure exhaustion and frustrations do not begin to captivate me yet. No, no. The adventure continues. We now have to schedule an appointment to have this test done. Again, I might add. Have you had the absolute pleasure of this test?
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I assure you the government fancies someone rummaging through your nostrils and in some cases giving you the fear that you might see that swab in your eyes or brain. They push that swab so up there that your thoughts are somewhere along that line. Yes, the private clinic appointment for the second unnecessary COVID-19 test, I continue. The deception in advertisement is a wonder and customers should always be aware. But here it was greed, pure and simple. The one clinic that can give us an appointment along with the result, within the time span of our rescheduled flight advertised the cost of the said test as $10,000. When we got there, it cost us $25,000. EACH! Have you begun to understand my venomous spew? Now I ask you in your just hearts and conscious minds to decide if my frustrations, pent up anger and everything I shared with you were a vendetta? No, none of everything we had to bear was a result of anything we failed to do. The inconvenience is because of the greed and maliciousness of the few who are in power. Read my words and hear my voice, it s a bitter experience and I wanted everyone to know that the administration gets on a pedestal and preach about corruption. Finger-point about the previous administrations helping friends and family. What have they done? The same thing. Follow the money and you will see who the benefactors in this grand scheme are. I leave you with a quote by Winston Churchill, and I leave you to ponder: “Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others their principles for the sake of their party.” Yours truly, R. Malhotra
Working in bacterial infested conditions, NDC workers are “frontline” too DEAR EDITOR, When President Irfaan Ali announced the second cash grant for public servants, there was reason to rejoice from those at the bottom of the food chain - NDC workers. It was felt that those front line workers cleaning drains and collecting garbage, earning the lowest salary would have been on the list. Now it seems evident that this class of workers has once again been left out. Whilst Ali has been talking of great things to come even plans to take care of animals in his pre-budget speech to parliament forgetting to include the lowly animals of his own specie from the NDC’s in this pandemic places
a huge question mark on his sincerity. One would have expected that NDC workers, working in the most bacterial infested conditions, cleaning the environment for mainstream society, would have been mentioned as frontline workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the President, but that did not happen. Whilst it could be argued that the president used the words “frontline workers,” the NDC Workers were never treated as “frontline” by the previous APNU+AFC administration when the pandemic broke. Our continued neglect or lack of recognition by the Ali administration is only (Continued on page 6)
The 2021 budget blast can quickly... From page 4 little mean-spirited on that one, which locks out those not in the public school system from being eligible. Though it is a shade sharp on my part, I still say it: have a heart, sir! Oh! another thing, lets scrap that qualifying word proposed put before budget and move along. This thing is over and done. Sealed and secure, given parliamentary numbers. Also, I read of relief for the private sector in several areas, which I think is positive and worth a word of appreciation, though I have no business of any kind myself. As I consider all this, which I think is largely citizen friendly, I commend planners, budget preparers, and decision makers; they did well. I award a B for effort, especially during an extended period of COVID19 stagnation and pain. Some of this could go a long way. No new taxes are good; less taxes better still. Editor, taking all of this in consideration, with spending in numerous fields, I am perplexed on how inflation can be calculated and estimated to be at 1.6%, and that is considering reductions in VAT, and so forth. When there is the expectation of heavy infusions of foreign money and foreign spending (way more) in this country, that inflation figure appears a tad tame. Further, I read that the economy is pro-
jected to grow at 20.9%, which I believe is possible if all cylinders are firing, if the pandemic cooperates and does a retreat, and if Exxon does not blow us up. I think that the opposition can be counted upon to do its part, since it is as contented as a pig in swill; political stability assured, since the politicians are happy with their own budgets, especially the revenue side. And now, for the rest of the best. Oil revenues are slated to rake in (perhaps I should use a less sweeping verb) US$1M, which in my miniscule mathematical mind is only GY$220M, or thereabouts. On the other hand, the budget that was rightly and proudly unveiled (I, too, would take 4 hours to spread peacock feathers before the national audience) rounds off at just under US$2B. I am running into some severe subtraction and reconciliation difficulty here. That is, an enormous
shortfall, deficit, gap, call it whatever pleases. It is no mystery about how and from where that is going to be filled. Though I shudder, I must be brave and bell the barracuda: borrowing. If we continue at this rate, that B word is going to be a dirty word here. As I commend the Hon. Minister, I respectfully leave this one for His Excellency, the president: being a pawn or a puppet does not only involve military bases. There is something called debtors enslavement. Just ask those with intolerable mortgages. And look at those Third World countries and leaders that carried on like drunken sailors and splurging porkknockers. The 2021 budget blast can quickly transform to budget blues, where this society would be condemned to dealing with financial pawnbrokers. How about that kind of pawn, big boss man? Better make that boss men. Yours truly, GHK Lall
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Sunday February 14, 2021
One does not have to experience racism in order to write about it DEAR EDITOR, The UK government’s reaction to events, point to the existence of racism. Mr. Charles Sohan, (Feb 12) claims that because I had no personal experience of life in England, my narration of experiences of Guyanese migrants on bouts of racism “lacks credibility.” Such a statement is not scholarly and would be rejected in academia. Mr. Sohan may wish to reexamine that remark. If one had to live in a place to write about it, then not much would be published. Most writers did not observe election riggings in Guyana, but they still penned articles. It is true that I did not live in UK, but I listened to enough narration of experiences of racism and read a lot from scholars to know that nonAnglo Saxons, Sohan included perhaps without actually recognizing it, experienced racism in the UK. Not all British are racist or not all of UK is a racist society. I did not live in the South of the
US. But I know there was Jim Crow racism from my readings and from interaction with Black Americans who trekked up north and studied with me in the 1970s. One does not have to experience racism in order to write about it. I did not live in India or Africa. But I know that White imperial rule was racist. I lived in Guyana and America and I experienced racism. I do a lot of writing of experiences of Guyanese and Indians in the diaspora on their experiences as migrants. Research sheds new light on how people view racism. Sohan, not experiencing racism does not mean it did not exist. Shridath Ramphal did not admit to election rigging. Does that mean Burnham or Hoyte did not rig elections? Charles Sohan is perhaps the only one who said he did not experience racism in England while living there between 1953 and 1961. Also, Ted Braithwaite in “To Sir, With Love” wrote there was no racism exhibited towards him
when he lived with a White family; his almost lifelong partner was a White woman. One Guyanese I interviewed did say that he had no difficulties in obtaining a job. He left one job and got another right away. He had no difficulty in finding accommodation. But he did confess there were signs in front of several homes or work places – “No Irish, No Dogs, No Welsh, No Scottish, No Coloureds, No Blacks.” These were standards in England until the 1990s. As Sohan insinuated, such signs may have nothing to do with nationality or race. I doubt it. He has suggested these nationalities were rejected probably because they were rowdy or that coming from Boundyard they lacked the “culture” of the British. I doubt that given the behaviour of certain political rulers like Winston Churchill and British government policy towards non-Anglos. Racism can be both overt and covert. And how about the racist treatment of the 1948
Windrush immigrants. The government of UK has acknowledged that there has been a history of racism in the UK. Secretary Priti Patel, also made a comment about racism in UK in making reference to the BLM movement. Such admissions belie what Sohan feels about racism in England. There were race riots in UK; does that not suggest there was racism? Sohan should take a look at a study by Guyanese scholars Drs. Ahmad Baksh and Martin Boodhoo on racism in UK (Impact of Brain Drain on Development – 42% said racial discrimination affected their adjustment in England). Sohan said his family paid his school fees in London and they were not prohibitive. What is affordable by one family may not be afforded by another. Regrettably in the cruel world in which we dwell, poverty (and racism) does militate against an education. I worked and pursued doctoral education. I cannot comment on whether Sohan met the requirements for entrance into a medical program in UK. He left Guyana to study medicine. I would not belittle anyone’s academic ability. I came to America with the intention to study medicine. I got sidetracked and became obsessed with the Guyana liberation movement and abandoned medicine for doctoral studies in politics, expecting such studies would help to free my people. That does not mean I was less prepared or less qualified to undertake medical studies. One would not know the obstacles that prevent someone like Sohan from achieving personal goals.
Contrary to what Sohan penned, many Guyanese (from the 1950s till now) ventured up north to pursue tertiary education with the hope of getting a part time job. They came from poor families who could not afford to pay tuition. Part time work was the only means for an education including for someone like me who also had to pay varied bills and send assistance to the homeland as well as contribute financially to the liberation movement Sohan could be right that the premier government high school in Berbice was the Berbice High School, just over the Canje Brid ge coming from the
Corentyne. I passed Common Entrance in 1972 and gained admission to BHS. My parents opted instead for Corentyne High School, a private school that was consid-
ered more prestigious because of educators affiliated with it. BHS moved to Multilateral around 1974. And another school moved to BHS. CHS results were superior to BHS for several years during J.C Chandisingh’s tenure as principal. I do not have access to Senior Cambridge results during the 1940s or 1950s for either school, and as such cannot comment on which was better performing. Both schools were prestigious up until the 1970s. Their graduates got admission at leading universities, including in UK, where several described their experiences of racial discrimination. Sohan was indeed very fortunate to not have experienced racism in the UK. Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
Working in bacterial infested... From page 5 suggestive that the status quo remains. So when the President said that, “There is no reason for our country to remain poor,” one can understand the skepticism - country and people are two different entities.Is Irfaan Ali really in charge, or is he just the master propagandist for the government?On the flip side, Ali’s cash grant to households slithered into cash grant to homeowners - people who rent apartments could testify. Many had watch in grief as their landlords collected, whilst they were asked to sign a pink slip and wonder if their $25,000 will ever arrive. That $25,000 may have barely graced their hands before ending up in the palm of their landlords as rent. For the ten-
ants, the “household” cash grant remains in limbo - compliments of the vision of the Ali government. Who is needier in this pandemic, the landlords or the tenants? Will the homeless paying a rent be left behind too? Is this lack of vision or willful intent by the Ali government? The signs seems ominous and with the VP describing the actions of the opposition leader as “laughable” in his recent press appearance, I wonder if this government is only capable of seeing the “mote” in their predecessor’s eye and not their own, or are the poor destined as collateral damage to offer a better life for the upper class by virtue of policy? Yours truly, Name provided
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
No new policies for oil sector in 2021 budget By Kemol King Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, on Friday presented the 2021 budget for Guyana at a whopping $383.1 billion, but with no changes in the vision of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) for the oil industry. The budget effectively builds on the promises made in the manifesto the party used to contest the 2020 general and regional elections. These promises are largely based on capacity building for monitoring agencies. The
budget stays true to the inaugural speech made by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, the day before, which made no promise to renegotiate the controversial Stabroek block production sharing agreement (PSA) or to secure unlimited liability insurance for Guyana in the case of large scale oil-related disasters, such as oil spills. Called ‘A Path to Recovery, Economic Dynamism and Resilience,’ Budget 2021 mostly shies away from mentioning oil, other than to emphasize that the immense focus being placed on the development of other sectors is
to ensure that Guyana avoids falling prey to the resource curse. “We will remain ever mindful,” the Minister told the National Assembly, “of the need to avoid the pitfalls that have beset many new producers of oil and gas and many resource rich countries, including Dutch Disease.” In economics, the Dutch Disease is a tendency of resource-rich countries to fail at prudently managing their economies due to a decline in most other sectors, brought on by an over-reliance on the resource sector(s). The government does not
intend to make any major interventions in the management of the oil and gas sector to curb or curtail the aggressive development plans of ExxonMobil and its partners. Dr. Singh said, like Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has, that the administration favours aggressive exploration for and production of Guyana’s oil, to beat the global transition to renewable energy sources. “The window of opportunity for the extraction of this resource is finite,” he said. The government intends to create an environment which adheres to interna-
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.
tional best practices for the running of the oil industry. “Since we assumed office,” he said, “we have come to find that the capacity for management of the oil and gas sector remains severely underdeveloped to ensure that resource extraction is efficient and profit share is maximised. The previous government appears to have spent the last five years wasting time instead of ensuring that every opportunity was aggressively pursued to expeditiously equip our regulators to effectively safeguard our national patrimony.” The following paragraphs effectively sum up the PPP/ C’s plan for the petroleum institutional and regulatory framework in 2021. Dr. Singh said, “Mr. Speaker, Government is working to create a strong and robust institutional and regulatory framework to better manage activity in the sector, including: amending the Petroleum Act; developing a model Petroleum Sharing Agreement; exploring a revised petroleum fiscal regime; advancing the draft local content policy and associated legislation; and advancing the Petroleum Commission Bill. Commensurate with this outlook is the inevitable developing of technical capacity, strengthening of institutions associated with the oil and gas sector and the collaboration with experts to achieve the most optimal outcomes. These include such agencies as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), who need to be adequately equipped to discharge their respective responsibilities in the sector.” The Senior Minister explored the government’s initiative for the development of the GRA’s capacity to monitor the oil industry, stating, “Mr. Speaker, the GRA has continued to build capacity to address the emerging and unique needs of the oil and
gas sector. This has resulted in the establishment of a Customs Petroleum Unit (CPU) within the Customs, Excise and Trade Department and a Petroleum Revenue Department (PRD). Mr. Speaker it is imperative that the GRA’s capacity to monitor and audit the oil and gas sector be ramped up substantially. For the year 2021, training will be in the areas of ‘Interpreting and Analyzing Financial Statements,’ ‘Oil and Gas International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),’ ‘Cost Recovery Procedures,’ ‘Computer Assisted Audit Tools’ and ‘International Taxation.’ In order to effectively scale up GRA’s capacity in light of the current dynamics of the economy, the allocation provided is $7.1 billion.” In addition, the Minister spoke about the PPP/C Government’s plan for making Guyana’s energy sector sustainable and reliable, which includes the proposed gasto-shore project. “Guyanese anxiously await the prospect of piping gas to shore to generate cheap and reliable energy to power industry and meet our growing demand for electricity. Conceptualised as a 210 km pipeline to transport natural gas from offshore Guyana, the gas to power project will be the trailblazer to advance Guyana’s path to domestic energy security within the next three years. This transformational project includes the establishment of a power plant to generate up to 250MW of power, the establishment of an industrial park, including industries to support our agricultural and manufacturing sectors and the creation of a local LPG plant to cater for domestic demand and export.” Dr. Singh referred to the commencement of procurement for consulting services for several studies which will inform the development of the (Continued on page 51)
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
Dem boys seh ...
Jagdeo blowing he blow-blow Deh gat wan show pon Trinidad television wah dem boys does like watch. It named ‘What yuh know?’ De host, Daniel, does stop people in de streets and question dem about ordinary things to see what dem know. And nuff time dem don’t know some easy-pop questions. Like de lady de other day who did not know wat T-W-O spell. She ask Daniel “wah kind a word is dat?”When dem people don’t know, Daniel does give dem de answer and tell them, “if yuh don’t know, now yuh know!” Dem boys find out de other day dat Jagdeo don’t know a lot of things. He seh how we don’t know how long fossil fuels gan be around. And so he seh we only gat a narrow window of time and therefore we gat to extract de oil as fast as we can. He seh keeping de oil in de ground is not an option. Dem boys wan know if somebody
come and tell he how property value falling and dem offer him $20M fuh da mansion wah he got, whether he gan sell it. If Jagdeo don’t know, then it means dat he mekkin’ decision on guesswork. If he don’t know, he should find out rather dan blowing he blow-blow. But de man superstitious. He nah know whether if deh gat an oil spill whether de parent company of Exxon gan be liable. He seh he believe . So dem boys wan tell he dat he can’t play with de lives of de entire country based pon belief. He gat fuh know and if he don’t know, he gat fuh find out. He had a chance to put dat right and fix de problem during de review. But he let de whole country down when he nah press fuh a better deal.Now he don’t know so he blowing he blow-blow.Talk half and tell Jagdeo “leh de blow-blow blow!”
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
FRONT PAGE COMMENTS RECAP As we continue our mission to enlighten you about issues of importance to this nation, we at Kaieteur News, have been publishing a series of front-page comments in hopes of having our leaders take the necessary actions in order to realize the desired outcome. Today, we recap the front-page comments that were published during the past week.
OUR LEADERS HAVE SOLD US OUT! respect of decent people. the ‘duttiness’ which has our country. SUNDAY They have entered into secret enveloped It has been this way for What is happening with our oil is so dirty and stinking that ‘it nah gah watah fuh wash am.’ For that we condemn and blame our political leaders. We hold them responsible for betraying the public trust and, specifically, for licencing the barefaced plunder of our oil. Our leaders have sold us out! They have proven themselves unworthy of the
deals behind the people’s backs. These deals amount to highway robbery. They have given away our oil blocks to their friends and front men who will then unload these assets to the oil companies for a private fortune, while the people are left empty-handed. Regrettably, elements of our professional class and leaders of some of our representative organizations are giving tacit consent to this rascality. They are all part of
centuries. Foreign exploiters always find cooperating domestic stooges who are more than willing to become complicit in impoverishing their own brothers and sisters. The people must expose and condemn all those who have jumped into bed with our leaders to help rape our country and to destroy the dreams which we had for our children.
MONDAY
WHY ARE WE POOR?
The difference between those poor and rich nations is not the age of the nation. This can be demonstrated by countries like India and Egypt, which are far more than 2,000 years old and are still poor countries. On the other hand, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which 150 years back were insignificant, today are developed and rich countries.The difference between the poor and rich nation does not also depend on the available natural resources.Japan has limited territory, 80% mountainous, unsuitable for residence, agriculture or farming, but is the world’s third largest economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from across the whole world and exporting manufactured products.Switzerland: Switzerland is unable to grow cocoa, yet produces the world’s best chocolate. In its small territory, Switzerland rears animals and cultivates the land only for four months in a year, nevertheless manufactures the best milk products; a small country which is an image of security that has made it the strongest banking system in the world. Another example is Korea. It doesn’t have oil but having the world’s largest refinery, it exports refined petroleum.It has no grain of ore, and yet, it’s the world’s largest shipbuilder. It has no copper but it’s the world’s most electrically and electronically wired country.Executives from rich countries who interact with their counterparts from poor countries show no significant intellectual differences. The racial or colour factors also do not evince importance: many migrants are heavy
in laziness in their countries of origin, but are forcefully productive in rich European countries. What then is the difference?The difference is the attitude of the people, moulded for many years by education, moral responsibility and culture.If you analyse the conduct of the people from the rich and developed countries, it is observed that a majority abide by the following principles of life: 1. Ethical behaviour as a basic principle. 2. Integrity. 3. Responsibility. 4. The respect for Laws and Regulations. 5. Respect by the majority of citizens towards others/Democracy. 6. The love of work. 7. The effort to save and invest. 8. The will to be productive. 9. Punctuality. In the poor countries, a small minority follow these basic principles in their daily life. We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel towards us.We are poor because we lack attitude. We lack the will to follow and teach these principles of working like that of the rich and developed societies. WE ARE IN THIS STATE BECAUSE…WE WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OVER EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE.WE ARE IN THIS STATE BECAUSE WHEN SOMETHING IS DONE WRONG, WE SAY - “LET IT BE” WHEREAS WE SHOULD HAVE A SPIRITED MEMORY AND ATTITUDE. ONLY THEN WILL WE BE ABLE TO CHANGE OUR PRESENT STATE.
GAS-TO-SHORE ANOTHER WHITE ELEPHANT that country.The government TUESDAY IN THE WAITING! is pushing to have this bilThe government is hellbent on having the expensive Wales gas-to-shore project. Though it is a billion-dollar price tag, the PPP/C leadership has been secretive with information that all Guyanese have a right to know. If the project is so beneficial to this country, it is difficult to fathom why there must be so much resistance to sharing the details. Guyanese need to know that the supposed bonanza of the Wales gas-to-shore project is another pipedream, a white elephant in waiting. The gas in the reservoirs, the excess of which is currently being flared into the atmosphere, could be another way in which Exxon holds the operations of the Wales pipeline (when completed) hostage, and Guyana with it. Exxon would need some of that same gas to re-inject into the second access holes around the production sites to boost the pressure to send the oil to the surface and tankers. When it does so, Wales would have to wait; workers idled; and the plant slowed. That means additional expense, and already assumes the appearance of another
Skeldon factory. The money will come from the many financial institutions falling over themselves to lend Guyana billions and indebt us for generations. The World Bank leads the lenders, and Guyanese are reminded of how it joined with the oil companies to entice Ghanaian leaders to borrow for what is a disastrous pipeline project, straining the energy sector of
lion-dollar gas to shore project. There is the likelihood that we will have far more cubic feet of gas than we need; or none when needed. Trinidad has the entire machinery that handled its gas for decades. It is surprising that it has not been engaged to lend expertise and guidance. No! It must be Exxon, and it has to be secret. It will be costly and yet another dud.
“EYE-PASS” TO THE HIGHEST WEDNESDAY Exxon “eyes pass we”! They have little respect or regard for our people. Yet, the company has the temerity to claim that it is working in the best interest of us. They want us to accept that they are only continuing production because of their concern for us in light of the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This fake concern for us is part of Exxon’s justification for the ongoing and uncontrolled damage to our environment as a result of the company’s flaring. It is a
lame excuse.Exxon is not doing us any favours. The company is acting on its own
greed and in its own interest. It needs Guyana to restore its profitability. This concern for our well-being is contrived. Exxon is treating us as fools and dunderheads.Exxon has NOT suddenly developed a conscience. It can hardly claim to care about the welfare of Guyanese while it continues to poison the air, which we breathe with its flaring of natural gas. But Exxon can dare attempt such an insult on our collective intelligence because our leaders have allowed this. Our leaders are conniving with the oil companies
to plunder our resources. And all the while, they are joining with them to make us feel that the oil companies care for us.
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BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you havent heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation. SUNDAY When Suriname can capitalize on Guyanas oil discoveries to secure better contract terms for its people, but Guyana wont utilize its own wealth to do the same, all we can ask is: “Goat bite we?” MONDAY ExxonMobils financial position continues to fail, but it intends to make Guyana its Hail Mary! by producing 2M barrels of oil per day with 10 oil vessels, using an unfair and abusive deal. Everyone knows that Guyana is ExxonMobils most profitable business. Its weak position creates ample opportunity for Guyana to grab ExxonMobil
by its cahonies, and squeeze out a lot of value for its people. Everyone realizes that. Everyone but Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo! TUESDAY ExxonMobils Country President, Alistair Routledge, claims ExxonMobils flaring is so concerning to him that he goes to bed thinking about it. When former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams, slashed production last year to keep Guyana safe after the first equipment mishap, production was at 30,000 barrels a day. Now, as the PPP/C seems to not have a care in the world about this environmental destruction, ExxonMobil has
taken the freedom to produce at 120,000 barrels a day, and Routledge expects Guyanese to believe that he cares. When asked how ExxonMobil justifies keeping production at those levels, Routledge said ExxonMobil is concerned about revenues for the country. The Guyanese people are not stupid, Mr. Routledge. We see right through your games. You have never cared about the people of this country, only your shareholders and your bank account WEDNESDAY Jagdeo believes that ExxonMobil and its partners would voluntarily pick up bills of billions of dollars for their subsidiaries if there is an oil
spill or other disaster. Which sensible person would voluntarily pick up a bill for billions of dollars when they have the choice to walk away? Jagdeo might trust Exxon, but we do not. Thursday ExxonMobil tells Guyana that it has ordered a new flash gas compressor, while the defective one undergoes diagnosis and repair. It further tells us that the new compressor is expected to arrive closer to the end of the year. We can clearly see that this is 2020 all over again. Another 12 billion cubic feet of gas flared, and all the years spent building up Guyanas green image, are
dashed into darkness by the Champion of the Earth, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. FRIDAY ExxonMobil could announce 10 more US$100M initiatives it claims are for the benefit of the Guyanese people, and we would not be fooled. The lopsided contract ExxonMobil was awarded allows it to give Guyana billions in donations with one hand, and take them back with the other hand, with the government’s blessing. ExxonMobil claims it will not recover its donations, but we will not trust any oil company at its word. SATURDAY
Local Content meaning the provision of goods and services by citizens to the oil and gas companies is a main aspect of any oil and gas economy in a developing country. It is the most effective way of directly integrating citizens of a country into
the oil and gas economy. Local content should start off at a reasonable level and then continue to
grow without transparency on levels of local content, however there is no way of growing and in which sectors. Guyanese need to demand transparency when it comes to the level and nature of local content in our oil and gas industry.
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Our Frontline Worker of the week is…
Nurse Vanessa Blackman-Webster
Garbed in PPEs to help combat COVID-19.
By Enid Joaquin ne year after the n o v e l Coronavirus stretched its tentacles across the world and voraciously attacked millions to satisfy its insatiable appetite, frontline healthcare workers are continuing the battle to save lives, even at the risk of losing their own. One of these courageous individuals is Nurse Vanessa Blackman-Webster. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER ‘Knowledge is power!’ is a phrase we often hear people repeat. To many, it is just rhetoric, however to Nurse Blackman-Webster, it is something that she has experienced and lived. She has proven, beyond
O
the shadow of a doubt that the more an individual arms his or herself with knowledge, the better that individual will be able to be equipped to deal with any eventuality in life, and forge ahead successfully. On a daily basis, Nurse B l a c k m a n - We b s t e r i s engaged in waging war against the COVID-19 pandemic. She, like most healthcare providers, has likened her job these days to that of a soldier in the heat of the fight on the battlefield. She admits that initially, the prospect of entering this particular battlefield filled her with trepidation. “At first, I was scared because of lack of knowledge but after our training sessions that provided the requisite knowledge, I came to the realization that just like a soldier on the battlefield, health workers are on the battlefield, and we do what is necessary to protect ourselves...to keep safe,” she noted. She related that her family was equally fearful, but “came around” after she educated them about all the necessary precautionary measures, including sanitization protocols and the wearing of personal protective equipment. Apart from practising safety measures, Nurse BlackmanWebster said that she prays a
lot for “divine guidance and protection.” This gives her added strength and courage to tackle the tasks at hand. PREPARED FOR THE TASK Nurse BlackmanWebster was trained at the Georgetown Chest Clinic in 2005 and currently works as a Tu b e r c u l o s i s Outreach/Community Health Worker and Frontline Worker in Region 10.
old Christianburg Health Centre, where she works with the Chest Clinic three days per week. Supportive Spouse During a recent interview, Nurse BlackmanWebster confessed that despite the challenges of working on the frontline, and the risks involved, she loves her job and would do it all over again, if she had to. Her husband Alister, she said, is a huge support and
“Seeing people move from illness to health, gives me the passion to continue. I love to see progress...when people come in (for medical intervention), we see them at one level and then we help to nurse them back to health and take them to another level... that gives me great satisfaction.” She is also a trained HIV tester and counsellor. She began working on the frontline ever since the pandemic started as a part of the COVID-19 taskforce attached to the Region. She is employed by the Ministry of Health and is stationed at the Upper Demerara Hospital, which was identified as the isolation unit in Linden. She is also attached to the
would assist in the home just because he has an appreciation for the depth of her work on the frontline. “When I return home, he would bring my towel, because he knows I have to change and take a bath. He would also have a hot cu p o f tea r ead y f o r me...fever grass or ginger tea or something, because since COVID started, we developed the habit of using
our fever grass and ginger. So sometimes when I come home, he is already finished with preparing the tea,” said an appreciative Nurse Blackman-Webster. According to her too, “He would also help me with the chores, so when I return home late, I don’t have to worry about getting those things done after a hard day at work. He is very supportive.” DRIVEN BY PASSION Working in the medical field, provides tremendous satisfaction to this committed Frontline Worker. She noted that it gives her the opportunity to meet and help people, which she says gives her great satisfaction and joy. “Seeing people move from illness to health, gives me the passion to continue. I love to see progress...when people come in (for medical intervention), we see them at one level and then we help to nurse them back to health and take them to another level... that gives me great satisfaction.” she confided. For being a commitment frontline worker even in the face of an unyielding pandemic, today we bestow Nurse Blackman-Webster
With some of her colleagues.
Frontline Worker, Nurse Vanessa Blackman-Webster. with our title of Frontline Worker of the Week.
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Pres. Ali commits to make details of spending oil money public President Irfaan Ali.
By Shikema Dey President Irfaan Ali in his maiden address to the National Assembly has made a commitment to publish the particulars of all revenue and expenditure of Guyana’s oil sector in the Official Gazette. This, he said, will allow ordinary Guyanese citizens to track the transactions to better hold government accountable for every cent earned from the industry and for every cent that is spent. President Ali relayed that to accomplish that mandate, legislation will be introduced to make the Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance and the Finance Sec-
retary responsible for publishing the details. And if this is not done, they would be “punished severely under the law.” “The revenues from the sector, like all other sectors, are the peoples’ money; they are entitled to know how much money is earned, how much is spent and on what it is spent,” he said. The Head of State re-
vealed too that he has explicitly stated to his government that “transparency and accountability” are the utmost fundamental principles on which he expects them to conduct themselves. “We are the custodians of the people’s assets,” the President said, “and we will account to them for all that we do.” Added to that, the Presi-
dent said that to hold oil companies operating in the Stabroek Block accountable, and to verify production and other expenditures, government is in the process of building audit capacity. So far, Guyana has only 10 officers from the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) Petroleum Revenue Department involved in the auditing of costs incurred from the oil sector, even as billions in bills continue to pile on. The 2019 Auditor General report outlined that since the unit’s initial establishment back in September 2019, it boasted 15 officers but it was
noted that only 10 of them were directly involved in the execution of the audits. It was explained that GRA employed a strategy of training officers from various audit functions to build a repository of necessary skills and competences which would be mobilised and influenced by the demands of the industry. Those audit officers were said to have benefitted from multiple training sessions held by the Office of Techni-
cal Assistance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to build capacity to ‘Administer Domestic taxes within the Oil and Gas Sector’ and ‘conduct Cost Recovery Audits’ from March 2017 to July 2019. Such a small team may not be enough as Guyana has billions in oil related expenses to audit from petro-giant ExxonMobil and Stabroek Block partners, affiliates and sub-contractors.
Sunday February 14, 2021
Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to extend our weekly review of some of our major stories in their entirety. SUNDAY WE USED GUYANA’S DISCOVERIES TO DEMAND “HARSHER” TERMS FROM OIL COMPANIES – SURINAME OIL BOSS When Guyana discovered large reserves of oil in the Stabroek Block in 2015, Guyanese saw the golden opportunity for the government, through robust fiscal provisions, to reap billions of United Stated (US) dollars from its new resource. Instead, what the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) regime did was sign one of the worst oil contracts in the world with ExxonMobil, thereby seeing the potential loss of US$50B in the lifetime of the Stabroek Block agreement. And that is just with the Stabroek Block. There’s also the giveaway of the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks, with unproven reserves of 12 billion barrels oil equivalent. Even with high-quality oil that is coupled with a low breakeven cost, it is clear that the Guyanese government did not cease the opportunity to capitalize on its petroleum resources. This mismanagement, however, is one that Suriname promises to steer away from, as the Dutch-speaking country used Guyana’s discoveries to demand “harsher” fiscal provisions from oil companies looking to explore and produce oil in their country. By demanding better terms, Suriname is securing a better life for its citizens and future generations. Revealing these impressive details is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suriname’s Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias. During an interview last Thursday on Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana’s Oil & You with Senior Journalist Kiana Wilburg, the CEO indicated that when Guyana struck oil, Suriname “automatically knew” that oil would be found in their land as well. This is because the two countries share a source rock, or the Guyana-Suriname Basin. Against this Elias articulated, “We were lucky that Guyana found oil. Because of the fact that Guyana found oil in the source… in the deep parts, we said ‘Hey, we also have these deep parts.’ And so a lot of companies got in-
terested again, even though we had harsher fiscal terms.” These “harsher terms” Elias referred to, ensured that Staatsolie leaves no stone unturned when it comes to securing benefits for his country, he said. He stated that if oil companies wish to look for oil, it has to cover all exploration expenses. This is dissimilar to Guyana’s deal with ExxonMobil, which states that we have to stand all exploration and production costs that total to billions of US dollars. EXXONMOBIL US$67 BILLION IN DEBT – INTENDS TO USE GUYANA TO BAIL ITSELF OUT ExxonMobil’s Corporate Secretary, Stephen Littleton, and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods, both noted during the company’s 2020 Q4 earnings call last Tuesday, that the supermajor is US$67.6 billion in gross debt. The company intends to fund Guyana, one of its two most profitable businesses, in order to start paying down that debt. Woods told analysts, “With downstream and chemical margins at the bottom of the 10-year historical range, we can fund our highest-return investments in Guyana, the Permian and the chemical business and begin paying down debt at Brent prices just above $50 a barrel.” Littleton revealed Saturday that in 2020, the company was only able to lower its debt by US$1.2 billion to US$67.6 billion. Woods told analysts that the company has set a “hard limit” of US$70 billion for its debt. “We didn’t want to go above that and working hard to bring that down, expect for that to come down in the first quarter. And we’ll continue to work to bring that down to really rebuild the strength of the balance sheet. It’s one of the three capital allocation priorities and we think absolutely critical to underpin the business we’ve got going forward and to ride through the cycles that we face. And clearly, 2020 was a very deep
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down cycle, one that, frankly, we’ve never seen before.” Woods said he is pleased that the capital structure the company put in place to respond to the unprecedented market was successful, and that ExxonMobil intends to rebuild in a way that will allow it to weather ups and downs. ExxonMobil’s performance in 2020 resulted in a loss of US$22 billion, a tumble in production and a slump of about one-third in revenues, from the previous year. In defense of its performance, ExxonMobil’s Chair of the Board, Darren Woods said “The past year presented the most challenging market conditions ExxonMobil has ever experienced. While the effects of the pandemic significantly impacted our 2020 results, our previously executed strategic initiatives and reorganizations enabled us to respond decisively to permanently improve our cost structure, drive greater efficiencies across our businesses, and emerge a stronger company. These improvements are expected to deliver structural expense savings of $6 billion per year by 2023, relative to 2019.” BELLE WEST MAN STABBED OVER OLD FOOTBALLGRIEVANCE – THREE BROTHERS IN CUSTODY Three brothers, aged 26, 23 and the other below 18
years, are now in police custody after allegedly stabbing a 20-year-old Belle West, West Coast Demerara man to death on Friday evening. Dead is Emanuel Solomon called “Manny.” According to police reports, Solomon was attacked by the three suspects over an alleged misunderstanding over a football game that occurred some eight months ago. Solomon’s mother and sister, who were at home at the time, witnessed the murder. According to the distraught woman, her son was sitting in front of their 317 Belle West home when he was approached by the three brothers and an unidentified female. The woman recounted
This is some problem eight months ago, eight months and now my son dead.” The police report also stated that after receiving information, officers ventured to the home of the suspects in Belle West. When apprehended by police, one of the brothers relayed that Solomon allegedly hit him with a wood causing him to sustain injuries to his face and left hand earlier. He then left and complained to his two older brothers and they then assaulted the deceased. Later on, his brothers were handed over to the police by their mother. The three remain in police custody as investigations continue.
property, which he paid $20 million for, though the property is worth $5 billion. That property situated at Mudlots 1 and 2, Lot F of Mudlots 3 and Lots A, B and D, North Cummingsburg was offered for sale to BK by then National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Horace James for $202,602,759. However, BK had only paid $20,260,276, a mere 10% of the purchase price when it was vested to him by the then Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan on March 28, 2020. During that time, the country was embroiled in a heated elections scandal. Taking this into consideration, the AG is contending that the sale was “illegal, un-
that the men dismounted their bikes, rushed to her son and immediately starting stabbing him with what appeared to be a pair of scissors. Meanwhile the police report stated that the altercation stemmed from an old football grievance, the woman relayed that she has no knowledge of this, as her son stopped playing football months ago. She told Kaieteur News in tears “I would have preferred they come and tell me about the problem…come and tell me and leave he alone.
MONDAY BK PAID $20M FOR $5B KINGSTON WHARF – AG FILES COURT ACTION AGAINST BK, JORDAN, HEATH-LONDON, NICIL TO REPOSSESS PROPERTY Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, has initiated legal proceedings against Brian Tiwari of BK Marine Inc. on behalf of the State to reclaim the prime waterfront
lawful, null, void, repugnant and contrary to public policy”. He is also claiming that Jordan colluded with NICIL and acted in a negligent manner. Furthermore, the AG contended as well that the Finance Minister at the time had no legal power to act in such a manner. On the court documents seen by Kaieteur News, BK, Jordan, Colvin Heath-London in (Continued on page 22)
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From page 21 his capacity as the then CEO of NICIL, and NICIL, were listed as defendants in the matter. Notwithstanding the forgoing, there was a slew of other breaches to BK’s contract. The court documents outlined that BK was initially leasing the property beginning December 4, 2006 for $10 million annually for a 20-year period with the option to purchase it at $110 million later on. The agreement outlined that the property was meant to be used for the operation of a tourism/ office/ wharf facility for the purposing of developing a state-of-the-art hotel with restaurants, shopping and office areas, etc. BK had agreed that within four years after being given the go ahead by the Mayor and Town Council for his construction plans, the scope of works outlined would be completed. Failure to complete this would result in six-month notice of default being issued and if that time elapses, then the agreed upon purchase price would become null and void. However, BK neglected to comply with the terms of that contract. EXXONMOBIL COULD WIPE OUT STABROEK BLOCK’S PROVEN RESERVES BY 2036 Kaieteur News – Many countries have had their time with oil, and found decades after first oil that there was a lot they could have done better to secure value for their people. Trinidad & Tobago, for instance, took decades to realize some of its mistakes, which have resulted in billions in losses in revenue to the State. One example of this, told to Kaieteur News by Energy Strategist, Anthony Paul, is the fact that that country ended up losing US$17 billion between 2010 and 2017 due to ignorance on gas trading. Despite a century with this
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industry, Trinidad and Tobago is still learning in some ways, how to manage. Turn to Guyana. Six years after the first commercial oil discovery, the country has failed to place basic regulatory mechanisms and legislative necessities in place to manage this sector. Guyana’s preparation for oil has been slothful, and the pace at which ExxonMobil intends to develop the reserves it has discovered shows that, unlike Trinidad, Guyana does not have 100 years to get it right. It is very likely ExxonMobil will wipe out the proven reserves of the Stabroek Block in less than two decades. Using a simple projection of production numbers based on public statements by ExxonMobil and its partners, Kaieteur News can show that ExxonMobil could wipe out the proven reserves by 2036. Currently, ExxonMobil estimates that the proven reserves in the Stabroek Block stand at nine billion oilequivalent barrels. Make no mistake. This doesn’t mean there are nine billion barrels of oil. The term ‘oil-equivalent’ covers oil and gas reserves. This is how ExxonMobil and its partners publicly report the reserves. Kaieteur News had made several inquiries a year ago with the government and the oil companies to determine how much of the estimate at the time accounted for gas. The Energy Director at the time, Dr. Mark Bynoe, had told the media in February 2020 that the eight billion barrels estimated then, included 25 percent gas. Later in late August, ExxonMobil’s country president, Alistair Routledge had said that gas accounts for about 20 percent of the proven reserves. Two months later, Chief Executive Officer of Hess Corporation, John Hess said that the reserve estimate had increased
to nine billion barrels. In this projection, let’s assume that gas accounts for 20 percent of the nine billion barrels of proven reserve. This would mean that there are about 7.2 billion barrels of oil. ExxonMobil has been producing oil at the Liza Phase One operation since December 2019 with a nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. However, production levels varied throughout the year due to government-mandated curtailments after Exxon flared way longer than it had to. This year, ExxonMobil is still flaring but the new administration does not find it necessary to curtail production. ExxonMobil is allowed to produce at its nameplate capacity, and Hess has even said that it intends to increase nameplate capacity later this year. SURINAME PREPARED FOR OIL 6 YEARS BEFORE FIRST FIND IN OFFSHORE BASIN – GUYANASTILL STRUGGLES SIX YEARS LATER It is clear that the Republic of Suriname took those cautionary words very seriously, seeing as the Dutchspeaking country began preparing its people for the challenges that come with an oil and gas sector. This was six years before it had even struck black gold in its offshore basin. And by developing and strengthening its capacity ahead of time, Suriname was not only able to capitalize from the looming revenues, but take full control of its lucrative sector – unlike Guyana. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Suriname’s Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias, had made the foregoing revelations last Thursday, during his debut appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana’s Oil & You. Hosted by Senior Journalist Kiana Wilburg, a question was posed to Elias regarding how Suriname was able to get
ready for the considerable resources discovered in 2020. To this, Elias revealed a three-part, strategic plan, which first came with preparing Suriname’s National Oil Company (NOC), Staatsolie. Elias recalled on the virtual interview that six years ago when he became the CEO of Staatsolie, he was positive that his country would discover oil, and rather than waiting until that discovery would happen, he initiated the first steps of preparing the 40year-old Staatsolie for the discoveries that would follow. “Staatsolie is prepared,” he expressed, “We are prepared. We can go to the capital markets. We are the partner of choice. Everything with us is ready to make that big step to develop and to be the partner of choice.” The CEO revealed that the second box Suriname had to check off was that of preparing the local business community. He recalled that almost five years ago, Suriname had contracted a consultancy firm, aimed at conducting an assessment of 260 Surinamese companies that could offer services in the development and operational phases in the oil sector. In 2015, ExxonMobil struck oil in Guyana’s Stabroek Block. Six years has passed, with Exxon now aggressively producing oil, and Guyana has still not managed to implement critical provisions to ensure that Guyana prudently manages the sector as well as secure maximum benefit for its people. Currently, Guyana manages its oil and gas sector with draconian legislation and operates without: a proper Local Content policy; ring-
fencing provisions to prevent costs of unsuccessful wells being carried over to that of successful wel ls; proper environmental protection legislation; the strengthening of key auditing agen-
cies, specifically the Office of the Auditor General; appropriate technology offshore to monitor the measurement of oil remotely; a roadmap to use a portion of the oil money to build sustainable industries; benchmarks for Corporate Social Responsibility; the establish-
ment a Depletion Policy; the establishment of a Decommissioning Policy; a structure for what is to be expected in Field Development Plans; the hiring of technical experts needed within the Ministries
of Natural Resources, EPA, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) etc; and updated policies/laws/regulations regarding direct and indirect transfers of interests in offshore blocks. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. TUESDAY EXXON LIKELYTO FLARE ONE BILLION CUBIC FEET OF GAS BY THE TIME IT GETS FAULTY COMPRESSOR’S DIAGNOSIS Country Manager of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, revealed Monday that the oil giant is currently flaring 16 million cubic feet of natural gas into the atmosphere per day. These details comes after Exxon, on January 29, had reported that a third stage gas compressor had failed, thereby causing it to increase flaring from its pilot levels. At 16 million cubic feet per day, calculations by Kaieteur News show that in the 11 days that Exxon had increased its flaring, the United States (US) oil company has already flared 176 million cubic feet of natural gas. What is further concerning is that Routledge, during Monday’s virtual ExxonMobil press engagement, stated that it would take “approximately eight weeks” for the manufacturer of the compressor, MAN Turbo in
Germany, to inspect the defective gas compressor. This would be executed to ascertain what the issues and complications are with the equipment. However, within those eight weeks, Exxon, which boasts of its effective management of waste, will continue to flare 16 million cubic feet per day, thereby taking the total volume of toxic gas flared to, since January 29, to 1.072 billion cubic feet. This would increase the total volume of gas flared by Exxon since 2020 to 13.6 billion cubic feet. This number is equivalent to the removal of over 1.6 M acres of forest, the size of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and a small section of Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara). When Exxon had first started flaring in December 2019, due to defective flash gas compressor, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the leadership of Dr. Vincent Adams, had slashed the oil company’s production by 60 percent. This meant that Exxon could have only produced 30,000 barrels of oil per day. However, this was shortlived as by January 13, 2021, Exxon had started reporting failures in its flaring system once more, which it had claimed were rectified. But exactly two weeks later on January 27, the oil giant began experiencing more failures in its gas system that it could not repair, which eventually resulted in Exxon increasing its flaring from pilot levels on January 2 9 . Dangers of flaring Based on research, the flaring of gas is extremely damaging to the environment. A special study conducted by the World Bank notes that flaring releases more than 250 toxins, including cancer causing agents such as benzopyrene, benzene, carbon disulphide (CS2), carbonyl sulphide (COS), and toluene. It also releases metals such as mercury, arsenic, and chromium and nitrogen oxides. GUYANASHOULD PARTNER WITH SURINAME TO MEET SHORE BASE NEEDS – SURINAME OIL BOSS As it stands, neither Guyana nor Suriname can independently offset the shortfalls in their shore bases for the oil and gas sector. Cognizant of these deficiencies, Rudolf Elias, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suriname’s state oil company, Staatsolie, has posited that both countries should partner to meet and supply those (Cotninued on page 23)
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From page 22 shore base demands. A shore base is an onshore support facility, which during drilling, development, maintenance and producing operations, provides services to the oil companies. These services include: handling waste management, chemical storage, warehousing, construction, berthing of supply vessels, cargo-marshaling area, loading and offloading, supply chain management, expatriate management, and customs services. During his debut appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana’s Oil & You, the Suriname Oil Boss reminded that one of the basic things both Guyana and Suriname need to prudently manage the oil sector would be that of building effective shore bases. Elias based this advice against the reality that both countries have similar river depths. To this, the CEO explained, “Our rivers are like the Berbice and the Demerara. They have drafts of four, four and a half meters with low water,” while indicating that, that is not enough to supply the value chain of the operations offshore in a “commercial efficient way.” It is against this backdrop that Elias posited, “That is also something where the Government of Guyana and the Government of Suriname may try to work together in order to say, ‘Let’s build one of these shores bases together, so we can keep a lot more local content into Suriname and into Guyana’ so that it does not go to Trinidad or Houston or to one of these other places where they have a bigger oil industry and where they have deep-sea harbours.” Notably, the Guyana shore base located at Houston is unable to handle the Liza One demands. The former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, had revealed this in 2018 in a parliamentary sectoral committee. He had said to that committee that, “What we have at Muneshwers Limited, now, which is already causing major traffic accidents and traffic jams every day, is only to service the Liza-One field. The Liza-One field has approximately 1.8 billion barrels of oil because it is going to be tied with another field, Payara, but we are still talking about another two to three billion barrels of oil that would have to be developed.” LIZA PHASE TWO ‘UNITY’ FPSO TO SAIL FOR GUYANA BY MID-2021 The Liza Unity Floating Production, Storage and
Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will support ExxonMobil’s second production development offshore
Guyana, is expected to sail from Keppel Shipyard in Singapore for Guyana by mid-2021, according to President and Chief Operating Officer at Hess Corporation, Greg Hill. During the company’s 2020 Q4 earnings call on January 27, Hill said, “The Liza Phase Two development remains on track for first oil in early 2022. The overall project, including the FPSO, drilling and subsea infrastructure is approximately 85 percent complete. We anticipate that the Liza Unity FPSO, which will have a capacity of 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day, to sale from the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore to Guyana by mid-year.” The development of this project is estimated to cost a total of US$6 billion. It will target 600 million barrels of oil. Notably, Hill told analysts that the installation programme to be implemented at the site could result in completion “a little bit earlier” than expected, “if everything goes right.” The Liza Phase One project had achieved first oil
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earlier than expected, as it had been anticipated to start in 2020 but actually did so in December 2019. The Liza Unity will add to production already occurring in the Liza field, in which production began with the Liza Destiny over a year ago. This will move ExxonMobil’s production in the Stabroek block to 340,000 barrels per day, and more, if the operator succeeds in increasing the nameplate capacity of the currently producing Liza Destiny. “In terms of preserving the long-term value of our assets,” Chief Executive Officer, John Hess, said, “Guyana, with its low cost to supply and industry-leading financial returns, remains our top priority.” This is due to the fact that, as revealed by Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Hess, John Rielly, during last October’s earnings call, Liza Phase Two is “arguably” the best project in
the exploration and production industry because of the low breakeven price. The breakeven price, in economics, is the price at which the production and sale of a commodity would not return a profit or a loss. Oil companies utilise this, among other indicators, to determine whether an operation would be economically feasible. The Liza Phase Two breakeven is estimated at US$25 per barrel. “Guyana will still be generating free cash flow even at very low prices once Phase Two comes on,” Rielly said during January’s earnings call. Liza Phase Two is so valuable that Hess sold out its interest in a producing field in the Gulf of Mexico called Shenzi, freeing up cash to plug into the 2022 project. Rielly said Hess completed the sale last November for net proceeds of US$482 million.
WEDNESDAY THREEGUYANESE MISSINGAFTER USING SURINAME BACKTRACK CROSSING The Guyana Police Force, together with the National Coast Guard and relatives, are on a search and rescue operation for three persons who were left abandoned by a boat captain on a sandbank surrounded by water in the Corentyne River. The missing persons have been identified as Sherida Hussein, 48, of 274 Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice; Babuni Harrier called “Dorris,” 75, a pensioner, of Glasgow Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice and Alwin Joseph, of No.65 Village, Upper Corentyne, Berbice. Based on the information provided to this publication by the police, a report was made by 17-year-old Joshua Samaroo, son of Hussein, at
the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam, Berbice, on Tuesday around 02:00 hrs., stating that he received a cellphone call from his mother telling him that she was dropped off on a beach area and that the water was at her waist level and it was dark. He told the police that efforts to call her back after the phone went off proved futile. Two other persons were subsequently found to also be missing. The Coast Guard was subsequently contacted, the police said and a patrol vehicle was “activated from New Amsterdam to No. 61 along the Corentyne River.” The police said a boat and engine was put into action from Springlands, with members of the Guyana Police Force and relatives who made checks along the Corentyne River coastland, and a mobile unit patrolled the vicinity of No. 61 to Moleson Creek in an effort to locate the (Continued on page 24)
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From page 23 missing persons. Police late Tuesday afternoon said that searches were done between No.78 and No.61 to find those missing, but they turned up empty-handed as relatives still clung to hope that the missing trio might be alive. Nadira Valdez, granddaughter of the missing pensioner, disclosed that she received a call from her brother that her grandmother who had left for Suriname in December 2020, was returning back to Guyana Tuesday night. She said they told her that “granny coming over with a boat and they tell me to wait here for granny.” She said not long after she got a call from her mother saying that “granny dead.” She added a relative went to the No. 63 Beach and they were informed that relatives for the other missing persons were already at the beach searching and they did not find anyone. According to Valdez, they do not know who is the boat captain since her grandmother never travelled with him before but all “we know is that a boat bring three of them including my grandmother and drop her off they say at the beach and then they say they leave them somewhere that surrounded by water and that was the last we heard.” Valdez said her grandmother was eager to return home and so she decided to take the boat that was travelling in the night. Valdez said she was not too happy about that and told her aunts in Suriname not to allow her to travel in the night but “she still came, nobody knew she was coming.” The search continues for the missing persons. JAGDEO BELIEVES EXXON, CNOOC AND HESS WOULD PICK UP INSURANCE BILL…BUT GUYANA HAS NO GUARANTEE IN WRITING Guyana’s pocket would bleed tremendously if an oil spill or any
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other disaster should occur at any of ExxonMobil’s approved projects. Why? It is due to the fact that country remains without comprehensive insurance coverage from Stabroek Block operators; ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC/NEXEN. What Guyana does have however, is an agreement with Exxon’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). But that company has little assets, so little that it would not be able to carry the cost of any disaster that could occur in the Stabroek Block area, which would leave Guyana to bear the costs. And while Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo believes that Exxon and its partners should be the ones accepting liability for such disasters, the current administration has received no commitment from ExxonMobil detailing this. The Vice President was responding to a question posed by Kaieteur News on the topic at his press conference held Tuesday when he relayed, “That has been an old longstanding issue and you know what the answer is.”
Right now, the incorporated company…but we believe the liability passes to the parent company,” he stated, continuing “we internally, we believe that.” When asked whether government is comfortable with that arrangement, the VP outlined that the issue will be addressed in the new licensing agreement with the Stabroek Block partners. “These things have to be clarified crystal clear; they have to be crystal clear,” the VP added. It was the then Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams, that included in the Environmental Permits for Exxon’s Liza Two and Payara projects, a provision that safeguards Guyana from accepting liability from any disasters. That provision would also be included in all other permits not only for Exxon, but other oil companies. However, it was not included in the permit for Liza One. And while the EPA now under the control of Sharifa Razack has the authority to amend the permit, it has made no move to
The World Bank highlighted that there is insurance that covers a blowout from an oil project, referred to as the Operators’ Extra Expense
quence of the spill was more than US$8 billion since the insurance of the operator did not cover pollution following a blowout, one that the company is still paying for. Exxon is no stranger to oil spills either. There was the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil spill, said to be one of the most devastating manmade disasters in the world. The Exxon-Valdez oil tanker ran into a reef in Alaska causing more than 10 million gallons of oil to cloak the Alaska coastline. The spill killed thousands of whales, seabirds and other marine life. The tourism and fishing industries were devastated for years. THURSDAY
“You are not going to get a new answer from me now.
do so, leaving Guyana at further risk. Guyana was advised by international lending agency, The World Bank to demand comprehensive insurance policies from operators. It had warned that operators have often sought insurance, which only covers certain activities. These may include third party legal liability and control of wells, re-drill, and cleanup of sudden and accidental pollution from a well out of control. It cautioned that oil industry regulators should ensure that an operator’s insurance covers every possible eventuality since for some operators, their insurance excludes blowout or subsurface pollution or below-wellhead risk.
(OEE) insurance. It had said too that emerging oil producers such as Guyana would want to ensure that this is in place especially when one considers how other nations suffered in the absence of this, citing the case of the major oil spill, which occurred in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. That spill led to a loss of 53,000 barrels of oil a day for many weeks and covered 6,500 square kilometers, involving five million barrels of oil. The source, the Deepwater Horizon field, was operated by British Petroleum (BP) under a joint operating agreement with Anadarko Petroleum and Mitsui Oil Corporation. The financial conse-
NEW GAS COMPRESSOR ORDERED, TO ARRIVE BY YEAR-END – EXXONMOBILREP. – OLD ONE REACHES GERMANY FOR DIAGNOSIS ExxonMobil Guyana’s Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, said that the company has ordered a new flash gas compressor, which is expected to arrive later this year. Her comment followed questions from Kaieteur News on ExxonMobil’s enforcement of provisions in the Liza Phase One environmental permit which require equipment sparing. The company had flared gas all year in 2020, but is only now reporting an order of a new third stage compressor, after its equipment failed for the third time. Article 3.13 of the Liza Phase One environmental permit, states “Efforts should be made to prevent equipment
breakdowns and plant upsets, which could result in flaring and provisions should be made for equipment sparing and plant turn-down protocols where practical.” ”We do maintain spare equipment in country,” Persaud told Kaieteur News, “to support maintenance activities…” Kaieteur News had inquired with Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Sharifah Razack, about the enforcement of the provision, and she had said that, as the internal mechanical seal on the defective compressor became unseated, there is a replacement seal already in country to install if the need arises. This was clearly not enough to resolve the current issue, as ExxonMobil’s attempts at diagnosing and fixing the issue have failed. ExxonMobil Guyana’s Production Manager, Mike Ryan, had told reporters on (Continued on page 25)
ExxonMobil’s Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud.
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From page 24 Monday that the company does not know why the seal failed, or whether a more thorough inspection by the manufacturer, MAN Turbo, would reveal some other issue in the machine ”We don’t know it all. The machine is highly complex…” Ryan had said. ”We have placed an order for a new flash gas compressor, which will be available closer to the end of year, given the complex nature of the equipment,” Persaud told Kaieteur News. The ExxonMobil representative noted that this action is “in addition to repairs on the existing equipment.” The company revealed in an operational update Wednesday that the compressor, the inlet silencer and necessary spare parts have arrived at the manufacturer’s workshop in Germany, the MAN Energy workshop. ”Teams of technical experts from the vessel’s owner SBM Offshore, the equipment manufacturer MAN Energy and ExxonMobil are currently preparing for inspection activities, which will help to define the scope and plan of repairs,” the statement posited. ExxonMobil estimates, according to Country President Alistair Routledge, that the diagnosis for the defective compressor would take about eight weeks. In the meantime, ExxonMobil claims it will work as much as it can to find other ways to reduce the flaring, if possible. By the time eight weeks pass, ExxonMobil is likely to have flared about 14 billion cubic feet of gas since it started production in December 2019. Even then, the manufacturer would need time to repair the equipment after it figures out what the problem is. Guyana will have to endure flaring for that long, at ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One project. It is notable that a Tuesday press conference with Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, revealed that ExxonMobil held back information on its rate of flaring during a closed engagement with the press on Monday. Routledge had reported that ExxonMobil is flaring 16 million cubic feet of gas per day. Dr. Jagdeo revealed that the company is flaring up to 18 million cubic feet per day. Routledge only reported the lower end of the range. ExxonMobil insisted Wednesday that it is in compliance with all of its environmental permits and regulatory requirements and that it will continue to work with government to “find the right balance for the country while
constantly seeking minimise flaring.”
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to
GRIEVINGFAMILYTAKES SLAIN BANDIT IN CASKET TO POLICE STATION It was a chaotic scene Wednesday after grieving relatives took the corpse of a slain bandit, in a casket, and placed it in front of the Sparendaam Police Station, located on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD). The body belonged to that of 22-year-old, Sherwin Filley popularly known as ‘Red Ants,’ of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. He was shot
by police on January 29 last, while resisting arrest. During his funeral procession Wednesday, his relatives took his casket and placed in front of the police station claiming that he was not a wanted man, but instead, murdered by police ranks. They tried to break into the station but ranks there armed themselves and stood guard at the door. Relatives held some of them back, while reporters, who were on the scene, told them to desist from breaking into the station or the police will shoot.
They began cursing the officers and claimed that he was strangled before police shot him. They even showed reporters a police badge they claimed to have found in the dead man’s underwear. The name on the badge was Forde and relatives said that he was the one who might have assaulted and shot Filley. Another relative said that police had gone to arrest him earlier that day but he ran away. That individual claimed that police returned that evening with the intention to kill him. The person even noted that even if he was wanted, police ranks could have shoot him to his hand or leg and not kill him. The standoff between the relatives and police continued until back up arrived, removed the casket, and placed it back into a hearse, which was waiting on the opposite side of the road. Police had reported that on January 29 around 01:50 hrs., ranks had gone to a wooden shack located on the Ogle Seawalls to arrest Filley for robbery and three counts of assault on a 50-year-old man. He reportedly locked himself inside to avoid being captured. Police then broke down the door, but he allegedly armed himself with a cutlass and attacked them. In retaliation, a rank discharged a round and Filley was struck to his eye. He collapsed and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where he was pronounced dead. Trio missing after using Suriname backtrack crossing... Boat captain, worker held as two bodies found; one still missing Authorities in neighbouring Suriname, acting on information provided to them by their Guyanese counterpart, have detained the boat captain accused of abandoning three Guyanese on a sandbank in the Corentyne River. Sources close to the investigation divulged that the boat captain and a man that works with him turned themselves into authorities in the Dutch country. They were subsequently detained, and are being questioned by Dutch police, as they try to piece together details to determine how the three persons were left in the waters. Sherida Hussein, 48, of Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice; Alwin Joseph of No.65 Village and Babuni Harihar, 75, were reportedly dropped off on a sandbank in Corentyne waters around 02:00 hrs. Tuesday. The trio had boarded the boat in
Nickerie, Suriname. However, although they had gotten close to home, they never made it back to their relatives here. Police confirmed Wednesday that two bodies have since been recovered. They have been identified as Alwin Joseph and Babuni Harihar. Kaieteur News was informed that sometime around 06:00 and 06:30 hrs., a fisherman by the name of Ramdial Lakeraj of Middle Dam, No.65 Village, Upper Corentyne, and his son, Danraj Lakeraj, stumbled upon the body of a male on the No.60 foreshore. They made contact with the police, who arrived at the scene shortly after. The police are said to have examined the body but no marks of violence were noticed. The body was subsequently identified as Alwin Joseph by a family friend. “Abay na see no marks of violence but we na cudda go close, the police na want we go close. Dem find he body at 60 side on the shore, he had on a blue soldier vest and a short trunks and he na had nothing more,” Afeek Ali, one of Joseph’s friends, told this publication. Just about two hours later, the police were again summoned to a location at No.70 Village by another fisherman of Lot 181, No.70 Village, Upper Corentyne. He had reported that he discovered the body of a female lying in a clump of bushes along the beach shore. The hands and feet of the body were peeled, and based on an ‘on the spot’ examination by authorities who arrived at the location, there were no visible marks of violence on that body as well. Police however stated that a black and white Adidas haversack was found not far from the body. The bag, police said, contained a quantity of clothing and a Guyana ID with the name Sookranie Harry. Also just about 400 meters away, a black travelling bag and a black purse were found.
That also contained clothing and a Guyana ID card with the name Babuni Harihar. Both bodies were taken to the Skeldon Hospital and Harihar’s body was identified by her granddaughter, Nadira Valdez. Additionally, daughter of Harihar, Sunita Sukhra, told reporters that her mother left for Suriname to see her grandchildren in Suriname, since COVID-19 and the restrictions had prevented her from visiting them, as she usually would do before the pandemic. “When she reached, she wanted to come back after spending some time and we kept telling our sister over there don’t let her come over in the night because she is not seeing well and she is big. I don’t know if they decided to put her in a boat, we didn’t get a call that she was coming. We got a call when they already dropped her and called my son-in-law to ask if she reached home and then he told them no,” Sukhra said. The grieving daughter disclosed that her son-in-law then got in contact with the boat operator and questioned him where he dropped them off.“He said he dropped them on a sea bank in the river and he didn’t realise that the distance is far away from the shore so when he checked back, they were already gone,” Sukhra said. The two bodies that were found were subsequently moved to the Anthony’s Funeral Parlour, where a post mortem is expected to be done shortly. FRIDAY SURINAME GETS PARENT COMPANIES TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY OF OIL SPILLS - OIL BOSS SAYS “SUBSIDIARIES ARE NOTHING, YOU HAVE TO GET INSURANCE FROM PARENT COMPANY” Suriname leaves no stone (Continued on page 26)
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From page 25 unturned when it comes to securing benefits for its people. In fact, the country’s national oil company (NOC), Staatsolie, ensures that the parent companies in the oil and gas sector take full responsibility for any oil spill that may occur in Suriname waters. Staatsolie’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director, Rudolf Elias revealed these crucial protective measures during his debut appearance on the Kaieteur Radio programme Guyana’s Oil & You, on February 4, last. There, Senior Kaieteur News Journalist Kiana Wilburg asked Elias if Staatsolie ensures that it gets full insurance coverage from the parent company in the unfortunate event of an oil spill occurring. To this, the oil boss explained, “Yeah, the parent company. The subsidiary is nothing. You have to get the insurance from the parent company, and if you have the insurance of the parent company then you shouldn’t have to worry, because they have more to lose even as the country.” Further, Elias stated that if a country proceeds with an oil development then it must ensure that it is done with the “big boys” as he pointed to companies like US ExxonMobil and French Total or “one of these companies because they have very big pockets.” In continuing, Elias pointed to British Petroleum (BP) and its well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico of 2010. In that disaster, which is deemed as the world’s worst accidental oil spill, BP was required to pay for US$70B in damages. Eleven years later, BP is still paying for that spill. It begs the question whether the subsidiary would have been able to handle those billion of dollars in expenses had it been on the hook for such a disaster. “So it [an oil spill] can happen. We say that it cannot happen. But when a disaster does happen, you have to ensure that the companies who are backing this should be the big brother, one of the big ones,” Elias maintained. Guyana still without comprehensive insurance It has been one year since Guyana has been producing oil in the Stabroek Block, namely at the Liza Phase One operation. ExxonMobil, the operator of the block, is currently producing 120,000 barrels of oil each day. Even with such high production levels, Guyana has no commitment from Exxon, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/NEXEN that it
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would ensure the provision of comprehensive insurance if a spills occurs. Instead, what Guyana has secured is a limited insurance policy for Liza One from the subsidiaries, or limited liability companies – namely Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess Guyana and CNOOC/ NEXEN Guyana. INAUGURALADDRESS TO NATIONALASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ALI SAYS NOTHINGABOUT SECURING BETTER EXXON DEAL OR INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR GUYANA While his inaugural address to Guyana’s National Assembly Friday lasted approximately one and half hours, President Irfaan Ali made no mention of two crucial areas relating to the oil and gas sector. These two critical matters relate to securing better terms for the country in the Stabroek Block deal signed with US oil super major, ExxonMobil, and securing comprehensive insurance coverage for any potential disaster from Exxon’s approved projects. In his address, President Ali stated, “We must also acknowledge that we cannot take advantage of our oil and gas resources without the considerable investment of the companies now operating in the sector.” Those companies, he added, are entitled to a “fair return on their investment”; therefore, any relationship with those companies should be based on “fairness, on equity and on mutual interest.” However, the Stabroek Block deal is anything but fair. In fact, industry experts referred to it as one of the worse contracts in the world. Over the past five years, Kaieteur News would have reported that Guyana left billions of dollars on the table when it negotiated the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil. To make matters worse, the deal is fraught with numerous provisions, which leave the country open for abuse. These include pre-contract costs discrepancies; taxes that are paid by Guyana on behalf of the oil companies; unspecified interest rates expensed to Guyana for loans taken by the oil entities; and weak provisions on the protection of the environment, etc. And while there have been a slew of calls for renegotiations, government does not seem to be looking in this direction as President Ali continued that the goal of
President Irfaan Ali delivering his inaugural address to the National Assembly
“fairness and equity” is one which government will work to ensure “future production contracts resound.” Also notably absent was any mention of ensuring that Guyana is properly protected in the event of an oil spill or related disaster To date, Guyana has received no guarantee that Stabroek Block operators, ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC/NEXEN will be the ones accepting liability for any oil spill that occurs in its territorial waters. What Guyana does have however, is an agreement with Exxon’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) to handle all disaster related costs. But that company does not have enough assets to secure the kind of insurance coverage Guyana would need to offset the cost of any disaster that could occur in the Stabroek Block area. Aware of how dangerously exposed this leaves Guyana, agencies like the World Bank had cautioned the authorities of the day to ensure that they demand comprehensive insurance policies from operators, warning that operators have often sought insurance covering only certain activities. It had said too that emerging oil producers such as Guyana would want to ensure that this is in place especially when one considers how other nations suffered in the absence of this, citing the case of the major oil spill, which occurred in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. During his address, President Ali also made mention of his government’s plans to
pursue various legislative and institutional initiatives, along with the updating of Guyana’s Petroleum Act, building capacity to audit cost recovery along with the drafting of new production agreements with international standards under which new production licences will fall. Added to that, the President touched on the establishment of the Petroleum Commission, the Local Content Policy and improving the Sovereign Wealth Fund. While those are important matters to be addressed, the President and his Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo have made such statements since last year. Kaieteur News had highlighted in a previous article that there are several key areas for President Ali and his government to focus on to ensure that Guyana’s future as an oil and gas producing nation is a prosperous one. These are highlighted once again: 1. Putting in place appropriate technology offshore to monitor the measurement of oil remotely. 2. Design a roadmap to use a portion of the oil money to build sustainable industries. 3. Outlining benchmarks for Corporate Social Responsibility. 4. Establish a Decommissioning Policy. 5. Outline a structure for what is to be expected in Field Development Plans. 6. Strengthen key auditing agencies, specifically the Office of the Auditor General. 7. Strengthen institutions that will be responsible for the expenditure of the oil money-
including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Ministry of Health. 8. Improve Guyana’s capacity to monitor and record emissions offshore, particularly in the case of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 9. Provide resources to the EPA so that it can make unannounced visits to the FPSOs while following safety standards. 10. Hire technical experts needed within the Ministries of Natural Resources, EPA, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) etc. 11. Review massive tax concessions/ tax holidays. Example: provisions in oil contracts that allow tax exemptions on capital gains tax, personal income tax and withholding tax. 12. Update policies/laws/ regulations regarding direct and indirect transfers of interests in offshore blocks. 13. Implement software solutions for compliance monitoring and for operating requisite controls for expenditure of oil money. 14. Update laws and regulations to address issues of ring-fencing, transfer pricing (and other financial loopholes/issues), health and safety of workers, monitoring of the environment (regarding issues such as flaring and stiffer penalties for such infractions), pre-qualification criteria for oil blocks, etc. 15. Outline a vision for the oil sector following consultation with citizenry. 16. Strengthen and increase systems for reporting
on decisions in the oil and gas industry. SATURDAY BUDGET 2021 TOTALS $383.1B …NO NEW TAX MEASURESANNOUNCED Guyana’s largest budget to date totalling $383.1 billion was Friday presented to the National Assembly under the theme “A Path To Recovery, Economic Dynamism and Resilience.” The four-hour long presentation was made by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, with the 2021 budget being financed without any new tax measures. Among the wide range of public investment projects and initiatives announced, were several measures aimed at bringing relief to the thousands of Guyanese who were hit financially when the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the economy. According to Dr. Singh, those measures also deliver targeted interventions aimed at specific sectors and spheres of activity that are particularly important both to households and businesses. During his presentation, Dr. Singh announced the restoration of food items and other basic household necessities to zero rated value added tax (VAT) status. These items include basic wheaten flour, basic breads, oats, unflavored cracker biscuits, cooking oil, locally produced bed sheets and pillowcases and toothbrushes, etc. Water, an essential aspect to human life also received a (Continued on page 27)
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From page 26 5% reduction targeting all levels of consumers. And with construction being a key sector and contributor to Guyana’s economic development, Government also announced zero rated VAT status for stone imported for construction and housing from CARICOM, locally produced pre-stressed concrete piles, locally fabricated mild steel beams for building construction along with locally manufactured roofing and PVC products for building construction. According to Dr. Singh, Government will continue to monitor the cost of basic construction materials, such as cement and steel, and examine the possibility of applying relevant taxes to cushion the impact of steep price escalation. As another boost, Government also announced the reduction of duty on industrial grade cement from 15% to 5%. Added to that, Government also announced restoration of zero-rated VAT status in relation to goods when imported and works and services purchased by a Budget Agency. While Government had announced last year, an increase from $8 million to $10 million in the ceiling on lowincome housing loans to obtain through commercial banks under the low income housing loans programme, 2021 will see that ceiling being raised to $12 million, to make housing loans more affordable to borrowers within that range. “We will also, in due course examine the appropriateness of extending the programme to include other financial institutions such as insurance companies,” Dr. Ashni Singh continued.
In addition to that measure, Government also announced an increase in the housing loan ceiling at the New Building Society from $12 million to $15 million. Government also announced the removal of VAT on data for residential and individual use. Dr. Ashni Singh highlighted as well that in the 2020 budget, VAT was removed from ATVs for mining, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing. To further reduce the cost of transportation for hinterland communities and operators, the Government moved to remove the duty on ATVs for use in the hinterland. As it relates to Guyana’s school aged children, Government announced the introduction of a cash grant valuing $15,000 per child attending the nursery, primary and secondary in the public school system.
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Guyana’s elderly will also see a pension increase from $20,500 to $25,000, which according to the Minister will benefit over 60,000 persons and put an additional $4 billion of disposable income in their hands. Public Assistance payment was also raised from $9,000 to $12,000 providing an additional $500 million in disposable income to these individuals. And finally, on the cards for budget measures, Government announced that the sale of assets that were owned for more than 25 years will not attract capital gains tax on their disposal. In totality, budget measures for 2021 amounted to $50 billion factoring in the $40 billion expended on budget measures for 2020. TEEN WHO TRIED TO EXTORT $10M FROM EXBOYFRIEND WITH RAPE ALLEGATION, REMANDED
Kaieteur News – A 19year-old woman, was Friday remanded to prison after she pleaded guilty to attempting to extort $10M from her exboyfriend, by claiming that she would make a police report saying that he attempted to rape her. The defendant, Princess Williams, of 3127 Block Three, Providence, East Bank Demerara, made her first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly. Unrepresented, Williams pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that between January 4, and January 7, 2021, at Georgetown, with intent to extort from Kenrick Thomas $10M, she threatened to accuse him of attempt-
ing to rape her. According to the facts of the charge that was presented to the court by the Police Prosecutor, Williams and Thomas shared a four-month relationship. On January 4, 2021, Thomas invited Williams to his home. While at Thomas’ home, he asked Williams to engage in sexual intercourse and she consented. Afterwards, an argument ensued, and the relationship ended. The court heard that Williams later contacted Thomas
and sent him a voice note in which she claimed that he tried to rape her and if he didn’t pay her the sum of $10M, she would report the matter to the police. Thomas reported the matter to the police and an investigation was launched. Williams was later arrested and charged with
extortion.Senior Magis-
trate Daly remanded Williams to prison and the matter was adjourned t o
March 1, 2021, for a probation report and sentencing.
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Sunday February 14, 2021
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==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
Did I imagine it? I thought I saw a bracelet in the circus It happens to hundreds of millions of people like me. As we head into old age, your imagination plays tricks on you. When controversial former minister, David Patterson, chose to climb on to the fence of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCA) last Thursday to get into the compound when Parliament was waiting for the arrival of the president, I thought I saw he was wearing the million dollar gold bracelet, which he was improperly given. When the police ranks snatched him off the fence, as he turned to the cameras to show them his underwear which was visible because the backside of his pants were torn, I did not see the sybaritic item on his hand. Did he wear it and it was stolen as he came back down to the ground into the crowd or is it my imagination? I have spent over 50 years in political activism and I have seen politicians say and do asinine things but last Thursday was the most entertaining yet saddest time at the circus since colonial days. Let’s start with the clownish parts. To see a middle age gentleman like Patterson with a tight pair of denim jeans and a long-sleeve shirt stuck to his skin trying to scale the fence was pathetic. You just don’t do those things wearing such type of clothes at such age. I watched the entire episode. He was trying desperately to get over and you can discern that when he was stuck, his reproductive organs were endangered. Now you may read into this a
light moment. I’m serious. Watch the video and you will see the danger when he got stuck. It is predictable that when you put your leg over a fence and get stuck, you are endangering the organs that are inside your crotch. Before I move off this incident, I emphasize I am not joking. Now for the sad part of the circus of Thursday, February 11, 2021 outside the (ACCC) where the National Assembly was convened. There are two parts to this crescendo of sadness. One revolves around Patterson, the other around Joe Harmon. As you watch Patterson try to get over the fence, you know he was trying to bring back the heroic days of his party, the AFC, when it was born in late 2005 and reached its highest peak in 2015 when the Guyanese people gave it a chance to transform this nation in ways people literally begged for. But who in 2025 will vote for David Patterson and the AFC? Those days are gone. People who loved the AFC now hate them. The AFC attracts more disgust in the minds of Guyanese than any other political party. Patterson can attempt more “heroic” climbs until 2025 when the next election comes around but the AFC is dead and the AFC’s sister party, the PNC, is not getting back in power in the foreseeable future. Now to Joe Harmon. I honestly feel Mr. Harmon is losing it. I am told that Moses Nagamootoo did not take the loss of power easily and may need the prayers of those who love him. One hopes
Harmon is not heading in the direction, which Nagamootoo went into since August 2020. He is doing strange things like asking India to reject Charrandass as High Commissioner. Harmon cut a pathetic figure outside the ACCC when he spoke to the press after the police ejected Patterson. Harmon asked if the police do not have better things to do with their time, like fighting crime. Rewind the tape six months ago when Harmon was just as powerful as the president. The police removed a
GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, from the GECOM command centre at the Ashmin’s Building when only the GECOM Chairman could have made that request and she did not. After Gunraj was escorted from the command centre, Harmon or President Granger or the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, or the Police Commissioner humiliated the commanding officer at the Ashmin’s Building, Edgar Thomas, by removing him from his post and consigning him to road duties elsewhere. What did Thomas do wrong to warrant
such harshness? Thomas refused the request to eject Gunraj because Gunraj was entitled to be at the command centre as a GECOM Commissioner. Harmon, Granger and Ramjattan should never be shown any respect by any Guyanese if they do not apologise to Thomas. Harmon was as powerful as his president when the police again disgraced themselves when they removed another GECOM commissioner, Robeson Benn, from observing GECOM operations for the CARICOM election recount at the ACCC.
Frederick Kissoon Harmon like Patterson is not ever going to taste power again. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Coronavirus: My Covid-19 Vaccination experience and what lies ahead for us By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center
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his past week gave me renewed hope of us getting ahead of this pandemic. I never thought I would be getting vaccinated against COVID-19 so early. It’s been less than a year since the World Health Organization declared this pandemic, and we already have access to vaccines against it in Guyana. I am grateful to the authorities and I am also optimistic for my fellow Guyanese as the government has declared that there should be sufficient vaccines for all Guyanese in 2021. This has obviously provided us with an opportunity to exit the pandemic and we need to grasp the opportunity to get vaccinated with both hands. Today, I will share my vaccination experience with you and present facts that will hopefully encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as your turn comes. How I felt after getting vaccinated? I was given my first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine late last week and it was a surreal experience. As a health worker that routinely deals with COVID-19 patients, it felt like I was being given a dose of freedom as I wouldn’t have to put my life in jeopardy every time I have to see a patient. The nurse that adminis-
tered my vaccine was as nice as they come and I didn’t feel much when it was given to me. I then went back to work as per normal and had a productive work day. As it progressed into the evening, my arm got a bit sore and I had a mild headache. As the night progressed and early the next day, I had some body aches and felt a little fatigued00. I am currently firing on all cylinders and I’m feeling much more optimistic than before I was vaccinated. Is it bad to get symptoms after being vaccinated? While many see some post-vaccination symptoms as side effects and being bad, I was very happy to have the body aches and fatigue. Knowing what I knew, I realised that my symptoms were a sign that my body was mounting an immune response to the vaccine and therefore, I am developing immunity against COVID-19. If I didn’t get any symptoms after the vaccine, I would have been worried that I may not have mounted an immune response. So while most look at the following symptoms as side effects of the vaccine, I look at them as our immune response to the vaccine: sore arm headache chills tiredness feeling sick fever dizziness weakness aching muscle
Of course, there may be a few persons with allergic reactions to the vaccine but that is extremely rare. Most of the time, these persons would have had a history of being allergic to other vaccines.
doesn’t mean that you are allergic to vaccines. If you never had allergic reactions to vaccines, then it’s likely that you will not be allergic to the COVID-19 vaccine. What lies ahead for me?
Receiving my jab last week.
Please note that vaccines are different from injections that are given for pain and routine infections. If you were allergic to a pain or antibiotic injection, it
Now that I would have gotten my first dose, I will have to get a follow up booster shot in three months. This booster shot basically seals the deal and strength-
ens my immune response even further, so that my body is more prepared to combat COVID-19. Currently, my immune system is working to develop antibodies against the SarsCov2 virus (coronavirus) and it will take about a couple of weeks for sufficient antibodies to form. While there should be a decent amount of antibodies in about a month from now, the booster shot in three months will ramp those antibodies level further up so that I have an extremely strong defence system that is prepared and ready to overwhelm the coronavirus if I get in contact with it. Can I finally move around without masks? No I cannot! As you just read, my body will take time to prepare a proper immune response against the coronavirus. During this time, I can still get infected and be affected from COVID-19. In addition, there is a small percentage of people who the vaccine does not work as well as it does in most others. While I am optimistic that the vaccine is efficacious in me because of my symptoms after being vaccinated, I will not leave anything to chance. I will therefore still practice social distancing, wear my mask and practice proper hygiene until enough of us are vaccinated and we can exit the pandemic. What lies ahead for Guyana? I am optimistic for us as a country especially after the
Dr. Zulfikar Bux government announced that it should have sufficient vaccines for all Guyanese in 2021. We need to vaccinate around 75-80 percent of our population before we can begin to safely move around freely and without masks. If we take too long to do this and the virus continues to spread, then the virus is likely to mutate even more and the current vaccines may become ineffective. We are racing against the virus and these vaccines are the boosters that we have to win this race before the virus mutates too much and we can never catch up with it. I am therefore urging you to get vaccinated as soon as your turn arrives and encourage everyone you know to do the same. We are in this together and can only get out if we all play our part and get vaccinated. If more than 25 percent of us choose to not get vaccinated, then we are stuck in this pandemic and we will all continue to suffer for years to come.
Sunday February 14, 2021
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Bus intercepted with smuggled fish and shrimps On Friday, ranks attached to the Anti-Crime patrol intercepted a bus with tubs of shrimp and fish suspected to be smuggled from Suriname. Police disclosed that around 17:20hrs, the bus bearing licence plate PFF 7221 was heading in a southern direction along the Number 77 Public Road. After being intercepted, a search was carried out and several tubs with shrimp and salt bags with fish, suspected to be smuggled from neighbouring (Continued on page 53)
The tubs of shrimp and fish that were found.
Sunday February 14, 2021
Animal activist and budding... From page 18 depend on her for food, love and care. “It is also important to other people who love animals but cannot volunteer or offer any help for various reasons…at the end of the day I am the voice for the voiceless. I can tell you this much that when I look into the eyes of an abused dog, I can feel a pain piercing through my heart. I cry many days and nights for the ones that died brutally and the ones that couldn’t make it. They need me and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said the passionate animal lover. To say that she did it on her own, without the guidance and push of others,
would be far from the truth. The aspiring lawyer credits her influence to other influential women in society. According to Doneeta, her late grandmother, Dharnie Ramlakhan known as Aunty Baby, with whom she grew up, and fellow ARAPS members Mellissa Ramdeen and Shari Rodrigues, were some of the women who influenced her to become the woman she is today. “From the time I have known these women, my entire life has changed. I have been able to think clearer and not to react to situations on the first go but to look and analyze from more than one angle before drawing my conclusion. I have been able to overcome situations and ignore those who have continued to sideline me and my work,” Ramlakhan added. ALWAYS RESILIENT As the career driven-animal activist continues to make a positive impact on a society that sometimes has its cruel side, the young woman with a vision has noted that her greatest achievement to date was the ability to get back up when life had kicked her to the curb. “At a very tender age my mom and dad were separated. My dad committed a crime and was sent to prison and my mom had to care for my brother and me. Not having our own house posed a major challenge for my mom and she made the difficult decision to choose between me and my brother. She chose my brother since he was much younger. Luckily, my grandmother agreed to take me in and send me to school,” she shared. “Times were tough for grandma and I had to start working and earning since I was eight years old. I have never stopped. It is my desire to succeed and to have a better life… that is what kept me going and continues to keep me striving for greater things. I stayed in school, studied as hard as I could and here I am today, still working and studying, on the road to becoming a lawyer,” said Doneeta with pride. For her, life has taught her a valuable lesson and that is that “change is only constant and with determination, prayers and hard work, anything is possible.” While her life has had its dark clouds, Doneeta found the beam that continues to light her path. She believes that her life experiences have moulded her into the resilient being she is today. As such, she wants people to keep on dreaming and keep believing in themselves, despite the circumstances they face. “You are unique, you are one of a kind and you are made in the image of the Almighty,” is a notion that our ‘Special Person’ embraces each day of her life.
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
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The Court Disposal of matters… Trial, Preliminary Journal Inquiry and Paper Committal By Renay Sambach oday we will continue to explore the different aspects of the judicial system at the Magistrate’s Court level. In this article, we will examine the different methods Magistrates use to dispose of matters. In the Magistrate’s Court, there are three different methods in which matters are tried. For the not so serious offences, a trial is conducted, while for the serious offences the Magistrate can either conduct a preliminary inquiry (PI) or a paper committal. For the serious offences, the defendant is not allowed to either plead guilty or not guilty, since the matter was laid indictably. For those offences, the Magistrate does not impose a sentence but rules whether or not sufficient evidence was presented to the court for the matter to either be discharged or for the defendant to be committed to stand trial in the High Court of the respective district. However, while a PI can last for more than five years, most Magistrates prefer this method, and the paper committal which was introduced in 2008 can last up to 45 days. TRIAL Some matters can be disposed of at the Magistrate’s Court level. Some of those matters are: larceny charges such as ‘simple larceny,’ ‘larceny from the person,’ ‘break and enter and larceny,’ assault charges, threatening and abusive language. While those offences are still criminal acts, those matters can be disposed of in the Magistrate’s Court. On the defendant’s first court appearance he/she is required to either plead guilty or not guilty to the charge after it is read by the Magistrate. With a guilty plea, based on the offence, the Magistrate can either, sentence the defendant to not more than five years, impose a fine or order the defendant to do community service. In some instances, some persons are fined and sentenced, but the Magistrate would also take into consideration the defendant’s honesty and with a not guilty plea, the matter will have to go to trial. The defendant is either granted bail or remanded,
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and a date will be set for report and fixture. This will be based on the readiness of the prosecutor, who is expected to have his/her file completed and be ready for trial. With the file completed, a date is then set for trial. During the trial, the prosecutor will call his/her witnesses to testify orally in court. Every witness who testifies is subject to be cross-examined by either the defendant or his/her attorney. The Magistrate will usually take written notes of each witness’ testimony which is called a longhand deposition. After that process is completed the defendant/attorney will then make his/her no-submission to the court and the prosecutor will also make a submission. A no-case submission to the court occurs when the defence highlights aspects of the matter to support their claims that the prosecution does not have a matter against their client. When the Magistrate is finished reading both parties’ submissions, a date will be set for ruling on the submissions. If the Magistrate upholds the defence’s nocase submission, the matter will be dismissed. However, the Magistrate can also rule that there is sufficient evidence against the defendant. In the Magistrate’s Court, someone who is found guilty of an offence can only be sentenced to a total of five years, which can be accompanied by a fine. PRELIMINARY INQUIRY (PI) For the more serious offences like rape, murder, manslaughter, treason, and causing death by dangerous driving, among other offences, a trial cannot be conducted in the Magistrate’s Court. For those matters, the Magistrate can either conduct a preliminary inquiry (PI) or paper committal. Magistrates often choose to conduct a PI into a matter, even though it can take more than five years to complete. Like the trial, the Magistrate takes down in writing every witness’ statement and records and marks all items presented to the court as exhibits. After the prosecution would have called all of
his/her witnesses to testify, the prosecution can then close their case. Most prosecutors are hopeful that the evidence they would have produced to the court would satisfy the Magistrate to make out a prima facie case, so that a reasonable jury can convict the defendant. If the Magistrate finds a prima facie case is made out against the accused, he/she can opt to lead their defence or not. A defendant, who chooses to lead their own defence, can call their witnesses to testify in the matter, but a defendant who refuses to lead their defence would automatically be committed to stand trial. The accused will then join the line of accused awaiting trial at the next convenient sitting of the criminal jurisdiction of the
High Court. It should be noted that the assizes do not consider the accused matter until the M a g i s t r a t e ’s l o n g h a n d depositions are typed by the court staff. A longhand can take anywhere from a few weeks to years to be completed. Additionally, there are several aspects of the PI which cause delays. Not only does the Magistrate have to set the matter to accommodate other PIs, summary civil matters, summary criminal matters, inquests, and other statutory and administrative functions, but also the police prosecutorial system and the defence counsel’s schedule, and the number of witnesses and the availability of the witnesses must be taken into consideration. While this method is commonly used by
Magistrates for serious offences, the PI into a matter usually takes years to complete thus this method often causes backlog in cases. PAPER COMMITTAL The Criminal Law Procedure (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2008 introduced a system which is known in other jurisdictions as ‘Paper Committals.’ A paper committal is when the witnesses’ statements and documentary evidence are tendered to the Court without the witnesses being present in court and are inventoried and marked as exhibits. Based on the written records, the Magistrate will take approximately 45 days before giving a ruling on whether there is sufficient evidence for a prima facie case to be made out for the accused to stand trial in the
High Court. A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Magistrate may also consider submissions from counsel that there is insufficient evidence or allow the cross-examination of witnesses before making his or her decision whether to commit the accused for trial. It should be noted that Magistrates are not expected to allow cross-examination ad nauseam as this would defeat the purpose of the act. Issues have been raised in the past whether the Magistrate should have more guidance in the form of regulations with appropriate safeguards to ensure the process would be executed in a fair manner. We have come to the end of this week’s article, but please join me next Sunday for more useful information about our court system.
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Twenty Valentines by Marion Mallette Thornton “Oh,” said Millicent, watching the postman’s blue coat up the street. “I wish he would come here day after tomorrow and bring me twenty valentines!” “Will he, Mitty?” JimmyBoy asked eagerly. Millicent shook her head. “‘Course not, Jimmy-Boy. I know only six little girls; I couldn’t get but six.” Aunt Sara was listening. She was Millicent’s very prettiest auntie from the city, and she nearly always found a way to help. “How would you like to send twenty valentines?” she asked. Millicent laughed. “Why, auntie, I couldn’t send but six, either. I don’t know any more girls. Besides, I haven’t any more valentines.” “Suppose I should show you how to make twenty valentines, and find twenty little girls to send them to; would you like, to do it?” Millicent came running from the window with Jimmy-Boy close behind her. “I’d love to, auntie! Please show me right away.” “Love to, auntie, right away,” echoed Jimmy-Boy. “You can help,” Aunt Sara promised. “You can bring the mucilage while Millicent gets the scissors.” When they came back with these, Aunt Sara had a pile of gay pictures on the table, and some sheets of thick white paper. “We will cut this into hearts,” she said, “and you can cut out these birds and
flowers and paste them on. Let’s see which can make the neatest and prettiest ones.” Jimmy-Boy had to be helped a little in cutting out pictures, but he had learned to paste neatly at kindergarten, and his valentines were so pretty it was hard for Aunt Sara to choose between his and Millicent’s. It was such fun making them that Millicent almost forgot about the twenty little girls they were to go to. “Who are they, auntie?” she asked when she remembered. “Where do they live?” “Away down in the city,” Aunt Sara explained. “Each one in a little white bed in a Children’s Hospital. I don’t know their names, but I’ll send them to the superintendent, and they will get them safely on Valentine’s Day. You can’t think how happy they will be.” “Oh, I just like to try to think!” cried Millicent. “I’m
glad we made them so nice.” The twenty valentines went off in their white envelopes the next morning. On Valentine’s Day the postman brought Milly six from the six little girls and two from Jimmy-Boy and Aunt Sara. They were lovely, and there were some for Jimmy-Boy, but they did not please the children nearly as much as a letter that came a week later. It was from the hospital superintendent and said: “I wish you could have seen my dear little sick girls smile when they saw their pretty valentines. They looked at them all day and slept with them under their pillows at night. One tiny girl kept hers in her hand. They all send a big ‘Thank you’ to Millicent and JimmyBoy.” “Next year we’ll begin sooner and make forty,” Millicent decided; “it’s lots more fun than getting them, isn’t it, Jimmy-Boy?”
Sunday February 14, 2021
Junior page Valentines Baby's Breath Heart Wreath · Draw a heart on a piece of cardboard with a slightly smaller heart (about 2 inches apart) inside of it. · Take a good pair of scissors and cut out the outside as well as the inside of the heart. · Take your floral foam pieces and place them around your guide making sure all of the cardboard is covered. Note that some will need to be cut in order to fit all the way around it. · Taking a glue stick spread a generous amount onto and secure each piece in place, this will need time to dry. You can use a glue gun, however, it does not stick as well but it will speed up the process. · With a sharp knife, trim the floral foam according to your guide. · Once you have the shape you want, take some twine and secure each piece in place. ·Take your baby’s breath and lightly spray it with spray paint until the color is as deep as you want it. · Once the baby’s breath is dry cut the pieces off and start placing them packed tightly together onto the wreath.
You'll Need: Cardboard Spray paint · Floral Foam · String * Glue Sticks ·Baby's Breath
FUN WITH POETRY
Helping Out by Uncle Roy It makes me feel so good When I make people happy, That I always try to do something To help someone daily. I help my Mommy clean the house, And even wash the dishes, I help my brother with his homework, And brush my father’s shoes. I sometimes help the old folks next door To shop and clean their place, I share my lunch with one of my friends, It puts such a smile on her face. So try this out and you will find People will see you as a treasure, But most of all the feeling you get Will make you want to help forever.
MASYU
The finished puzzle will contain a loop made of horizontal/vertical line segments that connects all the white and black circles. The line going thru a white circle must be straight. However, there must be at least one corner made on the dot immediate preceding or immediately following the white circle (or on both dots). The line going thru a black circle must turn a corner on the black circle. Both of the lines emanating from this corner need to go straight through the next dot before making any more turns.
Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
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TEEN TIME Follow your Conscience in all you do
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ll human beings have been born with an internal quality that enables them to determine what is right from wrong in every situation which they encounter in their lives. This is our God-given trait to keep us on the right path in life, even without the teachings and advice from others. You may not always see immediate results when you push yourself to act right, but be sure that whenever you follow your conscience good will follow at some time. It is also true that, as we keep on using this ability to
The Things that Limit us by Roy Paul (Uncle Roy) Man was born to be free to enjoy the things of this earth, But indulging in excess will only cause grief and hurt; We continuously seek pleasure as our life’s main aim, But we soon realize that the cost of this is usually endless pain; We toil and struggle to reap praise for all we are doing, And move to deflect any blame for any of our failings; Fame we most crave, and will sell our souls for it, Which in turn often results in disgrace and regret; The gain of worldly possessions is all some choose, But the more they try to grasp, the more they really lose; Many fill their hearts with hatred, the worst of our sins, That hurts the hater more than its intended victims; So do not make these attachments dictate who you are, Clearly get to know them and use them to get wiser;
guide our actions, we will at the same time be increasing it, which is effected by our intuition, the inner quality that always obeys our
TELL IT TO UNCLE ROY I would like to inform our readers that the Uncle Roy email address is temporarily unavailable. So please send any contributions you would like to make to this page to roypaul2002@yahoo.com
sincere intentions. The unfortunate thing is that the reverse is also true. When we continuously ignore the
inner promptings that tell us what is right from wrong, then we will be reducing this power, and becoming less able to utilise this guide. This must account for the outrageous actions which we continually observe being perpetrated by some, especially criminals, who feel that the evils they do are justified, as selfishness, greed and violence become a part of their lives. Try to do the right thing always, even though it may mean some cost to you. Knowing you take pains to follow your conscience will make you feel worthy, and inspire you to do the same always. Whenever you are faced with some situation for which you cannot readily determine what is the good and proper course of action, search deeply and sincerely within your mind and spirit, and you will be guided by this most valuable quality.
The more you allow them to keep you in their trap, The less you will enjoy life, the less clear your life’s map; So keep body and soul free to gather the pure and permanent, And you will fulfill the true purpose for which you were sent.
Solutions to last week’s
Hexadecimal Sudokus
The The effort effort to to keep keep using using your your conscience conscience to to guide guide you you in in your your choices choices will will be be rewarded rewarded by by keeping keeping you you on on the the right right track track in in all all situations. situations.
Slitherlink In a Slitherlink Puzzle, you connect horizontally or vertically adjacent dots to form a meandering path that forms a single loop, without crossing itself, or branching. The numbers indicate how many lines surround each cell. Empty cells may be surrounded by any number of lines (from 0 to 3). There is one unique solution, and you should be able to find it without guessing. You may find it helpful to make small x's between dots that cannot be connected.
CROSSWORD
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Home Remedies to Cure Dandruff Naturally 1.Apply Mehndi: You can cure dandruff using mehndi. Mehndi works well on your hair and softens it. Here is how you prepare the mehndi mix for your hair. Follow the above-listed pointers well and you will see the difference. Mehndi is natural and this is one simple way that you can get rid of dandruff easily. 2.Coconut Oil with Lemon: Coconut oil is said to keep your hair nourished and when this is mixed with little lemon juice, it can cure dandruff. This is also an easy home remedy to get rid of those tiny flakes that pull your confidence down. Follow these simple tips and get rid of dandruff permanently. 3.Fenugreek Seeds: Fenugreek seeds are used as a preventive cure for dandruff. Also known as methi seeds, this procedure needs to be followed in the right way possible. Preparation of Fenugreek Seeds Firstly, you need to put some fenugreek seeds in a small bowl of water and let it soak overnight. 4. Curd: Following a home remedy at home to treat dandruff may be a tough task to do, especially curd makes it very messy. Curd applied to your hair makes it very effective to treat dandruff. 5.Neem Juice: Neem is a very good cure for dandruff and this has been found in most shampoos as one of the main ingredients. The method of using neem juice on your hair doesn’t make it messy like curd being applied to your hair. 6 .Orange Peel: Orange peel is said to work well as a very good remedy for treating dandruff at home. But you need to keep in mind as for how you need to prepare this mix. 7. Vinegar: Vinegar has medicinal properties that can kill the bad fungus and this can be seen as an easy remedy to get rid of dandruff the easy way. This also helps in treating various skin related problems like acne and itchiness in the scalp. 8.Egg Yolk: Egg yolk contains biotin which is the major vitamin that treats dandruff. Egg yolks can act as conditioners for your hair that can make it healthier. 9. Green Tea: Green tea contains a lot of antifungal properties and it is an antioxidant that can restore the health of your scalp. All you need to cure dandruff is by applying some cooled green tea on your scalp and you can witness the difference. 10 .Basil Leaves: Basil leaves are one of the natural ways in which you can cure dandruff. This is because these leaves have antifungal and antibacterial properties that can cure you of heavy dandruff. These leaves can also help your scalp become strong and stay healthy. 11.Olive Oil: Olive oil can do a lot of good to your hair. All you need to do is to apply olive oil to your hair and this strengthens your scalp.
12. Listerine Mouthwash: Listerine mouthwash has antifungal properties that can fight the yeast responsible for preventing the growth of this yeast. 13.Banana With Apple Cider Vinegar: Banana and apple cider vinegar make a good choice for curing dandruff. This is because bananas are rich in vitamins B and this helps in improving blood circulation and keeps your skin healthy. On the other hand, apple cider vinegar is known as a fungicide and a germ killer and this helps in curing dandruff. 14.15Garlic: Garlic has a good source of antifungal properties that have the tendency to eliminate certain dangerous microbes that are responsible for causing dandruff. Note: Do not comb your hair using others hairbrush. Also, make sure you clean your hair once in two days. Regular cleaning of your hair will help prevent dandruff. https://www.medlife.com/blog/15-home-remedies-cure-dandruff-naturally/
Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
Sunday February 14, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Protecting lives on the roadways through monitoring of new/used tyres
==GNBS IN FOCUS== One of key components of a vehicle is its tyres. As the only link between the vehicle and the road, tyres essentially support the weight of the vehicle. However, the right tyres also provide grip for braking and acceleration, maintain steering and directional control and act as shock absorbers for vibrations from the road. As such, good tyres are essential in maintaining safe and accident-free roads. Stipulated within the Guyana Standard Specification for pneumatic
passenger car tyres, GYS 67:2017 (Second Edition) which was developed by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) are requirements for the importation of new and used tyres. The GNBS monitors this commodity under its Product Compliance Programme, in accordance with the standard to ensure quality; roadworthy tyres are available to consumers. According to the Standard, new tyres should not be more than two years old from the date of manufacture at the time of
importation into Guyana, and tyres that are six years or older should not be sold or offered for sale in Guyana. Following the reversal of the ban on used tyres in October 2020, the GNBS recommenced the monitoring of used tyres. For used tyres, the required thread depth must be at least four millimetres (4 mm) and must not exceed six years from the date of manufacture. In addition, Inspectors also look for tyre damage including exposed cords, thread separation, evidence of belt damage, ply
separation, flex break or casing break-up, loose cords on inner ply, blemished or tyres showing studs were used. A used tyre can also be deemed unusable, if there are nail holes or other injuries greater than 6mm in diameter and/or number more than two per tyre. Though this is a laborious task, tyres are individually inspected for defects and those which do not comply with the requirements are destroyed. Inspectors of the Bureau conduct examinations at ports of entry, bonds and outlets, where tyres are checked for labelling, quality and storage requirements.
For storage, the Standard specifies that the tyres must be stored vertically, horizontally or plaited to avoid deformation; and in a building to protect them from humidity, light, or extreme temperatures. Tyres must be stored away from oils and other chemicals, which can speed up deterioration. Importers and dealers of both new and used tyres are required to register with the GNBS annually to import and sell on the local market. The GNBS strongly encourages these stakeholders to acquire a copy of the National Standard so they can appropriately
advise their suppliers on the requirements to minimize rejects at the time of examination in Guyana. Although the GNBS spares no effort to ensure that all tyres sold on the local market reach the required Standard, importers, dealers and consumers must be cognisant of their role in ensuring quality tyres are used on our roadways. As mentioned before, lives can be lost if tyres are compromised. For further information, kindly contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190064/65/66 or send us a message on Whatsapp 6924627 (GNBS).
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
$15.3B budgeted for Police Force
The recently renovated Aurora Police Station on the Essequibo Coast which cost $40.3M.
The sum of $15.3B has been allocated for the Guyana Police Force in the 2021 national budget. This was announced by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, when he presented the $383.1B national budget on Friday.Dr. Singh in his presentation outlined some main areas in which the $15.3B is slated to be spent. He noted, for instance, that the sum of $300M will be used to procure more vehicles and marine vessels to expand the Force’s existing fleet across Guyana. Also, over $800M will be used for the rehabilitation, maintenance and construction of police stations. Among the police stations to undergo works are those at Providence, Ruimveldt, Cove and John, Albion, Wales and Whim, according to Minister Singh. The idea of upgrading police stations had started with the previous administration back in 2019 under then Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan. That year
a total of $821M was allocated for the rehabilitation works and modernisation of police stations. In 2020, it was reported that works were ongoing on several police stations and another $1B was allocated for this during the emergency budget presented by the current administration. Apart from its plan to continue funding this initiative, Dr. Singh said his government will also use $95M to resuscitate the community policing groups also known as ‘neighbourhood police’. According to the Minister, the neighbourhood police programme was dormant over the last five years and his government plans on making them visible again within communities across Guyana. He also highlighted in his presentation that from the total sum allocated, some will be used to train some 824 police ranks to improve the Force’s investigative and forensic capability. He said too that those ranks will benefit from 20 courses along with overseas training.
Govt. to update, finalise mining legislation – Finance Minister
Government is looking to engage in stakeholder consultations as it aims to finalise the amended Mining Act and Regulations of 1989. Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, revealed these and other goals during his presentation of the 2021 National Budget last Friday. During his presentation to the National Assembly, the Finance Minister recalled that the mining sector remains an important contributor to Guyana’s non-oil economy. Further to this, he indicated that mining contributed 13.3 percent to non-oil GDP in 2020, 69.1 percent of non-oil exports in 2020, and employed over 27,000 persons. “After the traumatic events of 2020,” Dr. Singh explained, “we are only now finally witnessing some return of investor confidence. Going forward, the PPP/C Government regards the sector as having a critical role to play in our economy.” The Finance Minister went on to say that Guyana’s economic, environmental and social landscapes have seen many changes since the Mining Act of 1989 and its Regulations were crafted. As a result of this ever-changing state of environment, the Minister said that an updated legislative regime, which aligns
Senior Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. with best practice and principles of Agenda 2030, is required and in 2021 is needed. Hence, the government will engage in stakeholder consultations as it gears to finalise an amended Act and Regulations. Meanwhile, to better ensure targeted and efficient allocations of both private and public resources, the Finance Minister said that work on improved quality mineral mapping will be undertaken. Once completed, he noted that this will reduce environmental damage while improving production and licence allocation. He added to ensure greater transparency in the allocation of mining lands; a Mineral Property Management System will be deployed, enabling applicants to track the status of their application online.
Sunday February 14, 2021
==CONSUMER CONCERNS== By Pat Dial It was recently reported in the media that two animal welfare groups - ‘Paws for a Cause’ and ‘Animal Rescue, Adoption and Protection Society’- had met First Lady, Arya Ali, who accorded her patronage to them and pledged her active and material support. These organizations have the basic aims of improving the welfare of animals, preventing animal cruelty and controlling the stray animal population, especially in Georgetown and New Amsterdam. The stray animal population in Georgetown has been principally caused by the heavy emigration of families who have had to reluctantly abandon their pets, animals being lost and unable to find their way home and the procreation of pups
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Kaieteur News
RENEWED INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE
and kittens who grow up on the streets. It is hoped that the renewed animal welfare efforts will humanely help to solve the problem of strays in contrast to the present method which is to catch the animals and put them to sleep. The process of effectuating these basic aims involve a number of activities which include finding homes for the animals; temporarily keeping them at the homes of volunteers until they would have been adopted; picking up strays, feeding them and spraying them and then releasing them. Two other more important and greater projects must be attained - educating primary school children as to the necessity and methodology of animal welfare and the building of animal shelters. Animal welfare could be taught
in the Biology classes or could very easily fit into Ecological and Environmental studies since the basic assumption of these studies is that “All life is one.” In other words, all living beings are related and interdependent whether they are trees, mammals, reptiles and other life forms. If therefore any species is diminished or exterminated, human life is affected although not immediately recognizable. Protection and preservation of animals, both domestic as well as in the wild, is therefore in
the interest of human beings. Caring for and protecting pets is a civilizing force in society. It diminishes violent crime and makes human relationships easier and more humane. In the 19th century, when literacy became almost universal in the West, the school readers’
inculcated love and respect for animals as for example, the Royal Readers used in Britain and the British Empire. In the older civilizations such as the Buddhist, the idea that all life is one is incontrovertible and pets and other animals are treated with great respect and empathy. This, for example, is manifested in the famous Metta Sutra where Man is enjoined to show loving-kindness to all sentient beings. Building shelters for pets, whether they are birds, turtles, monkeys, rabbits, dogs and cats would be a great improvement. The first one will be built at Paradise village on the East Coast of Demerara as a Paws for a Cause project. The Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) had long provided shelter and care for
animals, but their facilities are overcrowded. The Paradise shelter will have full veterinary services, facilities for children to visit and easier adoption process. At the present time, Paws for a Cause and Animal Rescue, Adoption and Protection Society use Social Media to educate and arrange for adoptions. Efforts are also being made to limit or control the use of squibs and fireworks, since their explosions cause severe suffering to animals.Guyana is now entering into a new era of economic and social development and this renewed interest in animal welfare is seen by many as part of its development. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
“E-Networks thanks GCCI for Business of the Year award - expressed its commitment to local content development E-Networks Inc, Guyana’s only local internet and TV services provider, recently expressed its appreciation to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) for naming the company as its 2020 “Large Business of the Year.” The GCCI, at its 131st annual awards program, held on January 28, 2021, honoured organisations and individuals who have achieved a standard of excel-
lence in the business community through their abilities, efforts, and initiatives. GCCI’s recognition of ENetworks closed off a notable year for the company, which celebrated several milestones, such as landing its own, and Guyana’s first indigenous, international fiber optic cable, Xlink, and introducing Guyana’s first 5G network. This network was launched within a few months of the
cable’s landing, at the start of the pandemic, and enabled the company to expand access to improved and more affordable internet services. E-Networks also dramatically raised the bar for business users, providing 20 times the speed of the other services in the market. This enhanced business productivity through newfound access to cloud-based and other bandwidthintensive applica-
tions that were previously infeasible due to poor business internet options. E-Networks CEO, Vishok Persaud, commented, “We are honoured that GCCI selected E-Networks for this top award. We would especially like to thank the Executive Management Committee, headed by President, Nicholas Boyer, Senior VP, Timothy Tucker, Junior VP, Anjie Lambert, and Executives, Kester Hutson and
Ashley John, Marketing Coordinator at E-Networks recently accepted the award from GCCI Shaleeza Shaw. The GCCI’s company, that Guyana’s decommitment to the develop- velopment is rooted in the ment of local content in progression of its technoloGuyana’s post-oil discovery gies, capacities, and era aligns with our company’s workforce.” E-Networks furpursuit of changing Guyana’s ther expressed its pledge to advancement of ICT landscape through inno- the vation and local skills en- Guyana’s ICT sector through the continued deployments hancement.” He added, “We similarly of cutting-edge technologies believe, as a 100% Guyanese to the benefit of its Guyanese owned, managed, and staffed customers and employees.
WINE OF THE WEEK APOTHIC RED : A MASTERFUL BLEND OF INTENSE FLAVOURS
According to Wine.com, the Apothic Red is a masterful blend of intense flavors and luscious texture creates a truly unique experience. Zinfandel lends notes of dark fruit and subtle spice while Merlot and Syrah bring hints of black fruit and a smooth mouthfeel. They are complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon that contributes a firm structure and bold flavors. Also, all of
the varietals combine to offer layers of dark fruit that are enhanced by soft vanilla and mocha tones leading to a soft, lasting finish. This gorgeous selection is available for purchase at the exquisite Twee Gourmet Shoppee located in the Giftland Mall. Be sure to grab a bottle for your entertainment needs this weekend. (Remember to drink responsibly)
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Sunday February 14, 2021
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WATERMELON Watermelon contains a high content of water which practically means that you are eating a good sum of food with fewer intake of calories. Moreover, here are some important facts about what you need to know. · Did you know that watermelon is a closely related to pumpkins and cucumbers. · There are about 1200 different varieties of watermelons worldwide. · Watermelons are grown in a box-shaped in Japan for the past 40 years. · This is the most consumed fruit in the United States. · It contains only 40 calories per cup. · There are some varieties of watermelons that require 130 hot days in order to ripen. · It reduces inflammation in your body. · It does not contain bad cholesterol which makes this healthy fruit a good weight loss agent. · In ancient Egypt, watermelons were placed under the burial tomb as a sign of nourishment for the tomb. · This healthy fruit was cultivated in Europe in the 13th Century and in China during the 10th century. Health Benefits of Watermelon: August 3rd of every year is considered as watermelon day and is the best fruits that you can take on your picnics or backyard parties. Other than being sweet and juicy, this healthy fruit is said to be loaded with health benefits that can do good to your health. Here are some health benefits of consuming watermelon. 1. Keeps You Hydrated: This healthy fruit consists of 92% water and this means that you are consuming fewer calories and with a lot of food. This fruit has the capability to curb your from dehydration and this means that you need to add this to your weight loss diet. Staying hydrated most often can prevent you from mouth dryness and is good for cardiovascular health. Staying hydrated will keep your body cool during high summers. It will cleanse your body and keep your skin healthy. So, all you need to do is to just consume one cup of watermelon every day and this will you good. 2. Prevents Diabetes: This juicy fruit helps your kidneys convert L-citrulline (amino acid) into L-arginine (amino acid). In fact, these two amino acids have a tendency to protect you from diabetes. Medically speaking, the L-arginine supplement
that watermelon has is crucial for regulating glucose metabolism and insulin by the body. 3. Aids in Weight Loss: In case you are wondering how to reduce weight naturally, then don’t miss out on adding this healthy fruit to your weight loss diet. Since this fruit consists of mostly water, it gives you a feeling of fullness and this will curb your appetite from snacking on your favourite food. So, if you are looking to get on the lighter side, then you need to make a point to add this juicy fruit on your weight loss diet. 4. Prevents Cardiovascular Disease: Lycopene is a substance that is found in watermelon
tion that affects about 25% of the world’s population. This disease is characterised by tooth loss, infection and also linked to other heart diseases. The major substance that reduces the adverse effects of periodontal disease is vitamin C. So all you need to do is to just add some watermelon to your everyday diet and this will do you good. 7. Fights Inflammation: One of the most common forms of inflammatory diseases that most people currently face is inflammation that is the cause of many serious diseases. These diseases include heart disease, cancer, and fibromyalgia. Inflammation has loads of problems that most face today and fighting
melons juice and this will keep your body cool and help regulate body temperature. 10. Good For Kidneys: The human body is exposed to a sum load of toxins from food including the air we breathe. However, these toxins are flushed out by your kidneys and in order to keep your kidneys healthy and functioning well, you need to drink 1 glass of watermelon juice every day. The main nutrients in watermelons are calcium and potassium that help in fighting toxins and flushes them away from your body. 11. Prevents Cancer: This healthy fruit contains a rich source of antioxidants and vitamin C that can fight cancer or any radicals that
and this gives the fruit its reddish colour. Even tomatoes to have this substance, but did you know that this substance is found more in watermelon than in tomato? Well, lycopene can reduce cholesterol and thereby reduce your risk of developing heart-related diseases. All you need to do is to consume one cup of watermelon daily and this will do the job. 5. Decreases Severity of Asthma: Watermelon has a good source of vitamin C which is responsible for reducing the effects of asthma and this could mean that you could be fighting some of the severe effects of asthma with just one cup of watermelon daily. Moreover, asthmatics with low levels of vitamin C tend to experience more asthmatic symptoms and thus watermelon is a great recommendation if you are battling with one such disease. In simple terms, watermelon has about 40% of vitamin C that is good for asthmatics. 6. Reduces Dental Problems: Consuming one cup of watermelon every day can prevent you from a periodontal disease which is a condi-
this disease is something that needs to be taken as a precaution. However, one simple way to fight this sort of inflammation is by simply adding watermelon onto your everyday diet and this will do you good. 8. Good For Nerve Function: Watermelon has a rich source of potassium that can regulate nerve function. In more simple terms, it facilitates electric impulses and messages. You need to keep in mind that less potassium by the human body can cause numbness and tingling. So if you are suffering from leg cramps in your leg, then this may be the cause of low potassium in your body. All you need to do is to just sip a glass of watermelon juice and this will do good for you. 9. Prevents Heat Strokes: Heat stroke is a dangerous problem faced by many people in the US. However, this condition can be lifethreatening such that is marked by fever, and the body’s temperature to regulate extremely high temperatures. Watermelon contains electrolytes that can prevent heat strokes. All you need to do is to just sip some water-
cause it. Glycogen is said to lower your risk of prostate cancer and watermelon has a rich source of this content in it. History of Watermelon: Now that you know that this fruit is good for your health, there are some interesting facts during the period of this healthy fruits history. The first watermelons were said to have appeared in South Africa about 5000 years ago. During 2000 B.C. this fruit was cultivated and became an everyday food in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest proofs that existed were in the form of hieroglyphs on the buildings that state that the ancient Egyptians cultivated watermelons. Even the Bible mentions this healthy fruit being consumed as a staple food that was consumed by the Israelites. From Africa this fruit made its way into Europe where it was successfully grown during the 7th century. Later it made its way to China during the 10th century and currently China is the largest producer of watermelons in the world. Currently, there are 1200 different varieties of wa-
termelons all over the world hat is grown in 96 different countries. Healthy Watermelon Recipes: Some people may not find it tasty to consume watermelon on a daily basis rather here are some healthy watermelon recipes that will help those the fruit in a better way. These recipes will leave your taste buds craving for more. 1. Watermelon Pizza: Juicy watermelon topped with some coconut yoghurt and berries will add to your weight loss healthy diet. Ingredients: Well, before preparing this healthy dish, here is what ingredients you will require first. · ½ cup of coconut milk yoghurt · ¼ teaspoons of vanilla extract · 2 large watermelons · T! cup of sliced strawberries · 2 tablespoons of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes How To Prepare Vegan Watermelon Pizza: Now that you have all your ingredients ready, here is how you prepare this tasty, juicy and healthy watermelon pizza. · Firstly, you need to combine the yoghurt and vanilla in a small bowl. · Once this is done, you need to spread the yoghurt mixture over the watermelon round. · Then cut it into 8 slices. · Now you can top it up with some strawberries and blueberries and sprinkle some coconut gratings on it. 2. Watermelon Popsicle: Did you ever know that you could make yourself a homemade watermelon popsicle? Well, it’s all simple to burn the heat this summer. Ingredients: Here is a list of ingredients that you need to have to get yourself a watermelon popsicle. · 2 cups of strawberries · 2 cups of watermelon · ¼ cup of lime juice · 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar · [! teaspoons of salt How To Prepare Watermelon Popsicle: Follow the below-listed instructions to get yourself a refreshing and healthy bite of watermelon popsicle. · Firstly, you need to press strawberries, watermelon, lime juice and salt in a blender and make a mix out of it. · Once this is done, you pour the mix in a freezer mould and insert sticks to it. · Freeze it for 6 hours. Your watermelon popsicle is ready to be consumed. FAQs Summer would be the best
time to sip a glass of cold watermelon juice or much some salad out of it. With its boost of health benefits coming your way, this fruit can be used as a great weight loss agent by simply adding it to your everyday diet. Apart from this fruit providing you with loads of benefits, it also comes with negatives if it is consumed in excess. Here are some frequently asked questions that will shed more light into some of the drawbacks of excessively consuming this fruit. 1. What happens if you consume too much watermelon? If you consume too much of watermelon every day, you may end up having too much potassium and lycopene in your body. However, it is advised that you consume no more than 30 milligrams of lycopene every day. In case it exceeds 30 mg, then you may face diarrhoea, indigestion, bloating and nausea. So all you need to do is to consume just one cup of watermelon every day and this will do you good. 2. Is watermelon good for your liver? This healthy fruit helps the liver to process ammonia which is a waste that is processed from proteins in the body. It also removes the strain on your kidneys and produces electrolytes. Thus, make it a point to consume one cup of watermelon or one glass of watermelon juice every day and this will aid in liver health. 3. What are the health benefits of watermelon with seeds? Well, the most commonly available \variety of watermelon is the one with seeds in it. This one is said to be healthy in a way such that it contains low calories, iron, magnesium and folate that are essential for the body. Medically speaking, 1 cup of watermelon seeds is said to contain 10 grams of protein. Also, these seeds are safe to swallow, unlike the myth that a watermelon plant will grow down your stomach. This healthy fruit is the best when it is grown during summer and it must be added to your everyday diet if you’re looking for weight loss. Simply just consume 1 cup of watermelon fruits or a glass of juice and this will do you good. From cutting down on weight to healthy digestion and bowel movements, you need to add this to your daily diet and reap its benefits.
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
Govt. closes Bertram Collins’ College of Public Service Bertram Collins’ Lecture Hall (2019).
The Irfaan Ali administration has decided to close the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service which is headquartered at Ogle. Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said during a press conference last Tuesday that the David Granger Coalition government had been using the College to run its political campaign on taxpayer dollars. The Vice President was responding to concerns that the decision to close the school was motivated by ethno-political bias. He noted that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) had held long ago that it would dismantle the school. “We campaigned on that. It’s not a secret,” Dr. Jagdeo said. “As Leader of the Opposition, I said that. I said we’d save the money… and put it into other things that are more useful for people. We didn’t hide that before.” A day earlier, on February 8, the Ministry of the Public Service had responded in kind to concerns about the motivation for the closure, saying that it wishes to clarify misconceptions. “Such closure had absolutely no sinister or political motive behind it,” the Ministry, led by Minister Sonia Parag said. “In fact, the Staff College was established as political machinery for the APNU+AFC and produced an outcome contrary to fair recruitment practices. As a matter of fact, sixty (60) persons were processed per year to enter the Public Service at a Clerk III position, bypassing those experienced in a Clerk II position who earned less and in turn had to train the very persons coming out of the college.” In addition, the Minister
drew attention to there already being provisions for public service staff training, at the time of the establishment of the College, and even currently - $80 million for the Ministry of the Public Service’s Training Division. Parag’s Ministry said that the College sought to supersede its own Training Division. This came at a cost, which the government will no longer contribute to. “The annual budget for the Staff College in 2017 was a whopping $175.8M and $143.6M in 2018,” Government said. “Ninety-nine percent of the staffers were on contract with 50 percent being retirees. Recurrent expenses, that is, salaries for the staff, collectively amounted to in excess of $87M yearly. Exorbitant sums of money were being bled from the Treasury to sustain the College.” The administration has committed to a structural overhaul of the training programmes for the Public Service, financed in the 2021 budget. In a 2019 interview, the College’s then Senior Director, Lawrence Paul, had informed Kaieteur News that the institution was struggling with a diversity problem. While former President David Granger is said to have envisioned the College as a vehicle for the strengthening of a public service that represented all walks of people, Paul had noted how the student-base was overwhelmingly Afro-Guyanese – 85 percent at the time. He explained that the management of the college has already considered the issue of a lack of diversity, and that it was making special efforts to reach out especially to Indigenous youth in hinterland areas.
No new policies for... From page 8 gas-to-shore project. These were mentioned by the Vice President during a press conference last Tuesday. “As we speak,” Dr. Singh said, “consulting services are being procured to conduct the geotechnical, geophysical, environmental impact, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) studies to determine the location where the gas line would land as well as the sites for the drying facilities, co-generation plant, and es-
sential petrochemical industries. The construction of the co-generation plant and laying of the pipeline will begin next year and finish during 2023.” He expects that when the plant comes on stream, the electricity cost will be significantly lower than the current rate. The administration also expects that the reduction in electricity cost will attract large industrial, agro-processing, and manufacturing firms.
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PAGE 52 The 2021 National Budget caters to infrastructural upgrades of the Mon Repos Market.
Sunday February 14, 2021
Kaieteur News
Allocation for Local Govt. includes funds for improving management, fixing infrastructure
T
he budgetary allo cation for the Local Government Ministry in 2021 includes funding for improving the management of local government organs, which includes 10 town councils and 70 Neighbourhood Democratic
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh.
Councils (NDCs). Addressing the National Assembly on Friday, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, spoke of the financial irregularities committed by the previous APNU+AFC government, which were discovered after the PPP/C administration assumed office last August. As a result, he said that the government has taken steps to ensure that the systems of managements are strengthened. Under the theme “Strengthening Local Government,” the Minister outlined that the sum of $552M is set aside in the National Budget for the project. “Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, a spate of financial irregularities plagued the local government organs alongside weak oversight and poor management of local government systems. Our administration will right these wrongs. Already our Government has signalled our strong commitment to maintain the legal and regulatory framework for the system of local administration through the develop-
ment of local organs,” Dr. Singh told the House. To this end, he noted that the Local Democratic Organs (LDOs) will benefit from technical support to perform their constitutional roles and functions, as well as to enhance leadership and capacity development for the provision of quality services in all of the communities across the country. Further, the Minister said that in 2021, the LDOs across the country; the 70 NDCs and 10 municipalities will be provided with efficient services and to undertake developmental works for the residents within their boundaries. Additionally, the Minister announced that an amount of $1.1 billion is allocated for community enhancement workers to continue to enable a clean and safe environment for residents within those NDCs. “A sum of $172 million is provided for capacity building, institutional strengthening and infrastructural works for the LDOs including the rehabilitation of Parika, Charity and Mon Repos markets,” Dr. Singh added.
Passenger lures taxi driver to be hijacked by gunmen A passenger on Friday lured a 42-year-old taxi driver to be hijacked of his car by gunmen at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown. The taxi driver, Fazio Khan of Chelsea Park Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD), said that he had his silver/grey Toyota Allion stolen from him around 23:25hrs in the vicinity of the Cool Square bar on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown. Khan, who plies his trade with the City Taxi Service located on Vlissengen Road, told police that he was on base when a male passenger approached him. The passen-
ger reportedly requested a drop to a location in West Ruimveldt and Khan agreed to make the trip. Upon arriving at the location, Khan told investigators that two men, armed with a handgun, walked up to him. One of them, he said, placed the gun to his head and ordered him to exit the car at once. Fearful for his life, Khan exited and the gunmen entered and drove off together with the passenger who hired him. Khan also lost his cellphone, radio set and driver’s licence which he said were in the car.
Sunday February 14, 2021
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Govt. wants SOPs published day after elections I n a bid to never have a repeat of the March 2020 election fiasco,
the government of the day aims to table legislation mandating that Statements of Polls (SOPs) be published one day after the general and regional elec-
tions. The Vice President (VP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, detailed this at his more recent press conference. He said, “The Statements of Poll, when they are received, before the count starts, we want them published. We want them published in the newspapers, in the Gazette and posted online.” “So even before the count starts, the industrious Guyanese can then go and see the SOPs and they can calculate who won the elections. People can know that because they would have to post the original SOPs, say in the first day after the elections.” A Commission of Inquiry (COI) is still on the cards as well but, according to the VP, government aims to find individuals “above reproach” to avoid accusations of partisanship as have happened during the 2020 election saga. Pointing to the largest
faction of the political opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition, the VP at his press conference said “Knowing APNU though, I doubt because if they could’ve accused Mia Mottley and everybody in the world of receiving bribes from us for their positions in the elections, they may still do that.” In addition, the Vice President said that draft amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA) to outline penalties for electoral fraud, among other measures, have already started. But these measures, he continued, would be of no use if the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) continues to have in its employ Chief Elections Officer (CEO), (Continued on page 55)
Bus intercepted with smuggled... From page 36 Suriname, were found. Consequently, the Customs Enforcement Agency (CEA) was called in and the vehicle was escorted to the customs department, Bank Road. Thirty-four-year-old Tuneshwar Naryan, a taxi driver of Lot 162 No. 72 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, has since been taken into custody at the Springlands Police Station pending an investigation. According to police, the uncustomed goods are currently lodged at the agency’s cold storage facility.
Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield.
Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
Myanmar army suspends laws limiting forces, hunts protest backers (Reuters) - Myanmar’s junta yesterday suspended laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval and ordered arrest of
well-known backers of mass protests against this month’s coup. A series of announcements came on the eighth day of country-wide demonstrations against the Feb. 1 take-
over and detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which halted an unsteady transition to democracy that began in 2011. The announcements bore echoes of the near half-cen-
tury of military rule before reforms began, when the Southeast Asian country was one of the world’s most repressive and isolated states. An order signed by military ruler General Min Aung
Hlaing suspended three sections of laws “protecting the privacy and security of the citizens”, which had been introduced during the gradual liberalisation.Those sections include the requirement for a court order to detain prisoners beyond 24 hours and constraints on security forces’ ability to enter private property to search it or make arrests. The suspensions also free up spying on communications.The statement gave no specific end date.The coup has prompted the biggest street protests in more than a decade and has been denounced by Western countries, with the United States announcing some sanctions on the ruling generals and other countries also considering measures. As anti-coup protests sprang up again in the big-
gest city Yangon, the capital Naypyitaw and elsewhere yesterday, the army said arrest warrants had been issued for seven high profile critics of military rule over their comments on social media. People should inform the police if they spot any of those named and will be punished if they shelter them, the army’s True News information team said in a statement.It said cases
had been filed under a law which provides up to two years jail for comments that could cause alarm or “threaten tranquillity”.On the wanted list is Min Ko Naing, 58, who was imprisoned for most of the time between 1988
and 2012, and who has been prominent in encouraging protests and a civil disobedience movement followed by a swathe of government workers.
Patrons robbed while imbibing at WCD bar
Bandits, one armed with a gun and another with a cutlass, on Friday stormed into the ‘Anytime Guinness’ Bar, located at La Union, West Coast Demerara, and robbed seven of its patrons. The robbery took place sometime around 22:00 hrs. while several persons were at the location imbibing. Those held at gunpoint and robbed are Imran Rahaman, 48, a taxi driver, of Anna Catherina; Munesh Paul, 33, a labourer, of La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD); Bishram Lakhan, 25, another taxi driver, of Belle West; Fazal Khan, 23, a labourer, of Patentia; Sarwan
Persaud, 38, a businessman, of La Union; Ashley Austin, 22, a Serviceman, of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) and Shinkar Lutchman, 40, of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD). According to police, while one of the bandits stood guard, the other moved to rob the victims, one by one. The bandits managed to
steal a five cell phones, one gold ring and total of $126,000 in cash from their victims. The victims told police that the men then ran into Crane Old Road, but before doing so, they discharged a round in the air.
Nigerians can sue Shell ... From page 15 “This is a disappointing decision,” a spokesman for Shell’s Nigerian unit said in an emailed statement. The company cleans up the damage “regardless of the cause,” he said. But activists hailed the ruling. “This decision is a crucial first step for communities who have experienced decades of pollution to get access to remedy,” Arianne Griffith, a senior campaigner at Londonbased Global Witness, said in an emailed statement. The Supreme Court found Shell’s parent company, incorporated in the U.K., could owe the impacted communities a duty of care for the activities of its subsidiary, said Leigh Day, the law firm representing the Nigerians. The judges concluded there is “a good arguable case” that Royal Dutch Shell is legally
responsible for the pollution at the heart of the case, the firm said in a statement. Shell’s local unit is the operator of pipelines and oil licences in a joint venture with Nigeria’s national energy company, Total SE and Eni SpA. The group needs to take a “hard look” at its onshore activities in Africa’s largest crude producer due to continuing challenges with theft and sabotage, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, said earlier this month. Shell has divested about half of its business in the West African country in the last decade. The judgment follows a landmark ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court two years ago that allowed more than 2,500 Zambians to proceed to trial against Vedanta Resources Plc for pollution caused by a copper-mining unit. The parties settled that dispute out of court in January.
Sunday February 14, 2021
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$360M budgeted to improve ICT in underserved communities The government has earmarked $360 million to improve Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in underserved communities across Guyana. This was listed under allocations for the public telecommunications sector by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with the responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. To improve ICT in poor and vulnerable communities, the government has sought to establish a Universality Fund which is a new feature to the telecommunications regulatory regime, according to Dr. Singh. The $360 million allocation is intended to be injected into the fund. “This year, Government will establish the Universality Fund, a feature of the new telecommunications regulatory regime through which access to modern telecommunications services can be funded for our poor and vulnerable communities including those in our hinterland regions,” Dr. Singh stated. On that note, he related that his administration would have trained 46 Community Services Officers last year in ICT skills, returning support to the development of onceneglected Amerindian communities. He stressed the importance of ICT for creating, catalysing and sustaining economic growth and development, highlighting the government’s liberalisation of the telecommunications sec-
tor 64 days after taking office. A plan is being prepared by the government that will specify feasible projects to be implemented by Guyana’s private sector which is expected to boost connectivity for businesses in these unserved and underserved communities as stated by Dr. Singh. “Already, we expect over 450 jobs will be created in the area of business process outsourcing with the operationalisation of call centres at Tuschen, Enmore, and Linden, partly facilitated by decreased cost of internet service,” Dr. Singh disclosed. In that vein, he stated that under the universality fund, $67 million will be used to rehabilitate the facility in Linden which is expected to host the call centre. Kaieteur News previously reported on the incomplete Linden call centre to which the former coalition government signed a $116M contract for supervision ser-
Senior Minister, Ashni Singh.
Health Ministry reports 26 new COVID-19 infections The Ministry of Health yesterday reported 26 new COVID-19 infections via its daily dashboard update. The total number of confirmed cases has increased to 8,207. The dashboard indicates that of the new infections, Region Four accounted for 17 while Regions Two, Nine and 10 were the only regions recording no new cases.
The dashboard also shows that eight patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 28 in institutional quarantine, 40 in institutional isolation and 594 in approved home isolation. The COVID-19 death toll remains at 186 and 7,379 persons have recovered from the virus with 98 new recoveries recorded yesterday.
Govt. wants SOPs... From page 53 Keith Lowenfield, and his deputy, Roxanne Myers. “We have made it clear that apart from those changes that with Lowenfield and Roxanne Myers there, you cannot have free and fair elections,” he said. “You cannot have free and fair elections. This is a red line for us that with the two of them, you cannot have free and fair elections. We have demonstrated, every single external group, locally and internationally know they tried to steal the elections.” Moreover, the VP stated that it is unacceptable that the Commission, chaired by Re-
tired Justice Claudette Singh, has not moved to remove both Lowenfield and Myers for their alleged involvement in election rigging. In any other part of the world, Jagdeo added, both individuals would be fired “for cause” yet Guyana still dwindles on the move. “All the Commission has to do, their responsibility is just to say let’s see what he had. Don’t they care about that and the integrity and reputation of the agency and its ability to inspire confidence in Guyanese that it will act fairly? That is what is at stake here,” he concluded.
vices for the renovations and functional enhancements. The contract was awarded in 2019 and the works were set for completion by April 2020, but to date, the facility is still incomplete. Findings from the 2019
Auditor General’s report had also shown that materials valuing $16.246 million that was already paid for to rehabilitate the Linden Call Centre could not be accounted for and when a physical verification was conducted on
the site on September 4, no representative was present to supervise the works being done. Additionally, Dr. Singh said his administration will move swiftly to ensure that the benefits of liberalisation
reach all sectors in the form of faster and cheaper internet service, which will serve as a catalyst for ICT related business development, which will see business becoming more efficient and resilient and help to drive job creation.
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Sunday February 14, 2021
Republicans save him in impeachment again
U.S. Senate acquits Trump… WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump yesterday was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in his second impeachment trial in 12 months, as his fellow Republicans shielded him from accountability for the deadly assault by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, a shrine of American democracy. The Senate vote of 57-43 fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection after a five-day trial in the same
building ransacked by his followers on Jan. 6 shortly after they heard him deliver an incendiary speech. In the vote, seven of the 50 Senate Republicans joined the chamber’s unified Democrats in favouring conviction. Trump left office on Jan. 20, so impeachment could not be used to remove him from power. But Democrats had hoped to secure a conviction to hold him responsible for a siege that left five people including a police officer dead and to set the stage for a vote
to bar him from ever serving in public office again. Given the chance to hold office in the future, they argued, Trump would not hesitate to encourage political violence again. Republicans also saved Trump in the Feb. 5, 2020, vote in his previous impeachment trial, when only one senator from their ranks - Mitt Romney - voted to convict and remove him from office. The drama on the Senate floor unfolded against a backdrop of gaping divisions in a
pandemic-weary United States along political, racial, socioeconomic and regional lines. The trial provided more partisan warfare even as Democratic President Joe Biden, who took office on Jan. 20 after defeating Trump at the ballot box on Nov. 3, called for healing and unity after his predecessor’s four turbulent years in power and a caustic election campaign. Trump, 74, continues to hold a grip on his party with a right-wing populist appeal and “America First” message.
The wealthy businessmanturned-politician has considered running for president again in 2024. Trump is only the third president ever to be impeached by the House of Representatives - a step akin to a criminal indictment - as well as the first to be impeached twice and the first to face an impeachment trial after leaving office. But the Senate still has never convicted an impeached president. Democrats forged ahead
with impeachment despite knowing it could overshadow critical early weeks of Biden’s presidency. Factbox: Six Republicans to keep an eye on during final Trump impeachment vote The House approved the single article of impeachment against Trump on Jan. 13, with 10 Republicans joining the chamber’s Democratic majority. That vote came a week after the pro-Trump mob stormed the neoclassical domed Capitol, interrupted (Continued on page 57)
Sunday February 14, 2021
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Kaieteur News
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Republicans save him in impeachment...
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countable for a crime against American democracy and to prevent a repeat in the future. They played searing video of rioters swarming inside the Capitol and making violent threats toward politicians including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence. The House managers said Trump summoned the mob to Washington, gave the crowd its marching orders and then did nothing to stop the ensuing violence.The defense lawyers accused Democrats not only of trying to silence Trump as a political opponent they feared facing in the future but of attempting to criminalize political speech with which they disagreed and aiming to
cancel the voices of the tens of millions of voters who backed him.Trump’s lawyers argued the trial was unconstitutional because he had already left office and that his remarks were protected by the constitutional right to free speech. The words Trump used, they argued, were no different than those regularly employed by Democrats. In his previous impeachment trial, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on two charges - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. That impeachment arose from Trump’s 2019 pressure on Ukraine to investigate Biden as he sought foreign aid to sully a domestic political rival.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 14, 2021
Sunday February 14, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Govt. budgets $5B to train inmates, complete G prison upgrades
overnment has de cided that some $5B must be pumped into the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) to complete prison upgrades across the country and train inmates. This development, was on Friday, announced by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, during his budget presentation. Out of the allocated sum, Dr. Singh said that $50M will be used to train prison inmates in areas of anger management, literacy, agriculture and culinary arts. Additionally, Singh said, 30 incarcerated youths will benefit from digital skills training to support their rehabilitation and social transformation, when they exit the prison system. Apart from the other mi-
nor initiatives which Dr. Singh mentioned, it is presumed that the bulk of the $5B will go towards completing the rehabilitation, construction and upgrades of prisons across Guyana. According to Dr. Singh, his government is seeking to commence the construction of three new blocks at the Lusignan Holding Bay located on the East Coast Demerara (ECD). Those blocks he detailed are to accommodate some 600 inmates. He also promised that
the ongoing works to expand the Mazaruni Prison will be completed by the end of this year. Upon completion, the facility is said to accommodate some 220 high-profile prisoners. Works, he said, are also in progress on cells at the
New Amsterdam Prison. In recent years, after the Camp Street Prison was destroyed by fire, Kaieteur News had reported that billions of dollars were being pumped into the GPS to reconstruct, rehabilitate and upgrade prisons, to deal with overcrowding. However, to date, the problem of overcrowding still exists and the promised refurbished facilities are still to be completed. In 2019, under the coalition led-government, it was reported that a total of $1.5B was set aside to develop prison infrastructure, ease overcrowding and remove the need to use temporary holding areas such as the Lusignan Prison. In 2020, another $2B was set aside for the same initiative, prison reform, by the current administration.
Overhead shot of the Lusignan Holding Bay.