Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News

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Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.

Government’s position on the ExxonMobil deal is not being tempered by prudent pronouncements HIS LEGACY EDITORIAL

LIVES ON

O

n February 23, thousands Guyanese celebrated Guyana’s 48thRepublic anniversary under the theme “Let’s Cooperate and Celebrate Republic 48.” For many, it was not only an occasion to celebrate, but also to reflect on the state of the country 48 years after it was declared the first Cooperative Republic in the world by the late Forbes Burnham. February 20 marked his 95th birth anniversary. As the architect of the republic, his followers honour the legacy of Forbes Burnham. Forbes Burnham was a visionary leader who used his skills and ornate speeches to whip up excitement when it was flagging and gave inspiration where it was needed. He offered hope to the hopeless and provided vision when it was necessary. He was courageous, immensely brilliant and genuinely passionate, but he was no saint. His ideals and ambitions to transform Guyana into a Cooperative Republic claimed the admiration of those who believed in him and the right to a free and independent Guyana. He was a patriotic leader, who has retained an amazingly strong presence in the minds of many. His legacy lives on through the continuing relevance of his transformative ideas; his inspiring vision; his outstanding leadership and his ineffaceable example of humble and selfless service to the nation. He took over the leadership of Guyana at a critical time in the midst of racial tension but delivered the nation with his grand project of modernization which transformed the economy and the lives of many for the better. He was, by nature, plain-spoken, sometimes brutally honest. Many disliked him for that trait. He did not suffer fools gladly or had time for silliness. For him, greatness mattered but humility mattered more. He was a leader who had faults and made mistakes, and who allegedly rigged elections, but through it all, he was a patriotic Guyanese who was never too aloof or arrogant to offer advice to anyone. A Fabian socialist, Burnham was wedded to a political philosophy that emphasized equality and social justice for all. His policies to feed, house and clothe the nation and redistribution of the nation’s wealth were grounded in his belief to make the small man a real man. The great affection which his followers had for Burnham was revealed in their overwhelming grief at his passing in 1985. He made Guyanese feel good about themselves and their ability to achieve greatness on the world stage despite the limitations and small size of the country. He was a sincere leader. Yet his detractors hated him with a passion so intense that they supported every effort to topple his government. Walter Rodney was the chief attacker. Rodney formed a political party that pledged to bring about Burnham’s end. When Rodney died in a bomb blast the fingers pointed to Burnham who denied any involvement. No one should forget the great risk of unpopularity he took to fight for the rights of all Guyanese to become first class citizens. Had it not been for his indomitable spirit, his remarkable ability and his sterling qualities, the things he fearlessly fought for would not have been achieved. Whether we agree with his sentiments or his political ideology, we must acknowledge that we are indebted to him. He was a transformative leader with a vision for a better Guyana, but sadly, he did not live to see the fulfillment of the things for which he stood or the ideals for which he fought. Forbes Burnham was in our time, but he was also ahead of his time. He was said to be a man for all seasons and his legacy lives on.

DEAR EDITOR, It has been reported that Minister of State Joe Harmon, purportedly on behalf of the Government of Guyana, has said the contract between ExxonMobil local subsidiary will not be subject to any change. A Government speaks on behalf of the people and its legitimacy to so articulate comes from the people. The position taken by the APNU+AFC administration, amidst the growing and loud concern of disquiet among the people as to whether Guyana received the best deal or not, is not being tempered by prudent pronouncements.The parties who are in government today, campaigned on the commitment of governing consistent with inclusionary democracy, but are yet to call in the stakeholders, including the parliamentary opposition, to address their concerns about the

contract. This matter is not only about whether persons are satisfied with the contract or not, but more importantly, upholding the principal objective of the political system of respecting their right to involvement. Government may very well have justifiable reasons as to the positions it has taken and what may have shaped the contract, but to refuse to address the concerns of the people who they are elected to represent is unacceptable and a breach of the contract with the people. It is this type of treatment that creates public confrontation between government and the people. In politics, when you are in government, it is never considered wise to say you are not going to do what the people are calling for, for you could create the type of groundswell that is inimical to your own interest. Further, in this instance if cause arises that

requires engagement in reviewing the content of the contract, the company can hold government to its word or deem it a partner lacking credibility and integrity.Where this contract has been signed by Government, on behalf of the people, that pronouncement has sealed the fate of the people to even question the management of a resource that belongs to them. This is the kind of situation that creates what some term the curse of oil because it feeds the cancer of arrogance and leads to internal and external conflicts and abuses. This government continues to behave as though it doesn’t care about governing after 2020. Never before has there been a group of people who achieved political power and national goodwill but are seemingly doing everything to give it up. Lincoln Lewis

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Jagdeo should meet President Grangerif he wants to discuss the Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue

Ramson’s letter confirms a worrying pattern by the Guyana Bar Association

DEAR EDITOR, I read an article on 23 February, titled ‘Gov’t hiding Venezuelan threat – Jagdeo,’ and it made me very ‘cold’ and sad. This is one of the reasons I have been advocating, that instead of calling the opposition, Opposition; it should be called the ‘Wider Legislature’. Opposition connotes, a posture in oppose to the executive, when really what is needed, is ‘calculated oversight’. My appeal to the Opposition Leader is to not address the Guyana-Venezuela border issue in the press. Ninety percent of our communication is non-verbal while 10 percent is verbal, therefore the gov-

ernment has been communicating to us much more with its non–verbal and indirect verbal communication, so that we can be more alert on this issue; and we have heard the government loud and clear. What we do not want is to create anxiety and have people panicking. I may disagree with President Granger on many matters but on this one, I like his approach. He and the government are being very tactical and steady. This is his area of expertise, and as a people, well most of us, we appreciate and support him and the government’s efforts so far on this matter, and we are very alert.

Finally, the public awareness campaign on the border issue should also include an aggressive citizenship and civic education component. Mr. Jagdeo, we need to see a 750,000 Guyanese strong on this issue and if the Opposition has an issue on this matter, please, meet with the Government and work it out, but not in the press, this is a very serious and highly sensitive matter. Whenever this matter is addressed in the press by the Opposition Leader or his party, it should be in a joint press engagement with the Government. This is an opportunity to appear in public with one voice. Audreyanna Thomas

Recent attempts to address security are a weak public relations gimmick DEAR EDITOR, The officials of the German penal system have acknowledged that the reason for allowing murderers and other extreme anti-social criminals to live quite normal lives which include access to television, books etc., is that they recognize that man’s behaviour is to a very large extent influenced by his environment. As such, the crimes committed by these offenders were a result of societal conditioning and influence, versus an overt, deliberate attempt by these persons to commit a crime, or do ‘evil’. I could credit them with influencing my own thoughts on this subject, as I have come to the conclusion that man is first an animal. He is then given education and religion and conditioned in order to exist in society.

Behaviours expected of him are therefore largely influenced by society’s norms, but sometimes much more so by his immediate environment. A quick check of any economics textbook would show that one of the major responsibilities of governments, even in socialist economies, is to adopt policies which support job creation and livable incomes. One of the obvious reasons for this is the maintenance of societal stability, or an environment where citizens can adequately provide for themselves and their families without recourse to antisocial behaviours which seek to extract such means of existence. The existing and more sophisticated illegal forms of income generation along with the recent surge in robberies therefore require little expla-

nation as successive administrations of the former government consistently maintained an oppressive incomes policy, and the current PNC-led coalition, continuing along with this policy, has further established it is not its responsibility to provide jobs for citizens. As a quick reminder, Granger had advocated that we all become entrepreneurs. (Continued on page 6)

DEAR EDITOR, On February 23, 2018, Stabroek News published a letter from Mr. Charles S. Ramson, captioned “Burke’s statements included falsehoods.” The letter refuted contentions in my February 21 letter denouncing the Guyana Bar Association’s (GBA) February 20, attack on President David Granger. Matriculation does not translate to intellectual grasp or proficiency. Mr. Ramson’s letter contained nothing but impetuous trash. If the GBA derives its counsel singularly from persons with the paucity in substance reflected in Mr. Ramson’s letter, it is in a sad state. Mr. Ramson said he is “unfamiliar” with my “vast work of distinction” or CGID’s “large mass of members” which gives me liberty to make public statements. Mr. Ramson should check his effrontery and audacious liberty with which he attempts to dictate participants in our national dialogue. His political party does not have a monopoly on free speech. Moreover, my work is uniquely focused on ensuring that Guyana never slides back into ethnocratic dictatorship and fighting for justice for the victims of extraju-

dicial and death squad murders during the PPP regime. CGID does not claim mass membership. We claim effectiveness. When the GBA was silent on constitutional abuses, torture, political assassinations and extrajudicial and death squad killings, CGID was campaigning for justice in the US Congress, United Nations and the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission. Mr. Ramson’s letter is a hodge-podge of fabrications and PPP talking points stringed together as a refutation by a GBA representative, but constitutes an aberration of the truth and fact. (I) He alleged that I falsely stated that “President Granger affirmed a desire to appoint substantive officeholders as the country cannot be without a Chancellor

and Chief Justice, and that he will be guided by his legal advisers on his constitutional options.” He selectively cited an irrelevant quote Demerara Waves attributed to Minister Joseph Harmon to justify his claim. Here are the facts. On February, 17, Stabroek News published an article titled “Granger still awaiting legal advice on Chancellor, CJ,” which quoted President David Granger as saying “I have to be advised by my Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General. We cannot be without a Chancellor and Chief Justice and right now two persons are acting and I had hoped that we could have moved forward by having a substantive or a full time appointment agreed, but this has not happened and the constitution requires me (Continued on page 7 )

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The Finance Minister has changed his tune

Recent attempts to address ...

DEAR EDITOR, I have written about the quicksilver nature of this Government with regards to vitally important economic decisions which have had negative effects on our country and the fact that our citizens will continue to suffer the ripple effects of those decisions for generations to come. The Guyana Chronicle, which is the State-owned newspaper, on February 22nd, 2018, reported under a caption which reads, ‘$15 billion to Reopen Estates’ and that, ‘Govt seeks funds to restart operations at Skeldon and Enmore’ according to the Finance Minister, Mr. Winston Jordan. Now after many criticisms from the public, the Finance Minister has changed his tune, not unlike the US$18 million signing bonus. An official from the Ministry of Finance has stated that, ‘I can confirm to you that the Minister was misunderstood. The finance being sourced is for the operations of Guysuco and its three estates-Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt- it has nothing to do with the four closed estates. This is being handled separately’. If this is so then how come the SPU is involved in the negotiations of the $15 billion loan from the commercial banks? The SPU is involved in the preparation for sale and the sale of the closed Estates and NOT the operational Estates. The closed estates are separate entities. Albion,Blairmont and Uitvlugt are still run by

Guysuco and not NICIL! Something is definitely fishy here! Furthermore, Minister Jordan was reported to have said that the revenue from the sale of the estates and land will be used to repay the proposed $15 billion loan within three to five years. He stressed that, ‘This will be a government debt, so that when we get a buyer we will service the debt’. When this is evaluated from the statement made by the same minister that there is a new model of operation which will ma k e GUYSUCO more ‘cost eff i c i e nt’ and therefore profitable it leaves us in a quandary as to the real reason for the requirement of the proposed loan to finance existing operations at the three estates. Why not use this ‘model’ on the three Estates? I still do feel that another lie will be forthcoming with regards to the financing of the closed estate to facilitate ‘miniature operations’ and to avoid the ‘moth balling process’! It is also reported that 30,000 tons of canes will be harvested at Enmore to produce sugar for DDL. Let us do a simple calculation about the revenue factor. At a TC/TS of 15, it means that 1200 tons of molasses will be produced with 2000 tons of sugar. This should bring in an approximate income of $19.5 million from molasses and $212 million from sugar sales at $500 USD per ton, a total income of $231.5 million GYD. However, if all the canes are utilized for molasses

purpose only then approximately 4500 tons of molasses will be produced at a local market value of $73.3 million GYD. A loss of approximately $158.2 million GYD will result! Is the Government actually financing DDL? How will this bring profits to Guysuco? In addition, we need to be given some estimates and some hard facts by the Minister of Finance how the injection of $15 billion GYD will result in profits? Not a ‘figment of his imagination’! Haseef Yusuf RDC Councilor-Region 6

From page 5 Recent attempts to address security are a weak public relations gimmick, as it should be clear that the coalition’s policies have very likely stimulated the upsurge in robberies. It would seem obvious to move in the direction of creating more jobs and better incomes f o r c i t i z e n s , b u t one would imagine that a satisfied and education population is immensely more difficult to govern because then incidents of corruption and incompetence would be more easily exposed. As we continue to search for common ground against the clearly anti-welfare policies of the coalition administration, we could do well to

Where was Jumo during the Mash Guyana 2018 Float Parade? DEAR EDITOR, A short while ago I was informed that Jumo has a new tune out called “HARDER,’ and that from the first viewing of the video, it was a knock out. Hands down, he is about the best to date when it comes to power soca tunes and I am actually a fan of his music. With such a new tune out on the market, my expectation was that Jumo would have been present and used the Mashramani 2018 event as a platform to promote his music, knowing he usually is with the Digicel Band. The other shock was to learn that Digicel did not register for Mash 2018. Is Jumo tied to a binding contract with Digicel and perhaps that was the reason he was not present? Is the Mash event no longer the ideal platform to promote your music? Or, perhaps there would have been a conflict of music between the ‘2018 Soca Monarch, Brandon Harding’ and ‘Jumo getting Harder?’ T.Pemberton

look abroad today. Although there is much about which to fault America’s President Donald Trump, the one thing Americans can salute him for is his America First policy. We could consider the adoption of a Guyana First policy, where our main focus is increasing our national wealth and the incomes of our citizens. Ask the woman selling egg-ball, puri and pickle mango, or the youths selling on the corner what they’re doing, and they’ll tell you: hustling, trying to make a dollar. It’s all about the money. Apparently the coalition hasn’t realized it has a country to run and citizens’ welfare issues to address. Guyanese have to start asking the coalition, “Where’s the money?” We also have to ask them, “What are you doing for me today?” GAWU has on more than one occasion pointed out that the administration’s non-payment of sugar workers’ severance benefits is unlawful. Yet the coalition continues to break the law and disregard the sugar workers’ union and the welfare of sugar workers. It has been suggested that immediately before executing an extremely violent act, individuals briefly descend to a state of lunacy. The decision to withhold sugar workers’ severance is an act of economic oppression bordering on violence. The recent move to seize l a n d s o f d i s t r e s sed rice farmers without consultation constitutes an act of economic oppression. The continued denial of public sector workers, their

demands for a living wage, constitutes an act of economic oppression. The coalition is guilty of all of these. We should seriously consider that the policy makers in the PNC-led coalition are mad. The Minister of State’s recent observation of the apparent finality of the Exxon agreement should emphasize to everyone this government is hardly concerned with the welfare of Guyanese as it willfully proceeds to forfeit potentially hundreds of millions, even billions of United States dollars in revenues, if lost tax revenues are considered, under the existing contracts. The arrogance of this position demonstrates that the now authoritarian stance of the coalition. The administration considers itself unaccountable for its actions. This stiffed-neck attitude is not unsurprising, and was one of the reasons the coalition was engineered to include the AFC. I have asserted in my book, a preview of which is available on Amazon, that the incessant bumbling of the Coalition should be considered a great opportunity. It took less than three years to dislodge the PPP which had been in power for close to t w e n t y - t h r e e years. It should be much easier to form a new government to get rid of what is clearly an incapacitated administration in its less than three years’ existence. Let us look forward to and create the dawn of a new era. Craig Sylvester.

Sunday February 25, 2018

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GPO needs to go back to the basics

Ramson’s letter confirms a ...

DEAR EDITOR; I recognized a name from long ago as I read the letter about the GPOC and Old Age Pensions Like Mr Seeram, I too am a pensioner. But I lay claim to three other historical relevant facts. I worked as a paying clerk, I worked as a Union practitioner setting IR policies: and as Head of, separately, Personnel and Operations of GPOC. Totally, I spent thirty five years in the Post Office, including in mail and enquiry areas and ten years in senior management up to performing as PMG. Some time ago, when a person communicated that I was “harassing” some management operatives of GPOC, I got the message and decided to “stay in me corner”! But my friends know that my stomach is no bank book and I will speak out. The Post Office has core responsibilities. They should concentrate firstly on being the best in receipt and delivery of mail. Then they should be the best in providing agency services at best cost. Payment of Old Age is a part of those Agency Services the GPOC undertook to provide for other Government Agencies. This is nothing new. When I was a postman and a Clerk we delivered all the Broadcast to Schools bulletins, all the GIS publications, all the OHMS mail, sent all the press telegrams, sold the GAC tickets, collected the GBC radio licence fees, transferred the GTC payments, paid the court witness bastardy payments, sold the NIS stamps, etc. etc. etc. A lot of these were not paid for and some not at economic cost. We even provided space to agencies like GTC and GRA at no or peppercorn rental (Some of these decisions came through Guystac or the Political Directorate). Separately, I may write

about the need for Central Government to now provide a social cost subsidy to GPOC. When the Post Office benefitted from windfall of their (foreign) imbalance claims, we were recognized as a large net foreign exchange earner and places like GAC, and Crown Agents were focused as benefitting nationally! Some people saw the different funds in separate GPOC accounts as not necessary and made all into one general spending spree fund which now is backfiring!! When the Doris team worked tirelessly to get the Political Directorate to hand back the Post Office Savings Bank to the GPOC no decision maker listened. So who hands money now to those village Post Offices? I bet one month’s OAP that the letter writer does not do as I do? …and what of agencies like the Police, what do they do with the moneys collected at outlying stations? (There was a time when the GPOC gave cash to the sub-Treasury.) Ever since I worked there, my utility bills were paid at GPO. Nowadays I do not draw local pensions but hand it with my utility bills to my village Post Office. How many pensioners treat their village PO in the same way? In fact I proposed a plan to the GPOC management to develop a scheme for all staff to pay their utility bills and top up at their Post Office!! Do they do that? And then we look at another issue. Given that money has to be sent to the village PO to pay us, and we don’t pay our bills there, just imagine how many times it takes to process and count remittances and payments from BOG to Pensioner!! Is there not a shorter format that someone other than GPOC should pay for? (And I would not comment on counting

My terrible Mash experience at D’urban Park DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me to comment on my Mash 2018 experience. Durban Park was packed to capacity. I settled with my family at stand Number 22. I expected the music, float and revelers to enter the park from the western end and go around the block allowing the spectators to experience their final display. Instead, the trucks entered the park, turned off their music and quietly exited the eastern entrance with revelers. This was a cold show for Mashramani. Everyone in the stand sucked their teeth. They didn’t even have extended speakers so the spectators on the eastern side could hear what’s going on at the judges table. Whoever are the organizers must know that they have disappointed thousands who came out to be part of Mashramani 2018. C. Woolford

$19500, instead of $20000.) Which brings me to another point. A blogger complained that at a Post Office in the flood the Postmaster should have fixed the bridge problem. I wish for village people like Chairmen Dainty or Evans, or people like the Khans.. or Deoroop Mahraj.. or Mr Marks or the dozens of those who saw the PO as the village PO, and treated it as such. Finally a pet peeve. Somebody in the GPOC management needs to recognize that we exported dozens of trained people into the wider society. When I graduated from UG I got a congratulatory letter from the TUC, and a gift from Guystac. I hope the POC saw it fit to at least send a card to some of our distinguished alumni!! We paid for and should benefit from their training!! But the bigger picture is that we should call upon them as we did with others before to help us move forward. After we put our mail delivery system in order, go to Guywa, and GEC, and Guysuco, and GTT, and NIS etc. and ask those we exported there to provide assistance. And please tell our Minister to tell her colleagues that it makes no taxpayer sense to duplicate services at higher cost, so let them use the Post, instead of internal systems, like vans and special delivery. And rename the Post Office Training School, the George Doris Training School. And go back to the basics!! L A Camacho

From page 5 to await the approval of the Leader of the Opposition. That hasn’t come, so I would have to depend on legal advice and make sure that the courts continue to function.” (II) I’m amazed that Mr. Ramson, like the GBA, has ignored the factual statements by President Granger himself, but selectively based his pronouncements on hearsay, third-party reportage to support his indefensible allegations. The PPP made the exact, incredulous GBA allegations the following day. But even Mr. Rampson cannot escape the irrefutable facts - the President’s own words. The indispensable fact is that the GBA cannot preemptively attack the President over a decision he has not yet made. That is tantamount to impermissible, pre-emptive self-defence. (III) Mr. Ramson also said my statement that “Since 2005, the nation has been without a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice,” is also false. In 2005, Justice Carl Singh, while occupying the office of Chief Justice, was appointed acting Chancell o r, w h e n C h a n c e l l o r Diseree Bernard was elected to the CCJ. Justice Singh functioned in both capacities until Justice William Ramlall declared the conflation of the two positions unconstitutional on November 16, 2007. The corpus of Justice Ramlall’s ruling is that a per-

manently acting Chancellor cannot also perform the duties of Chief justice. Hence, since 2005, there has been no substantive Chief Justice or Chancellor. As an attorney, Mr. Ramson should avail himself of the facts before making ignorant public statements. (IV) In response to my assertion that “If the GBA has a genuine concern about the President’s fidelity to the Constitution, it should have met or written the President on the matter, Mr. Ramson claimed that the GBA did just this. He cited utterances by Justice Denis Byron, President of the CCJ and Mr. Teni Housty, Vice President of the GBA, as evidence. Mr. Ramson cannot obfuscate this issue. I insist that instead of engaging in partisan politics, the GBA should have written directly to, or met with the President on the instant matter. Had it done so, it would have been more effective and credible. (V)Mr. Ramson said it is false to contend that the GBA can raise hell and sue the President to overturn any substantive appointments without the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition, as required by the constitution. RESPONSE: Mr. Ramson’s refutation of this option is laughable. I sympathize with his inability to grasp this concept of the GBA being an amicus civil society arbiter with an

obligation to promote fidelity to t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n and to seek judicial intervention to enforce the constitution and preserve the integrity of the judiciary. His real problem however, is that he is beleaguered by the GBA’s complicit silence on constitutional abuses by the PPP government. (VI) Mr. Ramson disputed that the GBA’s was silent on constitutional and human rights violations by successive PPP administrations, but has now suddenly found its voice to criticize the Granger administration. He again cited personal letters from Messrs. Brynmor T I Pollard, Teni Housty and Nigel Hughes. I respect and admire these men immensely, but their individual opi n i o n s d o not constitute that of the GBA. M r. Ramson struggled to cite one example where the GBA, as the regulatory law body, denounced or passed a resolution condemning PPP excesses, because it never did. Furthermore, Mr. Ramson is a wrong messenger to refute claims of a pattern of association with the views of the PPP. Apart from being a member of the opposition, his very letter was a regurgitation of PPP talking points, and therefore confirms the said worrying pattern. Rickford Burke President, Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)

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Grangers opts out CARICOM Heads meeting - to focus on domestic issues

President David Granger

PM Moses Nagamootoo

Foreign Minister/PM (ag), Carl Greenidge

President David Granger will not be attending the Twenty-Ninth Inter-sessional Meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of The Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “The Guyanese Head of State regrets his absence at the meeting but has opted to

remain in Guyana to focus on domestic issues at this time,” a government statement said. The statement did not immediately explain what the domestic issues were. However, currently Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is recuperating in the US after bypass heart

surgery. It is unclear when he would be back.Guyana’s three-member delegation to the meeting will be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who is also performing the duties of Prime Minister. The Inter-sessional meeting is being hosted in Haiti from tomorrow.

Guyana to host Commonwealth Public Administration and Management conference Permanent Secretary of the Department of Public Service, Reginald Brotherson, on Thursday last, disclosed in an interview with the Ministry of the Presidency that Guyana will be hosting the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management’s (CAPAM) Biennial Conference in October of this year. According to their website, the CAPAM organisation provides an opportunity for government heads within the Commonwealth to exchange innovations in public sector management in order to promote good governance. CAPAM’s ultimate goal is the global emergence of more responsive and dynamic public services. Guyana has been a member of CAPAM for over three decades, and will, for the first time, host the Biennial conference. The theme for the October-billed event is ‘Transforming the Public Sector for Climate

Governance’. Speaking at his office at the Department of Citizenship, Waterloo Street, Georgetown, Mr. Brotherson said that the theme of Climate Governance is particularly relevant to the Guyanese public sector as Guyana goes ‘green’. “The fact is that we’ve got to keep our environment in a very pristine state. We’ve got to have regulation. We’ve got to have laws. Who are the persons carrying out these regulations? Who are the persons enforcing the laws? It’s the public sector through policy mechanisms… Our programs [have got] to be skewed to take care of the evolution, of the changing environment that we are in,” he said. The Permanent Secretary also said that through its membership with CAPAM, Guyana stands to gain from the development of strategies to help modernise and improve efficiency in the public sector. “There are so

many aspects of transformation that [are] necessary, [like] the whole aspect of technology… How we deal with e-governance, paperless operation… cutting out the wastage of time, being more efficient and effective. All of these are transformational things in the public sector that we need to do and, in fact, we are doing,” he said. Mr. Brotherson closed the interview by saying that plans are moving apace in preparation for the conference later this year. “We have established, already, a local organising committee. Cabinet has given its approval in principle for Guyana to host… We have signed on… to a memorandum of understanding, which… segregates what… the responsibilities [are] for both parts. We will be hosting the first visit from Ms. Gay Hamilton, who is the [Chief Executive Officer] of CAPAM… We hope to have a number of international experts on various aspect of climate governance here carrying on workshops and… plenary sessions,” he said. The CAPAM Biennial conference will be held over three days from October 22, 2018. It will see the participation of 450 delegates.

Sunday February 25, 2018

ExxonMobil strangles Guyana with Stability Clause but has none with Ghana Foreign companies often advocate the use of a “stability clause” in the quest for certainty of contractual provisions. This clause seeks to secure the oil contract and benefits therein for the oil operator, against future government action or changes in the law. Stabilization clauses freeze the essential provisions of the contract. Different countries have used various forms of this clause. Ghana for example, has from time to time, used a version of the stability clause which allows for changes of contract terms by mutual consent. But in a recent oil deal ExxonMobil signed with the Government of Ghana, the American company had no objection to the absence of a stability clause in its contract. In fact, company officials deemed the contract during the signing in January to be a “very good deal” for the people of Ghana. In Guyana’s case however, one gets the distinct impression that ExxonMobil went above and beyond to strangle Guyana’s parliament and future governments with the use of a rigid stability

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram clause. This was pointed out in the writings of Chartered Accountant and anticorruption advocate, Chris Ram. The lawyer said that Article 32 of the GuyanaExxonMobil oil deal speaks to the stability clause. The Chartered Accountant said that when one compares the Janet Jagan Agreement to the 2016 Trotman Agreement, one notices several worrying additions in the latter. The anticorruption advocate said that additions to the 2016 Agreement only serve the interest of Exxon Mobil

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as it limits the role of the government in applying new laws made in the petroleum sector. Ram revealed that if Guyana were to amend any of its laws which would affect the entity’s operations then the Government would have to restore the benefits so lost. Ram noted that the Stability Clause provides, inter alia, “that any delay by the government to respond to any notification from the contractor that they may have suffered any adverse effects can result in the contractor taking the matter to arbitration.” The Chartered Accountant added, “In such a case, the arbitral tribunal is authorized to modify the agreement to reestablish the economic benefits under the Agreement to the Contractor. Where such restoration is not possible, the tribunal has the power to award damages to the Contractor that fully compensates for the loss of economic benefits under the Agreement, both for past as well as future losses.”

Dem boys seh...

Not e ven a dr unk w ould ev drunk would sign tha act thatt oil contr contract

Old people seh wha you can see in de bright daylight don’t tek torchlight fuh go find it in de night. De whole world know Guyana got gold, diamond, timber, bauxite and now oil. Foreign people and foreign companies come; dem wuk up de gold, dem dig out de bauxite, dem carry way de timber and now dem gun fetch way de oil. Omai, Guyana Goldfield and Tessoro Resources been here wid d e g o l d ; BaiShanLin, Vitarna and Barama been here wid de timber; Alcan, Rusal and Bosai hustle wid de bauxite. Dem boys seh all dem companies been here fuh donkey years, wha Guyana

get? Ladoo? Exxon, Hess, Tullow, CGX and some oddas come fuh fetch way de oil. And all de Guyanese people gun get is three loaf bread every month. Dem boys do de Maths pun de two per cent royalty and dem get US$4.80 per month. Dem boys want Exxon to know that beggars does refuse a towel, which is US$5.00 these days. People asking how wid all dem lawyers in de govt— Moses, Ram Jattan, Basil Williams, Joe Harmon, and Raphael Trotman—how de country can’t get a good deal wid dem foreigners. Dem boys want to know wha dem lawyers was think-

ing about when dem was signing de oil contract. Were they thinking wid dem head or dem pocket? Nobody who think wid dem head would sign such a contract, not even a drunk. Not even a saggiewang woulda touch de pen fuh sign de contract. Soulja Bai better wake up from that slumber he in. Talk half and give Carl Greenidge he three loaf of bread a month. He was de Minister who get de e-mail from Exxon executive t h a t s e h e , “Man this kind of exposure wha de Waterfalls paper doing does happen after de company lef, not before.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

Unverified workers are the only ones who have not been paid Security Officers attached to Integrated Security Services in Berbice have mounted protest over the fact that they have not been paid for the year. Yesterday, the company issued a press release admitting that some of the workers have indeed not been paid. However, the company said that reason for the non-payment has been given to the workers. The company said that it began operating in Regions Five and Six on December 1, taking up the mantle from another company that had contracts with the Region before. The company said that management did not want to put all those who worked with the previous company on the breadline. Therefore, a decision was taken to retain them all. By mid-December, the company issued payments to all workers who made claims. However, the release stated, “When a review of the payments was done, management realized that several overpayments were made. Also, the records at the Human Resources Department and the records of Operations Unit were not in harmony with the payroll records. “Payroll processed just about 800 payments when HR and operations can account for substantially fewer employees. All of these departments in Georgetown rely on information provided by the supervisors in the two regions. But the claims sent to the Payroll

- Security Company

ISS General Manager, Shemaine Pilgrim-Lewis Department did not match the files in the HR department or the timesheets in the Operations Unit.” The company said that sub-offices in Regions Five and Six failed to send several documents requested by the main office located in Georgetown. “Management spoke to the supervisors of the various sub-offices in Regions Five and Six and expressed the concerns that it experienced. Countless requests were made for documentation to be sent to Georgetown. “Management went at lengths to explain that it needs more than just names to pay and was firm that the system of paying without verification was only facilitated in December in consideration of the season. Still, the verification records were slow in coming to the head office,” the release stated. The company said that one of its supervisors in Region Five, Curtland Sobers, explained that the security officers were complaining about having to provide TIN, ID card and NIS number. “All the employees whose files have been completed at HR have been paid. Persons who protested recently would have been asked to provide the relevant information but Sobers has not provided all. As recent as Thursday, Sobers brought some more verification documents. They are being processed and those persons will be paid within a few days.” The release continued, “The majority of Region Six workers have been paid. On Thursday last, a meeting was held with some of the workers. More payments were handed out then and company representatives called the names of those persons who still need to get their information into us to be verified.”

The company said that as soon as the first name was called, one female worker began venting her frustration about not being paid. The young lady explained that she has her family to take care of. It was explained to her that deductions are being made to her salary for NIS and that it is illegal not to pay NIS. The entity also told her that in order to send her payment into NIS; the company has to get her NIS number etc. It was also explained to her that the company has to send in an entire schedule as NIS does not accept scattered information and those who are still to submit their information are holding up the process. The company noted that it has gone to great lengths to facilitate the payments that have been made. Integrated Security Services said that it usually makes all payments through the bank. However, most of the persons attached to the entity’s branch in Berbice do not have Citizen Bank accounts. Therefore, cash in hand payments were made. “But before resorting to cash in hand payments, discussions were made to the bank to have all the employees signed up. As a result of those engagements, the bank even waived the fee attached to opening the accounts. Three consecutive Saturdays, Citizen Bank representatives travelled to Berbice to facilitate sign up, but few employees took advantage of the opportunity,” the release stated. The company said that it is becoming frustrated with the non-cooperation of the workers it inherited. The company noted that it also has Region Four operations and never encountered such problems. All Region Four employees have been paid. “Integrated Security Services remains committed to its motto: Quality people, Quality Training, Quality service. It will not deviate from its commitment to honest and transparent operations. Despite apparent attempts to stymie smooth operations, the company will try its best to iron out the kinks in its Berbice operations. “ISS wishes to make clear, that all employees who make their documentation available will be paid soonest, pending verification,” the release stated.

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Sunday February 25, 2018

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Guyana yet to begin auditing ExxonMobil development costs Audits are a fundamental part of any oil industry. But waiting too late to execute them can result in terrible consequences for host countries. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are just two of the many agencies which have strongly advocated for this. However, local authorities are yet to commence auditing the proposed costs for the development stage of ExxonMobil’s oil project which will see Guyana becoming an oil producer by 2020. The need for early audits has not only been underscored by international agencies but also by concerned commentators here. Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram, is one who has spoken at length about the troubles nations have faced in relation to inflated costs being submitted by oil companies. Ram said, “This is why you need proper audits. You need competent auditors so that these things can be caught. Additionally, when these oil companies come

here and they are finished exploring, they are supposed to say what they are going to be spending in the development plan. “Even that should be scrutinized and very thoroughly at that. (Government) should say who is doing that. (Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael) Trotman is lost and that is the reality.” COST RECOVERY Oil production is expected to get into to full swing by March 2020. That is just about two years away. But even at this point, the government is yet to point out what ‘specific’ measures are in place to ensure that it can authenticate cost recovery claims by USA oil giant, ExxonMobil. Kaieteur News had asked President David Granger to provide some details in this regard and he was unable to. The said question was also put to the nation’s point man on oil and gas, Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman. He too is yet to list just two things that are in place to ensure Guyana is not robbed

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

through such claims. At a recent Press Conference, Trotman said that the authenticity of cost recovery claims was one of the main discussions he and others had with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its experts. Trotman acknowledged that indeed, several countries around the world including Kenya, Ghana, the USA and Great Britain, have had struggles with ensuring cost recovery is precise and transparent . The Natural Resources

Minister said, “We have turned to some of the best financial experts in the world and they have come, they have done their assessments and they will be guiding us. It is a work in progress and we are doing better by the day.” When Kaieteur News still insisted on him outlining a few provisions in this regard, he pointed out that the Guyana Revenue Authority was able to garner $900M in taxes due to its attentiveness

GTC designs four-week technical programme for retrenched sugar worker

The GTC has been in operation for 62 years and is located in Port Moraunt, Berbice. The Guyana Sugar Corporation Training Centre (GTC) has developed a 120hour training programme for retrenched sugar workers. At a recent meeting with Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, School Programme Coordinator, Zamin Ally said the programme will be split between the New Amsterdam Technical Institute, GTC and the Upper Corentyne Training Centre. The meeting forms part of a needs assessment evaluation to determine how the GTC can train local content for the oil and gas industry. The technical training programme is part of GuySuCo’s Alternative Livelihood Programme for the

more than 4,000 sugar workers who have been retrenched in the downsizing of the sugar industry. “I know the Communications Officer at GuySuCo; she is actually working to engage the community and to see how much persons will be interested. What we are doing here is preparing ourselves to accommodate them,” Ally explained. GTC which is located in Port Mourant, Berbice will be providing courses in mechanics, refrigeration, agriculture mechanics, motor vehicle, welding and fabrication and electrical installations. Minister Trotman indicated his Ministry’s

willingness to sponsor some of the workers who would be part of the programme. Preserving GTC’s apprenticeship programme The GTC is considered the first technical training school in Guyana. The institute provides a four-year apprenticeship programme for persons who will eventually be hired to work on GuySuCo’s estates in engineering fields such as industrial electrical insulation, instrumentation programme, automation, agriculture mechanic programme and welding and fabrication among others. With the downsizing of the sugar industry, the school will not have any Continued on page 67

in this regard. TANZANIAAND INDONESIA Kaieteur News had carried an article on the Tanzanian experience with ExxonMobil in which it was stated that the country had serious difficulty in verifying how the figure of “cost oil” was arrived at. Upon examination of the leaked contract with ExxonMobil, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee disclosed that there was no “ring fencing” of blocks and that the Production Sharing Agreement contained no provision to guard against the incurrence of costs in one block and recovering them from another profitable block. The Chairman referred to the writings of Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz who asserted, “The fact that the typical contract allows the oil companies to walk away with the windfall profits suggests that something is wrong with the way these contracts are designed.” This newspaper also reported Indonesia’s switch

from the profit-sharing model to a revenue-sharing one. This was because each passing year has seen a dwindling of the country’s share of profits in the belief that oil companies were inflating their costs. This was despite the fact that the government-owned entity that manages the oil sector has a staff of 750 professionals. Approximately 80% of that staff is involved in the verification of cost recovery claims by oil companies to ensure that they are fair and accurate. The Chartered Accountant insisted that there are limited resources available in Guyana to enable the independent verification of the accuracy and reasonableness of the costs that are chargeable to revenue. He said it is mainly for this reason that the Government of Guyana should renegotiate the contract with ExxonMobil to allow for a revenue-sharing model to be in place.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Can CARICOM survive the CSME? (CMC Feature) By Peter Richards BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – When it was established in 1989, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME) was intended to deepen the regional integration movement and to better respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by globalisation. The architects of the initiative were of the view that while a primary focus of the common market was on liberalising trade in goods among the member countries, the single market and economy (SME) was intended to expand the process to include services, free movement of capital, skilled labour and the freedom to establish business enterprises anywhere within the 15-member grouping. But as the regional leaders gather in Haiti for their Inter-Sessional summit, tomorrow and Tuesday, they will certainly be aware that the much heralded CSME may prove to be a stumbling block, and could possibly lead to a fracture of the efforts towards a deeper regional integration movement. At the centre of such fears is the report of the Commission to Review Jamaica’s Relations within the CARICOM and CARIFORUM Frameworks, commonly referred to in Kingston as the “Golding Report” given that the 17member Commission was headed by the former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that his administration had established the Commission in June 2016 to review the effectiveness of existing arrangements within CARICOM, as well as to explore the strengthening of strategic partnerships within the CARICOM and CARIFORUM Frameworks. “I tasked the Commission with the important work of conducting an in-depth examination of CARICOM’s

performance, while identifying those aspects of our regional engagements within the Community that have not met their intended objectives, in line with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to advance the regional integration process,” he said, as he tabled the report in the Jamaica parliament last month. “Additionally, the Commission was charged with evaluating the effects of Jamaica’s membership in CARICOM on the country’s economic growth and development, with particular reference to trade in goods and services, investment, international competitiveness and job creation,” Holness said, making it clear that the review was not intended to seek an exit from CARICOM and from various regional arrangements, such as the CSME. The Commission met with a number of people including the incumbent CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque, his predecessors, Edwin Carrington and Roderick Rainford, Sir Kenneth Hall, the former CARICOM assistant secretary general, Sir Shridath Ramphal, the former Commonwealth secretary general, UWI Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles, the former Barbados prime minister Owen Arthur and Dr. Keith Rowley, the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, who on attaining office in 2015, expressed his frustration with the lack of action on the CSME saying, “I get the impression that all we are willing to do is talk this issue to death. “We cannot expect to get the benefits of medication if we refuse to swallow the medication,” Rowley, then the newest kid on the prime ministerial block, told his colleagues at the 38th Regular Meeting of CARICOM leaders in Grenada. Sir Hilary believes that Jamaica undertook the review because of its “anxiety and frustration” with the attainment of economic growth and the non-implementation of the CSME, forcing Kingston to establish the Commission to look into its future.

“This report is about economic growth and Jamaica’s anxiety with attainting it, and the commitment of the Jamaican state to achieve economic growth against this background,” he told a UWI Forum last week discussing the Commission’s report. The report contains 33 recommendations, with Dr. Damien King, a Commission member, indicating that 32 of these recommendations “don’t have to do with Jamaica’s relations. “It has to do with CARICOM and CSME,” King, the co-executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute told the UWI Forum, noting that “it is not an ultimatum, it is a recommendation that says we have two choices. “We can decide…to finally at last make a serious attempt at true integration for a single market and economy, and here is what it takes to do that. “But if you are not prepared to do that, then not only Jamaica, but everybody should stop pretending. Our choices are to do it or stop pretending, but the continued pretence is not one of the options. That is what the report is about,” King insisted. Golding said economic imperatives were not the only factor in the Commission’s work, making reference to the “serious cultural and political issues as well. “It is certainly my view and shared by other members of the Commission…that at the root of the problem is that lurking insularity, a parochial mistrust and jealousy of each other, and it is all neatly wrapped up in some inward looking…concept of sovereignty,” said Golding, who served as prime minister from 2007-2011. He said there is a feeling of betrayal in the region “by embracing too tightly, something that is multi-national or regional”. “I found this to be paradoxical because that same notion of sovereignty is quite prepared to submit itself to broader international rules

The Baccoo Speaks It seems as if people are in a hurry to go nowhere. Every so often there is a car crash when no other vehicle is on the road. This is not a new development, but it signals recklessness on the part of newly licensed motorists. There is going to be another such crash east of the city when a driver would crash into a stationary object. ** The belief that the criminals are getting younger

is not wrong. A group of young criminals will patrol the eastern part of the country to prey on people not accustomed to the level

of criminal activity in the city. This will lead the police to successfully redirect their campaign. ** A religious event will draw a family away from home and lead a group of scalawags to enter their home. Unfortunately for the group, some neighbours would see them and attack them with a vengeance. The police will, after then, warn of vigilante justice.

and norms,” Golding argued, noting “we are bound by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. “We are quite happy to observe binding resolutions that are carried by the United Nations, but we are not prepared to submit that sovereignty to the regional integration movement,” he said, suggesting there may be a reason for this attitude. “We may be fearful of the consequences if we don’t (implement international rules) and the isolation that we would suffer, but we are not prepared to do that at the regional level, and part of the reason for that is that we have not made CARICOM into the kind of institution where the benefits are so obvious and significant….” Golding said the Commission had “clearly detected a reluctance” on the part of all the member countries “some more than others” to embrace the challenges of the CSME. “All of them are not willing to say so publicly, but there is a feeling that it is too high a price to pay. There is a feeling that the risk outweighs its promise of benefits, and none will say let’s abandon it. “What they will say is somewhere in the future,

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness (right) receiving the CARICOM Review Commission Report from former Prime Minister Bruce Golding in March 2017. (Twitter photo @AndrewHolnessLM) maybe, we will get to that stage, but right now we can’t take the risk,” Golding said, noting that what has occurred in the region in the 25 years since the “Time For Action Report,” as presented by the West Indian Commission, “is a constant cherry picking of these elements of the Treaty of Chaguaramas” where certain “CSME requirements that we feel we can work with, because we think we can get something out of this (are implemented), and finding clever ways to avoid others. “We are at a stage where

we have picked off all the lowhanging fruits, but we are not willing to climb the tree where there is an abundance of fruit,” Golding said. The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat has noted that while the implementation and operation of the SME is being undertaken by a number of stakeholders, there is progress, pointing to the continued work on standardization and harmonization in areas such as antidumping measures, banking and securities; competition (Continued on page 26 )

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

A strange killing at Camp Jaguar By Michael Jordan On Tuesday, April 11, 1995, the sound of a gunshot echoed around Camp Jaguar, the Guyana National Service (GNS) base located in the New River Triangle, Berbice. A GNS rank rushed to the arms store from where the sound had come. According to the rank, he found Carlos La Rose, a 21-year-old Guyana Defence Force lieutenant, who was in charge of the arms store, lying sprawled on his back on the floor. He had been shot in the head. A G3 assault rifle was between his legs with the muzzle pointing towards the victim’s head. A portion of a bullet was located three feet from the corpse. Three days later, pathologist Dr. Leslie Mootoo performed an autopsy on La Rose’s body. He found that there was gunpowder residue on the dead soldier’s right hand. Police investigators were told that only La Rose had access to the arms store keys. Officials from the Guyana National Service eventually sent out a statement which said that the young lieutenant had inflicted the fatal wound on himself. One official even suggested that La Rose was frustrated at not being granted leave, and had attempted to shoot himself in the hand, so he could be sent off the base. It was suggested that the rifle recoiled and La Rose accidentally shot himself in the head. The young soldier was buried without being given a military funeral and that, it seemed, was the end of the matter. But his father, David La Rose, refused to believe that his son had done something so dishonourable. As far as he knew, Carlos had loved the

– David La Rose was certain that his son’s death was no suicide…and he would not rest until he had exposed his killer.

army. And there were other things about the case that bothered him. David La Rose, a former policeman, knew a thing or two about firearms and one of the things that he found strange was the report that his son had shot himself in the head with a G3 rifle. In his opinion, it would have been very difficult for his son to have inflicted the fatal injury with this weapon. After all, Carlos was in charge of the arms store. Why, David La Rose wondered, had his son not used a firearm that was more easily managed, such as a handgun, to shoot himself? In addition, Mr. La Rose had been told that the bullet had penetrated the front of his son’s skull. But the ex-cop observed that a portion of his son’s skull had been blown away, while there was another much smaller hole in the skull. He suspected that Carlos had in fact been shot in the back of the head, and that the bullet had exited at the front of the skull. David La Rose told every-

one who would listen to him that someone had murdered Carlos. His theory was that his son had stumbled on some illegal activity and that persons involved in this activity had taken measures to silence him. Convinced that his son was the victim of foul play, Mr. La Rose and other family members began a relentless campaign to have the death investigated. He appeared on television with photographs of his son’s body and expounded on his murder theory. He also wrote to the Presidential Secretariat, expressing his suspicions and asking that an investigation be conducted into his son’s death. Eventually, the La Rose family persuaded legal authorities to hold an inquest into the lieutenant’s death. Family members were allowed to attend and ask questions. The inquest began on Wednesday, June 26, 1996, and it was then that some strange facts began to emerge. First, an eyewitness testified that the G3 rifle found

near La Rose belonged to another GNS rank. The witness could not account for the whereabouts of La Rose’s rifle. Then Forensic Pathologist Dr. Leslie Mootoo testified that he had observed a wound on La Rose’s left hand while examining the body. A portion of the victim’s skull was missing and death was due to a fractured skull and laceration of the brain. He also said that the tests on La Rose’s right hand proved positive for evidence of gunpowder. Asked by the prosecutor if he believed that La Rose had killed himself, Dr. Mootoo said that the injuries could have been self-inflicted. According to Dr. Mootoo,

La Rose could have inflicted the wound while sitting in a chair, or if he had the weapon between his feet and accidentally pulled the trigger while asleep. But on being questioned further by the prosecutor, the pathologist said that La Rose could also have been shot during a scuffle with someone. On being questioned by the dead soldier’s father, Dr. Mootoo stressed that he had never said that La Rose had committed suicide. The last witness, Assistant Superintendent of Police Winston Adams, revealed that no attempts were made to lift fingerprints from the weapon that was found near La Rose’s body. He also said he had not taken the dead man’s fingerprints, or the prints of other ranks who were on the base at the time. A brother of the dead lieutenant suggested that the policeman should have taken these prints to ascertain whether La Rose or someone else had fired the rifle. The policeman was also unable to say whether ballistic tests were carried out to ascertain if the warhead found near La Rose’s body was from the same weapon that was

found at the scene. Finally, in late October 1996, a jury ruled that La Rose was shot in the head during a struggle “with a person or persons.” After the ruling, a relieved David La Rose requested that the police reopen investigations in an attempt to identify his son’s killers. Family members also said they wanted an apology from army and police officials for suggesting that the young lieutenant had killed himself or shot himself accidentally. But no investigation was carried out. Today, more than two decades later, family members still have no idea how Lieutenant Carlos La Rose ended up with a bullet in his head at Camp Jaguar. If you have any further information about this or any other strange case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location, or reach us on telephone numbers 22-58458, 22-58465, 2258473, or 22-58491. You can also contact Michael Jordan on his email a d d r e s s e s mjdragon@hotmail.com.; or kamarangnight@gmail.com. You need not disclose your identity.

Can CARICOM survive the... From page 25 policy; consumer protection; customs; intellectual property rights; food and drug regulation and labelling; standards and technical regulations; manufacture and trade in goods regulations as well as regulatory and institutional and administrative procedures in member state to enable efficient intra-regional trade in keeping with established regional trading arrangements. It has noted that in 2016, for example, major emphasis had been placed on the development of model laws and regulations to make CSME member states more compatible with CSM obligations, as well as providing technical assistance and training to strengthen capacity and improve capabilities of governmental bodies in the 15-member grouping to operate the CSME. But despite that, the Commission in its report recommended that “there needs to be a clear definitive commitment now from each member state to a specific time bound, measurable and verifiable programme

of actions to fulfil all its obligations and complete all the requirements for the single market and economy to be fully established and operational within the next five years’”. Failing this, the Commission is advocating that Jamaica withdraw from “the single market and economy” even while seeking “to retain its position as a member of CARICOM in a status similar to that of the Bahamas”. But Rainford disagrees, saying that Jamaica, instead of proceeding with the recommendation to withdraw from the CSME, should consider the alternative of reciprocity. “In other words, deal with each of your fellow CARICOM member states on a reciprocal basis based on what they have completed,” he argued, having earlier said he was pleased that many of the decisions taken by regional leaders to deepen the regional integration movement had not been implemented over the years. “Because to my mind the decisions that have been made over the years had

lacked what I called tests of financial feasibility, the tests of political feasibility, the tests of technical feasibility, tests of administrative feasibility”, said Rainford, who served as CARICOM Secretary General between 19831992.Holness has said he is looking forward to discussing the report with his CARICOM colleagues and to receiving their feedback, as well as the feedback from the CARICOM Secretariat, insisting that “the region must boldly reposition itself within the global context for greater economic cooperation to our mutual benefit as a collective force.“I am confident that in completing our collective review of the Report …we will be able to make the right decisions, and take the necessary actions to ensure the advancement of the region through CARICOM and continued cooperation with CARIFORUM States within the framework of the ACP Group of States,” Holness said. The next CARICOM summit will be held in Jamaica in July.

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

We have become a mindless, inhuman, uncivilized nation Here is a long extract from an article in the March 8, 2018 issue of The New York Review of Books captioned “Hell of a Fiesta” by Enrique Krauze “In the spring of 2017, and all through the year, social media feeds in Venezuela were filled with images of deprivation and despair: long lines of people hoping to purchase food; women fighting over a stick of butter; mothers who could not find milk to buy; children picking through garbage in search of something to eat; empty shelves in pharmacies and stores; hospitals without stretchers, drugs, or minimum levels of hygiene; doctors operating on a patient by the light of a cell phone; women giving birth outside of hospitals. Venezuela’s economy, the economist Ricardo Hausmann wrote in a recent study, is suffering a collapse

that is “unprecedented” in the Western world. Between 2013 and 2017 the country’s national and per capita GDPs contracted more severely than those of the US did during the Great Depression and more than those of Russia, Cuba, and Albania did after the fall of communism. This is a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions. By May 2017, Venezuela’s minimum monthly wage wasn’t enough to meet even 12 percent of a single person’s basic food needs. A survey of 6,500 households by three prestigious universities showed that 74 percent of the population had lost on average nineteen pounds in 2016. Infant mortality in hospitals has risen by 100 percent. Diseases nearly eradicated in many countries, like malaria and diphtheria, have flourished; illnesses largely new to the area, like Chikungunya,

Zika, and dengue, have spread. Caracas is now the most dangerous city on the planet. All this is happening in a country that has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.” I honestly believe the description in that extract above will not penetrate, even momentarily, the conscience of any leader in government here. History is going to judge this country harshly. We may end up in a more diseased state than Venezuela. We came close to it several times in the past sixty years. We live right next door to the country that is described above, and we add to the misery of these fleeing people by jailing them when they come over here for food not only for themselves, but for their babies. Karma is a cruel thing. It not only comes back to haunt you but to destroy you. This

country is unfit to call itself a part of the civilized world. There was an outburst from several quarters when the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News published two advertisements advising against investment in Guyana. I want people to come and invest here but I also want us, Guyanese, to create a civilized society. If this is a country that is not human and humane, then why should people come here to invest? What is taking place in Venezuela is not one of, but perhaps the greatest tragedy in this hemisphere – something that may be worse than anything gone by in the past in Haiti. People are starving, yet we jail those who run across the border to look for food. Look who is turning them back; the leadership of a country where almost every leader, maybe every businessman, almost every senior police officer and almost ev-

ery senior army officer have a close relative who went to greener pastures in search of a better life. In New York, one of the most visible nationalities is from Guyana. In Toronto, the Guyanese presence is pronounced. In Suriname, Trinidad, Antigua and Barbados, the presence of permanently settled Guyanese is as graphic as the perennial grass. Our leaders go to other countries to remain alive when they fall sick. We were told last year that Ministers went to Ireland (Ireland of all places, that the international music icon, Quincy Jones said last week is a poisonously racist country). At the time of writing, the Prime Minister is in the US recuperating from heart surgery. A country with that demographic reality is arresting and jailing Venezuelan refugees who come in search of food. But what is semi-fascist is that after they appear in court and are convicted, we carry them to the new holding centre at

Frederick Kissoon Diamond where they languish in the remand until they pay their own passage. Now if any government is guilty of stink ignorance it is the present Guyana Government. If they cannot buy food, where are they going to get money to pay for airline tickets? Guyanese are nice, good people, but fear has destroyed them. I went to the Camp Street seawall late Saturday night last week to walk my pet. Several persons went crazy for my dog. These are the nice Guyanese that are afraid to tell their leaders that they are failed politicians.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

“Guyana is indeed a place like no other” (Remarks by Minister Cathy Hughes to Region 3 residents on the observance of Guyana’s 48th Independence Anniversary “This year, Guyana celebrates its 48th anniversary as a nation with Republican status, and I say Happy Anniversary to every Guyanese, especially to you, our citizens in Region 3 Essequibo Islands/West Demerara. As I stand here I am reminded very vividly of why we all love West Demerara. I feel it every time I cross the river … that difference in the atmosphere, the fresh smells from rich fertile agricultural lands under cultivation; the spirit of friendship and camaraderie despite diversity; the familiar way you greet and interact with each other. It’s different, and it’s good, and I like it! Today is one more day

when we give thanks because we woke up this morning alive and well in this beautiful country. There are no wars around us, no ravaged lands from a hurricane or volcano. Every way you turn it, you see Guyana as a truly blessed country, the home of magnificent rivers, majestic waterfalls, pristine rainforests; you live in a country that has been described by visitors as “A breathtaking landscape where indigenous peoples and the descendants of Africans, Indians, Chinese, and Europeans all live, work and aspire together to develop”. Guyana is indeed a place like no other, and we draw strength from our capacity for real unity, diverse cultures living as one people, one nation with one destiny. Today we have another big reason to celebrate. We

are witnessing the birth of a new Guyana, a different Guyana that will cater well for us all and for our children. Everything that is happening at this time, everything that the people who know tell us will happen, gives us a feeling of excitement about our immediate future. I have a dream that our people, our most precious assets, will take this country to new heights. We will, but the young ones with all their verve and vivacity are the ones who will have the most advantages of the opportunities that we can grasp now – the opportunities to start new businesses connected to the emerging Oil and Gas sector. We (adults) now have the ability to become business partners with large businesses in countries near and far, to market our home-grown products and to take our manufacturing to the next lev-

els. A friend of mine in the Pomeroon is packaging over 4000 bottles of fresh coconut water a day, and most of it goes to hotels and retailers around the Caribbean. Her clients are asking for more so she has to constantly find ways to increase production to satisfy those demands. Then there is another friend who can’t get a break these days because her requests for more guava cheese and tamarind balls … yes tamarind balls … from people living in Canada, the USA and France keep going up. These are the opportunities I’m talking about that could come to you when you put your plans into action. We have yet another advantage … we’ve heard of a pending world shortage of food in the next 24 years, but this is Guyana, we don’t run out of food! Our soils are arable; there is bountiful land for planting, animal rearing, and almost any other agricultural endeavour/business. The question is, are we getting ourselves ready to become the breadbasket of the Caribbean, to fulfill our true potential in Region 3? I’d like to remind you that the only constant in life is change. Commodity prices go up and down. Today the world wants one product, but tomorrow they will discover something new. We then are obliged to re-train our people for these new demands and to adapt to the changes that are taking

place. Forty years ago Guyanese had good reason to believe that there was oil somewhere beneath our feet, and under the Atlantic Ocean. Today, we know for sure that there are billions of barrels of oil out there … and we’re certain that Guyanese are on the verge of earning well from it. It has always been said that Guyana is a blessed country, a rich country. Some of us didn’t believe it because the riches for the most part, remained out of reach. Let me just remind you of a few of those riches: oil and gas, gold and diamonds, timber, bauxite, rare earths (that contain minerals used in the manufacture of parts for cell phones and other digital gadgets, magnets, loud speakers, etc.), friendly people, natural food in abundance, abundant lands and rich soils even for planting coffee, onions and carrots. These are real blessings, my friends. In addition, we don’t get hurricanes or tsunamis; we don’t get mud slides, and Guyana is situated near the equator so it’s hot or warm all year round – excellent weather conditions. I worry that too often we criticize our own country, maybe because we take its beauty and benefits for granted. We constantly beat ourselves up in the media; we cut corners; we are not prepared to pay our taxes; we throw garbage anywhere; we disobey traffic regulations; we disrespect children and

authority figures … and then we wonder why things are not as they used to be. One man who came to Guyana on business said to me recently that this is the first place he has come to where the people are so friendly. So I said, “Yes, that is Guyana’s reputation”, very matter-of-factly. He didn’t think I understood where he was coming from so he felt he had to explain, saying something like this: “This country is an unusual place. People smile at me in the street for no reason, or they say Sorry, Man, and mean it when they brush past me in a hurry. It’s amazing!” I told him that’s how we treat people, both local and foreign, but he was not finished. He said, “In the three days I’ve been here, I’ve said ‘Good Morning’ about 103 times, and I was greeted with ‘Goodnight’ about 8 times in 10 minutes last night”. He said that he felt special … imagine that! I had to tell him that this is one of Guyana’s many resources – our kind and friendly people. That man believes that Guyana is a blessed nation! I believe that Guyana is a blessed nation, and I’m asking you to remember what you already know. My friends, we complete 48 years as a Co-operative Republic. I assure you these are exciting times and great success awaits us. “Let your own dreams be your only boundaries.”

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My column

The critics of the oil contract and reality Guyana is changing and this is because of the news of the oil discovery. The change has been subtle, but Friday’s Mashramani float parade exposed the impact the find has had on the country. There were many overseas-based Guyanese who came home, m a n y more than on previous occasions. There was a time when people were not coming. They were mortally afraid of the level of criminal activity. That began to change when the criminals who were causing the mayhem got removed from the face of the earth. If one expected the people to return in their numbers, that changed with the divisive politics that prevailed. Then came the 2015 elections, the massive cleanup of the city and the fiftieth anniversary of the country’s independence. The pressure was on the currency, but so many people came home that the system was flooded with foreign currency. The reports on the oil find since 2015 has had an impact. There have been criticisms of the contract, but many of the criticisms seem to be above the head of the people, because they only see economic improvement. Last week I had a chat with an official about the contract; what caused Guyana to give away so much to the oil company to the point that the critics believe that the country will not enjoy a change in fortune. The official said that Guyana’s flirtation with oil dates back to some forty years ago. A company named Home

Oil actually made an onshore discovery. That well petered out after a short while and Home Oil simply packed up and left. Guyana then began an active pursuit of oil companies. Many showed brief interest but declined to undertake exploration. At the same time, there were those working in Venezuela who had to live with threat that if they left to explore in Guyana they would not be allowed to continue in Venezuela. Exxon was one of them in Venezuela. The official said that those who came began to explore on the continental shelf and came up dry. The result to encourage others to keep coming and exploring was to make the contract even more inviting. Exxon came and went into really deep water off the continental shelf. The others were reluctant to operate in that location. The 2012 contract came into play, although there was no sign of oil. Meanwhile, money was being spent. The break came in 2016 when the 2012 contract was in force. The official said that Guyana moved to renegotiate the contract, but ExxonMobil told Guyana that it was happy with the 2012 contract, and was not prepared to renegotiate. Had there been no move

by either party, ExxonMobil would have been operating with a contract that offered Guyana a one per cent royalty and smaller taxes until June 2018. There was the consideration that ExxonMobil with its immense resources, could have mobilized and stepped up its exploration and drilling. In fact, ExxonMobil had said that it was prepared to bring up oil in 2017. By now thousands of barrels of oil would have been extracted and Guyana would have had precious little to show for its oil. In the end there was some renegotiation that increased some factors, including the royalty. One factor that cannot be overlooked is the tremendous luck that ExxonMobil had. It is unusual for anyone to hit so many holes in one block. ExxonMobil did, and this is what has the critics accusing the government of selling out. The bottom line is that Guyana will take whatever is on offer at this time. There are now others in the hunt and the government is certain that the contracts will be different. One factor that stands out is that oil is not going to be the major force it is today. The world is pursuing alternative energy sources. One view is that in another ten years oil will not be so sought after. At

the same time, the world market price is not likely to reach the heady heights of US$100 per barrel. That was the price that sparked the frenzy to find oil. For ten years, Guyana is going to get something for its oil, and with other companies coming into the mix, that take will be more. I have had conflicts with people who say that the best thing for Guyana would be to have ExxonMobil pick up its boots. They are not thinking about force majeure, which could be extremely costly to Guyana. More than that, there is the impact of the rest of the world on Guyana for breaching a contract. Things in the country would be so much worse. Minister Joseph Harmon announced last week that the government is not reviewing the contract. One thing that I have found out is that there are many countries that keep their contracts hidden. Trinidad

and Tobago has been in oil for more than a century, but its contract is still secret. However, Guyana has pledged itself to transparency, so it will release the contracts. There is some money coming. Local investors are already capitalizing, and should anyone talk with the locals, they would say that they are happy with the situation. I noticed that former President Donald Ramotar feels that the contract for the use of helicopters should have come to Guyana. He certainly did not do his homework. He would have known that Guyana does not have the capability. For starters, we do not have helicopters that can transport a dozen people. We do not have the search and rescue capability of the contracted chopper company, Bristow Helicopters. Bristow Group is the leading provider of industrial aviation services, offering heli-

Adam Harris A. A.

copter transportation, search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft support services to government and civil organizations worldwide. With headquarters in Houston, Texas, Bristow has major operations in the North Sea, Nigeria, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Some feel that we have lived all these years with little or nothing. Those who feel that way have not lived in extreme poverty as some 30 per cent of the population. Those are the people who hope for anything.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

The Road to National Unity From its inception A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has been committed to national unity. In fact, achievement of that elusive goal is the primary reason that A Partnership for National Unity was launched in July 2011; National Unity is part of APNU’s name. APNU’s stated vision continues to be, “The creation of a Guyana in which her citizens can live productive lives free from the ravages of poverty, are secure in their homes and in their communities, and are able to enjoy the benefits of political, social and cultural liberation.” For that vision to be realised, national unity is essential. So, what is national unity, why do we need such cohesion, and how may we begin to achieve it? Today, we will address those questions. APNU interprets the concept of unity as one which is all-encompassing in scope; beginning with a firm commitment by individual Guyanese, and extending into neighbourhoods, communities, regions, and finally the whole country.

APNU views the quest for national unity not only as an initiative of political leaders, but rather, an objective to which all Guyanese should strive. Certainly, the coalition having been built on a philosophy of inclusionary democracy will do everything possible at the governmental level, but realistically, each citizen must be committed to that goal before it can be actualised. Again, unity is a vital prerequisite to a better life for all. Why is this so? Because, in the absence of unity, we as a people will get nowhere. In the absence of cohesion we will all be so busy fighting with each other, that progress and development will be impossible. As a result of historical realities of which we are all aware, we live in a country of diverse cultures. Unfortunately, as a consequence of that, there are some self-serving, greedy, power-hungry politicians who use the fact of our diversity to try to divide us. We have seen how those unscrupulous, unprincipled

people do everything that they can to drive wedges between neighbours, and create quarrels among friends. And they do it because they have nothing good to offer Guyanese, so, in order to gain political power – and access to the people’s resources – they try to divide us with their poisonous messages in order to establish a support base. If those toxic political opportunists get their way, Guyanese will continue to suffer, even as those politicians live in the lap of luxury paid for with stolen resources which rightfully belong to the people. On the other hand, APNU has a different vision for Guyana. The coalition has a vision of a united people. The noted American poet Mattie Stepanek wrote, “Unity is strength . . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” The coalition shares that conviction. The administration sees a future where together, we can work to build a country of which we can all be proud. Where our children can be well educated, and grow into

productive, successful adults. A future where our senior citizens are treated with the respect and deference that they deserve. And if they need healthcare, it should be readily available to them, as it should be for all Guyanese, regardless of where they live. But, some may ask, how is this possible in a country where there are so many different cultures? Unlike those poisonous politicians, the men and women of APNU view things very differently. Where the selfish seekers of high office see diversity as a weakness to be exploited for their personal enrichment, the leaders of the coalition see a wealth of rich culture, a reservoir of vast knowledge, and a plethora of time-tested traditions. In other words, APNU believes that because we come from different backgrounds and cultures, we can be stronger, because we may all bring different ideas to the table. President David Granger, recognising this, said that he is of the firm view that the dif-

ferent ethnic and religious groups in Guyana need to develop a greater understanding of each other, so as to fully appreciate the richness of the nation’s diversity and strength of the country as a whole. His Excellency was, at that time, speaking at the Prana Pratistha or consecration ceremony of a 4.5 metre tall ‘murti’ (statue) of the Hindu God, Lord Hanuman at the Blairmont Mandir. He said too, “We cannot be strong if we are ignorant. We cannot be strong if we misunderstand each other, but through understanding we will be better able to combine our energies and our strengths and ensure that our children live in an age of enlightenment rather than an age of darkness.” His Excellency in making the point that understanding and knowledge of our diversity is indeed our strength, pointed the way to the beginning of the path towards national unity. APNU acknowledges that the path may not be straight and smooth, we accept that the road to unity will

be strewn with challenges and littered with obstacles – including hindrances created by those so-called leaders who peddle hate and division. The coalition, though, stands by the conviction that unity equal good, and division equal evil. As such, we know that through our individual and collective efforts; by means of the power of our determination, strength of will, and oneness of purpose, good will triumph over evil. In the struggle to reach the noble goal that will translate to benefits for all Guyanese, each tier of government – local, regional, and central – have roles to play. Those roles include practicing inclusionary democracy, fostering the empowerment of citizens, and leading by example. Equally importantly, individual citizens have responsibilities too, including rejecting any attempts by anyone to divide us, working to better understand each other, and overcoming our own prejudices. Those subjects will be explored in future articles.

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Facts you need to know about abscesses By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Having an abscess is a painful experience; some say it’s their most painful experience.Whether we like it or not, it’s becoming more common, mainly because of our unhealthy living. Today we will shed some light on abscesses, as there are different myths on how they form and are treated. WHAT IS AN ABSCESS AND WHAT CAUSES IT? An abscess is a collection of pus. Pus is a thick fluid that usually contains white blood cells, dead tissue and germs (bacteria); it is usually called “information” by many locals. The pus may be yellow or green and may have a bad smell. Abscesses are usually caused by a bacterial infection. Certain bacteria are more likely to be ‘pus-forming’, as they make chemicals (toxins) that can damage the body’s tissues. The infection causes our immune system to set off white blood cells and chemicals to fight the bacteria. In this ‘battle’ some tissue dies. A mixture of all these dead cells and bacteria forms the pus that is usually walled off in a cavity. The cavity becomes bigger if the infection continues and the pus can’t get out. WHERE DO AB-

SCESSES FORM? · Skin - most abscesses form just under the skin. A boil is the most common example. In this case, a hair root becomes infected and develops into a small abscess. Occasionally, women who are breast-feeding can develop an infection in the breast that becomes a breast abscess. The symptoms of a skin abscess include swelling, redness, pain and warmth over the affected area. · Inside the body - an abscess sometimes forms inside the body within an organ or in a space between organs. Various symptoms may occur, depending on the site of the abscess. An abscess inside the body usually happens because of another condition. Infection in the liver, for example, can result in a liver abscess. An ultrasound scan or other types of scan can confirm a suspected abscess. If infection occurs in the gums or teeth, a dental abscess can develop. WHO DEVELOPS ABSCESSES? Most skin abscesses occur in people who are otherwise well. There is often no underlying cause and usually no further problems occur once it has gone. It usually happens when bacteria on your skin pen-

etrate the protective barrier of your skin and get under into tissues. Your doctor may check to see if you are diabetic, as abscesses tend to occur more often in people with diabetes. Recurring skin abscesses may be the first indication of a problem with your immune system. An abscess inside the body usually occurs in people who are ill with other problems, or in people whose immune system is not working well. WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR AN ABSCESS? The main treatment is to drain away the pus from the abscess. For a skin abscess, this involves a cut at the top of the skin to allow the pus to drain. Your doctor will usually numb your skin with an injection before cutting it. A scar will form as the skin heals. If the abscess is deep, a small piece of gauze (antiseptic wick) may be put in the drainage hole. This stops the hole from sealing over before all of the pus has drained and the cavity has shrunk. A more complex surgery is done when an abscess forms inside the body. The techniques vary, depending on the site of the abscess. Sometimes a tube will be left in the hole to drain the pus. Antibiotics may also be prescribed, especially if there is infection in the skin (cellu-

litis). However, they are often not able to treat an abscess on their own. The mainstay remains surgical drainage of the abscess. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IFAN ABSCESS WERE NOT TREATED? A skin abscess would normally eventually burst on to the skin surface and let out the pus. This may be after it becomes larger and more painful. However, abscesses can also cause destruction of your tissues and form large tracts that are difficult to heal. They may also cause you to become very sick and septic if left untreated. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT AN ABSCESS? It is difficult to prevent an abscess inside the body, as it usually happens in people

who are ill with other problems. It may be possible to prevent a skin abscess. One in 10 people with a skin abscess develop another one within 12 months. It is more common in people who smoke or are obese, so stopping smoking or losing weight, may help to prevent boils. It is also more common in young people (aged below 30), people with diabetes and people who have taken an antibiotic in the previous six months. Misuse of antibiotics is leading to “superbugs” that are resistant to many antibiotics. These “superbugs” can cause recurrent abscesses as they start to multiply. Some people seem to be particularly prone to developing boils.

Dr. Zulfikar Bux The boils can develop continuously, or occur from time to time. The earlier you recognize that you may be having an abscess, the better it is for you. Getting treatment early can prevent the unnecessary pains and complications associated with abscesses.

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SUNDAY SPECIAL After 100 years with ExxonMobil… 20 African countries no better off today The splendour Mother Nature has bestowed upon the continent of Africa cannot be ignored. But neither can the fact that after 100 years of hosting ExxonMobil’s operations, the people of 20 African nations are no better off today. This can be seen from a simple examination of the latest Human Development Index (HDI) report. (http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/ HDI). The HDI was created to emphasise the point that people and their ability to live a better life should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country. The African countries which have been flagged in the HDI report as places of low human development include: Angola, Chad, Cameroon, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and the Republic of Congo. Those African nations with managed to scrape medium development for its people after finding oil include Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Sâo Tomé and Morocco. On this basis, one can surely understand the notion that oil alone does not guarantee the “good life”. This very point was recently hammered home by world renowned scientist and head of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), Professor Suresh Narine. At the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit (GIPEX) which was held from February 7 to February 9, Professor Narine asked,

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

File Photo: BaiShanLin’s equipment at a Linden location, Over three years ago

“Will Guyana simply shoot to the top of the HDI by simply becoming producers of oil? And for how long shall we maintain this good life, if we are able to attain it? Or will it only be over the lifetime of our reserves? “ BaiShanLin busted for illegal logging in Berbice River Late January, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, made it clear that disgraced Chinese investor, BaiShanLin, was not operating in Guyana. Asked about BaiShanLin, the Minister said, “We are not aware that BaiShanLin has any operations ongoing.” However, there is evidence that the Chinese company is alive and

well and operating despite its forest concessions having been taken away more than a year ago. According to officials, about three weeks ago, employers of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) stopped trucks that had the company’s logo. They found Wamara logs on the trucks. Checks reportedly found some discrepancies in the paperwork. The tags on the logs reportedly came from the Kwakwani Natural Resource Organisation (KNRO) but the logs were later traced to a concession that used to be controlled by the Chinese company. The matter was reported to GFC headquarters and the regulator has since launched a probe.

GFC as the regulator would want to know how KNRO’s tags ended on logs that came from a forest concession in another concession. The name of the area in the Upper Berbice River area was given as “Waico”. Under tough forestry regulations, that is a clear no-no, with stiff fines and other penalties automatically applied. These will add up to millions of dollars. If it is found that KNRO knowingly allowed BaiShanLin to operate in another concession with its tags, which allows GFC to trace to the exact tree stump, the organisation could also be in deep trouble.According to officials, local sawmillers and loggers have been

complaining of Wamara flooding the market in the last few months-almost 3,000 cubic meters since December. If the charges are proven, BaiShanLin could be in deep, deep trouble and there would be questions about the monitoring of authorities. There are checkpoints along the Linden/Kwakwani route, Region Ten. The company was granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions for vehicles and equipment for its forestry operations. After those forestry concessions were seized, there were assurances that BaiShanLin would be monitored to ensure it does not use (Continued on page 41)

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

GTU proposes way forward on multi-million-dollar debunching issue Public school teachers are owed debunching money amounting to a sum bordering on $600 million. But according to General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union [GTU], Ms. Coretta McDonald, “We don’t think government has the capacity to pay that amount of money that is owed and then to pay salary increases again on that.” This matter is one that has gained the attention of the Task Force that was entrusted with spearheading the negotiations as it relates to salary increase for public school teachers. According to McDonald, who has been a part of that body, “we sat there and we came up with a position that we are offering the government with regards to the debunching issue. If that position is accepted, those monies are going to be placed on the table, then we can have the new increases that we have been pushing for.” It is McDonald’s belief that once the debunching increases are paid to teachers “that would put everything else into place, because we would have the debunching in place which will show you the different segments and the different levels of teachers, according to the different increment of teachers.” “When you have the increases in salaries, you are going to see that reflected in the salary scale, so you won’t have a whole lot of people bunched up at one point and you have just a few at another

GTU’s General Secretary Ms. Coretta McDonald point,” said McDonald. “Because of all of those intricacies, it took us quite a while of the entire process [negotiation] being completed.” But according to the GTU General Secretary, the union is satisfied with the course the negotiation has taken. She however noted that teachers may have to wait a bit longer since “like everything else, negotiation doesn’t happen in one day, a week, a month and so on...unless persons say ‘oh you want to shut people up? Let’s sign an agreement although we know we didn’t do three quarters of the things that we are asking for’” According to McDonald, the GTU has been fully engaged in negotiations since it has long recognised that industrial action is not necessarily always to resolve some issues. “We need to be realistic and we need to look further down the line; we don’t want things to work out

for our teachers only for a year or two,” she asserted. Debunching, as well as the teachers’ house lot project, has been among the issues that the GTU has had issues resolving, even though it was included in an agreement the GTU had signed with the previous administration. “We were never able to address those issues. Now those issues are coming right back into this new agreement but I can say, unless we address the debunching matter in particular, we will not be able to resolve all of the issues that we are having with the salaries,” said McDonald. Addressing this issue is particularly important, McDonald said, since “every year we have more teachers in the system and they are being added to the table. In order to show that bit of what we call seniority, we must devise an incentive or increment system where a teacher getting out of College [Cyril Potter College of Education] now, will not be receiving the same salary as teachers in the system a year or two years ago.” According to McDonald, unless deliberate moves are made to address the debunching issue, there is no way that it will be reflected on the salary scales. “That has taken us a while in terms of putting all the persons we have in the education system; putting them in the various levels and doing the various calculations to show how much is going to be the increase, because that there is separate and apart.”

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Sunday February 25, 2018

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From page 32 those trucks and equipment to unfairly compete in other sectors.

Phillip King hopes that his cars are among those recovered

MONDAY Politicians across the board have failed Guyana with oil contracts – Lincoln Lewis– commends media for highlighting oil contracts signed by past and present Govts. Trade Unionist, Lincoln Lewis has acknowledged that the contract that Guyana has with CGX bears a sticking resemblance to the contract the nation has with ExxonMobil. Lewis noted that two different governments signed those agreements. He said they all must take responsibility. Lewis expressed his concerns and made his views known in a letter to the media. He said that the media needs to be commended for its continuous effort in highlighting the truth as it relates to the contracts signed by Governments of Guyana with the oil companies. Lewis noted that members of civil society, “like Christopher Ram and Ramon “Rambo” Gaskin, have communicated to us their interest in taking a laser beam on this matter as they dissect ExxonMobil contract and offer their opinions on whether Guyana is getting the best deal or not. As regards to the politicians the public debates between the two sides and the evidence unfolding bring into question what their real motives are.” “The PPP/C Opposition decries the APNU+AFC Executive for the agreement it signed on behalf of the people of Guyana with ExxonMobil. Today the media is bringing to the public attention the similarities in the agreement signed by PPP/C Government with CGX and the APNU+AFC Government with ExxonMobil.” Lewis said that the nation should remember that CARIFORUM negotiated an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU). “Subsequent to this CARICOM commenced engagement to seal an agreement with Canada on an economic partnership. The Canadian Government used the CARIFORUM/EU Agreement as the template in engaging CARICOM.” Lewis said that the negotiation of the first agreement sets the foundation for any that come thereafter. He then noted that there is a principle in negotiation that it is wise to seek to avoid “starting wrong because you will end wrong. In the case of the oil and gas agreements

Phillip King the first agreement will set the tone for others coming thereafter. While one is not aware whether the CGX can be considered the first, what is being gleaned is that it was used as the template in negotiating with Exxon.” Shot, carjacked and left to die– Phillip King thought he was just taking two women and a baby to church…He ended up almost getting killed It was around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday, November 27, 2017, when the two women approached Phillip King at the Stabroek car park. They said they were heading to the Seventh Day Adventist church in Meadowbrook Gardens. That route held unpleasant memories for King. On the night of May 26, 2015, he had taken a burly, fair-complexioned young man from the Stabroek Park to that same location.Just as the passenger disembarked near the Enterprise Primary School in Meadowbrook, three other men with handguns rushed to King’s car. They ordered him out of his 2015-model Toyota Premio. King, 46, appealed to the gunmen’s sense of patriotism. “Is Independence Day, man, we supposed to be celebrating,” he pleaded. “Me ain want hear no (expletive) ‘bout Independence,” one of the carjackers replied. They gun-butted King until he blacked out, dumped him in a trench, and drove off with his car. Two years had passed after that attack, and though he was now more wary about picking up strangers, King sensed nothing suspicious about the two women who asked him to take them along the same treacherous route. They were in their twenties, he guessed; they were decently dressed, and one even held a well-wrapped up baby. King is a father of three, and perhaps the baby stirred his paternal instincts. There was also the fact that the

women said they were going to the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Meadowbrook. They entered the back seat, and King drove to their destination. He still wasn’t uneasy when he reached the church and observed that there appeared to be no one inside. The only individual he saw was a well-dressed man standing in the compound. The women explained that the gentleman, who was now approaching King, would pay their fare. The well-dressed man came to the driver’s side of the car. He reached into one of his pockets…and King froze. He was staring into the muzzle of a handgun. TUESDAY ExxonMobil contract anti-Constitution –says Ram Just imagine. A sovereign state is prevented from altering the Agreement either directly or indirectly by new laws or policies, but an arbitral tribunal can do so! If Chapter 1:01 of the Laws of Guyana sets out the country’s constitution, this Petroleum Agreement, signed AFTER the world’s largest oil find in 2015, constitutes its anti-Constitution.” So said Attorney-at-law and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, as he spoke of the ills highlighted in Article 32 of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that the Government of Guyana signed with ExxonMobil. This is not the first time Ram spoke of the Stability Clause. However, the commentator said that he becomes more sickened each time he takes another look at that particular clause in the contract. Ram said, “Every reading of the provision strikes the observer as breathtaking, crippling, terrifying and without parallel with more recent

oil contracts in its scope and application. ”By conceding on this Article, the Granger Government has not only emasculated itself but every succeeding Government up to the year 2056 and quite possibly later, depending on the rate of exploration and exploitation of what is possibly the largest petroleum area to have ever been granted to a foreign oil company by any sovereign state in the world in the postcolonial era.” Ram said that the clause is incomparable to other recent contracts without having a look at the CGX contact that the PPP/C Government signed which government only released three days ago. The Stability Clause of the CGX contract is almost identical to that of ExxonMobil contract. Ram had also noted that the companies making up “the contractor” which is the term used in the contract, enjoy water-tight protection against any changes proposed by the Granger and subsequent Governments. ”They are exempted from any new or additional taxes passed by the Parliament for the several decades during which the Agreement can legally subsist. Auditors find City Hall misappropriates $$$ millions in Govt. funding …City Treasurer calls in sick Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma will launch a forensic audit of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council into millions of dollars in funds provided by Central Government since 2015. The AG’s decision came when city treasurer, Ron McCalmont, who is legally the financial reporting officer for the council, was absent from Monday’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting

held at Parliament Buildings. His absence was reportedly due to a doctor’s appointment. The PAC meeting which was chaired by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali, scrutinised expenditure allocated by Parliament for the Ministry of Communities. Deputy Treasurer of M&CC, John Douglas, was summoned to the PAC meeting to answer questions in relation to the missing financial statements, but he could not provide proper information on monies expended by the M&CC. MISSING DOCUMENTS The PAC noted that state auditors have not received vouchers, statements of expenditure or any piece of document that he can verify that City Hall spent $173.5M. This amount included, Kitty Market, $60M; constabulary training school, $23.9M; city engineer building, $13.5M; constabulary headquarters, $12.9M; Albouystown clinic, $21.5M; and office equipment and furniture, $42.1M. PAC member and PPP MP, Juan Edghill, raised questions relating to 2016 that the PAC has been seeking to verify. ”We have all of these discrepancies that we couldn’t get answers so I’m not surprised that the treasurer was sick today because that is a lot of weight to carry around; burdensome,” Edghill stated. According to Edghill, of greater concern is the auditors being unable to find the contracts and the vouchers in one instance, and the furniture can’t be physically verified. ”If I leave Public Accounts and say the Mayor and City Council has misappropriated $42 million, would I be factually correct? They can’t account for it. They say they buy furniture, you can’t see the furniture; you can’t

see the contract; you can’t see the payment voucher; you don’t have a cheque to show that it was paid. Where this money went, thin air?” Edghill questioned. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell told the PAC that the Ministry has provided internal auditors to assist the M&CC and other efforts, which have not produced results. Linden town treasurer refuses to sign off illegally on cheques Treasurer of the Linden Town Council, Audrey Nelson, was Monday commended for standing up to councillors by refusing to authorize spending of government funds without following the correct legal procedures. During the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting, Nelson declared that the municipality has issues following procedures. By the end of 2016, the council held roughly $12.8M in ‘a special account’ set up to receive funding from central government. Some $3 million of the full amount allocated had been spent. Nelson stated that that councillors wanted to spend the money on programmes without the approval of central government. The monies were kept in the account because the Ministry of Communities and the Ministry of Finance are exploring whether the unspent monies in the municipalities needed to be returned to central government or the council members can approve the monies be spent on other projects. ”Under the subvention programme that is being given, we had to stay within the ambits of the programme and spend the money within (Continued on page 42)

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BaiShanLin’s Local Head, Chu Hongbo From page 41 the ambits of the programme. They wanted us to go outside of the programme,” Nelson explained. The treasurer told the PAC that she resisted the attempts and informed the councillors that in order to release the funds, approval needed to be sought from central government. Nelson stated that the councillors have not pursued approval for redirecting the funds although they have often spoken about it. WEDNESDAY After several days of uproar in Ghana… Leaked ExxonMobil contract sent to Parliament for better deal On January 18, last, the Government of Ghana signed a contract with ExxonMobil for offshore exploration. The area agreed upon to conduct the operations is the Deepwater Cape Three Point oilfield. The Contract was kept from prying eyes, but not for long. Within the space of two weeks, the contract was leaked. Upon conducting detailed

assessments, Ghana’s civil society realized that the contract, which was praised by the government as being “the best deal for the nation in recent years,” was actually a total disappointment, as it was simply generous to ExxonMobil. Civil society members denounced it as the “worst deal in Ghana’s history”. Unlike what is currently taking place in Guyana, the Government of Ghana listened to the concerns of its citizens. In less than a week of the public outcry, the administration assured the citizenry that the contract would be turned over to Parliament, so that a “better deal” can be negotiated on the people’s behalf. GUYANA’S GOVT. UNMOVED It was in December 2017 that the Government of Guyana released the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it signed with ExxonMobil. Since then, local commentators have been flooding the daily newspapers about the flaws of the 2016 Agreement. Some of these include the fact that ExxonMobil trapped Guyana with US$460M in start-up costs and that it has access to unlimited duty free concessions. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has also been criticized for agreeing to give ExxonMobil seven days’ notice before he can check the entity’s books. This is in stark contrast to what is practiced in other oilproducing nations which have complete access to the records of operators at any time. To add insult to injury, the Government of Guyana agreed to conduct one audit a year on ExxonMobil. Chinese bank cannot save BaiShanLin – Concessions

will be reallocated – GFC The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is no longer willing to facilitate a request from the China Development Bank (CDB) to hold off on the redistribution of land concessions previously held by BaiShanLin Forest Developers Inc. Last year, CDB made the request to stall redistribution because it was looking to secure finances to recapitalise loans owned by BaiShanLin. On Monday, GFC hosted its first press conference of the year. At that forum, Kaieteur News made queries about the lands that were being held for the Chinese company. Chairwoman of the GFC Board, Jocelyn Dow made no qualms to state that the GFC has made a decision to disregard the request made by the bank. Dow said, “We have no nexus with banks that is a matter for BaiShanLin. The concessions are there and we will make a decision when all of the other issues surrounding the collecting of materials and so on are sorted out. When we are able to sort those things out, the concessions will be offered out for reallocation.” Dow continued, “BaiShanLin and their bankers are not the business of the GFC any longer.” She noted, “At one stage the CDB had spoken to us. But they have no standing. They are not a concessionaire; their client is BaiShanLin not the Guyana Forestry Commission.” At the press conference, it was also noted that BaiShanLin still owes the GFC $80M. GFC Commissioner, James Singh said that the GFC is not willing to count the debt as a loss and write it off just yet.

Treasurer of the Linden Town Council, Audrey Nelson(Left) with PAC member, Juan Edghill

GFC Commissioner James Singh (L) and Chairperson Jocelyn Dow He told Kaieteur News, “Yes, we are making all efforts to collect those monies. Certainly it has not been written off.” Dow indicated that GFC is looking to get its money from the sale of BaiShanLin’s assets. She noted that the Chinese company has a number of assets. More than two months later… Cabinet still to review outstanding forensic audit reports It was three years ago that the coalition administration triggered a series of forensic audits which resulted in the expenditure of $133M. To date, Cabinet is still to review close to 20 of those outstanding audits. These include the reports for the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Lotto Fund. Junior Minister of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma told Kaieteur News Tuesday that Cabinet is still to get around to reviewing some of the audits. He noted however that nothing alarming came out of the audit reports such as the one on GGMC. He said that in several cases, various issues were identified with the audit reports, where some auditors were limited in scope due to their inability to access certain documentation. The Junior Finance Minister also noted that with the passage of the Whistleblower legislation, several persons have come forward to provide information on financial irregularities that were missed by the forensic auditors hired by the government. Sharma said that where necessary, he shall be making recommendations for some of these matters to be further investigated by the relevant

authorities. It was in May 2015 that the Granger-led administration began expending millions of taxpayers’ dollars on 45 of its 50 forensic audits to ascertain how the assets of the state were sold, disposed of or transferred under the previous administration. The remaining five audits were sponsored by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB). Some of the firms contracted to conduct the forensic audits included Nigel Hinds Financial Service, Ram and Mc Rae and HLB Seebarran and Co. Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran along with Harryman Parmesar were also contracted to conduct several forensic audits. Nigel Hinds Financial Service audited agencies such as the Guyana Oil Company Limited (Guyoil), the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest). THURSDAY Contractor trailed from bank, shot in the head An electrical contractor was shot in the back of the head and robbed of $600,000 some ten minutes after leaving a Republic Bank branch at Triumph, East Coast Demerara. Terry Singh, 38, was shot by a tattooed gunman around 13:00 hrs Wednesday, just as he entered the compound of the R. Kissoon Contracting Service at Foulis, East Coast Demerara. The robber and an accomplice escaped with the cash on a CG motorcycle, which had no number plates. Singh has been admitted to hospital with a fractured skull. His condition is stable and he is to undergo surgery. The contractor’s employer told Kaieteur News

that he had given Singh an $800,000 cheque, which the contractor encashed at the Republic Bank at Foulis. Singh then withdrew $600,000, which was reportedly to be used to renovate his home. Singh who is in pain but is conscious, told Kaieteur News that he then headed back to his worksite on his motorcycle. The contractor said that when he was in the vicinity of Lusignan, he observed a silver grey car, which he suspected was trailing him. According to Singh, the driver appeared to accelerate whenever he (Singh) increased his speed. However, the contractor said that the vehicle was nowhere in sight when he reached his workplace. Singh said that just as he entered his workplace at Foulis, he heard an explosion behind him. He had no idea that he had been shot until he saw the blood trickling down his neck. GuySuCo no longer under Agri Ministry –Holder clarifies Speaking to reporters, on the sidelines of the opening of the National Dialogue on the thirty-fifth Regional Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean and Accountability of the FAO’s stewardship workshop held at Regency Suites, Brickdam, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, on Wednesday confirmed that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is no longer under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. ”GuySuCo is vested in National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL). NICIL falls under the Ministry of Finance. In short, GuySuCo has been removed (Continued on page 43)

Sunday February 25, 2018

From page 42 from the ambits of agriculture to the Ministry of Finance,” Minister Holder stated. In late December, a publication of the Official Gazette disclosed that under the Third Schedule, all shares issued by GuySuCo which are owned or held by the corporation or the state or any other state corporation or agency is being transferred to NICIL. It means that in addition to the three estates of GuySuCo- Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt-, NICIL also has control of the four others which has been closedSkeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales. The last four have been placed under the Special Purpose Unit, which was established by NICIL last year to oversee the divestment and privatization process. The closure of the four estates and sending home of more than 4,000 workers by GuySuCo last year angered the administration which claimed that although it was aware some actions were being taken, Cabinet was not briefed. With 16,000-plus workers, making redundant over 4,000 workers always would have sparked political and other fallouts. Rates increase application… GWI moves to write off $$$millions owed by customers The second day of the public hearings into an application by state-owned Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) for increased rates got underway Wednesday with the company announcing plans to sanitise its systems. During the hearings at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, GWI’s head, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, disclosed that the company has found itself in a bind…it is unable to go after consumers, including home owners and businesses, who are owing more than three years ago. Under limitation laws, GWI cannot bill customers beyond three years in arrears. The company is now moving to determine what exactly it is owed. The sanitisation process will take some time. The issue of what is owed is highly pertinent to GWI’s application as there are arguments by consumers’ rights advocates that GWI don’t need any raise to the rates…rather, it should move to collect those outstanding monies. Consumers’ activists Pat Dial, George Cave, Ramon Gaskin and former GWI’s official, John Seeram, were among those who believe that GWI should put its

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house in order first. Gaskin, for the second day, is standing his grounds that up to date financials of GWI should feature as part of the considerations for any rates increase. GWI’s financials for 2016 is now being audited. The Managing Director says he will be meeting with the board today on the possible release of the information as there are restrictions of released unaudited figures. Dr Van West-Charles explained that although the company’s debt figure is high, collections alone cannot sufficiently finance the investments made to treat water for a growing economy. FRIDAY All oil contracts signed by Guyana bear similar ugly features as one with Exxon – Govt. promises to do different “going forward” The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that the Government of Guyana signed with ExxonMobil is definitely not the only one of its kind in Guyana. Kaieteur News has been told that all of the oil contracts which have been signed by APNU+AFC government as well as the PPP/C government are similar. In fact, this newspaper understands that the model that was being used over the years dates back to the 1970s. Guyana has just about 10 existing contracts with various oil companies including ExxonMobil. These have all been modeled from a contract that the country had with Mobil, a company that had a presence in Guyana during the time of former President, the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. It was that same template that was reportedly used to formulate the ExxonMobil 1999 PSA. However, when ExxonMobil announced that it found oil in commercial quantities offshore Guyana in 2015, and the APNU+AFC government took another look at the contract, a decision was taken by government to review and renegotiate the contract. In fact, this newspaper carried an article back in 2016 that quoted Trotman, expressing government’s desire to do same. That article can be read here: https:// www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2016/06/29/govt-reviews-17year-old-contract-withexxon-mobil-but-agrees-itprovides-relative-protectionas-constituted-2/. However, Kaieteur News has been told that ExxonMobil, knowing the advantageous provisions of the 1999 contract, took a firm stance that it was not willing

tee should hold hearings, so that it gets to hear from government operatives and other expert witnesses. Caricom official shot and robbed after leaving bank …second such attack in two days

Chartered Accountant Chris Ram to renegotiate the contract. Apparently, the company had grounds for that position. And government “respects the sanctity of agreements.” Nevertheless, the government maneuvered a one percent increase in royalty, which in ExxonMobil’s view, was negligible; it does not hurt the company in anyway. But, that meagre increase and the inclusion of a signature bonus, which is also negligible in the grand scheme of things, were predicated on an agreement to extend the life of the contract beyond 2018. ExxonMobil’s contract would have ended in June and another would have had to be negotiated. The government opted to extend. With the extension, ExxonMobil managed to slip in a few more “oppressive” provisions as those contained in the Stability Clause. Lopsided Exxon deal underscores need for all PSAs to go through Parliament – Ram Given the damning flaws contained in the oil deal Guyana signed with ExxonMobil, local commentators believe that Parliament needs to have increased oversight of the oil and gas sector and related contracts. Specifically making this comment recently was Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram. During an interview with this newspaper, Ram noted that the ExxonMobil agreement should have been tabled and approved in the National Assembly. The anticorruption advocate said that this should have been the way forward for all Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs). Ram said, “These contracts have long term effects. So what you have is a Minister binding a Parliament or a country for decades. The practice of having Production Sharing Agreements go through the Parliamentary process can be seen in places

like Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria. That is how it should be done, because there are long term effects with these contracts…” The Chartered Accountant said, “What we have before us is proof that this is what should be done. But in addition, I think even the scheme in which the Executive negotiates should be revised…” Also in agreement with the need for the role of Parliament to increase in the oil sector is Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds. The political commentator said that the Parliament should always have an important role in these matters—it is the only elected branch of government. Dr. Hinds noted that the oil and gas sector is a defining one and as such, he would recommend that Parliament set up a standing committee on energy. He said that such oversight is necessary, given how much is at stake. Perhaps as a start, the University Professor said, there should be a select committee to look at what has transpired thus far in relation to the contract and other related issues. He emphasized that such a commit-

Bandits targeting commercial bank customers struck again Thursday, shooting a Caricom Secretariat official in the right leg and escaping with $264,000. Lionel Persaud, 59, a programme manager, was cornered outside his Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara residence at around 14.00 hrs, shortly after leaving a commercial bank. The shooter and an accomplice arrived and escaped by car. A police release stated that Persaud had visited a commercial bank on the East Coast of Demerara then headed home in his car. When he arrived, the occupants of another vehicle approached from a northern direction and blocked Persaud’s path. A man then exited from the back seat, pointed a handgun at the Caricom Secretariat official, and relieved him of a bag containing the cash he had withdrawn. The bandit then shot Persaud in the upper right leg before escaping with his accomplice. A policeman transported Persaud to hospital. Investigators retrieved a spent shell from the scene and “are making stringent efforts to trace the vehicle and apprehend the suspects.” Persaud is the second person to be shot and robbed in two days after leaving a commercial bank. At around 13.00 hrs on Wednesday, electrical contractor Bisnauth Chan, also called Terry Chan, was shot in the head and relieved of $600,000 just after leaving a commercial bank and entering his workplace at Foulis, East Coast Demerara.

Chan, 38, had cashed an $800,000 cheque at the Republic Bank branch at Triumph, East Coast Demerara. The robber and an accomplice escaped with the cash on a CG motorcycle, which had no number plates. SATURDAY When compared to Guyana’s contract… ExxonMobil does way more for Ghana in areas of employment, training The Government and many of its affiliates have continually praised the Guyana-ExxonMobil contract for the many opportunities it has for the training and employment of locals. But when one compares those “opportunities” to that of another deal ExxonMobil signed with Ghana, some worrying discoveries are made. In the contract ExxonMobil signed with Ghana, the entity agrees to provide a training allowance of US$2M annually. It also provides Ghana with a onetime technology support payment of US$7M. In Guyana’s contract, ExxonMobil only commits to a US$300,000 payment for training. No provision was in place for financial support in the area of technology. As it relates to employment, ExxonMobil agrees to employ as “far as reasonably possible” Ghanaians for all positions it may have open. In the contract ExxonMobil has with Guyana, it is not obligated to employ Guyanese to the “maximum extent.” Additionally, ExxonMobil agreed to give the Government of Ghana, the opportunity to nominate individuals to hold any position that it would need in the foreseeable future. Guyana did not get this chance. ExxonMobil also agreed to, once requested by the government of Ghana, to (Continued on page 44)

GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, makes a point at the forum

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From page 43 provide opportunities for a mutually agreed number of personnel nominated the government to be seconded for on-the-job-training or attachment in all phases of its oil operations. ExxonMobil also agrees to handle all costs associated with the secondment contract. This arrangement is absent from ExxonMobil’s contract with Guyana. NO PENALTIES Guyana’s Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with US oil giant, ExxonMobil, has been criticized for having limited or rather, ‘mediocre” provisions in place for local content. But even with the inadequate provisions in place, no penalties exist if ExxonMobil turns out to be negligent in this regard. On the other hand, there are several nations which have inescapable penalties should oil operators decide to shirk their local content responsibilities. Uganda is just one of the many countries in this regard. In fact, Uganda’s move towards penalties was due to the findings and recommendations of the Global Witness in relation to PSAs there. The Global Witness is an international body that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. According to the anticorruption body, local content obligations in contracts and laws seek to ensure that companies employ nationals, train local staff and procure local services. It notes that the intention is for local industries to benefit directly from the oil sec-

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Sunday February 25, 2018

A section of the Pulse Entertainment Band During Friday’s Festivities tor and that local people develop the skills to manage the oil sector in future. The Global Witness noted however, that none of the contracts it examined prior to 2008 for Uganda, set benchmarks or penalties for failure to comply with the local content obligations. The International body noted that other countries have included stricter provisions for the procurement of local goods and services in

their PSAs and required that they are verified by the relevant government agencies. After revealing this, the government of Uganda made swift moves towards including penalties in PSAs for failure to comply with local content provisions. Financing is for GuySuCo, not the four closed estatesEnmore’s reopening in three weeks

The Enmore factory is expected to restart operations in as little as three weeks with molasses production expected to be the main production activity. It will not be on par with the level of operations before, officials of the Ministry of Finance confirmed yesterday. The officials also clarified recent reports in the press where according to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan,

Leon Hunte and his granddaughters

moves are underway to source financing for the closed Skeldon and Enmore estates. “I can confirm to you that the minister was misunderstood. The financing being sourced is for the operations of GuySuCo and its three estates- Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt- it has nothing to do with the four closed estates. That is being handled separately,” an official close to the process said. With regards to Enmore, under the temporary arrangements with the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), there over 30,000 tonnes of canes in the ground at that estate. It will be used to produce mainly molasses for DDL. Molasses is a key ingredient in the rummaking process. DDL is the producer of the award-winning El Dorado rums. Thousands celebrate 48th Republic anniversary

Davine and family

Thousands of people from diverse backgrounds were brought together on Friday as Guyana celebrated its 48th Republic Anniversary under the theme “Let’s cooperate and celebrate Republic 48.”Republic Day, also known as Mashramani Day, is a most outstanding and colourful national event. Local entertainment was at its best yesterday, as thousands flocked the streets of

Georgetown to get a glimpse of the brilliantly decorated floats which displayed the amazing talents and creativity of local designers. As early as 10:00hrs spectators lined up across the Mash route which started at Thomas Lands, Georgetown and went all the way down to Vlissengen Road and then into Durban Park for the final judging. Among those seated in Durban Park were President David Granger and his wife Sandra Granger; Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge; Minister of Social Cohesion Dr George Norton; Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , Catherine Hughes; Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson; US Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway and other diplomats. The young, the old and the differently able were among those who were a part of the festivities. Over 20 floats, including those from the 10 Administrative Regions took to the streets. There were colourful floats from the Ministry of Business, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of the Presidency, Ministry of Public Telecommunications, Region Three Democratic Council, and Region Four Democratic Council. There was also the GTT Pulse band.

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What to do about a sinus headache Sinus headaches affect the area around the nose. They usually follow an infection and cause pain across the bridge of the nose and the cheeks. They can also be the result of allergies. Sinuses are spaces in the bones of the face. There are four pairs across the cheeks, bridge of the nose, and above the eyes. Scientists are not entirely sure what role the sinuses play in the body. It is possible that they make the skull lighter, prevent heat from escaping the head, or help make the voice louder. Treatment for a sinus headache depends on the underlying cause. A mild sinus headache can often be treated at home. The sinuses are lined with a membrane similar to the lining of the nose. If a person has an infection or allergy, this membrane can swell up and cause a sinus headache. A person may feel this pain in their cheeks, the bridge of their nose, and in the area above the nose. Sometimes, these areas might look swollen. A sinus headache might affect one or both sides of the face. Sinus headaches are usually caused by an infection, such as sinusitis. A person who develops sinusitis is likely to have other symptoms, including: · fever · a blocked nose · a lessened sense of smell · green or yellow mucus when a person blows their nose Some people find that the pain feels worse after cough-

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Kaieteur News

ing, leaning over, or bending down.If a sinus headache is not causing too much pain, a person may be able to manage it at home. A person should rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take painkillers.However, anyone experiencing severe pain from a sinus headache should see a doctor. A person may also need to seek medical advice if: · the pain worsens · symptoms do not get better after a week · painkillers do not help For a sinus headache caused by sinusitis, a doctor may prescribe decongestants or antibiotics. A sinus headache caused by an allergy will usually be treated with a nasal spray that contains antihistamines or steroids.If a person repeatedly gets a sinus headache or has sinusitis for 3 months, a doctor may refer them to an ear, nose, and throat specialist.The specialist will likely ask about symptoms, take a medical history, and examine the person’s head, nose, and face. They may also take images of the head with an X-ray or MRI scan. Some people may require surgery to widen the sinuses. The procedure might involve removing a small amount of tissue from the sinuses or inflating a tiny balloon device within the sinuses to widen the sinus passages. A person who has a sinus headache caused by sinusitis might be able to treat it with home remedies. These treatments may not work if the pain is very severe, or symp-

toms last for over a week, however.Breathing in steam Breathing in steam can help to open up the nasal passages and sinuses, which may help to relieve pressure and pain: · boil some water and allow it to cool slightly · pour the water into a large heatproof bowl · lean the face over the bowl · cover the head with a small towel · breathe slowly in and out through the nose Cleaning the nose with a salt water solutionUsing a salt water solution can help to decongest the nose: · boil roughly 1 pint of water and allow to cool · dissolve 1 teaspoon (tsp) of salt and 1 tsp of baking soda in the water · wash hands with soap and water · pour a small amount of the solution into a cupped palm · sniff the water into the nostril, one at a time · repeat until the nose feels clearerA warm washcloth Holding a warm washcloth to the face can ease pain and pressure: · run a clean washcloth under hot water and wring out · apply across the bridge of the nose and cheeks · hold the washcloth in place for a few minutes · repeat several times per day h t t p s : / / www.medicalnewstoday.com/ articles/321022.php.

Pageant organizers put aside the glitz and glam for another worthy cause

Some of the volunteers during the cleanup exercise Several young, aspiring leaders from the “I am a big deal/ Miss Berbice beauty and empowerment pageant removed the glitz and glam associated with pageantry and teamed up with the police from Rose Hall outpost, the Mayor, workers of the Town Council and youths in a clean-up exercise of the country’s smallest town on Sunday last (February 18). The initiative was not the traditional clean-up campaign that is executed across the country and was the brainchild of RD Production. Royston Drakes targeted young people who are involved in unhealthy activities and used the exercise to encourage and involve them in creating positive changes within themselves and the Town. One of the youths Steve “Rudy” Sukaloo who was living a life of crime explained that he was locked up several times for wrongdoings, but is thankful to Police Sergeant Philbert Wilburg who took him under his wings. “I am happy that I can help out the community and I am behaving myself because I was a mischievous youth man and doing a lot of crime with friends but I’m glad like how I come off the street...I hope the other guys who were in my shoes will come out and Sergeant Wilburg I will always big him up because he always put me in the right way although he locks me up a few times which is his work and I know I was wrong and accept it but thank you.” The focus of the RD production is to Empower youths

which will result in a stronger community. The young people who were involved were elated to play a part of the exercise and are hopeful that more persons will play their part in developing Rose Hall Town. Sergeant Wilburg said under the Police’s Social Crime Prevention Programme they were delighted to embrace RD Production’s initiative which saw a surprising number of youths showing support. “We are here to provide security but we know that youths are much more vulnerable in terms of getting themselves involved in crime so we want them to know that we intend to build a much safer community...they need to understand that life has a place for them and not to go on the other side. We have several programs layout for 2018 in terms of getting youths active to stay away from drugs and crime.” The Mayor Mr. Vijay Ramoo wants the exercise to become a regular one and applauded the efforts of the team. “I am elated because I love when people come together and can do community work like this...this is very good and encouraging for the future and I want this to be done three times for the year, Mashramani, Independence and towards the Christmas season and this might sensitize people to be conscious to keep their environment clean...I’m glad the police is onboard and I think more residents should come onboard in the future.” One of the high points of the clean up was when the youths decided that they will

help the Police to decorate the outpost in their community. Meanwhile, there was a celebration of love on Valentine’s day through a small but significant gesture to mothers at the maternity and children wards of the New Amsterdam Hospital. Delegates presented patients with roses and hamper which softened their pain and sadness about being hospitalized and away from their families. The initiative was supported by Nand Persaud Charity Foundation, Integrated Security Service, Extra Beer and Jumbo Jet Auto Sales.\ The outreach is among several initiatives by the Miss Berbice pageant team to give back and build stronger community relations in the region. Mr. Drakes is hopeful that other groups will emulate their actions, spread love and give back to others regardless of the magnitude. Allisha Rasheed, a representative of Nand Persaud Charity Foundation shared her satisfaction with this initiative and committed to working with the Miss Berbice team throughout the year on similar ventures. The foundation was recently launched to inspire change and help to eradicate social problems. The event was well received by Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Colin Bynoe who commended the organizers and their partners for making the institution more hospitable for patients. He expressed gratitude and urged that the event becomes an annual one.

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

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10% royalty on oil production should be Guyana’s top priority - Hinds In order to capitalize on oil discovery here, the Government of Guyana must renegotiate the current petroleum agreement with ExxonMobil and its affiliates to reflect an increase from a two percent royalty to 10 per cent. This view was shared by Chartered Accountant, Nigel Hinds, who provided Kaieteur News with a detailed breakdown of opportunity losses from Guyana’s acceptance of a two percent royalty. Hinds cited the recent comments from Dr. Jan Mangal, Advisor on Petroleum to President David Granger, who outlined that globally, royalty is more between 10 percent and 20 percent. Dr. Mangal had noted that in some countries, the royalty is much higher than 20 percent. It was on this premise that Hinds suggested that the Government replaces the two percent royalty with 10 per cent in the Petroleum Agreement. “This should be our first, second and third priority,” Hinds stated. The Chartered Accountant reasoned that the current two percent places Guyana in the unrealistic S***H*** category, using U.S. President Donald Trump’s terminology. He stated that Guyana has received “frontier” status as per oil Industry analyst Wood McKenzie. According to Hinds, it is highly reasonable that as a

Chartered Accountant, Nigel Hinds “frontier” status country, Guyana accepts 10 percent, the lowest end of the royalty range, as referenced by Dr. Mangal. Hinds stated that at least the 10 percent will give Guyana the funding to invest in health, education, security, employment, old age pension, infrastructure, support of old and new industries; befitting a country that has over four billion barrels of the lowest cost recoverable crude oil and highest quality crude oil in all the Americas, Africa and probably worldwide. It is Hinds’s view that it is not the best strategy now to wrangle with ExxonMobil on a multitude of issues. “We should be laser focused on changing the royalty to 10 percent and dislodging the ineffable precontract cost,” Hinds noted. He opined that matters

such as inflated costs, the rights of a parliamentary oversight committee, fiscal and concession terms review, verification of cost recovery, local content issues, additional environmental protection regulations, windfall profit tax, selfinsurance by oil companies, tracking the inflow of oil funds, court action to renegotiate the Petroleum Agreement, and the granting of an oil production licence without a local content plan are all refinements that pale in comparison, for a change to the abusive two percent royalty.

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Sunday February 25, 2018

CONSUMER CONCERNS

Drug Procurement and National Drug Security for consumer benefit By PAT DIAL Guyana imports most of the pharmaceuticals it uses and this costs several billion dollars. With this volume, it is not unlikely that some substandard items are imported. Such sub-standard products could impair the health of the population. On Tuesday 13th February last week, the

Ministry of Public Health, PAHO/WHO, the Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) an agency of CARICOM and the Analyst Food and Drug Department met with a crosssection of the pharmaceutical importers for fairly wideranging discussions. All the main speakers indicated that pharmaceuticals imported into the country must be

effective, safe, affordable and in the case of the Ministry of Public Health, must be in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of the population. Some of the pitfalls pointed out are that proper labeling must be ensured with correct dosages, expiry dates being clearly printed, formulas stated and above all, the labels and instructions must be in English.

To ensure that drugs imported must be of requisite quality and that the companies which produce such drugs are reputable, a number of controls have been put in place. In the first place, importers will have to register with the Food and Drugs Analyst Department. This will make it possible to ascertain the authenticity of the companies which produce the drugs imported and allow for general surveillance of imports. For example, unsafe mosquito coils and insecticides have had to be removed from the market in the past by actions of the Food and Drugs Department. But one of the most important agencies of the Regulatory regime is the Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) which provides testing services for Guyana and other Caribbean territories. Such tests will ensure that the drugs which are made available are safe. One great pitfall in testing and in looking at the country of origin of drugs is that, in the Caribbean there is a built-in prejudice that dates from colonial times that only drugs produced or emanating from Western countries are safe. In Guyana, we have had some unfortunate experiences with drugs sourced from Western countries. An example of this was a company from Hamburg, Germany named Helms which at one time supplied a large number of OTC drugs. Consumers began to complain of the adverse effects of Helms products. When the Bureau of Standards and the Food and Drugs Department did their inquiries, they discovered that Helms was a company which produced nothing but merely farmed out the drugs it required to a number of small “bottom-house”

entities in Third World countries then labeling them as if they were produced in Germany. None of the entities which produced Helms products were recognized drug producers. Another such experience was antibiotics imported from an Italian company which were found to be of lower strength than stated on the label which could be a danger to health. For instance, if one went through an operation and the doctor prescribed a certain strength of antibiotic and the patient was given a lower strength, it could result in the operation wound becoming septic. All the major pharmaceutical companies have establishments in India and produce both for the home and export market. There are also a number of large and reputable Indian companies, some of which specialize in generics. But as in all large countries such as the United States and China, not all companies are reputable. Fortunately, the Guyanese suppliers who import drugs from India do so from only reputable companies. Accordingly, almost all the Indian pharmaceuticals sold in the Guyana market are of good quality. The one great advantage of the Indianimported drugs is that they are affordable. Indeed, the products of the major Western Drug companies such as Glaxo and Pfizer produced in India are less expensive than the same products coming from Western countries. Indian generics have won a respectable reputation worldwide. The new Regulations now in place are commendable, and if worked as intended, should achieve the goal of

imported drugs being of good quality, safe, effective and affordable. The tender process for the purchase of drugs for the health facilities and hospitals of the Ministry of Public Health should always be in the interest of the consumer and never in the interest of the suppliers. We have had suppliers who were engaged by the Authorities in recent years whose prices were higher than other suppliers or who were unable to supply in a timely manner. When drugs are being purchased by the Governmental Authorities “consumer interest” and not “supplier interest” must be the watchword. The Government and other public and private authorities should not only address the purchase of drugs but should also address the issue of Drug Security. The two main pharmaceutical producer companies are Twins Manufacturing and Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC). GPC succeeded the International Bookers Pharmaceutical which was the major Caribbean drug producer and inherited Bookers’ products and their formulations. GPC has given Guyana a measure of Drug Security and it has the infrastructure to give the country almost full drug security where we would not have to depend so heavily on imports. GPC should be encouraged to expand and enter the export market in a bigger way. For example, they should be encouraged to produce, or initially, to re-package antibiotics. The Ministry of Public Health and Go-Invest should take the initiative on the issue of Drug Security.

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

NDIA, West Berbice to upgrade drainage system Work on the office to house the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), has been completed. Construction began last year. The NDIA office, which is situated alongside the Headquarters of the Mahaica/ Mahaicony/AbaryAgricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), will seek to upgrade the drainage system and make better provisions for drought in the region. Acting Chief Executive Officer of NDIA, Dave Hicks, said recently, “The NDIA knows that farmers anywhere, who have a 50 percent fear of losing their crops or livestock to floods or drought, will not bother to farm. “So the NDIA in Region Five, in particular, will work and support the agencies in doing whatever is necessary to boost farmers confidence in the D&I system and have them feel encouraged to cultivate and even expand their production of crops and livestock within the Region.” According to Hicks, all that is required to get the office up and running is the installation of connections for electricity to the building. The Office will be manned by a Senior Engineer of the NDIA assisted by ancillary staff and he will support the MMA/ADA, the Regional Democratic Council and the Neighbourhood Democratic

The soon to be commissioned Region Five office of the NDIA.

Councils (NDCs) in the region to implement and monitor projects aimed at increasing the discharge capacity of rain-flood waters and the provision of irrigation for agricultural purposes during El Nino (drought) weather conditions. NDIA projects for 2018 Among the projects, the Region Five NDIA Office will spearhead and support in 2018 the upgrading of resuscitated sea sluices along the West Berbice Coast; the establishment of additional sluices and the provision of another electrical pump for drainage of West Berbice at Trafalgar. The NDIA will also look to increase the hydraulic efficiency of the tertiary and secondary drainage systems in Region Five with the provision of nine excavators. These machines will be at the disposal of the Regional

Administration for routine remedial and emergency works along the Region Five coast. The NDIA’s office will also seek to boost the efficiency of drainage in the riverine areas. Projects to be undertaken in this area this year will include among others, extending the polder behind Pine Ground to Gordon Table along the right bank of the Mahaicony River to protect cultivation plots from waters coming in from the backlands. It also involves installing a dual purpose pump at Mora Point, Mahaicony River, to provide either drainage or irrigation when necessary. The pump is to be acquired from India. Other projects include infrastructural upgrades for replenishment of the Abary Conservancy with water from the Berbice River and the

drawing down of water from the upper reaches of the Mahaica River at Kuliserabo to supply the Perth /Biaboo Main Canal for the benefit of low-risk rice production aback of Mahaicony. The NDIA will also fund

the replacement of Tail Regulators for all the highlevel irrigation canals within the MMA/ADA project area in West Berbice. This is to ensure better management of irrigation water supplies and less stress on the drainage

system from free- flowing water into canals without tail gates. Hicks said the NDIA is assisting the MMA/ADA since that agency does not have the financial resources at the moment. (DPI)

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SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK;Guyanapassport application. G r a p h i c s design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6004212: We create A/works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Budhram’s Landscaping & Tree cutting service. Free advice, Free design, Free after care follow up. Tel#626-1044 Learn to swim, classes for adults & children. Contact: 666-3882/ 223-2421/678-7067 Austin Powers Repairs & Services: Regas Fridges, Freezers, AC, Washer, Dryer & Wiring. Lot 114 Brushe Dam Friendship. E.C.D Tel#685-2588/613-1711 Drawing of house plan, or if you need estimates, call: 2160671/622-0267/692-8464 Need a land surveyor, we do surveys for: Boundaries, Leases, engineering, cadastral, topo etc. Call: 6622677

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Unregistered DAF trucks: Dump trucks, Flat bed, Flat bed with crane & Hauler. Call: 659-3100. Plant-closing down sale: potting soil, plant pot, flower plant at Garden Centre, Plantation Schoonard WBD #615-2346/627-3443/15001600 Supari palm, Lipstick, Royal, Foxtail. Exora 4 for $1000 Ficus 4 for $1000. Organic potting soil. Tel: 626-1044 Lenovo desktop with 17" Acer monitor, keyboard and mouse -$35,000. Call: 624-7155

1- Caterpillar skid steer 3.2M 1-Leyland daf cement mixer 2.2M 1-canter 3.6M Land at Blankenburg 2.9M Contact #650-0402/603-1402 6000 pound ice box (1) 48 Yamaha engine 13.4 length fishing vessel. Four hundred pound sein. Tel#690-8089 One Mitsubishi 4D32 engine complete with gearbox. Tel: 616-2175 / 659-2524

One miller welding generator, one diesel generator, 10 KVA one mig weld 240 V. Contact: 699-4300, 228-2734

80 x 100 ft. Call: 692-3904 Eccles (concrete fence) $7M Farm (East Bank) $3.5M Parafaite Harmonie $1.5M Schnoord $3M Uivlugt $3.5M. Tel# 656-0701/6511969

FOR RENT

WANTED

VACANCY

SALON

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620

1 maid for East Bank area. Call: 614-4358 Experienced articulated dump truck drivers to work in the interior. Kindly contact: 223-7165 for futher details. Experience curry cooks, counter servers, drivers, roti/ puri cooks. Apply Hack’s Halaal. 5 Commerce St. Experienced Sand Truck Driver. Apply to Christine’s Variety Store, Lombard Street or Call 227-8529, 626-8003. Live in waitress to work in bar. Call: 604-6606/ 692-4649 Seeking a live in caregiver preferably from the East Coast area. For more information call: 592-690-0122

Hair station & Barber station rental, New market street #638-1106. Experienced persons preferable.

Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. -CosmetologyCourses:$90,000 Nail Technician Course: $35,000. Call: 647-1773/6880009

Complete Building for business. Prime location in Lethem. #692-3573 Vreed-en-hoop junction. Lessons place, church, storage bond, office, other. Call: 603-6400. Petboy shop at Howes & Ketley streets, Charlestown. Call: 231-1851 Fully furnished two bedrooms apartment in providence & three bedroom in Diamond. Tel: 672-1906, 216-2299 3 bedroom upstairs for rent. Call: 666-6503, 684-7599 3 bedroom apartment top flat, Lusignan ECD. contact: 629-8240 Business place/Store for rent, located at Grove EBD.Contact 684-6331

One champion generator 4500 KVA one portable air condition unit $120,000 (neg) #655-3400

20 used panel steel doors 30"36" in good condition. Contact: 661-2998

LAND FOR SALE

Air conditioning unit, complete rattan set & prime East Bank residential houselot $4M Tel#611-7223/656-0701

VEHICLE FOR SALE Bluebird 2012- 2.6M Axio2.5M Tida-2.2M All vehicles VEHICLE FOR SALE unregistered and have reverse camera. #655-3400 Fielder wagon PTT 6514. Price $1.8 negotiable. Call: 227-3701, 644-9973 Premio car- PNN series, leather seats, dvd front and rear. Asking 1.8M neg. #6850504 Super Custom bus- BVV series, dvd front and rear. Asking 2.5M neg. #685-0504 1-Yamaha Virago 750ec motorcycle. $800,000. Contact: 661-2998

1 & 3/4 acre of transport land 67 ft x 1200 ft @ Independence St, La Grange WBD. Price $10.5M Call: 6211223

GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS)

Sophia front 3.5, Corner 4.9, Herstelling front 5M. Land of Canaan 6 per acre. Call GME 231-2199, 618-7483.

AJ TAXI SERVICE Tel: 2316403/223-6400. 24 hrs 36-37 Robb & Cummings street. Comfort, Safety, Reliable.

Electronic classes beginning March 6th. Enroll early, limited spaces. Abdul Electronics. Tel: 226-6551/225-0391.

TAXI SERVICE

Experienced Handyman, porter all below 40 years. Apply with written application. Keyfood McDoom Village.

Experienced General Manager to operate stringer (string gold) in the interior. Contact number: 223-7165 Talk to Ron, your number one delaer in lands, if buying or selling. Receive $US. Tel#611-7223/656-0701 2 reliable responsible delivery guys for full time deliveries with own motorbikes. Also 2 food servers - Call Tonya: #644-5884

MASSAGE & HEALTH Angels Massaging Spa. Come relax and be pampered. Call: 694-9775. New attendants available.

1- 320 BL cat Excavator 1- 215 B cat Excavator 1- 428 cat Back-hoe 1- 450 Honda Atv. Contact: 275-0367, 683-7225 1 Double steel wheel roller 1Pneumatic roller 1- Leyland Daf truck 1- Hand spray bitumen kettle. Contact: 2750367, 683-7225

One accounts clerk, must have knowledge of QuickBooks. All applications must be sent to info@cevons.com

Room attendant, age 25-45 Tel#225-0198 or visit 233 South road, Lacytown. Chef, Assistant chef, Cashier - Waiter call: 611-5615, 2257933 or visit us at 173 Sheriff street. KITCHEN ASSISTANT (HOUSEKEEPING DAYSHIFT) REQUIRED AT AAGMAN RESTAURANT. CONTACT: 219-0158 BETWEEN 9AM - 5 PM (WEEKDAYS) Experienced salespersons 2545 yrs needed for store on the East Coast Demerara. Call #642-1141 Accounts clerk- knowledge of NIS,PAYE,VAT and QuickBooks. Call: 614-4358 Female cleaner for office in Eccles. Call: 233-2745

Do you need a good driver? very responsible and reliable, has an excellent driving record. Call:650-5913

EDUCATION CXC adults classes (Business & Science subjects) Form 1-5 lessons, Grade 2-6 lessons (slow learners, personal tutor) #690-5008,618-0649 Jean offers courses in Dressmaking, Curtains, Floral, Cake decorations. Barr St, Kitty. Tel#670-2653, 638-8449.

100 acres agricultural land, right bank, Barima river, NWD, Essequibo. #668-7687/ 677-9638

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

TOLET Spacious 2 bedrooms and 3 bedrooms top and bottom flats at Mon Repos ECD. Call: 645-2395/668-7986/629-5300. Lodge apartments (Vlissengen/Durban): unfurnished $40,000-$60,000 p/m, furnished US$600-1000 p/m 668-7687/677-9638/6976421 2 Bedroom apartment in Eccles. Tel: 225-3234. 1 5-bedroom house 570 Good Hope ECD, 4 Self-contained rooms #225-3234

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR R E N TA L : S U V F O R RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:6435122/656-0087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIALOFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494 Reliable rentals. Cars, SUV at low rate and security deposit special rates for long term. #227-2322/601-2622

PROPERTY FOR SALE Lot 15 Public road #2 Village. West Coast Berbice. 49ft by 10,314ft. $20M. Contact:6487109/686-4818 166 4th Street, Alexander Village. Tel#691-6201 House and land available @ La Parfaite Harmonie, Providence, Etc. Financing assistanceavailable. ContactPacific Development: 223-6035/ 604-4909 Yorrowkabra, Linden Highway, House, Chicken pen, New foundation, Land 200' x 100' Fenced, water & light. 6.5M neg. Contact: 6867180 2 story transported house for sale, located in a residential area, Atlantic Gardens ECD. Contact: 684-4936 New building with two apartment downstairs for sale.10 minutes from Georgetown .Call:675-1510/ 613-7964 (1) 2 story building, 1 Flat concrete on transported land 36ft x 180ft @ Lot 91 Triumph Side line dam, Agriculture road $50M neg. Tel:670-5127 Lot 51 New Road Vreed-enhoop, West Bank Demerara. Contact Andy on: 671-4420

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

Hot or Cold? – Types and Use of Calibrated Thermometers The accurate measurement of temperature is vital across a broad spectrum of human activities, including industrial processes (e.g. making steel), manufacturing, monitoring (in food transport and storage), and in health and safety. In fact, in almost every sector, temperature is one of the key parameters to be measured. The means of accurately measuring temperatures have long fascinated people. One of the differences between temperature and other physical concepts, such as mass or length, is that it is subjective: different people will have different perceptions of what is hot and what is cold. To make objective measurements, a thermometer must be used to determine how the physical property of a substance changes with temperature in a reliable and reproducible way. Thermometers that are calibrated and traceable to international standards guarantee the best results. The first sealed thermometer was made by the Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany in 1641. Later, the scientists Fahrenheit and Celsius both made glass thermometers containing mercury, and used reference points (the melting point of pure ice and the boiling point of water) to improve the

accuracy. Although the Celsius scale has taken precedence over the Fahrenheit scale, the latter is still familiar in weather reports in the United Kingdom: a summer’s day temperature of 75°F seems much more pleasant than one of 23°C. In Guyana, temperature is measured in degree Celsius (°C). Today, there are many types of thermometers including the Liquid-in-Glass thermometers, which have been in use for almost 300 years in science, medicine, metrology and in industry. There are also platinum resistance thermometers, Thermocouples and Radiation thermometers. In 1854, Lord Kelvin

developed a fundamental temperature scale based on the idea of the absolute zero, the point of no discernible energy, which is independent of any particular material substance. The Kelvin scale is widely used by physicists and engineers to determine and apply fundamental laws of thermodynamics. Regardless of the type of thermometer being used, it is crucial that its accuracy be determined, especially if it is used frequently and over extensive periods. Currently, the GNBS has the capacity to test liquid in glass thermometers ranging from 20°C to 90 °C, and digital and bimetallic thermometers from 30 °C to 600 °C. The GNBS encourages all companies,

laboratories, and users of thermometers to submit their instruments on a periodic basis for calibration.

For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190062, 219-0065 or 219-

0069. Please visit our website: www.gnbsgy.org and like our Facebook page: gnbsgy

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

Sunday February 25, 2018

Minister Trotman conducts needs assessment at Port Mourant The Ministry of Natural Resources is examining how it can develop the capacity of the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) Training Centre Port Mourant (GTCPM) to provide local content for the oil and gas industry. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, met with the management of GTCPM in Port Mourant, Berbice on Thursday to conduct a needs assessment evaluation. “I believe that the school and the region, in particular, could play a role in the oil and gas industry,” the Minister told the GTCPM School Programme Coordinator, Zamin Ally. At the time there were instructors and other staff there. Minister Trotman said that there is expected to be an increase of exploration activity in the Berbice area towards the Surinamese border. The Minister added that he is examining how Berbice can become part of the industry. Berbice is one of the locations identified by the government to land a gas pipeline. The administration is examining bringing the natural gas found with oil-to-shore

to supply the country’s energy needs. There is also a consideration for the establishment of an onshore supply base in Berbice. Minister Trotman noted this base could also support oil explorations in neighbouring Suriname who currently relies on Trinidad and Tobago for onshore services. “So, there are good prospects,” Minister Trotman said.At least one oil company and one foreign company have indicated their willingness to partner with the training centre to enhance its capacity to provide training suitable to the oil and gas industry standards, Minister Trotman disclosed. The GTC is considered the first technical training school in Guyana. It has been around for some 62 years training staff for GuySuCo. It was commended for its “fantastic reputation” by Minister Trotman. GTCPM provides a fouryear apprenticeship programme for persons who will eventually end up working on GuySuCo estates. The certified training programme offers courses in engineering such as industrial electrical in-

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sulation, instrumentation programme, automation, agriculture mechanic programme and welding and fabrication among others. The school also provides training courses to members of the community and private sector companies. Mr Zamin Ally noted that the minister’s visit and intentions could not come at a better time. With the downsizing of the sugar industry, the institute will not have any students in June, leaving much staff uncertain of the school’s future. “I just want to say that we’re happy that you’re here. It has renewed our confidence. We are going to engage you and work with you to ensure that not only Port Mourant training school prosper but our country as whole and county.” Ally said that while some equipment and teaching techniques will need to be updated for the oil and gas industry, he assured that the GTC provides a solid foundation that can be applied in any industry. Minister Trotman will meet again with the school’s management in March for additional follow up.

Region Two pays more for fewer drugs through central government purchasing The decision to have central government procure drugs, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals on behalf of the regions was expected to reap financial benefits. Acting Regional Health Officer for Region Two, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Dr. Afarah Khan, gave a different account when she appeared before the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) last MondayShe outlined that the region was allocated $176M to procure drugs in 2016. Eventually, an order was made that the region returns $164M for the drugs to be purchased centrally.Dr. Khan shared that the region received a total procurement of drugs and a bill to the tune of $405.3M. Of that amount, $142.7M was for medical supplies; pharmaceutical supplies, $262.2M and $409,000 for laboratory supplies. It was explained that the $176M was derived as a result of the region quantifying its needs and made a request that was approved by the National Assembly. The only involvement of the Ministry of Health was to help the region with central procurement through economy of scales.PAC member and PPP Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill,

– Regional Health Officer questioned Khan on whether the region received $164M worth of medical supplies in keeping with the required needs as prepared by the region. Edghill also wanted to know where the balance of the money was found. Dr. Khan could not say where the additional monies came from. She also noted that she did not check the market value of the prices as against the ones prepared by the region when it submitted its request.Asked if the region received the required quantities, Dr. Khan replied not in all cases. She also agreed with Edghill that it cost more, but the region received fewer drugs. “Do we have inflation of prices with these economies of scale purchasing?” Edghill questioned. Dr. Khan noted that she encountered instances where they did not have adequate supplies of specific items that were initially budgeted at $176M. She also stated that had the region bought its supplies there probably would not have been a shortage. PAC member and Coalition Member of Parliament, Charrandass

Persaud, said the matter is a delicate issue. He shared personal experiences where nurses have complained of the lack of basic medication. Dr. Khan was asked how the region handles the shortage of drugs.“Mr. Chair, we work with what we have and what we will do is write prescriptions for the patient to purchase. Whether they purchase or not, that we will not be able to answer,” Dr. Khan noted. In 2017, the budgeted amount for the procurement of drugs by the Region was $186M while for this year, $204M is budgeted. Edghill questioned whether the inflated cost is due to ‘dumping’ of free supplies received by the Material Management Unit (MMU) through donations. “I want to find out if we are dumping and inflating bills to justify the expenditure. I am serious about it because the MMU also receives donations and if the MMU is receiving donations and if the MMU is dumping and putting a value to the dump we at the PAC need to know,” Edghill declared.

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Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

Trump, Australia’s Turnbull seek Red Cross says 23 staff left over common ground on trade, China sexual misconduct since 2015

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks as Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull looks on during a joint news conference at the White House in Washington. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull held talks on Friday at the White House where the two leaders sought to put aside previous tensions, but divisions on trade remained. Trump pulled the United States out of the original 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership - which was backed by Turnbull - soon after taking office last year and he repeated his opposition to the deal during a joint press conference on Friday. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership was not a good deal for us,” Trump said, stressing that he would rejoin a deal that was better for the United States, but prefers bilateral deals over pacts involving many countries. Trump has argued the trade deal would hurt U.S. workers. Australia and the other remaining members of the pact published an amended

version of the agreement this week and are expected to sign the new deal in March. China’s rising global power was also on the agenda for the White House talks with Turnbull. Trump has been a harsh critic of China’s trade policies, while Australia has typically taken a less confrontational approach with China, its largest trading partner. “There are people that want to try to paint the United States and its allies like Australia as being against China in some sort of rerun of the Cold War,” Turnbull told reporters. “But ... that is not accurate.” Trump said that U.S. ties with Beijing have improved, but warned that the relationship could be derailed over trade disputes. “That can be the only thing that can get in the way of a truly long-term great relationship, because we have all the ingredients for friendship,” he said.

Turnbull’s visit to the White House followed tense interactions between the two leaders last year, when they clashed over a refugee swap deal. But Trump praised U.S.Australia ties on Friday. “The relationship we have with Australia is a terrific relationship and probably stronger now than ever before,” Trump said in brief public remarks at the Oval Office ahead of his meeting with the Australian prime minister. Turnbull told the news conference that he and Trump had agreed on new initiatives to deepen security and economic ties. “We’re seeking to expand transparent and competitive global energy markets, cooperating on high-quality infrastructure investment in the United States and in the region - we’ve spent a lot of time talking about infrastructure, especially urban infrastructure,” Turnbull told reporters.

U.S. House Intel Committee Democratic memo defends Russia probes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee defended official investigations into claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election in a party memo released yesterday. The 10-page, partially-redacted document, which was posted to the panel’s website, sharply criticised a previously released Republican memo as a “transparent effort to undermine” investigations by the FBI, Justice Department and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The memo defends the FBI’s obtaining of warrants to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, an associate of President Donald Trump’s election campaign, whom the Democrats say “the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.”

Special Counsel Robert Mueller

ZURICH (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 23 staff members had left since 2015 over sexual misconduct, making it the latest humanitarian organisation to be affected by abuse allegations shaking the aid sector. “Since 2015 we’ve identified 21 staff members who were either dismissed for paying for sexual services or resigned during an internal enquiry. Another two staff members suspected of sexual misconduct did not have their contracts renewed,” ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord said in a statement published on Friday. “I am deeply saddened to report these numbers,” Daccord said in the state-

ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord ment, adding the ICRC was taking action to make sure all incidents would be reported and handled properly.

The ICRC, which has more than 17,000 staff worldwide, bans its staff from paying for sexual services even in countries where prostitution is legal, it said. The aid sector has been shaken by a wave of allegations of sexual misconduct. Earlier this week, British charity Oxfam’s country director in Haiti admitted to using prostitutes at his residence during a relief mission. The United Nations’ peacekeeping missions, agencies, funds and programmes as well as implementing partners have also been embroiled in sexual exploitation and abuse allegations, with the deputy head of the U.N. agency for HIV/AIDS becoming the latest official to leave.

UN Security Council demands truce as air strikes batter Syria’s Ghouta BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The UN Security Council yesterday demanded a 30-day truce across Syria as rescuers in the country’s eastern Ghouta region said bombing had not let up long enough for them to count bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war. Shortly after the unanimous vote by the 15-member council, warplanes struck a town in eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave near Syria’s capital, an emergency service and a war monitoring group said. Warplanes have pounded the region for seven straight days while residents holed up in basements. U.N. chief Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to “war activities” in eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people have lived under government siege since 2013, without enough

U.N. chief Antonio food or medicine. While Syrian ally Russia supported the adoption of the U.N. resolution, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast doubt on its feasibility. Previous ceasefire deals on the ground have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where President

Bashar al-Assad’s military has gained the upper hand. “What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on the ground agreements,” Nebenzia told the council after the vote. He later told reporters it was unrealistic to expect an immediate ceasefire and that the parties had to be encouraged to work for it. After several days of delay and last-minute negotiations to win the support of Russia, the council adopted the resolution - drafted by Sweden and Kuwait - demanding hostilities cease for 30days “without delay” to allow aid access and medical evacuations.”We accept that it might take a number of hours before it can all be fully implemented ... we just have to keep the pressure up, implementation is key now,” Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told Reuters.

Delta, United Airlines become latestcompanies to cut NRA ties NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines and United Airlines yesterday became the latest major corporations to sever marketing ties with the National Rifle Association as the fallout from last week’s massacre at a Florida high school took its toll on the gun advocacy group. The exodus of corporate names, ranging from a major insurer to car rental brands and a household moving company, began after the NRA launched a counter-offensive against a student-led campaign for tighter U.S. gun laws. In tweets yesterday, Delta (DAL.N) and United said they were no longer offering NRA members discounted rates and that they

would ask the NRA to remove their information from its website. NRA officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In recent days, NRA spokespeople have lashed out at gun control advocates, arguing that Democratic elites are politicizing the deadly rampage in Florida to erode gun owners’ rights. The issue of gun control, and the NRA’s role in opposing it, became the focus of renewed national debate after a former student killed 17 people on Feb. 14 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland, using an AR15 assault rifle he had purchased legally.

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

No Muslim persecution PM fears a in terror probe violent attack Trinidad Guardian - Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is warning citizens of another possible coup d’etat against the Government similar to the July 1990 insurrection by the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen. Speaking during a People’s National Movement meeting at the La Horquetta Regional Complex on Thursday night, Rowley, the head of the National Security Council, said citizens could wake up one morning to an attack against the country. “The Muslims in this country have been a very peaceful and productive group, but the world of 2017 is not 1967, is not 1997. We do know that some of our citizens have attached themselves to foreign doctrines not for peace and love, but for violence and hate,” he said.“I want to say one more thing, for those who believe that if the security services apprehend a Muslim person that it is because of some madness that has taken over the security services, let me remind you that we are the only country in the Commonwealth, in the Western hemisphere and possibly, the world, as a small island nation, or you wake up one morning and hear that a small minority of people, under religious persuasion have overthrown the Government, bombed the police headquarters and blow up the Parliament too. We experienced that. And we hope that we will never go back there, but it is part of our history,” he said, in obvious reference to the 1990 at-

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley tempted coup. During the 1990 attempted coup, Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr led 113 men to invade the Parliament, and the then only television station TTT, taking hostage of then Prime Minister ANR Robinson and other MPs for six days before a surrender was negotiated via an amnesty, later declared to be invalid. They were never prosecuted for their crimes of treason and murder. A significant segment of Port-of-Spain was destroyed by looters, Police headquarters blown up, and the Red House left in disrepair. The PM’s latest comments follow the detention and subsequent release of 15 people who are suspected of plotting a terrorist attack on local soil during just concluded Carnival 2018 activi-

ties. Two of the 15 suspects were charged with being in possession of a firearm component. The information, some of which came from foreign intelligence agencies, led to heightened security and updated travel advisories from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States, warning visitors to be vigilant and wary of an imminent terrorist attack. Rowley told supporters that when information and evidence comes to his attention that there are people whose interest might be to harm citizens, the Government is duty bound to take the necessary action. On Wednesday, top diplomats from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the US met with Rowley to discuss T&T’s management of the terror threat. Rowley had previously warned citizens that the latest terror threat, which has been linked to ISIS ideology, was no joke at his first public briefing on the issue. On Thursday night he again dealt with the issue, in the wake of suggestions by some segments of society that Muslims were unfairly targeted by the security forces during the investigation into the threat. “I have heard it said in recent days that we are persecuting Muslims because the security services have picked up people and are investigating allegations of threat and misconduct of persons, who may not be Muslims,” Rowley said.

Pastor has faith he can unseat Maduro in Venezuela poll Caracas (AFP) - Despite unpopularity and a deepening economic crisis, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro seems such a certainty for reelection in April that only an evangelical pastor has found the faith to run against him. “I am the light in the darkness,” said littleknown pastor Javier Bertucci, without a hint of irony, so far the only opponent willing to try to unseat the leftist leader in a presidential election which Maduro’s opponents accuse him of rigging. Mainstream opposition parties say they are boycotting the April 22 poll because they have no guarantees they would be free and fair. A ballot wasn’t due until December but the Constituent Assembly, an all-powerful legislature stacked with Maduro loyalists, announced in January that the date was being brought forward. Venezuela’s Supreme Court issued a ruling that excludes the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable from running and banned several prominent opposition figures from participating. The United States and European Union

Javier Bertucci have imposed sanctions on Maduro and his officials, with Washington calling him a “dictator.” Bertucci scoffs at assertions from the opposition that he is merely a political stooge to legitimize Maduro’s election.

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Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

Top US official to meet with Caribbean leaders WASHINGTON - CMC – The United States Deputy Secretary of State, John J. Sullivan, will hold talks with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders during their three-day inter-sessional summit here early next week, the US State Department has announced. It said that Sullivan will “focus discussions on issues of mutual interest to the United States and the Caribbean, including energy diversification, regional security and economic development.” The regional leaders will hold their meeting from tomorrow to Wednesday. “The United States is an enduring partner to the Caribbean, as underscored in the Caribbean 2020 strategy, which strengthens security, diplomacy, prosperity, energy, education and health in the region,” the State Department said in a statement. The statement noted that while in the French-speaking CARICOM country, Sullivan will also “engage with US Embassy staff, as well as representatives from the business community and civil society, and make a visit to the Haitian National Police School, which receives funding from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement”. Sullivan’s visit comes as US lawmakers, Haitians and other Caribbean nationals in the United States have expressed profound outrage over President Donald J. Trump’s alleged disparaging remarks about Haitians and Africans. In balking at an immigration deal that would include protections for people from Haiti and some nations in Africa, Trump is alleged to have

John J. Sullivan said at a White House meeting last month why he should accept immigrants from “shithole countries” rather than from places like Norway. The 15-member CARICOM grouping in a statement said that was “deeply disturbed” by the reports about the use of “derogatory and repulsive language” by Trump in respect of Haiti and other developing countries.“CARICOM condemns in the strongest terms, the unenlightened views reportedly expressed,” the statement, noting “of additional concern, is this pattern of denigrating Haiti and its citizens in what seems to be a concerted attempt to perpetuate a negative narrative of the country.“We are especially saddened that such narrative emerged around the time of the anniversary of the devastating 2010 earthquake which took so many lives of citizens in that country.” Trump has since denied

making the comments. On Thursday, eight Haitian and Salvadoran immigrants living in the United States with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that its decision to end their status was based on racism and discrimination that violates their constitutional rights. Also joining the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Boston, Massachusetts is Centro Presente, a community organization that advocates for TPS beneficiaries in Massachusetts.Last month, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund, the largest and oldest civil rights group in the US, in a suit asked a US federal judge in the US District Court of Maryland to reverse the decision to end the humanitarian protections for nearly 60,000 Haitian immigrants.

Health of or speed y offficial calls ffor speedy treatment of leptospirosis

KINGSTON, Jamaica - CMC – The Chief Public Health Inspector for the western parish of Westmoreland, Steve Morris, says while leptospirosis across the island is not at a crisis level, every effort should be made to ensure the disease is easily detected and speedily treated.Morris, who was speaking recently at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ said health officials continue to remind the public of the dangers of swimming or wading in water which has resulted from flooding, or eating foods that might have been contaminated with animal urine. “We are also advising parents to look out for their children who we all know are prone to going into whatever water they see around them, all in the name of fun. Food, too, must be covered and protected from contamination, which again is dangerous for unsuspecting youngsters as well as adults. If you see any food item that looks suspect, throw it away as it could easily be con-

Steve Morris taminated,” he warned.Morris said they have been seeing an increase in the notifications for leptospirosis across the parish.

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

Law Association responds to pre-action protocol letter from Chief Justice PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – Lawyers representing the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) has met the deadline given by Chief Justice Ivor Archie in his pre-action protocol letter aimed at blocking any further probe by the organisation pending the outcome of a High Court ruling. In their response, the LATT attorneys said their client are acting within their remit to “protect the interest of the legal profession in Trinidad and Tobago” by probing allegation against Archie. In the pre-action protocol letter sent to LATT president Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes on Wednesday, the attorneys note that it is the intention of the Chief Justice to begin High Court proceedings to challenge the association’s investigation into his alleged conduct and to seek the advice of the regional jurists on whether the allegations warranted the Prime Minister invoking section 137 of the Constitution to begin impeachment proceedings. In November last year, the LATT called on Archie to publicly address allegations in the local media, particularly the Sunday and Daily Express newspapers, that he had discussed security arrangements for judges with a personal friend.Media reports have linked Chief Justice Archie to discussing security arrangements for judges with a personal friend and late last year, the friend,

Chief Justice Ivor Archie Dillian Johnson, told police that he had information on individuals who want to kill him. Johnson had survived a gun attack on him at his home in Gasparillo, in southern Trinidad. The allegations also include that the Chief Justice used his office to request Housing Development Corporation (HDC) housing for persons whom he knew and that he discussed the issue of security for judges with someone who was not a judge. Late last year, Chief Justice Archie, indicating then that he was not at “liberty’ to say much at this time, denied media reports regarding the security of judges in Trinidad and Tobago. In the pre-action protocol letter, the attorneys for the Chief Justice, including former attorney general Senior Counsel John Jeremie, said

they proposed to issue proceedings on or before February 26 and asked that the association “take no steps to further your enquiry or investigation until the court has pronounced upon the legal and constitutional propriety of your proposed actions.” The lawyers said they would be asking the court to determine whether the LATT is empowered under the Legal Profession Act (LPA) in general or section 5 of the act in particular to conduct, ascertain or establish the basis of allegations made against the Chief Justice. But in their response, the LATT attorneys said under section 5 of the LPA, it is required to “represent and protect the interests of the legal profession,” and where allegations have been made concerning the conduct of the CJ, which have the “potential to negatively impact confidence in the administration of Justice and the rule of law,” the LATT is “entitled” and has a “responsibility to examine those allegations.” The pre-action protocol letter came one day after the LATT sent an email to the Chief Justice’s attorneys indicating they intended to brief Queens C o u n s e l s D r. F r a n c i s A l e x i s of Grenada and Eamon Courtenay of Belize and move ahead with set up a tribunal to investigate him. The LATT said that it had made every effort to get Archie to respond to the allegations.

GTC designs four-week ... From page 13 students in June, leaving much staff uncertain of the school’s future. Currently, there are 65 apprentices being trained by GTC. “We found that the three estates remaining in sugar, they would have already had their quota of apprentice based on their stats and projected target,” Ally pointed out. He said the institution has devised several proposals to ensure that the programme is sustained and has presented them to GuySuCo’s Director of Human Resource, Earl John. The proposals intended to secure attendance for the institution and ensure that instructors and other staff remain employed will include training persons from the

hinterland regions. This suggestion seeks to address a need for trainers to work at technical institutions that the government plans to establish in hinterland communities, Ally indicated. GTC has dormitory facilities that can accommodate approximately 120 persons. According to Ally the training centre also proposed to offer its services to private sector companies and even to have its highly qualified instructors provide “redressal programmes for current staff whose work needs updating”. The GTC is awaiting a decision from GuySuCo’s board. The proposals, which have since been ratified, are awaiting a decision from the board following GuySuCo’s next board meeting, Ally said. The institution has also

been in talks with the University of Guyana to see how it can be sustained through collaboration. Meanwhile, Minister Trotman gave assurances that the government would like to see the apprenticeship programme maintained at the school. “Government wouldn’t wish everything to come to one school but I certainly believe this school has a special place in the history of technical education in Guyana and has to be preserved,” Minister Trotman said. The apprenticeship programme remains the core of the GTC’s operations despite having diversified to offer evening classes through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Curling: United States rock Sweden to win first gold medal Berbice Volleyball GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - The United States delivered a gold-medal knockout punch, scoring five in the eighth end to crush Sweden 10-7 and claim their first ever Olympic men’s curling title yesterday. With the score deadlocked at 5-5, United States skip John Shuster provided some lastrock magic with a pinpoint double take-out for five that left their Swedish opponents stunned as the Gangneung Curling Centre erupted into chants of “USA, USA” led by U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka. The gold was just the second Olympic curling medal won by the U.S. men, following a bronze at the 2006 Turin Winter Games which Shuster was also a part of. Switzerland beat Canada 7-5 on Friday to win the bronze. “I think during the entire

Association had...

The US Curling team at the medal presentation ceremony. (eighth) end we could feel it building,” said Shuster. “Their margin for error was incredibly small. I can’t tell you how unnervous I was.” The victory capped a remarkable comeback for the United States who sputtered through early preliminaryround play with a 2-4 record before rattling off three straight wins to make the playoffs where they beat twice

defending Olympic champions Canada in the semi-finals before seeing off the topranked Swedes. The only real miscue involving the Americans yesterday came when officials mistakenly presented them with the women’s gold medals but that error was quickly corrected and switched for the correct ones. “We’ve played our best

Sunday February 25, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Your creative nature will no longer be repressed, Aries! As you look around your home, you realize you feel the need to spruce it up a bit. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You’ve always had psychic ability, and today it’s at a peak, Taurus. Perhaps not coincidentally, you’re likely to be contacted by a close friend or lover from your past. GEMINI(May 21–June 2 0 ) Prosperity is just around the corner, Gemini, if it isn’t here already. All your efforts are about to pay off and in a big way. It may be that a big proposal gets accepted at work CANCER (June 21–July 22) There is passion in the air, Cancer, and you’re convinced that you’re the one electrifying the air around you. To be blunt, you can think of little else but sex today. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You have an innate psychic ability that only needs some fine-tuning and strengthening for it to develop into a formidable power. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You have an innate psychic ability that only needs some fine-tuning and strengthening for it to develop into a formidable power.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You’ve been working especially hard and you’re beginning to wonder if all your effort has been for naught. A restructuring at work leaves you wondering just exactly where you fit in. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You’re bubbling over with confidence and enthusiasm, Scorpio. Not surprisingly, those around you respond in kind. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Your natural intuition and sensitivity will be heightened today, Sagittarius. You’re able to read the thoughts and feelings of others and interpret them accurately. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) A new relationship is likely to form soon, and it will probably be with someone who’s already in your life. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your head is somewhat in the clouds today, Aquarius. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just means that it’s difficult for you to get any work done. Much as you'd rather be elsewhere PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your heart and intuition will rule today much more than your mind. Trust what your instincts tell you, Pisces. If you’re in a sales profession, you can expect the orders to come rolling in today

when our backs were up against the wall,” American second Tyler George. “We took it to another level this week. “Usually we’re fighting and scrapping to get into the playoffs but for five days we were the best team in the world and we did it at the right time.” The result meant more Olympic disappointment for Niklas Edin who had skipped Sweden to world championship titles in 2013 and 2015 and a bronze at the Sochi Olympics but could not grab the one medal to elude him. The contest got off to a tactical start with the Swedes blanking the first then scoring a pair in the second only to have the U.S. hit right back with a two on another brilliant last-rock shot from Shuster. The U.S. stole a point in the fourth after a measurement to determine shot stone to take their first lead, 3-2. The Swedes would not be rattled, answering with two in the fifth as the seesaw battle continued with the U.S. replying with a pair in the sixth and Sweden getting one back in the seventh to leave the teams deadlocked on 5-5 with three ends to play. After the U.S. scored their five a reeling Sweden chipped two off the deficit in the ninth but there was too much damage to repair and the Swedes finally conceded.

Romello Crawford... From page 74 make the activity a success. He had special words of commendation for the FACC and Coordinator and Coach Randolph Roberts for the exceptional work he has been putting in over the years and his efforts to make that even a success. A pleased McKenzie urged those present including the riders to continue to support Courts, Promising that the event will be bigger and better and to make it a calendar event in Berbice. The police were also commended for their splendid work during the event. (Samuel Whyte)

From page 75 encounter.Players from Guyana were awarded, best defence, setter, attacker, and blocker in both categories. The male contingent consisted of players from the BVA. A senior Guyana male volleyball team participated in a tournament in Suriname with seven of the players including the captain being from the BVA. The BVA hosted a number of beach volleyball tournaments during the year. Two pairs from the BVA participated in an Inter Guiana’s beach volleyball tournament involving Suriname and French Guiana in Suriname. Their performance was creditable.A BVA referee’s refresher seminar was held during the year. The BVA continues to work with the Ministry of Public Health in a number of areas including Suicide Prevention, Mental Health and Say no to HIV and Aids. Despite its excellent performances during the year there were also a number of hindrances: Migration of players in

search of jobs, players working schedules, sponsorship for tournaments, the need for upgraded playing facilities, training time for players, lack of finance, lack of competition. Appreciation was extended to Christopher Jones and The National Sports Commission (NSC), Alex Foster and the Saint Francis Community Developers (SFCD), former President Gregory Rambarran, DTV 8, Balram Shane and Poonai’s Pharmacy of Rose Hall Town, Spready’s Snackette of Port Mourant, Guysuco and the Guysuco Training Center. All Executives and clubs of the BVA, the GVF, present and past apprentices of the GTC/PM and the PMTC alumni were also commended. Clubs and players were challenged to continue to live up and put their shoulders to the wheel and continue to support the cause of the BVA in 2018. The BVA motto being “live up, don’t give up, with suicide”, players were urged to continue to dress good, look good and play good. (Samuel Whyte)

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From page 67 President Levi Nedd selected the awardees. The male champion club of the year was the Port Mourant Training Centre (PMTC). The PMTC continued where it left off from years before with dominant performances throughout, outshining others whether nationally or internationally. Despite some shortcomings it continues to play a high standard of volleyball throughout the country. In 2017 it won all but one of the tournaments that it participated in. The female champion club award went to the Port Mourant females. Despite having its ups and downs in terms of female participation due to schooling and other factors, they won all but one of the tournaments they participated in. A number of them also represented Guyana in Suriname and French Guiana. The GuySuCo Training Centre Port Mourant (GTCPM) has been recognized as the junior club of the year. They can be labeled as the nursery for volleyball development in Guyana. Through the years they have been the nucleus of the Guyana IGG teams. The BVA volleyballer of the year is Samuel Fraser of the PMTC. Over the years he has shown much dedication to the sustenance and development of the game locally and internationally. He was adjudged an accolade of excellence when Guyana defeated French Guiana and won the tournament in French Guiana. He is disciplined and exhibit good sportsmanship. Ronaldo Bobb of the PMTC is the male volleyball player of the year. He has the right approach and is very discipline towards the game. Although only on the circuit for a few years Bobb has made Guyana proud on numerous occasions. On one occasion the Suriname ambassador to Guyana was amazed at his performance during the IGG

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 25, 2018

In picture, from left; Kassim Khan, Club President Aleem Hussain, Patrick Prashad, Avinash Persaud, Ms Ulex Sloth, Fazil Haniff, Patanjalee Persaud, and Vickram Amit, Sales Representative of BAL after the presentation. held in Suriname. Female volleyballer of the year is Candacy Mentore of the Port Mourant Female Volleyball Club. Mentore has been performing outstanding throughout the year and has set the pace for others to follow. She is one of the most vibrant and most dedicated participants in the female category winning the MVP award on numerous occasions. The Junior/most promising player of the year is Andy Rohoman of the No52 Survivals and the Tagore Secondary School. He was adjudged the MVP of the BVA Inter Secondary School’s tournament, after leading his school to victory. He excelled in the IGG tournament in Suriname and on a tour to Trinidad. He was awarded best attacker while in French Guiana in the Under 20 tournament. Errol Chase, who wears many hats, was selected as the Referee of the year. He is the most certified around and during the year performed duties as the technical advisor in most of the tournaments held in Berbice. He represented Guyana as Chef De Mission and Female coach,

while in French Guiana. He also conducted a refreshers course in refereeing for referees in the BVA. The most disciplined player award was presented to Tyrone Farley a junior player from the Corriverton Jets volleyball club. He has exemplified all of the attributes pertaining to the award it was stated.

Avinash Persaud wins BAL Yokohama Tires Inaugural Golf Tournament The weather was good, the Course was playable though a little tough after several days of on-and-off rain, but Avinash Persaud (8 times Guyana Open Champion,) put on a fine champion’s performance to beat the rest in a very competitive field to claim the first BAL Yokohama Tires Golftournament at Lusignan. One can wager that veteran golfers Patrick Prashad and Fazil Haniff, and even recovering from injury Pur ‘I love that winning feeling’ Persaud, did not think that the Course was a difficulty. In fact their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places, (only 1 stroke behind Avinash), was a tie that had to be determined by the ‘Back 9’ count. This tournament marked the first Yokohama Tires of Beharry Automotive Limited – Guyana household name ‘BAL’ sponsored Golf Tournament, with a commitment for another tournament later in the year. Marketing Officer of BAL, Ms Ulex Sloth, who was on hand to present the prizes, reiterated the Company’s support for golfing in Guyana. Ms Sloth delighted those present when she announced that in addition to the trophy, the Best Gross for the day at-

tracted a prize of 4 brand new tyres of the winner’s choice. At the end of the day’s play the winners were: Best Net 1st – Avinash Persaud 71/ 2; 2nd - Patrick Prashad 72/9; 3rd - Patanjalee ‘Pur’ Persaud 72/20; 4th – Fazil Haniff 72/ 13; Best Gross – Avinash Persaud, 73; Nearest The Pin - Kassim Khan, 6 ft. Other golfers that scored in the top ten were Papo Haniff 73/6; Deanand Bissessar 75/ 22; Joaan Deo 75/18; Roy Cumming 77/11; Maurice Solomon 78/25; and Balgobin Ragnauth 79/18.

GABA to host knockout B’Ball tourney at CASH next month Basketball will return to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) early next month as the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) under the stewardship of President Adrian Hooper, is preparing to host an all-division knockout tournament. The competition, which bounces off on March 3rd, will feature nine teams in the Open division while the 2nd and Junior (Under-23) divisions will feature six teams each going head to head in riveting knockout play. Matches will be played from Monday to Thursday for three consecutive weeks and are expecting to be action packed following the successful hosting of the GABA’s last tournament, the Banks DIH sponsored Open, 1st and Under-23 leagues.

Forbes Burnham 3-Stage Memorial Cycle Road Race Anthony (senior), Fraser (junior) and veteran Choo Wee Nam take first stage in Berbice

Calculated riding form Michael Anthony, Donovan Fraser and Paul Choo Wee Nam resulted in them winning the first stage in the senior, junior and veteran categories when the annual three-stage Forbes Burnham Memorial cycle road race was contested yesterday in the Ancient County of Berbice. Sponsored by the Burnham Foundation and coordinated by the Flying Stars Cycling Club (FSCC), the cyclists began the demanding journey at Corriverton with their final destination being, Main Street, New Amsterdam. There was an early break away by John and Anthony from #63 Village but connecting with the duo at Macedonia village were Choo Wee Nam, Andrew Hicks, Paul DeNobrega, Shane Boodram, Marcus Keiler, Enzo Matthews and Jornel Yearwood. The bunch stayed together until they entered #19 Village where Boodram dropped off the pace and he was joined by Keiler. Coming close to the finish line, Hicks unfortunately suffered a puncture at the New Amsterdam Hospital which put paid to his chances of finishing in the top flight. The remaining stages are being contested today.

Exhilarating performances displayed at ASK-G National Karate Championships Some surprising and stunning performances were recorded by Karatekas at the YMCA, Thomas Lands when the Association do Shotokan Karate – Guyana (ASK-G) held its 2018 National championships. A release form the organization stated that Joel Kellman’s Empi Kata was excellent for a Brown Belt level

despite not winning a medal. However, Two superb Kata performances by Roger Peroune stole the show. Speed, timing and sharpness of technique mesmerised the judges and spectators earning him first place. Kellman, one of the future stars of the sport once again performed creditably in the Kumite, placing 3rd place amongst the Black belts. However, Peroune eliminated his first opponent in very short time and the final match against seasoned veteran Keith Beaton saw him being victorious acquiring the coveted Kumite first place. There were 40 categories, 20 in Kata and 20 in Kumite contested which showcased athletes in the 5-6, 7-8, 911,12-14 and 15-17 years old categories battling each other for supremacy. The Female Katas were as strong as their Male counterparts earning Rebecca Wesley first place, while the Kumite saw two disqualifications due to excessive contact; Kristine Ramkissoon emerged victorious. In the 15-17 males, strong performances from Trevon Miller and Charles Benjamin earned them first and second place respectively in the Kata division. The Kumite saw just as fiery combat as the adults resulting in Trevon Miller and Shemar Parkinson placing first and second. Over 80 competitors drawn from the East Bank, East Coast, West Bank, West Coast and Georgetown, participated. The officiating judges were Clinton Moriah, Bhagwandin Persaud, Roger Peroune, Keith Beaton, Mahadeo Ramotar, Malcolm Francis, Laurence Lowe, Patrick Gurahoo, Leonard Leuwassie and Rebecca Wesley.

Sunday February 25, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Today as is customary we look back at the events that highlighted in the local sports pages. Hilbert Foster is president of BCB, promises to lead from the front After being relentlessly persuaded to rethink his decision to wash his hands of cricket in Berbice, the indomitable Hilbert Foster was elected President of the Berbice Cricket Board. The elections, which were held at the New Amsterdam Town Hall, were called to order by a representative of the High Court. Before voting began, Colin Bynoe and GCB Secretary Anan Sanasie were nominated as returning Officers with Bynoe winning out 1915.Barring some minor glitches, the elections were well conducted as set out by the order of Justice Navendra Singh in the High Court. Foster defeated Direndranauth Somwaru 1816 for the position as President. The hard working Foster, who is the secretary and CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports, made a last minute decision to accept the wishes of the stake holders to vie for the position. Foster, a man who wears many hats, has being looked at near and far for his untiring work in the education, sports, youth, culture, community development sectors among others. He has being credited as the force to his club being awarded the Medal of Service. Although voting was close the slate representing Foster Swept all the positions available with voting being done over on two occasions due to ties. Businessman and Former National Coach Albert Smith defeated David Black 18-16, for the position of Vice President, after the first round of voting went 17 apiece. Jevaughn Stephen the Region 6, Director of Regional Health Services defeated Intiaz Bacchus 18-16 for another Vice President Position, while Head teacher Qualis Winter was elected unopposed as the other Vice President.Businessman and farmer Rabindranauth Saywack is the Secretary after defeating Vickram Sieubarran 18-16 on the second round of voting. Doctor Cecil Beharry is the Treasurer winning 18-16 from Godwyn Allicock. Ameer Rahaman, a school teacher, takes up the position as Assistant Secretary after winning from Carol Nurse 1816.Businessman Winston Roberts defeated Leslie Solomon 18-15 to take up the

BCB executives (from left sitting) Qualis Winter, Jevaughn Stephn, President Hilbert Foster and Albert Smith, (standing from left) Winston Roberts, Robby Swyack, Dr. Cecil Beharry and Ameer Rahaman. position of Assistant Treasurer.Angela Haniff and Albert Smith with 20 and 18 votes respectively were elected BCB representatives to the GCB along with the President and Secretary. Returning Officer Bynoe, a retired Head teacher and CEO of the New Amsterdam Hospital, was commended for keeping things under control and doing a commendable job. Foster in short speech, said he had to break his own commitment, but assured all his supporters that he will not let them down. He promised to make the BCB the best in Guyana and ranking in the Caribbean. He said he will be a president for all and will strive to make sure that cricket is once again played throughout Berbice. The associations and clubs that participated at the electoral process were – Upper Corentyne, West Berbice and Berbice River Cricket Associations; Blairmont, Albion and Rose Hall Community Centers, Police, Mental Hospital, Mounts Sinai, Kildonan Sports Club, Bermine Sports Club, Port Mourant, Whim and Chesney Cricket Clubs. The associations had four votes each, while the clubs were afforded two votes each.

Regional Super50 Festival Jaguars lose to Volcanoes by 53 runs on DLS System in semis

Guyana Jaguars, urged on by a large crowd of flag waving fans on a cold night failed to reach their first final since 2015 when they lost to the Windwards Volcanoes by 53 runs on the Duckworth/ Lewis/Stern System in a truncated semi-final of the Regional Super50 Festival last night at Coolidge. A well-constructed 105 from 104 balls with nine fours and fours sixes from Tyrone Teophile led Volcanoes to the final where they met defending Champs Barbados as ragged fielding by the Jaguars aided in their own demise. The Dominican shared in half-century stands with Bajan Kirk Edwards, who made 27 from 52 balls and 107 for the fourth wicket with Man-of-the-Match Kaveem Hodge whose 57 lasted 65 balls and included four boundaries after Devon Smith hit three fours and a six in a 28-ball 25 at the top of the order. An unfinished 37-run eighth wicket stand in four over between Bajan Kyle Mayers (18) and Shane Shillingford (16) took Volcanoes to 286-7 off 50 overs. Jamaican off-spinner Ramaal Lewis (3-54) was the most successful bowler for the Jaguars who replied with 231 all out in 44.1 overs as five batsmen reached 25 but none got to 50. Left arm spinner Hodge returned with the ball took 349 and Larry Williams 2-27. Sherfane Rutherford led the fight with 49 from 53 balls with four fours and a six,

Veerasammy Permaul made 37 from 47 balls with two sixes and two fours while Shiv Chanderpaul struck a brisk 34 from 38 balls with four fours and a six. Chris Barnwell chipped in with 25.

BOUNTY FARM LTD HANDICAP SQUASH TOURNAMENT Nyron Joseph wins open Category, Michael Alphonso best in category A The finals for the Bounty farm Ltd Handicap Squash Tournament at the Georgetown Club saw Nyron Joseph giving the crowd the type of game they have come to expect from the talented player. In the last match of the tournament he sparred with Alex Cheeks, while he climbed the 20 points handicap disadvantage to easily win the first game 15-2. Alex came back to take the second game but couldn’t hold it for the third, which Nyron dominated with superior play to win15-9. Nicholas Narine took care of Adam Alves having to overcome a -12 to Adam’s +5 handicap. Nicholas couldn’t climb fast enough in the first game but buckled down in the second and third to win 6-15, 15-11, 15-7. Michael Alphonso was on true form against Abosaide Cadogan who put up a good fight but was unable to overcome his genius deception. The fast pace and

shot selection in this match was exceptional and the level of squash from these youngsters outstanding. For third place Kirsten Gomes beat a much improved James Mekdeci in two straight games in a well-controlled match.

Port Mourant Training Centre is the BVA champion club of the year A number of individuals and clubs were rewarded as the best in their category when the Berbice Volleyball

Association (BVA) held its annual awards and presentation ceremony for 2017. The activity was held at the Port Mourant Training Centre Hostel, Port Mourant, Corentyne Berbice. There were a number of criteria used for selection including - Three nominations for each category. The club or individual had to have maximum participation during the year. The issue of discipline and fair play was also a factor, while the level of participation and the commitment to the game was also looked at. A committee led by (Continued on page 66 )

Open winner Nyron Joseph (right) poses with Category A champ Michael Alphonso.

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Guyana Association of Women Police horserace meet set for today Turfites and horseracing fans in Berbice are anticipating the Port Mourant Turf Club in collaboration with the Guyana Association of Women Police, grand oneday horserace meet today. With over 60 entries and a track in excellent condition and all systems in place, a grand day of horseracing is anticipated and a number of the leading runners will be on show. The meet will have a total of seven races with a total cash prize purse of about $2million on offer. The G class and lower will be the feature race of the day,

being competed over a distance of eight furlongs with the winner collecting $350,000. There will be 3-year-old Guyana bred race over a distance of 1200m that will feature a 1st place cash prize of $240,000. The J class and lower which will be sprinted over a distance of seven furlongs will attract a $200,000 purse, while the K class and lower and the L class Open that will both be raced over a distance of six furlongs have been set 1st place cash prizes of $160,000 and $140,000 respectively up for the taking.

Meanwhile, the L class division 2 and the unclassified will both be battled over a distance of five furlongs with their respective 1st place cash prizes being $100,000 and $90,000. Among those horses on show are Perfect Return, Red Jet, Ready, Plain Land, Release The Heat, Touch Gold, Puppy Tail, Red Regent, Secret Escape, Big Man In Town, Not This Time, Cresending Cat, The Final Line, Princess Shoma, Irish Boy and Ready To Romance. The rules of the Port Mourant Turf Club will be in effect at the meet.

Patentia Secondary overcome L’ Adventure Secondary Patentia Secondary defeated L’ Adventure Secondary by 67 runs when the National Sports Commission Al Sport and Sport Forbes Burnham Foundation 27th annual Easter Term Secondary Schools Windball Cricket tournament continued recently. Playing in the female category, Patentia Secondary batted first and scored 130-2 off five overs with Qwedada Fraser scoring 88 not out with 12 sixes, the highest individual score so far in this year’s tournament. L’Aventure Secondary in reply were restricted to 63-3, Abigail Corbin made 26. Sasha Persaud had 2- 12.

Debutant La Grange Primary School managed 120-1. Vasantie Kishore made 50 (7x6s) and Tesa Mc Donald 44. Debutant West Demerara Secondary responded with 117 without loss; Bacafina Bodh struck 69. L’Aventure Secondary scored 85-2 from a reduced quota of four overs. Shakira La Cruz made 31 not out and Lashuna Whyte 22. Debutant Goed Fortuin Primary replied with 84 without loss. Tilleyciha Forde got 42. In the male category, Goed Fortuin scored 64-3. Emanuel Daniels made 35 and Calton Kingston 19. West Demerara Secondary responded with

66-2; Christopher Rambarose made 37 and Christopher Gurdyal 18. La Grange posted 101-4 batting first. Kenzie Felix slammed 47 not out and Andy Charran 19. Tojay Ragnauth had 2-15. L’Aventure responded with 104-2. Johanathan Samaroo struck 44, Vishal John 20 and Jagdesh Ramdeholl 18. Patentia Secondary rattled up104 without loss taking first strike. Marieram Singh stroked 52 and Imanuel Benn 45. Goed Fortuin replied with79-2. Satesh Persaud made 23and Sherwin Gravesande 16.

Speed skating: Japan’s Takagi surges to mass start gold GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - Japanese speed skater Nana Takagi unleashed a late surge of explosive speed to pass Dutchwoman Irene Schouten on the inside of the final corner and claim an Olympic gold medal in the women’s mass start at the Gangneung Oval yesterday.South Korean Kim Bo-reum slipped into the channel created by Takagi to win the silver medal 0.12 seconds behind the Japanese as Schouten settled for bronze. Takagi, who won gold in the women’s team pursuit earlier this week, now has an individual Olympic title to add to her collection. The 25-year-old celebrated by pumping her fists and waving to the crowd before making a lap of the stadium with the Japanese flag fluttering above her head. “I‘m feeling very good,” Takagi told reporters. “Only lost focus on two laps, then I

Sunday February 25, 2018

Kaieteur News

showed good acceleration. Then with 100 meters –- go. I‘m very happy. I focus on team pursuit and mass start.” The race made its Olympic debut in South Korea and was given a touch of celebrity by the presence of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the U.S. President.It was a tactical encounter, with 16 skaters simultaneously vying for an advantage on the track. None of the trio who finished on the podium tried to win any of the three intermediate sprints, preferring instead to stay well back in the peloton and save their legs for the final push for a medal. The first three to finish the race earn 60, 40 and 20 points respectively, while the top three skaters in each of the intermediate sprints earn five, three and one points to decide the classification places.With two laps to go in the 16-lap race, the pack began to pick up speed, rapidly

reeling in early pace-setter Saskia Alusalu of Estonia, who finished in fourth place after winning all three intermediate sprints.Schouten had the lead going into the final corner but the Dutch skater misjudged her line slightly and was forced wide coming out, and Takagi stormed up the inside channel to capitalize on the mistake.She crossed the line in a flurry of effort, her arms and legs pumping furiously to hold off Kim by a narrow margin.Kim was crestfallen after finishing second. She made a deep bow to the crowd and took a lap around the track waving her country’s flag. Kim and her team mate in the women’s team pursuit, Park Ji-woo, faced calls for them to be banned from the national team after theyappeared to blame a team mate for their failure to reach the women’s team pursuit semi-finals this week.

P&P Insurance Brokers’ practical pistol shoot fires off G.S.S.F. 2018 calendar

Prize winners of P&P sponsored GSSF’s Practical Pistol Match: From left: Mrs. Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon, Dr. Johan DaSilva, Mr. Ryan McKinnon, Mr. Rajiv Latchana, Mr. Andrew Phang and Mr.David Dharry. The Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation’s Practical Pistol Section commenced shooting activities for 2018 on Saturday 17th February, 2018, when they hosted the 3rd Annual P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants sponsored Practical Pistol Match at the GDF Yarrowkabra Range. The event saw local practical shooters testing their skills in four dynamic stages setup by the Match Committee. Shooters competed for the top 3 prizes in two divisions based on their firearm setup, in accordance with the rules of the United States Practical Shooting Association USPSA Handgun Rules. The divisions were Production and Limited Division. Opening remarks were made by recently elected President of GSSF, Mr. Ryan McKinnon, who reminded participants of the safety rules and the Match was declared open by Match Director Mr. David Dharry. On the cool, sunny Saturday afternoon, shooters were placed in two squads and the match commenced. In the first of two stages designed by Mr. Dharry, called ‘Daily News’ and ‘Hello from D Other Side’, the competitor started seated at a table reading a book with only their unloaded handgun placed on a table. Upon start signal, competitors were required to load the handgun and then engage the targets all while remaining in the seated position. ‘Hello from D other side” saw shooters starting by standing in any of two specifically defined areas set out on the course of fire, and were required to face up range while holding with a mobile phone against the ear on the same side where their firearm is holstered. Upon start signal, shooters had to turn, make the gun ready, then engage targets that were situated in front of the opposing starting area defined, then run to

the other area and engage targets situated on the other side. There was a single paper target on this stage which needed to be engaged anywhere outside of the two defined “boxed” areas. The shooters came up with various strategies to engage this paper target so as to beat the clock and register software specifically designed for the discipline since this is done atomically it aids in efficiency. Ultimately the scoring in practical shooting rewards the winners who can have a balance of accuracy within the shortest possible short stage times as against other competitors within the division. After the Match, there was a side match in the form of a Shoot-off, whereby those that signed up were randomly selected to compete against another shooter in a knock out styled competition. Pairs of shooters competing against recharged their magazines and gathered around 10 steel poppers. Rules were simple: at the start signal the shooter that falls the first 5 wins. To get things stated was a duel between Mr. Rajiv Latchana and Mr. Mohamed Khan. Upon the start signal, a rapid burst of gunfire and falling steel flooded the range…. there was a slight pause at one end as Latchana did a magazine change much to the excitement of onlookers but alas, Mr. Mohamed Khan proved that slow and steady rules over quick and jerky trigger finger (in a tortoise vs hare moment) and took the 1st bye. The action continued as shooter after shooter took the dusty walk to reset the stage, until the final round came. It was down to two of Guyana’s seasoned shooters: Dr. Johan DaSilva and Mr. Ryan McKinnon both shooting the much talked about CZ Shadow 2 Pistol. After the sound of the start signal and the proverbial settling of the smoke

it was McKinnon who made light work knocking over the metal poppers inclusive of performing a mandatory magazine change as agreed upon by the finalists. The Stats Officer for this match was Mrs. Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon, who released the results in agreement with the Match Director. The prize order was as follows: Limited Division 1st – Ryan McKinnon – 235.5987 points 2nd – Johan DaSilva – 197.7184 points 3rd – Vidushi PersaudMcKinnon – 105.0355 points Production Division 1st – Rajiv Latchana – 180.0000 points 2nd – Andrew Phang – 169.9061 points 3rd – David Dharry – 133.5190 points Chairman of the Practical Shooting Committee and the Match Director for this event, Mr. David Dharry, expressed appreciation to P&P Insurance Brokers for their continued support to the promotion and building of the sport in Guyana. Director Mr. Vikash Panday echoed the same sentiments that his company stands committed to continued support of the GSSF and sport shooting in spite of the slow economic conditions that presently exist. The Board of Directors wishes to commend the Match Director, Range Master, Stats Officer, Range Officers and the shooters for ensuring an efficient event. Special thanks also to the Guyana Defence Force, Chief of Staff Brigadier Patrick West, Commissioner of Police Mr. Seelal Persaud, Asst. Commissioner Mr. David Ramnarine, the ranks of TSU and the Guyana Police Force, the Media and GSSF members for their support in promoting practical shooting locally. Sincere thanks were extended to CEO, Mr. Bishwa Panday of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd.