Sunday March 25,2018
PAGE 5
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
The challenges on hand are This situation is hurting us available to chart and positions, except if the Presimammoth in nature monies badly as a nation navigate the process dent is entering a second term DEAR EDITOR, The closure of the Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates, sent distress signals not only to the employees as a whole, but also the general populace since the Industry has always played an integral role in the sociological and economical perspectives of our country. After all, job security and foreign exchange are important ingredients in the pot of progress for any nation and in particular, any Third Wo r l d C o u n t r y t h a t i s struggling to stay afloat, a minnow in a sea of giants. And so even as many argue for and against the fortunes of the Sugar Industry, there is the commonality in thinking that the current state of the Industry was self-inflicted rather than deliberate. After all, the injection of billions by both past and present Administrations, have
certainly not borne fruit as promised by those put in place to manage the affairs of the Industry. The most recent significant input was the G$ 32 B that was pumped into Guysuco over the last two years by the current Administration in an effort to revamp the entity and so make it attractive to investors, the ultimate goal being privatization. The fortunes of sugar are way too uncertain given the loss of the EU preferential market and the declining prices on the World Market. In its current form, privatization is not an option, it is inevitable. The thinking is logical and with the options of DIVERSIFICATION in whatever form with sugar as a by-product of whatever process is employed, there were more than enough
successfully.The callous approach by the Management of the Company over this period led to further decline in the fortunes of the Company and one has to beg the question ‘Why?’. The answer to this is quite simple and less complicated than most people think it is. When given a glorious opportunity to do better, the Interim Management Committee comprising Messers. Hanoman and Bhim, blundered badly through ineffective and inefficient management. Both are experienced accountants but with very little appreciation of Estate Management and in their drive to mico-manage, they managed to obfuscate the process. Emasculation of Estate Management and (Continued on page 7)
Failure to resolve this issue... From page 4 exacerbated with the coming to power of the coalition. Added to all of this is the issue of Roopnaraine’s health, which has dramatically complicated these matters. The volatile mix of politics and health issues has led to an intolerable situation in which one cannot be discerned from the other. It is now obvious that Roopnaraine’s health issues are being manipulated for political purposes. While there is genuine concern by the President for the welfare of Dr. Roopnaraine, it obscures the fact that it has also allowed for the manipulation of Roopnaraine to the disadvantage of the WPA. This state of affairs has now reached a breaking point. The debate surrounding
the posturing of Roopnaraine is now a source of great concern for the WPA. There is an obvious and glaring problem when Tacuma Ogunseye has put the possibility of the WPA withdrawing from the APNU coalition if it is not treated with some respect, only to be contradicted by Roopnaraine. There was no explanation whatsoever on the part of Dr. Roopnaraine on why the WPA must be treated in such a disgraceful manner and remain within APNU. The Chronicle picture portrays a message of racial unity, disregarding three years of non-consultation with the WPA on serious matter of government policies, placing it in a delicate position were it to attempt to discipline
Roopnaraine. Any attempt by the WPA to deal with Roopnaraine’s misguided role as it affects the well-being of the WPA may be open to exploitation by opponents of the WPA. These opponents will seek to portray it as an attempt by the African members of the party to rid itself of one of its Indian leaders, a possibility that has forced the WPA to tread carefully on this matter. But failure to resolve this issue will only continue to do even more damage to the WPA. The party will have to trust the public’s opinion as to whether it has acted correctly on this matter and will have to deal with it in a transparent manner so that the right image can be projected. Rohit Kanhai Member of WPAOA
DEAR EDITOR, Our system of government is supposed to be the Westminster system, but it is not in use in Guyana today. What I see in use today is what I have called the West Indian Minister system which is of itself a ridiculous concept. The true Westminster system visualizes that the permanent secretaries will be the real functionaries of the system. i.e. I am using this definition taken from the commonwealth library paper ‘Managing Change. The Evolving Role of Top Public Servants’ it tells us that “In the Westminster model of government, the Permanent Secretary is the administrative head of a department or ministry. They are ‘permanent’ in the sense that they are normally career civil servants who have tenure beyond the life of any particular government. This system, in which the permanent public service extends to the topmost levels of public administration, is one of the defining characteristics of the Westminster model” The problem is simple. You can’t take a man who was not functioning in any capacity as a manager in his life and put him in charge of a multibillion Guyana dollar Ministry and think that he will be successful. To date, this has been a total failure for Guyana and it’s about to make a massive impact on our lives, with bad decisions and policies to do with this oil find. Recently I saw Mr. Drayton being discussed in the letter columns and it is right that he should be discussed, since he was an outstanding Permanent Secretary and made Mrs. Jagan look good as Minister of labour, Health and
Housing. In the US for example, after an election usually in October every four years, there is a handing over period of several months to the new President, who is sworn in on January 20thof the next year, and his term of office officially starts exactly at 12:00 noon on that date whether he is sworn or not. During that time October to January, the heads of the government departments [the Secretaries] who are not permanent, are all usually changed, and the new President looks around the US for the most knowledgeable and respected people in the country, who has his political policy mindset, to fill those
in which case he normally carries his original cabinet with him since he probably campaigned on their strength. Remembering always that the American president is an executive President as is ours, and the buck stops with him, so he is ultimately responsible for everything going on in his government. Unlike America, the day after the elections in Guyana, the new President can be sworn since he inherits his complete government fully staffed according to the definition,‘ with the permanent public service which extends to the topmost levels of public administration which is (Continued on page 7)
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Guyanese are looking at the management of their resources through more level-headed lens than most politicians DEAR EDITOR: What the various international experts on oil and gas, who are here at the invitation of the Government of Guyana, are telling us is what the people of Guyana have been telling their government which continues to ignore their voices. From Guyanese born international expert Dr. Jan Mangal who has called for transparency, publicly accountability and respect for the role/voices of the people in the formation and development of the industry, to the most recent pronouncement by the Eric Parrado, International Finance Coordinator at Chile’s Ministry of Finance who helped build that country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, is the role of the people in the industry’s development and safeguard. What is clearly coming across here is that the people
are looking at governance and the management of their business and resources through more level-headed lens than most of the politicians. Oil and gas will result in major shift in this country’s economy, bringing with it social, economic and political consequences. If approached in a divisive and exclusionary manner the consequences can be dire. Shutting out the people from the ramifications, implications and benefits of this new industry makes no sense. Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley in a recent address to his nation reiterated to his people the importance of their knowledge and involvement of what is happening in their oil and gas industry. We are yet to see similar pronouncement from our Head of Government. Some may argue that Janet
Jagan conducted the initial exploration exercise in secrecy, likewise Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramator kept the populace in the dark but are now calling for transparency, involvement, and accountability acts. When they were in government they denied the people and Opposition. Nothing is wrong with noting their double standards and duly reminding them, but political growth requires doing away with acts and practices that have proven inimical to good governance and the people’s well-being. The benefits that will flow from oil and gas must be for all, not some. It must cut across ethnicity, political association, class, creed and geography. We are once again reminded of this, more so the politicians, by Parrado of the need to develop laws built on full consensus- i.e. with the involvement of government,
opposition and civil societyand ensuring the money flowing from this industry is not misused. I along with others, including the man and woman in the street, have been calling on the David Granger/ Moses Nagamootoo Government for similar approach and not to repeat the errant acts of their predecessors in the handling of this matter. We are yet to see a national outreach, akin to that that was utilised in the nationalisation of sugar and bauxite, where the government, political opposition, stakeholders and masses were involved in constant discussions that shaped the country’s position via laws and move toward implementation of decisions. Outside of the sugar and bauxite industries, the oil and gas industry will be of similar consequence at this time of our development. Instead of an inclusionary approach we are witnessing elite fora to discussion issues on the industry where only the rich and privilege can attend. This is an unacceptable approach by the government whose authority to govern came from the masses and to whom they must always remember they are accountable to and must govern in the interest of. Already there are signs that the 2020 General and Regional Elections will be more about who must be elected to office to oversee the management of the new industry as against what programmes, policies and laws will be put in place to ensure the holistic well-being of the people. This guerilla desire to secure the reins of government will make these elections tumultuous and bitter. (Continued on page 7)
Voices of our children DEAR EDITOR, Against the backdrop of the repeated school shootings in the USA, I have composed this poem. I appreciate if you can publish. VOICES OF OUR CHILDREN Never the thought they envisaged That it would come to this, Leaving books and backpacks behind To muster the nerve and strength Rallying with classmates and friends, A pause in their daily learning For a greater cause unfolding, No more blood to be spilled Not another child to be killed, In the place they reckoned to be safe The classroom and the schoolyard, With memories of laughter and play Now tinged with horror and fear. The voices of our children Railing against the halls of power Where crooked politicians gather, Seeking another term in office To placate those in high places, Nothing in their legislative agenda To stall the repeated slaughter, Leaving mothers to mourn Hearts broken and torn, By a brutality so senseless Against the innocent and defenseless. The voices of our children Shaming those who profit from more guns, Their hands stained with the blood Of hearts that throbbed with life and beauty With so much grace and gaiety, Those pretty faces The joy of their fathers’ embraces. The voices of our children Demanding our attention, No more sanctimonious condolences No more empty promises, It’s the call for action The cry of reason and conscience. The voices of our children Not to be ignored or slighted They will not be ruffled or muted, For they are the breath and soul O what morality remains In this wretched world, And their gathered strength Will ignite the flames Of dissent and change Haimnauth (Cecil) Ramkirath
Sunday March 25,2018
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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani has Serve and protect must be upheld completed his ten-year sentence DEAR EDITOR, After a decade of unjust imprisonment and harsh treatment in Iranian prisons, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, 85, completed his ten-year sentence yesterday. He is one of the seven members of the former leadership group of the Baha’is in Iran known as the Yaran, who were jailed on false and baseless charges. Mr. Khanjani, the oldest of the seven, is the fifth to be released this year. The Yaran was an ad-hoc group which tended to the basic spiritual and material needs of the Iranian Baha’i community. It was formed with the full knowledge and approval of Iranian authorities after formal Baha’i institutions were declared illegal in Iran in the 1980s. “Mr. Khanjani and the other members of the Yaran should have never been put in prison to begin with,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i In-
ternational Community to the United Nations. “They not only committed no crimes, but even contributed to the betterment of their communities and their country.” Born in 1933 in the city of Sangsar, Mr. Khanjani grew up on a dairy farm and eventually started a successful charcoal production business. He eventually established the first automated brick factory in Iran, ultimately employing several hundred people. In the early 1980s after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he was forced to shut down that factory and abandon it, putting most of his employees out of work because of the persecution he faced as a Baha’i. The factory was later confiscated by the government. In the 1990s, Mr. Khanjani was able to establish a mechanized farm on properties owned by his family. However, the authorities placed many restrictions on him, making it diffi-
cult to do business. These restrictions extended to his children and relatives and included refusing loans, closing their places of business, limiting their business dealings, and banning travel outside the country.“The treatment accorded to Mr. Khanjani and other members of the Yaran throughout their lives represents the treatment suffered by the entire Baha’i community for generations,” said Ms. Dugal. Iranian Baha’is continue to face the threat of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, economic discrimination, and the denial of access to higher education. Economic-related persecution against them has particularly escalated in recent years resulting in what the Baha’i International Community has called, in an open letter to President Rouhani, an “economic apartheid against a segment of Iran’s population.” Rooplall Dudhnath
The challenges on hand ... From page 5 the deliberate starving of resources across the Industry and in particular to the closed estates by the IMC, led to wanton wastage and decline. The term deliberate starving is used since their catastrophic blunders led to a hasty decline in production, so monies were not available to do as required. The current Administration simply refused to further entrust them with more of the taxpayers’ dollars and so both were at a stalemate. The wresting of the Industry from the clutches of the IMC was
therefore, inevitable and thus paved the way for the Special Purpose Unit’s takeover, where managing the Industry going forward is concerned. Mr. Heath-London, Head of the SPU, certainly has his job cut out for him taking into consideration the delicate balance in dealing with the Current Administration that will not allow mediocrity to raise its ugly head again and while at the same time, restore confidence in the process. But he needs to be careful since within the hierarchy of Management within the Company, deviousness is prevalent. The challenges on hand
are mammoth in nature and even with Rose Hall and Enmore now moving in a positive direction, the state of affairs of the closed estates render the process an uphill task. But he has the right approach and vision for the task on hand and while there will be constant modifications to existing plans because of the rocky road ahead, one must appreciate this individual’s temerity to manage a process given the state of the Industry and so we must give him the requisite support since he will give us his as required. A concerned stakeholder
DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Police Force does not have to compromise with public transportation, Mini Bus drivers, over the colored wraps on their vehicles. A road service license, clearly states the rules to those service providers. Many laws are broken by
those public transportation providers, not only wraps, but others, such as heavi l y tinted, fancy lights, horns, loud type of music, garbage thrown out on the road ways, dr i v e r s and conductors way of dressing and the handling of passengers.
One of my problems is that the Guyana Police Force waits until something becomes a monster, and then try to control. Now that changes are taking place in its administration, serve and protect must be upheld. Parmanand Ram.
A huge blunder and embarrassment DEAR EDITOR So what are we to understand. ..when officials give a public statement it is not to be heeded and accepted?It has to be seen as a huge blunder and embarrassment that the public official who made the announcement
on the centennial commemorative stamps did not know the position on national symbols. And why it must be asked was this position not made known and clear before this debacle? Shamshun Mohamed
Guyanese are looking at the ... From page 6 Shrewdness requires taking the approach of the international experts of repute and masses to avoid what is potentially leading up to be bitter political clashes, and opportunities to exploit our resources not in the interest of the
people. There is sincere hope that these experts advise, which we have the benefit of us through the media, are heeded by the Government who sought them out and invited them here. Lincoln Lewis.
This situation is hurting ... From page 5 one of the defining characteristics of the Westminster model’ and this raises a few questions in my mind, we have Permanent Secretaries in Guyana who are very political. They not only write political letters in the newspaper, they actually campaign with the political parties in power which is totally forbidden in England, where the Westminster system was created. If I were made a minister and inherited such a permanent secretary I would dismiss him immediately on the grounds that he broke the law. But it is happening all the time. Permanent Secretaries in Guyana are being removed by new government ministers for the very qualifications they must have to function properly, i.e., because they are too independent or will not allow themselves to become political lackeys and rubber stamp wrongdoing by ministers. What we are doing completely defeats the concept of a non-political, highly trained and qualified group of managers who will perform
the functions which our constitution gives them the power to do, impartially without fear or favor, the winner take all nonsense has not worked for us and we have to abandon it. The Ministers who are not trained in any form of management or administration and are constantly apologizing to us for their mistakes is not acceptable, they took the job and we expect that they will function at the highest level from day one guided by their good Permanent Secretaries. This situation is hurting us badly as a nation. Every time I look at the newspapers I see that we don’t have proper management in Guyana. Everything is wrong with the decisions we are making, and the arrogance that goes along with this incompetence is incomprehensible. I know that most Guyanese have not addressed these problems in our administration, I am not even sure how many are actually aware of the reasons why they exist, but if we are to progress we have to address them. Tony Vieira
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Exposed: Bloated GuySuCo senior staffers were receiving ‘fat cat’ pay In the last decade or so, the slide of sugar has been highly evident with consecutive administrations pounding the dirt in frustration to reverse the tide. In 2009, the Bharrat Jagdeo administration gleefully commissioned the Skeldon modernization project, with the new factory alone costing over US$110M and the rest of the monies, almost US$80M, plugged into field expansion and other projects. However, the country’s biggest project then, never realized its potential with the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) forced to plug billions of dollars annually to keep the industry alive. Skeldon was sucking the lifeblood of GuySuCo and to compound matters, Guyana had to contend with a price cut in Europe, in keeping with announced measures by that EU bloc to free up the trade and do away with quota from which this country was benefitting. The cost of production, corruption with procurement, aging factories, strikes, absenteeism and poor agriculture all led to the industry producing at a cost almost three times more than
what it could sell for. In late 2016, the Coalition Government started its plans to stop the bleeding, first closing the century-old Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara and then last year, GuySuCo went ahead and shut its new factory at Skeldon, the iconic Rose Hall, and Enmore, the one remaining estate in the East Demerara area.Throughout it all, consecutive senior management has been accused of drawing down on all the perks while the industry slid to new, recordbreaking lows. Until now, there has been little information on what exactly the senior staffers were getting. What is known is that the former Chairman and then Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Rajendra Singh, was taking home at least $2.5M monthly, plus a host of benefits. Some critics tagged his salary and monthly benefits, including car, driver, housing, travelling and entertainment to total more than $5M monthly. He was let go in 2015. Errol Hanoman, who replaced him as CEO, was said to be benefitting from the same things.It appeared that the salaries and perks were
- remuneration was not linked to productivity
Former Human Resource Advisor, Earl John expected without any correlation to performance. In fact, according to GuySuCo’s records, in 2006, the industry produced almost 260,000 tonnes. It then started a steady slide to 186,755 in 2013, rising temporarily to 216, 358 tonnes in 2014; 231, 071 tonnes in 2015 and in 2016, it was a record low of 183,000 tonnes. It worsened last year to 140,000 tonnes. The conclusions by assessments were that
Current CEO (ag), Paul Bhim
Former CEO, Errol Hanoman
GuySuCo was top heavy with the industry bloated. In fact, last year, despite the closures of the four estates within a year, GuySuCo’s wage and salary bill was still a staggering $16B. It had reached $21B at one time for its 16,000-plus workers. That work force has been reduced to over 10,000 now. In 2015, following a change of leadership of the corporation, an Interim Management Committee (IMC) comprising of Hanoman, as Chief Executive Officer and Paul Bhim, as Finance Director, was in effect from June 3, 2015. The then Human
Resources Director, Jairam Petam, retired in May, 2015 and a Human Resources Management Adviser, Earl John, was appointed in December, 2015. Bloated According to figures seen by Kaieteur News, GuySuCo’s total salary and wage with allowances expense was over $16.1B. The basic salary and wage bill by the end of December was $8.74B with harvesters and other labourers down the pay scale accounting for $5.77B. Of the $8.7B, the salaries for senior staffers were $1.45B or 16 percent of the total basic salaries. Those figures are, of
course, without the benefits and allowances. Salaries for supervisors were significant at just over $1B or 11 percent of the total basic wage and salaries. According to information, Bhim, who is current Chief Executive Officer (ag), following the departure of Hanoman in December, and Earl John, as the Human Resource Advisor were receiving significant benefits and salaries. Their salaries ranged between $983,000 to almost $1.7M monthly. John was reportedly released recently during the ongoing restructuring. Their benefits, which would have added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars more, include entertainment and overtime allowance, company vehicles, leave passage of over $785,000; passage assistance for children in college; pension; crockery and linen allowance, medical assistance and examinations and membership fees. There would have been security too. The two top officials were also benefitting from six weeks annual leave, six days casual leave, and up to six months paid sick leave, less NIS benefits. There is also a housing and furnishing allowance. The Corporate Planner, (Continued on page 72)
Sunday March 25,2018
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Kaieteur News
Proposed oil production should be put on hold - Int’l Lawyer
A
rticle 149 J of the Constitution man dates that the Government shall protect the environment for the benefit of present and future generations. It is expected to do this through reasonable legislative and other measures designed to prevent pollution and environmental degradation among other things. Understanding the significance of this Article, citizens continue to voice their concern that the Government is not doing enough to protect Guyana from any environmental disaster that would likely result from ExxonMobil’s operations. In fact, international lawyer, Melinda Janki, told Kaieteur News that she believes the proposed oil production by ExxonMobil should be put on hold. She said that this is necessary since the Government has failed to “come clean” on several fronts.Janki said that an oil spill can have several devastating obligations on
Guyana’s economy as well as its neighbours. She said that from Government’s end, there is a deficit of information which would speak to how such matters would be dealt with. In light of this and other factors, Janki stressed that the Government has failed to live up to its obligations. The international lawyer then turned her attention to ExxonMobil’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which she finds to be quite questionable, leaving Guyana open to further risk. Janki noted that the EIA for the Liza well Phase 1 contains a scenario of a well blowout resulting in 20,000 barrels of oil for 30 days i.e. 600,000 barrels of oil. That is over 25 million gallons of oil. “In that scenario, how will Guyana cope with something that is more than double the size of an Exxon Valdez disaster? The marine environment in Alaska still has not recovered from the 1989 spill. A 2009 status report from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee
...Says this is necessary until Govt. can show what an oil spill could cost Guyana
International Lawyer, Melinda Janki Council found that the ‘Exxon Valdez oil persists in the environment and, in places, is nearly as toxic as it was the first few weeks after the spill. “Although two decades have passed, as much as 16,000 gallons of oil persists in the Sound’s intertidal zones, continuing to poison wildlife.” Janki added, “...So the Guyanese people are in a very
Dem boys seh...
Who collect and sell out Guyana? Anybody know de difference between an Ordinary Thief and a Political Thief? Dem boys seh de Ordinary Thief steals yuh money, bag, watch, gold chain, clothes pun yuh line and things like that. But, de Political Thief steals your future, yuh career, education, health and yuh business! The joke is: De Ordinary Thief does choose who fuh rob. But, you yuhself choose de Political Thief to rob you. The most ironic thing: De police will chase and ketch the Ordinary Thief. But, de Police will look after and protect the Political Thief! That’s the sickening reality of de society we live in! And, we blindly seh we are not blind! Dem boys seh de society more than blind. It deaf and dumb. Just imagine de govt sign some oil contracts and giveaway de whole shop to the people dem. Little or nutten in dem deals fuh Guyana. When dem boys talk Trotty tell the nation how he was ADVISED and INSTRUCTED to sign dem contracts— blindly. Well, well, well, de whole country want to know, who advise and instruct him do that? Fuh sure is not Soulja Bai, because dem boys re-
member when Soulja Bai had ee fuss TV interview on this subject. He seh he don’t believe ExxonMobil would do anything that would tarnish its Character. When dem boys hear those words from he mouth, right away dem boys seh this man is naive and is a church bai.He didn’t know ExxonMobil ain’t got no scruples and no character. Dem would even rob dem own mudda and do bad things to dem sister if dem get de chance.Dem boys will go to dem grave believing Soulja Bai didn’t know nutten about oil and dem oil companies. Dem boys also believe that he was conned, misled, and misinformed by the individuals who advised him to have such contract signed. Everybody know he couldn’t be de power broker in this whole oil deal. Trotty seh he was ADVISED and INSTRUCTED to sign. Who instruct him? Who are the real players behind it? Dem boys know de Baccoo play a big role in de advising. When dem boys start exposing de skullduggery de oil company did in odda countries, remember he is the man who tell the nation don’t believe those JOKERS who cussing out the oil company. He go till to Berbice and
tell dem up deh that de prolong cussing out of the oil company is unwarranted. He even call the Waterfalls paper people fools. This same man been pun TV and seh how de paper tek story from all over the world and printing it, yet he never refute a single story up to now. Dem boys hear de story that really touch ee nerve was when de paper report how ExxonMobil bribe govt officials around the world with Millions.\Now dem boys want to know why would politicians get upset about that if dem ain’t guilty of something. He must tell the nation about de e-mail he get from Exxon executive de same time that story print. Dem boys want ee explain how a company you negotiating with can send you an email which says… “Dis kind a exposure wah de paper doing does happen after we leff man not before.” Who back he watching? Whose interest he got at heart? He own or Guyana? Certainly not the people of Guyana, and the most important question is how much money pass. Talk half and hope you can read through de lines. Who collect and sell out Guyana?
risky and dangerous situation. We have been put there because the government has failed to take expert legal advice, expert financial advice and expert environmental advice. They are in breach of their legal obligations to the people of Guyana.” The lawyer further noted that Esso’s EIA also says that the prevailing currents are likely to take the oil northwest. So in addition to damaging Guyana, Janki stressed that the oil could also end up harming the nation’s neighbours in the Caribbean. With this in mind, Janki said that Guyana may well be in breach of its treaty obligations to other sovereign states. She said that trans-
boundary liability is a growing issue which does not appear to have been considered in the EIA. Janki stressed that a well blowout or a spill could wipe out all of the financial benefit that Guyana might get from the proposed oil production from the entire deal, not just from the Liza Phase 1. Each time a new phase is approved; Janki asserted that the risk to Guyana goes up. She said that this pro-
posed oil production should be put on hold until the government can show that they know what the cost to Guyana might be and that it is justifiable. Janki noted that given the aforementioned, there are indeed, grounds for the environmental permit to be challenged. Janki stressed that the Government of Guyana and the oil companies must respect the Constitution and other laws of Guyana.
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Cabinet still to see UK Security Sector Reform Report
T
he final Report of the Security Sector Reform Project (SSRP) which was prepared by British security expert, Lt. Col (Ret’d) Russell Combe is still to be discussed at the level of Cabinet. Combe handed over the report on January 18, last, to President David Granger, who hailed it as a monumental achievement for the coalition administration. Granger said that it aimed at addressing the root causes of crime and correcting the errors of over two decades of mismanagement of the security sector. Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, was asked by Kaieteur News whether implementation had started. He stated that the report is still with the President and has not been submitted to Cabinet.
“As you can see the President has been busy. I know he will bring the report to Cabinet shortly. When he does we will discuss it in full. We have to wait,” Ramjattan explained. The President has been critical of the former governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), pointing out that they have essentially ignored recommendations to improve the security sector over the years. He reminded that the US$4.7B programme was initially scrapped in 2009 by the PPP Administration after the British Government had requested to have oversight of the programme, to ensure that there was ‘value for money’. Granger noted that a number of Bills were passed in the National Assembly, various reports were submitted, but they were generally ignored.
President David Granger (right) receiving the report from British security expert, Russell Combe in January. Ramjattan assured that the president is not ignoring the
report, but it is a matter of time.President Granger had
indicated that in 2016 he met former UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, and made a request for security sector reform. Cameron agreed by facilitating Combe, an expert from the Olive Group, which was contracted by Engineering, Design, Construction, Management (AECOM), on behalf of the United Kingdom Government. Granger had said that the previous plans focused on the symptoms of crime rather than the root cause which, at that time, was narcotics trafficking. Granger had said that crime escalated because of the growing narcotics trafficking, which brought with it a horrific spate of violence that Guyana had never seen before. Combe, whose office was
housed at the Ministry of the Presidency during his oneyear tenure in Guyana, has received a commitment from the President that he will get a further contract extension through to 2019 to help implement the recommendations contained in the report. According to Combe, the report is a dynamic document that builds upon previous work and also a reference document for the various security sector players and actors. He noted that the report places emphasis on the Police Force. It includes recommendations for improvement of the criminal justice system, the Guyana Coast Guard and the Guyana Prison Service. The UK, Combe outlined, doesn’t want to see the report sitting on the shelf gathering dust.
Full Court sets convicted drug trafficker free - Cites evidence did not conclusively tie accused to the crime The Georgetown High Court has ruled in favour of an application to overturn the 60-month jail sentence of convicted drug trafficker, Dwayne King. King was jailed for 60 months for attempting to smuggle 2.9 kilogrammes of cocaine via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). According to the details of the case King, 33, of 165 Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, (WBD) was accused by United Kingdombased Guyanese girlfriend, Vanessa Moore of setting her up with the cocaine which was found in El Dorado rum bottles. He was found guilty of trafficking and sentenced to sixty months by Magistrate Judy Latchman. At the conclusion of his trial, Magistrate Latchman said she reached her decision based on the evidence presented by the prosecution’s eight witnesses, including Moore. The magistrate said she believed that King had access to the rum, despite his denials, and had sufficient time to place the drugs into the bottles. She said, too, that she believed that King used Moore and gained her trust so that she could smuggle the drugs out of the country for him. After the guilty verdict was handed down, King’s attorney, George Thomas, had asked the court to consider the fact that his client is a first time offender and his age. In sentencing, Magistrate Latchman stated that she took
Dwayne King into consideration the manner in which the drugs were concealed, the manner in which the defendant attempted to smuggle the drugs, the prevalence of the offence and the need to prohibit others from committing the said offence. King was therefore sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and fined $30,000. Following his sentence, the convicted drug trafficker, appealed to the Full Court of the High Court seeking an order to overturn the conviction. This week, Justices JoAnn Barlow and Sandil Kissoon in a Full Court decision pointed to what the Court considered to be speculation by the Magistrate in making a determination in King‘s case. In the ruling, the Court noted that speculation is not a practice that is accepted in law. The Court therefore surmised that the Magistrate needed to carefully consider the evidence before her. Jus-
tice Barlow pointed out that the matter is one of circumstantial evidence which should have high standards of consideration in making a decision. In making a determination, the Court noted that Magistrate Latchman should have carefully considered the evidence of King’s ex –girlfriend, (Moore) “as someone with an interest in the case or having an axe to grind,” since she was in prison when she implicated him in the crime. Moore was arrested at the CJIA after she was found with cocaine concealed in two bottles of El Dorado rum. Investigations later revealed that Moore had been in the company of King before she was apprehended and that the defendant had fled after the drugs were discovered. Moore had said that she had been given the two bottles of rum by King, who had asked her to deliver them to a friend in London. In making a determination last week, the Court noted that while King was implicated in the crime by his then partner, there was no conclusive evidence that he had placed the drugs in the cocaine-laced liquor. Taking those and other matters into consideration, the Full Court ruled setting King free of the conviction and sentence. During the matter before the High Court, King was represented by Attorney -at –Law, Lyndon Amsterdam. Attorney Natasha Backer presented on behalf of the State.
Sunday March 25,2018
Kaieteur News
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PAGE 12 Eastern fence of the dump site
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
New Kuru Kururu dumpsite for derelict vehicles close to realisation The Ministry of Public Infrastructure through its National Task Force Secretariat has begun the construction of a dumpsite at Kuru Kururu along the Linden Soesdyke Highway for the proper disposal of those derelict vehicles usually found stacked along roadways. The approximately $300M venture will serve as the precursor for similar sites across the country. Head of the Secretariat, Sewnauth Punalall, told the Department of Public
Information (DPI) that the move is aimed at ridding the environment of these encumbrances and disposing of them in an economical manner. “Very frequently we have machinery dumped by the roadside or other places and the few landfill sites which are in Guyana aren’t built to take on this kind of waste. So, in 2017 we embarked on this project and it is still ongoing at the moment, to have derelict vehicles disposed of in a costeffective way,” Punalall explained.
To date, some drainage works around the compound and the paving of the access road leading to the site with crusher run were completed. Most of the heavy-duty bridges and culverts have also been constructed. Punalall said other works are wrapping up. “The fencing would have to be completed, we have to put on the security lights. There’s a guard hut to be built and after that, it should be up and running.” The project should Continued on page 13
Head of the National Task Force, MOPI, Sewnauth Punalall
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Mass Communication key measure to promote metric system The Guyana National Bureau of Standards [GNBS] in its campaign to increase the use of the metric system has recently turned its attention to media houses. In this regard, GNBS by way of a letter informed media houses that the International System of Units [Metric] should be used while sensitizing the public about the usage of this system. This tactic the GNBS sees as useful since media houses are one of the most influential information providers to the public. “Media houses and advertising agencies are very influential in changing the behaviours of citizens and there must be renewed and dedicated efforts to use the SI [Metric] system of measurements in mass communication. The GNBS stands ready to provide the necessary information and training in this regard,” said the GNBS. The metric system was January 1, 2002 instituted as the legal system of measurement. As a result only metric units such as grams and kilograms [for solid] and litres and millilitres [for liquid] and centimetres and metres [for length] should be used for determining and expressing measurement quantities. According to the GNBS, it has observed that some media houses and advertising agencies are making the effort to use the metric system in their media reporting and advertising. As such the GNBS
“congratulates these agencies for being leaders in the promotion and use of the SI [Metric] Units in Guyana.” “Notwithstanding this, still there are other mass information providers which have not yet embraced the use of the metric units. If your agency is among this group, all efforts must be made to discourage and discontinue the use of the imperial system of measurement,” said the GNBS in a statement. Over the years the GNBS has been working to make vendors and shopkeepers aware of the metric system and has been monitoring them to make sure the right metric systems were being used. “Now it is up to mass media agencies to play their part in this integration,” GNBS has noted. The Metric System which is used today by many countries across the globe is used in science, industry, and medicine. In addition to this it is said to be very easy and convenient to use. Guyana previously used the imperial system but as the advancement of the modern world increased it was instituted in the legal system of Guyana in 2002. The reason for this was because it’s easy to comprehend decimal nature. The GNBS has been raising awareness in light of its observation that there is an increase in the issues relating to people converting to metric systems.
New Kuru Kururu dumpsite... From page 12 conclude within another two months, in the interim, Punalall is urging owners of these trailers and vehicles to avoid leaving them along the roadways as this can lead to serious hazards. Some of the areas overburdened with agricultural machinery and other discarded vehicles are those along the East Coast Demerara (ECD), Crabwood Creek and New Amsterdam. Last month, in an effort to improve safety while reducing damage to government reserves, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had embarked on a project to remove these vehicles left on roadways. However, several persons have been contending that there is no available place for the proper disposal of the vehicles.
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
GRA slaps Ogle Airport Inc with $30M tax from ‘not for profit’ flight school Ogle Airport Inc has bought shares in an engineering school that was previously sanctioned by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) as a tax evading body. The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School was originally established as a “not for profit” organization owned by the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG). At that time Michael Correia, the Chairman of Ogle Airport Inc, was the
association’s president. Despite being established 25 years ago, the school was only registered in 2010. Its certificate of registration dated 24th February, 2010 listed its sole director as Anthony Mekdeci, who is also a director of Ogle Airport Inc and the CEO of the Eugene F. Correia International Airport. The address of the AOAG is listed as Caribbean Aviation Maintenance Services (CAMS), a company owned by the Correia family.
The school, whilst operating as a ”not for profit,” was contracted by Ogle Airport Inc. to provide mandatory training to the staff of all the aircraft operators at the airport. The aircraft operators were also required to make payment for the training to Ogle Airport Inc. instead of the AOAG that supposedly owned the school. This suggested that the school was registered as a not for profit in order for it to
avoid the financial compliance and having to submit audited financials. An incorporated company would have had to submit its yearly financials. Kaieteur News understands that a past chairman of the school had discovered that mechanical tools for the students were being sourced from staff when it would have been much more affordable to do so from hardware stores. There were cases of unjustified sole sourcing of
OAI Director, Michael Correia services. He brought these concerns to the attention of the relevant administration and instead of the concerns being addressed and corrected he was terminated by email on Friday, 4th April, 2014. Subsequently, the Guyana Revenue Authority became aware of the tax avoidance that was taking place and an audit on the school as a business entity was conducted. This audit established that a large amount of unpaid taxes was outstanding. Kaieteur News understands that GRA instructed the school to pay over $30M in back taxes. When GRA made its pronouncements, a strategic planning retreat of the AOAG was held on the 4th December, 2014 in the boardroom of CAMS. Item three on the agenda was listed as incorporation of the school as a business
entity. The association President, still Michael Correia, then invited and accepted subscriptions for a new company in the name of Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School Inc. which was registered on the 16th April, 2016 in the names of Michael Correia, Anthony Mekdeci and Malcolm Chan A. Sue. Correia, Mekdeci and Chan-A-Sue then invited OAI to subscribe for shares in this entity, which OAI took up allegedly without the permission of its board. Kaieteur News is in possession of a letter from Correia that chronicles the series of events. The letter was sent to persons whom Correia wanted to buy shares in the school. He told this group that the money from the sale of the school would have been used to pay off the owed taxes.
Father drowns while saving daughters
The dead Latchman Benjie A father drowned Saturday afternoon while trying to save his two daughters aged, four and five after the boat they were in capsized in the Essequibo River. The dead man has been identified as Latchman Benjie, a farmer of Jawalla Village, Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven. According to reports, Benjie and his two daughters went to his farm earlier in the day and were returning home to Waramadong in the afternoon. Benjie and his two daughters were in a canoe when it capsized with them.
This publication was informed that after Benjie realized his daughters were drowning he pushed them as close as possible to shore. A man who was nearby at the time heard the children screaming and upon looking into the water saw them holding on to mangroves and rescued them. By this time Benjie had disappeared. According to information at the time when the boat capsized, Benjie was wearing long boots which may have caused him to drown. Benjie’s body was pulled from the water early yesterday morning in the Kamarang River.
Sunday March 25, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Tax returns were not reviewed for years After conducting some internal assessments, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has found that for several years, tax returns were not reviewed. GRA’s Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, recently confirmed this in an interview with Kaieteur News. He said that the system governing tax returns was flawed and steps have been taken to correct it. Statia also explained that businesses have been slipping under the radar with regard to their operations for some time. He said that there are several factors which should have been looked at by the authority but they were ignored. The Commissioner General said that based on the files of certain companies, assessments are supposed to be done on the major shareholders, the related parties who are doing the supplying and the directors “because you are looking at inter-company transactions and so forth”.
The tax chief said, “What you had over the years is that the people were not doing a review (of the statements coming in). The system was flawed. So the information came in, went into TRIPS and the return was filed. But you skipped a step…” Statia added, “We have found companies saying they are noncommercial when they are commercial…In that case; you are robbing the nation 10 percent of the taxes you were supposed to pay. These are some of the simple things that you pick up every day.” Statia noted, however, that with an efficient IT system, the GRA would be in a position to look at the industry’s norms and make the necessary comparisons. FLAWED IT SYSTEM The Guyana Revenue Authority failed to implement critical parts of an IT system for almost ten years. The consequences of the entity’s actions in this regard contributed to billions of dollars in revenue leakages
…GRA Boss says system now being corrected
GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia and even rampant corruption. Statia is now racing to implement measures that would bring an end to unjust practices that resulted from the GRA’s past actions. Statia explained that the IT system referred to as the Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS),
was intended to merge all departments by having a common database where all tax records could be scanned or entered into the system and found when needed. It was introduced with the aim of boosting efficiency in the assessment, collection and accounting for revenue. TRIPS comprises of two core applications: Taxes and Customs, which share information with each other and each application encompasses a total of 13 modules. The CUSTOMES MODULES include Lodgment; Data Entry; Goods Inspection/ Enforcement, Valuation and Document Check, Risk Profiling, Cashiering, Release,
Remissions, and Warehouse. The TAX Modules include Taxpayer Identification, Tax, Accounting, Audit, Reports/ Notices/Certificates. Statia noted however that since all of the modules were not implemented, the “TRIPS system was just tripping.” The GRA Commissioner General said that the Authority has been trying to implement TRIPS completely since 2007. He said disappointingly, that the entity spent over US$4M on the IT system and it is still not up to date. Furthermore, the TAX chief said that the failure to implement all of the modules affected the entity to a large extent.
He explained, “In the olden days, it used to be a manual system and it worked up to a particular point. So you know for sure that if TRIPS is in place, the IT system would help you to do a lot of these things. If you have the right IT software, half of your work is completed. “You would be able to do proper audits and these things, and at the touch of a button you would be able to recognize what is wrong and what is right; whether a taxpayer has complied…” The Tax Chief continued, “Unfortunately, you can’t do that with the present system and that has gone on for the last 10 years. That was probably one of the reasons (continued on page 16)
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
US deadline looms in September for local food manufacturers New US regulations governing how manufacturers handle food that is being traded with that country are coming into effect from September. The regulations could very well see a number of local manufacturers losing markets there unless they comply. The issue was brought to the fore recently when the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), in collaboration with the Food Technology Programme of the Cooperation Extension Service of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, recently concluded two training programmes. The training, according to GMSA, examined in detail the requirements of US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for companies that manufacture foods for sale in the US.
The most comprehensive revision of the food safety laws in the US for over 50 years, the final regulations to implement major provisions of the FSMA were published in November 2015. “Companies of differing sizes were given various times to implement these regulations. The date for compliance for the Preventive Controls for Human Food rule of the FSMA, which applies to all food manufacturers who sell or distribute food in the US, started in September 2016 for large companies. “It extends to September 2018 for very small companies. After September 2016, all companies exporting processed foods to the US must be compliant.” The two courses, Hazard Analysis & Risk Based Preventive Controls for Human Food and Principles of Food Hygiene & Food
Participants at the recent training on food safety. Safety, were held from March 6 to March 8, 2018 at the Roraima, Duke Lodge. ‘ GMSA said that the courses discussed the key requirements for developing and implementing a Food Safety Plan compliant with the requirements of the Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule and the modernized Good Manufacturing Practices that go with these preventive controls. According to GMSA, 36 participants were drawn from 12 large and small food
manufacturing companies and agencies in Guyana. “These participants now meet the training requirements for Preventive Controls Qualified Individual, who can develop and apply a food safety plan meeting Preventive Controls for Human Foods requirements and for Qualified Individual for all who manufacture, process, pack or hold food.” Present at the opening of the training programmes was Sandra Zuniga Guzman, Economic and Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. She highlighted the urgency for local food manufacturers to meet the requirements of the FSMA, as these regulations will be enforced for all companies
shortly. “She noted that if these requirements are not met, companies could see potential difficulties in the export of their processed foods to the United States, and encouraged all companies to see the training as an opportunity for timely compliance.” Clem Duncan, Director of the GMSA, l a u d e d t h e collaboration between GMSA and the University of Hawaii and urged participants to make the best use of the training programmes. The course instructor, Dr. Aurora Saulo, is a Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Technology of the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Dr. Saulo is a food scientist with extensive experience working in and advising many food manufacturing companies ranging from Fortune 500 companies to very small operations. She is a Lead Instructor of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) that developed the only standardized curriculum recognized by the US FDA to meet FSMA training requirements for preventive controls for human food, and has conducted similar courses on a number of occasions in the US, the Philippines and Samoa. The issue would come amidst news that US has restricted the importation of Catfish from Guyana, including Gilbacka.
Tax returns were not reviewed... From page 15 why the GRA has been in such decay. It was in a state of decay.” Statia added, “What I did now is instead of them using an entire TRIPS system, I said, ‘Concentrate on the internal revenue modules.’ And we are going to go to the
Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).” The GRA Commissioner General said that the ASYCUDA system will cost just about US$2.5M. As for TRIPS, he said, “We must get something out of what we have paid for, so while we are moving to
ASYCUDA for customs and we will keep (aspects of) TRIPS... In that way we would be able to turn up certain things faster. For instance we expect that people must be able to E-file their tax returns for 2018…” Statia added, “If TRIPS used to work you could have been doing all your applications online. So you could have applied for your compliance online… but in the absence of that, we will be exploring other things in its place.” Additionally, Statia had updated the media on the ASYCUDA system stating that Cabinet has already given the approval for the funds. The new programme is slated for implementation within two months. “So with that new system you will reduce collusion and under-invoicing and you would get a smooth system,” the Commissioner General told the media.
Sunday March 25,2018
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Kaieteur News
---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---
The PNC governmental leadership has undermined the spirit of the Coalition This column previously appeared in the Guyana Chronicle. The writer is now a contributor to the Kaieteur News.
S
ince the discontinu ation of the Hinds and Lewis columns in the Guyana Chronicle two weeks ago, there has understandably been some discussion in the media on the merits and demerits of what has turned out to be more that a “little issue.” Anyone with an ounce of political sense and knowledge of Guyanese politics could have predicted such a reaction. After all, the two columnists are fairly wellknown politically. Those who ordered the removal of the columns either didn’t care about the backlash, simply have no political sense, or a combination of the two. Most of those who have weighed in on the issue have called attention to the political dimension, including the role of the State-owned media and the worrying phenomenon of official disrespect for the right to free speech. Suffice to say that one thing is certain—this current government has gone the way of others before it in the crude misuse of the state media for partisan purposes and its disrespect for dissent. Contrary to what some of the commentators, including the former president Donald Ramotar, would have us believe, there was good reason to believe that this government would at a minimum behave differently when it comes to treating with political critique and criticism, and the democratic management of power. It came to power against the background of five decades of authoritarian rule in a country that has the reputation of the most undemocratic state in the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has had a long and sad history of authoritarian governance. The PNC
took party paramountcy and one-party governance to absurd levels and in the process inevitably reached for systemic brutality, including naked violence, as an instrument of governance. The PPP retained that instrument and added to it undisguised ethnic domination and the criminalization of the State. It means therefore that our political culture had become prone to authoritarian rule. We changed governments but retained the authoritarian regime. The task then was how to alter the regime and democratize it. That is why ousting the PPP in 2015 was a revolutionary act which began in 2011 with the denial of a parliamentary majority—a job that was finished in 2015 with the wresting of the presidency. This was deemed unthinkable before 2011—the ethnic dynamics rendered it almost impossible. The PNC could not rig its way to power as it did in the 1960s—times had changed. It therefore took a difficult but necessary political realignment to make that change. A majority of the electorate had to be convinced that it was doable, and that the new incarnation of the PNC could be trusted to break with its past, once in government. The realignment took the form of Partnership Politics— a clear and present alternative to the One-Party rule of the PPP and its predecessor. So, May 2015 was not just the electoral defeat of a party, it carried with it the burden of defeating five decades of abuse of power and taking Guyanese for granted. One was therefore justified in being at least cautiously optimistic about the new government. There were four deterrents to open authoritarianism that gave reason to believe that we could do better with the APNU-AFC government. First, since the PPP had taken the country so far to the edge, it was unlikely that its successor would want to
emulate that mode of governance, at least in the short to medium term. Second, unlike previous governments, this one included forces with demonstrated track records of defence against tyranny and advocacy of democratic rule. Third, no government from its first day in office has faced the kind of public scrutiny from the opposition, the media and civil society as this one. Fourth, given its very slim majority of one seat and 4,000 votes, the government would obviously be very wary of doing anything to alienate any section of the electorate. The question one must ask, therefore, is what has gone wrong in three short years to make this government show an inclination towards high-handed rule. Freddie Kissoon has raised the issue of a creeping dictatorship—a suggestion that we would be foolish to ignore. My study of Guyana’s political history and the history of similar societies tells me that despite the four deterrents mentioned above, we are still in the authoritarian zone. The problem to my mind lies in the state of the partnership. The PNC-WPA pact in the form of APNU has been undermined by the governmental section of the PNC leadership. I make the distinction between the governmental and the non-governmental sections, because there is not always harmonization between the two. This is a trend that started with Hoyte when he took power and was perfected by Jagdeo, whereby the section of the party in the Cabinet and high government councils drive the direction of the party, with the non-governmental being merely passengers. This is the case with the present PNC—the section of the PNC that fought for and built APNU is not in government. The bulk of the PNC ministers had nothing to do with building APNU—they were either not around or were not supportive of moving towards
The Baccoo Speaks One of the prisoners who escaped from Lusignan a few months ago would be captured in the hinterland. He was one of two who remained at large because of the support they got from various quarters. He would be living quietly and working when a visitor to the area would spot him and report to the police. ** Domestic violence is
always with us. A man would accuse his woman of infidelity but despite the denials of the
woman the situation would turn ugly. Neighbours would hesitate to get involved but one of them will. ** The roads are always fraught with danger, especially when the driver is as careless as the one who will cause a crash. Investigations would reveal that he was banned, but some people always believe in chances.
a partnership. And the Cabinet is the only decision-making council of the Coalition. Even before taking office, the new PNC leadership decided on a strategy of using APNU to get into office and then govern as PNC. This was pursued partly to calm the fears of those members who feared the emergence of APNU would weaken the party, and partly to continue the ideology of party paramountcy, which never died in the PNC. This strategy was carried over into the relationship with the AFC. This was not unexpected given the way big parties tend to operate in coalitions with smaller parties. The WPA’s leadership was well aware of this strategy but felt that the removal of the PPP - which had become an existential threat to the country’s well-being - was a far more pressing consideration at that time. Looking back, I think that the WPA may have underestimated the extent to which some PNC leaders were determined to actualize that strategy. There were also other objective considerations that
came into play, such as the popularity of the government when it first came to power, the concern that WPA could be seen as spoilers, and limited, if any, delegate-representation in Cabinet. So here we are in 2018 with the call to put the continuation of the WPA in government on the agenda. One PNC official has dismissed this call, suggesting that the WPA’s exit would not make a difference. One WPA leader has declared that he does not support the WPA’s exit. Where this goes would be determined in the coming months. The AFC, which played a big role in the discontinuation of the Lewis and Hinds columns—a matter I plan to elaborate on in the not too distant future— would be drawn into this debate by default. For now, any suggestion of the PNC winning an election by itself at both the local and the national levels is pure fiction. They say the AFC and WPA need the PNC. I say the PNC equally needs the WPA and the AFC. Guyana is better of with the PNC-AFC-
Dr David Hinds WPA than with the PPP. But the survival of that partnership will depend on the PNC governmental leadership altering its strategy of unvarnished Coalition dominance and the AFC and WPA asserting themselves separately, and together, on this issue. I end with this—the chatterers must ask themselves why the WPA is the most talked about six-man party in the world. More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
The woman mutilator and Ann Bollers By Michael Jordan Monsters don’t only live in fairy tales. Just ask Emily Bollers’ children. They believe that she was terrorized, and finally murdered, by a monster of sorts, a type of modern-day, Guyanese ‘Bluebeard’, who seemed to relish using a knife on his lovers; whose close relatives would become anxious every time he started a fresh relationship. Most of us first learnt of him in 2013 after he allegedly put over 20 knife wounds in a teenage girl. But this trail of violence may have begun much earlier. Prison officials say that he served a ten-year stretch around 1991 for trying to murder a woman. He was also twice remanded for stabbing two other women. It is said that one of the victims was a policewoman, and that he attacked her in a nightclub. What is almost certain is that he’s killed at least two women. In 2000, he started a relationship with an attractive woman named Emily Ann Bollers. He was 51 and drove a minibus; she was a 37-yearold licenced caterer who worked at a food establishment. Along with Bollers’ 15year-old daughter, Oneika Baptiste, and 12-year-old son, Lexton Williams, the couple moved into the bottom-flat of a house at Lot 130 Fourth Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara. From what the landlord told me, the couple was constantly arguing, and the landlord developed a fear of his male tenant, who allegedly threatened him when he asked for his rent. Bollers’ two small children were also terrified of their mother’s companion, and could only watch helplessly as their mother was subjected
The weed-clogged trench in which the killer dumped Ann Bollers.
throat had been slit. The dead woman was Ann Bollers. Police immediately sought to question the slain woman’s paramour, but he was nowhere to be found. But the suspect had contacted an employee at Bollers’ workplace by phone on the very day that her body had been found. According to reports, the man enquired about the caterer’s whereabouts, and then queried whether the workplace had caller ID. Eventually, police located Bollers’ boyfriend. The reports of his violent nature, and the fact that he had argued with the victim and had followed her on the night of her disappearance, made him the prime suspect. But that was not enough for the cops to pin a murder charge on their suspect. After 72 hours, police were eventually forced to release him. To this day, Bollers’ children are convinced that this man killed their mother and got away with it. But maybe, not quite. In 2013, someone butchered a teenage girl in a depressed community. Emily Ann Bollers’ former paramour was arrested and charged for that murder. At the time, he’d been involved in a relationship with the victim’s mother. Those who know him well hope that he never sees the outside of a prison again.
Ann Bollers to an almost daily dose of viol e n c e . ”I used to be so afraid of this guy…I watched that man literally try to break my mother’s jaw,” the son, Lexton Williams, told me. “I recall one time the neighbours called the police and they locked him up for the night. He beat my mother every day and she was afraid of him.” Williams’ sister, Oneika Baptiste, appeared to have narrowly escaped the man’s clutches. It happened one day when she was home alone with her mother’s boyfriend. ”He was being verbally abusive to me and saying things that would make you believe that we were in a relationship. She alleged that the man shut the front door in an attempt to corner her in the house. She managed to flee through the back door with only one of her shoes on. She never returned to the house. Neighbours later claimed that the lover would beat Ann Bollers practically every day, while accusing her of having an affair. Ann Bollers had reportedly once worked as a caterer for an Ambassador, but was
Ms. Bollers and her violent partner lived in the bottom-flat of this house.
at the time employed as a cook with another establishment. Her live-in boyfriend reportedly tried to track her every movement. It is alleged that the obsessive man would often accompany Bollers to her workplace and even wait there until she was ready to go home.
It was said that he would sometimes even sleep on a bench when she was working late. On the night of Wednesday, February 21, 2001, the boyfriend began quarreling with Ann Bollers. At around 3.00 a.m., on Thursday, February 22, 2001, as the argument continued, Ms. Bollers left the home. This apparently further incensed her partner, who reportedly began cutting up her clothing and other belongings. The boyfriend left the home shortly after.
Ann’s son, Lexton, remembers that night well. “I saw her leave the house and I never saw her back.” At around nine a.m. on Friday, February 23, 2001, a group of children walking along a dam, some 200 yards from Ann Bollers’ residence, noticed two hands sticking out of a nearby trench. Alerted by the commotion, neighbours rushed to the scene and pulled a woman’s body out of the trench. The victim’s body bore marks of violence and her
If you have any information about this unusual case, please contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location. We can be reached on telephone numbers 2258458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or 225-8473. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan on 6452447; or at his email add r e s s e s : mjdragon@hotmail.com or kamarangnight@gmail.com
Sunday March 25,2018
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Kaieteur News
==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
When I was young, I would have kicked that thing down
Y
outh is uncontrol lably rebellious (if you believe in God then maybe you can ask him why Guyana has the most sheepish, silly, youth population in the entire world). When you are young you are impatient with societal backwardness. You scream and kick against the wrong things you see in your country. If I were the rebellious youth I was when I was a UG student, I would have kicked that thing down on Friday morning on the Camp Road seawall, instead of gently removing it. On Friday morning, Guyanese drivers woke up to the news on radio, television and in the print media that a number of roads would be closed because of the engineering of Guyana’s first roundabout in the vicinity of the Kitty pump station and adjoining areas. One of the closed roads was Carifesta Avenue. So the advisory instructed drivers travelling east on Young
Street to make a right detour and use Thomas Road or a left detour and use the seawall road. My matutinal walk with my dog on the Eve Leary seawall starts at the bandstand. I go eastward. On Friday morning when I reached Camp Road outside the Eve Leary police headquarters, there was evidence of vehicular confusion. Drivers knew they could use the seawall road to go east. But there was a barrier at the junction of the seawall road and Camp Road blocking passage to go east with a huge sign that says, “Road closed for construction ahead.”How do you explain this contradiction – an advisory to use the road because Carifesta Avenue is closed to eastbound traffic and a barrier that prevents you from using it? Here is the answer, and I know this because I am a matutinal fixture at that site. Last week, they stopped traffic going east on the seawall road
because of the roundabout, thus the barrier. A few days ago they completed what they had to do, so drivers could now go east. But the cordon and sign remained. Now the police and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (some smartass in the Cabinet thought he/she was being innovative in changing the name from Public Works) knew that travel was now allowed eastward on the seawall road, but they didn’t remove the sign. As I reached Camp Road, I saw the confusion. Some drivers were going through, others turned back. I stood on the wall and shouted; “it’s okay, you can go through; there is a notice in the newspaper today.” But some drivers were confused. A man and his wife stopped to ask me if I was sure. While the man was talking to me a lady behind him was annoyed and she kept blowing. I think she knew the road was opened. Quite a number of cars were deterred
by the sign. I jumped off the wall, moved the barrier, and braced it against the wall. When I was young, I would have kicked that thing down in anger, in protest against the incompetent people that administer my country. Countless drivers were put out by the misleading sign. What about the 4-yearold misleading sign at Young Street and Camp Road? I mentioned the Ministry of Public Infrastructure above; read what is to follow. A year ago, I told senior editor of this newspaper Leonard Gildarie about a conspiracy. Massy built an arch as a gift to Guyana at Cummings Lodge at a cost of forty million. The same company is opening up a massive supermarket on the old high-
way I call the Atlantic highway. That is on the same site with Movie Towne’s cinema structure. You could only get to the supermarket by travelling west on the highway. I told Gildarie I heard that the government will construct a brand new road to link the supermarket and the cinema complex being built right there by Movie Towne on the one-way highway to the Railway Embankment, as a return gift to Massy. There is no road link between the Railway Embankment and the Atlantic highway where I live. The supermarket is going up directly opposite my home. The three connections are Sheriff Street, Conversation Road, and UG Road. Those roads allow you to go north and catch the Atlantic
Frederick Kissoon highway allowing you to go east or west. The government is currently building a new road opposite my home. It leads right into the Massy supermarket and cinema complex. There is no other building or house on that road. It serves the supermarket and cinema complex only. I guess an arch for a road was the name of the game.
PAGE 28
As far back as we can remember, the Customs Administration and Inland Revenue Departments have had a hellish time trying to ameliorate and ultimately root out ‘endemic corruption’ in the state’s revenue collection operations. Successive GRA Commissioners General and governments’ Cabinets have fired generations of high ranking and mid-level officials, replacing them with professionals who everyone hoped would turn the tide, change the culture, clean house to safeguard the nation’s earnings from import and export transactions. Unfortunately it has never worked. Old bad habits, it seems, die hard. In the past we have seen monitoring systems changed completely. Staffers have been rotated in, out and around frequently to try to limit their contact (or repeated contact) with importers and other citizens conducting business with the GRA. Multimillion dollar container scanners have been installed
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
along with modern high tech equipment and systems designed to diminish tax avoidance by tax payers. Newer operational systems were also instituted, especially to detect age-old under-invoicing, and misstatement of the contents of barrels, crates, boxes, containers, etc. Still corruption in most every section of the revenue authority remains rampant. Another serious bugbear besetting the collection agency could be interpreted as Customs Administration Department officers helping certain business owners – retailers and wholesalers – to surge ahead of competitors. They do this by assigning priority to these entrepreneurs’ shipments, while finding all sorts of spurious reasons to detain the shipments of certain business rivals, or assigning additional charges (which end up in the officers’ pockets) to their goods. Or course, those who benefit from such ‘favours’ skewer the balance in the commercial sector
because of their ability to undersell. They could affect the in-country balance of trade, and one could assume that their selfishness affects national unemployment statistics. So we learnt last week that the current Executives at the GRA, along with the Board of Directors have made moves to reshuffle senior and midlevel operatives. The intention, as always, is to render the collection system more efficient, more easily monitored, less prone to corruption, and able to inspire confidence in a very jaded public that has grown tired of the reported and experienced malfeasances that have been part of the course for decades. We learnt that the Authority was recently forced to terminate the services of more than 100 staffers. Their dismissals were reportedly caused by acts of corruption and graft. Some were cited for participating in activities that cheated the State out of millions of dollars for years! Those sums, when
aggregated, were enough to repair a few roads, build new health centres or new bridges, upgrade several community centres and playgrounds, or bought more tablets and computers for primary schools and their students. That money could have done much more for the growth and comfort of citizens. Led by Finance and Tax expert as well as Attorney-atLaw, Godfrey Statia, the Executive of the GRA ought to be commended for having the bravado to take down such a strongly entrenched system. They did a good thing, especially since Guyana is about to enter a new phase of transformation into an oil and gas economy. At this time, agencies like the GRA really should be focused almost entirely on laying a foolproof foundation for collecting every dollar that Guyana is due from its new hydrocarbon industry. Instead, GRA’s management is forced to expend excess energy on weeding out corruption, malfeasance and collusion among staffers at every level. Well, their apparent intention to institute new intelligence-led and technology-led systems deserves a Hurrah! We’ve been hearing about the SWAPS and ASYCUDA
systems that are possibly being considered for implementation in Guyana. These high tech systems will keep staff and the business community physically separate. Both of these systems are working well in our sister Caribbean nations as well as in very developed countries around the world. Commissioner General (CG) Statia is always adamant about the positions he takes. He has vowed to walk away if he is not allowed to turn the GRA around, to get rid of officers who seem bent on continuing to corrupt the agency and the new staff, as they have been doing for many years. This is the CG’s priority number one! The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pointed the Authority to several discernible systemic weaknesses and Mr. Statia assures us that these are being corrected with alacrity. The identified weaknesses include functional limitations in the Information Technology, especially the eTransaction system; weak filing, payment compliance and controls; and a decentralized audit case selection process. Also high on the CG’s agenda for transformation is
the transfer of the GRA’s headquarters to a location that is more customer-friendly. The general public deserves better than they are receiving at the current Camp Street location. Space is a luxury inside the building. Parking facilities are non-existent. Camp St. traffic is snarled in front of the GRA every minute of the business day. Sometimes one gets the image of a sports betting parlour on entering the building where people loudly compete for space and they could be heard yelling for attention. So even before first oil comes by the first quarter of 2020 as we have been assured, the GRA’s primary role may mean a paradigm shift. This could translate into additional fully staffed Departments to focus solely on revenue collection from the many O&G companies exploring, drilling and transporting hydrocarbons, as well as the shore-based enterprises, including a possible oil refinery. Mr. Statia has the goodwill of a fed-up populace as his tail wind. Like he and his new team, we all want the GRA to deliver a more efficient public service, one that is less prone to corruption.
Sunday March 25,2018
PAGE 29
Kaieteur News
My column
Madness prevails in the society
A
few weeks ago there was a most devastating fire in Kitty. Four homes were destroyed and another two were scorched. What emerged were a series of human interest factors. There was a girl hysterically asking her mother where would they live and most touching of all was the question, “How will I go to school?” Those scenes were captured on camera and reported on by me. There was also a little boy just standing at the scene in shock until he was removed by Minister Simona Broomes. There were other heart-rending scenes. Two days ago I got a letter from the entity that claims to monitor what is broadcast, citing me for showing those scenes. The author of the letter, at least I think so, accused me of being irresponsible for showing those scenes. That very entity also cited me a few years ago for showing bloodstains on the roadway after an accident. I would like to see the guidelines used by this entity. I could have understood if there were violent scenes. I could also understand if the language was foul, but to
claim that I should not have shown the plight of the children was stupid. Suffice it to say that those scenes touched people’s heart strings and caused many to respond to the plight of the victims. I hear the radio or what passes for radio, every day, and some of the topics, to my mind, are best left for people who enjoy a gossip in the privacy of their homes. One programme left nothing to the imagination when the presenters spoke about illicit love affairs. There was advice to the “other woman”. These programmes are still on the air, so I would suppose that the monitoring agency finds nothing wrong with that. That is inconsistency at best and utter madness at worse. But then again, I can only assume that people must find something to write about when they have nothing to do. There were times when the newspapers stepped out of line by publishing gruesome images including dead bodies; addresses and photographs of where rape victims lived. Are photographs of the result of beatings
against the law? I have seen battered women, some so battered that I winced. Yet I have never once seen a criticism from the monitoring authority. I am going to request a list of the broadcast rules in the new week, and I am going to bet that these would not be presented, because there seems to be none. Another issue that upsets me is the large number of grown men who molest little girls, some no more than babies. I am a grown man who raised girls. I bathed my daughters and my nieces and found nothing sexual about the interaction. But I must be different. There is the case of a former policeman who is before the court for raping a girl of three. What was going through his mind? Now that this sordid tale is before the public how is he feeling and how is he coping in the society in which he lives? There have been others, too many to contemplate, to the extent that Guyana must be the child rape capital of the world. I am not going to recount the countless incidents, but for sure I am going to laud the judges who
handed down those stiff sentences. How can this society explain a girl of eleven getting pregnant? She is not even a teenager. One medical official said that the father of the child should be prosecuted, but more often than not the girl does not disclose the identity of the man. But I say all the law enforcers have to do is to visit the community in which the child lives. There will be a great shock when in cases the father is the culprit. This may sound far-fetched but it isn’t. Head of the Child Protection Agency, Ann Greene, said that she has seen so many cases but that she is often left helpless. For starters, the mothers would not allow the child to speak with the authorities. Then if the matter is to go to court, the victim more often than not would not answer the question by pretending not to understand. On occasions the culprit
would simply disappear and the community would pretend not to know his whereabouts. But there are others who seem to go searching for these children. They are the pedophiles in our midst. There was the case of one getting killed in South Sophia. He had been arrested for molesting a child and granted bail when he appeared in court. He returned to the community, attempted to molest the same child, and died violently. The only satisfying factor for me is the treatment such people get when they are sent to jail. All over the world, prisoners deal condignly with child molesters. These are men who would do many cruel things, but they seem to have some respect for children. I remember the Blanchard fellow who killed his three children. When he was remanded, some prisoners got hold of him. His distraught
Adam Harris sister told me that someone called her to let her hear the beating. That was the first he got. Later he got another and vowed to kill himself. I hope that this continues for the many who are still outside. Of course the penalty is jail, but in some countries there is medical castration. I propose that once one of them is found guilty, he should be castrated then made to serve jail time. It is nice to have such criminals converted to hens.
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Re-discovering the new world of the Americas (Address by H.E. President David Granger to the XXIV Inter-American Congress of Ministers and HighLevel Authorities on Tourism on March 21, 2018)
T
he Americas are the ‘new world.’ The Americas are different from the ‘old’ worlds of Africa, Asia and Europe. History records how a motley crew of eighty-eight undocumented European sailors landed on an island in the Bahamas here in the Caribbean 525 years ago on 12th October 1492. The trickle of visitors turned into a torrent. The Americas are unique in world history. They possess spectacular attractions. They have more than the traditional Mediterranean and Pacific sun, sand and sea tour-
ism. They are rich in cultural diversity. The immigrants, together with the indigenous peoples, have woven a fantastic fabric of faiths, festivals and foods. The Americas are endowed with un-spoilt islands, highlands, grasslands, wetlands, waterfalls, lakes, rivers and rainforests which are the habitat of unmatched flora and wildlife. The Americas must protect and preserve these priceless assets for the benefit of present and future generations. The Americas, despite their just wars of independence and a few civil wars, are a hemisphere of relative peace in today’s turbulent world. The promotion of sustainable tourism initiatives and the marketing of the Americas as a ‘zone of peace,’ in a world with so many wars and conflicts should be subjects for consideration by this
Congress.The protection of the Americas’ patrimony – its natural assets, its cultural diversity and this blissful state of peace – is the bedrock of sustainable tourism. The tourism industries must be protected from the perils of transnational threats such as cybercrime and trafficking in drugs, guns and people. Security cooperation against transnational threats will make our societies safer. Guyana likes to describe itself as “a continental country with Caribbean characteristics.” It is the only Englishspeaking country on the continent of South America and can be a ‘gateway’ to the Continent for the goods, services and peoples of the South to markets and destinations in the Caribbean, Central America and North America. Guyana’s commitment to hemispheric integration is
manifested in its membership of hemispheric organizations – the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Association of Caribbean States (ACS); Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR); Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC); Organization of America States (OAS) and the Union of South American States (UNASUR). Guyana describes itself, also, as the ‘green state’ – one that practises sustainable development by harnessing its rich natural capital, unique biodiversity and diverse ecosystems. The ‘green state’, will allow Guyana to develop a resilient tourism sector by protecting its environment. Guyana – together with Brazil, Colombia, Suriname and other states of Central and South America – is home to some of the giants of the world. The largest anacondas, ants, anteaters, armadillos, bats, caimans, eagles, fish, jaguars, otters, rodents, snakes, spiders, storks, toads, turtles and vultures in the world are to be found here. Today, Wednesday 21st March, the world celebrates ‘International Day of Forests.’ Guyana is proud to boast that over 75 per cent of its territory is still covered with forests. Tourism connects countries, markets, peoples and
services of the hemisphere. It can contribute to the economic development of the Americas and to the well-being of future generations by becoming more sustainable. This ‘Congress’ is urged to seek solutions to ensuring that the Americas can catalyze their tourism potential by increasing annual tourist arrivals. This ‘Congress’ can do this by: protecting the Americas’ natural capital by developing a concerted approach to the environment; promoting increased connectivity between tourist destinations by encouraging the development of infrastructure ; and providing smaller states, particularly the smallisland states of the Caribbean, with easier access to investments to build a more resilient industry. Small island states tend to lack the resources to finance their own air and shipping lines so that new routes can be exploited to boost tourist arrivals. Travel needs to be cheaper, easier and faster. Destinations need to be connected efficiently to make tourism more competitive. The Americas can straddle the sea and integrate the continents through information and communications technology. This Congress should consider charting a
roadmap for a single ICT Space of the Americas. Sustainable tourism requires sustained action to ensure a more climate resilient tourism sector. Climate change is real; it is not an intellectual invention or political sophistry. Climate change represents the most potent threat to Caribbean tourism, particularly to small-island and low-lying coastal states. Rising sea levels are eroding beaches, destroying coral reefs and disrupting marine life – all prime Caribbean tourist attractions. Extreme weather patterns are precipitating droughts and floods which diminish food supplies and customer services needed by the tourism sector. Climate resilient tourism will help the hemisphere to recover from natural hazards. The increased frequency and ferocity of hurricanes in the Caribbean, as last year’s season can attest, inflicted severe damage to infrastructure – bridges, boats, hotels, roads, resorts and utilities which are vital to tourism. The 21st century must become the ‘Century of the South.’ The North and East have had their day. It is now South’s turn. A sustainable tourism sector can make this century an occasion for rediscovering the ‘New’ world.
Sunday March 25,2018
PAGE 31
Kaieteur News
Headaches: How do you know when it’s dangerous? By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
H
eadaches are com mon, and many people treat themselves with simple painkillers, drinking extra water, and having a rest, or simply by waiting for the headache to go away. A headache is one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor. Almost everyone will experience headaches at some time. Most headaches are not caused by serious or sinister conditions. However, people understandably worry if headaches seem different. Today we will try to break down this complex condition. The hope is to help you to determine when your headache may be a sign of something more serious. ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEADACHES? Yes, there are many different types of headaches. Tension headaches and migraines are the most common causes. Below are the major types of headaches one can experience: · Tension headaches Tension headaches are usually felt as a band or across the forehead.
They can last for several days. They can be uncomfortable and tiring, but they do not usually disturb sleep. Most people can carry on working with a tension headache. · Migraines - These are headaches that are one-sided, throb and make you feel sick. They tend to not get better after sleep. · Cluster headaches - Cluster headaches are very severe one-sided headaches. They occur in clusters, often every day for a number of days or even weeks. Then they disappear for months on end. · Chronic tension headaches - Chronic tension headache (or chronic daily headache) is usually caused by muscle tension in the back of the neck and affects women more often than men. · Medication-overuse headaches - This occurs when you use pain medications too often for headaches and your body becomes resistant to them due to overuse. · Exertional headaches Exertional headaches are headaches associated with physical activity. They can become severe very quickly after a strenuous activity such as running, coughing, having sex (intercourse), and strain-
ing with bowel movements. · Primary stabbing headaches - Primary stabbing headaches are short, stabbing headaches which are very sudden and severe without a known cause. They usually last between 5 and 30 seconds, at any time of the day or night. · Trigeminal neuralgia This is pain to the face from affected nerves that supply your face. HOWARE THEYTREATED? Your doctor will generally tell the likely cause of your headache from talking to you and examining you. Once he or she has discovered the cause then you will be able to decide how to reduce or stop the headaches. This may involve taking medication only when you get the headaches, taking daily medication to prevent them or, sometimes, stopping medication you are already taking. Very occasionally, headaches need further investigation to rule out more serious underlying causes. WHATARE THE DANGEROUS CAUSES OF HEADACHES? Dangerous headaches tend to be sudden in onset or may progressively worsen over time. Below are the dan-
gerous causes of headaches: · Bleeding around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage) · Meningitis and brain infections · Temporal arteritis (an inflamed temporal artery) · Brain tumours WHEN SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUTA HEADACHE? The following are signs that your headache may be dangerous: · You have had a significant head injury in the previous three months. · Your headaches are worsening and accompanied by high temperature (fever). · Your headaches start extremely suddenly. · You have developed problems with speech and balance as well as headache. · You have developed problems with your memory or changes in your behaviour or personality as well as headache. · You are confused or muddled with your headache. · Your headache started
when you coughed, sneezed or strained. · Your headache is worse when you sit or stand. · Your headache is associated with red or painful eyes. · Your headaches are not like anything you have ever experienced before. · You have unexplained vomiting with the headache. · You have low immunity for example, if you have HIV, or are on oral steroid medication or immune suppressing drugs. · You have or have had a type of cancer that can spread through the body. · You have unremitting morning headaches which are present for more than three days or is getting gradually worse · Your blood pressure or sugar is very elevated. WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT REGULAR HEADACHES? Headaches are less likely to occur in those who: · Manage their stress lev-
Dr. Zulfikar Bux els well. · Eat a balanced, regular diet. · Take balanced regular exercise. · Pay attention to posture and core muscles. · Sleep on two pillows or fewer. · Drink plenty of water. · Have plenty of sleep. Anything that you can do to improve any of these areas of your life will improve your health and well-being and reduce the number of headaches you experience. But remember to visit your doctor if your headache feels different from the ones you usually have.
PAGE 32
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram
TT Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley
GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison SUNDAY SPECIAL TT Govt. to reopen and renegotiate contracts with energy companies – Prime Minister says that nation deserves more than crumbs “It is our view that there is a role for the government in ensuring that the people of Trinidad and Tobago, while being participants in this very lucrative business, get more than crumbs that fall off the table.” Those were the words of Prime Minister of the twin-island Republic, Dr. Keith Rowley, during a passionate presentation at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain. He was at the time, delivering the feature address at a forum called—Spotlight on Energy. He said that the main purpose behind the conference was to allow the people of Trinidad and Tobago to know of their circumstance in the oil and gas industry so as to be able to determine and to protect their interest. Dr. Rowley focused on the need for his nation to get a fair share of the oil pie. And in order for this to happen, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has started the process of reopening and renegotiating contracts. He emphasized that Trinidad and Tobago’s current economic situation is a wakeup call for all. He pointed to a book called “Seven Elements that Changed the World”. It was written by Sir John Browne, former head of British Petroleum (BP), one of the world’s leading integrated oil and gas companies. Rowley said that Sir John talks about the seven things that changed the world, with natural gas being one of them. The Prime Minister said, “We used to be a country that used to flare natural gas. Then we started to compress it and use it as a raw material and it started with one fertiliser plant. ”So when Sir John wrote about the seven things that changed the world, and God
knows how the world has been changed by natural gas, he said in 2004, ‘Trinidad contained some of the jewels that BP recently acquired in its merger with AMOCO. ”And I was there to ensure BP’s growth in the region would continue. BP has made several major discoveries in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s including the first one in Trinidad’s deep water.’ and it goes on to say, ‘Patrick Manning wanted to ensure that this latest find of natural gas would be used for his people’s benefit.” Rowley continued, “If nobody understood that, Sir John Browne understood that. And that is why, when we see the data today that Trinidad and Tobago is not benefitting as we should from our natural gas resources, in the way that it was envisaged that we would, in hard times and in good times, then certainly the people of this country should sit up and take notice.” Rowley said that the one thing the Government knows it must do is to sit down and talk with the companies that are involved about getting a fairer share “because we have incentivized ourselves into leakages and losses.” US$460M pre-contract costs must be subjected to special audit -Ram finds that figures in financial statements tell a different story Local commentators remain outraged at the US$460M pre-contract costs, which ExxonMobil has imposed on Guyana. This cost dates back to ExxonMobil’s 1999 agreement with the Janet Jagan Government. As for Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram, he intends to be unrelenting in his fight to know just how the company conjured up this exorbitant figure that was inserted in its 2016 contract with the Granger Administration. In his recent writings, Ram said that there is a need for a special audit to be done on the pre-contract costs
since based on his analysis, several things aren’t adding up. He said that this is necessary, since the sum can be recovered by ExxonMobil without the approval of the Minister. NOTADDING UP With the use of financial statements, Ram was able to show how ExxonMobil’s precontract cost opens itself to much question and suspicion. He noted that ExxonMobil is represented by three companies as the contractor for the Stabroek Block: Esso, CNOOC and Hess. Using the financial statements of Esso and CNOOC, he pointed out a few important figures. At December 31, 2015, Ram said that Esso had property, plant and equipment (PPE) of $10B and losses of $12B of which $9B or 75 percent was incurred in 2015. In Esso’s financial statements, there is an amount of $1B under Exploration costs in 2015 being an unexplained credit. “ Now, even if we were to make the unlikely assumption that all of Esso’s expenditure constituted legitimate pre-contract cost to December 31, 2015, at its highest, Esso’s portion of the $92 billion (US$460 million pre-contract cost) would be $23B. Ram also noted that CNOOC at the same date had PPE of $16B and losses of $8B, making a total of $24B. He said that the financials of CNOOC describe the $16B as expenditure on “Exploration and Evaluation assets consisting of exploration projects which are pending the determination of proven or probable reserves.” The Chartered Accountant said, “Forget for a moment that this is another clear violation of the ringfencing principle which seeks to match expenditure to projects. It means that the burden and risk of exploration has been shifted from the oil companies to the taxpayers of Guyana. As the fired US FBI Director, James Comey would say, ‘Oh,
Lordy!” Ram further stated that the combined expenditure of Esso and CNOOC at December 31, 2015 was PPE of $26B and reported losses of $21B, giving a total of $47B. In United States Dollars, using a $200 rate, Ram said that this gives a total US$245 million, well short of the $460 million that the Government has accepted in the Agreement with ExxonMobil. MONDAY TT Govt. to reopen and renegotiate contracts with energy companies…If you can’t manage gas stations properly, how can you manage the Oil sector? – TT Prime Minister If the Ministry of Energy has been doing an unsatisfactory job in managing gas stations in Trinidad and Tobago , then what confidence can one have that it has managed the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) business any better? This was the question TT’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley posed to his attentive audience at the recently held Spotlight on Energy Conference in Port of Spain last week. There, the Prime Minister said, “When we reach the point where we bring up gas, produce it, sell it in a market where profits are being made and the return is negative – meaning you get nothing, meaning you have to pay the person to take it from you – something is radically wrong and we just can’t accept that as the way of doing business.” I n t h i s r e g a r d , D r. Rowley said he was speaking about the responsibilities of the Ministry of Energy in managing a billion dollar business. ”A simple thing like licensing and managing gas stations in Trinidad saw the Ministry of energy falling down on the job. I wonder if you recall the El Pecos explosion that killed somebody and then next thing,
a few days or weeks later, a similar explosion took place in another place.” “It turned out to be the same truck, the same man doing the same thing. And then we discovered that the Ministry of Energy had not even been issuing licenses to gas stations, a requirement under law for gas stations.” The TT Prime Minister said that those two explosions could have made world news had they gone the way they could have gone, fortunately they didn’t. ”I tell you this to say, if that is how we manage the gas station business in Trinidad and Tobago, what confidence do you have that we have managed the LNG business any better? Are we relying on luck and good graces…?” Dr. Rowley called on his attentive audience to ask themselves if they are ready to say that the time has come to talk and to work more professionally and more effectively because this is serious business. GUYANA’S SITUATION Like Trinidad and Tobago, authorities here have struggled with the effective management issues in the petroleum sector. In fact, a 2015 forensic audit report on the Guyana E n e rg y A g e n c y ( G E A ) shows that it adopted a “free-for-all’ approach in its management of the billion dollar sector as it allowed a chain of gas station services to operate without licences. The report prepared by Nigel Hinds Financial Services found that GEA issued invoices for licence fees to three of the seven service stations belonging to Two Brothers Corp. But based on its examination of GEA records, the auditors revealed that there was no evidence that any of the three service stations were issued retail licenses for the period under review. The auditors were basically facing a situation where GEA gave the impression that Two Brothers paid for the licences but the company
never got the licences. The team concluded in no uncertain terms that none of the Two Brothers Corp. service stations were operating with retail licences for the review period. The auditors even elaborated further on this front. They said that based on the documents obtained and examined from the Two Brothers Group of Companies and/ or any of its directors, no evidence could be found that Two Brothers Corp. had ever been issued with any licence, with the exception of two. 1000 taxpayers under review for unexplained wealth – Tax Chief Whether it is a politician or a businessman with the world of clout, nothing will stand in the way of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in going ahead with its audits on taxpayers who appear to have unexplained wealth. In fact, Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia was able to confirm that there are at least, 1000 taxpayers under review. In an interview with this newspaper, Statia said that he is very much aware of the concerns of citizens on this matter. He assured however that the revenue authority continues to look at the matter. Statia said, “The GRA continues to look at the issue of taxpayers with unexplained wealth. This is not the first time GRA is doing this…There are various ways of finding unexplained wealth, one of which is where the taxpayer exhibits his wealth and that would call for a Net Worth Analysis. With this, you see how their wealth has grown over the years, expenses, gifts and donations and the necessary deductions are made.” The Commissioner General noted that while this type of audit was done prior to his taking over the job, several checks revealed that those were done incorrectly. He explained that in some (Continued on page 33)
Sunday March 25, 2018
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Kaieteur News
From page 32 cases, it was clear that the audits were done incorrectly out of ignorance while others were a clear case of fear.
Some of the customers locked-inside NBS
TUESDAY No treatment yet for GGMC’s mercury poisoning victimsCommission says it made “arrangements to address shortfall” The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) maintain that the poisoning of workers is not yet at an alarming stage. The agencies sent out a joint statement acknowledging that there was a problem with mercury emissions but said that there is disagreement that matters are at a “crisis stage” and that many are “in danger zone” as was reported by this newspaper. The agencies said that while there is indeed a situation where the typical treatments are presently unavailable, “the GGMC has made other arrangements to address this shortfall.” “Both the GGMC and the GGB believe that the matter is under control because of the many measures taken,” the statement read. It was also noted that the GGMC and the GGB have collaborated in the past several weeks to enhance mercury management activities at the Brickdam Complex, so that there are no emissions of mercury during daily operations. This, according to the agencies, is in addition to measures that were already in place, and part of operational routines which had included regular testing of workers. The agencies said that there was “comprehensive inspection of the entire emissions control system; timely refurbishing of all areas and aspects of related systems; physical extension of emissions chimney; satisfactory testing of work and resulting emissions; arranging for written assurances (warranties) as to work performed; continuing with an aggressive maintenance schedule; recruiting external monitoring parties for safety certification purposes; and continuous monitoring to detect any suspicious levels. Additionally, the agencies said that there have been frank and timely communications with GGMC staff. Specifically, the GGMC said that it has communicated to those few staff members who have an elevated mercury level that all efforts will be made to have them evaluated and treated, in line with guidance shared
have also had financial implications.” WEDNESDAY Guyana has to pay ExxonMobil to carry out feasibility study on gas
Charged: Anil Beharry
Charged: Anil Kishun
by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). ExxonMobil’s partner, Hess never filed a financial statement in Guyana – Ram All companies, whether incorporated locally, or incorporated abroad but registered locally, are required to file an annual report together with financial statements. Such financial statements should provide reliable information for users, including regulators. ExxonMobil is represented by three companies as the contractor for the Stabroek Block: Esso, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and Hess. Chartered accountant and Attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram, said that at a minimum, before accepting the pre-contract costs of US$460,237,918, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman should have verified it with the December 2015 audited financial statements of the three companies. He said that these documents should have been filed with the public authorities. Ram said that he had already gone down the road in checking for these statements. However, his attempts were impeded when he could not have found a single financial statement for Hess. Ram said that he is now assured that the
government made no attempts at cross checking the pre-contract costs submitted by the contractor. ”It is difficult to see how this could have been done since the public records show that only Esso and CNOOC had complied with the requirement for the filing of records. What Trotman would have realised was that the other Contractor – Hess Corporation – has never filed a single financial statement or annual report with the Commercial Registry! Surely, this is elementary stuff, which requires basic knowledge and common sense,” said Ram. Ram said too, that, “The 2016 financial statements of Esso reported that in 2014 it had entered into farm-out arrangements with Hess and CNOOC/ Nexen and that Government approval was still pending, i.e. two years later. CNOOC reported the relationship differently, describing it as Joint Arrangement.” ”To complicate matters further, Hess which did not make any local filings, reported to its international stockholders that it had acquired a ‘working interest’, which is another term for farm-out. To add further to the complexity, in 2008, Esso had entered into an Assignment Agreement and Farm-out Agreements, which would
Guyana has to pay for the feasibility study to be carried out by ExxonMobil to ascertain whether or not there is excess associated gas for the country to use for energy. So far, only associated gas has been found in Guyana. The other type of gas is non-associated. Associated gas is gas that has been found in oil wells, while non-associated comes from reservoirs that are not connected with any known source of liquid petroleum. It is also called “dry gas.” Guyana’s contract with ExxonMobil gives the American giant first jump. It states that the associated gas produced from any oil field within the contract area shall be with priority, used for the purposes related to the operations of production and production enhancement of oil fields, such as gas injection, gas lifting and power generation. The contract further states, “With no impediment to normal production of crude oil, a plan of utilization of the associated gas shall be included in the development plan of each oil field. If there is any excess associated gas in the oil field after utilization pursuant to article 12.1(a) the contractor shall carry out feasibility study regarding the utilization of such excess associated gas of such oil field”. The contract says that the Contractor’s feasibility is supposed to be submitted with the development plan. However, it gives ExxonMobil time to submit it after. The contract states that the study shall be com-
pleted no later than five years following the submission of the Development Plan. Exxon has to provide the Ministry with regular updates on the progress of such feasibility study then, upon completion, the said study shall be submitted to the Ministry and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. The contracts states that “all costs and expenses incurred by the Contractor in the production, use and/or disposal of the Associated Gas of an Oil Field as stipulated in Article 12.1 and those incurred in carrying out any feasibility study on the utilization of the excess Associated Gas shall be charged to the Development Cost of the Oil Field and shall be Recoverable Contract Costs.” However, “all costs incurred by the Government for the infrastructure and handling of excess Associated Gas which are not included in an approved Development Plan shall be at the sole risk and expense of the Government and will not affect the amount of Cost Oil and Profit Oil due to Contractor.” TT has no difficulty in showing citizens oil and gas data, reports The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has no difficulty sharing with its citizenry, information or data on oil and gas. This was recently revealed by the CARICOM nation’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley. He expressed such sentiments while delivering a feature address at a recent Spotlight on Energy forum that was held in Port of Spain. There, Rowley said that that the business of government in Trinidad and Tobago is not a secret “as we have nothing to
hide,” hence several officials had no problem providing the citizenry with the same data that was shown to the Cabinet. As he emphasized the need for transparency, Dr. Rowley, a seasoned geologist said, “We have nothing to hide and everything to protect.” The Spotlight on Energy conference allowed Trinidadians to have access to reports on the nation’s reserves, a gas master plan, along with other crucial data and relevant explanations. The conference also provided details on the government’s view on the industry, how companies have been paying over the years, and the billions of dollars in taxes that are slipping through the government’s fingers. In the case of Guyana, the Government has not been forthcoming about information it is receiving in the oil and gas industry. It has even refused to provide the names of the negotiators that represented Guyana during the signing of the ExxonMobil contract. It has not budged on the release of the Bridging Deed; the purpose of which was to replace the 1999 Agreement and the 1999 Petroleum Prospecting Licence. And the nation is yet to know the names of the 309 companies ExxonMobil claimed it utilized last year for the provision of goods and services. All of this and more has led many local critics to wonder if the government has something to hide. THURSDAY NBS managers charged for locking customers in building Two months after several persons were locked in New (Continued on page 34)
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From page 33 Building Society (NBS) head office after a five-hour standoff with High Court marshals, three managers were Wednesday brought before the court and slapped with eight counts of wrongful confinement. The marshals had moved to levy on NBS assets in a $59M judgment for former Chief Executive Officer, Maurice Arjoon Appearing in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore were Anil Kishun, CEO Anil Beharry and Deka Tularam. They all denied the charge, which alleged that on January 23, last, at the Avenue of the Republic building, they wrongfully confined Ganesh Kalicharan, Goodish Singh, Alex Moore, Joseph Allen, Gina Arjoon, Patrick Higgins, Martin Brown and Ganish Hira, from proceeding out of the building. The Police Prosecutor had no objection to bail being granted to the defendants and they were all released on their own recognizance (self bail). Magistrate Azore who instructed the court orderly to not allow members of the media and the public inside the courtroom, instructed the defendants to make their next court appearance on March 28. They will appear before Senior Magistrate Dylon Bess for a report on the matter.According to reports, on the day in question, the bank closed its doors locking inside several customers, a Court Marshal, lawyer and a police rank, after a team of Court Marshals went to NBS to levy on its assets in a $59M judgment for its former CEO Maurice Arjoon. Arjoon and two others were charged in 2007 in a high-profile case for allegedly stealing $69M from the mortgage entity. The then Om-
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
A miner posing questions on Friday 23 March
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo holds up media reports on Government’s special caucus on oil and gas with British expert Sir Paul Collier budsman, Justice Winston Moore, decided a few years ago after Maurice Arjoon, and his two managers, Kissoon Baldeo and Kent Vincent, were both freed in the magistrates’ court. Bring best young minds to modernise energy sector – TT Prime Minister While the Government of Guyana may be slow in the use of local expertise as the nation moves to first oil, its CARICOM counterpart, Trinidad and Tobago is wasting no time. After finding itself in a less than favourable economic position, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is on the move to modernise its energy sector. Its main ingredient in this approach will be the use of the brilliant young minds of the nation, which spans 5,131 kilometers. The process has already started with the Prime Minister of the twin-island Republic, Dr. Keith Rowley, retain-
ing the help of those persons who possess the rich institutional knowledge that would complement the new ideas to come from the younger generation. At the recently held Spotlight on Energy Conference in Port of Spain, Dr. Rowley made this move known. He said that it is necessary if the nation wishes to have an advantage in the risky oil industry. Dr. Rowley said, “We got ourselves into this (economic) situation because we shied away from knowledge on the marketplace; that is coming to an end. Understanding that we have worked for the last year and a half with Poten and Partners, and that we are ensuring that we get the best advice available so that when we come to the table to talk in the zone of mutual respect, Trinidad and Tobago is not disadvantaged.” ”With respect to our young people, our future, we have very many bright young people who we were told today are unemployed. We hail them; then they get the scholarships and go abroad to some of the best universities.FRIDAY Lawyers reject comments by Economics Professor… “Guyana wants renegotiation not scrapping of oil contracts”
Gold Board chairman, Gabriel ‘GHK’ Lall
The recently held ministerial caucus has earned the Government scathing criticisms, on two particular grounds. The first is that many critics are of the belief that a forum which speaks to the protection and proper management of Guyana’s oil wealth should include as many stakeholders as possible.
The second point of contention was in relation to comments by world-renowned expert and Professor of Economics, Sir Paul Collier. Regardless of what flaws it may possess, Sir Paul opined that it would be absolutely “disastrous” if Guyana were to tear up the ExxonMobil contract. He said, “If you tear this contract up, nobody else will come…” The Professor also stated that it would destroy Guyana’s credibility while having deep implications for the investment climate. While consideration must be given to the Professor’s position, there are several locals who could not agree with Collier’s position. Chartered Accountant a n d A t t o r n e y - a t - L a w, Christopher Ram told this newspaper Thursday that he does not share Collier’s view at all. Ram said, “I reject the statement with regard to scrapping contracts. Nobody said anything about that and so it is a red herring. What we are saying is that the contract should be renegotiated and there is sufficient ground for this to happen. At best, I would ask that the government takes the position from those individuals like Collier as just one set of views and not as some divine edict.”Attorney-at-Law, Melinda Janki was also asked to give her take on Collier’s comments. She found it impossible to concur with the Professor’s statements. The International lawyer said, “No. With all due respect to Paul Collier, I think he has misunderstood the issue. I am quite sure that he is not aware of the legal challenges to this deal or that there are various legal
grounds for challenging this proposed oil production.” Govt’s meeting with British expert was publicity stunt Govt. gets ‘F’ grade for handling oil and gas sector – Jagdeo Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo Thursday gave the David Granger–led administration an ‘F’ grade for failing to implement much-needed initiatives in the oil and gas sector, almost three years into their term. At a press conference T h u r s d a y, J a g d e o d i s missed Wednesday’s special caucus organized by the Government with oil experts, including British expert Sir Paul Collier, as a publicity stunt. During the meeting, President Granger outlined Government’s vision for the sector. ”The big vision that the President lays out for oil and gas sector…We need to educate ourselves, work on a framework and protect our resources, and on all three points that he made they have received an F grade on everyone of them,” Jagdeo stated. Jagdeo pointed out that the Petroleum Commission, the Sovereign Wealth Fund and a plan for the future oil resources have not been established. ”This framework should have been in place,” Jagdeo pointed out. He indicated that the Government has been slow to implement the framework – hence, the Ministry of Finance was upset when the US Amb a s s a d o r, Perry Holloway raised questions about the estab-
lishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund. ”The President woke up a week ago, organized this [meeting] and realized that we need the organization and the structure to manage the [oil] resource. What have we been doing for three years as a country? Jagdeo questioned. The Opposition Leader pointed out that Wednesday’s caucus was part of the Government’s plan to educate Cabinet Members, but noted that cabinet members are now educating themselves after signing a post-oil discovery contract with ExxonMobil and its partners that will remain in place for the next 40 years. ‘One strike and you’re gone’– Gold Board chairman to staffers on corruption The Guyana Gold Board (GGB) has vowed a tougher stance on corrupt staffers. Addressing the issue of leakage of confidential information on miners to others, Chairman Gabriel ‘GHK’ Lall Thursday made it clear that it is one strike for guilty staffers and they are gone. In fact, GGB, which officially reached a new Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) with the workers’ union last year, insisted that there will be no second chance for staffers who breach confidentiality agreement. There have been allegations that staffers of GGB handed sales and other declaration information to competitors of miners and dealers. Lall made the disclosures about the CLA Thursday during a lively discussion at a general meeting of the (Continued on page 35)
Sunday March 25, 2018
From page 34 Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), at the entity’s North Road office. The chairman was at the time updating miners on plans of GGB for the year. Touching on issues of technology, treatment, time and trust, Lall disclosed that there are several things being done to improve efficiency and transparency, and general satisfaction for miners. The Gold Board is in talks with Digicel about introducing a system where applications can be filled out and uploaded to the entity. Noting that it is imperative that the Gold Board pull out the stops to reduce time that miners spend at its offices, Lall said while some systems will be improved, there are other things like compliance, including anti-money laundering laws that have to be followed. Answering questions about frustrating delays in receiving simple details of declarations for tax purposes, the official, who has worked in Wall Street, assured that he will be looking into the matter.In fact that ideal situation should not be more than a 24-hour wait. With moves to introduce better technology with links to various departments, Lall said there will be significant improvements this year. SATURDAY Legal challenge looms over ExxonMobil-Guyana contract -Govt. says it is satisfied that all legal requirements were fulfilled The ExxonMobil-Guyana contract could be facing a legal challenge. Several local critics are of the view that the grounds upon which the Government granted ExxonMobil a production licence last year
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International Lawyer, Melinda Janki are against the law. One of the lawyers working on the case is Melinda Janki. Funds for the matter are being raised through the website: https:// www.crowdjustice.com/case/ fairdealforguyana/ Janki said that there are indeed enough grounds for the matter to be challenged in the courts. She noted, however, that one must be clear on who is on the other side of the deal. The lawyer said that Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, did not sign a deal with a big company called ExxonMobil. Minister Trotman signed a deal with three much smaller offshore companies which are being represented by ExxonMobil. These companies are Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd, and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Ltd. These three companies are all subsidiaries of other companies. Esso, for example, is a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. Janki was also adamant that a minister cannot just do what he likes. The lawyer said that there are legal restrictions to his power. She contended that if citizens believe Trotman has not acted correctly they can challenge him; they can challenge whether the Minister had the power to agree to all of the GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia
A leaner GuySuCo is looking to reduce its cost of contracting out labour and other services at its three remaining estates things that he agreed to in the petroleum agreement. As for the Production Licence granted to the said companies, Janki said that this too can be challenged. She noted that the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act Cap 65:04 says that the Minister has no power to grant a petroleum production licence unless the company has adequate financial resources and technical and industrial competence. Janki asserted, “We know that in June 2016, Esso, Hess and Nexen did not meet the said requirements because the Petroleum Agreement says that Esso, Hess and Nexen ‘will have or will acquire the financial resources, the managerial, technical and industrial competence to carry out Petroleum Operations.” She continued, “Did Esso, Hess and Nexen meet the legal requirements a year later when the petroleum production licence was granted? People are entitled to ask the Minister to show that these three companies met the legal requirements and if they don’t think that he acted in accordance with the law, people can challenge him in court.” Janki added that the law states that these three offshore companies must make the most efficient and beneficial use of the petroleum resources concerned or they can’t get a licence. The lawyer queried, “Is there evidence that these three off-shore companies met this legal requirement for the most efficient and beneficial use? “Again, people can ask the Minister to produce the evidence that this oil venture
meets the requirement of being the most efficient and beneficial use of the petroleum resources.” Janki emphasized that “beneficial use” does not mean “beneficial to the oil company.” The lawyer stressed that it means beneficial to Guyana – a point she believes that Minister Trotman appears to have missed. GOVT REFUTES News of this looming court challenge was first reported by the UK Guardian. Janki was also quoted by that media outfit as she provided additional reasons as to why the matter ought to be taken to court. In light of the aforementioned, the Ministry of Natural Resources released a statement yesterday, categorically stating that it has fulfilled all legal requirements in the award of the production licence to ExxonMobil. The Ministry noted that the Government is prepared and willing to present all facts in this regard to any court with jurisdiction.The Ministry of Natural Resources further said that “this sort of action” is not unusual in emerging oil economies, particularly during the stage leading up to first oil at which Guyana currently is. The Ministry said it is satisfied that its partners engaged in exploration and preparation for production, are taking every precaution in ensuring that there is minimal effect to the environment and that they are diligently putting systems in place to guard against any spills or mishaps. The Ministry also sought
to assure that it will continue to engage its partners – ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC Nexen – in ensuring that the interest of Guyana’s waters and environment remains top priorities. More than 30 MPs noncompliant prior to 2016—says GRA When it comes to compliance with the nation’s tax laws, policy leaders must be held to a higher standard. If they are noncompliant, then the citizens would be as well. It is with this understanding in mind that Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia, revealed that measures have been put in place to ensure that Guyana’s politicians are always following the letter of the law. Statia reminded that in 2016, he was accused of “going after” opposition parliamentarians when he initiated steps to ensure their tax statements were in order. He stressed however that the tax The Commissioner General said, “I was not going after Opposition Parliamentarians. I keep saying that our leaders should be held to a higher standard and if they are noncompliant then our citizens would be as well. “That is why I went through and doubled checked to ensure that not only the politicians but all of our public servants would have filed their tax returns. Those who did not file, they were demanded.” At the time, there were more than 30 noncompliant Members of Parliament. Statia added, “There were instances where politicians
did not file and we demanded the returns and they filed them. They came in one at a time and they filed. Because we should have our leaders in high esteem, we had one person dealing with them. It was more than half of them in Parliament and on both sides of the aisle. That has been corrected up to the end of 2016.” The tax boss also noted that measures are in place to ensure that the nation’s policy leaders and public servants are up to date with their filings for 2017. Additionally, the Commissioner General was reminded of the concerns of some citizens as it relates to politicians with unexplained wealth. He was asked to say if the revenue authority is paying any attention to such issues. Statia said, “What we do with all of our returns is we do a critical analysis and whether they are politicians or other citizens, they go through the same thing. Once we find unexplained wealth, we go after it regardless of whether they are politicians or not.” He added, “We have written a few of them about their wealth because information comes to us and so we look into it.” GuySuCo contracts out labour, other services at its three estates In what will be seen as a major shift in the operation of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), there are moves to contract out key services. GuySuCo on Friday was (Continued on page 36)
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
From page 35 advertising for Expressions of Interest to plant canes at Albion and Blairmont, in Berbice, and Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara. According to an advertisement in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, GuySuCo is inviting interested persons with the requisite capabilities and resources to provide the contractual services for 2018. The Letters of Interest must be addressed to the Estate Manager of the nearest estate- Albion, Blairmont or Uitvlugt or the Agriculture Director, Head Office, LBI Compound, the advertisement said. Among other things, the contracts will be for the provision of labour and services to plant canes at three estates. There will be contracts also for the provision of labour and services to harvest and deliver canes to those factories. GuySuCo also wants contractors to submit interest to provide labour to clean and maintain the drainage and irrigation channels across the industry. There will also be opportunities to also provide services to operate GuySuCo machines to re-clean drains and irrigation channels
President David Granger across the industry. GuySuCo also wants workers to provide services to operate specialised equipment for land leveling and field development. The deadline for submission of the letters of interest is March 31, 2018. GuySuCo is opening the opportunities for redundant employees who are being encouraged to apply. “The corporation reserves the right not to accept any Expression of Interest.� In the past, the services were being provided by workers of GuySuCo. The cash-strapped corporation is being restructured
with new management and board of directors looking to reduce costs in almost all aspect. From top heavy management to a bloated inventory to inefficiency at all levels, the corporation has been reduced from seven estates to three in the last 15 months. Up for divestment and privatization are the four estates- Wales, Skeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore. More than 4,000 workers were made redundant with offers made now for a number of them to be farmers. That meant a little more than 11,000 remain at the three estates.
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
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Sunday March 25, 2018
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Hundreds benefit from free medical services during outreach programme Your Best Pathway to Health, a United Statesbased non-profit Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) group, on Friday concluded a fiveday free medical outreach programme at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara and the West Ruimveldt Wesleyan Church. Close to 60 volunteers, comprising doctors and medical support staff, attended to more than 500 persons through the group’s collaborative work with the Guyana Conference for Seventh Day Adventists. Among the volunteers are gynecologists, neurologists, pediatricians, dentists and general surgeons. The mission also provided up to three months supply of medication. Dr. Lela Lewis, CEO of Your Best Pathway to Health of Arizona, said that the team conducted initial diagnosis for cancers in some women. “I am a little surprised that most of the patients have never had a pap smear in their whole life. It’s been a real blessing to have this as an opportunity because I found several patients with
advanced stages of cancer. We have refereed these cases to the Cancer Institute in Georgetown and some patients to the Davis Memorial Hospital and other hospitals in the city,” Dr. Lewis stated. The group spent four days at Good Hope and Friday at the Wesleyan Church. Interestingly, the team was not initially scheduled to visit Guyana. “It was a miracle of God. We were planning to go to Brazil and then St. Maarten and both of those fell through. It just so happened that I had some friends with connections and they said we have a need in Guyana, why don’t you come here. We are happy to be able to serve Guyana. I think it is really important to remember that as Christian Seventh Day Adventists, for us it is a blessing to be able to follow in Jesus’ footsteps,” Lewis pointed out. Pastor Margaret Ramsarran, Missions Director at the SDA conference, said that the conference has identified communities like Good Hope where there are
Three members from the mission Residents of Good Hope awaiting treatment certain societal ills, including poverty, illiteracy, drug abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and school dropouts. “The conference itself cannot afford to do so, but as we collaborate with volunteers who have the
resources, then we are able to bring benefits to our community. As Adventists we are very high on healthy living and follow the Biblical principles of taking care of our bodies and so we don’t keep it to ourselves we extend it to the communities who need
help,” Pastor Ramsarran explained. The conference, the pastor noted, will utilize the building used for the medical outreach to establish the Life Hope Centre to serve the community. “From this building we will seek to help them to improve their education. We will try to have them address their societal ills by conducting
seminars, giving them health lectures and showing them how to prepare proper meals and teach them life skills. That is why we are here,” the pastor explained. The volunteers concluded their full tour at the West Ruimveldt Wesleyan Church. Over the five days, the mission also lectured during the evenings about healthy lifestyle plans.
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
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Sunday March 25, 2018
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Grilling meat may raise risk of high blood pressure, study finds That tasty serving of grilled beef, chicken or fish may come with another unwelcome health concern. Evidence already shows cooking meat at high temperatures can cause potentially cancer-causing chemicals to form. Now, researchers say cooking red and white meat over an open-flame or at high temperatures — including grilling, barbecuing, broiling and roasting — might modestly increase a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure. The results were presented Wednesday at an American Heart Association meeting. “Our findings imply that avoiding the use of open-
flame and/or high-temperature cooking methods may help reduce hypertension risk among individuals who consume red meat, chicken or fish regularly,” Gang Liu, the study’s lead author and a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told TODAY. Avoiding cooked meat that’s well done or charred may also help to reduce the risk, he added. High blood pressure — which affects almost half of the U.S. adult population — is sometimes called the “silent killer” because it often has no symptoms and can lead to heart attacks and stroke. WHATYOU NEED
TO KNOW: For the study, researchers followed 32,925 women from the Nurses’ Health Study; 53,852 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 17,104 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up
Study. None had high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer at the start. Over the next 12 to 16 years, 37,123 of the participants developed high blood pressure. Among those who reported eating at least two servings of red meat, chicken or fish a week, the risk of developing high blood pressure was 17 percent higher in people who grilled, broiled, or roasted the meat more than 15 times per month compared to people who used those hightemp cooking techniques less than four times a month. The risk of developing high blood pressure was also 15 percent higher in people who preferred their food well done, compared to those who preferred rarer meats. It’s not clear why that’s happening, but some studies suggest cooking meat at
high-temperatures could lead certain chemicals to form, inducing oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance in animals, and possibly leading to an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure, Liu said. It also not clear whether this the same mechanism involved in the link between grilled meats and cancer, he added. There’s no conclusive evidence that grilled meats can cause cancer in humans. But processed meat, such as bacon or hot dogs, does cause cancer, and red meat probably does, too, a World Health Organization group announced in 2015. The latest findings are a good reminder that moderation is key, especially if you’re a barbecue enthusiast, experts said. “The people who had the highest risk were grilling 15 times a month — that’s every other day,” said Dr. Haitham Ahmed, director of cardiac rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic. “For the average American, though, I think if you’re grilling a few times a week, that should be OK as long as you’re being cognizant of the rest of your diet and you’re avoiding the really, really high temperatures for prolonged periods of time.” This one study is not definitive, but it’s “eye open-
ing” and “very provocative,” added Dr. Seth Martin, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “To me, it is intuitive that if you grill things and have all the chemicals and the char on it, that could have effects on arteries and lead to higher blood pressure,” Martin said. “But I would worry about it becoming distracting from things that we know make a big difference… when it comes to high blood pressure like diet, exercise and weight loss.” BOTTOM LINE: • If you love grilling, fine, but maybe just limit that to two or three times a week, Ahmed said. • You don’t have to char your food when you’re grilling it: Consider turning it more frequently. As long as the temperature comes up and the meat is adequately cooked, you can stop there. If it’s charred, consider cutting those parts off so you don’t consume any harmful chemicals. • Limit your red meat consumption: Excess red meat intake causes or may contribute to high blood pressure, particularly because of all the sodium that comes with it, Ahmed said. https:// www.today.com/health/grilling-meat-may-raise-risk-highblood-pressure-studyt125532.
Sunday March 25,2018
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From Grey’s Anatomy to Station 19: Assessing the State of Shondaland on ABC When Shonda Rhimes announced her landmark exclusivity deal with Netflix, which locks the uber-producer into a multi-year contract to produce new series and other projects with the streaming giant, we were bullish about the the future of Shondaland properties on ABC. So was ABC. But that was back in August, before a new season of TV had gotten underway and before potentially the last new shows from the production shingle had their debuts on the network that gave Rhimes her start. But now that For the People and Station 19 have each premiered, the current state of Shondaland on ABC has us feeling slightly less confident about its future. Allow us to explain. Before we get to the two new kids on the block, let’s
take a look at the trio of TGIT staples who’ve come to define the Shondaland brand at the network. Obviously, with only three episodes left to air before its series finale on April 19, Scandal has no place in any talk about the future of the brand. So, while we thank the Gladiators for their seven seasons of service and can’t wait to see how Olivia Pope’s story wraps up, we’re going to move on. Naturally, there’s very little reason to believe that Grey’s Anatomy fans have anything to worry about. While the long-running drama, currently in its 14th season, can no longer claim to be ABC’s highest-rated drama—that title now belongs to the fall’s biggest success story The Good Doctor—Grey’s still delivers rat-
ings wins for the network and will have a home there for as long as Rhimes and star Ellen Pomepo want to continue telling Meredith Grey’s story. As for How to Get Away With Murder? That’s a different story. The legal thriller starring Viola Davis just wrapped up its fourth season, pulling in 3.83 million total viewers for the finale. While that number is on par with its performance all season long, it has to be disappointing for a show that premiered to 14 million viewers and much fanfare. Each season of HTGAWM has seen its ratings decline when compared to the year prior and the water cooler chatter surrounding it has seemed to follow suit. The big question here seems to be how much longer Davis will want to con-
tinue in the role of Annalise Keating. She continues to garner award season acclaim, earning an Emmy nod for each of the first three seasons (and a win for her first)—and that’s something the network certainly places value in. But does it outweigh the diminishing returns in the ratings? We’re not so sure anymore. Now, let’s turn our attention to the pair of new shows who’ve made their debuts in recent weeks. And let’s just get the bad news out of the way: For the People is not the hit Tuesday night series ABC was hoping for. The legal
drama, created by Scandal scribe Paul William Davies and starring Britt Robertson, had a rather rocky road on its way to air, with Robertson
and her co-star Jasmin Savoy Brown replacing original leads Britne Oldford and Lyndon Smith, respectively, after the pilot was ordered to series.
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
3 Guyanese admitted to Women Deliver Class of 2018
Three Guyanese have been admitted to the Women Deliver 2018 Class of Young Leaders. Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization that works to generate political commitment and financial investment for fulfilling Millennium Development Goal 5—reducing maternal mortality and achieving universal access to reproductive health. Those forming a part of the Guyana Delegation are Dennis Glasgow, D r. F a q u e e d a Wa t s o n a n d Kobe Smith who are all advocates for sexual and reproductive health and women’s rights. Throughout the year the trio will participate in an online university before travelling to Vancouver, C a n a d a f o r t h e Wo m e n Deliver global conference. They are among the 300 young people that will be attending the conference slated from June 3-6, 2019. This year’s programme received 3,000 applications for 300 spots. It is also the largest and most diverse cohort to join the award-winning programme: the group hails from 121 countries and collectively speaks 98 languages. T h e Yo u n g L e a d e r s also include people from communities too often marginalized, including 66 people affected by humanitarian emergencies, 29 self-identified indigenous
persons, and — for the first time — 18 adolescents. The young leaders were selected for their potential to have a lasting impact on the lives of girls and women. As a group, they have already driven tangible progress on a wide range of issues, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTQ+ rights, peace and security, water and sanitation, gender-based violence, education, maternal heal t h , a n d p o l i t i c a l participation. A c cording to womendeliver.org, “The fifth triennial Women Deliver global conference – will come at a time when the global terrain for girls and women continues to shift, as progress in health, education, and economic participation of women is threatened b y conservative forces who want to scale back women’s rights and ability to decide on their own bodies and lives.” “The choice of Canada as a location of the 2019 conference – a country that continues to prioritize gender equality – will send a signal to the world that investing in the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women is n o t optional, but foundational to catalytic reform and progress for all.” Thus far, the Women Deliver conferences have been held in London, Kuala, Washington, Lumpur and Copenhagen.
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
STANDARDS IN FOCUS
Consumers - Making a difference through Standardisation! As we conclude the World Consumer Rights celebrations for 2018, under the theme ‘Making digital market places fairer’, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) encourages all advocates for consumer rights to increase their involvement in its work activities. This will provide our consumers with a fair opportunity to make the market place fairer. Over the years, consumers have gravitated towards using the digital market place to purchase products mainly because of its convenience, access to the wide range of products available globally and the ability to select products based on the most reasonable price. In addition, the availability of product reviews by past consumers provides useful guidance during online product selection and ensures that consumers get value for money. Consumers can therefore make valuable contributions to the standardisation process based on their experiences with the wide range of products and services. The data obtained from these experiences can be used as justifiable reasons for developing standards to streamline a product, service or sector. As the National Standards Body, the GNBS depends on the voices of our consumers to make the use of Standards more impacting in Guyana. This also alerts our Regulators to the interests of our consumers. Consumer products can be generally defined as items that are often bought for private use or consumption by consumers. These products range from clothing, food, automobile, jewellery, construction materials, appliances and toys among others. The delivery of services should also be noted since our consumers utilise a wide range of services which include online shopping, healthcare, transportation, testing, catering, cosmetology, inspection, certification, insurance, banking, security, consultancy, training and so much more. As such, our consumers have expectations. In addition, consumers across the globe are increasingly concerned with sustainable production and ethical trade practices. They are likely to make purchasing decisions based on how a product or service is produced, in addition to weighing traditional concerns such as price, safety and health, quality,
performance, and product information. Standards are the main drivers to ensure that the products and services available on the local market are conforming to the relevant requirements and consumers get value for monies spent. These standards are agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics. When such agreements are international, they become “International Standards”. The GNBS has adopted a number of regional and international standards to provide a framework for regulators to verify that products manufactured and services delivered conform to the respective standards. However, despite standards being generally voluntary, it is expected that manufacturers, importers and retailers will ensure that the products or services they deliver to our consumers are conforming to requirements. According to ISO publication, ‘Involving consumers why and how’ Consumers were among the first to call for the development of standards for environmental management and the resulting ISO 14000 series of standards published in 1996. Consumers also were at the forefront of ISO’s decision in 2004 to produce an international standard on social responsibility (ISO 26000) which led to an unprecedented effort to involve consumers and other stakeholders. Consumers have also called for standards relating to environmental labelling and other “ethical purchasing” labels on products, business-toconsumer ecommerce transactions, product recalls and the cross-border trading of second hand goods; and such standards are being developed. These agreements underscore the importance of consumer involvement in developing broad consensus on standards for products and services they use. Given the wide scope and impact of standards and their increasing importance for international trade, National Standards Bodies like the GNBS and Standards Developing Organisations have an obligation to seek out the consumer perspective. There are many ways that consumer representatives can influence the outcome of Continued on page 72
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SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 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. Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, A/C units, washing machines. Call Lindon: 6411086/ 694-2202 PASSPORT, PERMANENT & VISITOR VISA APPLICATION, PROFESSIONAL IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT – SABITA IMMIGRATION SERVICES. CALL: 613-3920/625-3767. Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Are you looking for a job? Need assistance, Call: 6426617, 619-4071 56 Brickdam G/ Town Solomon Building. Drawing of house plan, or if you need estimates, call: 216-0671/622-0267/6928464
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY-$19,000PERPOUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Unregistered DAF trucks: Dump trucks, Flat Bed, Flat bed with Crane & Hauler. Call: 659-3100 New Triangle truck tyres, front & all wheel drive, size: 295/ 80R22.5 Call: 647-2022 Whole chicken $300 per lb (50 lb up) chicken foot $140 per lb, liver & gizzert. Contact: 699-7415, 696-5424/610-6196 14" TV and DVD player, one small fridge. Tel#665-9747/ 622-3250 Parts for Tacoma Tundra Titan for sale. Tel#686-9608. (1) new Mistubishi canter with excellent conditions with type of engine 4M51, long base, 2004 model, contact: 696-7664 (1) Gas generator $560k (1) Diesel Generator $650K (1) Compressor $350k (2) 93 Toyota Hilux pickup (neg) Contact: 682-8424 CT Cummings engine starter for ERF lorries, Used Bedford 500 engine 1-620-240 DAF engine foreign used. #6498449/228-5655 1 steel Hull boat 50x13’x6' Engine: gm marine 165 HP. Contact: 691-5104 1 six base music set with all amp QSE and speaker RCF. Contact: 698-8828
Installations, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc call Nick 627-3206, 630-1600 Need to sell your home? Real Estate Solutions can help. Call: 608-6655/facebook us. Babysitting, B-Z-Bee Babysitters Club Inc. 24/7 Babysitting services available. Tel: 602-4454 Facebook: B-Z-B Babysitters Club Inc. Mason available all casting, blockwork and plastering. Reliable, reasonable and quality work offered. Call: 619-3296 Need a land surveyor, we do surveys for: Boundaries, Leases, engineering, cadastral, topo etc. Call: 6622677 TOURS 1st April- Santa Mission. Phone No #218-1285/6093836 (Joy)
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
EDUCATION Jean offers courses in Dressmaking, Curtains, Floral, Cake decorations. Barr St, Kitty. Tel#670-2653, 638-8449.
TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS) PROPERTY FOR SALE House & Land. 11 Peter’s Hall Public Road, E.B.Dem. close to Harbour Bridge. Transported property $15M neg. Call Roy 692-2110.
FOR RENT
WANTED
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620
1 cook to cook vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods in the interior #699-4718
Business place to rent at Anna Catherina WCD, Contact #690-0205 Call between 10:30 am to 8:00 pm Hair & Nail stations at T&J Unique Choice Salon, located at 101 Cummings St, Bourda Georgetown. Call: 227-7626/ 678-5461 (3) Bedrooms house to rent in (Lamaha Gardens) 2 1/2 Bath, fully air conditioned US$2000. Tel#653-7961/ 674- 9244 2 Bed apt fully furnished, single room fully furnished, Providence. #672-1906/2162299 2 bedroom house for rent Parfaite Harmonie WBD #6254118 1 Bedroom flat at Phase 1 Mandela Ave, East Riumveldt. Call: 663-4183, 628-7316 1-2 bedroom apt, toilet & bath inside $50,000 monthly. Tel#648-7004 One two bedroom house at Lot 51 Pere Street, Kitty. Contact: Colin #621-5781 Maureen 650-8827 Two Bedroom apartment, bottom flat $40,000 #687-3017 small family 3 Bedroom apartment bottom flat in Diamond, fully grilled & secured. Tel#216-2972, 6223021 2 bedroom apt in Diamond, second bridge. Call# 216-1052/ 685-3393 PROPERTY FOR SALE Lot 15 Public road #2 Village. West Coast Berbice. 49ft by 10,314ft. $20M. Contact:6487109/686-4818 3 story commercial building,land size-120ftX60ft Building size-62ftX30ft Location-Lot 1486,Plot B Herstelling,EBD.Contact:6093777/697-4557 2 storey wood & concrete building at Hope E.C.D. Tel#648-0436 2-flat 3 bedroom wooden building situated at 154 ‘B’ Shell road, Kitty Georgetown. Tel: 697-9418/670-2653 25 3-bedroom brand new houses from 18-22M. 30 houselots to be sold, all agents welcome. Tel#656-1345 Looking for a home to purchase? Visit Real Estate Solutions @ www.resgy.com or facebook us #608-6655 New building with two apartment downstairs for sale. 10 minutes from Georgetown .Call:675-1510/613-7964
VACANCY Handyman between the ages 18-35, apply in person to Christine’s Variety Store, Lombard street. Contact: 2278529
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM
Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic- Call: 223-7500 Monday to Saturday 8:15am4:15pm
Paralegal with degree in law. Duties: secretarial, clerical & research tasks. Email: lawofficegy@gmail.com/ guyana@hotmail.com
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
Looking for cash & best price on land in: Parafaite Harmonie, Uivlugt, Eccles, Herstelling, Providence, Farm. Call: 6046724
CARPENTERS, MASONS, LABOURERS for E.B.Demerara work site. Tel#266-4427
Wanted experience hire car taxi drivers at Ramada Princess Hotel. Tel#265-7076/616-5419
Looking to buy a house or empty land, Preferences-EBD Public road. Buyer #1917-6225810/694-3331 (1) Office Clerk. Tel# 225-3234, walk with application Experienced cashier needed. Apply in person with application to American Variety Store (Regent/Light Street) Experienced Pastry Maker/ Cake Decorator, Curry & Roti/ Puri cook. Apply Hack’s Halaal with H/written application, 5 Commerce St. One (1) part time domestic, between the ages of 40 to 50. Must know to iron and have character reference. Contact: #500-5923 Domestic help wanted female, Vreed-en-hoop, light house keeping $3000 daily. Call: 682-5230/615-4414
AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST Porters. apply in person RATE. Call: 698-7807 Alabama Trading, WING’S CAR & PICKUP Georgetown Ferry Stelling. RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP One male janitor. Apply in RATES,SPECIAL OFFERS! Person to Alabama Trading, CALL: 690-6494 Georgetown Ferry Stelling.
Driver/Purchaser. Contact: 223-5273/74 Welder. Contact: 223-5273/ 74 One Chef, Kitchen assistant, Administrator, Maintenance worker, must speak English, Spanish. Contact: Hostal El Sol # 227-8253, 670-3149 Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied. Key Food McDoom Village.
Wanted Handyboy, must have police clearance. Apply at Shanta’s 225 Camp St.
The Hibiscus Restaurant & Lounge-(1) Cook @ 91 Middle Street. Telephone: 592-231-5857 Exists for one experienced dispatcher- Call: 231-5784
Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665
One salesgirl for snackette. Tel#226-5793 Cell#698-4288
Looking for joiner to work. Contact #690-6327,603-3949
Able bodied Driver/Salesman for Leyland DAF Lorry. Involves lifting. Telles Steel: 226-6771/231-3265/226-4537
SALON Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $90,000 - Nail Technician Course: $35,000. Call: 6471773/688-0009 PEN PAL Overseas Indian Male seeks female age 30/35 yrs, write to M.D 7475 Goreway Drive #47 Mississauga Ontario L4T 3T3 Canada. You deserve a relationship filled with love and excitement. Call Harmony singles #676-6312
Inventory clerk, Machinist, Tool room clerk, Male cleaner, Apprentice. Send written application to Technical Services. Tel#233-2745 Female kitchen assistant for interior location. Job entails assisting cooks and general cleaning. Call: 618-2020 Truck driver to work at nights. Tel# 227-1717 2 experienced play school teachers. Call: 614-4005 for appointment. Vacancy for a maid with cooking skills and one cleaner helper. Call: 231-0734. LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj Building- Call: 644-5166; 6222872; 615-0964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
VEHICLE FOR SALE Tractor (foreignused) Massey Ferguson - 165 excellent condition Vreed-en-hoop $1.6M, MF-135 $1.1M, MF265-$2.2M,165Loader tractor-$2.4M. Call: 682-5230/ 615-4414 Pickup truck from Canada, Double cab 2005 Tacoma $2.1M, FordF150 sport $1.5M, Ford ranger sport $1.2M. Call: 682-5230,615-4414. 1- TwinsteerDoubleaxle Leyland DAF 4- LeylandDAF Flatbed 10- Guysuco Lorries 1-620-240 DAF engine. #2285655, 649-8449 Bluebird 2012 model-$2.7M Axio 2010-$2.6M Tida-2010 $2.1M All vehicles unregistered #655-3400 1 AT 170 Car $280k 1 Marino Car $450k. Contact: 601-4926 One Toyota Verossa $2.4 Neg Tel#614-0694 LAND FOR SALE Parafaite Harmonie, Eccles, Uivlugt, Tuschen, Covent Garden, Herstelling, Diamond, Providence, Zeelugt. Tel# 686-9608 Farm $3.2M Eccles (concrete fence) $6M Herstelling $5M Parafaite Harmonie $1.6M Schnoord $3M. Tel#6560701/651-1969 Parafaite (10) year up $3M $1.5M $2M Uivlugt $2.5M Tuschen Property $5.5M, $3.3M Eccles (front) $5.8M. Call: 666-2326 Lot 46 (Long Dam) Vergenoegen East Bank Essequibo. Land approx 10,000 sq ft Building 656 sq ft. $4.5 neg. Tel: 628-9390 Continued on page 69
Sunday March 25, 2018
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Kaieteur News
CONSUMER CONCERNS
Extending women’s rights require sustained activism By PAT DIAL International Women’s Day was commemorated worldwide on 8th March last. Women had long been suffering discrimination and oppression in all cultures and civilizations but the first group protest against these conditions arose in the West at the beginning of the 20th century. In non-Western countries, following the lead of the West, women’s rights movements grew up everywhere and by the end of the century, their presence and demands could not be ignored or suppressed. Even in Saudi Arabia, though women’s rights activism was not overt, it kept fermenting and influencing the male-dominated and patriarchal society and today, Saudi women have more rights than 20 years ago. Women in the West and more so in non-Western countries, even to-day, suffer social, political and economic discrimination and oppression. They often could not own property, and even in families, property was generally willed to the males. They received less pay than men for the same work and in some societies, slave-like, they did all the hard, back-breaking work in addition to having to bear and
bring up children. For instance, in the less developed parts of Asia, Africa and Central and South America. women do most of the agricultural work, have to fetch wood and water for miles to their homes, have to do the household chores and are often ritualistically beaten. In all societies, males are regardedassociallymoreprominent than women and this results in all kinds of discrimination such as in economic and political advancement. For example, males could net-work with greater effectiveness while female networking for their benefit is generally weak. In the important social institution of marriage, they have to wait on men to propose or in common-law relationships, they could never ask for the legalization of such relationships without invoking serious crises. For centuries, women had no political rights or political representation. Even when Democracy began to replace Absolutism towards the end of the 19th century, women were not part of the equation. Democracy was confined to men. It was only in the 20th century that women won the right to vote and it was many years after, they were elected to Parliaments.
The advent of World War II caused a shortage of manpower throughout the West and women had to assume jobs and fill roles which were unthinkable for them just a decade before. After the War, women’s liberation continued and all states in the West and in non-Western countries, especially the colonies of former European Empires, adopted the equality of women and men as unchallenged state policy. Despite the general acceptance by almost all states of the policy of gender equality, discrimination has still continued and rural women, in particular are more oppressed than their urban sisters. For example, less than 20% of landholders worldwide are women and the global pay gap between men and women stand at 23%. In the rural areas it is as high as 40%. Women have never adequately shared in power and political office worldwide. There is therefore need for strong women’s activism for equality and liberation. In Guyana, on International Women’s Day, the media tended to concentrate on the achievements of women and their success in economic ventures. The total impression conveyed was that there was
gender equality and that Guyanese women were in a continuous upswing. The realities are far more somber. There is still room for gender equality and parity. Women in common-law relationships are still beaten up, starved and have to struggle to bring up children. There are gruesome killings of women by husbands and partners. Far more women are unemployed than men and it is want that drives them into prostitution. In the rural areas, girls have less of a chance of education than boys and for using education as a vehicle for upward mobility, and women in work situations and elsewhere are victims of sexual harassment and exploitation. Women’s activism, in addition to building women’s morale, must have an Agenda. That Agenda must set out those areas which must be addressed to bring about gender equality. For example, there needs to be the economic and educational advancement of rural women or the methods of extirpating sexual harassment and exploitation in the workplace. Such an Agenda must always concentrate on specifics. Religion and the priests and teachers must play a more important part in achieving
gender equality. In several religious traditions women either are assigned a secondary role or are even depicted as wicked or unclean. Beginning with Eve and continuing with Delilah, Jezebel, Salome and others, women are portrayed as being evil. Priests and teachers must interpret Religion to remove this dangerous prejudice and stigma. Another prejudice that has to be explained is the thinking of God as masculine. Many early women’s rights advocates spoke of God as She and Her and not as He and Him since belief in God as masculine was the basis or justification of patriarchalism which led to so much oppression and suffering of women over the ages. In this vein, Hinduism, though insisting that God (Parabrahm) is genderless, does advocate that when God is manifested in the world, it is in both male and female form. At the moment, Navratri is being celebrated and these nine nights are devoted to worshiping God in female manifestation. It may be useful for women’s rights advocates to explore the ways ancient civilizations and philosophers dealt with the question of a masculine God.
From page 68 TOLET (1) 3 bedroom apartment, Lot 649 Herstelling New Scheme. 4th Bridge $60,000 per month. Tel: 692-7377/672-7194 One fully furnished apartment to rent in South Riumveldt $25,000 weekly. #694-7817, 668-0306 Business spaces, top & bottom flat located @ 177 Charlotte and Alexander, Georgetown: #644-3555/6893462 3 bedroom semi furnish top flat in Barr Street, Kitty. No agent/pets/plants nor subletting. #690-3639 Rooms in Albertown. Tel: 2253234 1 & 3 Bedroom apt in a gated community in Versailles WBD. Call: 264-2946 Stylish comfortable 2 bedroom apartment for Vacation rental. Web: Airbnb Georgetown FB: Prestige Property Vacation Rental. Tel: +592-678-6690 Two bedroom airconditioned bottom flat South Riumveldt Gardens US$750, Call: 218-1949
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Sunday March 25, 2018
PI for attempt murder to open soon The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the attempted murder against a 26-year-old woman who allegedly tried to kill her cousin will commence on April 4, before a City Magistr a t e in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Lisa Bobb, of Lot 84 Campbellville Housing Scheme, is currently on remand for allegedly
stabbing her cousin. She appeared in court, Friday. It is alleged that on February 14, last, at Campbellville Housing Scheme, with intent to c o m m i t m u r d e r, s h e unlawfully wounded Crystel Bobb. The unrepresented woman was not allowed to plead to the indictable offence after it was read to
her by the Magistrate. On the woman’s first appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield had objected to bail being granted to Bobb, citing that she has matters before five Magistrates in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and it
was while being out on bail that she attempted to kill her cousin. According to information, on the day in question the two cousins were involved in an argument. Lisa Bobb became annoyed and dealt her cousin several stabs to her upper right hand and to her neck.
Charged: Lisa Bobb
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Less than 10% of work force complete degree higher than secondary - Report A recently published report has found that educational achievement in Guyana appears to have a pyramidal structure. The Guyana Labour Force Survey (GLFS) done for the third quarter of 2017, revealed that less than 10% of the working age population completed any degree higher than a secondary education. The total labour population aged 15 and above residing in Guyana was pegged at 550,831 persons, which is considered the working age population. The labour force participation rate for all persons aged 15 and above is 56%. According to the report, the stats on education have two implications. On one hand it entails a shortage of highly qualified human resources in the labour market while on the other it indirectly confirms the seriousness of the issue of outmigration of tertiary-educated people. The report noted that the figures may explain the relatively low educational profile and skills portfolio of the eco-
nomically active population. “The educational profile of the labour force is interesting. This reflects not only the level of human capital accumulation within the economy, but also allows calculating potential return on the educational investment,� the report cites. According to the report, the 10% figure appears below regional averages. While exactly comparable regional estimates are not readily available, the World Bank World Development Indicators presents as 43.3% the gross tertiary enrolment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean excluding high-income countries. The Latin American Economic Outlook 2017: Youth, Skills and Entrepreneurship, which was prepared by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presents an average of 14.62 percent of youth aged 25-29 with tertiary education degrees. The GLFS also includes a module on former household members that are now living
Percentage Share of Working-age Population by Level of Education Completed abroad (Note: these are only the emigrants who still have ex-household members in Guyana). The elaboration on the weighted data shows that about 10 percent of the migrated population hold at least a short circle tertiary diploma or above and 55 percent hold at least a secondary education degree. In Guyana’s case, the report found that it does not appear to be significant dif-
ferences between men and women as, respectively, 11.5 percent and 13.6 percent of the total male and female population aged 15-24 are enrolled in education. The report which was pre-
pared with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) noted that the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above was 12%, with the situation for women being substantially
worse than that of men, 15.3% versus 9.9%. The data show no substantial differences between urban and rural areas.According to the survey, the employment-to-population ratio of persons aged 15 and above is 49.2 %, with the rate being substantially higher for men than for women 62.1 % against 36.9%. This situation is substantially similar to that outlined by the 2012 Census.The survey found that the situation of women who, despite showing a sizeable disadvantage in the labour market, appears to be more engaged in the labour force and be less likely to be unemployed. For salaried workers, the average labour income is $82,636 per month across all the economic sectors, while the figure decreases to $67,064 for self-employed workers.
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China warns U.S. it will defend own trade interests BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States has flouted trade rules with an inquiry into intellectual property and China will defend its interests, Vice Premier Liu He told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a telephone call yesterday, Chinese state media reported. The call between Mnuchin and Liu, a confidante of President Xi Jinping, was the highest-level contact between the two governments since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese goods on Thursday.The deepening rift has sent a chill through financial markets and the corporate world as investors predicted dire consequences for the global economy should trade barriers start going up. Several U.S. chief executives attending a high-profile forum in Beijing on Saturday,
including BlackRock Inc’s Larry Fink and Apple Inc’s Tim Cook, urged restraint. In his call with Mnuchin, Liu, a Harvard-trained economist, said China still hoped both sides would remain “rational” and work together to keep trade relations stable, the official Xinhua news agency reported. U.S. officials say an eightmonth probe under the 1974 U.S. Trade Act has found that China engages in unfair trade practices by forcing American investors to turn over key technologies to Chinese firms.However, Liu said the investigation report “violates international trade rules and is beneficial to neither Chinese interests, U.S. interests nor global interests”, Xinhua cited him as saying. In a statement on its website, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said it had filed a
Vice Premier Liu He (left) and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin request - at the direction of Trump - for consultations with China at the World Trade Organization to address “discriminatory technology licensing agreements”. China’s commerce ministry expressed regret at the filing on Saturday, and said China had taken strong measures to protect the legal rights and interests of both domestic and foreign owners
of intellectual property. During a visit to Washington in early March, Liu had requested Washington set up a new economic dialogue mechanism, identify a point person on China issues, and deliver a list of demands. The Trump administration responded by telling China to immediately shave $100 billion off its record $375 billion trade surplus with the
United States. Beijing told Washington that U.S. export restrictions on some hightech products are to blame. “China has already prepared, and has the strength, to defend its national interests,” Liu said on Saturday. According to an editorial by China’s state-run Global Times, it was Mnuchin who called Liu.Firing off a warning shot, China on Friday declared plans to levy additional duties on up to $3 billion of U.S. imports in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, imposed after a separate U.S. probe.Zhang Zhaoxiang, senior vice president of China Minmetals Corp [CHMIN.UL], said that while the state-owned mining group’s steel exports to the U.S. are tiny, the impact could come indirectly. “China’s direct exports to the U.S. are not big. But there will be some impact due to our
exports via the United States or indirect exports,” Zhang told reporters on the sidelines of the China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday. Global Times said Beijing was only just beginning to look at means to retaliate. “We believe it is only part of China’s countermeasures, and soybeans and other U.S. farm products will be targeted,” the widely-read tabloid said in a Saturday editorial.Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of Beijing-based think tank China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, told China Daily that Beijing could impose tariffs on more U.S. products, and is considering a second and even third list of targets. Possible items include aircraft and chips, Wei, a former vice commerce minister, told the newspaper, adding that tourism could be a possible target.
Massive crowds rally across Consumers - Making a difference ... U.S. to urge tighter gun controls WA S H I N G T O N / PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) Hundreds of thousands of Americans galvanized by last month’s Florida school massacre rallied yesterday at nationwide March For Our Lives protests led by students demanding tighter gun laws. Carrying signs with slogans including “If they choose guns over our kids, vote them out,” protesters in Washington jammed Pennsylvania Avenue as students
from the Parkland, Florida, high school where 17 people were killed called on lawmakers and President Donald Trump to confront the issue. The massive rallies aim to break a legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings like the one on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have become frighteningly common.
“Politicians: either represent the people or get out. Stand with us or beware, the voters are coming,” Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, told the crowd. Another Parkland survivor, David Hogg, said the sun was shining on a new day. “You can hear the people in power shaking,” he said to loud applause. “We’re going to make sure the best people get in our elections to run not as politicians, but as Americans. Because this - this - is not cutting it,” he said, pointing at the white-domed Capitol. “We can and we will change the world!”
From page 67 discussions, resulting in better, more relevant standards, and therefore more desirable end products. For example, they help ensure that the standards produced are market-relevant, by identifying which standards, or standards programmes are of priority interest to consumers. Consumer reps. can provide data on acceptable levels of risks for products defined by standards, and give examples of how goods and services are actually used (or predictably misused) in practice. They can also give advice on communication issues including labelling, product instructions and warnings, and suggest features that are specially needed for children,
older persons and people with disabilities. Lastly, consumer reps. can propose solutions to address consumer requirements, such as safety, performance, quality, interoperability or enhanced consumer protection. The GNBS has in excess of 200 published standards, which range from food, agriculture, services, hospitality, transportation, building codes, industrial, and systems to a wide range of consumer products standards to protect our consumers. The GNBS also involves consumers in the standards development process where they can make contributions to standards being developed
at our public consultation sessions which are publicly advertised. Consumers are always encouraged to submit proposals to the GNBS to develop standards to improve the quality of products and services available on the local market. As the GNBS continues to advocate for the use of standards in all sectors of society, we look forward to the support of every reader of this article, since it will undoubtedly make a better life for all of us. (Reference ISO publications: ‘Involving consumers’ and ‘Your voice matters’ (www.iso.org) Message from Candelle Walcott-Bostwick Executive Director, GNBS
Exposed: Bloated GuySuCo senior staffers were ... From page 8 Estate Managers, and heads of Agricultural Research and Information Systems were getting up to $900,000 monthly with allowances similar to the Finance Director and Human Resources Advisor.
Cooking Gas However, these were also entitled to cooking gas and something called disturbance allowances. Other senior staffers, including agronomists, analysts, Senior Communication Officer, Operations Manager, Purchasing Manager, and engineers were placed between a range of salary starting at $221,000 and $379,314. The benefits and allowances are similar to the others. While there are others, the senior staffers would have also included the Administrative Assistants, Training Administrators and Customs Liaison Officers. They were being paid up to $177,000 monthly, and were
entitled to overtime allowance, leave passage of one month salary, pension, mandatory medical examination and medical assistance. With the cash-strapped, smaller-sized GuySuCo and its three estates expected to produce just over 100,000 tonnes this year, Government has transferred the corporation to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) with Colvin Heath-London recently appointed Chairman. Heath-London has reportedly met with senior managers and Government is expected to release financing, taken via loans, for the operations of the industry. Government is hoping to raise much needed cash from
the sale and divestment of its four closed estates to make GuySuCo more competitive. Heath-London, a financial expert who has wide management experience, was brought in last year to head NICIL’s Special Purpose Unit, which is overseeing the privatization and divestment process of the four estates. Heath-London and his team have been insisting that three of the closed estatesSkeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore should remain open to produce molasses for the Demerara Distillers Limited and as a going concern for investors. There are over 70 expressions of interest already submitted for the four estates.DDL has expressed an interest in Enmore.
Sunday March 25,2018
Kaieteur News
Koreas to hold high-level talks to set up Kim-Moon summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The rival Koreas have agreed to hold high-level talks this coming week to prepare for an April summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, South Korea said yesterday. The summit aims to improve relations and resolve the standoff over the North’s nuclear programme. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the South’s delegation at the meeting Thursday at the border village of Panmunjom, where officials will discuss the date and specific agendas of the summit, according to the Unification Ministry. The North’s delegation will be led by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the agency that deals with inter-Korean affairs. The rivals agreed to a summit when Moon’s envoys visited Kim in Pyongyang earlier this month. South Korean officials also brokered a potential meeting between
Kim and President Donald Trump by the end of May. The leaders of the two Koreas have held talks only twice since the 1950-53 Korean War. It’s unclear whether the leaders’ meetings between Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington, if they take place, could lead to any meaningful breakthrough after an unusually provocative year. North Korea in 2017 tested its most powerful nuclear weapon to date and testlaunched three intercontinental ballistic missiles theoretically capable of striking the U.S. mainland. There are also concerns in South Korea over whether the appointment of John Bolton, Trump’s hawkish replacement for national security adviser H.R. McMaster, could potentially complicate efforts to set up talks between Trump and Kim, given his past bellicose rhetoric about North Korea. A South Korean presiden-
tial official, who didn’t want to be named, citing office rules, downplayed such worries on Friday, saying that Trump remains firmly committed to the summit and is leading the drive to set it up. The planned summit between Moon and Kim will be preceded by performances of South Korean pop singers in North Korea. Tak Hyun-min, a South Korean presidential aide who completed a three-day trip to North Korea to arrange the events, told reporters in Beijing on Saturday that it was agreed that the South Korean artists will hold a concert in Pyongyang on April 1 and follow with a joint performance with North Korean artists on April 3. The South Korean artists will include some of the country’s most popular pop singers, including Cho Yongpil, who performed in Pyongyang during a previous era of detente, and girl band Red Velvet.
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Seabridge woes cost Tobago businesses $750m… Trinidad Guardian - In the past year, Tobago businesses have suffered over $750 million in losses and the country has spent millions of dollars to fix the seabridge problem. But as of today the crisis continues and now, businesses are saying without a Government bailout or some sort of assistance there is no hope of recovery. Business owners in Tobago Friday told the T&T Guardian they now face the opposite problem to what they did in the period May to July last year. Back then they had problems getting goods to stock their shelves and some shelves were empty, but today they say their shelves are stocked “but the customers are just not there.” Supermarket owners said “goods are now expiring on our hands.” In addition, they say it now makes no sense stocking freezers with meats and other cold products and warehouses are stocked with goods that are not being sold.
Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
Govt. must bail us out
Business owners said the estimated $750 million in losses excludes businesses forced to close their doors or repossessed by the banks. Scores of workers have also been sent home and with a growing unemployment and crime on the island, business owners say the time has come for Government “to step up to the plate.”Several business owners said they are hoping Government will come up with a “viable bailout plan and get us back our credit rating because they have destroyed our credit rating.” They are advocating “compensation for losses suffered,” because they claim the banks are not extending any facilities to the business community and people continue to get foreclosure notices. They added that their credit rating is gone, they are “no longer bankable,” they are now experiencing a credit crunch and things continue to “look bleak because the economy has totally contracted.”
Newly-appointed Tobago Chamber chairman Claude Benoit. ANSA McAL Group of Companies deputy chairman Andrew Sabga told the group’s annual stockbrokers meeting on Thursday, “The big problem is demand has significantly curbed because people are having problems getting to and from Tobago.” Sabga said a “large portion of the consumption is
tourists and non-Tobagonian arrivals.” But despite the losses suffered by the Tobago business community, Tobago East Member of Parliament Ayanna Webster-Roy insisted in Parliament that all was well.However, bed and breakfast owners say their businesses have declined and Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James says Tobago had suffered massively and he expects the low occupancy levels which have plagued the island’s hotel sector to continue. Newly-appointed Tobago Chamber chairman Claude Benoit said he was saddened by the situation, noting it had destroyed the confidence of people in Tobago.“There is no credibility, people are not even thinking of coming to Tobago because they don’t know how they will get back and vice versa. The question is how long will it take to build back confidence in the system that they have destroyed? That is the main issue,” Benoit said.Benoit said restoring confidence in the Tobago economy is “what will start to spur the economy for things to start happening. It is very serious and when you listen to others who say there are no problems in Tobago I don’t know.”
Peru takes ex-president’s passport amid corruption probe LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Peruvian judge yesterday barred recently resigned President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from leaving the South American nation for 18 months while he’s investigated for money laundering. The ruling came a day after congress accepted Kuczynski’s resignation and swore in Vice President Martin Vizcarra as his successor. Kuczynski, 79, is being probed for some $782,000 in payments his consulting firm received a decade ago from Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant at the heart of Latin America’s biggest-ever bribery scandal. Some of the payments took place when Kuczynski was a government minister, raising questions about whether they were made in return for political favors. The former Wall Street investor has denied any wrongdoing. He said the consulting firm, Westfield Capital, was then being managed by his business partner and that he paid taxes on all earnings from that era. Odebrecht has admitted to paying $800 million in bribes to officials across Latin
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski America including $29 million in Peru. At the same time the hearing was taking place, prosecutors carried out a search of Kuczynski’s home in Lima and another property outside the capital.“Peru since the 19th century has watched the sad show as presidents and ex-presidents flee the country and justice,” said Hamilton Castro, the anti-corruption prosecutor who had requested Kuczynski be barred from leaving Peru. “This is the historical behaviour that we seekers of justice have to take into account.”
Sunday March 25,2018
Trinidad to host military exercise
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon at the media conference to launch Fused Response 18 PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – Trinidad and Tobago will next month host a two-week military exercise aimed at enacting emergency preparedness and the bilateral relationship with the United States. A US Embassy statement here said that the April 16-26 “Fused Response 18” event is being undertaken in cooperation with the U.S. Southern Command, and will involve the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). It said the U.S. Southern Command will train together to improve skills in areas such as communications and plan-
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ning. “This training will improve the readiness and interoperability of U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago services to respond to security challenges. The exercise will enhance our nations’ collective ability to respond to natural disasters and combat transnational challenges, including terrorism, illicit trafficking, and organised crime,” the statement noted. Speaking at the launch of the event on Friday, National Security Minister, retired Major General Edmund Dillon expressed appreciation to the US government for its continued partnership with Trinidad and Tobago.
“We appreciate all opportunities to work closer with our international partners and share best practices through training exercises such as this one, which will undoubtedly redound to the greater benefit of our country and region as a whole.” U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires John McIntyre reiterated Washington’s commitment to work collaboratively with Trinidad and Tobago and the region on emergency preparedness and citizen security. Exercise Fused Response is an annual routine exercise that has been sponsored by the US government since 2012.
Jamaica unfolds new initiative to help young people become members of the security forces KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – The Jamaica government has signed a memorandum of understanding with four community colleges to provide a course in the fundamentals of security science.The 15-week course, which is tailored for civilians aspiring towards a career in the security forces, will be offered at the Catholic College of Mandeville, Moneague College, Montego Bay Community College, and the Hydel University College. Students will be introduced to core knowledge necessary to become a police officer and will focus on key areas such as communication, sociology, information technology, customer service, ethics, the Jamaican justice system, physical fitness and community engagement. National Security Minister, Robert Montague, said approximately J$29 million (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) has been earmarked for the project that is aimed at expanding training opportunity for young persons who wish to enter the security forces. “We are actively recruiting youngsters. We have 3,000 spaces… for police officers; we have 2,000 spaces
Robert Montague for persons to go into the army, 300 for persons in the correctional services and 40 spaces for immigration. It is nice to say we have the vacancies, but we must actively go after the persons who we want to join,” he said. Montague said the institutions were strategically chosen to enable interested persons in close proximity to participate in the initiative. “The colleges in the communities open their doors to persons who wish to enter into the security industry to give them the fundamentals of security,” he said, adding that this approach is used in countries such as Cuba and
the United States. Montague argued that this “game-changing” initiative will break new frontiers and ground for individuals and is consistent with the Ministry’s five-pillar strategy for crime prevention and citizen security. The strategy includes sure and swift justice process crime prevention through social development, situational prevention, effective policing, and reducing reoffending. Participants will be provided with a certificate upon completing the programme, which will be jointly advertised by the Ministry and colleges.“Once you satisfy the requirements of that community college and the programme, a background check in done, the necessary tests are administered, you enter into the programme, and once you are within (it), you must also sign an agreement with the Government, as the Ministry will be underwriting the cost of the programme,” Montague said. He said upon completion, the first cohort of approximately 400 students may have an opportunity to receive further training to join the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Sunday March 25, 2018
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GCA/Guyana Diabetes Association U17 T20 launched... From page 79 spirit, build good relations and most importantly discipline. In particular through the GDA U17 tournament the focus will be even more because all the sport encourages healthy life style and the players will have the opportunity to be tested for diabetes,” he added. Harper, a former West Indies Vice-Captain and arguably one of the finest fielders of his era, pointed out that one of the things a lot of people failed to realise is that diabetes is unlike most illnesses where people immediately started to feel unwell and get treated. “Sometimes people have diabetes and don’t know until the disease has a negative on their body and causes damage internally without even realizing it. So if you have the opportunity to be tested then make full use
Representatives of the GCA, GDA, Ansa Mc Al and players display the jerseys that will be used during the tournament.. (Zaheer Mohamed photo) of it and get to know your status at an early age and this can make a tremendous difference throughout your lives,” he said. However, Harper stated that the emphasis is on cricket and thanked all the stakeholders for giving the youths an opportunity to showcase their talent. He
noted that a number of players who have played in this tournament have gone on to greater heights. He encouraged the players to play hard, with purpose and with a sense of passion as well as in the right spirit. President of the GDA, Glennis Beaton-Alonzo, said
Sunday March 25, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Delays and frustrations could plague you throughout the day, Aries, especially regarding communications.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Career matters may be put on hold today, as important communications you're expecting fail to come on time, Libra.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) If you've been thinking about taking a trip, Taurus, this isn't the day to make plans. Whatever you learn today about airline schedules or hotels may not reflect the situation as it really is.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Short trips in your neighborhood may be rendered nearly impossible today by factors above and beyond your control, such as traffic, construction, or both, Scorpio
GEMINI(May 21–June 20) A letter or phone call regarding money that you may be expecting may still not come today, Gemini. CANCER (June 21–July 22) An invitation to a social event could come today, Cancer, and you probably won't want to go. The people involved may not have anything in common with you LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Are you feeling a little under the weather, Leo? You may have been burning the candle at both ends. The obvious tip would be to slow down VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A long-anticipated visit from a close friend or love partner may have to be postponed, Virgo. This could be rather disheartening. You may fear that the postponement implies that the visit will never happen, but this isn't the case.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) This isn't the day to take care of paperwork, Sagittarius, particularly if it involves money. CAPRI (Dec.22–Jan.19) Communication with partners is likely to be poor to nonexistent today, Capricorn. This isn't the time to enter into contract negotiations AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Whatever work you do today could go more slowly than usual, Aquarius, as you're apt to be a bit distracted. You may be preoccupied with the past, especially with feelings and events you thought you'd long forgotten PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Phone calls and emails between you and your friends may get misplaced or otherwise go astray, Pisces. A little patience is called for when trying to reach anyone at this time, especially if modern technology is involved.
that cricket can be used to help manage Diabetes because it promotes team work, help device strategy and encourages discipline. “Management of diabetes comes with a team, it’s the family, it’s the community, it’s the doctors, the nurses, we have to work with them because diabetes affects the entire body, and we trust unless we work as a team, we cannot get proper management, thus the cricket competition.”She added that the tournament plays an important role for the association, since testing for the noncommunicable disease at an early age will be a priority for each participating cricketer. Ansa McAl representative, Kalawattie Datt-Singh expressed her company’s eagerness with the venture, which is aimed at raising awareness of the disease. Chairman of the GCA Competition committee, Shaun Massiah, gave an overview of the tournament. The competition will be divided in to two zones with St. Stanislaus, GNIC SC, DCC
BCB and... From page 83 present pledged their full support to the newly elected Executives and expressed confidence in the leadership of Hilbert Foster. The long serving Berbice Cricket Umpires Association President stated that the Association’s Members were committed to working along with the Berbice Cricket Board to lift Berbice Cricket. Members were also concerned at the level of payment for Berbice Umpires as there was no increase for the last four years. Foster advised the Association to write officially to the Berbice Cricket Board with a proposed hike in payment for consideration. Simon hailed the outstanding work of the Berbice Cricket Board since the elections and urged Foster to uphold his high standard of work. The Berbice Cricket Board President has also pledged to meet with the Umpires on a regular basis.
and Everest Cricket Club in zone A while zone B comprises of Transport Sports Club, Malteenoes Sports Club, Gandhi Youth Organisation and Georgetown Cricket Club. He indicated that one of the semi finals and the final
will be played under lights at DCC. Today’s fixture pits GNIC against St. Stanislaus and DCC opposing Everest Cricket Club. Both games are set for DCC. Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) will host GCC while TSC play GYO also at MSC.
Lodge in today’s... From page 81 with a brace, had the honour of booting last year’s losing finalists Morgan’s Learning Center 2-0 in their quarterfinal match last week Sunday. Meanwhile, Buxton will be aiming to continue their discipline with a tidy win in the semifinal match. The teams will be matching skills for a total of $1.1 million which will go towards a project of the school’s choice. The prize money break down will see the top school receiving $500,000, second place $300,000, third $200,000 and fourth $100,000.
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Sunday March 25, 2018
Kaieteur News
The History of the Dorado Speed Swim Club
Dorado Speed Swim Club Logo
Britany van Lange and Niall Roberts just before the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. The Dorado Speed Swim Club (DSSC) is celebrating its 25th year as a club this month. They have already completed a successful Inter-Club Meet on Sunday last among other activities held. Kaieteur Sport is pleased to share with you our readers, a history of the club which has as its motto: “Winning Is Our Attitude”. Our Story: Our Head Coach, Stephanie Fraser reintroduced a Learn-toSwim programme at the Hotel Tower in 1989. The response was overwhelming and the then participants were both talented and dedicated. Ms Fraser was impressed with the progress and skill of her young charges. Being the visionary she is, the hard working Fraser decided that such talents needed to be nurtured and channeled to competitive levels. In a bold step of faith, she got together with the parents, presented her plan and a competitive club was formed that would change swimming history in Guyana. The Dorado Speed Swim Club (DSSC) was officially accepted as an affiliate of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) on March 23, 1993.
The first Executive Committee comprised of: Stephanie Fraser (President and Coach), Reginald Rodrigues (Vice-President), Rupa Harisingh (Secretary), Bibi Bandoo (Treasurer), David Fraser (Assistant Secretary/Treasurer), Committee Members: Edna Rodrigues (Coach), Seema Persaud (Parent Representative). The Name: Selecting a name for the club proved quite a challenge. Multiple suggestions were proposed, but none seemed to be the right fit. After several deliberations El Dorado was the front runner; this was because of its meaning “City of Gold”. However, a few parents expressed concern that the name had a strong affiliation to our world class signature rum. After much debate, and on consultation with a marine biologist, the “El” was dropped leaving Dorado. DORADO is a marine fish, also known as Mahi Mahi and can be found in off-shore temperate, tropical and subtropical waters. The body of the Dorado allows them to be very fast and efficient swimmers; travelling at a tremendous speed (92.6 km/h, 57.5 mph) in a short space of time. This beautiful fish with its
spectrum of vibrant colours - gold, blue, green, purple and silver - makes a magnificent spectacle. The Executive chose two of the brilliant colours of the mascot (Blue & Gold) as the official club colours. True to its name, being fast, tantamount to being visionary, the club distinguished itself by initiating and leading the resuscitation of the defunct Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA). Over the last 25-years, Dorado has been able to successfully engage the services of several notable personalities as Administrators, with a wide range of business, legal, political, programme management, health and organisational and management skills s u c h a s : M r. H a m i l t o n Green, Ms. Pat Liverpool, Mr. Anthony Xavier, Dr. Jennifer Basdeo-Green, Dr. Karen Pilgrim, Ms. Barbara Freso, Mr. Leslie Soders, Ms. Sandra La Rose, Ms. Marcia Velloza (Sylvester), Mrs. Shianne Latchmansingh, Ms Jean La Rose, Mrs. Pat Helwig, and the list continues to grow. Prominent Fund-raising members were, Ms. Joanne Lowe, Ms. Marcelle Blackman and Mrs. Maureen van Lange. Achieving and maintaining the status of being the number one club both in terms of quality swimmers and financial stability is no small feat. Dorado continues to stand upon the hallmark qualities of integrity, discipline and, above all, staying the course of keeping the focus on the swimmers, still their best investment. Though the rate of progress is often times stymied by those opposed to this approach, the Club
DSSC members involved in Water Polo - July 19, 2015. continues to conquer. Testimony to this is the following which are some notable milestones of Dorado swimmers, the Club dominated in the following: [1997-2003) Open water swimmer - Sean Hamilton, Edna Rodrigues, James Campbell. [1993-2003] GASA National Age-Group Championships: Nicholas Fraser, Dee-Anne Fraser, Marlon H e n r y, D a n n y P e r s a u d , Ravel La Rose, Nadia Bhola, Shelly Anne D’Amil, Asanti Mickle, Andy Rodrigues, Justin and Jeremy Jairam, Roschmann Rodrigues, Alan Lowe, Errol Van Lange, Christina King. [2003-present] GASA National Age-Group Championships: Yannick Roberts, Jamaal Sobers, Henk Lowe, Noelle Smith, Soroya Simmons, Omar Adams, Antonio Hussein, Athena and Hannibal Gaskin, Britany Van Lange, Niall Roberts, Lian Winter, Alex Winter, Donna Carter, Daniel Scott. Making it all worthwhile, the Club captured coveted
spots at the world’s highest level of FINA forums producing 3 of 5 Olympians to represent Guyana to date. * 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) - Niall Roberts * 2012 (London) - Britany van Lange * 2016 (Rio) - Hannibal Gaskin Many of the abovementioned swimmers have gone on to attend prestigious universities, have successful careers and their respective parents continue to credit the discipline and integrity instilled by the management and training model of the club. Dorado is the Club that persistently requested a “50 meter” pool, whether through fund raising or informal forums, even though many may have forgotten, strategically utilising every opportunity to send “friendly” reminders to the Business and Political communities. Today, both competitive and non-competitive swimmers are benefitting from a 50m pool and the Club had the honour of hosting its 25th
Hannibal Gaskin at Rio 2016.
anniversary meet at that pool, The National Aquatic Center. Dorado continues to forge ahead, encouraging strong family values, and remains steadfast in its belief that sports (swimming) and academics complement each other. Dorado’s swimmers and parents acknowledge that it is the best return for investment and the most rewarding fulfillment when you can add value to a person’s character and development. Present Executives: President (Maurice Watson), Vice-President (Han Granger-Gaskin), Secretary (Shonette Winter), Treasurer (Marcel Watson), Assistant Secretary/Treasurer (Karen Pilgrim), Committee Members: Christopher Williams, Jason Allen, Christopher Wo o d r o ff e , St e p h a n i e Fraser, Kathryn Chan-aSue, Kamala van Lange and Colleen Roberts. Coaches: Stephanie Fraser, Jaime Skeete, Shyka Gonsalves, Nicholas Fraser, Ewin Enmore and Marcel Watson. Instructors: Damien Pilgrim, Steveanna Mootoo and Denroy Trotman. Our deep gratitude: This is a suitable time to express our appreciation to the parents and guardians of all our swimmers for their commitment, efforts, contributions and resisting the temptation to hit the “snooze” button on the alarm clock - for having the swimmers on deck at 05:30hrs and returning again in the afternoon. To the past and present Coaches - thank you for the passion and commitment that you brought and bring daily to the deck, putting aside all other challenges, thus ensuring our Club remains, the best.
Sunday March 25, 2018
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Palm Court backs Raverio Tucker ahead of today’s National Race of Champions Prashad undersc ored
Super biker Raverio Tucker has constantly improved his game and so has been the support of one of Guyana’s leading night spots, Palm Court. This past week, the entity extended their long arm of corporate support by assisting Tucker with his preparation ahead of today’s National Race of Champions at the
the importance of corporate Guyana playing their role in the development of social activities with sports being on the front burner. In response Tucker thanked the entity for “going on another journey with him” and he plans on making them proud by speeding away with some podium finishes.
South Dakota Circuit. Proprietor Navin Prashad expressed his delight in the growth of the young rider in this the third meet that they are sponsoring him, after he officially began competitive riding in July 2017.
The motorcycle group is understood to have ten bikes taking the grid with former champion Matthew Vieira being one . The race meet is organised by the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club with title sponsors being Mohamed’s
Raverio Tucker (left) collects his sponsorship cheque from Palm Courts’ Navin Prashad at their Main Street location. Enterprise, STAG and Tropical Shipping. Action com-
mences at 09:00hrs and tickets are priced at $1,000.
GCA/Guyana Diabetes Association U17 T20 launched By Zaheer Mohamed The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) in collaboration with the Guyana Diabetes Association (GDA) and Ansa Mc Al yesterday launched this year’s edition of their U17 T20 tournament at the Demerara Cricket Club, Queenstown.The tournament which involves eight teams will commence today at several venues in Georgetown. Speaking at the launching ceremony, President of the GCA Roger Harper said he is pleased to stage the tournament once again adding that they have embarked on a youth cricket festival for the Easter Holidays. “Its re-
ally an extravaganza of youth cricket and I must express gratitude to the Guyana Diabetes Association which has helped to keep our youth programme going and we were able to build on that tournament this year therein we have included an U13 tournament, U15 and our U19,” he added. “Throughout these tournaments our youths will be occupied meaningfully which is an important tool this country needs that they seem to not appreciate and recognise in fighting crime.”Harper stated, “As you herd earlier through cricket we teach team work, inculcate team (Continued on page 77)
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Hairoun Beer/GRFU 7s Tourney Top local side Hornets Rugby Club defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s
Harvard Rugby Club 10-0 in the final of the inaugural Hairoun Beer/Guyana Rugby Football Union 7s Tourney which was contested yesterday at the Athletics Field of the National Park. The two teams emerged from the round-
Sunday March 25, 2018
Hornets sting T&T’s Harvard in Final
robin format of the competition, topping their respective groups. The more athletic and determined home team ensured that the big prize of $200,000, the biggest prize yet in local rugby, stayed on these shores. More details in tomorrow’s edition. Action in yesterday’s final between Hornets and Harvard at the Athletics Field of the National Park.