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Pres. Ali says situation in NEWS Palestine is “first publicly - calls for immediate televised genocide” ceasefire AIETEUR

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Sunday Edition November 19, 2023

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Online readership yesterday, 49,919

Pres. Ali says powerful UN Security Council will be able to enforce World Court ruling against Venezuela Measures Govt. can take to increase US$ Billions from oil without changing lopsided Exxon deal Most fatal road Driver crushed to accidents in death after trucks 2023 occurred on Nelson Mandela collide at Chinese Avenue - Police mining operation

Japanese company starts building ExxonMobil’s 5th Guyana-bound FPSO Former EPA Head: Guyanese must hold Govt.

to account and demand release of interest rate on ExxonMobil US-multibillion $$$ investments

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: DR. GLENN LALL - TEL: 624-6456 Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News, 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

THE GuyExpo committee should From Bharat award Percival Boyce posthumously EDITORIAL

to Bharrat From the inception it became apparent that Bharat Jagdeo’s version of what a press conference should be boiled down to the norms of a circus, with him as the ringmaster. It is now quickly becoming just as obvious that Jagdeo’s promoting himself to take charge of the nation’s policymaking mantle is a clear case of yet another merrygo-round from the fertile mind of a leading political performer. Jagdeo’s hiding behind his newly created policymaking portfolio empowers him to pass off what he doesn’t like, what makes him uncomfortable, to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. In the PPPC Government’s merry-go-round Christmas gift to citizens, it is Bharat to Bharrat, and round and round they have Guyanese going around the mulberry bush.

This is how one hot potato issue after another is passed from hand to hand, from one Bharat hand to the other Bharrat. It is the Guyanese political and leadership versions of Chinese ping-pong. The public gets bounced around from one to the other, with nothing answered, nothing of substance, handed over by either of the two government luminaries. Ask Vice President a question about oil and gas, and he has ready answers: talk to the Minister. Put the same question to the minister (Bharrat), and he channels those probing for answers to the Vice President. According to Minster Bharrat, it is President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo who make policy, which leaves him with the role of implementing.

It is our view that the Hon Minister has it slightly wrong, if not more. He is the Minister of Natural Resources, a most senior portfolio to hold, considering the place of oil and gas in Guyana’s economy and Guyanese life. The minister can never be, should not see himself, as a waterboy, he has to be part of the policymaking apparatus, essential to its brain trust.

As a member of the Cabinet, Minister Bharrat is not some note taker, but a policymaker in his own right. He is not a pawn, he is a participant in policymaking, and he has to be a producer.

Minister Bharrat has a duty to the Guyanese people to produce answers that are comprehensive and credible. For the minister to take comfort in saying that he is responsible for implementing policy made by the upstairs people only (Ali and Jagdeo) reduces him to the ranks of a public servant, some clerk in the vast machinery of the State’s bureaucracy.

Whatever Minister Bharrat is, any minister for that matter, he is not a clerk, should not see himself as one, who pushes paper and paperclips around to fill his day. Minister Bharrat has a Permanent Secretary and heads of divisions to oversee the implementation of policy. The same policies over which he presided, and participated in, or should have. Vice President Jagdeo said that he is not dealing with ‘routine matters.’ It would be helpful, most likely revealing how Jagdeo defines ‘routine.’ We at this paper think that the kind of protection that ExxonMobil has in place for Guyana in the event of a catastrophic oil spill surpasses anything that could be described as ‘routine.’ A full guarantee by ExxonMobil, USA (not ExxonMobil Guyana) is the kind of issue that both the Vice President and the minister should be able to respond to in the frankest and cleanest terms. None of this hedging and feeling for words, none of these verbal shenanigans from Bharat Jagdeo to Vickram Bharrat (and back), and this clever going around in endless circles that leave Guyanese in the same dangerously exposed place.

There were nine questions put to Minister Bharrat, and he did not do himself any justice with those that he chose to answer. Candidly, the minister looked rather unprepared and out of his depth. Given the shifty ways in which Jagdeo has dealt with oil and gas questions, it is not surprising that he came up with this arrangement that leaves an information void on sensitive issues related to the management of this national patrimony. The dismal projection is that this looks like the standard for the future: oil and gas information blackout, and Jagdeo being slick enough to insulate himself from accountability in his new policymaking ivory tower.

Dear Mr. Editor, I’ve recently received a call from a friend living in Guyana, questioning if I will be assisting in organizing GuyExpo this year. I took pains in explaining the following to my goodly friend that I was happy that the current administration has recommenced the staging of this event and I’m sure that it will be immensely successful.

Notwithstanding, I could not help but reflect on my late friend Mr. Percival B o y c e , G u y E x p o ’s Coordinator during the years I’d served as co-Chairman of this national exposition, and the yeoman service given towards the success of this initiative. I would like to take this opportunity to express

how deeply sad I was upon learning of his death. As former chairman of the Organizing Committee, I would say without fear of contradiction, that my late friend was the main force beh in d the s u cces s ful staging of this event for many years. He effectively implemented the decisions of the Organizing Committee and never failed in carrying out these responsibilities. The late Mr. Boyce was the consummate professional, extremely dedicated and committed to his work. In fact, this was reflected in his organization of GuyExpo’s cultural programme (supported by the late dynamic committee m e m b e r M r. C u l t u r a l himself- Lennox

Canterbury), which promoted local entertainers and was arguably one of his most successful and memorable contributions.

I could write a book on the experiences I’ve had as co-Chairman; however, I will focus on a few memorable ones. For context of this first instance, during one of the staging of this major trade exposition, I had learned that the Ministry responsible for organizing this annual event did not have the financial resources to stage the event that year.

This was brought to my attention by the late coordinator who indicated that the financial recourses generated from this event was managed by the subject ministry and not the

Secretariat. As then coChairman, I had successfully lobbied the former President Dr. Bharat Jagdeo to advance the committee $20M with a commitment that we will make a profit of over $50M. You see Mr. Editor, I could have given that commitment because the late Coordinator and I had done some groundwork, which revealed that in the absence of an Accounts Payable Account, it was difficult the ascertain the authenticity of the bills/invoices submitted for payment after the conclusion of the event; needless to say, these were all honoured by the late Mr. Boyce in his capacity. This shows the professionalism and temerity of the man who (Continued on page 06)

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox All Guyanese including the Government should take the Venezuelan threat more seriously DEAR EDITOR, I am ineluctably constrained to publicly add my voice to the discourse on the current developments r e g a r d i n g Ve n e z u e l a ’s threats in pursuit of its baseless claim to our Essequibo region.

I say publicly add my voice because since early September I had shared information with certain persons about the following actions Venezuela allegedly plans to execute: (1) To increase 10 fold its military presence along the border and nearby communities in Venezuela.

(2) Upgrading of airstrips in areas close to our borders with Venezuela.

(3) Plans to have military personnel dressed as civilians cross the border, capture Guyanese military and/or police and take them

back to Venezuela where they will be forced to read statements condemning Guyana for wrongful occupation of land and maritime space “belonging” to Venezuela”.

This action would be condemned by the Venezuelan government and blamed on Venezuelan gangs over which it would claim it has no control.

But the damage would have already been done.

(4) Pay willing Guyanese residents of Essequibo and the North West District to make public statements in support of Venezuela’s claim.

(5) Acquire Guyanese military and police uniforms to distribute to Guyanese and others willing to wear these uniforms in Venezuela as a fake attempt at deceiving public opinion that these are

Unity front seems to have fizzled DEAR EDITOR, The much hyped unity front and pledges to stave off Venezuela seems to have fizzled and appears to have been nothing more than a facade.

The lofty speeches projecting oneness at the Extraordinary Sitting of Parliament have faded into the background.

The touted PR campaign blitz has not materialised, another visit to the Middle East is undertaken, the opposition is busy fact finding while our citizens are in a frenzy with GuyExpo, Black Magenta and Christmas festivities. All this on our side of the border while Venezuela is busy mobilising its people and ramping up its rhetoric.

Where would this end for

us?

We await the ruling of the Wo r l d C o u r t t o o u r provisional requests, which Venezuela has declared would not stop the referendum from going ahead, in its present form.

What sanctions would the UN take against Venezuela were it to defy (as it seems inclined to do) the ruling of the World Court?

Would that body show some gall and either suspend or expel that country? After all it was, the UN which referred the controversy to the World Court.

Would nations take a stand...a stand which seems incapable and elusive in the ongoing genocide occurring in the Middle East?

Respectfully, Shamshun Mohamed

defectors from Guyana’s military and law enforcement agencies.

At the time of my sharing this information there was no public announcement about the December 3 referendum and my sources did not make mention of any pending referendum.

Given the current Venezuela extraordinary aggressive approach on all fronts, what should be G u y a n a ’s r e s p o n s e ? I recommend the following: (1) Guyana immediately formally brings to the UN Security Council’s attention the series of recent actions of the part of Venezuela.

Guyana has every right to since much of Venezuela’s threats and actions are not in keeping with the Secretary General’s decision to use the mechanism of the ICJ to determine a final and lasting solution to the controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Award.

(2) Immediately enter in discussions with the US, Brazil, Canada, Britain, South Africa, India and of course the CARICOM about mounting a joint

multinational Military Humanitarian Mission to help guard against any action that may provoke a confrontation including observation of how Guyana t r e a t s t h e Ve n e z u e l a n economic migrants crossing the border.

Once agreement is reached in principle, the auspices of the UN could be sought to make it a UN Mission to include UN funding of the Mission that would not require more than 600 troops.

I have been advancing this idea among friends and colleagues some of whom remind me that there is no precedent for such a Mission.

I remind them that for every action for which there is a precedent, there was a first time.

And of course there were such Missions in Haiti for a situation that was mostly domestic and did not pose as dangerous a threat to hemispheric stability and security as the Venezuelan threat.

(3) Intensify and implement a more strategic

public relations campaign at home and abroad that goes beyond bumper stickers and utilizes public diplomacy as well as state-of-the-art technology.

(4) Government engage political and other relevant stakeholders on all issues that affect them and seek to find solutions to legitimate concerns including making appointments of Town Clerks without allegedly following the prescribed procedure under the law.

(5) Guyanese must refrain from pointing fingers at current and past leaders such as alleging that Burnham sold out to the CIA in agreeing to the Geneva Agreement (utter foolishness) and Jagdeo is inclined to make a deal with Venezuela to give them part of Essequibo (no credible evidence of this.)

Editor, those who feel Maduro is bluffing should rethink their position.

This is a real threat and I urge all Guyanese, including the Government to take this threat more seriously than we appear to be taking it. Let us use all the expertise,

experience, contacts and other resources at our disposal to confront Maduro.

Way back in 2016 at a forum I arranged in Florida at which Carl Greenidge was the featured speaker, former Grenada Ambassador to Ve n e z u e l a , M a t t h e w William said that Maduro will never eschew using force in pursuit of the Venezuelan claim.

His comments received much publicity which led Maduro to allege that Greenidge had attacked Venezuela at that forum, when in fact Greenidge tried to play down the analysis offered by Ambassador William.

Maduro delayed granting agreement to have Cheryl Miles accredited as Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela.

As I always say when I am asked by media in the US about this controversy, “this Venezuelan claim is based on a jumbie story.”

I am told that the reference to jumbie really irks the Venezuelans.

Sincerely, Wesley Kirton

Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox The fatal vehicular accidents on our roads is worrying DEAR EDITOR, It certainly begs the question, why isn’t there a punishment for reckless, killer motorists called the “ r e v o c a t i o n o f o n e ’s license,” or some law to that effect. I am talking about reading or seeing the enforcement of some clause in the law that prohibits vehicular homicidal persons from holding a license or prohibits his or her ability to commandeer a motor able

vehicle on our roads ever. I look forward to the day when I can hear such sentences being handed down to those out-of-control drivers.

As it stands, I am seeing mounting statistics of repeat offenders receiving sentences which - in its truest terms - amounts to a slap on the wrist and a clear go ahead in the continuation of the carnage. I cannot recall ever seeing a vehicular homicide offender being denied the

use of his license? What I do hear are instances of innocuous jail time, but no revocation of licenses, which tells me that some of these motorists are taking the lax road laws for a joke, as well as showing scant regard for the sanctity of human life.

Again I say take away their license, get them off our roads!

The wanton loss of human lives is certainly a worrying factor for all of us

because our human resource is under threat, valuable lives are lost all because of some drunken or “under the influence driver,” I say under the influence of some mind-

altering drug or someone who simply cannot drive. I pause here to highlight the fact that many vehicular accidents are as a result of the use of mind-altering drug

use.

There are cases of drivers running into stationary objects, or drivers immolating themselves by (Continued on page 62)

THE GuyExpo committee should...

From page 04 served in this critical position. In an effort to enhance accountability, I facilitated the donation of three computers (with a userfriendly accounting software installed) to the Secretariat and recruited three youths who were trained in the use of the accounting system (by another very dedicated gentleman Mr. Linden Anderson who sadly has since died). The late Coordinator, who supervised this team, also ensured they were educated on all the aspects associated with staging the largest annual national event held in Guyana pre-2015. The ability to recognize and fulfill the needed capacity building was priceless and arguably served them well during the execution of their stint and, by extension, the GuyExpo.

With this team and efficient system in place, we implemented a Local Purchase System (no expenses could be initiated if an LPO was not generated) during the planning and execution of this event. I, along with the then Minister of Tourism, conducted daily inspection visits where we’d received updated copies of the Accounts Payable schedule for review and discussion with the coordinator. It was the prudent oversight by Mr. Boyce and our team that resulted in the Organizing Committee’s ability to not only repay the $20M advance granted to the committee (in 2006) but achieved a profit of approximately $46.3M on the last night of the event that year. Additionally, for all the subsequent years of coordinating the event, the organizers knew the “profitable status” on the last night of the event. It’s worthwhile, to note that all financial resources generated are used to support the programs of the subject ministry. including funding the secretariat.

One year I recall Mr. Boyce’s quick thinking and pro-active intervention in averting what could have possibly been a major

accident waiting to happen.

While on a site visit a day before the exhibition was officially scheduled to be opened (I cannot remember the year), I’d noticed a merry-go-round carousel from the rust that was obviously on the parts of this equipment, and it was clear that it was not adequately maintained. On the advice of the late Mr. Boyce, we’d invited the owner to a meeting where he was told to service this children’s ride.

Further, the owner was told that he will not be able to operate said equipment without the appropriate insurance policy for the functioning of this type of equipment (the necessary inspection was also c o n d u c t e d b y knowledgeable technical personnel). As fate would have it, during the third night of the exhibition, I was in my late colleague’s office when we heard a loud bang; the sound came from the direction of the ride. We’d rushed to the area which was in darkness. Honestly, the first thought was that children were seriously injured; both my late friend and I were expecting the worst.

B u t G o d w a s overlooking his children, only two kids were slightly injured. We ensured that they had received immediate medical treatment. However, their parents did not accept our offer to have the two children transported the hospital for further medical examination.

A f t e r s o m e consideration, the Coordinator and I agreed to effect a monetary payment on the request of the family members of the children directly affected by this incident. Needless to say, this ride was never used again for the remaining years that I was co-Chairman. Mr. Editor, it is this type of soundness of character and professional integrity that is etched in my mind when I think of Mr. Boyce and his contribution to the success of this national event.

I also fondly recall the night the Expo had over 50,000 attendees and the

difficulty the late Mr. Boyce and I found ourselves trying to hold the gate on the far north of the exhibition site with approximately fifty persons pushing on the other side trying to get in free. We were about to give up when we’d noticed the crowd dispersing. Apparently, word got out that Paul Slowe was approaching. We were never so happy to see a police officer. These are some of the memories, which I’ll always treasure of my late colleague and the hosting of GuyExpo.

I am sure that the investment in this event will be significantly greater than in previous years. This is important since the late coordinator (and the government) were aware that GuyExpo not only showcase Guyana business (small, medium, and large) but booths from other countries were also facilitated (as far as India).

While the large turnout to this event, served as a vehicle to educating Guyanese and foreigners on the business opportunities and new business ventures. One of the late coordinator’s qualities that I really admired, was his willingness to participate in any activity (outside his scope of work) that would further enhance the success of this event. The Organizing Committee was very interested in ascertaining the positive impact this event had on the participating businesses. The late Mr. Boyce and the committee member with the technical expertise in marketing (mainly exports) lead an exercise initiated to periodically follow-up with businesses (especially the small and medium) these exit surveys were to ascertain sale increases primarily due to new customers (both local and overseas markets) joint ventures etc.

It is for these reasons I am advocating for the current GuyExpo Organizing Committee to consider honouring posthumously the memory of this true son of Guyana, Mr. Percival Boyce, former Coordinator of GuyExpo.

Kind regards, Keith Burrowes

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Monday November 13, 2023

Kaieteur News

After three years in office the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat finally stepped into the limelight to face the media on Tuesday.

His first press conference was no less than a failure, as the media was forced to endure a frustrating opening statement that lasted close to two hours.

A number of questions are yet to be addressed

by Bharrat that were directed to him by the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. The Minister evidently was not knowledgeable on the sector under his remit and failed to address the issues that were raised.

Jagdeo used the opportunity on Thursday during his media engagement to evade scrutiny on the oil sector, insulting the press when questions were asked of him and again directing questions to the Minister.

Can they be trusted with our natural resources when they duck from accountability???

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday Monday November May 02,19, 2022 2023

Chevron tells shareholders 10-12 wells to be drilled in Guyana's mighty Stabroek Block next year

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A map of the Stabroek Block

hevron, the new indirect entrant into Guyana's oil sector, has announced, via its Chief Executive Officer, Mike Wirth, that 10-12 wells will be drilled in the Stabroek Block in 2024.

This follows Chevron's recent acquisition of Hess Corporation, in a US$53 billion all-stock deal, set to substantially diversify Chevron's asset portfolio.

The acquisition, formalized on October 23,

places Chevron in a strong position, since Hess is a 30% stakeholder at the extremely valuable Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil.

“Guyana is already an exceptional, differentiated asset that adds significant resource inventory in the deepwater,” Wirth said after the acquisition.

ExxonMobil had received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a 35-well exploration and appraisal campaign, which kicks off this year.

The company is looking to unlock as many barrels as it can before having to relinquish the block in a few years.

In 2022, ExxonMobil made discoveries at Barreleye-1, Patwa-1, Kiru Kiru-1, Lau Lau-1, Sailfin1, Lukanani-1, Seabob-1, Fangtooth-1 and Yarrow-1.

Then, in 2023 so far, Exxon made discoveries at Fangtooth SE, Lancetfish-1 and Lancetfish-2.

In April last year, when Exxon announced the finds at Barreleye, Lukanani and Patwa, it had updated the resource estimate to 11 billion barrels, but has not further revised it since. It has been 19 months and seven discoveries later.

According to Arthur Deakin, Energy Director at Americas Market Intelligence, the arrival of oil major in the Stabroek block consortium, is likely

to see exploration exceeding expectations.

He believes that Chevron can encourage more aggressive and adventurous exploration, and that it is likely to advocate more forcefully for its own views on the development of the acreage, through its ownership of Hess.

The increase of oil majors operating offshore Guyana raises concerns among stakeholders, about the pace of exploration and development, and whether the country's regulatory capacity will be able to keep up.

Chevron's entry into the Guyana oil sector is timely, considering the substantial production growth expected.

Wi t h t h r e e p r o j e c t s operating simultaneously, the Stabroek Block is set to reach 620,000 barrels of oil production per day in the new year. Guyana is poised to become the world's largest per capita producer of oil, when ExxonMobil achieves 1.2 million barrels per day offshore Guyana.

ExxonMobil is the operator with a 45% interest.

With the acquisition of Hess, Chevron now has dominion over Hess' 30% stake, while CNOOC retains the remaining 25%.

Hess will remain the 30% partner in the Stabroek Block, as the transaction did not entail renaming, restructuring or replacing Hess Guyana.

The local subsidiary will continue to be owned by Hess International, while that company will be owned

by Chevron.

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

PAGE 09

Kaieteur News should refuse the invite to these weekly press conferences!

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he Kaieteur News should refuse to attend the weekly press conferences hosted by the General Secretary of the P e o p l e ’s P r o g r e s s i v e Party/Civic. These weekly events have descended into the throwing of tantrums against the Opposition. They do not serve the purposes ascribed for press conferences.

In a previous column I had said that press conferences are meant for addressing important national issues and those of topical importance. Press conferences should not be misused as platforms for political attacks and responses to criticisms.

The PPP/C began holding these press conferences after the APNU began to host virtual weekly press conferences. As such, what is taking place is that the media is caught in the crossfire between these two political parties and find themselves having to scamper from one press conferences ( virtual) to another (face-t0 face) with the latter intended to counter what was said at the former.

The PPP/C makes no bones as to the intent of its weekly press conferences. It has said that PPP/C needed to, “kill some of the rumours that this country has grown accustomed to [and that are] being peddled by the Opposition and their

affiliates.” The PPP/C had called on its supporters to respond to critics of the government on social media.

The weekly press conferences therefore represent a political blitz of a party and government which is under siege from its critics.

Should the media be conscripted to providing a forum for this sort of propaganda from Jagdeo?

And should it have to attend the weekly press conferences by the Opposition?

I also questioned whether the media should be obligated to attend these conferences and become conduits for what is perceived as political propaganda. The media should feel under no compunction to have to attend these sessions, and to endure them even if in the hope of eking out some previously unknown facts.

Nothing of real value comes of these press conferences and this is evident in what is reported in the press after the media has to sit and listen to an extended opening statement.

The only useful information that came out of last week’s press conference is that the court papers were served on Su. But even here it was not clear whether it was served on him directly or vicariously.

It was suggested that instead of hosting weekly

press conferences, the PPP/C instead should convey their messages through press releases rather than monopolizing the media’s time with weekly press conferences. The media should insist that press conferences be reserved for significant announcements and to demand greater access to public officials.

Why should the media have to attend weekly press conferences only for the PPP/C General Secretary to counter something that was said earlier at another press conferences or to respond to some criticism of the government? Is this what press conferences have been reduced to?

For the media to subject itself to this weekly dose of diatribes and tantrums of the General Secretary of the PPP/C is to court disrespect and abuse. But the situation gets more sordid when one observes the utter disdain, bordering on hostility, shown to Kaieteur News reporters.

Kaieteur News has consistently been at the receiving end of the tantrums of the General Secretary of the PPP/C. Their questions are most often than not deflected by his comments that he has dealt with that issue before and that the Kaieteur News is repeating itself.

This is Jagdeo’s pitiful

DEM BOYS SEH

Christmas deh around de corner Christmas is just around de corner, and de madness is still napping somewhere in a hammock under a coconut tree. Dem boys seh it’s the season to be jolly, but it seems like we’re all stuck in a slow-motion limbo waiting for the festivities to kick in. But is so we does roll in Guyana.

Everything is left for de last minute.

De Christmas shopping is moving at a pace slower than a snail. People staring at dem shopping lists like it’s a complicated math equation. “To buy or not to buy, that is de question,” they ponder, hoping for some divine intervention to drop prices faster than Santa sliding down a chimney.

And speaking of prices, all eyes are on dem eggs.

Yo u k n o w, t h e k e y ingredient in dem cakes that make Christmas in Guyana sweeter than a sugar cane field. Folks are holding off on baking plans, praying that the government pulls a rabbit out of the hat and makes eggs affordable again. If only they could hatch a plan to crack this dilemma wide open.

But de real drama unfolds with dem public servants. They’re eyeing that back pay like a hungry man staring down a plate of pepper-pot. Christmas without a hefty back pay is like a tree without lights – dull and unimpressive. The rumors are rife, with

speculations of a 10% payout swirling around like a hurricane in de rum shop.

But hold on to yuh stockings, meh friends, because with de 5% man in town, disappointment is knocking at de door. Dem public servants might have to settle for a little increase that’s smaller than a breadfruit seed.

So, as we sip on our sorrel and munch on gingerbread cookies, let’s remember that the national pie is not being shared fairly.

Some getting big slices, while others gettin crumbs.

It’s like a Christmas party where one person hogging all de pastries.

Talk half. Leff half

defense for failing to provide satisfactory answers to issues such as the interest rates which Guyana will have to repay for Exxon’s investment. Anyone taking a loan and having to make repayment would want to know what interest rate is being changed. But onto now the PPP/C government cannot indicate the interest rate that is being charged, and when the question is asked, the media is told that the issue has been dealt with before. When some other awkward question is asked, it is suggested that the

reporter seek the answers from either the Guyana Revenue Authority or the relevant Ministers concerned. The media corps in Guyana would, I believe unanimously agree that many of the Ministers of the PPP/C administration, do not have a stellar record of accessibility by the media.

The reporters of Kaieteur News have expressed concern about the treatment which is meted out to them at these press conferences The manner in which the reporters of Kaieteur News are treated is terrible. The

publisher should no longer subject his staff to this sort of disrespect.

He should refuse to send his reporters to the PPP/C press conferences.

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

Kaieteur News

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Sunday Monday November May 02,19, 2022 2023

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

Guyana and Venezuela:

Confluence of events or coincidence

M

ay 2015 was a momentous month for Guyana.

The Coalition Government took the reins of power, Exxon discovered oil, and on May 26, Venezuela issued Decree 1.787. The latter essentially expanded Ve n e z u e l a ' s m a r i t i m e footprint across the territorial waters of Guyana. Seven

weeks later, Venezuela issued Decree 40.696, which maintained that vast footprint over Guyana's waters, but without any specifics identified.

Over a year later, Guyana sealed an oil deal with Exxon on October 7, 2016. The terms, provisions, and conditions of that contract have been the subject of

endless commentaries, almost all of them negative.

It has always been my position that the discovery of oil in Guyana's waters prompted the unveiling of Decree 1.787 in Caracas, which heavily influenced the favorable numbers and unbelievably controlling clauses in the Guyana-Exxon oil contract.

Stated

differently, the American oil whale used the decree developments in Venezuela to extract every pound of flesh, along with every drop of contractual blood, to its incomparable advantage. As whales go, Exxon is a killer whale. In pondering these oil developments in Guyana-a weak, vulnerable, unready, and unsteady Guyana-I discern more than coincidence in the sequence of events. I think that there was a continuum in motion, and the confluence of circumstances propelled this country to where it is today.

The large shadow of Exxon loomed every step of the way back then, over eight years ago.

Today, it is eight years later, and Guyana is in the waning days of 2023. For the entirety of this year, and for long stretches before, a single sentence of immeasurable intensity and compelling proportions has intruded upon, and come to dominate, the consciousness of Guyanese. Renegotiate the 2016 Exxon contract. It is an incendiary proposition in both Guyanese and Exxon circles. There has been a relentless march of newspapers articles, radio programs, social media postures, which has familiarized Guyanese of the wrong-sided and lopsided character of the Exxon contract. It has been called all manner of savaging names, with the recreations of Exxon and its top people barely escaping being burnt in effigy. Though there are deep divisions of a partisan nature in Guyana, the passions of countless Guyanese run high on both sides of the issue. Even Guyana's parliament reflected how lacking in patriotism, how pathetic, some of this nation's lawmakers are.

All of this has forced Exxon on the defensive, and the public relations battles have not been in its favor, locally or internationally. In response, Exxon has dug in its heels, and offered the dreadful (a good deal), the baleful (bad message to investors), and the resourceful (spending Guyanese oil money to brighten its image before Guyanese). If all of this considered combustible and scorching, I now put before the whole world, the possibly

explosive, and what could likely embody the repulsive at its inconceivable worst.

For there is Venezuela retuning to the forefront, and spreading its wings (with talons bared) in the face of Guyana.

Now, though locked in the throes of crippling sanctions only recently partially relieved, through the benevolence of the United States, Venezuela is back to its old 2015 ways, but with more than decrees this time.

The language is rattling, with sabers rattling even more. There have been troop movements, a December 3rd referendum all but over, and of which the visions and ambitions could not be clearer, and more dangerous to Guyana.

Whether the forces in control (or with meaningful influence) in Venezuela did this unincited and unpropelled may, perhaps, never be known. After all, border controversies unleash terrible misjudgments, and land is land, especially those loaded with known and unknown treasures. What I do know, however, as is now obvious from developments in Guyana is that the Venezuelan referendum has distracted Guyanese from passions about renegotiation.

Venezuelan troop massing at the border (with rhetoric to match) has diluted the attention of Guyanese about renegotiation. And the focus on representations before the international court and the court of foreign opinion have all served to diminish the pressures Guyanese brought to bear for renegotiation of the Exxon oil contract. I am weighing whether the coincidences and continuum of 2015 have repeated themselves in 2023, and again to the massive disadvantage of Guyana.

For those who recoil from such a likelihood involving American companies, I refer them to ITT and Pepsi in Chile in the time of Allende.

If and when citizens are instigated to madness against their fellow citizens in many places (including the old British Guiana), then it is but a small leap to incite one country against another. The usual denominator has been that Holy Grail known as profits. The quest for riches has driven self-glorifying civilized men to extreme

ruthl essness from time immemorial. Considering Guyana's riches and its giveaway oil contract, it is not an exception. It cannot be allowed to be precedent.

In 1793, the Haitians rose up.

Three hundred years later, look at what has been made of them.

Separately, I assert two more things. First, Maduro did not last so long by being a patsy. There must have been some credits , some promised American goodwill for him in raising the bar on the border controversy. He has answered the call, now he must find a way to stand down safely. Second, in absorbing the ratcheting up of tensions from the Venezuelan side, this is astonishing, considering the limited easing of sanctions.

Jeopardizing that could lead to reversal. Of conspicuous note, the US has been muted, other than for an initial contribution.

Though its hands are full, the expectation is that the Assistant Secretary for Hemispheric Affairs would have been vocal and visible.

Strange, given all that is at stake for American and regional interests.

The question troubles: coincidence or confluence? I recall the reach of Exxon, and how one of its own ended up as Secretary of State. Indeed, Exxon does operate by its own rules, fires its own shots to suit its interests.

Timely or untimely, connected or otherwise, calls for renegotiation could have contributed to the unveiling of a referendum of openended potency and peril.

The referendum is as good as done, the ICJ will decide, and Venezuela has made its position clear. For their part, Guyanese will have to decide how they want to be, and where they go from there. Some renegotiation ground has been lost in the swirl and fog of Venezuela escalations.

It must be regained, and then surpassed with energy, courage, and wisdom.

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

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 19, 2023

Most fatal road accidents in 2023 occurred on Nelson Mandela Avenue

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he Guyana Police Force (GPF) last week reported that Nelson Mandela Avenue, Georgetown has been the location in Guyana where most serious road fatalities occurred in 2023.

The statistics provided by Senior Superintendent, Mahendra Singh, disclosed that Nelson Mandela Avenue recorded 20% of serious accidents for the year, while Recent Street (between

– Police

Camp and Cummings Street) followed with 18% and Sheriff Street with 13%. In addition, Avenue of the Republic and Rome Access Road recorded 7%; Railway Embankment and Pump Road, Durban Street and Conversation Tree Road recorded 5%; and Croal Street, Bel Air, Water Street, Vlissengen Road, and Movie Towne Access road recorded

3% of accidents.

Notably, earlier this year in June, a 20-year-old man lost his life after the motorcycle he was riding, collided with a motorcar on Mandela Avenue.

Joshua Blackett of Lot 568 Toucan Drive, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown died following the collision which

The scene where Joshua Blackett lost his life at Mandela Avenue.

Dead: Joshua Blackett

Dead: Lakeram Etwaroo

the police said occurred in the vicinity of Space Gym and the Botanical Gardens.

Eighteen-year-old Natasha McKenzie, the pillion rider was also injured in the accident which involved motorcar PNN 9458 driven by 40-year-old Marvin Williams of Lot 249 Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Police related that, Williams alleged that he was heading north along the western drive of Mandela Avenue, when he observed the motorcycle heading south along the eastern drive lane of the road at a fast rate. He reported that while in the vicinity of Space Gym the motorcycle started to skid from the eastern lane and ended up into his path, causing the collision.

As a result of the collision, the pillion rider and cyclist fell onto the roadway, where they received injuries about their bodies. The Emergency Medical Service (EMS) staffed by an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a doctor, were summoned to the scene and pronounced Blackett dead.

Another motorcyclist, Lakeram Etwaroo, died earlier this year in an accident along Mandela Avenue. The 47-year-old Etwaroo of Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank

southern side of the road. He alleged that as he approached the traffic light, it was showing green in his direction but the light to turn south was red so he stopped and waited as the turning light changed to green.

It was stated that the driver of the truck was in the process of making a right turn to head south onto John Fernandes Access Road while the motorcyclist was proceeding west along the centre of the said road, at a fast rate of speed.

The police reported that Etwaroo collided with the left side rear wheel of the truck.

As a result of the collision, the motorcyclist fell onto the road where he sustained injuries to his head and other parts of his body.

E m e rg e n c y M e d i c a l Technicians (EMT) were summoned and the motorcyclist was picked up in an unconscious condition and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver of truck and he had no trace of alcohol in his breath.

In June, another motorcyclist Leon Sealey Yaw, 26, died after he collided with another motorcycle along Nelson Mandela Avenue.

Dead: Leon Sealey Yaw

Demerara collided with a truck.

The GPF in a statement disclosed that the fatal accident occurred in the vicinity of the John Fernandes terminal involving a truck GDD 3729 and the motorcycle CH 2546.

The driver of the truck, 52-year-old Mohan Ramnarine, of Airy Hall Public Road, Essequibo Coast, told the police, he was proceeding east along Nelson Mandela Avenue on the

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

President Ali says situation in Palestine is the “first publicly televised genocide” - Calls for immediate ceasefire President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, in a powerful condemnation of the ongoing war in Palestine, described the situation as the "first publicly televised genocide in the world."

Speaking firmly on the issue, President Ali stated, “This is televised genocide.

We have a very strong position on terrorism. We condemn the actions of Hamas. But what is occurring now is nothing short of being agenocide.”

He called for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Palestine and strongly advocated for a two-state solution, urging all parties to return to the negotiation table.

The United Nations, reporting on the dire situation last Friday, highlighted the extensive destruction and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Martin Griffiths, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, informed that 41,000 houses had been destroyed or severely damaged, with over 1.5 million Gazans displaced. He stated, “Casualties continue to mount, with the dead reportedly exceeding 11,000 people – the majority of them children and women.” He also stressed the critical shortage of food, water, and essential services, calling for immediate action to prevent further deterioration and potential escalation in the region.

President Ali made his call for a ceasefire, during a press conference on Saturday, when asked to provide an update on the Caribbean Community's (CARICOM) position on the matter. The CARICOM Secretariat, as recent as last week Sunday, registered

grave concern in a statement about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

CARICOM “expressed] horror and concern at the mounting death toll on the civilian population, including women and children, particularly in Gaza, but also in other areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

The community condemned any disregard for international humanitarian l a w, r e a f f i r m i n g i t s conviction that a lasting, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through peaceful means, based on relevant United Nations Resolutions and in accordance with international law. The statement further called for an immediate ceasefire and compliance with international law by all

parties.

Earlier, on October 9, 2023, CARICOM had already voiced its abhorrence of the violence in the region.

The statement read, “The savage nature of the attacks and counterattacks is the antithesis of civilized life and living.” CARICOM called for an immediate end to hostilities and noted that the Palestinians have been living in “veritable colonialism”, as well as that Israel has a sense of insecurity. CARICOM noted UN Resolution 242, which was passed since November 1967, calling for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from occupied territories.

Decades later, the tragic situation in the Middle East has not been resolved. Most recently, an attack on Israel

by Hamas militants resulted in a scathing counterassault by the Israel Defence Forces

President Irfaan Ali (IDF).

Te d r o s A d h a n o m Ghebreyesus, the DirectorGeneral of the World Health Organization (WHO), provided a grim overview of the health situation in Gaza.

He stated, “What is clear is that the health needs of the people of Gaza are growing all the time, and the health system is near collapse.”

He pointed out that only 10 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were functioning and

underscored the severe shortage of hospital beds, health workers, medicines, and supplies. Tedros stressed the importance of implementing the UN Security Council resolution, which recently called for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas, and for urgent and extended humanitarian corridors throughout the enclave to save and protect civilian lives.

Measures Govt. can take to increase US$ Billions...

From page 3 received on the sweet light crude from the Stabroek Block is widely known as the worst known to the industry.

The oil companies are also exempted from paying any taxes.

This tax holiday is also e n j o y e d b y i t s subcontractors to support the oil and gas activities.

Activists have been clamoring for the royalty rate to be increased as well as taxes introduced in the new offshore projects. Already, Exxon has made 39 discoveries in the Stabroek Block; to date, five projects have been sanctioned by the state.

The government can engage the operator for more royalty and taxes by utilizing the provisions outlined in the PSA. 7. Secure oil projects with parent company guarantee in the event of a spill Guyana's leaders have been ducking from addressing the real economic devastation that can be caused by an oil spill. To date, Guyana is yet to secure full protection from the parent companies against a likely spill that can potentially set Guyana back years financially.

8. Scrutinize expenses thoroughly T h e s c a l e o f ExxonMobil's operations is several times the annual budget of this country. This also means that there is more room for abuse, as has been exposed in two audits conducted to date.

A thorough review of the company's expenses could reveal even more damning findings uncovered by the auditors. Government had awarded a four month contract to VHE Consulting which is a registered partnership between Ramdihal & Haynes Inc; Eclisar Financial; and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. with support by International firms- SGS and Martindale Consultants- to review Exxon's US$7.3 billion expenses racked up between 2018 and 2020.

Financial Analyst and Certified Accountant, Floyd Haynes had indicated that the recent audit was not a forensic audit or a witch hunt.

He explained, “A forensic audit is done with the aim of identifying fraud and embezzlement with the goal of gathering evidence to be used in a court.”

Contrarily, a cost recovery

audit was conducted pursuant to the parameters of the 2016 PSA with Exxon.

At that time, Haynes pointed out, “The goal is to verify the accuracy or rather the legitimacy and validity of costs claimed... There is a huge difference so I wanted to clear that up.”

This therefore underscores the need for a more in-depth analysis of the company's expenses to be conducted.

9. Place independent meters on FPSOs Guyana recently commenced oil production at a third Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) in the absence of independent meters to verify the production rates being reported by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited.

The Publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall had expressed the view in a recent commentary that as government focuses its attention elsewhere, Guyana could be losing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily due to its failure to independently verify the production rates.

This simple step does not require changes to the Stabroek Block agreement nor technical language in the

production licenses but can ensure Guyana benefits more from its resources.

10. Implement financial sanctions for abuse of Guyana's resources Even though the two audits conducted of ExxonMobil's expenses to date have uncovered brazen acts of abuse, the company will not be facing any penalty.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) party has called for there to be financial penalties for these acts by the operator.

11. Monitor FPSO and drill ship leasing costs Guyana's oil is being used to pay for the rental of drill ships and the lease of the FPSOs; however those costs are not being monitored by the state, instead Guyana is accepting those USmultimillion dollar expenses. Stringent monitoring of these costs can result in Guyana benefitting from more of its oil revenue.

12. Reduce cost oil Guyana's 2016 PSA allow the operator of the Stabroek Block to deduct a majority of the monthly earnings towards cost recovery. Each month, Exxon is allowed to recover 75 percent of the revenues earned to cover its

investments.

Tom Mitro, a former director of the University of Houston's Global Energy, Development and Sustainability program in a Forbes Magazine Energy report last year said the country is losing primarily through the deductions being made by the operator and not necessarily in the profit sharing aspect of the deal.

The Opposition, particularly the AFC had called for the fiscal terms of the new PSA to govern new oil projects in the Stabroek Block. This includes the capping of cost recovery at 65 percent.

13. Fine Exxon for dumping of toxic produced water Another measure that can be taken by government to increase the revenue streams to Guyana from the sector is by implementing a fine for the dumping of produced water into the ocean.

Produced water is a liquid that is extracted during oil production activities. It contains dissolved mineral salts, or may be mixed with organic compounds such as acids, waxes, and mineral oils. It is also usually very high in temperature, and can be

deadly to marine organisms.

Due to its toxicity, this substance is best re-injected into the wells, though this may be a costly exercise.

Government allows Exxon to dump the produced water into the ocean after it is treated. Concerns have been raised regarding the monitoring of these discharges into the ocean and verification processes to ensure the specified requirements are met.

A hefty fine can be imposed on the operator to ensure this waste is reinjected into the wells.

14. Enforce strict relinquishment provisions ExxonMobil has been given the approval of government to keep 20 percent of the Stabroek Block for a year, since its operation was reportedly hampered by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Despite calls by concerned stakeholders for the justification of the extension to be made public, the PPP remains tightlipped.

Strict enforcement of the relinquishment provisions can allow Guyana to benefit greater from their resources as these relinquished portions can be put on auction.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 19, 2023

Pres. Ali says powerful UN Security Council will be able to enforce World Court ruling against Venezuela

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r e s i d e n t D r.

Mohamed Irfaan Ali, explained the critical role of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in enforcing rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which could be a major deterrent to aggression by Venezuela.

The President explained this during a press conference yesterday, amidst rising concerns about the controversy with Venezuela.

As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the ICJ settles legal disputes between states. The rulings of the ICJ, as President Ali highlighted, are binding and enforceable by the Security Council under the UN Charter. This organ of the UN, consisting of 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power, can implement decisions that significantly impact the resolution of such controversies. Guyana is expected to join the UN

Security Council in January 2024, as a non-permanent member, for two years. The Council can enact binding resolutions on its member states, with powers encompassing peacekeeping operations, sanctions, and military action.

Guyana's most recently sought provisional measures from the ICJ, to prevent Venezuela from taking actions that would violate G u y a n a ' s s o v e r e i g n t y.

Ve n e z u e l a ' s p l a n n e d referendum for December 3, which seeks support to reject the 1899 Arbitral Award that established the land boundary between the two countries, to reject the World Court's jurisdiction, and to annex Guyana's Essequibo territory. Guyana views this as a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Guyana's call to the ICJ, according to Ali, represents a commitment to resolving the controversy peacefully and l e g a l l y. H e e x p r e s s e d

President Irfaan Ali at Saturday's press conference (Photo:DPI)

confidence in the international community's support.

Amid concerns of misinformation and excitable social media posts, President Ali reassured the Guyanese

public that the government is taking comprehensive action on the controversy.

He urged person to rely on official channels and said the government will seek to work with the media on

efforts for national awareness and education on the issue.

He said the government is engaged in extensive diplomatic efforts and continuous contact with international partners to ensure full awareness and support regarding the border controversy.

“At different levels, this has not only borne fruit but has enabled us to strengthen our relationship with our partners,” Ali stated.

He highlighted Guyana's commitment to a peaceful resolution, stating, “Our primary focus is to ensure that this region remains a region of peace.”

However, the President, when asked, appeared to hint at the potential for military support from other countries if Venezuela acts recklessly.

While emphasizing Guyana's desire for peace, he stated, “We have engaged the chief of staff and the senior commander, continuously

engaged with partners across the region, and of course, extra-regionally.”

“I have had engagement with our key strategic partners. And I want to assure you that those engagements have been very fulfilling and comforting for me as head of state. I have no doubt that our international partners and friends will stand steadily and in an unwavering way beside us,” the President stated.

Guyana hopes the ICJ would one day rule on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and keep Venezuela at bay.

The 1899 Arbitral Award, recognized for over 60 years

by Venezuela, was later contested by the Bolivarian Republic. The 1966 Geneva Agreement sought to resolve this controversy but has been unsuccessful so far. The referral of the matter to the ICJ by the UN SecretaryGeneral in 2018 has brought the controversy to the ICJ.

Govt. to hold series of activities to counter Venezuela's planned referendum

T

he Government of Guyana will carry out a series of activities to counter Venezuela's planned referendum on December 3, President Irfaan Ali said on Saturday.

“On the 3rd for example we have a series of activities, the third of December that includes sending a strong national unified message from Guyana to those participating in the referendum,” Ali told reporters during a press conference which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center at Liliendaal, Georgetown.

The Venezuelan National Assembly in September unanimously approved a consultative referendum which paves the way for its people to decide on the country's spurious claims over Guyana's Essequibo region.

Venezuela had announced that the referendum process will be held on December 3, 2023 and its leaders have been campaigning over the last two months for it citizens to vote in favour of that country's claim over the Essequibo.

Ali at Saturday's press conference said that the referendum is a violation to Guyana's sovereign

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali right over its territory.

He explained that the Venezuelan government is seeking the approval of its people to reject the arbitral award of 1899 which defines Guyana's borders and that Venezuela had recognized for 60 years.

Secondly, Ali said that the referendum seeks to reject that International Court of Justice (ICJ) which has jurisdiction to rule in an ongoing matter of the territorial

Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduro dispute between the two countries and also to reject the outcome of the case.

Noting that the ICJ has ruled twice that his has jurisdiction to hear and rule on the matter, Ali added that the referendum also seeks to incorporate Guyana's Essequibo as a Venezuelan State.

Guyana on November 14 went before the ICJ seeking an order from the court to block the referendum. The court is yet to

make its decision but even if it grants the order; the Nicholas Maduro-led government says it is keen on moving ahead with its planned referendum on December 3. As a result, the Government of Guyana has planned a number of activities in the upcoming weeks to counter the referendum.

Apart from sending a unified message to Venezuela, Ali plans to engage the media very soon on a strategy to educate the Guyanese

population on the border controversy.

“On Monday I want us to do this,” Ali said, as he explained that he wants to bring awareness and educate the nation about the territorial dispute between the countries.

As Guyana awaits an order from the ICJ, Venezuela continues to intensify it campaign towards unlawfully claiming Guyana's territory as its own.

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday November 13, 2023

Kaieteur News

After three years in office the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat finally stepped into the limelight to face the media on Tuesday.

His first press conference was no less than a failure, as the media was forced to endure a frustrating opening statement that lasted close to two hours.

A number of questions are yet to be addressed

by Bharrat that were directed to him by the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. The Minister evidently was not knowledgeable on the sector under his remit and failed to address the issues that were raised.

Jagdeo used the opportunity on Thursday during his media engagement to evade scrutiny on the oil sector, insulting the press when questions were asked of him and again directing questions to the Minister.

Can they be trusted with our natural resources when they duck from accountability???

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

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WEEK-IN-REVIEW SUNDAY Almost four years since first oil...

Guyana delays purchase of US$200k oil meter to monitor Exxon’s daily production ...but spends US$11.5M to buy boat to protect company’s operations Since Guyana drew its first barrel of oil in December 2019, the country has allowed production to continue offshore Guyana in the absence of a meter to independently verify the quantity of oil being pumped daily by the operator of the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL).

The country has not only allowed the oil giant to produce oil at its first project- Liza 1- without any supervision or verification systems in place, but also approved and commenced a second project- Liza Twowithout implementing its own monitoring technology.

To this end, the Liza One- now producing an estimated 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the Liza Two, producing an average 250,000 bpd are not being monitored by the state.

Meanwhile, a third project, Payara is expected to come on stream before the end of this year, however, Guyana is yet to establish monitoring capabilities to keep watch on its vast oil reserves.

This publication was reliably informed that the necessary equipment to monitor the operator’s daily production can cost this country less than US$200,000.

A Positive Displacement Flow Meter or a (PD) Meter is largely utilized in the industry to measure the flow of oil. The meters measure the volumetric flow rate of a moving fluid or gas by way of precision-fitted gears or rotors containing cavities through which precisely known volumes of fluid pass.

Research by this newspaper found that the meters are very accurate.

According to Universal Flow Monitors (UFM), PD flowmeters is the only flow measurement technology that directly measures the volume of the fluid passing through the meter.

They are suitable for use

in oil and gas, water and w a s t e w a t e r, c h e m i c a l , power, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, pulp and paper, metals and mining and aerospace.

The availability of this technology has nonetheless failed to faze the Government of Guyana (GoG) that is at this time exerting its energies on regulating other areas of the industry. It was Vice President and chief policy maker for the sector, Bharrat Jagdeo who told reporters during an August press conference this year that the government will shift its attention to the monitoring of production after it completes its new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the Petroleum Act and its inaugural oil blocks auction.

The VP said, “We will get past the core reforms first…the PSA (Production Sharing Agreement), the Local Content Act, the auction, the Petroleum Activities Bill; when we have upgraded the architecture we will then move to operation (and) compliance issues.”

The former Head- ofState was keen to note that the new PSA will strengthen the government’s ability to manage the industry, since it would force oil and gas companies to produce pertinent data. Likewise, the new oil law will ensure petroleum companies submit timely data. According to the VP, this would give the regulators “a better real-time picture of the industry.”

Perhaps more troubling to stakeholders were the V P ’s p l a n s t o a c c e s s information from Exxon to “independently monitor” oil production. He revealed that government plans to access the data that Exxon will be receiving at its new Headquarters at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

At that time, he said, “On issues relating to production verification, we said that Exxon is building an operational center as part of the head office. They are gonna have a fiber optic cable coming in, we may have to get an access to the fiber or in the short term we will probably use satellite technology to have an independent measuring of the flows and everything else.”

Stakeholders had called out the administration on its intention to utilize data from Exxon, as this could have deprived the nation an o p p o r t u n i t y t o independently confirm the number of barrels being produced offshore daily.

This means, Guyana would be blindly accepting the production rates which could be grossly understated by the oil companies.

Subsequently, government announced it would be moving to tender to find a suitable company to monitor the production data.

In the absence of such a critical tool close to four years after first oil, Guyana reportedly purchased a “next generation” 115 Defiant Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) for US$11.5M so that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) can among other things better protect ExxonMobil’s operations.

This publication understands that the government has been paying for the boat since 2021 by setting aside funds from its yearly budgets that are heavily supported by oil revenues from the Stabroek Oil Block offshore Guyana.

On Monday October 30, Metal Shark Boats, the American company that Guyana paid to build the vessel said that the boat is completed and has departed its Louisiana production facility in the United States of the American (USA) for

its Bayou La Batre, Alabama shipyard.

Losing thousands of barrels daily?

The Publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall had expressed the view in a recent commentary that as government focuses its attention elsewhere, Guyana could be losing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily due to its failure to independently monitor and verify the production rates.

The businessman and advocate for a better oil deal reasoned, “If a man picking your mangoes to sell, you the owner does have to check how much he pick. A man picking your coconut, do you have to monitor him to see how much he pick? I am not sure.”

To t h i s e n d , t h e newspaper publisher said Guyana could be losing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily, as it fails to verify the production.

“I don’t believe the figures being presented by Exxon. They are reporting 400,000 barrels per day but it is much more than that but like leaders don’t seem to give a damn about that.

Guyana has become a free for all for Exxon and others, and it is sad that this country does not know how much oil is being pumped or the interest rates we are paying or the equity charges coming out from our oil,” Lall noted.

He added, “Since when a country has to depend on the eyes of the watchman who is a known gangster to look out for the country’s interest?

Guyana has spent US$1.6

Sunday November 19, 2023

billion of the oil money it received, on what, God in heaven knows. The most important thing, a cable from the meter out there to the Office of the President that will cost less than US$40 million hasn’t been put in place four years after pumping oil. What are we running? A country with its US-trillion-dollar resources, or we running a cake shop selling icicles?”

How ExxonMobil brazenly abused Guyana’s oil profits Introduction Over the last three weeks, Kaieteur News produced several articles which highlighted the findings of an audit into US$7.3B that was expended

by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited in the Stabroek Block for the period 2018 to 2020. The compilation below presents a synopsis of those stories which were carried.

1. A u d i t R e p o r t r e v e a l s E x x o n M o b i l ’s barefaced use of Stabroek Block revenues to cover expenses in Kaieteur and Canje Blocks The second audit report on ExxonMobil Guyana Limited’s expenses has found that during the period 2018 to 2020, the oil giant engaged in a brazen use of revenues from oil-producing projects in the Stabroek Block to cover expenses related to two other blocks—Kaieteur and Canje.

In the report—drafted by a local consortium Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar

Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. bols tered by the international support of SGS and Martindale Consultants— there was a meticulous breakdown of five instances where the Stabroek Block’s financial resources were used for Kaieteur –a block Exxon walked away from this year –as well as Canje.

In the first instance, the report states that Exxon used Stabroek Block revenues to cover a permit fee for a Kaieteur Geotechnical and Geophysical Survey. When auditors made this discovery and roasted Exxon for such a flagrant violation of international best practices, Exxon agreed that it should not have occurred. As a result, auditors asked that the US$16,039 used to cover that survey be returned to the Stabroek Block cost bank.

Auditors said this was done in October 2022.

In the second instance, auditors found that Exxon included its cost recovery statement for the Stabroek Block, 100% of the costs associated with an Emergency Response Study for oil spills from Guyana wells. Auditors said the Stabroek Block revenues should not have been used to cover 100 percent of this activity since the study looked at wells in the Kaieteur and Canje blocks.

Auditors said Stabroek’s share should have been 50% of the cost or US$ 32,575 while Canje’s share should have been 25% or (Continued on page 17)

Sunday November 19, 2023

From page 16 US$16,287.64 and Kaieteur’s share 25% or US$16,287. Exxon was therefore asked to return US$ 32,575 to the Stabroek Block’s account.

In the third case, auditors said Exxon charged the Stabroek Block’s producing projects, 100 percent of the cost for various vehicles.

Auditors said these vehicles were purchased in support of all the operator’s Guyana operations, not just Stabroek, hence the costs have to be allocated to all blocks. Auditors said they were verbally advised by Exxon that the 100 percent charge to Stabroek was proper because, paraphrasing, “the reason the contractor was in the country was because of Stabroek operations.”

Auditors said they argued against such a perverse reasoning. They said while the Stabroek Block may be Exxon’s major development at this point since 11 billion barrels of oil resources have been unlocked, the oil giant still explored for oil in Kaieteur and Canje where additional exploration activities are planned. The auditors contended therefore that since the vehicles are also used to support activities related to the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks, Exxon must return US$404,285 to the Stabroek Block account.

In the fourth case, the auditors said Exxon charged the account of producing Stabroek Block projects, 100 percent of the renovation costs for Exxon’s Duke Street office, including upgrades, furniture, and setup costs. Auditors reasoned that Exxon operates all of its Guyana operations out of the Duke Street office, so charging 100% of the more than US$6 million of renovation costs entirely to the Stabroek Block’s account “is patently inequitable.”

Auditors further explained that basic accounting rules hold that capital costs for assets that benefit multiple properties should be charged to the benefitting properties based on usage or other metric over time. “Under no circumstance should one property bear 100% of the capital costs simply because it was the first property developed, because it is larger, or because it is ‘more important’ than others,”

auditors said as they insisted that the Stabroek Block account be reimbursed with US$3,812,653.

In the fifth case, auditors found that Exxon charged the account of producing Stabroek Block projects 100% of the costs from Environmental Resources Management, ERM Guyana, and RPS Group for various studies on the impact of oil and gas operations on fish, bird, and turtle migrations, habitats, and survival.

Auditors specifically stated that Exxon should have applied a 75% cost allocation for the studies to Stabroek and 12.5% each to Canje and Kaieteur. Auditors therefore urged Exxon to return US$1,391,902 to the Stabroek Block account.

Overall, the five cases show that Exxon used US$5.6 million in Stabroek Block revenues to cover expenses that ought to have been applied to the books for the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks.

ExxonMobil brazenly used Stabroek Block profits to pay drill ships to standby for Kaieteur and Canje Blocks The second audit report on ExxonMobil Guyana Limited’s expenses totalling US$7.3B has exposed how the company brazenly used Stabroek Block profits to pay for drill ship expenses related to two separate and distinct blocks—Kaieteur and Canje.

The auditors which consisted of local consortium, Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. with support from international firms, SGS and Martindale Consultants, expressed alarm at such a practice by the oil giant.

Expounding on their finding in this regard, the auditing team said Exxon had four drill ships from Noble Corporation working during early 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic made staffing all four vessels challenging. Auditors were informed that Exxon took the decision to suspend the services of the Stena Carron drillship and the Noble Tom Madden and move them closer to shore into a “hot standby” (idle but still operational) mode until the staffing issues could be alleviated.

Auditors said they had no

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Map showing the Canje Block offshore Guyana

qualms about Exxon charging 100 percent of the standby costs for the Noble Tom Madden against the Stabroek Block account since records show it was later used to service that block alone during the subsequent 12-month period.

In the case of the Stena Carron, auditors said records show Exxon had Stena on standby to execute works for Stabroek as well as Canje and Kaieteur which it walked away from this year.

Records show that Exxon had the Stena Carron drill ship, drill the Tanager-1 well in the Kaieteur Block beginning September 9, 2020 and ending November 23, 2020. Stena was then moved to the adjacent Canje Block where it worked on the Bulletwood-1 well beginning December 31, 2020 and ending March 2, 2021. Stena was also used to drill the second well in Canje called Jabillo-1 beginning March 12, 2021 and ending March 20, 2021.

In light of this, auditors said Exxon had no right charging the full standby costs to the Stabroek Block account if it had intentions of using the said ship on two other blocks. Exxon however told the auditors that it believes “all costs should remain charged to Stabroek” adding that its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited are in alignment on this matter.

Auditors however noted that such “alignment” is irrelevant to the case at hand and maintained that the

standby costs ought to be shared among the blocks that utilized the Stena Carron.

Exxon was then asked to return US$4,176,934 to the Stabroek Block account.

MONDAY Exxon warns oil spill from Canje drilling can impact Regions 1, 2 and 10 other nations ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has supplied the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for a 12well Exploration and Appraisal Drilling Campaign in the Canje Block, Offshore Guyana.

The project, which the operator intends to commence in the second quarter of 2024 can potentially result in an oil spill that can not only hit the coasts of Regions One and Two in Guyana, but can also travel to 10 other countries.

According to the CIA, completed by Exxon’s Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), oil spill modeling was conducted for two lossof-well-control scenariosMost Credible Worst-Case Discharge (WCD) and Maximum (WCD).

The study cautioned the environmental authorities: “Stochastic modeling indicates a five to 20 percent probability of an unmitigated spill reaching the shoreline in Region One and the most northern shoreline of Region Two for Season 2 of both the Most

Credible WCD and the Maximum WCD, depending on wind and current conditions at the time of the spill.”

Meanwhile, it also noted that the “deterministic modeling analysis” for a mitigated spill does not predict shoreline impacts in Guyana for either the Most Credible WCD or Maximum WCD scenarios.

The oil company pointed out that a spill that reaches the coast during the migratory or breeding season for coastal birds or the mudflats that these species use to feed could be significant. It also said that while the probability of a spill is very low, such an oil spill would likely have adverse impacts on b i o l o g i c a l Va l u e d Environmental and Social Components (VECs) in the area impacted by the spill.

The VECs most at risk include marine water quality, marine birds, marine mammals, and marine turtles. The operator stated, “Although the effective implementation of the OSRP (Oil Spill Response Plan) would help mitigate this risk by further reducing the ocean surface area impacted by a spill and oil exposure to these species, the residual risk to all of these VECs aside from marine mammals and marine birds as a whole is considered Moderate.”

Transboundary impacts Meanwhile, in another chapter of the study, relative to oil spill impacts, EMGL indicated that 10 other countries in three main geographic regions could be

impacted by an unmitigated spill. These include the South American Coast, the southern Lesser Antilles and the southwestern Greater Antilles.

According to the study, Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o , Venezuela, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, which fall within those regions, could be affected.

“In Seasons 1 and 2, the slick reaches the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. For the larger lossof-well-control event (i.e., Maximum WCD), the additional volume associated with this scenario would allow the slick to spread further within the Caribbean Sea, reaching Haiti and approaching Jamaica in both seasons, with the slick tracking slightly more south in Season 2 as compared to Season 1 and, thus, predicting impacts on some Venezuelan Islands,” the document explained.

The operator pointed out that the unmitigated oil spill modeling used to characterize potential transboundary impacts did not take into consideration any emergency response actions. It therefore assured that Implementation of the OSRP would help to significantly reduce potential transboundary impacts just as it would reduce impacts within the Guyana Exclusive Economic Zone.

In the document, it was noted that the application was filed by Exxon on behalf of itself and co-venturers JHI Associates, Inc., MidAtlantic Oil & Gas, Inc., and Total E&P Guyana B.V. EMGL had filed an application for E n v i r o n m e n t a l Authorisation with the EPA back in December 2021.

Based on an initial assessment of the a p p l i c a t i o n , t h e E PA determined, pursuant to S e c t i o n 11 ( 2 ) o f t h e Environmental Protection Act that the project by itself will not significantly affect the environment and, therefore, does not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

However, the EPA ruled that the potential exists for the project combined with similar activities being (Continued on page 18)

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From page 17 carried out in the project location to result in significant cumulative environmental impacts. On this premise, the regulator demanded that Exxon produce a CIA that considers activities such as continued development and production works in the Stabroek Block, before an environmental authorization can be granted.

Kaieteur News understands that the exact locations of the potential 12 wells comprising the project have not been finalized.

While some wells could be drilled for exploration purposes, Exxon said it is also possible that some wells may be drilled as appraisal wells. Therefore, priorities and schedules are subject to change following any potential exploration well results.

Berbice woman murdered at Sunset View Hotel - Police hunting ex-GDF rank Police are currently hunting a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) after a Berbice woman was found dead with multiple stab wounds about her body inside the Sunset View Hotel on David Street, Kitty on Sunday.

The dead woman has been identified as 32-yearold Romona Lall, called ‘Mona,’ a mother of three and a resident of Kilcoy C h e s n e y, C o r e n t y n e , Berbice, Region Six. Her nude body was f o u n d b y t h e h o t e l ’s receptionist around midday yesterday; she was lying on the floor of a room which she and a man had checked into on Saturday.

“A broken Guinness bottle and a 592 beer bottle were seen on the floor,” police said in a statement, while adding that blood stains were seen on the bed and walls of the room.

Investigators learnt that Lall was last seen alive while checking into the hotel around 17:50hrs on Saturday with the man and the duo was expected to checkout at 12:00hrs on Sunday.

However, according to hotel employees, the man left the premises alone around 20:07 hrs on Saturday, a few hours after checking in with the woman.

Following a shift change around 07:00 hrs on Sunday morning, another staff member took over duties as

receptionist. She told investigators that after c h e c k i n g t h e h o t e l ’s overnight records she learnt t h a t 11 c l i e n t s w e r e scheduled to check-out at midday yesterday.

At around 12:15 hrs, she noticed that one of clients did not check-out and as such, she decided to check the room. “The receptionist said she knocked on the door and called out but got no answer,” police said. The employee then used a spare key to open the door when she made the gruesome discovery. She immediately informed her boss and he subsequently informed the police. An ambulance was called to the hotel and the emergency medical technicians on board pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

C r i m e s c e n e investigators took over and quickly established that they were dealing with a homicide. They believe that the victim was brutally stabbed to death in what may be a crime of passion, with a broken Guinness bottle hours before.

According to police, she had three stab wounds to her back and one in the region of her heart. A piece of the broken Guinness bottle was still left stuck in the wound near the woman’s heart.

Several abrasions were also s e e n o n t h e v i c t i m ’s abdomen.

Nirvana Algu Police were able to obtain closed circuit television (CCTV) footage corroborating the details of when Lall’s male companion left the hotel.

Detectives are currently tracking down an ex-GDF rank believed to be Lall’s reputed husband and father of her children. Kaieteur News understands that Lall endured an abusive relationship at the hands of her partner, for many years.

TUESDAY Exxon US$2B oil spill insurance guarantee must be made public ...as multiple requests for document ignored - former TIGI President Wi t h c o u n t r y w i d e protests still ongoing for full

Sunday November 19, 2023

The bottle found at the scene. protection from an oil spill, by the parent company of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Former President of the Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI), Frederick Collins has expressed concerns as multiple requests for the US$2B affiliate company guarantee, ordered by the Appeal Court have been ignored by government.

Collins in an exclusive interview with this publication on Monday indicated that his lawyers had made a number of requests for the document but those have been ignored.

He said they were in the process of taking action for the document to be made available publicly. Collins and another Guyanese citizen, Godfrey Whyte had

The burnt car which was found at the back of Swan Village on . (Photo credit, Inews)

successfully challenged the lack of a parent company guarantee in the event of an oil spill in the Stabroek Block. The High Court in May this year ordered Exxon to provide an unlimited parent guarantee to protect Guyana from carrying the burdens of any financial liabilities as a result of the company’s activities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) days later, filed an appeal of the ruling. The Government of Guyana (GoG) as well as Exxon has joined the appeal which is still ongoing. In June, the Appeal Court granted a stay on the High Court’s ruling and instructed Exxon to lodge a US$2 billion guarantee while the Court considers the appeal.

Currently, Guyana has a US$600M per oil spill occurrence in place, which critics believe is not sufficient to cover a massive event that can occur in the Stabroek Block.

Nonetheless, on June 9, 2023 Exxon lodged a US$2B affiliate company guarantee for oil spills in the Stabroek Block. Despite the announcement being made

by EMGL’s Vice President and Business Service Manager, Phillip Rietema and subsequent requests to the government, the document remains behind tightly shut doors.

Collins told Kaieteur News, “We have seen no evidence that the insurance has been effected.” He added, “Justice delayed is justice denied and so this process seems to be taking an eternity and given that top government officials are on record of having assured Hess (ExxonMobil’s CoVenturer) that production will not be stopped a few months ago, it is troubling.”

He went on to point out that the lack of full liability

coverage continues to cause concern for citizens across the country, especially as the government continues to hand out more project approvals in the 26,800 square kilometers block.

Already, five projects have been sanctioned by the EPA with a sixth application currently pending. It must also be noted that two projects are currently operational in the Stabroek Block, Liza One and Liza Two. A third development, Payara is also expected to come on stream before the end of this year.

Collins was cautious in his comments to this publication since the matter is still before the Court, but shared his views on the insurance guarantee being kept secret. He reasoned, “There appears to be an effort to extract as much (oil) as possible without regard to the enforcement of the laws that are supposed to be in operation. This is dangerous.”

The former President of the watchdog body also pointedly noted that he is not calling for the release of the oil spill guarantee provided

by Exxon but strongly believes that such a document ought to be made public.

He argued, “I believe that such a document ought to be made public.

There is absolutely no reason for the government to keep it secret.”

According to him, the matter is a public one which the Court has already ruled on; moreover it is of grave national significance. As such the former TIGI President noted, “One would expect that it is made public.

This case is described as a public interest case and one would therefore conclude that the public has an interest in seeing that document.”

Since June 20, 2023, Kaieteur News has been requesting a copy of the affiliate company guarantee provided by Exxon.

Subsequent reminders were also sent to a public official who did not respond.

Human remains found in burnt out car - suspected to be missing woman The burnt remains of a human was found in a car just at the back of Swan Village located on the Soesdyke - Linden Highway and it is suspected to be that (Continued on page 56)

Sunday November 19, 2023

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GUATEMALA: LESSONS IN THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRATIC INTEGRITY

By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.)

It was a prophesy foretold – the eruption of violence in the face of attempts to disqualify from office a President and his party who were elected by the overwhelming majority of the electorate in Guatemala. In the early h o u r s o f T h u r s d a y, November 16 (Eastern Standard Time), clashes between demonstrators and police erupted in Guatemala City, the Capital of the Central American state of Guatemala, as stones were hurled at politicians leaving the National Congress.

The demonstrators, likely supporters of the Semilla Party of Bernardo Arévalo, who was elected as President of the country with over 61 per cent of the vote, were provoked by several actions by the Attorney General and the Public Ministry to overturn the popular will of the people, as expressed at the ballot box.

Space was created for controversial actions because there is a waiting period between the election of the President and his installation. Arévalo was elected in run-off elections on August 20, 2023, but cannot be installed until January 14, 2024. The executive of the Guatemala government, including the sitting President Alejandro Giammattei, claim that the Attorney General, María Consuelo Porras, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor, are “independent offices,” free to act in their own judgment without interference.

However, from the outset of Arévalo’s election, the Public Ministry has taken several steps to disqualify Arévalo and the Semilla Party. On 16 November, the Public Ministry announced that it will seek the withdrawal of immunity of Arévalo and his Vice President-elect, Karin Herrera.

Both were subsequently named in an indictment for allegedly making social media posts that encouraged students to take over a public university more than a year ago.

The meeting of the National Congress on 15 N o v e m b e r, c o n s i s t i n g

mostly of representatives of parties that failed to be elected in the July 2023 elections, appeared to set up the mechanism for what could be a prejudiced court by packing the Supreme Court with their own nominees. Additionally, the National Civil Police and the Public Ministry carried out a raid on 31 properties in Guatemala City and other departments in search of individuals for whom arrest warrants have been issued for various crimes, including sedition and terrorism. Many have already been taken into custody. University students and professors, as well as a young former Semilla party candidate for congress, Marcela Blanco, are among those that will be charged with sedition. For over a year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been drawing attention “to the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office that jeopardize the constitutional order and the independence of the branches of government”.

On October 4, 2023, in an unequivocal statement, the IACHR noted that there is “continual interference in the electoral process in the form of interpretations of regulations and practices that effectively prevented individuals and political parties from taking part in the elections”. It also stated its concerns about the attempt to suspend the registration of the Semilla Party, as a legal entity, to prevent its members from being awarded public positions. All these concerns have now come to pass, despite the best efforts of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) and its Secretary-General, Luis Almagro. On September 1, 2023, the Permanent Council of the OAS adopted a resolution to support an orderly transition of power in Guatemala. Almagro and his team undertook several visits to Guatemala, engaging with all parties, to try to ensure a smooth transition. But while he pointed to the dedication of representatives of Giammattei and Arévalo to achieve the handover of office on January 14, 2024, he criticised several actions of the Public Ministry.

These included: raids on the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal at which ballot boxes were confiscated. He described these actions as “a serious violation and deviation from representative democracy and the electoral procedure”,

stating that “they have harmed the political will, the chain of custody, and the right that is protected in the Political Constitution of Guatemala”. The majority of member states of the OAS shared Almagro’s anxieties over events in Guatemala.

Many representatives felt that the Public Ministry had resorted to “lawfare”.

Lawfare is the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or delegitimize an opponent, or to deter an individual’s usage of their legal rights. It can also be a tactic used by repressive regimes to label and discourage civil society or individuals from claiming their legal rights via national or international legal systems. Altogether, the OAS Permanent Council met seven times to discuss

the situation in Guatemala.

On each occasion, the Council listened to the positions of the Guatemala delegation, and even agreed to defer consideration of a Resolution at Guatemala’s request.

However, the Council consistently expressed alarm at the actions by the Public Ministry which were seen as potentially undermining the rule of law in an effort to overturn the will of the electorate in Guatemala.

At a Council meeting on 15 November 2023, under my chairmanship, 20 countries voted in favour of a Resolution calling upon “all institutions of the State of Guatemala, including the executive, judicial and legislative branches, as well as the Public Prosecutor’s Office [-] to stop or prevent,

as appropriate, any act of intimidation of electoral officials, the Movimiento Semilla party, and those who have been elected”.

Only Guatemala voted against, 8 countries abstained, and 4 delegations were absent.

R e g r e t t a b l y, disregarding all the cautions of the IACHR and the OAS member states, and the efforts of the SecretaryGeneral, the Public Ministry has continued its actions to manipulate the law for a political objective – to overturn the will of the electorate, and to stop the installation of Arévalo as President of Guatemala.

H o w e v e r, i f t h e r e i s continued violation of the law, including arresting and disqualifying the elected

Sir Ronald Sanders P resident of Guatemala, the consequences could be grave indeed. Every support will be given to all the branches of the government in Guatemala to take the actions necessary for respecting and upholding the electoral result.

They should move to do so swiftly in the interest of maintaining democracy, the rule of law and peaceful development.

Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s :

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Reg. 3 Chamber of Commerce to host job fair next Sunday The Essequibo Islands—West Demerara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be hosting a j o b f a i r o n S u n d a y, November 26, 2023 at the

West Demerara Secondary School aimed at providing opportunities to prospective employees as well as capacity support to those seeking jobs.

According to the body, the event will be held at 15:00hrs and it is being held in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour.

The body noted in a

release, said the job fair aims to provide valuable opportunities not only for job seekers but also offers support through a series of workshops designed to assist attendees in enhancing their job prospects. These workshops will cover essential topics such as resume building, effective job-searching techniques, and interview preparation, equipping participants with the knowledge and skills needed for successful employment.

Individuals with expertise in various industries, including

accounting, marketing, technology, construction trades, sales, and customer service, will discover a multitude of employment prospects, chamber of commerce noted.

The business body related that more than a dozen employers is expected to be at this event to connect with skilled job seekers.

Also, it noted that employers interested in participating in the job fair are encouraged to get in touch with the Chamber via phone or email, and there are sponsorship opportunities available for interested parties.

The Region Three Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a business support organization that advocates for the interests of its members and promotes economic development in Essequibo Islands—West Demerara region of Guyana.

Specifically, the entity provides several benefits for businesses, including networking opportunities, increased visibility and credibility, advocacy and support, access to exclusive programming, and a direct voice in national and regional policy development.

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‘Delayed is not denied’ - UG graduate and food scientist

Food scientist and university graduate Marleysa Bishop

Marleysa Bishop perseveres Marleysa Bishop beamed with excitement last weekend when she collected her awardthe Council of the University prize- from the University of Guyana (UG) as she graduated with a Degree in Food Science. It was not only the culmination of hard work, but a moment Bishop holds dearly, even as she recalled dropping out of university once to give birth and raise her daughter.

“I was reading for a degree in chemistry, however, this was cut short after I became pregnant with my daughter in my second year and everything went downhill from there. I looked at myself failing repeatedly, while all my peers left and started their professional lives and I was busy trying to play catch up with my grades,” Bishop said.

‘Big girl pants’ Bishop, who was born and raised on the Essequibo Coast, completed studies at the Anna Regina Secondary School in 2005 and always had an interest in the science field. “I was always passionate about becoming a Paediatrician,” she told The Waterfalls.

B i s h o p

subsequently moved to Georgetown to further her studies in the 2006 at the University of Guyana, where she embarked on reading for a degree in chemistry.

H o w e v e r, s h e b e c a m e pregnant in her second year of study. “Eventually, I lost momentum and decided that leaving was the best thing to do at the moment because I no longer had the drive to be a student,” she said.

“Being a parent was my top priority. I refused to be hateful because I knew my situation was owing to the consequences of my actions. I put on my big girl pants and took responsibility for myself and my daughter as I too, like my mother, became a single parent,” she said. Bishop would later gain employment at manufacturing company Banks DIH Limited and it was from there that she found stability to move forward to more stable times. “My first experience made me feel like such a failure, I kept running on a wheel and I was not getting anywhere.”

Second sojourn Bishop then restarted her university journey, and read for the Bachelor of Science, Food Science Degree. “I chose this path because I was employed at Banks DIH Ltd where I functi

Food scientist Marleysa Bishop observes food crystals in the lab during her course of study.

oned as a Yeast Management Technician in the brewery department. I did not know that Food Science was a discipline being offered at the university, I did not even know that Food Science was something that I wanted to do, all I knew was that I was ready to return to the university, however, when the memo came out that the company was offering a scholarship to pursue this degree, I jumped at the opportunity because I felt it would be pertinent to my line of work and upon my return, I would be able to make impactful contributions,” Bishop said.

She described her second trip as one “filled with hope” since she noted, “I was more mature and I knew what I wanted, this wasn’t a burden to me because it wasn’t something that I was told that I needed to get done. Fuelled by my passion to be successful, I put my everything into this degree, I participated in everything.”

University award and ‘Girls Squad’ According to the university, the Council of the University prize is awarded to the graduating student who has attained at least a “Pass with Credit” and has made the greatest contribution in other areas of University’s activities. It was against this backdrop that Bishop received the award.

“I wanted the full university experience, not to just sit in a lecture session and hear my lectures drone on, write the exams get good grades and then go about my business. I wanted to make meaningful connections, and as such, I networked, joined different student clubs and gave my service to both clubs and the university,” she added.

Bishop said when I started reading for the degree on her second sojourn, she met a group of girls and they dubbed themselves ‘Girls Squad.’

She said the group worked diligently together, supporting each other in good and bad moments, never allowing anyone to give up. She said one momentous occasion was when her friend saw her name in a post that I was sharing an award with someone else for a special prize received from the university.

“Hearing her screamin

g my name like it was her win too really cemented in my heart that I met a group of beautiful women dedicated to the cause of uplifting each other,” she said.

At Banks DIH, Bishop was appointed Product Development Manager and she noted that one of the courses she encountered during this degree was Food Product Development. She said Food Product Development, “allows you to appreciate the complexities involved in creating something from scratch, and the trials and error involved until something is perfect. I believe that having this training and appreciating the importance of food safety will go a long way in ensuring what we produce will be safe and wholesome always.”

Inspiration from her mother While growing up, Bishop said she always admired her mother and the sacrifices she made for her family.

“I saw my mom work day in and out to provide for my brother and me, sacrificing so much of her time to ensure that we had a comfortable life,” she said.

“Her struggles inspired me to do better and be better. My grandmother on the other hand always believed in me, even when I decided to quit university all those years ago, she said to my mom, —Leave her alone, she will do it in her own time. I am happy

that I followed my heart’s dream to return when I was ready, doing something that I was happy about,” Bishop said.

Food science Being one of thirteen students who started the programme, Bishop said she is sure that once given the opportunity and food science becomes more recognized. “We can change the perception of others as it relates to food safety and all it entails,” she said.

She said Food Science is an applied science, and being a new discipline, it is not as recognized as the other sciences such as engineering or chemistry. “Very often when people hear about food science, they believe that we are chefs. This is not the case,” she said.

Bishop said Food Science has a significant impact on one’s daily life in various ways. “It’s a fascinating field that contributes to the safety, nutrition, and enjoyment of the food we consume every day,” she said.

She encouraged anyone who is passionate about food, “its safety, its wholesomeness, its engineering and its sustainability to get invested in the Food Science programme.”

She said the time is ripe for people to recognise the important role, which the field of science and food plays in their daily lives.

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g tin s... s ere ture t n I ea Cr (A National Geographic Article)

Duck Billed Platypus

N

ational Geographic- The platypus is among nature’s most unlikely animals. In fact, the first scientists to examine a specimen believed they were the victims of a hoax.

The animal is best described as a hodgepodge of more familiar species: the duck (bill and webbed feet), beaver (tail), and otter (body and fur). Males are also venomous.

They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe.

Platypuses in the Water Platypuses hunt underwater, where they swim gracefully by paddling with their front webbed feet and steering with their hind feet and beaverlike tail. Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to prevent water from entering, and the nostrils close with a watertight seal. In this posture, a platypus can remain submerged for a minute or two and employ its sensitive bill to find food.

These Australian mammals are bottom

feeders.

They scoop up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in their bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption.

Platypuses do not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help them to “chew” their meal.

Platypuses on Land On land, platypuses move a bit more awkwardly. However, the webbing on their feet retracts to expose individual nails and allow the creatures to run. Platypuses use their nails and feet to construct dirt burrows at the water’s edge.

Reproduction Platypus reproduction is nearly unique. It is one of only two mammals (the echidna is the other) that lay eggs.

Females seal themselves inside one of the burrow’s chambers to lay their eggs. A mother typically produces one or two eggs and keeps them warm by holding them between her body and her tail.

Duck Billed Platypus

The eggs hatch in about ten days, but platypus infants are the size of lima beans and totally helpless. Females nurse their young for three to four months until the babies can

swim on their own.

S o u r c e o f information:(https://www.nationalgeographi c.com/animals/mammals/facts/platypus)

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This week in History Birth of American actress Native American Activists Occupied Jodie Foster November 19 Alicia Christian “Jodie” Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. For her work as a producer and director, she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

She has also earned numerous honors such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013, was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016 and received the Cannes Film Festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or in 2021.

Foster began her professional career as a child model and later as a teen idol in various Disney films including Napoleon and Samantha (1972), Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977). She acted in Martin Scorsese’s comedy-drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) and reunited with him in Taxi Driver (1976) in a role for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Other early films include Tom Sawyer (1973), Bugsy Malone (1976), The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).

After attending Yale University, Foster

Alcatraz Island

Jodie Foster transitioned into mature leading roles earning two Academy Awards for playing a rape victim in The Accused (1988), and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She also received a nomination for Nell (1994). Her other notable films include Sommersby (1993), Maverick (1994), Contact (1997), Anna and the King (1999), Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), The Brave One (2007), Nim’s Island (2008), Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), Hotel Artemis (2018), and The Mauritanian (2021).

November 20 On November 20, 1969, a group of native activists took over America’s most notorious prison for more than 19 months.

Since the mid-1960s, American Indians had been on a mission to break into Alcatraz.

After the famed prison shuttered its doors in 1963, Bay Area Native Americans began lobbying to have the island redeveloped as an Indian cultural center and school. Five Sioux even landed on Alcatraz in March 1964 and tried to seize it under an 1868 treaty that allowed Indians to appropriate surplus federal land.

These early efforts all failed, but reclaiming “the Rock” became a rallying cry for Indians, many of whom viewed the island as a symbol of government indifference toward the Indigenous population.

When an October 1969 fire destroyed San Francisco’s American Indian Center, an activist group known as “Indians of All Tribes” set their sights on the unused land at Alcatraz. A handful of protestors first journeyed to the island on November 9, 1969, under the leadership of Mohawk college student Richard Oakes. They only stayed for

a night before the authorities removed them, but Oakes stressed that the landing had been a symbolic act. “If a one-day occupation by white men on Indian land years ago established squatter’s rights,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle, “then the one-day occupation of Alcatraz should establish Indian rights to the island.”

Indians of All Tribes made a final attempt to seize Alcatraz in the early morning hours of November 20, 1969—this time with an occupation force of 89 men, women and children. After sailing through San Francisco Bay under cover of darkness, the Indians landed at Alcatraz and claimed the island for all the tribes of North America.

Ignoring warnings that their occupation was illegal, they moved into the old warden’s house and guards’ quarters and began personalizing the island with graffiti. A message appeared on the water tower reading: “Peace and Freedom. Welcome.

Home of the Free Indian Land.” Other buildings were tagged with slogans like “Red Power” and “Custer Had It Coming.”

President John F. Kennedy Zimbabwe Pres. Robert Mugabe was assassinated

resigned after ruling for 37 years November 21 On November 21, 2017, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe resigned, bringing an end to 37 years of rule and sparking jubilant celebrations in the nation’s streets.

A letter from Mr Mugabe read out by the speaker of parliament said the decision was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power.

The news abruptly halted an impeachment hearing that had begun against

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe

him. The ruling Zanu-PF party said former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa was set to succeed Mr Mugabe, in power since 1980. Mr. Mnangagwa was sacked earlier that month triggering a political crisis.

His sacking had been seen by many as an attempt to clear the way for Grace Mugabe to succeed her husband as leader.

That riled the military leadership, who stepped in and put Mr. Mugabe under house arrest.

After the resignation announcement, lawmakers roared in jubilation. Mr Mugabe, 93, was until his resignation the world’s oldest leader. He had previously refused to quit despite a military takeover and days of protests.

According to the constitution his successor should be the current vicepresident, Phelekezela Mphoko, a supporter of Grace Mugabe.

But Zanu-PF chief whip Lovemore Matuke had told Reuters news agency then, that Mr. Mnangagwa would be in office “within 48 hours”.

Speaking from an undisclosed location earlier on Tuesday, Mr Mnangagwa said he had fled abroad two weeks before the resignation when he learned of a plot to kill him. Driving through Harare, Zimbabwe the cheers and the blaring of car horns signalled the end of the Mugabe era. The man who dominated Zimbabwe for so long has already begun to fade into history. It is a city singing with the noise of joy. Exactly a week after the military first moved against President Mugabe, legislators debated the motion to impeach him.

An usher approached the speaker and handed him a letter. He stood to speak and announced Robert Mugabe had resigned.

On the floor of the parliament were jubilant MPs. Some danced. Celebrations spilled into the hallways and out into the street.

A people who endured white minority rule and then saw their independence become tyranny found themselves suddenly free.

November 22 On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife, Jacqueline, Texas G overnor J ohn Connally, and Connally’s wife, Nellie, when he was fatally shot from the nearby Te x a s S c h o o l B o o k Depository by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald.

The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting; Connally was also wounded in the attack but recovered. Vice President Ly n d o n B . J o h n s o n assumed the presidency upon Kennedy’s death.

After the assassination, Oswald returned home to retrieve a pistol; he shot lone Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit shortly afterwards.

Around 70 minutes after Kennedy and Connally were shot, Oswald was apprehended by the Dallas Police Department and charged under Texas state law with the murders of Kennedy and Tippit. At

11:21 a.m. on November 24, 1963, as live television cameras covered Oswald’s being moved through the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters, he was fatally shot by Dallas nightclub operator Jack Ruby. Like Kennedy, Oswald was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he soon died. Ruby was convicted of Oswald’s murder, though the decision was overturned on appeal, and Ruby died in prison in 1967 while awaiting a new trial.

After a 10-month investigation, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald assassinated Kennedy, that Oswald acted entirely alone, and that Ruby acted alone in killing Oswald. Four years later, New Orleans DA Jim Garrison brought the only trial for Kennedy’s murder, against businessman Clay Shaw; Shaw was acquitted.

Subsequent federal investigations—such as the Rockefeller Commission a n d C h u r c h Committee—agreed with the Warren Commission’s general findings. In its 1979 report, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that Kennedy

American President John F. Kennedy was likely “assassinated as a result of a conspiracy”. The HSCA did not identify possible conspirators, but concluded that there was “a high probability that two gunmen fired at [the] President”. The HSCA’s conclusions were largely based on a police Dictabelt recording later debunked by the U.S. Justice Department.

Kennedy’s assassination is still the subject of widespread debate and has spawned many conspiracy theories and alternative scenarios; polls have found that a majority of Americans believe there was a conspiracy.

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Grammy Awards 2024:

Janelle Monáe Album, Which Credits Several Jamaicans, Nominated For ‘Album Of The Year’ Janelle M o n á e ’s genre-bending album, The Age of Pleasure, which credited several Jamaican artists and producers, is one of the eight albums nominated for ‘Album Of The Year ’ (AOTY) at the upcoming 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

However, contrary to reports, the Jamaican contributors to Monáe’s project have not been nominated for the album.

Grace Jones and Sister Nancy were credited as featured artists on Ooh La La and The French 75, respectively. Barrington Levy is credited as a writer on two tracks, Champagne Sh-t and Black Sugar Beach, which sampled the intro to his 1984 hit Murderer.

Derrick Harriot’s 1967 song The Loser — famously covered by Freddie McGregor in 1992’s Born A Winner — is sampled in Monáe’s Only Have Eyes 42.

P a t r a ’s 1 9 9 3 s o n g Whining Skill and Sister Nancy’s 1982 hit Bam Bam were both sampled in M o n á e ’s Wa t e r S l i d e .

Producer Winston Riley also has songwriting credit for Water Slide.

Mad Cobra was credited as a writer on Lipstick Lover, which sampled Cobra’s 1992 hit Flex. Producers Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon and Sly Dunbar have songwriting credits for Flex.

While the Jamaicans are credited on the album, a new

Sister Nancy, Janelle Monáe, Grace Jones rule change at the Recording Academy has made them ineligible for the AOTY nomination at the 2024 Awards.

In 2021, the Academy had announced a rule change that stipulated that all featured artists, songwriters of new material, producers, recording engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers, who worked on an album, were eligible for A l b u m O f T h e Ye a r nominations. Previously, these music professionals had to be credited with at least 33 percent of an album’s playing time to merit a nomination.

Under that change, Jamaican artists Shenseea

and Buju Banton received A l b u m O f T h e Ye a r nominations at the 64th Annual Awards for their contributions to Kanye We s t ’s D o n d a a l b u m .

BEAM was also nominated twice for his contributions to Donda and Justin Bieber’s Justice.

At the 65th Annual Awards, BEAM and Grace Jones were nominated for Album Of The Year for their contributions to Beyonce’s Renaissance album.

Now, for the 66th Annual Awards, the rules stipulate that contributors must be credited for 20% or more playing time on the album to be considered.

Besides Monáe, the other nominees for The Age Of

Pleasure are producers Sensei Bueno, Nate “Rocket” Wonder and Nana Kwabena Tuffuor, songwriters Jarrett Goodly and Nathaniel Irvin III, and engineers Mick Guzauski,

Jayda Love, Yáng Tan, and Dave Kutch.

Interestingly, there’s only one male lead artist nominated in the Album Of The Year category at the upcoming awards: Jon

B atiste, who won the award last year and who’s now got his second nomination in the category for World Music Radio.

The other nominees in the category for 2024 are boygenius’ The Record, Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts, SZA’s SOS, and Taylor Swift’s Midnight

Sunday November 19, 2023

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Gmail: Google issues three-week warning to account holders

G

oogle has begun warning users that it will delete millions of Gmail accounts next month as part of a major update to the platform.

The purge will impact all personal Google accounts that have been left dormant for at least two years, with emails, documents, spreadsheets, calendar appointments, photos and videos all permanently deleted.

Th e p o l i c y w a s introduced earlier this year but is set to come into effect in December 2023.

“We are updating our inactivity policy for Google Accounts to two years across our products,” Ruth Kricheli, Google’s vice president of product management, wrote in a blog post in May. “This update aligns our

policy with industry standards around retention and account deletion and also limits the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information.” at protecting active Google users from security threats like phishing scams and account hijacking.

Old accounts that have not been used for years are typically at risk from hackers as they may use

the same passwords that have been compromised in other security breaches, which are easily available on the dark web.

Any account at risk of delet i o n w i l l r e c e i v e “multiple notifications” before any action is taken, Google said, including to any associated recovery email addresses.

The tech giant has already begun sending emails to those affected,

telling users it is “to protect your private information and prevent any unauthorised access to your account even if you’re no longer using our services”.

Losing access to a Gmail account could also potentially prevent people from using other online platforms and services that are associated with that email address, even if they are not related to Google.

In order to keep an account active and avoid being deleted, Google users are advised to open or send an email, use Google Drive, download an app on the Google Play Store, or simply make a Google Search while logged in to the account.

Any account that has posted a video to YouTube will also not be impacted, regardless of when it was last active.

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Sunday November 19, 2023

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GNBS IN FOCUS

GUYEXPO 2023 PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON GNBS SERVICES, EMPOWERING STAKEHOLDERS WITH QUALITY T

he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) took centre stage at GuyExpo 2023, targeting stakeholders with a showcase of its services dedicated to upholding quality and standards across various industries.

Through a dynamic booth display and hundreds of conversations, the GNBS emphasized its commitment to empowering stakeholders through its calibration and testing services, and the

Te s t i n g : P r e c i s i o n Redefined - One of the key services on display at the GNBS booth was its calibration and testing services, which stand as pillars of precision in a multitude of sectors including construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, aviation and health.

The GNBS team of skilled technicians demonstrated to visitors at its booth, the critical role of calibration in ensuring accuracy and reliability of

monitoring of products to ensure consumer protection.

GuyExpo is the country’s largest trade and investment exposition which began in 1995 and was held annually between 2004 and 2016, and the GNBS never missed a beat as it relates to participation.

After eight years of d o r m a n c y, G u y E x p o returned in 2023 as an annual event coordinated by the M i n i s t r y o f To u r i s m , Industry and Commerce.

This year’s expo is being held under the theme “Transforming Guyana Through Investment, Innovation and Resilience” from November 16 to November 19. It showcases locally produced goods and services, while providing a platform for businesses to increase their visibility and networking opportunities for growth.

Calibration and

measurements.

In a world where precision is paramount, GNBS’s calibration services support innovation and reliability of measurements, and as industries evolve, the demand for accurate measurements becomes increasingly crucial.

Product Inspection and Monitoring: Ensuring Q u a l i t y - G N B S ’s commitment to quality does not stop at calibration and testing; it extends seamlessly into the realm of product inspections.

With the Christmas Season approaching, GuyExpo provided the ideal opportunity to educate thousands of visitors on the standards and requirements followed by the GNBS in the daily monitoring of the seventeen (17) categories of products offered for sale to consumers.

These products range

from children’s toys and play things, to decorative lighting and electrical equipment and fittings, which all undergo rigorous inspection to ensure compliance with relevant national standards. With the use of appliances, electrical fittings, toys, shoes, tyres and other products, patrons witnessed firsthand how Inspectors of the GNBS

examine these products to safeguard and assure consumers of the quality and safety of products they purchase.

No doubt, GuyExpo 2023 served as a phenomenal business opportunity for the GNBS. By putting the spotlight on its services, the grand event allowed the Bureau to reaffirm, in the

minds of many of its stakeholders and the public, its position as the National Standards Body.

The Bureau will continue to actively participate in various expos held locally t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r, including the International Building Expo and the International Energy Conference and Expo.

These platforms provide the GNBS with invaluable opportunities to promote quality and standards across sectors.

For more information, call the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064 or 2190065, or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org.

You can also WhatsApp us on +592 692 4627 (GNBS).

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Sunday November 19, 2023

CONSUMER CONCERNS

DIVERSITY, IF UNDERSTOOD, GENERATES ENORMOUS STRENGTH AND CULTURAL RICHNESS IN ALL SOCIETIES

By PAT DIAL On 16th of November last, the International Day of Tolerance was observed worldwide under the auspices of the United Nations.

Over the last quarter of a century, the nations or states of the world are becoming progressively more plural with the emigration and settlement within their borders of people of diverse ethnicities, nationalities, cultures and religions. The push factors which drive people to leave their countries and homes and try to settle in other countries are many but the

two most evident are economic hardship and political instability which, in most cases, feed on each other. This is manifested by numbers of young people and even children from Asia and Africa trying to enter Europe by boat through Italy and Greece or over the North Sea. In the Americas, the pull is the United States which hundreds of thousands of Latinos try to enter from Mexico.

The transportation of illegal emigrants has become an industry where emigrants pay enormous fees to the smugglers who cram them

into unsafe boats or buses in the case of emigrants trying to get into the United States.

Ever so often, these boats capsize and sink with most of the emigrants drowning. In September last, there were two such accidents - in the Mediterranean where nearly 800 Africans lost their lives and in the North Sea where nearly the same number of Pakistanis similarly lost their lives. Thousands of these illegal immigrants however succeed in getting into Europe where they spread themselves into various countries.

At first, many countries

such as Germany and the Scandinavian countries, invoking their traditions of Democracy and tolerance, willingly accepted such immigrants and tried to integrate them while other countries such as France with far greater numbers unenthusiastically allowed them to stay. With such large numbers of immigrants, the governments of these countries were faced with the problem of dealing with hostility to immigrants shown by large sections of the population and electorate and the problems of integrating them. Various

methods of integration have been or are being tried, in Turkey, the million plus Syrians are allowed to live in their own communities while in some of the countries of Europe, they are taught the language and customs of the host community and employment is found for them.

But integration is not happening fast enough and, in every country, immigrants still stand out as an undigested part of the community and this largely arises because host populations have not understood diversity and its value which would result in tolerance, acceptance and integration. The importance of the acceptance of the message of the International Day of Tolerance has therefore grown worldwide.

Tolerance, as defined by the United Nations and the Guyana Ethnic Relations Commission is “the respect, acceptance and appreciation of the multifaceted diversity of human cultures, ethnicities, religions and languages that make up the world. It is the foundation of peaceful and inclusive societies.”

In Guyana, there are areas in the society which are fairly integrated and where tolerance has been completely absorbed but there are areas where the diversities of Guyanese society have not been grasped or understood and it is these areas which the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) will have to study and which are sometimes placed before it as problems to be solved.

There are two levels on which such problems could be approached - the first is to deal with the immediate

complaint which could be racial discrimination of some kind and the second level is to try to educate society of the meaning of the diversity which many see as the cause of the discord and how the healing force of tolerance could be applied and absorbed. The ERC is quite aware that the second level will take a much longer time to be understood and be suffused with the balm of tolerance.

Accordingly, in its International Day of To l e r a n c e m e s s a g e t o Guyanese, the ERC stressed the theme of understanding and tolerance: “Guyana is blessed with a rich heritage of cultures and traditions. This diversity is our greatest strength. It makes our nation more vibrant, dynamic and resilient. . . All Guyanese must learn about and appreciate the different cultures and traditions that make up our nation, challenge stereotypes and prejudices, speak out against intolerance and discrimination and promote empathy and understanding. . . Let us work to create a more harmonious, tolerant and inclusive society. . . and stand up for tolerance, respect and unity.”

The advocacy of understanding and tolerance to gradually eliminate the conflicts and discord caused by diversity is applicable not only to societies or other large groups of people, individuals who meet these diversities with tolerance eliminate all tension and worry about them and have pacific, stress free and happier lives and even enjoy diversity as when they could sample the cuisines from different cultures.

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Sunday November 19, 2023

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Guyanese are reigning champs in BBC’s Celebrity Race Across The World BBC One’s Celebrity Race Across the World reached its thrilling conclusion with ITV broadcaster Alex Beresford (British of Guyanese descent) and his dad Noel (Guyanese becoming the first to reach the final checkpoint and be crowned the winning team, last month.

Fighting off tough competition from the other two pairs, Alex and Noel were the first to arrive at Tromsø’s Fjellheisen cable car Observation Deck. McFly’s Harry Judd and his mum Emma followed just four minutes behind, putting them in second place, while All Saints star Melanie Blatt and her Mum Helene came in third.

After opening the guest book to discover they had reached Norway in first place, the competitive father and son duo were overcome with elation.

As they jumped and whooped, Alex shouted: “Yes dad! We did it!” before sharing a tearful embrace with Noel.

At the finish, Alex and Noel Beresford raise glasses to celebrate their Celebrity Race Across The World win.

They wear winter jackets - Alex’s is blue and Noel’s is yellow - and pose with an arm around each other in the dark, with twinkling fairy lights and city lights in the background.

Reflecting on their v i c t o r y, w h i c h s a w them travel acros s 24 countries and over 10,000km from the starting point in Marrakesh, Alex said: “It feels fantastic. We feel like we’re on top of the world right now.”

While N oel s aid: “It was something else.

A lex kept s aying to me, ‘come on dad, come on dad’ and I said ‘I’m right behind you!’ He just kept pulling me along and it’s all worth it now!”

Alex added: “This is the toughest experience I have ever had.

But we got to travel together, as men, and that isn’t something that every father and son get to do, and for me, that’s why this has been unforgettable and something that I will cherish for the rest of our lives.”

ITV broadcaster Alex Beresford and his dad Noel

Following their arrival at the Observation Deck, Harry and Emma congratulated Alex and Noel on their win.

Harry said: “I can’t believe it – very fine margins! Well done!” He added: “We were so close, but we gave it our all.

We left it all out there… It doesn’t matter about position. I’m so proud of mum, what she did was incredible.”

Emma said: “I said to Harry at the beginning of this race, ‘I’m not going to let you down son’ and hopefully I didn’t!”

After arriving in third place, Mel and H e l e n e s a i d : “ We finished, and that’s the most important thing.

No regrets!” before celebrating with their fellow competitors.

During the nailbiting final episode, Alex and Noel began the final leg in the lead, despite having never previously reached a checkpoint in pole position.

Beginning at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate with more than 2,000km to the finish line in Tromsø, the father and son pairing decided to travel via Sweden where they stopped off in Stockholm to replenish their dwindling budget by working to shovel snow at one of Sweden’s lakeside saunas.

During their final work shift, Alex reflected on his experience during the race, saying: “We’ve been fully consumed by the race, and anything that has been happening in the outside world has been so far away, and that’s probably a good thing.

You can’t dwell on things, you have to move on

mentally so that you can move on physically, so I feel great about that.

I feel like I’ve readjusted. I’ve never taken this amount of time off of work before, the race has challenged my routine and I definitely think I have become more open minded, it’s been nice to let my hair down, so to speak.”

After travelling from Sweden to Finland in order for Alex to fulfil a childhood dream of visiting Lapland, the duo headed on to Norway, where they found themselves travelling on the same bus from Narvik to Tromsø as Harry and Emma.

After joining their competitors on the bus, A l e x s a i d : “ Wo w, I thought we were in the clear.

They’ve obviously had a good leg, because they caught up on any time we had on them.

We’re going to wipe the floor with them!”

Meanwhile, Mel and Helene travelled on a fast highway towards the Norwegian boarder, unaware their fellow teams had ended up neck and neck.

After a 233km journey of winding roads, Harry and Emma and Alex and Noel departed the bus and began the final race on foot to the finish line.

The teams’ GPS trackers first directed them to The Arctic Cathedral.

In a last-ditch attempt to secure the win, Harry and Emma jumped on a bus to the Cathedral, meanwhile Alex and Noel secured a lift from a passing car and late arrivals Mel and Helene spent their last €20 on a taxi.

Once they reached the

Cathedral, the teams were then instructed to

take the Fjellheisen cable car to the Observation Deck where they would be greeted by the finish line.

The journey of a lifetime has seen the pairs race through every landscape and culture that this part of the world has to offer: from the great N orth A frican city of M arrakech, through the s eas ide ports and b e a c h e s o f t h e M e d i t e r r anean, to unrivalled historic and cosmopolitan cities, the mighty Alps, unexplored Central Europe, the fairytale Baltic States, and snowy Scandinavia. They have

successfully reached the finish line without the use of air travel or any trappings of modern-day life. Stripped of all mod-cons and a l l luxuries they have had to rely on their s kills , c u n n i n g , i n g e n u i t y, and hard w ork in order to succeed.

Without the use of credit cards, smartphones and with just the cash equivalent of completing the route to their final destination by air, extra money had to be earned along the way as well as calling upon the kindness of strangers to help them progress.

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Taylor Swift Mourns Death of Fan at Eras Tour Concert in Brazil: ‘I Feel This Loss Deeply’ “It is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight,” the pop superstar wrote.

The pop superstar shared a handwritten note on social media after the show at Rio d e J a n e i r o ’s E s t á d i o Olímpico Nilton Santos to express her sorrow over the loss of a fan.

“I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,” Swift wrote on her Instagram Story. “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.

T h e r e ’s v e r y l i t t l e information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”

She continued, “I’m not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it. I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.

Taylor Swift

This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”

A cause of death for the fan, identified as 23-year-old

Ana Clara Benevides Machado, has not been revealed.

The concert’s organizer, T4F, wrote on Instagram that paramedics attended to the

woman after she reported feeling unwell. She was first taken to a first aid area and then to a hospital, where she passed away shortly after, according to the Brazilian

promoter. Some concertgoers complained that they were not allowed to bring in water bottles to the stadium despite a record-breaking heat wave in Rio, the

Associated Press reports.

Temperatures reached 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the city on Friday.

During the show, her first of three at the venue, Swift paused her performance to request water for a group of fans who indicated they needed it. “There’s people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back,” the singer said, as seen in fan-captured footage on X. “So whoever is in charge of giving them that, just make sure that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?”

On Saturday morning (Nov. 18), T4F shared a statement on Instagram noting that free water will be distributed at designated areas of Swift’s concert and that a limited number of sealed water containers will be allowed into the stadium.

Swift is scheduled to continue her Eras Tour at Rio’s Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos on Saturday and Sunday.

Tracy Chapman Just Became the First Black Songwriter to Win the CMA Song of the Year She is the first Black songwriter to receive the honor from the Country Music Awards. Her 1988 hit reached a new generation of fans as a cover by Luke Combs.

Tracy Chapman won song of the year at the Country Music Awards on Wednesday for “Fast Car,” a folk ballad that topped the country charts more than three decades after it was first released thanks to a cover by the singer Luke Combs.

Chapman, 59, is the first Black songwriter to win that award, Rolling Stone Magazine reported.

She did not attend the awards ceremony in

Nashville but thanked the crowd in a statement that was read onstage by Sarah Evans, a co-presenter of the award.

“It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut,” Chapman’s statement said.

“Thank you to the C.M.A.s and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of ‘Fast Car.’” Combs, an unassuming star known for his irrepressibly catchy and relatable country anthems, also won single of the year for “Fast Car.” He began his acceptance speech on Wednesday by thanking Chapman for writing “one of the best songs of all time.”

“I just recorded it because I love this song so much,” he said. “It’s meant so much to me throughout my entire life.”

The original version of the song reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1988. It won Chapman three G r a m m y Aw a r d nominations in 1989, including for song of the year. She won for best female pop vocalist.

Combs’s cover climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in September, after 19 weeks in the No. 2 spot. It also reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart over the summer.

As covers go, the vocals and acoustic guitar riffs on

C o m b s ’s v e r s i o n h e w relatively closely to those on the original “Fast Car.” But other elements, including his North Carolina twang and a pedal steel guitar, give it more of a country feel.Combs was not the first artist to cover the song by a long shot, but the success of his version this year has been a catalyst for many young people to discover Ms. Chapman’s music. Nominations for the G r a m m y Aw a r d s , t h e premiere prize for popular music, will be announced on F r i d a y, a n d i n d u s t r y watchers are waiting to see if Chapman will be among the nominees for “Fast Car” because of the cover.

Tracy Chapman’s song “Fast Car” was named Song of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards, 35 years after its release. NBC UNIVERSAL/GETTY

Sunday November 19, 2023

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

Successful Joint Replacement...

From page 35 local nursing team. The surgeons maintained daily oversight to ensure a thorough postoperative recovery process.

In a notable development, GPHC recently received approval from its Board of Directors to eliminate all costs associated with joint replacement s u rg e r i e s a n d r e v i s i o n s . T h i s compassionate decision, prompted by a proposal from the hospital's administration, enabled all 50 patients

to benefit from the surgeries without incurring any financial burden.

The local medical team and hospital administration expressed profound gratitude to WOGO for its invaluable assistance in addressing a backlog of surgeries, which had accumulated due to constraints in personnel and space.

This collaboration is expected to continue, thereby positively impacting public healthcare.

Dr. Navindranauth Rambaran, acting CEO of GPHC and Director of

Medical & Professional Services, extended heartfelt thanks to the visiting WOGO team. He also commended the local surgeons, residents, nurses, physiotherapists, and logistical staff for their collective efforts in ensuring the success of this vital medical mission.

As of 2 PM today, only five patients remain in the ward, with the majority having been discharged to continue their recovery at home. They are supported by ongoing physiotherapy services provided by GPHC.

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

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Cassie, Diddy settle lawsuit one day after singer accused him of years of abuse, rape One day after Cassie Ventura’s attorney filed the suit, it has now been resolved “on terms that I have some level of control,” Cassie says.

One day after Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former romantic partner and R&B singer Cassie Ventura sued him for years of alleged physical abuse and even rape, the pair have resolved the claims she filed in Manhattan federal court.

“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” Ventura said in a statement issued late Friday night (Nov. 17) by her attorney, Douglas Wigdor. “I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”

Combs responded with a statement, adding, “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best.

Love.” No terms were disclosed and the release states that “the parties will have no further statements.”

When reached by Billboard, Wigdor declined to comment further. Combs’ attorney,

Ben Brafman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to verify the resolution.

In the lawsuit, attorneys for Ventura claimed she “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated physical beatings and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers” while he masturbated. According to the complaint, after she attempted to separate herself from him in 2018, Combs “forced her into her home and raped her while she repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.”

“Ms. Ventura has now fully escaped Mr. Combs, but the harm that the assaults and sexual abuse he caused her to experience for nearly a decade will forever haunt her,” wrote Cassie’s attorney Douglas Wigdor, who has filed a number of highprofile sexual abuse cases.

“She cannot, however, continue to live in silence about what she endured. Mr. Combs remains immensely powerful, and immensely dangerous.”

Sean Diddy Combs and singer Cassie

C o m b s ’ a t t o r n e y, celebrity defense lawyer Brafman, said his client “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” alleging that for the last six months, Ventura had demanded $30 million “under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail.” In the statement, Brafman continued, “Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now

resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to t a r n i s h M r. C o m b s ’ reputation and seeking a pay day.” Wigdor responded that Combs had offered Ventura “eight figures” to prevent her from filing the lawsuit, an offer she rejected.

Ventura, who had an onand-off public relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018, says that she met the hip-hop mogul in 2005, when she was just 19 and he was 37.

After he signed her to his Bad Boy Records label, she says Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship – albeit one in which he “asserted complete control over Ms. Ventura’s personal and professional life.”

During the relationship, Ventura says she suffered “episodes of horrific abuse,” including times when he would fly into an “uncontrollable rage” and “beat Ms. Ventura savagely.”

She says he would remind her of his ability to harm her,

including by requiring her to carry his gun in her purse.

The suit also accuses Combs of blowing up a car belonging to Kid Cudi in 2012 after the rapper expressed interest in Ventura. “Mr. Combs told Ms. Ventura that he was going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car, and that he wanted to ensure that Kid Cudi was home with his friends when it happened,” Ventura’s lawyers write. “Around that t i m e , K i d C u d i ’s c a r exploded in his driveway.”

The case was filed under newly enacted laws in New York and California that revised the time limits for bringing abuse lawsuits, creating limited windows for alleged survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would typically be barred under the statute of limitations. In New York, the look-back window closes later this month.

In a statement issued tonight, Wigdor added, “I am very proud of Ms. Ventura for having the strength to go public with her lawsuit. She ought to be commended for doing so.” (Billboard)

Popcaan Teams Up With Clarks For ‘Unruly’ Wallabee Boot The Unruly Boss Popcaan has teamed up with British shoemaker Clarks to debut a customized Wallabee Boot on November 10, 2023. According to Highsnobiety, the red and black shoe, which features the St. Thomas native’s signature ‘Unruly’ slang, will be sold for $190.

Popcaan, whose connection with Clarks dates back to his 2010 hit song with Vybz Kartel and Gaza Slim, said he’s excited about this new venture.

“The Wallabee is my favorite Clarks [shoe] so it’s only right,” he says on why he chose that particular silhouette. “Red, black and purple are unruly colors. Big up Clarks we going harder

on the next design in store,” he told Highsnobiety.

The deejay, whose real name is Andrae Sutherland, said he fell in love with Clarks from as early as c h i l d h o o d b u t , unfortunately, could not afford it then. Fast forward to years later, he can sport them as he pleases. “Wearing a pair of Clarks makes you a part of the street culture, so when politicians and them wear Clarks, they think it’s cool to the streets,” he said.

“The brand means a lot to my culture so it’s naturally a part of Jamaican history known worldwide. We all take to it and I guess as kids live, they’ll learn.”

In August, Clarks launched “The Dancehall

Collection” to pay homage to the genre and Jamaica for fully embracing the British shoemaker’s iconic styles.

Released on August 22, 2023, the collection saw the Wallabee and Wallabee Boot silhouettes in new designs consisting of the colors green, blush pink, and blue, which are said to be reminiscent of the island’s bold culture.

Besides the introduction of the Wallabee Boot in Cactus Green, Clarks Original’s Desert Trek and Desert Boot were “also altered to include the usage of premium suedes and tonal embroidered stripes that subtly nod to the pinstriped suits found on old photographs taken of

dancehall goers,” according to FootWearNews.

The new batch also included the Wallabee Boot in “Berry Leather” and the Desert Boot in “Rust Brown Suede.”

In the meantime, since Clarks teased this new collaboration with Poppy online, fans have already started to create excitement.

“I need like 5 pairs,” said one fan. Another said, “Long time it fi ‘happen” “Man a fashion icon league one reach...,” one more supporter contributed. The Original Clarks brand has been an accent on album covers and uttered in over 200 songs by Dancehall and Reggae artists dating back to the 1970s.

(Dancehall Mag)

Popcaan. Photo: Clarks Originals

Kaieteur News

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TEEN TIME A Life of Service will ensure that your Efforts at building your Personality are successful

I

n the past weeks we have been discussing the ways by which you can strengthen the four basic parts of your personality. We will now show how we can fortify these by living a life that will contribute to the welfare of others.

We can contribute to the improvement of the lives of others by trying to bring out their proactive nature and treating them as unselfish and responsible people who live according to the best principles, the best human values, and always cooperating with others.

This would in no way lessen their own efforts at improvement, but would create the best opportunities for effective

cooperation.

When you see others acting against the welfare of others, listen to them, empathise with them, and encourage them to act always according to their conscience and in an unselfish manner. When you see others acting in a manner that ignores the interest of others with whom they associate, try to see them in terms of their inward potential, and help them to become capable of cordial relationships with others.

As one philosopher said, “Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be”.

Try this approach in all your dealings with others, and you will see

Sunday November 19, 2023

A Life of Service A life of service really is a thing that you should treasure For you will make a difference to this world that lasts forever; For those who are around, someone whose life has good intent Will always and forever be affected by their scent.

While you may humbly fail to see the permeating heat That comes from all your kindness to the people that you meet, Yet others do appreciate the blessings that you bring; It adds a glow to life, just as the sunshine does in spring.

You may not ever notice it, you may not ever know, The beauty of your life's work, when humbly put on show;.

So, never feel resentment, guard your heart as if it's gold; Just wear the belt of kindness, and let God's truth unfold.

Don't rely on gratitude for all the things you do, But ask the Lord for grace to help you see them through; Enjoy your special role and know the privilege is yours: God chooses workers carefully to compliment His cause.

improvement in their behaviour, as well as make

you satisfied with your own.

Be assured that many of the seeds you sow will root, And in your absence will go on to flourish and bear fruit, So live in humble servitude, content that God above Is watching with a father's pride to shower you with love.

Treating others as if they are doing well in their actions and they will respond by living up to your expectations.

Solutions to last week’s INKIES

Suguru The heavy lines indicate areas, called cages, from one to five squares in size. Fill each cage with unique digits, counting up from 1. So for example a 2square cage contains the numbers 1 and 2; and a 5-square cage contains the numbers from 1 to 5. Adjacent (touching) squares, even ones that touch diagonally, may never contain the same number. © 2 0 2 3 krazydad.com

THANKGIVING CRYPTOGRAM

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

WHY HE CARRIED THE TURKEY

Junior page Pom Pom Turkey Craft Bring this cute pom pom turkey craft to life using just yarn, felt, feathers, and googly eyes.

Materials *Brown Yarn *Feathers *Orange, Red, and Brown Felt *Orange Pipe Cleaners -2 per turkey *Googly Eyes -2 per turkey *Scrap Cardboard or thick card stock *Book *Scissors *Bowl or Glass for circle template *Hot Glue Instructions 1. W r a p t h e y a r n around the book about 125 times. Cut two 12″ pieces of brown yarn. Use one piece to tie the yarn that's wrapped around your book. Remove the yarn from the book by sliding it off.

2. Cut the yarn about 2″ on each side of the tie. This is your turkey head.

3. Take the remaining bunch of yarn and fold it in half. Tie in the center. Cut the looped end. This is the turkey body.

4. Shape your turkey head and body by keeping the tail on (the one you tied) and holding in your hand.

Trim over the trash can and even out your circle.

5. Set the head on top of the body. Glue the two pieces together or, tie your tails together. Trim any straggly yarn pieces if desired. Set aside.

6. Find a bowl or glass about the size of your turkey and use it to trace a half circle onto a piece of cardboard.

(My circle template was about 3-1/2″) Cut out the cardboard.

7. Cut out two pieces of brown felt to match the circle.

Glue the cardboard to one side of the felt and attach feathers.

Add the last piece of felt and glue to cover the feathers

PAGE 49

when the feathers are all on.

8. Cut a beak and red hangy thingie (the wattle) from orange and red felt. Glue onto your head.

9. Glue on the googly eyes and the tail feather piece onto the back of the turkey.

10. Make the turkey legs by folding a pipe cleaner in half and twisting it halfway down.

Take the loop and divide it into three hooks.

Take these three hooks and twist them to create feet.

11. Glue your feet onto the bottom of your turkey and bend to shape into a sitting position.

Printable Thanksgiving Word Scramble puzzle for kids to unscramble the jumbled words associated with Thanksgiving and Gratitude.

By James Baldwin (this short story is from his book Fifty Famous People - A Book of Short Stories, 1912 and is in the Public Domain) In Richmond, Virginia, one Saturday morning, an old man went into the market to buy something. He was dressed plainly, his coat was worn, and his hat was dingy.

On his arm he carried a small basket.

"I wish to get a fowl for tomorrow's dinner," he said.

The market man showed him a fat turkey, plump and white and ready for roasting.

"Ah! that is just what I want," said the old man.

"My wife will be delighted with it."

He asked the price and paid for it. The market man wrapped a paper round it and put it in the basket.

Just then a young man stepped up. "I will take one of those turkeys," he said.

He was dressed in fine style and carried a small cane.

"Shall I wrap it up for you?" asked the market man.

"Yes, here is your money," answered the young gentleman; "and send it to my house at once."

"I cannot do that," said the market man. "My errand

OETRY

FUN WITH P

boy is sick to- day, and there is no one else to send.

Besides, it is not our custom to deliver goods."

"Then how am I to get it home?" asked the young gentleman.

"I suppose you will have to carry it yourself," said the market man. "It is not heavy."

"Carry it myself! Who do you think I am? Fancy me carrying a turkey along the street!" said the young gentleman; and he began to grow very angry. The old man who had bought the first turkey was standing quite near. He had heard all that was said.

"Excuse me, sir," he said; "but may I ask where you live?"

"I live at Number 39, Blank Street," answered the young gentleman; "and my name is Johnson."

"Well, that is lucky," said the old man, smiling. "I happen to be going that way, and I will carry your turkey, if you will allow me."

"Oh, certainly!" said Mr. Johnson. "Here it is. You may follow me."

When they reached Mr. Johnson's house, the old man politely handed him the turkey and turned to go.

"Here, my friend, what shall I pay you?" said the young gentleman.

"Oh, nothing, sir, nothing," answered the old man. "It was no trouble to me, and you are welcome."

He bowed and went on.

Young Mr. Johnson looked after him and wondered.

Then he turned and walked briskly back to the market.

"Who is that polite old gentleman who carried my turkey for me?" he asked of the market man.

"That is John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States. He is one of the greatest men in our country," was the answer.

The young gentleman was surprised and ashamed.

"Why did he offer to carry my turkey?" he asked.

"He wished to teach you a lesson," answered the market man.

"What sort of lesson?" "He wished to teach you that no man should feel himself too fine to carry his own packages."

"Oh, no!" said another man who had seen and heard it all. "Judge Marshall carried the turkey simply because he wished to be kind and obliging. That is his way.”

My Friends

By Uncle Roy The best people I know besides my family Are the friends that make me feel so good; They are the children who help me out, And keep me as happy as I could.

My friends and I like to be together, Whether in school work or play: I feel that these special people Are what makes my life okay.

My father is glad I have such nice friends, He often lets me bring them along, But he says I should be careful That they do not make me do wrong.

When we try to keep each other happy, And help one another to always do right, Then I know we would always be friends, And never have to quarrel and fight.

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Tips for How to Sleep Better 1. Invest in a Better Mattress and Bedding- Having the best mattress for your needs and preferences is vital to making sure that you are comfortable enough to relax. Investing in a supportive mattress and pillow helps ensure that your spine gets proper support to avoid aches and pains. Your sheets and blankets play a major role in helping your bed feel inviting.

2. Block Out Light- Excess light exposure can throw off your sleep and circadian rhythm. Blackout curtains over your windows or a sleep mask over your eyes can block light and prevent it from interfering with your rest. Avoiding bright light can help you transition to bedtime and contribute to your body's production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.

3. Minimize Noise- Keeping noise to a minimum is an important part of building a sleep-friendly bedroom. If you cannot eliminate nearby sources of noise, consider drowning them out with a fan or white noise machine.

4. Set the Thermostat to 65 to 68 Degrees Fahrenheit- You do not want your bedroom temperature to be a distraction by feeling too hot or too cold.

5. Get at Least Seven Hours of Sleep- If you want to make sure that you're getting the recommended amount of sleep each night, then you need to build that time into your schedule. , give yourself extra time before bed to get ready for sleep.

6. Set Your Alarm for the Same Time Each Day- It is close to impossible for your body to get accustomed to a healthy sleep routine if you are constantly waking up at different times. Pick a wake-up time and stick with it, even on weekends or other days when you would otherwise be tempted to sleep in.

7. Keep Naps Around 20 Minutes- To sleep better at night, it is important to use caution with naps. If you nap for too long or too late in the day, it can throw off your sleep schedule and make it harder to get to sleep when you want to. The best time to nap is shortly after lunch in the early afternoon, and the best nap length is around 20 minutes.

8. Relax for 30 Minutes Before Bed- It is much easier to fall asleep if you are at ease. Quiet reading, low-impact stretching, listening to soothing music, and relaxation exercises are examples of ways to get into the right frame of mind for sleep.

9. Disconnect Devices in the Hour Before Bed- Tablets, smartphones, and laptops can keep your brain wired, making it hard to truly wind down. The light from these electronic devices can also suppress your natural production of melatonin.

10. Get 30 Minutes of Natural Light Exposure The body's internal clock is regulated by light exposure.

Sunlight has a strong effect Trusted Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) As the nation's health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. View Source , so try to take in daylight by getting outside or opening up windows or blinds to natural light.

11. Exercise for at Least 20 Minutes Each Day Daily exercise has many benefits for health, and the changes it initiates in energy use and body temperature can promote solid sleep. Most experts advise against intense exercise close to bedtime because it may hinder your body's ability to effectively settle down before sleep.

12. Limit Caffeine After 2 p.m.

Caffeinated drinks, including coffee, tea, and sodas, are among the most popular beverages in the world. Some people are tempted to use the jolt of energy from caffeine to try to overcome daytime sleepiness, but that approach is not sustainable and can cause long-term sleep deprivation.

13. Be Mindful of Alcohol in the Hour Before Bedtime Alcohol can induce drowsiness, so some people are keen on a nightcap before bed. Unfortunately, alcohol affects the brain in ways that can lower sleep quality, making it best to avoid alcohol in the lead-up to bedtime.

14. Eat Dinner a Few Hours Before Bed It can be harder to fall asleep if your body is still digesting a big dinner. To keep food-based sleep disruptions to a minimum, try to avoid late dinners and minimize especially fatty or spicy foods.

(Continued next week edition)

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

PAGE 55

Ramiro Persaud is contributing to Guyana's food security Young farmer and entrepreneur, Ramiro Persaud

“To a young farmer, I would like to say that if you like what you are doing, keep doing it. No matter what somebody might say as to why you choose farming and that you could have done something else, if you like farming, keep doing it.”

L

By Allyiah Allicock oo k ing t o contribute to t h e longevit y, sustainability, a n d f o o d security of the country is 22-yearold Ramiro Persaud, a budding young farmer who hails from Friendship on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

During a recent exclusive interview with The Waterfall, Persaud said his farming journey all started at the age of 8 but he officially took over the family farming business after formally completing his secondary and tertiary studies, about four years ago.

Persaud said that the decision was easy since he grew up farming with his parents. Before that, his grandfather was a farmer too. In fact, he hails from a long line of farmers.

“Farming is in my blood,” the youth who owns 28 acres of land just behind Garden of Eden on the East Bank of Demerara stated.

As of right now, the young farmer produces bora, boulanger, pepper, pawpaw, plantain and bananas just to name a few which he sells to a medium scale vendor.

He also rears pigs, ducks, chicken, sheep and do a little of aqua farming.

Vegetables and animals, Persaud grow and rear at his Garden of Eden farm

Persaud said, “My father's father which is my grandfather, he had this land and at first it was cane, all over was cane, then after, they [authorities] had closed down the [sugar] estate and he ended up going into cash crop,” The young farmer recalled that during his early childhood days, after coming home from primary school, he would often accompany his father to go to their farm lands.

Being accustomed to it, Persaud said he eventually developed a deep interest for farming.

“When I come home from school, I use to go with him and help him out and eventually, I just ended up liking it,” he commented.

He related that he always knew (Continued on page 62)

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From page 18 of a missing woman.

Information reaching this publication revealed that police on Sunday afternoon was alerted that a car burst into flames at the Swan area to which they responded immediately. After the fire was extinguished, detectives discovered the human remains in the driver’s seat of the car.

Kaieteur News was reliably informed that detectives suspect the remains belong to a woman who was seen at around 16:32hrs in the same motorcar at the Soesdyke Junction. She was alone in the vehicle at the time and efforts to locate her have been unsuccessful.

This publication was told that to confirm their suspicions, investigators would have to take samples from the remains and close relatives of the woman for Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing. At the scene, detectives also found a liquid substance in a bleach bottle which is expected to be sent to the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory for testing. Police said too that there are a lot of bottles in the area, and were there before the incident took place.

Meanwhile, detectives have one person in custody that is being questioned. This publication understands that the individual and the missing woman are known to each other. In conducting their investigation, the police have been able to establish that the vehicle found is a dark-grey Audi registered to an individual by the name of Nirvana Algu, a r e s i d e n t o f B e l A i r.

Investigations are ongoing.

WEDNESDAY ExxonMobil told to return portions of Kaieteur, Canje Blocks …but not 20% of oil-rich Stabroek Block The Government of Guyana (GoG) has written to ExxonMobil Guyana to inform the oil company that it has to relinquish portions of the Kaieteur and Canje Oil Blocks.

This was revealed by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, on Tuesday during his endof-year press conference.

This newspaper had reported that Exxon was expected to relinquish portions of the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks

Exxon starts production on third project without independent meters

Minister of Natural Resources,Vickram Bharrat since last year, according to their agreements.

For the Kaieteur Block, the agreement in place with an ExxonMobil-led consortium states that 25 percent should have been relinquished in 2019 and another 20 percent given up in 2022. The total portion to be relinquished would be equivalent to approximately 5414 km2.

Back in 2019, Exxon and its partners which included Total S.A, Mid Atlantic Oil and Gas, and JHI Associates Inc. were required to give up 20 percent of the Canje Block which at that time spanned 6100 km2. This relinquishment was in keeping with its agreement signed in March 2015 with Guyanese authorities. Exxon had relinquished 1,220 sq. km, thereby reducing the block to 4880 sq. km.

The agreement for the Canje Block states that after that relinquishment, and a renewal of its licence, another 20 percent would have to be returned to the State after three years. That 20% would amount to 976 sq. km.

In the oil and gas sector, “relinquishment” refers to the process where a company returns a portion of an area it was allowed to explore or produce oil and gas. That process is also governed by specific timelines. Relinquishment, according to several pieces of literature, is also considered critical for governments as they can auction those returned portions to other oil companies, thereby channeling more opportunities for revenues to the State.

This update by Minister Bharrat on Kaieteur and Canje Oil Blocks comes at a time when the Opposition is mulling taking legal actions to get government to expose

records to justify the extension of the relinquishment provision to oil giant, ExxonMobil for the oil-rich Stabroek Block.

That extension allows the operator to hold on to 20% of the Stabroek Block, which was expected to be handed back to Guyana this year, until 2024. It was former President David Granger who had approved the extension of the relinquishment provision in 2020, weeks before the General and Regional Elections. The approval however required reports by the oil company to prove its operations were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo had told reporters that government was satisfied that the company’s operations were indeed affected by the pandemic. He however made it clear that government did not need to prove this to the Opposition parties or any other interested stakeholder to ease public tension.

(Exxon, Hess have since exited the Kaieteur oil block)

Guyana’s third Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO)Prosperity- on Tuesday commenced oil production at the Payara project in the Stabroek Block.

The announcement by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), the operator of the Stabroek Block, comes at a time when the nation is yet to put systems in place to monitor the daily production rates independently on the three operational FPSOs. The Payara development was approved by government in September 2020. Prosperity now joins the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity production vessels which came online in December 2019 and February 2022, respectively.

The Prosperity FPSO arrived in Guyana in April this year and will develop an estimated resource base of more than 600 million barrels of oil.

In a statement yesterday, Exxon said the FPSO commenced production, ahead of schedule and will add some 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), bringing the total production capacity in Guyana to approximately 620,000 (bpd). It explained that Prosperity is expected to reach initial production of approximately 220,000 (bpd) over the first half of 2024, as new wells come online. This additional capacity will be the third major milestone towards reaching a combined

Sunday November 19, 2023

production capacity of more than 1.2 million barrels per day on the Stabroek Block by year-end 2027.

President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, Liam Mallon said: “each new project supports economic development and access to resources that will benefit Guyanese communities while also helping to meet t h e w o r l d ’s e n e rg y demand...we’re pleased to work in partnership with the Guyanese government to m a k e r e l i a b l e e n e rg y accessible and sustainable.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd, John Hess in a separate statement indicated that the company is a proud partner.

He said, “We are proud to be a partner in the successful development of this world class oil resource for the benefit of the people of Guyana and all other stakeholders and congratulate ExxonMobil as operator for outstanding project execution.” He added, “The world will need these low-cost oil resources to meet future energy demand and help ensure an affordable, just and secure energy transition.”

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in a press statement said government welcomes first oil at Prosperity. It said the commencement of production at the Payara development is a significant milestone for the country as it ushers in additional revenue in support of G u y a n a ’s e c o n o m i c development while helping to meet global energy demands. “The government

is committed to utilising the revenues provided by this resource to further improve public infrastructure, the educational and healthcare systems and our various social programmes.

Sustainable development and responsible environmental stewardship remain a priority of this government as we continue to manage these resources towards the prosperity of the Guyanese people and this great nation,” the ministry said.

In the meantime, EMGL said it anticipates six FPSOs will be in operation on the Stabroek Block by year-end 2027. Already preparations are ongoing for startup of Yellowtail and Uaru, the fourth and fifth projects, which will each produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day. In the meantime, Exxon is working with the government of Guyana to secure regulatory approvals for a sixth project, Whiptail.

Exxon said in its statement that Prosperity joins the Liza Unity as two of the world’s first FPSOs to be awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the American Bureau of Shipping in recognition of the sustainability of its design, documentation and operational procedures.

“ExxonMobil’s Guyana developments are generating around 30% lower greenhouse gas intensity than the average of ExxonMobil’s upstream portfolio. According to the independent research firm Rystad Energy, they are also among the best performing (Continued on page 57)

The Prosperity FPSO has commenced oil production activities

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

From page 56 in the world with respect to e m i s s i o n s i n t e n s i t y, outpacing 75% of global oil and gas producing assets,” the company pointed out.

It also highlighted that some 6,000 Guyanese are now supporting its activities in the country, representing more than two-thirds of the local oil and gas workforce.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, s i n c e operations began in 2015, Exxon and its direct contractors have spent more than US$1.2 billion with more than 1,500 Guyanese suppliers. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres, where to date over 38 commercial discoveries have been made. It is estimated to contain more than 11 billion barrels of oil.

ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

THURSDAY Exxon must now put Decommissioning Fund in place for all Guyana Projects – Minister Bharrat Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat confirmed on Tuesday that ExxonMobil will now be required to follow a series of robust decommissioning rules as outlined in the n a t i o n ’s P e t r o l e u m

Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat Activities Law. While the new rules only came into effect in August, the minister said they shall apply to all of Exxon’s projects in the Stabroek Block, including those passed prior to the enactment of the legislation. The minister made the foregoing disclosure following clarifications from Kaieteur News during his end-of-year press conference.

In the oil and gas industry, decommissioning refers to the process of safely dismantling and disposing of offshore and onshore oil and gas facilities once they reach the end of their productive life. This involves cleaning up the site, removing equipment, plugging wells to prevent leaks, and restoring the environment as closely as possible to its original state. This process is also crucial for minimising harmful environmental impacts, ensuring safety, and complying with regulatory

r e q u i r e m e n t s .

Decommissioning is also a costly exercise, sometimes demanding billions of US dollars hence countries are often advised to mandate that oil companies set aside money in a fund for this purpose. This fund ensures that the country is not left to carry the burden of handling those costs which ought to be covered by the oil companies.

Guyana’s Petroleum Activities Law which came into effect this year sets out strict rules for companies to f o l l o w o n t h e decommissioning of oil projects.

The law states that the company would have to submit for the minister’s approval, a proposed decommissioning plan and budget no later than two years before the expiration of a petroleum licence or no later than two years before the anticipated end of production.

Once that plan is approved, the minister would instruct that a Decommissioning Fund is created. The company would have to make contributions to that fund to ensure that when the time for “clean up” arrives, there would be adequate funds to cover the associated expenses.

Importantly, the law states that the minister will dictate the terms and conditions of the fund for deposits and disbursements.

Guyana’s new model Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) for deepwater and shallow water blocks also expound on the requirements for decommissioning. In those documents, it is noted that a Decommissioning Fund would be held at a reputable international financial institution agreed between the Minister and the oil company.

The PSAs state that the minister may access funds from the escrow account in the event that the company fails to properly abandon wells or abandon facilities to the satisfaction of the Minister upon termination of this Agreement.

With decommissioning considered a crucial phase in the life-cycle of an oil project, Guyanese authorities have been proactive in setting clear legal guidelines to manage this process meticulously.

Companies are obligated to plan and budget for decommissioning, submitting these details for governmental approval.

A dedicated fund is also required to be established, ensuring sufficient resources are allocated for the comprehensive completion of the decommissioning process.

This fund acts as a financial safety net, guaranteeing that the environment is safeguarded and restored, upholding a commitment to responsible and sustainable operational practices in the oil industry.

With the foregoing p r o v i s i o n s i n p l a y, ExxonMobil would now be required to have a decommissioning fund in place for its three producing projects at the Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two and Payara platforms.

Those projects are expected to produce over 500,000 barrels of oil by year-end. They each carry a 20 year production cycle.

PAGE 57

Omai confident of becoming next largest gold mining operation in Guyana …announces new drilling results Omai Gold Mines, one of several Canadian mining companies operating in Guyana, on Monday unveiled new positive drill results.

In its recent statement, the company underscored that since re-entering Guyana’s mining industry in 2020, their work completed thus far, has put them on track to become the next large-scale gold mine to open in Guyana. Currently, Zijin Mining Inc., a Chinese company that owns the Aurora Gold Mines in Guyana is the only largescale gold mining operation here.

Omai holds a 100% interest in the Omai gold project, located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), which encompasses two gold deposits: the shearhosted Wenot Deposit and the adjacent intrusive-hosted Gilt Creek Deposit.

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai, Elaine Ellingham, expressed optimism, stating, “The Wenot drilling results, coupled with recent successes, highlight the untapped potential of the Omai gold project. The favorable grades and widths make it conducive to developing an open pit operation, leveraging the advantages of a brownfields project.”

Ellingham outlined plans, mentioning, “We are initiating an updated Mineral Resource Estimate, expecting completion by year-end. This marks the third NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate in under two years, propelling us toward a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The ongoing 2023 drilling has expanded the Wenot gold zones and revealed a wide zone of gold mineralization within the southern sedimentary rock sequence.”

In previous updates, Omai had already announced excellent drilling results, further underlining their commitment to exploring the rich potential of the Wenot pit.

M o r e o v e r, s e v e r a l Canadian gold mining companies, including Omai, have shown interest in

Guyana’s mining industry.

However, the country has experienced declines in annual gold declarations since 2017, despite billions in incentives pumped into the industry.

While Canadian mining companies, including Omai, express interest in Guyana’s mining industry, concerns persist regarding the government’s failure to disclose mining contracts.

This transparency issue c o n t r a d i c t s G u y a n a ’s membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, raising questions amid renewed foreign interest in the country’s gold resources.

FRIDAY Jagdeo refuses to answer key questions from KN not answered by oil Minister A number of key questions, relative to the management of Guyana’s oil and gas sector are yet to be

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai, Elaine Ellingham addressed by the political leaders elected by citizens of this nation to manage their resources.

On Thursday during his weekly press conference, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo was asked by Kaieteur News to firstly give government’s position on the failure of U.S oil major, ExxonMobil to update the resources in the Stabroek Block after 19 months of exploration activity and a number of significant discoveries. In refusing to respond, Jagdeo asked, “What did the Minister say?

Did you ask him that question?” He then instructed, “The next time Vickram Bharrat hosts a press conference ask him that one.” He made it clear that he was not dealing with “routine matters” but those (Continued on page 58)

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From page 57 related to policy. He was then asked by this publication to say what is in place to protect Guyana financially from an oil spill outside of the Stabroek Block during exploration activities.

Jagdeo in response said: “you asked that question and I addressed that issue many, many times before when it was asked about whether a study was done to look at the overall impact on other countries, etcetera. I addressed that matter. I’m not senile, I know about it, so I’m not responding again there.”

While the Vice President claims to have addressed the subject of oil spill impacts from other blocks, there is no such available information.

In fact, when the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat held his first press conference, after three years in office on Tuesday, he was asked to comment on this matter when he instead spoke of the existing insurance provisions for the Stabroek Block and the response mechanisms, such as a capping stack.

It must be noted that an oil spill poses significant threat to Guyana’s economy.

This is particularly the case as the country has signed onto a lopsided deal with Exxon, resulting in meager profits being received. In fact, the dangers associated with an oil spill exist not only in the Stabroek Block, where oil production is already ongoing but in other active offshore blocks. For instance, the Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for a 12-well Exploration and Appraisal Drilling Campaign in the Canje Block has indicated that a spill can travel to 10 other countries.

ExxonMobil, the

DEAD: Zaleena Boyer

Sunday November 19, 2023

Girl, 12, dies after stung by scorpion

operator of the Canje block had submitted the study completed by its Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM).

According to that document, Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o , Venezuela, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica could be affected.

In the meantime, government is still to address who will be responsible for those costs.

Also outstanding are close to a dozen other matters that were raised with the subject minister who failed to respond to the technical issues. In fact, Minister Bharrat during his ‘End of year press conference’ did not invite a

member of the Petroleum Unit to participate in the media engagement.

Joining the Minister at the head table were Commissioners of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Edward Goberdhan and Newell Dennison, respectively, as well as the Permanent Secretary of the M i n i s t r y, M r. J o s l y n McKenzie and Director of the Local Content Secretariat, Martin Pertab.

Arguably, one of the most crucial sectors- Petroleumdid not have a representative to respond to the technical questions that were raised by the media. This raises serious questions regarding the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the sector.

Unanswered questions During his engagement with the media on Tuesday at the GFC’s Water Street, Kingston Georgetown office, Kaieteur News asked the following questions, which were provided with incoherent responses, while some were not addressed at all: 1. With two audits for Exxon completed, what areas are seen as high risk for abuse? When will the first report be made public?

2. Has the ministry issued a Notice of Dispute to

Exxon regarding the US$214 million?

3. To what extent was the ministry involved in the preparations for the Whiptail Field Development Plan (FDP)?

4. Wo u l d y o u b e willing to release your advisor’s reports such as those done by Bayphase on the FDP review?

5. What progress has Guyana made to independently monitor the daily rate of production by Exxon? Can you say how soon those systems will be in place?

6. What mechanisms are in place to safeguard Guyana financially from a spill that occurs in the other blocks during exploration?

Who will be responsible for those costs? Does Guyana have signed guarantees from the operator?

7. Can you please confirm the rate of return on Exxon’s multibillion-dollar investments in the Stabroek Block?

8. I s t h e M N R prepared to release the reports submitted by Exxon to justify the extension approved for the company to keep the 20% of the Stabroek Block until next year?

When is the country likely to commence auditing Exxon’s expenses for the period 2020-2022 and is government considering an extended timeline to review the company’s books?

Twelve-year-old Zaleena Boyer died on Wednesday afternoon at the Mabaruma Regional Hospital after she was stung by a scorpion.

According to reports, on Tuesday morning, Boyer was preparing to head to school at the remote community of Wauna in the Mabaruma sub-region when she was stung by the insect which was in her shoe.

H e r g r a n d m o t h e r, Evelyn Willis told this publication that as Boyer was preparing to leave home for school, she placed her feet in her shoes when she was stung by the insect. The teary-eyed woman said the girl was the only child of her son. She said the child’s uncle, who was home at the time, asked her if she was still going to school although she was stung by the insect.

“She tell the uncle that she still going and he took her on the bicycle to the bus shed,” Willis said.

The family lives close to an hour from the bus shed, Willis said, and she noted that several minutes after dropping her off, her uncle received a call and was told that Boyer was unwell.

medical attention that was required at the hospital, given her condition.

Relatives are calling on the authorities to investigate the child’s death.

SATURDAY ‘Citizens would erupt in massive protest for renegotiation if Exxon updates Stabroek Block resources’ – Patterson It has been 19 months since the last update of the resources in the prolific Stabroek Block, by the operator of the block ExxonMobil Guyana.

The company’s last resource count update, dated April 26, 2022, declared the recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block at nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels, following discoveries at the Barreleye1, Patwa-1, and Lukanani-1 wells. However, since then, Exxon has announced seven more significant discoveries, yet the resource count remains unchanged.

During the Alliance for Change (AFC) press conference on Friday, Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson suggested a deliberate act by E xxonMobil Guyana in

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo “She tell the people that she feel weak,” Willis related.

She said she called the community health worker and informed her of the situation. “She left the health centre and went to check my granddaughter and she also called for an ambulance,” Willis said.

Boyer was then taken to the health centre in the area and an ambulance from the Mabaruma Hospital later went to her aid. “The ambulance took long to come for her,” Willis said.

Residents complained that the child was not given the

withholding updates.

Patterson expressed his belief that this silence could be a strategic move by the oil major to avoid an intensified public pressure for renegotiation of the lopsided Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) if the true magnitude of discoveries is appraised and made public.

In fact, he said, “There have been four discoveries for the year already and our proven reserves have not raised from 11 billion barrels and I think that this is deliberately done, if (Continued on page 59)

Sunday November 19, 2023

From page 58 Guyanese are clamoring every single day for a renegotiation when we only have 11 billion barrels proven reserves, imagine the clamor and the outcry when they (Exxon) actually finish appraising these wells and it jumps from 11 billion barrels to say something like 40 billion barrels and the true magnitude of what Exxon has already discovered becomes known.”

Patterson stated that it is time that the government compels Exxon to appraise the oil wells and provide transparent information. He also accused the government of supporting Exxon’s alleged secrecy, emphasizing the need for informed decisions.

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo was on Thursday questioned about Exxon’s reluctance to update oil resources and he deflected the inquiry to Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat.

Experts like Patrick Harrington from S&P Global Commodity Insights have said that he believes that the Guyana’s oil reserves in the Stabroek Block “are much bigger than that.” Harrington made the comment during a podcast by S&P Global titled, “Guyanese Dream: Oil boom in Guyana could transform global crude market.”

During the podcast, Harrington said, “And if you

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Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson

talk about oil reserves, I think Starr (Spencer) was talking about proven reserves of 11 billion barrels in Guyana. A lot of people have told me, you know when I was down there (in Guyana), that’s just a very lowball estimate.”

He continued by stating that while there is an official estimate as it relates to the quantity of oil that is offshore Guyana, Harrington said, “it’s at least double that.”

In making his case, Harrington highlighted that Guyana is next door to Venezuela, a country which has the biggest oil reserves in the world.

“Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world, proven reserves of over 300 billion barrels. So i t ’s j u s t k i n d o f a n unscientific estimate, but it’s

easy to imagine that Guyana’s reserves are much bigger than the official numbers,” he added.

Oil minister praises GNBS for monitoring oil production without independent meters Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat on Tuesday praised the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) for monitoring the oil and gas operations offshore Guyana.

The minister was at the time engaging the media during his first press conference since in office when he opted to respond to news reports, relative to the independent monitoring of oil production.

Bharrat explained, “Guyana National Bureau of Standards and I need to

mention this, because we have seen a lot of it in the news recently, a lot of issues concerning who is monitoring on the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel) and who is measuring and a number of other issues were raised but I want to say to you that we have, GNBS has a presence on each of our FPSOs.” Guyana currently has three active projects in the Stabroek Block, operated by United States oil giant, ExxonMobil. The vessels, Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and the Prosperity FPSOs are all producing oil without an independent meter to verify the daily production rates reported by the operator.

Nevertheless, the minister assured, “We have a staff from GNBS who is full time there, who is actually monitoring production, who is actually monitoring the discharge into tankers and there is a system where I think it’s a four or five tier system where there must be verification of how much crude actually leaves the FPSO and is discharged into a tanker that is receiving it.

Even the captain of the tanker has to verify how much crude he would have received. We have real-time data coming in to us from those equipment, coming to the EPA.” He also noted that the operator must report to government.

During the question and answer segment, Kaieteur News asked the subject Minister to say what progress has been made by Guyana to put an independent meter on the

FPSOs to authenticate the flow rates being reported by Exxon.

In response Bharrat explained that he believes the GNBS is already performing its function well to monitor the activities of the operator. He however acknowledged that there is always need for improvement and this would be pursued as soon as possible. “We believe that GNBS is a state owned agency and we believe that they are doing a good job on the vessel but whether we need to improve on it, there is always room for improvement on any system that we have in place so we will look at that and we will ensure that as early as possible we put additional mechanisms to assist in monitoring because like you, we want the best too,” he said.

Since Guyana drew its first barrel of oil in December 2019, the country has allowed production to continue offshore in the absence of a meter to independently verify the quantity of oil being pumped daily by the operator of the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL). This publication was reliably informed that the necessary equipment to monitor the operator’s daily production can cost this country less than US$200,000. A Positive Displacement Flow Meter or a (PD) Meter is largely utilized in the industry to measure the flow of oil. The meters measure the volumetric flow rate of a moving fluid or gas by way

of precision-fitted gears or rotors containing cavities through which precisely known volumes of fluid pass.

Research by this newspaper found that the meters are very accurate.

According to Universal Flow Monitors (UFM), PD flowmeters is the only flow measurement technology that directly measures the volume of the fluid passing through the meter. They are suitable for use in oil and gas, water and wastewater, chemical, power, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, pulp and paper, metals and mining and aerospace.

The availability of this technology has nonetheless failed to faze the Government of Guyana (GoG) that is at this time exerting its energies on regulating other areas of the industry. It was Vice President and chief policy maker for the sector, Bharrat Jagdeo who told reporters during an August press conference this year that the government will shift its attention to the monitoring of production after it completes its new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the Petroleum Act and its inaugural oil blocks auction.

The Publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall had expressed the view in a recent commentary that as government focuses its attention elsewhere, Guyana could be losing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily due to its failure to independently verify the production rates.

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Sunday November 19, 2023

Back to Front: Exploitative International JVs, limited access to financing and gaps in a well-intentioned local content law hinder Guyana's SME growth potential

By SVETLANA MARSHALL To front or not to front?

That's the billion-dollar question facing Guyanese businesses. Eager to tap into the South American country's booming oil and gas industry, cash-strapped local enterprises unable to access financing from the banking sector have instead turned to joint ventures partnerships with international companies who use the arrangement as a handy way to conform to the country's local content laws.

Their company had been operating – and successful – for over a decade before ExxonMobil discovered Guyana's first economically viable crude oil deposit in 2 0 1 5 , k i c k i n g o ff t h e country's multi-billion-dollar economic boom. The d i s c o v e r y w a s transformative. In December 2019, commercial production began, skyrocketing GDP per capita from US$6,800 in 2020 to US$19,000 in 2022.

Suddenly, the business dynamic shifted.

Competition became fiercer as the demand for resources increased, while local commercial banks failed to provide adequate access to financing. As the company sought options to navigate the new economic landscape, a Canadian firm approached with a novel and seemingly lucrative solution – a joint venture (JV) partnership.

But there was a caveat.

According to Guyana's local content laws, designed with the intention to protect local business interests, any company formed through a joint venture partnership needed to be at least 51 percent Guyanese-owned to benefit from the concessions in the Local Content Act. To meet these criteria, the Canadian company offered a proposal to the local Guyanese company: a JV arrangement where, at least on paper, the Guyanese company would own 51 percent of a new entity, thus complying with the Local Content Act. In reality, the local company would own far less.

It was a tempting offer.

The company would later be approached by at least two other international firms, looking to “rent-a-citizen” or to have it act as a “front” but it declined every time, CIJN was told. Ultimately, the

company declined to partake in any such “backdoor” agreement. Other Guyanese companies have also been approached with similar lopsided partnership offers.

The founder of another company operating within the oil and gas industry, who also asked to remain anonymous, told CIJN that a proposed JV partnership with a Trinidadian company did not move forward because, from the get-go, the Trinidadian company only offered its Guyanese counterpart 10 percent ownership.

“At that time, there was no conversation about Local Content, and I agreed to it because I wanted to come back home, and that was my way of getting back into the system,” the local partner explained.

After a successful start,

percent and the foreign company 49 percent. But the capital is then put in as a loan t o t h e c o m p a n y, t h e equipment is often put in as a leasing arrangement, so you have to pay from the proceeds, the gross income, all of those things before you have enough profit to declare a dividend. And often it is done at inflated rates, so the cream, the bulk of gross income before dividend is declared from net income,” the Vice President explained.

A Local Content Certificate (LCC) of Registration is a “golden ticket” for doing business in the Guyanese oil and gas industry. Companies that are certified receive preferential treatment when oil companies and their subcontractors are awarding contracts.

Forty services are

Jagdeo said.

Opposition Member of Parliament David Patterson, who holds responsibility for the oil and gas sector, painted a similar picture. In an effort to effectively penetrate the industry, some international companies are targeting what he described as “mom-andpop” businesses.

“So, they go and they hunt a small business – momand-pop business – or a small individual, and they make him substantive director or owner on paper, obviously, that qualifies them but it really short-circuits the idea, the whole intent of the (Local Content) Act,” MP Patterson said.

He said while Guyanese businesses would gain technical experience and build capacity in the industry, under JVs, financially, the majority would only gain a

Evidence suggests that cash-strapped Guyanese businesses are being lured to act as a 'front' for international companies but not Panthera Solutions. The 51 percent Guyanese owned company offers a realistic model of what JVs should represent. In this photo, its staff could be seen erecting a scaffold on an offshore asset.

(Photo credit: Farfan and Mendes Ltd)

the local partner opted out of the partnership due to the Trinidadian partner's failure to issue shares.

Government Aware Fronting a Problem Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo was among the first to admit that “fronting” was a serious problem in the country's growing oil and gas industry. At a Local Content Summit in April 2023, Jagdeo said foreign companies are creating JVs with local companies to achieve 51 percent Guyanese ownership to the detriment of local stakeholders.

“If they establish a joint venture, the joint venture has very little assets, so the Guyanese would have 51

covered in the Local Content Act Schedule mandating contractors and subcontractors to procure various percentages of certain services, such as t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , accommodation, surveying, and pipe welding from local businesses and companies.

According to the Vice President, however, this aspect of the legislation is also being bypassed.

“We have seen some of the first-tier contractors particularly outsourcing some of the activities because their reporting relationship is not strong enough, outsourcing a lot of the areas that are carved out already for Guyanese in the legislation,”

little, compared to what their international partners would receive. In some instances, Guyanese businesses are merely becoming “salaried” partners. He said in the case of family-owned businesses, it is mainly the family that benefits.

Business Chambers Advocate for Penalties In an interview with CIJN, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kester Hutson said the Chamber is actively monitoring the situation.

Hutson said that with a membership of almost 900 companies, a large percentage of which operate in the oil and gas industry, the

Chamber has received an alarming number of complaints about local companies “fronting” for regional and international firms.

“We have recognized that companies have been trying to circumvent the process of establishing a Local Content Certificate and we want this to stop. And we are very serious about this matter, because it affects business development in Guyana,” he said.

He said local companies would only do harm to the economy, should they engage in corrupt activities to manipulate the Local Content Legislation.

“Once fronting is happening, it means that there is no direct development for Guyanese businesses. All those resources will be exported, and not even imported into Guyana, and that is a serious concern. It affects the whole value chain for the oil and gas sector, and there is no development in local businesses – skills transfer, finance, building out your company.” GCCI, he said, is actively engaging the Local Content Secretariat (LCS) on the matter. However, he declined to disclose how many suspected cases of fronting the Georgetown Chamber has reported to the Local Content Secretariat. “I can't give you an estimated figure because of our relationship with the Secretariat [but] we consider it a sizable amount that warrants an alarm,” Hutson told CIJN. Even as he declined to provide critical details on the issue, the GCCI President expressed confidence in the Local Content Secretariat to bring an end to the matter.

“The secretariat is actively monitoring the performance and activities of these companies, and certainly, there will be fines attached to any company that is caught in these illegal acts.

So, rest assured, there will be penalties – stiff penalties – to this effect,” Hutson said.

Director of the Local Content Secretariat (LCS) Dr. Martin Pertab said the Secretariat was resolute in protecting the rights of Guyanese companies. Like Hutson, he warned that noncompliance is an infringement that attracts a fine under the legislation:

GUY$1 million (US$4,761) for individuals and GUY$5 million (US$28,809) for companies.

He said the Secretariat is examining ways to counter the presence of rent-seeking behaviour and fronting.

“The Secretariat is examining ways to counter this kind of behavior. For instance, LCS is working closely with the GRA [Guyana Revenue Authority] to ensure that persons acting as local partners in JVs pay their fair share of taxes. Also, audited financial statements are now mandatory and form part of the renewal process for an LC certificate,” Dr. Pertab said.

Patterson: Too Many Gaps in Legislation MP Patterson believes that the current issues confronting the country could have been prevented or minimized. He said the Government, in hurriedly passing the Local Content Legislation, was warned by A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) about the gaps in the legislation.

MP Patterson was among Opposition Members of Parliament, who, while underscoring the importance of such a legislation, lobbied the one-seat majority Government to send the Local Content Bill to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee to be reviewed and strengthened. Instead, the Government rushed the bill through the National Assembly in December 2021.

According to the legislation, a “Guyanese national” is a citizen of Guyana. But MP Patterson said in a country like Guyana with open immigration laws, the legislation opens the door for people with third, fourth and even fifth generational ties to the country to claim citizenship – and cash in on the Oil and Gas Industry while being compliant with the Act. Such was the case of Ramps Logistics. Mere months after the passage of the Local Content Bill, the Trinidadian company, which had been operating in Guyana since 2013, sold 51 percent of the company to Deepak Lall, a Trinidad-born businessman with Guyanese parentage.

The Local Content (Continued on page 61)

Sunday November 19, 2023

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Exploitative International JVs, limited access to financing...

From page 60 Secretariat had initially denied Ramps a Local Content Certificate, but in November 2022, the High Court ordered the Secretariat to issue Ramps Logistics with a Certificate of Registration as soon as possible or risk prosecution.

Chief Justice Roxane George ruled that the Local Content Secretariat breached the Local Content Act when it refused to issue Ramps Logistics with a Certificate of Registration, since it had reached the 51 percent requirement with regards to Guyanese ownership.

“The applicant has satisfied the statutory requirements and preconditions necessary for the grant or issuance of a certificate of registration under Section 6 (2) of the Local Content Act,” the Chief Justice ruled while noting, at the time, that the Act provides a relatively simple regime for registration once a person satisfies the criteria, the case of being a Guyanese company.

The Chief Justice added that the Local Content Act had “no regulations and no rules.”

MP Patterson said while Lall may be qualified to be deemed a Guyanese, the Local Content Act was intended to benefit first and second-generation Guyanese.

“The intention of the Act was obviously to address first and second generations, indigenous businesses and to ensure that they got a leg up in the competition,” he said.

With the door wide open for people with Guyanese heritage to claim citizenship, whether they are second or fifth generation, the Opposition believes that Guyanese companies, though benefitting from enhanced capacity in the oil and gas sector, and increased employment, are getting the shorter end of the stick.

Dr. Pertab, the Director of the Local Content Secretariat, while admitting there may be shortcomings, said since the Local Content Act came into effect, there has been an increase in the number Guyanese businesses. Approximately 850 companies are listed on the Local Content Register – all of which are either 100 percent Guyanese-owned or mostly owned by Guyanese.

He said the legislation has pushed foreign companies to transition to Guyanese owned businesses, while others have opted to engage in JVs.

“Some of the existing foreign companies have been gradually transitioning towards Guyanese-owned.

One of the key drivers has been the need to have a Local Content Certificate before providing any of the 40 carved-out services under the first schedule of the Act. This is critical, especially in the measurement of Local Content. The diaspora has also been investing in these areas, though many of them are through JVs,” Dr. Pertab explained.

The prioritization of Guyanese suppliers to provide goods and services identified under the first schedule of the Act has led to a substantial increase in investment in those areas over the past year.

“Existing locally-owned companies have expanded their operation and broadened their line of services. New JVs between locals and foreigners are more common in areas/sectors where limited local capacity seems to exist, for instance, in areas such as fabrications, machine services,” he added.

However, while there has been significant progress, access to capital remains a challenge. Dr. Pertab said the Secretariat intends to take a systematic approach while working closely with the Private Sector and International Oil Companies (IOCs) to help address the issue.

“A key achievement thus far has been the reduction of payments to local companies to 35-40 days. Other measures include the establishment of a predetermined timeline before a contractor, subcontractor, and licensee can re-tender a contract, especially in relation to the 40 carved-out areas,” Dr. Pertab said.

Locals Forced to Find Financing Alternatives In the absence of financing, locals have turned to using land and buildings as a form of equity. The increase in land and property value has facilitated the establishment of some of the JVs, Dr. Pertab said.

For small businesses, in particular Afro-Guyanese owned businesses, it is not as easy as it sounds.

In the absence of financing, they said, it is extremely difficult for smallscale companies to compete against the major traditional Guyanese businesses that have expanded their reach to the oil and gas industry.

Another businessperson told CIJN that in an effort to

accumulate the required finance to keep the company afloat, personal assets had to be leveraged.

While the commercial banks, in some cases, offer to loan 80 percent of the value of an invoice received, it is oftentimes well below the required sum.

“For a growing business, you need money for a full operation, rent, phone, in our case, we needed to find PPEs for the guys, transportation, and all of those things cost money,” the businessperson said.Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga said there is nothing stopping banks from accepting guarantees from international institutions as a collateral for a contract to supply goods and services.

According to him, the financial system is above board. “The financial system is already strengthened, and is above board,” he told CIJN. A Caribbean Economies at a Crossroads: InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) Report suggests that commercial banks and other lending institutions in Guyana are making more cash available.

According to the report, which was released in August, 2023, private sector credit reached 17 percent in February and March 2023 before moderating slightly to almost 14 percent in May 2023. In 2022, private sector credit grew by more than 15 percent in December. It said out of the three major lending categories, lending to businesses experienced the most growth, averaging 20 percent in 2022.

It is unclear, however, whether the increase in lending translates to more money in the hands of small businesses.

Small Business Cut Out of Opportunities The businesspeople who spoke with CIJN suggested that the restrictive criteria established by commercial banks, coupled with a class system that marginalizes small businesses and minority groups, have made it extremely difficult to operate within the sector.

While not opposed to the formation of JVs, the companies said most opportunities are snatched up by “big businesses”, with deals for projects and services in the industry sealed long before official tendering processes, and often excluding small businesses.

Contextualizing the issue, MP Patterson said while the Local Content Act

mandates contractors, subcontractors and or licensees to implement local content as an essential component of their petroleum operations, the failure to include a debunching clause into the Law, makes it difficult for small and medium scale companies to secure contracts directly from first tier contractors and their subcontractors. In cases where the country may lack capacity to provide critical services as outlined in the first schedule, the Minister has the powers to waive the requirement. MP Patterson fears that Guyanese companies can be shut out for an extensive period if, the contractor or sub-contractor upon being granted the waiver, signs a contract for the provision of a particular service for a period of 10 or more years. He believes that under such an arrangement, local companies may have to wait 10 years to build capacity and generate finance in that particular industry, placing them at a disadvantage. “There must be some sort of incubation period,” he stressed.

The Opposition parliamentarian said while the country, since the start of commercial oil production in December 2019, has witnessed the creation and expansion of businesses in the oil and gas sector and other industries in the areas of construction, accommodation, transportation and logistics, many businesses are being left out in the cold, particularly small businesses established subsequent to the passage of the Local Content Act. The reality is in the numbers: while the Centre for Local Business Development said they have over 3,000 registered members, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), in 2022, utilized the services of just about 1,500 local suppliers.

“While there have been new firms with people who are very excited, the number of new businesses that have actually secured contracts in the oil and gas industry, more or less, remains the same old players under new arrangements to meet the requirements under the law,” MP Patterson reasoned.

Ramps Logistics, now 51 percent Guyanese owned, is one such company. Long before Guyana started pumping oil, Ramps Logistic, in 2015, landed a contract with ExxonMobil Guyana to provide logistical services and shore base

management for the Liza 2 offshore project.

Other major players in the industry include Guyana Shorebase Inc (GYSBI), Vreed-en-Hoop Shorebase Inc (VESHI), Guysons (Guysons K+B), Atlantic Marine Supplies and Panthera Solutions Inc, and their records suggest that while they all have been birthed out of joint ventures, their local majority owners have been well-grounded in Guyana's economy for decades.

Building Local Capacity Director of the Centre for Local Business Development Dr. Natasha Gaskin-Peters told CIJN that since its establishment in 2017, the Centre has trained more than 3,000 Guyanese businesses to build their capacity to compete in the oil and gas industry.

Financial management, human resource management, supply chain management and health, s a f e t y, s e c u r i t y a n d environment (HSSE) are among the training programmes being offered by the Centre in addition to API Q1 Mentorship and ISO 9001:2015 Mentorship. The impact, Dr. Gaskin-Peters said, has been felt across sectors.

“A lot of the businesses that we work with are traditional businesses. So, they already existed within the economy. Many of them were servicing the mining sector, for example, so with the advent of the oil and gas sector, they have transitioned to oil and gas,” she explained, while noting that a number of new businesses have also popped up.

It is estimated that of the more than 3,000 companies registered with the Centre for Local Business Development, some 200 have teamed up with international companies to form joint ventures. Dr. Gaskin-Peters said for a large part, the joint ventures have proven to be truly beneficial, with local companies gaining much needed experience in a sector that is undoubtedly new to Guyana. Regional and international companies seeking to land joint venture partnerships in Guyana look for local companies with reputation and a track record of delivering quality products and services in fields that align with theirs.

As such, she said, quality management systems and health and safety management systems are important, as well as prudent

financial management, financial stability and work ethics that are above par.

Dr. Gaskin-Peters said the Centre also works with local businesses to ensure they get the best out of a partnership, including how to do proper due diligence before engaging in a JV. She too admitted that access to finance from local and international financial institutions such as commercial banks, have proven to be extremely difficult for some, stalling their growth and development, and even hampering their ability to secure JV partnership agreements.

“We are hearing a lot from local businesses that they have grown at a fast pace, and at this particular moment there is a need for financing, so if they don't get the much-needed financing, of course it will hamper their growth,” she said.

Be Careful and Bring Value to JVs For Andrew Mendes, managing director of Farfan & Mendes Ltd, Guyanese companies should only enter partnerships that they can afford and bring value to the relationship.

Panthera Solutions is a Guyanese owned and operated oil and gas solutions provider that was birthed out of a strategic partnership with Farfan and Mendes Ltd and Canadianowned Crosbie Group. Both sides had conducted extensive due diligence, including on-site visits, and drafted a number of agreements, including a Shareholders' Agreement and an Asset Purchase Agreement.

“Everything is covered by agreements. You need to have a lawyer who is (familiar with these types of) contracts, who knows about them to advise you to dot every 'i' and cross every 't.'

The ideal is to manage your relationship going forward as if you have to refer to the agreement, you've probably lost the relationship,” Mendes told CIJN. He said Panthera offers a realistic model of what JVs should represent.

Panthera solutions was incorporated in 2018 – approximately three years before the Local Content Act came into effect. Even in the absence of such a legislation, the companies had agreed that Farfan and Mendes would become the majority owner on the basis that it was Guyanese-owned.Mendes said in forming (Continued on page 65)

PAGE 62

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 19, 2023

Woman, 84, concerned about health as neighbour...

From page 53 frustrated woman said, “you see how we getting lil rain and the place gon be damp, well with the dirty water, it gon get the place in a mess.”

Meanwhile, she added that occupants of the house nearby would dispose their garbage on her land. Even WANTED

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From page 55 that farming was something he wanted to do in the long term.

The 22-year-old noted that he committed to continue his schooling, in order to properly educate himself on how to deal with the different aspects of the business of farming. As such, when he attended the Friendship Secondary School, Persaud studied business; he said he pretty much knew about farming from his family, but did not know the business management aspect of farming.

From there, the young farmer recalled that he went on to the Government Technical Institute (GTI) where he studied diesel mechanic. From there, he related he went on to work at MACORP, where he completed an excavator operator course.

He said all of this was equipping himself with the necessary skills and knowl-

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of the country, he would rent the nearby house and the tenants would continue the trend of disposing of their waste on her land.

In a bid to remedy the situation, the woman visited the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and lodged a report. She said two inspec-

tion officers were dispatched to her location, sometime last week, however the dumping of waste on her property continues.

She said she was told by the EPA that if this matter continues in January, 2024, the polluter would have to face the penalty of the law.

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though she confronted the landlord of both buildings, the situation remains the same.

In fact, the pensioner said she was even told by the man that, “me go put it (the garbage) up pon yuh head.”

Barr told this newspaper that when the landlord is out

Corner land at Durban Street, Georgetown. Call: 623-1615.

edge for when he was fully ready to handle the farming business on his own.

Persaud shared that making the decision to venture into farming full-time, was backed by great and encouraging support especially from his loved ones, whom are the driving force behind the success of the business.

Nevertheless, the young farmer admits that he has faced his fair share of difficulties.

Persaud revealed that he dealt with several issues tending to the 28 acres of farmland such as pest and diseases attacking his produce and the lack of consistent workmen to get the job done. Notably, another challenge he had to deal with and is still troubled by, is the presence of jaguar (s) attacking and killing his cattle. According to Persaud, for the past three years, a total of 22 of his cows were killed, leaving him with only six presently. He shared that earlier this year, around Mashramani one was killed, while another was killed in March. Having been affected by the presence of the national animal, Persaud explained that he had raised the matter with the Wildlife Commission.

He claimed that the commission visited his farmlands to investigate but that was the last he heard from them.

“Persons from Wildlife came and they set trail camera and they saw that it was actually a jaguar, and after that I never heard back from them,” he related. Persaud said he is sometimes fearful that he would continue to lose cows this way or maybe one day he too may encounter the animal while attending to his farm duties.

He is hopeful that relevant authorities can advise him or at least look into the matter.

Asked how he manages his challenges especially with the factors affecting his produce, the young man briefed

that he had did some training with the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in the past where he along with other young farmers interacted and gained knowledge on remedies used to treat the plant/animal diseases. Noting that this exchange of information helped in a great way, Persaud said during the training, they were informed about climate smart agriculture. “They started to tell us about climate change and how to implement climate smart agriculture, that helps us with the climate right now and how to plant and that we don’t have to use so much energy as before,” he elaborated. Persaud attended a training programme which was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydromet Department.

Through Hydromet, he and others farmers did the Participatory Integrated Climate Services of Agriculture (PICSA) programme which they learn about climate smart strategies while farming.

Briefly he stated, they were informed beforehand about the prolonged dry season, which prepared them as to how to go about farming during this period. Another session, he attended was with the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI) where he learned more about budding and grafting. According to Persaud, having attended those training programmes, it has really helped him as a young emerging farmer and to make better decision. “Participating in those forums with WUSC, GLDA and NAREI, it help me better as a young farmer… farmers are now being recognized more in Guyana as one of the most important people so being a part of those sessions, it helps me to make better decisions, help me to manage my farm, know what to do and how to plant, and then

with knowledge from other farmers, it help me to know as to how I can get the full production from my crops and I can now better advise other young farmers,” he explained.

When asked about his long-term goal for his farming business, he responded by saying that he is looking to create job opportunities for others. He mentioned too that very soon, he is expected to attend another session where they would be learning how to process pork into beacon.

He is also looking to create more space for his animals to graze and to create some shade houses for his plants.

As such, Persaud advises young farmers out there that if they are now starting, they should get involved in programmes of the GLDA, NAREI and WUSC. “It is best to learn about some things before you go about doing it, that way you could already plan how you are going to do it, where you are going to do it and if you can make a profit off of it,” he added. He also advises young people that are now getting into farming, to keep doing what they love and block out the negativity they might hear. “To a young farmer, I would like to say that if you like what you are doing, keep doing it. No matter what somebody might say as to why you choose farming and that you could have done something else, if you like it, keep doing it,” he stated. When asked what he thinks can be done to boost small businesses in our country, Persaud noted that from the farming aspects of things, is that there should be a continuation of the farmers’ market initiative and to have it roll out across more areas.

Also for authorities to host more workshops and forums to inform young farmers how they can access financing for their farming business.

The fatal vehicular accidents on our roads...

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From page 06 crashing into lampposts, or simply running off highways at times when there are few vehicles on our roads. This is a frightening development and if urgent attention is not put to address these distressing occurrences, then woe betide us here in Guyana.

What is going on!

So, my advice to the au-

thorities is twofold, (a) To our hardworking Traffic cops, you observe a speeding driver navigating our highways, stop him and issue a speeding ticket forthwith! Do not wait for a fatal accident to happen, take action now!

Reckless driving should never be tolerated! The name and license number of driver must be saved into a data-

base, the reason for this is that most of these fatal accidents are caused by repeat offenders. And as highlighted before, a total cancellation of their licensing privileges. If no such law is in force, then enact laws to this effect to stop the carnage, the time to act is now!

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Sunday November 19, 2023

Kaieteur News

PAGE 63

Former Guyanese must hold Govt. to account EPA Head: and demand release of interest rate on ExxonM US-multibillion $$$ investments

F

o r m e r Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Head Dr. Vincent Adams has blazed the Peoples Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C) government for the lack of transparency in the interest rates which American oil giant ExxonMobil is charging Guyana for its multibillion dollar investment in Guyana's oil sector.

Dr. Adams, who appeared at an Alliance for Change (AFC) press conference last week , was asked about Exxon's 6th oil project which is about to be approved with no cap to the interest rates, and whether this concerned the party.

“The first thing is that here again it's about transparency. I don't know what the interest rate is.

Which brings up another

question in terms of the NRF {Natural Resource Fund}, where the NRF is apparently making 1.36% (interest) but we are going out there and taking loans like drunken sailors and nobody knows what the interest rate is,” Dr. Adams said.

He said an interest rate of 10% was mentioned in the public domain; however this is yet to be confirmed by the government. He described the interest rate situation as “kitchen table economics” since according to him, the NRF rakes in a mere 1.36% but the country is borrowing loans at an average 10% interest rate.

To date, ExxonMobil has invested more than US$40 billion to develop the country's oil and gas sector.

Guyanese are still in the dark on the rate of return on this investment.

Dr. Adams reiterated, “I do not know what those interest rates are, in terms of capping the government would not reveal it, but I would expect that capping would be something that should be a necessity regardless of what it is. But nevertheless at least we ought to know what the magnitude is in terms of what we are paying for because we are the ones who are paying it.”

He emphasised that it is not the government which is footing the bill. “It is our money,” he said, adding that, “we have got to understand and open our eyes and hold them accountable for they should be telling us what those interest rates are.”

Billions of US currency is being deducted annually from Guyana's oil resource to pay back the ExxonMobil-

led consortium for its investments in the Stabroek Block, yet Guyanese are not privy to the expenses being racked up by these companies or the interest rates attached to the financing of the projects.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference in June was asked about the interest rates but avoided the question.

Earlier in his press conference, the VP said Guyana was paying a rate to Exxon since it is a standard practice for a return to be generated on the company's equity. “Regardless of whether you make the financing in the form of a loan or equity you have to get a rate of return. There is a cost of capital and that is how it is,” Jagdeo asserted.

This newspaper in a follow up question to the

former Head of State's remarks queried whether there was a standard rate Guyana is paying.

The subject of a standard rate is particularly significant, given that Guyana has already been warned by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the country could lose massive revenue by failing to cap the interest rates on the investments for its oil projects.

The IMF said it is an industry norm that the government of the day disallows interests from being recovered on loans.

Even if this is allowed, the administration sets a cap or limit to prevent the full interest amount from being recovered.

The IMF pointed out that Guyana not only allows the recovery of the interest but

also sets no cap.

In his response to the specific question however, the former President told this newspaper, “We are not paying anything. The Government of Guyana is not paying anything because they have to raise the financing using the best efforts; the cheapest cost of financing that is what they are supposed to do as a company, so this is what can be analyzed even when you look at the cost bank.”

Before further questions could be asked, Jagdeo requested that the press conference “move on.”

The response from the country's chief spokesperson on the petroleum sector casts a gloomy picture on what the true cost of capital is, and the total revenue Guyana could be losing annually on interest payments.

Driver crushed to death after trucks collide at Chinese mining operations A

local driver was on Saturday crushed to death after two trucks collided while descending a hill at the Chinese-run gold operations at Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) in the Cuyuni River in Region Seven.

The dead truck driver was identified as 47-year-old Joseph Licorish of West Watooka, Wismar, Linden.

He met his demise around 10:20 hrs while performing his work duties with the company.

Licorish was at the time

driving AGM truck number #TL-001. According to reports, Licorish was proceeding north, down a hill fully loaded with stones when he collided with AGM truck #TL19 which was travelling in the opposite direction.

The driver of that truck, Nigel Denny, a 41-year-old man from Georgetown told police that as he was ascending the hill around a slight bend when he saw Licorish's truck speeding towards him and swerving into his lane.

He claimed that he pulled left to avoid a crash but the distance was too short and the two trucks collided.

The impact caused the trucks to flip over. The entire cabin of Licorish's truck was dislodged and crashed to the ground, pinning him inside.

Employees at the mine pulled both drivers from the wreckage; Licorish was motionless.

They were both rushed to health center on the mining

The wreckage following the crash

site. Licorish was pronounced dead while Denny was treated for injuries to his head and body.

Doctors have since listed his condition as stable.

Both Licorish's body and Denny were air-dashed to Georgetown.

Police said that its investigators will be reviewing security cameras mounted some distance away from the crash scene.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 64

Sunday November 19, 2023

Dozens killed in Israeli attacks on two UN schools in northern Gaza (AL JAZEERA)- Israeli air raids have killed many Palestinians at the alFakhoora School, run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), in the Jabalia refugee camp and another school in Tal al-Zaatar, also in northern Gaza.

At least 50 people were killed in the attack on the alFakhoora School, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Saturday. It said the two attacks killed and injured hundreds of people.

Israeli attacks on schools, hospitals and public facilities “seem to be a trend right now”, said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Multiple air raids inflicted severe destruction on both schools, he added.

“Almost 200 people have been killed in these attacks and the number is expected to increase as there are many under the rubble. People are using shovels and their bare hands to dig people out,” he explained.

Several hundred people were believed to have taken shelter at both schools, fleeing the non-stop Israeli attacks. The attack on alFakhoora is believed to have taken place in the early hours of the morning, while the attack on Tal al-Zaatar took place later in the day.

“Dead bodies are

everywhere and medical teams are trying to evacuate the wounded,” said Al J a z e e r a ’s Ta r e q A b o u Azzoum, reporting about alFakhoora school.

He said with the continuing fighting amid Israel’s ground offensive in northern Gaza, many Palestinians have been forced to flee to United Nations-run schools in the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital for protection.

“People taking shelter at al-Fakhoora School in Jabalia refugee camp, many with medical issues, thought they could find shelter from the violence there. But the Israeli army seems to be sending a message: Flee to the south of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Witnesses described the massive destruction at the alFakhoora School.

“The scenes were horrifying. Corpses of women and children were on the ground. Others were screaming for help,” wounded survivor Ahmed Radwan told The Associated Press news agency by phone.

Photos from a local hospital showed more than 20 bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets.

The Israeli military, which warned Jabalia residents and others in a social media post in Arabic to leave, said only its troops are active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists”.

A Palestinian man finds the body of a relative among those lined up following Israeli air raids on the Jabalia refugee camp, at the Indonesian hospital, northern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2023 [Ahmed Alarini/AP Photo] Israel rarely comments on individual attacks saying only it targets Hamas.

‘Nowhere is safe in Gaza’ Qatar ’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s renewed bombardment of alFakhoora School, and called for “an urgent international investigation and independent investigators to probe Israel’s targeting of schools and hospitals in Gaza”.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said, “Shelters are a place for safety. Schools are a place for learning. Tragic news of the children, women and men killed while sheltering at al-Fakhouri school in northern Gaza.

Civilians cannot and should not have to bear this any longer.” Tamara Alrifai, a

spokesperson for UNRWA, told Al Jazeera that she had seen the “devastating” footage coming out of Jabalia in the aftermath of the bombing, but was unable to establish direct contact with her colleagues on the ground.

“I’m still waiting for reports directly from my colleagues in Gaza but what we’re seeing is another one of these horrific incidents, where civilians, people who sought shelter in a protected UN building, are paying the price,” she said.

Alrifai said more than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million population has been forced into an “exodus” south after an Israeli order to evacuate to make room for its ground operations in the north, something that is reminiscent of previous

forced displacements.

“Many people who stayed in the north stayed in the UNRWA school because they thought that they would have a bit of safety there, but nowhere is safe in Gaza, not even our schools,” she said.

“Unfortunately, people flee into our buildings with the blue flag looking for protection, but 70 of our buildings have been hit, so we, ourselves, are not protected.”

Alrifai said excluding the attack on Saturday, 66 people have been confirmed killed while taking shelter in UN-run facilities.

The ‘al-Shifa of schools’ The Jabalia refugee camp has been a target of air raids for weeks, as Israel claims it houses Palestinian fighters. The deadly bombing campaign has been

continuing despite condemnations by the UN and regional governments.

The Israeli army has also repeatedly hit schools and UN-run facilities. Its war on Gaza has killed more than 12,000 Palestinians so far, including 5,000 children.

The al-Fakhoora School had been previously attacked by the Israeli army several times before the war. It was a target for air raids in 2009, 2014 and earlier this month.

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the school is like the “al-Shifa of schools” in Gaza as it has been repeatedly hit by Israeli forces like the al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital, which has been a main target since the start of the war and under direct siege and raid for days.

“There is nothing discriminate about the fact that a school that shelters thousands of people has been bombed from the air; that is meant to create damage, human loss, suffering and death,” he said.

“When you attack a school with such a concentration of people taking refuge in the school, you are sending a message that is more than ‘I’m going after Hamas fighters here and there.’

What it’s saying is, ‘I want people to be driven out, I want people to pay a price, I want people to die.’”

Jordan’s foreign minister offers blistering criticism of Israel as its war on Hamas rages on (AP)-Jordan’s foreign minister offered blistering criticism Saturday of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, describing it as “blatant aggression” against Palestinian civilians that threatens to engulf the wider Middle East.

Ay m a n S a f a d i ’s h a r s h assessment, alleging Israel was committing “war crimes” by besieging the Gaza Strip and cutting off food, medicine and fuel shipments, shows how strained relations have become between Israel and Jordan — which reached a peace deal in 1994.

“All of us have to speak loud and clear about the catastrophe that the Israeli war is bringing, not just on Gaza, but on the region in general,” Safadi told the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue summit in Bahrain. “This is not a time for mincing words. This is a time to state facts as they are.”

He added: “This is not self-

defense. This is a blatant aggression, the victims of which are innocent Palestinians.”

Israel did not immediately respond to Safadi’s comments, which included a call for an immediate cease-fire and end to the fighting. However, on hand was Brett McGurk, the White House’s National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, who said that “a release of large number of hostages would result in a significant pause in fighting ... and a massive surge of humanitarian relief.”

“There’s no returning to Oct. 6.

That’s true for Israel. It’s true for Palestinians,” McGurk said. “No country can live with the threats of terror like what we saw from Hamas unleashed, on Oct. 7 on their border. And at the same time, Palestinians deserve, need and require safety and selfdetermination.” The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep

Borrell, added: “It’s quite understandable that without the freedom of the hostages, nothing can be solved.”

Safadi later offered a sharp retort to that: “Israel is taking 2.3 million Palestinians hostage.”

The war began with Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted some 240 men, women and children, taking them back into the Gaza Strip.

Israel responded with a pounding campaign of airstrikes, then a ground offensive that surrounded Gaza City to the Gaza Strip’s north. More than 11,400 Palestinians have been killed in the war, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and

militants, and Israel says it has killed thousands of militants.

The annual Manama Dialogue in Bahrain typically focuses on Gulf Arab nations’ fears about Iran in the region, something Borrell even joked about during his remarks. This year, however, the Israel-Hamas war has taken center stage, in part as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates reached diplomatic recognition deals with Israel in 2020. Friday night, Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa opened the summit with a call for a swap between Hamas and Israel for the hostages and a halt in the bloodshed. “You want to call it a cease-fire. You want to call it a pause. You can call it whatever you want,” the prince said. “The intention is a break so people can take stock. People can bury their dead. People can finally start to grieve. And maybe people can start to ask themselves about the

intelligence failure that led to this crisis in the first place.” Speaking before the summit Saturday, Safadi described the Israeli government now led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the hardestright coalition ever to govern the country, as apparently aiming to dislodge Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. He said that “will be a direct threat to our national security” in Jordan and Egypt.

“They all for years have been saying the only way to move forward is to kick the Palestinians out of their ancestral land and wipe the Palestinians out of the face of the Earth,” Safadi said.

After the war, Safadi said Arab countries also would not “come and clean the mess after Israel.”

“Let me be very clear. I know speaking on behalf of Jordan but having discussed this issue with many, with almost all our brethren, there’ll be no Arab troops going to Gaza.

Sunday November 19, 2023

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American arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions (AP)-A California man’s family is pleading for his release after they say he was wrongfully arrested in Venezuela and held for tens of thousands of dollars in ransom just days after the Biden administration eased crippling oil sanctions on the socialist-run government.

Savoi Wright’s Oct. 24 arrest, which had not been previously reported, has become the latest flashpoint in the tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Nicolás Maduro’s government that critics say should lead to a return to sanctions.

But all Wright’s family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to be returned home. They know precious little about the circumstances of his arrest.

No criminal charges have been filed, he has not been allowed to see a lawyer and the Venezuelan government hasn’t said where he is being held.

“It’s a nightmare. It’s like you’re watching a horror movie but you’re in it,” his mother, Erin Stewart, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her Oakland home.

Wright joins at least seven other U.S. citizens who remain imprisoned in

Venezuela. But his arrest stands out because it came on the heels of a politically risky move by President Joe Biden to roll back crippling oil sanctions against the OPEC nation in tandem with an Oct. 17 agreement in Barbados between Maduro’s government and its opponents to hold elections next year.

Almost immediately, Maduro seemed to disavow the deal when the nation’s Supreme Court, which is packed with loyalists, suspended the results of an opposition-run primary won

by Maria Corina Machado, a pro-U.S. former lawmaker.

T h e B i d e n administration has said it is prepared to reinstate sanctions if Maduro wavers from his commitments, which include reversing bans preventing Machado and others from holding office, and starting to release political prisoners and wrongfully detained U.S. citizens by the end of November.

That position was reaffirmed Friday by the U.S. State Department in response to questions about Wright’s arrest.

“Failure to abide by the terms of this arrangement will lead the United States to

reverse steps taken,” said spokesman Matthew Miller.

Former President Donald Trump’s administration ratcheted up sanctions on Venezuela in 2019 after accusing Maduro of staying in power through a fraudulent election, and then recognized instead the democratically elected opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate president.

Some former Trump administration officials say Wright’s arrest is just the latest example of Maduro acting in bad faith.

“Maduro playing games with American lives is unacceptable,” said Kimberly Breier, a former top U.S. diplomat to Latin America and an architect of Tr u m p ’s “ m a x i m u m pressure” campaign against

Maduro. “There will be bipartisan agreement in Washington in the coming days that the Barbados agreement, which is just a month old, is finished.”

Added Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s special envoy to Venezuela: “Maduro is calling Biden’s bluff.”

The State Department has repeatedly warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela because of the risk of kidnapping and extortion. Sophisticated criminal groups, sometimes in cahoots with government security forces, target unsuspecting men online or in neighboring Colombia with offers of romance.

Wright appears to be only the second U.S. citizen detained since Venezuela last year freed five oil

executives from Houstonbased Citgo and two other Americans in exchange for the U.S. government’s release of two nephews of Maduro’s wife who had been imprisoned on narcotics charges.

The 6-foot-10-inch (208c e n t i m e t e r ) B e r k e l e y, California, native and Loyola Marymount University graduate has for more than a decade divided his time between Oakland, Miami and South America while working remotely as a mortgage loan officer, his family said.

“He loved the nomadic lifestyle,” said Stewart, who didn’t know her son was in Venezuela until she learned of his arrest. “Everywhere he went he was seen as a gentle giant, and immensely loved.” Stewart says she has spoken to her son only once since his ordeal began, after family and friends scrambled to pay a hefty ransom to his captors that they could barely afford.

Wright recounted how he was stopped by police while in a park with a woman who had drugs on her. His family suspects she was part of a set-up. Later, once police ruled out any criminal wrongdoing by Wright, they determined he had no stamp

in his passport and handed him over to immigration authorities for deportation, Stewart says.

I t ’s u n c l e a r w h a t happened next. But other inmates have told his family that Wright is being held in a former textile factory-turned detention center run by Venezuela’s feared military counterintelligence. Scores of former political prisoners have reported being tortured and abused in the facility’s basement, referred to menacingly by guards as the “House of Dreams.”

Stewart says she fears her son is also being subjected to psychological torture. Her son’s health is also a concern due to strict dietary restrictions caused by severe food allergies.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab didn’t provide any information about Wright’s case. The other U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela include two former Green Berets — Luke Denman and Airan Berry — who were involved in an attempt to oust Maduro in 2019, as well as three men — Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Cristella — who were detained for allegedly entering the country illegally from Colombia.

Exploitative International JVs, limited access to financing...

From page 61 the partnership, it was important for it to be a “winwin” situation.

He said both companies matched the money they put in. Crosbie brought the expertise needed to provide a range of technical services, such as scaffolding, International Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) rope access, non-destructive testing (NDT) inspections, hull gauging and fabric maintenance among others, while Farfan and Mendes provided critical knowledge of operating in the Guyanese market and had a solid local reputation for upstanding business practices and finding and developing human resources, having operated in Guyana for well over 50 years.

“When starting Panthera, we both put money on the table, and that was m a t c h e d t o t h e shareholding,” he said.

Mendes said Farfan and Mendes was careful not to enter into an arrangement that it could not afford. He

recalled that a few years ago, a first-tier company had approached Farfan and Mendes to form a partnership, however, it was not practical for the company to do so.

“Now, the reality is these people get contracts of US$300 million or US$500 million. So, it would have been an unreasonable expectation for me to enter a partnership with a company that’s dealing with that scale of business.

There was no way we could have covered our share. Because if it is a US$300M contract, where would I have been able to find $160 million, which would have been my share of the cost of that partnership.

So, we got into things that we could have afforded to get into and be a true partner by sharing the risk and the cost. That is, to me, the best way of approaching that particular scenario,” he said.

In the case of Panthera, Farfan and Mendes was comfortable in its ability to meet the demands of the

partnership, including its share of investment.

Today, he said, Panthera is a profitable venture.

“Farfan and Mendes has always been profitable as a business, and Panthera is profitable as a business.

There’s still a lot of money that we would have invested as equity upfront in Panthera that is still owed to both Crosbie and to ourselves,” Mendes said.

Millions of dollars were also invested in equipment, certifications and capacity building to enable the company to secure a contract.

“So, everything was money invested, hedging the risks as well as returns on future contracts, so, it was risky, yes.

But it worked out.

Because we were prepared to invest the money upfront in the training,” he explained.

Mendes said in approaching financial institutions, Farfan and Mendes, and by extension Panthera, are transparent, and often take proactive

steps, should they foresee any issue that would impact their cash flow, and ability to manage any loan. “ We a r e a c t u a l l y completely transparent and proactive around that, which then gives the bank comfort.

When we come to them with something, we don’t give them surprises.

Banks don’t like surprises, but that’s a function of how we manage our business,” he said.

Mendes said due to its partnership with Crosbie and the demands of the oil and gas industry, which requires a high standard of management, the company leveraged the expertise that the oil and gas sector essentially required to improve the management of the overall business. Before, it took the company months to get its financials.

Now, with the investment in its enterprise resource planning software and capacity building within its finance department, the company now has its financial reports produced

and ready by the 15th of every month.

“I get all my financial reporting on the profit and loss balance sheet, everything, on the 15th of the following month. But t h a t ’s b e c a u s e w e ’ r e managing our finance department far better than we used to,” he said.

These reports inform the company of any need to source bridging finance, should it experience a cash flow crunch in the future.

Farfan and Mendes has been prudent in its financial management, and that has given it a competitive edge, especially when it comes to the rigorous processes required when attempting to secure financing from regional and international financial institutions.

In order to qualify for a loan from IDB Invest, Mendes said, the company underwent due diligence that spanned more than a year and included the exchange of numerous documents.

Though challenging, it did help the company improve

in the areas of governance and management.

However, Mendes said the local banking sector still operates in a very traditional manner, with limited options of products and services for a high growth market.

“It tends to be very risk averse.

And what they want to do is they want to secure everything before they give you the loan, and in particular for startup companies, that’s going to be a challenge because they have no track record and…they may not have the level of security that may be required. There’s a need for the banks, private sector, government and the regulator to have concerted dialogue to address these challenges,” he said.

(This story was reproduced from the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network. It is supported by the Guyana Press Association Energy Reporting Grant funded by the Open Society Foundation.)

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Vice President’s/GSCL Inc T20 Extravaganza…

Gittens century propels Ariel Masters into final - Speedboat disqualified

A fine century by Chein Gittens handed Ariel Masters a 68-run win over East Coast Titans when the teams collided in the first semi final in the over-40 category of the Vice President’s/Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc T20 Extravaganza yesterday at Queen’s College. Batting first, Ariel Masters scored 226-4. Gittens slammed an unbeaten 100 while Rawl Reid scored 27, Troy Ramsaywack 24 and Richard Latif 23. Randy Etwaroo took 2-16. East Coast Titans replied with 158 all out

in 20 overs. Ramo Malone made 30 as Sherwin Huberth, Latif and Reid took two wickets each.

Regal Masters defeated Fisherman Masters in the next semi final. (No scores were available). Ariel Masters will battle Regal Masters in the final.

Earlier, Fisherman beat Regal B by six wickets. Regal B took first knock and made 104-9 in 17 overs. David Dick scored 23 as Doodnauth Ramdeen picked up 3-27 and Rudolph Joseph 2-9.

Fisherman responded with

109-4 in 9.5 overs. Zameer Hassan made 47 while Zakie Salim scored 23. Rudy Mangal took two wickets.

Fisherman Masters beat Avengers by five wickets.

Avengers batted first and managed 181 all out in 19.4 overs. B. Gomes made 47, R. Jairam 24 and Mustafaa Azimullah 22. D. Singh took two wickets. Fisherman responded with 186-5 in 18.1 overs. D. Singh scored 61 not out and Zakie Salim 54.

OVER-50 In the over-50 division, Regal Legends will play Aash

Sunday November 19, 2023 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today your brain is supercharged, Aries. If you've been thinking about doing some writing or have put off analyzing a particularly tricky problem, this would be the perfect day to get started.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) The celestial energy signals a pleasant change for you today, Libra. Finally, the overpowering emotions that have been surging from your relationships will subside.

You are now beginning a more contemplative phase.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) With today's planetary energy, you'll find yourself a little more extraverted than usual, Taurus. You'll finally be able to say what you really think about things.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you're unstoppable!

You're a very hard worker by nature, and with the current planetary alignment you'll be able to accomplish even more than usual.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) This is a good day to devote time and thought to spiritual pursuits, Scorpio. Do something inspirational that instills a sense of wonder deep in your soul. .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) A new phase in your life is beginning, Sagittarius. The previous phase could be interpreted as having taught you to be serious and devoted to professional responsibilities.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Discard those items from the past for which you really no longer have use. As much as you like to surround yourself with objects of sentimental value.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today's aspects might clear up some rather sketchy ideas about your professional future, Capricorn. If you long for a change, such as daring to undertake a more artistic pursuit.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Intimacy will be in the air over the next few days.

Loved ones suddenly want to spend more time with you, and you'll want to invite friends over every night! By all means, do.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You have acquired some sound confidence in yourself, Aquarius. Now it is time for you to show everyone else by actually putting it to use in your life.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Feeling unusually adventurous, Virgo? You're often motivated by your idealistic expectations, and the planetary configurations today .

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today's planetary energy should compel you to commit certain acts of self-affirmation that are needed to define your territory and protect your rights.

Decor in the final from 09:30hrs.

At DCC, Regal Legends defeated Aash Decor by 46 runs in the preliminary round.

Regal Legends batted first and posted 189-7. Suresh Ramdin made 55, Nandram Samlall 31, Wayne Jones 28 and Unnis Yusuf 22. Seeraj Bhimsain claimed 3-30 while there were two wickets each for Rudy Mayers and Charran Sahadeo. Aash Decor scored 143-8 in reply. Jai Ram made an unbeaten 36, Patrice Stewart scored 32 and Mohamed Rafeek 20.Yusuf claimed 4-13 and Jones 2-36.

Meanwhile, Savage also beat Aash Decor in their final preliminary round game.

OPEN In the open category, Regal will face Hyde Park in the final. Regal, Hyde Park and Speedboat recorded two wins apiece, however Speedboat were disqualified by the disciplinary committee following their refusal to continue their final preliminary round game against Regal at Enterprise.

Sunday November 19, 2023

Another dominating day for Guyana at IGG Guyana continued to assert its dominance at the Inter-Guiana Games in Suriname, unleashing a whirlwind of excitement as the country’s athletes conquered Paramibo in an exhilarating display.

After two days of fierce competition, Guyana emerged triumphant with a dazzling total medal haul of 24 gold, 13 silver, and six bronze.

The final day of athletics yesterday witnessed Guyana clinching an additional 13 gold, seven silver, and two bronze medals, solidifying their reign in the games.

In football, the suspenseful 1-1 draw against hosts Suriname kept fans on the edge of their seats, with Omar Sam netting once again for Guyana.

The volleyball arena witnessed both Guyana’s male and female teams facing de-

feats against Suriname.

The chess battleground was nothing short of thrilling.

In an epic showdown against Suriname, the Guyana male chess team engaged in intense clashes that showcased strategic brilliance and tactical manoeuvres.

Alexander Zang’s game, marked by a dramatic battle of strategy versus tactics, added an extra layer of excitement. The match concluded in a draw after a fatal blunder of time.

The tennis court saw Paula Kalekeyzi and Kimora Erskine asserting their dominance on the opening day of IGG. Kalekeyzi’s commanding victories in the Girls’ U18 category demonstrated exceptional control, while Erskine’s prowess in the U12 division showcased skill and determination.

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Golden Jaguars, Bahamas clash shift to today G

u y a n a encountered a setback in their Concacaf Nations League clash with The Bahamas as heavy rainfall in the Dominican Republic led to the postponement of the match last evening.

The resilient Golden Jaguars are gearing up for their League B showdown today at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, scheduled for 11 : 0 0 h o u r s , p e n d i n g favourable weather conditions.

Coach Jamaal Shabazz is

instilling a sense of determination in his 22member squad as they set their sights on League A promotion.

Despite facing challenges with injuries to key players such as Reiss Greenidge, Jeremy Garrett, and Elliot Bonds, which necessitated some lineup adjustments, Shabazz remains undaunted.

The squad is excited to welcome Canadian sensation Osaze DeRosario, a fresh addition poised to leave

his mark.

Highlighting their commendable track record against The Bahamas this season, having secured a 3-2 victory on September 12, the Golden Jaguars currently lead the League B, Group D standings in the 2023/2024 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage.

With four points from four consecutive victories, the Golden Jaguars are steadfastly focused on claiming the ultimate prize League A promotion.

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Sunday November, 19 2023

BCB/UG educational scholarship launched - Campus team to receive $100,000 in cricket gears “Every week of the year the Berbice cricket board has strived to come up with a new idea toward the positive development of cricket in the

county. We strongly believe in the promotion of education among sportsmen as it not only guarantees them a life after cricket but

also allows them to think on the field of play at a faster rate”.

Those were the words of BCB president Hilbert

Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Edward Greene (centre) hands over the scholarship letter to BCB President Hilbert Foster in the presence of Vice Chancellor Dr. Paloma Mohammed.

Foster at the launching of the two educational scholarships at the Tain campus of the University of Guyana. The scholarships were part of an agreement between the BCB and the University of Guyana towards the development of the game on and off the cricket field.

Foster stated that the scholarships are an inspiring move for sports as well as education - a very important fact for youths to understand that the two can go hand-inhand. The Berbice Cricket Board since 2018 under the leadership of Foster has invested heavily in the education of its cricketers at the junior level. The board has already provided a scholarship to the university for Naeem Khan of the Albion Cricket Club and has provided educational financial grants to hundreds of youths. The BCB also rewarded outstanding performances at the CSEC level and has donated school bags, bicycles and educational materials to assist students in their school work. Youth information booklets were also published to get the youths to understand the importance of education and other areas in their life including physical fitness, personal discipline, a drug-free body and personal hygiene. The Rose Hall Town Youth and

Sports Club MS, where Foster is the secretary/CEO, has also invested heavily in the efforts of hosting numerous educational competitions within the county for primary and secondary school students.

They include spelling bees, debates, essays and poster campaigns among others, while the club also hosted an award ceremony for teachers and students.

Vice chancellor of the University of Guyana Dr. Paloma Mohammed stated that the scholarships would be part of about 24 disciplines, of which four will be toward cricket. Two of the scholarships would be for Berbice and the other two f o r G e o r g e t o w n . D r.

Mohammed pointed out that the scholarships were for any course that the university was offering. It means that a recipient did not have to pursue a course in sports once the requirements of the university were met.

So you would have to be able to meet the requirements to be accepted by the university. Once you are accepted the Berbice Cricket Board then takes over and says this is the person.

She stated that the BCB and university have agreed that the scholarship must be gender and ethnicallyinclusive as well as geographically inclusive.

The vice chancellor warned that a good GPA must be maintained as the recipients cannot collect a scholarship and go through the motion.

Failure to maintain a good GPA would result in the scholarship being taken away. The Berbice Cricket Board would shortly place advertisements for cricketers to apply for the scholarships.

Chancellor of the university Professor Edward Greene stated that sportsmen must understand the importance of an educated mind and hailed the BCB for pushing the importance of education.

International cricket commentator Joseph Reds Pereira and former West Indies vice captain Roger Harper both congratulated the Berbice board and the university for offering cricketers a chance to fulfill their academic ambitions.

Meanwhile, the BCB president announced to loud applause that University’s elite cricket team would shortly receive $100,000 worth of cricket gears. The announcement was made after the captain of the team had approached Foster for assistance in obtaining some cricket gear. The BCB president then approached a sponsor and the gears were immediately approved. The donation would include batting pads, batting gloves, wicketkeeping pads, wicket keeping gloves and bats.

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Barbara Marshall birth anniversary dominoes tourney starts today T

he much anticipated Barbara Marshall birth anniversary dominoes tournament is set to commence today (Sunday) at R and R Sports Club at Meadowbrook Gardens.

The competition is expected to attract some of the top city teams with an entrance fee of $15,000, while there will be a sum in pot.

Marshall of All Season’s Dominoes team said she is looking forward to an exciting climax to the competition and wished the teams well.

She thanked the sponsors.

Among the teams matching skills are Spartans, Mix Up, All Season’s, Providence, Gold is Money and Cody Girls.

The competition will conclude on Monday at Dynasty.

Barbara Marshall

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Sunday November, 19 2023

BCB and UG launch second edition of Youth Coaching Manual The proactive Berbice Cricket Board with the assistance of the University of Guyana on Thursday launched the second edition of its historic coaching manual for youth cricketers.

The launching took place at the Tain campus of the university during a special ceremony to open the Berbice Cricket Wall of Fame.

A total of 31 players from the county were inducted into the Wall of Fame. The players range from John Trim in 1948 and Ashmini Munsieur, who debuted in 2023. The inductees were players from Berbice who represented the West Indies at either the tests, ODI or 20/20 levels.

BCB president Hilbert Foster stated that the board in 2021 had published the first edition after it was

prepared by a top-level delegation of cricket coaches.

The group was headed by the late Michael Hyles and included Julian Moore, Leslie Solomon, Balram Samaroo, Winston Smith, Ameer Rahaman and Travis Hardcourt. The BCB distributed 1000 copies to schools, cricket clubs and youth cricketers across the county while several were requested by clubs as far away as Antigua, North America and England.

With a total of 18 cricket coaches working with youths in Berbice under the Government of Guyana’s 10-day work program, there was a huge demand for more manuals. The board then approached the University of Guyana for assistance to publish another 1000 copies and Vice Chancellor, Doctor

Paloma Mohammed Martins, readily agreed to the request.

A special task committee reviewed the contents of the manual for correction and update. Foster hailed the effort of the Tain campus Director, Doctor Gomathinayagam Subramanian, and the head of events, conferences and communication, Jainarine Deonauth, who worked with him to make a project a reality.

The coloured manual covers basic coaching for all aspects of the game – batting, bowling, ground feeling, catching, wicked keeping and physical fitness.

The manual offers advice on the attributes of a good batsman, mental approach to batting, mental approach to the game, the importance of discipline, key points when

BCB President Hilbert Foster (right) is joined by Chancellor Edward Greene (centre) and Vice Chancellor Doctor Palomo Mohammed during the launch of the coaching manual. running between the wickets, benefits of physical preparation and the importance of physical fitness.

Youths would benefit from coaching tips on the bat grip, stands and how to play a wide range of cricket shots including the forward

defense, straight drive, cover drive, on drive, pull shot, back foot defense, back foot drive and sweep shot. Tips are also available for fast bowling, off-spin, leg-spin and left-arm orthodox.

The fielding section includes tips on long-barrier, two-hand interception and arm throw, high catching, throwing the ball and close catching. Other articles in the manual include umpiring signals, ways of dismissals and photos of the female internationals and test players from the county.

Foster committed the BCB to making the manual available to other cricket boards if they request the same.

University of Guyana Chancellor Edward Greene, Ta i n D i r e c t o r D r.

Gomathinayagam

Subramanian and Vice Chancellor Doctor Paloma Mohammed Martin stated that the university was delighted to be part of the project. The vice chancellor expressed confidence that the coaching manual would inspire the next set of Berbice cricketing heroes to come forth to follow in the footsteps of Rohan Kanai and Basil Butcher.

Jainnarine Deonauth stated that both efforts of the BCB and UG had resulted in an upgraded version of the coaching manual with matches international standards. He hailed the efforts of Foster and his executives in making the project a success. Special mention was also made of the Director of Tain campus Dr. Subramaniam for his hard work and dedication.

Cricket Ombudsman Issues notice to WBCA Cricket Ombudsman Malcom Peters has issued a notice to the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) as well as a few associations.

The notice was sent via letter, addressed to Carol Nurse, Secretary of the West Berbice Cricket Association (WBCA) and former president David Black.

According to the letter, the WBCA is set to host its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 26 at t h e F o r t We l l i n g t o n Secondary School.

However the tenure of the WBCA previously ended in January 2021, making the body null.

In accordance with the 2 0 1 4 G u y a n a C r i c k et Administration Act (GCAA), all clubs and

associations must be verified prior to an electoral procedure. Also, the notice highlighted BCB president Hilbert Foster’s recent social media announcement that the board will be holding elections on December 17, at the St. Francis Facility, Rose Hall.

Should the WBCA and the BCB host their respective elections, it would be without compliance of provisions and regulations of the GCCA and by extension the Guyana Cricket Ombudsman.

Thus, actions will result in the processes being deemed Illegal, null and v o i d w i t h n o e ff e c t , according to the letter sent by the Ombudsman.

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Petra/MVP Sports U11 Girls Football Tournament…

20 goals scored on opening day - Hing, Farley, Nobrega among top performers Yesterday marked the kickoff of Petra’s MVP Sports Pee-Wee Under-11 Girls Football tournament, a four-week competition held at the Ministry of Education ground. The opening day showcased six thrilling matches, setting an exhilarating tone for the weeks ahead. As Tucville, Potaro, St John the Baptiste, West Ruimveldt, Marian Academy and North Georgetown Primary nudged their first win in the competition.

The 2023 tournament commenced with the traditional March-Pass, a moment filled with anticipation, before the teams took to the field to showcase their skills. The first clash saw Smith Memorial Primary face off against Tucville Primary, with Tucville clinching a

narrow 1-0 victory, courtesy of Wolette Griffith’s goal in the 32nd minute.

Simultaneously, F.E. Pollard Primary squared off against Potaro Primary, where Potaro dominated with impressive strikes from Alesha Gonsalves in the 15th minute and Reniese Joseph in the 38th minute. Potaro eventually won by 2-0.

These two opening matches set the stage for an epic showdown between West Ruimveldt Primary and Aloysius Primary. Although the game began at a slower pace, Ariel Farley stole the spotlight with a remarkable hat-trick in the 4th, 5th, and 15th minutes, supported by Thea Valentine’s goal in the 40th minute, securing West Ruimveldt’s commanding 40 victory over Aloysius.

St. John the Baptiste Primary later thrashed

CEO MVP Sports, Ian Ramdeo, executed the official kicking off of the tournament as Assistant Director of Sports Franklin Wilson, Troy Peters GFF Technical Director and MoE representatives share the moment Genesis in a gripping match that ended in a 5-0 victory for St. John’s.

Wi t h S h e m i a H i n g scoring an incredible hattrick in the 4th, 15th, and 17th minutes, alongside contributions from Neisa Lewis (6') and Jaziah Rodrigues (17'), proved instrumental in their win.

Gold is Money, Young Gunners, Hard Knocks through to quarter-finals

A snippet of the action in one of the final Group stage matches

H

ard Knocks, Gold is Money, Young Gunners and YMCA kept the unbeaten streak alive in the ExxonMobil Futsal tournament, following Friday night’s action at the Retrieve Hard Court in Linden.

Hard Knocks, led by the unstoppable John Waldron’s five-goal rampage, dominated Fearless with a 16-2 victory.

Marley Major and Shavanne Seaforth added hat-tricks to the goal-fest, while Omar Brewley, Kevin Beaton, and Clive Nobrega

chipped in with a goal each as Hard Knocks clinched their spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals with style.

Gold is Money, eyeing that tempting $1 million winner’s purse, thwarted DC Ballers with a 6-2 win.

Joel Isaacs and Calvin Drakes each scored twice, and Kenard Simon joined the party with another pair of goals.

DC Ballers managed to sneak in a couple, thanks to Nicholas Gentle, but Gold is Money stood their ground.

Yo u n g G u n n e r s showcased their prowess

with an 8-2 victory over Coomacka.

Kamar McLean and Demall Warner stole the spotlight with their hattricks, while Rodensio Tudor added a delightful double to the scoreboard.

YMCA unleashed an 111 drubbing on Golden Stars, with Jonah Simon netting seven goals and Kevin Gettins securing a hat-trick.

As the tournament heated up, the final groupstage matches took place last evening, setting the stage for an electrifying quarter-final round scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Marian Academy delivered a stunning performance, overwhelming One Mile Primary with an identical 5-0 victory. Skylar Nobrega was the standout player, netting four goals in the 14th, 33rd, 38th, and 40th minutes, leading her team to a commanding win. Kryssyan

Persaud contributed with an additional goal during the impressive display by the Marian Ladies.

Over in a tense battle between defending champions North Georgetown Primary and Friendship Primary ended in a goalless draw.

However, North

Georgetown eventually secured a welcoming 2-1 victory on penalty kicks.

The tournament will resume on November 25 at the same venue, promising more thrilling matches as teams vie for victory.

MVP Sports continues to sponsor this exciting tournament.

The undefeated Golden Jaguars are on top of Group with 12 points

rts Spo

Golden Jaguars, Bahamas clash shift to today Another dominating day for Guyana at IGG

Petra/MVP Sports U-11 Girls Football Tournament…

Some of the action on the opening day of the 2023 MVP Sports U-11 Football Tournament

Javon Roberts celebrating his IGG 800m win (Calvin Chapman photo)

20 goals scored on opening day - Hing, Farley, Nobrega among top performers

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