Kaieteur News

K

AIETEUR NEWS

PPP/C, APNU+AFC

Sunday Edition

have stained Guyana’s

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

September 27, 2020 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

infant oil industry with all the hallmarks of corruption

Price $140

p.3

Former Nigerian Petroleum Minister diverted US$6B oil money to her personal bank accounts

Online readership yesterday, 116,851

?

Former Nigerian Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke

Who fits this thisframe? frame for Guyana ?

Who is the US$7B man?

The Stabroek Block is a done deal.

The country has either been outfoxed by the foreign investors or it has been sold-out by our leaders, or both.

Foreigners have said that Guyana left US$55B on the negotiation table in Texas.

But while we know what has happened in the Stabroek Block, the nation is still awaiting answers about other oil blocks, notably the lucrative Canje and Kaieteur Blocks. These two blocks are believed to collectively contain 7.2 billion barrels of oil, making them just as equivalent in reserves as the Stabroek Block.

Secrecy, however, surrounds the

+

identities of the principals who were handed the lucrative oil blocks Canje and Kaieteur. The public has not been provided with the identity of the persons behind these deals.

Oil companies, including ExxonMobil, have begun to buy-in to these blocks. The person who controls the blocks, therefore is already making big bucks without investing a cent in oil exploration or production.

Just US$1 per barrel would yield US$7.2 billion to the unknown owner of these blocks. …Not US$2 per barrel …Not US$3 per barrel …Not US$4 per barrel

Just US$1 per barrel would make the owner of those blocks one of the richest men in the western hemisphere. That person would be richer than Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former President of Angola who is believed to be the richest woman in Africa. If the owner of the blocks obtained US$5 per barrel, it would make him one of the richest persons in the world within five years. The billion-dollar question therefore is who is the invisible man behind the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks? Will the US$7B+ man, please stand up?

(Please take a good read on Page 2)

Who really owns the Kaieteur and Canje Oil Blocks, do the leaders of this land care to tell the nation?

Kaieteur News

PAGE 04

Sunday September 27, 2020

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

Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Why is Not a Single Politician Talking of This?

When Guyanese open their daily newspapers, something becomes immediately noticeable. When they look at television, it is the same backward story…and it also features in local radio stations. Not a single Guyanese political figure of note is saying anything about obtaining more for our mineral wealth, with oil being at the top of the pile. There is political craftiness afoot with our national treasure, and it limps and smells.

Guyanese are presented with the careful language of the new government. It is as if its leaders are fearful of upsetting somebody. This extends from ExxonMobil to the powerful political friends of Guyana, who have all gone silent, being content with the result of their elections handiwork. There is skirting around issues, especially oil. As much as we try to shake it, there is the impression that our leaders are indebted for favours; thus, they must play along as part of the price paid. The result is the gentlest of touches for ExxonMobil on our oil, our deals, our costs and our prices paid.

Any price our leaders agree to pay is expensive and comes out of the pockets of Guyanese for a long time to come. This is infuriating and underlines the disastrous character and visions of our national leaders, whether of government or opposition. All of them that were so overflowing with powerful words, during elections, have gone silent. Like mythical figures from scripture and literature, today leaders have no tongues. It is fitting since what they share have no merit prompting reading, listening, or watching.

This oil of ours, which should prompt leadership voices to resound from the rooftops, is generating only this mysterious tiptoeing about, like thieves in the dark with a bag on their shoulders. What is going on here? Why are usually loud and sharp men, so uncharacteristically hedging, weighing, and guarding every word and syllable, as if it is going to cost them dearly for saying something untimely, and hence unacceptable?

As we focus on what the costs will be for hopeful Guyanese given the dangerous caution and alarming warning signs coming out of the pores of government leaders, something comes to mind, bears monitoring.

Citizens were recently greeted with a mini budget that was stocked full of goodies, and all in cash. It was most encouraging for ordinary citizens. But we must be cynical and question whether the suffering Guyanese public is not being fattened for the kill.

Specifically, much-needed cash was announced that means something to small people and struggling households. But is this to sweeten disengaged Guyanese, only to let them down hard later. In other words, distract and disable them with drinks today, and then join with others to raid their homes and rob them blind later. Time will be the judge, as to whether Guyanese citizens will be given more pennies, while ExxonMobil and its ABC &E colleagues and conspirators run away with our prospects.

The question that arises is whether these budgetary giveaways, this ‘free’ cash is the Guyanese equivalent of Roman bread and circuses. Give them something to keep them quiet. Prime the pump to give them a trickle more next year, while a stealthy ExxonMobil carries away the real cash cows. ExxonMobil gets the bank vault; Guyanese must content themselves with the kiddie’s piggy bank.

Capitalism is a brutal practice, an even more brutal reality.

Perhaps, that is why there is so much talking about sugar, which has failed and hurt us terribly in its last draining years.

Our political leaders look backward and go backward to the plantation, which is so sickly that its own weight kills it.

Subsidizing comes through digging holes to fill the big hole sugar represents. Surely, we can and must do better! But this, too, keeps a host of people satisfied and happy, since for them, this is the sum of good times.

The Kaieteur network has taken the lead in emphasizing

and reemphasizing, through countless presentations, the monumental importance of tapping into our mineral wealth to get the maximum from all of its varied sectors. But the thickness in the skulls of political players rebuffs all our efforts. They want the old and paralyzed. They want to focus on projects that give us pittances as returns. But they are good at talking about borrowing to facilitate pet pork barrel projects. We like begging and borrowing, which is easier than rolling up sleeves and facing descendants of former masters with resolve and a comprehensive understanding of what we have below the sea and ground, in the trees, and in our seas.

Our leaders shrink from saying: this is what we should get for the many areas of our national wealth.

We are contented with single-digit percentage royalties for our riches, and we are even more pleased to pay through the nose in double-digit interest charges for the loans from financial institutions all too willing to take advantage of Guyanese suckers.

Our leaders remind of credit card borrowers, who splurge with other people’s money, while considering themselves wise when they get by with making minimum monthly payments, and interest charges compound and spiral.

As Guyanese know, borrowing is easy, paying back is the dirty word.

Nevertheless, we will in the most measured language be clear as to where we stand. ExxonMobil is on the ropes, and Guyana has the company and its arrogant leaders in a corner.

We must not let go on Payara, even though that looks done and delivered on the usual impoverishing terms.

Payara must mean (or should have been) the turning point in the ExxonMobil relationship. This is not about boss (ExxonMobil) and boy (Guyana) anymore. This must now be about a partnership of equals. If ExxonMobil wants to play hardball, we must be ready to play harder. We know the company is vulnerable, and we must be ruthless. ExxonMobil did not hesitate to be ruthless when we were helpless, and without a card in hand.

It squeezed the life out of us, with that abomination of a deal. Now the tables are turned. There is nowhere for it to go, and since it has gambled heavily on Guyana, Exxon must pay to be in the rich Guyana oil game.

No! We must not be bowing down before the ABC & E people because they were heavily instrumental in the resolution of our elections’ insanities, with outcome that favoured the existing government.

Our suffering people must not stay and be the same way. It must be the different way to a bright future that has ExxonMobil listening, responding, and working with us. The bottom line is this: ExxonMobil cannot afford to give up on Guyana, since its crown jewels are here.

Part of the continuum of that redline is that Guyana must come into its own and now, through pressuring ExxonMobil leaders. Yet on this, we sense consistent shriveling by our weak political leaders, new and old.

Sunday September 27, 2020

Guyanese companies should get preference for contract selection Dear Editor, It is simply appalling to see the number of buildingcontracting contracts given to citizens of a particular foreign country. We are heading towards a sovereignty situation if this becomes a permanent way of doing business.

It’s understandable if there are no reliable local contractors, (even from neighbouring Caribbean countries?); however, the government should change this path, going forward. Guyana should not be dominated by foreigners in the construction area, as an example; especially now that there is oil.

There is NOT a single Guyanese company, if one existed, no matter their years of existence that will ever be considered to build the smallest bridge, smallest building or shortest anything in any country in the Pacific Rim. The reason should be obvious. The readers know which country in particular I am referring to. Countries in the Pacific Rim, for decades have always (a) looked within, (b) built-up from within, (c) considered and preferred their own internal companies to build anything. That is a deliberate decision choice.

It is just wrong for our future, if certain groups of people who in private have never thought highly of us anyway, will not even consider us on a short list for the same business opportunity in their countries, much less have us as regular guests at their breakfast,

lunch or dinner table; keep getting construction contracts. Yet they do come to do business among us and like our money. There is nothing racist about this comment. It is what it is.

The days of immigrating out of Guyana, if for the sole purpose of a “Better life”, for people still within employment age, is unfortunately over for the next few years, unless one is going to join family members that have their own business.

Even at that, companies that have been in business for nearly 200 years are shutting their doors for good because of Covid-19.

(Example: Brooks Brothers). There is economic wreckage everywhere, so I hope this government develops a policy of financially encouraging/ subsidizing the local population to migrate their skills to certain areas, example construction, so Guyanese are the dominant players.

Guyanese companies should get preference for contract selection if they have already demonstrated the ability to do premium work as required in full. If no competent firm exists in a particular area, we must buildup from within the existing population, which is already there.

If it’s good for the goose in those Pacific Rim countries, to have certain business practices, then it’s surely good for the gander in Guyana.

Yours truly Chi Kansi

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Let this national beastliness that governs thinking and action in Guyana be over now Dear Editor, The wreckage is filled with the harrowing results of the COVID-19 pandemic. A high-level snapshot encompasses 200,000 plus dead; millions sickened; hospitals overwhelmed; economy reeling. There is great anger, heavier tension, more sabotaging distrusts.

But there is something more, and from this Guyanese leaders and Guyanese citizens could observe and embrace a world of the widest wisdom.

It is believed that the COVID-19 virus is manmade, manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory.

The jury is still out because the evidence is not absolutely conclusive. But people are dead, the prices grim, and of those, there are no doubts.

It has been so for America, Asia, Europe; indeed, for most of the inhabited world, with the toll still rising the end unknown, and the final costs believed astronomical.

Guyana has not been spared; it braces apprehensively for cataclysms that loom, but which it is hoped will pass o v e r. We h a v e s o m e defenses, some concerted efforts, some resolve.

Whether all those will be enough to make the worst bypass us is still up in the air. Divine intervention is depended upon; what may have to be after our trying and struggling to put our arms around this menace, with the limited tools and armaments at our fingertips. I pray. I hope.

I trust.

Against this horrendous backdrop, more

unnerving news has surfaced. There is more rage, more disgust, more tenseness leading to more bad feelings and bad blood. The news is that there was early intelligence of a massive viral problem imminent, but the inexplicable followed.

That is, there was silence, no information sharing and in definitive decisionmaking, covering up, through unpardonable and incomprehensible destruction of records following official orders from the highest echelons of the Chinese government.

A long, warped, and dangerous road was transformed to a darker and deadlier place because of official actions taken from official decisions finalized. The rest of the world paid and continues to pay the harshest of human and societal prices.

A few hundred thousand deaths may be inconsequential in the highly populated Far East.

Locking down, locking out, and locking up enormous sections of the population may be unchallenged in controlled societies. But these things matter in other societies that are freer and more open to hard questions, serious agitations, and citizens objecting. They matter to America. They matter much to Guyana and Guyanese. Because the pains are felt more, the capacity to absorb the battering blows are not as broad or deep, or accepting.

And I say all this because of the two places where this limited recitation

of known and accepted public facts and crippling global experiences lead me.

Regarding the first place where I end up, I think there will be countless believing pilgrims and it follows this straight line.

What came out of Wuhan, what was suppressed and not disclosed, what was destroyed and not delivered possess all the characteristics of viral warfare which, in my admittedly ignorant state, I conclude to be a byproduct of ongoing endeavours in the fields of bacteriological and germ warfare.

The plague heaped upon the global house may have been avoidable; or with more openness, at least, minimized. It is why there is so much anger, so much suspicion and distrust for what could be construed as an undeclared war.

And against these backdrops, I arrive at the second and last place, the point that I put on the table before my fellow Guyanese, whether leaders or citizens, including those who agree or disagree with me. And especially before those who either like or dislike what I represent.

That second place is this: despite all the damage, all

the acrimonies, all the passions and prejudices, there is still communicating and talking - no matter how sharp -between American and Chinese leaders.

There is still intercourse and exchanging between the main men at the heights, however strained.

This is what I place before Guyanese leaders. Take a listening for some learning.

The channels are open between those two countries at odds, at a precipitous point.

This is what I humbly place before President Ali, former president Jagdeo, former president Granger, and Opposition leader Harmon. All this talking, warring, by another name in the media, means nothing, leads nowhere, helps no one. If we as humans cannot capitalize upon and leverage for the best results, the gift of speech, of intellect, of wisdom, then I respectfully submit that we have consigned (and condemned) ourselves to be indistinguishable from beasts. I say we must be different. Let this national beastliness that governs t h i n k i n g and action in Guyana be over now.

Yours truly, GHK Lall

PAGE 6

Kaieteur News

What are we doing to save our future generations?

Dear Editor, Kindly allow me to pose the following questions to the readership; questions that concern me greatly. Have you given thought to the number of homeless children that roam the streets of our dear Guyana? What are we doing to save our future generations from such a cruel, harsh reality? Have you ever been in a situation where you had no idea where your next meal was coming from or have you been out of a job with no one to turn to? Many may respond that “people should stop making children that they can’t take care of,” etc., but what are those innocent children and young adults to say after being born into a world with little or no parental guidance; after being told lies about who they are until they themselves believe that they are worthless?

Some are even born to children who have been sexually abused, or in homes that expect them to behave like adults and take responsibility when they have little or no proper access to role models or opportunities for upliftment.

I’m a medical doctor today but those who know me know that I had to work really hard to even have a goal to aspire to. To be quite honest, even now, I still need guidance as a young adult. We are all Guyanese and as our motto

says - “One people, One nation, One destiny”.

What are we lacking as a nation? How can we i m p r o v e o u r p e o p l e ’s standard of living?

I threw these questions out to some of my colleagues and here were their responses: “Lack of opportunities for all levels of abilities.”

“Not enough value for and investment in skills, and need for promotion of creativity.”

“Culture. For example, children growing up thinking it’s ok to sit in the hot sun and pretend to repair roads while passersby take pity on to them and give a $20 or so, or those just simply begging for money.”

“Homelessness. Some people just aren’t fortunate to have family who care and /or a roof over their heads.”

“Drug abuse. Some are at an even higher risk due to being born to unfortunate drug users. I recently saw one woman smoking with a young baby in her hand. Should we condemn her for endangering that child or should we try to reach out and understand?”

“Not having enough exposure to opportunities, therefore, hindering the potential for development” “Lack of motivation.”

“Mentally lazy.”

“Lack of access to basic resources.”

“Not enough influence

by their leaders.”

“Lack of equality.”

Now the above responses were from stable individuals, fellow colleagues with families and jobs. However, there were a few options that resonated with me concerning what we may be lacking as a nation.

One person stated, “that our society needs to have a true understanding of self-love and love for others and the ability to actually recognize and understand that we are placed on earth with a purpose only for a period of time.”

The other stated thus: “Core values must be installed in the home: honesty, integrity, faithfulness and the fear of God.” So, I dare to ask you dear reader - what is your purpose? Are you a part of the problem or part of the solution?

Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ.”

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.

Yours truly, Dr. Abigail Stewart

Sunday September 27, 2020

Lincoln Lewis responds to Freddie Kissoon Dear Editor, Reference is made to Frederick Kissoon’s column, 25th September 2020, titled “Lincoln Lewis: I will never retain friendship that is devoid of humanity.” If humanity falls on the lap of he who claims to know who is devoid of humanity, he will not know it. Evidently, he remains tortured by the fact that whereas he once considered me a friend, though we may have had friendly encounters, I never considered him my friend.

Friends are people who could be trusted, and he cannot be trusted. He sees people as objects to manipulate in pursuing his divisive, destructive agenda. And in his usual meandering ways, he seeks once again to make me his target, a target he knows he will never succeed in demolishing.

In the video, he purports to have of a disagreement among myself and persons who want to covet my ancestor’s land in Kingelly, West Coast Berbice, he makes no mention of the cantankerous behaviour of a woman, half my size, flaring up in front of me calling on me to hit her. He also ignores my statement to said woman’s provocation that “I don’t hit women.” He ignores the young male sharpening his cutlass around Cudjoe’s heirs and behaving in a threatening way. It is understood why he ignores these acts and behaviours.

It is easy to see through the deceptive association of someone like me, with my natural physical attributes, (compliments of my enslaved ancestors) to be considered a threat. I have no excuse to be intolerant to anyone coveting and invading private lands that belong to my ancestor, which they know fully well are not owned by them and belong to the McPhersons (descendants of Cudjoe McPherson). I have

no tolerance for this behaviour hence my action to pursue legal justice and to make this matter a public one.

He sees the rule of law applying to me being charged for assault, but he calls not for the rule of law applying to the woman and others who threatened the McPhersons with physical violence. I was not charged for assault with my encounter with the woman. I was charged for assault based on a false accusation made by a male land grabber on a different day. I am justly charged for assault, the same as the man who threw a miasmic mess in Kissoon’s face felt his action was just.

Kissoon asked of me to produce my papers of ownership for the lands, but it is noted he has not asked the woman. I challenge this profound distorter of reality to call on the woman he is representing to produce the papers, which she claims she has of ownership. It is a matter of fact in this society that some of us are always being called on to prove our innocence whereas others are automatically innocent and considered victims.

I stand by my position that systems must be put in place to protect Guyanese business from being overrun by businesses established by an imported Chinese business class whose owners continue to exploit Guyanese labour and make no reinvestment in the community within which they operate. This practice has impacted negatively on Regent Street, East Coast Demerara, and other parts of the country. Further, I retain an abiding interest in equal pay for Guyanese and foreign labour for the same job in the oil and other industries. I am a nationalist and no group will get preference over the other.

My reality as a labour leader and citizen will be influenced by universally acceptable principles. A wicked and

devious mind seeking to manipulate public opinion sees a principled stand as fascism, when it does not serve their purpose, and will continue howling at the moon.

Let me remind Kissoon and those who may not have followed the exchanges between him and I about the University of Guyana (UG)the position taken by Ivor English, the Guyana Trades Union Congress’ representative on the UG Council, borders on principles and was treated in the media extensively. He brings nothing new to a conversation discussed ad nauseum other than demonstration of his hurt and dented credibility.

Further, he is being dishonest with his claim that “The Kaieteur News informed [me] that the contents of [my] columns in support of election rigging was against the essential guiding lights of the newspaper and that brought an end to [my] columns.” The decision was mine to bring an end to the relationship as a columnist and it had nothing to do with the false claims he makes. In fact, one of my concerns was Kissoon being allowed to use his column to attack me and me being denied the right to respond in like manner. That response was published in other newspapers.

There is no doubt Kissoon believes the current media landscape is in his favour to launch his vile attack. Let me put him on notice- the only thing that would prevent him hearing from me is the media denying me the right to respond by refusing to publish my letters.

I have long learned to allow wicked, mischievous, and dangerous statements to go unrebutted is to give victory to those who are strangers to the truth, even to the detriment of their academic scholarship.

Yours truly, Lincoln Lewis

Sunday September 27, 2020

I agree with Freddie Kissoon on exposing hypocrisy Dear Editor, Freddie Kissoon is spot on in consistently criticizing several prominent individuals of society, heads of organizations, for their commentary on contemporary socio-economic and political issues.

They lack consistency.

One cannot be silent to countless amoral and constitutionally illegal activities and then have the audacity to speak against only one. Such individuals are dishonest.

They are hypocrites.

There is so much political and social mendacity in this society. Hannah Arendt’s famous maxim that “truthfulness has never been counted among political virtues” is most apt when thinking about certain politicians, heads of organizations, and other prominent individuals.

Suddenly, some have found their voice in assailing or pronouncing views on the governance of President Ali’s administration but were silent during or defending five years of mal-administration and violation of basic democratic and constitution rule.

Their courage to speak out against perceived errors of current government is epitome of hypocrisy.

It turns the stomach when these individuals issue statements on behalf of organizations or groups or themselves condemning violence and agreements made by this administration with the USA. They act self-righteous now and speak strongly of sovereignty but did not utter a word of condemnation when the nation was abused.

They call for power sharing now but were silent during

five years when they were in office and in a position to implement it. Can you imagine a government and a local court said 34 is not a majority of 65, and heads of organizations and mathematics instructors and administrators of UG were quiet? Do you think those judges would remain in office in America or Canada or UK or India? The constitution and several CCJ rulings were defied and the law faculty and administration of UG were silent. These are not acts of personal failings but of national moral failings of what is right and wrong for a nation whose basic laws were violated.

Not one voice at UG came out and condemned what took place. No one academic or administrator resigned a position in protest or even penned a letter calling for adherence to constitutional law.

In fact, some for political reasons came out and praised the violations of basic laws just to retain or strengthen their position with the regime.

Are these people fit to teach or lead anyone or any institution?

They are promoted! Only in Guyana this can happen!

Their silence encourages further violations of laws.

Gandhi had said that silence in the face of evil is complicit in the act.

It was that kind of silence that led to the rise of the fascist dictatorship in Guyana after1965.

Freddie, Ruel Johnson, and those of us who spoke out against violations of basic principles of governance and decency were seen as “political” and we are told that we are not qualified to hold certain

PAGE 7

Kaieteur News

positions of governance or academia. (Freddie must be brought back at UG; he can do a better job than most there). Yes, when we speak out against electoral fraud and racism and corruption, we are automatically labeled as “political”.

We are told we are wrong for exposing racism, fraud, and corruption. They tell us we should have been silent and we would be rewarded for high paying positions. Then who would protect human rights and the nation? Would democracy have been restored in 1992 if we were silent? What hypocrites!

Somehow, they feel if you defend or are silent during fraud, you are a hero or heroine. Wrong! If being politically honest and writing the right things disqualify one for a position, then so be it.

Any social or political activist who was silent during those five months of attempts to rig the election has forfeited his or her right to comment on current political matters. After you critique and condemn illegality, then you have earned respect to speak out on current matters of governance or issues facing the society.

Everyday, there is revelation of so much political and financial corruption, the worst in the country’s history.

Exxon has taken advantage of Guyana’s oil or should I say the previous government allowed Exxon to abuse us with the contract.

How can we be silent?

Who will speak out against the fraud and abuses? I applaud Freddie for exposing their hypocrisy.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram (PhD, Pol Sci)

The development of the creative arts is also not luck and chance Dear Editor Referring to projected developments in athletics, the Honourable Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport recently noted “developing talent is a science not luck and chance.” The same logic must also be applied to the other elements of his portfolio. The same orientation must be applied to the development of Guyanese creative arts.

For the past five years, there has been little if any systematic effort to advance the infrastructure to support the development of Guyanese creative arts. Unfortunately, the resuscitation of Institute for the Creative Arts, which was started around 2012 under the leadership of Hon Frank Anthony became mired in the machinations of the culture sector during the last administration. The conditions

that obtained in 2015, probably continue in 2020. The Institute remains unaccredited. The curriculum remains undeveloped and the existing faculty essentially untrained.

The Institute for the Creative Arts was established after CARIFESTA 72 when it became evident that although Guyanese had talent, they needed education, training, and opportunities for innovation. Almost 50 years later, we have not been systematic in doing that job. Hopefully, efforts by the Honourable Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport to address this critical need will be one of the actions that His Excellency President Ali can point to as action taken during his administration’s first 100 days.

Yours truly, Vibert C. Cambridge, Ph.D., A.A.

PAGE 8

Sunday September 27,2020

Kaieteur News

Pressure on Guyana now to ensure sub-standard drugs, food not imported

Food and Drugs now internationally accredited to inspect…

The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) on September 18, 2020 acquired international accreditation of its Inspectorate Division.

This status of International Standard Organization (ISO) 17020 achievement was conferred by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

According to the department, after over two years of preparation of its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and its Quality Management System for inspection, it was subjected to an assessment exercise by A2LA during the period August 17-20, 2020.

“During the exercise, inspection procedures and practical inspections were observed by the body after which only four nonconformances (NCs) were identified at closure. Those NCs were quickly rectified by the department, closed off

and returned to the assessor who delivered the welcoming news that the International Accreditation Council found no objection to conferring accreditation status to the GA-FDD Inspectorate Division.”

According to the regulator, this information can now be found on the A2LA Website: https:// cabportal.touchstone.a2la.org/ /index.cfm?event=directory. detail&labPID=94B40D519B90-4238-AD576F03499EE7C4 “Our accreditation scope includes inspection, sampling and product destruction for food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. All certificates and licences issued by the Department will now be accompanied by the A2LA logo which gives universal recognition of the distinctive work of the department.”

The GA-FDD said it is the only accredited Government inspection body in Guyana

Director, Dr. Marlan Cole and inspectors of the GA-FDD with the certificate indicating that Guyana is now internationally certified.

and also has the distinction of being the only Government entity in the entire Caribbean region that is fully a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) with ISO17020 Inspectorate as well as ISO 17025 Laboratory Accreditations.

The laboratory

accreditation was acquired through Jamaican National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC).

“This milestone is attributed to astute leadership, hard work and dedication of all staff and the unwavering support from the (Continued on page 72)

Labour Ministry to be revamped Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton

The Ministry of Labour will be taking an aggressive approach to capacity building to ensure that Guyana has a resilient work force.Minister Joseph Hamilton has said that this will be done through various training programmes to equip staff with the necessary skills to ensure efficiency at the Ministry.

“Part of the training programme will be for staff upgrading, training staff at the Labour Department and at the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Department, and the Co-ops Department,” Minister Hamilton disclosed this past week.

While the various departments are not fully staffed, training programmes have started for new Labour Officers and OSH Officers.

This, the Minister said, is “to expand the supervisory

role in all the regions to ensure that all the regions are properly supervised.”

Staff will also be trained in foreign languages including Spanish and Portuguese to enable better communication with foreign workers.

Additionally, the Labour Minister disclosed that the Board of Industrial Training will be revamped. A plan has been outlined which will see the expansion of the training institution across all administrative regions.

“We plan to increase the number of programmes under the Board of Industrial Training and have already had consultations with other training institutions – the Critchlow Labour College and the Kuru Kuru College – to see how we can collaborate with some of the programmes to be done,” Minister Hamilton said.

Sunday September 27, 2020

$5.6M in auxiliary support for children in State care

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud has said some $5.6M will be used to enhance the mental health and wellness of children homed at Staterun facilities.

The money will be used to provide support services from trained psychologists, teachers, sport professionals, and others.

Speaking during the budget debates in the National Assembly on Thursday, the Minister said hundreds of children suffering from trauma and other conditions, are living in state facilities.

They include those at the Children and Family Care Centre, the Mahaica Children’s Home and at the Joshua House Children’s Centre. Dr. Persaud said the support services are to ensure they are not left behind but become productive members of the society.

“We want these children to have teachers come in and work with them, whatever areas they are lacking in, whether in subjects like,

English or Mathematics, they must be given that time to understand and grow. For those who are athletic, we are bringing in professionals to help them develop that skill,” Minister Persaud said.

The Minister explained that the professionals being sought for the children will not be contracted employees, but will be called in and paid based on the service needed at the time.

“I recently visited the Children and Family Care Centre and met with children who are very talented and love dancing, football, playing chess. It is very important that we support them to develop their [talents]. Once this is done, we will be producing well-rounded individuals back into society,” Dr. Persaud said.She added that they need extra-curricular activities for recreation as well as to learn and enhance their social skills, and the Ministry will ensure that those in State care have these opportunities.

Dem boys seh...

Money flowing faster dan oil De economy so bad dat one of dem oil companies in Guyana just had to lay off 25 politicians.

When you gat friends like some of we politicians, who needs luck.

Dem boys seh some people born lucky; while others mek them own luck.

Somebody mek so much luck dat he gun soon become de richest person in the hemisphere.

De man buy wan goldmine in de form of oil blocks. De man nah pay a blind cent but he holding de key to a great fortune. All

de man gat fuh do is sit down and throw back and de money flowing faster dan de oil.

De man get oil blocks wha gat 7.2 billion barrels worth of oil. De man nah gat fuh spend a cent to develop these blocks.

De oil companies dun come and buy into de blocks.

If de man mek a US$10 pon every barrel, dat can be 70 billion American dollars in de man pocket without de man having to lift a finger.

Dat type of money gon mek de man richer dan Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. De man gon

outspend Isabel who father was head of an oil-producing state.

Some call dat luck. Dem boys gat another name fuh it. But this is a decent paper and dem boys can’t use certain words here.

Even if dem boys win de local lotto fuh every week fuh 10 straight years, dem boys can’t mek dat sort of money. In fact, dem boys can’t imagine how anyone can spend dat sort of money.

Talk half and dream about de riches wha yuh gon never get because yuh nah gat politician friends.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 9

PAGE 10

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Application made for 7 aircraft; two new airstrips on the cards Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, on Thursday charged members of the Aviation Association to “dream big” as tremendous opportunities are available for the sector.

Minister Edghill, who is the subject Minister for Aviation, was at the time attending the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Aircraft Owners Association at Ogle Airport Inc (OAI).

The event was held in the Departure Lounge of the airport.

It was during the feature address by Minister Edghill that he outlined the plans for expansion and development in at least seven sectors inclusive of agriculture, mining, forestry, manufacturing, tourism, petroleum and ICT. He also pointed out that huge opportunities exist for engagements by the aviation industry.

The Public Works Minister highlighted the robust approach of the PPP/ C administration in facilitating

development, and pointed out that within 40 days of the new administration he has taken to Cabinet for noobjection, the application for the importation of at least seven new aircraft and the establishment of two new airstrips.

Furthermore, he was keen to note that not only will new airstrips be established but funds will also be directed towards the maintenance and development of all airstrips.

The Minister’s remarks were welcomed with a loud The AGM meeting in progress last Thursday applause from the aircraft Minister Edghill decried the Minister for the development association. issue of the theft of solar of the aviation sector.

Nevertheless, the panels and called on locals to Also present at the OAI’s Minister signaled his desist from this malpractice.

Annual General Meeting was intention to have Amerindian Meanwhile, Chairman of Director General of the locals benefit from these the Ogle Airport, Mr. Michael Guyana Civil Aviation works, by issuing contracts Correia congratulated Authority (GCAA), Colonel to them to ensure the airstrips Minister Edghill on being (ret’d) Egbert Field, Air remain clear and properly lit elected to serve as Minister Transport Management to transport emergency of Public Works and said he Director, Saheed Sulaman and cases, as the need may arise. anxiously looks forward to several other staff of the It was on this note that collaborating with the GCAA.

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Approval for Payara a classic example of oil undermining the rule of law -int’l lawyer

By Kiana Wilburg Even though the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/

C) administration is set to grant Exxonmobil approval for its third development

project called Payara, international lawyer, Melinda Janki, is categorically stating that

such a move would be reckless when one considers the environmental implications.

During an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Janki articulated that Payara is one of the most dangerous new oil projects on the planet. Expounding further, she noted that ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), wants to drill 45 wells going about two miles below the sea-bed.

In her view, the oil is under dangerously massive

pressure. She stressed that just one small mistake, and a well blowout could destroy Guyana’s entire fisheries and the blue economies of the Caribbean.

Further to this, Janki pointed out that Payara’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) admits that a spill could see oil ending up in Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea and islands as far as Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

In this regard, the lawyer noted that Guyana could end

International lawyer, Melinda Janki up with no seafood and a massive billion dollar bill for compensation from its neighbours. Janki added: (Continued on page 15)

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

FRONT PAGE COMMENTS RECAP

As we continue on our mission to enlighten the nation about what Guyana deserves from its massive oil wealth, we at Kaieteur News have published a series of front page comments in hopes of having our leaders take the necessary actions in order to realize the desired outcomes. Today we recap the front page comments of the past week to bring you up to speed.

Sunday The most pertinent issue that the single Guyanese journalist saw fit to ask of US Secretary of State was about his say on Chinese aircraft swirling in Taiwan.

To insult Guyanese further, this Guyanese journalist asked a softball question about EU observers in Venezuela.

It is inexplicable and unexplainable that, given our own problems in getting a better deal for our resources, these were the questions asked.

What relevance does Taiwan and Venezuela hold for Guyanese struggling to lift themselves out of poverty?

How do Taiwan and Venezu-

Catfish Relief ela help us find out about the ownership of the lucrative Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks? Who gave them away and to whom?

When we should be focused on the foreign scavengers exploiting our wealth, we lose focus and inquire about Taiwan and Venezuela.

That was the trend throughout Mr. Pompeo’s visit, when our leaders in government and opposition resorted to cowardly silence on these concerns.

The government and opposition are on the same page when it comes to foreign investment. They refuse to secure a better deal for us or to reveal who were handed the

Kaieteur and Canje blocks.

Unless we get a better deal for our resources, our grandchildren will end up doing what we and our grandparents did: beating clothes with wooden beaters and mud water by the waterside.

Our leaders are getting rich, while the masses get sick and tired of waiting on promises which never materialise.

Mr. Pompeo goes home with a huge smile after getting what he came for, promising to let Guyana re-export catfish to America, so we can eke out a living.

Instead of asking for help to obtain better deals for our resources, Guyanese leaders are content with catfish relief.

MONDAY We Must Resist Being Robbed Guyanese are intense and passionate about elections.

As they should be. But when it comes to the most important issue of their lives and those of their children and grandchildren, they couldn’t care less. Not even when the biggest economic crime ever committed in Guyana takes place before their eyes and under their noses.

A multi-billion US dollar economic crime is being perpetuated by political leaders and their secret partners and nearly all Guyanese shrug and continue to bend over to be ruthlessly worked over by the same people for whom they fought so gallantly.

The Canje and Kaieteur blocks are estimated to hold over seven billion barrels of oil, but the two blocks and their billions of barrels have been given away in a secret deal by PPP/C leaders to mys-

TUESDAY

terious characters under cryptic circumstances. The mystery men have then sold part of their interest to ExxonMobil.

The PPP/C leaders are mum about these deals. They want this to be kept secret and away from prying eyes.

Kaieteur News will not do so.

We will not allow our children and grandchildren to be cheated out of their rightful inheritance.

We, our children and grandchildren can have a life free of want and poverty. We can all be rich, but the right deals have to be made.

The Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks are part of our heritage and our wealth to be held in trust for those coming after us. It is not the PPP’s or PNC’s to give away recklessly and criminally for the crooked benefit of persons unknown.

We did not risk our lives for

five long and dark months to have our wealth given away by the direct beneficiaries of our efforts. It is why we at Kaieteur News keep asking: Who owns these blocks?

Who benefits?

What are the financial and other arrangements under which these deals were struck? When will Guyanese begin to realize how they are being robbed?

We resisted our democracy being stolen.

We must resist with equal vigour and determination the stealing of our wealth.

Guyanese should and must care. If we fail to do so, the bright future for our people which our wealth guarantees will disappear into the pockets of robbers who masquerade as political leaders, those who we elected to secure and protect our interest. We must start caring now!

We Demand Better Deals!

Foreign investors fetch away our riches and leave us empty-handed and hungry.

Not content with only raping our resources, they also abuse and discriminate against our workers, while putting us against each other.

The Americans cart off our oil; the Chinese decimate our forests; the Russians pillage our bauxite ore; the Canadians ream away our gold.

They take everything and leave very little behind. And all of them are granted license to do this by our leaders.

Our leaders have betrayed us. They, along with

the foreign investors, wave before us the promise of jobs, asking a desperate nation to settle for the crumbs which are offered.

It is time to demand better from our leaders. It is time to reject their sweet talk and glossy promises.

We must insist on an end to the one-sided and lopsided deals which our leaders make with foreign investors.

Let them obtain more for our wealth so that instead of relying on foreigners for jobs, we ourselves can create our own jobs.

Revisit and reconsider all

the signed agreements with foreign investors operating in the local bauxite, gold, oil and forestry sectors. If they refuse to give us a better deal, kick them out!

WEDNESDAY At long last, there is a welcome development. President Ali, speaking of the long-delayed, defectsplagued and overpriced Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project (CJIAEP), said, “I will not accept this project.”

We are heartened that the President is gaining a better understanding of the corruption and swindling which has come to characterize public works projects such as the

FRIDAY Everybody is profiting from Guyana’s oil. God bless Guyana, where anyone touching our oil prospers.

The downturn in the global economy is forcing oil companies to cut costs and downsize their operations.

Profits in many cases are expected to decline over the next few years.

Not so with Hess which has a 30 percent share in the Stabroek Block.

The company is projecting a 10 percent growth in income on the basis of its undertakings in Guyana. It is bragging about the bounty,

SATURDAY President Ali appears powerful when talking but is weak in delivering. The permit for Payara Field Development Plan has been approved after a record-breaking review which turned out to be a charade and a cheap joke. Guyana accepted, without objection or a fight, another 6 for a 9.

The wool is now being pulled over our faces. This grand betrayal is being garnished with talk about “hefty fines” for environmental wrongdoing.

Instead of using Payara as leverage to obtain a better deal, our leaders have once again conspired to shortchange our people. It is yet another link in the chain of treachery. Yet again, they have sold us out.

All over the world, former colonial societies are agitating for a review of unfair terms in agreements signed

PAGE 13

A Positive Move

by President Ali

CJIAEP. These projects are never completed on time and bleed the country through overblown costs and endless tax and duty concessions.

We applaud the President’s stance. We empathize with his anger and support his rejection of the works done thus far. We hope he extends his attention to investments in the natural resource sectors where foreign

companies are also shortchanging the government and the country.

The gouging has gone on for too long. It is time that the government put a stop to these practices and ensure that the country gets value for money that is spent on such huge projects and a fair deal for the country’s resources.

President Ali must show that he means business.

which it will receive because of the high quality and low cost oil from Guyana.

While companies like Hess are increasing their income and shareholders’ value, Guyanese are being given crumbs for the exploitation of their resources.

It is for this reason that we repeat, for the umpteenth time, our demand for a better deal of our oil.

The exploitation of our wealth cannot leave us hungry and hurting while the for-

eign companies are enriching themselves at our expense.

We cheat ourselves when we refuse to rebuke our political leaders for remaining slothful when it comes to renegotiating flawed agreements, or when we do not demand that they seek a fairer deal for the exploitation of our resources.

We must begin to demand more from our leaders.

We must insist on a more equitable deal for our oil resources so that, just like Hess, we too can prosper.

We Need To Stop Cheating Ourselves

The Ali Administration Has Sold Out

with oil companies. Guyana had signed the worst deal ever and the calls were vociferous for a renegotiation to secure a better deal which would allow us, our children and grandchildren to have a decent life free from want.

The Ali administration was presented with a golden opportunity to make this happen. Instead of grasping this opportunity, his government has instead given its stamp of approval to the ugliest oil deal ever signed. This decision by the Irfaan Ali admin-

istration represents the ultimate betrayal. It is unredeemable and an unforgivable act.

It smacks of utter disregard for the Guyanese people. It is sordid and sickening.

The Guyanese people were not asking for much. All they wanted was a higher rate of royalty, less in terms of reclaimable expenses and greater transparency. These hopes for a better deal were dashed. The Irfaan Ali administration has failed the people.

His government has sold out the people’s birthright.

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Berbice man, 36, among two latest COVID-19 casualties

The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced two more COVID-19 fatalities yesterday - a 36-year-old man from East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 6) and a 45-year-old man from Demerara- Mahaica (Region Four). Both persons were tested for the virus upon admission to their respective medical facilities and their results returned positive.

According to the Ministry, they died while receiving care at their medical facilities.

This now increases the COVID-19 death toll to 76 as Guyana comes nearer to the 100 mark.Additionally, 16 new

COVID-19 cases were recorded yesterday, a significant decrease from the whopping 130 cases recorded the previous day.

The total number of confirmed cases is now 2,725.

According to the Ministry’s daily dashboard update, currently, there are 12 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHJC); 232 persons in institutional isolation; 872 persons in approved home isolation, and 82 persons in institutional quarantine.It was also re-

vealed that the regional distribution of confirmed cases are Region One - 407 cases; Region Two - 32 cases; Region Three - 203 cases; Region Four - 1,235; Region Five - 15 cases; Region Six - 35 cases; Region Seven - 284 cases; Region Eight - 65 cases; Region Nine - 352 cases; and Region 10 - 97 cases.

Of all the confirmed cases, 1,438 are male and 1,287 are female.A total of 13,453 tests have been conducted nationally to date of which 10,728 tested negative. There have been 1,535 recoveries.

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Approval for Payara a ...

From page 12 “The environmental impact would be devastating, wiping out breeding grounds, habitats and marine life – shrimp, fish, turtles, whales, sea birds, everything in the vicinity.”

Taking the foregoing into account, the lawyer said there is no way that the Government of Guyana can approve Payara without fully informing and consulting Guyana’s Caribbean neighbours.

“That’s basic international law that has to be respected and should not be circumvented by any political leader,” she retorted.

In conclusion, the transparency advocate stressed that neither the environmental permit nor should the field development plan be approved by the government since the severe danger it poses to Guyana and the Caribbean has not been addressed.

To do otherwise, she said, would be tantamount to oil undermining the rule of law.

On Friday last, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, had told Kaieteur News that the government and ExxonMobil are very close to signing off on the Payara Field Development Plan.

In fact, he told this newspaper yesterday that the parties involved were working to get it done before today.

Up to press time, there was no confirmation on whether the deal was wrapped up or not.

Minister Bharrat said that the current agreement has several safeguards in place, two of which include stiff fines for the burning of gas and failure to treat reservoir water before disposing of it into the ocean.

Asked for a ballpark figure of the fines, Minister Bharrat said that this is still being finalized. He was keen to note, however, that the findings of the Payara Field Development review would be released next week.

That exercise was ini-

tially started by UK firm, Bayphase Oil and Gas Consultants and continued by former Premier of Alberta, Canada, Alison Redford. The PPP government had said that Redford was hired thanks to a grant from the Canadian High Commission. Her team consisted of the former Deputy Minister of Energy in Newfoundland, Canada; senior international reservoir engineers; and Mr. Jay Park, Q.C, Managing Partner of Park Energy Law based in Canada and the United Kingdom.

When the review got underway in August, Kaieteur News would have reported that one of the critical issues that stymied swift approval pertained to ExxonMobil’s desire to retain the loopholes it got in the Liza One and Two permits which allow for flaring.

The other matter of concern pertains to the dumping of produced water into the ocean.

When oil companies drill the sea floor to extract oil, it is not only oil that comes up with it; water is part of the mixture too. As a result of it not being needed, it is separated and disposed of.

The critical issue is how that disposal is being done. Internatio n a l b e s t practices dictate that this produced water should be re-injected into the earth’s surface. Research conducted by Kaieteur News notes that in some cases, the produced water is discharged into oceans and other offshore water channels.

Because no two geographic regions are alike, studies are done to assess the environmental risks of the produced water’s toxicity on marine life before granting approval for the disposal of it into the ocean.

In Guyana’s case, not a single study was done for the Liza Phase One or Two Projects, yet Guyana went full steam ahead with approving the permits for those projects, which allow for the disposal of produced water into the ocean.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Employment at Forensic Science Lab to be reviewed - Minister Benn - 87 percent of workforce on contract Employment at the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, (GFSL) will be reviewed soon.

It was revealed in the National Assembly that 218 of its 250 employees were contract workers.

In response to a question posed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Geeta Chandan-Edmond on the matter, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, said it was a situation the PPP/C Government inherited but a matter, which he intended to address immediately.

“This is a situation I in-

herited. This matter will be reviewed and the appropriate steps will be taken to make sure that persons are placed in requisite positions where they can perform efficiently for the Ministry,” Minister Benn said.

Pressed further on possible changes at the facility, Minster Benn told the National Assembly that the majority of the staff at the GFSL were over age 45 and he needed to have a better look at the situation before making any hasty decisions.

“My predecessor had the

opportunity for over four and a half years to make the necessary adjustments; with due respect, we will not rush in a situation where we will not be able to appropriately place people in positions where they cannot or may not be able to perform their best,” the Minister said.

The issue of contract employees in the public sector has been of concern for many years with critics saying that this has caused a strain on the public coffers. The former APNU+AFC Government was also condemned for this

practice.

In 2016, chartered accounting firm Ram and McRae conducted a survey on the matter and noted that the Office of the President, formerly (Ministry of the Presidency) at the time, increased contract employment from 298 in 2015 to 505 in 2016. This led to an increase in wages from $142 million to $798 million.

In that same year, then Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, had announced that his government was in the process of streamlining contract workers to fit them into the permanent structure of the public service, via the pensionable establishment.

However, contracted employee numbers climbed to Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn 569 the following year.

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 25

Kaieteur News

Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to add a few more pages to our newspaper to recap, in their entirety, some of the major stories carried during the past week.

SUNDAY ENTER BILATERAL AGREEMENTS WITH EXTREME CAUTION – GUYANA SHOULD AVOID PITFALLS AND PAIN SUFFERED BYT&TENERGY STRATEGIST, ANTHONY PAUL On the heels of a visit last week by US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Guyana signed onto a critical bilateral agreement that would pave the way for deeper involvement by the USA in the nation’s fledgling oil sector.

But industry experts are of the firm view that Guyana needs to approach this and all other bilateral agreements to come, with extreme caution.

Specifically noting this salient piece of advice during an exclusive interview was Trinidadian energy strategist, Anthony Paul.

The Petroleum Geophysicist told Kaieteur News that Trinidad paid dearly for failing to be cautious, while noting that it would be in Guyana’s interest to pay keen attention to the mistakes made by a sister CARICOM member.

Paul, who is currently advising the Government of Mozambique, noted that he recently participated in a Nigerian Summit which aims to improve local content and the same sage advice was provided.

The Energy Strategist said: “Interestingly, I gave a feature presentation at the Nigerian Content Summit 2020 this (last) week. (https:// nigeriancontentsummit.com/) on ‘Trinidad and Tobago’s Experience’…My presentation demonstrated how T&T approached oil and gas historically, while highlighting some of the successes, challenges and lessons learnt. We had been very successful until Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) came along.”

Paul noted that, because the US Company in T&T (Amoco) was hesitant to invest in LNG, the T&T government gave multiple incentives and assurances for them to build the first LNG train. This included a bilateral agreement between governments to ensure this was possible and that its

interest was protected. This agreement was called ‘Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government of the United States of America concerning the encouragement and reciprocal protection of investment.’

As a result of the fact that TT authorities did not pay attention to how US trade actually works, the CARICOM nation paid dearly for this.

Paul noted that local companies had been doing all the operations and maintenance support for the industry for years effectively, cheaply and safely. Instead of using them, British Petroleum which had bought Amoco, an American company registered in Delaware, brought in UK companies to take over the work and the workers, as the UK North Sea was in decline.

BP, Paul said, was able to convince the TT Prime Minister at the time to allow it to displace locals since the Treaty that was signed, contained provisions which protected US investments.

Since Amoco was still registered in Delaware, it was covered by the treaty. In fact, the oil company was able to convince the PM to allow this to happen before he really understood the far-reaching economic implications for his people.

BP also convinced the Prime Minister to rapidly expand LNG production, the result of which is that the local suppliers were overwhelmed and so deemed to not be able to meet the demand.

As a consequence, the upstream (exploration and production) companies started bringing in their people. Further, the gas reserves were quickly

depleted, leading to plants being shut down or reducing production for lack of gas since 2018.

“We had put a local content policy in place to bring them in line… but then they complained to the Embassy that we were in breach of the bilateral agreement which provided for the protection of their investment.”

In the end, Trinidadian businesses were displaced rather than enhanced and the industry was essentially managed in the interest and benefit of the USA and the UK and their companies.

Paul said that Guyana stands to lose much more than Trinidad if it is not cautious in avoiding this pitfall, since T&T at least had some good governance in the years from Independence to the early 2000s.

NEW OWNER OF AGM DITCHES LOCAL CONTRACTORS, APPLIES TO BRING IN HUNDREDS OF CHINESE WORKERS – APPLIES TO BRING IN HUNDREDS OF CHINESE WORKERS- SOURCES The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has written to President Irfaan Ali asking for his intervention in a case involving Aurora Gold Mine (AGM).

The company was fully taken over by Chinese-owned Zijin Mining Group Company last month and already the signs are not encouraging for local businesses.

According to officials, the company has applied to bring in over 200 Chinese workers for that Region Seven mine, the biggest gold mining operations in Guyana.

In the meantime, several local contractors who were working with previous

Canadian owners, have been let go. Between them, almost 300 workers have been affected.

According to a letter sent by the PSC to President Ali, the issue is one concerning local content.

A complaint has been filed with the Commission.

It was pointed out that AGM’s new Chinese owners abruptly terminated the contracts of local contractors despite no breaches or issues.

A number of the companies have hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment lying idle.

The PSC called on the President to intervene. It was pointed out that the country stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue as well as local employees losing jobs.

Kaieteur News was told that another major Chinese company, China Harbor Engineering Company, which ran into trouble with the construction of the US$150M Timehri airport, has been earmarked for taking over the contracts.

The contracts which locals lose out on include transporting of fuel and explosives, food, hydrated lime, trucking and the stripping of the soil, haulage of water, and stripping in the open pit.

The issue of local content has been dominating the news in light of the oil and gas production.

There has been increasing calls for local companies to benefit.

AGM started commercial production in 2016 but there were questions over their seemingly excessive concessions.

The company ran into financial problems and was eventually sold to the Chinese buyer.

The company has been planning, under the

Canadians, to venture into underground mining, the first for the country.

It has not been the first time that the Chinese has been accused of not employing locals.

There was accusations while the Marriott Hotel was constructing and of course, at the CJIA. MONDAY CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS GIVEN BY EDGHILL, PATTERSON ON CJIA EXPANSION Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has refuted claims by the current Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, regarding the reduced expansion of the USD $150M Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

It was during his second presentation to the National Assembly that Edghill told the legislature that the scope of works was reduced by the APNU+AFC from 9,000 square meters, to 4,046. With these changes Edghill shared that an additional USD $6.5M would be necessary to bring the airport to optimum functioning.

However, Patterson sought to debunk those claims by Edghill, as he indicated in a statement to Kaieteur News Sunday that the reduction of air-bridges, and thereby the reduction of the scope of works was done before the APNU+AFC assumed government in May 2015.

Patterson asserted that it was the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) who made the changes to reduce the number of air bridges. The former minister supported his claims by sharing the airport’s monthly progress report, dated at April 2015 — one

month before the APNU+AFC won the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

In the report, which was prepared by consultancy firm, MMG Group, it was recorded that on May 20, 2013, the airport’s contractor China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) had submitted a preliminary design for consideration by consultancy firms WSG and GIAC prior to commencing the Detailed Design. Moreover, there were six options of terminal and apron layout.

The report went on to state that after discussing the original six options for the apron layout, on August 2, 2013, WSG received government approval for Option D and a project budget increase of $2.8M USD to construct Option D. Since this approval, due to further efforts by the designers, an optimized version of Option D was submitted giving a seventh option to consider.

Prior to CHEC commencing the Detailed Design, WSG/GIAC asked MMM/CEMCO to undertake a high level review of all seven layout options previously provided by CHEC. Then on August 4, 2014, a letter report was written by MMM/CEMCO to WSG stating the issues found from the review of the seven options. Following that letter report, MMM/CEMCO presented the findings of the review to WSG, GIAC, GCAA and other key CJIA stakeholders on August 13, 2014.

On November 27, 2014, WSG proposed a terminal/ apron layout option with a reduced version of the Optimized Option D and an extension of the proposed (Continued on page 26)

PAGE 26

From page 25 pier to the existing terminal building.

On December 12, 2014, CHEC submitted drawings showing the removal of the Code D/E portion of the apron south of the control tower and integrating the Code D/E Stands on the remaining Code C portion of the apron (Option Optimized D-la).

There were also two options for the extension of the proposed pier to reach the existing terminal building.

The first had the pier right to the existing terminal which involved some demolition (Option Optimized D-lb) and the second had the pier adjacent to the existing structure with an extension to the existing apron to allow for the shift in the aircraft park positions (Option Optimized D-lc).

On January 28, 2015, WSG/GIAC wrote a letter confirming Option Optimized D-lb was the preferred option of the Apron and instructed CHEC to commence the Detailed Design of Phase 1 based on that layout. In order to address the previous difference of opinion of costs, the scope had been reduced.

Minister Edghill had indicated that the additional works to be executed by the new government, measuring 4,954 square meters, is estimated to cost $1.2B, while the supervision and the consultancy for the design of the new project will cost $69M. While the contract for this project hasn’t yet been awarded, Edghill maintains that it is necessary in order for the airport to become a regional hub.

YEARS LATER, WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS SPENT, SEVERAL SCHOOLS STILL INCOMPLETE – MINISTER MANICKCHAND – $214 MILLION ADVANCED TO BK INTERNATIONALFOR YARROWKABRA SECONDARY – $60 MILLION ADVANCED TO COURTNEY BENN FOR ST. ROSE’S HIGH Years have passed, and despite contractors receiving millions in advanced payments for the construction of several schools,

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

they remain incomplete with their work continuing to move at a snail’s pace. The Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Friday lambasted the previous APNU+AFC for mismanaging the construction of these schools, while promising that such blundering will not occur under the new administration of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

Minister Manickchand reminded the House that before the PPP/C had demitted office in 2015, the party had secured a $10B loan from the World Bank, aimed at constructing secondary schools in key villages, namely Golden Grove, Yarrowkabra, and Plaisance.

The Education Minister first spoke of the Golden Grove Secondary School, the contract for which was signed on October 1, 2018, and the completion expected for January, 2020. What is concerning, however, is that within the two years that this contract has been awarded and despite the allocated contractual time on the project expiring, only 74% of the school’s construction has been completed.

“The school is not ready,” Manickchand told the House. “The school is not up. A whole generation of children has passed through the system and continues to go to schools that are not appropriate.”

Attention was then turned to the contentious $827M Yarrowkabra Secondary School on the Soesdyke Highway. This contract was awarded on December 31, 2019 when the coalition was deemed to be in a caretaker mode by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Nonetheless, the Education Ministry under the APNU+AFC had signed the multimillion contract with the contractor, BK International Incorporated on January 7, 2020.

Some $214M has already been advanced to BK International, but a mere 3.5% of the works have completed, the Minister said, as she added that at this time, the contractor should have completed at least 8% of the works.

“The APNU/AFC inherited.”

Manickchand said, “The money from us to build. They get the money from us. They get the drawing from us. They get the project manager from us and they couldn’t finish it.

We are saying to the people of these communities, that we will finish these schools. We will finish them because we understand how important it is for your children to receive a world-class education, how important it is for them to have comfort and to have a building that they can attend to.”

Attention was then turned to the construction of the St. Rose’s High School, which was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services in August of 2018. Two years have passed, with the contractor receiving a $60M advance from the government, but to date, only 8% of the works have been completed.

KEY OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS NOT YET IN PLACE FOR OIL MONEY …THIS IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER – INDUSTRY EXPERT To date, Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) which is held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, holds over US$98M based on royalties and sales executed thus far for the State’s share of the Liza crude; in order to ensure this account does not become a slush fund, industry experts are strongly advising that key oversight mechanisms need to be put in place as quickly as possible. Specifically making this appeal recently was Arthur Deakin, an analyst at Americas Market Intelligence.

There, Deakin conducts political, economic, and other risk analysis activities for the mining, energy, and infrastructure sectors in both Latin America and Africa.

In his latest opinion piece on Guyana’s oil industry, Deakin noted that the current NRF Act stipulates that three committees ought to be in place to ensure transparent and accountable spending of the oil

President Irfaan Ali and other stakeholders in one of the passengers’ bridges. The bridges are not in use now because of unsafe foundation which is being fixed.

money. These committees are: The Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, An Investment Committee and a Macroeconomic Committee. None of them are up and running.

Deakin recalled that the Irfaan Ali administration has vouched to change the NRF Act to make it more transparent, but he was keen to note that the new government has not made it clear about if and when it will follow through on this pledge.

In the meantime, the Fund remains without all the mechanisms that are needed to ensure proper oversight.

The industry expert said, “…Allowing for a few executives to control vast amounts of funds, while simultaneously having no oversight, is a recipe for disaster. The Ali administration must begin to implement certain accountability measures to assure investors, and more importantly its people, that these funds will not be squandered.”

To cement his case on the need for proper oversight mechanisms, Deakin made reference to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB) scandal. In 2015, Malaysia’s then-Prime Minister Najib Razak was accused of channelling approximately US$700 million in oil money from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a government-run strategic development company, to his personal bank accounts. He was able to do this for years as there was no proper oversight in place to prevent same. International media reports on the case noted that the event triggered widespread criticism among Malaysians, with many calling for Najib Razak’s resignation – including Mahathir Mohamad, one of Najib’s predecessors as prime minister, who later defeated Najib in the 2018 general election and returned to power.

Anwar Ibrahim, a political leader in opposition to Najib, openly questioned 1MDB’s credentials. He had told the Malaysian Parliament that, according to records held by the Companies Commission, the

company “has no business address and no appointed auditor.”

According to its publicly filed accounts, 1MDB had nearly RM 42 billion (US$11.73 billion) in debt.

Some of this debt resulted from a $3 billion state-guaranteed 2013 bond issue led by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, who have been reported as receiving fees of up to $300 million for the deal, although the bank disputes this figure. The Malaysian Conference of Rulers called for prompt investigation of the scandal, saying that it was causing a crisis of confidence in Malaysia.

After the 2018 election, the newly elected Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, reopened the investigation into the 1MDB scandal. Malaysian authorities barred Najib Razak from leaving the country, then seized cash and valuable items from premises linked to him.

Najib was charged with criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power. Also, the U.S. Department of Justice had pursued its own investigation into 1MDB, alleging that more than US$4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB by the former PM and other conspirators including officials from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Najib was subsequently found guilty of seven charges and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

TUESDAY US$150M DECADE-LONG CJIA RENOVATION SCANDAL… I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS PROJECT – INVESTIGATIONS TO BE LAUNCHED …PRESIDENTALI TELLS CHINESE CONTRACTOR, OTHER STAKEHOLDERS Years of anger over the ongoing US$150M-plus expansion at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, culminated Monday with an angry President (Continued on page 27)

Sunday September 27, 2020

From page 26 Irfaan Ali making it clear that Guyana will not be accepting the project as is.

During a meeting and tour of the project, the president also vowed an investigation will be coming and that it is unacceptable that a fixedprice project could be so drastically reduced in scope.

The highly-charged statements would have been made in the presence of Chinese ambassador, Cui Jianchun, and come days after a high-profile visit of the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who batted for his country, urging that Guyana use US companies more.

The Donald Trump-led United States has been on icy terms with China, with the battle even spilling over to ownership of social media apps like Tik Tok. It was the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Ali’s party, which had launched the project in 2011 with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) being named the contractor.

This is the fourth presidency that the project has gone through, starting with Bharrat Jagdeo in 2011, and continuing with Donald Ramotar, David Granger and now Ali. From changing the designs to a renovation of the old terminal building instead of a new one as committed to in the contract, Guyana would have watched helplessly as the Chinese contractor steam-rolled on the project, with very little whimper coming from the government of day until now.

Monday, President Ali made it emphatically clear that the Government of Guyana will only accept the CJIA expansion works, as it was outlined in the original contract.

In addition to the Chinese ambassador, there were representatives of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the Project Consultant and the Project Manager.

“I am holding everyone responsible; the contractor, the consultant, the project management team…this is not acceptable for the Guyanese people. In this current position it is very clear from all that I have seen and heard, and from all the questions asked, it is very clear that something is horribly wrong. The right decision at this moment is that we cannot accept this,” President Ali stated.

His statements came following an update from the Project Manager of the CJIA Expansion Project, Carissa Gooding.

During the presentation,

Gooding along with the project consultant failed to answer key inquiries as posed by the Head of State, which included the outline of the original contract, and the details of the revised scope of works and costs attached.

In addition, President Ali sought clarification on what grounds the decision was taken to omit aspects of the project. Gooding confirmed that aspects of the airport expansion were downplayed and omitted while monies were diverted to other aspects of the project.

We need answers “We need answers as we have decisions to make,” President Ali insisted Monday.

According to a government release of the meeting, the representative of CHEC also informed the Head of State that after the contract was signed; there were other works which needed to be done following an assessment.

However, his assertions did not impress the president.

“No, no this is a fixed-price contract, and that is not how it works. A fixed-price contract means that you examine all the works which have to be done before you sign on to the contract. So please, let’s get that clear,” President Ali said.

The Head of State enquired as to who made the decision to pay the contractor for delays, and was informed that this decision was made under the former Government.

According to the president, this was shocking.

Damning Story “This tells a damning story… there are more questions than answers from this presentation.”

The original contract would have seen the completion of 17,000 square feet of work, but currently there is only an existing 6,000 square feet – a difference of 11,000 square feet. In addition, key aspects of the project were either omitted or poorly completed.

President Ali said that an investigation is likely to be launched into the entire airport expansion project.

He also pointed to the importance of a joint approach to the realization of the project. He maintained that the works completed do not reflect the monies spent.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador agreed that the provisions in the original contract have to be honoured.

He pointed to the importance of the meeting and pledged that he will play his part to ensure that the project is completed.

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

President Irfaan Ali in conversation with Chinese ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun.

Following the project update presentation, the Head of State along with the representatives from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) toured the facility to inspect several areas including the departure area and an air bridge.

As part of the original contract, the CHEC was expected to tear down the existing terminal building, and construct a new one which could accommodate eight air bridges. But what the contract actually did was facilitate the refurbishing of the terminal building and installation of only four air bridges. There are also a myriad of other issues plaguing the facility including a malfunctioning sewerage system.

The original designs had allowed for a brand-new terminal building with stateof-art equipment, information monitors and a host of other modern bells and whistles.

However, it appeared earlier on that CHEC did not do its soil and other analysis which would have determined what needed to be built and at what cost.

It was forced to abandon the lengthening of the runway on the northern end, during to the swampy area, and shift to the southern side.

The Chinese company has received billions of dollars of concessions for a contract that was overpriced.

Some contractors said that they could have built a new terminal building below US$20M with everything, including escalators and elevators and electrical items.

CHEC, the Chinese contractor, after being awarded the CJIA contract in 2011, would have built the privately-owned

MovieTowne and completed it, and now on the way with Pegasus Hotel expansion which started just a couple of years ago and now significantly completed.

In the meantime, the CJIA expansion is dragging, almost a decade later.

FURTHER SPIKE IN COVID-19 CASES COULD “BREAK” OUR MEDICAL SYSTEM – EMERGENCY MEDICINE SPECIALIST Social distancing is one of the key tactics being pushed to combat the spread of the very contagious COVID-19 disease. So, it is no surprise that recent protests have caused much worry among those within our health care system.

The protests, mainly on the West Coast of Berbice, were spurred by the killings of teenage cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry, whose mutilated bodies were found in a Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice backdam.

“The protest actions, especially in Region Five, were the most reckless acts thus far. While we were all aggrieved, our demonstrations were reckless and irresponsible and we only have ourselves to blame should this pandemic get out of control in Guyana,” said Dr. Bux. Drawing attention to the possible fallout from the protests, Dr. Zulfikar Bux, a weekly contributor to this newspaper, said, “I had pleaded previously for us to not gather in crowds to celebrate or protest the outcome of the elections. My plea was because of what I knew and what I’m seeing daily with this pandemic.”

According to the Emergency Medicine

Specialist, the coronavirus causing disease is one that “loves gatherings” since this is the best medium for it to spread and quickly cause a surge in cases. Moreover, transmission in a protesting crowd can become especially easy, Dr. Bux explained, because persons may find it inconvenient to wear a mask while they try to voice their concerns. The heat of the day, the doctor noted too, can be a deterrent to adherence as well.

“Others tend to wipe their faces of sweat given the high temperatures and tense nature of the surroundings.

All of these are factors that hasten the spread of the coronavirus from person to person. I worry that we will be seeing a surge in infections this week from the places where the protests occurred.

This surge will spill over and hasten the spread of the infection throughout the country,” said Dr. Bux. And should there be an unprecedented spread of the disease, Dr. Bux added, “I fear that it will break our medical system and many more lives will be lost.”

Of the more than 2,000 positive cases, Guyana has recorded just over 60 deaths to date.

According to the medical practitioner, with the majority of positive cases recovering it could be deduced that the country is faced with a milder form of the disease. While most people’s immune system may prove strong enough to fight off this, there are others who may not be so lucky, said Dr. Bux. Some asymptomatic persons, he theorized, can expose their relatives and friends including “the elderly and those with other medical conditions” who could become indirect casualties of COVID-19 acquired during

protest actions.

Since early August Guyana has been witnessing an alarming increase in cases suggesting an extraordinary spread of the disease.

Even as he anticipated a further surge in cases, Dr. Bux said, “It’s fair to say that everyone that gathered at the protests is now at risk of having COVID-19.”

And should a spike in cases materialize in the coming days, it could easily overwhelm the medical system, Dr. Bux has concluded.

“If we continue to destroy the environment that we depend on for our survival, then there will come a point where each and every one of us cannot thrive,” he added.

As such, surviving the disease, he underscored, is dependent on sensible people working together in a responsible way to “fight the virus”.

GUYANA’S OILWILL GIVE HESS 10 PERCENT GROWTH RATE IN A FEW YEARS DESPITE PANDEMIC As a result of the economic pains unleashed on oil and gas multinationals and service companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that some would take years to recover from the losses sustained. But this is certainly not the case for Hess Corporation which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block.

According to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess, its interest in blocks offshore Guyana, will pave the way for it to see a 10 percent growth rate by 2023. Hess said that at the end of the day, it is the (Continued on page 28)

PAGE 28

From page 27 low-cost producer who wins while adding that the best rocks with the best returns will ensure some companies are well positioned for success after the pandemic.

The CEO said, “…We feel that our company with Guyana (which has) probably the largest oil discovery in the last 20 years, a world class resource with low breakevens costs and given our opposition in the Bakken, USA… we think we are in a strong position relative to competitors to provide industry leading cash flow growth.”

Hess added, “…Our cash flow compounds out to 2023 to 10 percent per year while the median of our peers actually decreases 10 percent a year. So we have raised the bar. And again, our 10 percent growth is competitive with big tech firms, big pharmaceutical companies and big consumer companies and so our value is unique…”

While the Stabroek Block consortium which includes ExxonMobil as the Operator and CNOOC/NEXEN, have already chalked up 18 massive discoveries, Hess Corp.’s CEO was keen to note that this is still the early innings for Guyana. The CEO said that Hess continues to see multibillion barrels of future exploration potential remaining on the block.

In providing an overview of the Guyana operations, he reminded that Liza Phase One, which is already producing oil, is expected to reach its peak production of 120,000 barrels of oil by month-end.

As for Liza Phase Two, Hess said that the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPDO) Vessel is on stream for its 2022 target.

It is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

As for the works on the Payara vessel, Hess said that this has been suspended pending government approval.

He is nonetheless optimistic that “technical issues” plaguing that process will be addressed and the partners will get the government’s blessing by month-end.

For future operations, the CEO said that the partners are looking at developing the Yellow-tail discovery as it is a large resource which consists of lighter crude. “…We are doing the pre-development work now to make that the fourth ship…”

Urau-1, the 16th discovery at the offshore deep-water Stabroek block, is likely to be developed to support a fifth drillship while the Turbot , ExxonMobil’s fifth oil discovery, is

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

earmarked to support a sixth ship.

The potential, he said, also exists to develop Hammerhead, a heavy oil discovery, for a seventh ship. “…So there is the potential for seven ships but right now we are talking about five to bring on board, which will give you 750,000 barrels of oil by 2026,” the CEO concluded.

ASPHALT PLANT RACKET UNCOVERED Details are now emerging of what seems to be a racket involving the purchase of asphalt at a state-run entity.

According to well-placed sources, contractors working on government projects were up to recently mandated to take their asphalt from the Garden of Eden plant.

Kaieteur News was told by a number of persons that contractors would get asphalt at huge discounts under a scam that stretched all the way to the Ministry of Public Works.

“What happened is that there is a special department in the ministry that conducts road repairs and other maintenance works. They would order a certain amount from the plant to be billed to the ministry. They, however, collect less. The difference is what is sold at discount to contractors.”

It was explained that contractors would come in a few days later and pay about half price for the asphalt.

“This has a lot of impact.

It means that a contractor is buying raw materials cheap, below cost, and can effectively compete with other contractors,” persons with knowledge of the scam said.

The asphalt plant is being operated by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC).

It would mean that the state would have lost tens of millions of dollars in revenues.

In fact, operators of privately-run asphalt plants have been complaining of little or no business.

“What they do is force contractors to buy from Garden of Eden. In fact, contractors all the way from Berbice were asked to travel all the way to East Bank Demerara when there are asphalt plants in operations in Berbice.”

It was explained that the only way this made financial sense is if the contractors were getting discounts.

“There is a simple way to check how it is happening.

There needs to be a special audit. Everybody knows it takes a certain amount of bitumen to make so much asphalt. An audit of what the department of the ministry was doing will clearly show something is wrong,” one contractor admitted.

The asphalt plant would have been visited recently by the new ministers.

It will be recalled that in February, it was reported that the Eco 2000 Batch Mix Asphalt Plant, which arrived in Guyana in July 2019 was nearing completion.

It was noted then that the mechanical installation of the plant is currently about 98 percent complete, while the electrical aspect is approximately 80 percent complete.

Works commenced on the installation of the plant on January 7, 2020. It is being

assembled by a team of 25 persons – 23 local DHBC staff and two German technicians.

The old asphalt plant could have produced 30 tonnes of materials per hour.

It does so with the use of bitumen, sand, stone and sifting.

The new asphalt plant, it was said, will be able to produce 160 tonnes of material per hour. The stateof-the-art machine will also be able to utilise plastic bags, bottles as well as used tyres to produce material to pave roads.

WEDNESDAY PPP MUST NOT REPEAT APNU+AFC’S MISTAKES

BY IGNORINGADVICE TO RENEGOTIATE STABROEK DEAL In spite of receiving critical advice from regional and international actors on the many ways it could secure maximum value for Guyanese in the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the APNU+AFC regime, driven by other intentions, chose to do otherwise.

The consequence is that Guyana left approximately US$55B or more on the negotiation table. Even after this became known, there were numerous calls to renegotiate the lopsided deal but the coalition refused to correct its actions.

Now that the PPP/C regime is in place, international, regional and local stakeholders are hopeful that the new government would honour its campaign promise to secure maximum

benefits from the oil sector.

Specifically reiterating this appeal in his most recent commentary was Dr. Jerry Jailall. The Education Consultant at the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction, US, insists that the PPP/C administration must not walk the same reckless path as the coalition by failing to renegotiate the unfavourable deal.

Dr. Jailall said that the government can use the opportunity of approving the Payara Field Development Plan to get a better deal for Guyana.

The Education Consultant said, “It is important that the Guyana government’s position indicates that it will not just follow the beat of its own drum and ignore anyone else…If we don’t renegotiate now, when? After we rush into another bad deal? We need to maximize our benefits from each and all of our wells.”

He was also keen to note comments by Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, some weeks ago that the government intends to strengthen the Local Content Policy and have it supported by legislation so that Guyanese can benefit via the supply chain. Dr. Jailall also recalled Dr. Jagdeo’s comments that talks would be held with ExxonMobil about the development of gas fields, getting a good price for the nation’s gas, and working out the details on how it will benefit the people.

Dr. Jailall said that all of this is well and good but stressed that the nation still has a right to a royalty that is higher than the current two percent in the Stabroek Block

deal.

The Education Consultant said: “…the biggest benefits from oil come from the royalty, the profit sharing, Exxon paying taxes which they don’t do now, and efficiently auditing the costs submitted by Exxon to make sure we are not getting robbed of $US billions through inflated expense reports.”

Dr. Jailall added, “…The local content is important, but that’s not where the biggest gains come from and it is not a substitute for better royalties or profit share. The biggest beneficiaries from a better local content policy would be the middlemen businesses, not the poor people of Guyana…”

He went on to explain that the trickle-down effect from local content is not as huge as if one were to renegotiate for a better royalty, profit share, and/or requiring ExxonMobil to pay taxes in keeping with the tax laws.

Dr. Jailall said, too, that for every 1% increase in royalty, at US$50 per barrel, Guyana stands to gain an estimated US$4 billion.

“That’s more than you can get on a better local content policy, which simply refers to Guyanese companies getting some of the oil related contracts for goods and services, and Guyanese getting oil jobs and training,” the Education Consultant contended.

Dr. Jailall who has served in the education sector for 25+ years in Guyana, the Bahamas, the USA and the United Arab Emirates, contended that the government must understand that getting the maximum benefits for the nation’s poor, destitute people, is not a multiple-choice question where the answer is A, B, C, or D. He stated unequivocally that the answer is E – “All of the above.”

APNU+AFC WANTS GOVT. TO MANDATE 50% OIL SUBCONTRACTS FOR LOCALS – BUT REFUSED TO SET TARGETS WHILE IN OFFICE The A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition is now challenging the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to set local content targets for the oil and gas sector, something it refused to do while in office.

The suggestion was made

by AFC’s Member of Parliament (MP), David Patterson, during his budget (Continued on page 29)

Sunday September 27, 2020

From page 28 address last Thursday.

Patterson, who is expected to serve the term as the Opposition’s shadow Oil Minister, noted that the Government has committed to training Guyanese to take up jobs and contracts in the oil sector.

“We say,” Patterson added, “that this local content mandate must have definitive numerical goals through legislation and in contracts.

We propose a minimum of 50% of all sub-contracts must go to local businesses; and have a mentor/protégé programme to achieve this goal in three years to ensure the transfer of skills and knowledge.”

Patterson may have forgotten or is unaware of the fact that it was recommended that the Energy Department set local content targets while APNU+AFC held office.

Kaieteur News, for one, noted several provisions in the highly successful Ghanaian local content policy in its recommendations to the Energy Department. They were all absent from the policy.

Among these included several targets for oil companies and their subcontractors to meet within a given period. The Ghanaian policy stated that its Annual Recruitment and Training programme needed to ensure that the following targets are met: “(a) management staff, at least fifty percent of the management staff are Ghanaians from the start of petroleum activities of the licensee and the percentage shall increase to at least eighty percent within five years after the start of the petroleum activities; (b) core technical staff, at least thirty percent of the technical staff are Ghanaians from the start of petroleum activities of the licensee and the percentage shall increase to at least eighty percent within five (5) years after the start of petroleum activities and ninety percent within ten (10) years; and (c) Other staff, one hundred percent are Ghanaians. Such programme shall provide for the training of Ghanaians in all aspects and phases of petroleum activities and as many staff categories, including management, as is possible and shall be reassessed and revised on an annual basis (the “Annual Recruitment and Training Programme) and may include scholarships, industrial training for students and other financial support for education.”

Kaieteur News reported in July that the policy implemented by Ghana saw

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

locals representing 86 percent of the sector’s workforce, among other outstanding achievements. This policy was informed by inputs made by industry experts like Trinidadian local content advisor and energy strategist, Anthony Paul.

Paul was involved in the makings of earlier drafts of Guyana’s local content policy, but was ultimately removed from the project by the former Government and replaced by an ExxonMobil affiliate, Dr. Michael Warner.

Though Kaieteur News shed light on Warner’s history with Exxon’s Centre for Local Business Development as a clear conflict of interest, APNU+AFC allowed Warner to remove several safeguards from Paul’s policy drafts.

Warner’s policy also included confidentiality provisions which inhibit Guyana’s ability to fully scrutinize oil companies’ local content commitments. It is Warner’s policy which the former Government made final.

The new government does not accept the former’s policy, and has re-engaged Paul on a local content advisory Panel, to assist with the crafting of local content legislation.

GOVT. LAUNCHES INVESTIGATIONS INTO ASPHALT PLANT RACKET – DHB MANAGEMENT DISTANCES ITSELF FROMALLEGATIONS Just one day after Kaieteur News broke news of a scam at the state-run asphalt plant at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, has ordered a probe into the allegations.

Expressing concern and distress over the claims as it implicates staffers at the Ministry of Public Works, Minister Edghill noted: “As the Minister responsible for this sector, both the Ministry of Public Works and the Demerara Harbour Bridge under whose management the asphalt plant falls, I have ordered an investigation.”

Well-placed sources revealed that contractors working on government projects were up to recently mandated to take their asphalt from the Garden of Eden plant.

Kaieteur News was told by a number of persons that contractors would get asphalt at huge discounts under a scam that stretched all the way to the Ministry of Public Works.

“What happened is that there is a special department in the Ministry that conducts road repairs and other maintenance works. They

would order a certain amount from the plant to be billed to the Ministry. They, however, collect less. The difference is what is sold at a discount price to contractors.”

It was explained that contractors would come in a few days later and pay about half price for the asphalt from the plant being operated by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC).

“This has a lot of impact.

It means that a contractor is buying raw materials cheap, below cost, and can effectively compete with other contractors,” persons with knowledge of the scam said to Kaieteur News.

It would mean that the state would have lost tens of millions of dollars in revenues.

Already, operators of privately-run asphalt plants have been complaining of little or no business.

“What they do is to force contractors to buy from Garden of Eden. In fact, contractors all the way from Berbice were asked to travel all the way to East Bank Demerara when there are asphalt plants in operations in Berbice.”

It was explained that the only way this made financial sense is if the contractors were getting discounts.

“There is a simple way to check how it is happening.

There needs to be a special audit. Everybody knows it takes a certain amount of

bitumen to make so much asphalt. An audit of what the department of the Ministry was doing will clearly show something is wrong,” one contractor said.

Minister Edghill, in his statement Tuesday, urged contractors and the general public to come forward with details that would “bring an end to this alleged racket and stop the haemorrhaging of the public purse.”

“We will not allow corruption in any form shape or fashion. The people must get value for their money and corrupt public officers or public officials must not be allowed to benefit. This is an allegation and we will get to the bottom of it,” Edghill said, promising that a full and thorough investigation will be conducted.

DHB distancing self While the allegations received widespread attention, the management of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation sought to distance themselves from claims.

General Manager, Rawlston Adams, explained that per the agreement with the Public Works Ministry, written instructions would be provided “under various headings, miscellaneous roads, urban roads and special projects” to state which contractor asphalt would be supplied to.

“We would then supply those asphalt to the

contractor…so there is no interactions between ourselves and the contractors, in this arrangement,” Adams added, noting that the DHB would then use the corresponding bills to receive payment from the Ministry.

“We are not saying that there is not something happening outside of us,” the General Manager told Kaieteur News “but we don’t want it to be seen that we are complicit in any arrangement that is happening outside of our formal arrangement with the Ministry.”

He insisted that their system has a lot of “checks and balances” and leaves little room for errors to occur.

Giving an example, Adams pointed to the delivery note, which he says is prepared in “triplicate”.

“One goes to the truck driver, one stays with us and when we are billing the Ministry, we also attach one to the documents.”

THURSDAY THREE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONS… LANDS AND SURVEY BOSS, TREVOR BENN, BOUGHT $25M PRADO FOR $2.5M FROM HIS OWN WORKPLACE Leading up to the March 2nd elections, there were a flurry of transactions involving state properties. In

addition to questionable land deals at Ogle, there is one transaction now that has raised deep concerns about what else could have happened.

Three days before the March 2nd general and regional elections, the Board of Directors of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) sold Commissioner Trevor Benn a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, worth around $25M at the time of purchase in 2016 for $2.5M. The vehicle, registered on September 29th, 2016 listed Benn as the buyer, according to documents seen

by Kaieteur News.

According to an internal memorandum, dated March 3rd, 2020 (one day after elections), the Board of Directors of the Commission took a decision three days before, on Friday, February 28th, 2020.

The decision concerned the “Disposal of Assets” and spoke about an “End of Contract” package for the commissioner/Chief Executive Officer. The decision was endorsed by the board and gave the commissioner a driver, to be maintained by the Commissioner for 24-hour use. He was also entitled to security detail along with a maid to clean his home.

It was disclosed in the internal memorandum that the (Continued on page 30)

PAGE 30

From page 29 Board on March 29, 2018, decided that officers using the Commission’s fleet of vehicles may have the option of purchasing the vehicle after three years of being assigned the vehicle.

Specifically, on February 28th, 2020, according to that internal document, the Board endorsed the purchase of the Prado, PVV 7771, at the “net book value” by Benn, with immediate effect. The vehicle was purchased new by the Commissioner himself, for the GL&SC, on August 30th, 2016.

The same day the board took the decision (February 28th, 2020) was the day that Benn signed the agreement of Sale and Purchase.

The duties and taxes on similar vehicles could amount to as much as $16M, Kaieteur News was told.

There are strict rules concerning how state properties may be sold.

It will be recalled that the new administration, under President Irfaan Ali, decided to send Commissioner Benn on 42 days of his annual leave.

Benn was asked to prepare a document of all matters pending or in progress for President Irfaan Ali. GL&SC has been placed under the Office of the President.

In the letter that was penned by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the President, Abena Moore, it was further requested that the GL&SC commissioner prepare a handover/takeover statement to be given to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acting, Enriqe Monize.

Notably, shortly after the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic had assumed office in August, President Ali had stripped the Commissioner of critical powers vested to him. This move, Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, had said, was intended to prevent the Commission from further sanctioning the renting and granting of leases, licence and permission of occupancy of all government lands.

Following the publication of the Official Gazette limiting the powers of the commissioner, AG Nandlall had announced that the government will be conducting a review of all the leases, licences and permissions to occupy Public Lands granted by the Commission following the December 2, 2018 No Confidence Vote.

The AG argued that the APNU+AFC Government was reduced to a caretaker status following the vote and hence was not authorized to issue documents related to land distribution.

HOW INVOLVED IS THE GOVERNMENT OF GUYANAIN THE CAPITAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH OIL PROJECTS? – OGGN -STABROEK BLOCK FIELD DEVELOPMENT COSTS ESTIMATED AT US$60B… The Irfaan Ali administration has inherited an industry of billions in capital costs, where oil is concerned.

Recent estimates place the costs to develop ExxonMobil’s current discoveries in the Stabroek Block roughly at US$60B. Rystad Energy

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

recently said that in addition to the Liza Phases One and Two projects (estimated at US$9.5B), ExxonMobil could sanction a further US$50B in projects, including 10 more Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, in the next 10 years.

The oil major will endeavour to recover all of it from the sale of Guyana’s crude.

Sixteen discoveries had been made at the time of Rystad’s statement. Two more discoveries have since been announced, which adds potential for even more requests for rapid field developments.

Is Guyana ready for the burden of so many costs in such a short period? Does it have the capacity to scrutinize the billions in capital costs already foisted by ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block partners? How involved is the government in checking those costs?

Canada–based Engineer, Darshanand Khusial, is asking these and other burning questions on behalf of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN), a pressure group organised to ensure that Guyana prudently manages its petroleum sector.

“The US$60 billion is 40 times the 2020 budget,” Khusial said in a letter. “The cumulative budget since Guyana gained independence is less than US$60 billion.”

He noted that the Government is dedicating a great amount of alacrity and transparency to the process of preparing and completing the 2020 budget, which stands approximately US$1.5B. “It has dedicated weeks and employed many to ensure every drop of the US$1.5 billion will be accounted for before it is spent.

Every citizen with Internet access can take a look at the budget details.

The government is transparent for an activity that affects the life of every local Guyanese.

It is prudent for the government to decide how much money it wants to spend because it has limited funds. Hence, it has to make hard decisions such as how much it should spend on education versus how much is appropriate for implementing energy related projects.”

Khusial noted that, unlike the budget, it is unclear whether similar alacrity is being applied to Guyana’s behemoth oil sector capital costs.

When one observes the

Government’s handling of ExxonMobil’s US$460M precontract costs, it could provide some insight into Guyana’s regard for scrutiny of costs. The company placed this charge on Guyana since 2016 when the controversial Stabroek Block agreement was signed. It has been nine months, as Khusial noted, since the audit of that amount began by the firm, IHS Markit. Nothing has been said to the public about an end date for the audit, so it is unclear when it will be completed.

Despite not having audited such a small cost relative to the billions in development costs for the oilfields discovered by Exxon, the former government went ahead and approved the Liza Phase One and Two projects in 2017 and 2019 respectively, with not a word on how it intended to scrutinize the claims made by Exxon and its partners for those two developments.

Khusial pointed out that the capital costs for Liza One, initially estimated at US$4.4B, faced two revisions down to US$3.5B, with no breakdown of the US$900M in savings, or whether the savings methods are applicable to Liza Two. The new government, though it promised to learn from the former’s mistakes, is poised to approve the Payara development, which will see billions more in costs Guyana does not have sufficient capacity to audit.

The approval would make three approvals, likely altogether amounting to more than US$13B, in just four years.

“Given the debacle with the precontract costs,” Khusial said, “one would expect the government to put a policy in place to review costs for the Stabroek block upfront and possibly make the process transparent as it does for the budget.

The government can act quickly on major issues as it has shown with the speed it was able to produce the 2020 budget.”

OGGN has many questions for President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.

“How involved is the

Government of Guyana in the deciding and monitoring of capital costs associated with the oil projects? Does it have a detailed breakdown of the upfront costs for the projects? Does it have a voice in the selection of the contractors to build the billion-dollar FPSOs? Has it hired experts to question the oil companies’ selection of various suppliers? Is it training Guyanese to understand the terms of these billion-dollar supplier contracts?

Why, as it did with the budget, shouldn’t it debate in public the items that make up the billions in costs? The people of Guyana will be paying off US$60 billion for years to come. Shouldn’t the government treat the seriousness of this cost the same way it does with the budget?”

FRIDAY OIL COMPANIES ROBBED REPUBLIC OF CONGO US$64M IN TWO YEARS

BY INFLATING COSTS – ENOUGH TO LIFT MORE THAN 300,000 CONGOLESE CITIZENS OUT OF POVERTY Former Petroleum Advisor to the Government of Guyana, Dr. Jan Mangal, once told Kaieteur News that the oil industry is a highly corrupt industry at every level because of the billions of dollars involved.

Oil companies tend to do whatever is necessary to maximize the profits to their shareholders, even if it means abusing the ignorance or lack of capacity of their host government.

The Republic of Congo was rudely reminded of this, a decade and a half ago, when it contracted independent firms to audit the costs handed to the government by oil companies, ENI and Total for a total of nine permits. The firms produced 13 audit reports for 2004 and 2005, which showed that the companies had overstated their costs by US$127M. The Kenya-based charitable organization, Oxfam wrote about this

matter in a 2018 report titled: ‘Examining the Crude Details’.

Oxfam said that from combining the 13 reports, it was found that US$15 of every US$100 in declared recoverable costs the auditors worked to verify, were ineligible for recovery, or were excessive.

In production sharing contracts, which utilise the cost recovery scheme, the more oil companies recover, the less the state receives from the profit. This is why the Congolese government saw the audits as necessary.

In this case, had the funds claimed by Total and ENI been correctly stated, the US$127M it recovered would have formed part of the profits. Oxfam said that under a 50/50 profit split between state and contractor(s), the Congolese government lost out on US$63.5M. It further explained that nine of the 13 reports pertained to 2004, accounting for US$55.3M of the losses to the state.

With such significant value leakage, Oxfam noted that cost audits are a key tool to limiting these occurrences. It said that the lack of capacity of developing country government tend to place them at a disadvantage during contract negotiations, and that cost audits are a mechanism governments can use to mitigate the risks of revenue leakages.

In the case of Guyana, ExxonMobil intends, along with its Stabroek Block partners, to recover billions of US dollars in costs from the development of several oilfields.

Its capacity to audit is virtually nowhere. Yet, the country is rapidly approving projects.

The only costs Guyana has started auditing are the US$460M pre-contract costs claimed by Exxon, and noted in the 2016 Stabroek Block agreement for operations during the period 1999-2015.

That audit has been in motion for nine months now by the firm, HIS Markit, with no timeline announced for its completion.

Attorney-at-Law and (Continued on page 31)

Sunday September 27, 2020

From page 30 Accountant, Christopher Ram, had said in 2018 that Exxon’s claim of US$460M is overstated by at least US$92M. His calculation found that all figures supplied by the companies, even when one allows for all expenses and expenditures, amount to a far cry from the US$460,237,918 that Exxon and its partners, Hess and CNOOC Nexen, are claiming. He had said that it is overstated by “at least” US$92M, because not all expenditure is recoverable as pre-contract costs.

Apart from the precontract costs, development costs for Liza Phases One & Two alone are estimated to total US$9.5B. Rystad Energy recently said that 14 of the following discoveries could be developed by Exxon with total project sanctioning of US$50B. Since it made that announcement, ExxonMobil has made two more discoveries, adding the potential for even more rapid development.

Poised to approve the third development, the Payara project, Government is yet to commit to auditing development costs.

SMALL TEAM CANNOTADEQUATELY REVIEW PAYARA FDP IN A FEW MONTHS - ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DR. BLACKMAN When it comes to the petroleum industry, several stakeholders have stated that they will be looking to see if the Irfaan Ali government will demonstrate that it is capable of ensuring that a sound regulatory framework is in place.

In fact, Dr. Terrence Richard Blackman, a member of the Guyanese Diaspora and an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the Medgar Evers College, USA, noted in one of his recently published commentaries that the matter of robust regulation raises its head when one considers the approval the government is expected to provide for ExxonMobil’s Payara Field Development Plan (FDP).

Dr. Blackman recalled that the Department of Energy has, for more than seven months, been engaged in a review of the FDP alongside UK firm, Bayphase Oil and Gas Consultants.

The Associate Professor reminded that the Ali government had decided to review the work already undertaken by Bayphase.

This was being done by a small team led by former Premier of Alberta, Canada, Alison Redford. The PPP government had also said that Redford was hired thanks to a grant from the Canadian High Commission.

Her team consisted of the former Deputy Minister of Energy in Newfoundland, Canada; senior international reservoir engineers; and M r. J a y P a r k , Q . C , Managing Partner of Park Energy Law based in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The review of Bayphase’s work has been completed and the finishing touches are being added to the draft license.

To the objective observer, the Associate Professor said this review and subsequent “re-review do not describe an optimal state of regulatory affairs.”

Dr. Blackman said it is clear that a small team cannot adequately “re-review the field development plan for an undertaking such as Payara over a few months…”

Looking at this matter from ExxonMobil’s perspective, Dr. Blackman noted that the development planning of a deep-water oilfield directly influences production costs and benefits. He said that this, coupled with the uncertainties of the crude oil price and the reservoir and the special production requirements, makes it always, technically difficult, to optimize development planning of deep-water oilfields.

The Associate Professor said it is therefore prudent for Guyanese stakeholders to carefully consider the intersection of the Guyanese people’s interests and that of ExxonMobil.

He said, too, that it is vital for ExxonMobil to be mindful that its actions regarding the delays caused by the regulatory agencies, not be perceived as scare tactics, which are cynically used by multi-national companies doing business in undeveloped countries.

In this regard, Dr. Blackman was referring to comments that were made by ExxonMobil’s Country Manager here, Alister Routledge, to the effect that the oil giant will take its investments elsewhere if it does not get its way with the Payara licence.

With such an approach, Dr. Blackman said the perception that ExxonMobil’s actions are solely motivated by its enrichment will easily find root in the resonant Guyanese narrative of foreigners

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

holding the country hostage, doing as they please, and destroying the environment while taking all the wealth of the country.

To this end, he strongly contended that ExxonMobil must continue to embrace regulatory and environmental standards in Guyana that go beyond international norms and practices and it must clearly distinguish between criticism of the Guyanese regulatory bureaucracy and the legitimate national aspirations of the Guyanese people.

Looking ahead, the Associate Professor articulated that the people and Government of Guyana must require ExxonMobil to live up to its environmental standards.

SATURDAY CJIA’S CHINESE CONTRACTOR DENIES ABUSING DUTY FREE CONCESSIONS – INSISTS IT WAS GUIDED BY GRA ATALLTIMES China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), the Chinese contractor that is under pressure with the US$150M Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion project, has denied abusing its duty free concessions.

It was reported in 2015 that CHEC, which did work on the MovieTowne project, was abusing its duty free concessions privileges by using its equipment from the airport project on other construction sites. Staffers and others affiliated with the company had attested to this and when the initial story was reported in 2015, the company never refuted it. In a statement Thursday night, CHEC, however, broke its silence after another story on the issue was published in this paper.

The company said it notes with grave concern the Kaieteur News story “CJIA’s Chinese contractor illegally used equipment for M o v i e To w n e construction” 2020/09/24.

“This story has many inaccuracies,” the release said, “and it is unfortunate that Kaieteur News did not seek to speak with us before rushing to publish it. We wish to make clear to the Guyanese public that CHEC Guyana has at all times complied with the laws of Guyana. And in instances when it was necessary, we were guided by the Guyana Revenue Authority and local auditing firms and accountants.”

While it did not specific any of the ‘many inaccuracies’ it claimed to be present in the story, the company said that it sought at all times to be compliant, and it will continue to make “compliance a priority for as long as we operate in this territory”.

The company said it is requesting that media houses contact them for clarification on questions they may have about the much needed expansion project or any of the other projects that are ongoing in Guyana.

“CHEC Guyana remains a friend and partner in Guyana’s infrastructure development and in creating jobs for Guyana’s citizens,” the statement by CHEC said.

In 2011, the company was awarded a US$150M contract to build Guyana a bigger, modernized airport.

Under its contract, it was allowed to bring in materials and equipment duty-free, to the tune of billions of dollars.

According to officials, CHEC used its trucks and other vehicles and possibly even sand from the airport project on the MovieTowne construction at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

CHEC’s trucks, more than 25 of them, were granted duty free concessions by the previous government for the airport work. CHEC also reportedly received tax waivers on at least six pickups and four SUVs. For the airport project, CHEC was allowed use of three sandpits, two loam pits and two pagasse pits.

The company’s sister company, China Harbour Engineering Company (T&T) Ltd. also managed to win the contract to construct the MovieTowne project, a private sector development.

The Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara project was contracted to in December 2014 for US$30M and has since been completed and is operational. It has been reported that a few pieces of equipment including a tower crane that came for the CJIA project was put into use at MovieTowne.

CHEC has since been given the contract for the Pegasus Hotel expansion, another private development, significantly on the way to completion.

In the meantime, the CJIA expansion project is dragging along. In recent years, consecutive Governments have received flak for the management of foreign

investors and contractors to ensure that they comply with agreements and not abuse concessions. The CJIA expansion project has now spanned four presidencies, starting with Bharrat Jagdeo.

WEARE HOPEFUL OF SIGNINGTHE PAYARA AGREEMENT TODAY – MINISTER BHARRAT “Contrary to misleading reports in some sections of the media, the Government did not give approval for ExxonMobil’s Payara project Friday.

We have a draft agreement and we are hopeful of signing it today.”

Those were the words of Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat who sought to set the record straight on the approval process for the project which is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day once it comes on stream by 2024.

Minister Bharrat said that the current agreement has several safeguards in place, two of which include stiff fines for the burning of gas and failure to treat reservoir water before disposing of it into the ocean.

Asked for a ballpark figure of the fines, Minister Bharrat said that this is still being finalized. He was keen to note however that the findings of the Payara Field Development review would be released next week.

That exercise was initially started by UK firm, Bayphase Oil and Gas Consultants and continued by former Premier of Alberta, Canada, Alison Redford.

The PPP government had said that Redford was hired thanks to a grant from the Canadian High Commission.

Her team consisted of the

former Deputy Minister of Energy in Newfoundland, Canada; senior international reservoir engineers; and Mr. Jay Park, Q.C, Managing Partner of Park Energy Law based in Canada and the United Kingdom.

When the review got underway in August, Kaieteur News would have reported that one of the critical issues that stymied swift approval pertained to ExxonMobil’s desire to retain the loopholes it got in the Liza One and Two permits which allow for flaring.

The other matter of concern pertains to the dumping of produced water into the ocean. When oil companies drill the sea floor to extract oil, it is not only oil that comes up with it; water is part of the mixture too. As a result of it not being needed, it is separated and disposed of.

The critical issue is how that disposal is being done.

International best practices dictate that this produced water should be re-injected into the earth’s surface.

Research conducted by Kaieteur News notes that in some cases, the produced water is discharged into oceans and other offshore water channels.

Because no two geographic regions are alike, studies are done to assess the environmental risks of the produced water’s toxicity on marine life before granting approval for the disposal of it into the ocean.

In Guyana’s case, not a single study was done for the Liza Phase One or Two Projects, yet Guyana went full steam ahead with approving the permits for those projects, which allow for the disposal of produced water into the ocean.

PAGE 32

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 33

PAGE 34

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 35

Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

Corruption and political plagiarism led to the defeat of the APNU+AFC In my August 23 column, I indicated that over the coming weeks and months, I will analyze the March 2020 election defeat of the APNU+AFC. Since that declaration, I have done two articles on the subject – Thursday, September 3 and Friday September 4. Here now is another installment.

Any school child who is into reading novels will find by the time he/she reaches 18, they would know the saying: “there is no secret in a small town.” All the bad and terrible secrets of the powerful elites in Guyana permeate a very limited space – Georgetown and places in Region Four that are near to Georgetown.

Even if there are dirty minds at work in other Regions, Georgetowners will know about them because these people will do their thing in Georgetown too.

In the APNU+AFC mansion, a power-house had a son whose intoxicating abandonments took place in full view of countless people in Georgetown. This guy drove a $30 million vehicle and frolicked day and night. He spent

enormous amount daily on sporting with friends and he was not employed in any kind of work.

Where did the money come from? The young man was procuring a document that was not easy to get. It was and is a document that people with money would pay enormous amounts for. His father was the key to the transaction. This fellow paraded himself at every major nightclub or drinking den; so many people would see, so many would ask questions, so many knew what he was doing.

Interestingly, this bigwig’s son would bring along the friends of his friends thus expanding his circle, thus exposing his secrets.

These kinds of depravities and degenerate exhibitions cannot be hidden in a small town. This was one of the crucial factors in the defeat of the APNU+AFC. The particular power-house will never be true to his supporters who voted for APNU+AFC because he will never admit that it was the plagiaristic, behavioural traits

of the APNU+AFC that were reminiscent of the PPP’s days in power that citizens resented.

When people saw this young fellow selling a certain piece of paper, that citizens cannot easily get when they seek it from the government, they were overtaken by anger. They asked with moving emotions if that was what they voted for.

They asked themselves why they voted out the PPP in the first place.

Read what then Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix had to say about the printing of birth certificates. Felix’s explanation is mountainous testimony that the APNU+AFC had no intention of presenting Guyana with an alternative and superior system of governance. Felix informed Guyanese that the sole-sourcing of the printing of birth certificates was a policy of the previous PPP government that the APNU+AFC continued.

This was one of the important reasons why voters chose APNU+AFC over the PPP in May 2015. The

Kaieteur News became a phenomenal sensation with oceanic scoops it published about contract incestuousness under the PPP. Each day, there was a story about a contractor who got this or that and the legal channels were not followed.

Guyanese wanted a government that would do things better and cleaner than the previous government. It got a worse administration under APNU+AFC. From the time, Granger unilaterally appointed a GECOM chairman and the AFC supported that undemocratic direction, immediately the AFC died, and the forthcoming 2020 election was lost.

See my column of October 21, 2017 titled: “GECOM imbroglio: The AFC is dead.”

Guyanese who had no interest in what went on at UG knew that money was being wasted there that had no comparison with any period of PPP’s rule from 1992 to 2015.

Guyanese knew that no PPP president would have allowed such extraordinary and extravagant spending at UG that a poor country like

Guyana could not have afforded. These uncaring expressions of a government that voters had so much expectations of caused consternations, frustrations and unmitigated anger. When the March election came, the end would come, and it did.

I have two friends – man and wife - who live right next door to the AFC head office. I would visit Raymond and Dawn Persaud with my dog and other mutual friends each night.

As we limed, AFC second tier leaders on their way to the AFC’s office would stop by and talk. I would tell Leonard Craig, Trevor Williams, Michael Carrington, Marlon

Frederick Kissoon Williams, Audwin Rutherford and others that they will lose the election because the people have turned their backs on the APNU+AFC out of uncontrollable chagrin.

Many of them would argue with me. The rest is history.

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

PAGE 36

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

Coronavirus: Guyana, listen to the cries of the health workers

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center I can’t recall the last time I had a good night’s rest. I constantly worry about my fellow health workers, my patients, our country and last but not least, my family.

This pandemic has taken a toll on most of us but no one will understand the impact it’s having on health workers unless they are in their shoes.

What’s even worse is the awful treatment that we often receive by those around us. I have personally copped more abuse and disregard than any other period in my practice.

My colleagues silently complain of similar treatment and it is slowly taking a toll on us.

Today, I wish to share some of the experiences of colleagues so that others can hopefully appreciate our daily struggles and take the COVID-19 pandemic more seriously.

DK - WE KEEP ABSORBING THE BLOWS The emergency room (ER) is no longer what it once was;

if you are breathing abnormally we have to put you in a separate area.

This area is away from our normal stations and it requires you to constantly be on the move to ensure patient care is flowing as it should. Daily, these areas are overflowing with patients.

The number of patients with COVID-19 like symptoms keeps increasing and we are running out of space to see them. It drains you physically and emotionally.

Relatives are frustrated and scared because they worry that theirs may have COVID-19. They can’t be with them nor comfort them.

That frustration is directed towards us and we have no choice but to take these blows.

These are heavy burdens to bear daily. We may not show that emotional turmoil openly but trust me, it’s there!!!

LM- I WAS A VICTIM OF THE DISEASE BUT I’M OUT FIGHTINGAGAIN Emergency medicine physicians are always on the go.

Our waiting room is never empty and at GPHC, there are

always patients who are at the cusp of dying and need us to fight for them.

Many days, I sit in my car taking deep breaths preparing myself mentally and physically for what awaits me in the ER and truth be told, I’m scared—scared for my life, scared for my family. I have just recovered from this dreadful disease and I’m pushing myself through the suffering to ensure I help my colleagues and patients who need me.

I am sure that I speak for most when I say it pains me to see people out partying, breaking the curfew, having large gatherings, wearing masks on their heads and under their chins and to top it off, these people come to the emergency room with minor ailments that cause more crowding in the ER and making life even harder for us and the really sick patients who need us more.

These are the patients who are abusive and confrontational and expect us to leave the heart attacks, the respiratory distress, the seizure patients, and the dying to attend to them. Kindly have a little

consideration for us in the ER as we are already stretched very thin and overworked with this pandemic.

Yes, we love what we do, and we do it with pride, but right now, we need you as a people to help us to help you.

Follow the COVID-19 guidelines, comply with the curfew, keep safe. Let us all do what we need to do in order to keep each other safe.

SJ - I’M NEGLECTING MYFAMILY I have faced many challenges during this COVID-19 pandemic but I will only expand on the physical ones.

Working during these times is extremely difficult.

We are working long shifts and wearing a N95 mask is overwhelming. The mask would leave scars on your face and nose. Sometimes, you feel that you are literally suffocating. Many times, I would get dehydrated on the shift.

The straps on the masks are like sharp wires, it digs into your skin and burns your ears. At the end of the shift, your teeth and jaw hurt and don’t talk about the headaches. Wearing eye protec-

tion with the mask is a challenge, it either hurts your ears or it is always getting foggy.

I go home tired and cannot tend to my two young kids as I would like. I feel like I’m not the best parent but yet I sacrifice this feeling to come out and fight for my patients. I have never felt so unappreciated for doing the right thing.

SG - THE PLEAS OF A NURSING LEADER The fear, worry, and dread that crippled most nurses were overcome by tremendous courage and resilience.

Every day, we leave our homes to go do the job, which we love in this noble profession that we chose and then head home to our families not knowing what more to do to keep them safe.

Despite all the talks of social distancing, we are still expected to deliver stellar nursing care with compassion. Whenever we receive news that one of our colleagues is COVID positive, we feel the sting of betrayal and despair. Some of us have breastfeeding infants, our children are home from school, our spouses long for

PAGE 37

Dr. Zulfikar Bux our attention; we have mothers, fathers and grandparents.

The best thing you can all do is show some gratitude, follow the health guidelines, do your part to slow this spread so that all our lives can be spared as we fight this pandemic together.

Help keep our nurses safe, as we continue to deliver safe care to your families.

These are the cries of only a few the health workers risking their lives daily so that we can all continue to live.

We cannot win this pandemic alone; we need your help more than you know. The best way you can help us fight this pandemic is to be responsible and encourage others to take prevention guidelines more seriously. Be nice and stay safe!

PAGE 44

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 45

Kaieteur News

Restructuring of sugar must be properly managed (A Review of David Granger’s A Thriving Sugar Industry. Restructuring for productivity.)

David Granger’s, A Thriving Sugar Industry. Restructuring for productivity, debunks the myth that Guyana’s Coalition Administration was determined to close the industry and to place thousands of workers on the breadline.

The book reveals that, to the contrary, the actions which the David Granger administration took on assuming office in May 2015 were intended to protect jobs, preserve the industry and prevent the total collapse of the state-owned sugar corporation.

Granger, as President in June 2019, personally visited Albion Estate to speak with executives and workers and to see the conditions in the factory and the industry for himself. The book, therefore, reflects the then President’s realistic assessment of the industry.

It sets the record straight about the approach by A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition to sugar. It outlines the efforts to save rather than sink the sugar industry.

The crisis in Guyana’s sugar industry did not erupt overnight. Granger outlines the sugar industry’s efforts to adapt to recurrent crises for more than 200 years. He highlights the constant need, historically, for the consolidation of plantations, dating back of colonial times.

The PPP/C administration which succeeded the APNU+AFC administration, and which has accused the latter of wanting to close the industry, itself was guilty of closing sugar factories and consolidating sugar estates.

Granger documents the PPP/ C’s complicity in the consolidation of the East Demerara plantations.

A Thriving Sugar Industry. Restructuring for productivity reveals that it was not the Granger administration which initiated the loss of jobs in the industry. The State-owned industry slashed more than 5,000 jobs between 1992 and 2015 when the PPP/C was in office.

Guyana’s sugar, simply, remains uncompetitive. The cost of production is multiple times the world market price.

The industry, for more than three decades, was being kept afloat because of the favourable European market

which provided assured access and preferential prices for sugar. Those preferences, however, began to be eroded by the second decade of this century, thereby precipitating the industry’s downward spiral from which it has never recovered.

The PPP/C administration had a so-called ‘turnaround’ plan for the industry. However, this plan did not work and the state-owned sugar corporation continued to hemorrhage.

The already dire situation was exacerbated by the catastrophic decision to construct a new factory at Pln. Skeldon which was to be the lynchpin of the PPP/C’s ‘turnaround’ plan for the industry. Instead, it became a ‘white-elephant’ and sounded the death-knell for sugar in that part of the East Berbice-Corentyne Region.

Granger notes other problems which compounded the woes of the industry.

These include the decline in sugar production, the decreased in productivity, inadequate maintenance and poor industrial relations, all of which combined to deepen the crisis in the country’s oldest industry.

The APNU+AFC therefore inherited a sugar industry in deep crisis and which required multiple, massive multi-billion dollar bailouts from the State. In four years, the government disbursed G$42.6 billion to the industry.

Financially, a strong case existed for the closure of the industry which was bleeding the public purse.

A Thriving Sugar Industry. Restructuring for productivity relates the efforts which the Granger administration took to try to save the industry. The APNU+AFC established a Commission of Inquiry into the industry; it subsequently appointed a Task Force to make recommendations to restructure the industry.

A State Paper on the Future of the Industry was published and a Corporate Restructuring Plan initiated.

Meetings were held between the Cabinet and the main unions in the industry – Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) and National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) – and an agreement was reached to cooperate to seek solutions to the industry’s problems. Meetings were held, also, with the Guyana Sugar Corporation

(GUYSUCO) and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

Though not mentioned in the book, the then administration also secured a bond to the extent of G$30 Billion to support planned reforms.

Granger’s plans were lofty and well-intentioned.

He argues in the book that: The Government is aiming for a smaller, stronger but smarter and more sustainable industry. A competitive sugar industry will act as a catalyst for the revitalization of the rural economy. A viable sugar industry will eventually be able to provide additional employment opportunities, including to those affected by the restructuring of the industry.

While the APNU+AFC administration’s political rivals have made political currency out of the decision to close the Canje, Skeldon and Wales factories and to terminate the services of thousands of sugar workers, the book points out that this decision, painful and difficult as it was, was necessary to allow for saving the jobs of the thousands of others employed in the industry.

Granger argues that, had the Guyana Sugar Corporation not been restructured and sugar production not been consolidated, the entire industry would have collapsed.

A Thriving Sugar Industry. Restructuring for productivity argues that the APNU+AFC did not set out to close the industry. It engaged in restructuring to right-size the industry, to save the industry from a total collapse and to eventually ensure a viable sugar corporation.

Granger, in the book, provides a compelling rationale for the steps which his government took to ensure the industry’s survival. He cautions against attempts to revert to a model which led to the financial hemorrhaging of the sugar corporation. In this regard, the incumbent PPP/C administration can learn much from the Granger administration’s methodical approach to restructuring the industry.

The PPP/C administration, unfortunately, has gone ahead, cavalierly, and taken a decision to reopen some of the closed estates. It has done so without the benefit of an in-depth study to determine the financial or economic impact of its proposed move. It has not detailed any restructuring or yet another

‘turnaround’ plan, nor determined the costs of the reopening closed estates.

It has not detailed from whence the resources will come to initiate its plans. Nor has it outlined a vision for the industry beyond fulfilling an election promise to its supporters.

Sugar has been part of the economic lifeblood of the country for more than three hundred years. If sugar is to continue to be the bedrock of the country’s rural economy and remain a principal source of economic livelihoods for tens of thousands of households then its restructuring must be properly managed.

Those into whose hands the task of managing the industry falls will do well to read Granger’s A Thriving Sugar

Industry. Restructuring for productivity. Not only does it disabuse the political propaganda of the APNU+AFC Coalition’s being opposed to sugar, but it also outlines a

pathway to a viable industry.

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

PAGE 46

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 47

PAGE 48

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 49

PAGE 50

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27, 2020

Enetworks to air Call of the Three of the tastiest Bacardi Wild at 8PM on Wednesday Home Entertainment...

cocktails More than a hundred years later, Bacardi which is distributed by Ansa McAL, occupies a leading position in the world among manufacturers and exporters of alcoholic beverages. In fact, this rum continues to be used by the best mixologists around the world to create some of the tastiest cocktails you would ever savour. Here are just three of them you can make to entertain your friends this Sunday. Enjoy.

1. PINA COLADA Drink invented pirate Roberto Cofresi. B 1820 he treated his team this cocktail, raising her fighting spirit. But after the death of Roberto recipe was lost. Only 1954 Caribbean, the bartender Romona Marrero managed to find the right proportions. On experiments he spent more 30 days.

Pina ColadaStructure: Bacardi white - 50 ml;

Black Bacardi - 15 ml; pineapple juice - 100 ml; coconut syrup - 50 ml; lime juice - 2 teaspoons; pineapple - 80 gram; ice - 160 gram.

Preparation: Mix in a blender Bacardi rum, syrup, pineapple and juice Lama.

Add ice, then whip. Pour into a cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

2. MOJITO According to one version «Mojito» translated from the African language as a “little witchcraft”. The recipe appeared in 1942 year at Havana Bar, belonging to the family Martinez. Institution still works.

MojitoStructure: Bacardi white - 100 ml; soda (Sprite) - 200 ml; sugar syrup - 30 ml; mint - 15 leaves; lime - 1 thing; ice cubes - 500 gram.

Preparation: put mint in a glass, add the juice of one lime and sugar syrup. Then put several circles of lime and fill

the glass with ice up to the top. Pour the rum and soda, mix gently. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

3. CUBA LIBRE In the literal translation “free Cuba”. Name appeared in 1900 year, when an employee of the US Army Capt.

Russell drinking in a bar in Havana your favorite cocktail, consisting of rum, lime juice and cola. By chance, he learned, drink that has no name. Russell proposed to call it “Cuba Libre” in honor of the island’s independence from Spain. Now, this refreshing drink on a daily basis by millions of people.

Cuba LibreStructure: Bacardi Gold rum - 50 ml; Cola - 150 ml; ice cubes - 200 gram; lime - 40 gram.

Preparation: fill a tall glass with ice cubes, squeeze the juice into a quarter of lime.

Add rum and Coke and mix the cocktail spoon. Garnish with a few slices of lime.

For the mid-week home entertainment lovers, the Enetworks team has the perfect treat for you.

On Wednesday at 8PM, it will be airing Call of the Wild, a 2020 American adventure film based on Jack London’s 1903 novel of the same name. Directed

by Chris Sanders, in his live-action directorial debut, and his first film

without a co-director, the film was written by Michael Green, and stars Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford, and Colin Woodell.

Set during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, the film follows a dog named Buck as he is stolen from his home in California and sent to the Yukon, where he befriends an old outdoorsman and begins

a life-altering adventure.

The Call of the Wild was released in the United States on February 21, 2020, by 20th Century Studios.

It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Ford’s performance and the “entertaining action and earnest tone” but criticized the “uncanny” CGI of the animals. Do Enjoy.

Sparkling Wine of the Week: The Cavicchioli 1928 Rosé This bright and pale pink candy” coloured Rosé features white evanescent foam, fine and lingering perlage when poured and tasted. The wine has a fresh, fruity aroma, and a slightly

spicy aromatic taste with red fruit notes and a lingering aftertaste.

Cavicchioli 1928 Rosé is excellent as an aperitif with sweet and sour pairings. You can also pair it with risotto,

tortellini, seafood dishes, and fresh fruits.

It can be had at Ansa McAL’s Twee Gourmet Shoppe at the Giftland Mall.

Do enjoy and remember to drink responsibly.

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 51

Kaieteur News

A guide to effective facials and body care at home The face can be burdened with various kinds of problems when you least expect it. Sometimes, it can be oily, it can be dry, and it can be susceptible to acne etc. A great way to combat these problems is through the use of facials.

With a facial, the skin is initially cleansed in order to remove any oil, dirt or makeup. Then the skin is exfoliated, i.e. washed or rubbed with a granular substance to remove dead skin cells.

After this the skin is steamed to open the pores and soften the blackheads to get them ready for the extraction. The extraction involves gently squeezing around the blackhead to take it out of the skin.

After the blackheads have been extracted, you can massage your face to increase circulation then apply a mask. Different masks do different things for the skin. For example some masks help treat acne while others treat oily skin. The mask is then removed and the skin is moisturized for a healthy glow.

Facials done at home do not have to go through all of these steps. Cleansing, exfoliation, the mask and moisturizing of the skin are the necessary elements.

Cleanse your skin with your bath soap and warm water. While the face is still damp, rub baking soda on the face and neck to exfoliate it. After this, apply the mask, leave it on the face for the recommended amount of time, then wash or wipe it off.

When the mask is off completely, moisturize your skin with your usual moisturizer, cocoa butter, Shea butter or coconut oil/fat. You don’t have to go buy facial masks, when you can make your own homemade masks.

Here are just a few masks you can make.

Mask for oily skin: Get three teaspoons of banana, ½ teaspoon of honey, a few drops of lemon juice.

Combine them into an even paste. Apply to face and neck avoiding eyes. Leave on for 20 minutes then wash off with cool water. The lemon helps to get rid of excess oil on the face, while the banana rehydrates the skin.

Mask for dry skin: Get ½ of a very ripe, soft avocado (pear). Mash it and stir in ¼ cup of honey. Apply to the face and neck avoiding eyes.

Leave on for 10 minutes then rinse face with a cool washcloth. Avocado is a superb alternative for making homemade face masks for dry skin, as it contains a lot of oils.

Mask for acne-prone skin: In a blender, combine ½ cup of finely ground oatmeal, ½ of a ripe apple, a 2-inch slice

of unpeeled cucumber and 2 tablespoons of skimmed milk.

Consider slicing the apple and cucumber into tiny pieces for an easy blending process.

Once at a uniform consistency, apply the concoction onto the face for approximately 20 minutes.

Wash the mask off with warm water, followed by cold water to close your pores. This helps to reduce redness, oil and blackheads associated with acne.

Mask to reduce the appearance of blemishes: Mix together 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice along with a pinch of turmeric. Apply to the face and neck avoiding the eyes.

Wash away with cool water after 10 minutes. The citric acid in lemons attacks the pigments in your skin responsible for red or discolored blemishes, evening it out. Lemon juice will make blemishes less noticeable, but it can also lighten your skin tone and make you susceptible to sun damage, so always wear sunscreen when you go out.

BACK FACIALS Acne doesn’t affect the face alone. It can appear on the shoulders and back. A way to combat this is through back facials. However, back facials are not just for acne.

Back facials are similar to normal facials. They can help exfoliate the skin to get rid of dead skin cells and moisturize the skin. It can also be quite relaxing.

Like facials, the back is first cleansed and exfoliated. Then impurities and imperfections are removed from beneath the skin’s surface, after which a mask is applied. This mask is the removed and the skin is moisturized.

Depending on what treatment you want, the mask could vary. You can use a mask to hydrate the skin or to get rid of blemishes.

Sometimes, a neck, shoulder and back massage would be

included for relaxation purposes.

Regular back facials can be included in your beauty regimen once a month. It will reduce the appearance of acne and help you to unwind.

Since the back is generally a hard-to-reach spot, you can ask someone to assist you in your back facial or get it done professionally at a spa.

It must be noted, however, that pregnant women are not encouraged to have back facials done because they would have to lie on their stomach.

BODY SCRUBS Body scrubs is a type of beauty treatment in which the skin is cleansed, exfoliated and hydrated. The scrub is massaged into the skin, and then when the entire body is fully covered, the scrub is washed or wiped off.

The scrub itself is done with an abrasive material, such as sea salt, sugar, coffee grounds, or even rice bran that is mixed with a massaging or essential oil.

Other ingredients could be added to treat things like dry skin or eczema. Body scrubs can be a costly treatment at various spas.

With the help of a friend or partner or relative, you can make and apply your own homemade body scrub.

Mash together four ripe bananas (when they are starting to brown), 12 tablespoons of granulated sugar and a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or your favorite essential oil. Pat the mixture on then gently massage it over your body (minus the eye, crotch and anal areas). When the entire body has been covered, rinse off with warm water.

Pedicure and Manicure at home Every person loves to have gorgeous hands and exquisite legs. It is likely to get both with good care and beauty management at the comforts of your home.

Regular manicures and pedicures help to improve blood circulation, removes the dead skin and relaxes your

body and mind.

Here are a few steps to guide you through a manicure and pedicure at home.

Things required A plastic tub or basin Baby shampoo 1 tbsp. sea salt 1 lemon 2-3 drops of Dettol/antibacterial liquid soap Nail polish remover Cotton wool Pumice stone Nail clippers Nail file (comes along with a nail cutter) Nail brush Orange wood stick Olive oil Cuticle nippers Moisturizer Base coat Nail polish Top coat (optional) Method • Clean your hands/ feet well with soap and water.

• Remove any old nail polish using cotton and nail polish remover.

• Take lukewarm water in a basin, add a few drops of baby shampoo, a tbsp. of sea salt and the juice of one lemon. Soak your hands/feet in it for 10-15 minutes. Then lightly scrub and clean your nails with a soft bristled nail brush.

• Rub the pumice stone underneath your feet – especially on the balls, sides and heels of your feet – to remove dead cells. Then wipe your hands/feet dry.

• Cut the nails with a nail clipper and remove dirt from underneath the nail corners. The nails should be easier to cut and clean since it will be soft after soaking.

File your fingernail’s sharp ends and shape then as desired.

• Wipe toe nails and cut them straight across to avoid ingrown nails. File them using the nail file.

• Apply olive oil to the base of each nail and rub over your nails and message

gently.

• Gently push back the cuticles using the orange stick in circular movement.

• Wash hands/feet and pat them dry with a towel.

Dry between fingers and toes well. Massage your feet and hands gently with a moisturizer. Wipe nails with cotton wool to remove any excess moisturizer left on the nail bed.

• Now it’s time to apply nail polish on your fingernails.

• Apply a base coat first and let it dry. Then apply two coats of your desired nail polish. Then finish it off with a thin top coat. This will help your nail polish last longer.

• For your feet, separate the toes by placing cotton between them or use ready-made toe separator to separate the toes before applying polish.

• Lastly wrap the tip of an orange wood stick in cotton wool, dip it in polish remover and remove traces of polish left on the skin to give a neat appearance. If you do not want to paint your nails, just leave it as it is or you can buff your nail with a nail buffer.

Give yourself home manicures and pedicures once in a month following these simple steps and pamper your hands and feet!

Placing the spotlight on Postnatal Mental Illness When a mother is ill, it affects not only her, but her immediate family, her partner, friends and acquaintances. It makes her incapable of functioning at work or at home. The sufferer finds it very difficult to be honest about with is happening.

They often feel embarrassed and always feel helpless. This illness can take on three forms. They include: Ï% The “Baby Blues” (40-80% of all mothers) Ï% P o s t n a t a l Depression (0-30% of all mothers) Ï% Postnatal Psychosis (0.1 -0.2% of all mothers) The “Baby Blues” This affects the majority of women following the birth of a baby. The new mother becomes weepy, tense, anxious and very emotional on about the third or fourth day after delivery. Often, this is baffling for an unprepared new father, who cannot understand what is happening to his normally happy wife. The “Blues” are thought to be due to one, or a combination of the following factors: -A sudden change in hormone levels following birth.

-Further hormonal

changes as breast-milk is established.

-The arrival of a longawaited baby and the realization that life will never be the same again.

Whatever the cause, the “Blues” are likely to be shortlived. The reassurance that this is “normal”, and that it is the result of hormonal changes, is usually enough to help the mother cope with it.

Postnatal / Postpartum Depression Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that can affect women after childbirth.

It affects 10-15 percent of new mothers. Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others.

Postpartum depression does not have a single cause, but likely results from a combination of physical and emotional factors.

Postpartum depression does not occur because of something a mother does or does not do.

After childbirth, the levels of hormones (estrogen and progesterone) in a woman’s body quickly drop. This leads to chemical changes in her brain that may trigger mood swings. In addition, many mothers are unable to get the rest they need to fully recover from giving birth. Constant sleep deprivation can lead to physical discomfort and exhaustion, which can contribute to the symptoms of postpartum depression.

Postnatal Depression affects 10-30% of all mothers.

It may appear as a continuation of the “Blues” but develops slowly over the months that follow the birth of the child. It is also extremely likely to be found in women who have been depressed during pregnancy.

It is thought to be caused by the interaction of: Ï% B i o l o g i c a l / physiological factors Ï% Social factors Ï% Stress Ï% Personality factors Symptoms The mother often becomes increasingly angry, weepy, tired, anxious, panicky, and generally overwhelmed. She may be unwilling to leave the house and or afraid to be alone. Her moods are likely to be unpredictable; she loses enjoyment of life and of her usual interests, including sex. Her confidence disappears; she can’t sleep normally; her eating patterns change. She feels that her life is out of control; she may want to harm herself or her baby; she may contemplate, or even attempt suicide.

PAGE 54

Nutrients for Healthy Skin Healthy Fats This is how your skin gets its “glow.” Too little fat in your diet can make your skin wrinkled and dry.

Focus on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from plants like nuts, seeds, and avocados and from fish. These help your skin stay moist, firm, and flexible, and they’re better for your heart than saturated fats.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a kind of polyunsaturated fat, which your body can’t make but needs to build cell walls. They also block a chemical that lets skin cancer grow and spread, and they may lower inflammation.

Protein Your body turns the proteins you eat into building blocks called amino acids and reuses them to make other proteins, including the collagen and keratin that form the structure of skin. Amino acids also help slough off old skin.

Some amino acids are antioxidants that protect skin cells against UV rays and from “free radicals” made when your body breaks down certain foods or is around cigarette smoke.

Vitamin A Both the upper and lower layers of skin need vitamin A. It seems to prevent sun damage by interrupting the process that breaks down collagen. Since it’s an antioxidant, it may give your skin some protection against sunburn (although not as much as wearing sunscreen). It helps the oil glands around your hair follicles work and may also help cuts and scrapes heal, especially if you’re taking steroids to reduce inflammation.

Without enough vitamin A, your skin might get dry and itchy or bumpy.

Vitamin C Think “C” for collagen: This vitamin helps the twisted web of protein hold its shape. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, protecting you from free radicals and possibly lowering your chance of skin cancer. Low levels of vitamin C can cause easy bruising and bleeding gums, as well as slower-healing sores.

Vitamin E This antioxidant and anti-inflammatory can also absorb the energy from UV light, which damages skin and leads to wrinkles, sagging, and skin cancer. It works with vitamin C to strengthen cell walls.

Zinc The outer layer of your skin has five times more of this mineral than the layer underneath. Zinc helps your skin heal after an injury.

It’s needed to keep cell walls stable and for cells to divide and specialize as they grow.

Zinc may protect skin from UV damage because of the way it behaves in relation to other metals in your body, like iron and copper. It also acts like an antioxidant.

Too little zinc can look like eczema, but the itchy rash won’t get better when you put moisturizers and steroid creams on it.

Selenium Selenium is a mineral that helps certain antioxidants protect your skin from UV rays. Selenium deficiency has been linked with a greater chance of skin cancer.

Foods and Supplements In general, fruits and vegetables are good choices because they have skin-friendly vitamins and other antioxidants.

Some foods pack more than one nutrient for your skin, which often helps them work better: • Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, tuna): protein, omega-3s, selenium • Leafy dark greens (kale, spinach, collards): vitamins A, C, and E; omega-3s; protein — plus selenium in spinach • Eggs: protein, vitamins A and E, selenium, zinc • Flaxseeds: omega-3s, selenium • Legumes (lentils, chickpeas): protein, zinc • Avocados: healthy fats, vitamins C and E • Extra virgin olive oil: healthy fats, vitamin E Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned you’re not getting enough of these key nutrients from your food to make sure supplements won’t affect your health in other ways.

Fish oil is a source of omega-3s, for example, but taking it may not be a good idea if you’re on blood thinners or have a weakened immune system. And zinc supplements can make some antibiotics less effective. https://www.webmd.c om/beauty/nutrients-forhealthy-skin#2

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27, 2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Quick and Fascinating Facts About the Human Body https://brightside.me/article/100-quick-and-fascinating-facts-about-the-human-body-38305/

· You can lose 150 calories per hour if you hit your head against the wall. · Human beings are the only animals which can draw straight lines. · Human skin is completely replaced about 1,000 times during a person’s lifetime. · A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day is doing the equivalent of drinking half a cup of tar a year. · Women blink about two times less often than men. · The structure of the human body contains only four minerals: apatite, aragonite, calcite, and crystobalite. · A passionate kiss causes the same chemical reactions in the brain that skydiving and firing a gun do. · Men are officially classified as dwarves if their height is below 1.3 m, whereas for women the measure is 1.2 m. · Fingernails grow about four times faster than your toenails. · People with blue eyes are more sensitive to pain than others. · Nerve impulses in the human body move at about 90 m/s. · 100,000 chemical reactions occur in the human brain every second. · Everyone has dimples on their lower back, but on some people they are more pronounced than on others. They appear where the pelvis joins with the sacrum, so their appearance makes sense. · If one identical twins lacks a certain tooth, the other twin will not have that tooth either. · The surface area of the human lungs is approximately equal to the area of a tennis court. · During a person’s lifetime, they spend about 2 weeks kissing. · The facial hair of a blonde-haired man grows faster than that of a man with dark hair. · Leukocytes in the human body live for two to four days, and erythrocytes for three to four months. · The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. · The human heart is approximately equal in size to that of a person’s fist. An adult’s heart weights 220-260 grams. · At birth, there are 14 billion cells in the human brain.

This number does not increase throughout a person’s lifetime. After 25 years, the number of cells falls by 100,000 every day. About 70 cells die in the minute it takes you to read a page in a book. After 40 years, the decline of the brain accelerates sharply, and after 50 years neurons (that is, nerve cells) shrink and the brain gets smaller. · At birth, a child’s body is made up of around 300 bones. But an adult has just 206. · During a person’s lifetime, the small intestine is about 2.5 meters. After they die, the muscles in the walls of their intestine relax, and it’s length increases to 6 meters. · Your right lung can take in more air than your left. · An adult person performs around 23,000 inhalations and exhalations a day. · The smallest cells in a man’s body are sperm cells. · There are about 40,000 bacteria in the human mouth. · Each of us has around 2,000 taste buds. · The human eye can distinguish 10 million different colours. · The chemical compound in the body which causes feelings of ecstasy (phenylethylamine) is also contained in chocolate.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 55

PAGE 56

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 57

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 65

Book Review…Teachings of a Mystic Turquoise-fronted Amazon (Amazona...

From page 42 extravagantly expressed, the ethereal body, in the process of detaching itself, or which has already detached itself and is standin g b y t h e physical body, can hear and feel and be so touched by the lamentations that a feeling of pity arises within him.

He wishes now to say a few words of consolation to his friends, but to make himself understood to them he needs his physical brain. The effort to reconnect his ethereal b o d y w i t h his physical body, stops the process of disconnection which had already set in, or was, indeed, perhaps already accomplished; and the result of being drawn back into his physical body is, that he again must suffer the pangs that were already past.

“When the process of detachment begins afresh, it is much harder and more painful and even takes some days to accomplish.

This is what is called the long fight for life, which is, indeed, painful. It is unnec-

essary suffering for the dying man and an utter want of consideration on the part of the bystanders.”

On this matter, Abd-RuShin is palpably unequivocal.

“Absolute peace should reign in the chamber of death — a gravity suitable to the importance of the hour.

Those people who cannot control themselves should be forcibly removed even if they be the nearest relations.”

Divers subjects abound, subjects that beguile the most disengaged among us. ‘Astrology,’ ‘Occultism,’ ‘Intuition,’ ‘The AntiChrist,’ ‘The Holy Grail,’ ‘Sex,’ ‘Marriage,’ and even Christ’s last words, ‘Father, Forgive them, for they know not what they do,’ are insightfully explored.

Abd-Ru-Shin’s heterodoxy was strongly challenged during his lifetime.

Today, his precepts are embraced by the New Age Movement, and others outside the religious fold.

His work invites reflection and stirs debate not unlike the early days of Christianity when Gnosticism and Manichaeism held sway only

to be bedeviled. Fortunately, followers of Abd-Ru-Shin do not risk meeting a similar fate.

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

F e e d b a c k : glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby Email: glenvilleashby.com Publisher: New World Herald Publishing Copyright 2020 Available at Amazon Ratings: Highly recommended Contains the original translation of the Great Edition of the Grail Message (“Im Lichte der Wahrheit”) of Abdruschin, which was initially published in Germany in 1931 by “Der Ruf Verlag”.

This translation from German into English was authorized by Abdruschin himself and was first published in 1934.

The format and the layout in this book follow the German original of 1931, which is why the pagination differs from the 1934 translation.

From page 43 as a crop pest in parts of its native range.

Paradoxically, illegal trade may have contributed to expansions of the range of this parrot: It is becoming common in Rio de Janeiro, which is not a part of its historical range, something attributed to escaped caged birds.The turquoise-fronted amazon is commonly seen as a pet, both in South America and other parts of the world. Their talking ability varies greatly from individual to individual, but some speak nearly as well as the yellow-headed amazon group (yellow-naped, Panama, yellowcrowned, double yellow-headed. They seem to have a proclivity for singing. They require

interaction but also can play with toys contently for several hours at a time. Pets require plenty of toys, perches, and climbing room. As with some other birds, under no circumstances are turquoise-fronted amazons to eat avocado. Some individuals, particularly males, can be aggressive in spring, the mating season.An extremely rare red (or chocolate raspberry) mutation of the species appeared in captivity in 2004, bred by the psittaculturist Howard Voren. The

mutation results in yellow plumage being replaced by that of a red/pink hue and greens with a chocolate-brown, with the depth and intensity of colour varying by location upon the body. (Source: Wikipedia)

PAGE 66

Toddler dies after drinking ‘Molly’-laced milk

A toddler died, yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) days after he reportedly ingested milk mixed with ‘Molly’, a street drug.

Dead is Ronaldo Dave, 2, of ‘C’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Kaieteur News was told that the child was taken to GPHC on September 5, in a critical condition.There, doctors discovered that the toddler’s system had methamphetamine, an illegal drug commonly known as ‘Molly’.

The police were contacted and the child’s aunt was detained for questioning and sub-

Sunday September 27,2020

Kaieteur News

sequently released.

According to Commander of ‘A’ Division, Simon McBean, the woman had told investigators that her brother had mixed the drug in a glass of milk for his own consumption and left it on a table.

The toddler reportedly located the glass of milk and consumed it before his uncle returned.Within minutes, the child fell unconscious and had to be rushed for immediate medical attention.

He was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he remained until he died.

Pirates steal fishermen’s ration despite being served lunch and dinner Fishing vessels docked in the Waini River (Guyana Chronicle photo)

Heavily armed pirates dressed in military attire, on September 15, forced their way onto a fishing vessel and stole ration from its crew despite being served breakfast, lunch and dinner.

According to captain of the vessel, Devanand Singh, the Spanish-speaking pirates boarded his boat at around 18:00hrs, while he and his crew were catching fish in the south west of the Waini River, North West District (NWD), Region One. The men, whom Singh described as the Venezuelan military, held the fishermen hostage and accused them of fishing illegally in Venezuelan waters.

The pirates told Singh and his crew that they are going to lock them up in a Venezuelan prison for the illegal act.

However, Singh said that he told the pi-

rates that their accusations were false based on a reading from his GPS, which showed that they were in Guyana’s territory.

The men, Singh said, agreed with him and admitted that they were the ones acting illegally. The gunmen then proceeded to inform the fishermen that they were on the vessel to steal.

Singh continued that pirates even gave an explanation as to why they were going to rob them.

“They explained that they are starving in Venezuela and needed to feed their families”, said Singh.

With this being said, continued Singh, the pirates told them that have been stealing cash, fish, food among other items from fishing boats in the Waini River.While being held (Continued on page 70)

Sunday September 27, 2020

Passengers hijack taxi driver in Sophia The incident took place in Plum Park, Sophia

A taxi driver was yesterday held up and robbed of his white Toyota Allion, HD724, by his two passengers at Plum Park, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The taxi driver, Aszol Mohamed, 37, had his car stolen at around 15:30hrs.

According to Mohamed’s wife, two masked men had approached Mohamed at Top Notch Taxi Service base, located on the West Coast Demerara (WCD).

The men hired Mohamed and told him that they were heading to Plum Park.

When Mohamed arrived at the location, the men pulled out hand guns, beat Mohamed and threatened to shoot him if he did not step out of the car.Fearful for his life, Mohamed obeyed, and the men sped off with the vehicle.

A report was subsequently lodged at the Turkeyen Police Station.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 67

PAGE 68

Kaieteur News

CONSUMER CONCERNS

BY PAT DIAL ome months ago, this column carried an article on mint.

The article treated mint as a folk medicine but did make some reference to peppermint oil.

In this offering, we will be dealing with approximately 20 uses of peppermint oil and although the uses identified are different from each other, the peppermint treatment tended to be much alike.

We would, however, not try to consolidate the treatments but would deal with every use and its treatment individually.

Peppermint is derived

S

from a species of herb, Mint, which has over 20 varieties but the two varieties most known are Peppermint and Spearmint.

The main important component of these Mint species is menthol and peppermint oil is extracted from the peppermint plant.

Peppermint oil was used for thousands of years and was known among the Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Indians.

Indeed, it is still an important item in modern Chinese pharmacopeia. Two Chinese produced peppermint-based products, Shilling Oil and Tiger Balm, are well-known and widely

Sunday September 27,2020

SOME USES OF PEPPERMINT OIL

used in Guyana.

In the 19th century, though peppermint oil was known and used in western countries even in producing other medicines, it was only in the last few generations that intensive research on it had been done.

Such researches found that peppermint oil could bring relief to several kinds of ailments including digestive problems; bacterial infection; inflammation; fatigue; muscular soreness; congestion; allergies; headaches; halitosis and bad breath.

Below we list a number of ailments and their peppermint

oil treatment.

(These were taken from a reputable publication on Alternative Medicine.)

Boosting of Energy: To improve mental and physical energy and clarity levels, inhale scent of peppermint oil throughout the day.

This may be done by an inhaler or merely sprinkling a few drops on a kerchief.

Getting rid of Dandruff: Peppermint oil possesses anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties which allows it to combat dandruff effectively.

Relieving Muscular Pain: The menthol in peppermint oil has significant anti-spasmodic and antipainkilling effects and a few drops mixed in coconut oil and massaged or rubbed on the muscles would bring relief.

Sore Joints: Sore joints and sore muscles are treated the same way with mixing a few drops of peppermint oil in coconut oil and rubbing the affected joints.

Reducing Allergies: Smelling the peppermint

oil directly or inhaling the vapour from a few drops mixed in very hot water could reduce allergy symptoms such as drainage and coughing.

Relieving Rashes and Itching: A few drops of peppermint oil in olive oil or coconut oil rubbed on the affected area would bring quick relief.

Insect Repellant: A few drops of peppermint oil in olive or coconut oil and rubbed on the exposed parts would repel mosquitoes and other bugs.

Calming Acne: A few drops of peppermint oil in olive oil rubbed on the affected area would allow the anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties of the oil to act.

Relieves Headaches: A few drops of the oil rubbed on the temples, neck and shoulders.

Relieves Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Bloating: The relief of bowel pain, distension and gas by mixing a few drops of peppermint oil

in any carrier oil and rubbing abdomen; ingest a few drops in water or in capsule form.

Reducing Nausea: Take peppermint oil capsule or a few drops at the outset of the symptoms of nausea and vomiting.

Freshen Breath: Many toothpastes and mouthwashes use peppermint. A few drops in water and gargle would help.

Kills toenail fungus: Four to five drops on the discoloured nail daily will allow its anti-microbial properties to act.

Relieves Stress: Peppermint oil is very popular in aroma-therapy and relaxes and refreshes by inhaling throughout the day.

Soothing Sore Throat: A few drops of peppermint oil in water and gargle.

Clearing Stuffy Nose: Inhaling peppermint oil would clear mucus congestion from the nose.

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

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 69

Police arrest GECOM’s chief, Keith Lowenfield, in ongoing elections fraud probe Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, was yesterday arrested and subsequently released on conditional bail as investigators continue their probe into the protracted March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Giving an update, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), in a statement, revealed that investigators from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary arrested Lowenfield and put several allegations of criminal conduct to him in the presence of his attorney.

The police said that Lowenfield, after being told of the allegations, opted to exercise his right to remain silent. Thereafter, a confrontation was held between the CEO and a witness, and according to the force, once again Lowenfield opted to remain silent.

According to the state-

ment, the police having concluded other aspects of the investigative process, released Lowenfield on station bail on the condition that he reports to the CID Headquarters on Monday.

The force also reported that several other persons were arrested along with Lowenfield.

Already, the CEO is facing private criminal charges from the ruling People’s Progressive Party/C (PPP/C) member, Desmond Morian, and The New Movement Party (TNM) executive, Dr. Daniel Josh Kanhai.

The first charge alleged that Lowenfield, between the 5th day of March and 23rd day of June, 2020, at Georgetown, conspired with person(s) unknown to commit the common law offence of fraud, to wit, by representing to the Guyana Elections Commission that tables attached to his Election Report dated 23rd June, 2020, accu-

rately reflected the true results of the said election, in order to materially alter the results of the said election, with intent to defraud, knowing the said tabulation to be false.The second charge stated that between the 5th day of March and 23rd day of June, 2020, while performing his duty as the Chief Elections Officer of The Guyana Elections Commission, without lawful excuse or justification, willfully misconducted himself at Georgetown, by ascertaining results of the 2nd March, 2020 General and Regional Elections for Guyana knowing the said results to be false, the said willful misconduct amounting to a breach of the public’s trust in the Office of the Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission.

The third charge alleges that Lowenfield accepted falsified figures from the District Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, knowing

that the said figures do not match the results from the National Recount.

The particulars of that charge allege that Lowenfield, between the 5th day of March and 23rd day of June, 2020, at Georgetown, conspired with person(s) unknown to (Continued on page 70)

Chief Executive Officer, Keith Lowenfield

PAGE 70

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

TIPS FOR IMPORTERS OF PRODUCTS MONITORED BY THE GNBS

STANDARDS IN FOCUS FOR RENT

SERVICES

VACANCY

Visa Forms Preparer.

Tel#626-7040, Publish your Death Annoucements & In Memoriams online. Email: dthmemo@gmail.com

Experience Maintenance and Labour Workers Interested persons to Contact 621-6969 or 615-7784

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Repairs,Services,Spares to Wa s h i n g M a c h i n e Refridgetor Store, Treadmill, Deepfryer,Cooler,Dryer, Grains mill. Call: 694-9733 House Plan Drawing, Estimates General Construction Work. Foundation ETC Call 216-0671, 692-8464 or WhatsApp 622-0267.

For all your Building Construction or Renovation needs call Quantum Investments Inc on 5926115236,503-0457.

Maid to cook & clean.

Call:#615-9132 Truck Mechanic to work in the Interior. Contact:#223-5273/74 School teachers are invited to submit applications. Attractive salary based on qualification and experience: educationgy3@gmail.com One experience person to assemble bicycle.Apply at Alabma Trading 65 Robb Street,Bourda Porters.Apply at Alabma Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda One Clerk for Eccles Office.English & Mathematics, Grade 1 or 2.Email a p p l i c a t i o n t o techserigy@yahoo.com Mechanic,Fitter/ Machinist,Welder fabricator & Male cleaner.Apply in person at 18-23 Industrial

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVECAR RENTAL: CARS & SUV’S CALL : 656-0087 /643- 5122 E M A I L : pro_autorental@yahoo.com VEHICLE FOR SALE Pitbull BRR579.Call:#6820433 Honda Fit Shuttle Hybird 2012 (Gasoline) PYY Series, Good Condition Call 6211076

PEN PAL Male Seeking Female Whatsapp Tel#698-6391

FOR SALE House and Land available at Parfaite Harmony, Providence, Enmore 77 Village and more:#223-6035,227FOR SALE 8274,604-7920 House and Land for Sale at Agriculture E.C.D.Tel:#6398076 Lot 8 Tuschen New Housing Scheme,3 bedroom concrete.Tel:#682-1069

Dynamic Individual with cxc Maths/ English Sales Stocking Experience Apply KeyFood Mc Doom Village.

Female Accounts Clerk, 2035yrs at Harry Rambaran Investments, 28 Meadow Bank, G/ Town, Tel: 231-8737 Vacancy for a Cleaner Care taker Man For Evening Jon. Call: 627-1154.

GR TAXI. CALL: 24 HRS 219-5000 227-2100 225-7878 227- 1982 PROPERTY FOR SALE House and Land For Sale Call 621-6969 or 615-7784 Serious Inquires Only Thomas Street, Broad & Durban Street, Georgetown Enterprise & Paradise East Coast, Zeelot West Coast Contact Ray's Realty 6279685 LAND FOR SALE We buy land in Eccles, Providence, Herstelling, Farm, Covent Garden, Prospect & Parfaite Harmonie, Cash.

Tel#648-1635/ 627-0753 Batchelor's Adventure, Pradise East Coast, Thomas Street Middle Rd La- Penitence, Kuru Kururu Dalgin 33 Arce Contact Ray's Realty 627-9485

1 Bedroom Apartment to Rent Working Couple No Kids 6642861.

One Bedroom, Two Bedroom & Three Bedroom Apartment Furnished All Included, Providence & Diamond 672-1906, 682-6238, 216-2299 PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 2 and 3 Bedroom fully furnished luxury apartments to rent.Long and Short term.

Tel:#682-2585 2 Bedroom Apartment Furnished AC, Hot & Cold, Brand New Eccles Call 624-884.

1 Bedroom Apartment Ac, Eccles, Newly Renavated $50,000 Call 624-8884.

Fully Grilled one Bedroom Apartment in Grove E.B.D Preferbaly Couple Tel#6188878 Residence: Diamond & Pearl East Bank, Business: Kitty (Funished Restaurant), Hadfield & Saffon Street Garden Of Eden (Office & Bond) Ray's Realty 627-9685 Two Bedroom Bottom Flat For Rent Apartment Located In Diamond, New Scheme Tel#655-4464 Apartments/Office Space.Apartments:$85,000$ 9 5 , 0 0 0 & Office:$200,000neg.16 Ketley Street,Charlestown G/ Town.#227-6551/687-6008 Fully Furnished Luxurious 4 Bedrooms Apartment Large Kitchen, Living Room Dining & Laundry Room Call 6168842/ 226-9337.

This is usually the time of the year when importers engage in the purchase of a wide variety of products for sale in Guyana during the quicklyapproaching Christmas season.

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is cognizant of this and takes this opportunity to remind all importers of products it monitors to ensure that they acquire products meeting the requirements of the relevant Guyana Standards.

The GNBS monitors Domestic Electrical/Electronic Appliances, Weighing and Measuring Devices, Textiles, Garments, Footwear, Safety Helmets, Safety Matches, New and Used Tyres, Gas Stoves, Cigarettes, PVC Pipes, Furniture, Christmas Tree and Decorative Lighting Outfits, Cellular Phones, Gold Articles and Electrical Equipment and fittings.

The GNBS, therefore, reminds importers of the following: -To register with the GNBS for the current year by completing and submitting to the Bureau the prescribed application form along with a copy of the business registration form and registration fee.

-To acquire the relevant National Standards from the GNBS for products imported, to ensure the importation of standard-compliant goods.

-To submit samples of new products to GNBS for approval, before the importation to avoid sub-standard products and rejection.

-To have consignments of commodities examined by Inspectors of the GNBS at the Ports-of-entry or Warehouses, before clearance and sale in the country.

-To make timely arrangements with the GNBS to fa-

cilitate the examination of products at the Ports-of-entry simultaneously with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

-To ensure that products imported are for the purpose intended and are safe for use.

Importers should purchase from sources that issue warranties which could be easily passed on to consumers.

-To ensure that any brochure, instruction manual, leaflet, etc., which are associated with products, are in English Language and accompany the product at the time of sale.

-To facilitate periodic inspections by GNBS Inspectors at their premises including warehouses and workshops. Records relating to the operation of the premises should also be available for checks by Inspectors of the Bureau. All records such as copies of invoices, customs documentation, bills of sale, etc. must be properly kept and should be easily retrievable.

-To ensure, where necessary, that imported products bear a national or international certification mark from a regulatory body in the country of origin, or a certificate of quality compliance should be sub-

mitted to the GNBS to verify the quality of the product imported. Compliance certificates should be obtained from an independent Certification Body, a National Standards Body or the relevant regulatory body.

Importers are urged to check their products received to ensure conformance to the quality specification and to detect any deterioration in quality or other damage during storage and transportation. In addition, importers should address complaints received from customers regarding products purchased.

Finally, importers must desist from using the name of the GNBS in any advertisement or promotional material in relation to the sale of any product and ensure that all products imported are in metric (SI) units.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper) For further information, visit the Guyana National Bureau of Standards at Exhibition Site, Sophia or its website: www.gnbsgy.org or call 219-0062, 219-0065, 2190066.

Pirates steal fishermen’s...

From page 66 hostage by the pirates, the fishermen cooked them breakfast, lunch and dinner but despite this, the gunmen still went ahead and stole the fishermen’s ration along with cell phones and other electronic gadgets.

The pirates then forced Singh to tow their boat-which had mechanical issues, to

Barima.

Without food supplies, Singh said, they were forced to cut their fishing trip short and return to Georgetown.

Apart from lodging a report with police, Singh also wrote a letter to the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, requesting more Coast Guards presence in the south west area, Waini River.

Police arrest GECOM’s chief...

From page 69 commit common law fraud, to wit, by representing to the Legal Notice Guyana Elections CommisWANTED sion, that tables attached to Vacancy for an experienced his Election Report dated 14th domestic maid Call:6271154 day of March, 2020 accurately Mature Domestic help Strong reflected the true results of Knowledge of Creole Food, the said election, in order to Live-in help Tel#684-7526/ materially alter the results of 656-9313.

the said election, with intent to defraud, knowing the said tabulation to be false.

The police are continuing their investigations.

The elections impasse, which last five months, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the country for that period.

One Canter Driver Experienced From page 63 in Selling Water. Contact 678- added, has tried to comply Male Night Guard to work in 1234 Howes St Charlestown. with the Constitution as far as Oleander Garden.Age 40 to reasonably practicable, citing 55.Tel:#225-9304,618-9186 We buy land in Eccles, Provi- the unconstitutional events dence, Herstelling, Farm, over the last five months.

Domestic- Contact 223-5273/ Covent Garden, Prospect & Further, he said, the PPP/ 223-5274 Parfaite Harmonie, Cash. C had indicated that a StateTel#648-1635/ 627-0753 ment of Expenditure would be Live-in Domestic, cook, laid in the National Assembly.

Sawman & Boy's & Girl's For Wanted experience Baker, “Mr. Forde wants to lay a the Interior 661-7460 / 691- Pastry Maker & Statement of Expenditure in 3942 Handyman.Apply 112 3rd & compliance with 219 (3) at the Albert Street, Albertown. time when the Budget estiBody workman ark welding. Tel:#226-9000 or 225-6255 mates were laid.”

Tel:#668-7033 That, according to the AG Experienced cashier Roti/Puri would be “improper, and it is Administrative Assistant cook,sweet meat maker.Apply wrong.” Nandlall explained Ages 25-55 Please Call 644- Hack's Halaal,5 Commerce that Guyana is dealing with an Street.

2564. “unprecedented circum-

stance” where there has been no fiscal package for nine months and as such, all formalities could not be satisfied.

“In these circumstances, you try to satisfy the main substance of the law,” the Attorney General said.

“The Guyanese people would be familiar with the type of advice that came from that team of which Mr. Forde was a part. In my budget presentation, I have detailed the violations and desecrations which they have done to the rule of law and the Constitution repeatedly over the past five years while in government,” the AG added.

WANTED Backhoe Operator Tel#6663303/ 623-8285.

Someone to Milk Cow Contact 233-2049 or 668-7874 Driver/ Expediter Contact 223-5273/ 223-5274.

Forde’s arguments that PPP ...

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 71

Kaieteur News

PPP/C, APNU+AFC have stained Guyana’s infant oil industry with all the...

From page 3 Red Flag #4 – A company or individual with a history of controversy or criminal behaviour competes for, or wins, an award.

This red flag was the third highest occurring scenario under the examinations done

by NRGI. When the APNU+AFC government had to decide who would market its first three cargoes of oil from the Stabroek Block, the Energy Department last year announced that Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited (SWSTL) would do the job. The Energy Department had said that the factors which led to its decision included a competitive pricing that limits the Government’s exposure to market uncertainty; the size, scale and global reach of its trading operations; the company’s high level of integration between Upstream, Trading and Downstream; and Shell’s strong foothold in the Latin American markets, among other things. While these would all be deemed fair considerations, the Energy Department mentioned nothing about ruling out companies notorious for corruption.

In 2011, Global Witness showed how Shell participated in a vast bribery scheme for one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks, known as OPL 245, paying over US$1.1 billion to convicted money launderer and former oil Minister of Nigeria, Dan Etete, who had awarded himself ownership of the block in 1998 via a company he secretly owned, Malabu Oil and Gas. This is likely the world’s “biggest corruption scandal” as it has so been called, and Shell is currently on trial for the matter.

Red Flag #5 – A competing or winning company has a shareholder or other business relationship with a politically exposed person (PEP), or a company in which a PEP has an interest.

Red Flag #6 – An official with influence over the selection process has a conflict of interest.

Corruption red flags #5 & #6 involve SARA and its former Special Assistant, Eric Phillips. Phillips had been a pivotal player in the investigations started under the im-

mediate past government of the Kaieteur and Canje Block awards. As someone entrusted with a prominent function by the government, he was a PEP. He is a co-founder of the African Business Roundtable Oil and Gas Exploration, which applied in 2016 for a licence to explore Block C. It is a clear conflict of interest for Phillips to vie for ownership of an oil block, while he investigates awards of oil blocks. Phillips denied that there was a conflict, when it was reported by Kaieteur News, explaining that he left ABR Oil and Gas in September, 2018. However, the oil blocks probe started in May of 2018, which means he was conducting the investigation while still part of ABR. Phillips also denied that there was a conflict by contending that he did not own a block, but NRGI has noted that the red flag also exists during the application/competing stage.

The next three corruption red flags apply to the controversial Stabroek Block agreement granted in 2016 by former Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman.

Red Flag #7 – An official intervenes in the award process, resulting in benefit to a particular company Under the terms of the 1999 agreement, which ExxonMobil utilized to explore the Stabroek Block, there were relinquishment provisions. However, they were not strictly applied over the years, which led to Exxon holding on to a large acreage for almost two decades under that agreement. In 2016, before Exxon’s 2018 relinquishment date could come, Trotman decided to grant ExxonMobil a new agreement, using a ‘bridging deed’ which the government kept hidden from the public for four years.

When Kaieteur News did manage to get its hands on the deed, it was through a leak, and not that APNU+AFC decided to release it, of its own volition.

While the Deed seeks to ground itself in section 10 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act governing the oil and gas sector, a perusal of that section shows there is no mention of a Deed.

Attorney-at-Law and Char-

tered Accountant, Christopher Ram had explained this, writing that “[it] gives the Minister no power to enter into any Deed and certainly not one to breathe life into an expiring agreement”.

At the time of the signing of the Deed and the 2016 petroleum agreement, Trotman could have told ExxonMobil and its partners, CNOOC and Hess, that his authority was constrained by the law, Ram posited. Instead, according to Ram, he made an award, which he had no authority to make.

As a result, ExxonMobil is still in 2018, holding on to one of the largest blocks in the world. It has been in control of the block for over 20 years.

Red Flag #8 – A company provides payments, gifts or favours to a PEP with influence over the selection process.

NRGI stated that this is the highest occurring red flag in the scenarios it studied. It was Global Witness that earlier this year revealed the circumstances under which Trotman was treated to a lavish trip to ExxonMobil’s Texas headquarters. “He had flown first class, was staying at a pricey hotel nearby, and would dine at Exxon’s exclusive Wolfgang Puck restaurant– all on the company’s dime.” Global Witness wrote.

It said, given the former minister’s legal responsibility for negotiating the licence, Exxon’s “apparent generosity” raises questions about the company’s compliance with its Gifts and Entertainment Policy. When questioned on this, the company said it is “committed to the highest standards of business conduct.”Trotman said that he did not consider the situation untoward, as he was accompanied by other officials.

Red Flag #9 – The agreed terms of the award deviate significantly from industry or market norms The lopsidedness of this agreement cannot be understated. Years of coverage of various provisions of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) have led this newspaper to conclude that the deal is unfair to Guyana. Even Global Witness said that Trotman left US$55B on the table due to the poor nature of the deal.

The most prominent provision is the two percent royalty, which is well below the international norm, especially for oil as valuable and as cheap to produce as Guyana’s. Though the royalty has taken centre stage, the contract has been criticised as poor “through and through”. The country has been urged, time and time again, to renegotiate the deal in a manner that reflects the dignity of its patrimony. Both major parties have refused.

Red Flag #10 – Competition is deliberately constrained in the award process Overseas secrecy jurisdictions are used by several oil companies, which have interests in Guyana’s oil blocks to prevent the disclosure of various details when transactions are made.

Places like Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands have been used by companies like ExxonMobil to hide information.

Financial secrecy facilitates corruption, and the incorporation of oil and gas companies in secrecy jurisdictions serves the purpose

of obstructing and distorting fair competition. For example, by hiding the cost of a licence, the company awarded the licence inhibits other companies from being able to compete with it.To combat this, Guyana can amend the law to require the release of financial information in the conduct of its own transactions.

Red Flag #11 – A company uses a third-party intermediary to gain an advantage in the award.

This red flag applies to the granting of the contract to draft Guyana’s local content policy under the previous administration. While internationally respected Trinidadian local content expert, Anthony Paul, worked on previous drafts of the policy, the David Granger administration ultimately replaced Paul with a UK consultant, Dr. Michael Warner. Warner had been contracted by ExxonMobil to work on its Centre for Local Business Development. Despite Kaieteur News identifying this as a clear conflict of interest, the Granger administration allowed him to

finalise the policy, which has been criticised for ignoring private sector recommendations, removing several vital provisions included by Paul, and including confidentiality provisions, which inhibit the fullest scrutiny of oil companies’ local content commitments.

Red Flag #12 – A payment made by the winning company is diverted away from the appropriate government account.

The former APNU+AFC government hid from the Guyanese public for over a year that it had received a signing bonus from ExxonMobil of US$18M at the time of inking the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement. When asked about it, government officials maneuvered their way out of acknowledging receipt of the bonus. Part of the reason why it was kept secret for so long is the use of a secrecy jurisdiction by ExxonMobil. The money was deposited into the Consolidated Fund in May of 2019, three years after it was received from the oil major.

PAGE 72

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Holness Calls For Greater Cooperation To Reduce Global Inequalities And Risks The Gleaner - Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for greater investments and strengthened international cooperation to address significant global inequalities and to lower risks that continue to retard development.

In a pre-recorded address to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, Holness said the pandemic, for instance, has exposed and compounded gross inequalities in the delivery of health care, as health systems come under strain; and risks, especially for the elderly and those living with non-communicable diseases, rise.

He said greater investment in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) must become priority.

“The pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of investing in noncommunicable diseases’ prevention and care. Bridging the investment gap for NCDs must, therefore, be at the central pillar for our response to the pandemic and health security,” he said, pointing out that given the limited fiscal space, the Government of Jamaica has taken a whole of government approach to the crisis, while mobilising the support of citizens.

Gender inequalities, digital divide have deepened The prime minister also argued that the pandemic has deepened inequalities to the disadvantage of women and girls, exposing more to domestic violence and loss of livelihood. He said the government is taking steps to ensure its response to the COVID-19 crisis takes into

account the plight of women and girls.

“We are committed to furthering our engagement of the UN and our international partners to implement The Spotlight Initiative and increase our advocacy through mechanisms, such as the Group of Friends and Women, Women’s Economic and Gender Parity and Women’s Peace and Security,” he told the UN General Assembly.

Holness also underscored that the pandemic has exposed the extent of the global digital divide, noting that half the world has no access to the internet, even though the pandemic has accelerated the need for developing countries to adopt a digital approach towards development, and has provided opportunities for them to leap frog. “We call on the global community to respond with increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation in this area, which promises exponential increase in human capacity and economic dividends,” he said. He said Jamaica is heartened by the clarity for action demonstrated by ministers with responsibility for the digital economy from G20 countries.“All hands and ideas must be deck for our national and collective digital resilience,” he said. He also noted that as coconvener for the high level event: Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond, along with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, Jamaica remains committed to developing solutions to enable countries to respond and recover.

Pressure on Guyana now ...

From page 8 Ministry of Public Health.

The fepartment strives to continually enhance our standards and service to clients and the people of Guyana.”

According to the GAFDD, the department’s immediate plan is to redouble efforts to ensure revision of its archaic legislation, finalizing the project for its new and improved state-ofthe-art laboratory and office complex facility, and the complete digitization of the GA-FDD operating systems.

“These measures are geared towards realizing our strategic goals to offer superior service to clients, trade facilitation and guarantee consumer protection from substandard products.

Clients must take cognizance of the fact that being accredited infers that higher standards will be required of them to comply

with our Quality Management System. Substandard food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices imports will be an occurrence of the past.”

The department made it clear that document submissions and all requirements must now be met and there shall be no compromising of its system which will negatively impact on the status of accreditation.

“The Government Analyst - Food and Drug Department invites you to share in this accomplishment and work with us for the benefit and betterment of us all.

Strengthening confidence in the ability of our agency to adequately regulate our market is high priority, together with our commitment to supporting the growth and development of the agroprocessing, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in Guyana with an accredited Inspectorate Division and an accredited laboratory.”

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 73

PAGE 74

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 75

PAGE 76

A Stitch in Time:

T

he Eteringbang airstrip, an area in Region Seven which borders Guyana with Venezuela, was in need of repairs. It has been closed until tomorrow. Captain Orlando Charles is reportedly leading a team which is conducting repairs.

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27,2020

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

...Nat Sciver’s 82 seals the series as From page 74 unfurl a Natmeg, Sciver’s patented clip for four through the legs, but one ball later, Brunt undid her with a slower ball, pulled to deep square leg, and West Indies’ challenge went with her.

Fielding failings In a week in which most households been have turning on the heating for the first time this year, it was no day to be fielder at bracing Derbados. Not that chilly fingers were much of an excuse for Lee-Ann Kirby’s horrific drop in the second over off Wyatt - a ballooning parry off a full-throttle drive, that caused her to leave the field for treatment after

wearing the chance in her face.

Afy Fletcher had few excuses either when she gave Knight a life at short third man - it looked dramatic as she flung herself forward, but she had a long hard look at it as it hovered in the air.

Remarkably, neither miss cost West Indies dear, as both batsman fell moments later, but the frailties were revealing, and exposed a side that - for all its improvements - could still be pulled apart when the pressure was applied, as Sciver demonstrated superbly at the death.

Mind you, Sciver is

human after all, as Knight acknowledged after the match. She proved as much with an untimely spill off Dottin, on 43 at the time, a wipe to deep midwicket where she made good ground but let it burst through her fingers.

With a bit more support, it might have been a crucial m o m e n t , b u t Ta y l o r, bringing up the rear at No. 6, couldn’t find her top gear in time as her innings petered out to an insubstantial 14 not out from 13 balls.

Scores: England 154 for 6 (Sciver 82) beat West Indies 134 for 5 (Dottin 63) by 20 runs.

Sunday September 27, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) This could be a quiet day for you and your partner.

You could spend some time reflecting on past achievements and future goals. It's important to get a clear picture about the past so you can draw conclusions and make workable plans.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Someone who's been ill and perhaps undergone surgery might phone you today.

You could invite this person to join you for a little virtual social gathering.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) With the planetary atmosphere today, your sensual nature is in full bloom. If there's a romantic partner nearby, that person should be on guard!

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You might have to play nurse today. A love partner could claim to feel unwell, and you might expend a lot of energy trying to make your friend feel better.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You're generally focused on the material world, Leo, but something about the energy generated by today's planetary alignments causes you to look within.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A virtual group event could put you in contact with a number of people interested in doing a healing meditation for the planet. This sort of activity can work wonders to strengthen the bond among those performing it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Happiness reigns in the home as everyone feels the energy changing, Libra. It seems that the end of one cycle brings closure, and now you're free to start a new journey of rebirth.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Are you going to go away soon? If not, you may be planning a trip for another month, perhaps going for educational purposes, such as to attend a workshop.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Instinct and determination drive you toward unconventional plans for making money. A finance counselor or other professional could be involved.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today you may feel a passionate attraction for someone intelligent who perhaps makes a living in law, education, or publishing, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) This could be a quiet day for you and your partner, .

You could spend some time reflecting on past achievements and future goals.It's important to get a clear picture about the past so you can draw conclusions and make workable plans.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) All the positive energy generated by the celestial atmosphere seems to come together today as you experience a rush of sensual passion for a romantic partner, Pisces.

...RHTYSC, MS hosts Namilco From page 78 teams have announced that their next combined project would be the publication of thousands of Covid 19 educational posters that would be distributed free of cost across the county of Berbice.

The eleven by seventeen posters would be printed at the F and H Printery in Georgetown and would feature national youth cricketers Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall and Jeremy Sandia.

The posters would be played in all public institutions and distributed to schools, churches and sports clubs among others. Naidu, who heads the RHTYSC Covid 19 response committee, stated that the poster would seek to educate the general public on the dangers of the deadly disease and ways to stop its spread.

The ten cricket teams of the RHTYSC are Poonai Pharmacy Under 12 and Under 13, Farfan and Mendes Under 15, Bakewell Under 17 and Second Division, Pepsi under 19 and Intermediate, Metro Females, Namilco Under 21 and First Division teams.

PAGE 77

PAGE 78

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27, 2020

Nat Sciver’s 82 seals the series as Deandra Dottin’s riposte proves in vain ESPNcricinfo - England’s women sealed their T20I series against West Indies

with their third victory in quick succession, a 20-run triumph at Derby. The win was set up

by Nat Sciver’s 82 from 61 balls, the highest T20I score by an England women’s

player against West Indies, and sealed by another disciplined bowling display

that doused the lingering threat of Deandra Dottin, who once again top-scored for the visitors with 63.

After consecutive wins by a margin of 47 runs, the tighter scoreline was a reflection of West Indies’ clear improvements, as they shuffled their pack with changes in both personnel and tactics, with a new top three and as many as eight bowling options, including Dottin herself for the first time this series.

But on the day that England’s women returned to the BBC for the first time since 1993, England put on enough of a show to close out the series and show their new audience what they’ve been missing out on in the last 27 years, ever since Jo Chamberlain’s allround heroics sealed that year’s World Cup final against New Zealand.

England’s bowling hero was once again the legspinner Sarah Glenn, who was never afraid to give the ball air - stratospheric air at times - as she wheeled through her four overs for 18 runs, with two lbws in the process, both of them outfoxing ambitious slogsweeps as West Indies drowned in a rising required rate.

Sciver sets England’s platform With scores of 7 and 8 in the first two matches, it had been a lean time for England’s leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup. But faced with a surface that was significantly more sluggish than had been bargained for at the toss, Sciver found the perfect tempo to record her highest score in T20Is and secure England’s third 150-plus score of the series.

The key feature of her innings was Sciver’s measured leg-side play. She arrived in the midst of a twowicket third over, as Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt both fell to aggressive drives, and was faced from the outset with a wall of fielders in the covers, as West Indies challenged England to bludgeon their way through a disciplined off-stump line.

Her response was a series of flicks and nudges to challenge the fielders at deep midwicket, turning ones into twos on eight occasions with smart and athletic running.

Even so, with her teammates once again struggling to find the same fluency, England were in danger of leaving West Indies a tantalising 130odd target until a calculated and brilliant acceleration in the closing moments of her innings.

It began with a Jedi mind-trick of a reverse pull off Dottin, brilliantly anticipating the slowerball b o u n c e r, and continued into a 17-run penultimate over to wreck St a f a n i e Ta y l o r ’s previously economical figures.

She fell soon afterwards, trying one too many tricks with deliveries running out as she was bowled round her legs by Dottin, but on her watch England broke the shackles with 51 crucial runs in the final five overs of the innings.

Dottin defies once again The first sign that Dottin was in the mood came with her first delivery of the series - a whistling 70mph cutter that startled Heather Knight and confirmed that the management of her shoulder problem had been a success.

Her raw strength was plain to see in three lively overs that restored a cutting edge to West Indies’ attack, and she duly translated that into another pre-eminent display with the bat, a 56-ball 63 that maintained her side’s threat even as the required rate crept towards two runs a ball.

In contrast to England’s Powerplay approach, which had been a case of overambition from Beaumont and Wyatt, Dottin exuded cool power as she ransacked Katherine Brunt’s first over with a brace of swings over the leg side, then meted out similar treatment on Sophie Ecclestone’s first two balls to put West Indies right ahead of the rate at 27 for 0 after 14 balls.

Her progress was stymied, as so often in this series, by a lack of support at the other end. West Indies shuffled their top three to break up the power trio of Dottin, Taylor and Hayley Matthews and spread their threat further through the innings. But Kirby and Shemaine Campbelle, their replacements in the Powerplay, managed eight runs in ten balls between them. And though Matthews found some form with 21 from 23 at No. 5, she was outfoxed by a loopy legbreak from Glenn, as was Chedean Nation, one over later, via a review.

But Dottin wasn’t going to die wondering. A vast swipe for six over midwicket off Sciver kick-started her second wave, and after Mady Villiers’ sprawling take at long-off was shown on review to have bounced, she celebrated a 48-ball 50 by clonking her next two deliveries from Ecclestone for four. She even found time to (Continued on page 73)

Sunday September 27, 2020

PAGE 79

Kaieteur News

“My ultimate aim is to be a permanent member of the West Indies Team” - Kevin Sinclair The sky is the limit for West Indies Emerging Player, Berbician Kevin Sinclair an off-spinning all-rounder whose ultimate aim like so many other talented players, is to become a permanent member of the West Indies Senior team.

Soon to celebrate his 21st birthday on November 23rd next, Sinclair made his T20 debut in the just concluded CPL Championship as a member of the Guyana Amazon Warriors team against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Port of Spain, Aug 30.

And while his debut season in this exciting format of the game was not as hot, the talent he possess certainly puts him in good stead to become one of the stars across the various formats of the game.

Sinclair, who started playing the game at the age of 7 years-old and is a member of the award winning Rose Hall Town Youth And Sports Club (RHTY&SC) of Berbice, has already tasted some degree of championship

success at the regional level having been a member of the West Indies Emerging Players team that won the 2019 Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup. A true sportsman, Sinclair who is one of the contracted players by the Guyana Cricket Board disclosed that he also loves the sport of football especially when the world cup comes around.

His inspiration in the sport he has become a popular player in, cricket, is off-spinner Shane Shillingford who he subsequently played against in the Super50 competition.

Also a member of the Guyana Jaguars four-day team, Sinclair informed that he started playing the game at Police Sports Club, Angoy’s Avenue in Berbice.

His grandfather, Carlton Sinclair, also a former player played an integral role in shaping him into the player he has become.

Considering himself a positive role model to the many young players not only

Kevin Sinclair (3rd left) celebrates his maiden T20 wicket, Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Port-of-Spain, CPL 2020, August 30, 2020 ©Randy Brooks - CPL T20/Getty in Berbice but in Guyana as a whole, Sinclair said he is a stickler for being disciplined, training hard, a determined individual and learning from

his mistakes.

He is encouraging young players to also follow this pattern which will surely cement their

Gibbons focuses on getting scholarship - misses competition Guyana’s female Javelin record holder; Anisha Gibbons, during an interview with Kaieteur Sport recently, declared that this year she would’ve extended her record of 45m to even greater lengths after setting the milestone during the 2019 National Schools, Swimming, Cycling and Track & Field Championships.

The now 16-year-old Gibbons, who threw a

distance of 42m to win Guyana’s first Gold medal in the female Javelin event at the 2019 Carifta Games which was held over the Easter Weekend in the Grand Cayman Islands, revealed that like most other athletes who are in their final year of school, she is disappointed that she cannot get to compete at neither Carifta or ‘nationals’ this year.

The Bygeval fifth form student posited that she was

From left, Anisha Gibbons, Chantona Bright and Claudrice McKoy who all won gold at the 2019 Carifta Games.

more disheartened to miss the regional showpiece due to the COVID-19 pandemic because at Carifta she is competing against the best of best in the Caribbean while at home, the level of competition leaves a lot to be desired. The budding Architect discussed that she is currently preparing for the C.S.E.C. examinations next year and her goal is to do well at school so she can follow in the footsteps of some of Guyana’s recent student-athletes who have excelled both at sports and academics in the U.S. college

circuit.

The Ruralites athlete mentioned, “Persons like Joanna (Archer) I admire.

The way she has been able to focus on school and excel in athletics is inspirational and I will use her and the other Guyanese female student-athletes as my inspiration to do well.”

In conclusion, Gibbons posited that although all her focus is in school, she still finds time to stay fit under the guidance of her coach Raymond Daw while observing all health protocols.

Anisha and mom Linda Johnny

success not only in cricket but the sport if their choice. Sinclair has also become known for his ability to do the acrobatic

somersault flick after taking a wicket. He has performed such feats in the just concluded CPL as well as the Super50.

PAGE 80

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 27, 2020

F1 Russian GP: Hamilton takes pole despite Q2 scare Autosport - Lewis Hamilton claimed pole for Formula 1’s 2020 Russian Grand Prix despite nearly not setting a Q2 lap after Sebastian Vettel crashed, while Max Verstappen beat Valtteri Bottas to second.

Hamilton also faces a post-qualifying investigation for a track limits violation - along with Nicholas Latifi, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen - in Q1, and is the only driver in the top three who will start the race on the unfancied soft rubber as a result of his Q2 near-miss.

In that session, where spots of rain were reported early on, Mercedes sent both of its cars out on the medium tyres, as Red Bull did with Verstappen.

But both Hamilton and

Bottas were forced to do second runs on the harder rubber as the former had his time deleted for a track limits violation at the final corner and the latter’s first effort was underwhelming.

Bottas was then able set a time good enough to get him through to Q3, but Hamilton had to abort his second run when Vettel crashed at Turn 4 and the session was suspended.

The Ferrari driver appeared to clip the kerb on the inside of the right hander and the rear quickly got away from him, spinning into the wall on the outside and knocking his front wing which was struck by the closely following Charles Leclerc - and his right front wheel.

When the session restarted,

Mercedes sent Hamilton out on soft tyres, which means Bottas will start on the opposite strategy on the medium tyres along with Verstappen, who headed the pack urgently getting to the line to complete a final run with 2m15s on the clock after Vettel’s crash.

Verstappen was also running softs and looked to be improving on his previous Q2 best on the mediums, but he abandoned his run so he will take the start on the harder rubber, which is expected to be a better race tyre in what will be a one-stop event.

Hamilton, who slid wide at Turn 2 on his out lap as he ran down the queue of cars desperately trying to make it into the top 10 shootout,

crossed the line with barely a second remaining on the clock.

But he was able race around and get through with the fourth fastest time in Q2, which was headed by Ricciardo, with the last lap in the session and knocked out a frustrated Leclerc as a result.

In Q3, Hamilton led the way with a 1m31.391s, while Bottas had to close a 0.793s gap after the opening runs in the final shootout.

The Finn did improve on his final run, despite clouting the kerb at the exit of Turn 2, but was still 0.5s behind even before Hamilton completed his final lap - a 1m31.304s, which is a new track record and gives him his first pole in

Sochi since 2014.

Verstappen set his final lap much later than the two Mercedes and was running fractionally behind Bottas in the opening two sectors before he surged ahead with a rapid final sector to join Hamilton on the front row.

Sergio Perez will start fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz Jr, while Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon rounded out the top 10.

Daniil Kvyat took 12th for AlphaTauri ahead of Lance Stroll, who was pushed out of the queue before the urgent final Q2 laps with a suspected issue, and George Russell and Vettel.

Russell set his sole lap in Q2 when he ran solo during a

mid-session lull before Vettel’s crash and he went 0.5s quicker than his Q1 time, which had been enough to make it out of the opening segment for the first time in three races.

In Q1, Russell’s last-gasp improvement to reach Q2 knocked out Romain Grosjean, who will start 16th, as the Ferraris scraped through in P14 and P15 in the opening segment.

Antonio Giovinazzi ended up 17th ahead of Magnussen and Latifi, who, along with Grosjean, went into the final Q1 runs without a time set after being among the group of runners - also including Hamilton and Gasly - who had their opening laps deleted for cutting the kerbs at Turn 2.

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 81

Shubman Gill guides KKR to win, following impressive bowling show ESPNcricinfo - The Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back from their comprehensive defeat to the Mumbai Indians to ease past the Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on the back of an impressive performance from their varied bowling attack, which restricted the Sunrisers to 142 for 4. That was followed by a knock of 70 from Shubman Gill to anchor the chase, and there was also a valuable contribution of 42 from Eoin Morgan, in an unbeaten 92run partnership with Gill.

After eight matches in the tournament, it was only the second time that a chasing side clinched victory. The Sunrisers, however, had won the toss and opted to bat first - the first side so far to do that.

However, that also meant that it was the seventh game in a row where the team winning the toss lost the match. The Sunrisers are now the only team to remain winless in IPL 2020.

Cummins, Chakravarthy show the way with the ball With the Sunrisers’ best batsmen at the top of the order, the Knight Riders captain opted for an experienced new-ball pair, unlike in the game against Mumbai. Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins - who conceded 49 runs in three overs in his first match bowled tight lines against David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, not allowing the two batsmen to assert their dominance.

Bairstow survived on the review in the fourth over

after umpire Chris Gaffaney thought he had edged an attempted paddle off Cummins into the hands of Dinesh Karthik. The next ball, though, he was bowled trying drive a good-length ball that was coming in, out for 5 off 10.

Warner and Manish Pandey then consolidated, seeing out the rest of the powerplay, before Warner, then on 36, was caught and bowled in the tenth over, chipping one that went straight on from mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy playing his first game for the Knight Riders - back to the bowler.

Wriddhiman Saha, also playing his first game of the season, joined Pandey at No. 4, and although they batted for the next eight overs, the boundaries were few and far in between. Pandey looked to accelerate and struck three

fours and two sixes in his innings of 51, but was caught and bowled by Andre Russell in the 18th over while trying to get innovative with a full toss, ending a 62-run stand that came in 51 legal balls.

Mohammad Nabi hit two fours in the death overs and Saha was then run-out in the 20th for a 31-ball 30, but having conceded just 24 runs in their final three overs, the Knight Riders restricted the to 142 for 4, the third-lowest IPL total for any team that has lost four or fewer wickets in the last six seasons. Cummins conceded just 19 runs in his four overs as the Knight Riders used seven different bowlers - their premier wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav delivered just two overs.

Gill, Morgan ease KKR’s nerves after early stutter The Sunrisers’ left-arm pacers Khaleel Ahmed and T Natarajan struck early in the

chase, dismissing Sunil Narine for a duck and then Nitish Rana (for a 13-ball 26) to reduce the Knight Riders to 43 for 2 in the fifth over.

That soon became 53 for 3 when Dinesh Karthik was lbw to Rashid Khan.

But, at the other end, Gill was comfortable in the middle, standing tall to cut the balls from the left-armers that angled across, or punch ones that were under his eyes. He saw off the inswingers that Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled and held his own as three wickets fell at the other end.

When Morgan came in at No. 5, the England captain took to sweeping Rashid, surviving a few lbw counts but seemed to grow in confidence thereafter. Gill and Morgan rotated the strike in the middle overs, and Gill got his first fifty of the season by slicing a cut past point for four in the 13th

over. Together the pair saw off the rest of Rashid’s spell, and then a tricky few overs from allrounder Mohammad Nabi, but as the Knight Riders inched closer to the target, Morgan produced some big shots. He ended the 15th over by hitting Bhuvneshwar over cover for a six, then finished Rashid’s spell with a crunch through deep midwicket and, with eight to win, sealed the game by clattering Natarajan for a six over long-on and then a four past the bowler. He finished on 42 off 29 balls, while Player-of-the-Match Gill was unbeaten on a 62ball 70.

Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 145 for 3 (Gill 70*, Morgan 42*) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 142 for 4 (Pandey 51, Russell 1-16, C u m m i n s 1 - 1 9 , Chakravarthy 1-25) by seven wickets.

Sunday September 27, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 83

Bakewell renews Naeem Nasir Memorial - Kelvin Sinclair sponsors sponsorship with RHTYSC 30th anniversary activities The Rose Hall town Youth and its ten cricket teams has already distributed close to six thousands food hampers to residents in the ancient county of Berbice and that amount is expected to increase by a few hundreds more as the result of the long standing relationship between the club and Bakewell.

The company on Wednesday last renewed its sponsorship of the annual Naeem Nasir Memorial programme in memory of the late Chief Executive Officer and Founder.

Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster MS stated at the presentation that in 2020 due to the ongoing corona virus pandemic, no cricket tournament would be held but rather the sponsorship would be used to provide over five hundred less fortunate families with a two weeks supply of food items, while an essay competition would be held for youths under the topic - How can youths assist in the development of Guyana. The food hampers would consist of twelve food items including flour, sugar, cooking oil, potatoes, onion, garlic, chowmein, black eye, channa and split peas. The club Bakewell Under17 and Second Division cricket teams would spearhead the distribution of the hampers in memory of the man, who agreed to come on board as an official sponsor of the club in March 2000 and who

became one of the main reasons for the RHTYSC success over the years.

The Bakewell teams have won over twenty cricket tournaments over the years and have produced dozens of players for Berbice and Guyana including Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Esuan Crandon, Delbert Hicks, Shemaine Campbelle, Kevin Sinclair, Kevelon Anderson and Khemraj Mahadeo.

Foster stated that the top three winners in the essay competition would receive attractive financial prizes along with trophies, medals and a collection of gifts.

Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu expressed thanks to the company for their assistance over the years and for renewing the sponsorship of the memorial programme in memory of Mr. Nasir, who died on the 9th of October 2012 at the age of 52 years.

Meanwhile on Thursday last, the RHTYSC with financial support from Amazon Warrior player Kevin Sinclair hosted a senior citizens breakfast programme and provided a box of food to hundreds of children as the club continues to observe its 30th anniversary. Dozens of senior citizens in Rose Hall Town were pleasantly surprised when the popular Sinclair turned up at their residences along with a team of fellow club members to serve them breakfast early in

Kevin Sinclair serves breakfast to a senior citizen in Rose Hall Town.

the morning, while the feeding programme was held later in the day.

A ten member delegation led by Executive Robby Kissoonlall distributed hundreds of boxes of food to less fortunate children in the township. Kissoonlall expressed thanks to Sinclair for his support and for joining the club in the anniversary celebrations.

Hilbert Foster receives sponsorship from Bakewell.

Anisha Gibbons in action

rt

Spo

“My ultimate aim is to be a permanent member of the West Indies Team” - Kevin Sinclair

Gibbons focuses on getting scholarship - misses competition

Kevin Sinclair performing his trademark somersault flick after taking a wicket during the Super50 Cup competition.

Nat Sciver’s 82 seals the series as Deandra Dottin’s riposte proves in vain

Nat Sciver’s half-century held England’s innings together.

(Getty Images)

Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.