30 minute read
Essequibo P
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Lusignan Prison inmate beaten to death
Forty-year-old Victor Soomaru of Gordon Street, Kitty, Georgetown, who was serving time for possession of narcotics, died while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Friday. Based on reports received, at about 21:05h on Thursday evening, prisoners housed in Unit 1 (quarantine section) of the penitentiary raised an alarm.
Without hesitation, Prison Officers responded and it was reported that Soomaru was struck to the head with a piece of brick. At the time, the injured prisoner was wrapped in a towel and was asleep with another remanded prisoner in the same cell.
The injured man was taken out of the unit and escorted to the prison infirmary where he was seen and treated by the medical personnel on duty.
However, he was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital to seek further medical attention. Due to his injuries, he was admitted but succumbed to his injuries the following morning at about 10:30h.
Soomaru was housed in Unit 1 with three other prisoners, including the alleged accused. The Police are currently investigating the matter.
Soomaru was admitted to the correctional facility on February 1, 2021. He was charged for having 1.9 grams of cannabis in his possession.
The relatives of the now dead man were contacted and informed of the incident. His body was taken to the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem. The Guyana Prison Service has related that the suspect in the beating to death of the inmate was relocated.
Charges are expected to be laid shortly.
Earlier in the year, 44-yearold Roger Samuels of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), who was on remand at the same prison on a larceny charge, was found dead in his cell.
It was reported that the Duty Officer at Lusignan Prison was in the process of unlocking the prisoners to wash-up when he observed Samuels lying in a motionless state on his bed.
In light of this, a doctor attached to the penitentiary, Dr Britton, examined Samuels and pronounced him dead. At the time of his incarceration, he shared a cell in Unit 1 with seven other inmates.
He was charged and remanded to prison on January 8, 2021, for allegedly stealing a motor car.
He was reportedly admitted to prison with several injuries to his body which were inflicted by the public as a result of the alleged offence he had committed. The lifeless body of a 27-year-old man was on Friday morning pulled from a trench in front of his home where he went to take a bath on Thursday evening. The dead man has been identified as Lennox Ballieram of Abram’s Zuil, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
Based on reports received, the now dead man left his home at about 20:00h on Thursday to take a bath at a trench in front of his house but after some time had elapsed and he did not return home, his mother sent his brother to check on him but he was not seen.
However, at about 06:30h on Friday, the now dead man’s brother went back to the location to check and it was then he saw a towel lying next to the trench. As such, he thought something was amiss and went into the water to look for his brother. After several minutes in the trench, he reportedly found his brother’s submerged body.
He raised an alarm and with the assistance of villagers, the body was pulled and taken to the Suddie Public Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem. The matter was reported and the Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Police did not say if the man’s body bore any marks of violence.
Amember of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) found himself before the Providence Magistrates’ Courts on Friday, to answer to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Stephan Ramsay, who is attached to the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), was charged with the offence and released on $600,000 bail by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman.
The charge alleged that Ramsay on January 5, 2021, at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara, drove a minibus belonging the GPF, in a manner dangerous to the public, causing the death of 59-yearold Dulmattie Boodlall, of Lot 950 Block Y Section C, Golden Grove, EBD.
Boodlall was struck down by minibus PWW 7172, which is attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at Nandy Park, EBD, as she was attempting to cross the public road.
It was reported that on January 5, 2021, the minibus was proceeding north along the western side of the eastern carriageway when the driver alleged that the woman was approaching a pedestrian crossing.
Police said that the bus was about 8 feet away from the crossing when Boodlall started to cross the road on the crossing from west to east. On seeing this, the driver swerved to avoid a collision but ended up hitting the woman.
As a result of the impact, she fell onto the roadway and received injuries about her body.
She was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The case will continue on February 19.
Essequibo Coast man drowns while bathing in trench
Cop charged for Peters Hall fatal accident
Dead: Dulmattie Boodlall
BRIDGE OPENINGS BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, February 6 – 01:00h – 02:30h and 11:00h – 12:30h and Sunday, February 7 – 01:30h – 03:00h and 12:00h – 13:30h.
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, February 6 – 11:50h – 13:20h and Sunday, February 7 – 13:00h – 14:30h.
FERRY SCHEDULE
Friday, February 5 – 10:30h-12:00h and Saturday, February 6 – 11:50h-13:20h.
WEATHER TODAY
Expect sunshine during the day. There will be partly cloudy skies during the night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.
Winds: East North-Easterly to North-Easterly to North North-Easterly 2.23 metres and 4.91 metres.
High Tide: 11:41h reaching a maximum height of 2.31 metres.
Low Tide: 05:07h and 17:55h reaching minimum heights of 1.02 metre and 0.9 metre.
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Call out people who spread hate, especially on social media – Ali tells religious bodies
President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday met with executive members of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) of Guyana at State House, where he urged them to play their part in calling out persons who spread hate, especially on social media.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the various religious bodies that form the IRO.
During the meeting, President Ali applauded the group for their work in soci-
ety. He recognised that they have an important role to play in promoting peace and unity in Guyana.
To this end, the Head of State urged the various religious leaders to call out persons who promote hate, particularly on social media.
According to Ali, religious leaders and organisations have to be a part of the solution in healing the country.
Also present at Friday’s meeting were Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill.
Secretary of the IRO, Jennifer Dewar subsequently told Guyana Times that they had a fruitful meeting, noting that they were able to raise some of the challenges of the organisation with the country’s leader.
Dewar noted that the IRO had reached out and sought an audience with the President as the organisation observes World Interfaith Harmony Week, which is held in the first week of February.
“The President was open and he felt that as an InterReligious Organisation, we had a role specifically to play with regards to the morality – in terms of virtues etc – of the country generally. We also talked about working on maybe a curriculum for moral education, and also an interfaith television channel,” Dewar related.
She explained that the organisation had set up a Board and already secured funding for a television vision station to broadcast religious content. However, they have had challenges with this project beginning as it relates to finding the land to build the station on.
Dewar revealed that President Ali has assigned Governance Minister Gail Teixeira and Minister Edghill to work along with the IRO to resolve their challenges in bringing this initiative to fruition.
“So, the Government wants to engage a broad cross-section of the religious community to be more on board with both his vision of the role we need to play and the vision of the IRO,” Dewar stated.
President Ali’s charge to the religious bodies comes while the country is still recovering from last year’s contentious and prolonged General and Regional Elections during which divisiveness had raised its ugly head.
In fact, the IRO back in July 2020, during the midst of the political turmoil, had condemned the actions of racial segregation that were prevalent at the time and had appealed for peace, reconciliation, trust and stability within the country.
Meanwhile, since his inauguration, President Ali has been reassuring the nation that he is committed to govern all of Guyana, regardless of political affiliation or ethnic and religious background.
President Irfaan Ali, VP Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister Juan Edghill meeting with representatives from the IRO on Friday
Some of the IRO representatives at the high-level meeting with President Ali
TURN TO PAGE 5
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Taking COVID-19 precautions seriously
On Friday, the Health Ministry reported that Guyana had recorded 107 new COVID-19 cases and another related death. Despite the upward trend in infections, persons are still not taking the health guidelines issued by the authorities seriously. In some cases, persons just go about their daily routines as if they are not bothered at all.
We had supported, and continue to support, the move by the Government to make it mandatory for persons to wear masks while out in public, which was done since August 2020. Authorities had made it clear that it is not the Government’s intention to have persons locked up or fined for not wearing a mask while out in public.
Of note, too, is that even in cases where persons choose to wear a mask, they do not do so properly. Face masks should cover the nose, mouth, and chin. When not in use, the mask should be safely stowed away or discarded, and not be placed on any other part of the face or neck.
Mandatory mask-wearing, along with the other preventative measures: handwashing/sanitising and social distancing, is the key measure to halting the severe impact of COVID-19. With COVID-19 in Guyana, the Government, along with the various health partners, has wasted no time in stepping up the national response to contain the spread of the virus. However, citizens also have a role to play, and they must take that role seriously, or else the country would not be able to win the battle to control the virus.
The fact is, once the health guidelines to contain the spread of the virus are not taken seriously by citizens, the infection rates would continue to climb, and the country would take even longer before it could be fully reopened. This, we know, would have severe economic and social impacts on the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from travelling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. The CDC explains that this is called source control.
“This recommendation is based on what we know about the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, paired with emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that show masks reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth,” the CDC explains.
The CDC notes that COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet), so the use of masks is particularly important in settings where people are close to each other, or where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
The CDC has recommended that all persons, two years of age and older, wear a mask in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
It must be noted, too, that COVID-19 can be spread by people who do not have symptoms and do not know that they are infected. For this reason, it is important that everyone should wear a mask in public settings, and practise social distancing.
However, while masks are strongly encouraged to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the CDC recognises there are specific instances when wearing a mask may not be feasible. In those instances, adaptations and alternatives should be considered whenever possible.
Everyone wants the virus to be contained so that they can get on with their daily lives, but this would not be possible if citizens are complacent or continue to ignore the health guidelines.
Students wearing COVID-19 protective gear social distance during snack time on their first day back to in-person class since March
2020 at Liceo Lunita, a private school in Chia, on the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia (VOA)
Dear Editor,
The Government of Guyana and the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, have recognised the importance of having good recreational infrastructure that promote healthy lifestyles, create inclusive communities and contribute to a high quality of living.
Thanks to the Government of Guyana, Lindeners will benefit from a new multi-purpose sports facility that would enhance residents’ quality of life while promoting sports and supporting sustainable prosperity for Region 10.
However, criticisms have been coming from a minority of persons in that region, those who apparently don’t want to see any such development in the region, since it was announced that the PPP/C Government was pushing for the Mackenzie Sports Ground facility to become a new multi-purpose sports complex that would bring more value to the town.
Let me assure Lindeners that Government has no intention of taking over the Mackenzie Sports Club. It is ironic that there are some who are calling for residents’ consultation, but are forgetting that, during the tenure of the previous APNU/AFC Government, there was no consultation on the construction of the “BAYROC” Sports Complex and the “DURBAN PARK” white elephant.
As a Lindener, I cannot believe - at this day and age - that we still have persons who don’t what to see development in this region and town, more so development for our young people in the region. I want to say to you all that, for the first time in the history of Region 10, youths are behind the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Government, and will support this development (project), whether you like it or not. The time has come for development to occur in Region 10, and it is indeed stupid for persons to think that a new multipurpose facility can be used for persons outside of Linden. Logically, it is in the town of Linden, it is in the centre of Linden, and the “People of Linden [have] that access currently.
Linden residents, we all know that the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) is in dilapidated condition. What do we expect - that our Government would ignore a facility that needs assistance, a facility that would benefit the people of Linden, the entire region and the country at large? Sorry, that will not happen, our region needs modernisation, and we will have it done with help from our Government. The PPP/C Administration has made a commitment to every Guyanese in its manifesto, and that will guide Government’s policy.
Government will provide special funding for upgrading of sports and cultural facilities, as well as building sports academies in all regions. There are plans that would provide incentive packages for businesses that provide sponsorships or employment opportunities for sports persons; hence the people of Region 10 must benefit from these innovations.
For those who object to the major developmental work of our Government, my question to them is: What alternative do you have to present on your own to correct the dilapidated condition of the Mackenzie Sports Club?
The announcement by President Dr Irfaan Ali to include the dilapidated Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) as one of three venues to be transformed into a state-of-the-art multipurpose sports facility is a clear indication that our Government cares about every Guyanese, including Lindeners.
Over the last weeks, there have been several visits to the Mackenzie Sports Club, where firsthand assessments were done. Officials from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Chinese Embassy had a consultation at the facility.
Coming out of the first visit by Minister Ramson last year, a second was made by the designing team led by Orin Boyce. Those visits were aimed at moving the process forward as the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Chinese Embassy officials came to have a first-hand look at what must be done to do a complete makeover of the MSC.
The Chinese team came on board since this will be a bilateral arrangement between Guyana and the People’s Republic of China. Through the Department of International Cooperation, the Foreign Affairs Ministry was there to assess the nature of this project, in order to help determine the terms and conditions and protocols which would be thorough, inclusive of the technical element of this project.
Presently, work is being done on the architectural design for the multi-purpose sports complex. Once built, this eagerly-anticipated new complex in Linden would promote healthy lifestyles for local residents, particularly youths and students.
Sports infrastructure like these would help keep our communities healthy. This new multi-purpose sports complex would give the community another focal point, allow Linden to distinguish itself on the sports scene, and contribute to the development of the region for future generations.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021 5 News
Robbie Rambarran new DCEO at GPHC
New GPHC DCEO Robbie Rambarran
Effective February 1, 2021, the Board of Directors and management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) welcomed Robbie Rambarran to the team as Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO). GPHC in a statement said that Rambarran is no stranger at the institution as he began his career with the corporation in 2002 as a clerk in the stores department. Determined to continually advance throughout his 13year tenure at the corporation, he served in the capacity of Stores Coordinator, Assistant Director of Finance, Finance Director (ag), and Chief Executive Officer (ag) before moving on to the international development sector in 2015. Rambarran has a Master of Business Administration (MBA). The GPHC said that Rambarran brings exceptional knowledge, ability and background to the institution which is projected to amplify the institution’s capacity to offer safe, high-quality care to the people it serves.
Berbice cow thieves granted bail
Three men who allegedly stole 10 heads of cattle were on Friday placed on bail when they appeared before Magistrate Renita Singh at the New Amsterdam Court in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The trio, Lakeram Deokaran, 30, a labourer of Mai Mai Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam; Vishal Ramshackle, 35, also a labourer of Betsy Ground, East Canje, and another labourer, 50-year-old Jagpaul Seelall also of Betsy Ground, were not required to plead to the indictable charge of larceny of cattle contrary to Section 176 of the Criminal Law Offences Act Chapter 8:01.
They were each granted bail in the sum of $30,000 and instructed to return to court on March 17, 2021, for a Police report.
The men were reportedly caught in the act and had allegedly removed ten animals belonging to Devin Sookraj, an East Canje businessman.
One of the men who were charged for stealing cows
Call out people who spread hate...
However, the degree of race-baiting, racial hate and hostility continues to heighten on social media platforms.
As such, the Head of State in September ordered that persons who promote racism on social media be penalised.
“I remind those persons guilty of this abuse of social media that freedom of expression guaranteed by our Constitution, as a fundamental right and freedom, does not relate nor extend to hate speeches or other expressions, in whatever form, capable of exciting hostility or ill-will against any person or class of persons. I further remind that such conduct, publications and utterances constitute grievous criminal offences under the Racial Hostilities, Cybercrime and other similar penal legislation and the State will not hesitate to resort to these provisions in our laws in appropriate circumstances,” the President had noted in a statement.
Nevertheless, since then several persons have been charged by the Guyana Police Force and placed before the courts for various offences relating to their promotion of hate speeches and racism.
Only last month, four women were hauled before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for inciting racial tension during the March 2020 elections period.
On January 20, Tiffany Greene, Lashona Chester, Stacy Smarte, and Glynis Gibson pleaded guilty to the charge brought against them by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) which stated that during the month of March 2020, on their Facebook pages, they caused racial or ethnic violence or hatred and promoted hostility or ill-will on the basis of race.
During their court appearance, the women begged for leniency, noting that they were first-time offenders. They were each fined $100,000 and given a stern warning by Chief Magistrate McLennan.
IRO was formed in 2003, after which it adopted a constitution. In 2004, the organisation was officially launched with the objective of promoting inter-religious tolerance.
Today some 40 member organisations that came out of the traditional religions of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and the Bahá?í Faith are a part of the group.
(G8)
Govt MPs are correct in seeking to remove David Patterson from chairing PAC
Dear Editor,
There is no plot to remove David Patterson from the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly because the People’s Progressive Party Civic Government “is afraid of scrutiny of its accounts”, as is being claimed by the APNU+AFC.
This shabby defence that the Opposition has manufactured is merely to justify Patterson’s continued chairmanship at a time when public trust in him is at an alltime low. From news reports I’ve read, it is clear that the intention of Government MPs is not to remove Patterson altogether, but ethics and decency dictate that he removes himself from chairing this important committee, which is charged with overseeing Government expenditure.
As it is, he has refused to resign, so the PPP/C MPs are correct in pursuing the current course. So this docile and immoral attempt to tinker with the facts on this situation will not be victorious. All right-thinking Guyanese are watching.
Youths in Region 10 will support...
FROM PAGE 4
Our Government is proud to be making investments that improve the quality of people’s lives, contribute to economic growth, and strengthen our society by supporting renovation and rehabilitation projects such as this one. Government is demonstrating its desire to make safe and accessible facilities available to local residents, and to help municipalities ensure the longterm quality of their infrastructure.
In addition to benefiting athletes in physical education programmes, this project in Linden, Region #10, would enable Linden residents to engage in sports and physical activities, thus promoting the adoption of active lifestyles. It is with enthusiasm that Lindeners must welcome the announcement regarding construction of the multipurpose sports complex. This complex is destined to become a special place for engaging in physical activities, entertaining the family, and hosting major sporting events. It adds to the facilities that promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles for all citizens, one of the values integral to the PPP/C’s Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development in Guyana and Region #10. While trying to get the best out of nature’s gifts, you must first be equipped with humility and simplicity; otherwise, you will only be dragged along into ruin through many unfulfilled desires. Ravana desired Nature (Mother Sita was found as a child in a furrow of ploughed land) but he had not chastened himself enough through the sadhana of seeking God; that is why he met his downfall. Desire leads to anger, when it is foiled; anger weakens the body. It impairs the digestive system and chases one fast into old age. Remember, when Prema (Divine selfless Love) is installed in the heart, jealousy, hatred and untruth will find no place there. Do not seek Prema from others when you refuse Prema to others. This is not one-way traffic! Live in Prema, live with Prema, move with Prema, speak with Prema, think with Prema, and act with Prema. This is the best and the most fruitful Sadhana (spiritual effort). (Divine Discourse, Mar 30, 1973)
Yours respectfully, Erin Northe
Page Foundation
Æsop’s Fables FOR CHILDREN
• Social: gathering place, boundary, inspiration for music/ poetry, art, architecture • Economic: transportation, food, industry (logging, shipping), power generation (hydropower) • Recreational: boating, swimming, fishing, rafting, bird watching
Questions to think about
• What do you like to do at or on the river? • What do you think it would be like to go on a boat? • How do rivers act as boundaries or borders? • How do people use rivers? • How do rivers build communities? • How do rivers inspire people? • What happens to a river when people use it? • How do hydroelectric power plants impact rivers? • How do dams impact wildlife in and around the rivers? • Can people use rivers and care for them at the same time?
Build a water wheel
Harnessing the energy of running water can help humans with a variety of tasks. A water wheel is a large wheel that turns when water is poured over it. The wheel spins to produce energy. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzuhRhedIM4 to use a homemade waterwheel in action.
Engineer a water wheel, which converts the energy of water into power. Ask yourself: How do water wheels work? What parts do they have and what does each part do? Why do people build water wheels? Where do people build them?
Supplies
• Water source — faucet and sink or a gallon jug of water and a way to refill it • Basin for catching water • Disposable plastic plates or aluminium pie plates • Bamboo skewers and/or dowel rods • Scissors • Glue and/or staples, paperclips, thumbtacks, tape • Pencil and paper • Protractor • Thread • Small weight (optional)
Let's get started!
Step 1: Cut a circle out of the pie plate bottom. Then punch or cut a hole in the centre roughly the size of the dowel rod. Use a marker to divide the tin as shown in the image where the dotted lines represent fold lines and solid lines represent cut lines.
Step 2: Cut along the cut lines. Then fold the triangular pieces along dotted lines to form a fan shape.
Step 3: Tape onto the centre of the dowel rod.
Step 4: Pour water over your water wheel and watch it turn! To see hydropower in action, tie thread to the base of the water wheel on the rod. Tie to the other end of the thread a small weight. The turning of the water wheel will move the weight up.
Expanding experiment
Build a water wheel of your own design. Have paper and pencil handy for brainstorming and sketching out ideas. Dive into building materials and construct prototypes, considering important questions, such as: Will water flow over or under the wheel?
Then put the water wheel to the real test: pour on the water! How did your design hold up? How could the water wheel be used in real life?
What could be done to improve your design? Reflect on your answers to these questions and continue to refine your water wheel. (Adapted from startwithabook.org and greenkidcrafts. com) A king, whose only son was fond of martial exercises, had a dream in which he was warned that his son would be killed by a lion.
Afraid the dream should prove true, he built for his son a pleasant palace and adorned its walls for his amusement with all kinds of life-sized animals, among which was the picture of a lion.
When the young prince saw this, his grief at being thus confined burst out afresh, and, standing near the lion, he said: "O you most detestable of animals! Through a lying dream of my father's, which he saw in his sleep, I am shut up on your account in this palace as if I had been a girl: what shall I now do to you?”
With these words he stretched out his hands toward a thorn-tree, meaning to cut a stick from its branches so that he might beat the lion. But one of the tree's prickles pierced his finger and caused great pain and inflammation, so that the young prince fell down in a fainting fit. A violent fever suddenly set in, from which he died not many days later.
WORD SEARCH
Flaring on Liza Destiny
ExxonMobil cuts oil production, faulty compressor valve sent for repair
United States oil giant, ExxonMobil has reduced its production of oil in order to lower the level of flaring on the Liza Destiny FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading) vessel.
Last week, the oil major disclosed that it was experiencing a technical issue with a seal on Liza Destiny’s gas compressor, which resulted in them having to temporarily increase flaring above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations.
In a statement on Friday, Exxon said a technical team safely removed the third stage compressor from the package enclosure on the Liza Destiny and is preparing it for transport onshore.
According to the oil company, an initial examination determined that the unit has to be sent for repairs in Germany where it is expected to arrive on February 9. It was further noted that the full extent of the damage will not be known until a detailed inspection of the compressor can take place at the workshop of the manufacturer, MAN Turbo in Germany.
“I wish to assure you that teams of experts from ExxonMobil, SBM Offshore and MAN Turbo are working diligently to fix the compressor and return it to service as quickly as possible,” President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge said.
He went onto say that “We have lowered production levels on the Liza Destiny since the compressor failed and continue to seek ways to reduce flaring. We are currently injecting or using 88 per cent of the gas produced from the wells. We share a common interest in responsible management and appropriate standards for development of the country’s natural resources.”
The oil major said it is providing daily updates to the relevant Government agencies.
However, when asked by how much production has been reduced, Exxon’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, told reporters via a media group that she cannot disclose that but noted that the figure has been passed onto the Government.
Nevertheless, Exxon is expected to facilitate a virtual media backgrounder on Monday.
Only less than a year ago, the oil giant came under fire for heavy flaring, which has negative effects on the environment and has had environmentalists up in arms over the harmful exercise.
In fact, in recent days, local environmentalist Annette Arjoon has been vocal on social media about the oil major recommencing heavy flaring offshore. She said she is “sickened” by the oil major’s actions and saddened by them not being held accountable as yet.
“In a time of a global climate emergency and especially when Guyana is expecting to continue its Low Carbon Development pathway. This environmentally criminal flaring is taking us down a More Carbon Development Pathway,” Arjoon stated in one of her posts.
However, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told Guyana Times that while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is monitoring the flaring activities and dealing with the environmental implications, his Ministry has been working with the oil company’s technical team to properly assess the issue and determine how soon it can be fixed.
Last year, in response to the flaring which lasted over one year, Exxon had also cut back on oil production in an effort to reduce flaring after the fuel injection system was not commissioned. It subsequently commissioned a gas injection system to cut out flaring.
Back in December on the oil company’s first year anniversary since commencing production in 2019, Routledge had expressed disappointment at the equipment issues they experienced and assured that routine flaring would not be used.
“ExxonMobil Guyana is committed to the responsible development of the country’s natural resources and will not utilise routine flaring during our operations,” Routledge explained in the statement.
“We are disappointed by
Exxon’s Liza Destiny flaring (Annette Arjoon photo) the number of equipment issues experienced and that, because of these issues and COVID-19, commissioning of the gas injection system took longer than originally projected. We took significant steps to limit flaring and are incorporating lessons learned for future projects.”
Nevertheless, the PPP/C Government made its position pellucid on routine flaring and in the Payara Development Licence, prohibited the activity unless approval is granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Flaring to maintain oil production will not be permitted. Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) will pay the Government for the cost of gas wasted during flaring and will also be subject to fines under the EPA related to emissions from flaring,” the Natural Resources Ministry had stated back in October. EEPGL is Exxon’s local affiliate, which along with other partners are operating in the Stabroek Block. (G8)
