already taking out US$9.5B to decommission five oil projects
company contracted to ...operatesfromguesthousewith onlytworegisteredemployees
Israeli airstrikes kill three dozens in Gaza on the eve of high-level cease-fire talks in Egypt options to cushion 10% for teachers - GS enforcement of regulations needed to curb illegal mining One dead, several wounded after drive-by shooting at D’Urban Street
Check Exxon’s inflated expenses!
ExxonMobil is likely to bill Guyana close to US$10B to decommission the first five oil projects sanctioned in the Stabroek Block. The budget could increase overtime or reduce depending on the final abandonmentplansubmitted bythecompany
Decommissioning refers
to the cleanup and restoration of the environment at the end of a projectlife.
Itshouldbenotedthatthe Government of Guyana (GoG) was reluctant to
r e l e a s e t h e F i e l d Development Plans (FDPs)
for the deep-water developments approved in theStabroekBlock;however thisnewspaperhasmanaged to secure copies of the documents.
An FDP is the blueprint ofaprojectandoutlineshow a company intends to develop a petroleum field, manage the impact on the environment and society, as well as forecasts for production and costs. These documents are critical to
holding both the developer and government to account on the management of the country’s oil resources- the key driver of Guyana’s economy
K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the Liza One abandonment or decommissioning budget is estimated at US$1 165B
The cost of Liza Two however jumped to a massive US$2 649B according to the FDP.
Meanwhile, Payara’s abandonment is expected to cost another US$1.710B.
Exxon’s Yellowtail project w
US$2.094B while the fifth project – Uaru - is likely to costUS$1.850Bforcleanup activities.
Itshouldbenotedthatthe decommissioning budget varies for each project since the developments differ according to the number of wells and the fact that the projects are located in different water depths offshore. These are some factors that affect the decommissioningcost. Additionally, Exxon has
Bharrat Jagdeo
not yet finalized the decommissioning plans for the oil projects. The initial plans outlined in the FDPs howeverindicatethatExxon will permanently abandon the wells by restoring suitable cap rock to prevent escape of hydrocarbons to theenvironment.
With regard to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels to operate the developments, Exxon said the surface facilities will be
disconnected and towed
dismantling/disposal.
Thewastestreamswhich include hazardous and nonhazardous material will be managed and disposed of in accordance with standard industry practice and applicable regulations, the project developer informed regulators. “Methods may include injection down hole intothereservoir,separation and incineration offshore or transport to shore for proper
management and disposal,” Exxonstated.
Meanwhile, with regard to the subsea facilities, the developersaiditisexpected that the risers, pipelines, subsea equipment, mooring linesandanchorpileswillbe abandoned in place, unless an alternative strategy is selectedbasedontheresults ofcomparativeassessments.
Even though Exxon will require the funds to decommission the projects 20 years after the startup date, the company has
deducting Guyana’s oil money to pay for the activities In fact, the company took the country’s oilmoneylastyeartopayfor decommissioning works for
ctYellowtail-whichhasnotyet commencedoilproduction.
FDPstootechnical
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo had told reporters during his weekly press conference two weeks ago that the FDPs required “specialized people” to read them, since the documents
contained technical information.
He said, “Ask the Minister (of Natural Resources, Vic
m Bharrat) and who would read it? Glenn Lall? I can’t even go through that. You need technical people. A field development plan for an oil and gas sector you need specialised people They would put Glenn Lall, thespecialisttoreadit.Who inyouragencywouldreadit ifyouseeit?”
Meanwhile, Bharrat during his mid-year press conferencemadeitclearthat the FDPs contained proprietary information and technical data that could not bemadepublic.
He said, “I’m not sure if everybody has had an opportunity to see what an FDP looks like, it’s about 1000-2000 pages; that’s the size of an FDP and it’s very technical with proprietary informationaswelltoo.”
To this end, he advised that persons with specific questions on the FDPs can submitquestionstohisoffice forresponses.
CAIRO (AP) — Israeli airstrikeskilledatleastthree dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegationgatheredforhighlevel cease-fire talks in neighboringEgypt.
Eleven members of a family, including two children, were among the dead after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a totalof33bodiesfromthree strikesinandaroundthecity that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports
First responders also recovered16bodiesfromthe Hamad City area of Khan Younisafterapartialpullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential building westofKhanYounisandtwo farther south in Rafah. The circumstancesoftheirdeaths weren’t immediately clear, buttheareaswererepeatedly bombed by the Israeli
Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozens Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday
military over the past week.
journalist counted the bodies. Some residents returned toHamadCity,crunchingon rubble as they walked
de
oyed apartment buildings One multistory building’s entire wall was gone, its rooms framing residents picking
throughdebris.
Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims head to Iraq’s Karbala to mark the deathofImamHussein.
Israeli evacuation orders cram Palestinians into shrinking ‘humanitarian zone’wherefoodisscarce. IMAGE
White House insists it is making progress on Gaza
cease-fire as talks continue overtheweekend
“There is nothing, no apartment, no furniture, no homes, only destruction,” Neveen Kheder said. “We are dying slowly You know what, if they gave a mercy bullet,itwouldbebetterthan whatishappeningtous.”
The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other
militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarilycivilians.Hamasis believed to still be holding around 110 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a thirdaredead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry said Saturday a total of 69 dead and 212 wounded had been brought to hospitals across Gazaoverthepast24hours.
Israel’s military announcedthedeathsoffour more soldiers in combat in centralGazaonFriday
The conflict has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, with many cramming into shrinking “humanitarian zones.”
In Egypt, the U S delegation led by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk held talks with senior Egyptian
officials and then with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to a person familiar with the ongoing talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly
The Egyptian and Qatari negotiatorswereexpectedto meetwithHamasofficialson Saturday evening Hamas won’t take part directly in Sunday’s talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar, senior Hamas official MahmoudMerdawytoldthe AP Merdawy said Hamas’ position hadn’t changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forcesfromGaza.
AnIsraelidelegationthat arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service andShinBetsecurityservice and Maj Gen Eliezer Toledano.
The U S has been pushingaproposalthataims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional waraftertherecentkillings
Continuedonpage8
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Publisher: DR. GLENN LALL - TEL: 624-6456
Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS
Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
Alliance For Change (AFC) leader, Nigel Hughes,saidthatunlessthereisareversalofthe little to no oversight in the crucial oil sector, Guyanese could be reduced to spectators while foreigners devour their wealth. We weigh this and wonder whether mattershavenotproceededtoofaralreadyforaturnaround totakehold. Guyanadidnothavetheskills,norhasitmade aconcertedefforttoembarkonastarttobuildcapacity,and thereisonenationaloilleaderwhostillinsiststhatthereis no urgency, for a Petroleum Commission. As the bitter experienceofMiddleEastandlargerAfricancountrieshave informed us, when political hacks are the main operators around great national oil wealth, then expect calamity According to Hughes, with that amount of money coming fromoil,itiscommonsensetogetprofessionalassistance. When knowledge is limited, skills in short supply, and capacitylow,thentokeeppretendingthatalliswell,andall is under good management, is an exercise in gross selfdeception.
ThePPP/CGovernmentlikestoremindallwhowould listenofthemanymilesofroadsithasbuiltandthehospitals that it has refurbished or newly put on the local map. Though it has been often said, its repetition is worth the effort:whetherameterofroadorahundredkilometers,they areofnovaluetoahungryfamily. Thereiscommonground with Mr. Hughes on that one. Political platitudes from politicalleadersareoflimitedutilitytoamotherwhocannot affordthehealthcareservicesthatarespringingupallover When political appointees and party flunkeys pushed into positions that are beyond their competence, those are rank injusticestothepeople. Guyananeedsqualifiedoilexperts. Nationalleadersintherulingpartyaredeterminednotto have a Petroleum Commission manned by reliable, trustworthy people who have earned their spurs in the oilfields around the world. Whenever this newspaper mentions a name, those with proven prowess and known integrity,thePPP/CGovernmentdismissesthemandcircles its wagons. Like the operation of the network of tender boardsacrossGuyanaandcontractawards,likethechronic secreciessurroundingtheBlackHolethatissugar,thesame standards have come to characterize what goes on in the growingoilsectorofGuyana. Thelatestexampleofthisis thatthisgovernmenthasspentoverahalfbillionUSdollars on the Wales Gas-to-Shore project since 2022, and documents for this project are shrouded in secrecy Accordingtothechiefsaroundtheoilthatisnotthebusiness of Guyanese, the documents run to over a thousand pages, andthataloneisenoughtohidethem. AvibrantPetroleum Commissionwithpedigreedoilexpertsinitsstructurecould goalongwayinseparatingpoliticiansfromthepatrimony ofthepeople. Whenpoliticiansofquestionablerepute,of many failed projects, are allowed to get too close to the richest development in Guyana’s history, then not much couldbeexpected. Quitefrankly,itisupintheairrelativeto whethertheycandeliverwithanydegreeofreliabilityand integritywhatisintheinterestsofthepeople. Acohortofoil expertscutsthroughthisflab,whatisnowastandingfarce inGuyana. Venalpoliticiansandtheircravencastofaiders and abettors around this national wealth are a tragedy already on the move. We say it sharply and strongly: politiciansmustbeseparatedfromthisoilwealth,orelseit will go down the same sorry route of the other abundant natural resources gifts that have been this country’s blessings.
OneofthedefiningcharacteristicsofsuccessivePPP/C Government is its unwavering commitment to concealing the big issues of the nation. Mineral contracts, complete audit reports, studies and other reviews have all been saturated with secrecy Trusted oil experts operating in a transparentenvironmentandanswerabletoGuyanesecould changeallofthatovernight. Weneedthem,wemusthave them,andtheymustbehadnow Everydaylostisgoingto be costly, considering the ongoing skullduggeries that are nowasecondskintogovernmentandleaders.
Asaconcernedcitizenof Guyana and a former member of the Guyana PoliceForce,Iwouldliketo espousemythoughtsonhow I believe the next commissioner of police should be selected and appointed. Kindly indulge me for a little while Whomever is the President of the day and the leader of the opposition must get togetherwithindividuallists of potential candidates they approve of, along with the reasonsfortheselection.
The two leaders must agree that they are selecting a Commissioner of Police whowillbesworntobeloyal to the constitution and not a government or for that matter a political party. Having done that, the next thing is to amalgamate the two lists and by way of careful consideration and proper investigation, arrive at a short list of half the original number of
candidates The parties would then add two other names to their individual lists of candidates. One for eachparty
This is to give them a chance to add a suitable candidate who might not have made the original lists but with a better understanding of what their opposite number is looking forinaCommissioner
There ought to be no compromise as it relates to the personal integrity and honestyofcandidates.None of what I’ve said so far is anything new as it’s all provided for in the constitutionofthecountry.I am now going to take a radical diversion from the normandboldlysuggestthat the next commissioner of police in the Guyana Police Forceshouldnotbeaserving memberofthecurrentforce. YesIsaidit.
Absolutely not The reason for this is that it will beagargantuantaskforany
commissioner coming in, to turn around the face and fortune of the department. His first priority is to command a disciplined force As my old boss Ignatius Mc’Rae would say, this is a disciplined ‘wuk’. Well, you can’t do disciplined ‘wuk’, if you have indiscipline workers.
Nextistoassembleateamof officerswhosejobwouldbe todoapublicrelationsblitz, in an effort to restore the public trust in the department.
Police cannot function effectively on their own withoutthepublictrust.I’ve known many a crime to be solved as a result of information given to the police by the old lady down the street or the little boy who dreams of being a detectivesomeday.
I personally sat at my desk on several occasions and an informant would walk into the station or call and give valuable
information which led to crimes being solved. You will not have that if the policeandcivilianscontinue to have a hostile posture towardseachother Together we are one.Avaluable asset forthenextCommissionerto haveisvisibility Come out from behind your desk sometimes and move around the country in an impromptu fashion. Be vocal when appropriate, on matters of importance to public safety You are after all the Commissioner of Police and you have serious authority at your disposal. Useyourauthoritybutdonot operate outside of your mandate.
If you are a deputy Commissioner acting as COP, ask yourself this question, would I prefer my legacy to be that of the best Deputy Commissioner or o n e o f t h e w o r s t Commissioners? I personallywouldtakebeing (Continuedonpage06)
My association with Dave Martins goes as far backtothe1980’sanditwas through theatre and not music. Itisacreativesideof him that is seldom recognised so I couldn’t let this opportunity pass without hailing him as a writer of two of our most outstanding local musicals andhisworkinthetheatre.
In 1988, Guyana celebrated 150 years of the abolition of slavery and indentureship. The Guyana C o m m e m o r a t i o n Commission was created with the purpose of organisingthecelebrationof thismajormilestone.Artists came fromAfrica and India to join with Guyanese to celebratetheoccasion.Dave wascommissionedtowritea musicalforthisevent.
Davespentendlesshours in our libraries researching and writing. In the end, the musical ‘Raise up’ was
never staged by the
Commission without explanation.
Dave called Ron Robinson (Ron and I were running The Theatre Co. at the time) from the Cayman Island early 1989, asking us (The Theatre Company) whether we would be
interestedinstagingtheplay
We jumped at the wonderful opportunity to stage this musical production We immediately sought and received permission from the Ministry of Culture, YouthandSportstostagethe play The production was premiered at the National Cultural Centre on November 25, 1989 for 7 performances including 2 matinees It was well attended Sir Shridat Ramphal, who attended the p e r f o r m a n c e h a d recommended that the play be staged at the opening of the Heads of Government meetingthatwasduetotake place inAfrica a few weeks later. This unfortunately neverhappened.
The Theatre Company then decided to take ‘Raise –up’on a one-month tour to the Cayman Islands and the USA, performing in 10 venues at Universities and other theatre spaces in Miami,Mississippi,Virgina, Washington, Michigan and New York. The Mayor namedthedayweperformed in Brooklyn, New York ‘Raise-up’ day We were invited and performed an excerptoftheplayon‘Nine broadcast plaza” , a
televisionprogramme.
In 2006, for Guyana’s 40th Independence Anniversary, Major General Joe Singh, CEO of GTT at the time proposed sponsoring the staging of a historical production for the occasion The late Billy Pilgrim was asked and was, ofcourse,delightedtowrite this musical, but ill health preventedhimfromdoingso and Dave was approached andagreedtodoso.
ThemusicalwhichDave called “ALL IN WAN” premiered at the National Cultural Centre on May 26, 2006 for 4 performances. The musical was produced by GEMS Theatre Productions, directed by Ron Robinson with Dave as musical director. It was an epic production with a cast of 100 plus artists including Keith Waite and Terry GajragwhocametoGuyana fortheoccasion.
In my view, this musical ismorethanworthyofbeing producedagainforstagingat the National Cultural Centre. I recalled inviting Dave to Guyana for two furtheroccasionstoperform his unique style of singing and story-telling at the AccountantsConference (Continuedonpage51)
D
EAREDITOR, Multiple individuals, business people, media folks, and others in the diaspora and in Guyana asked a most relevant question: Isn’t it embarrassing for the police force when foreign law enforcement trace and find wanted criminals and also know the corrupt and can sanction thieving officials and business persons in Guyana?The foreign agents have files on every official on the take and every business person who give bribes and engage in corruption. What prevents lawauthoritiesinGuyanato find wanted criminals or charge the corrupt — the giver and the taker The foreignagentsdon’tgoafter small criminals but the big ones — alleged murderers
and drug traffickers and those who loot the Treasury oflargeamountsofmoneyin the billions. It is unfair to compare Guyana police and politicians with America’s given that the latter has unlimited resources and superior technology The Americans have satellites thatcanreadanumberplate andlisteningdevicestohear conversations from 100,000 miles away But do the Guyana police make a genuine effort to target corruption or go after hard corecriminals?
wanted criminals who have been sheltered in our country Whosheltersthemandwhy?
As Guyanese in the
foreigners point out how they have to come to the country to find wanted criminalsandextraditethem tofacejusticeandwhenthey have to sanction corrupt officialsandbusinesspeople forlootingtheTreasury
The accused, including th
for corruption, have a right to due process. The American judicialsystemisthebestin the world. They will get a fairtrialandgreatfoodand
(Continuedonpage51)
The police have been able to find petty criminals, not the ‘maha chores’.They go after the small fish — littleguysandgalsforminor trafficoffencesandlicensing issues for lunch and dinner cash. They don’t harass the big guys, the billionaire thieves,drugtraffickers,and wantedcriminals.Haditnot been for the Americans, Guyanese would not have known a
DEAR
, Iwritethisletterwiththe hope to get the attention of the In
can Development Bank (IDB), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health
O
(PAHO/WHO) and other
onal organisations. There is need in Guyana for an ‘Oil and Gas Waste Management Masterplan’.
While there are specific problems of placing oil and gaswastetreatmentfacilities without the requisite expertise and competencies to safely manage these facilities in communities, and protection for citizens’ health and wellbeing,
livelihoods, and the environment – air, soil, eater; there is a broader problem of the absence of a nationalpolicy,strategyand plan for oil and gas waste management We believe that your organisations can provide significant support
to the government and people of Guyana in the development of an ‘Oil and Gas Waste Management Masterplan’.
At the national level, this can assist the government and the people of Guyana to achieve targets in Goals 3 and 6 of t h e
(SDGs) More specifically, SDGGoal3–‘GoodHealth and Wellbeing - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-beingforallatallages’.
Target 3 9 of SDG Goal 3 indicates that by 2030, c
u n t
i e s m u s t substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination’
In addition, Goal 6 –‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of waterandsanitationforall’.
Goal 6 - Target 6.3 which indicates that ‘By 2030,
improve water quality by
, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated
substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally’. Also, Target 6.6 which states ‘By 2020, protect and restore water-
forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers,andlakes.
I am aware that the requesthastocomefromthe government, but I am establishing the need and hope that the government willfollowthroughwiththe request in the name of love foritscitizens.
This will also allow the government and country to measure progress under thesegoals.
Sincerely,
Citizen Audreyanna Thomas
Frompage04
the best deputy any day A numberofcommissionersof police have faded into oblivion because they made no positive mark on the Force. Some were either corrupt ‘yes’ men, afraid of their own shadows or political hacks who were grosslyincompetent.
I’m not inclined to call names but anybody who followspolicematterswould confirmthis.
The next COP must be preparedtodisclosetosome competent authority his financial assets before ascending to the office and uponretirement.
No compromise should be made here. The question most are asking at this point is,sincenopolicemenareto be considered, where do we get the candidates from? This is not rocket science and there is precedence for thistypeofthing.
Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have successfully turned to the militaryforleadershipatthe helm of their respective policeforces.
In Jamaica’s case, three times, 1993-96 Colonel McMillan, 2007-2008 Rear Admiral Lewin and 2018present Major General AnthonyAnderson.
P r i o r t o t h e i r independence from British rule,therewerealsoperiods when the civilian police were headed by military officersinJamaica.
Trinidad and Tobago boasts one of the most dynamic and successful Commissioners of Police in the Region in Gary Griffith, aformerCaptaininthearmy
The upper ranks of the Guyana Police Force are in shambles and I don’t recogniseasingleindividual who would be effective in theroleasheadoftheForce.
To be fair, in a couple of cases there are officers who have the police knowledge and experience to do a good jobbuttheproblemisoneof perceptionhere.
Those officers fairly or unfairly have been tainted with either the red or green paint of some political organisation or the other Thus,inmymindshouldnot be considered for the job at thisjuncture.
It is too critical a period in our existence to take that chance. Government’s role i n e n s u r i n g t h e Commissioner of Police succeeds, is to give him the personnel and equipment to allow him to do his job effectively
The Commissioner must, I repeat must demand accountability from his commanders and other senior officers so that discipline may trickle down totherankandfile.
There is no reason why there are specialists in the police force who can’t function as policemen and women.
I know of at least one officer who spent 99% off his career in a particular departmentwherehehadno interaction with the public and as such, was never exposed to actual law enforcement.
Hebecameaverysenior officerandthentheyputhim in charge of a division.That is a recipe for disaster and the particular officer is not the problem Politicians ought to avoid making incendiary statements such as wanting or expecting the Commissionertobeloyalto thegovernment.
That is nonsense and very backward thinking. It’s time we start to put country first and not our individual comfortzones.
Finally,myadvicetothe next Commissioner, be firm butbefairwhenleadingyour men. Don’t be a tyrant but make discipline your motto. Totheyoungsterswhoaspire to be policemen, I remind you that the public is not yourenemy Criminals are, and the policeforceisnotanavenue to riches For that, find anotherprofession.
Yourstruly, RADickson E x - H o m i c i d e Investigator
If I were Commissioner, everypoliceofficer(maleor female),irrespectiveoftheir particular skill sets, would have to serve at least one month per year doing general duties at an outstation.
National leaders in the PPP/C are determined not to have a Petroleum Commissionmannedbyreliable,trustworthy people who have earned their spurs in the oilfieldsaroundtheworld.
Whenever this newspaper mentions a name, those with proven prowess and known integrity, the PPP/C Government dismisses themandcirclesitswagons.
Liketheoperationofthenetworkoftender boards across Guyana and contract awards, like the chronic secrecies surrounding the Black Hole that is sugar, the same standards havecometocharacterizewhatgoesoninthe growingoilsectorofGuyana.
ThePresidentofGuyana finds himself once again ensnared in a web of statistical missteps His recent address to the National Toshaos’ Council Conference (NTCC) was intended as a resounding proclamation of progress
under the PPP/C’s stewardship, particularly in contrast to the previous administrations. But instead of a triumphant affirmation, it became yet another e x a m p l e o f h i s administration’s troubling
tendency to produce numbers that are deeply disingenuous upon closer inspection.
TheAmerindianPeoples Association (APA), an organization not easily beguiled by political showmanship, was swift to challenge the President’s address, accusing him of presenting misleading statistics. This is not a new chargeagainstthePresident, whoserelationshipwithdata has been, at best, fraught withcontroversy Whetherit be statistics on child and infant mortality rates or the poverty levels in Amerindian communities, the President’s use of numbers often seems more suited to a campaign rally than to a sober presentation offacts.
The central thrust of the President’s address was the assertion that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has
d
A m e r i n d i a n population—improvements, he implied, that were absent during the rule of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and later the A Partnership for National Unity+AllianceForChange (APNU+AFC) coalition. To bolster this claim, he cited the absolute poverty rate among Amerindians, which heplacedasalmostreaching 80% Yet, the President conveniently omitted a crucial detail: the current rate of absolute poverty in Guyana, under his very government, is actually higher than it was prior to 1991. This, of course, is largely due to the rapid rise in national income, which haselevatedthepovertyline and thus altered the statistical scene. But it shows the importance of contextualizingdata. Butevenmorerevealing was the President’s silence on the present relative poverty rate—a metric that would provide a clearer picture of how Amerindian poverty compares to national poverty levels Herein lies the crux of the matter:withoutupdateddata fromHouseholdIncomeand Expenditure Surveys, the President’s narrative remains unanchored to the fullscopeofreality Thelack of this critical information allows him to cherry-pick figuresthatpaintaflattering picture, while sidestepping the more uncomfortable truths. The APA took issue with the President’s claims
scholarships. According to the President, no hinterland scholarships were granted prior to 1992—a claim as erroneous as it is audacious. The historical record, as documented by the PPP/C’s ownMinistryofAmerindian Affairs, tells a different s t o r y H i n t e r l a n d scholarships date back to 1962 under the Cheddi Jagan’s government. Then they were for Common Entrance Students The programme was expanded under the PNC government from 1966 onwards to i
clude technical, vocational, and university education. The President’s insistence that no scholarships existed before 1992 therefore is an affront to history and to the many studentswhobenefitedfrom those opportunities long before1992.
The President’s claim that there were only 12 health clinics in the hinterland during the PNC government’s tenure is another example of his cavalier approach to data. This figure, too, requires c
oser exam
ion, particularly in light of the m
dex programme introduced in 1977, which trained hundreds of medical p r o f e s s i o n a l s f o r deployment in rural and hinterland areas The distinction between health clinics and health posts is crucial here, yet the President glossed over it in his eagerness to cast
You know dem type?
Demain’tgetnoinvite,but oncedemseeacrowd,dem ready fuh show up. Is like demgotradarfuhfreefood anddrink.
One man tell me he see a fella at a big gathering recently De man was walking round like he own de place. Eating de food, drinking de drink, and laughing up loud So somebody ask he, “Who yourelatedto?”
Hepuffuphechestand seh,“Debirthdayboy.”
Well, is only after dat, hefindoutheatawake.De man tek off like a bullet fromagun.
Dem boys seh is not de first time this happen
People in Guyana got a habit. Dem don’t care if is wedding, funeral, christening,orevenawake.
Once dem see a tent and chairs, dem inside like lice onajumbie.
Some does even dress up and come fuh tek pictures, post on Facebook likedemwasreallyinvited. Dem go ask fuh de wi-fi password like dem paying debill.
Dem boys seh is a real problem. One time, a man show up at a wedding. He dance,heeat,heevencatch de bouquet. Only fuh de bridetorealizelaterdatshe don’tknowhe.
Dem boys seh it gat to stop. People need to have
oversimplification
diminishes the complexity of healthcare delivery in the hinterland—a region where access to medical care has always been a multifaceted challenge.
Equally problematic is thePresident’sdiscussionof hinterland secondary school enrollmentpriorto1992.He correctly notes that the enrollmentratewaslow,but fails to contextualize this with the limited number of secondary schools in those areas a limitation that persists to this day The present PPP/C government is still grappling with the same infrastructural challenges that have long plaguedthehinterland.
Data compilation and quality has always been a constraint in Guyana. But this should not have preventedthePresidentfrom ensuringthatthedatahewas presenting was properly f a c t - c h e c k e d a n d contextualized. It is not enough to merely cite statistics; one must also ensure that those statistics are accurate, relevant, and presented in a way that genuinely informs the public As the President continues to wield statistics like a sword in his political battles,onemustask:whatis the cost of this cavalier approach. In the short term, itmaywinapplauseandrally the faithful, as it did during his address to the NTCC. Butwhenleadersdonotpay
sufficient attention to factc h e c k i n g a n d contextualizing data, the publicisleftadriftinaseaof confusion. And when this happens, the fallout can be detrimental to the government’s image The President should be advised to fact-check! Fact-check! Andfact-checkagain!
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinionsofthisnewspaper.)
manners.Ifyuhain’tgetno invite, stay home and eat yuhownfood.Somepeople now quotinglawfuh getin to places dem nah get invitationto.
But you know how Guyanese stay Dem see a crowd and dem curious. Likeflytoaroti.
Dem boys seh, next time yuh see one of dem uninvited guests, don’t say nothing. Just give dem de look. De same look you does give when de electricitybillcomehigh.
Maybe den dem gon learn.Ormaybenot.Butat least you had a good laugh when dem mix up de birthdaywithdewake. Talkhalf.Leffhalf!
Think again, fellow citizens. willingness to go on a sabbatical Somepoorsuckerwhothoughtthat Their patience and forbearance “The cup of forbearance had been with corruption writings should he was in good standing, i.e., the also in case anyone forgot exhausted…” It was not US those names be supplied and the low bidder, is going to have to go Guyanese of PPP descent (yes, I President James Polk’s message to backing for how they got what they down. When a Guyanese engineer coined that one, for politics is Congress calling for a declaration own. While I wait, this point is within the PPP Government’s ancestry and pedigree in Guyana) Look at what Guyana has ofwarusingthequestionableclaim made for the edification of all trusted circle is required to give his are so disgusted that they make my becomeunderthePPPGovernment of Mexican arms raised against Guyanese, nothing is said, or so stamp of approval on a done job, taskeasier of the last four years. Look at American troops on the US side of muchashintedto,aboutcorruption there are many who are head and They run in front of people like where Guyana is today, with a bow the Rio Grande. No! the cup of when the inspiringly pure shouldersbetterthanSalvatore“the me and point to the corruption of to the magic of many of the leading forbearance had been exhausted presences of President Ali and Engineer” Greco of Sicilian Mafia theirbelovedPPP,andflinchathow men and women in the PPP right here in Guyana PPP former president Jagdeo are legend. Among the best engineers far standards and cleanliness have Government. Fromanarcostateto Government supporters have had it involved. Old school deference to are some of those saddled with the declined, how the rope of blind acorruptstatetoacriminalstate. up to their windpipes with their high offices is largely sensitive duty of evaluators. Such loyaltyhasrunoutitslaststrand. It And to a state of unimaginable swindles, rogueries, high seas and responsible. WheneverIfindother hit jobs on Guyana’s treasury are takes a hell of a lot of low dealing, and unprecedented lacerations and overland robberies, plus an endless rationales for the kindnesses not left to amateurs and outsiders, double dealing, and dirty dealing, abominations. TheUSDepartment assortment of other corrupt extended to these two noble nomatterhowwellqualified. for matters to come to this of the Treasury had something to practices by their own people’s Guyanese politicians, it will be Close to a half trillion Guyana disastrous and most undesired of say about those The US hand. Top dogs in the PPP like to forthcoming. dollars in business to be overseen precipices.When PPP vets of many Department of Justice will be growl about PNC corruption, this When I come across a public andgiventhenod(andwink)means decades and more proven works careful with what it shares. There time the only crooks, conmen, and workscontractthatdoesn’thavethe that business is bright and that it is can knock citizens like me out of must be some accountability for all cradle thieves are of PPP heritage, whiff of corruption about it, it will another dark day for Guyanese the way in their haste to table their thoseblights. with a big brand across their be a personal celebration on a scale hooked through the nose and led to rage at the state of national In saying something like that foreheadsmarkedHUSTLER. that would draw national attention. the gallows, as the result of one corruption, then no greater proof (accountability is a must) I am sure The two biggest men in the PPP For contract awards, by and large frameupjobafteranother should be called for, necessary any that I just became the best friend of Government, Excellency Ali and have become corruption on This is what is called clean longer
President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali Vice President Jagdeo are usually steroids. There is a whole governance in Guyana. All should When Guyanese who look like who will be jolly eager to agree. overflowing with their special machinery geared and goosed to be thankful for how transparent me, write of the corrupt culture that His new friendship shouldn’t be brand of truth and love. I have a operate in flawless lockstep. For corruption has been in Guyana has exploded, and speak in the with a citizen pushing 95, but with question for them: please step the uninitiated, to be a bidder for a under the PPP Government. The manner that I do, there is special thosewhostareunblinkinglyatlate forward into the public arena and contract for some government president was right to promise attention and action from friends of 2025. The cup of forbearance had identify a small handful of clean project is the equivalent of transparency, but even he must be President Ali and Vice President beenexhausted. Isaynomore. ministers. A handful I shall make becoming a contract killer for the staggered by the broad daylight Jagdeo to register their thanks and (The views expressed in this so small that it only has room for CosaNostra. Itisasecretoperation assaults and batteries on the best wishes. It is good to be doing article are those of the author and two or three ministers in the PPP withitsownsecretcodesandsecret intelligence of the Guyanese something right, for once, in this do not necessarily reflect the Government. There would be signals, with one objective only people. country,andberecognizedforit. opinions of this newspaper.)
In the realms, where
categories were the main drivers of compared the construction of the consumers’ prices are increasing, the monthly increase These Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant, making it difficult to buy as much categories increased overall by 1.5 and the loan the government has as they could in the past, the percent and 0 1 percent, applied to the United States Export Opposition Member of Parliament respectively, at the end of May Import (US-EXIM) Bank, and Shadow Minister of Finance, 2024, when compared to the compared to the increase the Juretha Fernandes has raised previousmonth. Toreadmorevisit teachersreceived. concerns over the rising food https://statisticsguyana govgy/sub The Government applied to the inflation of eight percent and the jects/price-indices/consumer- US-EXIM bank for a US$646M meager 10 percent which the price-index-georgetown-guyana- loan to support the construction of Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) may-2024-2/. the Gas-to-Energy project accepted from the government on
Furthermore, in June, 2024 the Regardless of whether the bank Wednesday CPI was 141 70 compared to approves the loan, the government increaseas,“disastrous.” Kaieteur News reported that the 140.38 at the end of May 2024, will still push forward with the He said, “...And we know that GTU’sPresident,MarkLytesigned representing an inflation of 0.9 project As such, Fernandes the government was pressuring a multi-year agreement with the seriously as an indication of what percent. Food was the main driver explained,“Wecanweighitagainst them (teachers), to accept the 10 government accepting the ten the PPP (People’s Progressive of the monthly increase This other things, looking at the fact that percent…indeed the pressures of percent pay hike for teachers and a Party) plans to deal with public category increased overall by 1.9 we know the EXIM bank is not the government did make a certain slew of other benefits, none of servants overall for 2024, 2025 and percent at the end of June 2024, approvingtheloanwhenitcomesto fraction of the GTU’s General which accorded with the demands 2026, because if this is what they when compared to the previous the gas to the energy (project), but Council accept the 10, nine and of the union The agreement have tabled before the teachers, it month To read more visit the VP (Vice President Bharrat eight percent for the next two stipulates that teachers will receive indicates to me that that’s the https://statisticsguyana govgy/sub Jagdeo) is saying very boldly that years.” Ramjattan then recalled a salary increase of 10% for 2024, direction that they are going in for jects/price-indices/consumer- yeah even if it’s not approved then when Vice President Bharrat 8% for 2025 and 9% for 2026. all public servants,” she stressed, price-index-georgetown-guyana- we’re going to ahead, we are going Jagdeo reportedly indicated to These are the same increases that while noting that the amount of june-2024/. tospendmoneytowardsit.” public servants that the wererecentlyrejectedbytheunion. money receives would not be able To that end, the ten percent She continued, “EXIM bank Government does not have enough Takingthisintoaccount,during tocombatthefoodinflation. teacher increase is a drop of water isn’t approving it because it is not fiscal space to accommodate what the Alliance For Change (AFC) In May 2024, reports from totheoceanwhencomparedtofood showing feasible.” Nevertheless, the public servants were asking for weekly press conference, held on Bureau of Statistics said that the inflation rate. As such, the AFC the Member of Parliament pointed some time in 1999. Ramjattan Friday, the Shadow Minister of food inflation rate was at 7.4 believes that teachers deserve more out what the government gives in pointed out, “…So when they said Finance addressed the salary percent, and increased in June money as to the importance they returned to the in-depth document thattheydon’thavefiscalspaceand increase teachers received, 2024, to eight percent. The report have on the economy With that provided by teachers which only a couple months ago, or a comparedtothehighfoodinflation, further stated that the Georgetown aside, Fernandes continued to specifically highlighted key things couple of weeks ago, they come which increased throughout the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the address the government disbursing that would improve their lives as back to parliament for $40B, how months. end of May 2024 was 140.38 huge amount of money into other teachers in Guyana. Former AFC yougoingtogetfiscalspace?”
This move of the Government compared to 139.39 at the end of projects,ratherthangivingteachers leader and Attorney-at-Law, The Attorney continued, “…It indicates the fate other public April 2024, representing an what they deserve, following the Khemraj Ramjattan who was isaliebutthereitwouldappear(the servantswillface,Fernandessaid. inflation of 0.7 percent. The Food money generated by the resources present at the press conference government)…do not want to give “ We need to take this and Transport & Communication of the country She further described the 10 percent salary abetterpaytoourteachers.”
The former Vice President of
Guyana Limited
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of
LNG is one of the company’s two registered employees.
Research conducted by Kaieteur News revealed that
Bronchalo, who left Exxon in February2023,isnotonlyCEOof Fulcrum LNG, but he also, wears several other professional caps at the business he registered in July 2023.
Accordingtocompanyrecords, seenbythispublication,Bronchalo is also Secretary, Treasurer,
Director and President of the company that has been contracted by the Government of Guyana (GoG).Fromallindications,hehas onlyhiredoneemployee. Kaieteur News discoveredthatIvorEllulhas beenhiredasTechnicalDirectorat FulcrumLNG.Hewasappointedin July2023andpreviouslyworkedat
SchlumbergerGeoQuestandCiSK Ventures, Ltd, among others. Ellul held senior positions, including Managing Director, Chairman, CEOandPresidentamongothersin hiscareer
The limited experience of the company has raised serious questions about its capacity to
fulfill its contracted obligations. Bronchalo’scompanywasselected as “the most responsive compliant bidder” among 16 others who tendered to develop the nonassociated gas in the Stabroek Block,operatedbyExxon.
A deeper dive into the company’s records also led Kaieteur News to the business address of Fulcrum LNG. The energycompanyoperatesfrom Continued on page 51
IntroducingGuyana’srepresentativefor MissJamzoneInternational2024Pageant, JadaAbigailJones. Jadaisfunandfitandisadedicatedprofessionalwithastrongbackgroundin psychology Thisbeautyalsohasacertificateinhealthandfitnessandisapersonal trainer,whooccasionallyenjoysahotservingofjuicywings.Inadditiontoherworkinhealth andfitness,sheservesasacontentcreatorandlogisticsofficeratJR’sConstructionandLogistics, whereshetenaciouslyusesherdiverseskillstocontributeeffectivelytoherfieldofwork.
VPJagdeofinallyreveals ExxonMobilearning “massive”returns onequity
…MinisterBharratand HeadofPetroleumUnit, BobbyGossaiclaimsno interestbeingcharged toGuyana
Since oil production began in 2019, a constant concern has lingered in the mindsofGuyanese–therate of return on the company’s investments - since Guyana could possibly be cheated billions through an unfair interestcharge.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo who manages the petroleum sector has been questioned at numerous pressconferencesinthepast onthe“interestrate”thatwas being charged by the company
This cost is particularly important since the developer, ExxonMobil, is freetodeducttheseexpenses without the prior consent of the Minister responsible for the sector, according to the lopsidedoilcontract.
During his August 8 press conference, Jagdeo told reporters there was no interestratebeingchargedto thecostbank. His comments were made following statements earlier in the week by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) callingforfulldisclosureby the government on the subject.
Jagdeo however describedthecompany’srate of return as “massive” a weeklater,duringhisAugust 15 press conference at F r e e d o m H o u s e , Georgetown.
It should be noted that since Exxon is not using loans to develop the resources discovered in the Stabroek Block, the subject ofan“interestrate”doesnot applytoGuyana. Instead, the company through its shareholders m a k e s “ e q u i t y contributions”- as outlined in Exxon’s financialstowards the development of the resources. The returns here are “massive” accordingtoJagdeo. He explained, “If you supply financing, nobody doesitandyou’reaninvestor for free, if there is a cost to you then you recover the cost. So whether it comes in the form of a loan or an equity,yougetareturn.Soin thiscase,Exxonhasmadeit clearthereisnointerestcost. They are financing the operations from equity and from their own retained earnings.Thereisnointerest cost so don’t you think they get a return on their equity? They’re getting a massive return on their equity and that is exactly what is happening here. They have chosen not to go down the interest route, but they are
getting a return on their equity.”
Nointerestrates
JustadaybeforetheVP’s media engagement, the Min
s
of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat hosted a half-year press conferencewherehemadeit clear that there was no interest being charged to GuyanabyExxon.
KaieteurNewshadasked Bharrat to clarify whether there was a rate of return on the company’s investments, whichhedenied.
“There is no interest on equity Nointerestischarged tothecostbankbottomline. No interest is charged to the cost bank as of today,” the Ministersaid.
Head of the Petroleum Unit at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Bobby Gossai also emphasized during his presentation that no interests were being chargedtothecostbank.
He assured, “Currently, there is no interest that is charged on the operation of the Stabroek Block right now. Whether that is development or production activities.”
Rateofreturn
Although it has been
revealed now that Exxon enjoysa“massive”returnon i t s i n v e s t m e n t s , policymakers have been careful not to divulge the specific rate of return on the c o m p a n y ’s e q u i t y contributions.
In a previous statement, the PNC/R highlighted that tens of billions have been invested to develop the oil fields to date. As such, it noted that even an interest rate of 5% would result in a huge cost to the country To this end, the political group flagged the possibility of Guyana losing billions in revenueleakage.
AccordingtothePNC/R, “Thesemoniescouldinstead beusedtoalleviatethecostof-living crisis, raise salaries, eradicate poverty and meet many other urgent needs.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one o f G u y a n a ’ s k e y development partners and advisors on the oil sector previously said it is an industry norm that the government of the day disallows interests from being recovered on loans. Even if this is allowed, the administration sets a cap or
limit to prevent the full interest amount from being recovered.
In Guyana’s case, the country not only allows the recovery of financing costs but also sets no cap. This means that the company’s rate of return on its equity contributions could balloon as its investments into the Stabroek Block also increase; as a result Guyana’s share of profits from the sector could be increasinglyshortened.
AlessonforGuyana: Chevronsuedforleaking oilwellsinTexas, decommissioned30 yearsago
Ashley Watt, the owner of a 22,000 acres ranch that sits above roughly 330 oil wells,hassuedAmericanoil company Chevron for dozens of leaking oil wells that have contaminated the landandgroundwateronthe Texasproperty
Watt, who inherited the ranchfromherparents,filed alawsuitinthe109thDistrict Court in Crane County against Chevron and other oil companies in December 2022. She alleges that the
multinational and smaller companiesfailedtoproperly plug and abandon wells on theproperty Shearguesthat oldwellsarenowleaking.
Watt said, “This is a colossalliabilitythat’sgoing to have to be borne by somebody…whether it’s the companies—or, if they pass the buck—the taxpayers of thestateofTexas.”
Leakingwells
Thelawsuit,accordingto Inside Climate News, could upend assumptions about pluggingoilandgaswells.
The common wisdom is thatonceanoilorgaswellis plugged, the chapter is closed Regulators don’t require operators to go back and check the plugs
Everyoneassumesthatcrude oil, produced water and gases like methane won’t leakfromapluggedwell.
Watt and her team are however documenting how decades-old plugs can fail, w i t h d i s a s t r o u s consequences She wants Chevron to re-plug and remediatewellsonherland.
The first sign that something was wrong at Antina Ranch came in June 2021,whentheEstes24well beganspewingtoxicwaterto thesurface.
The Watt family cattle operation had co-existed with oil and gas drilling for years.Herparentsboughtthe ranchin1995.
The ranch measures half the size of Washington D.C. Hundreds of wells were originallydrilledbyGulfOil in the 1940s and ‘50s. The Standard Oil Company of CaliforniapurchasedGulfin 1984, rebranding it as Chevron.
The multinational took over the Antina assets, including the Estes 24 well. Chevron plugged and abandonedthewellin1995.
(Continuedonpage16)
Frompage15
Estes 24 wasn’t supposed to leak oil or produced water, which is salty, toxic wastewaterlacedwithheavy metals that was supposedly encasedunderground.
Chevron eventually replugged the well at Watt’s insistence.Butintheprocess Wattandherattorney,Sarah Stogner, developed what they describe as a deep distrust of the company Theysaytheysetouttofind other leaking wells on the property
In the three years since the original well blowout, Watt and Stogner say they have excavated about 90 of theroughly330wellsonthe ranch and found widespread integrity problems. As the scale of their endeavor became clear, they brought on Daniel Charest, an experienced Dallas trial attorney with Burns Charest LLP
“Thisproblemwentfrom being, ‘Oh, there’s a leaky well or two,’ to, ‘There are hundreds,’”Wattsaid.
In December 2022, Watt filed the suit against Chevron and Walsh and Watts Inc., Pitts Energy Co. and Williams Oil Company, smaller oil companies that took over low-producing wellsontheranch.
The lawsuit aims to get the wells re-plugged and for Watt to be made whole for the damages to the property Watt wants the court to find Chevron and the other companies liable for contamination, require cleanup and restoration of the property and require Chevron to pay monetary damages.
Carcinogenfound
In a filing earlier this year, Watt stated that test results have found constituentsonthesurfaceor underground including benzene, toluene, arsenic, radium-226, radium-228, ethylbenzene and xylenes, all heavy metals. She no longeruseswellwateronher property and has moved all the cattle off the ranch
Benzene is a known human carcinogen; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes can all harm bone marrow, the central nervous system and the immune system.
Watt isn’t the first PermianBasinlandownerto report leaking and compromised wells on her property. But she said she is determined to get her day in court and has poured upwardsof$1.5millioninto
the case. She acknowledges thatfewlandownershavethe financialresourcestolitigate such an expensive, contentiouscase.
“This is one ranch, one part of Texas. But the scope of this problem is mindboggling,” said Charest, the attorney “There are ranches allacrossthestatethatdon’t havetheseresources.”
Chevron sought to halt the excavations with a court order, arguing they could damage the well plugs and compromiseevidencebefore trial The company also questionedwhetherWatthad theauthoritytoexcavatethe wells.
Chevron has also asked the court to compel Watt to disclose the number of contaminated wells and the specific constituents identifiedateachwell.
For decades these well plugswereoutofsightbelow the hard caliche soil of the PermianBasin.Butnowthey are key evidence in a case against one of the world’s biggestoilcompanies.
“ C h e v r o n h a s successfully re-plugged wells on Antina Ranch, without any lawsuit or court ordersrequiringustodoso,” Chevron public affairs advisorCatieMatthewssaid in an emailed statement “Chevron will continue to coordinate with the Texas Railroad Commission and respondappropriatelytoany potential concerns atAntina Ranch.”
Matthew declined to commentonthelitigation. Safedecommissioning?
“Ifwewant[wells]notto leak,weneedtodesignthem to last for the future of humanity,” said Dwayne Purvis,apetroleumengineer andoilandgasconsultantat Purvis Energy Advisors “But I don’t think anybody conceived to do that at any point in the history of the industry.”
Purvis said it’s basic economics.Apluggedwellis nolongeramoney-makerfor oil and gas operators. That means companies try to minimize costs while plugging and have no economic incentive to go back and check old plugged wells.
“Oilcompanieswon’tdo thatuntilthere’saneedtodo it,” Purvis said. “And that need is probably going to have to come in the form of regulation.”
Bankruptcies are also common among smaller operators, so in many cases thereisnocorporateentityto hold responsible for an old, leakingwell.
Oklahoma University petroleum engineer Catalin Teodoriu said that a well pluggedinthe1950sor‘60s would not meet today’s industry standards. But he agreed more research is needed to understand how corrosion and other underground forces can compromise plugged wells. Athislaboratory,Teodoriuis studying how different cementwellcasingsageover time.
“As in almost every engineering system that we build...your system will fail sooner or later,” he said. “Nothingismadeforever.”
AlessonforGuyana Guyana commenced oil production in December 2019.
Hydrocarbons were first discovered by theAmerican oil supermajor, ExxonMobil back in 2015 Currently, three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels are in operation, collectively producing about 645,000 barrelsofoilperday(bpd).
In addition to the three projects that are producing,
Exxon and its Co-Venturers
have also received regulatory approvals for another three deep-water developments, with a seventh permit pending approval.
Each project has a 20year life span after which Exxon will engage in decommissioning activities. The company has already commenced deducting moniesfromGuyana’soilto pay for decommissioning, although it has not yet f i n a l i z e d t h e decommissioningplan.
The company has said it mayplugthewells,whilethe risers used to transport the hydrocarbons to the FPSO couldbedetachedandlefton theseafloor
C o n c e r n s w e r e previously raised regarding thecompany’sintenttoleave behind its waste behind but Exxonarguedthatthismove could be better for the environment since organismscouldhavestarted livingontheequipment.
US$520MspentbyGovt. onGas-to-Energyproject since2022 …citizens,Parliamentyet toseekeydocumentsfor country’smostexpensive investment
The Government of Guyana (GoG) has invested a whopping US$520M on thecontroversialWalesGasto-Energy project, since 2022.
This information was provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources upon request by Kaieteur News According to the ministry, the government spent $24.813B in 2022 followed by$43.3Bin2023.
Thisyear,governmentin the National Budget has set aside another $40B of local fundingfortheproject.
This means a total of $108,113,000,000 or US$520M (using Bank of Guyana’s exchange rate of 208) from the National Treasury has been budgeted todatefortheproject.
The GoG had applied to the United States Export Import(US-EXIM)Bankfor a US$646M loan to support the construction of the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant and the 300-megawatt gasfiredpowerplant,butthe financing has not yet been approved.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeohadmadeitclearthat the project would not be delayed by lack of funding from the US Bank He explained in October last year,“Ifthereisneedfor,we can have bridge financing until that (loan) comes on stream and from what I gather, the loan can fund retroactive expenditure so if you have bridge financing then you can go back and clear it easily once the loan comesonstream.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat during his mid-year press conference last week indicated that the project is advancing.
He noted, “Our application at the US EXIM Bank,Ithinkwewouldhave fulfilled almost all the requirements necessary and they have I think this month or next month the next quarterly meeting or something that our matter would go there so we are hoping that, from all indications that will be successful.”
In addition to the two plants to be financed by government while the loan application remains pending, there is also an additional price tag attached tothelandacquisitionbythe state for the pipeline and t r a n s m i s s i o n a n d distribution costs of the electricity
ExxonMobil, the operator of the Stabroek Block is financing the pipeline aspect of the project, pegged at US$1B. While the project has the potentialtosupplythenation withacleaner,morereliable source of power, it has been subjected to criticisms, given its astronomical price tag, backed by no feasibility study
Government has also been reluctant to release agreements signed with Exxonfortheproject.Itwas reportedthatsince2022,the government signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Stabroek Co-ventures, ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC, that outlines the principlesandconditionsfor the commercial and technical arrangements of thedeal.
Several attempts made by the Opposition in the NationalAssemblytoaccess the agreements and key documents relative to the country’s single largest infrastructure project have been unsuccessful In December 2022, Minister Bharrat told Parliament that the agreements could not be made public yet He explained at that time, “Thereareotheragreements on supply, buyer’s a g r e e m e n t , f i e l d development, licensing conditions, onshore works, and land matters that are currentlybeingdrafted.
T h e r e s p e c t i v e agreements and policy documentswillbepresented to this Honourable House whentheyhavebeenagreed upon and executed All agreementsarebeingdonein a timely manner to meet the Final Investment Decision which will allow for the project to be completed by our committed deadline of December2024.”
F o l l o w i n g t h a t commitment however, the publicalmosttwoyearslater isstillawaitingthereleaseof thoseagreements.
AFCGovt.willenactlaws toreleasekeyoilandgas documents–Patterson –toreleasepolicyonoil andgassoon
TheAllianceForChange (AFC)willsoonbereleasing the party’s policy on oil and gas,acarefullycrafted (Continuedonpage36)
By:Sir.RonaldSanders
There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence,particularlyamong younger people and gangs. This plague has now spread from other parts of the Caribbean into Antigua and Barbuda which has recently suffered a spike in gun crimes.Throughoutmylived experience, Antigua has traditionally enjoyed a low rateofhomicides.Sadly,this treasured tradition has been shatteredbyasurgeinbroad daylight robberies, particularly of small supermarkets, and even more tragically, by an increaseinkillings.
Antigua’s current wave of violence, while deeply troubling, mirrors a broader trendthathasbeenprevalent inotherCaribbeancountries for much longer Haiti, for instance,bearsthenotorious distinctionofbeingthemost affected, with armed gangs controllinglargeareasofthe countrydespitethepresence of a Kenyan military force, invited by the government and approved by the UN SecurityCouncil.
My friend and colleague inAntigua, Lennox Weston, recently published me a sobering account of the murder rates in CARICOM countries in 2022 per 100,000 persons, as compiled by the World PopulationReview:Jamaica (53.4), St Vincent and the Grenadines (40 41), Trinidad and Tobago (39 52), St Lucia (36 7), Bahamas (31 22), Belize (27 88), Haiti (18 02), Barbados (15 27), and Antigua and Barbuda (10.67). Basedonanecdotal evidence and media reports
of killings, these figures have likely increased over the last two years, underscoring the gravity of the problem across the region.Thecontinuedillegal trafficking of guns into the Caribbean fuels this violence.Theoriginofmost of these weapons is the United States. Despite undertakings by the current U.S.administration,theflow of illegal arms has not slowed. This issue is tied to the ease with which Americans can purchase weapons,inadequaterecordkeeping, and the internal politics of the U.S., where the gun lobby—along with many citizens fiercely advocates the right to bear andpurchasearms. Aslongasgunpurchases remain a domestic political issue in the U S , the provision of critical information regarding the shipment of guns to the Caribbean will remain
sporadic, limited to occasions when U S customs officials manage to interceptillegalshipmentsat their ports This reality necessitatesthatCARICOM countries adopt cooperative measures to police their territorial seas collectively, w i t h o v e r l a p p i n g jurisdictiontointerdictships carrying illegal weapons Theproblemisasregionalas it is national, and while countries like Antigua and Barbuda are enhancing their maritime capacity, regional collaboration is essential This includes the right to pursue suspected vessels in each other’s territorial waters.
Historically, the Caribbean’s geographic position has made it
vulnerable to illicit trafficking routes, and this challenge has evolved as modern criminals exploit regional integration efforts to expand their networks. Organized criminals are taking advantage of economic integration to grow a lucrative network of crime, particularly for gun and drug trafficking,
establishing local “branches” across the region In truth, these criminals are better organized regionally than are the law enforcement agencies of CARICOM, despite the efforts of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the Regional Security System (RSS), which lack comprehensive region-wide enforcementmechanisms.
It should be noted that IMPACS itself has drawn attention to the facts that “regional gangs are increasinglyintegratingwith international criminal networks” and “gangs are increasingly diversifying into a broader spectrum of criminal activities” IMPACS also reported that in 2023, firearms accounted for 80% of all homicides in CARICOMcountries.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda, alarmed by the presence of “474 repeat offenders who are roaming our streets with impunity,” has announced that while Antiguahaspursuedaliberal immigration policy, there willbe“notoleranceforany immigrant involved in criminal activities ” Such individuals will be deported immediately upon conviction and completion
of their prison sentences. This stance is directed at persons of all nationalities, not only CARICOM nationals. Itisalsonot“antiregionalism”; regionalism was intended for the lawabiding,notforthelawless. Beyond regional efforts, there is an urgent need for stronger international cooperation. The issue of guntraffickingfromtheU.S. is part of a broader, global p r o b l e m o f a r m s proliferation. The U.S. gun lobby’s influence extends beyond domestic politics, affecting neighbouring regions like the Caribbean. Greater collaboration is needed not just within CARICOMbutwithbroader alliances, including nations and organizations like the Organization of American States (OAS), UN organizations and even European states with territories in the region that are affected by similar issues.
As President of the Permanent Council of OAS in December 2023, I introduced a resolution on “Guns, Gangs, and Vi o l e n c e , ” w h i c h r e c o g n i z e d t h e interconnectedness of transnational organized crime. The resolution called for a cross-border,
collaborative, multistakeholder approach to address the root causes and
consequences of
criminal gang
v i o l e n c e , particularly gunrelated violence
W h i l e t h i s resolution was a step in the right direction, the wheels of establishing effective enforcement mechanisms moveslowly.Unfortunately, addressingtheissueofcrime cannot afford to grind
slowly Lives and livelihoodsareatstake,asis the right of people to live in freedom freedom from fearofcrimeandtherightto live in peace. Therefore, national action, such as Prime Minister Browne is taking,isimperative.
Economic implications of rising crime are also dire. Tourism,acriticalsectorfor many Caribbean nations, could be severely impacted if the region continues to be perceivedasunsafe.
This would not only affect national economies but also the livelihoods of millions of citizens who depend on tourism Moreover, the high unemployment rates, particularly among youth, contributetotheriseingangrelated activities. Economic policies that create jobs and opportunities are vital in steering young people away fromcrime.
Prime Minister Browne has announced a series of
measures designed to curb crime, stating, “The consequences of allowing thesecriminalstodestabilize our country are too dire to contemplate We cannot growoureconomyorbuilda prosperous future for our people in an environment riddled with crime and violence Defeating these criminals is not just a priority—it is an absolute necessity for the continued safety and prosperity of our nation.”
Few in the Caribbean would disagree with him, particularly as crime is no l o n g e r r a n d o m o r occasional; it is now an organized enterprise Dismantling it requires strong,consensualactionby governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and all who wish to live in peaceful and law-abiding societies.
The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’sAmbassador to the US and the OAS. The views expressed are entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com
At just fifteen years old, sessions with early morning R e c o g n i z i n g h i s His perseverance and Malique Lindore, a grade classes, along with potential, his mother, Mr curiosity drove him to nine (third form) student managing the demands of Chase, and his teachers engage deeply with his from Chase’s Academic commuting and social offered invaluable support coursework, leading to Foundation, achieved an activities,wasnoeasyfeat. andguidance. outstanding academic extraordinary milestone in The teacher noted that According to Mr Chase, results. “Malique effectively the 2024 May/June CSEC thestudentinitiallystruggled “This encouragement led balancing schoolwork, examinations by securing 12 with reluctance towards him to attempt a total of 12 commuting, and social CSEC including eight grade learning, but the support CSECsubjectsthefollowing
onesandfourgradetwos. network consisting of his year, culminating in his exceptionalorganizationand The school said in a family and educators at impressive results His resilience Despite these release that the feat is a C h a s e ’ s p l a y e d a commitment, coupled with hurdles, he remained remarkable accomplishment transformativerole. the support he received, focused on his academic whichhighlightsnotonlythe Their encouragement, resultedin8gradeonesand4 goals. His ability to maintain t e e
l combined with the resources gradetwos.” this balance while striving intelligence and steadfast provided by the school, “Malique’s success can for excellence underscores dedication to academic helped Malique overcome
his determination and excellence but also the early obstacles and disciplined study habits and commitment,” the principal crucial role of parental and establishes a strong proactive approach to sa
institutional support in academicfoundation. education. He developed Malique’s story is not only a achievingsuchheights. A
rigorous study routines, testament to his capabilities
According to the school, principal, Malique’s journey including extensive revision but also serves as an “Malique’s path to success towards success began in and effective use of inspirationtoothers. was marked by significant second form when he was supplementary educational “His ach
sacrificesandchallenges.” given the opportunity to take resources,”Chaseexplained. emphasize the importance of Orin Chase founder and the CSEC English A and He noted too that the resilience, dedication, and principal of the school Mathematics examinations, teen’s dedication allowed the impact of a supportive lauded the student for achieving grade ones with him to excel across a wide network in achieving Chasesaid. willundoubtedlybenefithim balancing late-night study apparentease. rangeofsubjects. academic success. For many A
students, Malique’s journey Headteacher, Malique’s educational journey His can be a motivational accomplishments have laid a success in the CSEC exams e x a m p l e o f h o w solid foundation for his is a testament to the perseverance and the right future academic and career collective efforts of his support can lead to aspirations. The skills and family, educators, and exceptional outcomes ” work ethic he has developed himself.
By Rennie P
Welcome back to where you might be losing there are some key numbers the company behind the business. statement, talk about how to Talking Dollars & Making money, and how you can (or metrics) you should keep famousElDoradorum. By paying attention to make financial projections, Sense. improve. aneyeon.Forexample: Income Statement: these financials, DDL can anddiscusswhybudgetingis
If you’re thinking about The Three Key · Gross Profit Margin: DDL’s income statement make smart decisions about soimportant. starting a business or already Financial Statements This shows how much shows that a big part of their how to price their products, R e m
, haveone,understandingyour There are three main money a company keeps revenue comes from when to invest in new
financials is one of the most financial statements you from sales after subtracting exporting their products equipment, and where to financials isn’t just for importantthingsyoucando I needtoknowabout: t h e c o s t t o o b t a i n overseas. By watching their expandtheirbusiness. accountants—it’s for every consistently tell business 1. Income Statement products/services It’s a profit margins closely, Why This Matters forYou businessownerwhowantsto owners, “if you don’t know (Profit & Loss Statement): percentage that helps they’ve been able to stay Nomatterthesizeofyour succeed. As you continue to your numbers, you don’t This shows how much measure how efficiently a profitable even when times business, understanding your build your business, keep know your business ” money your business made company is producing its aretough. financials helps you make these tools in your toolkit. Unfortunately, I know (revenue) and how much it goods/services.
Balance Sheet: DDL’s better decisions By regularly They’ll help guide you to Guyanese entrepreneurs, spent (expenses) over a · Net Profit Margin: balance sheet shows they checking your income success. operating their businesses for certain period, like a month This is the percentage of have valuable assets, like statement, balance sheet, and Feel free to reach out to decades yet they cannot tell or a year It tells you if your revenue left after all their production facilities. cash flow statement, you can m e a t me if their businesses are businessismakingaprofitor expensesarepaid.Ittellsyou Theyalsomanagetheirdebts catchproblemsearly,planfor talkingdollarsgy@gmail.c making a profit or a loss and aloss. how much profit you’re carefully, making sure they growth, and keep your om with your thoughts, how much cash their 2.BalanceSheet:Thisis making for every dollar of don’towemorethantheycan businessontrack questions, and stories. Let’s businesses generate from a snapshot of what your sales. handle. What’s Next? keep the conversation going theiroperations business owns (assets) and
· Current Ratio: This Cash Flow Statement: This column is just the andbuildastrongfoundation
In this column, we’ll what it owes (liabilities) at a measures your ability to pay DDL’s cash flow statement start of our journey into for your business together explore why knowing your specific point in time. It also off short-term debts with shows they consistently understanding business Until next time, keep financials is crucial, using shows your equity, which is your short-term assets. A bring in more cash than they financials. In the coming learning, keep growing, and Demerara Distillers Limited the value of your business ratio above 1 means you’re spend, which is crucial for weeks, we’ll take a closer keep making sense of every (DDL) as an example to help after subtracting what you ingoodshape. running and growing the look at each financial dollar makethingsclearer owefromwhatyouown.
· Accounts Receivable
Why Your 3 . C a s h F l o w Turnover: This tells you Financials Matter Statement: This tracks the how quickly you’re
Think of your financials money coming in and going collecting money from like the dashboard of a car out of your business. It helps customerswhooweyou.The Just like a speedometer tells you understand if you have faster,thebetter! you how fast you’re going enoughcashtopayyourbills
Demerara Distillers and the fuel gauge tells you and keep your business Limited (DDL) how much gas you have, runningsmoothly
To help you see how yourfinancialstatementstell Important these financial statements you how well your business Numbers to Watch and metrics work in the real isdoing.Theyhelpyouseeif Once you understand world,let’slookatDemerara you’re making money, your financial statements, Distillers Limited (DDL),
The Swiss Machinery on Friday expressed their heartfelt congratulations to two women, who successfully completed theirfirstyearattheGuyanaTechnicalInstitute(GTI).
The two women, Latoya Henry and Margaret Baker are majoringinweldingandmechanicalengineering.
Swiss Machinery stated via a press release that their accomplishments are further enhanced by their successful completionofatwo-monthinternshipprogrammewithSwiss Machinery Notably, the duo have not just excelled in their studies but also made significant strides in a technical arena where women are often underrepresented “Their perseverance and accomplishments serve as an inspiring example and a powerful testament to their skills and determination. As such, the team at Swiss Machinery extended their wholehearted support and best wishes for the continuedsuccessandfutureendeavours.”
National Geographic rocks on the ocean floor
Fertilization is internal, with WhatisaJapanesespider Those round shells and long the male inserting a crab? legs give Japanese spider spermatophore, or sperm They may look like crabs an arachnid-like look, packet, into the female as something from a 1950s sci- hence their common name. their abdomens press fi film, but Japanese spider These animals also have together The female’s crabsaregentlegiants. spines behind and in front of abdomen, also called the And giants they are. Of their short eye stalks. Males apron, is where she carries the 60,000 species of are larger than females and thefertilizedeggs. crustaceans on earth, have larger chelipeds, the These enormous animals Japanese spider crabs are the legs that hold their claws, start out tiny females largest, spanning up to 12.5 though females have wider produce more than a million feet from the tip of one front abdomenstoholdtheireggs. eggsthatareabout.03inches claw to the other. They’re Diet and behaviour each. Not many will survive also one of the world’s These slow-moving to hatch, but those that do largest arthropods, animals crabs don’t hunt, preferring will emerge after about 10 with no backbone, external to scavenge for dead animal daysandgetnoparentalcare. skeletons, and multiple- or plant matter, though they They molt for the first time jointed appendages. In this may also eat live fish or about nine to 12 days after c r a b ’s c a s e , t h o s e invertebrates such as other theyhatch. appendagesareits10legs. crustaceans. Researchers have
Geographic range and This species is part of a observed that a molt of a appearance group known as decorator single Japanese spider crab Japanese spider crabs crabs which adorn their in captivity took 103 live on the Pacific side of shells with sponges or minutes, and the crab’s
When they are fished, allow their numbers to Macrocheirakaempferi Japan as far south as Taiwan anemones for camouflage. growth rate was nearly 22 however, they’re caught in increase.
Type: Invertebrates and at chilly depths ranging Juvenile Japanese spider percent. small trawl nets. They are Facts about the Japanese Diet: Omnivore from 164 feet to as low as crabs will do this, but with Conservation
considered a delicacy in spidercraft
Average Life Span: Up 1,640 feet. (They spawn at fewpredatorsatthedepthsin Japanese spider crabs Japan,butfishingforthemis C o m m o n N a m e : to100years the shallower end of that whichtheylive,adultsofthis have not been evaluated by prohibited in Japan during Japanesespidercrabs Size:12.5-footlegspan spectrum.) They thrive in speciesdon’thavetodressto the International Union for their breeding season to S
: Weight:42pounds temperatures of about 50 impress. Conservation of Nature, but degrees. Reproductive behaviour the catch of the species has In these waters, their Japanese spider crabs declinedinrecentdecades. mottled orange-and-white migrate to the shallower end They aren’t subject to bodies, cream-coloured of their depth range during large-scale commercial undersides, and spiny, oval mating season, which lasts fishing because they live at carapaces blend in with the from January until April. suchdepths.
Today’s growing emphasis on beauty and the use of beauty products is
moving beyond self-
application to the establishment of many businesses across our
country which offer beautification services
Many persons are turning to establish these businesses for reasons including employmentandapassionto make their clients look their best.
Just recently, many professionals and beauty
product providers participated in Curl Fete
2024, a major event celebrating natural hair, beautyandwellness.
FortheGuyanaNational
Bureau of Standards (GNBS), it is timely to emphasisethatstandardsare available for the beauty industry as well. One such standard is the GCP6-1997 – Code of Practice for persons carrying out the businessofbeautifyingand improving the skin, hair andnails
This Code of Practice provides comprehensive guidance for persons carrying out businesses related to cosmetology, hairdressing, barbering, shaving,manicure,pedicure, facial, body massaging and like crafts. The document prescribes the hygienic and precautionary measures that should be taken by beauty professionals to prevent transmission of any communicablediseases,and
it covers conditions such as thecertificationofpremises, licensing and registration of personnel, sanitation and sterilizationoftools.
Specifically, ensuring suitable locations, fitting f
y conditions and conformance to relevant building codes a
Premises,whileexamination and certification of beauty professionals by a medical officer are required for the Licensing and Registration ofPersonnel.
Meanwhile, to satisfy sanitation requirements, the document stipulates that the owner of premises shall be responsibleforensuringthat thefloor,walls,ceilingofthe premisesandallfurnitureare clean and free from hair, dust, dirt and other impurities The Code requires that all scissors, clippers and other nondisposable cutting tools, hairbrushes, combs and rollers shall be sterilised immediately after use Disposable razors or blades shall only be used per one customer and disposed of immediatelythereafter
Given the growing interest in beauty and wellness, particularly highlighted by the recent Curl Fete event, GNBS is reminding practitioners of the critical role they play in safeguardingpublichealthin thedeliveryoftheirservices.
The event, which primarilyfocusedonnatural
hair care, provided a stage for numerous vendors, stylists and
auty professionals It drew significant attention to the beautyindustry,makingitan opportune moment for the GNBS to reiterate the
importance of maintaining standardsintheindustry
Whether dealing with hair, skin, or nails, professionals conforming to the Code of Practice can enhance their reputation, build client trust, and
contribute to the overall improvement of the beauty industryinGuyana.
The GNBS remains committed to supporting businesses in achieving conformancewithstandards, offering resources and guidance to help them maintain excellence in their services.
F o r f u r t h e r information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064-66 or WhatsAppuson692-4627.
The Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) launched its El Dorado Master Blender’s Special Edition Rum which was aged for 12 years to celebrate El Dorado’s long standing relationship with the Caribbean Premier
League (CPL) The ceremony was held at the MarriottHotel.
In a statement to the media,DDLsaidthat,“Aged for 12 years, much like El Dorado’s enduring partnership with CPL, this
rum is a unique blend of carefully selected marques from the historical Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still, Versailles Single Wooden Pot Still, the Uitvlugt French Savalle Still, and the Diamond CoffeyStill.
The El Dorado Master Blender’s Special Edition Rum embodies the essence
of DDL’s 12-year partnership with CPL a journey marked by passion, commitment, camaraderie,
and countless unforgettable moments.
Just as CPL brings the Caribbean and the world togetherthroughcricket,this rum unites rich flavours to deliver an experience that’s meant to be savored with everysip.”
DDL’s Chairman Komal Samaroo noted: “As we mark our 12th year as the official spirit of the CPL T20,wearethrilledtounveil the El Dorado Master Blender’s Special Edition
Rum.
This limited edition represents more than a decadeofcollaborativespirit and dedication between El Dorado and the CPL, showcasing the unique heritage and flavours of our brand.
This new rum blend is crafted with the finest aged Marques from our historical stills, offering a taste experience as rich and diverseasthecricketingfans we unite. We are proud to
celebratethismilestonewith CPL,andoursupporters,and we look forward to many more years of partnership andcamaraderie.”
Pete Russell, CPL CEO, added: “Demerara Distillers Limited has been a fantastic partnerfortheCPLsincethe tournament’s inception in 2013andwearedelightedto stillhavethemsupportingus and Caribbean cricket as we enterour12thtournament.
The CPL is the Biggest Party in Sport and the
responsible enjoyment of El Dorado has done much to makethetournamentwhatit is today We would like to thank them for once again joining us in bringing the Caribbeanvibestotheworld and look forward to our partnership continuing for manyyearstocome.”
The El Dorado Master Blender’sspecialedition12year-old rum is now available for sale at local retail outlets countrywide andallDuty-FreeShops.
Frompage16 document to ensure prudent managementofthesector
Chairman of the party, David Patterson recently revealed that the first of about 18 policies seek to ensure there is transparency and sharing of information withthepublic.
“We have 18 different policy statements and every weekwewillannounceone.
The first one is on transparency, accountability and access to information,” theformerMinisterofPublic Infrastructure disclosed during an interview with Kaieteur News, on the sidelines of a Parliamentary Sitting.
Patterson added, “There will be time limits and it wouldbeinscribedinlaw,so under an Alliance For Change government, no reporter has to ask for these information – they will be made public…so no longer can any politician say that information cannot be made availabletothepublic.”
He highlighted that the Field Development Plans (FDPs) for the oil projects have not been released for the public to hold governmentandtheoperator of the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Guyana, to account on the exploitation oftheiroilresources.
Additionally, the former Minister noted that the agreements for the Gas-toEnergyprojectarestilltobe laid in the National Assembly despite repeated commitments by the administration.
These documents, according to Patterson, containkeyinformationthat ought to be shared with citizens.
K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the AFC’s Oil and Gas policy will also feature the party’s stance on ring-fencingandwastewater disposal, among several others.
Patterson who was occupiedwithParliamentary dutiesbrieflycommittedthat the first policy should be releasedonFriday
Ring-fencing in the petroleum industry is a financial term which means that each oil project should payforitself.
In Guyana’s case, politicians have not ringfenced the projects in the Stabroek Block In this manner, the revenue generated by the three projects that are currently producingoilareusedtopay for other projects which are now being developed. The
lack of ring-fencing thereforeshortenstheprofits available to be shared with Guyana.Eachmonth,Exxon is allowed to deduct a whopping 75% of Guyana’s oil towards cost The remaining 25% is split with the country as profits, with the country receiving an additional 2% as royalty –paideveryquarter
Guyana has often been urged by international experts to ring-fence the projects to ensure the country enjoy the early benefitsfromthesector
The AFC previously voiced its support for the Stabroek Block projects to be ring-fenced, however its key Opposition partner, the People’s National Congress Reform(PNC/R)remainson thefencewhenitcomestoa decisiononthesubject.
Leader of the PNC/R, Aubrey Norton had said while there may be benefits to ring-fencing, his party would still need to assess each project individually to determine whether it would gothatroute.
The two parties which previously collated and won the 2015 elections officially announcedasplitinJanuary 2023, following varied positions on a number of issues The two sides however agreed to remain cordialandengagedtotackle “PPPcorruption”.
TUESDAY
Newconcernsraisedover formerExxonVPsecuring contracttomonetise Guyana’sgas
A company established bytheformerVicePresident of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) with less than a year experience was awarded a contract to monetise Guyana’s gas resources.
Government advertised earlier this year, locally and internationally, through a
Request for Bids (RFB) for the Design, Finance, Construction,andOperation o f e s s e n t i a l g a s infrastructure to support upstream developments in Guyana Proposals were invited from qualified d e v e l o p e r s f o r comprehensive solutions to develop the required gas infrastructure, which includes the necessary pipelines to connect and monetizeupstreamgas.
Of the 17 bids opened, Fulcrum LNG, founded by Jesus Bronchalo was selected by the Government of Guyana Bronchalo worked 19 years and one month for ExxonMobil.The last position he held for the companywasVicePresident and Chief Commercial Officer for the Guyana operations; his tenure ended inFebruary2023.
According to reports, Bronchalo months later- in July 2023- launched the energy company, Fulcrum LNG, boasting “experience and expertise across all aspects of the oil and gas value chain, including lowcarbonsolutions.”
The company on its website stated, “Our gas infrastructure development approach enables faster development and execution of projects which allows for faster revenue generation, delivering reliable energy to the world, and providing decarbonization alternatives byswitchingtosignificantly less-polluting energy sources.”
Importantly, the company said its partners with some of the industry’s leading global engineering, technology, and finance firms,aswellasglobalLNG buyers, to deploy the most advanced technologies and sustainable solutions that will generate maximum valueforitsclients.
There were no mentions of completed projects by Fulcrumonitswebsite.
The deal between the GoG and the former ExxonMobil Executive continues to raise eyebrows as company details remain sketchy
It should be noted that Fulcrum LNG would be entrusted with developing the country’s gas resources for monetisation purposes, however given its a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h ExxonMobil, stakeholders remain concerned about the interests of Guyana being protectedinthetransaction.
O p p o s i t i o n
Patterson in an invited comment told Kaieteur News,“Lessthanayearlater (after) leaving Exxon, this company was awarded this contract. The company has no track record, being formed a little while ago.” He pointed out that the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Exxon highlights the need for the oil company to conduct a feasibility study for the utilisation of the gas resources.
Additionally, Patterson urged, “The GoG paid a former Trinidadian Minister US$20,000 to produce a policy, which resulted in a substandarddocument.
Based on this, any new contractshouldhaveitterms of reference placed in the publicdomainforcomment, or we will end up with a similarendproduct.”
Theformerministeralso reminded that the Government of Japan prepared a draft Gas Road Map around the year 2018 and offered to produce a more comprehensive document,freeofcharge.He therefore asked why that option was not explored by government.
ConflictofInterest?
The Ministry of Natural Resources in June defended the award of the contract to FulcrumLNG.
It said an “independent and technically competent” evaluation team was established by the ministry to conduct a detailed and robust evaluation of all 17 bids.
Fulcrum LNG was deemed the most responsive compliantbidderandranked No. 1, followed by CNOOC Power and Gas Group, ranked No 2, and a consortium of local and international companies whichwererankedNo.3.
“As such, Fulcrum LNG will be supporting the government and the Stabroek Block operator,
ExxonMobil Guyana, to utilise the non-associated gas – serving as an independent development,” theMinistrysaid.
Meanwhile, with regard to the company’s CEO, the ministry acknowledged that while Bronchalo was a former senior employee of Exxon, at the time of the evaluation, his involvement inFulcrumLNGwasknown, andhispreviousrelationship with ExxonMobil was not seen as presenting a conflict of interest, since he had severed all ties with the company
The contract award to Fulcrum LNG was first announced by President Irfaan Ali during a press conferenceatStateHousein June.
He explained, “We recently concluded the expression of interest for a major gas project outside of the Wales development (Gas-to-Energyproject).
We had a company identified, that company with the Government of Guyana and Exxon and its partners will now have to havediscussionsandwewill have to together arrive at a model and a plan as to how we will advance this major gas development in our country.”
The Head of State was keen to note that the government has since assembled a technical team to participate in the discussions and draft a model for the utilization of the gas resources. President Ali anticipates a Heads of Agreement in this regard will be signed by next year He said, “What we want is themonetisationofthegasas fast as possible to add an additional revenue stream and it’s not only gas, it’s the condensate that comes with it. For a matter of fact that has tremendous opportunity and potential for us but we can’t know that, we can’t know the degree of opportunity until the full analysis, technical (and) financial,iscompletedforus toknowwhatwehave.”
To this end,Ali revealed thatanumberofpossibilities are being examined, including the export of energy through the development of an energy corridor to Brazil and Suriname.
In addition to that, he cited the marketing of byproducts from the natural gas.
Ali also hinted at the possibilityofasecondpower plant to position the country
asanexporterofelectricity
Hughes pushes for experts to help manage Guyana’soilresources – says Guyanese are spectators as foreigners devourcountry’swealth
Amid the rapid development of the country’s oil sector with little or no oversight and expert’s technical management, Leader of the Alliance For Change, Nigel Hughes said if this is not changed quickly Guyanese willbereducedtospectators as foreigners devour their wealth.
The AFC leader was at the time speaking at his party’s public meeting held in Linden Saturday night. Hughes calls for expert’s advice is in keeping with public advocacy for the establishment of the Petroleum Commission, which the Guyana Government said would slow down the development in the sector and also would notaddanythingnewtowhat theyarecurrentlydoing.
While highlighting that thegovernmentcontinuesto boast about the construction of new hospitals, hotels and roads, Hughes pointed out that at about 50 percent of students are dropping out of school, which will result in themnothavingadecentjob. Assuchhesaid,“…Arethey going to eat the roads, are they going to be able to afford the health services thatexist,soyouknowwhat is going to happen we [Guyanese] are going to become spectators as the roads that are being built withourmoneyisbeingused byforeigners.”
He continued: “We are less than a million people brothersandsisters,lessthan onemillionpeople;wedon’t havetheskillstomanagethat kind of wealth in a responsible way and when I saythatitisnotthatwedon’t
(Continuedonpage37)
Frompage36 have the capacity or we cannotgeneratethecapacity but with that significant amount of money, you need professional help ” The AFCleaderthenrecalledthe Government’srecentvisitto
several hinterland
communities, where millions was invested
“Since we [AFC] have started these visits, the listening and the grounding tours, all of a sudden four years after the PPP [People Progressive Party/ Civic] is in office, they running to go by Monkey Mountain and telling the people that they will be getting $40 million forthisand$100millionfor that,” Hughes said, while adding, “ I just want you to thinkaboutit,$40millionis less than an hour of income fromoil,sowhenyourunto tell me that you spending $40 million of my money, it is less than an hour of my money you taking and turning around to say that somehow we must be
g r a t e f u l t o y o u
[ G o v e r n m e n t ] ”
Additionally, Hughes described Guyana’s wealth
to be so much that, “we got moneytillwestupid.Wewill end up being stupid if we don’tmanagethatmoney.”
TheAFC leader told the gathering that for years, since the country gained independence successive governments have failed to delivertoitscitizensabetter life.
He said, “For the years this country has been independent, we have failed every single cycle to deliver tothepeopleofthiscountrya better life, every single cycle.
We might have done betterinsome,inthelast32 yearsthePeopleProgressive Party has been in office for 27 [years], therefore 84 percentoftheyearsbetween 1992 to now they have been inoffice,elected.Andsowe have to seriously ask ourselves if the best we can do with all this wealth is to leave us in this struggling conditionthatwearein.”
Oilwealth
Notingthateverycitizen must benefit from the country’soilwealth,Hughes pointedoutthatthesituation onthegroundatthemoment
isthatonlypeopleconnected to the oil and gas sector do. Hefurtherrecalled,whenthe Government stated that Guyanese will benefit from the oil, through the ‘trickle down’ concept Hughes describedthistobe,“suchan offensive concept ” He explained, “Trickle down means that only the people whoconnectedtooilandgas can get enough money and hopefully they are going to employ enough people and buyenoughservices,sothat when the man that’s getting thecontractsfortheroads,or the man that’s getting the local content contract money, hopefully the maid, the taxi driver and wherever he buying his food from the restaurant will get some money.” In light of this, Hughes proposed and urged people to campaign for the oilmoneytobemanagedby experts, so each citizen can benefit from their profound wealth.
Back in March this year when Guyana appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Committee questions were raised about on whether the oil wealth
was being used to ensure every citizen benefits. The question was posed to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira. Committee member Rodrigo A. Carazo had noted that the Committeehasseeninmany parts of the world the extent natural resources have been pillaged and how natural wealth has been stripped to the bones and any wealth generated by the use of the natural resources has not been evenly distributed. To thisendhesaid,“Thedesire ofthiscommittee,thedesire of the human rights architecture is to support member states including the Cooperative Republic of Guyana in processes intended to ensure the best and fairest of distribution of wealth derived from natural resources ” Carazo explained that the even distribution of wealth promotesthewell-beingand humanrightsofallpeople.
Inherresponse,Minister Teixeira said, “The issue of natural wealth being shared, we have reported here, the increase in allocations for
healthandeducation,thefact that in every Amerindian village in our society or Indigenous village in society,everyruralvillagein our society, every municipality they are schools for children at the nursery, primary and in the regions which are large, we have secondary schools where children come (from) in the interiors where dormitoryisprovided.”
She explained that for a country of fewer than 800,000 people, coming from a poor background, significant changes have been made in terms of free education, free health care, subsidize housing, increases in the water availability in the interior and rural areas, and electricity Guyana’s first trillion-dollar budget was passed in the National Assembly last month. The largest chunk of the $1.146 trillionbudgetwasallocated to improving the country’s infrastructure: roads, bridges, sea defence and airstrips among others, with $221.4billionallottedtothis sector For healthcare and education system, $129 8
billion and $135.2 billion wereapprovedrespectively
Wednesday
Threeboystiefor topspotatCSEC –QCgirltopsCAPE
Three boys, two from Anna Regina Multilateral School in Region Two and one from Queen’s College (QC) in Georgetown have tiedwiththemostGradeOne passes at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
At the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), another QC student,Aniyah Couchman copped 11 grade one passes to covet the top spot. This is according to MinisterofEducation,Priya Manickchand who on Tuesday released the preliminary CSEC and CAPEresultsattheQueen’s Collegeauditorium.
Cautioning that this is only the “preliminary results”andnotyetofficial (Continuedonpage38)
Frompage37 results,theministerrevealed thattiedforthetopspotare:
Rudranauth Sankar of Anna Regina who secured 23 Grade Ones and one Grade Two, Pradesh Dwarka also ofAnnaReginawhosecured 23 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos, and Dave ChowtieofQueen’sCollege who secured 23 Grade Ones andsixGradeTwos.
Shenotedthatamongthe topperformersforCAPEare Couchman who secured Grade Ones in 11 units, Grade Two in two units and Grade Three in one unit; Lateisha McArthur of Queen’s College who securedGradeOnesineight units, Grade Two in four units, and Grade Three in twounits;andOmariHolder of St. Stanislaus College who secured Grade Ones in eight units, Grade Two in fiveunitsandGradeFourin oneunit.
In brief remarks, the Education Minister said that “despite there was a teachers’ strike while the children were preparing for their exams, they did not perform ‘badly’ “. “Guyana hadastrikeatoneofthemost crucial times in these children’s preparation and you know it more than me. Someschoolsdidn’t[teach], andyouseethatintheresults andsomeschoolsdid…”
Notingthedeclineinthe pass rate for mathematics
and the ministry’s intervention to bring up the grades, the minister mentioned that by September, every student in thecountrywillbeequipped with a scientific calculator, geometry set, past papers organised topic by topic done by the ministry’s math specialist, graph books, and have all the textbooks they need.
During her address, she also said that the ministry has reviewed the number of subjects some schools allow the students to write and notedthatmoreschoolswill have eligible children writing more than 12 subjectsatCSEC.“Theyare children who can write 30 subjectsandstilldowelland weshouldn’tshutthatdown for them, and so we have openeditup.
AlloftheList-Aschools haveallbeenmandatedtofix their timetable to allow the students who are eligible to write as many subjects they want,” she announced. She added that “eligible” meaning students who want towritemoresubjects.
Meanwhile, of the list of
CSEC top performers this year, they are Brianna Sobers of QC who secured 20 Grades Ones and five GradeTwos; RandhirToney of Anna Regina Secondary whoobtained19GradeOnes and seven Grade Twos; Venisha Devi Lall of Anna Regina Secondary who secured 18 Grade Ones, eight Grade Twos and three Grade Threes; Sohail
M o h a m a d o f N e w Amsterdam Secondarywho obtained18GradeOnesand three Grade Twos; and MakennaMandisaJohnnyof QC who secured 18 Grade OnesandtwoGradeTwos.
Additionally, Anaaya JainofQCsecured17Grade Ones, six Grade Twos and one Grade Three; Chitra Parbhu of Saraswati Vidya
Niketan (SVN) who obtained17GradeOnes,two Grade Twos and one Grade Three; Bomeka Singh of Anna Regina Secondary who secured 16 Grade Ones and five Grade Twos; and Gevasha Harpaul also of Anna Regina Secondary whoobtained15GradeOnes and12GradeTwos.
In relation to CAPE, the following students from QC secured Grade Ones in six units and they are Sheridan Dyal,MakailaHenry,Arthur Roberts, Gabriella Roberts and Korphiena Stephen, whileJennaHooseinofSVN secured Grade Ones in six units.
Sleeplessnights
Speaking to this publication after learning of hisresults,anexcitedSankar said the journey has been a tough one with many sleepless nights. “From 6 (am), my day would start I would go to lessons, one after the other then school; from school I go to lessons, come back 12 in the night andmaybe2inthemorning. I would have to complete SBAs and on top of that I wouldhavetorevisebecause itwas24subjectsIdid,itwas
really tough. That was how my days went by,” he explained.
He thanked his parents and grandparents who were his sole motivators. Asked about his future plans, Sankar stated that he is thinking about heading into the medical field. “It’s a great field, I think saving lives is the best job ” Sankaralsoadvisedstudents sitting the 2025 CSEC exams to be committed, dedicated and be able to sacrifice a lot things if they want good results “You havetobeabletosacrificea lot of things, things that you enjoythemost.Inmytime,I sacrificedallthegadgetsand social media just because I wantedtobehereandhere,I am,”thetopperformersaid.
Feelinggreat
Another top performer from Anna Regina Secondary, Pradesh Dwarka expressed that he felt amazingafterlearningofhis results.
“I’mfeelinggreat,thisis an experience I have been waitingforsolong,soitfeels so satisfying that I get to experience what I longed for.”
He said his preparation fortheexamsstartedearlyin the day and that he “put in a lotofhardworks”.
Asked about his future plans, Dwarka said he intendstopursuehistertiary education where he can obtain a Degree in Civil Engineering. He added that hisfatherisacontractorand he would like to pursue this tohelphisfatherinthisfield ofwork.
Hardworkpaidoff
Speakingwiththemedia, top CAPE performer, Couchmansaidshefeltvery happytoknowthatallofher hard work paid off. “I was very nervous for these resultsbutit’sgoodtoknow that the combination of all myhardworkleduptothis,” sheadded.
According to the 19year-old, her next step is p u r s i n g c o m p u t e r engineering and she intends to further her studies overseas.
LookingtopursueCAPE atQC,GabriellaLeeAnnDe Santos who secured 14 Grade Ones, 6 Grade Twos and 1 Grade Three, told media operatives she felt “pretty good” about her results and advised students who will be writing the exams next year to study early and not wait until the lastmoments.
ValueofHess’oilrichesin Guyanatobeexploredby arbitrationpanel
(Reuters)‘Anarbitration panelthatwilldecideahigh-
profileclashbetweenExxon Mobil and Chevron will delveintothesecretvalueof Hess’oil riches in Guyana’, fourpeoplefamiliarwiththe mattersaid.
Chevron last October offeredtopay$53billionfor Hess,oneofthetwobiggest deals in the largest wave of consolidation in the oil industryindecades.
The asset most coveted byChevroninthetakeoveris Hess’s stake in a Guyana field operated by top U.S. rivalExxon.
Exxon and China’s CNOOC, another partner in theventure,havechallenged the deal, claiming a contractual first right to buy Hess’s stake in the field, a matter to be decided by a three-person arbitration panel.
Getting the panel to considertheappraisedvalue is central to Exxon’s claim that the deal is an asset acquisition disguised as a merger Exxon believes the Guyana asset is so valuable thatthemergerwouldtrigger achangeofcontrolandgive Exxon and CNOOC a right of first refusal to the asset sale,thepeoplesaid.
On the other hand, Chevron and Hess do not believe the Guyana valuation will have any bearing on the panel’s view of the contract arbitration. Their position is ‘Exxon’s rightdoesnotapplybecause there is no change in Hess’ control of its Guyana unit’, people familiar with their thinking said. Valuation can beacriticalandlengthystep in change of control disputes,saidChristopherB. Strong, a vice president at trade group Association of International Energy
Negotiators (AIEN) and a partner at Vinson & Elkins law firm, which has done workforExxon.
Theprizeinthecontestis Hess’ 30% stake in the Stabroek offshore Guyana jointventurewithsome11.6 billion barrels in oil and gas discovered so far. The consortium, which includes Exxonwitha45%stakeand CNOOCwith25%,operates all of Guyana’s output and earned $6 33 billion in profits last year by pumping 137 million barrels of oil. That output is expected to morethantripleby2027.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Reuters earlier thisyearhewouldconsidera counterbid for all or part of Hess Guyana’s stake, but only after the arbitration panel accepts its claim to first right, and a price has beendetermined.
Woods’positionremains unchanged, people familiar with his thinking said this month. Wall Street analysts estimate Hess Guyana represents about 70% of Chevron’s$53billionbid.
NOCOMPROMISE
The case hinges on whether a change of control in Hess Guyana will occur The deal is structured so Hess will remain intact and become an affiliate of Chevron,thetwocompanies have said “Exxon and CNOOC continue to ignore the plain language of the operating agreement, and Chevron and Hess remain confidentthatthearbitration will confirm that the Stabroek ROFR (right of first refusal) does not apply to the merger,” the companies said in response toReutersquestions.
Chevron CEO Michael Wirthrecentlydismissedthe chance of any compromise with Exxon and CNOOC. The companies had held talks earlier this year, but they halted when Exxon filed the arbitration case. “It doesn’t appear that (a compromise) is how this is
goingtoendup,”Wirthsaid onAug.2.
However, if the panel accepts, the right of first refusalapplies.Hesshassaid it will not sell its Guyana stake to Exxon or CNOOC. H e s s w i l l r e m a i n independent if the Chevron deal is quashed, CEO John Hesssaidearlierthisyear PRESSURE ONCHEVRON
Chevron could use a Guyana boost. Its profits have fallen for the last six quarters on a year-over-year basis. Its share price has dropped 8.7% in the last 52 weeks, compared with a 7.7% increase at rival Exxon. In May, Exxon closed its $60 billion acquisitionoftopU.S.shale oilproducerPioneerNatural Resources, which was the biggest acquisition in the latest consolidation wave. The deal helped Exxon deliver $9 24 billion in second-quarter earnings, more than twice Chevron’s profitforthesameperiod.
“(Exxon) is in the best shape I’ve seen it in 20, 25 years. It has put itself in a remarkable position,” said oilanalystPaulSankey
Meanwhile, Chevron’s CEO is shaking up the company, replacing lieutenants and relocating the company’s headquarters to Texas from California. Wirth also aims raise up to $15 billion from asset sales, aftertheHessdealcloses.
Hehadhopedtoclosethe dealinthefirsthalfof2024, and the delay stalls Chevron’s ability to reap cost savings, staffing and operating synergies in addition to slowing its asset sales Hess shareholders miss out on getting Chevron’s much higher dividend payments, which wasalureforthedeal.
A second-half 2025 closing could pressure Chevron into a settlement that lessens promised deal benefits, analysts and investorssaid.
But if the valuation proves to be higher than Exxon expects, it also could make a counterbid more expensive.
“Exxon may be creating enough uncertainty in the situation that it’ll be worthwhile for Chevron to perhaps give up some economics in order to get this thing resolved,” said Roy Behren, co-president at Westchester Capital Management, which owned nearly$226millioninHess
(Continuedonpage39)
Frompage38 stock at the end of June, accordingtoLSEG.
THURSDAY
Senegalsetsup commissiontoreviewall oil&gascontracts –saysmoveistoensure dealsalignwithnation’s interests
While ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) and its Stabroek Block partners,HessandCNOOC, continue to enjoy tax exemptions and other benefitsfromalopsideddeal in Guyana, foreign oil companies operating in Senegal now face the possibility of contract revisions by the new administration to ensure a fairerdistributionofbenefits foritscitizens.
On Monday, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced that the governmenthasofficiallyset up a commission that is tasked with reviewing oil and gas contracts that were signed with multinational corporations. African News reported that the PM made the announcement on national television insisting that the team of legal, tax, and energy sector experts will work meticulously to make sure all legal aspects are carefully examined and are aligned with the country’snationalinterest.
Sonko reiterated his government’s ambition to rebalance the energy contracts in the national interest Back in April, Senegal’s newly elected President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye had revealed plans for a comprehensive auditofthenation’soil,gas, andminingsectors,andtheir terms and conditions under which they were handed out by his predecessor Reuters r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e announcement followed a campaign promise to renegotiate the terms of oil, gas and mineral contracts withforeignoperatorsinthe country
On June 11, 2024 Senegalofficiallybecamean oil and gas producer for the first time after Australian group Woodside Energy announced first oil at its Sangomar project off the African country – S& P Global reported. Phase one of Sangomar, which alongside BP’s massive Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project could overhaul the Senegalese economy, will produce
100,000 barrels of crude, according to the Australian oilandgascompany
President Faye has vowed to ensure the nation benefits from its resources that are being extracted by foreign companies. Faye’s announcement looking for a change in a country of approximately 18 million people, strongly contrasts with that of Guyana’s Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo who while in opposition promised to renegotiate the lopsided ExxonMobil Guyana
Limited (EMGL) a subsidiary of American oil giant Exxon, but has since changed his tune- even denying that he had ever madesuchapromise. Guyanarefusing toreviewdeals
InGuyana’scase,thereis the2016ProductionSharing Agreement (PSA) that was signed by the former APNU+AFC Government
with Exxon While
Guyanese have long accepted that the deal is lopsided–one that benefits theoilcompaniesmorethan it does the country, the PPP/C Government has refusedtobringExxonback to the negotiation table, all while allowing the oil company to ramp up productionoffshoreGuyana. The first oil discovery was made in 2015 and by December 2019, the blockpartners moved to oil production. Since 2015, ExxonMobilanditspartners have made more than 30 additional offshore oil and natural gas discoveries within the Stabroek Block. The government recently disclosed that the block holds some 11 6 billion barrels of oil. With three projects producing oil in the Stabroek Block some US$1.5 billion monthly is being generated. The three projects – Liza One, Liza TwoandPayara–producing over 600,000 barrels of oil
daily Guyana’s oil productioncomesfromthree floatingproduction,storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels: Liza Destiny, Liza Unity,andProsperity Exxon already has another three projects in the pipeline –Uaru, Yellowtail and Whiptail. Exxon targets a daily output of 1.2 million barrels of oil by 2027 from Guyana’s Stabroek Block. The Exxon deal gives Guyana a 2% royalty on its richresources,andagreesto theoilcompaniesrecovering 75% of investments before theremaining25%isshared,
with Guyana receiving 12 5% The arrangement, withthelackofring-fencing, sees Guyana paying for projects that are yet to commence production activities.
Notably, the oil deal provides for taxes owed by the company to be paid by Guyana. The PSA states at Article 15 1 that the Contractor (ExxonMobil Guyana Limited) as well as its affiliates shall not be subjected to tax, valueadded tax, excise tax, duty, fee, charge or impost in respect of income derived from petroleum operations, propertyheldortransactions exceptasspecifiedunderthe agreement.Itgoesontostate at Article 15.4 that the sum equivalenttothetaxesowed bythecompanywillbepaid by the Minister responsible for Petroleum to the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). Notably, theGoGalsoagreedtoissue a receipt to ExxonMobil, indicatingthatithasmetthe local tax requirements to avoid the burden of double taxation.
Jagdeochangeoftune
A passionate and almost angry Jagdeo while functioning as Leader of the Opposition, just over three years ago, said in an interview that the then APNU+AFC Government “sold” the country to “foreigners” because that administration failed to includering-fencingtoshore up profits from the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with American oil giant, ExxonMobil.
At that time, Jagdeo assured that when the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) returned to office, this would be a priority when the contract is renegotiated. “They sold us outtotheforeigners.
Theoilcompanies,every timethereisafindoutthere, our people should be sad because nothing comes our way We are gonna renegotiate those contracts because that’s not what we had in mind,” Jagdeo said then.
He added, “When we were in the early days, we were coaxing the people (ExxonMobil) to go along. They (Coalition) came into office – three billion barrels of proven reserves and they gave up zero royalties, no taxes, no ring-fencing ” Soon after taking office in 2020,thenowVicePresident (VP) has not only changed
his tune but also his tone when it comes to the renegotiation of the Exxon contractandsecuringgreater benefits for Guyanese. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) has consistently dispelled claims that they promised to renegotiate the Stabroek Block PSA, while inopposition.
Jagdeo, a key figure in Guyana’s energy policy, reiterated during press conferences and interviews that the current contract’s terms must be respected to maintain investor confidence. He underscored the economic benefits Guyana derives from the agreement, including substantial revenue and job creation in the oil sector Jagdeo had defended the government’s decision by stating,“WehaveaPSAthat determines our shares of the proceeds, so we are limited bythat.”
As it relates to President Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s 9th Executive President–he has maintained a firm stance against renegotiating the existing PSA In an interview with the BBC last year, Ali acknowledged criticisms that the deal skewedbenefitsinfavourof ExxonMobil, stating, “We did not have the best of deals.” Despite recognizing the deal’s shortcomings,Ali underscored the importance of upholding the sanctity of contracts, asserting, “We cannot go back and renegotiate.”
Malenursefound deadinhotelroom …colleaguesayshewas recoveringfromdengue fever
Amalenursewasfound dead on Thursday morning in a hotel room on Main Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice and one of his colleagues said he was recovering from dengue fever
DeadisWiltonLongford Benn, a 63-year-old Public Health Nurse from Lot 82 William Street, Kitty, Georgetown.Policesaidina press release said that about 09:02hrs Thursday, ranks responded to a report of a bodyfoundmotionlessatthe hotel. Upon arrival, ranks located the body of Benn in room238.
Emergency medical services were called to the scene and, whilst on the ground, pronounced Benn dead at the location. The cause of death is currently
underinvestigationandisto be determined by a postmortemexamination.
According to Holly Trim, a 38-year-old Public Health Nurse, she and Benn are attached to the Maternal a n d C h i l d H e a l t h Department, Ministry of Health. Ms. Trim further mentioned that Benn was recovering from dengue fever Shenotedthatsheand Benn went to Berbice on Wednesday to do a supervisory visit to the different health facilities to see how they are managing thenewHPVvaccine.
At about 08:45hrs Thursday, a driver for the Ministry of Health went to thehoteltopickupBennand Trim, who was also staying in a separate room in the hotel to take them to Corentyne to conduct their supervisory visit. Ms. Trim and the driver both knocked onBenn’sroomdoorbutgot no answer As such, the driver broke the door, and upon entering, they saw Bennlyingmotionlessinhis room The emergency medical team and the police wereinformedsubsequently Investigationsareongoing.
Govt.yettoclose1999 to2020auditof ExxonM’sexpenses –butsays“atleast wearedoingthem”
Come next month, the Government of Guyana (GoG) will award a contract for the third audit of ExxonMobil’s multibilliondollar expenses, incurred between 2021 and 2023, however, two previous reviews of the company are yet to be closed. For the Minister of Natural Resources,VickramBharrat, completing the audits is not as important as starting the reviewprocess.Theminister was asked at his mid-year pressconferencebyKaieteur Newstosaywhytherewasa delay in the completion of the audits, especially when the2016ProductionSharing Agreement (PSA) sets a strict timeline for the completionofsuchreviews. BharratsaidthattheVice President, Bharrat Jagdeo previously addressed this concern, and he could not provideadifferentresponse. H e n o n e t h e l e s s conceded that the audits havebeendelayedbutnoted “the point is that we are doing the audits ” The minister in an attempt to deflectresponsibilityfor the
incomplete audits pointed outthatthePPPgovernment waspushingfortheauditsto becompleted.Toqualifyhis position, Bharrat said, “Many other audits were delayed, no other audit was donefrom2016to2020,not a single one.Whether it’s in the CGX, DemeraraBerbice, Kanuku or whichever (oil) block. We started to push these audits and we are moving now to the third audit so the commitment is there by the government and by the operator to ensure that we get this audit done and I thinkthatisimportantandto bedoneproperlytoo.”
Audits are critical to ensuring that the country was not cheated by the oil companies through the procurement of goods and servicesfromthecompany’s contractors. This process is particularly important since the oil contract with Exxon provides for the operator to deduct 75% of the monthly revenues generated to clear its expenses. The remaining 25% is then shared with Guyana as profits. Without finalizingtheauditsGuyana wouldnotbeabletoreclaim the illegal costs claimed by theoilcompany
Todate,twoauditsofthe company’s expenses have beenconductedbutareyetto beclosed.Thefirstauditwas done by a British firm, IHS Markitfortheperiod1999to 2017. That audit examined expensestotallingUS$1.7B. Auditors had recommended US$214M be contested by the state and while the government has accepted this recommendation, there hasbeennomovetothenext step to reclaim the cost.The process is still stalled with discussions ongoing between the GoG and Exxon.
Meanwhile, the second audit was conducted by a local group, Ramdihal & Haynes Inc , Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. That audit examined expenses totalling US$7.3B covering the period 2018 to 2020.
Based on the agreement, Guyanacanconductanaudit within two years from the endofeachcalendaryear At the conclusion of the process,theContractormust be furnished with the report and its findings within 60 days to provide a response. The response from Exxon will detail its objection or acceptance of the audit claim, along with explanationsthereof.
JacksonFicklewasinthe 98th percentile of dreamrememberers Most mornings, Jackson was able to recall his previous night's dream From the age of seven onward, he had experienced at least 4 recurring dreams (recurring beingdefinedasadreamthat has been repeated at least twice).Thefirsttookplacein a jungle and involved Jackson's family needing to besavedfromawildtiger In the second, Jackson lived in a clear hamster ball the size of a house, but his roommatesdidnotresemble anyone from his real life The third recurring dream took place under the ocean, whereJacksonfoundhehad no problem breathing, but did have a problem with a group of angry merpeople. The last and most recurring, involvedJacksonsittingina pitchblackroomwhereonly another set of eyes are visible This is the dream Jacksonlikestospeakabout theleast.
But as Jackson regained consciousness and opened his eyes next to a still sleeping,Tarza,hecouldnot remember a single dream Hecouldnotrememberwhy he had fallen asleep in the firstplace.Andhecouldnot remember where he was. It was the Boss of Ships, and their muffled voice, that reminded him of his situation.“Isheawakeyet?” askedtheBoss.
“Looks like he's coming to right now,” said an assistant Jackson could barley make out the shapes and faces of the speakers through the hard hazy foam that encased him. He tried moving his right hand, then his left When neither budged, he tried moving his right leg, then his left. In a rather desperate attempt to feel some sense of freedom, Jackson tried to wiggle his ears, but then remembered thathehadneverbeenableto dothat.“Letmetalktohim,” said the Boss. The assistant raisedaglowingmechanical wand towards Jackson. He watched as the tool turned the foam around him a dull orange It receded rapidly until Jackson's head and right shoulder were uncovered.
Jackson shook his head from left to right, happy to once again be able to move and wiggle whatever he liked, excluded his ears, whoselackofmobilitycould not be blamed on anything otherthangenetics.Jackson, havingbeenaroundByzongs for a small but significant amount of time now, and
being adept at assimilating i n t o n e w c u l t u r a l circumstances (a trait of his that you may not have been aware of until this moment) asked the Boss of Ships a question, using the proper Byzongetiquette.
“Wonderful ship you have here! May I please be letgo?”heasked.
The Boss of Ships gave anapprovingsmile.
“You have excellent manners for a prisoner No, youmaynot,”heresponded.
Jackson began to smack hislipsinvoluntarily.
“What's that last in my mouth? Is that foam strawberry flavored?” he asked,stillsmacking.
Anassistantwithearsso long that they flopped down behind her head, stepped forwardwithasoftclangand asmile.
“Excellent observational skills. That is the flavoring that I added to make the experiencemorepleasant.”
“Well I don't like it one bit,” said Jackson candidly “I'dpreferchocolate.”
TheBosspuffedhischest out.
“How dare you question Maartosh! She is a galaxyrenowned flavorologist. She decided the taste of everythingonthisship!”
“You must mean 'every bit of food on this ship,'” Jacksoncorrected.
“No, I mean everything on this ship,” the Boss replied “But not everything has a taste,” Jackson retorted The Boss scoffed. “Solarwind! Name onethingthatdoesn'thavea taste!”Jackson was flabbergasted Surely, The Boss wasn't serious He lookedaround.
“The floor The floor doesn't have a taste,” said Jacksonproudly
“It certainly does It tastes of bitter metal,” said Maartosh. “I made sure of it.”Jacksonshookhishead.
“No,but,that'snotataste like a taste that you would enjoy,that'sjust…”
“Ah ha!” shouted The Boss “You are confusing taste with good taste! Of courseeverythinghasataste to it, they're just not all to
your liking Imagine if everything tasted sweet and wonderful.Noonewouldget anythingdone!”
Maartosh nodded “They're be licking everything, all the time That's why I make sure that thethingsthatshouldn'ttaste good,don'ttastegood.”
“But but, you don't needtodoanythingtomake afloortastebad.Ittastesbad already!” said Jackson. “Ah ha again!” said the Boss. “A moment ago, you said it didn'thaveataste.”
Jackson was about to shout something back, until herealizedthattheBosshad apoint.
As he often did when he had nothing more clever to say, he tried to change the subject He looked over at Tarza,stillfrozeninfoam.
“If you're going to leave me stuck here, could you at leastletTarzajoinus?”
The Boss of Ships stomped his excessively loudboot.
“You mean your coconspirator??”hehowled.
“Co-conspirator? I just metherafewmomentsago,” Jacksondefended.
The Boss gave a cocky smile.“You'vebeensetinour Intruder Immobilizer foam for three hours, so I highly doubt that,” he said. “Three hours?!” Jackson said with alarm.“You'vegottoherout ofthere,now!”
The Boss sighed. “Oh, she's perfectly fine The foam allows all necessary functions while providing essential nutrients We've been monitoring you both theentiretime.Afterall,you areofgreatimportancetous, PresidentRacha.”
The Boss nodded again t o t h e a s s i s t a n t “Nevertheless ”The assistant moved their foammeltingwandaroundTarza's until she was free to move h e r h e a d A l m o s t immediately, she started to rouse Jackson breathed a sighofrelief,thenturnedhis attentionbacktotheBoss.
“Thank you But stop calling me President Racha!”heinsisted.
The Boss grabbed a (Continuedonpage41)
Supplies: Cornflour, playsand,vegetableoil,food colouring,spoon, Step1
Mixtwocupsofcornflour with three cups of sand together in a bowl. We have used regular play sand this works best with fine sands, and works nicely with colouredplaysandstoo.
Step2
Pour half a cup of vegetable oil into the sand
Williams
and flour mixture. You can also add some drops of food colouring at this point if you want to make coloured sand. Mix with a spoon and then with your hands to squish it allfirmlytogether
Step3
Yoursandisnowreadyto play with! Find a surface (be prepared–itwillgetmessy!) and you can start to mould, cut and shape your DIY kineticsand.
Step4
We've used play dough cutters and tools with our sand.
It'salsofuntoplayaround with making different textures by pressing objects intoit.
Following
a more natural and friendly life
1.Taketimetoenjoythe thingsofnature.
With all the gadgets that tend to take up so much of our time, like the television, electronic games
and cell-phones, we sometimes do not bother to look around us to check out thethingsthatcanreallyadd value, as well as joy and comforttoourlives.
Take the time to admire and absorb the beauty and calmness that surrounds us wherever we go in our country, and you will find a source of upliftment and peace that will help you to
concentrate more deeply, andliveahappierlife..
2 Identifythethingsyou aregoodatandplanyourlife aroundthese.
Each of us has our special qualities and talents, andwewillgetthemostout of our lives if we emphasise and develop these, so that theywillworktoachieveour goals.
In fact, once you have identified these talents, you should try to frame your goalstomakethebestuseof them.
Thiswouldgivethemthe best chance of success, and
UncleRoyisagainappealingtoourreaderstomakea contributiontothiscolumnbyeithergivingafeedback onwhatispublished,askingforsomehelpwithsome personal problem, offering some advice to fellow teenagers,orsharingthenewsofwhatishappeningin his/her community. Please send your contribution to roypaul2002@yahoo.com
Frompage40 tablet from another assistant and reviewedtheinformationbeamingfrom its surface As Jackson had already learned, Byzongs place a good deal of importanceonnames,andtheBosswas embarrassedatthepotentialblunder “How is it that you pronounce it, then? Earth names are all so oddsounding to me,” he said sincerely Jacksonshookhishead.
“No,youdon'tunderstand.I'm—“ “Charming belly you have!” interruptedTarza,stillgroggyfromthe foam.“Whathe'stryingtosayisthathis titleisPresidentSupremeandUltimate RuleroftheEarth,Racha,TheOneand Only.”The Boss gave a demonstrative
youwillfeelmorefulfilledin makingfulluseofgiftswith which you have been endowed.
3. Speak less and listen more.
People have a natural habit of wanting others to listentoandaccepttheirown views,andsotheylistenless towhatothershavetosay In fact, many times people are so anxious to get theirownperspectiveacross to others that they hardly everlisten.
This of course lessens their chances of learning fromothers,whichcanserve to keep them from much informationandopinionthat
would have enriched their ownfundofknowledge.
Formahabitofreally listening to others, and you will be surprised at how much you can learn, by whichyoucanhelpyourself aswellasseetheopportunity tohelpothers.
In this effort, it is true thattherearetimeswhenyou can help people with some problem simply by listening tothem.
This happens because people can find their own solutions just because they know that they have someone who is willing to listen to and understand them.
Leteachmanlearntoknowhimself; Togainthatknowledgelethimlabour, Toimprovethosefailingsinhimself, Whichhecondemnsinhisneighbour.
Howlenientourownfaultsweview, Andconscience'svoiceadeptlysmother; Yet,oh,howharshlywereview Theselfsamefailingsinanother!
Andifyoumeetanerringone Whosedeedsareblamableandthoughtless, Consider,beforeyoucastthestone, Ifyouyourselfarepureandfaultless.
Solistentothatsmallvoicewithin, Whosewhisperingsoftmakemenconfounded, Andtrumpetnotanother'ssin; You'dblushdeepifyourownweresounded.
Eachofuscanbenefitfrom examiningourlifeandusing ourconsciencetocheck forourflawsandimprove.
bow.“Ah, yes, sorry to have been so disrespectful,” he said with a chuckle. The assistants behind him joined in as well.JacksonlookedatTarzainshock. HecouldnotunderstandwhyTarzahad lied.Hehadjusttoldherhours-that-feltlike-moments ago that he was not in fact, President Racha And he was equally in shock that she knew the full title that President Racha had given herself in an oft-ignored executive ordermeantto“jazzuptheofficealittle bit.”“Pardon us your Supremeness, but we're going to go get Inquisitor Slah,” said the Boss. “I understand she never finishedinterviewingyou.”
The Boss walked up to Tarza and staredherrightintheeyes.
“AndIimagineshemayhavesome questionsforyouaswell.”
Uponhearingtheword“interview”, Jacksonagainbegantosweatprofusely again.“We'll be leaving you in the care
of two of our most advanced ROBs, Prod and Dusty,” the Boss continued. JacksonwhisperedtoTarza,“'ROBs'?”
“Short for robots,” she whispered back “What do you call them on Earth?”“Bots,” he answered “How odd,”shesaid.ProdandDusty,walked into the room just as the Boss and the assistants left Their footsteps were practically inaudible, given that each was wearing a pair of bright yellow Fellswig Robot Slippers, designed to makesurethatnorobot,nomatterhow large and no matter how heavy, makes more noise than you with their metal feet. “Hey, Prod. Hey, Dusty,” said Tarzanonchalantly.“Hello,Tarza,”said Prod.“Hiya, Tarza,” said Dusty with a waveofhismechanicalarm.
“You know them?” asked Jackson. “OfcourseIdo,”smiledTarza.“I'mthe one that built them.” Jackson felt more sweatgettrappedbythefoam.
ThefinishedpuzzleshouldbefilledwithXs,Os,andIs. Rows,columns,anddiagonalsshouldnevercontainthree-in-a-row ofanyonesymbol.Eachrowandcolumnshouldcontainan equalnumberofeachsymbol.Thereisauniquesolution.
Andinself-judgmentifyoufind Yourdeedstoothersaresuperior, ToyouhasProvidencebeenkind, Asyoushouldbetothoseinferior
Exampleshedsagenialray Oflightwhichmenareapttoborrow; Sofirstimproveyourselftoday, Andthenimproveyourfriendstomorrow
Jasmine Morgan and Mariah Ernest both students at Chase’s Academic Foundation have attained Grade one passes at CXC Englishsubjects.
Morgan sat just English A while her counterpart, Ernestwaspromptedtotake on both English Language andLiterature.
The bold move by the two teens proved to be the right step as they prepared diligentlyandevenstoodout amongfifthformerswhoare years older Morgan recalls initially feeling uncertain about her decision but followed through because “there was no turning back and now I am most happy withthatdecision.”
Speaking on her preparation Morgan said, “Preparation mentally and emotionallywasanecessary buttoughtaskgivenmyage. Ioftenhadinklingsofdoubt pryitswayintomymindbut despite that, I willed myself tostaystrong.Academically, it was also a tedious task, at home studying and the gruelling hours of extra lessons always left me exhausted.” She accredits her success to her support system(family,teachersand
friends)allofwhomplayeda majorroleinhersuccessand also her love for language which made the task somewhateasier
Ernest,ontheotherhand, took on a more demanding task by including Literature to her list; a subject which challenges, even the older students.
Nevertheless, she succeeded with no surprise to any of her teachers Deciding to take up the challengewasnottotallyher choice,ratheracombination of her teachers and parent. She recalls feeling very nervous upon actually confirming her registration for the subjects and had to getconstantencouragement, luckily Ernest was gifted withexcellentteachers.
Her schedule was rigorous having lessons in the afternoons throughout the week and even on Saturdays and even still doing individual work at homeafterextraclasses. The biggest challenge for Ernest came where she had to balance her CSEC preparation with her regular classes.Allthenervesfaded whenshefoundoutherwork wasallforgoodandsecured
herGradeOne. Shestated“Ihadspentso long questioning whether or notIwouldpassandthenthe resultscameanditturnsoutI hadn’t just passed but achieved grade ones, I felt really relieved, proud and happy that I was able to reachmygoal.”
Theteenalsosharedthat she has learned that “a challengeisalwaysgoodand during that you should have a strong support system and have to work hard within yourself and you will achieve your goal no matter whatitmaybe.”
In addition to the young
teens, their classmates also secured excellent passes in the subject area, namely Gabriella Edmonson, Jenay Poornomassy, Emma Reid, Dikalia Corlette, and Ninth Graders Triston Williams, Zahra Anthony, Omarie Dowridge, Demitry Mohamed, Emmanuel
Chase’s Academic Foundation extended congratulations to all the CSEC students and thanked their parents for trusting the school with their academic journey
DoneByChristalYong
With just one
month to
p r e p a r e , Guyana has selected their first representative to participate the Miss Cosmo InternationalPageant.
US-based former Miss Universe Guyana contestant
Misha Caleb was chosen based on her fantastic and strong performance in this
year Miss Universe Guyana 2024 to represent the beautifullandofGuyana.
The Miss Cosmo
Internationalisaprestigious beauty pageant that aims to empower women as well as promote diversity and inclusion in the beauty industry will be held on October 5, 2024 in Ho Chi MinhCity,Vietnam. Miss Cosmo Guyana 2024, Caleb a former Miss
Universe candidate who captured the hearts of many with her exceptional performance in the Miss Universe Guyana 2024 and is hoping to make Guyana proud on the international stage at the Miss Cosmo pageant.
Caleb is a Guyaneseborn, 24-year-old HR business partner, a graduate ofHowardUniversity,anda literacy advocate. She will
be representing Guyana on the world stage at the inaugural Miss Cosmo 2024 in Vietnam Caleb champions early childhood literacy not only in her pageant platform but also in her non-profit organization, AdvanceGuyana.
Since 2021, she has worked hands on with her NabaclisandOnderneeming community in facilitating literacy-based community
e
programmes With her degree in Business, Caleb hopes to sustainably grow her organization nationally to continue supporting libraries in underserved communities and empower the next generation of leaders.Caleblooksforward toreturningtohercountryto serve within communities duringherreign.
Two phenomenal Guyanese women were selectedastheAssistantCoDirectorsoftheMissCosmo Guyana 2024. The two beauties are, Imarah Radix former Miss Guyana World 2009 and one of the first mothers of the Miss
Universe Guyana 2024 who captured the Toni Burnett Award and Katifa Lester a Top 6 finalist who was the first married and pregnant contestant in Miss Universe Guyana2024.
Lester told T h e Waterfalls, “Since it is our first year, we only had one month to prepare so we decided to select the queen but next year, we do plan to host the local leg of the pageant.”
She nevertheless expressed confidence in the representative for the pageant, “I feel really good and confident in myself, I know that we put together a good team, everybody is willing to work hard to do what we have to do to
representourcountry.” Lester explained that Miss Cosmo International is more than just a beauty pageant. It is a platform for women to showcase their talents, intelligence, and passion for making a positiveimpactintheworld. Contestants are judged not only on their physical appearance but also on their character, intellect, and commitment to social causes.
Miss Cosmo 2024 will incorporate public activities in collaboration with local authoritiestostageextensive festivals and grand events throughout Vietnam in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, NinhBinh,LongAnandDa Lat.
The semi-final October 2, 2024 and Final Show October 5, 2024, in Ho Chi MinhCitywillkickoffwith a series of dynamic events. The selection committee, beauty queens and international experts will come together to share their knowledge and experience to determine the deserving winner in this year’s Miss CosmoGuyana2024.
All Miss Cosmo contestantsarerequiredtobe between the ages of 18- 30 years. All contestants must be a citizen of the country they are representing and mustpossessthetitle“Miss” being unmarried and childless.
The Central Islamic
Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) anditsschoolsAl-GhazaliIslamic Academy (AIA) and the Meten Meer Zorg Islamic Academy (MIA) have revealed academic prowess and outstanding performances this year in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate(CSEC).
According to a release issued by CIOG, among the top performersarebeneficiariesofthe Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)programme.
The top students of the AlGhazaliIslamicAcademy(AIA)in Georgetown were, Raienah Shadick with 12 subjects, Arshad Morgan with 10 subjects, and Sarah Ally with seven subjects, amongothers.
The top performers of MIA were,MohamedAfzalHussainand Firaez Khan, both securing 10 subjects respectively, the two students are also among the top performers from the OVC programme.
Furthermore, the top student for MIA, Hussain has been recognized for his outstanding performance at this year's CSEC examinations where he gained 10 subjects inclusive of five-grade onesandfive-gradetwos.
He achieved five Grade Ones, including a straight-A profile in Principles ofAccounts, Principles of Business, and Electronic Document Preparation and Management(EDPM).
Additionally, Firaez Khan, a student of the Al-Ghazali Islamic Academy (AIA) who is also a beneficiary of the OVC programme also excelled, passing 10 subjects with one Grade One, four Grade Twos, three Grade Threes,andtwoGradeFours.
The release further stated that the top student of AIA, Raienah Shadick emerged as the top student, impressively passing 12 subjects with a stellar record of five Grade Ones, six GradeTwos, andoneGradeThree.
“Her consistent performance across a wide range of subjects highlights her dedication and academic prowess,” the release said.
In addition to that, Arshad Morganexcelledinhis10subjects, securing six Grade Ones, three GradeTwos,andoneGradeFour
TheCIOGnotedthathisstrong performance, particularly in achievingahighnumberofGrade Ones, underscores his potential andhardwork.
SecuringsixGradeOnes,three Grade Twos, and one Grade Four, Arshad Morgan, also displayed a
strongperformanceinachievinga high number of Grade Ones, underscoreshispotentialandhard work.
Thereleasestated,“SarahAlly, with a focus on fewer subjects, passedsevensubjects,earningone Grade One, five Grade Twos, and one Grade Four, reflecting her solid understanding and capability.”
Notably, Nuresha Lakram completed three subjects, achieving two Grades Three and oneGradeFour
resilience, and commitment to academic excellence. Raheemah Hutson achieved commendable resultsin10subjects,securingone GradeOne,fiveGradeTwos,three GradeThrees,andoneGradeFive.
Firaez Khan also excelled, passing10subjectswithoneGrade One,fourGradeTwos,threeGrade Threes, and two Grade Fours.
Sarah Cheong earned excellent resultsineightsubjects,achieving two Grade Ones, three Grade Twos, two Grade Threes, and one GradeFour
providing a supportive and nurturingenvironmentthatfosters academic excellence and personal growth,”thereleasestated.
The CIOG Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme assist students until the age of 16 (Grade 11) Currently, the p r o g r a m m e s p o n s o r s approximately 380 children for scholarships to schools and financialsupporteachmonth.
First launched in 1993, with just 13 children as beneficiaries, the initiative has seen significant
to go to a university are sent to othertertiaryinstitutionstolearna trade. The programme has had a major impact and has been 'churning out' adults in every profession, including teachers, lawyers,anddoctors.
The CIOG said in its press release, “While her results show areasforimprovement,hersuccess in passing these subjects is commendable.”
Intherealmsofdemonstrating strong academic performance, Abdullah Hussain passed 10 subjects with four Grade Ones, four Grade Twos, and two Grade Threes. His success is a testament tohispotentialanddiligentefforts.
Additionally, Kaleem Ali focused on five subjects, and successfully passed, each with a Grade 3, including Mathematics andEnglishA.
His solid results reflect his understanding and capability Furthermore, Zora Yusuff has shown exceptional dedication, securingpassesin10subjectswith fourGradeOnes,fiveGradeTwos, andoneGradeFour
Zora's multiple distinctions underscore her hard work,
CIOG further highlighted that Michael Sunnalall passed 10 subjects,securingoneGradeOne, three Grade Twos, five Grade Threes, and one Grade Four VishnuGobindemonstratedstrong academic abilities, passing seven subjectswithoneGradeOne,four GradeTwos,oneGradeThree,and o
completed six subjects, earning four Grade Twos, one Grade Three,andoneGradeFour.
AmritaRambharosepassed10 subjects, achieving one Grade One, one Grade Two, four Grade Threes,andfourGradeFours.
Notably, the MIA celebrates the students' achievements and recognizes their dedication, hard work,andresilience.
“Their success is a source of pride for the school and an inspiration to their peers. The academy remains committed to
and continued growth in the number of students benefiting from the Sponsorship Programme overthedecades.
Beneficiarie
he programme are formally sponsored until the age of 16; however, the CIOG continues to support them as necessary, to ensure access to resources that wouldenablethemtobenefitfrom tertiaryeducation.
Thereleasefurthernoted,“The programme lasts until the writing of CXC, so we see them up to CXC. But even after CXC, there are some that we still try to work withaftertheyfinishwritingCXC. The whole idea of the programme isforthemtobeself-sufficient,so wetakethemuptothatlevel,and, inalotofcases,weendupgetting scholarships for them, to university.”
TheCIOGalsoworkstoensure thatthosestudentswhodonotwish
CIOG further stated, “Seeing how well children in the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme have grown is amazing because some children would have been in this programmeasyoungassixmonths oldanditwouldhavecarriedthem throughuntiltheyareagood17or 18yearsold.Wegettohelpthemin awaythatwasnecessaryforthem to excel and understand that they can achieve whatever they want, andit'sprettyamazing.”
Shameena Haniff, General Manager of CIOG wished the studentscontinuedsuccessintheir endeavours.MayAllahblessthem and their family with continued success,“InshaAllah.”
He said, “We almost wish to extend profound gratitude to the teachersoftheAl-GhazaliIslamic Academy and Meten Meer Zorg Islamic Academy especially the Headmaster, Sir Mark Scott (A.I.A),PrincipalChandraHardeo (M.I.A)andVicePrincipalHardeo Mahadeo ( M.I.A) for going the extra miles with the students. CIOG also wishes to thank its donors for their generous support to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children(OVC)programme.”
Granny Sarah is 107 years old
Sarah Elizabeth Melville, also known as “Granny Sarah” ofAmelia’s Ward Linden, on Monday, celebrated a stunning centennial birthday of 107 yearsold.
This phenomenal milestone was celebrated with her close family, relatives and friends at her Brooklyn,NewYorkhome.
Despite having limited physical mobility, Granny Sarahstillhasawitforgood conversations which are often very jovial and filled with knowledge and family history
Born August 19, 1917, “Granny Sarah” still has the same captivating smile that complements those sharp, mischievous eyes of hers,
not to mention a charming personality and generous heart.
Sarah who is initially from Berbice, spent most of her former adult years in Amelia’s Ward, Linden
before migrating to Brooklyn, NewYork, where she paved a way working hardforthemigrationofher children and grandchildren
to provide a better life for them.
For many years, up to w h e n s h e w a s a nonagenarian, she took annual trips back to Guyana onherown.
Her life was filled with sacrifices she made for her eight children who have produced for her many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
This love and generosity were extended to the selfhelpcommunityofAmelia’s Ward of which she was a foundingmemberandsofor the entire community, she is calledGranny
At 107, ‘Granny Sarah still has her mental faculties intactandevenstillreads.In fact,sheaccreditsreadingas one of the hobbies that contributed to her having longevity in life. She can alsostillrecognizefacesand voices she has not seen or heardinalongtime.
And even as she has fulfilled life’s purpose by livingaGod-fearinglife,and surpassed the three-scoreand-ten age limit, “Granny Sarah” is not yet ready to kick the proverbial bucket.
Her secret to a long life is, “Alwayssmile,andnevergo to sleep with a troubled heart, for prayers can take awayanypain.”
Her granddaughter Shamekia Barrow said, “What can I say, God’s mercy, it continues to be a blessing and a privilege to have my grandmother As she celebrates another birthday with her age, she hasherachesandpains,may not move around as much but you can bet your last dollar, she remembers stories from her youthful days, she can tell you about the family history and many more, she attributes this to her love for reading, she would say that is what has keep her brains youthful,” shesaid.
ThegovernmentthroughtheMinistryofPublicWorksis currently seeking to prequalify contractors for the design, build and finance (DBF) of a cultural market at Palmyra, Berbice,RegionSix.
According to the ministry’s tender, prequalification will be conducted through the procedures outlined in the Procurement Act of 2003. Bids are scheduled to open on September18,2024attheNationalProcurementandTender AdministrationBoard(NPTAB).
The intention to build this facility was announced by President Irfaan Ali earlier this month during the emancipation celebration held at the New Amsterdam TechnicalInstitute.
Theculturalmarketissaidtoserveasaneducationaland talentshowcasinghubforthecountry
QuotedinaDepartmentofPublicInformationarticle,the President at the celebration said, “As we build the new stadium,andaswebuildfacilitiesaroundthestadium,andas webuildhotels,animportantpartofwhypeoplewillcometo RegionSixistobepartofthisnationalculturalmarket.”
“This will be a symbol of the importance of culture in bridginggapsandbringingpeopletogether Theimportance ofcultureineconomicandsocialrevolution.Theimportance of culture in developing healthy lifestyle… [and] the importance of culture in celebrating the unity of our people andourcountry,”headded.
Bids for the project are scheduled to open on September 18, 2024 at the National Procurement and Tender AdministrationBoard(NPTAB).
Incaseyouhaven’theard,pleasebeinformedthataspartofourcontinued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our Publisher, Dr Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about ongoing indecencies in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, buttheentirenation.
leaving scars that are not communities. The pensioners of this only visible on the land but country deserve better than alsointhecommunities.
FRIDAY this.
Indigenous people face –August 23, 2024 T h e y d e s e r v e a the harsh consequences of The $30,000 electricity government that sees them s o i l d e g r a d a t i o n , subsidy insult not as a monolithic bloc, but deforestation, and polluted The $30,000 electricity as individuals with unique
MONDAY Time to stop playing the people living amidst the water sources, which subsidy introduced by the needsandchallenges.
–August 19, 2024 cat-and-mousegames. natural wealth of Guyana’s severely impact their way of Government recently is not They deserve policies
Part III: Jagdeo It has gone on too long hinterland, they bear the life. just a failure of policy It is a that are designed with card playing a cat and mouse withGuyanesethelosers. brunt of the country’shighest
Indigenous communities failure of imagination by an and compassion, not with game with oil Time for Guyanese to and most extreme rates of witness the plunder of their administr
on that expedienceandindifference. “Massive return” on compare. poverty forest by timber companies, continues to play hit and Andaboveall,theydeservea equityforExxon,wasfinally What is Exxon grabbing Hinterland resources are who often depart without miss. government that understood prizedoutofJagdeo… under some accounting being exploited without o
It reflects a government that true charity is not about Why did this take so profitheading? adequate rewards flowing to compensation or sustainable that is out of touch with the giving everyone the same, long? What is this country Indigenous communities alternatives The more realities facing its citizens but about giving each person
What was he doing? getting?
Mining activities have resources are extracted, the and is more concerned with what they need to live with
BuyingtimeforExxon? H o w m a s s i v e i s ravaged the environment, poorer the Indigenous optics than with outcomes. dignityandrespect.
Was this cat-and-mouse “massive”,Mr Jagdeo? game in Guyana’s interest? It is time for these When he knew all along foolish, time-wasting tactics whatwasinvolved! tobeover
The oil leader keeps Guyanese in the dark!
WEDNESDAY
Jagdeomakes himself look –August 21, 2024 lessthansmart! Amerindians
“Massive” is Exxon’s pain who gains? return,henowsays This week what should What does that mean? be a conference where Howmuchis“massive”?
Indigenous leaders craft plans to better their lives and TUESDAY – then present same to the August 20, 2024 Government for action, has Part IV: Jagdeo turnedouttobeaprogramme playing cat-and-mouse for President Irfaan Ali and game with oil hismerrymentoscorecheap
How much is this politicalpoints. “massive” return for Exxon, It is a painful irony that Mr Jagdeo? despite our Indigenous
From page 3 ofleadersofthemilitantHamasandHezbollahgroups,both blamedonIsrael.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., was visiting Egypt, Jordan and Israel over the next few days to “stress the importance of deterring further escalationofhostilities,”astatementsaid.
U.S. President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahuonWednesdaytostresstheurgencyof reachingadealanddiscusseddevelopmentswiththeleaders ofQatarandEgyptonFriday
Major differences remain between Israel and Hamas over Israel’s insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. Netanyahu wants Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory to preventsmugglingandcatchmilitants.
In the latest protest in Tel Aviv, some Israelis again expressedangerwithNetanyahuastheypressedforadealto bringhostageshome.
“Remove him from his position and appoint a person whoisabletoreturnthem,”saidAyalaMetzger,daughter-inlaw of Yoram Metzger, whose body was recovered in Gaza lastweek.
One man was confirmed dead
and several
o t h e r s hospitalized with gunshot injuries following a drive-by shooting at D’Urban Street, Georgetown, police said on Saturday The shooting took place around 05:45hrs that morning and resulted in the d e a t h o f A n t h o n y Havercome, a 40-year-old v e n d o r f r o m S o u t h Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who was reportedly riddled withbullets. direction from the location. while adding that “two Hospitalized with Hethensawseveralbloodied suspected bullet holes were gunshot wounds are, Travis individuals being placed in seen in the lower right back Ceres, a 25-year-old vendor vehicles and rushed away to passenger door, and what from East La Penitence, thecityhospital. appears to be a graze from a Teon Allen, 38 of Sophia, Ranks subsequently bullet to the left side back Stanley Matthews, a 31- made checks at the just above the gas tank”. year-old labourer of Sophia, Georgetown Public Hospital Police were able to track Destra Authur, 33, another Corporation where they down the owner of the vendor and a resident of East learnt that several persons vehicle, a woman identified La Penitence, Lenox Wayne, were shot and one of them as Coleen Burrowes, a 3339, a security guard of killed during a shooting at year-oldbusinesswoman. Turkeyen. thelocation.
She told investigators
Ceres sustained a Kaieteur News later that the car was stolen from gunshot wound to his lower learnt that there was one her around 04:00hrs on abdomen, Allen, an more victim of the shooting, Saturday by two men on a individualwhoisnostranger a miner, Lloyd Roberts, of XR-Honda motorcycle at to the law, one to his Golden Grove, East Bank Victor and D’Urban Streets, shoulder Demerara(EBD). Georgetown.
Matthews received two, He sustained gunshot
The woman claimed that one to the left hand and woundstohisrightchestand she was in the company of another in the left thigh. left hip; some believe that her cousin in the car and had Authur was shot in the left Roberts might have been the stopped the vehicle there to leg while Wayne was shot to real target of the drive-by urinate when the men rode hisrightthighandhand.
Roberts is presently uptoher
Detectiveslearntthatthe receiving treatment at a Burrowes continued that victims might have been privatehospital. the pillion rider dismounted attending an “All Black Further investigations the motorcycle, pointed a Party” at V’s Flavour by police led them to gun at her while demanding Delight, located at 23 locating the car believed to thatshegavethemthecar D’Urban Street, Lodge. At be the one used in the Fearful for her life, she, around 05:00hrs on shooting along with the other Saturday, however, police Itwasreportedlyfoundat occupants of the car exited closed off the party but some parked on the eastern the car, and the armed man personscontinuedtodrinkin carriageway of Manatee entered and drove it away frontofthelocation. Place, South Ruimveldt, while his accomplice The host of the event, Georgetown. followed behind on the KeonAaron said that he was “The vehicle was motorcycle. checking off his bar when he processed and photographed She immediately went to heard several gunshots by the CID team, and eleven the East La Penitence Police While finding out what 9mmspentshells,alongwith Station, where a report that where it came from, he one .223 spent shell, were thecarwasstolenfromher reportedly saw a black car found in the front and back Investigatio
ern seats of the car,” police said ongoing.
Some 26 Spanish- aresaidtobeofVenezuelan, but nothing illegal was speaking women, five male Cuban and Dominican found. security guards and three Republicnationalities. The detainees were barmen were detained on Police said the raid
Georgetown. The women and they detained persons ongoing.
Ravindra Persaud, who secured 16 Grade One’s with one Grade Two, along with the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and Head teacher of West Demerara Secondary, Harrinarine.
In continuation of going down the path of Gradetwos. success, the West Demerara Secondary To this end, Harrinarine Headteacher of School students have again performed the school, who will retire at the end of this excellently in this year’s Caribbean year, is very elated with the results. As such, Examination Council (CXC) with breaking he congratulated the all students for their academic records for the school and securing performance especially the top students. He a 100 percent pass in law for the Caribbean admitted like the country, there was a decline AdvancedProficiencyExamination(CAPE). in Mathematics passes with only 93 students
The top student for the school, Ravindra passing with Grades ones to three while the Persaud managed to secure 16 Grade Ones resultsinEnglishwereexcellent. and one Grade Two. Persaud broke the Nevertheless, Harrinarine commended previous record which was held by Jaikishan Miss Odetta Alves, and all the teachers who TakchandraandDr MickelMohabbirwith13 contributetotheoverallsuccessoftheschool GradesOnestenyearsago. and by extension the Parent/Teachers Additionally,otherstudentswhoexcelled AssociationandtheMinistryofEducationfor in the Caribbean Secondary Education the contribution of school grants and graph Certificate (CSEC) Examination are Akash bookstoallstudents.
Dennis, he secured 10 Grade One’s and two Sir Harrinarine further told this Grade Twos; Manroj Ram, who secured 13 publication that, “Teaching is a calling, [I Grade Ones; Alonzo Lall, who got nine came] from an acting teacher at the Patentia GradeOnesandthreeGradeTwos;Akilah Secondary to Head teacher at the West Dem Piggott, she secured eight Grade Ones and was a fulfillment of a dream to change lives four Grade Twos. Perbattie Jaupersaud, and create a lasting impact on the lives of received eight Grade Ones and three children.”
Amidst the claims circulating of shortage sugar, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) on Thursday continued to refute the claims that packaged sugar is not availableforsale.
The release stated that production for the second crop of 2024 commenced last week and the sale of packaged sugar commenced onMonday
GuySuCo underscored in the statement that packaged sugar is available at the such, businesses should not increase the Blairmont Estate from Friday and will have prices on these commodities. Persons sugaravailableforsaleonAugust26,2024. desirous of purchasing sugar are asked to
“The corporation would like to also make contact with GuySuCo Marketing reiterate that there has been NO price change Department on 220-2891 ext 260,261 to neither packaged nor bagged sugar and as &263.”GuySuCoconcluded.
The Paramakatoi
airstripinRegion
E i g h t i s scheduled to undergo rehabilitative works for an estimated cost of $569 million.Thisisaccordingto arecentopeningoftendersat the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office which revealed that two contractors have applied for theMinistryofPublicWorks project.Thecontractorswho all bid above the engineer’s estimate are International Import & Supplies who bid
Below are the companies and their bids:
GuyanaDefenceForce(GDF) ConstructionofAccommodation atAirStationLondon-Timehri.
ExtensionofOfficers’ClubandMessing Facility-BaseCampAyanganna.
ConstructionofAccommodationat CoastGuardShipHinds,Ruimveldt.
$799,658,633 andTheodore Faria General Contracting S e r v i c e w h o b i d
$605,443,627
Duringthepresentation of this year’s budget, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with the responsibility for
Finance, Dr Ashni Singh had said that the government continue to rehabilitate and maintain hinterland airstrips to promote ease of access between the coastal and hinterland regions In 2023, works advanced at E
MinistryofHousingandWater ProcurementofElectricalLine HardwareMaterialsLots1-8.
,
Eteringbang, Karisparu, and Pariuma airstrips, whichareallexpectedtobe completed this year “In 2024, $2 3 billion has been
airstrips as well as the
Imbaimadai, Kaieteur, Kaikan and Matthew’s R
explained Rehabilitation of ParamakatoiAirstripRegion 8
MinistryofPublicWorks RehabilitationofParamakatoiAirstripRegion8.
GuyanaWaterInc. DrillingandConstructionofPotable WaterWellatCentralRuimveldt.
CNN-FormerPresident DonaldTrump’scampaignis b r a c i n g f o r m o r e unfavorable polling news in thedaystocome.
A memo from Trump pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Travis Tunis sent out by the Trump campaign Saturday predicts a convention bump inpollsaftertheDemocratic National Convention for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Post-DNC we will likely see another small (albeit temporary) bounce forHarrisinthepublicpolls. Post-Convention bounces are a phenomenon that happens after most party conventions,” the memo says. “So don’t be surprised
toseeHarrisgetatemporary 2to3pointbump,”itadded. InJuly,Fabriziowrotehe expected a “honeymoon” period for Harris after she replacedPresidentJoeBiden ontheDemocraticticket–a prediction that has certainly cometopass.
Before ending his reelection campaign, Biden’s supportinCNNPollofPolls registered at 45%, behind Trumpat49%.Headinginto the convention, the race had shifted, with Harris at 50% andTrumpat48%,theCNN PollofPollsfound. Fabrizio now anticipates the honeymoon for Harris extending,blamingitlargely onfavorablemediacoverage ofthevicepresident.
The memo went on to caution against reading too muchintonationalpollsthat may show Harris pulling ahead.
“The other thing to keep in mind is that while the media is going to focus on thenationalpolls,weneedto keep our eye on the ball –that is the polling in our target states,” it said. “Our goal is to get to 270 (Electoral College votes) and winning these states is howwedoit.”
A new presidential candidate, a slew of celebritie
ick programming helped propel D
PresidentKamalaHarristoa ratings win at this week’s
Democratic National Convention, surpassing the television viewership of last month’s Republican gathering.Viewershipofthe four-day festivities in Chicago drew an average of 21 8 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, eclipsingtheaudienceofthe Republican National Conventionbynearly15%.
Onthefinaleveningthis week, Harris’ acceptance addresswaswatchedby28.9 million viewers, narrowly outdrawingformerPresident Donald Trump’s speech in Milwaukee, which drew 28.4 million viewers across 15 television networks Trump’s more than 90minute address, the longest
convention acceptance speech in recent history, came just days after he survived an assassination attempt. Harris’ viewership victory amounted to a blow for Trump, who is famously obsessed with television ratings and the size of his crowds. Excitement over her candidacy—aswellashighprofile speeches by former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former first lady Michelle Obama — helped fuel viewership. Sodidappearancesbyahost of celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Pink, Kerry Washington and Mindy
Kaling.Viewershipwasalso likely boosted by a nonappearance: Speculation ran wild online that music superstar Beyoncé would makeasurpriseperformance onthefinalnight.
T h e s i n g e r h a d previously given the Harris campaignpermissiontouse her 2016 hit “Freedom,” which played Thursday nightasshetookthestage The DNC turned normally staid moments into slickly produced spectacles, including a raucous take on the ceremonial roll call that featured music from each state, as well as a surprise performance by rapper Lil Jon
(Trinidad Guardian)
Approximately 3,000 public servants will now have access to free online courses at the University of theWestIndies(UWI).
This was announced by the Ministry of Public Administrationyesterday
The opportunity will allow thousands of public servants to enroll in free, educational, accredited onlinecoursesthatarebeing facilitatedbylecturersatthe
St Augustine Campus for the term carded to begin in September and end in Decemberthisyear
Inthefirstcohort,public servantsfromvariouslevels across the public service, including junior staff, midlevel managers, and senior executives can express interest in registering for theseonlinecourses. The subject areas include Human Resource and Public Sector
Management, Business Communication, Social Services, Conflict Management, Digital Literacy, Monitoring and Evaluation, Events Management, and Policy Development. The development of the Public Service Academy Learning and Development Programme for the public service comes on the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding which was
signed on July 8 by Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Public Administration, Claudelle Mc Kellar, and Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Campus Principal of The University of the West Indies. According to the M
historic agreement has enabled
for the identification and
learninganddevelopment needs of the public service; as well as the
implementationofbespoke, demand-driven curricula to build the capacity of the Public Service and foster continuous improvements inservicedelivery
From page 12 what appears to be a twostorey guest house located at 937 TAHOE Boulevard, Incline Village, Nevada, USA. Fulcrum LNG, according to company records, operates from Suite 130B.
The CEO’s link to American oil super major ExxonMobil has sparked concerns among Guyanese, but the government has dismissed the possibility of a conflict of interest.
In fact, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo during his Thursday press conference told reporters that evaluators were well aware of Bronchalo’s 19 years of service at Exxon. The VP even joked that this may have positioned his company above the bidders.
Jagdeo said, “He had left Exxon but if anything, maybe the evaluators thought that he had the data on the gas. I don’t know if they did that, so he would have known, because Exxon does not want to go in that direction or did not want to go in that direction of monetising the gas in the early
period, they said they needed the gas to be re-injected. We have a different view.”
He added, “On the face of it, I thought it was the best proposal that the evaluators came up with and that’s what we’re looking for, so there is nothing I found wrong with the evaluation of the bids and I don’t see anything that has come out in any major way that’s wrong, except for that oh, he worked at one time with Exxon.”
When asked to comment on the fact that Fulcrum LNG has no known experience and has only been registered for one year now, the VP continued to defend the contract award, insisting that the Founder has years of experience in the field through his former employment with Exxon. “But he was there with Exxon a long time, but he has been a project developer for a long time,” Jagdeo pointed out.
Five months after tendering his resignation at ExxonMobil as Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the Guyana operations,
Bronchalo launched Fulcrum LNG, boasting “experience and expertise across all aspects of the oil and gas value chain, including low-carbon solutions.”
Importantly, the company said it partners with some of the industry’s leading global engineering, technology, and finance firms, as well as global LNG buyers, to deploy the most advanced technologies and sustainable solutions that will generate maximum value for its clients.
There were no mentions of completed projects by Fulcrum on its website.
Kaieteur News understands that the company will be responsible for the design, financing, construction, and operation of gas infrastructure, inclusive of the necessary pipelines required to connect the gas infrastructure crucial for monetizing upstream gas.
Further, as part of the process, the company will have exclusivity to negotiate with the government for its entitlement of gas to ensure the viability of the project and the
overall value chain. Notably, the project will be strictly financed and owned 100% by Fulcrum LNG.
This newspaper reached out to Fulcrum LNG for a comment but the company did not respond.
In a statement following the contract award, the company explained that the main feature of Fulcrum LNG’s solution will involve the development of state-of-the-art gas processing and modular, scalable facilities to produce Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and NGLS/LPGs for Guyana as well as regional and global markets. Fulcrum LNG said it has partnered with some of the industry’s leading global firms, leveraging advanced technology and industry expertise to deploy the most robust, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.
“We are honored to be selected to undertake this strategic energy infrastructure project,” said Jesus Bronchalo.
From page 8 publication reached out to a few teachers to get their take on the 10% the government was offering. Member of Parliament and GTU member Ronald Cox told this publication that, “The GTU was trying desperately since 2019 (that was a whole issue by itself) to finalize an agreement with the MOE (government by extension).
Following the established trajectory set by the coalition coupled by other economic factors (fastest growing economy in the world), it is
fair to conclude that any percentage under 15% for 2024 with an incremental increase for 2025 and 2026 will be considered unreasonable.”
He stressed that, “The current measures of the government to fight the rising cost of living are meagre worsened with the great challenges of alleged discrimination and corruption.
However, 10% is definitely not what the general membership is prepared to accept at this time, especially with a lesser % for 2025 and 2026!” Sir Randy Mingo who
was always vocal since the first strike told the Kaieteur News that, “Many of those benefits will not benefit all the teachers, that is the first thing and that is the greatest issue that many of us have.
Just a selected few would benefit from those incentives that they are talking about. So that is why we the teachers are more interested in the higher percentage on salaries. They are talking about health checks and all of these things; we don’t want health outreaches and all those things for us to go.”
From page 05
meeting in 2005 held at the Princess Hotel and for a preCarifesta event at the Theatre Guild in 2008.
When we performed ‘Raise up’ in Grand Cayman and concluded the final performance after the 10 city - US tour, we had comprehensive discussions on the Link
From page 05
Show, satirical review which we started in Guyana in 1981. He was very keen and a year later, he started “Rundown” (the Cayman satirical show) at the Harquail Centre, which he wrote from 1991-2008, until he moved to Guyana. He was also Chairman of the Cayman National Foundation and chaired the annual
event ‘Pirates Week’ celebration in that country. In summing up, Dave was much more than a calypso singer. He was songwriter, singer, musician, playwright, educator and entertainer par excellence.
Gem Madhoo GEMS Theatre Productions
TV and other first-class entertainment while in the lock up awaiting trial.
The corrupt accused should clear their name — request a trial in America since the Guyanese police won’t
charge them; have any accused corrupt ever brought to trial? The corrupt should request an extradition to face justice in America, the land of hard work and opportunities.
If convicted, agree to hand over the billions looted from the state! Our country will become a miniAmerica if we recover and invest the looted pilfered from the state.
Yours sincerely, Vishnu Bisram
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Abiding by the General Council
The GTU in a statement via its Facebook Page on Wednesday said that the agreement comes after months of talks between the two sides.
“The GTU wishes to thank members for their resilience, support, and commitment throughout the process. The General Council decision reflects the members’ wishes based on the instructions given to the executives.
As we move forward, the GTU remains committed to advocating for the needs of our members and assure its members and the general public that we will continue to press the employer for additional member benefits.
1-320 D Caterpillar Excavator with 3066 engine in excellent condition, if interested contact: 701-4000 Monday - Friday 8am-5pm.
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Hurry Hurry Big sale Left over lumber: 6x6 beams green heart Klin dried export quality. Contact: 6047734 (whatsapp) / 226-8995.
Mining equipment, Maroc nozzles starting from $3,500 & chingine bed starting from $21,000. Call: 698-1267/657-9121.
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While it is widely reported of the decline in declaration of gold due to illegal gold mining, the Alliance For Change (AFC), has suggested the used of advance technology and better enforcement of policies and regulations in an efforttocurbthesituation.
Deonarine Ramsaroop, anAFC Member of Parliament (MP) and a member of the Natural Resources Sectoral Committee, in an invited comment told members of the media on Friday that while the enforcement of regulation plays a vital part in curbing illegal mining, with the use of technology, miners would be monitored as to where theyareextractinggold.
He explained, “We have to enforce and we have to improve on
2024, six Brazilians were arrested our monitoring using technology bythejointservicesandtheGuyana and I think that is where we have to Geology and Mines Commission enforce more technological (GGMC), given the fact that they advancement using satellites, you conducted illegal mining in can know the hotspots you can Guyana. know where illegal mining’s are
In a press release, the Guyana happening.” Police Force said the six Brazilian
In addition, the MP also theyaremining.” havepowersoflikepolicemantogo and sustainable development of the nationals (four males and two highlighted the need to work on Enforcing regulations inandensurethatthereisadherence miningindustry females) were arrested for illegal border security “We have to Furthermore, speaking on the to laws and regulations under the Decline of gold declaration miningintheAmatukPotaroRiver, collaboratewiththeothercountries basis of illegal mining, the Former ForestryAct.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Region 8. The team arrived at andyouwillincreaseonthatborder leader of theAFC andAttorney-at- He continued, “… Even the MemberofParliamentandShadow Amatuk Potaro River, Region 8, by security because we are talking law, Khemraj Ramjattan stated that criminal law, similarly with mining Minister of Finance, Juretha GDF helicopter at approximately herethesmugglingofgold.” once the regulations are properly g e o l o g y a n d m i n e s , Fernandes pointed out the decline 10:30hrs Sunday where they Nevertheless, he explained that enforced, illegal mining can be commissioners’ officers and of declaration of gold in the first located the illegal mining oncetechnologyisimproved,itwill avoided. personnel (are) ought to ensure that quarter report from the Bank of operation, identified as #252339, create a method whereas officials He related, “…Well it has to do they go to these mining areas, Guyana(BoG). which was moored on the western will know where mining and the with enforcement, enforcement by where there is active mining going Kaieteur News reportedthatthe bankoftheriver resources are extracted. He added, in relation to logging the forest on and see that there is no BoG reported that the country’s The following individuals, “Once you can map that using a rangers that we had created for pollution ” The Attorney-at-law gold declaration decreased within identified as Brazilian nationals, technology you will be able to purposes of ensuring that all the furtherhighlightedthatbydoingso, the first three months of 2024. werefoundattheminingoperation, know that you are going to put this regulations are adhered to by the officers ought to ensure that miners According to the Central Bank, the LeoVitor Lucas DeArruda, date of smallminerhereorthelargeminers loggers and then going into these are conducting mining which is declaration fell to 89,845.8 troy birth: 30th October 2002 (22 years here. So you know exactly where loggings concessions which they doneinaccordancewiththebylaws ounces,whencomparedtothesame old); address: Novo Mundo, Mato period last year It was stated that Grosso; Francione Barbosa Da the dip in the gold declaration was Silva, date of birth: 24th December mainly due to lower declarations 1983(40yearsold),address:Maria from small- and medium-scale das Graças, Boa Vista, Roraima; minersby24.2%. Itwasexplained JeovaMarquesPinho,dateofbirth: that the lower declaration is as a 1st February 1988 (36 years old), result of prolonged dry weather address: Mucajaí, Boa Vista, whichmadeaccesstowaterlimited Roraima; Elivane Ferreira Dos inmanyminingareas. Santos, date of birth: 10th April
General Secretary of the concessions will benefit the Guyana Teachers’ Union Coretta administrators, who are few in McDonald told this publication on numbers but the majority of our Thursday that the union will be members are those who are not in initiating a series of meetings to administrative positions The find ways to cushion the 10% majority of our members will not salary increase for the teachers on benefit from what has been signed the lower end of the spectrum that onto.“ will not feel the impact of the
“If you are going to sign off on increase. In an invited comment, any proper arrangement, then the McDonald said that, “The first masses of your members are the thing the GTU has got to do is to ones who you should seek to redeem itself in the eyes of its receive the cushioning or the best teachersandthegeneralpublicand ofcushioning,”sheadded. thathastobedoneinsuchatactical
General Secretary of the GTU Coretta McDonald
Despite objections from a way that the hurt and the scars and section of its General Council as so on that has been created are well as rank-and-file members, repaired.” President of the Guyana Teachers’ She further stated, “Secondly, Union (GTU), Dr Mark Lyte on GTU will have to seek out other Wednesday morning signed a because we recognize that the ways and means of how they are multi-year agreement with the people who stand to benefit, the going to be able to initiate other government accepting the ten teachers who stand to benefit are avenues to cushion that 10% that percent pay hike for teachers and a those who are on the high-end of has been signed. With the other slew of other benefits, none of thespectrum.’ non-salary benefits which doesn’t which accorded with the demands McDonald explained that the bring any significant relief to our oftheunion. 10% that was signed off on teachers, and that is why the other
Teachers disappointed “doesn’t offer any cushion to the halfofGTUwerehesitantandthey
Earlierthisweek,this regularmembers.Whenwelookat aresayingthatweshouldnotsignit
(Continued on page 51) duty-free concessions, duty-free
The Shadow Minister of 1973 (51 years old), address: Finance said in relation to this, “I Castelo, Pará; Silvania Andrade de think persons really need to Oliveira,dateofbirth:7thFebruary understand that an in-depth 1979 (45 years old), address: Boa investigation needs to be done into Vista, Roraima; and Diemisson Da this matter ” She further Silva Rodriguez, date of birth: 18th emphasized the importance of February 1988 (36 years old), enforcing regulations/ policies address:BoaVista,Roraima. Fernandes, explained that small- These individuals, police said scale miners are who face were questioned and instructed by harassment in the mining industry, the Joint Services and GGMC in terms of capturing land spaces officials to vacate the illegal wheregoldissuspectedtobe. operation. They were informed of
She said, “When you get theallegationthattheyweremining underground, you will understand illegally and were placed under that the persons that are… harassed arrest. the most are the small-scale Thesuspectsweresubsequently minors.” Fernandes continued, “If escorted from the site to Ogle they (small-scale miners) do come Airport, where they were then in areas that get gold by the time escortedtoCIDHQ. they actually make applications for Additionally, Attorney-at-Law them to legally work on the land, Mr. Cox, from the DexterTodd and thenyouwillseesomepersonswith Associate Law Firm, visited the more connections would be given CID HQ and advised his clients to accesstothoselandsbecausethatis remainsilent. howitisdone.” The Brazilian nationals remain Meanwhile, this publication inpolicecustody,assistingwiththe had reported that on August 18, ongoinginvestigation.
Shikhar Dhawan has announced his retirement from international and domesticcricketthrough a social media post on Saturday morning Dhawan’s last competitive game was in April, leading PunjabKingsinIPL2024. He retires with 24 hundreds (17 in ODIs and seven in Tests) across 269 international matches ”It’s importanttoturnthepageto move forward in life and that’s why I am announcing
my retirement from international and domestic cricket,” Dhawan said in a videomessage.”Iamleaving withpeaceinmyheartthatI playedforsolongforIndia.I tellmyselfnottofeelsadthat you will not play for India anymore, but to feel happy that you played for your country.”
Dhawan, who made his India debut in 2010, retires as one of only eight ODI batters with over 5000 runs at a 40-plus average and a
90-plus strike rate (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are theotherIndiansinthelist). Inall,hescored6793runsin 167 ODIs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35. His last ODI was against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.
In 34 Tests, he scored 2315 runs at an average of 40.61,andin68T20Is,1759 at a strike
e of 126 36 Dhawan’s ODI numbers towered over his
records in the other two formats, even though it was in Tests when he first burst onto the scene with an 85ball hundred against AustraliainMohaliin2013, thefastestbyadebutant.
He went on to make 187 in a match-winning effort. Dhawan’scareerhitthehigh notes in 2013. That year, he made 1162 runs in 26 ODIs at an average of 50.52 and a strikerateof97.89.
ARIES(Mar 21–Apr 19)
A challenging day is in store foryou,Aries.Ifyou'repartof a group or team or simply among friends, you may feel somewhatillatease.Couldit be that you instill jealousy in others? There's only one way tofindout.
TAURUS(Apr 20–May20)
Sometimes dreams seem like just that - dreams. Travel, a project, or a new home could be a few of the things you've beentryingto accomplishfor sometimenow
GEMINI(May21–June20)
You'll go one of two ways today, Gemini. Either you'll turn inward and meditate in a corner or you'll find a good friend and confide your dissatisfaction.
CANCER(June21–July22)
Today is going to be an excellent day for meeting interesting people, Cancer And there will be nothing superficial about these encounters. On the contrary, the people you are going to meet will touch you profoundly
LEO(July23–Aug.22)
You can expect today to be kind of intense, Leo. Even if you've made a conscious decision not to let anything get you down, you may still harbor some negative emotions from the last few days.
VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22)
The little fighter that you are makesitverydifficultforyou to join us in the great communal river that we're all tryingtonavigate,Virgo.You prefertotravelsolo.
The icing on the cake was his chart-topping 363 runs in five innings, including two centuries, in India’s title-winning run at the Champions Trophy, which was his first ODI series after five forgettable outings across 2010 and 2011.
LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)
Be disciplined about all areas ofyourbody,Libra.Takeextra care to eat healthful, balanced meals. Make sure you get enough sleep And even thoughyougripeabouthaving no time, get out there and exercise.
SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov.21)
If you've been feeling deep anger,todayisn'tthedaytolet it out but rather the day to consider its source. Any large gatheringsoffamilyorfriends shouldbeavoidedatallcosts.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)
If by chance you still harbor some resentment toward someone, Sagittarius, it will probably come out today.You might be uncompromising or evenvengeful.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)
You don't suffer fools gladly, and superficial fools even less so. You have a mind to teach those around you a lesson. You'reuncompromisingtoday, and you can't understand why others don't have your same highstandards.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)Hereisadayofchallenges, Aquarius You're a pro at questioning yourself, as you'll prove today when you take a h a r d l o o k a t y o u r accomplishments What have youcreatedofapersonalnature inthelasttenyears.
PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)
Ifyougivetheimpressionthat you're in a reserved and introspective mood (even if you aren't), you'll succeed in avoiding confrontation Today there is no such thing as a simpleexchangewithsomeone
was the highest scorer for Indiaineachofthenextfew ODI tournaments:Asia Cup 2014, World Cup 2015, Champions Trophy 2017 andAsiaCup2018.
In 2019, Dhawan’s ODI career hit the first major hurdleafterhewasoutwitha thumb injury midway through the World Cup in England,soonafterscoringa century against Australia at The Oval Dhawan’s contributionswererewarded with short captaincy stints during the last leg of his internationalcareerwhenhe led India’s second-string sides in the absence of regulars.
Thattournamentwasthe start of a glorious opening partnership with Rohit. In terms of run aggregates, the pairisthefourth-bestamong ODI openers, and their 18 century stands at the top are second only to Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly’s21.
Dhawan’s glorious run extended well past the Champions Trophy 2013 as he established himself as a keymemberoftheODIteam over the next few years. He
Frompage57 feature in the ODIs against EnglandwhilePatCummins is missing the entire trip to focus on strength and conditionaheadofthehome summer
“The priority at the moment is to smash out some gym work and start reassessinginafewweeksa path forward,” Cummins said last week. “I’m just trying to fill up the bucket againaftertwoyearsofnonstop bowling [Hoping] come that first Test [against India] in as good of a positionasIhavebeeninfor afewyears.”
Australia fly out to Scotland on Monday with thefirstT20Itakingplacein EdinburghonSeptember4.
Australia T20I squad vs Scotland
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis(wk),RileyMeredith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Dhawan represented Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in the IPL, where he is the secondhighest run-getter behind Kohli. His 6769 runs came across 222 matches at a strikerateof127.14. In domestic cricket, Dhawan’s early years coincided with the Ranji TrophysuccessforDelhi;he waspartofthetitle-winning teamin2007-08whenDelhi beat Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede. He was also the top run-scorer at the Under1 9 Wo r l d C u p i n 2004.(ESPNCRICINFO)
Guyana made a perfect 3-0 start at the Ronald Wilson Memorial Boxing Championship in Barbados, following convincing wins onFriday’sopeningnight.
The victorious Guyanese were Keyon Britton, Colin Lewis, and Terron Wintz. Britton, who wasunabletocompeteatthe recently concluded Caribbean Schoolboys Championship owing to a lack of an opponent, defeated Aaron Cadogan of Barbadosviadecisioninthe 46-48kgcategory
Lewis defeated Barbadian Peter Murray via first-round referee stoppage in their 60-63 5 kg lightweight encounter Meanwhile, Wintz outboxed Barbadian Jaheem Estwick in their 63.5-67 kg welterweightencounter
Guyana’s other two representatives, Shakquain James and world-rated light heavyweight pugilist Desmond Amsterdam, were slated to enter the squared circle last night. James was slated to compete against Estwick, while Amsterdam will pencil in to oppose CharlesCoxofBarbados.
Terron Wintz receives his medal after winning his encounter against Barbadian Jaheem Estwick
The Guyana Golf
Association (GAA) held its Annual General Meeting onWednesdayAugust21st at the Scout Association Ground on Woolford Avenue.
Vice-President Vic Oditt welcomed the members, all of whom were present in person and virtually
This was followed b
R
unanimously adopted
The Presiden
’s report highlighted the success over the past y e a r w i t h t h e expansion of golf in Secondary Schools and at CSEC and laid out the vision for the upcoming year.
With no motions to address, the election of office bear
Period 2024-2025 was c
business
Mayo Robertson of t
Firm was nominated and appointed to serve
R
g Officer Having established that a quorum was met
duly been notified as per the by-laws of the Association, Robertson called for nominations for the various posts and carefully followed procedures to declare the outcomes:
Aleem Hussain was unanimously re-elected President of the Guyana GolfAssociation(GGA)as guided by the rules of the G
c Association. Vikram Oditt was reelected as Vice-President; Dallas Thomas was reelected as Vice President; Philip Haynes was elected as Secretary; Al Junior Wilson was elected as Public Relations Officer; Michelle Codrington was re-elected as Treasurer; M
elected as Asst Sec /Treasurer
The following Board a
were appointed by the Board: Mayo RobertsonLegal Advisor; Kenny Attai-TechnicalAdvisor
J
Technical Advisor and K
appointed to lead the S
Committee for the 20242025terms
M
represented: Westside Golf Club by Monnaf Arjune and Michelle Codrington; East Coast Golf Club by Al Junior Wilson; Nexgen Golf
Thomas; Ros-Nol Golf ClubbyKevonJawahir; With no other business athand,thenewboardwas installed to serve the
’s
Similarly, Lewis was slated to return to action against Maxime Alexandre of Martinique. The team is beingsupervisedbyGuyana Boxing Association (GBA) Technical Director Terrence Poole and coach Steel Crawford. M
, GBA
President Steve Ninvalle
said,“Thefruitsofourlabor, essentially our continued success, are based on the developmental structures that have been employed by the association primarily at the nursery strata. We are elated at the team’s immediate success and envision and anticipate additional triumphs This position is not one of
arrogance but rather a posture and disposition rooted in expectation given ourinvestmentinthesport.”
He further said, “The GBA will continue to p
and opportunities, especially of
r e g i o n a l a n d international persuasion, to ensurethecontinuedgrowth of our fighters, which will have a cascading influence onthelocalfraternity.”
developing the sport for studentsandplayersaround thecountry
G u y a n e s e d a r t s sensation Norman Madhoo nudged another incredible performance on darts scene, finishing in the Top Four Overall at the Darts Players Florida League(DPFL)Live, Event Two. Held at The ReunionResortinKissimmee, Florida, the event concluded Sunday last with Madhoo solidifyinghisreputationasone of the premier talents in the sport TheDPFLEventTwo, dubbed the most thrilling darts competition in North America, featured a staggering $85,000 prize pool, drawing players from around the globe RepresentingtheForeignLink Darts Club, Madhoo, along with honorary member Keith Jackson, showcased their prowessintheMen’sDoubles category, where they asserted their dominance throughout thecompetition.
The tournament was packed with action across various divisions, including Division One, Two, and Three, and categories such as the DPFL Qualifier, Amateur, Doubles Capped 130, Single Cricket Open, Women’s Double 501, Mixed Doubles, Supercup One and Two, and Blind Draw Cricket Madhoo’s
journey through the
tournament was nothing shortofspectacular Nicknamed “The Storm” for his fierce playing style, Madhoo participated in three separateblinddraws,finishing intheTop8andTop4before claiming a first-place finish alongsidehisdrawbagpartner, Arron Goodwrench He also securedarunner-uppositionin theMen’sDoublesandaTop8 finish in the Men’s Singles event, showcasing his versatilityandenduranceinthe sport
Reflecting on his performance and the event itself,Madhooexpressedhis excitement: “Overall, it was a great tournament, wellrun.Imustgiveabigshoutouttotheorganisers.Special thanksto:theDPFLstafffor their amazing setup,
excellent accommodations, and overall hospitality I definitely can’t wait to be backnextyear.”
TheDPFLEventTwowas a melting pot of darts talent, with participants from the Netherlands, England, Canada, and the USA. The lineup included notable names like; Klassen Watermenia, Van Vein, KeganBrown,SteveBrown, John Brown, Matt Campbell, Jeff Smith, Gary Mawson, Alex Spellman, Leonard Gates, and David Fatum, making the competition fierce and adding an extra layer of prestigetothetournament.
Madhoo’s achievements attheDPFLareatestamentto his skill, dedication, and passionforthesportofdarts.
Canada-based Guyanese middle-order batsman NaveedAlistruckabrilliant, unbeaten 100 to lead Dream Crest United to an exciting, 7-wicket win against C a n a d i a n Nationals/Imperial/Whitby team recently in the continuation of the 2024 Toronto and District Cricket Association first-Division 40-overcompetition.
Playing at Sunnybrook ground,theright-handedAli clobbered9sixesand5fours tohelphisteamsafelyreach 211-3 with balls remaining. Their oppositions Canadian Nationals/Imperial/Whitby had earlier tallied up a challenging 209-7 from the allocationof40-overs.
Ali occupied the crease for 81 balls and got handy supportfromAshanDeSilva who slammed an unbeaten 51 Ali and DeSilva combined with a solid, unbroken, 156-run fourthwicketstandtosealthedeal.
F o r C a n a d i a n
Nationals/Imperial/Whitby side Mohammad Faisal Sheik top-scored with 51 after his team was invited to takefirststrike. AliQureshi contributed41asoff-spinner DaSilva grabbed 2-39 from seven overs while Santhosh Kumar Boopathi took 2-29 fromhismaximum8overs. The action continues on Sunday
- Dr. Sukhai reaffirms commitment to Bissoondyal Singh-led Administration
In response to the article published in the August 23, 2024 edition ofThe Guyana Chronicle, the Guyana CricketBoard(GCB)findsit is necessary to address and rectify several inaccuracies that have emerged in the publicsphere.
TheGCB aimstoclarify the situation regarding its Treasurer, Dr Brian Sukhai, as well as a long-standing employee who has devoted over three decades of exceptional service to the board. The article, authored by journalist Sean Devers, incorrectly states that Dr Sukhai had resigned from the GCB with his final working day set for August 31,2024.
GCB formally denies this assertion, and has labeled it completely unfoundedandmischievous. InadisclaimerstatementDr Sukhai noted “I wish to express my surprise at this fallacious report and hereby confirm my steadfast and ongoing commitment to the Bissoondyal Singh-led Board. Since assuming the role of Treasurer in 2021, I
have worked tirelessly to
financial management
supported by a committed team of professional fulltime staff at the board office ” Additionally, the articlesuggestedthatalongserving GCB employee had resigned In reality, this individual who has been with the Board for over 30 years is voluntarily retiring and not resigning as was inaccuratelyreported. While it is accurate that Vice-President Azad Ibrahim has stepped down from his position, he did so of his own volition. The GCB is concerned about the sensationalist nature of
Devers’ reporting which misrepresents facts and creates unnecessary confusion within the cricket community and the general public. The GCB is particularly disheartened by Mr Devers’lackofattention to detail as his reporting has not only disseminated misinformation but has also fallen short of the principles ofresponsiblejournalism. Furthermore, the board reaffirms its dedication to t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d accountabilityandurgesMr Sean Devers to verify his information prior to publication to prevent misleading the public and the stakeholders within Guyana’s cricketing fraternity
This is not the first time that Devers has deliberately setouttobesmirchtheGCB and on a previous occasion the legal department of the GCB had cause to strongly caution Devers on his journalistic misconduct GCB will refer this present disturbing issue to our legal teamforanyactiontheymay deemnecessary
In a pivotal move for the development of basketball in Guyana,PresidentDr Irfaan AlimetwithMasaiMichael Ujiri OC, Vice Chairman andPresidentoftheToronto Raptors, and Co-Founder of GiantsofAfrica,attheOVO Athletic Centre, the team’s state-of-the-art training facility
According to a release, President Ali and Ujiri discussedwaysinwhichthe 2019 NBA champions can contribute to the growth of basketballinGuyana.
Their discussions focusedonkeyareassuchas the development of sports facilities,theorganizationof coaching clinics, talent identificationprograms,and the promotion of grassroots basketball initiatives in the country
Beyondtheirdiscussions on Guyana, the leaders also
explored a broader Caribbean initiative aimed atboostingbasketballacross the region, leveraging the
President IrfaanAli and Masai Ujiri OC, Vice Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors.
Raptors’ expertise and experience to inspire and nurtureyoungtalent.
As part of this collaboration, Ujiri is expectedtoleadadelegation
to Guyana later this year to advance these initiatives, markingasignificantstepin strengthening sports development ties between GuyanaandCanada.
Riley Meredith has been called up for the threematch series after Hazlewoodsufferedaminor calfstrain.
It is hoped that Josh Hazlewoodwillbefitforthe England matches • ICC/GettyImages
Josh Hazlewood will miss the T20I series against Scotland next month after sufferingacalfstrainduring traininglastweek.
Riley Meredith, who played the last of his five T20Is in 2021, has been addedtothesquad.
Hazlewood’s injury is describedasminorandheis expected to be available for
the T20Is and ODIs against England later in September although the selectors may take a cautious approach ahead of a busy home summerwhichincludesfive Tests against India Meredith has played for Somerset in white-ball cricket during the English season. He took 14 wickets at22.78intheT20Blastand six wickets in three one-day cup games, including 4 for 27 against Middlesex at Lord’s, where Somerset havereachedthefinal.
He has taken eight T20I wickets having played against New Zealand and West Indies three years ago. Hazlewood is the second
quickbowlerruledoutofthe squadafterSpencerJohnson picked up a side strain playingintheHundred.
The pace attack for the Scotland series will now feature Meredith, Xavier Bartlett, Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis alongside allrounders Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinispluspotentiallycaptain MitchellMarsh
Adam Zampa and the uncapped Cooper Connolly will provide the spin Hazlewoodhadbeentheonly one of Australia’s big three quicks initially included for the full tour of the UK. MitchellStarcwill (Continuedonpage54)
President
