PNCR-Coalition was ‘most incompetent...

This was disclosed after the revelation that massive contract of $832,200 for sample work, paid for by the Department of Energy, a department within the Ministry of the Presidency, was given to Minister Hughes’ company. Since then, more information in the public domain, indicates that, in Minister Hughes’ Ministry of Public Telecommunications three contracts were awarded to her company, Videomega Productions: June 4, 2018 –

Advertisement of Vacancies - $939,738; June 25, 2018 –Facebook Page - $119,670; and September 21, 2018 –CTU/ITC Roadshow 2018 - $2,291, 128, among several others.

Jagdeo pointed out that prior to taking office in May 2015, the Coalition boasted and campaigned on “locking up” People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) officials – but time has exposed those comments as nothing more than rhetoric.

Guyana plans additional oil auction...

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Guyana is re-writing the production-sharing contract that governs oil deals with foreign companies to secure more revenue for the government after Exxon’s contract was criticized as too generous.

The country plans to increase royalty rates to 10% from 2%, the corporate tax to 10% from zero, and reduce oil companies’ so-called cost-recovery limits. Still, the new contract will ensure Guyana “remains one of the most competitive countries in the world even with these changes,” Jagdeo said.

Major oil companies will be asked to submit bids on 14 oil blocks once the terms have been finalized and written into law. Companies will be allowed to win a maximum of three blocks each to ensure multiple exploration programs can progress simultaneously.

The auction is drawing “great interest” from major oil companies “including quite a few from the US,” Jagdeo said.

Since oil began flowing, Guyana received $350 million in 2020 and 2021, and $1 billion in 2022. The government receives a portion of the revenues for its spending budget while the rest is allocated to a sovereign wealth fund. Guyana has awarded contracts for 12 hospitals and seven hotels, and is building a natural gas pipeline that will reduce electricity prices by 50% when complete in December 2024, Jagdeo said.

In the major urban areas such as Georgetown, labor shortages have prompted Guyana to allow Chinese and Indian companies to import work crews, Jagdeo said. It’s a major turnaround from Guyana’s recent history when unemployment was rife.

Bloated government spending is one of the biggest risks to Guyana’s oil boom, according to Jagdeo. Most of the money spent so far is going toward capital projects rather than recurring expenses, he said.