Weekend Mirror 7-8 April 2018

Govt operating blindly in sugar industry – PPP 7-8 April, 2018 / Vol. 10 No. 16 / Price: $100

Internet: http: //www.mirrornewsgy.com / e-mail: weekendmirror@gmail.com

‒ Demands proper study of sector

Honouring Janet Jagan

PAGE 2

SEE INSIDE

APNU+AFC still deciding on local govt issues Was the $32B earmarked for sugar ever invested or was it stolen?

PAGE 2

PAGE 5

GPL needs US$110M “to keep the lights on” PAGE 6

2

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Govt operating blindly in sugar industry – PPP ‒ Demands proper study of sector The People’s Progressive Party has stated that the road being taken by the government as regards the sugar industry is predicated on “caprice” and “guesswork.”

The party has mocked the previous position of the APNU/AFC government that sugar was sucking the “lifeblood of the nation” in light of the fact that the government has secured some $30 billion to “re-vitalise” the industry.

The Party wonders if this “whimsical and fanciful” would lead to more corruption.

The Party statement on the issue follows: Only a few months ago

the nation was told that “the sugar industry is not viable”, that “it is draining the treasury”, that “it is a waste of tax payers’ dollars”, that “it is sucking the life blood of this nation” and that pouring money into GUYSUCO is pouring money into a “black hole”.

As a result and without any feasibility study or impact based assessment, several estates were closed and thousands of workers were put out of jobs and on the breadline with their families.

Now again without any assessment, projection or feasibility study (at least none has been made public), we are told that the Special

Purposes Unit has secured a $30 billion syndicated bond “to aid in the revitalization of the country’s sugar industry”.This approach seems to be predicated on caprice at worst and guesswork at best. We maintain most resolutely that any attempt to fix GUYSUCO must cater for the long-term sustainability and viability of the industry. We are confident that a proper feasibility study, coupled with prudent management, fiscal responsibility and transparency can achieve these objectives.

We have already expressed our deep concerns about financial injections into the industry, which are intended to liquidate liabilities in order to sell off

APNU+AFC still deciding on local govt issues

T

he governing A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) are expected to meet later to iron out several issues as the two decide to contest this year’s Local Government Elections (LGE) together.

In an invited comment on Wednesday, Chairman of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan told reporters that the parties have to “trash out a number of issues, preferably it will be in relation to candidacies, candidates and a number of other things.”

He alluded to recent developments at the level of the City Council.

At its last municipal elections, APNU captured both positions of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, a change from previous years where the AFC Councillors, Sherod Duncan and Lionel Jaikaran copped the Deputy Mayor position.

The last election also oc-

curred during a time when the AFC opposed contracts being undertaken by the council over lack of transparency and even submitted a no-confidence motion against Town Clerk, Royston King.

“We’ve seen an unfortunate development in the municipality and we indicated that the attitude of especially the Town Clerk has left a lot of things bothering us,” Ramjattan said, as he implied that it is one of the issues which will be discussed by the parties.

He told reporters that a letter was sent to the leader of the APNU, David Granger.

“I think there will be some developments this week,” he said.

The Chairman, however, made it clear that what is transpiring at the level of the City Council is not indicative of the relationship between the coalition parties.

He said the developments

at the level of the council are “personality clashes” which is not something new. ‘“We [APNU + AFC] have a tremendously cordial relationship that highest level.

I have a very good relationship with the President and his entire team and it’s not reflective of any kind of relationship…as happens in the municipality,” he noted.

At the 2016 LGE, the AFC raised several concerns as it relates to the number of seats given to the party at the level of various councils.

However, it was found at the time that the Cummingsburg Accord which brought the parties together does not cater for seats or address issues at the Local Elections level.

The Accord provides for a review after three years which was reached on February 14, 2018, at which time the President said it is up to the AFC to initiate discussions for a review.

PPP Activist carry out checks on registration list in Blairmont, West Berbice

the industry or parts of it, liability- free, to friends and allies of the Government with guaranteed kickbacks to Ministers.

Thirty billion dollars in subsidy would have kept the industry going for four years without a single loss of jobs. We are aware from the Government’s own admissions that billions have been pumped into the industry as subsidies, under this Government, with nothing to show for it and we have called for an investigation into how and on what these monies were spent.

Some reports in the press state that the $30 billion came from “international markets” while others indicate that it came from several local banks, including, Republic Bank. What is certain is that it is not a loan on concessionary terms. No study has been done to enquire into GUYSUCO’s ability to repay such a loan. If we are to go on what the Government has said of GUYSUCO, then clearly GUYSUCO cannot

repay this loan. This raises the other fundamental issue of what is the collateral for this loan. Did the Government guarantee the loan, or the assets of GUYSUCO have been used as collateral?

If the latter is the position and there is an inability to repay, then the banks will end up owning the massive asset base that GUYSUCO has.

It is opportune that we point out that the Government regularly blames the PPP for leaving GUYSUCO in debt. They use the gloated figure of $84 billion dollars as this debt without disclosing that most of this debt consists of pension liabilities, taxes to GRA and monies owed to NIS. Thirty billion dollars is certainly larger than any single liability accumulated during the PPP Government.

Most importantly, other than the broad generic terms used, there is no indication of a clearly defined plan on how this money will be spent and what rewards it will yield, specifically, or for the over-

all long-term welfare of the industry.

We remain worried that the Government is operating blindly and up to now has not unfolded a plan for the future of GUYSUCO. We feel that the $30 billion, given the track record of incompetence and corruption by this Government, will be wasted and stolen and future generations will be saddled with the repayment of this humungous debt.

We wish to reiterate our confidence in the sugar industry and we are of the firm view that it has a viable long-term future. We are prepared to partner with the Government to make this a reality. However, we insist on a scientific and transparent approach. We demand a feasibility study and a transparent plan to restore viability to this industry. We say that the whimsical and fanciful approach of the Government, which is mired in secrecy, will only lead to corruption and greater disaster for the industry.

Guyana to access US$900 million from Islamic bank

G

uyana stands to access US$900 million from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) over the next three years, Finance Minister Winston Jordan has said.

The financing “will be directed to key development areas, including economic infrastructure, rural development, human development and trade and competitiveness,” Jordan said in an address at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Tunisia.

Guyana became a full member of the IsDB in 2017 and the 2018-2020 work programme was agreed to when a mission from the Bank visited Guyana last December.

This funding is aside from projects already being finalised.

The Finance Minister said the Government has leveraged the inter-locking capacity of the Bank and is currently in an advanced stage of designing a Reverse-Linkage Project with the Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), which will assist in updating Guyana’s expertise and technology in rice production.

“This project will support the introduction of innovative rice varieties that are more resilient and will significantly increase rice yields per acre,” Jordan stated.

Regarding training, Jordan said the government, in partnership with the Bank, has programmed a project to improve national education at the primary and secondary levels.

“This project will embrace the Inquiry-Based Science and Mathematics Education (IBSME) approach.

“It will also make use of UNESCO’s Global Micro-Science Experiments programme and supporting mathematics kits and will lead to the integration of mathematics through science lessons. This effort will raise the level of scientific and mathematical literacy among teachers and students while supporting a learner-centred environment,” the Finance Minister stated.

The IsDB is also supporting Guyana in caring for the elderly.

Jordan noted that in 2017, the minimum standards for elderly residential

care facilities were completed and enacted in Guyana and concurrently, the Government approached the Bank for its support and assistance to design a project which will modernize and upgrade the facilities of the Palms Geriatric Facility.

The project is expected to procure equipment and furniture and also result in the provision of enhanced medical care.

Such a “quick win” project…is welcomed by the Government, not only for its demonstrative socio-economic impact and benefits, but, also, as evidence of the concretizing of the partnership between the Bank and our country,” Jordan stated.

The Finance Minister reaffirmed Guyana’s resolve to further strengthen its cooperation with the Bank and fellow member countries.

“It is quite evident that our joint efforts can go a long way in bringing about socio-economic stability and prosperity in Guyana, which can redound to the benefit of the Latin American and Caribbean Region.

“Guyana remains hopeful for its future and grateful for the Bank’s support.”

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

My View O ne of the main characteristics of a democratic society is the separation of powers. The three pillars on which it stands are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. In democratic societies there are variations on how society is managed, but all free and democratic states are based on those separations.

The Judiciary has particular importance, since it should be independent and interpret the law impartially and fairly. Thus the saying ‘Justice is blind’.

When this begins to fail, people tend to lose hope and confidence in the ability of the state to protect their interests.

Aspiring dictators tend to move to undermine the

By Donald Ramotar Former President

Judiciary in the process of establishing an undemocratic system.

In Guyana, we saw this process first begin slowly, and then picked up speed during the 1964 to 1992 period.

First was the appointment of politically biased judges, who were willing to carry out the wishes of the Executive and try to justify that in law.

The other side of that coin was the removal of judges who demonstrated integrity and independence and who fearlessly discharged their duty of upholding the Law and Constitutions.

Some of those who immediately come to mind are Guya Persaud, Sir Joseph Luckhoo and Justice Vieira.

After removing the ‘un-

3

THE COURT AND POLITICAL LIFE

desirable’ judges, the PNC regime then removed accountability by withdrawing from the Privy Council without leaving anything to put in its place.

When that process was completed the dictator did not even had to instruct the judges on which way to rule. Mr. Ashton Chase once wrote that the judges began to anticipate what the dictator wanted and dutifully ruled in that way.

Under such a system, it was only a small step to put the Party symbol on the Courts. The PNC’s flag was hoisted on a taller fly pole than the nation’s flag in the Guyana Court of Appeal’s compound. The Chancellors appointed by the PNC did nothing about that.

We have come a far way since those days. The PPP/C restored the separation of powers. Moreover, it was Cheddi Jagan who insisted that the Caribbean Court of Appeal be established. He even threatened to return to the Privy Council if the Ca-

ribbean Court of Appeal was not established.

Guyana was among the first countries to sign to make the Caribbean Court of Appeal operational.

Now we are once again seeing troubling signs of a reversal or some setbacks in this regard.

We find many important Constitutional cases not being heard by the Judiciary.

The first and most notable is the Elections Petition case of 2015. Three years have already elapsed and it is not being called up. Not even started. This seems to be deliberate. It appears that the Judiciary does not want to displease the Executive that is most likely in power due to fraud.

A second case in point is the case as regards the Chairman of the Elections Commission. Many learned persons in the law are of the view that the present person in that post is there illegally and unconstitutionally.

A case was brought to the

Courts to decide this. However, it seems to have been lost in the bureaucracy. This is another method of frustrating the majority of people in this country.

But this is not all.

On more than one occasion, the Minister of Communities has been violating the Constitution in his appointment of several Mayors, Chairpersons and Municipalities and at the local government level. Court cases have been filed, but that seem to be where the matters end. No dates have been fixed for the hearing.

There are other Constitutional cases that were heard.

The matters completed in the Court but no ruling has been made. These things are tied up in the Court for years.

In light of the above, one wonders if the Judiciary is taking orders or they are anticipating what the rulers want and are using their positions to deliver.

I am appalled that the legal fraternity is so tight-

lipped about these dangerous and ominous signs.

If we contrast our situation here with Trinidad and Kenya, where challenges to the elections were made we see how expeditious the Courts heard the cases and ruled on them. In the case of Kenya elections had to be redone.

I wish to warn that there are consequences for every single person in our country when these violations are allowed to happen.

The experience all over the world has shown that when the Judiciary does not perform its functions it leads to dictatorship in our political life.

In economic life, it leads to decline and even collapse.

Things become bad and lines are formed for essential items like salt and toilet paper.

Furthermore, it leads to unchecked corruption.

All of these signs are visible in our society today.

People, let your voices be heard before it is too late!

Yemen the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis, Says UN Chief

By António Guterres, Secretary-General (IPS) - Thank you all for being here today to show your solidarity with the women, men, girls and boys of Yemen. And I want to thank my co-chairs, the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland, for hosting this conference for the second year and for their continued humanitarian commitment.

Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. As the conflict enters its fourth year, more than 22 million people – three-quarters of the population – need humanitarian aid and protection.

Some 18 million people are food insecure; one million more than when we convened last year. And a horrifying 8.4 million of these people do not know how they will obtain their next meal.

Millions of Yemenis do not have access to safe drinking water. Last year, 1 million people suffered from watery diarrhoea and cholera. Half of all health facilities are shut or not working properly, meaning there is a high risk of another cholera epidemic.

Treatable illnesses become a death sentence when local health services are suspended and it is impossible to travel outside the country. Civilians have been facing indiscriminate attacks, bombing, snipers,

unexploded ordnance, crossfire, kidnapping, rape and arbitrary detention.

Every ten minutes, a child under five dies of preventable causes. And nearly 3 million children under 5 and pregnant or lactating women are acutely malnourished. Nearly half of all children aged between six months and 5 years old are chronically malnourished and suffer from stunting, which causes development delays and reduced ability to learn throughout their entire lives.

Some two million children are out of school, and 2,500 schools have been destroyed or are not being used for their original purpose.

Children are being forcibly recruited to fight, or put to work to support their families. And families across the country are sliding into debt and coping in any way they can. Child marriage rates have escalated; nearly two-thirds of girls are married before the age of 18, and many before they are 15.

Three-quarters of displaced people are women and children, and women and girls among them face an increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence. And the number of women accessing services for gender-based violence has risen by at least 30 per cent, despite social constraints on reporting.

And these facts represent only a snapshot of the dev-

astation.

Yemen’s situation today is catastrophic. But with international support, we can and must prevent this country from becoming a long-term tragedy.

The 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen requires $2.96 billion to reach more than 13 million people across the country.

And we have a strong foundation on which to build.

The humanitarian operation has expanded dramatically.

At the start of last year, partners were reaching 3 million people per month with food assistance. By August, we were reaching more than 7 million people every month.

At the height of the cholera epidemic, more than 1,000 oral rehydration centres and 234 diarrhoea treatment centres were in operation – up from only 25 such centres earlier in this year.

Thanks to humanitarian agencies and our partners, the cholera epidemic has been contained and famine – even if famine is a technical concept that does not really describe the reality as many, many people are hungry – but famine has so far been averted, although there is no room for complacency on either count.

Your generosity made this work possible. But your generosity is well-deserved by the Yemeni people. In my capacity as High Commissioner

for Refugees and during more than 10 years, I worked closely with Yemen.

Yemen has always received Somali refugees in big numbers coming to the country, and granting them prima facie refugee status, something that unfortunately, many other countries around the world refused to do, even if their resources and capacities are much larger than the resources and capacities of the Yemeni people.

The Yemeni people has always been extremely generous to those that came to Yemen in search of protection and assistance. And so our generosity is also a duty to match the generosity that Yemenis always have shown to those in need that have been able to seek their protection.

Last year’s donor conference raised $1.1 billion for humanitarian action in Yemen. This year, the United

Nations and our partners on the ground are ready to do everything possible to expand our support even further. But we need resources.

Donors have already stepped forward. The governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have generously provided $930 million for the Humanitarian Response Plan. They have also pledged to secure an additional $500 million from the region. And I deeply thank them.

Other donors have contributed some $293 million. This means that we have already met 40 per cent of our requirements for the year.

But the scale of suffering that we see in Yemen requires rapid, full funding for the 2018 response plan. And the plan is prioritized so that every dollar goes where it is urgently needed. I urge all to do whatever it is possible because the Yemeni people needs and deserves it.

My second message here today is that humanitarians must be able to reach the people who need help and to do so without conditions.

Humanitarian agencies and their partners need full and unconditional access at all times.

But humanitarian agencies report access constraints in 90 percent of districts in Yemen.

All ports must remain open to humanitarian and commercial cargo for the

medicines, the food and the fuel needed to deliver them.

And Sana’a airport is also a lifeline that must be kept open.

It is vital to provide safe, unimpeded, unrestricted humanitarian access to all parts of the country. And the Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations Plan recently announced in Riyadh was an important step in this direction.

My final message is possibly the most important of all.

We must see action to end the conflict.

This war is causing enormous human suffering to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, and there are no humanitarian solutions to humanitarian crises.

A negotiated political settlement through inclusive intra-Yemeni dialogue is the only solution. And I urge all parties to engage with my new Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, without delay.

And I reiterate my call for full respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, millions of people depend for their survival on the decisions we take today. And I hope you will match your participation here with action, to support humanitarian operations and to move decisively towards lasting peace in Yemen.

4

EDITORIAL

Confusion leading to despondency C

onfusion is becoming a more and more pronounced characteristic of the APNU/AFC coalition government.

This has been very much in evidence in how the government approaches the new oil sector and the downsizing of the traditional sugar industry.

The government, for reasons known only to itself, impulsively rushed into the smashing of the sugar industry, starting with the closure of Wales estate. Now several estates have been closed with thousands of sugar workers put on the breadline. The government has since launched into a series of excuses for its actions.

These actions were not based on any study, plan or vision and it was left to Guyanese to determine the real reasons for closing the estates and impoverishing so many persons and entire communities that depended on the operations of sugar estates. The costly Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry did not recommend the actions taken by the government, yet the government went ahead, creating even more suspicions as to the underlying motives for the closure of the estates.

Now, the government is opening some of the closed estates at an enormous cost - $35 billion is said to be the start up cost. This amount could have been used to keep the industry alive until a viable plan to resuscitate the industry is found.

But the government wouldn’t hear of it, disregarding strong calls from major stakeholders to have a thorough study of the industry.

Now there is confusion as to the new board. NICIL, which is supposedly the new owners of the assets of the industry, is calling the shots. Guysuco is at a loss as to its legal existence and while some officials said a Board has been appointed, the government says that’s not the case.

Even now as the government is going into reverse and re-opening estates, it has not seen it fit to engage those who have been involved in the industry. Already, some of the intentions of the government are creating new suspicions, since these is no intention to re-hire the dismissed sugar workers or to have them unionized.

The sugar workers and sugar estates have long been a solid support base of the now opposition PPP and even though no one will admit it, the dismantling of the sugar industry is seen as a way of weakening the opposition, which is knocking at the door of political power.

Even since the US-based exploration companies confirmed the presence of commercially large fuel deposits offshore Guyana, the government has been in disarray. Its actions, so far, can only be described as utter confusion, and in many respects, the government is becoming delusional. In the process it has blundered into poor contractual arrangements, ventured into corrupt practices, secrecy and political shenanigans.

There are severe criticisms of the contract with ExxonMobil on the basis that many of the critical clauses put Guyana at a disadvantage, thus leading to huge revenue losses when the company starts to pump crude. There seemed to have been no experts involved in the negotiations to protect the interests of Guyana.

Then there is the scandal involving the US$18 million signing bonus, which was hidden in some corner. The government denied receiving the money, then admitted getting it, but did not assign it to the Consolidated Fund as the law requires.

Then there is the multitude of conflicting statements being made by the President and several Ministers. The government then shifted responsibilities for oil to the President’s office, away from the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman. Trotman, however, continues to speak on oil.

It is said that the PNC strongmen are extremely alarmed over the fact that the oil sector was left in the hands of leaders of the AFC and demanded that this be changed.

The APNU/AFC has made mayhem into a science and this situation now permeates all sectors. For example, the Minister of Agriculture has no say in what happens in the sugar industry.

This confusion is leading the ship of state away from the purposeful course set by the PPP/C and Guyana is becoming more and more despondent.

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Police cannot cope with ‘Sindicato’

Dear Editor,

L

ast Wednesday, March 24, I was part of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the Security Sector that inspected Police stations at Muruca; Matthews Ridge; Port Kaituma and Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini).

To his credit, our Committee Chairman, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, instructed his Police ranks to be truthful and straightforward in answering our questions, and I am satisfied that this was done.

Because of this candid interaction with the ranks, I was able to ascertain the state of readiness of our Police Force in those communities, and the conditions under which they live and work.

Editor, we demand professionalism of our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. They in turn, need to be assured of our support and commitment in providing them with the tools to keep them safe, and to get the job done. Sadly, much is needed to provide the basic level of comfort to those Police Officers; most of whom have been transferred from locations far away from home.

Police in Region One are challenged to cope with routine criminal activities they are confronted with on a daily basis. Every Police station is short-staffed and is in dire need of transportation; adequate manpower, more and better weapons.

There is no defined policy guideline to deal with Venezuelans crossing the border, working here illegally and setting up prostitution rings.

Living quarters for Police Officers are mostly cramped and inadequate. In Port Kaituma, Police Sergeant Connell is forced to live in a dilapidated building that should have been demolished a long time ago. So, when I read in the press that Minister Ramjattan will be sending in more law enforcement officers to deal with the threat emerging from the Venezuelan gang known as the “Sindicato”, I wonder where he proposes to house these additional ranks, and how will they be able to confront the “Sindicato” without transportation and effective communication.

Unless Police Officers in Region One are given the tools to get the job done, even with additional ranks, they will be powerless to challenge any threat emerging from that notorious Venezue-

lan gang.

A reliable communication system is extremely vital to any Police station, more so those located in rural isolated areas. Yet the Police radio at Muruca has not been working since October of last year. Without a replacement and telephone land-lines, the only form of communication available to these Police Officers are their personal cellphones.

This is totally unacceptable.

The lack of adequate transportation is a common problem facing all Police stations in Region One. Muruca has been without a 4×4 vehicle since 2012, and one of the two ATVs is non-operational due to smooth tyres.

A common request I’ve heard throughout this inspection tour of Region One, is the need for female Police Officers to deal with cases of rape, domestic violence, child abuse etc.

While the Public Security Minister admitted that he is aware of some of the “harsh” conditions that exist in some locations, it appears that the chain of command is failing to address the basic needs of Police Officers in this Region.

Sincerely, Harry Gill, PPP/C MP

The situation in the sugar industry is quickly evolving not necessarily in the best direction Dear Editor,

O

ur Union recognized, over the Easter Holidays, a number of reports in various sections of the media regarding happenings and developments in the sugar industry. For the GAWU, the shining of the spotlight on the industry is both welcome and an encouraging sign.

And, for the thousands who have been affected by the callous plans to minimize the industry it serves to tell them they have not been forgotten and there is still a great deal of concern about their well-being.

Though there hasn’t been any official announcement, as far as we are aware, we saw the Guyana Times of April 02, 2018 reporting that GuySuCo’s Chairman, Mr Colvin Heath-London as saying “the SPU operations, in conjunction with GuySuCo, will be able to employ directly and indirectly in excess of 1000 people”. While heartened that as many as 1,000 retrenched workers have been re-employed, if the number is indeed accurate, it pales in comparison to the roughly 7,000 persons placed on the breadline following the closure of sugar estates in the last two

(2) years. For many of them, they still remain jobless eking out a living on whatever may come their way. Certainly, this is not the way our people should live. Undoubtedly, the champions of our independence, in their wildest of dreams, would have never wanted the freedom they and others struggled for and eventually won to mean this humility our people find themselves in and the miserable existence they are now forced to contend with.

But while there seems to be some elation in the partial employment of 14 per cent of the retrenched workers, the fact is that a large number of those workers who have been re-engaged have not been hired by the SPU but by contractors and are engaged on shortterm contracts. As the April 02, 2018 Stabroek News reported those workers are being paid a flat rate which, for instance, does not take into consideration the conditions of the canes they harvest; the additional distances that they may be required to walk to load the canes; or if they are required to wait on punts to load canes. Added to that, no personal protective equipment, though required by law, are provided to them neither are

the workers in receipt of any tools to carry out their tasks. Furthermore, several important benefits, won out of the struggles of workers over many years, have been discontinued. Moreover, the workers are required, from their earnings, to make their contributions to the NIS and worst yet when the crop comes to an end their employment with the contractor simply ceases to exist.

Undoubtedly, it is a very depressing situation and when looked at in totality the workers are definitely worst off. Really, how much different, if at all, are such retrogressive conditions different from the pre-independence era?

Clearly, at this stage of our development, it is a retrograde step and for us it is disheartening that workers are seemingly being taken advantage of especially when they and their families find themselves in such a distressing and vulnerable situation. As we reflected on what is playing out in the sugar industry, we recalled not too long ago that Guyana, with the assistance of the ILO, launched its Decent Work Country Programme. A report from the DPI informed that Prime Minister, Moses (Turn to page 5)

5

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Was the $32B earmarked for sugar ever invested or was it stolen?

D

id Government really pump $32B into the sugar industry from 2015 to 2017, or was the money siphoned off for other purposes, Opposition Parliamentarian, Mohabir Anil Nandlall questioned.

During his popular television programme in Berbice, Issues in the News, last night, Nandlall asked how is it that for the past two years, the Government claimed to have invested $32B into sugar yet they still closed the estates across the country.

Further, he questioned why after injecting such a huge sum, the Government still closed the industry and made thousands jobless yet now they are investing another whopping $30B into the industry. Notably, according to Nandlall, under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration, between 2011-2014, injected approximately $18B into the industry, which is an average of about $6B per year. The learned attorney argued that with $32B and $30B the industry could have ran for over 10 years without a single person loosing their job.

“How suddenly, this in-

dustry that was not feasible, not profitable, this industry that was a drain on the treasury, suddenly, you’re putting $30B in this same industry,” he questioned.

Nandlall made it clear that he supports financial investments into the sugar industry as he and those in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) strongly believe that sugar has a future in Guyana.

But he pointed out that the Government clearly does not have a plan for the industry and that it is acting whimsically.

For example, he questioned what was the point of investing an enormous $32B into the industry for two years, only to shut down the sugar estates. In fact, Nandlall even questioned whether the money ever went to the sugar industry.

“Where did that money go? You still end up closing the estates. So what did you do with the $32B in the first place? Was it put into the industry or is it a lie,” he questioned.

He contended that “we lost $32B or it was stolen… because I can’t imagine where $32B gone and they

still ended up closing the estates.”

Against this backdrop, Nandlall asked what point does it make now – after wasting $32B and shutting down the estates – to inject another $30B. He explained that the $30B is a loan and if the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) fails to repay this loan then the bank can seize the company’s assets resulting in commercial banks owning prime lands all across the country.

Nandlall questioned the wiseness behind this situation, noting that it is not the best outcome for the sugar industry.

The former Attorney General lamented that there is no consistency in Government’s plan for sugar. He also bemoaned the fact that despite the lack of clarity, government has refused to shed light and inform the public of it’s clear plan for sugar.

According to Nandlall, there seems to he multiple plans for the sugar industry and that all of these plans are colliding instead of flowing in tandem.

The situation in the sugar...

Nagamootoo at the activity said “…we want to improve the lives of our people and how we can make Guyana a country where there is sustainable livelihood based on the availability of decent work”. Today, weeks after, the Prime Minister’s utterances rings hollow in the sugar belt.

The April 02, 2018 Guyana Chronicle also reported that GuySuCo’s Agricultural Director, Dr Harold Davis Junior saying that around 60 per cent of the $30B financing that was recently secured would be spent improving GuySuCo’s three (3) factories. Dr Davis argued that the factories are in need of significant capital injection. This, however, is a perennial tune of GuySuCo. We recall, the recently departed CEO of GuySuCo, arguing as far back as 1993 the factories were falling apart and required substantial capital expenditure. Interestingly, a quarter century has gone by since then and the very factories remain operable. We accept that some investment may be needed but we are not convinced at this time that the vast sum quoted is required.

(From page 4)

We also share the view that the sum sought, and apparently approved, could have been utilized to improve all the estates and thus prevented the precarious situation thousands find themselves in now-a-days.

The GuySuCo Agricultural Director also said investments would also be made in co-generation and the production of plantation white sugar. Moving in this direction was also suggested by GAWU and while we welcome these initiatives, we recognize that conspicuously absent, so far, is a clear, defined and well-thought-out plan to support the investments contemplated in order to make GuySuCo viable. Certainly, the sugar workers, and more so the Guyanese people, need to be aware of what is intended and the path that will be taken to reach the destination. This is especially notable considering that $30B of the Guyanese people’s assets has been collateralized in a deal for which the details are still to be disclosed. Added to that, Dr Davis is quoted to have said “[w]hat we cannot go back to is a labour intensive sugar industry,

Granger denies involvement in sacking of columnists at Chronicle

P

resident David Granger has distanced himself from the decision to remove two columnists from the state-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper.

The columnists claim that they were removed because they were critical of the government and it is yet to be ascertained who gave them the marching orders.

One of them, Dr. Hinds believes that the instructions came from officials of the Alliance for Progress but opined that they were doing the “dirty” job of the PNC. “It’s not for me to say.

As I said, I did not appoint them. I don’t know what circumstances governed their relationship with the paper and I am not going to express an opinion on the content,” he said when asked whether he had found any of the columnists’ writings to have been irresponsible.

Noting that during the past three months, regional radio stations have been launched in keeping with government’s public information and broadcasting thrust. “We must ensure that the public, particularly through the State media, receive information which would help them to make decisions so there is a role for public information…

The Chronicle is a public information medium,” he said.

Stressing that it was up to the editor to select, choose and decide the course of the publication to ensure that his

publication is newsworthy, the President denied that there was political interference. “I have not interfered.

My government has not interfered and I would urge that we continue to- and we do- to support on our part the free flow of ideas; this is guaranteed in the constitution,” he said.

Granger’s denial of political interference came the same day that Professor Hinds, who is an executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), stated that the Alliance For Change component of the coalition had spearheaded his and Lewis’ removal as columnists with the blessings from the People’s National Congress Reform, the single largest party in the coalition. “The PNC section is being blamed for what was executed by the AFC. But the public utterings of the party’s General Secretary, suggest that they have no problem with the action—a case of the AFC doing the dirty job for them. One must ask if a government is prepared to encourage that kind of behavior towards a coalition member, how would they behave towards presumed enemies. There is something very ugly about government leaders stifling free expression and still preach about the beauty of democracy,” Hinds said.

Those voting for the removal of the columnists included Board Chairwoman,

we can’t go back there we have to change this industry if it is going to be competitive, it has got to be a modernised industry”. From that statement, it could be said that employment in the industry would be reduced. This is in contrast from what President David Granger said in his message to the National Assembly on January 10, 2018. At that time, President Granger informed that “[t]he Government is committed to making the industry efficient and competitive… preserving three enlarged estates and protecting the jobs of over 11,000 workers.”

The GAWU also recognized former GuySuCo HR Director, Mr Earl John, in the March 30, 2018 Kaieteur News, coming to the defence of his colleagues in management.

In seeking to explain the situation, Mr John refers to figures related to workers earnings contained in the Sugar CoI report. It is dismaying that the former GuySuCo director has chosen to rely on the data of the CoI which has already been disproven by our Union.

Certainly, Mr John, who was the industry’s chief HR person for several months, would know that the data he is referring to does not bear any semblance to the reality. Also, the former HR Director also would know that between 2015 and 2016, workers nominal incomes fell by 15 per cent. At the same time, remuneration relating to the Corporation’s top-most personnel rose by just over 80 per cent between 2015 and 2016.

Mr John also speaks about the Corporation’s provision of health care to workers

Geeta Chandan-Edmond and Sherod Duncan who are both government employees and AFC members.

The Guyanese leader reiterated that he is a strong supporter of a “free”, “responsible” and educated press. Contrary to claims

by Hinds and Lewis that the government appeared to be following in the footsteps of previous administrations as far as tolerance of criticism is concerned, Granger made it clear that he was not opposed to criticism.

“As a politician, I welcome criticism because this helps me to correct faults and to improve the quality and the performance of the government,” he said.

Granger said he was unaware if there was a contractual relationship with the columnists, if it was broken or whether there was improper action.

The one-vote majority by the Board of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited to uphold the decision by Editor-in-Chief, Nigel Williams’ decision to ban Lewis and Hinds as columnists has since triggered the resignation of three board membersBert Wilkinson, Karen Davis and Tabita Sarabo-Halley.

Ruel Johnson said he would resign from April 1, 2018 to allow him to conclude a concept note on the future of the government-controlled publication. Sarabo-Halley is Chairwoman of the Working People’s Alliance.

and their families, seeming to forget that such facilities were not given freely but won through the struggle of the workers both past and present and are financed through the sweat and tears of the workers who are up before the crack of dawn and work in the rain and shine. The sugar industry’s health facilities are also available to those in the management who probably seldom utilize the services given their ability to seek care at private medical institutions. While Mr John readily relies on the CoI report with regard to workers earnings, that same report also recommended that the Corporation’s health facilities “…should be maintained especially as the public health services are still deficient and/or inaccessible”.

The situation in the sugar industry is quickly evolving not necessarily in the best direction. For the workers and those who depend on the industry this is not the news they would wish to receive at this time. For us it is indeed saddening that we have reached the state we find ourselves in especially recognizing that it was not necessary given the opportunities for improvement and sustainability and the serious consequences which have flowed from the decisions that have been taken.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

6

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Govt attempts to exploit former cane-cutters ‒ Avoiding workers with new employment scheme joining unions T

he government is embarking on a new employment scheme for cane farmers but the rules of the arrangement are considered extremely exploitive even barring the workers from being unionised.

NICIL/SPU – which is now handling the affairs of the sugar industry – has put out an advertisement inviting expression of interests for the “contracting of farmers for planting, crop husbandry and harvesting” of a said amount of hectares for cultivation at the Skeldon Estate, Rosehall Estate- Canje- Berbice and Enmore Estate.

Opposition Parliamentarian, Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall told Citizens’ Report that he spoke with a private cane farmer who was interest-

ed in the advertisement but when he made contact with NICIL/SPU, he learned that the arrangement is aimed at exploiting vulnerable sugar workers who were retrenched by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

“The details provided are quite shocking. It was made plain that the SPU wants no dealings with any trade union and that workers who are to be employed must be employed by the private cane farmers who must be responsible for their NIS and GRA payments, health benefits, insurance, transportation to and from work and every other amenity,” Nandlall informed.

The scheme is also intended to pay the workers far less than they were paid

by GuySuCo.

“None of the incentive schemes under which workers benefited for example, the Annual Production Incentive will now be available because no cane farmer will have the financial capacity to finance them,” Nandlall explained.

The other troubling aspect of the arrangement is that the cane farmers will be paid on flat price per tonne of cane irrespective of how bad the field is, the yield, the distance from factory etc.

Nandlall said none of the different allowances that workers are paid, for example, for working out of the area “disturbance allowance “ will be available to the workers.

“The whole scheme is exploitive, of cruel and de-

grading to the workers. GuySuCo and the SPU know the workers are vulnerable and desperate; they know the workers and their families are on the bread line; they know the workers are battling for their very survival so they unleashed this vicious scheme to exploit them and deny them their dignity and human right,” Nandlall asserted.

Meanwhile, rgarding the ban on being unionised, Nandlall contended that this is clearly unconstitutional.

“It is in violation of the protection accorded to workers by Article 147 of the Constitution, which guarantees protection of freedom of assembly and association,” he said.

This Article provides that

“no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her freedom of assembly, association…and in particular, to form or belong to political parties, trade unions or other associations, for the protection of his or her interests”.

Nandlall said it is clear therefore, that the SPU and GuySuCo intend to further trample upon trade unionism and the rights and interests of workers to be represented by a trade union of their choice.

“This is certainly a retrograde step in industrial and labour relations in our country. The right of workers to be represented by a union of their choice is a right that was struggled for and won after decades of activism by thousands,” he said.

The sugar workers in par-

ticular, led by Dr Cheddi Jagan held some of the longest strikes in the English-speaking Caribbean before their union, GAWU, was allowed to represent them.

Additionally, the PPP/C Administration also enacted the Guyana Trade Union Recognition Act law to further entrench trade unionism and the rights of workers to be represented by a union of their choice.

This right is also part of ILO Convention to which Guyana is a signatory.

“All of these tremendous advances are now being eroded by what I can only describe as another act of authoritarianism, reminiscent of the dark days of the Burnham dictatorship,” Nandlall lamented.

GPL needs US$110M “to keep the lights on” I

n an effort to end the constant blackouts and bring some level of efficiency to local electricity services, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc is seeking US$110 million to assist with a strategic plan to overhaul the entire operation, as well as upgrade and reconfigure the supply system to produce better electricity.

This revelation was made by the newly-appointed Jamaica-born Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Albert Gordon, who said that he has already made the proposal to Government.

Speaking on Wednesday at a cocktail reception at Pegasus Hotel, where he was formally introduced to members of the local media, Gordon said that there were several deficiencies that he discovered while on his familiarisation trip to almost all the GPL facilities across the country.

“That is the biggest challenge now, keeping the lights on and as I have mentioned in a different forum, there are different contributors to that. Not the least of which is the existing infrastructure and configuration of the system. The GPL system is evolving from a bunch of smaller systems that are being integrated and right now, there are serious deficiencies in the system that we need to address,” he said.

POWER OUTAGES

In providing a detailed explanation on one of the

issues that cause the constant power outages, the CEO explained that in a normal case where a distribution line takes power to someone’s house, in several instances they are connected directly to the generator. But he said this is not how a power system is configured.

“You generate, increase the voltage to some high-voltage lines, move it to a substation, reduce the voltage and then distribute to customers. That way the generator is shielded from events that may happen on the distribution lines that run along the road. Right now, that is not the case for a number of substations.”

Gordon said in the case of the Kingston substation, there are a number of lines leaving that station. “If there is a fault on any one of those lines, and they are long distribution lines along the road, if a tree falls on it, it feeds all the way back to the generator, takes out those generators. The other generators that are there to protect itself goes off, and the system goes down. So, that’s one major deficiency in the system.”

Another deficiency, the CEO pointed out, is the fact that there is not a lot of ‘redundancy’. “Normally when you are designing a power system, if any major piece of equipment should fail, the customer should not know, because there is a backup piece of equipment to ensure that power is still reaching

customers.

“However, that is not the case. In fact, the transmission system is supposed to keep the rest of the system stable.” According to him, there are a number of lines leaving Sophia, which leads to other substations like Good Hope, Skeldon, and Kingston, which he described as spurs coming off a star system.

“It means that if there is a fault on line 16 going up from Good Hope to Skeldon, everything along that side is out and if you have a system separation and there is no balance in the generation, and one side has too much generation, the generators will speed and trip to protect themselves. One side has too little, they will slow down and trip to protect themselves and the entire system goes down again,” he explained.

According to him, it is not a case where the units do not try to stay on, but if you keep them on beyond a certain point, they will damage, and it, therefore, shuts itself off. While maintaining that there is a multiplicity of things that can take down the system, he said it going down 25 times as it did last year is unusual.

“Normally, if you have a power system that goes down once every 25 years, it is a cause for concern.

We had 25 in one year, so that is something that needs immediate attention. Aside from the entire system going

down, because of the lack of redundancy in the network, there is no back up. If you take out a line for maintenance, you have outages because you don’t have a backup supply,” he added.

PRIORITY

Given these issues, the new CEO said his first priority was to keep the lights on, but noted that all depended on the investment to make the necessary changes that were required to bring some normalcy to the system.

He said, “There is a lot of immediate action that is needed to address the problems…Aside from that, about 50 megawatts of the generating capacity, which is just over 130 megawatts is very old and in need of replacement. So, they fail

very regularly. We need to change that and many other things we have to do.”

Meanwhile, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson also announced plans to assist the company in its quest to improve its services and possibly loan the entity the required sum that is needed to assist with the strategic plans to bring some level of normalcy to the supply of electricity in Guyana.

Patterson also noted that a new Board of Directors for GPL could be named in two weeks’ time as plans are already being made to have a list of the possible nominees submitted to Cabinet for consideration. According to the Minister, this could be taken to Cabinet as soon as next week.

Meanwhile, this money now being sought by GPL from Government has already brought up discussions about the decision of Government to scrap the Amaila Falls project.

Amaila Falls could have been almost operational by now and consumers could have been close to seeing the end to expensive and unreliable electricity. Guyana would have been entering into the ranks of the top 10 users of clean energy worldwide.

The project, which would have been the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country’s history, had the potential to reintegrate the country with the global capital markets for the first time in over 40 years. (Samuel Sukhnandan)

Economist predicts devaluation of currency due to decline in exports

A

s a result of rapid decline in exports from Guyana, prominent economist Sasenarine Singh has projected a high likelihood of the devaluation of the local currency.

In 2017, Guyana exports declined by US$2.1 million (0.1 percent) to $1,438.5 million, as exports in 6 of the 10 export sectors experienced negative trade shift.

The sugar sector recorded the greatest absolute decrease in exports (US$24.9

million), while the rice sector recorded the greatest increase over 2017 (US$22.3 million).

Singh attributed this decline in to a loss of confidence in the sugar sector as a result of the inconsistent policy actions from the Government of Guyana around what to do with the sugar industry.

Weakening of exports in the gold, rum, forestry and diamonds export resulted in their aggregate decline in

exports by US$32.3 million.

This was partially compensated for better performance in the bauxite and seafoods sectors that saw an aggregated increase in their exports by US$29.3 million.

Singh also highlighted the decline in the rum, diamonds and forestry sectors, which will collectively have a serious impact on the foreign exchange situation, can lead to a devaluation of the currency in 2018.

Getting It Right

7

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

By Dr. Bheri Sygmond Ramsaran

The University Of Guyana was but one of several PPP transformational projects I

n the last edition of the Weekend Mirror “Getting It Right” reminded readers that the University of Guyana (UG) was established by the Cheddi Jagan-led PPP Government while we were still a British colony. The preparatory work needed to realize the successful introduction of UG actually started in earnest as far back as 1959.

Recall that UG is actually older than independent Guyana. UG was established even before a dedicated campus was constructed. The institution started off in the buildings of Queen’s College in the night time after the secondary school classes were finished for the day. This led to the detractors, specially the then political opposition

PNC, calling it “the Jagan Night School”. Only several years later did the institution acquire and relocate to the current main Turkeyen Campus.

UG was established in April 1963 with the Mission “To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community, the nation, and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical enquiry.”

In the wider education sector, the Jagan-led Government was making other key parallel strides. A UNESCO Mission, which Dr. Jagan invited, visited Guyana in 1962-63 and recommended

a scheme for teacher-training by which every teacher would be trained within 12 years. This was this plan that the PPP Government implemented in 1963 to strengthen the wider Education Sector.

The magnitude of the achievement of the Jagan Government in creating the University and upgrading the wider education sector is even more appreciated if we reflect on the prevailing conditions that existed in the then British colony. A quick peep into the history of that period shows how daunting this task must have been.

The Jagan Government was at the time confronted with other serious challenges that demanded remedy and that would have discouraged oth-

ers of lesser commitment and vision. The economic environment of British Guiana at that time was extremely uninspiring.

Sugar and bauxite had failed to reach their production targets set at the beginning of each year. Despite the shortfall, favourable development objectives were achieved in some other areas. Significantly, even though opposition propaganda warned foreign investors against the "communist" PPP Government, 21 new foreign companies were registered during 1963.

This is far greater than the current record of the APNU+AFC Coalition Administration since May 2015.

Recall, too, that the country’s first Industrial Site at Ruimveldt was established at that time by the PPP while Guyana was still a British colony. For the entire 28 years of the Burnham-led PMC Administration, which replaced the PPP government, no other “Industrial Site” was established. Indeed the Jagan-led administration of that time demonstrated a great capacity to multi-task even while being forced to contend with a rabid political opposition and the limitations imposed by colonial rule.

Tapakuma Drainage & Irrigation Scheme: Another PPP Transformational Project On 30 November 1963, just a few weeks after the launch of the University, the Tapakuma Drainage And Irrigation Scheme in Esse-

quibo was declared open.

This scheme opened up more than 30,000 acres of land for the cultivation of rice.

After the available land was distributed mainly to landless farmers, rice production increased rapidly during the following year in that part of the country crops also experienced a boom in Essequibo.

The cattle rearing and milk production soared. This underpinned food and nutrition security.

The Tapakuma Drainage and Irrigation Project consisted mainly of improving, rehabilitating and extending irrigation and drainage systems serving 41,750 acres (net) of rice land along the Essequibo Coast. The project would help Guyana to increase rice production and exports, and thereby increase farmer income. The main project works or components can be summarized below: a) Construction, rehabilitation and expansion of irrigation systems and interceptor and facade drains; b) Construction of 6 drainage pumping stations; c) Construction of a flood protection dike along the Pomeroon River; d) Construction of 4 sea sluices and repair of an existing sluice in the Supenaam Extension Area; e) Construction of regulators, tail-gates, checks, irrigation inlets and drainage outlets for individual farms; f) Reinforcement and expansion of the conservancy dam and reservoir in the Johanna Cecilia Extension Area;

g) Construction of 2 reservoir relief sluices and a discharge channel in the Johanna Cecilia Extension Area; h) Construction and rehabilitation of all-weather access roads and related structures; i) Land leveling of about 20,000 acres presently under rice cultivation, and clearing and land leveling of about 7,000 acres of bush land; j) Improvement and expansion of extension services in the project area.

This led British Guiana to being popularly referred to as “the bread-basket of the Caribbean”.

The Bread Basket of the Caribbean With large surpluses of agricultural commodities available, and to better manage the purchase and sale of farm produce locally and for export to the Caribbean, the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) was established.

This move was aimed at what would now be termed “institutional strengthening: - another bold and innovated step.

The GMC also began operations to process agricultural products, and the Jagan-led PPP Government granted incentives to private enterprises involved in such activities.

Agricultural production beyond rice — particularly of root crops, such as cassava and milk — expanded to such an extent, that in 1964 Forbes Burnham announced that if his party won the elections, everyone would be given "free milk and cassava".

CJRC mulls legal action over Cheddi Jagan stamp fiasco T he Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) is contemplating suing the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) for breaching a contractual arrangement to print and deliver commemorative stamps in time for the late president’s birth centenary last month.

The CJRC has contracted the services of Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall to provide legal advice on the issue.

Nandlall explained to News Room during an interview today that the Research Centre, following months of discussions with the Post Office, was required to make a down payment of some $200,000 for the stamps it ordered.

However, closer to the agreed date of delivery, the Post Office informed the

Research Centre that the Ministry of Presidency had taken over the initiative – a move which Nandlall says amounts to unlawful interference.

“The GPOC is a public corporation, it has its own personality in law…and it is not subject to direction and control of the government, it is run by a Board. Certainly, the Ministry of the Presidency has nothing to do with it. So the Ministry of Presidency was clearly acting unlawfully when they interfered in the matter and prevented the GPOC from discharging its contractual obligations,” the former Attorney General said.

Nandlall said the Research Centre wanted to sue the Post Office for breaching their contractual agreement but given the public assur-

ance from President David Granger that the stamps will be delivered, he advised it better to wait.

“We are waiting for the stamps to be issued. If not, I have the file here and I will be proceeding to court,” Nandlall said.

President Granger had told reporters last week that the stamps have been printed and will be delivered.

Nandlall, who is also an opposition parliamentarian, said he is not aware of any formal communication of such to the Research Centre.

President Granger had explained that this delay in the issuance of the stamps is to ensure the correct context is set. Mr Granger also contended that the issuance of commemorative stamps is not a postal function even though the Post Office for

years has been issuing commemorative stamps for different purposes.

Nandlall said there are

strong grounds for a legal challenge to be mounted against the Post Office. But he noted that if the stamps

are eventually delivered, then the Research Centre may not desire to proceed with a court case.

8

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Local Government and You!

Exploitation of citizens continues unabated C

onvincing evidence of willful discrimination and futile cover-up attempts of shameless bullish tactics, permeates almost every aspect of the APNU/AFC Local Governance approach.

With these on the rise, the often complete silence from the Government, or the ridiculous contradicting attempts to convey acceptance, spurns and flies in the face of even the ordinary supporters.

The muteness may have come from a rather alarming number of occasions that APNU/AFC Ministers were exposed for making empty and shallow public pronouncements. It does not dispel however, their visible accommodation, numerous non-transparent practices, often conducted by selectively imposed party goons and agents. There is now an overflow of ghost employees all over the Local Government System.

It cannot be denied that this government has utilized tremendous amount of state resources in political witch hunts, while turning a blind eye to glaring breaches of standing legislation by many amongst its ranks. Such an approach will never consti-

tute any acceptable measure of democratic governance.

Rather, it implies the handing down of internal political party directions to get unacceptable things done outside of the approved approach, and often in violation of the constitution.

The ‘deaf ears’ tactic is equally revealing and tantamount to telling citizens, that their outcries are dammed in the eyes of the government.

For too long, the numerous ghost employees at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are being allowed to exist without a word from the parties in government.

It is disquieting and indeed worrying. Millions of hard earned taxpayer’ monies are being spent to willfully discriminate against one ethnic group for the spoiling of the other ‘political’ group.

The demonstration of disrespect by this government towards citizens reaches a new threshold daily.

How can a known PNC activist, who has been appointed Regional Executive Officer in a Region, be allowed to divert budgeted appropriations for key production support projects, to plant ‘PNC palm trees on the

road shoulders’?

The actions of REO, Mr. Hopkinson in Region #2 on the Essequibo Coast, deserve the strongest condemnation and firm sanctions. He has admitted to utilizing monies allocated for up-keeping the roads and dams and clean trenches to plant Palm trees on the road shoulders.

Citizens, if they visit the Essequibo Coast, will observe the millions of dollars that is being being spent to plant and maintain these palm trees, while farmers suffer and are losing millions of dollars because of the PNC Government’s neglect. We are saying PNC because during a most recent visit to the Coast, we were told that the PNC is ruling now.

On another front of significant community importance, the increasing propensity of armed robberies has reached new heights almost unchecked. It is indeed distressing to know that a poor and dedicated market vendor was shot in the presence of three city constables.

According to reports, the unarmed constables saw the bandits lurking around and suspicious of their intent,

urged the vendors to hurryup and pack their goods and leave the place.

The reluctance of the city constables to seek assistance from the Ruimveldt Police Station, which is within walking distance from the spot where the vendor was shot, is questionable and perhaps reflective of lack of training. One cannot, however, overlook the intensity of racial profiling in these increasing attacks.

Although, the constables who witnessed the shooting would have taken self-preservation measures, the emboldening of these bandits can be seen as having a direct relationship with the policies coming from the highest (level) of the Coalition Government.

There is a less than shallow approach in dealing with these emerging trends, and one must not forget that in 2015, the coalition government had done much to undermine the Policing Group relations with communities.

There is no comprehensive strategy to protect the citizens and the government has demonstrated their cluelessness in this regard, leaving citizens at the mercy of the

bandits who often quietly walk away.

Doodnauth Danasri and his wife will forever be haunted by this blatant, racial attack. The vendors pointed out that there are other people selling on the market, but the bandits did not interfere with them. Notably, the constables did not choose to call the police even though they were fully aware of the imminent threat to the vendors.

Both vendors and shoppers at the markets have complained bitterly that every day, people are being robbed and the Mayor and City Councilors have done nothing to help protect them.

The situation begs the question: what is City Hall doing with its failing Constabulary Officers, who continue to prey on vendors on a daily basis for their perks?

It was reported that an estimated 95% of Constabulary Officers continuously harass vendors for their weekly baskets filled with perks and envelopes with cash, which amounts to more than the rate of the weekly market fees.

Notably, City Hall has increased its 2018 budgetary

allocations to the Constabulary for employment costs and training. It suggests that the staff complement of the Constabulary would be increased and training would be enhanced. One can only hope that the funds allocated for training is not wasted on persons who could be considered as “untrainable” because of the culture developed over the years in the City Constabulary, which is fully supported by the Mayor, Patricia Chase-Green.

The Municipality of Georgetown needs to have security professionals with psychologically based knowledge to assess situations and provide the relevant and courteous services to the vendors and the people to avoid the transgressions at the Municipal Council of Georgetown.

The time is most opportune for the members of the Local Government Commission to speak out on all these serious ‘staff’ issues.

It is the Local Government Commission that has direct responsibility for all staffing matters in the LAA’s.

(This article is prepared

by Neil Kumar along with Mr. A.ans(and) Mr. S)

Winnie Mandela - a woman of Process to hold money outside extreme courage and determination Consolidated Fund not followed

T

he Women’s Progressive Organization (WPO) joins with people the world over in paying tribute to Winnie Mandela, of South Africa, who died on April 3, 2018 at the age of 81.

Winne was a leader in the liberation struggle, surviving more than 35 years of apartheid rule. She was under constant surveillance, threats to her life, harassment, arrest and imprisonment,,including four hundred and ninety-one (491) days in solitary confinement and eight years in exile.

These were just some of the hardships she had to endure.

She married Nelson Mandela at a very young age and had to suffer separation from her husband when he was imprisoned for more than 26 years. During this time, Winnie worked closely with the African National Congress (ANC) and the ANC Women’s League

T

in exposing the conditions under which Mandela was being held in prison and the atrocious conditions the South African people had to endure under Apartheid.

The WPO recalls vividly the numerous protest activities organized by the People’s Progressive Party in which WPO members participated, calling for the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and for apartheid to end in South Africa.

Winnie Mandela will be remembered as a woman who was a great revolu-

tionary, a woman who had courage and was not afraid to fight for her people.

Former KwaZulu Natal Premier ZwaliMkhize described her death as the end of an era for the country and the liberation movement.

“We mourn a revolutionary, a real giant of a fighter.

We will always remember her for her courage and determination to fight.”

The WPO joins in expressing sincerest condolences to her family, the Party and the people of South Africa.

he US$18 million signing bonus controversy has engaged the attention of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Guyana chapter, with the Chairperson of the body questioning the process Government used to keep the money outside the Consolidated Fund.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, IIA-Guyana Board Chairman and Financial Consultant John Seeram noted that while the signing bonus could be held outside the Consolidated Fund, there were certain prerequisites.

“What is important is that once money is received, it should be recorded in the Government’s statements of assets and liabilities, comprising of the Consolidated Fund as an entity and there is the Deposit Fund as an entity and the Contingency Fund as an entity,” he ex-

plained.

“My view is that that US$18 million bonus could be deposited in the Deposit Fund bank account and be shown in the Deposit Fund as an entity, thereby showing up on the statements of assets and liabilities.”

He noted that only when it is appropriated accordingly could it be moved from the Deposit Fund. Asked whether this process was followed in the case of the signing bonus, Seeram replied in the negative.

“Not to my knowledge,” the experienced auditor said.

“But I wrote an article suggesting the use of a deposit fund. I’m just waiting to see what happens.”

The bonus Recently, local economist Ramon Gaskin said in a letter to the media that the Bank of Guyana’s financial statement was recently is-

sued and there was no trace of the signing bonus.

The bonus became a matter of controversy last year after it was revealed that not only did Government fail to disclose that it had received the money since 2016, but also it had deposited it into a private account at the central bank instead of the Consolidated Fund.

Government had defended its actions saying that the money was placed at the Bank of Guyana since Government intended to use it to pay the legal team that would represent Guyana’s interest at the World Court on the border controversy with its western neighbour, Venezuela.

However, Gaskin on Monday wrote that, “The Bank of Guyana has published the list of 128 Gov(Turn to page 9)

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Unruly The

9

Horse GOV’T’S FLIP-FLOP ON GUYSUCO CONTINUES

By: Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP Attorney-at-Law

T

he APNU/AFC continues to be ambivalent in its approach to the sugar industry. While in opposition, they bemoaned that the sugar industry is a “drain on the treasury”, that it is not “feasible” nor “viable”, that investing in sugar is pouring money down a “black hole”. Yet, in Government, they claim that they pumped 32 billion dollars into the sugar industry, as subsidies, between 2015-2017.

By 2018, they have nothing to show for this massive financial injection into the industry. They still ended up closing five sugar estates and dismissing close to ten thousand sugar workers.

The Clive Thomas Board at Guysuco must explain what use was made of this 32 billion dollars and what value did the industry yield from this massive monetary intervention; or, if this 32 billion dollars was ever injected into the industry as subsidies, in the first place, as claimed by the Government, or, was diverted or stolen. The sugar workers and taxpayers as a whole need answers to these questions. The story simply does not add up.

It is public knowledge that all of Guysuco’s assets were transferred to the Spe-

cial Purposes Unit, established by NICIL. No one has yet explained what is the status of Guysuco’s liabilities.

Apart from monies owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority, the National Insurance Scheme, Guyana Water Inc, Guysuco owes billions of dollars to private contractors and suppliers. Guysuco also guaranteed loans at commercial banks for several private cane-farmers.

Someone needs to explain how these debts are going to be liquidated. Some are the subject of pending litigation. This fact was known to Guysuco. Yet, the assets of Guysuco were surreptitiously siphoned away and placed in another entity, beyond the reach of these creditors. This is neither fair nor lawful.

Genuinely acquired debts must be repaid. Some of these creditors are already on the brink of bankruptcy because of Guysuco’s refusal to pay them. This angle will have to be developed in another article.

From the outset, the PPP expressed its confidence in the sugar industry and its optimism about the industry’s long term future. The PPP has consistently called for a scientific approach to the sector, including, an impact-based assessment on the effect of closure, as well as a plan which relates to the future of the industry, in-

cluding the necessary adjustments that have to be made at the level of management as well as operations, and inclusive as well, of a component which explores various diversification options.

The Government continues to ignore this approach and prefers one that is adhoc and based upon the caprice and fancy of a few, without any input from the Opposition, or the trade unions, or the workers. This existing lack of transparency and rudderless strategy which is being pursued will only lead to greater problems.

The flip- flop approach to Guysuco produced, last week, a statement from the SPU which indicated that 30 billion dollars in the form of loans has been secured from commercial banks, with Republic Bank Limited being specifically named. While I welcome the needed financial investment in the sector, I am deeply worried that the flawed model of financing coupled with the lack of transparency and a clear policy directive can result in untold damage to the long term future of the industry.

No one has explained how the same industry, which the APNU/AFC claimed was not feasible nor viable, is suddenly now suitably qualified for a financial injection of 30 billion dollars.

We need to know what has

brought about this complete change of heart. These arbitrary paradigm shifts are indicative of a government that is absolutely lacking in policy guidelines and a defined macro-economic framework. It leads to the eluctable conclusion that the Government is managing the affairs of this nation on a day to day basis and without any discernable developmental plan.

FIDUCIARY DUTY

It is reasonable to assume that since the monies are loaned from commercial banks, the terms of repayment and the rates of interest are not concessionary. I am informed that the massive asset base of Guysuco is being used as collateral security for this loan. Yet, there is no disclosure of what use will be made of this money, what objectives will be achieved by this massive financial injection and how this loan will be repaid. The nation is in the dark about these fundamental issues.

It is impossible to conceive that the commercial banks would have approved the financing without being satisfied, based upon some plan, projection or feasibility study, that the venture has some likelihood of success.

Why this very information which would have been presented to the bank or at least,

a synopsis of it, is not being made public. The people of Guyana are the shareholders of Guysuco and those who are in charge of the management of Guysuco owe the shareholders this fiduciary duty.

This is not a matter of political courtesy but of legal right. The news reports indicated that the monies are going to be spent to improve “infrastructure” at the estates. These patronizing generalizations are absolutely unacceptable. To date, no one has indicated whether a single worker will get back his job with this massive financial injection. It is to be noted that 30 billion dollars injected into the industry as subsidies, at a rate that it was done under the PPP administration, would have kept all the estates open for four years without a single loss of job. After the closure of five estates and with nearly ten thousand persons without a job and after a 32 billion input as subsidies by this Government, another 30 billion is being poured into the industry with no empirical data to indicate that the industry will be in any better position than it is in today.

My real fear is, that come next year, by this time, we would be told that the 30 billion dollars would have been expended but there is nothing to show for it

Process to hold money outside Consolidated... ernment Account Balances at the end of January 2018 in excess of 36 billion Guyana dollars… the US$18M ‘Signing Bonus’ received by Guyana and allegedly placed in the account is not listed”.

But, when contacted, an aide to Finance Minister Winston Jordan told this publication that the money has not been moved, thus it could not have been spent.

“It is still there,” the aide assured.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon had also denied that the monies were used.

“The signing bonus is monies that belong to Guyana, but that bonus, wherever it is, will be placed into the Consolidated Fund and it is from that Fund that any team whatsoever will be paid,” he stated.

Although the legal team has already begun work and has completed Guyana’s submissions, which were

filed with the World Court on Thursday last by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, Harmon told reporters that Government intended to follow prudent fiscal management policies regarding the use of the US$18 million.

“Whether (the legal team) work before or they work after, it is from the Consolidated Fund, these monies will come from (to pay them. But before that)…

we will of course have to make applications to the National Assembly for its approval for these funds…

It is just prudent fiscal management,” he stated.

Moreover, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, when probed on the whereabouts of the signing bonus, had declined to pronounce on the matter, but told media operatives that there was nothing sinister afoot if the monies were to

and the banks will end up owning most of the massive asset base of Guysuco. As a consequence, future generations of Guyanese will be burdened with the task of repaying these humongous loans that the Government continues to pile up. It may be apposite to recall, that it was only in 2008, that Guyana completed the repayment of a loan taken by the Burnham administration in the early 70’s to construct a hydro-power plant at Upper Mazaruni which never generated a kilowatt of energy. So, tens of thousands of Guyanese ended up paying for a loan taken even before they were born and from which they derived not a single benefit.

From the little that I have observed in the Press, I think that the head of the SPU, Mr. Colvin Heath-London means well for the industry. I take this opportunity to congratulate him for getting rid of the disastrous Clive Thomas Board. I humbly advise him to shy away from the non-transparent and capricious approach that he inherited from his predecessors and to adopt one that is accountable, consultative and premised on a plan that is, ultimately, designed to protect and secure the long-term future of the industry and its workers. If he does so, he would be assured of the Opposition’s support.

(From page 8)

be moved.

While Government Ministers have said that Section 37 (2) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act provides for public monies to be held in Extra Budgetary Funds and deposit funds until they are credited to the Consolidated Fund, there are steps to be followed.

Section 42 mandates that after a deposit fund is established, the Minister has to

inform the National Assembly of the fund’s existence.

According to Section 42 (2) of the Act, the Minister also has to specify “the source or sources of the monies in the deposit fund; the purpose or purposes for which monies may be expended from the deposit fund; the banking arrangements for the deposit fund and the intended investment strategy for the monies deposited in the deposit fund.”

10

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Janet, Winnie and the Liberation Struggle

By Hydar Ally

W

innie Mandela, former wife of the legendary Nelson Mandela, passed away recently at age 81.

Regardless of what may be some of her shortcomings, there could be no doubt about the role she played during the anti-apartheid struggle led by the African National Congress (ANC) during those difficult years of white minority rule.

The focus of this article, however, is on our own Mrs Janet Jagan, former President of Guyana, who also passed away in the month of March.

As fate would have it, both she and her husband, Cheddi Jagan, passed away in the month of March.

This year was also marked the birth centenary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and several commemorative activities were held in his honour during the month of March.

However, it is a shame of monumental proportions that the Granger administration intervened to stop the launch of a commemorative stamp in Dr. Jagan's honour, despite an agreement reached between the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre and the Guyana Post Office Corporation to have the stamps ready way ahead of his Birth Centenary.

Interestingly, this year is also the Birth Centenary of Nelson Mandela who, like

Dr. Jagan, would have been 100 years this year were they both alive.

Janet Jagan, like Winnie Mandela, endured several hardships during the course of the national liberation struggle. Both were imprisoned even though for different periods, but they remained undaunted in their vision for a better society in which there was social justice and where there was equality of opportunity for everyone regardless of race, religion or creed.

Nelson and Winnie Mandela, like Cheddi and Janet, were the most celebrated political couples in their respective countries, South Africa and Guyana respectively.

Janet, like Winnie, stands tall among the great women of history. The prestigious TIME Magazine described Janet as one of 16 of the most rebellious women of all times!

Janet Jagan has broken the glass ceiling in a way no other woman had done in Guyana. She scored a number of 'firsts,' but the crown jewel of all was that of being the first female President of Guyana. Regrettably, because of advancing age, she was unable to complete her full stint as President, but despite the brevity of her presidency she managed to leave a legacy as a People's President and someone who was prepared

to make compromises in the interest of peace, stability and national reconciliation.

Despite having won by one of the biggest margin of victorries ever scored by the PPP in elections certified to be free and fair by local and international observer groups, she agreed to curtail her presidency by two years under a deal brokered by Caricom following PNC-inspired disturbances and street protests.

But she held no malice or grudge against her detractors and political adversaries. She always led from the front and was never too shy or timid to confront anyone who sought to impose hardships

on the Guyanese people. She took strong positions during the opposition years to the imposition of compulsory National Service for College and University students and also against the indiscriminate banning of essential food items by the then Burnham regime. Her contribution to the cause of better living and working conditions for women and Guyanese as a whole are legendary and too numerous to mention.

Nor was she the person who could be intimidated by the then repressive Burnham regime. I recall one particular incident when the University of Guyana hosted a symposium at the Large Lec-

ture Theatre during the early 1980's. I was a student of the University at the time and I recall attending the symposium, which had as panelists Mrs. Viola Burnham and Mrs. Jagan among others.

Mrs. Burnham sought to justify the ban on food items and Mrs. Jagan took her to task in a manner Mrs. Burnham never could have anticipated. Her entire demeanour was visibly changed from the scathing attacks and the humiliation she experienced, much to the amusement of the audience.

Mrs. Jagan had strong political instincts and was extremely passionate about the need to restore democ-

racy and good governance.

But she was also known for her strong humanism and someone who would go out of her way to help people in need even if it meant taking money out of her pockets.

There are so many people, including this writer, who were so touched in one way or the other by her kindness that it is impossible to recount them all.

Mrs. Jagan was also the Editor of the Mirror Newspaper and the Party's theoretical organ, the Thunder. I had the honour of sharing the centre spread of the Mirror Newspaper with her for a number of years and I still have the several handwritten notes of encouragement from her to continue writing.

Thanks to her, several of my columns were put together in a booklet entitled "Insightful Views on Guyana" of which she edited and wrote the foreword. I remain grateful to her for her encouragement and support as a writer and columnist.

This column is dedicated to her memory and for the contributions she made towards the realization of a better Guyana.

Mrs. Jagan served her country well and we all owe her a great debt of gratitude for her sterling contributions to a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana.

Janet Jagan was an exceptional leader of the working people imbued with a true revolutionary spirit – a tribute by GAWU’s Vice President, Harvey Tambron

T

he Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to former President Cde Janet Jagan who passed on nine (9) years ago this day. Although she was not a Guyanese by birth, her co-leadership in the People’s Progressive Party and leadership in the Women’s Progressive Organisation and her distinctive contribution in Government made her known across the length and breadth of Guyana. She came to our land in 1943 as the wife of that outstanding son of our dear land, Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Soon after her arrival to Guyana she plunged into political work to affect a change in the political circumstances of our colonial land. Her political work paid great attention to improving the lot of our womenfolk whose lives under colonialism was especially miserable, with them enjoying little or no rights. Her dedicated work for our country was

monumental, and exemplary.

Sixty-six (66) years of her eighty-eight (88) year lifespan she lived in Guyana. She gave up not only her American citizenship for Guyana, but she was a proud naturalized Guyanese and was revered by the people she worked with and those she helped, and indeed, her contributions are highly appreciated and recognized by those who are aware of her selfless contributions.

Her thoughts and her ideas, undoubtedly contributed significantly to the formation of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in 1946.

Herself, Cheddi Jagan, Ashton Chase and Joselyn Hubbard were the founders. It was the beginning of new politics for the country and it became the basis for the emergence of a Political Party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) which was formed on January 01, 1950, and which objective was to win adult suffrage, to end colonial rule from Great Britain and to achieve

political independence as a prerequisite to build a Guyana that will work to uplift the Guyanese masses.

In fact, one cannot speak about Janet Jagan’s political life without Cheddi Jagan and without the People’s Progressive Party, without its dedicated leaders and its large number of supporters. For the past sixty-odd years, with the advent of the PAC and the PPP, the advanced political awareness of our Guyanese has emanated from these two (2) organizations, especially because of the extensive and intensive work of the PPP. But comrades, while many of us are aware of Cde Janet Jagan as a politician, I feel I must reflect on some of her support to the trade union movement and workers’ struggle.

I wish to quote from some parts of the Presentation by GAWU’s President, Cde Komal Chand at her Memorial Service at Freedom House on March 30, 2009

I quote “Cde Janet Jagan displayed a bias towards the working class throughout her life. This, no doubt, was in keeping with her ideals.

Her working class feelings ran as deep as her feelings for the impoverished. What she taught us, along with her colleagues-in-arms, is the path out of our deprivations and exploitation – the path of organization and struggle.

Her life was enmeshed with that of the working class. She was active in several trade unions and took part in many battles of that segment of the Guyanese population.

“Her most memorable activist role for us in the Guyana Agricultural & General Workers’ Union, was the outstanding and leadership part she played in the history making workers’ struggle in Enmore in 1948. In that battle she displayed courage under fire, a recognized quality of hers, and along with other members of the Political Affairs Committee, gave able leadership in

a workers’ struggle that was to impact on our history and ever since changed the dynamics of our politics.

“The workers who fell in that struggle we celebrate nationally today as the Enmore Martyrs. And, Janet Jagan, Cheddi Jagan and others from the Political Affairs Committee, made history in Guyana only after 2 years since their arrival.

It is noteworthy that Cde Janet always attended the wreath-laying activity at the La Repentir Cemetry on June 16th every year to pay respect and tribute to the five (5) martyrs whether it rains or shines but you know it always rains.

“Over 60 years separate us from that struggle in Enmore.

We remember with a sense of pride and dignity those who heroically fell and we also remember those who went into battle, side-by-side with the workers for workers’ rights and justice. Janet Jagan was in the forefront of that struggle. In fact there was hardly

a moment where she would refuse an invitation to be in a working class gathering.

Cde Janet Jagan never delinked her active interest in the workers cause generally or particularly the sugar workers. In any discussion around the workers’ demands, her position is clear and predictable – she will side with the workers. For the GAWU, in her was a lifelong friend and supporter. As her performance in politics or in the women’s struggles would show, Cde Janet Jagan did not flinch in taking forthright stands on behalf of the downtrodden, the oppressed, the discriminated and the voiceless. She was an admirable freedom fighter; equally, she was an admirable working class champion.”

End of quote.

We in GAWU pay our respect and homage to this great outstanding woman – an outstanding Guyanese, an exceptional leader of the working-people imbued with a true revolutionary spirit.

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

COMMENTARY

11

By Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

Politicisation of national events and institutions part of APNU/AFC’s autocratisation

K

ite distribution during Easter by the political parties and the Government has become a national tradition. This past weekend saw prominent distribution by the President and by the Leader of the Opposition and leaders of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The President did it in style, claiming that the Government spent some $30 million on kites.

He used a helicopter to fly into various communities, spent a short time handing out kites. He travelled with the trappings of Government, but distributed kites rich with the symbolism of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change/ People’s National Congress (APNU/AFC/PNC). Taxpayers should not be paying for an APNU/AFC event.

There is a time and place for politics. When a political party is elected to lead government, it is the Gov-

ernment of ALL the people, not just for the supporters of that political party and not just for those who voted for them. When a political leader becomes the President, he or she becomes the President of the people and must just as stoutly and just as vigorously promote and defend the rights and welfare of every citizen, whether that person voted for him or her. That is what a democracy is all about. Mature and respected leaders must separate their roles in Government from their roles as leaders of a political party.

In the last three years, the lines of separation between promoting the interest of the political party and that of the Government have not only been blurred, they have been deliberately and brazenly eliminated in favour of party paramountcy.

There is no Government of the people, but an APNU/

AFC machinery that has replaced Government. David Granger sees protecting and promoting the interest and welfare of APNU/AFC and their supporters as paramount and they behave as if the 2015 election has given them a mandate to replace a Government with an APNU/ AFC machinery, where everything begins and ends with APNU/AFC. Over the Easter weekend, instead of seeing our government, the government of the people, mixing and celebrating Easter with our citizens, we saw the President brazenly engaged in self-aggrandisement and promoting the interest of APNU. The kites distributed, with Mr Granger on hand, were only in green colour (APNU/ PNC) or sometimes mixed with yellow (AFC). No other coloured kites were part of the kite distribution by the President and the Govern-

ment. Worst, all kites had the picture of Granger on them.

I would have no problem if the kite distribution events were clearly listed as an APNU/AFC event. But at all times, the events were booked as the President in a Government activity funded by taxpayers. The President should not be distributing APNU/AFC paraphernalia as part of a Government activity.

Kite distribution by the President is not a new thing.

It became popular under a PPP Government when kites were distributed in communities across Guyana and, most importantly, were procured from vendors in and across the communities.

The colours were never imposed on the vendors and no political party was identified by colour or picture or any symbol. Granger abandoned this tradition and opted for a party-liked activity paid for

by taxpayers. The Leader of the Opposition and his party leaders this Easter weekend also distributed kites, but they distributed across Guyana and without any identification of the PPP as part of the kites distributed, although they had a right.

Using party colours and paraphernalia and pictures of party leaders in national events have become the standard in Guyana since 2015, recalling the days of Burnham and the PNC. Pictures of the President and Ministers at events and even in promoting national events are not unexpected. But as President and Ministers of the Government of Guyana, not as leaders of APNU/ AFC. Yet today we see them dressed in party colours and always ensuring all decorations comply with party colours and symbols. All buildings are now painted green, even fences. The State

House which belongs equally to the citizens of Guyana has been painted in the colour of APNU. The Presidential Office is now painted in the colours of APNU/AFC, even the fences.

The 2015 election did not give a mandate to take over the country, it gave a mandate to govern for all the people. But should anyone be shocked? This is in the tradition of Burnham and the PNC. Remember even the exercise books in schools had to have Burnham’s picture. At least Burnham had a rationale – he had boldly, even if arrogantly and illegally boasted of party paramountcy. This APNU/AFC cabal is instituting party paramountcy but afraid to say so. This group is thoroughly hypocritical, embracing party paramountcy but calling it democracy. It is the autocratisation of the country.

Trotman’s ineptitude exposed, oil contract prevents impromptu visits to offshore operations N

atural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, who will very soon be officially stripped of his oil responsibilities, has challenged the sanctity of the ExxonMobil contract – saying that Government is prepared to pay impromptu visits to the offshore operations even though the agreement warrants at least seven days notice.

During an interview with media operatives last week, Trotman said: “If we suspect at any time that there is anything illegal or believe there is a violation of our law, or an act of criminality is being perpetuated, we would (immediately).”

But this flies in the face of the oil contract. “The Minister, through duly appointed representatives, upon providing the contractor with at least seven (7) days’ notice, shall be entitled to observe the petroleum operations

conducted by the contractor at his sole cost and expense and at all reasonable times to inspect all assets, records and data kept by the Contractor relating to such petroleum operations. In the exercise of such rights under this paragraph the Minister shall not unduly interfere with the Contractor’s petroleum operations under this agreement,” Article 9 (e), in the section ‘Records, Reports and Information; Confidentiality’, states.

Prominent attorney, Mohabir Anil Nandlall questioned the absurdity of Trotman’s statement to the media.

“How does Minister Trotman conceive the Government making impromptu visits to the oil operations, when the contract expressly and specificallyprovides that the Minister, through his duly appointed representative, must give at least seven days notice before they can be

allowed to observe the petroleum operations conducted by the contractor. This clause is expressed in very clear and unambiguous language. It means exactly what it says, that is, the contractor is entitled, as of right, under the contract, to seven days notice before any visit can be made by the Minister or those authorized by the Minister,” he expressed in comments to the media over the weekend.

Nandlall explained that the Government may attempt impromptu visits, but unless that seven days notice is given in the manner provided for by the contract, the contractor reserves the right to prevent the Government access to the operations.

“Is Minister Trotman saying that the Government will not respect, obey and comply with its contractual obligations? Is Minister Trotman saying that the Government will breach, violate and

disregard its contractual duties? The better thing for Mr. Trotman to have done is to admit that the Government is in a conundrum from which it cannot extricate itself,” Nandlall reasoned.

He added that more significantly, when the clause, which requires the seven days notice is read, in conjunction with other related clauses, one gets the clear impression that the collective intent of the contract, is to prevent the Government from accessing certain type of data, in respect of the oil operations “For example, even where the seven days notice is given, they are express prohibitions against the Minister interfering with the petroleum operations and there are a whole host of records and reports, which are deemed “confidential” and to which the Minister has no access,” he said.

In defending the “seven days notice” clause Trotman had stated that “I use a very basic landlord and tenant contract as an example: – The landlord has a right to visit but reasonable notice has to be given to the tenant. That is standard in contracts.”

But Nandlall said Trotman’s comparing the petroleum contract to that of a simple landlord and tenant contract, is quite “unfortunate”.

“It does not help his case.

The petroleum contract is obviously sui generis,” he said.

Trotman had also noted that the impromptu visit would be possible especially if required by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

But again, Nandlall pointed out that Trotman is misguided.

“As regards the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Minister Trotman’s statement is even more bewildering. No

taxes are chargeable on the oil operations or any activity connected therewith, either done by the contractor, or its affiliates, or its subsidiaries.

The contract exempts the entire operations from every form of taxation.

As a result, GRA has no business inspecting those operations. It is Mr. Trotman’s contract that has removed GRA completely from the oil operations, and that is one of the major planks of criticism against the contract.

Minister Trotman refers to the laws of Guyana, giving GRA the power to carry out “instant inspection”. That is indeed so, except that those laws do not apply to this contract, because Mr. Trotman and his Government, in their wisdom, in the contract itself exempt these laws from applying,” Nandlall pointed out, exposing the ineptitude of the government and specifically, Minister Trotman.

12

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Moment in history

President Janet Jagan's last address The following is the text of President Janet Jagan's last address to the nation, first broadcast on GBC at 17:00 hours Sunday August 8, 1999

T

he time has now come for me to take a decision, which I have been considering over the past month.

When I became ill on the eve of my return from Rio de Janeiro Summit of leaders of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean, I spent a little time in hospital and then had medical tests in Trinidad. From these, I was advised to seek further tests abroad, and then proceeded to the USA where I was under the care of a Guyanese doctor whom I have known since his childhood. Despite the assurances that my condition is not life threatening, I found that my energy and stamina have been seriously reduced.

I considered at length and consulted close colleagues on the question of my continuing in office as President. It is now my firm and studied conclusion that I can no longer offer to the nation the vigorous and strong leadership that I had sought to provide during my 20 months as the lawfully and duly elected President of the Republic of Guyana. I, therefore, wish to announce that I intend to resign my position as President and to fulfil the promise I made during the 1997 election campaign.

At the time, the PPP/Civic had announced the concept of the `A' Team, made up of myself, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Finance Minister, Bharrat Jagdeo. It was stated at public meetings and through campaign material that should anything happen to the President, clear cut means would be used to replace the President by the third member of the `A' Team, Bharrat Jagdeo, with the Prime Minister retaining his position in the post allotted to the Civic component of the PPP/Civic alliance.

Therefore, I am overseeing the implementation of this promise to the electorate and am assuring all concerned that the responsibilities of good and strong leadership will be guaranteed.

I would like to remark upon the extreme goodwill and support which I received throughout my time in office. The PPP/Civic government which I have led for 20 months has had several important objectives, many of which have been achieved with concrete steps in train to achieve others. The foundation policies of the PPP/ Civic administration have been clearly outlined by our first democratically-elected President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

His vision of a Guyana that is united, free and prosperous continues to define our work on behalf of the people. His administration, in just four and a half years, succeeded in stemming the slide that was evident in our society for decades.

First of all, we have had the task of consolidating democracy which was won after a long and hard battle and which involved a great many Guyanese who may or may not support the PPP/ Civic. The protection of our democracy is vital for the development of our country. Its protection and deepening is a matter for all Guyanese. We all cherish this new freedom and we must see to it that at all cost there must never be a return to authoritarianism and rigged elections.

The results of that part of our history are still here for us to see.

Secondly, it has been the objective of my government to rebuild the economic and social foundations of the society and to launch out on a development course which would see Guyana coming out of its under-developed state. And, we intend to do so with the interest of the people at the centre of our strategy.

Our open economic system is intended to bring growth and human development. In building a new society we

Caricom Audit Commission Chairman Ulric Cross, left, hands Guyana's (then) President Janet Jagan, right, an envelope containing the positive results of the election audit as he shakes her hand (June 2, 1998)

have sought to encourage genuine partnerships with the main players in civic society, especially the private sector and organisations of the working people.

What is of importance is that we have put Guyana back on track. There is more hope for a bright future.

More and more people are using their creativity to create wealth and to be part of the process of nation building.

More and more people feel that they have a stake in this country and want to see it develop and flourish.

A glaring feature of our society, especially since the 1997 general elections is that we have not enjoyed the political peace so necessary for advancement and change.

But as an optimist, I know that these will come in time.

I am encouraged by history, the past and present, here at home and in the world at large. We are not alone in being beset by unreasonable and uncivilised behaviour of an opposition that cannot accept the results of democratic elections. It is nothing new.

Reading American history recently I came across an episode in which the early President Thomas Jefferson

was warned by his Attorney General that "because of the perverse, hostile and malignant state of the opposition, with facility of imposing on the public mind and producing excitements, every measure originating with the executive will be attacked with virulence". Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yet such opposition was overcome and the USA went on to become a powerful nation. It is not my intention to compare the United States with Guyana, but simply reminding ourselves that an unreasonable opposition cannot hold back growth and development once the leadership and people stand firm.

My government, and myself, have been criticised for being too `soft' and `weak' as regards dealing with those who want to destroy our gains as a nation. Our attitude has been one of patience and we realised that the state and government, not the opposition or destructive elements, have the responsibility to see to it that the society does not descend into anarchy. We needed to have great political wisdom and prevent racial conflagration by finding new ways to solve the problems of

a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. The opposition, by now, must know the response of society at large to the destruction they have caused both to the economy and to the social fabric of the nation. As a politician with some 50 years experience in this country, I can assure you that such tactics can cost votes. And that is what they will reap - the wrath of the people.

The PPP/Civic government stands for development and people. I have brought all my years of experience to the highest office, and have sought to maintain the dignity of this office. It is important for our country to be led by people who have the wisdom to know what is the best in the interest of society. Dr Jagan brought dignity to this country. So did Mr Samuel Hinds. I am confident that the new President, Mr Bharrat Jagdeo, will do the same. He is youthful and has presided admirably over the important Ministry of Finance. I know that he is firm in dealing with government business and is not afraid to make decisions.

His office requires that kind of firmness. He will be aided by many veterans in the field

in politics and those who have experience in running the affairs of the country. I am indeed leaving a strong and united team to lead the country. And, of course, I am not going anywhere. I will be around to assist in whatever way I can.

The process of healing the wounds of our nation continues. This will take courage and strong will. To bring peace requires understanding and this must be done without violence or disruption of the daily lives of our people. There must be reasonableness and a will to find common grounds if there is to be peace, progress and prosperity. The future of this country is at stake and we cannot allow the iron fist to rule. We have had enough of that. Our task is to unite and to do this we must strive for better ethnic and cultural understanding and give assurances of security to those who feel insecure.

I wish to thank Prime Minister Sam Hinds who has been a constant support, my Cabinet colleagues, the staff of the Office of the President, the Commissioner of Police and Chief of Staff and all the other hard-working people in government.

A special thanks to my colleagues in the PPP and its leadership who have walked with me and my husband all these years. I will continue to be in their company in coming years. I want to give a big thank you to all those people who voted for me and the PPP/Civic alliance in the last elections. I thank them for their faith in me and their continuing support. Lastly, I want to thank the thousands from all walks of life who have welcomed me in their homes, who have visited me in my office, who have written me and who have sent me photographs, messages of support and have kept me aware of the problems and aspirations of the Guyanese people. Meeting you, my Guyanese friends, was the best part of the job.

LONG LIVE GUYANA.

Honouring Janet Jagan WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

13

14

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

PPP hosts Easter activities

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

15

16

CBJ centenary cricket match WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Corner

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

17

Economic

Dr. Peter R. Ramsaroop, MBA, (Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition)

Guyana may have missed its opportunity to apply for Int’l.

Credit rating ..as Government continues to spend the Nation’s Foreign Reserves

■ And Jordon afraid of getting his Books Audited

G

uyana, as a country, finds itself in a precarious position where it has been classified as neither rich nor poor, but with prospect of enormous wealth. This, however, has led to a situation where the country is unable to access critical financing at favorable terms in order to address its now ailing infrastructure, poor government services (health, education, security), and the overall improvement of standard of living of its people which has all but deteriorated since APNU/ PNC took over Government in 2015. The PPP Administration had left a healthy economy in 2015, with a more than adequate Foreign Reserve. Recent reports from the World Bank have shown an alarming drop that will put the nation in a tail spin, especially with foreign inflows at an all-time low.

The prospect of oil, coupled with the country’s el-

evation out of a ranking of Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) to that of a Low Middle Income one, means that aid, grants and concessionary loans that were previously given to the country by bilateral partners and donor countries will be no more.

With the discovery of billions of barrels of oil, this will also have a negative impact on the country’s ability to access badly needed financing at concessionary terms in the short to medium term.

There was a time when the IMF, IDB, CDB or some other IFI would have given the country a US$100M loan at a 1 per cent interest rate to be repaid within a 50-year period.

With the country officially categorized as a low, middle income country, coupled with its newfound wealth, access to concessionary financing, for say the bridging of the Demerara River or a new power generation plant, is now all but non-existent.

Nobody is going to now lend money to Guyana for a 2 per cent interest, not when you have told the world of the trillions of dollars of oil in your reservoir, not when the world no longer sees you as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country.

In our PPP 2.0 Vision 2020 plan, we had acknowledged the need to expand into new economic corridors to continue on a growth trajectory. The Oil industry was just one of those new economic corridors. We will have to work overtime post-2020 to bring our nation back to growth, as the PPP did in 1992.

What Guyana needs, and needs as a matter of urgency, is an official credit rating where as a country, its resources and economic standing can be leveraged to target high end financing. This is the only way to accelerate Guyana’s development into the 21st century since the projected direct benefits from oil to the Guyanese people are at

Extracted from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD?locations=GY

best worrying. This in my opinion, while needed maybe now impossible to attain.

The reason it is of greater importance now, is that future Oil revenues will dictate a change in our approach to financing.

Neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, an oil producing country for the past century, has seen it fit to apply for and attain an international credit rating (A-), the same applies to Suriname (B-). The projected revenue from oil is being grossly misrepresented.

Even the Minister of Business is using far more conservative figures than those being released by an already conservative oil company. Guyana’s treasury will not swell exponentially as dreamed up by Minister Raphael Trotman.

At best, the country stands to earn, at today’s oil prices, US$300M a year—a portion of which has to be set aside in the Sovereign Wealth Fund, now renamed the Natural Resources Fund. Dreams are also being sold to the Local Private Sector. American and other countries’ foreign acquisition laws are extremely stringent laws that companies such as ExxonMobil must abide by nonetheless. What this means, is that if a Guy-

anese company or business wants to supply a commodity or service to the international oil companies- their products or services have to be on par with those countries standards and compliant with their acquisition laws.

Guyana’s Private Sector is light years away from competing at an international standard and in a manner that would allow those companies to utilize their product or service, yet remain compliant to their acquisition laws.

The David Granger Administration has done little to nothing to help prepare the Private Sector to take advantage of what may come its way. Oil revenue is not going to have the transformational impact being promised, not under the management of the current administration.

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan would do well to immediately initiate steps to have reputable international firms such as S&P Global, Fitch or Moody’s to come in and immediately conduct an economic and political risk analysis to come up with a country credit rating. Prior to the discovery of oil, this may not have been a priority but must immediately find itself at the top of the pile for

consideration at the level of cabinet. Mr. Jordon seem paranoid for any outside agency ability to audit his books, so he prefers to make Guyana suffer.

A credit rating for Guyana is even more important, given the fact the nation’s debt to GDP ratio has been increasing staggeringly under Minister Jordan’s watch, and IFIs and donor countries would be looking for stronger guarantees provided under an international credit rating.

Access to concessionary financing is not the only reason Guyana needs an international credit rating. The country’s economy has in recent years experienced marginal growth but with an overall decline in performance. Once-productive sectors have been all but decimated under the APNU/ AFC Government leading to a loss in much needed foreign exchange for the country. The staggering levels of unemployment triggered by the Government’s policies (such as with GuySuCo) is beginning to take its toll on the economy.

The country is in dire need of an economic boost, a significant stimulus that can only be offered through a stable internationally recognized country credit rating.

Granger hopping on helicopter M&CC approves amended bylaws for P Parking Meters ‒ More protests expected

H

ardnosed PNC councilors at City Hall last week went ahead and passed by its built-in majority the amended parking meter bylaws during a special meeting called for that purpose.

Put to a vote with several Councillors absent, the amended bylaws received favourable votes totalling 13.

PPP/C Councillors Khame Sharma and Bishram Kuppen voted against the amended bylaws saying it gives effect to a contract that was illegal and unfair to citizens.

The approved bylaws will now be posted at several public buildings over the next 14 days, allowing for citizens to review them and make

recommendations after which it will be sent to the Minister for approval.

The approval of the new bylaws also signals the return of paid parking in Georgetown by Smart City Solutions.

Mayor Patricia ChaseGreen was keen to only allow the four Councillors participating in the discussion two minutes each to speak, pointing out that the discussions should be in the bylaws only and without rebuttals.

Within 20 minutes the discussions concluded and the vote was taken.

Among other things, the amendments allow will now see persons paying $150 per hour and $800 for eight hours

of parking in the city.

The controversial contract has been a subject of public debate, litigation, and intervention by the State and had to be suspended shortly after it came into effect.

Since the contract was suspended by the Government, the M&CC engaged residents and took steps to review and amend the bylaws governing the contract.

Earlier moves move by the M&CC to introduce parking meters met with widespread protests in the city and the government moved in to shelve the project. It has now been resurrected and there are indications that more protests are to take place in the city.

resident David Granger over the Easter weekend visited Region Six to distribute kites in two towns, Rose Hall and Corriverton, but surprisingly he decided to leave his fleet of vehicles behind to visit by helicopter.

The sudden change of transportation from ground to air leaves questions to be answered. It would seem however the President was afraid that protesters would picket him at the Berbice

bridge entrance, so he decided to change his mode of transportation. Unfortunately for him the protesters outsmarted him and picketed at Republic Square Corriverton, where the kite-distribution activity was held.

The picketers were disgusted about his presence in this historic place where on the 22nd of February 2018 one of Granger’s ministers was instrumental in stopping a national event, and the po-

lice even seized the National Flag. President Granger, a so-called advocate of local democracy had his best chance to show the protesters and the people of Corriveton that he is not a dictator by apologising to them.

The distribution of kites with Granger pictures pasted on them and the refusal to take the necessary action on a national issue suggests that Mr Granger believes in dictatorship. (Zamal Hussain)

UG wants to charge for parking T he University of Guyana is mulling the implementation of a paid parking system for “crowd controlling” purposes.

The same system of paid parking which was forced upon citizens by City Hall was widely rejected by Guyanese of all walks of life.

UG Vice Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith said parking on

campus is limited, especially with the growing student population and visitors due to the increased activities and vibrancy of the educational institution.

He said the idea is to construct an elevated parking structure through a public-private-partnership arrangement.

Citizens’ Report under-

stands that many students are already rejecting the initiative given that they already pay huge fees for basic facilities such as parking space.

Paid parking on campus will further increase the burdens of students especially those who are already struggling to attain a higher level of education.

18

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

THE HINTERLAND CONNECTION

THE ARECUNA TRIBE

By Jagnarine Somwar

T

he Arekuna nation is archaeologically unknown in Guyana. They are also known as Aricuna, Jaricuna, Kamarakoto and Taurepang.

They once occupied the upper and Central Kamarang River at least until 1839 and are currently concentrated at Paruima. Their outstanding contributions to Guyanese culture is the blowpipe, described as the most ‘mysterious and awe inspiring weapon in the world’. They were a powerful tribe who were the growers and suppliers of cotton to the other tribes, especially the Makusi. They still remain powerful today, but are mostly involved in gold mining, tracking and hunting.

They once inhabited areas in Venezuela, Brasil and Guyana and are referred to as Pemon or Pemón (Pemong).

The Pemon are part of the larger Cariban language family, and include six groups including the Arekuna, Ingarikó, Kamarakoto, Tualipang, Mapoyo and Macushi/Macushi (Macuxi or Makuxi in Brazil). While ethnographic data on these

Pemon youths

groups are scant, Iris Myers produced one of the most detailed accounts of the Makushi in the 1940s and her work is heavily relied upon for comparisons between historical and contemporary Makushi life. The Pemon were first encountered by Westerners in the 18th century and were dfencouraged to convert to Christianity.

Their society is based on trade and considered egalitarian and decentralized, and in Venezuela, funding from petrodollars has helped fund community projects, and ecotourism opportunities are also being developed.

In Venezuela, the Arekuna or Pemon live in the Gran Sabana(in the Bolivar State) grassland plateau dotted with

tabletop mountains where the Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall, plunges from Auyantepui in Canaima National Park.

The Makuxi, who are also Pemon speakers, can be found in Brazil and Guyana, and in areas close to the Venezuelan border.

According to a 2001 census, there were 15,094 Pemon speakers in Venezuela.

The Pemon have very rich mythic traditions which are merged into their present Catholic and Christian faiths.

Pemon mythology includes gods residing in the grassland area's table-top mountains called tepui. The mountains are off-limits to the living, as they are also home to ancestor spirits called mawari.

The first non-native person to seriously study Pemon myths and language was the German ethnologist Theodor Koch-Grunberg, who visited Roraima in 1912.

Important myths describe the origins of the sun and moon, the creation of the tepui mountains, which dramatically rise from the savannahs of the Gran Sabana and the activities of the creator hero Makunaima and his brothers.

In 1999, Wolfgang Kraker von Schwarzenfeld arranged the transport of a red stone boulder, weighing about 35 metric tons, from Venezuela's Canaima National Park to Berlin Tiergarten for his "global stone" project. Since that time, a dispute is ongoing but yet unsuccessful, of the Pemon trying to get the stone back, involving German and Venezuelan authorities and embassies, up to the former President Hugo Chávez Kamarang is inhabited by the Arecuna tribe, who came across from Venezuela under the influence of Seventh Day Adventist missionaries. The Arecunas originally lived in the upper regions of the

Caroni and Paragua Rivers of Venezuela. After 1770, the Spanish Capuchin missions, with the support of the Spanish colonial authorities, began to forcibly resettle them from those areas in missions located on the Orinoco. Groups of these people escaped to Guyana to avoid this forced resettlement and established villages in the upper areas of the Mazaruni and Cuyuni Rivers.

The Arecuna thus became the medium of the barter carried on of blowpipes on the one hand for Urari poison on the other, the latter being found in the district inhabited by the Macusi, and exchanged by them for the tube through which the arrows impregnated with it are discharged with such deadly effect.

The Arecuna tribe are peaceful, being unwarlike and not particularly given to the collection of heads.

Originating from the Caron, a large tributary of the Orinoco, this tribe is located on the banks of the Kamarang River. In the olden days they grew cotton in commercial quantities, which they traded to the other tribes. Their

weapon of choice was the blow-gun and they were experts in its manufacture.

After the gold boom in Kamarang during the 70s and early 80s, the Arecuna people who were basically supporter of the PNC, through forced means and enticements would have shifted their political position and support, with many moving across to offer their support to the People’s Progressive Party. The Arecunas were the original supporters of the United Force, under Peter De Guiar’s leadership but after the Coalition in 1964 they were coerced and cajoled to remain loyal to the dictatorial People’s National Congress.

This tribe lived through the hardships and bullyism of the PNC Regime pre 1992 when most of their mining areas were taken over by the PNC supporters of the Coastlands. A once proud people were turned into third and fourth class denizens by a ruthless dictatorship regime.

Today these people are embracing the People’s Progressive Party with the hope and anxiety of a bright and prosperous future come 2020.

Local private school increases fees – parents protest

P

arents with children attending the Mae’s, a private educational institution in Georgetown, are outraged by the decision by the school’s administration to increase fees.

The increases came just after private school owners protested the VAT on pri-

vate education imposed by government and which was removed.

The school’s administrator Stacy French, in a letter to the parents, explained that the increases were necessary because of the higher operating costs.

“Our costs to do business

have increased, in some cases quite substantially, over the last few years,” she said.

Fees for students at the playgroup level will be raised from $35,000 to $50,000 per term, an increase of 42%.

At the nursery level, the fees will jump from $45,000 to $60,000, an increase of

33%.

At the primary level of Grades 1 – 4, the increase is from $60,000 to $75,000; and Grade 6 from $70,000 to $80,000.

Parents are claiming that the fees are exorbitant and while they admit that they can transfer their children to other

schools, they said they wanted to register their concerns about this “exploitation”.

“Yes we can move our children to other schools, whether public or private, but we wish to register our discontent and dissatisfaction with the school’s exploitative and rigid decision without

any discussion or regard,” the parents said in a joint statement to the media.

As such, the parents are calling for a regulatory body to be set up to oversee the operation of private schools in Guyana “since it is a highly unregulated sector with little or no consumer protection”.

19

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Local Government Commission must not be a medium for intervention, control and issuance of political directives

By Norman Whittaker M.P

C

onstitutional Commissions in Guyana arose out of the Constitutional Reform process and out of a determination to urgently set up Constitutional structures to address our country’s ethnic problems exacerbated by the 1997 Elections results.

The Local Government Commission is one such Commission authorized by and born out of the bowels of our Constitution. In fact, the Local Government Commission emerged as a significant Conflict Resolution Strategy aimed at shielding Constitutional Bodies, such as the Local Government Commission from political control. The expectation was and still is that by shielding them from political control; they would be able to function independently and even-handedly, thereby winning the confidence and trust of all ethnic groups. It was intended as part of a menu of measures aimed, inter alia, at returning power to the people and their elected representatives.

In this regard, may I refer readers to Article 212FF of our Constitution, which highlights the prime purpose behind the establishment

of Constitutional Commissions, and this eschews political interference while contemporaneously seeking to minimize the influence of the Executive and maximising the public perception of impartiality. It is undoubtedly, for this reason also that Article 78A of our Constitution grants the Local Government Commission powers to regulate all Local Government Authorities “as it deems fit” without the direction and control of any authority.

The intent behind the establishment of the Local Government Commission is to reduce the influence of the Central Government by placing the oversight of Local Democratic Organs under the purview of the Local Government Commission and not a Ministry; to allow for the management of Towns and Communities free from Central Government control, which can, and indeed in the present scenario, has proven quite oppressive. In this way, it is anticipated that citizens’ role in their own development would be widened and they can personally and through their elected representatives play a more meaningful role in addressing local issues, solving

local problems, making significant inputs in formulating community development plans and in monitoring the implementation of community projects etc.

The Government must, therefore, not see the Local Government Commission as a medium for intervention, control and issuing political directives, while sheltering under claims of local democracy.

Indeed, under the Local Government Commission Act 18 of 2013, there is no provision where the Minister of Communities is empowered to issue any Orders or Directives whatsoever to Local Authorities.

It is noteworthy that the Government has shown signs/indications that the extent of the grants and subvention support to Local Authorities will be a function of the overt support each shows for the Government.

It behoves all of us, who wish to take local democracy beyond mere talk; to make ourselves aware and guard against any insidious parallel administration arising from the advent of the Local Government Commission.

Here I refer not only to the members and staff of Municipal and Neighbour-

hood Democratic Councils or their political representatives, but to the residents and other beneficiaries residing in the very Constituencies for which the Local Authorities have a responsibility to provide as wide a range of services as its financial resources would allow.

It is unfortunate and indeed pathetic that, to the contrary, the Government through the Ministry of Communities, has been employing manipulative tactics to control and suppress the work of the Local Government Commission.

These tactics include making it difficult for the Commission to access financial resources to implement its 2018 Capital and Recurrent Budgets. These financial resources are required not only to meet the cost of recurrent expenditure such as Office Rental, Stationery and Office Supplies, Employment Costs; but the acquisition of Fixed Assets, viz: Office Equipment & Furniture and Vehicles for use by the Commission; to fund its Public Awareness Program and to reach out into the various Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils to do its enquiries, listen to con-

cerns of Councils and residents etc. These financial and other consequential inhibitions have been serving to impede the work of the Commission and to reduce it to a toothless and voiceless poodle. It is apparent that the Government has determined to starve the Local Government Commission of resources to effectively and efficiently do its work.

Meanwhile, the Commission has been continually receiving letters of complaints and other correspondence seeking information and advice on issues of local governance and approval to act on decisions of their Councils on Local Government issues etc. These correspondence coming from residents, Municipalities and NDCs who have overtly expressed dissatisfaction that the Commission, five (5) months after its eight Commissioners were sworn, is yet to become fully operational. In the absence of an Office, the Commission has been unable to meet representatives of the Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, address these matters in an orderly, timely and satisfactory manner. And when examines the many functions of the Commission as set

out under Part 11 Section 13 of the Local Government Commission Act No. 18 of 2013;we ought to appreciate why the public has been overtly expressing its dissatisfaction with the slow progress; notwithstanding the impediments and challenges it has been facing.

It is obvious that the APNU+AFC Government’s call for Local Government Legislative Reform was merely a call of convenience aimed at empowering themselves and not local communities.

The present lethargy which the government has been displaying with respect to its expected support the operationalization of the Local Government Commission leaves much to be desired.

Expediency or deception?

The call is for the APNU+AFC Government to ensure that the unnecessary bureaucracies presently impeding the work of the Commission be removed and the Commission is allowed to function independent of the control and encumbrances of the Ministry of Communities as we work to address, inter alia, the challenges of local governance viz, allegations of incompetence, lethargy, corruption, over staffing, poor quality staff, discrimination in employment practices.

Little Diamond-Herstelling NDC workers not paid salaries, probe launched

R

egional Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in Region Four- Demerara-Mahaica-, Genevieve Allen has launched an investigation into the non-payment of fortnightly salaries over the Easter weekend to the staff attached to the Little DiamondHerstelling Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

According to a release, the investigation was ordered after the Vice Chairman of the RDC, Earl Lambert and Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO) Ramnarine Singh disclosed during a monthly meeting that thirteen employees were not paid.

It was disclosed that the Chairman of the NDC, Madan Singh refused to sign the vouchers to effect payment.

“This is unacceptable and I am launching an immediate investigation as this nonsense cannot and will not continue,” Allen said.

“These persons have worked and by law, they are to be paid, paid not when the Chairman feels ready and happy to, but paid within the stipulated time frame of when salaries are due,” she added.

Moreover, it was also noted that the Chairman refused to attend the most recent NDC meeting, even

after being contacted by the AREO. “I have launched an investigation after which we as a region will certainly have to take the appropriate action. Politics and politicking should be left for election time and has no place in professional organisations and environment,” the Regional Chairman asserted.

AREO Singh, according to the release, said that this problem arose after the chairman’s unilateral decision to impose a 150 per cent increase in his monthly stipend.

“He (Chairman) has been receiving $10,000 each month. However, he im-

posed an additional $15,000 increase to his salary, thus making it $25,000 and because the overseer has refused, he, in turn, refused to sign off on the salaries for the workers,” the AREO explained.

Overseer, Candace Atherly also added that once things are not done in the NDC Chairman’s favour, he refuses to administer his responsibilities.

“We told him that the vouchers were to pay the salaries but yet he told us that if he ain’t getting his $25,000.00 then nobody ain’t getting paid because he ain’t signing nothing,” she related.

Meanwhile, when this online publication made contact with the NDC Chairman Madan Singh on Wednesday regarding the issue, the manwho said he has only taken office on January 1, 2018sought to defend his decision by explaining that he had only recently discovered that the Budget for 2018 had not been approved by the Council as yet.

“I have not signed the vouchers because the Overseer, at our Statutory meeting on March 27, that’s March gone, last month, has indicated to us for the very first time that our Budget has not been approved. Our Budget

for 2018 and I asked then that she present the Budget now for approval and she refused and I thought then that how are we spending if we have an unapproved Budget,” he posited.

The Chairman explained to INews that the Budget was supposed to be approved since the end of last year. He also noted, when questioned, that he had not reported the issue to his superiors as yet, but intends to do so in a written form soon.

“The NDC doesn’t have ink so I have to go outside and print it out and then send it to them,” he said. (Ramona Luthi)

20

Soldier’s use of service revolver to murder wife was one off instance - Ramjattan

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Rose Hall robbery/ murder: Two workers reportedly confess to planning robbery

P

ublic Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan has termed the recent killing of a woman by a Captain of the Guyana Defence Force as “very very unfortunate,” but noted that it was “an obviously bad situation,” where the Soldier did not follow the prescribed rules of engagement.

At around 11:00hrs on March 31, Captain Orwain Sandy emptied his service revolver into the body of his reputed wife, Reona Payne on a street in Alexander Village, Georgetown, after an argument. Sandy then turned himself over the police along with the murder weapon.

Minister Ramjattan in an invited comment on Wednesday said there should have been a more civilized approach to the matter on the part of the Soldier.

“You have to be on that level, far more civilized in your approach in dealing with a quarrelling woman rather than go empty your gun on her but this is a serious development. That is the other extreme of where I suppose, probably troubles at a domestic level obviously,” he told reporters at the sidelines of an event held at

the Ramada Princess Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Responding to questions surrounding the use of a service revolver in the incident, Ramjattan said: “One swallow doesn’t make a summer” which means a single instance of something is just that; it doesn’t indicate a trend.

Alleged bicycle thief shot by unlicenced businessman in Alberttown

P

olice are investigating a shooting incident which occurred during the wee hours of Wednesday morning at Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown resulting in a 43-year-old man being injured by an unlicenced businessman.

The injured man has been identified as Vijay Singh of “no fixed place of abode.”

He is presently being treated for his injuries at the George-

town Public Hospital.

Based on information received, the 49-year-old businessman was awake in his home, around 03:10hrs, browsing the internet when he heard a noise and, upon peering through a window he, observed Singh in his yard walking towards the front gate and pushing a bicycle.

As such, the businessman reportedly told police that

he collected his unlicenced 9mm pistol and discharged a round at Singh, hitting him once to the right leg.

Law enforcement ranks were then summoned.

Upon inspection, ranks observed that a storeroom was located at the western side of the yard, and it is suspected the Singh might have removed the bicycle- which was found next to him- from same.

Businesswoman robbed of jewellery by gunman

A

West Ruimveldt businesswoman is now counting her losses after she was robbed of her jewellery and other valuables by a lone gunman last Sunday night.

Alesha Baptiste, 28, was attacked at around 19:55hrs in front of her West Ruimveldt business place.

Information gathered revealed that the woman had just closed her boutique for the night when the lone man rode up on a motorcycle and stopped in front of her.

He reportedly dismounted the cycle and held the woman at gunpoint before reliving her of two gold chains valued $300,000, one

foot chain valued $100,000 along with her cell phone valued $80,000.

The man then quickly made good his escape North on the front road.

The matter was reported and the Police are presently hunting the suspect who was riding a black CJ motorcycle.

The entity was robbed and the guard securing the place was murdered

A

19-year-old and another employee, who were both detained on Sunday, have reportedly confessed to the police on Wednesday of plotting to rob Sukhram’s General Store at Lot 13 Public Road, Rose Hall Town.

The confession has also implicated the suspects in the murder of the store’s security guard, Munisperen Iyasammy Monien.

The body of Monien was discovered in a pool of blood in a storeroom at the business about 20:00hrs on

Saturday last.

The Police were working on a theory that the robbery/ murder was an inside job after it was discovered that the door to the back of the store and a few others inside the building were left unlocked when the business was closed on Saturday evening.

Following the discovery of the 53-year-old security guard and a later announcement that in excess of $1.5 million in cash was removed from the building, the Police

arrested the manager of the store and five employees.

Investigators also arrested an ex-employee and his parents. However, the main suspect remains at large.

The main suspect was allegedly seen two nights prior to the robbery by the now dead guard attempting to break into the building.

An alarm was raised, and the Police were later informed and given the identity of the suspect.

Police are continuing their investigation.

Chinese nationals robbed by armed bandits T hree Chinese nationals were on Easter Monday held hostage by five armed men at their Sheriff Street, Georgetown home and subsequently robbed of cash and other valuables.

The victims were identified as 36-year-old businessman Xu Dalu; 46-year-old businesswoman Lan Cheng; and 41-year-old businesswoman Wang Ying, all of Lot 128 Sheriff Street, Georgetown.

Dalu was reportedly relieved of one mobile phone, US$1000, Yen$3000 and

G$200,000 while Cheng and Ying were relieved of one iPad each.

Based on information received, the three Chinese nationals had just returned home in their silver- grey Premio motorcar, bearing registration number PVV 4765, and upon entering their yard, they were confronted by the men who were all armed with handguns.

They were reportedly accosted and taken into the lower flat of the building where they were kept hostage by two of the bandits,

while the others ransacked the house. After taking the items mentioned above, the men left the premises.

After waiting for a few minutes to ensure the bandits had left, the victims raised an alarm and the police were summoned. Statements were taken from the victims and the police are looking at the possibility of retrieving any surveillance footage from nearby buildings as they continue their investigations.

The police have since confirmed that no one was injured during the ordeal.

21

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Lindo Creek CoI: Slain prison escapee Varswyck was part of team hunting ‘Fine Man’ says Hughes

Vendor shot in head trying to protect wife from armed robbers

A

s the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2008 Lindo Creek Massacre continued on Wednesday, attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, who was retained

by Leonard Arokium to aid in the investigation of the murders, took the stand and related, among other things, that he was provided with information on the identity of some of the members that were part of the police team that went into the Lindo Creek.

Hughes posited that ex-policeman Urie Varswyck, who had escaped from the Georgetown Prison and was slain in 2017, was part of a Joint services team that went into Lindo Creek when the police force had been in search of the ‘Fine Man’ gang.

“I do have information that I received in a professional capacity, that I cannot disclose, that actually indicated the identify of some of the members of the team, one of them is now deceased, Mr Varswyck was part of the police force” Hughes said.

He added that Varswyck was under the command of a serving member of the Guyana Police Force. When asked by the Commission’s chairman Justice Donald Trotman to reveal the name of that serving officer, Hughes declined citing fear of the officer’s life.

During the last CoI hearing retired Assistant Commissioner Heeralall Mackanlall, whose was at the time of the tragedy the Deputy

A

Head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), said that he investigated the massacre upon request from late former Police Commissioner Henry Greene and was unable to find evidence implicating joint services in the killings.

At the same time, it was determined that a police, army and Special Forces team were in the general Lindo Creek area.

Meanwhile, Hughes also said that after he was retained by Leonard Arokium he wrote to then Commissioner Greene indicating that they retain the services of United Kingdom’s Forensic Science Service to aid the police in their investigation of the incident. Then Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Gary Best, was also copied in the correspondence.

However, the CoI heard that, Greene acknowledged receipt of the letter but never took up the offer. Instead they relied on the United

States for help which never materialized and then settled for assistance from Jamaica and Trinidad to identify the remains.

Hughes also recounted that in August of 2008 they received information that the cellular phone of victim, Dax Arokium was still being used. He said they then got a print out of the calls made using the number and furnished it to the police.

Sometime between June 12, 2008 and June 24, 2008, miners Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres were shot and killed, and their bodies burnt at the Upper Berbice River mining camp.

The Lindo Creek CoI is the first of what the coalition Government has said would be a series of inquiries into the hundreds of killings, which occurred during a crime wave that began in 2002.

La Penitence market vendor is battling for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was shot to his head reportedly trying to ward off four armed bandits from robbing his wife in the vicinity of Twin’s Drug Store, Saffon Street, Georgetown on Easter Monday.

The seriously injured man was identified as Doodnauth ‘Hardat’ Danra-

si of Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara.

Based on reports received, the now injured man had a scuffle with at least four armed men who relieved his wife of her apron containing over $100,000.

The four armed men reportedly appeared at the market under the pretext of purchasing fruits and vegetables but instead held the

woman at gunpoint.

Upon realizing what was happening, ‘Hardat’ reportedly went to his wife’s rescue and it was during this time, one of the men discharged a round hitting him to the temple. The bandits then escaped with the apron, containing the money, on two motorcycles.

After the bandits left the scene, the injured man was rushed to the hospital.

Bandit shot after robbing DeWillem teen

A

bandit is now under police supervision at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after he was shot by a security guard following a robbery on a teen last night.

The bandit, 24 year old Kevin Benn of John Street, Campbellville in the company of two others teenagers, were apprehended after attempting to rob 18 year old Navendra Rampersaud and his friend, Ramesh Sooklall.

Inews understands that the incident occurred at around 21:15hrs on Hinck Street where the two victims had just exited a taxi.

According to reports, the teens were pounced upon by the three men one of which was armed with a knife and Rampersaud was relieved of his cell phone.

However, when the sec-

ond perpetrator attempted to rob Sooklall, an argument ensued which prompted the three men to flee the scene.

Ranks on patrol in the area at the time were informed and promptly responded to the scene.

They gave chase with the assistance of MMC Security patrol and were able to catch up with the three men on King and Regent Street.

One of the bandits attempted to relieve the security of his firearm but was

however shot to his right side neck. The security guard received injures to his mouth.

Both men were taken to GPHC where they were treated. The security guard was sent away while Benn remain under Police supervision at the medical facility.

His accomplices a 19 year old of Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara ( ECD) and an 18 year old of Sophia, Greater Georgetown were taken into Police custody pending charges.

22

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Over 1,000 sugar workers to be hired

As confusion continues as regards future of sugar The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL’s) Special Purpose Unit (SPU) which is now in charge of what remains of the country’s sugar industry, has revealed that it is to employ some 1000 persons to work in several estates which are to be functional.

The government hurriedly closed several estates and fired as many as 7,000 workers. The closing of the estates has being done in a harum-scarum manner without any study on social and other implications.

It is understood that the workers will not be employed directly by the estates by but unknown agencies.

While it remains impossible for everyone to be re-employed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), there are immediate

plans to rehire some 1200 workers in various categories at the remaining estates.

This disclosure was made by Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL’s) Special Purpose Unit (SPU), Colvin Heath-London, amidst confusion as to what exactly the government wants out of the industry.

Sugar unions and the political opposition have condemned government’s move are skeptical about government’s recent moves since there is no plan on the future of the industry.

“The SPU operations, in conjunction with GuySuCo, will be able to employ directly and indirectly in excess of 1000 people. In the following weeks, we will have additional employment at Enmore and SPU estates, around 200 factory workers,

harvesting and agriculture staff,” he explained.

But what is also driving this re-employment initiative is that GuySuCo, through the SPU, now has to deliver on an agreement signed with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) to produce molasses.

Heath-London explained that the alcohol industry in the entire Caribbean is in a predicament because of the hectic hurricane season experienced last year and previous years before that.

“A lot of plants in the region have been damaged, and also GuySuCo provided most of the molasses for these plants in the region.

With us closing the three estates, we basically cut the raw material source for a lot of plants in the Caribbean.

It also puts DDL in a crisis mode where it needed raw material,” he stated.

DDL and the SPU en-

tered into an agreement wherein DDL is to advance the SPU in a collaborative effort to produce the molasses that it wants. DDL has a shortfall that exceeds 27,000 tonnes of molasses.

Heath-London said, “We are hoping, from our operations at both Enmore and Skeldon, that we will be able to fulfil this gap. DDL will be advancing the cost for the molasses production, which we collectively used to do the production.”

The SPU is also tasked with finding investors for the three estates closed last year, as well as Wales Estate, which stopped grinding at the end of 2016. There are over 70 expressions of interest for the three closed estates.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is critically involved in the privatization and divestment pro-

cess of the sugar industry, is mainly responsible for the valuation of all GuySuCo assets.

The SPU head said that while PwC is a little ahead of its schedule, the unit is currently preparing the information memo to send out to prospective investors and ask them to send fixed proposals.

“We have already gone ahead and started to sell as real estate the staff compound at Wales Estate. I must say it was oversubscribed. We were heartened by the response that the market gave,” he said.

The privatization process, according to Heath-London, is well on stream, with several major agro- and agriculture-based companies showing serious interest in the Wales Estate.

It has been recently reported that, through the

Chamber of Commerce in Delhi, India, several Indian companies have indicated interest in investing in the local sugar industry, or acquiring assets therein.

The SPU has also been able to secure a syndicated bond worth $30 billion to assist with the revitalisation of GuySuCo. Heath-London said the loan has been acquired at good rates, with several banks participating. The Trinidad-owned Republic Bank is the major lender.

The idea behind the borrowing of this syndicated bond is to assist the SPU with the reopening of the estates, to facilitate providing proof to potential investors that the estates are viable.

Some 4000 sugar workers from Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon were dismissed from their jobs following the downsizing of the sugar industry, which began to take effect in late 2017.

Nappi residents accuse govt of pussyfooting on land issues

F

or the residents of Nappi Village, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), it seems as though the wait for the Government to grant them their proposed extension is a never-ending one, ultimately resulting in hindered development and lack of access to resources.

Nappi had applied for an extension to their titled land and the land titling process began since 2015, under the Low Carbon Development Strategy-funded Amerindian Land Titling Project, which is spearheaded by the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry.

Last week, a high-level team comprising of the President and Vice President of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), the Regional Chairman, the Indigenous Representative on North Rupununi Development Council and the Opposition Member of Parliament for the region met with the villagers to discuss the way forward. At the meeting, it was decided that the leaders will continue to press the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry to ensure the issue of the proposed extension is addressed at the earliest time possible.

“The residents were concerned about the proposed extension and that is what

they brought up at that forum and they want it addressed urgently,” Regional Chairman Brian Allicock said during an interview on Tuesday.

At the meeting, NTC’s Vice President Lennox Schuman told villagers that they are ready to stand with the village in their fight to have their extension granted.

“The extension for Nappi sits under an agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Kingdom of Norway and based on that agreement the Government has an obligation in principle and in finance to grant Nappi its extension and that is between the Kingdom of Norway and the Government of Guyana,” Schuman told the residents.

“We haven’t seen a lot of support for Nappi extension although there is a legal obligation,” he added.

The residents have since related their discontent with the manner in which they are being treated as it relates to their extension and the proposed agriculture research station to be built on the proposed extension.

The Government, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), proposed to construct an Agriculture

Research Station and water catchment area in the satellite village of Pirara.

However, the villagers are accusing the Government of failing to satisfy the Free, Prior and Informed Consultations (FPIC) protocol as mandated by the IDB. They claim that they were never informed that the station would be on their proposed titled extension and called for a revisit of the process. At last week’s meeting, the leaders heard that the research station was initially supposed to be built in the Manari area but was subsequently shifted

to Pirara which is located approximately 40Km North of Manari.

In relation to the shift, Schuman told the villagers that they have already begun engaging the IDB with the intention for a revision of the proposal.

“About five weeks ago, we engaged the IDB on this very project and the first thing that came out in relation to the land, the IDB will not fund any project that infringes on the rights of Indigenous peoples. In order for this project to go ahead in its current state, they have to meet the FPIC

criteria… If the land is titled the IDB will require from each community expressing their consent,” he informed.

“Before any economic development in any Indigenous village, we must have a people process first. We have identified that the people process has failed. I support the call for a revisit of the people process to ensure that people understand the document,” he added.

Additionally, Allicock said the proposed area for the agriculture research station is not suitable since it means the Government will be utilising over 200 acres

of wetlands ultimately affecting the biodiversity in that area.

The team is expected to have another consultation session by the end of April after which they will engage the Government.

Just in February, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman commissioned a water reservoir on Nappi lands. The reservoir was constructed after the Rupununi area suffered a severe drought back in 2015/2016, drastically affecting the livelihood of the residents. The new reservoir has been professionally engineered and designed by JR Ranch Incorporated and is buttressed by an 860-metre dam and has the capacity to hold 4.5 million cubic meters of water.

The water catchment area is a public-private partnership between the Government and Cataleya Energy Limited. The project was proposed by the Natural Resources Ministry and funding, $1.2 million, was provided by Cataleya Energy Limited. JR Ranch Incorporated was hired to construct the reservoir while Conservation International designed the programmes for the usage, upkeep and maintenance of the water catchment area.

23

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Brazil's top court rules that ex-president Lula can be jailed

Bollywood star Salman Khan gets five years in jail for poaching

BBC - An Indian court has sentenced Bollywood superstar Salman Khan to five years in jail for poaching rare antelope back in 1998.

The court in Jodhpur also fined him 10,000 ru-

pees ($154; £109) for the crime. He has since been taken to jail.

Khan killed the two blackbucks, a protected species, in the western state of Rajasthan while shooting a film.

Four other actors who starred with him in the movie and were also charged with the offence have been acquitted.

Khan, 52, can appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

World Food Prices Up, According to FAO (Prensa Latina) World food prices went up 1.1 percent in March this year for second month in a row, reported the UN Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO).

In its monthly report on that issue, FAO attributes the hike a substantial increase in prices of the main cereals and dairy products, which compensated the fall in those of sugar and most

of the vegetable oils.

The report of the UN specialized organism detailed that world cereal production reached a record level in 2017, almost 2.6 billion tons, some 33 million more than in 2016.

However, the entity forecasts a descent in world corn and wheat production for 2018, according to the FAO monthly reporto n offer and demand of cereals.

The Price index of cereals maintains the up-trend, with 2.7 percent in Marcho ver February and 12.1 percent over its price in March, 2017.

According to FAO, that increase responds above all to climate adversities, including the prolonged drought in the United States and the conditions of cold and humidity in some zones of Europe.

BRASILIA (Reuters) Brazil’s Supreme Court early on Thursday rejected former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plea to avoid prison while he appeals a corruption conviction, in a vote that likely ends his political career and deepens divisions in the country.

The pivotal vote was cast by Justice Rosa Weber against Lula’s request to avoid jail and begin serving his 12-year sentence for accepting bribes. Weber was seen as the only swing vote and her decision sealed Lula’s fate. He may be jailed within a week.

Lula is still Brazil’s most popular politician, despite his conviction and six separate pending corruption trials. He is the front-runner in all opinion polls for the presidential election in October, but his conviction will likely bar him from running.

The decision against

Lula is a serious blow to the political survival of Brazil’s first working-class president whose career from a factory shop floor to high office is sinking in the corruption scandals that have rocked the political establishment and especially his Workers Party, which held power from 2003 until mid-2016.

Brazilian society remains deeply divided after Lula’s successor, President Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and removed from

office amid a corruption scandal and economic crisis.

Lula’s conviction was upheld on a first appeal. Under Brazilian electoral law, a candidate is forbidden from running for elected office for eight years after being found guilty of a crime.

Some exemptions have been made in the past, and the ultimate decision in Lula’s case would be made by the top electoral court if and when Lula officially files to be a candidate.

Lawmaker admits failure of Europe's migration policies

(Prensa Latina) The European lawmaker Ramon Jauregui (Spain) admitted the failure of Europe migration policies, particularly in dealing with the flows of immigrants from the wars in the Middle East, especially Syria, Iraq and Libya.

In statements to Prensa Latina, the co-president of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat), which is being held here until Friday, assured that Europe has also failed to stop the economic migration flow from Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, the continent has sheltered 1.2 million people over the past two years, as a result of the conflicts in Syria and the Middle East, and has created refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, he pointed out.

Add to this, the migration pressure in Italy and Spain due to the arrivals of economic immigrants through the Mediterranean Sea, said the representative of the Spanish Workers' Socialist Party (PSOE), who referred

to the lack of citizens' culture on the importance of migration to replace the aging labor force.

He noted the need to create rules of rights for immigrants, because recent studies show that 9 out of 10 are economic immigrants.

'It is a long-term battle that we must wage; that is why, Europe is trying to design a new migration policy for the African continent, based on the creation of regulated and ordered flows to admit those we really can receive,' Jauregui explained.

He said that he was ashamed of the deaths of 3,000 people in 2017 in the Mediterranean Sea as they tried to reach European soil, shipwrecks and mass drowning that are still reported. On the other hand, the lawmaker pointed out that the current trade war between the United States and China is stimulating Latin America and Europe to boost their agreements and regulate trade.

He noted that (Donald) Trump leads commercial protectionism against the

interests of the United States, which will be affected by the impact of measures that he described as serious, due to their geopolitical scope, because 'history has proved that trade wars end in a different way'.

Jauregui recalled the existence of trade deals between the European Union and Mexico and Chile, which will be modified soon, as well as those signed with Central America, Cuba and other nations, and the process of negotiation with Mercosur is about to conclude.

'The trade war between China and the United State stimulates Europe and Latin America to improve, modernize and perfect their trade agreements,' he stated.

The European lawmaker noted that the existence of a regulated commercial framework is good for both parties, while alliances allow Latin American goods to reach a market characterized by high consumerism, modernize facilities and increase the value of products and exports.

24

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Money is an important element in man’s existence

T

he taax deadline are drawing close and many of us are dealing with financial paperwork right now. Deadline for the submission of all sorts of Tax and other Returns is by the end of April.

That is why this week I would like to address the topic of money. How we think about money has a direct effect on how money works for us. One of my students, whom I will call J, is an excellent example of how changing the way you think about money can change your life.

A while back, J came to me complaining that she never had enough money and that she just couldn't get ahead.

She had been raised to believe that money was the root of all evil and that rich people were snobby and unfriendly.

J‘s relationship with money came from her subconscious belief that because money was bad, she shouldn’t have it. Interestingly enough, my good Readers, J‘s situation is not unusual. The difficulties that many people experience with money are a result of their hang-ups from past experiences. This can be difficult because we need money in our day-to-day lives in order to survive in this world. In fact, if we want to be comfortable and live in harmony, we really need to have a good relationship with money.

So, it was clear to me that J desperately needed to change her attitude and feelings about money, and I set about helping her to do that. First, I reminded her that money is just a tool and that using money to pay bills, buy groceries, and keep her car maintained are all ways she expresses love and care for herself and her family.

And because providing love and care for one's self and family gives us security, money is a tool that helps us to realize that goal.

J also needed to develop an "attitude of gratitude" for the money she did have, even if much of it was going to pay GT&T, car payments, GPL and DOCOL bills. The fact that she had a place to live and was able to pay her bills meant that she was already in better shape than many other people on the planet. So I asked her to thank the universe for meeting her needs every time she wrote out a cheque or made cash payments.

And finally, I challenged J to seek some opportunities to share her wealth with others, whether through a charity, tithing at her church, mandir or mosque, or simply buying a hot meal for a homeless person. Giving to others with gratitude and willingness attracts even more back to the giver.

As you might guess, my good comrades, the last time I spoke with J she was feeling much better about dealing with money overall. By changing her attitude toward money, she was finding it easier to attract what she needed. Fortunately, she no longer feels cheated by the universe and no longer craved unnecessary purchases.

I am pleased to report that she has received special recognition at work and even a small promotion that includes a slight salary increase. She says she is grateful for what she has and feels much more at ease when dealing with money issues.

Comrades, money definitely has an ebb and flow like the tides. Sometimes there is more and sometimes there is less, but like the ocean there is always plenty to be had and many ways to find it. I hope that J’s story will inspire you to think about how you view money so that you can attract all that you require with ease and grace.

Happy 68th Anniversary to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Remember to purchase and read your copy of the Mirror Newspaper and tune to Freedom Radio, streaming on 91.1 FM in GT and its environs, 90.7 in Essequibo and 90.5 in Berbice. Streaming online freedomradio 91.com. Follow us on Facebook at freedomradiogy.

(G. Persaud)

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Children’s Corner

25

The Ant and the Dove

O

ne hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass.

While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.

She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the

leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out.

She was safe at last.

Just at that time, a hunter nearby was about to throw his net over the dove, hoping to trap it.

Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety.

One good turn begets another.

Name: ............................................................................................................................................

Address: ........................................................................................................................................ ......................................................................................... Tel. No: ................................................

26

CONCACAF conducts Compliance and League Visit

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Inter-county U-19 tournament set for April 10 kick off

Hand-in-Hand’s Howard Cox hands over the sponsorship cheque to GCB, Secretary Anand Sanasie

T GDF FC President Loring Bennons and Team Manager Dwain Daniels display club documents to CONCACAF Club Licensing Representative Alfredo Quiros

C

ONCACAF Club Licensing Representative Alfredo Quiros wrapped up a visit to Guyana on Wednesday, during which he conducted an inspection of the facilities of the Guyana Defence Force Football Club (GDF FC) prior to that club’s participation in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield 2018 in April.

The two-day visit, which

was aimed at confirming that the GDF FC satisfies both the domestic and regional criteria of the club licensing process as outlined in the 2017 Club Licensing Seminar, also saw Quiros reviewing Guyana’s club licensing regulations, club licensing processes and the club administration checklist.

During the Licensing Representative’s visit, he

was briefed on the GFF Elite League and the discussions included the criteria for a professional league.

A Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis was also conducted. Prior to his departure, Quiros paid a courtesy call on President Wayne Forde and also visited the Timehri Panthers, the youth arm of the GDF FC.

Shaw dominates BACIF Open Golf tourney

F

or the second consecutive week, Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) Treasurer Aasrodeen Shaw outplayed the competition; as he added the Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry’s (BACIF) Inaugural Golf Tournament title to his collection.

With a near perfect Net Score of 65, Shaw displaced numerous top golfers as he continued his spanking form, as competition was so fierce, that after 2nd place there was a tussle between 3 golfers for 3rd place followed by another tussle between 2 golfers that would have been for 7th place. The 3rd place winner was determined from a count of the ‘back nine’ scores.

Saturday’s winners featured the likes of: Lakeram Ramsundar – Nearest The Pin; (current and 3 times Guyana Open Champion)

Avinash Persaud – Best Gross and Longest Drive and third best net going to former Guyana Open Champion Mike Mangal (71/8), 3rd Best Net; Patrick Prashad (68/9), 2nd Best Net and Shaw (65/16) Best Net. The next close ten Net performances were done by (President) Aleem Hussain (71/12 – 4th place); Richard Haniff (71/12 – 5th place); Persaud (72/2); (2 times former Guyana Open Champion) Mohanlall Dinanauth (72/6); Gavin Todd (73/18); (former Guyana Open Ladies Champion) Shanella London (74/16); Clifford Reis (74/23); Kassim Khan (76/9); Lakeram Ramsundar (77/11); and Guillermo Escarraga (77/24).

Prior to Tee-off, BACIF General Manager, Peter Pompey, along with Commercial & Design Super-

intendent, Yolanda Geddes-Kendall; Machine Shop Superintendent, Kwesi Craig; and Technical Assistant to the GM, Adrian Barkoye, indulged in some golf action.

Pompey, in congratulating the winners and participants of the day’s tournament, thanked the Golf Club for the opportunity to contribute to its development and pledged to continue to offer support.

Club President, Aleem Hussain praised Mr Pompey for the initiative of coming on board to support the LGC at this time, and noted that committed support from Messrs Clifford Reis and Robert Hanoman indicated that in the near future, the projected Swimming Pool and a fine dining Restaurant could be expected to be completed at the Golf Course.

he Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company on Wednesday reengaged its commitment with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to host their annual Under-19 Inter-County Tournament.

The collaborative effort between the two entities is now in its third instalment, and seeks to identify and develop young talent across the country. The one-day and three-day competitions have produced exceptional talents over the years, many of whom were eventually selected for the West Indies Under- 19 squad.

Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Howard Cox noted that Hand-in-Hand was pleased to collaborate with the GCB and was looking forward to their continued partnership.

“We will continue to give our whole-hearted support to the GCB for this worthy cause,” Cox stated.

He went on to highlight that just two years ago the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Kemo Paul benefited from the inter-county com-

petition and they were now part of the senior West Indies’ One-day, Test and T20 teams.

Before receiving the cheque on behalf of the GCB, Secretary Anand Sanasie spoke on the viability of the tournament and the importance of exposing players to both the long and short formats of the game.

“The GCB would like to thank Hand-in-Hand for their continued support to the development of cricket, clearly Hand-in-Hand’s contribution has given the GCB an opportunity to provide the U-19s with an ideal preparation ground,” Sanasie stated.

The three-day tournament kicks off on April 10 at Everest Cricket Club Ground and will conclude on April 20. The one-day competition runs from April 22 to April 28. The matches will be played at Everest, Lusignan, Tuschen and Georgetown Cricket Club Grounds.

West Indies U-19 players Ashmed Nedd and Joshua Persaud expressed gratitude

for the hosting of the tournaments. They explained that the tournament was consistent with youth development and preparation for a larger cricket arena. “I think it’s a bigger stage than at the club level; this is a really good tournament in terms of developing youth players and taking cricket as a career,” Persaud stated.

Meanwhile, Nedd was optimistic about his performance in the tournament this year, stating: “I’m looking to come out as the bowler with the most wickets; last year, I came close, but I was beaten by just one wicket. I’m also hoping to get a few half centuries.”

Demerara, the reigning champions, will defend their title against Berbice, Essequibo and a Select U-17 team. The U-17 team were placed in the competition in order to prepare them for their upcoming regional tournament. The county teams will later make up a National U-19 team who will defend their four-time title.

Campbell sisters power Australia to swimming world record Australia (Reuters) - Bronte and Cate Campbell powered Australia to a world record in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay to cap the first day’s competition in the pool at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

Swimming - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final - Optus Aquatic Centre - Gold Coast, Australia - April 5, 2018. Gold

medalists Shayna Jack, Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell of Australia celebrate on the podium.

REUTERS/David Gray The Australian quartet, which also included Shayna Jack and Emma McKeon, clocked three minutes, 30.05 seconds to beat their previous record of 3:30.65 from the Rio Olympics to win gold ahead of Canada and England.

Bronte Campbell had giv-

en the host nation the lead on the second leg before McKeon handed over to Cate Campbell, who produced a storming finish to break the previous mark.

Canada’s Alexia Zevnik had given her team a flying start before Bronte Campbell took over and McKeon then pulled away from Olympic 100m freestyle champion Penny Oleksiak to set up Cate Campbell’s flying finish.

27

WEEKEND MIRROR 7-8 APRIL, 2018

Sport View

Guyana powers to victory at Cheddi Jagan Centenary match

by Neil Kumar

The worrying saga of West Indies cricket

T

he administrators and selectors of West Indies cricket need to resign their duties for their poor performance in managing/ administering the Caribbean people’s beloved game.

In an effort to collect a few dollars, the administrators sent a mediocre Twenty/Twenty team to play in Pakistan, where they were completely humiliated, suffering a three-nought clean sweep.

Cricket at the international level must be respected and most of all the records of the International Cricket Council (ICC) must be upheld and respected. When players represent their country, they must do so with some level of pride and respect - they must play to win.

The team that was selected and sent to represent the more than five million people in the Caribbean clearly performed for the money and not for victory and to uphold the pride of the Caribbean people.

Cricket! Glorious Cricket!

The massive crowd that cheered the Pakistani team when they completely outplayed the Caribbean team did not receive their monies worth with competitive cricket. However, they were overjoyed to see their young team hammering the West

G

Indies into submission.

In sports, the ultimate aim/objective is to win and record victories. In the annals of international cricket, the record will forever show that Pakistan humbled the West Indies three - nil in a T/Twenty series.

The stakeholders in cricket must also know that while some of the West Indies players arrived the day before the first match, some of the players arrived in Pakistan on the morning of the said match. Further, the ‘money mongering’ administrators also agreed to play the three matches on three consecutive days.

The seemingly wicked intentions of the West Indies cricket administrators must be vehemently op-

posed. It is time for CARICOM Heads of State, the CARICOM Secretary General, and the CARICOM Prime Ministerial SubCommittee with responsibilities for cricket to act now. The Caribbean people are totally committed to the progress of the unifying game of cricket.

Guyana’s young, talented players have the ability to dominate the Regional Cricket tournaments and it is imperative that the Government of Guyana fully support their selection and speak out against malpractices.

We urge our eminent Caribbean leaders to not sit idly by and allow the noble game of cricket fall apart at the seams.

uyana All Stars cricket team, under the astute skipper Leon Johnson, defeated the all powerful Trinbago Titans under Lights at the lightning fast outfield at the Albion Community Centre.

This prestigious match was organized by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in observance of the 100th birth anniversary of its founder, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

The event saw a mammoth crowd from all parts of the country and the diaspora overflowing the stands of the Albion Community Centre ground Former West Indies all-rounder Joe Solomon, the all time ‘great’ who was part of the first ever ‘tie’

test match in Australia, was also part of the crowd that enjoyed the highly thrilling, competitive match.

Trinbago Titans won the toss and took first strike and were off to an indifferent start. The Guyana All Stars bowled an immaculate line and length, reducing the visitors to 39 for seven wickets.

However, Nicholas Pooran and Mark Deyal put together a solid 61 runs partnership to enable them to get pass the one hundred mark. Nicholas Pooran was really aggressive in the last two overs, scoring 60 not-out.

Guyana was off to a brisk start with Anthony Bramble hitting a belligerent 42 off a mere 27 balls. Bowling for Guyana, Gudakesh Motie

captured 3 wickets for 29 runs, while Romario Shepherd took two wickets for 20 runs.

At the impressive presentation ceremony, PPP Executive member Irfaan Ali thanked the players and officials for their dedicated work towards a successful match, while PPP Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha, presented the winning trophy to the winning team’s captain, Leon Johnson.

Leader of the Opposition and General Secretary of the PPP, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, was also on hand to greet the players before the start of the match, where he expressed his Party’s highest appreciation for the massive support for the memorial event.

No benefits, tools for re-hired sugar workers – GAWU …says employees being taken advantage of

T

he over 1000 of the retrenched sugar workers who were rehired recently by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) are being taken advantage of as most of their benefits have been discontinued, while they are not being provided with resources to execute their duties

effectively, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) said Wednesday.

GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine in a missive sent to the media, bemoaned the fact the rehired workers are being paid a flat rate their labor, regardless of the

conditions of the canes they harvest; the additional distances that they may be required to walk to load the canes; or if they are required to wait on punts to load canes.

He added that the workers are not provided, protective equipment or tools to perform their duties,

while they are a number of important benefits the union successfully fought for over the years have been discontinued, while their employment ceases at the end of every crop.

“Undoubtedly, it is a very depressing situation and when looked at in totality the workers are

definitely worst off, ” Narine stated, adding that, “clearly, at this stage of our development, it is a retrograde step and for us it is disheartening that workers are seemingly being taken advantage of especially when they and their families find themselves in such a distressing and vulnerable situation.”

Narine said that while it was heartening that some 1,000 retrenched workers have been re-employed, if the number is indeed accurate, it pales in comparison to the roughly 7,000 persons placed on the breadline following the closure of sugar estates in the last two years.

He said that for many of them, they still remain jobless eking out a living on whatever may come their way. “Certainly, this is not the way our people should live,” the GAWU General Secretary stated.

While there seems to be some elation in the partial employment of 14 per cent of the retrenched workers, Narine said that the fact is that a large number of those workers who have been re-engaged have not been hired by the SPU but by contractors and are engaged on short-term contracts.

“The situation in the sugar industry is quickly evolving not necessarily in the best direction” he stated.

Narine was referring to reports which have stated among other things, a $30B financing for the sugar industry, as well as statements attributed to the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GUYSUCO)Colvin Heath-London that a small number of the over 7000 fired GUYSUCO workers could be rehired.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General, Mohabir Anil Nandlall is questioning the motive behind government’s sudden drive to invest the $30B in the industry which they have been claiming was a “black hole” on the treasury and the subsequent move to close several estates.

Nandlall, on his weekly TV show in Berbice, questioned whether the $30B is actually going to the industry or in someone’s pocket.

“How suddenly, this

industry that was not feasible, not profitable, this industry that was a drain on the treasury, suddenly, you’re putting $30B in this same industry,” he questioned.

Nandlall made it clear that he supports financial investments into the sugar industry as he and those in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) strongly believe that sugar has a future in Guyana.

But he pointed out that the Government clearly does not have a plan for the industry and that it is acting whimsically.

For example, he questioned the point of investing an enormous $32B into the industry for two years, only to shut down the sugar estates. In fact, Nandlall even questioned whether the money ever went to the sugar industry.

“Where did that money go? You still end up closing the estates. So what did you do with the $32B in the first place? Was it put into the industry or is it a lie,” he questioned.

He contended that “we lost $32B or it was stolen… because I can’t imagine where $32B gone and they still ended up closing the estates.”

Against this backdrop, Nandlall asked what point it makes now – after wasting $32B and shutting down the estates – to inject another $30B. He explained that the $30B is a loan and if the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) fails to repay this loan then the bank can seize the company’s assets resulting in commercial banks owning prime lands all across the country.

Nandlall questioned the wisdom behind this situation, noting that it is not the best outcome for the sugar industry.

The former Attorney General lamented that there is no consistency in Government’s plan for sugar. He also bemoaned the fact that despite the lack of clarity, government has refused to shed light and inform the public of its clear plan for sugar.

According to Nandlall, there seems to be multiple plans for the sugar industry and that all of these plans are colliding instead of flowing in tandem.

PUBLISHED BY NEW GUYANA Co. Ltd., 8 Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana. Tel: 226-2473, 226-5875 Fax: 226-2472