Celebrity
Letitia Wright conferred with honorary PhD, key to the city: Guyana-born British actress, Letitia Wright, popularly known for her role in the Black Panther movie, ‘Wakanda Forever’, was last Wednesday conferred with a Honorary Doctorate, Honoris Causa, by the University of Guyana (UG). Later in the day, Wright was presented with the key to the City of Georgetown by the Mayor and City Council (MCC). The convocation ceremony conferring the degree on Wright was held in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre at UG’s main campus where scores of persons assembled to witness the actress’ accreditation. Wright, who left Guyana when she was 7, was presented with the Honorary Doctor of Letters and Arts Certificate along with a plaque and other gifts by UG’s Vice-Chancellor, Paloma Mohamed-Martin, and members of the university’s student body. As she stood to accept the award, tears welled up, and Wright thanked the university and other organizations which contributed to her new accolade while sharing with her audience her life’s experiences growing up in Guyana and encouraging them to practice humility, humbleness and patience which she shows in her faith. “…I come from a very beautiful family that have always loved me, I grew up in Good Intent on the West Bank of Guyana…so as you see me, you may expect someone from Hollywood to have a certain way of being or carry themselves in a certain way, and as you see me, you see humility and that’s literally from my family and that’s literally from God and I don’t know any other else way to be humble…no matter where you’re going, no matter what your path is, please do it with humility and trust that God will exalt you when it’s time, I always waited for my moment,” said the actress. Wright also shared the struggles that she and her family had to endure to accomplish the many successes that currently bonds them. “…Being a young girl and practising my art when no one could see, going to the UK and not having enough to go on holiday or do the other things that the kids did, but I stayed locked up in my room and watched movies and I would print off the scenes and I would practice them in my room and no one would see…just looking myself in the mirror believing that I could do it, making myself vision boards and tearing them when life would knock me down or knock my family down. You would not believe the obstacles that we have overcome to even be here, it was not given to us on a silver spoon, we worked very hard. I watched my parents go from job to job or my grandma worked very hard to send things home for us and help to just let us know that we would never be in want”, she told the audience. Wright confessed that she did quit acting a few times but she re-entered it each time with renewed faith, which she credited for booking and securing the part of Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda in the Black Panther movie. She later moved up as a bigger star in the movie after the death of American actor, Chadwick Boseman who had initially played Black Panther. In her acceptance speech at UG, Wright said, “I accept this honour and as I continue to journey on in my career and in my path or whatever God has for me to do, I just want to thank you for your love and support and as you love me, I love you and as you’re proud of me, I am proud of you Guyana. I know that there is more for us to do and I know that we can all work together for the good and empowerment for our country.”
A gift was also presented to Wright to give to her acting colleague, another Guyanese-born Black Panther actress, Shaunette Renee-Wilson, who migrated from Guyana to the United States.
Drugs
CANU chase into Buxton triggers unrest: A CANU chase into Buxton and the arrest of a Vigilance man with a large quantity of suspected cannabis last Wednesday triggered resistance from villagers and hours-long unrest on both the main road and embankment as blockades were created and a truck set ablaze. Traffic on both sides of the village was interrupted just after 11 am yesterday up until around 5 in the afternoon. The standoff ended after a village leader urged those on the road to remove. Hours after the unrest began, the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) issued a release explaining the operation. CANU said that it conducted an operation on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), to intercept a motor vehicle which then drove into Buxton and evaded the officers on several occasions, including at a roadblock on the Buxton public road. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of twelve parcels of suspected cannabis which amounted to 23.2 kgs. The driver, Odearie Phillips, 25 years of Vigilance Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, was arrested. The street value of the suspected cannabis is approximately $7m. CANU said that members of the public became hostile, assaulted several of its officers and damaged some of the unit’s vehicles in an attempt to free Phillips who was in lawful custody, by pulling him out of CANU’s vehicle. This resulted in several shots being discharged in the air, CANU said. It appears that the discharge of the bullets incensed villagers.
Dataram held by US authorities: Self-confessed, convicted drug trafficker Barry Dataram was last week held by United States authorities after serving jail time here and traveling to the country he fought extradition from many years ago. According to the US Bureau of Prisons, the 45-year-old Dataram is currently being held at a Brooklyn New York Metropolitan Detention Center. In October of 2016, days after being handed over by the Suriname police to Guyanese law enforcement after being on the run, Dataram pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, to be added to the five years that had been handed down a month before. In September of 2016, he was slapped with a five-year sentence in his absence, for drug possession and also fined $164M. He had been told that the three and half years sentence would not be served concurrently as he would have had to complete the five years and then begin that sentence. The sentence was for attempting to defeat the administration of the law to avoid the consequences, forging a passport and leaving the country without presenting himself to an immigration officer; all of which he pleaded guilty to. From 2007 to 2010, Dataram had four provisional warrants issued for his arrest, for the purpose of extraditing him to the US for cocaine smuggling offences. He had fought each one successfully. It is unclear why knowing that he had outstanding arrest warrants in the US that the convict returned there.
Oil & Gas
EPA would be able to spend $1.8b in flaring fees: As day one of the consideration of the 2023 budget estimates began, the Opposition last Monday questioned what it believed to be a paltry sum allocated to the EPA, but the government responded that the agency raked in some $1.8b for 2022 in flaring fees and will add this to its spending for this year. Under Budget Agency, Office of the President and line item 015, Opposition Member of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan, highlighted to the Committee of Supply that only $667m was allocated to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is charged with oversight in an oil producing state. “In the need of the strengthening at that institution, wasn’t there need for some extra monies to come out of the EPA?” he questioned as he reasoned that no expense should be spared in equipping it, given that it is the watchdog agency for sectors which rake in billions of revenue, such as oil and gas and mining. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, answered on behalf of government and said that the EPA’s budget estimates factored in the $1.8b flaring monies paid by ExxonMobil and partners for flaring in the Stabroek Block and held by the EPA. “A number of the issues raised, according to the EPA, we don’t have to pay for…,” she said noting that the agency generated significant revenues on its own. She told the Commit-tee of Supply Chairman and members that “part of this is because flaring taxes… the revenue came in – $1.8b – came as revenue last year and this is the money the EPA got from the flaring tax that was introduced, and therefore they did not cater to us for revenue,” she said. She reasoned that there are no projections for such high sums this year from the agency “because they do not expect to continue with flaring” but that what they have they will use for development and training projects. Ramjattan sought clarity as he probed, “In addition to this $676m that the EPA will have, their expenditures will also be $1.8b plus?” “The monies that you refer to will be accessible through the Trust Fund. They also projected fines and fees they will be able to access. My understanding is that this money will be available to the EPA,” Teixeira replied. It is unclear whether the fees collected by the EPA last year could have been kept by it as opposed to be being paid into the Consolidated Fund. In May 2021, the EPA disclosed that the Environ-mental Permit for the Liza Phase 1 Development Project offshore Guyana had been modified and ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, EEPGL would now be required to pay for gas flaring once it continues beyond a 14-day period.
Governance
President says his office will operate in regions: President Irfaan Ali last Friday announced in Berbice that the Office of the President will operate out of a different region each month as efforts are continuing to bring government services closer to citizens. The Office of the President staff and representatives from the various ministries and agencies will be at State House in New Amsterdam today from 8 am as they continue their two-day programme in Region Six. It is expected that today, in addition to continuing to meet with residents of Region Six, President Ali will also caucus with members of the business community and young entrepreneurs. At the start of the two-day initiative yesterday, President Ali stressed that since his government took office “we have been going to you, we’re not waiting for you to come” as such he said, that one of the initiatives launched yesterday is the Office of the President “the full office will operate out of every region in a different month.” The monthly initiative is expected to be for two days. He explained, “So this month, today and tomorrow, we will be operating out of Region Six… So the entire office, the President’s Office will be situated here at State House in Region Six for the next two days, operating from here so that we can be in touch with you so you can feel the highest office at your disposal and have easy access to the highest office.” Also present yesterday were technical teams from the Ministry of Housing and Water; the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security; the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Agriculture; the National Insurance Scheme; the Guyana Office for Investment (G-Invest); the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission; the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL). The President told those gathered yesterday that his government is not distant from the people of the country as they believe in “serving the people.” He noted, “We operate with you, taking your concerns and your realities into consideration.”
Construction
Sand cost spirals: The cost of sand has nearly doubled from last year and the blame for the increase is being ‘traded’ between pit owners and truck drivers, even as the ordinary citizen laments over the pressures felt when purchasing for construction and other works. At the same time last year, the cost for a single-axle truckload of sand delivered around George-town and its environs was $13,000 and for the double-axle truck, $18,000. For the same truck sizes, the cost for a load of sand now averages between $25,000 and $30,000 and between $30,000 and $45,000. “I have been building my house in phases, according to how I get the money. But it seems that sand price keeps climbing every month or something. As fast as I save for one price, it gone up more by the time I ready. Imagine that I had to pay $35,000 for one of them big big trucks (double-axle) when last year January time I got it for $16, 000,” George-town resident Loretta Da Silva told Stabroek News. Another city resident lamented that she did not purchase the sand she needed since last year because of the exponential increase. She said then she was quoted $18,000 for a truck load of sand by a family-friend that runs a trucking service who said it was a deal at the time. The same family-friend now says that the price has moved to $45,000 for the twin steering truckload. A Better Hope resident says she pays $30,000 for a double-axle truckload but suggests that that cost is possible because of high demand [for two years there has been continuous construction in the street where she lives] and also because all the residents use a single supplier. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, when asked yesterday by Stabroek News for a comment on the increasingly high cost of sand said that while he has not received complaints from citizens, he will check into the price. He said that the last known price for a twin steering truck was $30,000 and if any truck operator was charging $45,000 [per truck load], it meant they were exploiting citizens. “That [$45,000] is exploitation; $30,000 is market price,” he stressed.
Investment
Jamaican cybersecurity firm plans to train, hire Guyanese analysts: Underscoring “heavy focus” on cybercrime protection, Jamaican cybersecurity analyst Mario Sparks revealed plans to invest in a technology company here to train locals in the field in which he also plans to hire them. “The newly-found oil has sparked almost a meteoric rise in the development of Guyana. But modernization comes with extreme and advanced technologies and those are used by citizens, governments, organisations, etcetera. All of this comes down essentially to data. Data is being transferred and everyone knows now that data is gold, and is even more valuable in many ways than fiat currency. You have to protect that data,” Sparks, founder of the multinational information technology firm Optimity Group, told the Stabroek News during an interview at the Marriott Hotel. “Guyana is essentially greenfield… So we want to invest in setting up a security operations centre here in Guyana, which would be our redundant operating centre, and have it outfitted by Guyanese cyber analysts who we will train and invest in their certifications. We plan to have them deck our SOC… and as they grow, they are equipped to have their own start up, piggybacking on the experience and training acquired,” he added. Sparks, who is also the chief executive officer of technology company MS Tech Solutions, was one of the 60 members of Jamai-ca’s private sector who recently visited Guyana. They were part of a trade delegation led by Jamai-ca’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill. The private sectors of both countries said that they were exploring opportunities to deepen trade and investment ties on the back of this country’s lucrative oil and gas sector. A computer engineer for over 30 years, Sparks said that many Caribbean companies and organisations do not realise that talent lies within the region, and they seek out technology services, such as cybercrime protection, from western nations. He posited that many of the large western firms subcontract companies in the region, like his, and from India and other countries, to provide those services. Pointing to the demand for cybersecurity analysts globally, he said that Guyana can prepare for its incoming technological booms and equip persons with the skill sets needed to fill those vacancies. Once certified, those persons will be able to market their specialties globally. Those plans, he posited, are what his company has. “We bring the expertise to secure what will drive Guyana’s modernization. Guyana isn’t simply building roads, bridges and four walls to set itself apart, it requires deep investment in technology and you simply cannot have technology as a stand-alone. You have to protect your technology and ensure that it is actually being used how it ought to be,” he reasoned. “We want to take our model from Jamaica, bring it to Guyana and develop Guyanese expertise so they can use it to protect their own infrastructure. It is a win-win,” he added. He contended that cybersecurity should be “a major concern for everyone, not just governments and organisations but individuals.
Sugar
Work to reopen Rose Hall Estate 70% completed: Seventy percent of works for the reopening of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate have been completed, inclusive of major changes in the factory as management and staff gear up for the second crop of this year. Reopening of this estate and two others had been a major manifesto promise of the PPP/C Government. Estate Manager, Vijay Goberdhan, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Stabroek, said that when they retook control of the estate, the factory and building were in an extremely dilapidated state mainly because the factory was shut down hastily and the equipment and infrastructure were not maintained or preserved. “There was a lot of deterioration on the roof and structure (and) due to that, rainfall water soaked a lot of the equipment and it deteriorated by rusting”, he said. He recalled that in September 2020, based on instructions from the present government an assessment of the factory was carried out of what exactly needed to be done, and it was discovered that a total rehabilitation of all the equipment including the structures was necessary, “and to date, we have completed 70% of the rehab which is including the building and equipment” along with field works. According to Goberdhan, they will soon move to testing the equipment which is expected to happen between now and June, “by which time we should be able to do a complete test of the factory in preparation to start the second crop sometime in October this year.” Detailing the works carried out on the factory’s infrastructure, Goberdhan, a mechanical engineer himself, explained, that they have since replaced the entire roof of the “process house, the boiler, pre-milling, the mills… In terms of equipment, the cane carriers, we had to totally refurbish the structures, replace the chains, we replaced one of the knives, the first cane knife to be upgraded to horsepower rating so that we can get better cane preparation, we’re also putting in a new carrier control system to have better control and feeding operations to the mill, total refurbishing of the mills, changing of undersized mill rolls and worn mill rolls.” In terms of the boilers, Goberdhan noted that the process is ongoing to re-tube two boilers, while they are aiming to include a water management control system “so the boiler could be operated in a more automated manner when the factory starts in the second crop.” The Sunday Stabroek was told that before the closure of the estate, the automation was not in place. As such this is one of the new transformational aspects of rebuilding the factory.
In the courts
Man at centre of Buxton ruckus remanded on drug charge: Odearie Phillips, the East Coast resident whose arrest by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit [CANU] last Tuesday led to unrest at Buxton, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court yesterday on the charge of trafficking in narcotics. Phillips, 25, and of Vigi-lance Housing Scheme, pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was refused bail and was remanded to prison until 20th March, 2023.
Wildlife trader found guilty on human trafficking charges: Wildlife trader, Feezal Shaw, was last Thursday found guilty of trafficking in persons following the conclusion of a trial before Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty. The charges brought against Shaw stated that between February 14th and June 14th, 2018, at Soesdyke, he engaged in trafficking in persons, that is, he recruited, harboured or transported Eduardo Vivas and Jose Rodriguez to work but did not pay them. Shaw appeared before Magistrate Mc Gusty yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court and was remanded to prison after she requested that a probation report be done. The matter was adjourned to February 24th. In 2018, similar charges were brought against Shaw, but were later dismissed due to the Prosecutor failing to make an application for the Administration of Justice Act (AJA) to be applied which would have seen the defendant entering a plea to the charge and subsequently facing a trial. Instead, a preliminary inquiry was done which eventually led to Shaw being freed. The charges were later reinstituted before Magistrate Annette Singh in 2019, and Shaw pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail in the sum of $100,000. The court had heard that on February 14th, 2018, the victims, both Venezuelan nationals, were invited to Guyana to work for Shaw who owned South American Unlimited, located in Soesdyke, and were allegedly told that they would be building cages for the defendant’s exotic animals. They were reportedly paid for their first three days and then were not paid anything until June 1st, 2018, when they were given $100,000. It was said that they later asked for the monies owed to them which were given to them. It was then alleged that Shaw took the victims’ passports and told them that he would arrange for them to have more time in the country but he never returned the documents to the two men.
Death penalty for duo in Corentyne piracy murders: Justice Navindra Singh last Tuesday sentenced the two men who were convicted for the 2018 piracy murders to death. Sitting at the High Court in Berbice, the judge said that the act was a cruel, gruesome, heinous and cold-blooded one. Premnauth Persaud, 44, also known as ‘Sanbad,’ and Nakool Manohar, also known as ‘Fyah,’ 40, of Lot 1 Number 43 Village, Corentyne, were jointly charged with the murder of Tilaknauth Mohabir, also known as ‘Kai’ or ‘Kai-man,’ and Mahesh Sarjoo. The charge stated that between April 27th, 2018 and May 3rd, 2018, the two men murdered Mohabir and Sarjoo during the course of piracy in Corentyne waters. In November, 2022, Justice Singh summed up the matter, and the jury, after deliberating for over two hours returned with a unanimous guilty verdict for both accused on both counts of murder. In handing down his sentence yesterday, Justice Singh said that the victims were fishing out at sea “trying to earn a living” when they were attacked and killed. He said, “The evidence of the eyewitnesses involved indicate to murder these persons was an object of the attack… It didn’t happen because of resistance or some defence…” A de facto moratorium on the death penalty has been in place here since 1997. Persaud before sentencing, continued to deny any involvement in the attack as he pleaded to be released, while Manohar refused to say anything. Justice Singh stated that there has been no remorse expressed or mitigating circumstances found in the evidence. “We look at a man who is sitting in court right now who was a victim of the attack, he is still shaking, seems like he can hardly walk, hardly focus properly, this was a cruel, a gruesome, a heinous, cold-blooded attack”, the judge stated. Justice Singh said he even went back through the evidence trying to figure out “how can a human being decide to do these things?” He then added, that Section 7 of the Hijacking and Piracy Act provides for punishment by death upon conviction, as such he said, “I have examined the evidence, I have listened to all of the kinds of mitigation, and I find no reason to not impose that sentence.” Before sentencing both men to death, Justice Singh said, “These men cannot be rehabilitated. It would be reckless and irresponsible of the court to allow them to be released upon civil society at any time.” The state was represented by special prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat and state prosecutor Nafeeza Baig. Rahamat before the sentencing also pointed out that the accused have not expressed any remorse.
Convicts get 66 years each for murder of Corentyne carpenter: The five men who were convicted last year of murdering Number 70 Village, Corentyne carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt in 2016 were last Monday sentenced to sixty-six years in jail by Justice Navindra Singh. The deceased’s mother in court told the men that they had destroyed her life and turned her into a person she does not like as she reminded them that they were all from the same village and yet they chose to brutally murder her son. The five convicted men are Orlando Dickie, 45, Radesh Motie, 46, Diodath Datt, 24, Harri Paul Parsram, 56, and Niran Yacoob, 42. n November 2022, the five men were found guilty of the carpenter’s murder by a jury at the conclusion of their trial at the High Court in Berbice, where the main witness had testified to hearing the order to beat the man to death after he refused sexual advances allegedly made by Marcus Bisram. Bisram was last year cleared of a murder charge after an extensive court battle that was decided by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which said he could only be prosecuted by way of “fresh evidence.”
Accident
Canefield man dead, three injured after vehicle rams into crowd: A Canefield Settlement, East Canje, Berbice man died and three others were injured after the driver of a Tacoma vehicle allegedly deliberately drove into a crowd of people near a wedding in the village around 1 am last Sunday morning.
Dead is Somdatt Indal, also known as “Fats”, 51, of Lot 1178 Canefield Settlement, East Canje, Berbice. Injured are Dion Kistan, 11, a student of the Canje Secondary School and of Lot 23 Goed Bananen Land, East Canje, Berbice; Leon Reis, 26, of Lot 1143 East Canefield, East Canje, Berbice; and Daniel Sackichand, 21, of Adelphi Village, East Canje, Berbice. As of last week, Kistan remained hospitalized at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. He reportedly sustained one broken leg and major injuries to his other leg, and underwent emergency surgery yesterday morning. The two other men were released from the hospital yesterday morning after they were treated for their injuries. Commander of Region Six Shivpersaud Bacchus confirmed that around 11.48 am that the suspected driver of the vehicle had turned himself over to the police in the presence of his attorney.
Development
Palmyra stadium to be completed by end of 2025 – President: The stadium slated for Palmyra, Region Six is expected to be functional by the end of 2025 as clearing of land has already commenced at the location, President Irfaan Ali disclosed last Thursday as his office wrapped up a two-day programme in Berbice. According to the President, with the housing programme at Fort and the urban area at Palmyra, this year over $10b is expected to be expended in private and public investments. In October 2022, President Ali detailed the development slated for Palmyra, on the East Berbice including the building of the new International Cricket Council-standard stadium. At that time, he had said that they had already approved private sector investment for a new state-of-the-art mall, a new hotel, a recreational centre, a hospital, a centre for persons with disabilities, and a call centre. Focusing on the stadium, Ali said that they are now finalizing the cost. He disclosed that conceptually the stadium will have a minimum seating capacity of 10,000, external parking and an ecosystem will be built around the stadium itself. While visiting the Palmyra location last evening after wrapping up his outreach at State House, New Amsterdam, Ali announced that on the stadium’s outskirts, a motor racing track will be built, as according to him residents of Region Six and nearby Suriname are known motor racing fanatics. He stressed, “We will be optimizing the development there and creating athletic opportunities”, adding that the project will be done with varying dimensions and modern planning. Noting that they have already commenced clearing of lands, Ali said that if all goes well they are hoping the stadium will be completed by the end of 2025 to host activities.
