June 12 is new date for Local Government Elections: Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall on February 15th informed GECOM that June 12, 2023, has been selected as the date for the long overdue Local Government Elections (LGE). Dharamlall last night while confirming to Stabroek News the appointed date, said that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had written to him saying that they are in a state of readiness. “They wrote to me and said that they are ready and will be prepared to hold the elections by May 22, 2023 the earliest.” The announcement of the new date comes months after a postponement by GECOM. The commission was forced to push back the elections, which was initially slated for March 13. That date was however derailed by GECOM having to reopen the Claims and Objections process whilst dealing with a dispute over the demarcation of constituencies. A legal challenge was mounted by the main opposition APNU+AFC to contest the manner in which lists have been extracted for constituencies. This triggered a recommendation by Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud to the GECOM Chair for a further period of claims and objections to the various registers. Persaud had told GECOM Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh, that should the opposition concerns not be addressed, the image of the elections body could be tarnished for failing to guard fundamental standards for democratic elections. He suggested that the coalition could possibly boycott the upcoming polls if the concerns are not addressed. The APNU arm of the APNU+AFC coalition has been claiming that the voters list was compiled without capturing voters in their correct constituency, thereby placing them at a disadvantage. It was against this background that APNU’s Chief Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph, moved to the High Court for an urgent hearing challenging GECOM’s method of compiling the voters lists to be used in the then proposed March 13 LGE. In the legal challenge, Smith-Joseph argued that GECOM, in its preparation of the current voters list, did not act in accordance with the law and the constitution. Persaud informed the commission’s chair that accepting the proposal would result in the postponement of the elections. He did not say for how long the elections could be postponed. Local government elections were due since the end of 2021. The Chief Election Officer told the Chair, the proposal, once accepted “…would not only guarantee transparency and inclusivity, but would address the specific concern of the APNU+AFC coalition, but by extension engender participation of the coalition’s support base in the Local Government Elections.”
Investment
Unicomer for $25B investment: The parent company of Courts Guyana – Unicom-er, yesterday announced a $25 billion (around US$120m) commercial investment for the East Bank of Demerara which will see the construction of a mega shopping complex and hotel along with a logistics yard to support small companies. The expansion of the company’s presence here is being spearheaded by Red-start Investments Guyana Inc, the real estate development and property management division of the Unicomer Group. Courts significantly developed the hire purchase market when it arrived here in 1993. Unicomer’s objective is to construct the mega shopping complex at River View in the vicinity of Farm, and the logistics yard at Houston along the new Mandela-Eccles bypass highway. “At this time we think we should be taking our game to the next level both in terms of customer experience and staff engagement and tapping into the business opportunities that are emerging in Guyana,” Vincent Gordon, Sub Regional Managing Director, Unicomer Guyana and the Dutch Caribbean yesterday said. He explained that the investment coincides with the development plan of the country and investing in such major infrastructure will position it as not just an oil and gas country, but a destination of choice for tourists and visitors. “It will make a big difference in terms of the service we offer, in terms of the kind of experience the customer deserves and importantly for people who are coming into the country, what they expect and deserve.” The mega shopping complex which will be constructed at a cost of $10 billion will house a hotel, eateries, gym, international-branded shopping centres, international food chains, and all Unicomer associated brands such as Courts Mega Store, RadioShack, Courts Optical, and Ashley’s Furniture Home Store. The complex will also house up to thirty retail spaces with some 400 parking spaces. Discussions are also ongoing with top international hotel brands to be included in the complex, a statement announcing the investment said. Vincent Gordon, Sub-Regional Managing Director, Unicomer Guyana and the Dutch Caribbean explains the features of the commercial facility in a model on display. Gordon in the release had said that the commercial project will be built in three phases: Phase I, to include the erection of the Courts Mega Store and Ashley Signature Stores, Phase II, the build-out of the Commercial Park, and Phase III, which will cover the hotel and final parking structure.
Oil & Gas
Rejigging of oil deal will halt progress – President: Hoping to put the renegotiation of the controversial 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil to rest, President Irfaan Ali last week said that he has accepted that although the deal is lopsided, a move to revamp it would not only deflate investor confidence but halt the progress of development and hurt mostly locals. “We came in to government and met what we have said publicly is a lopsided agreement, but we have a responsibility to honour an agreement that was made. I spoke about the consequences of walking away. I saw a completely different headline from what I said,” Ali yesterday told the opening of the Guyana Energy Conference where in attendance were leading representatives of all three of the Stabroek Block partners as well as hundreds of representatives from companies across the globe . “Let us say we stopped production tomorrow; stopped all the production. What is the consequence? What is the exposure to the country? What is the exposure [to] all those who would have invested? Not just the big investor; to the man who took a loan and build apartments, the man that had three taxis and invested in 300 taxis now… what is the exposure to them, and the financial institutions that financed those investments based on what we did?”, the President questioned. It is unclear how the President arrived at the conclusion that a renegotiation would lead to halt in production. Ali asserted that his government was one which would honour agreements between investors and the country because while political parties change, businesses continue. He posited that governments are tasked with setting aside partisan views and looking at the development of the country and its people, and that was what he did. Going forward, he pointed out that government has already said it will ensure that any other agreements signed would encompass better returns than the current one.
Environment
Historic carbon credits payments set for Amerindian communities: Population size was a key determining factor in government’s methodology for the distribution of money earned from Guyana’s sale of carbon credits, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo explained last Wednesday as he announced the first payment of $4.7 billion or US$22 million to 241 indigenous communities. “Based on the application of the formula, based on population and size, you are going to see how much money the communities are getting, ranging from $10 million to some communities, their share of the 15 per cent this year, would be $35 million… we agreed that a minimum that a village or a community should get from this year, from their share is $10 million,” the Vice President said during a meeting with Indigenous leaders. Government’s disbursement comes on the heels of some Indigenous communities calling for a greater percentage of monies. Activists in the Indigenous community have complained that there was little consultation on the process before arriving at the percentage to be given to Indigenous communities. Lemuel Thomas, Toshao of Kamarang and leader within the Upper Mazaruni District Council, yesterday requested that the government increase the percentage to the communities and also direct funds towards the work of sub-regional district councils and other Indigenous people’s bodies lobbying for the rights of Amerindians. The payments ranging from $10 million to $35 million will be disbursed to specially established bank accounts in the new week, Jagdeo announced. The amount disbursed represents 15 per cent of the US$75 million from the sale of certified carbon credits sold to Hess Corpo-ration. Jagdeo noted that the direct allocation is a part of the recognition of the Indigenous people and the stewardship roles they play in the protection of the forests, hinterland communities, and maintenance of the hinterland eco-systems. During the meeting held at the Arthur Chung Con-ference Centre, Jagdeo explained that before arriving at the formula, government consulted with the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and with many others in the regional setting, as well as individually, to arrive at a fair formula. Critics have argued strongly that the NTC is not the prescribed body and talks have to be held with individual councils.
Security
AG asks RSS for help on high-profile laundering cases: Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC has asked the Regional Security System’s (RSS) Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) to assist in high-profile money laundering cases. This was disclosed last Thursday in a release from the Attorney General’s Chambers on the outcome of a visit here by the Barbados-based RSS which Guyana joined in September last year. The release said that the Attorney General requested the RSS ARU to aid the local Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in ”certain high-profile ongoing investigations of money laundering”. While in Guyana the RSS has met with the FIU, SOCU and the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit. Today, the RSS is expected to meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions. No further information was availed in the release yesterday on the investigations but Georgetown has come under growing pressure to show evidence of action against money laundering. Days ago, SOCU announced the arrest of a Herstelling, East Bank Demerara family over the laundering of $4.1b. It was disclosed by SOCU that money was funnelled to 22 companies in China but there has been no word from the authorities on whether this aspect of the probe is being pursued here and with Beijing. The RSS is also advising on Guyana’s extant Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) law after identifying gaps. The release said that the visiting team extended its expertise to Guyana’s AML/CFT architecture with specific emphasis on training, capacity building and practical and technical guidance in investigating, detecting and prosecuting AML/CFT-type offences including asset recovery, possessing, seizing and forfeiting proceeds from crime.
Cops issue wanted bulletins over Mon Repos `terrorism’: The Guyana Police Force (GPF) last week issued Wanted Bulletins for several persons for Acts of Terrorism, Contrary to Section 309 (A) (1) (b) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01 which occurred on the East Coast Demerara on the 28th June, 2022. In this regard, the GPF says it is seeking the assistance of the public for information about the whereabouts of these persons to be prosecuted for the aforementioned offence. “Terror and mayhem were unleashed on persons on the East Coast of Demerara in June last year, during which several vehicles were burnt, and a number of stalls were ransacked and looted at the Mon Repos Market, ECD. Roads were blocked by burning debris, and scores of persons were beaten and robbed during the acts of terror committed by ‘protestors’”, the police said.
Among those on the ‘Wanted’ list for Acts of Terrorism are:
Walkie Glasgow of Golden Grove, ECD
Trotman Tixey, alias ‘Quincy’ from Nabaclis, ECD
Sukie Reginal from Golden Grove, ECD
Others (only ‘alias’) on the ‘Wanted’ list are:
‘Carlos’ from Golden Grove, ECD
‘Ray Ray/Lilly’ from Golden Grove, ECD
‘Nedd’ from Golden Grove, ECD
‘Blammi’ from Golden Grove, ECD
‘Dave’ from Nabaclis, ECD
‘Burke’ from Nabaclis, ECD
‘Layne’ from Nabaclis, ECD
‘Kaldin’ from Enmore North, ECD
‘Peters’ from Haslington North & Victoria, ECD
It is unclear why the police force is only now issuing these bulletins when the events occurred since June last year. The police have been strongly criticised in the past for not acting against those involved in these events. There was a similar eruption on February 1st at Buxton where a truck was burnt and some persons robbed.
Fire
Windsor Forest man dies trapped in burning home: A Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara man died last Sunday afternoon after he was trapped in his burning house having gone back in to search for his grandson. Dead is Rajendra Mohabir called “Slowie” and “Uncle Raj” of Lot 194 Seventh 7th Street, Windsor Forest. His charred remains were found beneath the debris in the aftermath of the fire. Stabroek News understands that the man was discovered by firefighters in a crouching position on the stairs of the building. Apart from the building being the dwelling place of Mohabir, his wife and two sons, it also housed a small supermarket and the Touching Your World Ministries Church. Mohabir’s wife and sons were rushed to the hospital for medical attention. While the fire service is still investigating the cause of the fire, it was possibly electrical in nature. Reports are that the building burst into flames at around 2 pm when electricity was restored to the community after a blackout. Assistant Pastor Ricky Roopchand yesterday told Stabroek News that he was at his home when the youths, who were in the church preparing for youth fellowship, saw sparks in the bottom flat of the building. They called him and informed him that Pastor Paul Mohabir’s home was on fire. (Pastor Paul is the dead man’s son.) Stabroek News understands that there was an explosion followed by sparks resulting in the entire building being engulfed in flames.
Parika vendors say they were offered $300,000: President Irfaan Ali last week met with scores of Parika Market vendors who were put out of business by a major fire on Friday and while no official information was forthcoming on the discussions, some of the attendees said they were offered a sum of $300,000. The meeting came amid growing questions about where liability for the fire lay and where compensation should come from. Two vendors who wished to remain anonymous told Stabroek News that a sum of $300,000 was offered to each of them. However, for vendors with huge losses, they will be facilitated with access to bank loans. Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar were also at the meeting. Vendors related that on the day of the fire it was chaotic since the sea breeze propelled the fire to various parts of the market within minutes. Squib-like explosions were heard and this was followed by huge clouds of black smoke. Vendors were unable to retrieve valuables and goods, the massive fire consumed everything. Many vendors also stated that vending was their main source of income. The fire swept through the Parika Market complex and later ravaged the stalls on the roadside. Water tenders from the Leonora, La Grange, Eccles, Campbellville, Central and West Ruimveldt fire stations responded to the call. The Essequibo River was also used as an open water source. The Guyana Fire Service on Sunday confirmed that the cause of the fire was as a result of residue from a welding torch that fell into a storage bond and ignited nearby combustible materials.
Financial intelligence
Ram says SOCU should have pursued masterminds in $4.1b laundering case: Chartered Accountant and attorney, Christopher Ram has questioned why the authorities did not try to snare the masterminds in the laundering of monies to China rather than focusing their attention on a family of three from Herstelling on the East Bank Demerara (EBD). Amid long-running questions about why they have been unable to prosecute persons here for laundering the proceeds of crime, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) last week instituted $4.1b worth of money laundering charges against the Ramnarine family. A release from SOCU made the startling disclosure that the transactions pertained to 22 Chinese companies. Questions were immediately raised as to what action was being pursued against these Chinese companies but there was no information in the SOCU statement about this. Sources say that pursuing the Chinese companies would fall in the remit of SOCU and the Guyana Revenue Authority. The disclosure about the Chinese companies also came around the one-year anniversary of the stunning bribery allegations that had been made by Chinese businessman Su Zhirong which had been levelled against Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. Su has since left the country and the authorities here have shown little interest in pursuing the matter. Questions have been raised as to whether sensitivities about relations between Guyana and Beijing are preventing the government from taking action. In a letter in today’s Sunday Stabroek, Ram pressed the issue, voicing surprise that the investigators’ focus seemed to be concentrated on the Herstelling family. Ram also suggested that it would now be nigh impossible to pursue the Chinese companies which may have commissioned the laundering. He said that after three years of investigation into the multi-billion-dollar money laundering, tax evasion and racketeering ring, the specialised and elite SOCU could “only file charges of money laundering against a working class East Bank Demerara family of a mother, father and son. The charges cover some 268 transactions on behalf of Chinese `businesses’ in Guyana sending money to some 22 companies in China, reportedly using the official banking system”. He added “This is no small matter. If as is likely, the money came from income hidden from the taxman, it represents about one-third of the total taxes which the GRA collected in 2022 from the self-employed in Guyana!” Ram said that he shared the Stabroek News report on the case with a Guyanese colleague in the US who has been involved in the investigation of criminal networks in Florida, some of which succeeded and others which failed. Ram said that according to him, the charges brought before the court by SOCU have effectively burnt the three-year investigation, rendering “every further lead completely useless”. Ram said that his colleague pointed out that the real criminals would already have left Guyana, taking safe refuge in China.
Constitutional
Constitutional reform process will be inclusive – Nandlall: The PPP/C cannot force any changes to the laws of this country on citizens and therefore the constitutional reform process will see suggestions for legislative changes from across the country, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC has said. If inclusive governance is to be one of those laws, then it will be from a recommendation made by the people and for the people, he reasoned, underscoring that consultations by the Constitutional Reform Commission will be inclusive for all citizens of this country. “This Constitutional Reform Commission is not a PPP/C organ, but a national, broad-based, multi-stakeholder organisation as is outlined in its creating statute. Every citizen, stakeholder organisation, civil society groups and political parties will have an opportunity to consult with and make recommendations to the commission including the PPP/C on all matters which they deem fit, including matters relating to governance,” Nandlall said. He was responding to former speaker of the National Assembly and one time PPP/C executive member Ralph Ramkarran, who lamented the sloth in starting the process and said that the PPP/C fulfilling a promise in its manifesto to have constitutional reform was useless, if changes doesn’t see inclusive governance. “The institutions which have been created, such as the constitutional commissions and the sectoral parliamentary committees, are not functioning either at all or optimally. Article 13 of the Constitution that provides for consultation is not functionally implemented. The problem, therefore, outside of inclusive governance, is not the constitution, but implementation of its provisions. Other matters provided for in the act are more appropriately dealt with by legislation,” Ramkarran wrote in his Conversation Tree blog last week. He posited, “Fulfilling a manifesto promise to implement constitutional reform is not sufficient unless that promise includes the purpose or reason for the promise, namely, inclusive governance. It must be assumed that when the PPP/C made the promise in its Manifesto, it was of the view that inclusive governance was not provided for in the Constitution and reform was necessary to include it…it is expected, therefore, that notwithstanding the questionable omission in which the process is going to be conducted, that inclusive governance will be a major issue in the constitution reform process, as it is in the PPP/C’s Manifesto.” Ramkarran pointed out that the 2023 Budget has allocated $150 million to constitutional reform and Nandlall had announced that the process would commence at the conclusion of the inquiry into the elections, which finishes sometime next month. Making reference to the PPP/C Manifesto for 2020-2025, he quoted the party’s position on constitutional reform.
Death
Folklorist Allan Fenty passes away at 78: Tributes lats Saturday poured in for nationally acclaimed folklorist, poet, broadcast-er, one-time public relaions czar of the PNC, and Stabroek News decades-long columnist, Allan Arthur Fenty, who passed away yesterday in his sleep at his South Ruimveldt Gardens home. He had celebrated his 78th birthday just last month. ell known for his contribution to the pre-servation of Guyanese cul-ture, such as proverbs and cuisine, Fenty offered weekly satirical and thought provoking analy-ses of this country’s land-scape in his folksy grass-roots column “Frankly Speaking by A.A. Fenty”. The Guyana Press Association (GPA) hailed Fenty for his contributions to the literary landscape, pointing out that he helped to produce material dealing with Venezuela’s spurious claim to Essequibo. “Mr Fenty started his working life as a teacher on the West Demerara. He was a trained teacher. Former GPA executive and friend, Bert Wilkinson, recalled that Mr Fenty was Chief Information Officer at [the] close of the 1970s into the early 80s. Mr Fenty helped to produce a number of publications dealing with the Guyana-Venezuela border issue as well as others pertaining to other national events,” the GPA said in a statement. Wilkinson told this newspaper that Guyana has lost in Fenty, a repository of history on a number of issues. Fenty stayed close with his young adulthood friends who included Wilkinson, Lloyd Conway, Kirk Noel, Edwin Pratt, Rudy Bishop, Desmond Fraser of Chronicle Atlan-tic, Eze Rockcliffe, and Fairbairn Liverpool among many others including the late Lennox Canterbury. Wilkinson echoed also that Fenty had published several booklets with Guyanese and West Indian proverbs. Additionally, Fenty played an active role in various editions of Carifesta over the decades. And up to the time of his passing he was actively involved in the production of the publication, “The Guyana Annual” and hosted his television show, “The Cook Up Show” on CNS Channel 6. As he expressed condolences to Fenty’s surviving wife and four daughters, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, paid tribute to his friend.
In the courts
Former husband, accomplice jailed for murder of Babita Sarjou: Anand Narine, ex-husband of Babita Sarjou, wept and begged for mercy when he was last Thursday sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for her murder. His co-accused, Darrol Ponton called ‘Yankee’, was sentenced to 18 and a half years for the same crime. The decision was handed down by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall who described their actions of killing the young woman and then burying her body in a shallow grave as “depraved.” However, the six years that the two spent behinds bar on remand will be deducted from their given sentences. Last weeks sentencing finally delivered some justice for Sarjou’s family some 12 years after she went missing on November 10, 2010. Her remains were found in a shallow grave in Narine’s Seaforth Street, Campbell-ville, Georgetown home in 2016. Narine along with Compton called were subsequently charged with the woman’s gruesome murder and last month, after initially denying the offence, the two later changed their plea to guilty. Both men wept profusely and begged for mercy but the judge remarked that she saw no need to give any, given the cruel and calculated nature of the crime. Sarjou’s mother, Champa Seenarine, also wept during her victim impact statement where she spoke about missing her daughter and how the two men took her child’s life. She said she was heartbroken and in pain and she misses her daughter very much. “My daughter did not deserve to die like that, I miss her at this moment the two are before the courts and I am hoping to get justice in this case,” the weeping woman said. Following the judge’s sentence, the prosecutor announced that based on her instructions, she was giving notice of the state’s intention to appeal. This prompted the judge to ask if such a notice was necessary as the state must do what it has to do and suggested such a notice was given because of the presence of the media.
Mon Repos man charged with conspiring to kill business partner: A Mon Repos businessman was last week arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on a charge of conspiring to murder one of his business partners. The charge against 36-year-old Gansham Boodram, also called ‘Kevin’ of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD), stated that between December 30th 2022 and January 30th 2023 in Georgetown, he conspired with a person or persons to murder Bryan Ogle. During the court proceedings, the Police Prosecutor said that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had issued a wanted bulletin for Boodram who turned himself in three weeks after in the presence of his attorney, Jevon Cox. The prosecutor contended that within those three weeks, checks and efforts to locate the accused all proved futile which indicated that the man was on the run. The prosecutor also disclosed that a voice recording was released to the police where the plot to kill the virtual complainant, Ogle, was heard being discussed, and that although Boodram denied that it was his voice on the recording, the individual who he conspired with has since confirmed that it is Boodram’s. The prosecution posited that if the defendant is to be granted bail then he might interfere with the investigation and the course of justice based on his financial capability. After hearing that the prosecution was objecting to bail being granted to his client, attorney Cox rebutted the prosecution’s claim by stating that the allegation against Boodram was only made after an accusation was levelled on a social media platform that the man had paid someone to kill his business partner. This was then brought to the attention of the police. Cox went on to say that his client had turned himself in 48 hours after the bulletin was issued and not the three weeks as alleged by the Prosecutor. He added that the prosecution has no evidence to support its claim that it is Boodram’s voice on the recording. After hearing the arguments of both sides, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly who Boodram appeared before in court 2 said that she will remand the man on the grounds that a report of the attempted murder of Ogle’s wife in November last year was lodged by Ogle at the Kitty Police Station. She then remanded the man to prison and adjourned the matter to March 8th, 2023.
