Border controversy
World Court to hear Guyana’s bid for provisional measures against Venezuelan referendum: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week said that it will hold public hearings on November 14 on Guyana’s request for provisional measures related to a referendum planned by Venezuela on December 3rd on Essequibo which is the substance of a case currently being heard by the Holland-based tribunal. On October 30, Guyana requested the Court to indicate the following provisional measures: “1. Venezuela shall not proceed with the Consultative Referendum planned for 3 December 2023 in its present form; In particular, Venezuela shall not include the First, Third or Fifth questions in the Consultative Referendum; 3. Nor shall Venezuela include within the ‘Consultative Referendum’ planned, or any other public referendum, any question encroaching upon the legal issues to be determined by the Court in its Judgment on the Merits, including (but not limited to): a. the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award; b. sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River, and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement; and c. the purported creation of the State of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and any associated measures, including the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and national identity cards. The ICJ release yesterday said that the hearings on November 14 will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Guyana on 30 October 2023. The ICJ stated “In its Request, Guyana states that `[o]n 23 October 2023, the Government of Venezuela, through its National Electoral Council, published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a . . . ‘Consultative Referendum’ on 3 December 2023’. According to the Applicant, the purpose of this referendum is `to obtain responses that would support Venezuela’s decision to abandon [the current proceedings before the Court], and to resort instead to unilateral measures to ‘resolve’ the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds of Guyana’”
Guyana seeks urgent steps by ICJ over Venezuela referendum: Amid escalating tensions, Guyana has applied to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for urgent provisional measures to counter Venezuela’s planned referendum of December 3rd which includes a question on the creation of a state comprising this country’s county of Essequibo. Guyana’s appeal to the Holland-based ICJ, known as the World Court, has also seen it urging CARICOM and the international community to continue reminding Venezuela of its obligations under international law. Caracas elevated the border controversy to new heights when it announced the referendum leading Georgetown to charge that it was attempting to annex Essequibo despite the fact that the matter between the two countries is now before the ICJ. Last week, the World Court issued a release on Guyana’s application. It said that Georgetown had filed in the Registry of the ICJ a Request for the indication of provisional measures in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela), pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court. In its request, the ICJ noted that Guyana stated that “[o]n 23 October 2023, the Government of Venezuela, through its National Electoral Council, published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a . . . ‘Consultative Referendum’ on 3 December 2023”. In its statement last week, the Government of Guyana said that one week ago, it issued a statement denouncing the aggressive new measures taken by Venezuela in furtherance of its “groundless and unlawful territorial claim” to Guyana’s Essequibo Region. These new measures included a purported national referendum to ratify the Venezuelan government’s apparent decision to withdraw from the present judicial proceedings in the ICJ, and proceed unilaterally to incorporate Essequibo into its own national territory as an integral part of Venezuela. Guyana, the government statement said, properly characterized this naked threat of territorial aggression as: “nothing less than the annexation of Guyana’s territory, in blatant violation of the most fundamental rules of the UN Charter, the OAS Charter and general international law.”
Electricity
Offline generator deepens GPL’s woes: With GPL’s generation below peak demand, a 7.8 mw unit going offline for repairs has deepened the power’s company’s woes amid rising public frustration over the unscheduled blackouts. Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, at a press briefing held yesterday at GPL’s boardroom in Kingston reiterated that the state-owned company has procured a number of new engines and transformers which are slated for installation soon. Indar assured that GPL will be able to satisfy the current demand for electricity when it commissions the 17 power generators that are expected to arrive in Guyana from Honduras. These generators, valued at US$27 million, will generate 28.9 megawatts of electricity. They are expected to arrive in Guyana by November 22 and be installed mid-December, he added. These additional units will significantly boost the capacity of the power company to meet the current demand. According to Indar, the power utility cannot meet the current peak demand of 172 megawatts as one of its sets with a generating capacity of 7.8 megawatts is currently offline to facilitate a major overhaul. “This is an engine that is about 14 years old. If we don’t bring it down for this general maintenance it runs the risk of the engine breaking up. And right now, to find engines of that size in the market, you can’t procure it easily, it will take months, between nine to 16 to 18 months to get a new engine.” He lamented that a few generators have exceeded their prescribed lifespan and periodically these generating sets will experience mechanical defects. Indar told Stabroek News that the costs to repair or restore these generators are exorbitant.
Blackouts back with a vengeance: Over the last few days, the spate of blackouts across the country has brought back memories of daily loadshedding of decades ago and the power company has no detailed explanation for what is occurring or a schedule. At around 9.30 pm on October 31st , the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) posted on its Facebook page the following explanation after customers kept complaining. “At approximately 07:56 hrs this morning, a sudden loss of approximately 46.5 Megawatts (MW) of generation at the Garden of Eden Power Plant caused a cascading effect on the other generating stations, resulting in a disruption of service to customers in Demerara and Berbice. Restoration commenced immediately and power was restored to most customers at approximately 12:46 hrs. Regrettably, some customers remained out of power until full restoration at approximately 17:12 hrs. GPL apologizes for the inconvenience caused. Over three years after the PPP/C took the reins of office more questions are being raised as to why it has not been able to get on top of power generation failures and shortfalls. A number of container generators have been procured from Honduras and are expected to enable adequate power for Christmas. Over the last two days, citizens from all across the country have complained about outages and slated the GPL management. Customers in sections of Georgetown, East Coast and East Bank Demerara experienced interruption in power supply on Monday due to a reported increase in demand that has exceeded GPL’s current generation capacity. The power company said that to ensure the continued stability of the grid and prevent a complete shutdown, it was necessary to take some feeders offline. Customers in Berbice, were advised that should the demand exceed the electricity company’s power generation capacity, interruptions could follow. There was no word yesterday from the Prime Minister’s office or any other senior government official on what is transpiring at GPL. The utility company has been criticised over failed management and other issues. University students and lecturers complained that these sporadic disruptions have resulted to significant delays in work schedules.
Procurement
Procurement commission says NPTAB, procuring entities not supplying documents for probes: The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) last week disclosed that in the five active complaints before it, documentation has not been presented by the procuring entities and the NPTAB and an approach may be made to the court to compel the production of information. In a statement, it said that this was particularly so in relation to the record of the tender proceedings including the Evaluation Reports. The PPC noted that while Article 212DD (1) of the constitution empowers the Commission to request information in certain circumstances, the subsequent sub-section (Article 212DD (2)) was not given effect by the legislature to provide for penalties or other coercive powers for the failure to comply with such requests by the Commission. The Commission said it sought and is awaiting advice from its Legal Department as to the jurisdiction of the Commission to ensure that matters brought before it for investigation are duly discharged and at this time, has not ruled out approaching the High Court for orders compelling the production of the information. The PPC restated that pursuant to Article 212W (2) of the Constitution of Guyana, it is an “independent and impartial” body which shall discharge its functions fairly in accordance with law. This disclosure was made by the PPC in response to a news item in the October 29th Sunday Stabroek where APNU+AFC MP David Patterson had reported that the PPC had not acted on a request from him for an urgent meeting on the Tepui pump station award and other matters. This was denied yesterday by the PPC which said the claim was sensationalist and scandalous. In its response, the PPC said that it received Patterson’s request for a meeting on Friday October 27th, 2023, the request was “duly considered” at the commission’s meeting on the said day and “to this end, an official response to the request for a meeting will be dispatched shortly, the weekend having intervened”’. The PPC said that Patterson’s request for a probe of the award of the Belle Vue Pump Station contract to the company, Tepui was received by email on Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 and was considered by the commission at the next meeting, which was Friday, October 6th, 2023.
Mining
Troy payment proposal was shot down by GRA: Amid growing questions as to how a large-scale gold mining company had been able to depart the country leaving a royalty debt of $2.6b, it has been disclosed that a repayment plan it put forward had been rejected by the GRA and that correspondence to key ministries on the matter went unanswered. Already owing US$6.8 million in royalties to this country, Australian mining company Troy Resources Guyana Inc (TRGI) had approached the Guyana Gold Board proposing that their Value Added Tax (VAT) returns be transferred to offset royalties associated with gold production exports, a proposal which was rejected by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), sources say. The company had also asked government for its outstanding balance to be converted into equity but this too was rejected by government. “TRGI faced a substantial accrued royalties balance owed to the GoG [Government of Guyana], amounting to US$6,857,461. This liability had built up between 2018 and July 2021 due to the company’s operational restructuring and depletion of ore reserves, leading to the suspension of all production activities. During that period, TRGI engaged in discussions with the Guyana Gold Board [GGB] to resolve this issue,” a source close to the project stated. “An agreement was reached to utilize TRGI’s Value Added Tax (VAT) returns to offset royalties associated with gold production exports, with royalty payments for exports being honoured as they accrued… Unfortunately, a setback occurred when the Guyana Revenue Authority [GRA] denied TRGI’s VAT claims for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. In response to this denial, TRGI issued a ‘Notice of Default,’” the source added. A former top GGB official acknowledged that then General Manager of the company, Eondrene Thompson, had been written to in early 2019 and told of Troy’s proposal “but don’t know the details… because the Gold Board has no say whatsoever in the actions of the Guyana Revenue Authority.” Asked if the GGB had tried to intervene on behalf of Troy Resources, the former official said that, “it would have been brazen and boldfaced for us to have done that.”
Investment
Guyana for US$500m lending purse from Afreximbank: A US$500 million lending purse has been extended to Guyana by the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) to assist this country in hastening its infrastructural development agenda, President of the Bank, Dr. Benedict Oramah announced last week. In addition, local oil and gas support service businesses which currently endure long waiting periods for their cash, would be lent the owed sums in advance by the bank, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali added, as he hailed the initiatives.
Dr. Oramah told the opening of the 2nd AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), which is being held at the Marriott Hotel that, “For Guyana, here, we have agreed to conclude a five hundred million dollar transaction to support accelerated infrastructure development… We also expect to sign a document evidencing the arrangements we’ve reached with the Government of Guyana for the US$500 million investment bridge financing facility,” he added. Government and the Bank will finalize the terms of the interest on the lending amount, if accepted. President Ali has already said that this country will not accept interest rates higher than 4%. With hundreds of delegates from Africa and the Caribbean in attendance, Dr. Oramah said that the bank has an agenda to ensure it supports the development of CARICOM countries, and he pointed to support given to Barbados, Grenada and The Bahamas for tourism and St. Lucia for climate adaptation, among other initiatives. “Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people. Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future has been the only means by which the oppressed have seen and realised the light of their own freedom,” he said. He emphasized that building strong relationships was needed for the continuing success of a unified partnership between the two sides.
Tragedy
Garbage heap fire destroys two houses in New Amsterdam: A garbage heap fire last week quickly spread in Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, destroying two houses and leaving four persons searching for a new abode. Deon Wilson, of Angoy’s Avenue, stated yesterday that the owner of one of the destroyed houses lit his garbage heap and headed out. Wilson, a neighbour, said, that after the fire started to spread on the grass he extinguished it and proceeded to take a nap until he was awoken hours after by a commotion that the houses were on fire. Immediately rushing into action, Wilson said. “I start take water from the trench with bucket and try to out it but the heat was so much I had to run down back…” Other residents explained, that the wooden houses which are located in the same lot were occupied by two separate families. “The front house had a man and he son and the back house had a boy and he wife.” According to Wilson, after the fire, the owner of the ‘back house’ claimed that the female was at the house and was asked to keep an eye on the fire. However, the man said, they were told that the young lady was in the house when the fire started and had to run out after neighbours started to shout alerting her. “Garbage he light and the dry bush deh next to the garbage and that really catch up the fire… I out it this morning when it spread lil bit but me aint know it gonna still spread”, Wilson said. The ‘front house’ was a one-storey wooden house, while the ‘back house’ was a flat wooden house, both fully furnished. Meanwhile, residents in the area expressed their disappointment with the New Amsterdam Fire Service as they claimed that they took a long time to show up at the scene. One resident said, “Four time we had to call before them come…” Given the very dry weather conditions, the Guyana Fire Service has repeatedly warned about the danger of lighting fires.
In the courts
Cop gets three years, six months over 2020 accident that killed three friends: Police Constable Simion Alder was last week sentenced to three years and six months in prison over a 2020 accident which resulted in the deaths of three of his friends at Whim, Corentyne. Alder, of Corriverton, was charged in December, 2020, at the Whim Magistrate’s Court. He was accused of causing the deaths of Quacy Lewis, 21, Jessica Leitch, 21, and Reon Moriah, 25, who all suffered fatal injuries after the car in which they were travelling and driven by Alder crashed into a lorry that was in the process of parking on August 2, 2020 along the Whim Public Road. At the Whim Magistrate’s Court via Zoom this week, Magistrate Renita Singh sentenced Alder to three years and six months on one causing of death charge and six months each on two counts of dangerous driving after he was found guilty. The sentences will run concurrently. Alder after the accident was also charged with driving an uninsured vehicle, for which he was fined after pleading guilty. He was also charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, to which he had pleaded not guilty. Those charges emanated from the same crash which occurred after the four left an event in Alness Village, Corentyne.
‘Chow Pow’ charged with assaulting daughter: Comedian and taxi driver, Kirk `Chow Pow’ Jardine, of Lot 212 Greenheart Street, South Ruimveldt, appeared last week before Magistrate Rhondel Weever at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court charged with assaulting his daughter. It was alleged that on October 27, 2023, while on the Ruimveldt Public Road, he assaulted his daughter. Jardine, 57, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecution objected to bail citing the nature and gravity of the offence. The prosecution stated that Jardine inflicted several slaps and blows to his daughter. Additionally, concern was expressed that the defendant can potentially interfere with or harm the complainant thus justifying his detention for the preservation of public order. However, Jardine’s attorney, Khemraj Ramjattan, assured the court that his client would dutifully appear as required. He requested that bail be granted at a reasonable sum, noting that his client had already spent three days in police detention without the opportunity to communicate with anyone. After hearing both sides of the matter, the Magistrate granted bail in the amount of $50,000. Conditions of bail include that Jardine must stay at least 150 feet away from the complainant and refrain from making any contact with her, whether through phone calls or any social media platform. The case was adjourned to November 6 for statements and further proceedings.
Man charged with murder of `friend’ at Middle Rd: Yogeendra Sukhdeo, 24, of Lot 1896 20th Avenue, Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara, appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on October 31st on a charge of murder during the course of a robbery. His defence counsel, former magistrate and attorney-at-law Gordon Gilhuys, told the court that his client had been assaulted by police and that they had also confiscated his car. He also said that he had requested that his client be given medical attention, but that had never happened. Gilhuys added that his client’s car is being held by the police and requested that the man’s mother be allowed to retrieve it. According to the facts provided by the prosecutor, on October 24 at 13.30 hours, Sukhdeo was seen with his “friend”, the now-deceased Amit Singh. After calls to Singh’s phone went unanswered, a missing person’s report was made at 16.00 hours, and an inquiry was launched. Sukhdeo was contacted and taken into custody. Sukhdeo subsequently took investigators to a residence at Lot 187 Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, where Singh’s bludgeoned body was discovered in a pool of blood covered in a white sheet. ONext, he led ranks to his home in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, where he gave them the sum of $7,791,000. Sukhdeo’s blood-stained clothes were also found by the police, and were taken for forensic examination. In addition, a piece of wood thought to be the murder weapon was recovered. The accused thereafter made a confession that was recorded on camera, the court heard. During the interview with police, he also showed them an injury he sustained while Singh was being bludgeoned to death. The prosecution then asked for a paper committal to be done. The magistrate then informed Sukhdeo that cases such as murder do not qualify for bail, and he remained expressionless as the magistrate remanded him to prison. The matter has been adjourned until November 28 for a report.
Man freed of rape charge at retrial, had originally been sentenced to 30 years: Previously convicted and sentenced to 30 years in jail for raping an eight-year-old girl back in 2016, Colin Cummings, after facing a retrial, has been found not guilty of committing the offence. A jury on Tuesday, unanimously acquitted Cummings. The now sixty-year-old man had been accused of sexually penetrating the young girl on August 20th, 2016. Following his conviction and sentence back in 2018, the former gold miner filed an appeal, in which he argued that the judge who conducted that first trial, erred in not adequately putting his defence to the jury at the time. Cummings’ case was that he was elsewhere at the time of the alleged commission of the offence, and therefore could not have committed what was being alleged against him. He had successfully argued before the Guyana Court of Appeal, that the trial judge’s failure in putting his defence of alibi to the jury, had ultimately cost him his freedom. The appellate court found that Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall had so erred. As a result, it quashed and set aside both Cummings’ conviction and sentence while ordering that he be afforded a fresh trial. It is at the conclusion of that new trial that a jury, following hours of deliberations on Tuesday, decided in favour of the former accused. The trial proceedings were held in-camera before Justice Navindra Singh at the Sexual Offences Court of the High Court in Demerara. Cummings was represented by defence attorney Kevin Morgan.
