Drugs
DEA, GDF aid CANU with cocaine find worth €176m at Matthews Ridge: A joint operation, assisted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), on August 31st resulted in the seizure of 4,400 kilogrammes of cocaine valued at €176 million or more than US$200 million at locations just off of an illegal airstrip at Matthews Ridge in Region One (Barima-Waini) said to be one of largest here. The drugs were destroyed on location, but samples were taken as investigations continue. “The operation was driven by intelligence regarding illegal flights into Guyana and was supported by information shared with the DEA and other international partners,” the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) said in a statement. The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday facilitated transporting reporters to the location from Georgetown, where the drugs were removed from the bunkers they had been hidden in and displayed at the illegal airstrip. There, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, Head of CANU James Singh, Acting Chief of Defence of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Sheldon Howell and a DEA representative briefed the media on the operation so far. Of note was that the Guyana Police Force was not part of the operation. “This seizure here behind us is probably one of the biggest in Guyana. As you can see, the way it is packaged… Most of these drugs go to Europe aboard vessels and that is why they are packaged the way they are. It tells you whose drugs and the amount by the way it is packaged,” the DEA official said pointing to the packages which were labelled. He praised the collaborative effort between his agency and the GDF and CANU saying, “These people here made that happen”. Benn said that locals had to have helped facilitate the large-scale operation and urged residents to be more cooperative with law enforcement, as “if we get more cooperation in this fight I think we will get more results.” In the hinterland, where there is a dearth of oversight resources to actively guard this country’s porous borders and man the jungles, he said, people “who live in the interior know the forest more” and as such can help in relating what was happening there.
President sounds warning to drug dealers in wake of big Matthews Ridge bust: President Irfaan Ali last week sounded a warning to drug dealers that Guyana is intolerant of illegal operations and they will face consequences for their criminality. Pointing to the 4.4-tonne cocaine bust in Region One last Saturday, Ali yesterday posited that the illegal smuggling of drugs poses a deadly risk to national security and it is why his government will tackle the scourge head on. “I would like to commend the security services, our joint services and our partners, the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration], for the recent bust in Region One. Make no mistake, the bust is not the end of the matter. We have every intention, working with our partners, to destabilise and break the back of all criminal networks, especially in drug trafficking, operating within our territorial space and in our airspace,” he said. “We have already asked, and we are ready to work with our partners once we are given the assets, and once we can secure the assets to deal with all the overflights, all the overflights that are passing over our airspace, we are ready to work with you in dismantling the global empire that drug trade has created,” he added. In a plea to the public, Ali said that tackling drugs head-on requires assistance from the public and he urged that they join with government and partners in the fight. “Part of that partnership is for all of us, not only the US and Guyana and the region, but for every stakeholder, because we see today how the trade is changing because of prices and demand, and Europe is being severely impacted. So all of us have a joint responsibility, and as small as we are, the limited resources that we have, you can be assured that we are taking our responsibility seriously,” he said. “And any information, any information that is available to us, we will go after with best of our ability every single operation that has to be dismantled,” he added. Ali said that Saturday’s bust was a “clear demonstration of a result to combat narco-trafficking and to protect our nation from being used as a transshipment point for the movement of illicit substances.”
Accountability
Ali dismisses concerns of shoddy construction on Schoonord highway: President Irfaan Ali last week dismissed concerns raised about substandard works on the $15 billion Schoonord-to-Crane Highway as “empty noises,” saying that some of the works being highlighted were incomplete. “There is absolutely no concern about Schoonord [road project]. I shared… some information because there are some drain covers. These are covers where the form [board] still has to be removed and this is ongoing,” Ali said when asked yesterday by Stabroek News about the issue. “And there is a long defects liability period. So it is just empty noises,” he added. On Thursday at the opening of the Schoonord-to-Crane Highway, Ali had trumpeted that the project was a subset of the overall increased accessibility around the country by land, pointing out that one adjustment to add another exit was highlighted and will be done by Sunday. He said that during the testing of the roadway, the police advised that “there should be one more slip lane on the Crane roundabout that would further help traffic flow. It will allow for the smooth transition of the traffic.” The road project which was inked in September, 2022, for just over $11.8 billion had been awarded to eight contractors via the national procurement process. The winning contractors were VR Construction Inc, Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc, L’Heureuse Construction and Services Inc, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc, and JS Guyana Inc. Citizen Francis Michael Bailey took to social media platform, Facebook, to highlight what he believes are inferior works for a project that was billed initially at $11 billion but with a final figure given as $15 billion without any explanation for the over-$4 billion cost overrun. Bailey videoed areas on the road that he pointed out seemed substandard which included drain covers that had rebar handles sticking out. “Let’s take a tour of a section of the Schoonord-to-Crane highway. Recently completed to a tune of 15 billion dollars, though contracts were initially signed for 11 billion dollars. I’ll walk you through a section of the roads connecting to the new harpy eagle roundabout and we’ll head east to west along a section of road completed by Avinash Scrap Metal & Construction. Eight successful bidders would have originally signed contracts for the construction of this project. We can see from recent articles that it also involved engineers from the government,” he wrote in an introduction for the video.
Electricity
GPL seeking to speed delivery of 60 MW: The Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) has shortened the delivery time for an additional 60 megawatts (MW) of power it wants so that it can be prepared for increased demand during the cricket and Christmas seasons, Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall says. “We want to be prepared for an increase in demand and to ensure we have sufficient availability and in the system, not only now but between now and the time the gas to energy project comes into effect. “We are in preparation for the holidays and CPL and everything else that comes up… we prepare to have more reserves because it is always better to have more than less …,” he said last week. After signalling earlier this year that it would need additional power on standby while the power ship provides the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System with power, GPL placed a Request for Proposal (RFP) to supply 60 MW Net Power Generation Base load Capacity to DBIS through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and for it to be delivered 90 days after the contract was inked. In May of this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that government was exploring another power purchase agreement similar to the current one it has with a Qatari power ship company, Karpowership, but this time for some 30 MW more until the Gas to Energy project is completed. This was because government has forecast increasing demands next year. “We are still looking for an additional 30 MW of power into the system, in a similar way to the arrangement we have with Karpowership, that is for two years, until the Gas to Energy (GTE) [project] comes on stream and is able to supply enough power to the country,” Jagdeo told a press conference he hosted at Freedom House, Robb Street. Jagdeo said that as the powership began distribution, “This 36 MW would allow for maintenance of the other units” of the unity company that had been deferred. And while the GPL RFP had said 90 days was delivery time, on Thursday it made public an addendum, informing that the 90 days period had been reduced to 30 days.
Defence school
National Defence Institute launched: The Guyana Defence Force’s National Defence Institute (NDI) was launched last week with the aim of providing specialised and accredited academic training on security issues utilising a wide array of local and international experts. While housed at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen campus, at which classes will commence next month, the institute will be an independent entity, drawing its teaching pool from experts at home, the region, and internationally, with immediate plans for the training of security and civilian persons on addressing cybersecurity threats, and an analysis of the threats that gangs pose. “The National Defence Institute we launch today. It’s not just another training institution. It is integral to our national defence strategy and our regional defence strategy. The institute is a crucial part of building capacity and expertise within our national defence architecture,” President Irfaan Ali said at the event to mark the launch which was held in the Lula Room at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. “The institute will be expected to provide training to a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector and students. Defence is everybody’s business, and therefore, this institute must be geared towards the training and utilising [of] the inputs of various stakeholders. The institute is designed to be a centre of excellence, a place where the leaders of tomorrow’s defence security architecture will be shaped. As I’ve said before, our vision for this institute is not limited to the borders of Guyana. We aim for it to become the region’s premier institution for defence studies, attracting talent and expertise from across the Caribbean and beyond,” he added. The NDI would be working closely with the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, which is a United States Department of Defense institution; the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS); and the Caribbean Community’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS). The president said that the institute will be linked to Caricom’s RSS and will serve as an academic research institution, producing action plans and analysis of threats and challenges facing the region.
Education
President orders immediate intervention after poor showing at CXC maths: Following the dismal performance of students this year in Mathematics at CXC, CARICOM leaders have put the issue up for discussion at their next meeting and President Irfaan Ali has ordered that immediate remedial measures be rolled out in schools across the country. “The issue of mathematics has now captured the attention of every single head of state and Prime Minister in the region, and it is now an agenda for the heads of government in CARICOM. That is to tell you the issues and challenges that we face. It is not a Jamaica issue, Barbados issue, Trinidad, or a Guyana issue… it has now become a collective issue that we must address,” President Irfaan Ali last Friday said at the opening of the Yarrowkabra Secondary School, Soesdyke-Linden Highway. “And here in Guyana, we have to be innovative. I believe that we have to look at how varied scenarios have affected our results in mathematics… so I’ve asked the Minister of Education not to wait on the heads of government for us to do some introspection, and to look globally at what is available as tools, to help us to overcome this challenge. There’s some important tools that we can utilise instantaneously, and that is why we are investing,” he added. Mathematics continues to be the albatross around students’ necks with only 36 per cent managing to pass this year and it has seen pass rates fluctuating between 34 and 43 per cent from 2021 to 2023. Ali assured that government is not taking these failures lightly and opined that much analysis is needed to find the deep-rooted problem and for this country to find innovative methods to foster the development of mathematics skillsets and a liking for the subject by students. “We have to look at how varied scenarios have affected our results in mathematics, because mathematics calls for more analytical thinking, more problem solving, type of approach, whether our education system, our teaching delivery, whether our teaching delivery is effective enough to deal with what mathematics requires, whether our children are shying away from the problem-solving mode of mathematics, whether there’s an inbuilt fear of mathematics that is manifested in a psychological performance, or a way in which our students are approaching mathematics,” he reasoned.
Economy
Guyana’s external debt US$1.9b at end of June – Mid Year Review: The government’s mid-year review says that Guyana’s external debt was US$1.9b at the end of June this year. The review however said Guyana’s public debt remains sustainable, “being subject to moderate risk of debt distress”. This position, it said, is underpinned by Government’s continued focus on contracting development financing within prudent cost and risk parameters. At the end of the first half of this year, Guyana’s stock of Total Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) debt amounted to US$5,063.3 million, reflecting positive net flows from both external and domestic creditors. External PPG debt totalled US$1,924.2 million at the end of June. “This is attributed to positive net flows from multilateral creditors such as the World Bank’s International Development Association and the Caribbean Development Bank, as well as bilateral creditors, such as China, Canada, India and UK Export Finance, for projects associated with social and infrastructural initiatives”, the review said. At the end of the first half, multilateral creditors accounted for the largest share of external PPG debt with 63.4 percent, bilateral creditors accounted for the second largest share of 35.1 percent, while private creditors accounted for the smallest share of 1.5 percent. The review said that the external PPG debt stock is projected to rise to US$2,832.3 million by end-2024, on account of anticipated positive net flows across both the bilateral and multilateral creditor categories. External disbursements amounted to US$196.8 million in the first half of 2024, 94.6 percent higher than in the first half of the preceding year, mainly due to increased inflows from bilateral creditors. Inflows from this creditor category totalled US$157.9 million in the first half of 2024, 127.5 percent higher than in the first half of 2023. This increase was mainly the result of ongoing implementation of several development projects, including: a social protection initiative financed by Canada; the East Coast Demerara Road Improvement Project Phase 2 and the Regional Hospitals Project, both financed by China; and several projects financed by the India EXIM Bank. The stock of domestic PPG debt at the end of June totalled US$3,139 million. This reflects a stock of treasury bills at US$2,226.2 million amid the issuance of new fiscal instruments, the review said. Total PPG debt service payments amounted to US$85.2 million in the first half of 2024, 7.7 percent lower than in the first half of 2023. This decline was mainly due to a 33.3 percent contraction in domestic PPG debt service payments, from US$42.2 million in the first half of 2023, to US$28.2 million in the first half of 2024.
Elections
First electronic ID card before end of year: The first electronic ID card is expected to be issued before the end of the year. This was disclosed in the Mid Year Review released by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday. The National eID system has attracted controversy over how it was contracted and on privacy issues. Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran had said that the deal breached procurement rules. In July this year, Prime Minister Mark Phillips told Stabroek News that although it missed the second-quarter timeline for issuance, the project was coming along. “It is coming along. We have moved through all problems and are on target to deliver to the people of Guyana,” Phillips told Stabroek News when asked for an update. The US$34 million project with Germany-headquartered Veridos, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) acting as an intermediary, was signed in March last year with the government saying this year that it would be rolled out in the second quarter of 2024. The project falls under the Office of the Prime Minister with the National Data Management Authority as the agency responsible for its execution. On March 10 last year, the government announced the virtual signing of the deal with the Germany-headquartered Veridos with the UAE acting as an intermediary. President Irfaan Ali had explained that the Government of Guyana sought the assistance of the UAE in October of 2021. “On an invitation of His Highness Sheik Amah al Maktoum, two internationally recognized industry leaders [a Swiss company] and Veridos presented their national ID system solutions. These solutions were evaluated by a technical team comprising members of the National Data Management Authority and the office of the National ICT Advisor. The evaluation criteria factored technology use, other government clients, as well as biometric security subsystems, and Veridos was the company in the estimation of the evaluators that presented the best solutions for Guyana,” the President had said. The Mid Year Review also pointed to other Information Communications Technology and digital developments. It said that works are ongoing for the implementation of the first phase of a structured digitalisation masterplan, set to be completed by the end of the year. This phase will see the digitalisation of several processes for greater access to government services and government-issued certificates.
Oil & Gas
Guyana got US$1.2b in oil profits for first half –report: During the period January to June 2024, the Guyana Government received US$1,220.6 million as revenue from its share of profit oil from thirteen of the fifteen lifts that occurred in the first six months of this year and two lifts that occurred in the final quarter of 2023. This is according to the Mid Year Report released by the Ministry of Finance last week. It said that the Government also received US$162.4 million in royalties related to production and sales from the final quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. In July, Government received US$167.6 million as profit oil payments for two Government lifts that were executed in June. The cumulative balance, inclusive of interest income of US$64.1 million, at the end of June was US$2,870.6 million, after withdrawals of US$550 million. At the beginning of the year, the Mid Year Report said it was anticipated that Government would have 25 lifts of profit oil from the Stabroek Block. “Government is now projected to have 27 lifts this year, as production ramps up on the Prosperity FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading platform) . Petroleum deposits for the year are now projected to total US$2,645.9 million this year, 10.3 percent higher than projected at the time of preparing Budget 2024. Government is now expected to earn US$2,292.1 million from the sale of Guyana’s share of profit oil, and US$353.8 million in royalties. Moreover, in accordance with the NRF Act 2021 as amended, US$1,586.2 million is expected to be withdrawn from the Fund this year. Consequently, the NRF closing balance is estimated to stand at approximately US$3,154.9 million at the end of 2024”, the report said. Export earnings from crude oil amounted to US$9,401.6 million in the first half of the year – a US$4,007.7 million increase over the corresponding period last year. Together with increased crude oil production, further gains were experienced on account of more favourable oil prices. It said that the oil and gas industry is estimated to have expanded by 67.1 percent in the first half of the year.
Parliamentary
President talks up dialogue, inclusion: Speaking last week at the opening of the 46th Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas, and the Atlantic Regions of the Common-wealth Parliamentary Association here, President Irfaan Ali stated that much more can be done to foster a culture of dialogue and inclusion as he stressed that modern parliaments must be protected. Ali said that the foremost challenge in protecting parliamentary democracy is to ensure respect for free and fair elections, the very basis of representative governments and parliaments as he stressed that elections that are truly reflective of the people’s will are the cornerstone of any democratic society. Emphasising the importance of protecting constitutional rights, Ali told the gathering at the Umana Yana that in Guyana when human rights are violated, when freedoms are curtailed and when the rule of law is subverted, democracy is not only undermined, but is put at a risk of collapse. He then noted that institutions of governance must be strengthened as strong, independent institutions are the backbone of a healthy democracy since they ensure accountability, transparency and the rule of law. As such he noted, that parliaments as the representative bodies of the people, must lead by example in maintaining through robust oversight the inte-grity of public institutions. According to Ali, in most jurisdictions, there is an adversarial system of parliamentary democracy; one side is the government that proposes, and on the other side an opposition that mainly opposes. How-ever, he said that the fact that they embrace an adversarial system of parliamentary democracy does not mean that they must be enemies or there must be an absence of inclusion. Guyana, he said has crafted mechanisms within the constitution to ensure a greater role for the parliamentary opposition explaining that within the National Assembly, there are a number of oversight bodies in the opposition. He pointed out that the Public Accounts Commit-tee is chaired by the Opposition who also utilize the mechanism of select committees to achieve greater consensus on legislation, noting that there are sectoral committees that allow for contributions from across the political aisle, and the country continues to incorporate in legislation representation of the opposition and civil society on statutory bodies.
In the courts
Guard remanded over murder of Rose Hall Town woman, son: Over a year after the brutal murders of Melissa Arokium and her eight-year-old son, Anthony Arokium, a security guard of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Quincy Hooper was last Tuesday charged and remanded. Melissa Arokium, also known as Lisa, 30, who operated a shop at her residence at Lot 189 Mangrove Street, Reef, Rose Hall, Corentyne, and Anthony Arokium, 8, a pupil at the Port Mourant Primary School were found dead between 1 pm – 2 pm on August, 23 2023, by Melissa’s younger brother. Based on photographs that were circulated online of the scene, Melissa was found face down in a pool of blood in her living room with major injuries to her neck, while her son was found on his bed with major injuries to his head and neck along with cuts on his face. Post-mortem examinations which were carried out revealed that Melissa died due to shock and haemorrhage and incised wounds to the neck, while her son died due to shock and haemorrhage and multiple incised wounds. Last week police in Berbice filed charges against Hooper and placed him before the Albion Magistrate’s Court. Hooper, a security guard of Lot 70 Fyrish, was charged with the murder of Melissa and Anthony Arokium on 23rd August 2023 at Reef Rose Hall Town Corentyne.
New York woman gets 114 months jail for plotting to kill in-law here: The Guyana-born Hudson Valley, New York bank manager who was charged with plotting to kill her brother-in-law while he holidayed in Guyana was recently sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, according to the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. According to State Attorney Damian Williams, Reshma Massarone had previously pled guilty to murder-for-hire before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who imposed the sentence on her on August 27th. Williams said: “The defendant devised a chilling plan to have a member of her own family murdered for the low price of ten thousand (US) dollars. Her plan was unthinkably heartless. For this depraved crime, Reshma Massarone will spend 114 months in federal prison.” Stabroek News had reported last year that according to News 12 Westchester. Mascarone was caught on surveillance video sending a security guard she knew in the country US$2,500 in July last year as a down payment for the murder at a Western Union kiosk inside a Walgreens store in Orange County. News 12 had obtained a copy of the unsealed federal complaint that included screenshots of the receipt, messages with the would-be hitman and transcriptions of recorded phone calls between the two. According to the complaint, the murder was supposed to look like a robbery and was to take place on July 25 after Massarone paid a total of US$10,000. The court document had stated that Massarone reached out to the would-be hitman on or about July 20 2023 by Facebook Messenger, asking him to kill her brother-in-law.
Crime
Businessman shot dead at Adventure during robbery: A businessman was shot dead last Monday morning during a raid on a shop at Adventure, Essequibo Coast. Thieves broke into the shop in Adventure early this morning and shot the owner, Ghanraj Bhasmat, also known as Bharat. The incident occurred around 2:00 a.m. The gunmen were attempting to rob the shop when Bhasmat, who was awakened by the noise of them running on top of his shed, got up to use the washroom. He was shot in the left side of his abdomen. Bhasmat fell to the ground and died instantly. The assailants escaped through the back entrance.
Welder stabbed to death at West Dem birthday party over old grievance: A 24-year-old welder was stabbed to death on August 31st during a scuffle with several people at a birthday party at Lot 37 Lust-en-Rust, West Bank Demerara. According to a release from the police, Allie Mark Augustine of Lot 28 Lust-en-Rust, West Bank Demerara, was murdered at about 22:30 hrs on Saturday by persons unknown, even though four people are now in custody. The release said an investigation revealed that Augustine was at a birthday party when an argument started between him and a group of villagers over an old grievance. The argument was followed by a scuffle between him and a few young men, which resulted in him being stabbed, after which he ran a short distance away and collapsed in a nearby yard. The police were summoned and a single wound was observed in Augustine’s left armpit. He was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor on duty. The body is at the Ezekiel Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination. The police said that several people were questioned, and as a result of the information received, four arrests were made. Those individuals are in custody.
