Recent events review Saturday, December 9 to Friday, December 15

Trotman defends secrecy over Exxon signing bonus

After weeks of evasion, the government yesterday admitted that it received a signing bonus from ExxonMobil and its partners more than a year ago and never disclosed this to the public. The admission came in the National Assembly from Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman following the publication in yesterday’s Stabroek News and Guyana Times of a letter of September 20, 2016 from the Ministry of Finance to the Bank of Guyana seeking the setting up of an account for the funds. Declining to disclose the quantum received, Trotman, during his budget debate presentation, said that the bonus was intended to be used for legal fees pertaining to the preservation of Guyana’s territorial integrity and he charged that this was a technique that the opposition PPP/C had also utilised. The government’s secrecy about the signing bonus for more than a year will likely have repercussions for its standing on openness in the oil sector and yesterday local transparency group Transparency Institute Guyana Inc said anti-corruption advocates were shocked at the deception by the government over the bonus.

Parking of harvesters seen as end of Rose Hall Estate

Rose Hall Estate workers yesterday afternoon stood with a feeling of dismay and frustration at the estate’s pay office as they awaited their weekly wages and for them the washing and parking of harvesters signalled the end of cane growing there. The salaries paid out yesterday were expected to be among the last workers will receive from the estate. Workers told Stabroek News that watching the machines being washed and parked in the Rose Hall Estate compound made it clear that the estate closure will become a reality in the near future. The workers explained that at the end of this week, the second crop was completed at the estate. They noted that it was after the completion of the second crop that the machines were washed and parked in the compound. One operator, of Reliance Village, East Canje, said, “See them park it deh? It coming to an end. Abie got to see wah to do now.” Meanwhile, as of Thursday and Friday, redundancy letters were still being distributed at both the Rose Hall and Skeldon estates.

‘Santa’ breaches parliament’s security

The Parliament Office is investigating a security breach after a woman, dressed in a Santa suit and ringing a bell, managed to storm into the parliament chamber as Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was making his presentation during the debate on the 2018 national budget yesterday. After a walkout by a majority of the government Members of Parliament (MPs), Jagdeo was minutes into his presentation when the sound of a ringing bell filled the chamber and the woman in the Santa suit, complete with full beard and a hat, emerged from a doorway to the right of the Speaker’s chair. “Ho, ho, ho,” she said, while ringing the bell incessantly. The woman’s unannounced arrival clearly startled Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland and left MPs confused. The Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms, who is responsible for the security of the Chamber, quickly held on to the woman, who had a dictionary in hand and led her back out.

However, despite the fact that presidential guards were standing there, no attempt was made to arrest her. Government MPs standing on the corridor appeared in shock and attempted to ascertain what was happening.

Laws broken in handling of Exxon signing bonus

Analyst Christopher Ram yesterday said that laws have been broken in the handling of the signing bonus government received with the renewal of ExxonMobil’s oil exploration agreement and he has called on President David Granger to call in the police for a criminal probe and to apologise to the nation for the “deception” of some of his ministers. Ram also specifically called for a public inquiry into the administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources, including the negotiation of contracts outside of Guyana and all its financial transactions in local and foreign currency. “If President Granger wants to regain the public trust in his administration, he needs to apologise to the nation for this diabolical act by his Ministers, remedy the violations, call in the Police, and take surgical action. But not before mounting a Public Inquiry into all aspects of the administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources, including the negotiation of contracts outside of Guyana, in Grenada and in New York; the process leading up to the signing of an unnecessary, new Petroleum Agreement with Esso Exploration and Production (Guyana) Limited; and all financial transactions in local and foreign currency,” Ram, a chartered accountant and attorney, said in a statement issued yesterday. His statement came a day after Stabroek News and Guyana Times on Friday published a letter, dated September 20, 2016, from Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Dr Hector Butts to the Bank of Guyana Governor Dr Gobind Ganga seeking the setting up of an account for the funds from the signing bonus. “I shall be grateful if you would arrange for the under-mentioned Foreign Currency Account to be opened at Bank of Guyana, in order to receive a deposit in the form of a signing bonus to be given by ExxonMobil. This account should not be treated as part of the Bank’s reserves. Instead, the proceeds should be held in the currency of the deposit, that is, United States dollars, and invested in secured interest-bearing securities,” Butts said in the letter.

Three killed in Perseverance crash

An accident last night on the Perseverance Public Road, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) has claimed the lives of three persons and has left one hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The dead persons have been identified as Stephen Phillips called Mal, Aresh Harris, both of Buxton, ECD, and Abbenna Hubbard of Melanie Damishana ECD, while Dominique Ally is said to be in critical condition at the GPH. Stabroek News was told that the quartet were on their way home from an outing at Park Square Fun Park in Mahaicony when the accident occurred sometime between 8 and 9 pm. Information reaching Stabroek News revealed that Phillips who was the driver of the motor car lost control and the vehicle flipped a few times before slamming into a tree. The impact of the crash crumpled the vehicle resulting in Phillips and Hubbard being trapped inside. At the hospital, a friend of the deceased said that after they were rescued from the vehicle they were both in an unconscious state and were later pronounced dead at the GPH.

Exxon confirms US$18M bonus

ExxonMobil yesterday confirmed that a signing bonus of US$18 million was paid into a Bank of Guyana account last year for the government and it defended its conduct. “Let me say that signing bonuses are customary and normal in many petroleum agreements , not all but many around the world, as part of the total financial agreement,” ExxonMobil Country Manager, Rod Henson, said last evening, when asked by Stabroek News, at a lecture at Queen’s College. “In this case, when this agreement was finalised, thorough negotiations were done and executed. We did pay a US$18 million signing bonus to the Bank of Guyana, to an account that is owned by the Government of Guyana and designated by the Ministry of Finance, not to any individual but to a government bank account designated by the Ministry of Finance,” he added. It is the first time that the amount was made known publicly.

Soldier dies after struck down at Pouderoyen

A Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal died after he was struck down early yesterday morning in front of a popular night club at Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara by a drunk driver. According to the Police, around 3 am, 29-year-old Marvin Dodson, of Cross Street, Alexan-der Village, was standing on the eastern side of the Pouderoyen Public Road, outside of a popular night club, when he was struck down by a drunk driver. Initial investigations have revealed that a bus, BTT 8922, which was being driven by a 31-year-old resident of Schoonord, West Bank Demerara, was driving south at a fast rate on the eastern side of the road, while Dodson, along with friends, were standing on the same side of the road in front of the night club. The bus subsequently collided with him, pitching his body several feet Marvin Dodson across the road. Dodson was then picked up in an unconscious state and was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). His condition did not improve and he was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was treated. He remained in an unconscious state for several hours until succumbing around midday. According to the Police, before the driver was arrested, he was allegedly assaulted by a group of persons and also had to seek medical attention at the WDRH. He was then given a breathalyzer test and was found to be above the legal limit. He is currently in police custody assisting with the investigation.

Body of murdered BV girl found in cemetery

The body of an 18year-old Qualfon employee was yesterday morning discovered in a cemetery at Triumph, East Coast Demerara (ECD) with her face mutilated and the police have since arrested five persons for questioning. Dead is Ranella Benfield of Lot 99 Canterbury Walk, Beterverwagting, ECD and an operator attached to Qualfon’s call centre, at Goedverwagting.

The discovery of the body was made around 8.15am yesterday by a passerby. At the time, Benfield was lying face up between two tombs in the cemetery which is located on the eastern side of the Beterverwagting Police Station. Her hands were on her stomach and her pants were pulled below her hips. Her face appeared to have been smashed in. A source close to the investigation informed this newspaper that up to last evening, investigators were working on several leads in the gruesome murder. Ranella Benfield

PPP/C MPs clash with cops over Edghill ejection

The start of the consideration of the estimates of the revenue and expenditure for 2018 descended into chaos yesterday when opposition MPs faced off against police over a bid to physically remove member Juan Edghill from the parliament chamber, and PPP/C members claim they were assaulted in the ensuing melee. Edghill’s staunch refusal to comply with a directive, to immediately withdraw, by the Speaker Dr. Barton Scotland, who deemed him “out of order,” ultimately resulted in the adjournment of the proceedings, but nonetheless, he and fellow opposition parliamentarians remained in the chamber up until 10pm, when the sitting was originally slated to end. By that time, the power had already been shut off and as a result there was no air conditioning or Wi-Fi in the chamber. “This is a matter of principle. The government don’t want scrutiny,” Edghill claimed yesterday and a similar line was taken by other PPP/C members, including Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. The National Assembly had resolved itself into the Committee of Supply when Edghill was ordered to leave and with his refusal, the Speaker—who was Chairman of the Committee at the time—left his chair and said he would return after Edghill was removed.