Recent events review Saturday, April 14th to Friday, April 20th

2017 growth below projection

Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for last year was 2.1%, falling short of government’s projection of 2.9%, and the 2016 figure of 3.3%, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said yesterday. “No more guessing. The economy did not perform as robustly as we expected during last year …at the end of the day, it turned out to be even worse than we predicted. So, even though there was positive growth for last year, the growth rate ended up being 2.1%,” Jordan told a press conference yesterday. Jordan’s press conference came in the wake of concerns that the government was not releasing figures on the 2017 performance. The actual GDP growth for 2016 was 3.3%, which was higher than the 2.6% that was projected at the time of the presentation of the 2017 budget. Jordan told reporters yesterday that by the second quarter of last year, government knew and was predicting that the economy would not do well, having factored in the issues with the sugar sector here as it made that assessment. However, he said it was still disappointed. Giving a breakdown of the performance in the sectors which contribute heavily to the economy, Jordan said that in addition to sugar, gold and bauxite also did not meet given projections.

Exxon signing bonus earning interest

Guyana has earned US$36,169 in interest from the Bank of Guyana (BoG) on the US$18 million signature bonus lodged there in 2016 from the ExxonMobil Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Stabroek News understands that the Bank of Guyana has invested the money in a Bank of America (BofA) account in bonds and treasury notes, which mature in July of this year. “If it stays here, it will sit down doing nothing. It can’t earn interest if it stays here, so it’s in matured US treasury bills, Canada bonds…,” Jordan told a press conference he held yesterday. The disclosure by Jordan will spark more questions as there have been widespread calls and two lawsuits for the money to be deposited into the Consolidated Fund. This is still to be done despite assurances by the government. Questions will also likely be raised on the authority and process for redirecting the sum from the BoG to BofA and who made the investment decisions and how.

Mercury levels at Gold Board safe, analysis finds

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman yesterday announced that an analysis of the mercury emissions at the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) laboratory on Brickdam shows that levels were within “normal” limits but he said he proposes to have an expert review of the operations, which could be relocated. The report by contractor Kaizen Environmental Services (Guyana) Limited said that air quality monitoring on March 28th at 10 locations in the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Com-pound, Upper Brickdam showed that levels were within the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration, eight-hour Permissible Exposure Limit. Concerns by staff of the agency about the impact of mercury on their health had led to the commissioning of the analysis. Speaking at a GGB press conference yesterday at Duke Lodge, Trotman said the health of every worker within the compound is of great importance. “As has been said, we recognise that there has been an incident and that is not being denied. How-ever, we have been reliably informed based on expert findings presented in a report that things are normal. However, we are considering the long-term implications of this and we have been in discussions,” Trotman said. Some 130 persons were tested and Trotman revealed that 60 persons were found to be with above normal mercury levels, which he said could have been caused by other factors and those persons are currently being monitored.

Deputy head of Petroleum Directorate rejects conflict of interest concerns

Rejecting suggestions of any conflict of interest because he was once a director of a locally-registered oil company, the Deputy Director of the Petroleum Directorate Nicholas Chuck-A-Sang says qualified Guyanese in the sector should be encouraged to serve their homeland without concerns that they will be influenced by their former employers. “We need to ensure that the best skills and the best people are trained and become, if possible, part of the government and on our side to ensure that the development of Guyana is put on a pedestal. You want those domestic skills,” Chuck-A-Sang told Sunday Stabroek in an interview. “You want Guyanese to choose that role and they should never be asked to choose between working in the industry and being able to serve their government and [having] that called into question whenever they do that,” said the geologist by profession, who also worked for several years with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the local regulatory agency, which would soon be replaced by a Petroleum Commission.

Charges against Singh, Brassington to be challenged

Former People’s Progressive Party/Civic government officials Winston Brassington and Dr Ashni Singh will not be returning to Guyana if a High Court challenge being pursued rules that the misconduct in public office charges against them are “not proper”, their attorney Anil Nandlall says. Nonetheless, Nandlall says that the men do not have to show up in court on May 7th as ordered by the magistrate as the law requires that the charges be personally served on charged persons and this has not been done. “I am actively considering challenging the charges in the High Court and I do not believe the charges are proper and that they disclose an offence…I will certainly before the 7th of May and hopefully those proceedings will hold the charges in abeyance,” he told Stabroek News yesterday. “If we proceed along that route, then there will be no need for the persons charged to appear before the court. In any event, the law requires the charges to be personally served on the persons who are charged. That has not been done and therefore the court cannot process unless the presence of those persons are secured before the courts,” he added.

Biker dies in crash at embassy turn

Suresh Khellowan A journalist has called attention to the questionable conduct of the first responders at the accident scene of cyclist Suresh Khellowan, who succumbed after crashing on the turn of the Russian Embassy, Kitty Byways early yesterday morning. Also being called into question is the accident report that surfaced from the Guyana Police Force outlining the circumstances of the accident. A Division Commander Leslie James, when contacted for a comment last evening, said that he had not received any such report. However, this information was subsequently supplied to the Commander, who could not be reached later to respond to the claims.

Closure of northwest aerodrome causing hardship for Barama residents

Residents of Barama, Region One are bemoaning the three-month closure of the Yakishuri Aerodrome by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as the Barama River is dry and their access to health care and other services has been severely hindered. “My daughter was bitten by a labaria snake and although we had persons willing to see her get a flight out to Georgetown it could not happen,” Gilbert Alexander told Stabroek News in an Interview. The Kariako villager informed that his eight-year-old daughter had to be taken by ATV for seven hours to the Matthews Ridge Hospital after which she was brought out to the city by a Ministry of Public Health MediVac. She remains a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital and her father is left worrying how he will return home as he has no monies to take the child to Matthews Ridge and pay for the seven-hour trek back to their village.

Army ranks to be ‘interviewed’ by Lindo Creek CoI

Some of the Joint Services members being sought by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2008 Lindo Creek killings are available and will give a “preliminary interview” tomorrow, the Guyana Defence Force said yesterday. The army did not name those who will be interviewed but said that they are available after an agreement was reached following correspondence from the commission. In a press release, the GDF said that Nigel Torres

it received correspondence from the CoI, requesting that a number of ranks be made available to appear before the Commission. “The Force has since responded, indicating the availability of the requested ranks, as some are no longer in its employ. Further, an agreement has been reached for those available ranks to report to the Commission of Inquiry for a preliminary interview on Wed 18-04-18 at 1130 hours”, the release said. The ads which appeared in the daily newspapers during the past week, the most recent publication being yesterday, asked that Ayodele Woolford, former lieutenant of the Guyana Defence Force; Dwand Cambridge, former Assistant Superintendent of the Guyana Police Force; Colonel Lloyd Souvenir; Captain Sheldon Howell; Major Fitzroy Ward; Private Taylor; Private Quailo and Philbert Bobb or anyone knowing their whereabouts make urgent contact with the commission. No reason was stated but the commission’s attorney Patrice Henry told this newspaper on Saturday that they are wanted for interviews to determine if they have information pertinent to the investigation.

Crabwood Creek accountant dies in accident

Soorojnie Surjraj A 52-year-old Crabwood Creek accountant yesterday morning died while returning home from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, after the car she was travelling in slammed into a parked truck along the Number 58 Village, Corentyne Public Road. The dead woman, Soorojnie Surjraj, the accountant at a nearby gas station and of Lot 13 Section ‘A’ Grant 1805 Crabwood Creek reportedly died on the spot, while her daughter, Bomika Neha Sukhra, 15, and her mother, Khemnie Chanchal, 70, were rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital. Sukhra, who sustained minor head injuries and other injuries about her body has since been admitted, while Chanchal who sustained a broken leg has been transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the car, HC 2217 reportedly fell asleep and slammed into the back of the parked lorry, GMM

9207 along the public road sometime around 7 am yesterday. An eyewitness, Babita Sanu yesterday told Stabroek News that the woman who died was seated in the backseat with her mother, while her teenaged daughter was in the front passenger seat.

Car on Sheriff St found with 150 lbs ganja

Ranks attached to the Customs AntiNarcotic Unit (CANU) on Sunday night conducted an operation during which they unearthed several packages of marijuana, concealed and compressed in plastic wrap in a motorcar on Sheriff Street. Stabroek News was reliably informed that the discovery was made between 10.30 and 11 pm on Sunday and the drug found amounted to in excess of 150 pounds of marijuana. It the time of the discovery, the illegal substance which was wrapped in plastic packages was found in the back seat and trunk of motorcar, PKK 1609. Reports revealed that the driver allegedly transported the drugs from New Amsterdam, Berbice. After he suspected that he was being monitored, he parked the car in front of the Royal Castle, Sheriff Street outlet and fled. belongings and escaping. It is suspected that the bandits trailed the employees from the bank in the belief that they were there to conduct a cash withdrawal. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, Jailall Ragnauth related to reporters that the ordeal lasted for about fifteen minutes, after which the men escaped.

Man gets 28 years for raping six-year-old left in his care

Colvin Norton A man was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 28 years for the rape of a sixyear-old girl after a jury found him guilty of committing two attacks on the child. In handing down her sentence to Colvin Norton, 24, at the Sexual Offences Court in Georgetown, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow noted that the convict appeared to have become emboldened by raping the child a mere five days after the first assault and added that he may have gone on to so do again had her mother not caught him in the act, “red handed.” After about three hours of deliberations, a 12-member jury returned with unanimous verdicts of guilty, thereby convicting Norton on both counts of rape of a child under the age of 16. Given a chance to speak after the announcement of the verdicts, the unrepresented convict told the court that he had nothing to say. “I don’t have anything to say at this moment,” said an expressionless Norton. The charges against Norton had stated that he sexually penetrated the child on August 1st, 2013 and then again on August 6th of the same year. He was 19-years-old at the time. Peoples’ Affairs’ (MOIPA) recent press statement in which the NTC and Shuman were scathingly attacked in response to an interview published by the Stabroek News, Allicock said that “our bedroom stories should not be all over the place.” Told that the press release issued by the Department of Public Information was all over the media, Allicock said, the media would have probably liked what occurred to continue.

Disabled Guyanese man murdered in NY

Otis James A US-based Guyanese, who became paralysed after being shot on the West Coast of Demerara in 2016, was stabbed to death on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York. According to CBS New York, police are trying to figure out who stabbed the disabled former MTA bus driver, Otis James, multiple times in his apartment. James, 46, was found in his home on Central Avenue in Bushwick unconscious and bleeding. Police say he had multiple stab wounds to his chest and blunt force trauma to the head. “He didn’t deserve it, said Kevin Arokium, a friend of the victim. “He’s a peaceful man, a humble man.” Arokium said he can’t get the picture out of his mind, seeing the dead body of his downstairs neighbour James, a married father of three.

Police probing learner driver exam for ‘massive irregularities’

The Police Office of Professional Responsibi-lity (OPR) has launched an investigation into a report of “seemingly massive irregularities” in the Guyana Police Force’s learner driver’s theoretical examination last Thursday at the Felix Austin Police College, Georgetown. This was confirmed by Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Police Force (ag) Shivpersaud Bacchus, in a press statement yesterday afternoon. The investigation was launched after a report was made to Commissioner of Police (ag) David Ramnarine by a senior pastor, who received complaints from his colleague pastors who invigilated the examination. The statement said based on reports a total of 174 persons registered to write the examination but only 106 presented themselves on the day in question. It added that 207 scripts were received at the conclusion of the examination, 155 of which were completed. Cohesion Dr. George Norton, whom they are accusing of misconduct and abuse of public trust. The charges were filed by their fellow PPP/C MP and attorney Anil Nandlall, who will also be prosecuting both matters. The charges were not read in court as neither of the ministers was present to answer to the charges. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan issued summons for both ministers, who are expected to appear in court on April 24th.

Woman knifed to death by ex in Mahaica murder-suicide

Deomattie Persaud A young mother of two was yesterday morning stabbed to death at Belmont, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, by her estranged husband, who later ingested a poisonous substance and succumbed. Dead are Deomattie Persaud, called Kalvina, 23, who was a housewife, and Bishwanie Maraj, 43, a farmer and fisherman, of Lot 34 Belmont, Mahaica, who carried out the attack in front of his yard around 9.30 am. Maraj succumbed sometime around 4.30 pm, a relative confirmed. The couple had been together for eight years but Persaud recently moved out of the home. Police, in a statement, said Persaud returned in a taxi yesterday to take the children to school and was attacked. “…the suspect pulled her out of the car, stabbed her multiple times about her body, returned to the house and drank a liquid substance from a bottle,” the statement explained.

Oldendorff Carriers winding up operations in Guyana

Oldendorff Carriers, the German-based transshipment company used by Rusal for exporting bauxite from Guyana, has announced that it is “winding up” its operations here due to United States sanctions against the Russian aluminium producer. The news came just shy of a week after Finance Minister Winston Jordan had disclosed that government had been assured by Oldendorff Carriers that its operations here would not be affected. Shipping news service TradeWinds reported yesterday that Oldendorff had confirmed that it “will fully comply with US sanctions and therefore will be winding up its business in Guyana in a timely manner.” “Oldendorff has yet to determine what it will do with the 20 purpose-built barges and six tugs for the operation,” it added. Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman told Stabroek News, when contacted, that government expected the decision and that preparations were being made to ensure that workers are minimally affected. Rusal owns 90% of the Aroaima, Berbice-based Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI). The company’s operations are located on the Berbice River between Kwakwani and Linden, with employees from those areas making up the majority of its workforce.