apnu at work

8/13/2019 APNU At Work

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PNCR MESSAGE ON THE PASSING OF NELSON MANDELA

The Peoples National Congress Re-form joins the rest of the world inmourning the passing of one of the

indisputably great statesmen of theTwentieth Century, NelsonRolihlaha Mandela. In so doing, thePNCR tenders its sincere condolenc-es to his immediate family, his ex-tended family, friends, relatives andall of the people of South Africa.

The passing of an eminent personal-ity such as Nelson Mandela would

often be an occasion for sadness.But in the case of this great Africanpersonality, it is also an opportunityto celebrate a life, the moral radi-ance of which is in all likelihood un-

matched in contemporary politics. Here there may be greater reason for a celebration rather thanmourning. The Peoples National Congress Reform, therefore, considers that this would be an oc-casion to note Mandelas passing but also to celebrate his life. Nelson Rolihlaha Mandela - lovinglycalled Madiba was a Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family on the 18th July 1918. NelsonMandela was to receive an education which would see him reject his royal lineage and engaged in aprolong struggle for the poor and oppressed in South Africa and confront the evils of apartheid.

Nelson Mandelas life and his contribution to the Liberation of Southern Africa serves as an inspi-ration to all who still struggle for human rights and justice. From 1942, when he joined the AfricanNational Congress, Mandela fought relentlessly and selflessly against the evil and inhumaneapartheid regime in Southern Africa. Imprisoned for 29 years, Mandela became the symbol of re-sistance against oppression and the face of the struggle for freedom and justice not only in hishomeland (South Africa), but all around the World.

APNU AT WORK

A WEEKLY SUMMARY OF EVENTS

KEEPING THE DIASPORA INFORMED

November 30 December 6, 2013

Vol. 20


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The PNCR have always admired and held Nelson Mandela in the highest esteem and fraternalbrotherhood. His release from prison and the liberation of Southern Africa were central points inthe foreign policy of the Party and the nation for more than three decades. Such commitment wasalso reflected in the petition that was taken up in his name in this country and which was signed bythousands of Guyanese. The naming of a street in our capital was also a symbol of a commitmentof the Guyanese people to the freedom of Nelson Mandela and his people.

Twenty nine years of imprisonment by the apartheid regime did not make Mandela a bitter man.He himself has said that had he emerged a bitter person it would have been to concede that he wasstill in prison. And there should be no mistaking of the importance of freedom in Mandelas life.It seemed central to all that he did. The apartheid regime had initially offered to negotiate withMandela in 1994 on condition that he remained in prison. The words with which he rejected thisoffer have been written imperishably into the annals of modern politics: Only free men can nego-tiate.But the freedom that Mandela envisaged was not only physical but also spiritual. He had tobe free, to free South Africa. Having freed himself, Mandela then embarked on the process of heal-ing and reconciliation in his own country, a development which all commentators are agreed wasresponsible for the peaceful development of South Africa in the post-apartheid period.

In this connection, Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy and equality,which he realized must underpin the building of a peaceful and reconciled society. His life, there-fore, has been and will be an inspiration to all oppressed and deprived people and to all who fightagainst marginalisation, oppression, domination, racism and deprivation wherever they exist.Mandelas preeminent commitment to building a non-racial society in his own country is best ex-pressed in his own words. In his now immmortalised speech from the Dock at the Rivonia Trialwhen he faced a possible death sentence:

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I

have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live togetherin harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and toachieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die

His life and his life work has made this World a better place.

May the soul of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Rest in Peace!

APNU CALLS ON PPP/C TO REFORM THE NIS

A Partnership for National Unity calls on the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic administration to

act quickly and decisively to save the National Insurance Scheme from collapse.

APNU recalls that the NIS was established by the Peoples National Congress administration 44

years ago as a system of social security. It was designed to ensure that citizens could enjoy suffi-

cient income to take the place of earnings when they were interrupted by sickness or accident.


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It was meant to provide for retirement through age or sudden death of a breadwinner and to meet

exceptional expenses such as those concerned with birth and death. It also had to ensure that the

funds to be used for future payments would be invested in such a manner that the economy of the

country would benefit.

The Scheme is now in crisis. It recorded a deficit of $371 million in 2011 for the first time in more

than four decades of its existence. It recorded a deficit of about $474 MN in 2012. It seems set torecord further losses in 2013. Contributions collected over the period January to August 2013 were

approximately $7.754 BN while total expenditure over the same period was approximately $9.120

BN. Worse, the 8th Actuarial Review in December 2011 deemed the NIS to be nearing crisis stage

and predicted that, unless reforms are implemented immediately, it will be exhausted in less than

10 years. The NIS, therefore, faces several serious problems:

Imposition of overbearing political control:The NIS has been kept under overbearing

political control withPPP Central Committee member Dr. Roger Luncheon holding the chairman-

ship of the Board for over two decades.The danger is that, left in the hands of the PPP, the

Schemes long-term financial sustainability will continue to be driven by partisan political inter-ests. The Schemes funds will continue to be diverted away from its social goals into costly misad-

ventures.

Reluctance to implement reforms:The PPP policy-makers who have dominated the NIS

board for the past two decades have not responded to the changing socio-economic conditions and

deteriorating finances. There is need, also, to attract more contributors, enforce compliance by de-

linquent employers and complete the conversion from troublesome manual paper records to elec-

tronic records on a permanent database, a process that began in 1989.

Propensity for risky investments: NISs investments seemed to have been driven by

risky political interests rather than prudential considerations especially during the last decade.

They ended up compromising the quality of the investment portfolio. The scheme plunged impetu-

ously into the ill-advised investments of US$30M in the bankrupted CLICO and the US$10M fund-

ing of the Berbice River Bridge; the acquisition of the Guyana Embassy building in Paramaribo,

Suriname and the Guyana Revenue Authority building in Georgetown and the granting of loans

to chosen commercial companies. Another investment mirage on the horizon, even as the scheme

is failing, is the proposed multiplex cinema on the East Coast.

The NIS, at present, is in a sad state. It does not now provide an adequate level of coverage to Guy-anas working and elderly population. It could return to robust healthhowever, if it were to be-

come a truly autonomous institution. This would free it and its management from the heavy hand

of political direction and the reckless pursuit of wild investments.


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The trustees of NIS funds must be accountable directly to the National Assembly and not to the

PPPC administration. The schemes investment portfolio must be managed professionally and pru-

dently in order to ensure its sustainability. Guyanese workers demand and deserve no less.

APNU calls on the PPPC administration to rethink its social security strategy, rebuild citizens

trust in the scheme by abandoning its wild investment policies and remove the extreme political

control of the scheme by appointing a board of competent directors.

APNU moves to Parliament to reduce Berbice Bridgetoll Wealth is devolved from Berbicians to benefit a privatecompany Harmon

Kaieteur News, December 6, 2013

The political opposition has for a number of years been calling for a reduction of the toll of the Ber-

bice River Bridge and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has taken this call one step fur-ther.

APNU Executive Member, Joseph Harmon, has filed a motion in the National Assembly looking toforce government to reduce the toll. In the motion, Harmon calls for the House to direct the BridgeCompany to reduce the toll for cars and minibuses by more than half. The present toll for minibus-es and cars is $2,200 and he is asking that this be reduced to $1000.

Harmon is requesting that the National Assembly call on the Government of Guyana to instruct its

representative on the Board of Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI), to demand animmediate reduction in tolls charged for crossing the Berbice River. According to Harmon, since

its commissioning in December 2008, the Berbice Bridge has facilitated the crossing of over

650,000 vehicles, resulting in annual revenue of over $1.5B for the BBCI. He pointed out that the

Berbice Bridge was built with significant investment by the Government of Guyana, on behalf of

the People of Guyana.

Harmon noted also that the government through National Industrial and Commercial InvestmentsLtd (NICIL) is a preferential shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors of the BerbiceBridge Company Inc. In his motion, Harmon argues that the toll for crossing the Berbice River isexceedingly high when compared to a similar crossing of the Demerara River and represents a sig-nificant devolution of wealth from the people of Berbice in particular, to the benefit of a privatecompany.


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The proposed rates that APNU is looking to have Govt. direct BBCI to charge.

Apart from NICIL being the single largest shareholder, in 2011, Queens Atlantic Investment Inc(QAII) which is owned by Dr Ranjisinghi Bobby Ramroop, the best friend of the former presi-dent, Bharrat Jagdeo, acquired even more shares in the BBCI making him the second largestshareholder. That information was not filed in the companys annual report. The sale of shares wasunearthed by financial analyst, Christopher Ram who in his analysis of the companys 2011 perfor-mance found that CLICOs Liquidator sold to the Ramroop Group, the 80 million ordinary sharesit held in the Bridge Company.

The main providers of the finance for the bridge are the investors in ordinary share capital of

$400M, preference shares of $950M and various loans amounting to $7.2B.

The holders of the ordinary shares are NIS, New GPC, QAII and Secure International FinanceCompany each having $80M, and Hand-in-Hand and Demerara Contractors each holding $40M.New GPC is also owned by QAII, making Ramroop the second largest shareholder in the bridgeCompany behind NICIL.


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Ram in his writings had accused Brassington of deliberately presenting a misleading annual reportfor the Bridge Company. He (Ram) suggested that as the head of the Guyana Power and Light inc.,Brassington should report accurately. Ram asserted that if Brassington had reported accuratelyand completely on Governments shareholding in BBCI, it would have exposed a scheme by theBBCI, its Secretary Brassington (himself) and NICIL which he represents. Compounding the situa-tion further is the fact that NICIL has for years waived its dividends in order to ensure that the pri-vate investors make their profits and recoup their investment.

Least qualifiedSooba named as town clerk

Stabroek News, December 5, 2013

It is unfair for the Local Government ministry to set up a criteria and ask for A, B, C and D andapplicants came with those requirements and then you have somebody come like a dead horsefrom way on the outside with nothing at all to be appointed as Town Clerk. Where are we going?The only other place we can go is maybe to the court because what are we doing? DeputyMayor Patricia Chase-Green

After several months of acting in the capacity of Town Clerk for Georgetown, Carol Sooba was yes-terday confirmed in the position, surprising city councillors who say she was least qualified for theposition in a recent interview process that involved the Ministry of Local Government. An earliersearch process by the Mayor and City Council had ruled Sooba as ineligible for the post. The an-nouncement of Soobas confirmation was made by Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. RogerLuncheon at a post-cabinet briefing at the Office of the President yesterday.

For me, today is a day the Earth stood still as regards to education.When we left after our full in-terview of all participants, we left with a recommendation that the person who was most qualifiedfor that position was Mr. Paul Clark and that was a recommendation that we tabled and I am quitesurprised and taken aback that the person who is least qualified and showed no signs of any certifi-cate at that interview will be chosen, Chase-Green who was one of the members of the panel whointerviewed the applicants said at a press briefing immediately after learning that Sooba had beenconfirmed. Sooba was not available for comment yesterday.

Sooba was among four applicants who had applied for the position. Her highest qualification is aCertificate in Managerial Law from the Institute of Applied and Commercial Education and she

has been reading for a Degree in Law since 2006 at the University of Guyana. In contrast, Chase-Green said that Clark is presently pursuing a Masters in International Business Law and holds aPost-Graduate Diploma in International Trade, a Bachelors Degree in Law, a Bachelors Degree inEconomics, General Nursing Council Certificate and Industrial and Social Studies and InsuranceAssociation of Guyana Certificate.


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Since her appointment as acting Town Clerk in 2012, Sooba and councillors, including the Mayorand Deputy Mayor, have been at odds over the affairs of the municipality. Just recently, Sooba hadcome under heavy criticism from the council after she had terminated the contracts of two wastemanagement services without putting in place measures to deal with the current garbage situationaround the city. Last year, a no confidence motion was passed against Sooba by a majority of thecouncillors after she was deemed unfit and unqualified. This action was prompted by Soobas han-dling of the revision of the councils budget for 2013, which councillors said was the final straw.

Earlier this year, the Mayor and councilors had walked out of a statutory meeting, reportedly thefirst time that this has happened in the mayoralty, after several councillors had expressed concernover her failure to comply with the decisions taken by the council. According to Chase-Green, a De-gree in Law, Degree in Economics or Degree in Urban Planning or Degree in Public Managementwas among the host of requirements for the post. There were four applicants, two of whom shesaid were more or less in line with the requirements. While other participants would have pre-sented their certificates, Ms. Carol Sooba only stated on her qualifications list an incomplete Cer-tificate in Managerial Law from the University in Guyana and a current law programme from theUniversity of GuyanaWhen asked when she started the programme, she said in 2006, Chase-Green said.

The Deputy Mayor also questioned the democratic process that was being touted by government.What is democracy all about? What is the democratic process? We were told of a democratic pro-cess by the government. The Ministry of Local Government identified participants from five differ-ent entities to sit as a panel to interview Ms. Sooba. When we as a council were doing the inter-views for Town Clerk, they felt that we were biased, she noted. They went ahead and imposed aTown Clerk upon us which did not turn out to be in the interest of the council. Again, at their level,they set up a panel, a process was taken care of in the right way, in the transparent way and yet itmakes no sense. It is an insult to the panel and every single Guyanese who is attending a school,who is going to school for higher education because what do you need a certificate or a degree for if

you dont have to have one for the job as a Town Clerk, she stated.

Chase-Green informed that criteria were established by the Ministry of Local Government but thiswere clearly not followed. The Ministry of Local Government set out the criteria they wantedIhope the President can understand this and the President can intervene because it is unfair for theLocal Government ministry to set up a criteria and ask for A, B, C and D and applicants came withthose requirements and then you have somebody come like a dead horse from way on the outsidewith nothing at all to be appointed as Town Clerk. Where are we going? The only other place wecan go is maybe to the court because what are we doing? she asked.

According to Chase-Green, if Sooba was fully qualified according to the qualifications asked for bythe Ministry of Local Government and passed the interview and was recommended, there wouldhave been no objections. But I strongly object as a member of the panel that sat and interviewedpersons and found her not qualified and not fitting for the position as Town Clerk to be confirmedin the position. Its an insult to my integrity as a member of the panel, she added.


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Questioned about what the relationship will be like between the council and Sooba as she is con-firmed as the Town Clerk, Chase-Green said that it will only get worse. Its going to get worse be-cause now she has the full authority. When she was acting, she usurped her authority. Now thatshe has been confirmed she has the backings of the government. The elected body will be useless.She is trying to make the elected body, a body that cannot function, she added.

Chase-Green said that it was her personal belief that the government is trying to bring the councildown to its lowest ebb, impose an Interim Management Committee (IMC) on the citizens, andthen pour millions of dollars into the council and proceed to local government elections. As it isright now, they are afraid to go to local government elections. So we see the spinoff that is going tocome but for those persons who sat at the interview today is a sad day because their qualificationsdid not matter.

Ms. Sooba brought nothing, not a single certificate to show to the panel and it is unfair to thosepersons who would have been interviewed for the position, she said. In an invited comment,councillor and former Mayor of Georgetown Ranwell Jordan said that the appointment of Sooba asthe Town Clerk was a political one. However you put it, it is a political appointment, and for methe imposition of a one person IMC on the Mayor and City Council. It is left for the councillors andthe citizens of Georgetown, particularly the vendors whom that individual has been treating as ifthey have no place in the city or they do not deserve the ability to earn for their households, hesaid.

Jordan added that it was a sorry state of affairs which this city will need to deal with. This is amatter that should be brought to the international community because this situation will cause thiscountry to take a position that lots may be regretful about. This appeared to be the work of one ortwo persons whoever it was that decided that Carol Sooba should be appointed has done this cityand country harm, he said. (Tifaine Rutherford)

Local govt union gives 72-hour deadline for Sooba removal


The Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU) has given the Ministry of Local Govern-ment 72 hours to rescind its decision to appoint Carol Sooba to the position of Town Clerk or faceindustrial action by city workers.

President of the union Dale Beresford yesterday at a press briefing in the Deputy Mayors office at

City Hall said the union also wants the ministry to explain the rationale behind the appointment.

We are giving the Minister 72 hours in which industrial action and other measures will be taken.Industrial action does not only include strikewe will take whatsoever course of action. As wespeak out international affiliates which include Public Services International have been alerted andthis will be going far and high. This is an injustice not only for the ordinary worker, but any workerin Guyana. It makes no sense for you to go to school if you can have a qualification from since be-fore I was born and you can be at the highest position in the city of Georgetown something iswrongsome screw or screws is loose somewhere, he said.


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After several months of acting in the capacity of Town Clerk for Georgetown, Sooba was onWednesday confirmed in the position, despite lacking the required qualifications set down for thepost. Since her appointment as acting Town Clerk in 2012, Sooba and city councillors have been atodds over the affairs of the municipality and a no-confidence motion was passed against her by amajority of the councillors after she was deemed unfit and unqualified.

The members of the interview panel responsible for vetting applicants for the Town Clerk positionwere drawn from five different entities and included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of LocalGovernment Collin Croal, who was the chairperson on the panel; Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, Beresford; the principal personnel officer from the Public Services Ministry; and a repre-sentative from the Ministry of Finance.

Stabroek News made several attempts to contact Croal for a comment during the course of yester-day as to how the final appointment was made but these were unsuccessful.

According to Beresford, The union has written the Ministry of Local Government and we have al-

so informed our members and we will not assent to this decision and we will not agree to Ms.Sooba bypassing our members. The union was represented at that panel, we went through a trans-parent integrity process of appointing someone and we believe that this person could have takenthe municipality to where it ought to be.

This person has the international experience, they have the initiative and strategy which is whatthe municipality needs at this point in time.

He added, The entire interview panel unanimously agreed when we came out of that room thatthat applicant was the most suitable and our hope was that that would be communicated to theMinister and acted upon.

When contacted, Paul Clark who was the reported frontrunner for the position told Stabroek Newsthat he was not aware that Sooba had been appointed the Town Clerk as he has not heard any an-nouncement. I dont know anything I applied and I have to listen to the announcement thatLuncheon made, he said.

Beresford added that Sooba was among the list of applicants who applied for the position and wasdeemed as not meeting the prerequisite qualifications to be shortlisted. It was noted that Ms.

Sooba failed to walk with her originals of her qualifications, even after being told to do so. Thiswas brought to the attention of the head of the interview panel.

Her inability to complete a three year academic programme at the University of Guyana after sevenyears is in itself a tremendous achievement, he added.


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Chase-Green said that the three highest positions at City HallChief Medical Officer, Treasurerand the Town Clerkare managed by under-qualified personnel.

Chase-Green said that Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Norman Whittaker should beashamed as Sooba came from out of nowhere and got the position.

Meanwhile, Stabroek News understands that at least one of the applicants is planning to pursuethe matter legally.

US Embassy meets APNUDelay in Anti-money laundering leg-islation; Local Government elections discussed


As part of a continuingengagement with thediplomatic communi-ty, Parliaments larg-est Opposition groupyesterday met with theUS Embassy on anumber of pressingissues, including thedelayed passage of an-ti-money launderinglegislations.

According to A Part-nership for NationalUnity (APNU), whichholds 26 seats in theNational Assembly,

the meeting was held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, on Hadfield Street,Georgetown. The two sides discussed several issues including governance and the work of the Na-tional Assembly, a statement from APNU said.

APNU is a coalition of 10 parties that participated in the 2011 General and Regional Elections.When combined with the seven seats of The Alliance For Change, the Opposition has a one-seatadvantage. According to APNU, during the meeting, emphasis was placed on the ParliamentaryBudget Office and the Parliamentary Legal Counsel. The Opposition has been battling the admin-istration for its own legal counsel to help draft new legislations.


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Discussions were also held on Local Government Elections and the status of the un-assented Lo-cal Government (Amendment) Bill. This particular issue of Local Government elections has beenlingering in the political arena for over a decade with a standing agreement that no polls will beheld without reforms. Legislations were passed earlier this year but only three of the four pieceswere assented to by President Donald Ramotar.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill, which is in limbo inthe National Assembly was also raised during the meeting. This is a critical piece of legislationwhich is needed for Guyana to comply with regulations of the international community to ensurethe country is taking steps to ensure dirty money does not enter the financial system. According toAPNU, this issue was discussed and the two sides looked at the way forward with emphasis onlegislation and the countrys compliance with the other enforcement measures as recommended bythe Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

The United States Embassy team comprised Bryan Hunt, Deputy Chief of Mission along with anofficer from the Political Affairs Department. A Partnership for National Unitys (APNU) team washeaded by Leader, Brigadier (Retd) David Granger and included Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Joseph

Harmon and Ronald Bulkan.

Come clean on Patil, China Paper MoUs


Two Memoranda of Understanding for large agricultural projects which were quietly signed by thegovernment with Indian and Chinese companies are raising disquiet as their terms have not been

publicized. Dr Rupert Roopnaraine of APNU yesterday stated that the first knowledge of dealingswith the D Y Patil Group and China Paper came to his attention through reporting in the StabroekNews. He said that with these MoUs we are of the firm belief that they need to be fully ventilatedand brought to the National Assembly.Prior to the reportage in the last Sunday Stabroek andMondays Stabroek News there had been no information from the government on the details ofMoUs clinched with the two companies.

Roopnaraine stated that the government and the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammywill have to answer to the dates that these deals were signed and what the specifications were. Hetold Stabroek News that this is a matter that is very vexing and Ive raised it before when the MoUwith Trinidad (for food security) was signedthese things cannot be done in secret.

The shadow agriculture minister stated that A Partnership for National Unity will be discussing thelack of transparency at the next shadow cabinet meeting. He said that the way in which the govern-ment conducts agreements with foreign investors and other countries needed to be scrutinized andthe minister would have to answer there has to be accountability and these agreements should bestraightforward.


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Three days after the Sunday Stabroek published that the D Y Patil Group has advanced beyond aMoU and started cultivating 65, 000 hectares of land in the Canje Basin there has been no officialstatement from the agriculture ministry. This newspaper has made repeated attempts to contactthe ministry as well as the D Y Patil Group in relation to the terms of the MoU but to no avail.

Roopnaraine did also note that the interconnections between the D Y Patil Groups Chairman, Dr

Ajeenkya D Y Patil, and former President Bharrat Jagdeo were very telling of the intricate web ofconnected interests. He said that APNU did not have prior knowledge that Jagdeo had received anhonorary doctorate in 2011 from the same group as reported in the last Sunday Stabroek nor washe aware when Dr Ajeenkya D Y Patil and Jagdeo both received honorary doctorates from the Uni-versity of Lancaster. APNUs shadow minister stated that even Dr Ajeenkya D Y Patils appoint-ment as Guyanas Honorary Consul in Mumbai was not public knowledge.

Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Harper was reported in yesterdaysKaieteur News as saying that this announcement was made public, however when Stabroek Newscontacted the ministry yesterday Harper was not available to give a specific date as to when the an-nouncement was made. She said according to the Kaieteur News report that it was done a long

time ago. To date, Stabroek News can find no trace of a press release from the ministry on the ap-pointment.

Wikipedia also lists in Dr Patils resume that he was an advisor to president Jagdeo. Stabroek Newshas not been able to confirm this.

Roopnaraine stated that the lack of transparency in MoUs is telling of how the government choos-es to conduct business. He said that the while the government was looking to foreign investors, lo-cal investors could be faced with a significant imbalance of opportunities. He noted that foreign

investors are receiving incentives.

The D Y Patil Group was reportedly given approval for timber logging which is much sought afterby Indian and Chinese companies. The Group was also given approval for agriculture-related pro-jects which could include dairy processing, rice milling and processing, fisheries and poultry, fruitand vegetables and sugar cane production for ethanol. The last reference to the D Y Patil GroupsMoU from the government came in the form of a release from the Government Information Agen-cy (GINA) on July 20, 2013 about Guyanas potential as an agricultural investment hotspot forMiddle East investors.

In the very last paragraph of the news item it was stated that the D Y Patil group had signed anMoU with the Government of Guyana for 65,000 hectares of land in Canje Basin to be used for ag-ricultural-related projects, which could include dairy processing; rice milling and processing; fish-eries and poultry; fruit and vegetables; and sugar cane production with ethanol and power.


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China Paper came to public notice when it advertised in local newspapers for the services of a com-petent local firm to provide environmental and logistical services for its operations. According tothe ad in the last Sunday Stabroek, the company is seeking to develop a project in the agriculturesector in Guyana. The seeking of environmental services would suggest that China Paper has pro-ceeded beyond the MoU.

China Paper, which is state owned under the parent company China Chengtong is into asset man-agement, integrated logistic service, capital goods trade as well as production, development andexploitation concerning forestry, pulp and paper. According to the company, its overseas layoutconcentrates in South America, Southeast Asia, Russia and other countries and regions. It saysthat with the support from national policies and auxiliary capital, China Paper strives to own anannual papermaking capacity of over 5 million tons and an annual pulp-making capacity of over 5million tons and control over 10 million mu (Chinese acre land measurements equivalent to 1/6of an acre) of forest lands both at home and abroad at the end of the period of the 12th Five-YearPlan, with assets, income and profit all going to new levels.

Luncheon unable to provide details of deals with Indian, Chi-nese Coys


Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, has failed to provide any answer to the growing questionsregarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it inked with the DY Patil Group out of India,and a Chinese Company, China Paper.

The DY Patil Group has started the process of cultivating 10,000 hectares of land in the Canje Ba-

sin for agricultural-related projects, while China Paper is a company seeking to start the utilizationof forest pulp paper among central enterprises. Luncheon at his weekly press briefing said that hecould not answer any questions on the two companies at this time. I owe you and the members ofthe media an apology because I could have boned up on the matter, then I saw Rupert Roopna-raines (MP) incisive intervention on the matter and called for them to come cleanI could havebut I didnt, Dr Luncheon told reporters yesterday. He undertook to have the information by thenext press briefing.

Meanwhile APNUs Joe Harmon, commenting on the recent revelations of the two companies, saidthat Guyanese are getting to see every one of former President Bharrat Jagdeos secret and shadydeals. According to Harmon, these deals probably did not involve the elements of the state or anynegotiations. This is the legacy that Jagdeo has left behind; a legacy of badly worked deals, the ar-chitecture of badly put together deals that are in no way the best interest of Guyana Harmon said.

Dr. Ajeenka DY Patil is part of the Patil group which is a major Indian Company that has signed anMOU with the government. It has started the process of cultivating 10,000 hectares of land in theCanje Basin for agricultural-related projects. The projects would include dairy processing, ricemilling and processing; fisheries and poultry; fruit and vegetables; and sugar cane production withethanol and power.


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Dr. Patil on his official website is quoted as stating that investing in Guyana is a financially viableand potentially profitable proposal for investors in the region due to the global growth in demandfor agriculture produce. The region [Guyana] is unexploited and is economically robust and po-litically stable. It will improve the quality of life of the average Guyanese citizen and increase theeconomic vitality of the country; all of this backed by the experienced management of the AjeenkaDY Patil Group, Dr. Patil said. Dr. Ajeenka Patil besides being a business investor happens to beGuyanas Honorary Consul in Mumbai India.

On Monday Guyanas Ambassador to Caricom and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs, Elisabeth Harper, said that anyone could be an Honorary Consul once the person is a resi-dent in the country. She said that the Ministry did make an announcement publicly but pointedout that this was a long time ago.

Kaieteur News was told that the situation with Dr Patil not being Guyanese is not something out ofthe ordinary. Harper explained that there are non Guyanese Honorary Consul in several countries,including Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. With regards to Government funding, Harper said Patilis not being paid for the position he holds since its Honorary as compared to someone who is a

Consul General.Better solid waste plan needed for Guyana APNU


The Ministry of Home Affairs can assist in combating Guyanas solid waste problems by having theGuyana Prison Service use inmates to clear drains and clear away garbage, APNU MP Annette Fer-guson said on Friday. Many prisoners who are serving short terms and are not very dangerous canbe used in the effort to restore garbage-filled towns to their former glory, she suggested.

The suggestion was just one of several proposed by main opposition APNU and its leaders ata news conference on Friday, where they urged government to improve the solid waste manage-ment in Guyana. Last Wednesdays flash flooding of the city and other areas has been blamed ondrains being clogged with garbage wantonly discarded by citizens and unsuccessfully retrieved bythe authorities responsible for keeping the drains free. But this can be avoided if government craftsa Solid Waste Management Plan, which, unlike many of the past and/or existing initiatives, needsto target Guyana at large, as opposed to just the capital city, APNU said.

This plan, according to APNU Leader David Granger, should lay out clear targets, techniques andtimelines for waste reduction, and must also set specific targets geared towards reducing, reusingand recycling solid waste. He said APNU has already taken steps towards addressing the solidwaste problem and government should become engaged in initiatives of its own. He was referringto the motion tabled in the National Assembly by APNU MP Volda Lawrence and subsequentlypassed.


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Elaborating on this development, APNU MP Joseph Harmon explained that the Resolution forthe Restoration of Georgetown motion has led to the setting up for four sub-committees, whichare working towards the motions goals. But since this initiative is just geared towards improvingGeorgetown, APNU acknowledged that it as well as several other government initiatives, includingthe Pick it up Campaign, are insufficient, considering that the scope of the problem spans everyinhabited area in the country.

Reading from a press statement, Granger said, Guyana has a gigantic garbage problem. Every partof the country, not only Georgetown, is affected by the garbage crisis. Knolls of rubbish have disfig-ured the urban and rural landscape. Builders waste, carrion, damaged vehicles, and discardedtyres encumber roadsides and sidewalks, Granger read. And the situation is only getting worse, hesaid, as townsfolk and villagers become more and more attracted to fast, fashionable foreign foodsand apparel.

This, Granger said, has increased both the volume and variety of domestic rubbish over the pasttwo decades. He also noted that many citizens, including commercial establishments, toss theirunwanted goods onto the parapets or into the canals or rivers. Although the Georgetown munici-pality is responsible for solid waste management in the capital city, Granger argued that the re-sponsibility of solid waste management should not be shunted to regional and municipal bodies.

But even where the municipalities are concerned, particularly Georgetown, Granger contended,many lack the capacity to do the work expected of them. Harmon said that the Georgetown munic-ipality has no functioning vehicles to do its work and added that the two compactor trucks it wassupplied with earlier this year are down and that they lack the capacity to fix them.

Meanwhile, Granger said the Georgetown municipality is at a disadvantage since the citys bounda-

ries have been extended although the municipality has not been given additional resources to caterto the additional areas. This reality has not been helped, he added, by the fact that the municipalityis being prevented by government from creating other revenue-earning avenues.

Outlining what should be mandatory provisions of the plan, Granger said it must make use of thelarge quantity of vegetable waste generated every day by municipal markets, farms, restaurants,schools and the hospitality industry in towns and neighbourhoods. He said bio-digesters can cov-ert such waste into useful organic fertilisers for farming. He also said that methane gas generatedby garbage landfills can be saved and used as an alternative fuel source.

The plan must also mandate the selective sorting of re-usable waste discarded by households andbusiness places since not much of Guyanas households and commercial operators make a habit ofsorting their waste before they put it out to be taken to landfill. Such sorting, he argued, can be en-couraged by having industrial and commercial corporations offer incentives, especially since theyare the ones who generate much of the nations garbage.


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The importation of used tyres and other non-biodegradable products, which contribute to the vol-ume of rubbish and the conundrums experienced in effectively disposing of them, also needs to berestricted, Granger said. The success of the plan though, he explained, will require the governmentto effectively collaborate with the various municipalities and other local government organs, cor-porations, and the citizens in all target areas.

Granger told reporters that the government will need to work with these other stakeholders to pro-mote the plan, as well as implement and enforce its provisions.

APNU has called for the setting up of several such plans, commissions and investigations, most ofwhich, if not all, are yet to be addressed. Governments refusal to formulate this APNU-proposedplan will be at its own peril, said Harmon, who added that the initiative was thought up after con-sidering the interests articulated by the people of Guyana. As such, he said, it is the people of Guy-ana who want the plan, not the APNU.

Granger was convinced that Fridays call would spark government action as it has done in the past.He is of the opinion that several calls, including for investigations of boat accidents and the gastrobreakout in Region One, have prompted the government to action, but that government opted tostay silent on such initiatives.

The high sugar cost

Kaieteur News, December 4, 2013 [Letters]

Dear Editor,It is Mollycoddling! This has to do with the labour intensive nature of growing this 40-ton of cane

per acre crop. And whilst it may be true that at that at some time in the past labour costs may havebeen 65 per cent, the difference is that the world sugar growers had not yet mechanized at thattime to the extent they have today, thereby bringing down labour costs drastically.Also the Times, as usual, does not seem to want to understand that what was relevant 50 years agois not relevant today; today this cost of labour per tonne is completely unacceptable on the worldstage, after everyone has mechanized their industries, making the TIMeS observations spurious,mischievous and ridiculous.

Heavy mechanisation is what we are competing with today and our situation must be put into thatcontext. We are competing unsuccessfully or else GuySuCo would not be approaching Parliamenttoday for an additional $4 billion to bail the corporation out of the economical mess which it findsitself in today.

Only the TIMeS would find the argument of growing our sugar uneconomically today and subsidiz-ing it from the national purse, acceptable, since they would not know what it means to competefairly, and their sister company GPC for example can call any price for their products.


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For example selling $600 injections for $8000 to the Guyana Public Hospital as described in theTuesday June 19, 2012 KN! The fact remains that in view of this large wage bill Jagdeo, a clearlypoorly trained economist, has sought to expand the Guyana sugar industry instead of contractingit, as every other sensible nation in the Caribbean and Africa did, with disastrous results today.

Even if the Skeldon factory had worked well it would have been a disaster to expand sugar in thiscountry since mechanization of the Guyana industry may very well be impossible.

This high labour cost today is making our industry uneconomical on the world stage today and hasbecome a drain on the countrys purse and that is the bottom line!When there was no mechanization worldwide, and everyone whom we were competing with wereusing hand labour we were not making massive losses in the industry since the price of sugar wasvery high. In addition to this high labour cost we are not getting value for money, since the qualityof work is very poor, from cane cutting to planting and everything in between contributing to low/no yields. It is in the 2013 2017 GuySuCo development plan.

Tony Vieira

Guyana slips further down on global perception index - Free, independ-ent media crucial in fight against corruption -TIGI


A free and independent media and reasonable access to information are indispensable tools in thefight against corruption.This is the view of President of Transparency International Guyana Inc(TIGI), Anand Goolsarran, who yesterday presided over the announcement of the 2013 Corruption

Perception Index for Guyana.

Frederick Collins, Vice President of TIGI made the formal announcement and told members of themedia and other officials that Guyana remains at the bottom of the list, ahead of only Haiti as themost corrupt in the region. According to Collins, the finding on Guyana is based on surveys carriedout by four reputable international institutions the International Country Guide, the WorldBank, the World Economic Forum and the Global Insight Country. He announced that Guyana hasbeen ranked 136 out of 177 countries, joining Bangladesh, Cote dIvoire (Ivory Coast) and Kenyawith a score of 27. Guyana was ranked 133 last year. In terms of the Americas, Guyana has beenranked 28 out of 32, while for the Caribbean, only Haiti scored lower, with 19.

Among those in attendance for the announcement at the Pegasus Hotel were Alliance for Change(AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)s Carl Greenidge, At-torney-at-Law Gino Persaud and Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, among others.


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According to Goolsarran, corruption affects the soul of the nation, it is cancerous, it destroys thesocial and moral fabric of society. The TIGI President stressed that corruption is an unethical andimmoral act, and a criminal activity that is facilitated by greed, vague, archaic and cumbersomerules, state intervention, undue exercise of discretionary powers, bureaucratic behaviour, and weakinstitutions.

Goolsarran said too that corruption results in the misallocation of scarce resources and areas thatare in genuine need of development assistance are overlooked in preference to those that offer thegreatest rewards for the corrupt. Investor confidence is shaken, and countries in dire need of for-eign investments are deprived of it As a result, international flow of goods, services and capital isaffected, and investment ratios deteriorate. He added that as a result of massive corruption, pro-fessionals and other decent-minded citizens tend to migrate to the more developed countries toseek employment opportunities and a better way of life.

There is therefore a brain-drain with the concomitant spiraling effect of not having the relevantskills to effectively manage the operations of governmentIn short, high levels of corruption resultin the perpetuation of weak governments.

He suggested that tackling corruption effectively, would involve citizens participation and involve-ment in public decision-making.

Goolsarran said that when this happens, there is the collective responsibility for actions taken, andallegations of corrupt behaviour are likely to be minimized. Decision-making must not only betransparent but must also be seen to be so. He suggested too that there must be a limiting of theuse of discretionary powers since it tends to produce decisions that are skewed, inconsistent andlacking in uniformity. The corrupt will always seek to exploit the use of such powers for their per-sonal benefit, Goolsarran said.

The Finance Minister will answer to us for the money he spentGranger


The joint parliamentary oppositionA Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the AllianceFor Change (AFC)is currently in the process of reviewing a united approach in dealing with threefinancial papers that were laid in Parliament.

The documents were laid at the first official sitting of the National Assembly since parliament cameout of recesstwo sittings ago. The three papers were then placed on the Order Paper for theHouses attention at the last sitting, but the absence of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singhcaused a delay in scrutiny during that sitting. Two of the three papers were seen by Kaieteur News.One of the financial papers serves to inform the National Assembly that government went aheadand used $3,384,528,708 that was not approved at that level. The other is calling for an additional$1,261,596,480 as supplementary funding.


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APNU leader, David Granger told Kaieteur News that his party will not allow the Finance Ministerto get off scotch free with what he has done. This he said is referred to the unapproved spending.He said that APNU and the AFC have met to discuss the way forward in dealing with the matter.He told this publication that no official course of action has been fully decided upon but the APNUand AFC are not inclined to support the request for money simply because the Minister has alreadybreached the law of appropriation. The Opposition Leader said that his party plans on ensuringthat the Minister is sanctioned. He informed that a necessary action will be to bring the Minister

before the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges and let him answerhe will definitely be hear-ing from us.

This years National Budget approved $31.35 billion less than what was originally presented to theHouse. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh had presented a $208.8 billion budget on March 25. Af-ter a series of amendments, the budget was reduced to $177.4 billion. The Opposition had cut thebudgetary allocations set aside for the National Communications Network (NCN, Government In-formation Agency (GINA) and Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) Cuts were also made to theMinistries of Public Works and Health. But Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh went ahead andspent, despite such actions by the Opposition.

According to a financial paper laid in parliament, the Office of the President through Subsidiesand contributions to Local Organizations used $217,194,998; this was in addition to the moneythat was allocated to that line item. The document stated that that money was divided betweenNCN and GINA; GINA got $135,857,999 and NCN: $81,336,999. It didnt stop there; the govern-ment, through the Office of the Prime Minister, also spent $1,777,000,000 for capital transfer tothe Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL).

Then, under the Ministry of Public Works, government used $21,065,925 to aid in the completionof Hinterland airstrips and $80,000,000 as a grant for the acquisition of Civil Aviation equipment.

Also, for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Modernisation Project, government used$1,063,137,537 foreign cash and $65,432,848.Further, under Ministry of Health Regional and Clinical Services, saying its provisions for theSpecialty Hospital Project, the government used $133,250,000 foreign cash and $34,456,400.

Anti-Money Laundering LawsAPNU was right to force a review by the Select Com-mittee Chris Ram The PPP/C was unreasonable and inflexible


Government of Guyana knew since 2011 that the 2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering theFinancing of Terrorism Act was deficient, as was the 2000 Act it replaced. This view is held by Fi-nancial Analyst and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, in his recent writings, published onhis websitewww.chrisram.net

According to Ram, although this was known, the government did nothing until it was toolate. Ram opined that the Parliamentary Opposition was right to force a review by the Select Com-mittee but it then lost a good opportunity to achieve tangible results.
http://www.chrisram.net/http://www.chrisram.net/http://www.chrisram.net/


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All the AFC seems to have wanted was a Procurement Commission, even at the expense of aproper statutory and institutional framework and the APNU wanted a good bill but failed to makeany concrete proposals to achieve that, Ram said.

He said that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) on the other hand was prepared to con-cede nothing. No Procurement Commission, no removal of unconstitutional provisions in thesubstantive Act and no concession on the existing failed model of the Financial Intelligence Unit(FIU). Ram noted that although the Opposition might have been irresponsible, the PPP/C was un-reasonable and inflexible.

He said that the consequence of that lethal combination is that our country can now become anInternational Pariah.

Ram further stressed that fixing the law itself is not insurmountable and with the will and flexibil-ity, there is no reason why these cannot be satisfactorily addressed within a very short period.Hedid posit that that the technical exercise will have to be matched by the willingness to tackle cor-ruption and crime in all their manifestations, strengthening the Guyana Police Force, the Directorof Public Prosecutions Office and the Courts.

Ram said that it was time for the Commissioners to be appointed to the Integrity Commission. Headvocated for the Public Procurement Commission to be established, the introduction of the long-promised whistleblower legislation and the appointment of an Ombudsman. Absent a proper in-stitutional framework, all the legislation in the world will be completely ineffective, Ram noted.

Moreover Ram said that while the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has drawn at-tention to deficiencies in the Anti Money Laundering act, there are other weaknesses which it ap-

pears to have overlooked.

Ram explained that section 2 (2) (1) of the act is clearly out of place. According to Ram, some of thefreezing and forfeiture provisions seem to collide with fundamental rights guaranteed by the Con-stitution. Moreso, he said, the provisions regarding the admission of otherwise inadmissible evi-dence, standard of proof and closed hearings do not seem to accord with the constitutional rightsof citizens. Apart from meeting the CFATF requirements to bring Guyana in compliance with itsobligations under regional and international regime to deal with money-laundering and terrorismfinancing, the Act clearly has serious defects.

The very structure of the Act, the role and location of the FIU and the appointment of a Directorwho seems totally out of his depth in terms of enforcement of the Act, all suggest a feeble, cosmeticattempt to address money laundering, said Ram. This state of affairs should not be allowed tocontinueMoney laundering has not only social and economic implications distorting competi-tion, driving out legitimate businesses and fuelling tax evasion but it also has implications forcrimeThe proceeds of corrupt transactions have to be laundered while the guns brought intoGuyana and used to kill, are often financed by laundered money.


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Presidential term-limit clear-cut Roopnaraine


APNU Executive Member Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine says that he does not believe that the presiden-

tial term limit set out in the constitution leaves any room for a former president to contest againafter serving two terms. I believe re-election means what it says; it means elections again, itdoesnt mean anything else, Roopnaraine, a constitutional expert, told Stabroek News in wake of asuggestion that the omission of the word consecutive from the term-limit provision inserted intoGuyanas constitution in 1999 allowed for something which, among other things, various stake-holders worked to change.

Article 90 (2) of Guyanas constitution reads:A Person elected as President after 2000 is eligiblefor re-election only once. However, in his November 24, Sunday Stabroek column, former Speak-er Ralph Ramkarran, SC, wrote that the absence of the word consecutive from the provision hassparked speculation that a president may be allowed to serve only one term or two consecutive

terms and return after a lapse of one or more terms and seek the presidency through elections oncemore.

Ramkarran had noted that there has been much speculation about the future of former PresidentBharrat Jagdeo, who has served two successive terms as head of state. He recalled that it startedwhile Jagdeos second term was coming to an end as supporters publicly expressed support for athird presidential term. He noted that speculation about a third presidential term has been re-newed once more because many supporters of the PPP believe that his candidacy will restore anabsolute majority for the PPP/C. However, during the Constitution Reform Process, it was recom-mended that a limit be placed on the amount of terms a president should be allowed to serve.

In his book, An Annotated Handbook of the 17 July 1999 Report of the Constitution Reform Com-mission, Guyana, Haslyn Parris, who served as Secretary to the National Assemblys OversightCommittee that oversaw the drafting of the reforms, recorded several of the recommendations ofthe stakeholders on the term limit. Submission #216 (f) (3), which was made by the Peoples Na-tional Congress (PNC), reads: A president should be limited to two successive terms, after whichhe should be ineligible for the presidency again, until a period of ten years has elapsed from theend of his term.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) in its recommendation said that the President should belimited to two consecutive terms, while the submission by the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP)stated that a person elected to the office if the President should not hold the said office for morethan two terms.


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Parris himself, when asked his opinion on Ramkarrans arguments, said that he did not know whatto make of the arguments, especially in light of what is recorded in the Commissions records. Re-flecting these proposals, Ramkarran said the Constitution Reform Commissions Report on thesubmissions read: Many submissions proposed that a President should be limited to two terms inoffice. As such, in finalising the recommendations for the constitutional amendment in this re-gard, the Commission said: A person shall hold the office of the President for a maximum of two(2) terms and those terms shall be consecutive.

But Ramkarran suggests that the fact that the word consecutively is not part of the constitutionalprovision allows exactly what the recommendations sought to prevent. He contends that the spec-ulation that has arisen turns on the interpretation of the wordre-election.

Since a re-election can only come immediately after an election, therefore re-election meansre-election to a second consecutive term. A re-election cannot come after a lapse of one or moreterms because that would be an election. Since a President can only be re-elected only once, itmeans that he can only serve two consecutive terms at one time, Ramkarran argues. Ultimately,he purports that the constitution does not preclude a President being elected again after a lapseof one or more terms as this would be an election and not a re-election.

Roopnaraine, who served as a member of the Oversight Committee, says that the intention of theCommittee was to bar any president from serving more than two consecutive terms and that therecommendation which eventually became a provision in the constitution speaks to that inten-tion. My reading of the constitution does not accord with his (Ramkarran), Roopnaraine toldStabroek News in an interview, while adding, I do not believe that the word re-election can be lim-ited to instances where were talking about consecutive elections. I believe re-election means whatit says, it means elections again, it doesnt mean anything else.

He noted that the word consecutive was not in the vocabulary of the recommendations but he

said that the provision was written just the way the members of the Committee wanted it to bewritten. Ultimately, he believes that the spirit of the Committee in 1999 was to bar any presidentfrom having more than two consecutive terms in office and says that to interpret the constitutionin any other way would be a violation of that spirit. Nevertheless, Ramkarran maintains that thewording of the constitution on this matter leaves the door for an interpretation which is not con-sistent with the intentions of the 1999 Committee. If such a challenge is ever madeand Ramkar-ran suggests that this is possibleit will be left to the judiciary, as the constitutions arbiter, to de-cide upon its meaning.

Already, the main opposition party APNU has said that it is against any interpretation of the con-

stitution that would avail any past president more than two consecutive terms in office. When con-tacted yesterday, Government Whip and presidential adviser Gail Teixeira was unable to give thegovernments view on the issue, although she did say that it was not as serious an issue as it wasbeing made to seem. Attempts were made to contact AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo, who had repre-sented the PPP on the Oversight Committee in 1999 and PPP/C MP Manzoor Nadir, who had rep-resented The United Force, but to no avail.


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Bosai has not filed annual returns for last two years Ram


Accountant and financial analyst Christopher Ram says Chinese bauxite company, Bosai MineralsGroup has not filed their annual returns for the years 2011 and 2012 and wants the company to ex-plain this in light of its reputed non-payment of royalties to the Guyana Geology and Mines Com-mission (GGMC) even after the expiration of a moratorium on such payments. Speaking to Sta-broek News yesterday, Ram challenged Company Secretary of Bosai Minerals Group NormanMcLean to come clean about filing of annual returns for the two years. He must answer since asCompany Secretary he is responsible for preparing and submitting them, he said of McLean.

Ram also said that the company has failed to comply with the Companies Act in the returns thatwere submitted, adding that the company did not prepare its Directors annual report in the pre-scribed manner. the company has been delinquent in filing annual returns for 2011 and 2012,said Ram. The Companies Act imposes on every director and officer of a company a duty to com-

ply with the Act. It also provides that if anyone breaches the provisions of the Act for which thereare no specific penalties, that person is guilty of a general offence, he said.

Ram said that the filing of annual returns is one of the core functions of the Company Secretary,the hat Mr. McLean wore in defending the violation of the Bauxite (Production Levy) Act. It maybe merely coincidental that no return has been filed since the 2010 statements became the subjectof a critical newspaper column to which Mr. McLean has taken belated objections, Ram conjec-tured. But it does mean that a company which extracts more than a million tonnes of non-renewable resources annually and which enjoys questionable tax concessions, is arrogantly ignor-ing the law regulating companies, Ram said.

Ram is also perturbed by McLeans response which said that the company built dust collectors soshortly after its start up and that this spoke to the companys good corporate social responsibil-ity.Efforts to reach McLean for a response to the concerns Ram raised were futile.

The media questions over Bosai and its payment of royalties, Corporation Tax and submission ofannual returns began last week following a meeting of the Sectoral Committee of Natural Re-sources in the National Assembly where it was revealed that the company owed royalties to theGuyana Geology and Mines Commission in the order of US$54 million. APNU Member of Parlia-ment Joe Harmon posed the question to Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Rob-ert Persaud whether the company has been paying its share of royalties for bauxite exported.

Minister Persaud gave the meeting the assurance that the Ministry would be getting back to thecommittee with regards to the questions posed by Harmon.


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However over the last week, McLean defended the companys integrity and slammed Ram andHarmon for what he called attempts to bring the companys standing in the corporate arena intodisrepute. He said that as per the Mineral Agreement signed between the Government of Guyanaand Bosai, the company is required to pay Corporation Tax only following a five-year moratoriumon such payments and only if the company is generating profits. In addition, the agreement statesthat any royalties due on the FOB value of bauxite shipped will be offset by the Corporation Taxpaid.

Rejecting the defence by McLean, Harmon called on the Government and the company to provideevidence of the payment of Corporation Tax and the royalties that the tax would have offset. Healso pointed out that the agreement between the Government and Bosai was signed in December2004 and as such the five-year tax holiday would have come to an end in 2009.

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