Would you like to buy some?  It's cheap.

Were you not involved in this one?

POLAR BEER:
$300 million fraud that rocked the Guyana Revenue Authority after cashers, customs officers and a broker were fingered in this scam. Most of them, (some plead innocence) were dragged to court - while CHIEF CULPRIT, an already Shady character and one of the persons behind the defunct LEAP and Caricom Insurance( also of the Scared Heart Church fraud) Mr. Joshua Shafeek blamed all the  wrong doings on the broker and cut himself a sweet deal and skipping prosecution. (remember the Plea bargaining Legislation).

STONE-SCAM:
This is a multi million dollar mission - Importation of poor quality stones from a Trinidadian Construction Company for an Essequibo Road Project. And we supposed to 'gat stones'

WE have stones galore and they are buying stones?

Why?

There is $$$ to beamed.

MILK:

Low-grade vegetable milk was supplied to SIMAP in place of cream milk by Hanson Import and Export. The multi-million scam saw PPP MP Hugely Hamnoman resigned from his seat and migrating, missing out on police prosecution while a low level officer was dismissed.

Year in review 2014

January

GuySuCo in deep financial crisis –

owes creditors $10.5B

Early in January, Government found itself scrambling to find solutions for the country’s sugar industry as production fell to an embarrassing 23-year low in 2013. Production at the eight estates in Berbice and Demerara closed on December 21, the last day of grinding, at a dismal 186,807 tonnes. This was below the 190,000-tonne figure that had been targeted and which had been revised again and again from the original 260,000 tonnes at the beginning of the year. The situation left the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) owing banks and suppliers in excess of $10.5B, union officials confirmed.

Multi-billion $$$ drug contracts…

Pre-qualification system flawed,

must be scrapped – AFC says

Government’s multi-billion-dollar drugs purchases once again came under intense scrutiny. The Alliance For Change (AFC) demanded that the administration scrap plans to shortlist or pre-qualify suppliers. The last pre-qualification period expired on December 31, 2013, and the Ministry of Health had been looking to select the suppliers for the next three years. A pre-qualified contractor is automatically considered when it is time to order critical or emergency supplies.

Georgetown Marriott Hotel…

Brassington ‘mum’ on financial closure,

casino operators

Winston Brassington promised an update, but didn’t provide any

Work is continuing apace at the construction site for the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, but it is unclear where the funding is coming from. Chairman of Atlantic Hotels Inc (AHI) Winston Brassington, at the end of 2013, had promised an update in the New Year, but has refused to answer any calls made to him from this publication. Brassington had indicated that there would be financial closure with the private investor before the end of 2013, but this did not happen. The monies to be sourced through Republic Bank were yet to be secured, but the project continued.

Extra US$8M spent on V/Hoop GPL plant …

CEO says dumped sand disappeared overnight in swamp,

and this continued for months

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and top brass of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) toured the construction site of the company’s latest generation plant at Vreed-en-Hoop, along with members of the media, and it was disclosed that the project was just about 20 per cent complete and would see cost overruns in the vicinity of US$8M. GPL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharrat Dindyal, in providing an update, said that the increase in the cost was related to the civil works and not the Warstila Contract which remains at US$26M. Dindyal said given the nature of the soil there had to be a significant amount of work to be done, more than had been envisaged. He reiterated that when GPL first took possession of the site, it was a swamp. In explaining the soil conditions and what they had to deal with, Dindyal said that when the contractors for the foundation first arrived on the site, their equipment immediately began sinking. Dindyal said that they decided to dump sand, but this would disappear overnight into the swamp and this went on for months. According to the CEO, a decision was then taken to bring in geo-textile material and lay it down to allow some consolidation to get the heavy equipment around the site. The new power plant had initially been set for commissioning in late 2013, but was pushed back to July 2014.

Year in review 2014

March

Jagdeo airdashed to Florida Hospital

Kwame say Batty Plug ....Sucessful

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo was in a Florida Hospital in early March, having been airdashed to the United States of America. According to reports, Jagdeo had a persistent fever and diarrhea. A privately-owned Lear jet out of Florida transported Jagdeo and his entourage comprising Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop and his (Jagdeo’s) security detail. This publication learnt that the chartering of a Lear Jet, from Florida to Guyana and back for a medivac, would cost between US$35,000 (G$7M) and US$40,000 (G$8M). On May 28, 2009, then President Jagdeo assented to the controversial Former Presidents (Benefits and Facilities) Bill bringing it into to law. Under that Act, he would receive free medical attention and medical treatment, paid for by the state, or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by him for the medical attention or treatment of himself and the dependant members of his family.

34 years later…

Commission appointed to probe Walter Rodney’s death

PPP plan to Crush PNC/APNU Backfire...

as APNU joins AFC to remove govt

Almost 34 years after his death, a team of international jurists was selected to probe the killing of politician/historian, Dr. Walter Rodney. The members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) were sworn in by President Donald Ramotar, with the army shortly after announcing its intention to fully cooperate. Chairing the CoI was Barbadian Queen’s Counsel, Sir Richard Cheltenham, with the other members being Guyana-born, Trinidad-based Senior Counsel, Seenauth Jairam and Jamaican Queen’s Counsel, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown. Shortly after the ceremony at the Office of the President, Head of State, Donald Ramotar, said that the Rodney family has been petitioning him to bring closure to the incident by ordering an independent inquiry.

Jagdeo used luxury jet,

not air ambulance for medivac

Later we will find out PPP has a Secret Hanger at Timheri

where this Private Jet operates from......and Jet is used for smuggling.

When former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, was airlifted to the United States destined for a Florida hospital, he used a private luxury Learjet instead of an air ambulance. Air ambulances are planes or helicopters that have been specially fitted with medical equipment and beds and would also include medical personnel accompanying the aircraft to treat the passenger as they are taken to the hospital. What Jagdeo used is a fixed-wing twin-engine, 10-seat jet.

The jet was charted from Jedami Aircraft Charter, LLC, registered in Florida. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) lashed out at the political Opposition over what it called disparaging and insensitive remarks made when Jagdeo took ill and had to be flown overseas for treatment. The party in a missive, sought to remind the Opposition that several of its members, including former Opposition Leader Robert Corbin and the late Sheila Holder benefitted from assistance from the State to seek medical attention abroad when it became necessary.

Embassies,

civil society reiterate calls for

early Local Govt. Elections

But PPP ignore Calls for Local Govt Elections...

The pressure piled up for Guyana to hold local government elections early with a joint statement from civil society and three embassies signaling a growing unhappiness over the country’s situation.

“The political parties have reaffirmed their desire to hold local elections and are making campaign preparations.  It is therefore our hope, as the PPP/C, APNU, and AFC pledged in their 2011 election manifestos, that local government elections will be held…”

Also endorsing the statement were the Berbice Chamber of Commerce; Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry; Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Guyana Association of Women Lawyers; Guyana Bar Association, Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, Guyana Trades Union Congress, Justice Institute, Private Sector Commission and the Transparency Institute Guyana Inc.

Ramotar’s non-assent of Local Govt.

Bill is executive lawlessness – Ramjattan

Ramotar Ignore vote of Parliamentary Majority....

President Donald Ramotar’s refusal to assent to a Bill passed by the House calling for Local Government Elections on or before August 1, 2014, represents the height of executive lawlessness. This was the view of Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjatttan, who opined that the President is afraid to go to the polls under the reformed regime put in place. Ramjattan said that the excuse being used by the ruling party to not call local government elections was “laughable and ludicrous”. The PPP/C had stated that there needs to be a voter education campaign before any election, given that the majority of citizens may not be au fait with the processes. The last local government election was held in 1994, some 20 years ago.

Fire destroys Medex building at Liliendaal

Another mysterious Fire Destroy Records at Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health’s Medex building at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, was completed destroyed by fire. The edifice housed several administrative offices under different departments within the Ministry of Health, including Food Policy and Environmental Health, Veterinary Public Health, Health Sciences Education, and that of a Government Parliamentarian.

Eccles biker shooting death…

Rondy Jagdeo let go of murder charge

PPP supporter walk free after killing..

Five months after being accused of gunning down a man who was said to be a

Rondy Jagdeo (inset) riding away from the court after he was freed.

good friend of his, Water Street businessman Rondy Jagdeo walked out of the city court after the Chief Magistrate discharged the murder charge instituted against him. The 28-year-old had been accused of killing popular biker Kirk Davis on September 3, 2013. After spending almost two months on the run, Jagdeo surrendered to police custody and was then brought before the courts to be arraigned for murder, appearing before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on October 30, 2013. On February 5, the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) got underway before the said Magistrate. The businessman who was represented by Attorneys Mark Waldron and Roger Yearwood was being prosecuted by Corporal Bharat Mangru. The pre-trial matter engaged the attention of the court for a little over one month and some seven witnesses were called to take the stand on behalf of the Prosecution. The Prosecution was later ordered to close its case after failing on three occasions to produce its two remaining civilian witnesses to the court. After the Prosecution closed its case, Yearwood stood on behalf of the accused and made his no-case submission.

Guyana gets $220B budget

PPP shit their pants when AFC & APNU slash the Budget....

A $6B bailout for the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), a $3.7B bailout for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and a $625 increase for Old Age Pensioners were among the features of the $220B Budget announced by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh. Under the theme, ‘A better Guyana for all Guyanese’ the Minister spoke for nearly three hours, detailing the largest budget ever, which comes on the heels of the eighth year of economic growth. Dr. Singh, in his presentation, said that the budget is fully financed with no new taxes. Among the measures for the populace, specifically pensioners, was a five percent increase. The Minister also announced that in an effort to give additional support to parents of school aged children, “Government will provide a cash grant to the parents of every child attending nursery, primary or secondary school in the public education system in the amount of $10,000 per child for the year 2014.” Dr. Singh also announced a countrywide clean-up campaign to the tune of $1B, of which $500M will be used to clean up Georgetown.

Young mom kills two children with poison

Mother also tries to kill herself by digesting poison....THINGS BAD

Tragedy struck the community of Perth, Mahaicony, when a 21-year-old mother took the lives of her two children by feeding them a poisonous substance. Jabari Cadogan, 16 months, died at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital, while his sister, four-year-old Odacia Gordon, succumbed some hours later at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), despite the best efforts of staffers to save her. The mother, identified as Awena Rutherford, 21, was also believed to have ingested the same poison. She was admitted to the GPHC. Relatives said that Rutherford had given the children the deadly rodenticide known locally as ‘carbon tablets’, after telling them that she had “a surprise” for them.

Kaieteur News was told that the young mother had bought the rodenticide earlier in the day, in the vicinity of the Plaisance car park. Rutherford’s reputed husband, who lives overseas, reportedly called his mother earlier in the day and had asked her to keep the children at her Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara residence. Sometime in the afternoon, Rutherford reportedly went to Plaisance to collect the children.

Port Kaituma killer succumbs …

14 days after burning wife and four children to death 

Guyana has serious problems

Lenus La Cruz, the father who torched his Port Kaituma house with his wife and four children inside, succumbed to injuries he sustained while committing the heinous crime. The 50-year-old businessman, had suffered burns to his hands, legs and back. It was unclear why the badly burned suspect had initially been kept for some four days in the Port Kaituma Hospital, which lacks the facilities to treat patients with such injures. During the days spent at the GPHC, La Cruz, who was under police guard, refused to speak to persons including the nurses who were taking care of him.

Guyanese bid farewell to Deborah Backer

PNC suffers loss of a Giant

Hundreds of Guyanese gathered at St. Andrews Kirk to pay their final respects to former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Jan Backer. Backer died on March 21. She was 54.

The remains of Deborah Backer (inset) being carried into St Andrews Kirk.

The body of the Parliamentarian lay in state on the lawns of Parliament building before being taken to the church across the road for the funeral service.

President Donald Ramotar, First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar and members of the Cabinet, were among the mourners as the body lay in the Parliament building compound. And scores filed past to get a final glimpse of the woman who served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

Among the other prominent persons paying heartfelt tribute to Mrs. Backer were Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman; Opposition Leader, Brigadier David Granger; members of the Lions Club of Georgetown, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers and the Guyana Bar Association. Backer served as a member of several important organizations.

Through her involvement with the PNC, she served as a councillor in Georgetown City Council. She entered the National Assembly in 1997 and served until she tendered her resignation in February 2014; she was the Deputy Speaker, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Sectorial Committees and was also the main opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Public Safety and National Security.

A lawyer by profession, Backer obtained her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago after receiving a Bachelor of Laws at the University of the West Indies in 1981. Many expressed gratitude for her life and service to the country as they bade farewell. Backer who leaves to mourn a husband and two children, was laid to rest at Le Repentir Cemetery.

Year in review 2014

April

Probe into Gold Board racket unearths collusion

Another PPP Scam

Several hundred million Guyana dollars are being siphoned off each month in a racket at the Gold Board, as a result of collusion between dealers, Government and senior officials of that entity. An official within the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) explained the scheme that was uncovered and which led to the closure of the Guyana Gold Board sub-office at Bartica, Region Seven. Five low-level employees at the office were arrested. According to the source, dealers would purchase gold from miners across the country at purity levels that vary. This gold would then be sold to the Guyana Gold Board Office and its branches countrywide. The source said that through collusion, some corrupt staffers in the Gold Board pay the dealers for gold at a 95 per cent purity rate, when in fact the purity level is far less. This means that despite the fact some of the gold sold to the Gold Board may be 60 per cent pure, the dealer is still paid for the gold at the 95 per cent rate. According to the official, the racket had been going on for several years and as such had to be with the knowledge of very senior officials at the Gold Board and possibly at the Ministry level. The official opined that it is highly inconceivable that the Gold Board could not have picked up on the scheme.

Brutal end to kidnapping…

Businessman’s body found in cemetery

Rohee is a waste....

After holding their captive for almost four days, kidnappers finally lost patience and murdered Enmore spare parts dealer, Rajendra Singh, called Sunil, even before they could collect the $25M ransom they had demanded.

Dead: Rajendra Singh called Sunil

The 40-year-old Singh’s body with a bullet wound to the head, was discovered in an isolated section of Le Repentir cemetery. His killers had used a jersey to tie his mouth and nose. The killers then proceeded to stuff him in an alcove created by some fallen trees. They had removed his pants, leaving him clad in his socks and his underwear. His hands were bound with what appeared to be his belt. A worker who was in the process of identifying suitable land for burial sites stumbled upon Singh’s bound body. News of the discovery was relayed to Singh’s immediate relatives who were obviously shocked, since they were desperately hoping that he would have been released without harm.

Opposition blocks Specialty Hospital,

$1.1B Amerindian fund –

Health Ministry grilled over prices paid for drugs

AFC-PNC slash Budget

because of PPP Secret Deals

In the first of its promised cuts to the year’s National Budget, the Opposition voted against the Indian-funded US$18M Specialty Hospital and a $1.1B provision for the Amerindian Development Fund.

The blocking of the $910M for the controversial hospital slated for Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, and the $1.1B set aside for the Amerindian fund immediately sparked condemnation from the Government side, which said that the action undermined the possibilities of talks with the Opposition refusing even at the last moment to say what its concerns are with respect to the budget.

Amerindian representatives in the National Assembly for the Opposition insisted, during a hasty press conference, that they want a clear plan from Government on how the fund is being spent, with Toshaos and villagers complaining that the monies are benefitting mainly handpicked representatives of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic who collect $30,000 monthly and do virtually nothing.

An attempt at a possible resolution on the Specialty Hospital during a break failed.

Sooba’s appointment as Town Clerk quashed –

CJ rules Minister does not have such power....

PPP ignores Court Order...

The decision to appoint Carol Sooba as the substantive Town Clerk of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was quashed when Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang ruled that the Local Government Minister does not have the power to appoint any person in a substantive position within the body.

The Chief Justice was at the time passing judgment on the matter brought against the Local Government Ministry by Royston King who challenged the government’s appointment of Sooba to the office of Town Clerk, when he explained that the Constitution does not give the Minister the power to appoint any official earning a certain amount of money annually.

Chang emphasized that the Constitution specifically gives that power to a Local Government Service Commission; members of whom shall be appointed by the Prime Minister.

Ed Ahmad gears to make $600M on $8M GuySuCo land deal …

changes from wood processing plant to housing scheme....

Another PPP SCAM

Almost five years after acquiring a huge piece of prime, seaside property to develop a value-added wood processing operation, a New York-based Guyanese businessman has now instead converted the area into house lots. However, there has been no official announcement by the administration over the new arrangements and who would have given the permission.

Ed Ahmad

The conditions of sale were that the company would have set up a factory to create jobs for persons in the neighbourhood. This condition was responsible for the low price they paid for the land. There has been no factory to date. Instead there is a multi-million-dollar housing development project. The project, Leonora Mall and Hollywood Garden, is being managed by Leonora Projects which is owned by Shareef and Ed Ahmad. The latter is said to be a close associate of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. The name of the project is advertised on a signboard established at the site of what was to be the location of the wood processing plant. The conversion of the almost 17-acre plot to the Leonora Mall and Hollywood Gardens raised eyebrows as again, it was the controversial National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) that was involved. Winston Brassington, who heads NICIL, was the one that piloted this deal with Ahmad. The land, located around a scenic turn, was once the managers’ compound. It was under the control of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and home to a pool and several of GuySuCo’s senior staffers. Around 2009, NICIL reportedly sold it to Ahmad for $80M or about $4.7M per acre.

The signboard adjacent to Ahmad’s almost 17-acre plot.

According to the company’s website, Leonora Projects is planning to construct 87 homes on the site. Company officials said that a house lot is now being sold for at least $7M. 

This means that the $80 million plot of land is now worth more than $600M.

Combined Opposition slashes $37.4B from 2014 Budget …

Amaila vote responsible for $22B

AFC-PNC slash Budget

because of more PPP Secret Deals

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in late March presented a $220B Budget for 2014. By the time the voting was finished, some $37.4B was slashed from the Estimates, leaving the administration with only $182.6B.

Those affected by the cuts were the Ministries of Health, Amerindian Affairs, Public Works, Finance and Office of the President. On the final day for the consideration of the 2014 estimates, some $22.2B was lopped from the Capital Programme for the Ministry of Finance. The contentious allocation in the Ministry’s Capital Programme was that of a $16B allocation for the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project under the Bharrat Jagdeo-led Low Carbon Development Strategy. When the project came up for consideration, Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, requested that the allocation be delinked from the rest of the programme, given that the party had no problems with other allocations, but maintained its positions on the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project. He reminded that the party wanted to await the findings of the Inter-American Development Bank’s due diligence report on the project before it could take a positive vote for the allocation.

Year in review 2014

May

Walter Rodney COI begins work…

Several files missing –

policeman testifies

PPP plan to Crush PNC/APNU

Backfire...

as APNU joins AFC to remove govt

Former Officer in Charge of the Special Branch unit of the Guyana Police Force, and now Crime Chief Leslie James, said that he was unable to locate several files which had covered developments that attracted police attention on and leading up to the death of Walter Rodney. James said that he could not say whether the files are “lost” or have been “misplaced”.

Crime Chief Leslie James was the first witness to be called at the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry

James was the first witness to be called as the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry commenced.  The Crime Chief explained that the Special Branch unit usually deals with matters of national interest, such as treason, sedition and murder. He added that reports which are generated by the department would be filed and kept by the Head. James submitted three documents from the Special Branch on Rodney labelled ‘WPA eight, nine and ten’ respectively to the Commission of Inquiry. An additional three files from CID along with an arrest warrant that was issued in June 1996 for Gregory Smith in relation to Rodney’s death was handed over to the commission. They were later tendered into evidence. James explained that all files which are being submitted have been duplicated.

Over 15 million NIS contributions

not yet entered in system – Dr. Luncheon

Another PPP SCAM

With over fifteen million records of contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) yet to be entered and verified, Government has decided that the task must be concluded before the end of 2014 to relieve contributors of this burden. This was revealed by Dr. Roger Luncheon, Cabinet Secretary and Chairman of the National Insurance Scheme Board, during his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President.

For years, numerous contributors to the scheme have complained bitterly of not being able to access accurate contribution records. This has frustrated contributors who are oftentimes unable to receive their benefits. According to Dr. Luncheon, at an April 29 Cabinet meeting, members reinforced their earlier pledge to stakeholders to have the backlog of contribution records entered electronically and verified by the end of 2014.

He said Cabinet had been notified that the process would be executed by a combination of permanent staff, project staff hired into the service of the scheme specifically for this project, and by outsourcing to private contractors.

Media houses radio licences…

Unthinkable applications ignored for decades –

US Ambassador

Another PPP SCAM

United States Ambassador, D. Brent Hardt chided the Government of Guyana over what he called the “censorship of the media”.

The ambassador at a reception on May 2 to celebrate World Press Freedom Day criticized how Government had failed to properly address several pressing media problems.

United States Ambassador, D. Brent Hardt

According to Ambassador Hardt, back in 2012 he had expressed his surprise at knowing that Guyana alone had complete state monopoly of the radio. He said that in other countries with their ubiquitous “call-in shows” was a vital public forum, but in Guyana there is no such counterpart.

According to the Ambassador “it’s unthinkable that the licence applications for certain media have been delayed or ignored for nearly two decades”.

Ambassador Hardt made a further call for the newly-constituted Broadcasting Authority to immediately undertake a speedy and fair review of any outstanding licence applications and to ensure that all applicants are subjected to independent review.

Tragedy rocks East La Penitence…

Child, three adults dead

after consuming cocaine-laced tonic

A six-year-old boy and three adults from East La Penitence died after unwittingly ingesting the contents of a bottle of SSS tonic, which was laced with liquefied cocaine and was to have been smuggled to the United States. Natasha George, 36, her friend, Simone Pryce, 36; Pryce’s reputed husband, Alex Blair, 42 and their son, six-year-old Jahaquel  Blair, all succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), after frothing at the mouth and collapsing with agonizing stomach cramps.

Dead: Alex Blair and Simone Pryce

The couple’s 12-year-old son, Jamal Waterman, who also ingested the substance, was admitted in a critical but stable condition at the hospital. He survived because he spat out the substance and also drank some fruit juice afterwards. Kaieteur News was told that ranks from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit tested the substance and confirmed that the ‘tonic’ contained cocaine “in the purest form.” According to police, investigations revealed that the bottle of SSS Tonic with the cocaine dissolved inside, along with cassareep and chicken foot, had been left at the house by a man known to them, for a female guest from overseas to take back when she was returning. She, however, did not carry the items and the victims consumed some of the SSS Tonic which had been left in their possession.

PPP accuses US Ambassador of

meddling in local politics

PPP forgot it was pressure from

President Carter that forced PNC

to hold Free & Fair Elections in 1992.

Tensions between the government and the US Embassy escalated with the ruling party labeling the US Ambassador as a meddler in local politics. This was following criticisms by Ambassador D. Brent Hardt of Government’s hand in censoring the local media. The ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in a statement titled  “Journalists must recommit to Guyana’s developmental agenda”, was harsh in its assessment of the diplomat.

“US Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Brent Hardt, a known meddler in local politics, must be rebuked for his assertion that censorship of the media is practiced by the government. At the same time he purposefully ignores the Opposition slashing of the budgetary resources for NCN and GINA. This exposes the political duplicity of this individual.” The party insisted that it was supportive of fair and objective journalism and “demands an end to the callous, personalised attacks which are most times riddled with libel and defamation against the President, his cabinet Ministers and public officials.”

CCJ orders Guyana to repay US$6M

to ‘Thrill’ drinks importer …

for unjust environmental tax....

PPP caught again....Illegal Tax

Guyana has been ordered to pay back a whopping US$6M ($1.2B) for an environmental tax it took over time from the importers of the ‘Thrill’ brand soft drinks. Rudisa Beverages and Juices N.V. and its local distribution company, Caribbean International Distributors Inc. (CIDI) had taken Guyana to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Rudisa argued that the legislation violated the trade policy contained in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), in particular the free movement of goods and the prohibition on import duties on goods that are of CARICOM origin. Both Guyana and Suriname are part of CARICOM. Rudisa, through CIDI, has been in Guyana since 2007. According to the CCJ in its judgment, Rudisa’s application was based on the provisions of the Customs Act of Guyana which imposes an environmental tax on all imported non-returnable beverage containers. The legislation does not contain any exemption in relation to CARICOM goods. The environmental tax in effect caused Rudisa to pay $10 on each imported container. The Surinamese company claimed that no similar tax is imposed on local producers of non-returnable beverage containers and, by the definition of “Import Duties” laid down in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), the levy must be regarded as an import duty.

Luncheon mum on profitability of GT&T shares sale

Another PPP SCAM

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Group

Two years after Government reportedly sold its 20 percent shares in Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) it remained tight-lipped about the financial transaction.

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon during a post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, would not reveal whether Government received the outstanding US$5M from the US$30M deal.

He also declined to comment on whether Government’s decision to place the proceeds of the sale in the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL)’s coffers was a profitable one, earning more than the annual US$2.5M in dividends.

According to Dr. Luncheon, he would not be specific as to whether all the monies were received but assured that all the proceeds that were earned from the sale of the shares are retained in the coffers of NICIL.

The shares were reportedly bought by a Hong-Kong-based company, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group.

Dr. Luncheon said it would be easier to say where Government has the money than to say who bought the shares. However, he believes these disclosures might have been made before.

Where is Yugi22 and Rev? Look how dem avoiding this thread.

yugi was last seen doing the dirty with kwame,rev was arrest for fraud 

It's a lot about nothing.

You supporting thief man base? you think there is nothing wrong with stealing?

Some moral high ground you got there captain.

CANE GROVE BREACH:

After being paid million of dollars the infamous BK International’s shoddy work on the Sea Defense left Cane Grove farmers (all diligent supporters of the PPP) at the mercy of the sea.
BK was not prosecuted but was rewarded with more government projects.

Would you not give more contracts to your main campaign financer?

The PPP owns Guyana.  They act without any accountability.

Time to take back Guyana!

CHARITY WHARF FRAUD:
Well it sank, after billions of dollars was used to build it. (what a fraud - but evidence is underwater!)

Tax payers’ money going down the drain and the Minister stressed that there is nothing for the people to worry about.

Year in review 2014

June

CFATF tells members to limit business with Guyana

AFC-APNU refuse to support PPP bill

which will give Finance Minister

more power to cover shady transactions.

Guyana’s fate was ultimately decided at the Regional level; the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) told its members that it considers the country to be a risk to the international financial system.

The regional body advised the implementation of further counter measures to be taken against Guyana in order to protect financial systems from the “ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.”

As a consequence of failing to meet certain deadlines, CFATF referred Guyana to its parent body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which will take steps which may include Guyana being blacklisted at the international level.

This decision was made at the conclusion of CFATF’s plenary meeting in Miami, Florida.

Sugar factories need US$95M repairs

More thiefing at Guysuco

Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has completed another strategic turnaround plan which focused mainly on mechanisms to increase production.

The plan reflected a need for $19B (US$95M) to Capital Expenditure Plan for the improvement of Agriculture operations and rehabilitation of Factories over the next five years. When the Opposition, in the Committee of Supply, approved the $6B budgetary allocation set aside for GuySuCo, it did so on the grounds that it would be provided with a credible programme to resuscitate the industry.

After 10 years,

two IFMAS systems not operationalised…

Billions in assets have gone untraced –

Former Auditor General

PPP Mismanagement

& Corruption  continue to grow.....

Since the implementation of the Integrated Financial Management and Accounting System (IFMAS) in 2004 under former President Bharrat Jagdeo, two of its seven very important features have not been operationalised.

In their absence, many financial analysts have opined that it opened up the floodgates for mismanagement and lack of proper accountability with regard to assets and consumables acquired by the government.

According to the website of the Ministry of Finance, the IFMAS emerged in January 2004 as the new mechanism for modernizing the business of the government of Guyana.

This unit is responsible for recording all financial data generated by the Government and the payment function with reference to the issuing of cheques and the reconciliation of the main Bank Account, the recording of warrants; contingencies fund advances, deposit fund advances and the generation of the annual financial statements.

It also corrects any mistakes made by Ministries, Department and Regions which may have inputted incorrect information. The generation of financial reports of all aspects of the data is also possible in this unit.

In speaking with this publication, Former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran told this publication that the system was expected to ensure that there would be a more accountable mechanism for recordkeeping as it relates to government’s procurement.

Govt. 10-yr-old accounting system, IFMAS …

Finance Ministry refuses to train operators

More Scam Uncovered

at Ministry of Finance.

After ten years, the Ministry of Finance has failed to enforce what can be considered as the two most important of the seven features/modules of the Integrated Financial Management and Accounting System (IFMAS).

When contacted, Financial Secretary Nirmal Rekha said that the best person to pose questions about the status of the two modules would be the Accountant General, Jawahar Persaud.

“He has responsibility for that and as such he would be better able to answer such questions.” Rekha noted, however, that the Ministry of Finance has put several mechanisms in place to improve its systems.

Accountant General, Jawahar Persaud, said, “I am annoyed with the (June 4, 2014 article) published in Kaieteur News. I was never contacted by this publication. “The article has already been published and I will not speak to Kaieteur News ever about any financial matter, regardless of whether it concerns the Ministry of Finance.”

But Junior Finance Minister, Juan Edghill, stated that the reason for this is because the Ministry lacks the capacity to do so at this point.

IFMAS was implemented in January 2004 under former President Bharrat Jagdeo to modernize the business of the government. The cost of the project was US$660,000 ($132 M).

In an attempt to explain why the Finance Ministry has not operationalised the other two modules, Edghill said, “It must be recognized that, the IFMAS is a foolproof and reliable system from which the Finance Ministry generates its financial statements which are in turn used by the Auditor General.

“The two modules have not been operationalized because we are still building a capacity for them. It requires technical support and the training of people and those things take time. We are in the process of building that capacity.”

IFMAS unused modules incorporated in others –

Finance Minister

Finance Minister try to Coverup Scam...

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said that his Ministry is considering the implementation of the other two Integrated Financial Management and Accounting System (IFMAS) modules.

He said that these two will be operationalized when his technicians recommend that is necessary. At a press conference to address all queries on the IFMAS and why two of the seven modules belonging to the system were not incorporated, Singh explained that the systems currently in place are robust, and as such, the Ministry of Finance is able to generate comprehensive financial statements.

The Minister also stated that the implementation of the systems is not done all at once but in a “phased manner.”

The press conference was held at the National Communications Network. Kaieteur News published articles where financial analysts had said that if the two modules responsible for Purchasing, and Inventory/Asset, were in operation, then it would be easy to trace assets.

The Purchasing Module seeks to provide the ability to create purchase requisitions and purchase order with self-creating commitments to reserve the necessary funds (fully integrated with the Appropriations Module currently installed), provide the ability to record the receipts and return of goods and automatically update the purchase order to reflect the transactions among other functions.

The Inventory/Assets Module seeks to provide the ability to create inventory and asset entries when entering a new record based on the requisitions, provide the ability to have automatic stock ordering when the system hits a user-defined reorder point, provide the ability for tracking issues and receipts, provide the ability to enter receipts for deliveries to stores via the Purchasing module, provide the ability to make adjustments to reflect inventory average and shortages, and the ability to provide queries and reports on current inventory, stock activity and receiving reports.

Hijacked taxi driver…

Suspects lead cops to body in Parika canefield

PPP Crablouse say Crime under Control...

The search for abducted taxi driver Dhanraj Latchman ended after two teens suspected of killing him led police to a Parika, East Bank Essequibo canefield where they had dumped his body two days earlier. Police said that the suspects, aged 18 and 17, confessed under intense interrogation to strangling 17-year-old Latchman with the seatbelt of his car, after hiring him to take them from Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, to Parika.

The alleged killers also revealed that they had planned to sell the slain driver’s car. Accompanied by ranks from A and B Divisions, the teenage suspects led the detectives to a desolate area some four miles off the East Bank Essequibo public road. Within minutes, detectives found Latchman’s decomposed and apparently battered remains in a nearby canefield. Some of the slain man’s relatives were present but were not allowed to see the body.

Businesswoman’s body found with hands and feet bound

Rohee Say Guyanese Happy

The murder of a peaceful and usually jovial 65-year-old resident of Albouystown has not only left many family members and friends in a state of grief but the suspicious features of the crime scene leaves them puzzled by many questions.

At 4:35 am on Father’s Day, the bound body of Sumintra (only name given) was discovered by her 42-year-old son, at her Lot 61 Barr and Sussex Streets residence. The mother of four was in her bedroom, clad in her nightgown. She was tied by the feet and hands which were attached to the bedhead. A kitchen cloth was covering her mouth.

It was later discovered that whoever was responsible for her death had made off with a plasma television, a DVD player and $150,000.

Guyana barters prime land in deal with Chinese company …

during negotiations over Amaila Falls Hydro Project –

NICIL says

AFC Expose Another PPP Scam

The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), came out in defence of gifting not one, but two prime pieces of land to China Railway First Group (Guyana) Inc. NICIL, headed by Winston Brassington, said that in early 2013, with the expectation of the Amaila Falls construction project starting later that year, “negotiations were held with China Railway First Group on key matters related to the start of the project.”

This, NICIL said, resulted in two pieces of land being committed to China Railway First Group (CRFG). The government holding agency made this declaration via a missive in response to an article published in Kaieteur News on May 4, last.

The article noted that Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, after checking the Official Gazette, discovered that NICIL had gifted a plot of Turkeyen land to the Chinese firm.

Ramjattan said that there was a double transfer of lands at Turkeyen from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to NICIL.

He also explained that NICIL then transferred to CRFG, a piece of land. There was no cost attached to the land transfer.

The AFC Leader demanded that Government be transparent about the questionable transaction and explain why Lands and Surveys transferred the land to NICIL, and the said land was not sold to the Chinese group.

Govt. spends US$22.5M that was not approved by Parliament  

“No constitutional means permit expenditure not approved” –

Greenidge

APNU expose more PPP Corruption

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh submitted a Statement of Excess in the National Assembly, outlining that Government has spent more than $4.5B of the $31B that the opposition had disapproved.

The move was a departure from an announcement made previously by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who said Government would initiate an exercise to restore the money that was axed from the 2014 Budget.

Dr. Singh requested that the Financial Paper, the first for 2014, be debated and voted on when the House met again. While several of the allocations distributed by the Finance Ministry for the period ending June 16, 2014, dealt with salaries and other recurring expenditure for Office of the President, several of the allocations fall within the ambit of what the Opposition deemed contentious.

US to setup DEA office in Guyana –

President seeks to make country

“totally inhospitable for drug traffickers”

US Govt decide

Drug Enforcement Agency

must be free from PPP Govt Control

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is establishing its first office here at the local Embassy.

With much talk about the benefits of establishing the agency in the battle against drug smuggling, outgoing US Ambassador Brent Hardt in a joint statement with President Donald Ramotar, announced that the American-based DEA head office has approved, and the US Congress has given the green light, for the agency to be established locally.

Currently, Guyana works closely with the Trinidad and Tobago-based DEA office, in the sharing of intelligence and exchange of mechanisms to tackle drug-smuggling problems.

President Ramotar registered his acceptance of the US agency and stated that it is a welcomed initiative.

LAW BOOK:
Over US$200,000 dollar contract to update law books given to PPP friend Kawal Totaram’s company New Global Consults Inc.
Never advertised locally; the contractor was no legal expert and a law student reviewed the sample copies of the laws. Please Don’t Ask!

Counterfeit ‘Del Monte’ product traced to Ed Ahmad operations

…Analyst warns consumers could be poisoned

Authorities yesterday warned consumers to beware of counterfeit ‘Del Monte’ corn that is on market shelves. According to the Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department, the “Del Monte” Gold and White Corn product comes with a gold-coloured cap. The department’s Director, Marlan Cole, said the cans containing the counterfeit product are of poor quality and dent easily, a defect that does not guarantee the integrity of the contents.

Authorities say the original product has a silver cap as seen above.

The department warned that this may lead to the possible inflow of oxygen that can cause microbiological contamination. “This is manifested by broken seals, bloating and/or explosion of the cans; thereby putting consumers at risk for poisoning by chemicals and/or microorganisms. The original product has a silver cap…is hard to the touch and difficult to place an indentation on the can.” The discovery of the counterfeit product has seen the US manufacturer, Del Monte Foods/Del Monte Brands of San Francisco, distancing itself from the gold-coloured cap product. The US Company has also confirmed that the sole authorized distributer of Del Monte Foods/Del Monte Brands products in Guyana is Toucan Industries Inc. of Water Street, Georgetown. The counterfeit product is sold wholesale in a carton of 24 cans. The carton is labelled “Super Foods” which states that its content is “Manufactured by Super Foods Inc., of Lot 8 Ruimveldt Industrial Estate, Georgetown, Guyana”. That address of the property that formerly housed The New Guyana Company, publishers of the Mirror, a newspaper of the People’s Progressive Party. That property is reportedly leased by New York-based businessman, Edul Ahmad, who runs a hardware establishment and distribution food company there. Ahmad, who is embroiled in a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud case in New York, is said to be a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. He shipped two containers of construction material to the then President Bharrat Jagdeo. Those containers were offloaded at State House at the time when Jagdeo was building his house at Pradoville2. The Analyst Department said that it is strongly advising unsuspecting wholesalers and distributors of the product to immediately remove it from their shelves or distributing system and return it to Super Foods Inc. They may also surrender them to the Food and Drug Department or any Environmental Health Officer in the regions. “Consumers are advised not to use this or any other canned product with the above mentioned characteristic. The department has commenced an investigation to determine the exact location where the counterfeiting is being done.  Containers/consignments are currently being detained for comprehensive examination before items are entered into the country and other products suspected to be counterfeited are also being investigated.”

Businessman, Edul Ahmad

The department also called for the consumers to provide information of other canned products with similar characteristics, “while we conduct further investigation inclusive of analytical testing within our capability in the interest of consumer safety and protection.”

Year in review 2014

July

Country’s corruption rating worsens

…Haiti first, Guyana second

Guyana Record

Under Jagdeo & Ramotar...

President Ramotar, after nearly three years as President, still had not pronounced on the NCN report.

The Marriott Hotel project still had more questions than answers.

The Finance Minister spent $4.5B without the approval of the National Assembly.

Then an Internal Auditor with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority was sent packing because he unearthed fraud and recommended sanctions.

These are some of the things that contributed to the findings by Transparency International which rated Guyana as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

The Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by Transparency International for 2013 found that Guyana slipped lower than the previous year giving rise to a perceived increase in corruption under the Donald Ramotar Administration.

Out of a score of 100 ...Denmark and New Zealand were best with 91 each.

Somalia was perceived to be the most corrupt of the 177 countries surveyed.

In the Caribbean region Barbados was rated 15th with a score of 75 while Jamaica and Trinidad are tied at 83rd with 38.

Guyana tied with Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ivory Coast at 136th with a score of 27.

In 2012, Guyana had scored 28 points.

Guyana remains the second most corrupt country in the Caribbean according to the report, just above Haiti which scored 19.

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.

Dynamic Airways can’t land at JFK …

forced to fly in and out of NJ, Connecticut

How Jerry Gouviea got Permission

from PPP to operate this airline?

New carrier, Dynamic Airways, couldn’t operate flights out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport, but the company was still selling tickets to passengers flying to New York.

Passengers onboard an early morning flight that arrived several hours late in the United States, were alarmed to have landed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut when they were supposed to land at JFK.

The occurrence was a repeat of what took place a week earlier when passengers, on the brink of being stranded, had to be transported from JFK to Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey, to be flown to Guyana. Dynamic Airways, in a release said that it was denied clearance by airport authorities to operate out of JFK after some ‘technical difficulties’ arose.

Passengers said they were shuttled by bus from Connecticut to JFK, New York, which is a three-hour drive.

They said that they were unaware that they would not be flown directly to New York, despite their airline tickets saying that they had a direct flight to JFK.

Several persons expressed disappointment at being fooled when the airline failed to disclose that it would not be flying into the JFK Airport.

Manickchand launches verbal attack

at 4th July reception

PPP Minister embarrass all Guyanese

by behaving like a Fish Vendor

at US Independence Day Reception.

Guyana’s Acting Foreign Minister, Priya Manickchand, and US Ambassador, Brent Hardt, raise their glasses for a toast at the observance of America’s 238th Independence Anniversary.

In what was seen as a shocking abuse of hospitality and a disregard for the diplomatic norms, Guyana’s Acting Foreign Minister, Priya Manickchand, launched into a verbal attack on United States Ambassador, Dr. D. Brent Hardt, at the observance of America’s 238th anniversary of its independence.

Just two days earlier, Ambassador Hardt, addressing a youth forum called Blue Caps, had been critical of the Guyana Government for its failure to hold Local Government elections.

This so rankled the ruling People’s Progressive Party that it issued a statement that chided Ambassador Hardt for meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign government.

Minister Manickchand extended this criticism when she shared the podium at the American Independence Anniversary observance.

Early in her speech she lauded Ambassador Hardt for his comments about Guyana. 

She then launched into an assault on the comments of the envoy.

CARICOM Heads call for early resolution

to Guyana/Venezuela maritime dispute

PPP hoping Caricom

can help them in Border Dispute

The Heads of Government meeting of the Caribbean Community called on Guyana and Venezuela to pursue negotiations with greater expediency towards the conclusion of a maritime delimitation agreement.

The Heads made known their official position in a communiqué issued at the close of the confab held in Antigua. Head of State, Donald Ramotar, led the Guyana delegation which included Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall among others,

The CARICOM Heads reiterated their firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana and for the country’s unhindered economic and social development.

They expressed their hope for an early resolution of the controversy which arose as a result of Venezuela’s contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899, which definitively settled the boundary between the two countries, is null and void.

Govt. to spend even more on US$3M Supenaam Stelling

Government geared to spend millions more on the beleaguered Supenaam Stelling which had already attracted just about US$3M ($600M), a figure well above its original price tag.

Metal sheets were placed over the large holes in the Supenaam Stelling to facilitate the safe passage of vehicles.

Rehabilitative works were also to be carried out on the Parika Stelling. An advertisement that had been running in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, confirmed that the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) which falls under the Ministry of Public Works, was inviting sealed bids from eligible contractors to undertake the rehabilitation projects.

Kaieteur News was informed that the work is targeting the sections of the driveway of the Supenaam Stelling that had caved-in under the pressure of trucks traversing the facility, coupled with erosion.

T&HD placed metal sheets over the large holes to facilitate the safe passage of vehicles.

India group eyes Guyana gold, diamond fields …

preparing to construct hotel

Another Jagdeo /Ramotar Scam

An India-based company, Sun and Sand Group of Companies headed by Rajesh ‘Lucky’ Satija has promised a whopping US$54M investment in Guyana’s hotel industry.

President Donald Ramotar and Director of the Sun and Sand Hotel Group of Companies Bhushan Chandna, plant a flower during the turning of the sod for the construction of the new hotel and casino.

But even though the entity planned to start construction of the multi-million dollar five-star hotel and casino in July, it is quite eager to venture into Guyana’s gold and diamond sector.

The sod for the hotel was turned at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, to launch the “ultimate luxury hotel” project.

But the event left media operatives with many questions unanswered. Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali, used the opportunity to criticize the media for promoting negative headlines instead of those which highlight the country’s tourism potential.

He was also critical of some sections of the private sector for belittling his Ministry’s investment in the hospitality sector.

He told the Director of the Sun and Sand Hotel, Bhushan Chandna, “You have targeted the right market and we want to say to you that your investment in this country is secure. We are going to work with you to ensure the success of your venture.”

Jagdeo racked up $45M

in electricity, travel and security in 27 months –

does not include monthly pension, other benefits

APNU Expose Jagdeo

Abuse of State Funds..

After weeks of not providing answers, the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, eventually responded to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Desmond Trotman, disclosing that Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, racked up bills in excess of $45M on transportation, security and electricity bills to be paid for by the State.

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

The expenditure incurred by Jagdeo is provided for under the Former Presidents (Benefits and Facilities) Act, which he made Law in 2009. This expenditure ($45,417,948) disclosed by Dr Singh, was separate and apart from Jagdeo’s monthly pension, which is excess of $1M, along with his other uncapped benefits.

The figures provided by Dr. Singh, represented the money the State spent on Jagdeo on the three items (transportation, security and electricity bills) from the time he demitted office in December 2011 up to February 2014 – a period of 27 months.

Jagdeo’s total electricity bill for the duration stated amounted to $9,875,680 – an average monthly bill of $365,766.

For transportation, Jagdeo utilized $15,220,748 with the largest amounts being reflected in December 2013 ($3,810,739) and February 2014 ($7,592,911).

In February, Jagdeo was medivaced to United States, Florida, where he was reportedly treated for Dengue.

Gang member shot dead after snatching $1.7M –

accomplice manages to escape

Rohee say Crime is not a Problem

A 21-year-old suspected gang member was shot dead following a botched robbery at Ramchand’s Auto Spares store at Sheriff and Duncan Streets, Campbellville.

Kevin Fields, 21, of Titus Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara, was shot in the neck shortly after snatching a bag containing approximately $1.7M from a businessman who had entered the store.

According to reports, the businessman, who had just left a city bank and Silvies General Store on High Street, entered the spare parts store. An eyewitness said that the businessman walked into the store with the bag and was about to transact business when Fields walked in.

The eyewitness told Kaieteur News that Fields snatched the bag from the man and sprinted out of the building to an accomplice on a waiting motorcycle. He then attempted to escape on the motorcycle but fell off.

According to the eyewitness, Fields, who had a handgun, shot at the businessman, who returned fire and hit Fields in the neck, killing him almost instantly.

AFC informs Govt of ‘no confidence’ motion …

Sends letter of intent to President –

Head of State welcomes challenge

AFC notify PPP....

"NO CONFIDENCE VOTE COMMING"

As promised, the Alliance For Change (AFC) sent a letter to President Donald Ramotar outlining its intent of issuing a No Confidence Motion against Government.

According to the AFC in its letter to the President, “Our Party sees no other alternative than to proceed with this constitutional mechanism for removal of an unpopular Government that has ceased to enjoy the confidence of the National Assembly and who by its actions has demonstrated an unlawful and contemptuous disregard for the Supreme Law of the Country.”

The ‘action’ to which he was referring, was the spending by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh of $4.5B of the $30B that was disapproved by the combined opposition in the 2014 Budget.

The Finance Minister then went ahead and took the monies from the Consolidated Fund without the approval of Parliament.

President Ramotar, responding to the AFC’s letter, said that the move for a no confidence motion in the administration is the AFC’s constitutional right. However, he opined that it was based on a pretext that was completely baseless and spurious.

According to the President, he remained resolute that the actions taken by Government, and against which the AFC had complained, were expressly authorised and permitted by both the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

The President asserted, “as I have said publicly before, the PPP/Civic (Peoples Progressive Party Civic) and I, are prepared to face the consequences of such a motion and the electorate.”

Jagdeo’s pension among highest in the region

 Most Corrupt Country

Highest Presidential Pension

At least one regional economy that vastly outstrips Guyana’s pays its former Head of State a smaller pension than what Guyana pays its former Head of State.

Jamaica has an economy of US$15B but pays its former Prime Ministers, roughly US$3,500 per month as pension, while the other benefits are capped. This is not the case in Guyana.

Under Jamaica’s laws, the Prime Minister when leaving office is entitled to benefits such as a gardener, a chauffeur, secretary, security and a maid, but no more than one of these.

Trinidad and Tobago, which has an economy of US$24B as against Guyana’s US$2.8B, pays its former Prime Ministers US$8,000. Even the medical benefits are prescribed with caps.

The United States of America, with an economy worth in excess of US$16 trillion dollars will pay President Barack Obama, US$16,800 dollars a month in pension and provide Secret Service protection, and reimbursements for staff, travel, mail, and office expenses.

Guyana pays its former Head of State, US$6,000 per month.

Jilted man butchers gay sex workers, kills self

Kwame friends Explode

A 31-year-old former security guard ran amok in the city, butchering two male sex workers before dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight.

Dead: Samuel Bristol

Jason John Samuels, 27, also known as ‘Jada’, of Lamaha Street, was stabbed to death in a section of Leopold Street that is a popular area for transgender men, while Carlyle Sinclair, 23, also known as ‘Tyra’, was found dead in Lombard Street, with several stab wounds about the body. Police identified the killer as Samuel Bristol, of Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara, who succumbed in the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Burn Care Unit, after setting himself alight. Reports suggest that Bristol vented his rage on the two victims after being jilted by a male sex worker with whom he had an almost five-year relationship.

Year in review 2014

AUGUST

PNCR congress ends in major rift,

Granger remains leader –

Gunshot fired during ruckus

Sparks fly at PNC Congress

Notwithstanding the confusion, division, claims of a rigged election and a single gunshot which sent the young and old running for cover, reinstated leader of the People National Congress Reform (PNCR), David Granger declared that the party’s 18th biennial congress was a success.

Granger maintained leadership unopposed after his only challenger, Aubrey Norton, just before voting commenced, announced that he was withdrawing because he was dissatisfied with the process.

Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon also thought that the process was flawed and he too pulled out as a candidate for Chairmanship of the Party.

Solomon and Norton were the only two who competed against Basil Williams for Chairman. Williams retained his Chairman position.

Volda Lawrence and Dr. George Norton were also given back their vice chair positions.

And Ronald Bulkan, the only executive who had actually competed, was reelected Treasurer. His competition was Clement Corlette.

Brassington files 13 lawsuit against Kaieteur News

PPP trying to

Muzzle Kaiteur News

In what might be a local record in the field of litigation, head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, through his attorneys, filed 13 lawsuits against the Kaieteur News, seeking damages totalling $1.3M for alleged libel.

The lawsuits which were served on the newspaper company and its Editor-in-Chief Adam Harris were all filed between July 18 and 21.

All the lawsuits stemmed from statements contained in the newspaper’s popular satirical column “Dem boys seh”. The lawsuits dated back as far as January.

According to Brassington, some of the statements contained in the columns were published falsely and maliciously and were libellous of him and the office he holds

.

Men dressed as cops abduct teacher,

husband on way to airport –

victims dumped at Soesdyke, robbed of millions

Daily Robberies under PPP

  A planned vacation by private school teacher Latchmin Gopaul and her husband began with a nightmare experience, when two men in police uniforms abducted them while they were on their way to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

Mrs. Gopaul, her husband Lekraj Gopaul, and a taxi driver were held at gunpoint near Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, in broad daylight, by the two men, who claimed they were police ranks investigating an accident.

The victims were driven to a desolate spot at Yarrowkabra, off the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, where they were bound and relieved of millions in local and foreign currency, jewellery and other valuables.

Bai Shan Lin circumvents Guyana’s logging laws…

Ships Billions $$$$ of high priced logs monthly

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

Even though Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. is yet to actually receive a logging licence, the company has teamed up with four companies in joint ventures to export billions of dollars worth in timber monthly.

One official from the Guyana Forestry Commission explained that Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development does not have an actual licence for the exportation of logs.

What the company has is a State Forest Exploration Permit. In that permit, Bai Shan Lin is required to do an environmental and social assessment study.

The company is also required to do a forestry inventory and business plan which is to be submitted to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). To circumvent the requirements, Bai Shan Lin opted for joint venture deals with Karbana Wood, Wiacho, Haimora Kabra and Paruni Wood Inc.

The official told Kaieteur News that “…as it is right now, there should be limited exploration logging, but not much is done at the level of the Forestry Commission.  Most things fall under the Ministry of Natural Resources now”.

Not only in containers…

Chinese vessels exporting logs in bulk

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

The largest logging company in Guyana, Bai Shan Lin, is doing way more than the public knows and is doing so without the permission of relevant authorities.

Bai Shan Lin’s Yuan Heng Freighter

is positioned to be loaded with logs.

 This newspaper paid a visit to Kwakwani, Region Ten, and found that—in the words of a Kwakwani resident—Bai Shan Lin is “taking all it can get and using every way dem can think of to carry lumber out of this country.”

On the journey to Kwakwani, Kaieteur News noticed a number of loaded trucks, carrying Bai Shan Lin’s logo, making their way to Georgetown.

Then there were 24 containers of logs that were shown on the front page of this newspaper’s August 7 edition as they waited to be exported.

But when Kaieteur News finally arrived at Kwakwani Waterfront, something else was discovered. A short distance from Edward’s Crossing, was a freighter already loaded with logs ready to be shipped.

On land, just beside where the vessel was anchored, lay hundreds of logs that were already marked and ready to be shipped.

Information received is that Bai Shan Lin, in addition to the numerous containers of logs it sends out every day, uses that vessel to export the merchandise.

The vessel is named Yuan Heng Freighter. Kaieteur News was told that when one boat goes another comes, and so it rotates.

AFC tables No Confidence Motion against Govt.

How Moses Topple PPP

for Illegal use of State Funds

The Alliance For Change (AFC) made good on its promise to file a No Confidence Motion against the Guyana Government.

In a history-making moment, the AFC’s General Secretary, David Patterson, accompanied by Treasurer Dominic Gaskin, delivered the Motion to Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs.

Patterson subsequently told this publication that the party would like to see the Motion debated and voted on as soon as possible. A Partnership for National Unity had already signaled its intention to support the Motion.

The historic Motion was one line: “Be it resolved that this National Assembly has no confidence in the Government.” It was proposed by the party’s Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo and seconded by Member of Parliament, Catherine Hughes.

IFMAS developers debunk Govt’s defence for non-­installed modules

Earlier in the year, Kaieteur News reported that Government was wasting assets and was not doing enough to prevent fraud in the national accounting system.

This came about because the Ministry of Finance failed to implement two of the seven modules it had acquired for the Integrated Financial Management Accounting System (IFMAS).

In the wake of the news report and questions at a media conference hosted by President Donald Ramotar, the President ordered Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh to host a press conference to explain why the entire IFMAS package which was secured at a cost of $132M, was not being used.

Singh, at a two-­hour-long press conference, stated that the two unimplemented modules are for a more mature environment. This was despite the fact that when Guyana got the IFMAS system, it was specially tailored to suit the country’s needs.

A senior officer of the Canadian company that designed the IFMAS subsequently asserted that he was unaware of any case where a government bought the system and did not use all of the modules.

Doug Hadden, Vice President of Sales, in an exclusive interview with this newspaper, said that while Governments are treated with a sense of privacy, he would advise that all the modules be used.

Asked whether the system was designed for mature or small environments, he said it was designed for “the immature to the very mature. We have implemented this system in countries with a far less mature environment than Guyana has”.

.

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal deepens…

Company halts massive E’bo operations …

but busy cutting new roads to Waini River

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

Chinese company Bai Shan Lin’s operations in Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, may have evoked widespread public anger and disbelief over the magnitude, but there were indications that those operations paled in comparison to what was happening in the Kwebana, Waini area in Region One, Essequibo.

Wide-angle views of a section of Bai Shan Lin’s massive Kwakwani operations.

 Kaieteur News, as part of its investigations into the scope of the company’s operations, flew into Region One (Barima/Waini) and found that the company had halted its logging operations there in the face of increasing scrutiny of its Upper Berbice operations. The extent of the Essequibo activities revealed that the scope of logging operations by the company was way larger than Guyanese were initially led to believe. For several days, several trucks, laden with massive logs were seen sitting on the roadside in the dense jungle in the Kwebana area. The logs, seen by Kaieteur News, had already been certified with stamps and seals of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). In Essequibo, the company had been logging various species of wood and selling what it was not exporting to Barama Company Limited, an establishment which has an operation based along the Essequibo River. Bai Shan Lin also cut miles upon miles of road leading to the Waini River, and was looking to go even further. There was a huge fleet of heavy-duty vehicles – some 35 bulldozers, 10 excavators, loaders and about 40 dump trucks – present on several sections of the road being built. Equipment was also present at various locations near loam pits, working to extract material for the road. At several locations along the winding road, massive logs were seemingly left abandoned.

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal…

Burns thousands of abandoned logs in E’bo –

ships in US$25M in equipment before logging permission granted

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

Under-fire Chinese-owned firm, Bai Shan Lin, spent over $5B (US$25M) in equipment to conduct primary extraction activities even before it received permission to conduct large scale logging.

The admission by the company in a statement would raise questions whether Government and its agencies promised the company that it will clear the way for it to receive state forests to conduct logging activities.

Both Bai Shan Lin and the Government of Guyana faced serious flak over the arrangements the latter has with the company. The company has been conducting significant logging activities in especially the Upper Berbice, Region 10, area without any clear moves to establish its promised processing facilities.

While Bai Shan Lin has two State Forest Exploratory Permits, it has not yet been granted the clearance to log as a number of studies have to first be completed and submitted first to the regulators.

In its joint venture concession at Kwebana, Region One, several logs which were apparently abandoned in one of the trails for months, were found to be torched.

It was reported that workers of Bai Shan Lin, in an attempt to get rid of the logs which had been lying there for a while, set them alight.

The GFC tags on several of half burned logs remained unscathed.

Logging scandal…

GFC defends delays in processing facilities

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) defended its handling of logging

activities in the country by saying that all is above board and nothing is wrong.

Guyana Forestry Commission hosted a press conference to defend its handling of logging activities in the country.

During a testy press conference at its Kingston headquarters, which was peppered with questions regarding the operations of foreign investors, the regulatory body in defence of the delays to invest in a timely manner in value-added processing, also said that it may be a case where producers are finding it more economical to export.

Along with his senior management officials, GFC’s head, Commissioner James Singh also criticized reporting by independently-owned Kaieteur News and Stabroek News in their coverage of the forestry sector.

Two companies especially – Chinese-owned Bai Shan Lin and Indian-controlled Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc. – came under intense scrutiny amidst reports of their questionable logging activities.

The reports had zeroed in on the absence of value-added processing which both companies had promised but had not delivered on.

GFC says Bai Shan Lin did no logging at Kwebana in 2014…

Photo evidence rubbishes claims

Jagdeo Chinese Phantom Partner...

Information provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) regarding logging activities by Chinese-owned Bai Shan Lin in Kwebana, Region One, in Essequibo, was discovered to be totally false.

The information raised further questions about what other information provided by GFC was also untrue.

In published statements and during a press conference at the agency’s Kingston head office, Commissioner James Singh said that for the year, no logging activities took place in the Kwebana concession – an area of 87,361 hectares that is under the control of the Chinese company. Kwebana saw some 10,188 cubic metres logged last year.

However, GFC claims that for 2014 no logging activities took place there. The figure for the production provided was zero.

This was a startling claim from GFC, especially since Kaieteur News flew over the area and saw activities ongoing.

There was an entire line of Bai Shan Lin trucks with logs parked at a section of the Kwebana concession.

There were GFC tags and official markings on the logs – a clear indication that logs were being harvested with the full knowledge of the forest rangers

Year in review 2014

September

CANU detains businessman in connection with narco submarine

Drug Lords & Narco

Operation In Guyana.....

No one Charged....

Swept under the Carpet

Drug agents from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) detained a popular Waini River businessman as they intensified their probe into the discovery of a semi-submersible vessel in the Guyana jungle.

CANU agents detained a popular Waini River businessman when this semi-submersible vessel was discovered in the jungle.

The man, who operates a large grocery and general store in the Waini River area, was removed from his home by CANU agents before being transported to the city for questioning.

The local drug agents were hoping that the businessman would be able to provide them with information about the owners of the vessel, which they believe is linked to the illegal drugs trade.

Remigrants ask Court to order GRA return detained SUVs

GRA quietly back down & Setteled

Three days after their two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were detained by the Guyana Revenue Authority, a remigrant couple has moved to the Court to have them returned. The constitutional action filed by lawyers for Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan asked for court orders to be granted, and directed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), quashing the decision over the weekend  to detain two Lexus LX 570 motor vehicles, registration numbers, PRR 8398 and PRR 8399.

The two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)

that were detained by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

.

According to the Brijnanans, both vehicles were imported by them after their application for remigration status was approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 3rd July, 2013, and tax exemptions granted by GRA via a letter dated 8th July, 2013.

The court action said that the grounds of the seizures were “arbitrary”, “unreasonable”, in breach of their legitimate expectations and of the provisions of the Customs Act, and was unlawful.

The Brijnanans are being represented by attorneys-at-law Robin Hunte, Ganesh Hira and Manoj Narayan. In their claims, the couple said they have homes in Number 61 Village, Berbice, and at Continental Park, East Bank Demerara, and that they were United States residents since 1997, acquiring citizenship in 2003.

Marriott Hotel’s private investors ‘yet to put a dollar’ –

Brassington still seeking partners  – Source

Jagdeo Mystry Chinese Partner...

The Georgetown Marriott Hotel is being constructed in Kingston, Georgetown and as of September the only official source of funding was the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

Marriott Hotel’s private investors are ‘yet to put a dollar’.

This publication was told that despite an announcement by Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI), its owners, the project was yet to receive the funding from its private investors, US$8M or the Republic Bank syndicated loan of US$27M.

Kaieteur News learnt that Ace Square Investments was yet to put in a single dollar, while AHI’s Winston Brassington was busy running around trying to borrow a huge sum from a Trinidad bank to help pay off the contractor who built the hotel with purely Chinese labour.

This publication confirmed that Brassington was in China seeking new investors

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US$18M Specialty Hospital sinks in deeper trouble…

Govt. moves to terminate Surendra’s contract –

cites fraud, non-performance

Jagdeo Indian Partner

Turns out to be a Fake

like De Doctor Degree them give him...

AFC warned them about this Crook

More than two years after controversially awarding a US$18.1M ($3.7B) contract to an Indian firm to build a specialty hospital at Turkeyen, Government announced that it was moving to scrap the deal for fraud and non-performance.

The announcement came days after reports that one senior official of Surendra Engineering Company Limited (SECL) had skipped the country following a court judgment in favour of a prominent contractor which did works on the East Coast Demerara project site, but was not paid.

After building US$12.8M Enmore Packaging Plant, the former administration under President Bharrat Jagdeo then turned around and granted a US$4M contract to the Indian firm to supply 14 pumps to help reduce flooding on the coastland.

Diligent checks found that the company had no history in pumps. That contract was still mired in problems as Government was unable to say where the pumps were and whether Surendra actually supplied all of them. The answers were sketchy at best.

Regarding the specialty hospital contract, which was award in August 2012, the Government of Guyana “Press Statement” said that SECL was written to, and  “deep concerns” about the execution of the project’s design and construction were expressed. Government admitted that all was not well with the performance targets it set for Surendra and monies it had advanced.

Umana Yana destroyed by fire

MYSTRY.....

A significant part of the country’s history went up in flames after a fire, believed to be of electrical origin, completely destroyed the Umana Yana at Main Street, Kingston.

The Umana Yana was the largest structure of its kind in Guyana.

Officer in Charge of Operations at the Guyana Fire Service, Compton Sparman, told media operatives that fire crews and four tenders got to the scene within minutes, but were unable to save the structure.

“There is nothing else in there that could have started a fire, it can only be electrical, there was no cooking, no human activities going around to start a fire and fires don’t just happen, they are caused.”

No one was in the building at the time of the blaze, but a security guard who was on duty was rushed to the hospital with minor injuries. The Umana Yana stood 55 feet (16.78 metres) high and was made from thatched allibanna and manicole palm leaves, and wallaba posts lashed together with mukru, turu and nibbi vines. No nails were used.

Fashioned like the Wai-Wai benabs or shelters which are found deep in Guyana’s interior, it occupied an area of 460 square metres, which made it the largest structure of its kind in Guyana.

It was specially constructed to serve as a V.I.P. lounge and recreation spot during the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference held in Georgetown in August 1972.

OP now probing Surendra over US$4M pumps  –

injunction bars Guyana from releasing outstanding monies

Jagdeo Indian Partner

Turns out to be a Fake

like De Doctor Degree them give him...

AFC warned them about this Crook

Surendra Engineering Company Limited (SECL), the Indian firm accused of submitting a fake bank guarantee to Government for the Turkeyen specialty hospital, headed for even more trouble in September.

Not only did Government move to terminate that US$18M contract, filing a court case and involving the police, but an active assessment was also conducted into another controversial deal involving the supply of 14 drainage pumps to the tune of US$4M.

That contract was awarded in 2011, shortly before former President Bharrat Jagdeo ended his second term.

Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, said that both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Office of the President were reviewing the pump contract, with Government not “oblivious” to the fact that there is another deal.

However, the official declined to go into details, saying it was too early.

‘Illegally’ spent $4.5B by Finance Minister “not a police matter”

PPP wrong & Strong

Almost two months after the Leader of the Alliance for Change, (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan, filed a complaint against the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, over alleged illegal expenditure in excess of $4.5B, the Guyana Police Force said that it did not find that the Minister committed a crime and legal advice is being sought. The Force, by way of a statement, said it is obligated to investigate criminal breaches only and does not conduct investigations into civil breaches or administrative breaches of the law, save and except those related to the Police (Discipline) Act Chapter 17:01 regarding the conduct of its ranks.

Jagdeo/Sattaur plot to destroy Kaieteur News unearthed

Caught Redhanded.....

Publisher of the Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, was provided with incontrovertible evidence of a plot by former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Khurshid Sattaur, to bring down Kaieteur News. Confidential documentation, leaked to the publication, revealed that the Commissioner-General provided the former President with detailed tax information of a number of independent media houses in Guyana.

Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur

The disclosure of the information by GRA’s Commissioner-General to Jagdeo, represented a grave breach of the ‘Oath of Secrecy’ sworn to by Sattaur as an officer of the Guyana Revenue Authority, one lawyer said.

In taking the Oath, Sattaur solemnly declared that he would “truly, faithfully, impartially and honestly execute the powers vested in him.”

He also swore that he would “judge and determine upon all matters and things before him without fear, affection, or malice”.

And he swore, too, not to disclose any tax information concerning any taxpayer, but this has not been the case

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Sattaur addresses issue of plot to destroy Kaieteur News …

newspaper provides the evidence

What will happen after May 11th....

Kaieteur News reported on what it said was a plot by Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Khurshid Sattaur, and former President Bharrat Jagdeo, to destroy the newspaper.

The news report prompted the following response from Sattaur. “Dear Editor, Reference is made to various articles in Kaieteur newspaper edition of 21/9 of which you are well undoubtedly aware.

There would appear to be a deliberate and orchestrated effort on the part of the paper and no doubt that of the owner/publisher of the newspaper to give maximum coverage to the ongoing legal proceedings involving the vehicles imported by remigrants but “loaned to the Lalls”.

This can be construed as an apparent and continuing effort to influence the learned Chief Justice in his impending decision.

This belief is further confirmed from the most naive reference made by the editor of the publication that “this matter is before the court and I am sure it will go nowhere”.

Perhaps the editor of Kaieteur News can enlighten the public what is meant by this statement and if he is privy to information that is not in the public domain.

The GRA is still of the firm belief that the matter will be heard and determined expeditiously and justice will prevail. While this reference to a current court case and these unjustified and baseless statements may appear to the uninitiated to be innocuous, Mr. Harris should be seriously reprimanded by the Chief Justice for contempt.

The statement that “nothing in the law that says a man cannot loan his vehicle” betrays the ignorance, misapprehension, misinterpretation of the law or represents a deliberate attempt by the publication to disseminate this misinformation to the reading public.”

Man’s head found in plastic bag a few yards from body

PPP still maintain Guyana Safe

Workers attached to the Ministry Public Workers made a shocking discovery while clearing out a cemetery at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara.

Hidden in a clump of bushes was the badly decomposed body of a man. The particular area where the body was found is very desolate. A few yards away a human skull and a pair of blood-stained shoelaces were found in a black plastic bag.

There was also some “heavy duty” tape wrapped around the bag.

Several other bones which appeared to be human where scattered around the scene because dogs had begun to devour the remains.

Police sources said that plastic handcuffs along with a car mat were found in the bushes close to the body.

Sattaur moves to silence Kaieteur News…sues for $500M

First Brassington  now Sattaur....

PPP trying to

Muzzle Kaiteur News

While criminal charges were promised, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has filed a lawsuit against the Kaieteur News, its Publisher Glenn Lall and Editor-in-Chief Adam Harris, seeking in excess of $500M as well as an injunction preventing the publication from repeating a number of allegations against Sattaur.

Sattaur successfully secured an interim injunction against Kaieteur News, by way of Justice Sandra Kurtzious, from circulating or causing to be published any libelous statements against him.

In the court documents filed by Sattaur, it was claimed that Kaieteur News had libeled him on no less than nine times in recent weeks, dating back as far as August 31.

Sattaur’s writ was filed by his attorneys R. Satram, CV Satram and Mahendra Satram.

The party of Jagan, no longer the Party of Jagan.

Their thieving has demonized a good man.

RE-MIGRANT VEHICLES:

This saw more than 50 vehicles being imported by persons who falsely declared remigrant status - some of these were/are PPP supporters and businessmen who evaded millions of dollars in duty.

Zed, even candies have an expiration date.