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FM
Former Member

“Special initiative” for 7000 sugar workers fired by APNU/AFC – Jagdeo

…to meet with them soon

The Guyana Government is expected to implement a special initiative in the near future that focuses on bringing benefits to the thousands of ex-sugar workers who were dismissed under the APNU/AFC regime.

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Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

Some 7000-plus sugar workers were placed on the breadline after the APNU/AFC Administration downsized the industry and shut down four estates across the country. Many of those workers have not been able to secure permanent jobs and remain on the breadline years later.

However, the PPP/C, during the 2020 election campaign trail, had promised to reopen those estates and rehire those sacked workers.

During a recent interview with a social media commentator, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo pointed out that Government has not forgotten this promise. In fact, Jagdeo disclosed that he will soon be meeting with those former sugar workers on this.

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“We remember our pre-election promise and soon, I’ll be meeting with [the ex-sugar workers]. There is a special initiative that we’re working on for the 7000 workers who were laid off. Soon I’ll be meeting with them to explain more about this initiative… We intend to fulfil our promises,” the Vice President indicated.

Several efforts to contact various Government officials including Jagdeo for additional information on this special initiative were futile.

Back in 2016, the former APNU/AFC closed the Wales Estate, and the following year, shut down the Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates, putting over 7000 sugar workers on the breadline. The downsizing of the sugar industry resulted in only the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates in operation.

However, since the PPP/C Administration assumed office in August 2020, they have been putting systems in place to reopen the Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates. Due to the deteriorating state of the Wales factory, that estate will be converted into the Wales Development Authority – an industrial facility that will see the development of not only agriculture but agro-industries, processing facilities, manufacturing and other sectors to drive economic activities.

Additionally, Government, through the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has already moved to rehire over 700 sugar workers.

Back in December 2020, the Agriculture Minister clapped back at naysayers as he made it clear that the PPP/C Administration is committed to rehiring at least 5000 of the sacked sugar workers.

“Our Government is cognisant of the fact that many livelihoods and communities are dependent on this industry. We are aware that the entire community are built around sugar. We heard your cry when hope seemed lost, when there was no work and loss of income… that is why the reopening of these estates is important…. more than 5000 sugar workers will be rehired,” the Minister had said at the time.

Meanwhile, in fulfilment of its promise to reopen the closed estates and return the sugar industry to a viable state, since taking office last year, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration has injected some $9 billion dollars into the sugar industry – $7 billion from the 2020 Emergency Budget to recapitalise the sugar industry and another $2 billion in the 2021 budget for critical capital works at the sugar corporation.

A further $1.5 billion in supplementary funding was also approved in the National Assembly last month for the restructuring of GuySuCo.

Minister Mustapha had told the National Assembly that so far, 40 per cent of the works to restructure GuySuCo has been completed. He also revealed that there is a plan for the overall sugar sector which is currently being fine-tuned.

According to the Agriculture Minister, GuySuCo is examining the plan right now and GuySuCo, which he noted has enough money to fulfil its financial obligations, will continue progressing on the path to recovery it has been set on.

“There is a plan. The plan is being fine-tuned now. The Board is looking at that. And very shortly they should give a me a copy of that and I will (provide it). GuySuCo has money to pay its current bills and we will continue to pursue value added to increase the profitability of GuySuCo. We have seen a lil turnaround with GuySuCo and GuySuCo is now moving in a positive direction, unlike before last year August,” Mustapha said.

In fact, Chief Executive Officer of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh during an interview with <<<Guyana Times>>> just over a week ago, explained and with the sugar company is in a better financial standing, it has paid off almost $900 million in debt to its urgent trade creditors and unions.

“GuySuCo has different kinds of debts. It has urgent debts. And urgent debts are those debts that if we don’t pay, the whole operation grinds to a halt. Like BACIF, Brass Aluminium Cast Iron Foundry, the people who make bearings and cast-iron parts for the estate,” Singh explained.

He added, “If they withdraw their services from GuySuCo, then GuySuCo is in trouble. So that kind of urgent debt is about $1 billion. That is now reduced to about $750 million. Now while we’ve paid $700 million down, it’s a combination of everything.”

Included in the amounts GuySuCo has paid down over the past nine months is money owed to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) – the Union representing sugar workers, and the National insurance Scheme (NIS).

Replies sorted oldest to newest

@Spugum posted:

Be interested to see the grand plan for an industry that produces sugar at US 41c per pound and can only sell it on the wholesale market for US 13c per pound.

Value added? yeah right

Were you interested in the US grand plan when they bailed out failing industries?  Check out GM,AIG status today still on taxpayer dole, these companies were  “too big to fail”.

Unlike granger who spend the taxpayers money - to give themselves and cronies 50% raises, build billion dollar Durban park stadium for a one day party then to pay for it, tax his own supporters by - removing subsidies and raise utilities on the elderly, fees ondray cart owners, kick them out stabroek square, lied on his promises to modernize the marijuana possession law instead  jailed them for possession of a joint.

The PPP has a different US type strategy spending, they are thieves also but they are ensuring they give people a chance to make a living and would be grateful to vote for them legally unlike y’all dumb shake batty and shills who condone rigging and riggers when the people reject y’all at the polls hahahahaha [maniacal laughter]

PS @jgango I am not breaking no law posting here, I am saving a copy of my posts if you deleted them again I  will repost at backdam...

sachin_05
Last edited by sachin_05
@sachin_05 posted:


Unlike granger who spend the taxpayers money - to give themselves and cronies 50% raises,

Idiot, why is your flucking PPP holding on to it? They have the majority and  they can reverse it.

Mitwah
@Mitwah posted:

Idiot, why is your flucking PPP holding on to it? They have the majority and  they can reverse it.

I never claimed the PPP are saints, reread my post. Rigging caused Guyana to be the biggest shithole in the Caribbean, it also causes me and a whole generation of my family to flee my country of birth so I hate riggers and those who condone it with a passion....

sachin_05
@sachin_05 posted:

I never claimed the PPP are saints, reread my post. Rigging caused Guyana to be the biggest shithole in the Caribbean, it also causes me and a whole generation of my family to flee my country of birth so I hate riggers and those who condone it with a passion....

You are being asinine. Why don't you implore your PPP crooks to reverse the raise and retroactively? Else STFU and pull your dray cart easily.

The last election was rigged by the PPP. Your PPP is back in power. Move back nuh.

Mitwah
Last edited by Mitwah
@Mitwah posted:

You are being asinine. Why don't you implore your PPP crooks to reverse the raise and retroactively? Else STFU and pull your dray cart easily.

The last election was rigged by the PPP. Your PPP is back in power. Move back nuh.

Yeah, by dead people jumbies that can’t be seen by the world observers- OAS, Caricom, EU, etc.. only PNC can see jumbies....

sachin_05
LETTER BY COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER|
"I listened to the Press Conference of the American Ambassador. When asked about the fraud uncovered during the Recount, she referenced the CARICOM report.
That report indicated that there was no evidence of fraud. Prime Minister Mottley also relied on that element of the report in her statement on the matter.
In a meeting at GECOM on July 13, I referenced the evidence pertaining to the dead for whom votes were cast. A PPP/C nominated commissioner retorted that there was no such evidence.
The Chairperson responded that GECOM was in receipt of death certificates for persons for whom votes were cast.
In an earlier submission to the Commission: The Case for Non-Declaration, I indicated that at least 61 deaths certificates were availed to GECOM, during the Recount, of dead persons for whom votes were cast.
I also opined that this information must have been withheld from the CARICOM observers for them to have reported that there were allegations of dead voters but no evidence.
There is a song sheet out there that reminds me of the Weapons of Mass Destruction that was the reason for the invasion of Iraq. Alas, no such weapons were found nor evidence of their existence. But regime change was achieved; thousands killed and Iraq is yet to return to stability and civility.
Vincent Alexander
GECOM Commissioner
Django
Last edited by Django
@sachin_05 posted:

Were you interested in the US grand plan when they bailed out failing industries?  Check out GM,AIG status today still on taxpayer dole, these companies were  “too big to fail”.

Unlike granger who spend the taxpayers money - to give themselves and cronies 50% raises, build billion dollar Durban park stadium for a one day party then to pay for it, tax his own supporters by - removing subsidies and raise utilities on the elderly, fees on dray cart owners, kick them out stabroek square, lied on his promises to modernize the marijuana possession law instead  jailed them for possession of a joint.

The PPP has a different US type strategy spending, they are thieves also but they are ensuring they give people a chance to make a living and would be grateful to vote for them legally unlikey’all dumb shake batty and shills who condone rigging and riggers whenthe people reject y’all at the polls hahahahaha [maniacal laughter]

PS @jgango I am not breaking no law posting here, I am saving a copy of my posts if you deleted them again I  will repost at backdam...

What is noticeable is attacking members of the forum.

It's clear ,condoning of rigging of elections by the PPP under Ratman ,who thinks he have the transport for Guyana .

The focus of rigging is on one side regarding the 2020 Elections that alone shows the biasness and short shortsightedness .

You are free to take your views any where ,no one stopping you.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Mitwah posted:

The last election was rigged by the PPP.

The result of the last election was conducted with supervised counting and recounting with the issues eventually decided by the courts.

The final decision was that the PPP/C won the election and eventually it formed the government.

All political parties had representatives present during the tabulations and each received a copy of the results for the respective areas plus an official copy was presented to GECOM.

Observers from the US_of_A, Britain, Caricom, OAS plus other countries and regions were also present during the counting of the results and expressed their views that the tabulations were properly done.

FM

Electoral fraud and rigging by the PPP/C

THERE is irrefutable evidence that the PPP/C assisted voter-fraud, including multiple voting and vote-buying in hinterland communities and coastal Guyana.

Some of these areas include Toevlught/Patentia, Diamond, Mon Repos, Lancaster, Mahaica, Ann’s Grove and Parika. It appears as though the PPP/C had hoped to sabotage GECOM and claim collusion between GECOM and the incumbent coalition government. The PPP/C banked on international pressure resulting from lobbying work; it had hired Mercury Public Affairs, a United States-based entity of questionable repute (Mercury is listed by the FBI as a co-conspirator in Russian interference in the 2016 USA elections), to undertake lobbying on its behalf.

The PPP/C’s attempts to prevent a recount may be understood if one accepts that a recount and forensic audit of the results of the March 2, 2020 elections will reveal the PPP’s attempts to rig the process, sabotage GECOM and undermine Guyana’s democracy and by extension, its sovereignty.

There was unprecedented transparency during the last elections. GECOM has twice tabulated the results for Region Four and the other regions. On the second occasion, the SOPs for Region Four were displayed on a screen, while the results were entered into the spreadsheet in front of party and other observers. Still, the PPP/C and its proxies claimed a lack of transparency when they realised that they were losing.

In the last weeks, everyone would have observed numerous PPP/C attempts to frustrate the preparation of the national recount, aided by some civil society organisations and friendly media outlets. Those attempts include propaganda; unreasonable demands for live-streaming; removal of senior officials; arbitrary starting of the recount with Region Four; requests for expensive observers, etc. Obviously, any party claiming it has won the elections would welcome a full recount and not attempt to stop it. Perhaps the PPP/C prefers to frustrate the recount and audit because evidence of their rigging attempts will be found.

The PPP/C have been the real riggers since 1997. In that year, the PPP/C held a parliamentary majority. They voted to make possession of a valid ID card a requirement to vote, contrary to the Constitution. The High Court received an Elections Petition by Ester Perreira, a PNC supporter. After two years of hearings, the court ruled that the ID card requirement was unlawful. The court found that about 30,000 persons, some one-tenth of Guyana’s eligible voters, were disenfranchised by the illegal requirement.

Before Mrs. Janet Jagan was sworn in as President, an injunction was sought by the PNC to: (a) prohibit the swearing in of Mrs. Jagan, and (b) prohibit Mrs. Jagan from assuming office, and/or assuming the duties of office. The injunction could not have been heard by the court because the PPP/C had already secretly sworn in Mrs. Janet Jagan, even as a recount was in progress. After the 2006 elections, the Alliance For Change (AFC) discovered that the results had left out thousands of votes. When they presented the evidence to the then disgraced Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM Mr. Gocool Boodhoo, he wrote to the press alleging that, “the Presiding Officers made a lot of mistakes and that the AFC must not worry itself, everything will be alright.” The AFC never received their due parliamentary seat.

In was also in 2006 when the first fake SOP was found in the IT Department of GECOM by officials and an opposition commissioner. At the time, the Chairman of GECOM Dr. Surujbally requested an investigation, noting that it will require empirical analysis to determine how and where the fake SOP entered the system.

In 2011, Mr. Boodhoo again attempted to rob the AFC of a parliamentary seat by giving the seat to the PPP/C which gave that party a parliamentary majority. Mr. Boodhoo, attempted to pass this off despite results showing that the AFC and APNU had received a combined 9,000 votes more than the PPP/C. Some six months after the 2011 elections, Mr. Steve Surujbally remarked that Mr. Boodhoo made a “human error.” What Surujbally did not say was that this was not Boodhoo’s first “human error.”

On to 2015. Several fake SOPs got into the electoral system and into the IT department of GECOM. Those fake SOPs were discovered by Mr. Vincent Alexander, a GECOM Commissioner. The IT Division was shut down after the discovery, but remember the department had been fully operational during the 2006 and 2011 elections. The fake SOPs discovered in 2015 continued the corrupt trend of 2006 and 2011.

And, we get to March 2, 2020. While GECOM was still undertaking tabulation of results, the PPP/C began publishing election results of its own. The PPP/C also published some SOPs the party claimed its agents had photographed at polling places, some even before the close of polls on Election Day; how is this possible when SOPs are posted outside polling places after completion of all procedural tasks at the place of poll? Sometimes this takes several hours. This was evidently an attempt to influence public opinion, and call into question GECOM’s credibility in the overall results, and those of Region Four in particular.

Incredibly, PPP/C representatives carrying partially concealed and visible firearms stormed the GECOM Command Centre at approximately 2:30am on the night of March 4, 2020. An even larger group invaded the Command Centre in the afternoon of March 5. Clearly, the PPP/C are the actual riggers and fraudsters with over 20 years of experience; the evidence is unequivocal, conclusive, and final.

Source:

Mitwah

Mercury and the Russians rigged the election for the PPP


Over the weekend, I was given highly confidential material about how the PPP rigged the March 2020 general poll in Guyana. Based on the material I had, I picked up my two friends; one who writes the satirical column, “Dem Boys Seh” and the other who does “The Baccoo Speaks.”
For obvious reason, I cannot tell you who they are. But both do their columns from abroad where they are immigrants. Both are in Guyana at the moment. They came to hang around the Conference Centre to see the recount. I turned a white shade of pale when both told me from what they were shown, they are recorded as voted in the election even though they were not in the country on election day. One is supposed to have voted in Roxanne Burnham Garden, the other in Buxton.
With that information and based on data, I have, I now see that the PPP rigged the election through the instrumentality of the American consultant firm, Mercury and the Russians. We owe Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes a huge apology when we rejected their proof of the Russian involvement in the rigging.
Here now is my investigation and those of my two fellow KN columnists into the great fraud that the PPP saturated the March 2020 election with. We begin with a statement Khemraj Ramjattan made before the media outside the Conference Centre last Saturday. He said the PPP was the most well-oiled elections machinery in the Caribbean. He was right.
The PPP spent almost two million Guyana dollars buying 35, 000 ID cards from three categories of citizens – the relatives of dead people, those who did not pick up their ID cards from GECOM and those who migrated but left their personal documents with their relatives. We visited a farmer at Kaieteur Falls Park who said he was offered $5,000 for his dead wife’s national identification but he bargained for more because he told them he also had the IDs for his dead parents and his deceased brother. The PPP bought all. For that Kaieteur Falls trip, the leader of the mission was Kwame MCcoy.
Here now is a description of the entire operation. In January 2016, the PPP decided to buy the ID cards. It spent about two years buying the documents all over Guyana. In 2019, the Russians bought in a large container. It consisted of chemicals that can make a certain type of false skin. The type you see in movies. Operations began in a large building on the highway at a place named “Umbrella.” The actual building is still there with empty containers strewn all over the place. I would suggest Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes visit Umbrella to collect evidence of the Russian interference.
Mercury was employed to do the technical/technological operation. Each ID photo was put on a large television screen measuring 110 feet. The screens are still in the building at Umbrella. A skin mask resembling the actual person was made. Also a finger skin was made. You pull the skin over your index finger after it was marked with ballot ink, and there is no way the GECOM officials at the stations can detect that your finger was inked. Important to note that each false skin – whether finger or face – had different colours. So if you are very light in complexion or dark like me, there was an appropriate colour
So what actually happened is that after Mary Singh voted. She went at a safe-house run by the PPP. She put on the mask resembling the image of Susan Persaud. She pulled over her inked finger, the false skin. Armed with Persaud’s ID card, she voted twice.
Thirty-five thousand persons voted fraudulently like this giving the PPP 35, 000 extra votes that were not real. Please remember, Ramjattan’s words about the PPP being a well oiled election machine. The PPP succeeded in this conspiracy in all the 10 Regions in Guyana. The PPP was so good that it got someone to vote for the columnist who writes “Dem Boy Seh” right in the heart of PNC land – Buxton.
Gathering evidence of the PPP’s fraudulent project is quite simple. The operators left a lot of incriminating proof at Umbrella. If you want a free television screen measuring a 110 feet, then go to that warehouse deep inside the jungle off the Soesdyke-Linden highway. I guess Roxanne Myers, Lo Lo Field, Claudette Singh and Mingo Mango after reading this will head up to Umbrella to gather the evidence. But here is the scary part that I stumbled onto. Of the 35, 000 ID cards the PPP had, 30, 000 came from dead people.

Source:

Mitwah
Last edited by Django
@Former Member posted:

The result of the last election was conducted with supervised counting and recounting with the issues eventually decided by the courts.

The final decision was that the PPP/C won the election and eventually it formed the government.

All political parties had representatives present during the tabulations and each received a copy of the results for the respective areas plus an official copy was presented to GECOM.

Observers from the US_of_A, Britain, Caricom, OAS plus other countries and regions were also present during the counting of the results and expressed their views that the tabulations were properly done.

Any idea who influence the decision not to follow thru with Order 60 ? was irregularities uncovered during the re-count mostly in PPP/C strongholds ?

There was one report before the declaration ,that was by CARICOM ,in that report their observation was just over 400 Ballot boxes.

It can be concluded the PPP/C is an Installed Government .

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Any idea who influence the decision not to follow thru with Order 60 ? was irregularities uncovered during the re-count mostly in PPP/C strongholds ?

There was one report before the declaration ,that was by CARICOM ,in that report their observation was just over 400 Ballot boxes.

It can be concluded the PPP/C was an Installed Government .

The decision for the PPP/C to officially form the government was made by GECOM after the Court decided on the issues for the elections.

FM
@Former Member posted:

The decision for the PPP/C to officially form the government was made by GECOM after the Court decided on the issues for the elections.

There was influences for the PPP/C to be Installed as Government.

Evasion of the questions on the irregularities ,eh.

Django
@Former Member posted:

The decision for the PPP/C to officially form the government was made by GECOM after the Court decided on the issues for the elections.

@Django posted:

There was influences for the PPP/C to be Installed as Government.

Evasion of the questions on the irregularities ,eh.

No evasion of the question, Django.

The matter plus a few others are receiving the local Courts' attention.

We need to see how the matters will proceed --- perhaps with a final  decision by the CCJ - Caribbean Court of Justice.

FM
@sachin_05 posted:

Unlike granger who spend the taxpayers money - to give themselves and cronies 50% raises, build billion dollar Durban park stadium for a one day party then to pay for it, tax his own supporters by - removing subsidies and raise utilities on the elderly, fees ondray cart owners, kick them out stabroek square, lied on his promises to modernize the marijuana possession law instead  jailed them for possession of a joint.

The PPP has a different US type strategy spending, they are thieves also but they are ensuring they give people a chance to make a living and would be grateful to vote for them legally unlike y’all dumb shake batty and shills who condone rigging and riggers when the people reject y’all at the polls hahahahaha [maniacal laughter]

Reform of the EU sugar regime meant that guyana was put on notice (like other countries) that it had to restructure its sugar industry in four years (a transition period) and that we would see a decline in the price paid for our sugar over the period coupled with some compensation to withstand the economic shock. Instead of going for diversification the PPP went for investment in the industry. The skeldon sugar factory was built at a cost of US$200M - an absolute disaster - and the rest is history

The pay rise issue played into the hands of the then opposition PPP and their supporters and may have lost the Coalition votes but where are those voices of outrage now, they are silent. As, Mitwa, indicated, the dicision can be reversed but we are dealing with HYPOCRITES. That you would dare raise this as criticism of the previous government is puzzling to say the least. The PPP wants people along the sugar belt to continue cutting cane and remain semi-literate so they can continue to fool them into giving them their vote whether they deserve it or not. GuySuco recently reported G$1.2bn in lost canes to the recent floods. How does investing vast sums in such an industry make any sense in light of climate change, high input cost and low market prices

Tell us more about this US type spending strategy, will you?

Rigged 2020 elections by one side is a false narrative kept alive by those willing to engage in cognitive dissonance after what transpired at the recount. That they hold their noses and march on in triumphalism speaks to a sickness in our society

S
@Django posted:

This thread is derailed ,as per norm.

The discussion should be how many of the 7,000 sugar workers are currently unemployed.

Okay Django ...

We all will focus on the topic of the thread ...

“Special initiative” for 7000 sugar workers fired by APNU/AFC – Jagdeo

FM

Back in the days, most sugar workers use their employment to supplement their income. They plant their gardens, have cows, pigs, sheep and goats; some even go fishing. For many working at the Guysicko was not their main source of income. Some own trucks, tractors and even hire cars.

Mitwah

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