Month: March 2018

ExxonMobil brushes aside suggestions to review oil contract

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Although Government has already rejected suggestions to renegotiate the oil contract with ExxonMobil, the company itself has not been keen on taking any such steps either. This was echoed at an oil and gas seminar on Tuesday where ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Kimberly Brasington reiterated the company’s respect for the sanctity of every contract. Brasington was responding to a question posed to her when she downplayed the possibility of the revised 2016 agreement be renegotiated but suggested very strongly against it. “While I am not going to say…

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Preparations being finalised for Exxon to commence drilling Liza-5 well

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Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is in the process of finalising preparations to commence drilling the Liza 5 well in the coming days. ExxonMobil’s Senior Director of Public and Government Affairs, Kimberly Brasington said on Sunday that drilling will happen soon, as the operations at Pacora have been completed. “Liza 5 is the fifth well to be drilled in the Liza field. We will use the data gathered from this well to help further plan and optimize the Liza Phase 2 development project,” she…

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Training commences for supervisors, managers in the public service

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The Department of Public Service, on Monday, commenced its first training programme for 2018 with a batch of 60 participants, drawn from Ministries and Government agencies from across the ten Administrative Regions. The name of the five-day programme, which is being conducted at the Department’s Vlissengen Road and Durban Street office, is Principles of Supervisory Management –Module One. According to the Ministry of the Presidency, Manager for Training and Development at the Department, Ms. Cornelly Walcott explained that this programme targets supervisors and managers. It aims at strengthening capacity in…

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Numerous APNU/AFC officials benefitting from State contracts

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Dear Editor At the last statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Six, I rose to highlight that during the PPP’s 23 years in office, no regional councillor of the PPP was a regional contractor with the RDC in Region Six. Now we are seeing not only regional councillors being contractors, but numerous Government officials and party activists of the coalition Government being given contracts. This is replicated across the entire country, I deem this action as corruption of the highest level under the APNU/AFC coalition Government. While…

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Man 55, to spend 30 years behind bars for raping child

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…Judge says children “should be respected and given toys and not be used as sex toys” One week after he was found guilty of raping an eight-year-old girl on August 20, 2016, Collin Cummings was on Wednesday sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by Sexual Offences Court Judge, Simone Morris-Ramlall. The offender, who is a former gold miner from Wismar, Linden, professed his innocence as he was being led away to the prisoners’ holding cell. This came moments after Justice Morris-Ramlall observed that the nation’s children must be left alone. “All…

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Guyanese businesses must acquire expertise needed to be competitive in emerging oil sector

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…says Boyer Although there have been concerns over whether local companies would be able to tap into the benefits of the emerging oil and gas industry in Guyana, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) has claimed that while there might not be much locally available technical capacity and expertise, there are avenues in which local companies could offer services to this new industry. PSC Chairman Eddie Boyer said that local entrepreneurs must understand that there was no substitute for what was required. As such, he said companies must develop the skill…

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Forestry Commission hoping for more market access in 2018

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The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is hoping to strengthen its markets during the course of this year, and has already commenced discussions to regain access to the United Kingdom (UK) for the marketing of Greenheart and other products. According to the GFC, there had, in 2017, been positive developments in this area, as a number of local exporters have been able to export Greenheart to the UK. Also, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the European Union (EU) Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which should be finalised by…

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Guyana should establish its own national flag-carrying airline

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Dear Editor, As 2020 approaches and expectations of Guyana’s oil production commencement mounts, there is a lot of ‘chit and chatter’ over the usage of anticipated oil revenues by the Guyana Government. This is healthy expression which, with the exception of bent pessimists and dogmatists, shows that many Guyanese are objective and genuinely wish to see the best outcomes for their country. One of the areas that I believe should be considered for funding is the re-establishment of a national flag-carrying airline. Those who use air transportation, particularly for travelling…

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50 schools participate in biennial STEAM fair

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The Diamond Secondary School was a hive of activity on Monday as the Region Four leg of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) fair commenced. This biennial event allows for students to create and showcase projects in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but the fair was this year extended to include the Arts category. Hundreds of students, hailing from as far as Mahaica on the East Coast of Demerara and Soesdyke on the East Bank of Demerara, attended the event accompanied by teachers, parents…

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Trio remanded for stealing G$5.3M from businessman

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Three men who robbed a businessman of G$5 million, along with a quantity of ammunition, appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday and were all remanded to prison for the robbery. The men: Alvin Solomon, 34, of Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD); Asif Khan, 54, of Lot 149 Bel West, West Bank Demerara (WBD) and Winston Raymond, 27, of Land of Canaan, EBD all denied the charge read to them by city Magistrate Judy Latchman. The charge stated that the trio robbed Inshan Alli Bacchus of G$5 million, along…

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