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Two suspects in Main Street abduction of man surrender Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Osafo Peters, also known as ‘Saddest’ and Alpha Poole, two of the five men who are wanted by police for questioning in relation to the abduction of Joshua David called ‘Bricks’ turned themselves into police on Monday, a senior police officer told Kaieteur News. Aaron Allyene also known as ‘Cats’ Osafo Peters also known ‘Saddest’ Wayne Barker Dwayne Griffith Alpha Poole Peters and Poole along with Aaron Alleyne also known as ‘Cats’, Wayne Barker and Dwayne Griffith are accused of abducting David on September 27, 2024 at Main Street, Georgetown. Police reported that Alleyne’s last known address is West Ruimveldt, Barker at Lot ‘G’ Norton Street, Lodge, and Griffith at Lot 68 William Street, Kitty. A video posted by Big Smith News Watch on Facebook, shows David surrounded by five persons, while in a scuffle. It was observed that during the scuffle, one of the men kicked David in a bid to have him cooperate. Thereafter, he was seen being pushed. It is unclear where he was taken. Meanwhile, Kaieteur News understands that the wanted men are connected to the recent drive-by shooting that killed 39-year-old Lawrence Wayne, known as ‘Boy Boy,’ and 40-year-old Anthony Havercome on D’Urban Street, Georgetown, on August 24, 2024. To read more; https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/09/29/five-men-wanted-for-abduction/ Related Similar Articles

Hess CEO to advise Chevron on gov’t relations in Guyana Oct 01, 2024 News …but barred from becoming Board Member by US Trade Commission Kaieteur News – Reuters – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission allowed Chevron’s $53 billion purchase of Hess Corporation on Monday, in an order that barred the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Hess from Chevron’s board. CEO, Hess Corporation, John Hess The FTC’s order leaves Exxon Mobil’s challenge to the deal, which is expected to stretch deep into next year, as its final hurdle. The proposed merger included a Chevron board seat for Hess when it was first announced last October, and the FTC sent a second information request to Chevron two months later. Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth welcomed the completion of the FTC’s review on Monday, but called it unfortunate that John Hess would not be allowed to join the board. “I have the utmost respect for John, the company he has built, and the contributions he has made to our industry,” he said. The FTC alleged that Hess — the son of Hess Corp founder Leon Hess — had communicated publicly and privately with members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group of oil producers, and encouraged high-level representatives of the group “in their stated mission to stabilize global oil markets.” Allowing him to join Chevron’s board “would amplify Mr. Hess’s supportive messaging to OPEC and others, thereby meaningfully increasing the likelihood that Chevron would align its production with OPEC’s output decisions to maintain higher prices,” the FTC said. Hess’ board believes the claims are meritless, the company said in a statement. “Mr. Hess’ public and private communications with OPEC officials were consistent with his communications with U.S. government officials, the International Energy Agency and global business leaders on what will be needed to ensure an affordable and orderly energy transition,” the company said. The allegations are similar to the FTC’s claims against former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield, who was barred from joining Exxon Mobil’s board when the FTC reviewed its $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer. Sheffield has sought to have the claims withdrawn. The two cases are “an important step towards ensuring that U.S. oil producers are serving as a competitive check on OPEC+ rather than subordinating their independent decision-making to the goals set by a cartel,” FTC Chair Lina Khan and the Commission’s two other Democratic members said on Monday. The FTC’s two Republican commissioners voted against the Chevron-Hess action, calling it politically motivated and lacking basis in antitrust law. “The proposition that Mr. Hess’s comments could move global oil markets is laughable,” said Commissioner Andrew Ferguson. The deal will still need to clear a challenge by Exxon Mobil and CNOOC Ltd, Hess’s partners in a Guyana joint venture, who claim a right of first refusal to any sale of Hess’s Guyana assets, the prize in the proposed merger. A three-judge arbitration panel is due to consider the case next May. Chevron and Hess say a decision is expected by August, while Exxon Mobil expects it by September 2025. John Hess will be allowed to advise Chevron on discussions with Guyanese government officials, according to the FTC order. In a statement, Hess said, “I am proud of the role our company has played to meet the world’s energy needs safely and responsibly. I look forward to successfully completing our company’s merger with Chevron and delivering value for our shareholders.” The proposed all-stock acquisition is one of the largest in a consolidating U.S. oil and gas industry where several multibillion-dollar deals have been disclosed. Related Similar Articles

Ideas nah pay rent Oct 01, 2024 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists Dem boys seh… Kaieteur News – Dem boys seh de government gat a whole set ah ideas. They claim dem deh on top of things. Got nuff plan in de pipeline fuh use dat $7 billion set aside fuh cost-of-living relief. But all dem ideas gotta be well stuck in de pipe, because dem can’t seem fuh reach de people. People punishing long time now. Dem prices ain’t just climbing; dem sprinting up like Usain Bolt. And not just food—everything raising. Man, even salt price goin up! But de government tekkin dem sweet time. Dem deh collecting ideas like how de City Council  does collect garbage: slowly, and sometimes not at all. Is almost a year now since dis cost-of-living pressure hit de people like a sledgehammer. But de government still sittin down, scribbling ideas pon paper like dem writing some big exam. Dem got nuff time, yuh see. De people? Not so much. Poor man cyan even buy lil sugar fuh put in he tea. But while de poor starving, de government deh in one big debate: ‘Should we help dem today, or tomorrow?’ Dem boys seh when government tek nine months fuh help yuh, is like yuh waiting nine months fuh a baby, but instead, yuh get a slap in yuh face. Is cruel, man! Heartless! How yuh can watch people suffer, and all yuh got tons of “ideas”? Ideas nah put food pon de table. Ideas nah pay rent. Dem boys seh de only idea de people need right now is fuh dis government fuh stop procrastinate and start doing something! Having tons of ideas is no plan. It sound more like brainwaves – somebody giving dem brain exercise and coming up with an idea. But no strategy, no plan, just brainwaves! But that’s what we dealing with. Government that busy talkin’ but nah doin’. Dem promise, dem announce, dem give big speech. But when yuh go supermarket, yuh still walking out wid half de basket empty. Ideas? Dem boys seh de only thing empty right now is people pocket. Government, get yuh ideas out de pipeline, and bring de relief! It lang overdue! Talk half. Leff half. Related Similar Articles

Have we buried investigative journalism? Oct 01, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom Kaieteur News – There was a time when journalism was not just a profession—it was a calling. Investigative journalists moved around with pens and notepads poised to uncover secrets that no one dared whisper. Now, it seems, those pens have dried up, and the notepads have gone out of extinction, replaced by the mobile phone or laptop. In Guyana, the media once thrived on the essence of investigative reporting. Journalists were out in the streets, chasing stories, knocking on doors, sitting in bars prying out scoops from those whose tongues were loosened by one too many drinks, calling up contacts to see what secrets can be unearthed. Today, the most vigorous activity one might witness in a newsroom is a heated debate over who will go and buy the Chinese food or pastries. It’s not that there aren’t stories to be uncovered—it’s just that no one seems to want to leave the comfort of their swivel chairs to uncover them. Take, for instance, the tragic helicopter crash that occurred almost a year ago. It was a national tragedy. Five servicemen, all senior officers of the Guyana Defence Force, were killed, and two survived. This was a disaster that shook the country, and naturally, the public wants to know what caused it. Was it mechanical failure? Pilot error? The wrath of some long-forgotten sky deity? We don’t know, and neither does the media, because they’re waiting for the investigative report to drop into their laps like manna from heaven. Now, if this had been 20 years ago, we’d already know what happened on that fateful day in December. Journalists would have found a way to interview the survivors, even if it was in secret. Or they would have sweet-talked some insider with “knowledge of the investigation” to spill the beans. Instead, the survivors’ stories remain untouched by the curious minds of today’s so-called journalists. Can you imagine Woodward and Bernstein sitting on their laurels, waiting for a government report to tell them what went down at Watergate? They’d be rolling in their graves—if they were dead. (Which, thank goodness, they aren’t. Someone needs to keep journalism alive.) But let’s move on from this aviation tragedy to a more grounded nuisance—literally. Over at Leonora, a group of residents is up in arms over noise pollution. They say they are victims of blasting music loud enough to rattle the rafters of their homes and probably send their dogs into therapy. The police, however, after an unannounced visit to one such bar have declared the place soundproof. Soundproof! Nothing to see—or hear—here, folks. But has anyone from the media gone to Leonora to check? You know, to do a little independent verification? Perhaps visit the bar at 11 p.m., mingle with the patrons, listen for the telltale thump of bass reverberating through the walls? No. Instead, they report the police findings verbatim, as if the law enforcement officers are the last word on sound physics. You’d think the press might be curious about whether the police operation was an anomaly or if the residents are just hallucinating the noise. But no, better to stay at the office and wait for a press release. In the old days, journalists were like bloodhounds on a scent. Now, they seem to be more like those decorative porcelain dogs your grandmother used to have—just sitting there, collecting dust, looking vaguely interested but making no real effort to do anything. And this brings me to the pièce de résistance: the alleged racial altercation outside an art school. Apparently, someone parked their car in the wrong spot, racial slurs were allegedly thrown around, and the matter ended up triggering a controversy. But instead of diving into the meat of the matter—Who said what? Why? — the media decided to focus on the dust-up between a government minister and the school’s administrator that followed the incident. I can picture it now: the seasoned investigative journalist from years past would have already tracked down the driver, found the passenger who supposedly made a call, and gotten the full scoop. They would have had them photographed, their quotes bolded and ready for the front page. Today’s journalists? They’re probably still trying to figure out where the art school is located. It’s not that stories aren’t out there, ripe for the picking. It’s just that no one wants to pick them. There’s a new ethos among the new generation of journalists: Why bother going out into the world to dig for facts when you can just copy and paste what the police, government, politicians, or PR firms hand you? Why investigate when you can summarize? It seems we’ve arrived at a point where investigative journalism is no longer a priority. Maybe it’s been slowly slipping away for years, but its absence is more glaring now than ever before. It’s been replaced by convenience journalism—the kind that doesn’t require dirty shoes or knocking on doors or making phone calls. So, what happened to investigative journalism? It’s not dead—at least not officially. It’s more like a coma patient whose loved ones are waiting for them to wake up. But at this rate, someone should just pull the plug. Not that anyone would notice. After all, the media’s too busy snoozing at the wheel. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Borrowing and servicing debt Oct 01, 2024 Editorial Kaieteur News – Last week, we reported on Guyana’s debt and the amount of money being spent in servicing it. It is an area of concern for most Guyanese, but one which our leaders have ignored. According to the Bank of Guyana figures, this country’s debt service reached US$85.2M in the first six months of 2024, with a whopping US$34M alone paid in interest. Although the country’s total debt climbed from US$4.5B at the end of December 2023 to US$5B at the end of June 2024, the Bank of Guyana (BoG) in its 2024 Half Year Report revealed that Guyana’s total debt service, during the period under review, decreased by 7.7 percent to US$85.2 million. Notably, Central Bank explained that domestic debt service payments decreased by G$2,925.8 million to G$5,872.7 million (US$29.4M), while the external debt service payments rose by 13.8 percent to US$57 million. This increase was “on account of higher interest payments to multilateral creditors,” the report states. The BoG explained that external debt payments accounted for 3.5% of Central Government’s current revenue and 0.8% of exports of goods and non-factor services. Principal and interest payments amounted to US$35 million and US$22 million, respectively. During the period, payments to multilateral creditors increased to US$36 million, which was 62.8% of total external debt service. Meanwhile, payments to bilateral creditors increased by 11.6% to US$20 million, and accounted for 35.6% of total external debt service. The growth resulted from increased debt service payments to the Export Import (EXIM) Bank of China, according to the BoG. With regard to domestic debt service, the Bank’s Half Year Report indicates that payments decreased to G$5,873 million during the review period, due to the final debt service repayments on the Tranches 1 and 2 of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Bond. It must be noted that a 2023 study by the Inter-American Development Bank titled “Dealing with Debt: Less Risk for More Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the Bank states that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean should prioritise bringing down debt to prudent levels to boost economic growth, allow for productive investment and reduce the risk of a debt crisis. The study found that total debt in 2023 rose in Latin America and the Caribbean to some US$5.8 trillion or 117% of GDP, from under US$3 trillion in 2008. Public debt in the region grew from 58% in 2019 to 72% in 2020 due to COVID-related fiscal packages, lower revenues, and a recession, according to “Dealing with Debt: Less Risk for More Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean,” part of the IDB’s Development in the Americas series. The Bank did warn that high debt levels can hinder development because it prompts investors to demand higher yields, crowding out private investments and forcing governments to divert scarce resources to pay interest instead of investing in infrastructure and public services. It said too that high debt levels also reduce a country’s ability to respond to future economic shocks to support families and firms and increases the risk of a crisis. The pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, high inflation, rising interest rates and low world growth, combined with high debt, increase the region’s vulnerability. Let us assure the public of this fact: debt has its uses, and helps to make many things possible. But, as with most things, too much of it, can cause more than constipation, it can result in a hernia.  Too much debt taken too quickly can lead to choking, especially if the underlying revenues needed for debt service encounter trouble, and start to slowdown.  In Guyana’s case, a world of dependency is placed on oil prices staying at the level where it is currently, or above. There is optimism to the point of blind religious faith in the camp of the PPP/C Government that it is, and will be, a most helpful oil price horizon. Wiser political leaders and better run national governments have made the same mistake and paid bitter prices for long stretches of time.  It is more accurate to assert that the citizens who have to repay the suddenly overwhelming debt loads are the ones living with the bitterness. Oil is a commodity that seesaws violently on world markets, and it does not take much to trigger it rising and falling wildly. Leading members of the PPP/C Government are fully aware of this, but some of them take comfort in the low debt to GDP ratio of this country, considering that same ratio of other countries in the region. GDP (Gross Domestic Product), or the total output of the economy, can turn on a dime and deliver into nosebleed territory, should geopolitical conditions change in some distant part of the world, or there is a steep drop in demand for the precious energy commodity.  All the rosy forecasts, and all the expressions of political confidence to service the national debt, then undergo a sharp reversal, with much tightening (stringencies) following, and being the only way to cope with new realities.  The people who felt pain during the time of plenty are now faced with newer, more unbearable pain. For when the economic going was on the bright side, those same masses of citizens came in for the paltry here, and a pittance there, and not a penny more.  We at this paper have been against binge borrowing from the beginning.  Our position has been clear: borrow more slowly, and borrow less.  We do not have to be in this mad rush to initiate every public works project (infrastructure) that is found appealing, and run ahead with getting them done, regardless of how much they add to the overall debt overhang. Debt mania normally fuels squander-mania.  Meanwhile, we have too many hopeful citizens stuck at the bottom of Guyana’s economic ladder, who count themselves lucky if they get a taste of a few crumbs from their patrimony that is the delight of the world.  Their sorry lot just should not be, not in this country, of all places, and not at this time in our history. Our accompanying position has been even clearer: get ExxonMobil to the table of renegotiation, and get into a battle royal there for more for Guyana.  More for Guyana means more for Guyanese.  More in the national treasury means that less has to be borrowed, or should be, given prudent management of our economy. This facilitates a better balance between borrowing and spending on projects, and responding to the plights of so many people hungry and needy in this country.  Tens of billions of Guyana dollars have to be set aside for debt service due to runaway borrowing, while dependent Guyanese are yoked to the repayment of loans taken in their name.  This debt picture is too skewed; it also reeks of much political underhandedness, incompetence and selfishness. Related Similar Articles

$3.2B in contracts awarded to build five new water treatment plants Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The five new water treatment plants the government intends to build in Regions Two, Three, Five and Six with funding from a loan will cost $3,214,805,220. This is according to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). As reported previously, the projects are being executed by the Ministry of Housing and Water through the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) and have been divided into three lots and entail the “Procurement of Plant Design, Supply and Installation of Water Treatment Facilities.” The agency in its tender stated that Lot 1 consists of a treatment plant for Maria’s Delights in Region Two, Lot 2 is for water treatment plants for Leguan, and at Wakenaam in Region Three, and at Lot 3 facilities are for Bath in Region Five and at Adventure in Region Six. According to information released by NPTAB recently, Lot One was awarded to ACE, Phoenix Projects Private Limited for $757,673,302; Lot Two was awarded to Sigma Engineers Limited & Hebei Wansheng for $1,486,448,800; and Lot Three will be executed by ACE, Phoenix Projects Private Limited for $2,130,097,816. The water treatment plants are being funded by a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. In its advertisement, the Ministry of Housing and Water stated that the Government of Guyana had applied for financing from the Caribbean Development Bank in an amount equivalent to US$76,249,000 towards the cost of Water Supply Improvement Project (WSIP) and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing for the projects. Being responsible for the overall implementation of the project, the ministry in its document revealed that the works included but may not be limited to the following “the construction of five water treatment plants along the coast (average plant size of 7.3million litres per day).” In a release in July last year, CDB said it had approved the US$76.2 million loan to Guyana for the Guyana Water Supply Improvement Project under which the water supply systems serving five coastal communities will undergo major upgrades. The Bank related that the infrastructure development initiative involves the construction of five water treatment plants, complete with storage tanks, and the installation of transmission mains and water meters to vastly improve the quality and reliability of the water supply to the communities. Nearly 15,000 households in these communities will benefit from the interventions, CDB noted. Related Similar Articles

Big US oil companies reveal massive payments to foreign governments Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – (Reuters) – The three largest U.S. energy exploration companies paid more than US$42 billion to foreign governments last year, about eight times more than what they paid in the United States, according to regulatory filings. The disclosures from Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp, and ConocoPhillips were required this year for the first time ever under a new Securities and Exchange Commission requirement. Transparency advocates had been pushing for the rule for more than a decade to shine a light on Big Oil’s foreign financial transactions in its global quest for oil, and provide a sense of whether U.S. taxpayers are getting a fair share of the value of soaring U.S. production. The United States has become the world’s largest oil and gas producer in recent years, thanks mainly to a boom in the massive Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. “The truth is, here in the U.S., we get one of the worst deals for the extraction of our natural resources,” said Michelle Harrison, deputy general counsel for EarthRights International, an environmental advocacy group. About 90% of Exxon’s nearly US$25 billion in global payments went to foreign governments in 2023, even though close to a quarter of Exxon’s global exploration and production earnings come from the United States. ‘Here we have the boiler and from here it goes to a device that takes it into the heater, The Texas-based oil giant paid out US$22.5 billion in taxes, royalties and other items overseas, with the United Arab Emirates ($7.4 billion), Indonesia ($4.6 billion) and Malaysia ($3.2 billion) topping the list, according to the disclosures. By contrast, Exxon made about US$2.3 billion in U.S.-based payments in 2023, including just $1.2 billion to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, according to Exxon’s report. Exxon’s U.S.-based upstream earnings totaled US$4.2 billion, compared to US$17.1 billion in non-U.S. markets, according to Exxon’s 2023 annual report. In the preamble of Exxon’s SEC report, the company complained that comparisons between U.S. and overseas payments were not fair and said U.S. government payments totaled $6.6 billion last year when you include more than $4 billion in state and local taxes omitted by the regulations. Exxon declined to comment further. Chevron, meanwhile, paid US$14.6 billion to foreign governments in 2023, including US$4 billion to Australia alone, according to the filings. The company paid just $2 billion in the U.S., according to the filings. A Chevron spokesperson said the company’s overhead in the U.S. can be much lower than in overseas oil fields. Chevron’s holdings in the Permian Basin, for example, total about 2.2 million acres with about 75% of that land connected to either low or no royalty payments. Chevron executives see that as a huge advantage and one that creates shareholder value, according to presentations by the company. Last year, most of Chevron’s upstream profits were from international markets – at US$17.4 billion compared to US$4.1 billion in the United States – according to Chevron’s 2023 annual report. Chevron did not criticize the disclosure parameters in its filing, and told Reuters it would continue to work with relevant agencies toward transparency and accountability between governments and the industry. For ConocoPhillips, just US$1.3 billion of a total US$6.5 billion in total global payments last year went to the U.S., according to the disclosures. The company declined to comment. Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act opened the door for the new disclosures around overseas activities by energy exploration and production companies. A divided SEC adopted the rules in 2020 in a 3-2 vote, as the burgeoning ESG movement, which focuses on environmental, social and governance matters, demanded more transparency on behalf of millions of U.S. investors. The adoption of the rule, however, came after a pitched years-long battle: A federal court in 2013 vacated the SEC’s first attempt at imposing the mandate, and Congress blocked a second attempt in 2017. Related Similar Articles