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Leaders on national wealth Jul 22, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column Kaieteur News – Leaders prefer to speak about everything else, except this great national oil patrimony.  Leaders would even take a chance with corruption issues, knowing that such could have a boomerang effect i.e., hurt their own group.  Energy for everything else, but not oil.  Why?  Why is this so? To repeat the numbingly obvious.  Oil is the biggest thing ever to hit Guyana.  Oil is the fuel that makes all their pre-election promises possible.  Oil, rightly managed, could convert from potential to consequential: money in hand for Guyanese, and much more than is needed to scrape out a decent living.  But there is no leader that makes this magnificent oil patrimony his raison d’etre, his driving passion and force, his alpha and omega of national projects.  Oil is gold, and it can garland every Guyanese.  Not just the less than 1% superrich in this country.  Not just those politicians who sponsor them.  Not those who stick tightly to them.  There are those other Guyanese who have expectations (diminished and dashed); and ideas (stirred, then suffocated); and their dejections (lived with, and devastating).  So much oil, yet so little from it.  To the ordinary man and woman.  The pensioner.  The public servant.  The penurious.  The many others of denied Guyanese, forgotten and ignored Guyanese, on the backburner of this great national oil rush. One leading politician after another in the seat of power, and the same aspiring to that place, tense when the issue of oil surfaces.  The top performing students in the Common Entrance (NGSA) introduction to a higher world speak more effusively and powerfully about what they have achieved, now own.  The children can resonate brilliantly about what is inspiring for them more than national leaders dare to speak about this oil that should be the basis of countless inspirations, possibilities.  Nationally high performing children set the standards for national leaders about the dedication, energy, and aptitude that they should and must be about with this oil.  This only passport that takes from where Guyanese are today to the tomorrows, which the world regales itself.  For itself, but somehow not us, the Guyanese people.  The first question, the ongoing concern, is what crippling condition has taken over national leaders when oil is the matter at hand; the only one; this crude agent of change for the unprecedented, the incomparable.  When Guyanese refuse to evaluate national leaders as they are, what they represent (separate what they project from what they inject), then Guyanese are the richest people in the world in the imagination.  But the dumbest and slackest in their reality.  A closer look at these leaders is warranted. So, they’re uncomfortable and resistant to talking unambiguously and strongly about oil.  Their preference is hedged words and slippery positions, would rather that they be given as much space on oil, and left alone.  If they cannot speak frankly, publicly, and fearlessly about oil, then there is one question that should be tabled right now, for it has so much traction to it.  Because they are so tormented today by this oil-its issues, its controversies, its weaknesses and exposures, its weight and related demand, then why should Guyanese trust them to deliver when they get into office, or retain office?  Why invest any confidence in any of them when they are holding the reins for the first 100 days?  It could be our version of that historic European 100-year war.  Going nowhere, proving nothing.  Another question: each of our national leaders should be so equipped and electrified, so as toring oratorically (and truthfully) for 100 sentences right now, 100 minutes right now, without interruption about this oil.  They are a few locals who do so almost daily, coming close to 100 sentences shared on oil.  If incumbent leaders, and aspiring ones, are petrified, turn yellow and white, when oil is the matter before them, for even 100 seconds today, what could they be about with this same frightening, knee-on-the neck, oil wealth in their first 100 days in office? National leaders tell Guyanese about the heavens that they will deliver for them in the first 100 days in power.  But in their self-created hells (power ambitions, oil collaborations, individual subjugation) before the American oil powers-political and commercial, they are paralyzed by frights to talk freely, thoroughly, and truthfully about oil.  What is it that limits them?  Their selfish ambitions and visions, or their awareness of what they could lose, should they be warriors for country and comrades with this inheritance?  If they can’t talk now, what can they speak about then (post-2025)?  If they fear presently, how much more gutless will they be in the future?  Here’s a possible scenario involving PPP Government leaders and Exxon. Congratulations!  Now stick to Exxon’s program like before, or the PPP’s day in office would be numbered.  It could be Routledge or the ambassador, reemphasizing the way things are, must continue.  Should the PNC or AFC triumph by some miracle (American packaged), the messengers and message are almost identical.  Welcome!  So, what is on the mind?  More oil money, benefits, are off the table, non-negotiable.  What is it going to be? Which one of today’s bold prophets, bolder speakers, will stand up then, stick a fist in the noses of the oil imperialists, the white supremacists?  Leaders either see the exploiters that way, or they see people like me as subversives and insurgents. Bottom line: if Ali, Jagdeo, Norton, and Hughes cannot courageously commit to standing up for Guyanese now in the open air, then how is anyone of them going to summon the passion and power to standup for Guyanese behind closed doors?  I go my way.  On good terms, hopefully. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Pres. Pledged $2M to support SDA annual health fair Jul 22, 2024 News President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and top leaders of the Guyana Conference for Seventh-day Adventists and other officials Kaieteur News – President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has pledged $2 million to support the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ annual health fair. The head of state announced the monetary donation on Sunday, during the opening ceremony of the conference’s health fair, business expo and family fun day, at the National Exhibition Centre in Sophia, Greater Georgetown. “We would like to support this initiative with $2 million to help you. I know that your transportation and logistics costs will be high too, so we are going to support you additionally on this programme,” President Ali stated. He said the government will also ensure the church is provided with vouchers or other health services that are necessary to meet the needs of the people throughout the health drive. “I want to use this opportunity to say that through our eye-care programme, all the persons who will require spectacles, we will give you the voucher that we have to ensure that they get their spectacles,” the president disclosed. With the National Ophthalmologist Hospital at Port Mourant Centre in Region Six now fully operational to conduct surgeries for cataracts, President Ali urged the Adventist body to submit persons’ names who are in need of surgical operations. He also encouraged the Sabbath believers to conduct more outreaches since it is necessary for the development of a sustainable community. “It is important to understand that the aspect of community in the church is about protecting and nurturing a human person. And that is the difference with this church health outreach, it goes beyond the physical. The church understands that the physical cannot enjoy the best life without the existence of the spiritual and the mental well-being,” the head of state posited. Meanwhile, the Ministerial and Communications Director of the SDA Conference, Pastor Osley Edwards, stressed that it is the profound duty of the Adventist body to host events that impact lives. “We are happy and delighted to offer this service to our communities, it is something for which we have been distinguished over the years to be able to offer health services in various forms which have not only been localised to the Guyanese community but also nationally,” the pastor said. The health fair, business expo and family fun day saw scores of residents from communities within Central Georgetown attending to take advantage of the services being offered. These include doctor’s consultations, health screening, eye testing and glasses distribution, and dental services, among others. (DPI) Related Similar Articles

PAHO & USAID recommit efforts to boost healthcare in Americas Jul 22, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Washington D.C. 17 July 2024 (PAHO) – As countries of the Americas continue to recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) convened to discuss global health security and recommit to ongoing collaboration to improve public health in the Americas. During the event, Building on a Successful Partnership for 2024 & Beyond, held at the PAHO headquarters in Washington D.C. on 15 July, participants discussed the organizations’ 30-year partnership, and the continued critical health challenges and opportunities for the region. PAHO’s partnership with USAID is “more crucial than ever following the devastating impact of COVID-19 in the Americas,” Mary Lou Valdez, Deputy Director of PAHO said during her opening remarks. “This is an opportunity to refocus and recommit on priorities and identify new areas of collaboration. For Michael Camilleri, Acting Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau, over the last three decades, PAHO and USAID have “collaborated to enhance health and well-being in the Americas,” with “incredible results.” With the region continuing to face critical health inequalities, the rise in extreme weather events, and the severe dengue epidemic, the USAID-PAHO partnership is crucial “to promote strong health systems, protect people from the threat of pandemics, address health needs throughout the course of life, and address emerging challenges such as migration, climate change, and mental health,” Camilleri added. During the event, PAHO Director, Jarbas Barbosa, and Atul Gawande, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health engaged in a high-level dialogue to discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the interrelation between health, economic, and climate security, the rise in cases of bird flu and the importance of a One Health approach, as well as priority areas of collaboration moving forward. During his intervention, and looking forward to ongoing collaboration with PAHO, Dr. Gawande highlighted the importance of strengthening primary health care in the Region, increasing the health workforce, and improving response to emerging threats. “Speed is of the essence when it comes to managing and controlling outbreaks,” he said. For USAID, PAHO’s role in health security in the region is key, “particularly when it comes to strengthening surveillance in the animal sector.”  Looking forward to the opportunities posed by the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), and the future pandemic treaty, “it is important that our partnership remains strong,” and “based on lessons learned,” Dr. Barbosa agreed. Together, “we need to rethink how countries can be better prepared for health emergencies, for the worst-case scenario,” he added. Following the high-level dialogue, a panel discussion to celebrate 30 years of partnership was held to explore ways in which the collaboration with USAID has enabled PAHO to achieve its health goals throughout the Americas, including on issues such as digital transformation, maternal and child mortality, and the elimination of communicable diseases. For USAID, the partnership has also inspired the Agency to bring new innovations to its work in other areas of the world. Crucial lessons from USAID’s collaboration with PAHO during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru were also discussed. These include the need to ensure ongoing monitoring and evaluation, as well as consolidated databases, to facilitate informed decision-making. These elements were crucial in reducing COVID-19 mortality and morbidity in the country. “A true partner can be counted on in times of crisis, and USAID has exemplified this many times, ” PAHO Assistant Director, Rhonda Sealey-Thomas said. “I look forward to building upon the shared history of our two great organizations and I reaffirm our commitment to working together to advance the public health priorities in the Americas in the years ahead.” Related Similar Articles

US commission Hess, other oil companies’ execs over OPEC collusion Jul 22, 2024 News Kaieteur News – (OILPRICE.COM) The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is intensifying its scrutiny of the oil and gas sector, focusing on communications between executives at major firms such as Hess Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Diamondback Energy Inc. The FTC’s investigation seeks to determine if these executives improperly coordinated with OPEC officials, potentially violating U.S. antitrust laws. Investigators are looking for evidence of collusion, particularly discussions about pricing and oil production levels. Such coordination could lead to higher oil prices and less competitive markets, which is illegal under U.S. law. The FTC’s current focus on these companies is part of a broader investigation into several mergers within the industry, particularly those involving companies operating in the Permian Basin, North America’s most prolific oil field. Recent developments have heightened the stakes. In May, the FTC uncovered hundreds of texts between Pioneer Natural Resources Co. founder Scott Sheffield and OPEC officials, related to market dynamics. These messages were found during the review of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s $63 billion acquisition of Pioneer. The discovery led to conditions on the deal, including Sheffield’s exclusion from Exxon’s board. Sheffield has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the FTC of unjustly vilifying him. Nevertheless, the agency is now rigorously examining executive communications from other companies, searching for similar evidence of collusion. This investigation coincides with a U.S. Senate budget committee probe into alleged collusion between nearly 20 large oil and gas producers and OPEC. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, echoing the FTC’s allegations against Sheffield, has claimed that industry executives have been working with OPEC to constrain production and drive up prices. The Senate has demanded that these companies, including BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, provide communications with OPEC officials dating back to January 2020. Related Similar Articles

US Gov’t donates malaria testing kits to Guyana Jul 22, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Guyana, donated 20,000 malaria rapid diagnostic tests to the Guyana National Malaria Programme last week. The donation is in response to a malaria test kit shortage in the country and will greatly strengthen the country’s malaria response, the US Embassy here said in a press release. U.S. Ambassador Nicole D. Theriot reiterated that “the United States is a committed and long-term partner in Guyana’s development.  This donation supports the Government of Guyana’s vision of a Malaria Free Guyana by 2030.” Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony thanked the United States for this donation, stating, “the Ministry of Health expresses its heartfelt appreciation to the Government of the United States of America, for its generous donation of 20,000 malaria rapid diagnostic kits.  The kits will enhance our capacity significantly to promptly and precisely diagnose malaria in many rural communities across Guyana and will safeguard the well-being of our citizens.  We are thankful for the ongoing partnership, which has assisted Guyana tremendously over the years.” The kits are intended for Regions 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10, which account for more than 95 percent of Guyana’s malaria cases.  Since 2016, the United States Government has been helping Guyana fight malaria through its regional malaria program in collaboration with partners such as PAHO and the USAID Breakthrough Action team.  Some notable achievements to date include mapping out areas with high malaria rates, distributing 3,000 bed nets to those most vulnerable, enhancing malaria management in Regions 7 and 8, and facilitating a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Health, government entities, and mining associations. Related Similar Articles

CDB commences search for new President Jul 22, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has confirmed the closure of the internal administrative process involving its former President Dr. Hyginus Leon and that he has ceased to hold the office of the President of the Bank. Former President of CDB, Dr. Hyginus Leon In a statement, the CDB said in accordance with the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Development Bank, the Vice President (Operations), Mr. Isaac Solomon, will continue to exercise the authority and perform the functions of President until a new President is elected. “The process for the election of a new President has commenced and the Board of Governors has been invited to submit nominations for the position of the President of the Bank by August 26, 2024. It is expected that the election process will conclude in October2024. CDB, under the direction of its Board of Governors and Directors, and through the leadership of its management and the efforts of its staff, continues to work fully and effectively together with its Member Countries and development partners to advanceCDB’s mission of reducing poverty and transforming lives through sustainable and resilient development initiatives,” the statement concluded. St Lucia-based law firm, FOSTERS, that was looking into interest of Leon was of the opinion that “he will never be treated fairly” after he had been sent on administrative leave in January. “It is also evident that the bank has lost all trust and confidence in our client by the failure of the board of governors to prevent the continued violations of its charter, policies, rules and regulations with regard to its elected president. “Our client has therefore made the extremely difficult decision to resign his elected position of the president of the bank with immediate effect,” the law firm wrote. The lawyers had given the regional financial institution until May 4 “to negotiate an amicable separation” indicating also that their correspondence should be viewed “as our client’s pre action protocol letter” regarding the entire situation. In the three-page letter, Dated April 21, and headlined “Re: Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, Resignation and Constructive Dismissal”, the law firm said it would be moving to the courts in Barbados “or any other jurisdiction more appropriate, to enforce our client’s legal and constitutional rights”. “My view has been, having reviewed everything in depth with regards to the bank, how it is run, read all of its policies, it would seem that the bank has not followed its own policies,” attorney Peter Foster KC said in the letter. “There are specific policy requirements regarding the investigation of a president and very simply that if one of these committees…if they have found through whistle blowing report to them and there is some information requiring an investigation, they are supposed to escalate that to the board of directors through another sub-committee… “With that initial report, the board of directors would then have to consider whether or not there is sufficient in that whistle blower report to escalate it to the board of governors and the board of governors would have to meet and then make a determination.” Foster said “none of that was done” and Leon was sent on leave unceremoniously by a three-member committee and everybody staying quiet after that. In January, it was disclosed that Leon, had been sent on administrative leave until April this year, as “an ongoing administrative process” continued at the region’s premier financial institution. Related Similar Articles

Hanif scores 84 for Super Colts U-16 in Canada  Jul 22, 2024 Sports Kaieteur Sports – Fayyaz Hanif, the son of former Guyana wicketkeeper/batsman Azib Alli Hanif, slammed a brilliant 84 for Super Colts Under-16 recently in the 2024 Toronto and District Cricket Association Under-16 T20 tournament. Fayyaz Hanif The right-handed Hanif stroked six sixes and similar number of fours from his 56-ball show at the crease to help team reach a challenging 141-5 from the allocation of 20-overs. But his team still lost to Ontario Cricket Academy, who won by 5 wickets with 17 balls to spare. The 15-year-old Hanif got contribution from Ved Patel with 33 as seamer Param Patel took 3-21 from his maximum four overs. Param Patel returned with the bat to lead his team with a composed 89 which was laced with 11 fours and two sixes from 58 balls. Yash Patel and Jainaim Shah grabbed two wickets apiece for Super Colts Under-16 team. The competition is slated to continue this weekend. Related Similar Articles