Guyana's Overstream - Where Guyana comes to think......

What I've been up to

2008-08-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

I'd like to apologize for having been on hiatus for awhile. The job I expected to get after graduation didn't come through. I came back from Guyana with a wonderful 10 acre lot in my mind up on the highway and I have been arranging to get into graduate school and move my family to another state. I apologize for not bringing any excellent material or rhetoric your way since then. I will try to be forthcoming in the near future and also positive. I realize that it's easy to get pessimistic when you look at the reality of the situation in Guyana. I'm going to resume my efforts to bring new things to the mix of Guyanese politics, be sharp and try to keep things as bright and cheery as I possibly can whilst I do all of it. Also I may start podcasting about Guyana. More on that later.

Cheers to all

Guyana's Prosperity Barrier

2008-05-26T19:09:00.001-04:00

In a free market, the price of a good or service is a phenomenon that emerges from the countless interractions of countless people. It's a valuable and yet simple signal that lets people know whether or not to buy now or wait. It also lets producers know whether it's a good time to produce more of that particular good or service or to produce something else.

Guyana's government has intervened in the economy in such a way as to frustrate any hopes to one day see a prosperous Guyana.

When the President Jagdeo announced all the subsidies for various foodstuffs about a month ago now, he was also announcing the death of the price mechanism in Guyana's economy.

When the government uses money taxed from the populace to bring down the price of food, it does two things: Firstly, it disables the signal that would let others know that it's time to grow more food on the widely available land here in Guyana. Also, it creates a shortage. A high price is a rationing machanism that ensures that a good will never run out. As it becomes more scarce, the price goes up and this tells people to economize.

The US and UK learned in the 1970's that a government can't manage the economy and country to prosperity. It's too large a task that simply never has good results.

The foundations of prosperity and even civilizationitself are private property and the abiltiy to buy and sell without government intervention and meddling.

When a government taxes away most of a nation's wealth and uses it to further muddle things by creating monumental market distortions, that nation is well on its way to serfdom.

Guyana's tragedy of the commons

2008-04-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

Every single time I come back to Guyana my heart becomes laden with the shame that one of our most visible and visited areas never looks presentable. I'm talking about the section of seawall between the Le Meridien Pegasus and Kitty and especially the section with the bandstand.

The heart of the problem is this: Since no one person gains something from having a clean and attractive area, no particular person takes action to make and keep it that way. Governments have usually circumvented this problem by creating public maintenance bureaucracies like national park services. This requires the confiscation of money via taxation.

My question is: Should we really be clamoring for the government to do more? How smart is this considering the record of government in taking on much larger matters than piles of trash at the seawall?

I can't remember where I heard this: "Ownership is everything".

If someone were to adopt or be granted ownership of sorts of this area, they could maybe charge a small fee for vendors to do business there, charge admission to musical groups scheduled to play at the bandstand, or charge a little money for parking. The monies could then be used to hire people to gather rubbish, haul it away and constantly improve the grounds. I imagine expanded parking, a bricked walkway, an expanded beach area and manicured landscaping. Even better would be small outdoor cafes with wireless internet.

The government could maybe do this, but do they really want to? If they did, how much would it cost for the government to revitalize the area versus a private entity with a profit motive? Enterprises motivated by profits automatically make better use of scarce resources than governments who can simply confiscate money to feed a bloated budget.

May your next morning walk on the seawall be an instructive one. Don't just look at the trash, but also think of the possibilities. Paint your own picture of what it would like like if you owned that area and had something to gain by beautifying it. The way things work right now, should give a new meaning to the phrase "pride in ownership." Right now, there is no ownership and nothing to be proud of. Happy jogging.

Racial harmony and prosperity in guyana

2008-03-21T11:24:00.002-04:00

Here's another view that most people haven't covered as regards Guyana.

I think that most would agree that the major tension between the two groups plays out at the political level and not on the grassroots level. Politics fosters the continuance of these "group views" because it is inherently collectivist. Politics sees parliamentary voting blocks composed of groups......it collects individuals into blocks of similar interest. The very system of democracy perpetuates the friction that has existed since so long ago.

Benjamin Franklin once said that democracy was two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for dinner.

Winston Churchill once said "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."

Let's cut right to the bone here. Democracy is popularity. Populism is LESS likely to abridge people's rights as often as a monarch or a dictator and will generally unseat anyone who isn't popular.

I imagine that in a nation where everyone has a common heritage and race and religion etc, The evils of democracy are less visible.

This melts away in a multi-ethnic system. If you can see a block of people taking away your rights and they are of a different color from you .....it's perceived differently. I don't know that there is any way to overcome this other than power sharing, because only then would people realize that ALL the politicians were abridging their rights......so they can be dissatisfied with all of them. But power sharing would be undemocratic now wouldn't it? The most popular candidate and/or party should have the most power shouldn't he/they?

Do you see the catch-22 situation here? Democracy is the "least worst" and what is popular may sometimes be the least evil but the way it is done with ethnically-based parties perpetuates feelings and social dynamics that threaten peace and democracy.

What's the solution? I think it would go a long way for the individual to be brought back into politics.

Democracy works best when it has much less power to abridge the rights of individuals or give special treatment to one group of individuals over another.

Democracy can even be GREAT when there are codified RIGHTS which aren't abridged by the government.

Government works best when is has less power in general.

Would someone mistrust the dominant ethnic group that had control of government if government had little or no power to intervene in his life against his own will?

The very essence of government that makes groups covet it and other groups despise it is its virtual monopoly on the use of coercive power to enforce popular laws, tax money and shape society through legislation.

If racial relations are better on the person-to-person societal level than on a governmental level, find things that the government doesn't need to be doing and let other consensual entities in society like charities and businesses take over. If there is a demand for the particular service, then they will find a way to get funding. If the market finds no use for the services, then maybe government shouldn't be doing them in the first place.

For those who love and have more faith in government and its power to wield coercive force on others, your faith in government may yield more efficient government someday but in the meantime stop expecting racial harmony.

The path to prosperity in Guyana isn't more planning and combating poverty. Government planning means sub planting the plans of a bureaucrat's over the plans of an individual. Combating poverty just redistributes wealth..often from one GROUP to another. It is, in my opinion, fallacious to expect people of different races to choose to get along with each other via the coercive power of the state.

The path to prosperity for Guyana is wealth creation (not poverty alleviation) and individual rights. The most prosperous places have few natural resources and many rights and freedoms! Hong Kong, Singapore, the cayman islands and others were forced by scarcity to come up with other ways to create wealth and they did so out of thin air (!) by codifying more rights and exercising less government power to coerce and tax.

Have you ever thought that creating a free and prosperous Guyana meant less government and less laws and less and less and less of most things that government cooks up?

Less really is more.

Free the individual.

Is Guyana's government threatening or enabling freedom of the press?

2008-03-09T12:52:00.004-04:00

I've sat back for a while now and watched the debate about whether or not the government of Guyana is actually threatening the freedom of the press. I was on the fence leaning towards the 'yes it is' side until about 2 minutes ago.

Firstly, I'd like to ask what freedom of the press entails. Freedom of the press is freedom from whom or what? A state's governing body has the legal monopoly on the use of coercive force. If the government is one of your newspaper's larger clients, does that increase or diminish your freedom to publish what you want? I can think of arguments that could go both ways.

A safe assumption may be that if government is no longer a client of a publication, the publication would have more liberty to publish material that is critical of the government.

Likewise it is helpful to examine the government the way one would a self-interested individual. Who in his right mind would choose to fund another entity that is highly critical of it? It's counterintuitive to bankroll the exposure of one's own impropriety. The government is a consumer of advertising. It should be expected to react to the same incentives a company might. Would Banks DIH buy advertising in the same medium that also writes exposes of its executives?

It's fallacious to deal with government while expecting it to act on a higher plane when in fact it will usually act like everyone else, or worse.

It seems to me that Stabroek News doesn't view government ad revenues in this light. My guess is that it sees them as a tax rebate or as a subsidy. A newspaper that gets handouts or special treatment like that from government can hardly be expected to continue to play the important role of an independent medium. Can one be free from a government while being dependent on its business? Stabroek News can better serve the public by doing what it can to execute a successful business model without government ad revenue.

As long as the government isn't doing anything else to cause tangible losses to Stabroek News, the government is simply using market behavior to retaliate against the newspaper. It's mean-spirited and certainly not 'fair'. Nevertheless, it leaves Stabroek News freer to criticize the government without causing a conflict of interest.

Guyana Undermined - 2 video documentary preview

2008-03-02T16:00:00.001-04:00

An unpopular solution to gun violence

2008-02-20T17:21:00.000-04:00

Sorry to all for having been a bit distant lately. I'm finishing up some school and getting ready for my move across the US.

I am, like anyone else, worried about the gangs that seem to run roughshod anywhere they want to and have killed more than several along their way.

I put this forward knowing that it will not be popular with most people who read my blog. Nevertheless, if we are to be intellectually honest, we should constantly and honestly review new information or arguments.

I don't' have the references on me, but there are studies that show that US states with very lax firearm carry laws have lower crime. How less likely is someone to do whatever he wants knowing that people around him may very well have guns and can shoot back?

We may never get to test the truth of my theory which is this: Allow law abiding citizens to buy and carry firearms without great government imposed impediments. You will see a reduction in crime.

The police come after the commission of a crime to investigate and take eye witness accounts. Rarely do they come in time to save anyone. As a matter of fact, I don't ever recall the police having ever saved anyone.

I would like to challenge the supposition that it is the responsibility of government to protect the citizenry from criminals. If you insist that they do so, you tell me exactly how much money it's going to take to make sure that nobody with a gun can ever harm us. Will 20% or 50% of the workforce need to be employed in law enforcement to make us safe? Even then, will they get there in time?

Democratising Guyana's Oil Part II

2008-01-27T10:35:00.000-04:00

The Roop Column

RBP + LEF + O = D
Kaeiteur News
26 January 2008

Peter R. Ramsaroop, MBA

RBP + LEF + O = D (Race-based Politics + Limited Economic Freedom + Oil = Disaster)
This column is a follow-up to my column from December 23rd titled “Natural Resources” where our team proposed that the profits of oil be shared with the people as written in an academic paper from one of our team members, JC Bollers.

INTRODUCTION:
The riots in Kenya have killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. This should motivate us to conclusively resolve ethnic conflict in Guyana if we ever want to have lasting prosperity. The post-election violence and riots have caused tourists to flee Kenya or decide to visit somewhere else. Trust in Kenya's political system has been shattered. Their economy may soon follow; and they don't even have oil.
This should teach us that democracy is much more than being able to vote once in every election. When people use their own money and judgment to make purchases or donations, they are practising a type of 'economic democracy'.
Everyone is part of the mechanism that chooses the best firms and charities. When one ethnic group or race is favoured over another for both political office and economic opportunities, both types of democracy are lost. The disenfranchised in Kenya are not rioting only because their candidate has (probably wrongfully) lost the presidential election. They are rioting because their country has not even found a half-measure to resolve the ethnic discrimination that characterizes both their politics and also their economy.

THE FACTS:
If Guyana's oil reserves are proven and then controlled by our government, it could spell disaster for our country. With the nature of our current politics, we cannot allow simultaneous control of both political and economic power. We may be able to foster long-term prosperity and peace if we can somewhat separate political favour from economic opportunity.
We have researched and written about democratising Guyana's natural resources extracted from public property. This means that oil royalties would be dispersed evenly amongst our citizens. The government would have to accountably tax us in order to fund its operations. To date, our organisation Vision Guyana is the first and so far the only organisation to adopt this as part of their vision of a prosperous future for Guyana.
On January third, CGX Energy Inc. released an independent assessment of the probable amount of oil found in the offshore Corentyne concession. Its best estimate puts our oil reserves at 2.7 billion barrels. However, the odds of finding no oil at all are 61 percent. This leaves a 39 percent chance of finding even a little oil at either one or both major drill sites, to be produced at Global Competitive Prices.

One Saudi oil minister once said, “All in all, I wish we had discovered water.” We too may be 'lucky' enough to understand why he said this. The risks we face as a resource rich nation are as real as Saudi Arabia's. Those we face as a developing multiracial democracy are as real as Kenya's. If we allow the bounty of our country to further divide us along racial lines, we may forever be the land of many backwaters. Most Guyanese may continue to prefer living elsewhere.

CONCLUSION:
Let us act now to secure our democracy by 'democratising' our natural resources extracted from public land. Each Guyanese citizen will vote every day by spending or investing his or her share of the royalties in a free market economy. No one's race will be an issue to someone wishing to sell or buy something. No one's party affiliation will affect whether or not they profit from the public natural bounty that rightfully belongs to each and every one of us. I don't offer this as a solution to all our problems, but this might be the one thing that makes the biggest difference in our way of life. We propose that consultation be started on exploring these recommendations.
“Democratising our natural resources” can help us realize our hope for ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE, with ONE DESTINY.

Guyana Resources - A Christmas Blessing or Scrooge Curse

2007-12-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

The “Roop” Column

Guyana Resources - A Christmas Blessing or Scrooge Curse

Peter R. Ramsaroop, MBA

One of my young advisors, JC Bollers, the grand nephew of the late Sir Harold Bollers, recently completed his academic paper on Guyana Resources . In our discussions I thought it was appropriate to share with the public his thoughts and our discussions on the issue of Guyana Resources. This is the season when we reflect on the year and why the average citizen has not progressed from last year and for some, they have gone backwards given the economic environment we are faced with. I would ask that you keep this column for future reference as we get closer to oil:

For as long as I can remember, I've always asked myself how our country can have so much natural wealth but still be poor? Guyana is suffering from what academics call the 'resource curse' . This happens when a country's economy becomes too dependent on primary exports like oil and sugar, sugar in our case. It's more likely to happen in a country with institutions that lack transparency and caring leadership for all.

A resource state's incentives are to keep the handful of export producers happy. In this situation, voters and the private sector commonly find themselves subject to a government that isn't as accountable to them as it is to the sugar or oil company. When commodity prices fall, the economy falters and lacks a private sector strong enough to pick up the slack. Normal economic growth needs a healthy private sector, which requires predictable enforcement of laws, contracts, property rights and an open economy. This is often absent in a resource state.

A functioning democracy requires that the government be dependent on the electorate for tax revenue . The government produces accountability in exchange for this. This accountability creates trust and legitimacy. It is absent, though, when a government gets enough of its funding from resource rents. In this situation, various groups fight for their 'fair share' of the resource rents at the government level. When the resource wealth gets distributed according to politics, that's when widespread ethnic conflict and political instability take place.

UK journalist Nicholas Shaxson says: " If citizens had the oil money in the first place, and the state had to bargain with them to get its cut, it seems likely that would change the game entirely."

Maclean's Magazine of Canada has said that Guyana may be able to eventually match Kuwait's annual oil production of 500 million Barrels . However , if only one tenth of that amount is produced and royalties are 55 percent, at US$100.00 per barrel, that means an average annual payment of roughly $US3600.00 per person or $US300.00 a month.

Do you want that HUGE AMOUNT to go to the government?

For the future, I STRONGLY recommend the following:

• Amend our constitution to state that ALL natural resources belong to Guyana 's citizens .

• Let each Guyanese choose at which bank to have their royalties deposited.

• Have CGX (or any extractor) publicly state each payment and pay it directly to the banks.

• Tax only withdrawals of principal to encourage saving and investment.

• Allow banks to issue credit to citizens based on all types of income.

• Enjoy an economy bursting with energy, life, HOPE and PROSPERITY for ALL.

“The people may get lazy,” you say. Is that worse than government using all the money to selectively bless others with laziness?

”Well people may waste the money,” you say again. Does the government have the monopoly on being wasteful? People spend according to their priorities. Governments spend money on what is politically expedient. We should be asking if people are more wasteful than the government.

“Well what about infrastructure?” The government will get REVENUES through taxation . That should be enough to build infrastructure and buy some accountability. That would be a very merry Christmas indeed for ALL.

Our Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas with a Healthy and Prosperous 2008.

Washington, Caracas and Georgetown get talking

2007-12-14T14:35:00.000-04:00

High level talks have begun between Guyana and the US. I've been predicting that with Hugo Chavez next door and oil in Guyana, that the US would do what it found fit to not only secure a likley US oil supply but also contain Hugo Chavez. A Venezuelan invasion or "destabilization" of Guyana would not be ideal for the US who would seek to prevent it. The article mentions the possibility of a US base in Guyana once the lease for one expires in Ecuador. Given the way that the US tends to protect regimes who supply oil to the US and host military bases, it would seem that 2011 would be the best time for a pro-western/pro-business government to be installed.

Avoiding death from oil and trees

2007-12-01T20:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Stabroek News reported that President President Bharrat Jagdeo had successfully pitched his proposal that Guyana be compensated for its standing rainforests.

I want to highlight the similarities between this and earning foreign exchange from oil production, or any primary material extracted from public land for that matter.

Both would yield revenue streams directly to the government for activity that is not tied to efforts to produce something. Economic data show that revenue associated with production of goods and services is associated with economic growth whereas revenue derived from natural resource exploitation is associated with slow or even negative economic growth, especially in countries with poor institutions and democratic records.

Natural resource revenue is often derived by not doing much more than allowing a company to drill and getting a cut from it. This causes what has been called, 'the manna-from-heaven' effect. Since production friendly policies and practices are not required in order to gain this revenue, the country's institutions are geared toward dividing the spoils. The private sector of a country in this situation usually languishes not only because the government does not need it to get most of its revenue, but also because the appreciation of the country's currency on the world market makes the country's manufactured exports less competitive on the the world market. This effect is known as 'Dutch disease'.

The whole point of expounding this 'resource curse' in relation to Guyana's solicitation of compensation for maintaining standing forests, is to show that it doesn't matter if it's oil extracted by CGX or carbon credit compensation.

Both generate a stream of revenue directly to the government. This revenue that doesn't come from the tax paying electorate can, and usually is, spent without public oversight. The government in power has incentives to divide this 'manna from heaven' in ways that are politically important to the regime in power.

Oftentimes what's politically important includes spreading the wealth around, only just enough to stay in power. For the political opposition it often ends up as a never-ending dream punctuated only by lost elections. For the powerless public it means the likelihood of greater chances of gaining prosperity by knowing someone in government rather than through honest labour and enterprise.

People lose trust in a system in which windfall natural resource revenue encourages corruption and discourages transparency. Resource states often don't have the incentive to enforce contracts in a predictable manner nor to protect property rights. The government will get paid the same regardless. This is the seedbed out of which talent drains.

Guyana's future carbon credit revenue, while having environmental benefits will have the same basic political and economic effects as oil revenue. It fits nicely into the government's business plan. The government engages in self-interested capitalism when it seeks to sell standing or felled trees, oil, gold, diamonds, etc. on the world market. The more profit it gains from this, the more incentive it has to stay in power and use undemocratic means to do so.

This places it in diametric opposition to the interests of the electorate who demand accountability, transparency, responsiveness and development.

Dr. Martin E. Sandbu at the University of Pennsylvania recommends that a populace check its government and avoid many elements of the resource curse by mandating that all natural wealth revenues be disbursed directly to the electorate via natural wealth accounts (NWA's). Each voting citizen would get a statement in the mail at regular intervals stating how much money was deposited into his or her personal account and how much was taxed by the government. Experience shows that governments funded by taxing their populations are far more accountable and have better institutions. This is because the people feel the pinch of taxation. People don't feel any pinch when resource rents are paid directly to the government because they don't see it as forgone income. Promoting the pinch of taxation usually promotes more vigilance on the part of the electorate.

If all governments fundamentally exist at the consent of the governed, then taxation ties the two together in a more intimate relationship than would exist if the government didn't need to fund itself out of the peoples' pockets. Is it any wonder there is a disconnect between the government and the governed when the government of Guyana gains most of its revenue from a handful of sectors that are composed of a handful of players. When the government can fund itself by keeping a small number of people happy, it has no incentive to be very answerable to the rest.

National Wealth Accounts or NWA's, may also achieve something that would most likely be done in a much less equal and inefficient fashion by the government; ensuring that all citizens benefit from natural resource revenue. Instead of funneling the spoils to those who promise to support the incumbent regime, an NWA system would at least split the revenue evenly amongst all the resident citizens of voting age. This will go a long way toward healing the ethnic and class divisions in Guyanese society. All will be elevated by an equal amount.

This system will not only grow our economy, but also mitigate the effect of having hords of special interest groups descending upon the government wanting their own slice of the manna pie. If the only revenue the government has is tax revenue, there is more responsibility attached to it. Though there will always be special interest groups running after government money, at least they may get to it after the rest of the citizens have handled it first. However, depending on the total amount of evenly distributed revenue, the NWA system may even mitigate the need for special interests groups to form and seek public money.

A Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge at Yale University wrote a perceptive letter to the editor at Stabroek News that got published on the 30th of November. A truncated version is as follows:

"Our government - though I think that they have long lost the moral right to be called a government-- has become a haven for gun toting ministers and corrupt officials.

The people to whom we look to protect us, are led in some cases by men more criminally minded than those they are charged with arresting." (...)

"I am beginning to think that the cancer has spread so far that more drastic action may be needed. Guyana needs a vision. We need to feel like our leaders are taking us somewhere.

The government it seems has no long-term vision for Guyana. Like all political parties in Guyana today they seem only interested in power and little else." (...)

"Each one [lost opportunity for development] is a slap in the face of the Guyanese people from an incompetent government, each one a stinging reminder of where this malaise originated. Without vision and direction no nation can achieve its destiny.

It seems that Guyana is unique, in that on more than one occasion, due to poor leadership, we have missed our rendezvous with destiny."

Yours faithfully,

Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge

I would put forth to my fellow mourner Kwesi, that all governments are composed of people who are mostly interested in maximizing their own personal benefit and that of those who support them. The only way to change the outcome is to drastically change the incentives they respond to.

The government of Guyana will be far more interested in the thoughts, feelings, desires and aspirations of our people when our people have the money derived from the natural bounty of our country. In this new game, the government will be tasked with raising its funding from the electorate with their consent.

Join me in proclaiming that Guyana's natural exports of gold, diamonds, minerals of all kinds, standing or felled lumber, fossil fuels and (maybe in the future) water exploited from the public domain, all belong to the citizens of Guyana first. The government may partake of the citizens' revenues at the discretion of the same, to be determined by fair and transparent political processes.

Altogether, Guyana has more natural resources on a per capita basis, than just about any other country in the world. Are we going to let them curse us or bless us? On one hand we have a government that grabs the spoils and spends them according it their own incentives. On the other hand we have a system that protects the right of the individual citizen to spend or save his/her share of the revenue according to personal incentives.

Anything less with be a half measure that leaves Guyana fundamentally similar to the one we have today. The Guyana we have today is not the abode of most Guyanese, so I think the votes have been counted in that regard.

Kwesi cites the lack of vision on the part of our leadership. I will put forth idea that the people of Guyana the ones who need to have the vision that leads along the path in which the government is not standing in the way. Their job is to figure out how to tax the fruits of this vision in an accountable manner to fund the institutions that protect our safety, liberty property and one that results in the predictable enforcement of contracts between citizens. Any further governmental responsibilities exist at the discretion and oversight of the people.

My vision of the future is that of a world in which people will feel lucky for having been born or married into the family of Guyana. The blessings we will have will result in the voluntary re-location of educated and skilled Guyanese back home to partake of these blessings. This will result in Guyana having the most varied human skill-set of any country in the region. Due to Guyana's natural endowments, people and opportunities derived from her relative location between two very large economies, Guyana will wield a regional and global influence disproportionate to her size and population. I call this day 'The Golden Age of Guyana'.

JC Bollers

Observant Letter to the Editor SN

2007-11-30T20:59:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know him, I would like to shed some light on who Mr. Sansculotte-Greenidge is. I found his letter to the editor to be very compelling. We have many things in common when it comes to our lamentation over the many lost opportunities that Guyana has not taken advantage of. I am taking license to paste his profile from Yale University where he studies. I've looked for Kwesi's e-mail address but was unable to find it. If any of my readers knows him, I would appreciate it if you could have him contact me via the e-mail address in my profile. People like us should keep in touch.

As far as the content of Mr. Sansculotte-Greenidge's letter, I would say that the machinations of the current regime in Guyana are those characteristic of one that is more concerned with conserving the status quo that bettering the country. The concept of development in this model is employed only to the extent that Guyana doesn't fall SO far behind that instability results in shaking the political tree. It's all bout keeping what they have. I think that Guyana has many people with vision and motivation. We simply lack the necessary forum to plan and coordinate. More importantly, we need a framework that brings various interests and entities together in such a way as to help us to stick together instead of flying apart like what happened in 2006. This needs to come into being ASAP. 2001 may be the last time we have a chance to sell a real vision to Guyana and place it on a path prosperity.

"Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge was born and raised in Guyana, South America, but has lived in numerous locations ranging from Dominica to the Netherlands, Barbados to Belgium and Trinidad to England. After completing his high school education, Kwesi enrolled at the University of Guyana, where he studied World History, and also taught Caribbean and Latin American history at the high school level. In 1998 he transferred to the University of Durham in England where he received his B.A. (´01) with Honours in Human Sciences. While studying in Durham, Kwesi undertook two months of field work in the forests and savannahs of Guyana and Brazil in order to write his dissertation on the religious practices of an Indian community in the region. Prior to enrolling at Yale, Kwesi traveled extensively in Egypt and the Sudan, living with Nubian and Beja communities along the Egyptian and Sudanese Nile and Red Sea. While at Yale he has focused on the methods used by north east African states to deal with and/or accommodate ethnic diversity, and the way ethnic minorities try to engage the political systems of the region. In 2002 he spent three months in Ethiopia conducting field work in Ethiopia on Ethiopian ethnic federalism. Kwesi hopes to continue on to pursue a doctorate in Political Science or work in the non-profit sector focusing on decentralization techniques."

Guyana seems to have lost its way
Friday, November 30th 2007

Dear Editor,

I have always imagined the birth of a nation to be a chaotic event. I suppose the death cannot be much different. I imagine that like me, many other Guyanese are also confused as to what exactly has gone wrong with our great nation. I know there are those who would argue that everything is fine, but let us be honest with ourselves my brothers and sisters, Guyana is in trouble.

Our government - though I think that they have long lost the moral right to be called a government-- has become a haven for gun toting ministers and corrupt officials.

The people to whom we look to protect us, are led in some cases by men more criminally minded than those they are charged with arresting.

More recently, our minister of local government showed us the calibre of people running our beloved nation. So I ask what is really going on in Guyana?

It is my suspicion that this general lawlessness is a symptom of a greater sickness afflicting this country, a malaise that has crept into our bones and hearts. Guyana has lost its way.

In St Martin and Cayenne mothers warn their sons about 'Guyanese love', that is girls who marry you just to stay on the island. Many Guyanese both at home and abroad ask what can be done to rectify this situation. Some call for a change in government, others a new political force.

I am beginning to think that the cancer has spread so far that more drastic action may be needed. Guyana needs a vision. We need to feel like our leaders are taking us somewhere.

The government it seems has no long-term vision for Guyana. Like all political parties in Guyana today they seem only interested in power and little else.

It only take a quick look at the situation to see what I am talking about. All around the world especially here in Europe, Muscovado or plain old regular brown sugar is marketed as Demerara sugar. Why hasn't the name Demerara Sugar been copyrighted?

A UN study found that Guyana has more than 7,100 MW worth of hydroelectric potential in our many rivers.

A hydroelectric facility of roughly 500 MW would allow us to process all of our current annually bauxite production into aluminium.

Whereas a tonne of bauxite fetches between US$60-US$260, the current international price of aluminium is US$2,500 a tonne.

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is from the Brazilian state that borders Guyana. As a result, from the time he took office in 2003, he was anxious to show Brazilians from the north of the Amazon that their support for him would bring them rewards.

Billions were set aside for development projects, as was to be expected his home region of Roraima state received substantial funds. An industrial centre and tax free zone is planned for the area between Manaus and Boa Vista.

The fact that both Amazonas and Roraima states are landlocked means their products would have to be imported and exported through Guyana or a much longer route to Belem.

No only has the government failed to attract Brazilian investment, but they refuse to even pave the Georgetown-Lethem road. Our president, who is a trained economist, claims that he will not seal a road whose annual trade amount is only US$200,000.

Has he ever thought that trade will only increase if the route is paved and quicker and safer for Guyanese and Brazilian traders? Lula will not be in power forever, someday soon he will be replaced by a politician most likely from the populace south of Brazil who will ask -why waste money on the north when the majority of the population lives in the south?

Finally, why has the government accepted oil from a state that regularly and frequently violates our borders and has recently killed one of our citizens and blown up Guyanese property, with no explanation given? Why did we even sign the PetroCaribe Agreement? I am sure with the amount of business they were losing to Venezuela we could have gotten attractive terms from Trinidad if we negotiated properly as Barbados did.

None of these initiatives is the silver bullet for Guyanese problems, but they are missed opportunities to develop this country.

Each one is a slap in the face of the Guyanese people from an incompetent government, each one a stinging reminder of where this malaise originated. Without vision and direction no nation can achieve its destiny.

It seems that Guyana is unique, in that on more than one occasion, due to poor leadership, we have missed our rendezvous with destiny.

Yours faithfully,

Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge

Guyana offers to trade rain forest for aid

2007-11-25T01:49:00.000-04:00

This is what I expect from a country that is heavily dependent on primary exports. Primary exports usually are extracted/produced by a small number or large players as opposed to a large number of small players.

Guyana's institutions are primarily geared towards dealing with large entities. Rather than taking a role of fostering the responsible exploitation of Guyana's forest resources by varied, diffuse and diverse entities, it is more preferred by the government to make a wholesale capitalization of the forest resources as a single bloc of carbon offsets for the developed world.

Scenarios like this involve as few people as possible and a single stream of revenue to the government.

It is more trouble to foster and regulate a diverse and extensive group of people exploiting the same resources. Such diverse participation would elevate more people out of poverty and spur some level of innovation, generate more employment and maybe retain more Guyanese in-country.

The government, however, like any self-interested entity is interested in maximizing a single, safe stream of predictable revenue.

The term 'Dynamic Economy' falls on deaf ears in that corner.

Now, the "economic aid" that the president speaks of for the development of the private sector, means to me that this assistance money will be used by the government to subsidize the enterprises that the government finds befitting its agenda.

Such government capitalism may benefit the government, but I find myself preferring something that benefits more people. This may be a way of replacing lost sugar revenue.

Finally, to the President's declaration that there is the political will to do this I say: " How much political will is needed to do nothing other than bar development and get paid for it?"

Whatever political capital is required, it shouldn't be hard to muster in a parliament where one party rules all and few people dictate the party agenda.

Guyana sidesteps Treaty of Chaguaramas

2007-11-22T12:10:00.000-04:00

I'm a believer that the presence of competition forces existing enterprises to operate more efficiently or get out of business. Now, I also believe that not having a particular industry, depending on what it is, can be bad for national or regional security. I do not know how best to determine which industries to protect from competition or not. I'm just glad that I don't have to decide at the moment. My main observation here is that Guyana surely can't expect Jamaica to adhere to the agreement in terms of rice, especially if it is unwilling to do it in terms of cement.

Guyana hardens on TCL cement

http://www.newsday.co.tt/businessday/0,68469.html

Thursday, November 22 2007

Guyana’s waiver of the 15 percent Common External Tariff [CET] on foreign cement imports is an indirect subsidy of foreign produced cement and is in conflict with the spirit of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which calls on Caricom countries to protect each other’s fledgling industries through the imposition of common external tariff (CET).

The CET waiver on cement by Guyana, a fellow Caricom State, represents the first major assault on the TCL Group of Companies. Guyana, by waiving the 15 percent Common External Tariff on foreign cement imports is tacitly subsidising imports to the tune of the 15 percent duty it would have received under CET, at the expense of TCL.

The controversial move by the People’s Progressive Party Government of Guyana appears on the face of it to be in retaliation for the equally controversial decision by Jamaica to import rice from the US — although the commodity is available from Guyana, the region’s principal rice producer.

This means that not only will Guyana’s action hurt the regional company, but that Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados and Guyana, itself, will experience a decline in profits and a loss of needed foreign exchange earnings.

TCL group executives, including TCL Guyana Plant Manager, Mark Bender, have met with Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, and presented a strong case for the reimplementation of the CET.

TCL has pleaded right of access to Guyana’s cement market “under CET as is the case for products produced in Guyana exported to other CARICOM countries”.

Unless Guyana reconsiders and Jamaica seeks to settle the issue of its rice imports from the US then the CET waiver may lead first to a dismantling of the agreement under which non-cement producing Caricom countries pledged not to allow access of foreign cement imports below production costs.

Additionally, it could lead to a unilateral dismantling of the 15 percent Common External Tariff and a loss of needed protection to several of the region’s industries as well as agricultural products.

This will clear the way for unlimited entry of foreign products untroubled by the 15 percent tariff wall, which the World Trade Organisation made available to the region after much negotiating.

Meanwhile, any pronounced contraction of the TCL Group of Companies’ cement market in the Caribbean may lead to a renewed bid by the Mexican cement giant, Cemex, TCL’s “strategic partner,” which sought to acquire a majority shareholding in Trinidad Cement Limited in the wake of the dumping of Thai cement.

If this cement waiver is not worked out, the battle by TCL to reassert its position in the Caricom cement market, is going to become increasingly difficult.

Could the latest dispute catch Venezuela in verbal recognition of Guyana's ownership of Essequibo?

2007-11-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

If indeed the words of the ambassador of Venezuela to Guyana were something close to "I can prove that those boats were outside of your borders", maybe they will unwittingly give up the claim to Guyanese Territory in what they call the disputed "Territorio Essequibo".

It may even turn out better if those boats were indeed in Guyanese waters, because it would force the issue in the forme of a public international incident with Venezuela being the bad guy.

This may yet get more interesting.

Caracas denies Guyana blast claim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7099476.stm

Venezuela has denied destroying two gold-mining dredges on Guyanese territory following a strong protest from Guyana's government.

Guyana says 36 Venezuelan soldiers used helicopters and Compostion-4 (C-4), a type of plastic explosive, to blow up the two dredging machines on Thursday.

It has summoned Venezuela's ambassador to explain the incident.

Venezuela denies using force and said the army was removing illegal miners inside its own territory.

Territorial dispute

The dredges were in a disputed border region that has seen a number of recent incidents.

Guyanese troops and police travelled to the border on Friday to investigate whether the incident took place on the Wenamu River between the two countries, or the Cuyuni River in Guyana, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Guyanese Foreign Minister Rudy Insally told the news agency AFP that his country was "very disturbed by this report because it affects our territorial sovereignty."

But Venezuela's ambassador to Guyana, Dario Morandy, told AFP that his country could provide co-ordinates to show the incident had occurred within Venezuelan borders.

The ambassador also accused illegal miners of polluting rivers with mercury and said Venezuela was protecting its natural resources.

Guyana's Recovery Underway? That's for us to decide.

2007-11-15T01:02:00.001-04:00

I'm currently doing research for a paper about the resource curse.
I've peeped about it on here and to some individuals but I haven't
agitated much on here because my research is still going on until the
end of this month. I'm basically scraping together all the articles
that I can get my hands on about the lackluster economic growth and
even violent armed conflict that accompanies the discovery and
exploitation of natural resources in a country.

The thing to look for is what percentage of a country's GDP is made up
of primary exports. It can be sugar, diamonds, oil or lumber.

When primary exports make up more than a certain percentage of the
GDP, you're going to have problems. For now I'll say that once they
comprise 1/3 of GDP, that's the tip over point.

The big problem is that when a country's institutions are focused on
obtaining and spending the resource rents, the private sector often
get sidelined by the government.

This has been a big problem for Guyana because most of the government
revenue comes from Sugar, Gold, Bauxite, Lumber and some diamonds, in
no particular order.

These are all primary export commodities as opposed to manufactured goods.

there is a debate as to whether the wealth of primary resources erodes
a country's institutions or if the bad institutions come first.

The general truth, however, is that there is a good correlation
between institutional quality and GDP growth.

In Guyana's case, simply injecting oil revenue into already-bad
(comparatively) institutions that are already geared toward resource
rents, won't likely grow the economy or make people better off.

A big problem is patronage politics, the buying of blocks of votes
with government revenue. If it happens in a country, it happens more
when the government gets oil revenue.

A great example of the politico-economic quandary in which many
petro-states find themselves, is Nicholas Shaxson's example of a
queue, or line:

If you pour a bucket or two of icy water on this line, it will cause
chaos for a short time, but order will be eventually restored because
everyone has trust that each person will eventually get to the front
of the line.

Regardless of what the people are waiting in line for, let's say that
the biggest or strongest people in the line start cutting to the front
or simply pushing their way to the front from behind. This trust then
dissipates and oftentimes, violent struggles or at least verbal strife
ensues.

This trust is arguably the most important thing to a functioning
economy. The institutions are charged with the responsibility of
keeping order and protecting rights.

Norway, whose economy is heavily dependent on numerous primary exports
including oil and farmed fish, doesn't show signs of this disorder or
strife because the institutions are strong, and the country wasn't
exactly poor before striking oil.

The better the institutions and the better-off the economy before
discovery of extensive natural resources, the better a country is able
to cope with the challenges they pose.

The poorer a country is and the worse off its institutions before
discovery, the worse-off a country tends to be after the discovery of
hydrocarbons.

Interesting is the case of Indonesia between 1965-1990. Their
institutions were only marginally better than Guyana's during the same
time period, but they had an open economy, as opposed to Guyana's
closed one, and their reliance on primary exports was less than half
of Guyana's in terms of % of GDP. Indonesia's economic growth was
phenomenal during this time, and if I'm not mistaken, that country was
a bit democratically challenged during that period. It should be
noted that Indonesia has had a young and growing population, whilst
Guyana's hasn't.

New Zealand is an interesting anomaly amongst the nations like the
Netherlands, US and Norway, with great institutions. Even though the
institutions were almost top notch, Their economy was closed during
this time period and hence, NZ experienced terrible economic growth
compared to its peers.

Another big issue that needs to be considered is "dutch disease" as it
became known in the 1960's when the Netherlands struck natural gas in
the North Sea. The influx of money from exploitation of said reserves
made Dutch currency more expensive, and manufactured goods suffered
because of it.

This has been replicated to varying degrees in other countries, but
especially so, and severely, in places that don't already have a
manufacturing sector to begin with. Leaders of developing countries
tend to spend without planning for tumultuous commodity price swings,
and when the price dips low, there isn't a manufacturing sector to
step in to save the economy.

The thing that I want to impress upon the mind when it comes to
natural resource rents vs taxes levied from enterprise, personal
income or tariffs, is that their collection remains more or less
constant (other than swings in world prices) regardless of how the
economy is doing. When a government does things to destabilize an
economy or allow violence, human rights abuses, etc. the government
still gets paid the same no matter what. Instead of inviting all to
participate in healthy commerce so as to generate tax revenues, the
government and those who lobby it are simply in a mode of dividing the
spoils instead of encouraging production.

This and other things, bring me to a few cautious semi-conclusions;
these comprise my current 'recipe' for a Guyana that not only has a
very high dependence on primary exports, lackluster institutions, low
population growth, and an economy that is not as open as needs to be:

1. The government needs to be forced by its own people to convert to
production mode instead of grabbing mode. It's the responsibility of
Guyanese to foresee the train wreck and avert it. Nicholas Shaxson
who recently published an article called 'politics, corruption and the
resource curse' says something to the effect that although
transparency measures [read FOIA] may change things a bit, the only
way to fundamentally change the game is to directly distribute
resource rents evenly amongst the people and force the government to
bargain with the electorate for its budgetary needs. He lists every
conceivable objection to such a plan, but he also quite effectively
answers each one except for, "the politicians will never go for it."
He does mention though, that a way around it is for a candidate to be
elected by promising to do just that. I'm convinced that the only
way to achieve the next points, is to fundamentally change the game or
interplay between Guyana's government and the electorate, anything
less will produce, in my opinion, a Guyana that's fundamentally
similar to the one we have now, only potentially worse.

2. Transparency measures: A freedom of information act is essential.
A government who gets most of its revenue from sources outside the
electorate has almost no incentive to reveal its dealings with those
entities or the ways in which it spends the rents. Maybe a third
party bank, more trustworthy than governments sometimes, can receive
the resource rents and distribute the revenues to special personal
accounts of Guyana's citizens. The IMF is experimenting with
transparency requirements tied to loans made to developing countries.
The drawback to this is that many of these countries then decide to
take loans from China, which has no such stipulation.

3. A WIDE OPEN ECONOMY: In the post colonial era, the pendulum swung
to a closed economy. Since the return of democratic elections, the
pendulum has stuck in middle of the return swing because of structural
and political reasons. To jump start, the economy the PEOPLE need to
change the incentives of the government who will then see fit to
foster a lively economy based on not only primary resource exports but
also manufacturing, services and trade/investments. If taxing a
vibrant economy is the main way for the government to collect revenue,
you can bet it will result in a society of free-enterprise.

4. Enforcement of property rights and contracts: Knowing that not
doing this will discourage trust in the system and investors, the
government will have to expend valuable resources reforming law
enforcement and the judiciary. It's a lot of trouble (apparently),
and it won't happen unless it's the only way for government to
optimize its own revenue. Think about this: only minimal to no
transparency and enforcement of contracts/property rights is necessary
to get a small handful of large companies to extract Guyana's mineral
and natural wealth. Why would a government go through more trouble to
get the same or only marginally more revenue if its people don't force
it to? To those of you who wonder why a rich land can be a poor
country, this is your answer.

5. Active immigration measures: Assuming the above happens, there
will be a shortage of workers acting as a bottleneck to further
economic growth. It should be relatively easier for the right people
to enter or re-enter Guyana to work. Make it streamlined and make it
easy. Establish a "right of return" that allows anyone with one
Guyanese or British Guyanese grandparent to return, and become a
citizen in short order. This will require tolerance not only on the
part of the people but also the institutions in government. Many
diaspora Guyanese will have different political ideas. Many of them
will be of races no longer well represented in Guyana. Those in power
know this and hence have a disincentive to allow this to ever occur.
This is all the more reason for the people to change the incentives
that the government has to deal with. Bringing back such a diverse
population from the various first world nations would yield, in my
estimation, a synergy and inventive pool of talent that far exceeds
that of other countries of similar populations that have always
resided in the country. The diaspora is one of Guyana's greatest
assets due to remittances now, and will continue to be so, during her
golden age. This effect will be compounded with the CSME (Caribbean
Single Market Economy), when the residents and diaspora of all
member-states will be able to live and work in Guyana.

6. Active Creation of Networks and Infrastructure: People, live work
and travel along road, phone, data, water, electric and air networks.
This is why harbors and ports yield big cities and big cities turn
into bigger cities, metropolises and megopolises.

Guyana is almost equidistant between the core cities of North America
(NE US and SE Canada) and the core cities of South America (The Sao
Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires Triangle) and Trinidad doesn't have the
space for a large intercontinental hub that would service enough of
the types of aircraft that will be flown in the future. Guyana is
perfectly situated to be the northern port of South America's growing
giant, Brazil, and a port for the other Guianas and part of Venezuela
(another subject). Guyana needs bridges and roads that connect all
the locations along its coast and the hinterland to the coast.

A first world Guyana will have networks built in pace with and maybe
in anticipation of the needs of its future bustling and free economy,
and plenty of hydroelectric power to fuel it.

The best way to see these things happen is to change the operational
foundations of the government. The only people who can do that are
the electorate. Solutions forced from the outside will be resented as
meddling. If the government decides what rights the people have to
free commerce, speech and supportive infrastructure/institutions based
on what the government needs, then we may never see this day.

The Netherlands, one of the smallest countries of Europe experience a
golden age that lasted for about two centuries and was the most
powerful country in Europe despite it's small size, lack of natural
resources and population. They did it by founding the first modern
democracy before England did so. They had a supply of abundant energy
despite the lack of wood, because of the plentiful windmills they were
forced to build. They needed expertise beyond those existent in their
own population. As a result they encouraged the immigration of
Europe's undesirables and gave them more freedom than existed in other
parts of Europe. Thus, Jews, English Puritans, French Huguenots and
many others infused Dutch society with creativity, enterprise and
technology. The result was prosperity.

Likewise, Guyana, despite its size and level of development can become
very prosperous and mighty, for its size. Our expertise are scattered
all over, just waiting for the right framework and opportunities back
home. Once creativity and rights are encouraged and protected, will
these expertise flow back home. Only a strong Guyana can assert
sovereignty over her rightful territory. A country forever dependent
on remittances and natural resources, will one day, I fear, be the
pawn of stronger powers who would enlist the government to enslave our
people for their purposes, while those of us who are able to leave
find prosperity elsewhere and eventually lose their identity.

We are at a great crossroads now. Will it be business as usual or a
turn toward the awakened glorious potential of a golden age for
Guyana?

Democratize the oil revenue and change the government's incentives
toward the fostering of a vibrant and open society and economy.

Guyana President Accuses Rich Countries Of “Double Standards”

2007-11-14T01:30:00.000-04:00

Is this a pretense for Guyana joining Venezuela's Bank of the South?

What President Jagdeo's motivation for bringing this up, if in fact the US doesn't actually enforce the standards that it pushes on other countries?

Hardbeatnews

GEORGETOWN, Guyana
Weds. Nov. 14, 2007:

http://www.hardbeatnews.com/editor/RTE/my_documents/my_files/details.asp?newsid=14095&title=Top%20Stories

Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo says countries like the US, United Kingdom and Luxembourg have "tremendous double standards" when it comes to money laundering.

Jagdeo made the accusation as he addressed delegates at the 34th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Indigenous Banks in Guyana yesterday.

The Guyanese President claimed that while the US State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports continues to identify a number of Caribbean countries as money-laundering havens, the US itself is not on any blacklist.

"That's where the financial transactions have their origin and the payment starts," Jagdeo claimed, adding that a lot of "hot money" was circulating in London from tax-evasion originating in the UK.
He added that while major Western nations are failing to combat money laundering in their own jurisdictions they continue to press the Caribbean to enact a wide range of laws and regulations.

But he told delegates, "We should make sure that we don't have a movement of illegal money across our jurisdictions, but we must not legislate ourselves out of competitiveness and we must not put burden on our banking system that other countries don't have."

The Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks, Inc., is a community of locally incorporated/owned banks and other financial institutions in the Caribbean/CARICOM region, which provides opportunities for discussion on issues impacting the indigenous banking/financial services community as well as for the sharing of experiences and networking. The conference wraps up tomorrow in Guyana. – Hardbeatnews.com

Institutions and Eonomic openness play a key role in Guyana's 'resource curse'

2007-11-10T05:51:00.000-04:00

I made this graph from the data in the study.
Click the image to enlarge.

This study makes use of data from 1965 to 1990 to draw conclusions about the economic growth resulting from the quality of institutions, primary exports as a percentage of GDP, and whether or not a country has had an open economy during the years in question.

Guyana is near the left side of the graph. Note that this period covered the Burnham years mostly, but the comparison with other countries is helpful.

A combination of Guyana's sub-stellar "grabbing" institutions combined with a very high percentage of primary exports to GDP and a closed economy led to very lackluster growth.

Lumped together with the countries with relatively bad institutions, but with an open economy and relatively low primary export to GDP ratio, was Indonesia.

This could indicate that when a country's institutions aren't in a position to grab resource rents to play patronage politics, you can still have good economic growth if your economy is open.

On the other side of the scale, New Zealand has a near perfect rating for institutional quality during the same time period. However, due to their closed economy resulting from socialist policy, their economy hardly grew. Look at Ireland. They had an open economy, a similar primary exports to GDP ratio and slightly lower institutional quality. Nevertheless, Ireland's economy boomed in comparison to New Zealand's.

My cautious conclusion is that if Guyana can open its economy as much as possible, and if the natural resource rents were distributed evenly amongst Guyana's citizens, Guyana's institutions would be forced to act like there are not natural resource revenues and trend towards being "producer friendly" instead of "grabber friendly" in order to generate tax revenue from the private sector. Thus Guyana can experience decent economic growth while giving us time to generally improve Guyana's institutions to 1st world levels.

Abstract from:

INSTITUTIONS AND THE RESOURCE CURSE
Halvor Mehlum, Karl Moene and Ragnar Torvik
The Economic Journal, 116 (January), 1–20. Royal Economic Society 2006. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden,MA 02148, USA.

"Countries rich in natural resources constitute both growth losers and growth winners. We claim that the main reason for these diverging experiences is differences in the quality of institutions. More natural resources push aggregate income down, when institutions are grabber friendly, while more resources raise income, when institutions are producer friendly. We test this theory building on Sachs and Warner’s influential works on the resource curse. Our main hypothesis – that institutions are decisive for the resource curse – is confirmed. Our results contrast the claims of Sachs and Warner that institutions do not play a role."

Stabroek News - opening the discussion on the resource curse

2007-11-09T13:13:00.001-04:00

Crude Promises
Stabroek News
Tuesday, November 6th 2007

With crude oil prices likely to rise above US$100 per barrel by the end of this year, there has never been a better time for petroleum-rich countries to buy their way out of chronic debt and underdevelopment. On paper, some have made startling progress in this direction. In the eight years since Vladimir Putin assumed control, Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased sixfold, its average salary is now US$540 a month - up from $65 - and nearly two thirds of its overwhelming foreign debt (70% of GDP under Yeltsin) has been settled. In Venezuela, President Chavez has arguably used his country's oil revenues even more wisely. For the first time in living memory, many of Venezuela's working class have become an active part of the country's political process, largely due to the government's widespread subsidies of food, health care and education. This has earned Chavez the unassailable trust of Latin America's poor, even though his critics have referred to the erosion of normal democratic rights and the increasing attempt to take control of all aspects of the society. Elsewhere, however, the track record of newly rich oil economies has tended to be one of general failure, punctuated by occasional success.

Consider Sudan. Human rights activists all over the world have forced the media to pay attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Yet the faltering of the peace agreement which halted the country's horrific civil war has gone largely unnoticed. Before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, Sudan endured two decades of brutal civil conflict in which an 'Arab' north tried to subdue the country's 'Black' south. That war claimed two million lives; its sequel, if allowed to happen, would almost certainly eclipse the carnage in Darfur. The CPA stipulated that the country's oil revenues, mostly generated by the south, would be shared equitably, but far from being a source of development and income redistribution these have become a catalyst for both sides to reconsider their future. So, although Sudan's proven oil reserves are the fifth largest in Africa and even though the country's GDP has tripled in the last seven years, most of the benefits of the new wealth have gone to Khartoum while much of southern Sudan continues to languish in hunger, disease and grinding poverty.

A few months ago, the human rights activist David Morse accompanied three refugees from Sudan's civil war on a return visit to their villages in the south (his moving account of this journey can be read online at the weblog tomdispatch.com). All of them were from the country's Dinka population, part of the exodus of 'lost boys' - several thousand children who fled to Ethiopia after government forces had destroyed their villages. Their escape took several months during which they were often bombed and strafed by government aircraft. Morse writes, "[s]ome died in rivers; others were eaten by crocodiles and lions. Dying of thirst, they drank any water they could find; some drank urine. Starving, they chewed on inedible plants or ate dirt." Having survived this, the boys managed to make their way to America, and by any reasonable estimate they had done very well there: two had obtained higher education, the third was a professional nurse.

Their return visit was a painful reminder of how little has really changed in southern Sudan. Soldiers, teachers and doctors had often received no salary for months, roads were impassable in bad weather, children got sick and died, often in agony, for want of drugs that should be easily available. Meanwhile, Khartoum maintains a strong military presence near the oil-wells in the south and many openly refer to a plebiscite on secession scheduled for 2011 as the date on which civil war will begin again.

From an accountant's perspective, however, the south should be booming. Last year, Khartoum paid the government of Southern Sudan just over a billion dollars as its annual share of oil revenues - based on a production level of 300, 000 barrels a day. (Since then production has slumped to 254, 000 barrels per day and there are fears that Sudan's oil, already high in sulfur and therefore less valuable than was initially forecast, may be 'maturing'.) But despite the spectacular growth of places like the city of Juba whose population has increased from 100, 000 to a million during the last two years, the government in the south does not have enough money to pay its civil service, or to tackle many of the critical human development needs that it faces. In this context, control of the country's oil is soon likely to degenerate into a lethal confrontation. And, since 40% of the national budget is currently spent on defense, the next war will undoubtedly be much bloodier than the first.

When Morse interviewed Southern Sudan's minister for oil, Dr Benjamin put the problem succinctly: "We are not getting all our oil." The line demarcating claims from the North and South has still not been definitively agreed on and unless that dispute is properly settled, war seems almost inevitable. The minister pointed out that the CPA which brokered the current, fragile peace is an international agreement. It was signed not just by the North and South but also the UN, European Union, the Arab League, African Union and the United States. In a cri de coeur that should be branded on to the hands of everyone who signs these agreements, Benjamin says: "I should not have to shout this from the rooftops! You don't give birth [to a peace treaty] and then forget . . . You need to nurse it, see that it grows properly." It is highly probable that something similar is being muttered by Iraq's bureaucrats.

"Oil don't spoil" said the Trinidadians in their first boom years. But they were wrong. It often spoils, and in spectacular ways. Societies that cannot or will not address their known failings so that they use the money for serious development, soon relapse into all the old familiar quarrels.

That has been been the case all the way from the creation of Saudi Arabia to the impending dissolution of Iraq and Sudan. If Guyana becomes a significant oil producer in the next few years, are we likely to prove an exception?

Oil curses Africa, what about Guyana?

2007-11-07T02:58:00.000-04:00

Business Books: Striking oil is a curse on Africans

Thu May 10, 2007 8:00am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/sphereNews/idUSN09329850?sp=true&view=sphere

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - The United States and other developed countries are increasingly turning to West Africa in their scramble for oil, but for Africa the oil boom is like a disease that creates poverty, conflict and corruption.

That's the diagnosis of Nicholas Shaxson, an Africa expert whose book "Poisoned Wells - The Dirty Politics of African Oil" (Palgrave Macmillan, $26.95) tours some of Africa's poorest and most violent hot-spots.

From simmering conflicts in the Niger Delta to civil war in Angola to rampant corruption in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Shaxson contends that these countries are worse off than they were before they struck it rich.

Traveling the region for 10 years as a freelance oil reporter, including for Reuters, Shaxson gathered a cast of characters for his book, including Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, who rages against the oil-bloated bureaucracy as he cavorts with a harem of admirers.

There are cameos by now-disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's son Chip, who blesses a rigged election in Equatorial Guinea and promptly goes fishing with the winner -- President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

These characters put a compelling face on the well-documented "oil curse," in which some countries in Africa draw in more money from oil than they do from foreign aid but tend to get poorer and more violent over time, while their rulers jet off on shopping excursions to Paris.

IMPRACTICAL

Given the current state of geopolitics, the effect of the curse is unlikely to lessen, Shaxson says, pointing out that by 2008 ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will produce more oil from Angola than it does from U.S. soil.

Shaxson's prescriptions include distributing oil wealth directly to the people, as has happened in Alaska, and then encouraging governments to tax local businesses to raise money for schools, bridges and other development needs.

That solution is "extremely impractical," argues Ian Gary, an Africa oil expert at Oxfam, a development group, who notes that Africa's governments are too hollowed out by corruption to run such a complicated distribution mechanism.

Another prescription is for world leaders to unite to stop international banks from helping African rulers set up tax havens to sock away "mischief money" out of public reach.

Shaxson peoples his story with mercenaries like Simon Mann, the creator of private military company Executive Outcomes, and Jacques Foccart, the spymaster who laid the foundation for oil company Elf Aquitaine to be an African policy tool for the French government.

Gabon President Omar Bongo, in office since 1967, gets a chapter to himself in which Shaxson makes the case that for decades oil money was a corrupting influence on French politics.

Opus Dei and the Freemasons play roles, along with Air France stewardesses and land-mine victims.

But perhaps the most poignant scene comes in Equatorial Guinea, where a taxi driver implores him, "You, journalist! You must help us! You must tell the world what is happening in my country!" Shaxson sets out to do just that.

Bajans looking into Guyana offer

2007-11-06T03:50:00.000-04:00

http://www.nationnews.com/story/321107454409016.php
Published on: 11/6/07.

by BARRY ALLEYNE

BARBADIANS ARE ALREADY lining up to take advantage of the recent offer to purchase land in Guyana.

"There have been several inquiries at the local Guyana Consulate, and at the relevant office in Guyana," Honorary Consul Norman Faria told the DAILY NATION yesterday.

According to Faria, the land will not be given away "willy nilly" however, and only people who produced a meaningful business plan for use of the land they intend to purchase would be taken seriously. "Those who try to get land and let it lie fallow, or for other unproductive or undesirable purposes will not be tolerated," Faria added.

The offer of land is available to both Barbadians and Guyanese resident in Barbados. Interested persons may get more information from the local consulate or the Guyana Office for Investment in Georgetown.

Faria, who was part of a Guyana delegation when Barbadian business people recently attended seminars and visited sites in the South American country, said all transactions would be protected under Guyana's laws.

"The land is very good land, and potentially productive for a variety of purposes," said Faria.

The honorary consul said that in some cases there might be miminal infrastructure, such as electricity lines in the immediate area at this early stage, but that was why the land was being offered at such a low rate.

According to Faria, the Guyana government would assist in installing such infrastructure as each individual case merited.

He noted it was advisable that potential investors visit Guyana to get a first-hand look, since transactions for the land would be done over the Internet.

Aside from vegetable and other such farming, there were also the options of livestock rearing and fish farming, among other ventures.

"Something good will come out of this, benefiting both Guyana, Barbados and indeed the rest of the region, as is already happening in some areas of working together," Faria concluded.

Where will Venezuela's Bank of the South Take Guyana?

2007-11-03T05:08:00.000-04:00

For me this is ample cause to be worried. How Guyana aligns itself will have lots to do with how other countries treat Guyana.

Banco del Sur: A giant step forward to expand regional trade and growth

Guyana's Ambassador to Caracas, Dr. Odeen Ishmael writes: Seven South American countries have agreed to establish the “Banco del Sur” [Bank of the South] which is seen as a giant step forward to expand regional trade and growth with the use of their own resources.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay will inaugurate the bank in Caracas on November 3. This decision was taken by the Declaration of Rio de Janeiro signed by the finance ministers of the seven countries at a meeting held in the Brazilian city on October 8.

The other countries of the Union of South America (UNASUR) -- Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Peru and Suriname -- have not yet stated their intention to join the bank.

This new regional development bank, championed by President Chavez, will fulfill one of the main objectives of UNASUR in promoting regional integration since it will assist in financing integration projects in the 12 South American countries. It will be headquartered in Caracas but will maintain regional offices in La Paz and Buenos Aires. The members have already agreed that each country will have an equal voice on the bank's board of directors.

At the Rio meeting, Venezuela’s Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas stated that the Banco del Sur would mark the beginning of “a new financial architecture for the South.'' He emphasized the bank's difference from multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, pointing out that no conditions would be set on loans to members.

When President Chavez first proposed the bank more than two years ago, he envisioned it as part of a drive to counter the influence of the United States in Latin America, while at the same time using his nation’s profits from record high crude oil prices to finance social and economic development programs. He has also been promoting the Banco del Sur as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he blames for perpetuating poverty in Latin America.

At the time of President Chavez’ initial proposal, some international commentators scoffed at the idea and dismissed it as one existing in the realms of fantasy. Some even doubted that it would ever take root and win support from other South American countries, Brazil in particular.

Despite these doubts, President Chavez has persevered in his campaign to secure backing for the establishment of this important South American financial body. He consistently points out that South American countries’ reserves are held in banks in the United States, thus “subsidizing” that country’s economy. He explains that the South American countries can surely utilize at least part of these reserves -- their own money -- to operate their own development bank.

The momentum gathered pace at the South American Energy Summit held in April last when Brazil announced its intention to participate in this new development bank. However, the South American giant currently feels that the Banco del Sur should not operate as an alternative to the IMF or for its funds to be used to strengthen currencies.

So far the participating countries have not yet decided on the amount each will contribute to the bank, or how the institution will raise additional funds. However, these matters will be ironed within 60 days after the formal launching on November 3.

In Rio, Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega revealed that his country would make a “large” contribution to the Banco del Sur which he emphasized should be self-sustaining by earning enough interest on investments to ensure increasing capital available for loans.

In explaining the functions of the bank, he mentioned that it will not make grants, but only interest-bearing loans to both the public and private sectors, and will operate only within South America. He added that the bank will seek to increase its capital through borrowing, possibly through international capital markets. At the same time, it will collaborate with existing regional financial institutions such as Brazil's state development bank (BNDES) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF).

From all announcements made so far, the Banco del Sur will operate in the same manner as the long-established Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), but all this will be finally determined when the institution begins its formal operations. So far there has been no reaction from the Washington-based organization which, over the years, has been financing development projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

But judging from Latin American media reports, some questions are being raised such as what will be the total initial contribution of each member country; how will these contributions be made; what projects will be given priority; and which countries will be more influential in determining the lending policies.

Many of the questions are from skeptics, but after November 3 it is expected they will all be answered. Already, in term of priority projects, there already exist numerous infrastructural schemes planned by UNASUR through the Integration of Infrastructure in the Region of South America (IIRSA).

No doubt, the member countries will soon be approaching the Banco del Sur for development finance to finalize some these important undertakings.

Whatever initial steps the Banco del Sur makes, only time will determine the viability of the new institution as it sets out on its task of managing development for integration in South America.

Odeen Ishmael
embguy@cantv.net

This author read my mind about avoiding the resource curse.

2007-11-02T02:05:00.001-04:00

Oil, corruption and the resource curse
Nicholas Shaxson

1135
International Affairs 83: 6, 2007
© 2007 The Author(s). Journal Compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/The Royal Institute of International Affairs

"Changing the transparency relationships will help, but will not be the decisive
step. That will come only with a new relationship based on revenue and taxation .
If citizens had the oil money in the first place, and the state had to bargain with
them to get its cut, it seems likely that would change the game entirely."

Distributing oil revenues directly: an answer?

Another systemic approach to the resource curse has been advocated: distributing
oil revenues directly, and equally, to all citizens in a producer country, then taxing
them directly on their income. In Alaska and Alberta direct distribution of oil
revenues is popular and successful. Could it possibly work in Africa? This approach
has been rejected by many policy analysts—by some, without due consideration,
even simply on the basis that the idea is just too outlandish. This proposal should be
reconsidered, for nearly all the objections are misguided.

(....except for....)

The politicians would never accept it.

This is indeed a serious objection, and probably
the toughest one. One answer is that the very fact that it would be hard to
implement is a good reason to try even harder to push for these changes, and
to resist the hasty dismissals of such schemes that have been widely proffered
in the academic literature. Another answer is that many enlightened politicians
who want to act in their countries' interests are currently dissuaded from doing
so because of the systemic dynamics militating against pan-national, rather than
factional, policy-making. This proposal would give them an opportunity to
change the equation. Indeed, proposing such a scheme might be a powerful
rallying cry for a politician seeking election.

Guyana's Golden Age

2007-11-01T01:40:00.000-04:00

I's like to use this space to vent some hope and frustration at the same time. I've been captivated by the Dutch Golden Age. There are certain parts of a recipe that came together and made it possible for one of the very smallest European countries to become the most powerful on the continent.

They had the right mix of religious toleration and ethnic toleration that attracted all sorts of the right people from all over Europe. Once there, they took advantage of the comparative economic freedoms that they enjoyed there and built a mercantile empire that stretched across the world.

Now, I don't envision an empire for Guyana, but my point is that a look at history will tell us the things needed in order for us to make Guyana a prosperous nation at or near the head of the first world.

What frustrates me is that I don't think that people believe or even want it to happen. Before you get mad at me and say "of course Guyanese want a good life", I want to say that I already agree with you.

I'm saying that I think that certain people in positions of power are happy with the way things are because as long as things don't change, they will still be the bug fish in the small pond.

New register IDs to cost $235M

2007-10-30T16:13:00.000-04:00

New register IDs to cost $235M
-gov't balks at sum
Tuesday, October 30th 2007
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56532114

Funding in the sum of $235.3 million may be sought to enable photographs of 600,000 registrants to be taken for the production of new identification cards during the house-to-house registration scheduled to start early next month.

The house-to-house registration is in keeping with an agreement between the government and the parliamentary political opposition in advance of the municipal and local government elections, which are long overdue and which are expected to be held next year.

The Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) projects that the production of brand new ID cards, using colour with new security features could be used until the 2016 elections and they would also be less costly.

Stabroek News understands that President Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed concern about the costs involved in the production of the new ID cards, but the production of new ID cards was never an issue at the level of the GECOM Secretariat or for the commissioners since it would be the last undertaking before the municipal and local government elections and the 2011 general and regional elections.

After this house-to-house registration exercise it is expected that there would be the continuous registration process involving obligatory claims and objections periods that would be used to purify the voters' list.

Contacted on the issue, GECOM chairman Dr Steve Surujbally told Stabroek News that GECOM would be holding a press conference soon at which the issue would be addressed.

Another commissioner, who did not want to be identified at this time, told Stabroek News that presidential advisor Gail Teixeira wrote to GECOM enquiring about costs but made no reference as to whether government would commit to financing such a venture.

Stabroek News was unable to contact Teixeira yesterday.

Justification

This newspaper, however, learnt by way of a document produced by GECOM on the 'Justification for the production of new National Identification Cards' that though the agreement on the preparation of a new national register of registrants did not specifically mention the production of new ID cards the production of the new ID cards was inherent in the signed document.

Nevertheless, no decision has as yet been taken as to whether government would or would not undertake the task of sourcing funds for such an undertaking which the commission feels was necessary.

In presenting its case, GECOM in its justification for the production of new national identification cards has said that the house-to-house registration exercise would yield new individual numbers associated with each registrant which would not correspond with those currently in the present MRCs/database.

GECOM has said that to have two sets of numbers associated with the same person would lead to chaos and the thought of such a possibility is currently creating great consternation and a sense of horror in the Information Technology Division of GECOM.

GECOM feels that since the registration exercise was going to be the most definitive undertaking, it makes patent sense not only to do everything correctly but to ensure that all components have a fresh and simultaneous beginning.

"One should not give potential obfuscators a chance to ply their trade," stated one of GECOM's reasons for the production of ID cards.

GECOM feels that were it to produce ID cards at some later date, for example 2009 or 2010, it would mean doing over the whole exercise, that is photographing registrants' faces all over again - with the concomitant costs, which would have increased by 2009 or 2010.

It is proposed that the new ID cards be produced in colour, bringing Guyana in sync with the rest of the Caribbean and with modernity.

GECOM noted that the current cards were produced in 2000 and by the time the 2008 local government elections are held, the current cards would be eight years old and by 2011 when the next general and regional elections are held they would be 11 years old. This means that registrants' physical features would have changed.

In its justification GECOM noted that the current ID cards were produced in haste for the 2001 elections and are a poor portrayal of the registrants' visages.

It noted that the old 'Teslin' stock (ID card materials) used for the current photographs has been in GECOM's possession for the past eight years, if calculated from the time of manufacture, the present stock would be about 10 years and for use in the 2011 elections they would then be 13 years old. If brand new cards with new security features are produced during the current exercise they would last until 2016.

The Testlin currently in stock is also devoid of some new security features which GECOM is now negotiating with De La Rue Identity Systems.

According to sources at GECOM, the actual cost would be about $235.3 million and would include new stocks of Teslin, plus the relevant printers and printers consumables, design costs, the relevant system upgrade (hardware and software), engineering services for project delivery, and guaranteed second line technical support for 24 months.

According to the source, the advice to produce new ID cards has come from citizens, stakeholders, donor agencies, and observer groups, among others.

Aliases, Monikers, Handles and My Decision

2007-10-29T14:18:00.000-04:00

I've been musing recently, on the mini-scandal generated by the accusations of one blogger, that a frequent letter writer to Guyanese newspapers is writing under a name that is different from their real name. I wondered myself for a moment if this person is really who he says he is, but then I decided that it didn't matter.

Most of us hide behind Aliases, Monikers and Handles of all sorts. We are cautious in that we don't want to be targeted for our political and social views. Hiding behind another name, be it a nick name or a false 'real name', we feel more free to spout freely without fear of social or real retribution. Does it matter whether or not Emile Mervin is really Emile or Patricka?

The fact is that most of us are already in hiding anyway.

I've decided that not only will a stick with my real name as my user name, but I have changed my blogger ID and e-mail address to my real name and personal e-mail address my real name. I've changed my blogger profile to include relevant information and also posted a picture on there so that I am not in-effect, hiding my race from people.

Is this a big deal? For me it is. I am going to say what I will say to the world at large without hiding behind anything but my computer screen. Though I stop short of giving out my address, I think that if we all did this, that we would have more serious discussions, fewer personal attacks and closer associations in this medium that will hopefully yield some of the future leaders or thinkers of the Golden Age of Guyana.

I challenge everyone in the online Guyanese community to come out of hiding. Great things may come of it.

Better than "Axe The Vat"

2007-10-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

Mr. Peter R. Ramsaroop has recently publicized a flyer advocating the repeal of the VAT tax in Guyana. I see this as a way to resonate with the people and this gain popular support. These are good intentions indeed. If people don't vote for their race, they will vote the interests of their pocketbook. Rarely will people be conscientious objectors to their own personal gain.

My alternative is something that I've been cautious about openly airing because I am in the midst of a research project that will arm me with more information regarding this very thing. However, since the flyers are already wooshing off the press I fear that I may be putting this forth too late.

I am in favor of a VAT tax precisely because it is the most visible tax that people actually feel a pinch from. Many advanced states are masters at coaxing taxes without the taxed feeling the pinch. Payroll deduction taxes are an example of these. One only sees the bottom line on the paycheck. Mourning is minimal because the person never would have gotten that money anyway so it was never available to be spent. Painful taxes keep the people wary of a government that should rightfully be watched. In addition to this, an effective means of taxation needs to be as broad as possible for it to raise any revenue. An example of a broad-based tax is a petrol tax.

If one is in favor of getting rid of a tax, make the income tax. An income tax rests on the assumption that one's own labour belongs to the government. What one gets after taxes is what the government allows him or her to keep. Now you may say that this will only benefit the rich because only the those who make above a certain income even pay income taxes. You're right on that, but the rich spend more as well and they do they pay VAT.

Let's get to the solution before I upset more people.

I propose that the platform of our pro-western candidate include at least these two points to not only effectively raise revenue in an equitable manner, but also unleash the spending power of Guyanese. It will be a pronunciation of rights of sorts:

1. All revenues derived from natural resources extracted from public land are the property of the Guyanese people individually and collectively. The Government has the responsibility to collect a fair royalty from the extractor and disperse the revenue evenly amongst Guyanese citizens no less than once yearly. Examples of extracted, exportable bounty include but are not limited to: Oil, Natural Gas, Lumber, Gold, Diamonds and Hydro-electric Power (yes).

2. The Guyanese people are the lawful sovereign owners of the fruits of their own labour, and thus have the right to all monies derived from any consensual contract of labour. In exchange for the abolition of all payroll taxes, the people may agree to yield exactly 50% of the natural resources revenues to be used by the government in accordance with the law.

3. All revenue collected by the government of Guyana is still the sovereign property of Guyana's citizens, and as such, all citizens have the right to know exactly how their money is being spent. Thus, Parliament will pass a freedom of information act that affords at least as much information attainment rights afforded other citizens of other countries like India (great example) and the US. The act will mandate the creation of a modern, transparent information ministry with leadership mechanisms that allow all parliamentary parties to obtain access to government financial information, to ensure that someone is always watching the money (big project).

This is not all, but it's simplified without my myriad justifications. Call it what you want, but it will work because the people keep more of their money and get more money to spend. VAT revenues will increase. The government will be answerable to the people.

The regular formula in which the government gets oil revenue and spends it how it sees fit doesn't work. The citizens are absent from the equation and usually lose rights and are subject to governments that trend away from democracy.

If we want a Guyana that will be prosperous, we need to unleash the individual.

EU's Blue Card Tolls for Guyana

2007-10-27T01:00:00.000-04:00

Search 'Blue Card' in Google and you will see a plethora of recently written articles hailing the advent of a new expedited immigration scheme to bring skilled workers into the EU zone starting in 2009. This is great news for those EU countries who want to refrain from opting out in order to bulk up on skilled workers from other places. Europe's demographers expect to be 20 million skilled workers short of a full workforce by 2030 and only 2 workers would be supporting each European retiree. To combat this, they've out-planned the US skilled worker migration program, which takes far too long and whose quota has already been reached this year. Who is the funeral for then? Acording to Caribbean Net News, over 80% of tertiary educated people in Guyana and Jamaica, and over 60% of skilled Trinidadians and Surinamese are already working in industrialized nations. Where are much of the rest going to go now when nothing changes at home? If a Guyanese can get a Blue Card in 3 months time and then send for the family after 6 months in Europe, it's obvious what will happen. I'd like to suggest chopping all corporate taxes to 17%, on par with Hong Kong and recent economic turnaround, Chile. Additionally, one should be able to register a business and hire employees after ONE trip to ONE office and have it all taken care of in ONE afternoon. That may do for starters. Unless Guyana does something to attract unprecedented levels of business investment to spur the creation of rewarding jobs for young Guyanese, Guyana may remain forever, the land of many backwaters. People won't stay in the country to cut cane or waste away as low-paid security guards.......if they can get educated and leave.

Denisse Williams of the Jamaica Observer calls Jagdeo a "Prime Minister"

2007-10-26T10:39:00.000-04:00

The Mistake is at the very end..
You'd think that SOMEONE over there would know Guyana's system of government.

Jagdeo responds to critics of Guyanese tourism
Focuses on infrastructure and the productive sector
Dennise Williams
Friday, October 26, 2007

"Since 1992, Guyana has managed to bring down its debt stock from 750 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 45 per cent of GDP. Inflation has also been tamed from triple digits to single digits. Jagdeo notes that currently, 22 per cent of his budget goes to education and 20 per cent to health care.

"These are first-order priorities which has built our reputation for stable economic management," said the Guyanese prime minister."

GINA seeks to counter impression of hostility against journalists

2007-10-24T19:21:00.001-04:00

It must be noted that GINA is the government's information arm.

Foreign journalists impressed with Guyana
Published on Wednesday, October 24, 2007
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-4117--13-13--.html

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Guyana’s rich natural beauty and pristine rainforest along with Guyanese hospitality have left an enduring impression on the minds of delegates, visitors and foreign journalists for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) held here from October 15 to 17.
Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the CFMM at the National Cultural Centre on October 15 told delegates, “Guyana is a beautiful country with the size of Great Britain but a population of only 751,000. Approximately 90 percent of our population lives along the coastal belt which is below sea level. Meanwhile, an expansive tropical rain forest, interspersed with mountain ranges and waterfalls, populated by a rich biodiversity, and covering two-thirds of our land mass, has remained largely untouched.”

A section of the foreign media
at Arrowpoint
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce organised a tour for media practitioners to visit the Arrowpoint Nature resort for them to get a first hand look at Guyana’s eco-tourism product. They were also treated to a dinner by the Government Information Agency at the Splashmin’s Resort along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and given a guided tour by night of the facilities.

These are their impressions of Guyana:

Enock Kiyaga Mayanja – Freelance Correspondent from Uganda based in London
“My impression is that Guyana is not well reflected in the outside media because when I came I had the wrong impression, my expectations were low but the experience I have had for the last three or four days has been so overwhelming, it has changed my attitude, it has broadened my horizon and appreciation of Guyana as a country and especially I loved my interaction with nature, the flora, the fauna, river, Arrowpoint. it has really been a fruitful, exciting and enjoyable moment punctuated with learning but in a friendly and enjoyable manner.”

Rahul Venkit – The Hindu Newspaper, Mumbai, India
“It’s a very warm country and I am not talking just about the weather. It’s the warmth, the hospitality of the people, it’s infectious. You notice that there is a very good vibe from the people, the streets, there is great energy. Development wise as well it’s fair to say that the image painted abroad doesn’t do justice to what the country really is. We hear all these horror stories about crime and all those kind of problems but its not true at all. The attitude of the people, it’s very easygoing nature, very hospitable, they’re all very interested in how you got here, they’re very proud of their country as well which I think is very important, that national identity is there, it’s strong. the people themselves and their spirit is what impressed me the most I mean apart from of course the stunning natural beauty here… I think if Guyana were to invest in places like upcoming economies like India and China where the disposable income levels are rising people want to go for vacations. I think Guyana should maybe project itself as an alternative tourist destination you know untouched by tourists. Arrowpoint was a great example of it. It feels like a part of a James Bond movie going through with jet skies and everything and yes it is very exciting, offers you a whole plethora of experiences.”

Allison Lowe – Barbados Tribune
“To be honest I didn’t have too much of a preconceived conception of what it would be like although I guess I presumed it would be a lot like I had ideas of what South America was generally like and it was a lot different from that. The Dutch influence with the canals and everything, I wasn’t expecting that and I think it’s a very diverse country and it certainly has a lot going for it. A trip that we went on in the rainforest I was very impressed with that I hadn’t realised that the population is just on the coastline and then all that land all the way in for miles it’s just so lush… From what I saw at Arrowpoint I think that could have massive yield to the tourism market. I would definitely go back there. “

Julius Mucunguzi – Media and Public Affairs Department, Commonwealth Secretariat (London)
“Guyana is an amazing country, it has an amazing people, very friendly, I come from Africa and I felt at home, I meet people on the streets and they greet me. We had an opportunity to have a feel of interaction with the people in Guyana with the beauty of Guyana on the different trips we went on, the only thing that has been our great challenge is lack of time to enjoy the best of Guyana but what we have seen what we’ve experienced has been excellent.”

Guyana seizes large cache of diamonds from company suspected of gem trafficking

2007-10-23T02:27:00.000-04:00

The Associated Press
Published: October 22, 2007

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Guyanese mining inspectors on Monday confiscated a cache of diamonds weighing roughly 4,000 carats from a local company suspected of trafficking in black-market gems.

Mining Commissioner Bill Woolford said dozens of uncut diamonds were seized after representatives from Explorers Trade and Commerce Ltd. failed to establish that the stones were mined locally.

"We are seizing them and have warned the company of confiscation and prosecution," Woolford said.

Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mining authorities say they will investigate whether the gems were smuggled into Guyana from Africa in violation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the diamond industry's response to so-called "blood diamonds" that have fueled deadly wars in Congo, Liberia, Angola and Sierra Leone.
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In recent days, mining inspectors traveled to the South American country's remote interior to inspect the area where the company claims they unearthed the gems, but Woolford said they could not find evidence to substantiate the reported find.

The Alliance cannot confine itself to parliamentary politics and must be activist

2007-10-20T12:53:00.000-04:00

The writer somewhat reflects my sentiment that not only does the AFC need to pull itself together, but they also need to be activist in nature and get in front of the issues outside of parliament as well.

They can potentially squander their political capital if they don't build on their early momentum NOW. I am disappointed in some of their earlier actions, but they may be all we have to deal with, maybe, if we are to break the stasis we have now.

I was told that mainly the young blacks voted for the AFC. I hope that we don't have a young Black party alongside a young Indian party. That is a distinct possibility that I hope they are aware of.

===================================

The Alliance cannot confine itself to parliamentary politics and must be activist
Saturday, October 20th 2007

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_letters?id=56531398

Dear Editor,

My last submission to Stabroek News, captioned 'PNC should develop a strategy to attract disaffected Indian Guyanese,' (07.10.07) drew the attention of the Alliance For Change Member of Parliament Ms. Sheila Holder in a letter captioned, "Ms. Holder replies to Dennis Wiggins" (KN) and the attention of Mr. Terrence Duncan in a letter captioned 'The Alliance is expected to do its job in Parliament,' (07.10.12) respectively. Both responses have disagreed with my characterization of the AFC.

I dealt briefly with what I perceive to be the AFC's preference for parliamentary politics which I characterized as "contenting itself with operating within largely an ineffective and inadequate parliamentary system thus the AFC itself has become ineffective." This critique of the AFC is not new and while it is natural for the leadership and supporters of the AFC to defend the party against such characterization, the question should be asked whether the AFC, as the third force it is purported to be, is as active as it should be in an emerging authoritarian climate in Guyana. After all the AFC is supposed to be a change agent in the society. This perceived lack of activism has kept the AFC which had made tremendous gains in the 2006 general elections from occupying the political space, and therefore it is being left out of the political discourse.

Although it is expected that a political party elected to parliament will use that forum to represent its constituents, in Guyana, the severely partisan political culture of attending to parliamentary affairs makes the opposition virtually impotent. This partisan culture makes parliamentary practice and procedures extremely handicapped. Hence, in the absence of the full implementation of the Michael Davies commission's recommendation for parliamentary reform, parliament remains an inadequate forum for progressive participation. In addition, the recently passed "recall legislation bill" in parliament that Ms. Holder alluded to is further evidence of the efforts and lengths to which the two major political parties will go to curtail the independence of the members of parliament. So while it is important to use parliamentary practice as the constitutional provision for constituency representation, the AFC has to realize that it cannot only confine itself to a parliamentary form of representation and expect to be the change agent it necessarily should be. Notwithstanding, the freedom of information bill being pushed by the AFC is an important piece of legislation and the party should be commended. The challenge is getting the political bureaucracy to comply if the bill is passed.

So it is this challenge that exists in our political culture and system that has imbued in it the dictatorship of the majority party, which makes extra-parliamentary activism a necessary need. The notion that the AFC has become ineffective after it made tremendous gains in the last elections relates to the perception that the AFC is not organizing, not being vocal on major issues and is not involved in any struggle, multiracial or otherwise.

While the organization that is named AFC is indeed young, the leadership cadre that makes up the Alliance For Change has been involved in politics for a considerable period of time and should be very knowledgeable about the political landscape. This means that the AFC which presents itself as a progressive force with progressive ideas should be an organization ready to take the lead on major issues in a non progressive political sphere. The idea here is that the AFC cannot remain dormant until 2011. The urgency of the situation requires leadership and the AFC with its multiracial platform may be best positioned to provide that leadership.

The question should be asked, can the AFC as a third party operating in a two party traditional political system win the 2011 elections? I believe this is a fair question given that this party after a mere two months of formation won possibly six seats in the last elections, a feat never before accomplished in the history of third party candidacy in Guyana. The PPP/C is very vulnerable. Remember, though PPP/C won 51 percent of those who went to the polls, it won with only 37 percent of the registered voters. PNCR-1G seems to be disorganized on every major issue, is trapped in minority ethnic based politics and is faced with a serious leadership crisis. Guyanese are desperately looking for change after forty years of colossal political failure on an aggregate level. Therefore the AFC has to be willing to take advantage of the aperture in the two-party political system. But this cannot be done if the AFC confines itself to Parliamentary politics alone. The AFC has to be an activist party.

So I am arguing that the political space exists for the AFC to engage in transformational political activism. Such activism requires political stewardship, community organizing and political struggle. But the question on many people's minds is, is the AFC too much of a middle class party to engage in grass roots organizing. Can the lawyers at the helm of the party find the time that is required to engage poor people on street corners, under bottom houses, in community centers, etc, on serious issues that affect their lives. More importantly can the AFC convince Guyanese that they are the party of the future? Transformational activism is a continuous process. It requires a well organized apparatus for educating the masses.

In Guyana, it is my opinion that part of that apparatus exists in youth activism. More than any segment of the population, Guyanese youth need guidance and leadership. They need to be involved; they need a sense of belonging. For too long the youth of Guyana have been neglected by the political system. Any political party willing to honestly engage this voting anomaly with the highest case of apathy, entropy and inertia, will have a tremendous advantage. For too long political parties have been paying lip service to the concerns of our young people. Moreover, young people are desperately looking for a new political culture; but the question remains who will organize them. Who will make them the apparatus for change? Does the AFC have a comprehensive program for Generation X in Guyana? The challenge is to get them to the polls. The idea is to organize them, train them and get them involved in volunteer activities. An energized youth movement is a formidable force in any political movement. Young people are looking for the promise of hope, the promise of prosperity, the promise of a better Guyana?

May I conclude by assuring Mr. Duncan that the only intentions I will betray is my fervent campaign for a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous Guyana for all Guyanese.

Yours faithfully,

Dennis Wiggins

DIGICEL boss 'talks up' Guyana's investment potential Says telecoms liberalization

2007-10-19T11:24:00.000-04:00

This article written by you know who looks a bit self congratulatory. So, O'Brien and the President got along well. How long did it take for mobile phone competition to get into Guyana? And because it Finally happens and the PRESIDENT has to write about it, we should think that Guyana is a great place to invest in? It looks like someone wants credit for job creation before they actually come:

President Bharrat Jagdeo

DIGICEL's Chief Executive Officer and one of Europe's most successful businessmen Dennis O'Brien has said that he believes that Guyana is one of the best locations in the region for investment. "As a foreign investor you are treated properly, you are treated the same. There is a progressive government here, there's a reasonably good tax regime and it's a safe place to invest. More than that Guyana is the gateway to South Ameri-ca," O' Brien added.

The DIGICEL CEO told Stabroek Business that he believed that doing business in Guyana would become even easier with the advent of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. O'Brien said that liberalization of the sector would bring new investment to Guyana including 10,000 jobs in the ICT sector alone.

And O'Brien told Stabroek Business that Guyanese and Carib-bean companies need to look out onto the global market if they are to secure a greater measure of success."If we can come from Ireland a Guyanese company can come to Ireland as well, O'Brien told Stabroek Business.

"The world is a little pond and the way to develop a multi-national business is to take a different view of the world. Air travel is not expensive now and to open a new market for goods and services is not as expensive as it was ten years ago."

The DIGICEL CEO who is among a number of regional and international entrepreneurs scheduled to attend next month's 2-day Caribbean International Business Summit in Barbados told Stabroek Business that success in business can also be derived from making and implementing decisions quickly. "A lot of companies are slow to make and implement decisions."

DIGICEL currently has investments in more than 23 countries in the Caribbean and is currently pursuing investments in several countries in the Pacific including Papau New Guinea and Samoa. The company is also pursuing licences in Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati. "We're not afraid of risk," O'Brien said.

How the 5 smallest countries have built their economies

2007-10-18T16:57:00.000-04:00

Very interesting indeed.

Sometimes being small is a blessing because it forces a country to come to terms with the fact that it needs the rest of the world. I can't help but to wonder for a second about how Guyana's leadership would change their thinking if they lost the Essequibo region, the New River triangle and most of the interior for that matter. Is there a way that we can still wake up and build a dynamic economy without having to lose most of our territory?

Photo Spotlight - Welcome to Bartica

2007-10-17T14:59:00.001-04:00

GUY_0471, originally uploaded by luca.gargano.

Thanks Luca Gargano for a great photo.

Guyana must create the right conditions for investment

2007-10-17T14:41:00.000-04:00

Yes! Yes! Yes!
And the question at hand is: Why isn't it happening here? Who has made the decision to not make Guyana an inviting place for businesses? Sometime questions reveal more than answer don't they?

Guyana must create the right conditions for investment
Wednesday, October 17th 2007

Dear Editor,

On Sunday night the CNN program 60 minutes did a piece on the development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specifically Dubai. One of the things I found interesting in the core strategy of the UAE was that in order to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in UAE, foreign companies were required to pay little or no taxation, additionally, regulations governing foreign companies were relaxed. This created the conditions where foreign companies were encouraged to invest in Dubai, as a result huge buildings were built and many Western Companies now have massive investment in Dubai.

Although Dubai's economy was built on the back of the oil industry, which developed rapidly after oil was first struck in the mid 1960s. Since then Dubai has developed a diverse economy. Oil revenues now only account for a small percentage of Dubai's revenues. The city now has thriving manufacturing, finance, information technology and tourism sectors and is home to numerous multinational companies such as AT&T, General Motors, Heinz, IBM, Shell, and Sony. Figures published by the Dubai Development and Investment Authority show that Dubai's GDP totalled $46 billion US in 2006.

As a result of Globalization, countries must compete against each other. As can be seen from the scrapping of the European Union's Preferential Pricing for ACP Countries the developed world is become increasingly stingy to developing countries.

Therefore Guyana must compete for investment. To achieve this it is important that Guyana creates the right conditions for FDI. Perhaps if we adopt a strategy where we reduce taxation and regulation for local and foreign companies willing to invest in targeted sectors of Guyana we might be able to attract similar fortunes as Dubai and Singapore. Bold and innovative action is required.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Raghoo

Guyana urges Commonwealth to influence UN climate summit

2007-10-16T18:36:00.000-04:00

I can see why Jagdeo would want all nations to work together to combat climate change. With the most heavily populated parts of the country below sea level and with much of the rest of the country covered by rain forest, he can seek aid to fix the seawall and compensation to keep the forests uncut (which he has offered to do before).

Guyana urges Commonwealth to influence UN climate summit
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJ50hIiA0_sjI_DkaIB2YvFsRcoA
6 hours ago

GEORGETOWN (AFP) — Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo urged Commonwealth finance ministers late Monday to influence the upcoming UN conference on climate change by raising the economic reasons behind global deforestation.

According to Jagdeo, forests are cut down by people living in the area or engaged in agriculture and business to generate profit for national development.

"We must square up to this reality and recognize that the way to stop deforestation is to ensure that there is an economically viable alternative," Jagdeo told ministers of the 53-nation Commonwealth at the official opening of the three-day meeting.

The meeting is being held one week before board meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and ahead of the December 3-14 UN conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia.

Jagdeo urged his audience to push for incentives at the Bali conference to reward not only re-planting of tropical forest trees but also preservation of pristine forests.

"This is not only morally right because countries like Guyana ... deserve to be rewarded," but also "because to not do so would result in economic leakages across national borders in the Amazon region and elsewhere," he said.

Jagdeo called on the Commonwealth to work with the United States and Australia, which have not ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that sets limits on carbon emissions.

He also urged them to engage developing countries like China and India "in a way which recognizes that on a per-capita basis, they are far lower emitters of greenhouse gases than much of the world."

Also at the event was Finance Minister Niko Lee Hang of Samoa, who described how climate changed has resulted in what was the island's main export -- tuna -- migrating away from their region.

"We must recognize that there will be increasing cost implications on our annual budgets unless early action is taken now to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change," he said.

"The longer action is delayed, the more expensive it will become to implement appropriate solutions," he added.

The Commonwealth nations, sometimes known as the British Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 former British colonies which now are sovereign states, plus the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique. Together they represent about 30 percent of the world's population.

Remember the Pomeroon: Why Essequibo belongs to Guyana

2007-10-14T17:59:00.000-04:00

UN maritime boundary award cannot be appealed, says Guyana's foreign ministry

2007-10-13T15:05:00.000-04:00

This particular bit of news doesn't really illicit an opinion from me other than that I expected as much. What Guyanese would want to question the ruling? I don't understand enough about the challenge to say if the Surinamese have a point though. Either the ruling has a 30 day clarification clause or it doesn't. We'll find out soon enough I'm sure. ================================================== UN maritime boundary award cannot be appealed, says Guyana's foreign ministry
Published on Saturday, October 13, 2007 http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3956--13-13--.html
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): In a statement on Thursday, Guyana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Guyana and Suriname both committed to accept as final, binding and non-appealable and to fully comply with, the Award of the Arbitral Tribunal, which was established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to determine the maritime boundary between the two States. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that the Award would be legally binding on both Parties, the Ministry said. The Parties are entitled to request an interpretation of any part of the Award that may be unclear but they cannot appeal to the Tribunal to make any substantive changes to the Award. This is prohibited by the Convention and by the specific Rules of Procedure applicable to this arbitration, the statement added.

Suriname makes official challenge to maritime award

2007-10-11T13:31:00.000-04:00

Looks like some number crunchers on the Surinamese side have found a technical way to contest the maritime border award. They may have a point but there's not enough information here for me to tell. Maybe my ramblings about how to ensure that the Guyanese people benefit from the oil revenue are premature.

Experts find flaws in Suriname-Guyana maritime boundary award
Published on Thursday, October 11, 2007

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3924--36-36--.html

By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Experts here say they have discovered irregularities in the calculations of the equidistance line by a UN Arbitration Tribunal which established the maritime boundary between Suriname and Guyana on September 17, after a long-standing dispute between the two countries.

The ad hoc ‘Platform to study the ITLOS award’ presented its findings Monday to President Ronald Venetiaan, offering the Suriname government tools to officially query the decision before the term of 30 days to do so expires.

Counting from Wednesday, Suriname and Guyana have only 6 days left to make reservations and seek clarification from the UN Tribunal on any uncertainty in the ruling.

Paul Reichler of Guyana’s legal team earlier noted that Guyana has no reason whatsoever to question the tribunal’s award.

Equidistance line 1

At a press meeting, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and coordinator of the platform Harvey Naarendorp stressed that pursuant to the articles 35-37 of the UNCITRAL arbitration rules of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, correction on technical errors in the award are possible.

He therefore questioned the motives of the Venetiaan administration to accept the award unconditionally.

According to Naarendorp, the award is not fair and equitable, since Guyana has been awarded 65 percent of the 31,600 square kilometers wide former area of dispute while Suriname received the remaining 35 percent.

Kenneth Vasseur, a member of the platform, argued that, since the UN panel has applied equidistance as the only principle to determine the maritime boundary, a greater accuracy was essential. Especially in a case where potential natural resources were at stake, although none of the parties in the oral pleadings before the Tribunal has argued the relative distribution of living and non-living natural resources throughout the former disputed area.

Vasseur further noted that, according to the map in the Tribunal’s award, the UN panel has employed only 17 equidistance points in establishing the maritime boundary. Far too few in such an important ruling the energy engineer concluded.

The Surinamese experts, in recalculating the equidistance line, more then doubled that number using 45 points for their computations. As a result a new line emerged situated west of the boundary determined by the UN Arbitration panel.

If this line is accepted said Naarendorp, the award will be more equitable and fair, since the area will be partitioned 49 percent for Guyana and 51 percent for Suriname.

Equidistance line 2

Meanwhile the Suriname government has not decided yet whether, on basis of the new information it received from the platform, it will seek clarifications or an explanation from the UN Arbitrage Tribunal.

The National Assembly is holding an emergency session over this issue Thursday after a formal request from the NDP.

Since the ruling, which was made public on September 20, opposition groups here have been lashing the government for mishandling the maritime border dispute with Guyana.

On Monday October 1, several hundred protesters led by opposition leader Desi Bouterse held a protest demonstration calling on the government to resign.

Economic Freedom Index - Where's Guyana?

2007-10-11T11:32:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are geographically inclined, compared Guyana's rating with that of other countries that you know of that produce oil. I'm convinced that the strength and transparency of our current institutions will cause Guyana to go down a tick.

Notice that the highest rated countries USUALLY aren't net oil exporters, though some are.

Guyana Photo Spotlight: Red River

2007-10-09T13:16:00.001-04:00

Red River, originally uploaded by jamdowner.

Beautiful photo from Jamdowner. Thanks for inspiring us to keep our country beautiful.

Jagdeo says no favours for CGX.

2007-10-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

This is good if it's true, and I have no reason to doubt the truth of the statement. There's no way yet that we can tell the difference between cooperation between the govt and CGC and the govt kowtowing to CGX. Historically, Resource dependent economies tend to bed over backwards to please foreign companies. I have no reason to believe that this will turn into a relationship that's any different. This, especially given that Guyana's relations with Omai etc...

=================================================

Guyana: No favours for Canadian oil company over UN Tribunal legal fees

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-DiCjVkOZX100jC2de21LMfAX_w

2 hours ago

GEORGETOWN (AFP) — Canadian oil exploration company CGX Energy, which paid 8.9 million dollars (US) in legal fees for settling a maritime border dispute by the UN International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, will not get favours in return, Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo said Tuesday.

"There is no preferential arrangement for CGX because they paid the fees for our legal team," said Jagdeo.

He explained that there was no agreement to defray any of the legal fees, adding that Guyana's agreement with CGX Energy's was in accordance with the country's Petroleum Act and identical to agreements with Repsol YPF, ExxonMobil and other prospecting companies.

The Guyanese President said CGX "had an interest" to see the matter resolved amicably to allow them to resume exploration in the Guyana-Suriname basin which the United States Geological Services (USGS) estimates contains at least 15 billion barrels of oil.

CGX Energy's oil exploration rig was chased out by Surinamese gunboats from an area that ITLOS last month ruled was within Guyana's maritime territory. Several other potentially huge oil and natural gas reserves are also within the area that the tribunal has ruled is Guyana's territory.

According to the terms of the tribunal's ruling, Guyana has gained sovereignty of some 12,837-square miles (33,245 sq km) of the coastal waters, while Suriname has received its own portion, of approximately 6,900 square miles (17,869 sq km).

Interview with Dr Henry Jeffrey about Sugar cane market.

2007-10-06T12:44:00.000-04:00

Petro Guyana

2007-10-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

I am writing a paper with a partner about oil producing countries, what they do with the money AND (most importantly) the human condition of people who reside in them BECAUSE of how the money is spent.

We've only begun to gather information, but I figured I'd show you some things as we went along.

I've used information from the US Energy Information Agency to calculate the Per capita oil reserves in each oil producing country.

I used 770,000 as Guyana's population *smirk* and assumed 15 Billion barrels of extractable reserves for Guyana.

The list of countries in descending order from most to least barrels of oil per person for 64 countries is at the bottom.

Keep in mind that this does not include Natural gas reserves nor does this account for varying grades of oil.

This also does not include Guyana's oil that likely exists offshore on the Venezuela side of the country or underneath our own soil.

Also it apparently doesn't take into account "non-conventional oil reserves" like the heavy bitumen in Canada and Venezuela.

Conservatively speaking, Guyana is another UAE, but it may surpass Kuwait per capita when it's all said and done.

Let your imagination fly..

Kuwait 43189.3
Qatar 23574.5
Guyana 19480.52
United Arab Emirates 17190.32
Saudi Arabia 9924.26
Libya 5905.75
Iraq 4410.37
Equatorial Guinea 3411.88
Brunei 3060.01
Venezuela 2083.57
Iran 2031.29
Norway 1748.95
Oman 1595.82
Gabon 1539.12
Angola 773.04
Trinidad and Tobago 572.15
Congo (Brazzaville) 528.83
Russia 521.1
Ecuador 385
Canada 366.56
Algeria 348.89
Nigeria 288.7
Denmark 235.07
Australia 199.85
Sudan 169.53
Syria 162.61
Yemen 143.17
Malaysia 120.74
Mexico 116.32
United States 73.57
Tunisia 68.58
Brazil 64.07
United Kingdom 62.04
Argentina 61.46
Albania 54.78
Bolivia 51.52
Cuba 49.27
Egypt 47.83
Peru 36.36
Papua New Guinea 33.72
Colombia 33.71
Indonesia 21.95
Romania 20.06
New Zealand 18.59
Vietnam 16.1
Thailand 14.56
Croatia 14.01
Netherlands 13.76
Italy 13.21
Hungary 12.7
China 12.39
Austria 9.03
Poland 7.16
Burma 4.27
Turkey 4.04
India 3.64
Germany 2.42
Czech Republic 2.19
France 1.95
Pakistan 1.94
Philippines 1.35
Chile 0.53
Bulgaria 0.24

Venezuela to write off Guyana debt......AND?

2007-10-03T06:56:00.000-04:00

Something is missing from this article. Gee I wonder what it IS!!!

We need to take care of our territorial problems with Venezuela. What happened to those hints that Venezuela might drop the claim in the "spirit of socialism"

=====================

Venezuela to write off Guyana debt
Published on Wednesday, October 3, 2007

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3804--13-13--.html

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Guyana will soon benefit from a US$12.5 million debt write-off by Venezuela after the agreement is finalised later this week. This is one of the issues that was flagged for resolution during a State visit by the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez in 2004. At that time, Chavez indicated his intention to cancel 100 percent of Guyana’s then outstanding debts to Venezuela.

Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh and the newly accredited Venezuelan ambassador to Guyana Dario Morandy
Guyana's Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh on Monday received a courtesy call from Dario Morandy, the newly accredited Ambassador of Venezuela to Guyana. The Minister welcomed the Venezuelan envoy to Guyana and expressed satisfaction at having the opportunity to discuss bilateral co-operation issues with him.

A team of Guyana government officials is scheduled to meet with their Venezuelan counterparts, in Caracas, on October 4 and 5, 2007 to conclude a debt cancellation agreement, under which Guyana stands to benefit from a 100 percent write-off of its outstanding debt of some US$12.5 million. This amount represents the balance of a US$15 million debt contracted in 1974 with the Venezuelan government.

Singh expressed gratitude to the Government and people of Venezuela for providing the opportunity to bring closure to this outstanding debt issue and informed the ambassador that as a result of this gesture, Venezuela would become the fourth Non-Paris Club creditor to provide Guyana with a 100 percent debt write-off – the others being China, India and Cuba.

Also discussed was the Venezuelan proposal to finance the construction of a shelter for homeless persons. Morandy informed the Minister that the Venezuelan authorities have already approved funds to construct this building and further indicated that this issue would be concluded when the representatives of the two governments meet in Caracas later this week.

Border Ruling Sparks Suriname Protests

2007-10-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

For now I'm going to say that what we are looking at a case a former dictator making political hay. He won't get a thing out of this except maybe for more support within Suriname. If he somehow rises back to power, Suriname still gains nothing because the decision is legally binding on Suriname. What may suffer is the relationship between Guyana and Suriname, which was sacrificed for personal political gain as far as I am concerned.

==============================

Oct. 2, 2007, 8:08AM
Border Ruling Sparks Suriname Protests

By ARNY BELFOR Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5180759.html

PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Suriname's top opposition figure rallied a few hundred protesters Monday to denounce a U.N. ruling that gave neighboring Guyana the greater share of an offshore oil basin.

Desi Bouterse, a former dictator who is now chairman of Suriname's main opposition party, received loud cheers as he greeted the crowd of some 500 people outside parliament, protesting a ruling last month by the U.N. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

"A government that does not take into account the interests of the people should not be allowed to rule," Bouterse said in a brief address to supporters.

Settlement of the long-running dispute between Guyana and Suriname is expected to bring a surge of exploration for oil and gas off their Atlantic coastlines and the presidents of both countries applauded the ruling. But the opposition in Suriname says it unfairly gave Guyana sovereignty over a larger area.

Protesters carried signs criticizing President Ronald Venetiaan, including one declaring "Stop the Traitors," and sang songs that were popular during Bouterse's seven-year rule in the 1980s. Some retired soldiers attended in their old military uniforms.

Inside parliament, Venetiaan presented the annual budget for the former Dutch colony on the northeast coast of South America.

The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the disputed area _ called the Guyana-Suriname Basin _ may hold recoverable oil reserves of roughly 15 billion barrels and gas reserves of 42 trillion cubic feet.

Bouterse seized power in a 1980 coup and ruled until international pressure forced him to step down in 1987, but he has kept a large following as an elected legislator.

He is scheduled to face trial on Nov. 30 for the 1982 killings of 15 political opponents of his military regime. Earlier this year, he said he accepted political responsibility for the deaths but denied involvement.

Guyana featured in the Economist Magazine

2007-09-27T14:43:00.000-04:00

Thank you for mentioning that Venezuela needs to get with the program. Also, thank goodness Guyana gets a chance to figure out HOW to deal with its oil revenue before oil comes out of the disputed Essequibo region.

I'm for splitting the oil royalties 50/50 between the government and the people to be paid directly to them on at least a yearly basis. More on that later.....

Guyana - Dreaming of oil

Sep 27th 2007 | GEORGETOWN
http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9867990

IT IS a thinly populated slice of Atlantic coast backed by a large tract of rainforest. But Guyana reckons it may have struck riches, thanks to a decision by a United Nations tribunal on September 20th. This awarded most of a disputed area of sea to Guyana rather than its neighbour, Suriname. “Think Kuwait,” dreamed an upbeat foreign diplomat.

Not quite, or at least not yet. But the United States Geological Survey reckons that the muddy waters of the Guyana-Suriname basin may hold more undiscovered oil than the proven reserves of the North Sea. What has blocked exploration until now has been the confused borders left behind by former colonial powers. In 2000, a Surinamese gunboat threatened a rig hired by a small Canadian company, CGX Energy, halting its search for oil 160km (100 miles) offshore. When talks failed to find a compromise, Guyana referred the tiff to a tribunal whose verdict is binding under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

News of the settlement saw CGX's share price leap to $2.50, up from 26 cents a year ago. But though the geology is promising, nobody has yet found any oil. Kerry Sully, CGX's president, is bullish but does not expect to drill before 2009.

If there is oil, some Guyanese fear that it will bring problems—especially corruption—as well as benefits. They note that in neighbouring Trinidad oil and natural gas have brought an economic boom but not an instant fix for social problems. In Guyana political squabbles have blocked the appointment of a Public Procurement Commission, a body set up by law four years ago to oversee government contracts. But the tribunal's ruling brought a rare moment of political harmony. For perhaps the first time in 50 years, the mainly Afro-Guyanese opposition People's National Congress hailed a success by its mainly Indo-Guyanese political foes in the government of President Bharrat Jagdeo.

In Suriname, the fractious opposition blames the government for losing, but the damage does not run deep. A Spanish company, Repsol, plans to drill for oil in its undisputed waters next year, and Denmark's Maersk, will follow soon after. A separate border dispute over a triangle of uninhabited rainforest near the Brazilian border remains unresolved. But there are now strong incentives for the two countries to collaborate. One promising geological feature, known as the Wishbone target, straddles the new marine boundary, and cannot be exploited without an agreement to share whatever it may contain.

A bigger problem for Guyana is its longstanding disagreement with Venezuela, which claims almost three-quarters of its land area and a big slice of sea where both CGX and Exxon have Guyanese concessions. Venezuela's case is weak: it accepted a land border fixed by arbitration in 1899 only to reject it in the 1960s.

Relations are patchy. Guyana benefits from oil supplied on easy terms under Petrocaribe, a Venezuelan aid scheme. But there have been some nasty border incidents: a Guyanese was killed by Venezuelan national guards last October on the Cuyuni river. Unlike Suriname and Guyana, but like the United States, Venezuela has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Barbados and Trinidad settled their maritime border by arbitration last year. Time, perhaps, for Venezuela to learn from its smaller neighbours.

Is Guyana losing out on an opportunity?

2007-09-22T11:25:00.000-04:00

Brazil courting Jamaica as ethanol hub
published: Wednesday | September 19, 2007

John Myers Jr., Business Reporter

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070919/business/business1.html

The ethanol plant operated by Pertrojam Ethanol Limited in partnership with Brazil's Coimex.

Brazil's Petrobras is in talks with Petrojam on the possibility of using the refinery's Kingston port as a hub for the distribution of ethanol to other Caribbean and Central American countries.

Refinery boss Winston Watson said Petrojam was open to the partnership with Petrobras, but noted that the discussions were still at the preliminary stage.

Brazil's Ambassador Cezar Amaral told Wednesday Business that the distribution hub was among the issues discussed by his country's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during his state visit to Jamaica last month.

The cooperation agreement between the two countries expires at the end of September.

"They negotiated a new one that included cooperation for construction and technology for the regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and also the proposal to PCJ to constitute here in Kingston for the distribution of ethanol," said Amaral.

Cautious tone

Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), the parent company to Petrojam, has also struck a cautious tone on the deal, though it has signalled that it considers it a 'good idea'.

"The idea was introduced to us by Petrobras and this is something that we will now have to get some further (details on) to see what volumes we are talking about, what land (space) will be required," said PCJ group managing director Dr Ruth Potopsingh.

"We need some more details. It is a good project idea, and I believe that it is something that we could look forward to in the future."

Wednesday Business understands that the idea was first mooted about three years ago, but was only put forward formally during Lula's visit in August.

Biofuel hub viable

Ambassador Amaral said the biofuel hub was potentially viable given Jamaica's proximity to the United States; existing infrastructure in the form of a modern port and facilities at the Petrojam refinery; as well as the local thrust into ethanol production.

He said that the rising price of oil on the international market — which climbed to a new high above US$81 per barrel on Tuesday — would make ethanol a cheape energy source for countries in the region.

Ethanol prices on the world market are running just above US$1.60 per U.S. gallon.

"I think that the (market) potential is much bigger than the present. It could be multiplied by 20 because the difference in price between ethanol and oil is so immense," Amaral said.

"We consider Kingston a very strategic place, considering the broader markets for the United States, Central America and the Caribbean."

Petrojam, which is government-owned, is also involved in ethanol production and export.

It has an existing partnership with the Brazils' Coimex, through Petrojam Ethanol Limited (PEL) to manufacture and sell ethanol to the United States under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act which allows Jamaica to export the biofuel duty free.

PEL produces 20 million gallons of ethanol per year on average — half the plant's capacity — from feedstock supplied by Coimex.

Brazil is the world's largest producer of ethanol, outputting some 21 billion litres of fuel grade ethanol annually, which it hopes to double to 44 billion litres by 2016.

Jamaica is also building up its sector, with the newest entrant being JB Ethanol Limited, a subsidiary of poultry producers Jamaica Broilers Group, whose 60-million plant at Port Esquivel was commissioned in July.

JB Ethanol, PEL and another player, Jamaica Ethanol Processing Limited have a combined capacity of over 150 million gallons annually.

PEL has generated US$92.5 million ($6.29 billion) in sales from export of 45.2 million gallons of ethanol since the processing facility was established in 2004. The venture, according to its owners, has proven to be profitable and there are plans to add another 60-million-gallon plant to boost production capacity to about 100 million gallons annually.

Newcomer, JB Ethanol - which was officially opened by Brazil's President Lula on August 9 - has already exported its first shipment to the US.

Another company, Global Energy Ventures Limited, has been granted a permit to construct a new 60 million gallon plant at Port Esquivel.

Petrobras is among the top 20 largest oil companies in the world, and is recognised for having some of the most advanced technologies in deep water oil exploration and extraction.

According to 2002 figures, the Brazilian owned company generated revenues in excess of US$22 billion annually, with daily crude oil production reaching 1.53 million barrels and 44 million cubic metres of natural gas.

Jamaica's participation in the sector is fairly recent, dating back to 2004.

With the new hub, Ambassador Amaral said the Kingston harbour would have to be dredged to accommodate the huge tankers that are expected to sail in and out of the port.

The deal would require Petrojam to upgrade its facilities, said Amaral.

john.myers@gleanerjm.com

U.N. favors Guyana in oil border spat with Suriname

2007-09-21T23:59:00.000-04:00

U.N. favors Guyana in oil border spat with Suriname

Ank Kuipers and Sharief Khan, Reuters
Published: Thursday, September 20, 2007

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=b3010ddd-5396-4107-916d-2ad6db35c4a3&k=54625

PARAMARIBO, Suriname/GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Reuters) - A U.N. tribunal favored Guyana on Thursday in a ruling setting its border with Suriname in a century-old dispute over an oil basin off the eastern shoulder of South America in the Atlantic Ocean.

Canada's CGX Energy, which had operated in the disputed waters until Surinamese gunboats expelled the company in 2000, immediately welcomed the decision.

"It works very well for us," the company's chief executive, Kerry Sully, said in a telephone interview.

Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo declared it a "great day for Guyana" and said in a nationally broadcast address the ruling meant the Canadian company could resume its operations right away.

Oil and gas exploration in the area has been frozen because of the dispute.

In 2004, Guyana, a former British colony, took the dispute to the U.N. International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea over the demarcation of the border as it extends from a river into the ocean.

While Suriname lost its claim to the area believed to hold energy deposits, the former Dutch colony said it was glad the dispute was resolved and looked forward to developing resources on its side of the new border.

"If the area where CGX has been drilling is oil rich, then the Surinamese part will certainly have oil too," President Ronald Venetiaan told reporters.

Other companies that could be affected by the decision are Exxon Mobil, the world's largest company, and Spain's Repsol, which have expressed interest in working in the area, according to local media reports.

The tribunal said both countries had failed in their treaty obligations to find ways of cooperating in the area and ruled that Suriname had illegally ejected the Canadian company.

While the binding arbitration set a different border from the boundaries claimed by each of the neighbors, CGX Energy said the new line would allow the company basically to explore where it had hoped to.

In Vancouver earlier on Thursday, trading was suspended in CGX's shares due to the expected news. Its shares ended on Wednesday at $1.55, the highest closing price in years.

Guyana and Suriname, whose combined populations are less than 1.5 million people, have commercial links but limited cultural ties with the rest of Latin America.

Caribbean Airlines to market T&T, Guyana as dual destination

2007-09-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

Caribbean Airlines to market T&T, Guyana as dual destination
Driselle Ramjohn dramjohn@trinidadexpress.com

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=161204558

Tuesday, September 18th 2007

NATIONAL air carrier Caribbean Airlines is to build tourism links with Caricom neighbour Guyana to market Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana as a dual destination and to encourage tourism between the countries.

The airline said in a statement yesterday that the project, in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association and the Tourism Development Company, is geared to further integrating the Caribbean region with a view to increase the region's market share in global tourism.

The three entities, on the invitation of the Tourism and Hospitality Association in Guyana were in Guyana last week to familiarise themselves with the attractions in the country.

"The Caribbean is integrating into a more holistic tourist destination community, and combined this contingent represented thousands of tourism stakeholders who share interests in the responsible and sustainable development and growth of the regional market," Caribbean Airlines said yesterday.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association, Lorraine Pouchet, speaking in Guyana on the visit, said: "The Guyana tourism product suggests tremendous potential and an opportunity for a synergistic partnership between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago."

She added: "We have agreed in principle to undertake dual destination marketing, since the tourism products of these destinations complement each other."

Caribbean Airlines general manger, Guyana and Paramaribo, Carlton De Four said: "The airline has created a more effective intra-Caribbean network linked to worldwide destinations with the recently added regional routes to Georgetown from Port of Spain and Barbados."

Proud Guyanese Dog

2007-09-08T01:36:00.001-04:00

cassi representing guyana, originally uploaded by teamo12377.

Thanks teamo12377 for a great photo.

Way to display the flag.

Guyana Fights Rising Pirate Attacks

2007-09-08T01:24:00.000-04:00

Guyana Fights Rising Pirate Attacks
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia76ivQ6pNFDWH6Glo_7nM_lSNng
12 hours ago

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Pirate attacks along Guyana's rivers and Atlantic coast have prompted the South American country to set up an emergency radio network for boaters and place special markings on engines to track stolen equipment, officials said Friday.

Fishermen outraged by more than two dozen raids reported in the last two months met this week with Cabinet ministers to complain that armed sea bandits have stolen catches of fish and shrimp and even small vessels.

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said the new measures should reduce attacks and help police track the pirates, some of whom are believed to flee into neighboring Venezuela or Suriname.

"If we can frustrate them and put mechanisms in place, then it can go a long way," he said.

Pirates have targeted Guyanese fishing boats for years but victims say the attacks have increased in recent months. Last week, Interior Minister Clement Rohee turned down fishermen's requests for permission to carry arms at sea to defend themselves.

The government has proposed increasing the maximum prison sentences for convicted pirates from 10 years to 25 years. The legislation, expected to be submitted to Parliament later this year, would make piracy a crime on par with murder or manslaughter.

Roop for President 2011?

2007-09-05T15:28:00.001-04:00

I'll take him over any of the old time PPP or PNC cronies. It's a step in the right direction? Is anyone else intriguing throwing in their hat for the job? Let me know.

GUYANA: From Lush Jungle to Muddy Moonscape

2007-08-22T01:21:00.000-04:00

GUYANA: From Lush Jungle to Muddy Moonscape
By Bert Wilkinson

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38971

Credit:WWF Guianas

A large mining excavation in Mahdia, Guyana.

GEORGETOWN, Aug 21 (IPS) - Late last month, three Guyanese cabinet ministers flew to a southwestern jungle community near Brazil to probe reports that an unscrupulous group of gold and diamond miners had plundered the area so recklessly that roads simply disappeared and the area's water system had crumbled under the weight of heavy machinery.

It was not the first time that the state-run mines commission has had to rush in teams to restore order in a community where rich deposits of gold and diamonds were found. But the very nature of what occurred at Mahdia, 321 kilometres from the city, left nearly everyone in shock, not the least among them 1,200 families cut off from water supplies and stranded by impassible roads for days.

As reported by the cabinet team, miners working the area with land dredges mounted on moving equipment had stumbled on a rich vein of mineral deposits that ran right under some of the main roads leading to Mahdia. Instead of bypassing it as the law requires, the miners simply attacked the roads with a level of ferocity not seen in years, leaving water-filled, mercury-tainted trenches up to 20 feet deep.

Worse yet, the area's underground piping system was wrecked, cutting off supplies to more than 6,000 people for several days. The result was an immediate cease work order for the miners. Authorities also seized nearly a dozen dredges and sent police and the military in search of other equipment hidden deep inside the jungle as owners fled.

By mid-August, most of the dredge owners had admitted to owning equipment used in the destruction of the road network and water system -- just the latest example, authorities say, of mounting acts of irresponsibility plaguing the South American country's third most important export sector after sugar and rice.

Studies conducted by a string of local and international agencies have suggested that unless miners adhere to eco-friendly rules and use mercury-free systems to capture gold from ore, there will be significant pollution of waterways in the very near future.

The Guyana office of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) admits to facing an uphill task trying to change bad habits cultivated by miners over the years even as it has seen clear evidence of increased heavy metal pollution in the interior.

"Our studies done in the northwest and upper Mazaruni in the west have shown that people and marine life are being affected. Some of the miners have mercury poisoning because they inhaled it from an open flame. It will take us years to change those habits. It won't happen overnight," said WWF Representative Dr. Patrick Williams.

In the United States, the prestigious Harvard Law School Human Rights Programme documented some of the headaches authorities are facing with the sector in Guyana. It pointed to very lax government controls in the country's Amazon region, noting severe human rights abuses and devastating environmental damage

"Medium- and small-scale gold mining as currently practiced and regulated inflict severe environmental, health, and social damage on the areas and people near mining operations," said the programme's spokesperson Bonnie Docherty.

"Our observations confirmed that the areas around mines resemble a moonscape of barren, mounded sand and mud. Since small-scale miners typically wash the topsoil away in order to get to the gold-bearing clayey soil underneath, the sites of former mines are quite infertile and incapable of supporting regenerated rainforest," she said.

Mines Commissioner Bill Woolford says most local miners abide by the law, but blames a small bunch of local and Brazilian wildcat miners for breaching regulations in an extremely poorly policed area.

"In the case of Mahdia, only the courts can order us to return equipment to miners. We are going all out for forfeiture. The guys were simply irresponsible," he said.

David James, an attorney attached to the umbrella Amerindian People's Association (APA), says that in at least one community in the western Essequibo region, up to 96 percent of the population is at risk of mercury pollution.

He is worried that the new Amerindian or indigenous peoples act gives power to ministers to override a decision by village captains and councils if they decide against allowing mining in their districts.

"We would love to challenge that part of the act, but our laws are not suited to class action lawsuits. That is the way we would prefer to go but it is difficult," James said.

Meanwhile, Williams says that the courses of several rivers have either been blocked or changed by fallen trees, large deposits of mining waste sedimentation have been left by miners and in some cases, entire areas have been clear-felled to allow for operations.

"But we really want miners to use mercury-free systems. We want them to change to the retort (an ore spinning system) that does not require mercury use. We are engaging in public education programmes to change habits but time is needed," he said.

As a reminder of how bad the situation can get, exactly 12 years ago this month, a dam at a mine owned by a Canadian company in western Guyana collapsed, spilling an estimated 3.2 million cubic metres of cyanide-tainted waste into the nearby Essequibo River, discolouring it for days and polluting water to communities downstream for months.

The spill at Omai Mines was the worst environmental disaster in living memory and led to calls for a tightening of regulations that is yet to occur.

"For example, excessive sediment from mining operations has turned rivers and creeks near mining sites a milky, orange colour, making them unusable for bathing, drinking, and washing clothes," the Harvard study found.

"Mercury deposits in rivers from mining are reported to be causing severe public health problems, including childhood deformities, muscle wasting, and mysterious skin rashes. Mercury has also contaminated the local fish population, a primary source of food for Amerindians," it said.

Price increases in Guyana due to global changes not VAT, says minister

2007-08-19T14:10:00.000-04:00

Price increases in Guyana due to global changes not VAT, says minister
Published on Saturday, August 18, 2007
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3074--13-13--.html

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): The increase in prices for some commodities in Guyana is being blamed on the Value Added Tax (VAT) but reports show that this is a phenomenon affecting other countries as well, including CARICOM nations.

Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh said that the price increases locally are due to changes on the world market for these commodities.

It is a global phenomenon and governments are working to find ways of ensuring that consumers do not feel the full brunt of the problem. Some of the essential food items affected are potatoes, milk and flour.

This situation is not unique to Guyana, since other countries are facing price increases for various essential food items including flour and milk.

Singh pointed out that an analysis of the movement on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January - June this year shows that the price for particular categories of commodities have increased due to external factors, since many of the items are zero-rated.

“Much of the movement that we are observing in food prices and by extension much of the movement that we are observing in the CPI cannot, and I say this in very emphatic terms, cannot be attributed to the introduction of Value Added Tax,” Singh said.

“If you were in fact to examine food items you would see that Government by very deliberate action, both before VAT was introduced and in the earliest months of VAT’s implementation, made a very clear and concerted effort to zero-rate a number of basic consumer items including an extensive list of food items.”

In addition, a number of imported food items that previously attracted 30 percent consumption tax are now subject to 16 percent VAT which is a lower rate.

Several reasons are causing this increase, including irregularities in weather patterns and extreme weather conditions.

Extreme weather patterns in New Zealand and Australia have caused a steep rise in the price for milk. Although milk is a zero-rated item locally, the price has risen as a result of a shortage due to a prolonged period of drought in those countries.

The developments in Australia and New Zealand particularly in relation to milk prices on the world market have shown a 60 percent increase from February to present.

“This is a very significant development on the world market and it is inevitable for a country like Guyana that imports a number of its milk products that it’s going to feed through to us,” Singh pointed out.

The price for wheat on the world market has increased by 14.3 percent over the past 12 months. This increase is however, not confined to this commodity, since the cost of other commodities have been influenced.

Singh noted, “We have seen wheat inventories in the global market being at their lowest level in approximately 30 years. I saw a report recently saying that corn inventories on the world market are at their lowest since modern records started to be maintained.”

The price for palm oil, a base for a lot of vegetable oils consumed worldwide, has increased by 93.8 percent in a one-year period. The index for non-fuel commodities has recorded an increase of 20.1 percent over the last 12 months. This has resulted in an increase in prices for imported products.

“Related to this increased consumption of food products for bio-fuel production has resulted in a very significant depletion in the stock of certain food commodities. The shift to bio-fuels has resulted in the diversion of the production of certain grains, which were historically destined for the food market, to the production of ethanol.”

Additionally, the minister said, there has been and continues to be the challenge of high oil prices which has quadrupled in recent years.

“The reality is that literally everything that is produced, everything that is transported, is influenced by the price of oil. It is inevitable that the steady increase in oil prices will transmit itself into the market price of commodities and the cost of getting these commodities to Guyana,” said Singh.

Guyana Red Cross distributes supplies and monitors flood situation

2007-07-22T03:19:00.000-04:00

Guyana Red Cross distributes supplies and monitors flood situation
Published on Friday, July 20, 2007
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-2633--13-13--.html

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The Guyana Red Cross Society (GRC) has begun responding to the flood situation in Rupununi, Guyana, which has been experiencing heavier than usual flooding due to rainfall and rising rivers.

Part of the flooded Rupununi area
The GRC’s Lethem Branch is working in partnership with regional authorities, Remote Area Medical (RAM), the malaria officer, businesses and private entities to conduct assessments and get relief supplies out. The GRC has been focusing much of its activities on water and sanitation, hygiene and health promotion.

In June the National Society provided lifejackets, boots, and other supplies to enable local branch volunteers to carry out assessments. Supplies of nets, hygiene kits, mosquito coils, and jerry cans were dispatched to affected families.

On July 14, with water levels rising again, the GRC in collaboration with RAM, continued its assessments and distribution of supplies which included jerry cans, hygiene kits and mosquito coils. These supplies were distributed to 50 families in one of the worst affected communities. Additional requests were made for more jerry cans, hygiene kits, baby hampers, food hampers, clean up kits, mosquito coils and nets.

Communication with the Lethem Branch, as well as reports from several communities, has necessitated the need for Red Cross to launch a national appeal to sustain and expand the relief response to the needs of vulnerable families in communities.

Canada's engagement with Guyana could increase, says official

2007-07-04T18:55:00.000-04:00

Canada's engagement with Guyana could increase, says official
Published on Wednesday, July 4, 2007

By Gordon French
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
Email: gordon@caribbeannetnews.com

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The Canadian government’s policy to increase activity in the Western Hemisphere, including the Caribbean, may soon see enhanced engagement with Guyana, a top official said.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Charles Court, in a speech to mark the 140th Independence Anniversary of his country said that the historic ties between Guyana and Canada as a basis for strengthening future relations between the two nations.

To enhance its competitiveness in the global economy, Canada has developed a framework called a Global Commerce Strategy, which was recently announced by International Trade Minister, David Emerson.

It aims to strengthen Canada’s competitive position in markets around the world and includes an aggressive market access agenda and strategies for making Canada a partner of choice for international business and investment.

“Co-operation with our global partners is an essential part of our approach,” Court noted.

He said that Canadians believe that cooperation is the best path to prosperity, the best path to opportunity, and the best path to the reduction of poverty throughout the world.

The High Commissioner said there are many examples of these co-operative efforts in this country. He said Canadians played an important part in developing the bauxite industry in Guyana, noting that today Canadian mining firms are at the forefront in exploring and bringing new mines into production, bringing new technologies to Guyana, and strengthening the communities in which they work.

According to the High Commissioner, in communities around Guyana the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsors projects that contribute to the creation and diversification of economic activity.

“Other projects strengthen local government capacity to manage their responsibilities and contribute to the well-being of their citizens,” Court stated.

July 1 is the day that Canada became a self-governing nation.

Guyana's tourism sector to receive more assistance

2007-06-22T00:37:00.000-04:00

Guyana's tourism sector to receive more assistance
Published on Thursday, June 21, 2007

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): The government of Guyana is working to push the tourism sector and attract tourists from around the world to make the industry viable and, toward this end, assistance is being sought from several areas and agencies geared towards tourism promotion.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad recently attended a Tourism Conference held by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) in the United States, where he made representations regarding Guyana’s membership dues, which he said have doubled. He expressed confidence that this matter will be resolved shortly.

Tourism Ministers in the Caribbean attended the two-day event, where they were able to discuss matters affecting tourism in the region. The event spanned one week and it allowed technical persons in the industry to participate in the meetings and workshops as well.

A recent requirement by the US, which makes it necessary for persons travelling to the Caribbean to have passports, was also addressed, as the CTO has been lobbying successfully for the period to be extended.

Prashad said the CTO is also lobbying to have cruise lines re-invest money in the Caribbean, which they have earned in the region. He pointed out that two ships are expected in Guyana later this year.

The Minister stated that benefits that Guyana would have been entitled to as a member were never applied for and hence the country did not receive any. These include scholarships, and management training.

Prashad said Guyana is to benefit from the assistance of the Caribbean Hotel Association, which made a commitment to send personnel to host a conference on pricing and packaging for local hoteliers and tour operators. This conference will be held in September.

The Minister met Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of the CHA Alex Sanguinetti and President of the Association, Peter Odle, on May 25.

The sector, in trying to capitalise on the successes of the hosting Super Eight Matches of Cricket World Cup and the Rio Summit, is trying to adapt to changes that will attract more tourists.

Prashad pointed out that the CHA representatives have vast experience in the hotel industry and will be able to give advice on what Guyana should do next.

The Caribbean Hotels Association is a regional umbrella organization which works in collaboration with training institutions to provide hotel staffers within the Region with training, marketing and other technical services.

Guyana Video - Old Fashioned Immigrant by Guyanese Songwriter David Campbell

2007-06-17T13:27:00.001-04:00

Guyana low cost land - I've been saying this for years...

2007-06-17T13:04:00.000-04:00

Guyana low cost land
Published on: 6/17/07.

by TREVOR YEARWOOD

The Nation Newspaper

NOW THAT IT'S CHEAP, Bajans need to start buying up land in Guyana.

This is the message from the Guyana Association of Barbados Inc. (GABI), which warns that if they fail to cash in on the opportunity, Bajans would have to line up to buy land there years from now.

"We are not necessarily saying come and live there if you don't like it, but certainly, come and invest there. You will get your money back," said GABI member Len Corsbie.

He told the SUNDAY SUN: "The Trinidadians are walking into Guyana and buying up land . . . . The Brazilians are also coming over the border by the truckload and buying up land."

While some Barbadians are taking advantage of opportunities in the South American republic, not enough were doing so, he said. Guyana held out opportunities for acquiring vast tracts of land at low cost for a range of projects.

An area where Barbadians, known for superb management skills, are needed is services, but investment opportunities abound in agriculture, he stated.

"A lot of the agriculture in Guyana is the small, peasant-holding type," Corsbie noted. "What Guyana needs is for people with deep pockets to come in and put large tracts of land under cultivation, in fish-farming, corn and other crops."

GABI's secretary Liesl Harewood, said: " . . . Within 20 years, people of the Caribbean will be lining up in Guyana for land because there will be no more land available outside there," Corsbie predicted.

GABI was set up to foster closer relations between the peoples of Guyana and Barbados, to improve the lot of Guyanese living here, and to aid the overall development of both nations.

The association also helps Guyanese people and institutions hit by floods. One of the projects it has been funding is the rebuilding of an old theatre in Georgetown, the Theatre Guild, which was severely damaged in "the great flood" of 2005.

A concert held in Barbados raised BDS$50 000 for the project, but GABI members estimate the overall work will cost US$120 000.

GABI also announced it was trying to establish a skills register of Guyanese living here legally.

This will help the institution make referrals when people are requesting certain skills for jobs, members explained. (TY)

Guyana Video of de Week - Esther Talks about Guyana at a CPCC Diversity Session

2007-04-27T15:06:00.000-04:00

Religious belief could be harnessed to better fight HIV/AIDS, says study

2007-04-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Baha'i World News Service

http://news.bahai.org

Date: 27 April 2007

Religious belief could be harnessed to better fight HIV/AIDS, says study

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, 24 April 2007 (BWNS) -- Strategies to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people could be more effective if they tapped into the power of religious belief and practice.

That is the finding of researchers who studied the knowledge and attitudes of young people in relation to HIV/AIDS and sexual behavior.

The study, sponsored by UNICEF and conducted by the Varqa Foundation here, found that young people who knew and followed the teaching of their religion were much less likely to have engaged in sexual intercourse than those who did not, by a rate of 18 percent to 45 percent respectively.

"Prevention strategies for the spread of HIV/AIDS should harness religious belief and practice, especially in societies such as Guyana where religious affiliation remains strong," wrote the study's authors in an article published in the March 2007 issue of the International Journal of STD and AIDS.

Guyana has the third highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, which is the second-most afflicted region in the world.

"Many specialists working in international development are somewhat uncomfortable with faith-based efforts at personal and community transformation -- such as to prevent HIV-AIDS," said Brian O'Toole, the lead author in the study, in an interview.

"But this study suggests that in a country like Guyana, where many people have strong faith-based beliefs, it might be possible to draw on spiritual inspiration to address some of the problems facing society," said Dr. O'Toole, who is also director of the Varqa Foundation, which is a Baha'i-inspired social and economic development agency based in Guyana.

Other authors included Roy McConkey, a professor in the health promotion group at the Institute of Nursing Research at the University of Ulster; Karen Casson, also of the University of Ulster; Debbie Goetz-Goldberg, a researcher with Health for Humanity, another Baha'i-inspired agency; and Arash Yazdani, a youth volunteer.

More than 2,000 people aged 12-20 were surveyed for the study. They completed anonymous, self-reporting questionnaires about sexual behavior, their understanding of HIV/AIDs and the way it spreads, and attitudes towards issues like virginity and condom use.

Ninety-five percent of respondents were aware that HIV could be contracted from sexual contact with someone who was HIV positive. However, less than a third (29.5 percent) were able to state up to three other ways that HIV could spread and only 37 percent were able to name three ways of self-protection.

The survey also found that in Guyana, nearly 25 percent of young people aged 12-14 were sexually active, a percentage that rose to more than 33 percent for those 15 and older. Nearly half of the males over the age of 15 were sexually active, according to the survey.

Respondents were asked if they were aware of their religion's teaching on sexual matters and whether they followed it. Just over 35 percent of the young people said they did, with another 22 percent knowing the teaching but not following it.

The authors also concluded that peer education should be another element in any strategy of HIV/AIDS prevention.

"The content and delivery of educational inputs must be capable of being adapted to local contexts preferably by persons who are very familiar with those situations," wrote the authors. "In this respect, peer education would appear to offer some promise."

Dr. O'Toole noted that the study was carried out by a network of young people who themselves had been inspired by a faith-based, peer-education leadership training program known as Youth Can Move the World (YCMTW), also sponsored by the Varqa Foundation.

"Usually in this type of survey you get a couple of hundred responses," said Dr. O'Toole. "We were able to get several thousand because of the network of young people established by the Youth Can Move the World project."

Founded by Varqa in 1997, the YCMTW program has used peer education methods to train more than 7,000 Guyanese young people in strategies to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence.

Among other things, the program uses inspirational passages from the holy writings of the major religions in Guyana to help young people draw on their spiritual heritage in an effort to prevent risky behavior. In Guyana, about 50 percent of the population is Christian, 35 percent is Hindu, 10 percent is Muslim. The remaining five percent of the people belong to other religions, including the Baha'i Faith.

For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org

Oil and Democracy Don't Mix - Think about Guyana when you read this

2007-04-11T13:01:00.000-04:00

Oil and Democracy Don't Mix

Bush administration policies guarantee a constant flow of oil, no matter what the human cost.

By Frida Berrigan, In These Times. Posted February 6, 2004

At a 1996 energy conference in New Orleans, Dick Cheney, then CEO of Halliburton said, "The problem is that the good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas reserves where there are democratic governments."

Laying the blame on the divine is a stretch, but it seems that the vice president is right: Democracy and oil do not mix. Just look at the United States' top 10 oil suppliers. Algeria, Angola, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are repressive regimes with deplorable human rights records. Mexico and Venezuela, while democracies, are marked by instability, inequality and civil strife. Iraq remains at war and under occupation. Only Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom are fully functioning democracies.

Why don't oil and democracy mix? At least part of the answer can be found in Washington's policy of providing military aid and training to leaders who guarantee an uninterrupted flow of oil, defending it against all threats -- even those coming from their own citizens.

Since the beginning of the war on terrorism in 2001, the United States' top 10 sources of oil imports have experienced a 350 percent increase in U.S. military aid and training. In 2003, the United States plans to provide these countries with $58 million in military assistance. In fiscal year 2001, their military assistance totaled $12.2 million.

A large part of the increase is explained by Washington's rewarding of regimes like Algeria and Nigeria for their ability to cloak domestic repression in the rhetoric of the "war on terrorism." As the United States looks ahead to a never ending war on terrorism and growing dependence on foreign oil, this dynamic will become increasingly common.

Africa accounts for 16 percent of U.S. oil imports, and the National Intelligence Council predicts an increase to 25 percent by 2015. Hunger for this oil, combined with the need to collect allies in the war on terrorism, led the Bush administration to adopt a "see no evil" position toward human rights problems and inequality in the continent's oil-rich nations.

This policy is so entrenched that William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and North African affairs, remarked with admiration while on a 2002 trip there, "Washington has much to learn from Algeria on ways to fight terrorism." Burns must not have read his own State Department 2002 Human Rights Report, which notes that Algerian "security forces committed extra-judicial killings, tortured, beat or otherwise abused detainees." Algeria has proven oil reserves of more than 9.2 billion barrels and is considered underdeveloped in terms of production, representing a golden opportunity for U.S. companies.

And so, in spite of persistent human rights abuses, relations between Washington and Algiers are warming. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has visited the White House twice and officials are discussing establishment of an American military base in Algeria. Emboldened by this, Algerian generals are pushing for access to previously denied lethal technology like combat aircraft.

Nigeria is the fifth largest exporter of oil to the United States, and with the discovery of new deep-water oil reserves right off the coast U.S. strategic interest is growing.

In July 2003, as President Bush departed for Africa, Gen. James Jones, the U.S. commander responsible for African operations, announced that Washington was negotiating long-term use of a "family" of military bases across Africa and predicted a much bigger role for U.S. military in the Gulf of Guinea, right off the Nigerian coast.

Washington's desire for Nigerian oil and territory triggered deeper military relationships. During the reign of Gen. Sani Abacha military ties were frozen. But since his death in 1999, the thaw has been quick. That year, Nigeria purchased $74,000 in U.S. weaponry. By 2001, the United States delivered thousands of times that -- a total of $3.1 million. Military aid also skyrocketed, from $90,000 in 1999 to more than $4 million for 2003.

How increased military aid will improve human rights and efforts toward democratization is unclear. The State Department's Human Rights Report found that the Nigerian "military and security forces committed extrajudicial killings."

Military aid is also increasing in areas that do not supply the United States with oil -- yet. The seven countries that make up the Caspian region -- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- are rich in oil, but the West is still trying to figure out how to extract and transport it. In the meantime, the region became strategically important for other reasons -- its proximity to Afghanistan and its eagerness to aid in the war on terrorism.

Uzbekistan granted the U.S. permission to establish a "semi-permanent" military base in its territory, other countries offered "fly-over rights," troops, intelligence and rhetorical support for the war on terrorism. In exchange, the handful of dictators, generals and presidents-for-life that rule the Caspian nations were granted reprieve from their international pariah status. Tens of millions in U.S. military aid quickly followed.

Collectively, these countries are slated to receive almost $40 million in U.S. military aid in 2004. In 2001, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan were under U.S. sanctions and received no military aid. The other five nations received a collective total of $12.3 million in military aid. In other words, military aid from the United States will increase more than 200 percent in just three years -- not including Congress' $70 million Special Supplemental for Caspian countries in 2002.

In the Caspian, and in most of the other countries where U.S. military aid and training markedly increased in the past three years, the weapons are not being used to defend borders from impending invasions. Rather, military resources are used to squash indigenous movements for self-determination, undermine campaigns for human rights, punish those who call for democracy and government accountability, and protect leaders who came to power illegitimately. There are a few exceptions to the "oil and democracy don't mix" maxim, and they are instructive. Norway, the United Kingdom and Canada are major oil suppliers to the United States, but were established democracies with diversified economies before getting into oil exploration. Replicating these successes in other oil-rich countries will require a radical revision of U.S. military and energy policy. Now would be a good time to start.

Guyana video of de Week - New Zeland VS Ireland at Providence Stadium

2007-04-10T18:55:00.000-04:00

Inter-American Development Bank to help Guyana explore ethanol possibilities

2007-04-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has agreed to help Guyana explore the feasibility of producing ethanol from sugarcane to reduce the country's dependence on fuel imports.

Guyana's Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, said the country was aiming for a 10 per cent mix of ethanol with regular gasoline to power vehicles.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean calculates such a step could save Guyana at least US$5.4 million annually on fuel imports.

Mr. Persaud said the IADB will provide technical assistance to Guyana in connection with potential projects by a Brazilian company and several US firms.

He said Guyana plans to set aside 50,000 acres of land in Canje, an agricultural plantation about 70 miles east of Georgetown, to plant special varieties of sugarcane.

These varieties have been identified as capable of yielding a large quantity of ethanol.

US industry experts have named Guyana and Jamaica among countries in the Americas with the capacity to expand sugar production for ethanol.

Many producers in Latin America and the Caribbean are looking to diversify and ethanol has become an attractive alternative sugar product.

Last month Brazil's President Luiz Ináácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President George W. Bush reaffirmed their interest in developing joint bio-fuels projects in Central America and the Caribbean.

World Cup: Guyana's famed Bourda ground slowly crumbles as cricket moves on

2007-04-07T03:13:00.000-04:00

World Cup: Guyana's famed Bourda ground slowly crumbles as cricket moves on

The Associated Press
Published: April 6, 2007

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Like a slumbering relic of bygone colonial days, Guyana's famed Bourda cricket ground is crumbling slowly, the victim of modernization and of demand for gleaming new stadiums.

In the members' bar, a steward dressed in shirt and tie serves the occasional member of Georgetown Cricket Club who has popped in for a drink. But the days of watching the world's finest playing on Bourda's dark brown, shiny wicket are mostly over.

International cricket has probably had its day at Bourda, an idiosyncratic stadium famed for being the only cricket ground in the world below sea level and one which consequently floods dramatically whenever tropical rains sweep in from the Atlantic Ocean.

This week, Bourda was — somewhat humiliatingly — scheduled to be used for net practice only by Bangladesh and New Zealand teams taking part in the World Cup. Even that was impossible when more than an inch of rain fell in 24 hours, leaving the outfield flooded. Ground staff splashed around the field trying to drain the water away.

Instead, the players drove several miles to the north, out of the anarchic and bustling city center, to the gleaming new stadium in the suburb of Providence, where the drainage is so sophisticated that the soil is bone dry within minutes of a downpour.

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"How can we match that? It's no good for me because I cannot walk to watch cricket any more," said Terry, who gave only his first name, as he dangled a fishing line into the moat that surrounds Bourda to try to protect it from the water.

The names of stands at Bourda reveal the country has produced some of the world's best cricketers: Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Lance Gibbs. The names of Carl Hooper, Alvin Kallicharran and Roy Fredericks are also celebrated at various spots.

The members' pavilion still bears all the hallmarks of colonial days. Guyana gained its independence in 1966.

Still, wicker chairs and tables are heavily polished, bottles of Angostura Bitters, the essential ingredient for a "Gin and It" favored by the British and a range of Scotch Whiskies make the pavilion resemble more an establishment club than a sports bar. Out of about 1,500 members, 80 or 90 make it for match days.

Along with the rolls of honor decorating the wall, various framed photographs are still in place, including one of King George V addressing the British Commonwealth, of which Guyana was a member.

Bourda's development goes hand in hand with Guyana's former colonial masters, the British, who named the country British Guiana and introduced their traditional sports, as they did in all countries they colonized.

The first match on the ground was between Trinidad and the Georgetown CC in 1883. But the first test match was not played until 1930, when George Headley, scion of a cricket dynasty that carries on today, scored a century in each innings as the West Indies beat England by 289 runs, the kind of thrashing the English have become accustomed to over the years.

The Bourda's intricate wooden stands are surrounded by high metal fencing for a reason. The Guyanese, sometimes encouraged by the easy availability of cheap rum, are quick to anger and riots have been frequent at the ground.

In 1954 bottles were thrown onto the pitch when local wicketkeeper Clifford Mcwatt was dismissed. Police fired tear gas into the crowd and play only resumed when players were promised danger money.

In 1979, the pavilion was ransacked during a riot. A visiting World Series team cowered in their changing room, wearing their helmets for protection.

The frequent flooding has had the effect of deadening the Bourda wicket over the years, leading to a high percentage of drawn games and high individual scores.

New Zealanders Glenn Turner and Trevor Jarvis put together a massive opening partnership of 387 in 1972. Turner's 259, scored over 704 minutes, remains the highest and longest test innings at the ground.

The last test was played at Bourda two years ago, when another Guyanese hero, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, scored 203 not out as the West Indies racked up a huge 543 against South Africa as another draw was played out.

With the World Cup awarded to the Caribbean, it became clear that Bourda's tired wooden structures were not suitable for the demands of the modern game and it was decided to build the new stadium.

Now Bourda dozes, waiting for the chance to show the world that it can still offer a fine cricket spectacle.

Guyana Video of de Week - ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Official Video

2007-04-02T03:54:00.001-04:00

Speed impressed with Guyana's efforts

2007-04-02T03:46:00.000-04:00

Speed impressed with Guyana's efforts

By Edison Jefford

Saturday, March 31st 2007

International Cricket Cou-ncil's (ICC) Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed has congratulated Guyana for delivering its part of the International Cricket Council's 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC) competition.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday at the Prov-idence Stadium, Speed said: "I would like to congratulate Guyana on delivering its part of the Cricket World Cup. Your country has much to be proud of; you have achieved building this outstanding cricket ground in a very short period of time."

According to Speed when he came here two years ago, the site for the stadium was a patch of burnt bush and swamp but the Local Organising Committee (LOC) worked tirelessly to have the stadium ready for the mega-event.

"When I came here the cane fields were just cleared, the playing field was levelled and nothing at all was built. So in two years we have gone from cane fields to what looked to me like swamp land to an outstanding cricket ground," he observed.

Speed stated that Guyana should be proud of the achievement to have an international cricket venue adding that the efforts of the local volunteers had contributed to the success of the Guyana leg of the Super Eights so far.

"One of the things that have impressed me is the enthusiasm of the volunteers. All around the Caribbean volunteers have been called into action for the cricket World Cup competition but your volunteers here have been outstanding." Speed thanked the government for its commitment to CWC stating that he was aware of the short time-frame the ICC attributed for completion of the facility.

"We are very pleased and I think that what you have done here should make the people of Guyana very proud of this achievement. I know Mr Lockerbie made some comments and I endorse them fully," Speed said.

Venue Development Dir-ector and Chief Operating Officer for ICC CWC 2007, Donald Lockerbie, had said in a media briefing on Wednesday that the ICC went ahead with Guyana as a host venue on a commitment from Government to be ready.

"Here we are, finished and we are happy about that," Lockerbie had said on Wednesday. Speed was similarly buoyant about the country's readiness and handling of the various concerns that arose out of the construction of the venue. Asked about the imposition of the ICC on the culture of the Caribbean's cricketing community by preventing certain items from being taken into the venues, Speed said that he heard the comment before and felt that it may have been interpreted incorrectly.

"I have heard that comment before but what we serve to do is follow an established protocol. Musical items can be brought into the ground but there is a certain protocol for that, we want the Caribbean and West Indian atmosphere to remain here," Speed informed.

Many West Indian patrons of CWC 2007 had expressed a concern over not being able to take certain items like tape recorders and food items into the venues for the World Cup but Speed explained that the prohibitions were merely security measures.

"The measures that are being introduced are security measures, they are common for major events in any part of the world, so that if you were to go to the Olympic Games you will find that very similar requirements are there," he noted.

Speed said that after the World Cup the region should be looking ahead to hosting the ICC Champion's Trophy tournament in 2010.

"What you have now is a collection of Five-Star cricket grounds. When you put them together you have a set of grounds that are as good as any in the world," the ICC Chief Executive observed.

Speed advised the local cricket board to work out bringing school children to the matches to have the experience of a World Cup cricket match and also occupy the vacant seats in the stadium.

He said that the event in the Caribbean may not pay off in full stadia for matches but in the fact that many other countries in the world will get to see the Caribbean via television.

"I was talking to some people from South Africa and I asked them what they think about Guyana and they told me Guyana looked great on camera," Speed said, while handing over the proceedings to Minister of Sport, Dr Frank Anthony.

Anthony indicated that the team that the Government put together had worked very hard to bring the stadium to what it was today. He said that he was very happy that they had done their part to host the event.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Local Organising Committee (LOC), Karan Singh, told the media that Speed expressed his desire to have the briefing to speak about his experiences in Guyana.

CWC 2007: Will Guyana Be A Hero Or A Zero Today?

2007-03-28T13:05:00.000-04:00

Grounds staff at Guyana National Stadium in Providence make final preparations to the pitch for tomorrow’s game. At left, members of the South Africa team get in a bit of practice. The Grounds definitely seem ready.

Reported By John Mair

HBN Guyana

Hardbeatnews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Weds. Mar. 28, 2007: Chairman of the Guyana Local Organizing Committee, Karran Singh, was upbeat yesterday despite the dozens of damaging reports that blasted around the world, slamming the lack of completion of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.

He summed it up accurately in an interview at his Georgetown headquarters yesterday. “I will be a hero or zero in twenty four hours,” said Singh, as workers bustled around as on an over-active ant’s nest, trying hard to work out the last minute details to deliver the first of six Super Eight matches today.

But Singh is calm. “There will be confusion but then confusion is the Guyanese middle name,” he said yesterday. At Providence, much of the activity seemed productive, undoubtedly due in part to the intervention of ICC CWC 2007 and the newly hired French company, GL Events.

Officials insist the stadium will be ready for play, spectators and for televising today after work continued through the nights. Indeed it looked good on the surface yesterday as the sun finally shone through after some 36 hours of rain.

The physical structure is certainly in place as is the electronic portion, courtesy of container loads of expensive equipment and the expertise of the traveling circus of technicians attached to the host broadcaster. But it is not all plain sailing to the finish line. There are still many rough edges where things could fall apart. The electricity may fail as it does too often in Guyana and the water in central Georgetown was on reduced pressure yesterday.

But the teams are in Guyana. England practiced yesterday at the Atlantic facing, but dry Everest Cricket Club Ground while Ireland was at the historical Bourda Ground.

South Africa and Sri Lanka sampled, for the first time, the cricketing delights of the National Stadium, but abandoned net practice seemingly in frustration.

Site manager Walter Willis, under much pressure in recent days, admitted to HBN he “could not wait for the first ball to be bowled.” It will culminate four years of work in supervising the construction and finishing of the National Stadium at a cost of at least US$25M.

Still those cars parked around the Providence Stadium just need one heavy rain shower to return to the quagmire status of Monday. Willis insists he was not responsible for that mess -

one surface of sand loam as cover. “The government told me that was what they wanted and that is exactly what I have given them,” was his retort to critics.

Likewise, there are local worries about whether the seats will all be taken. There are few signs of the thousands of tourists promised for CWC in Guyana.

The teams which have made it through to the Super Eight here seem to have sloughed off their following on the way to Guyana. For example, there are few visible signs of the thousands of English supporters - ‘The Barmy Army’ - who were with them in St. Lucia.

There are a desultory few wandering around Georgetown but they are noticeable by their presence. Local businessman Jad Rahaman, who runs a well know chain of burger bars and will open a concession stand at the stadium today, expressed his disappointment. “I thought there would be a big pick up in the last week,” he said. “There has not.”

Locals in this poor country have been put off too by the seat prices. Today, only the turnstiles will tell how many true tourists have struggled to El Dorado from the other West Indian island venues.

Meanwhile, in the light of the Bob Woolmer murder in Jamaica, Guyana’s Police Commissioner Henry Greene has been telling the local media that “security is as tight here as anywhere in the world.”

But that is simply not the experience of this reporter who was able to amble round the Providence stadium with a shoulder bag completely unchallenged at noon yesterday for an hour. Likewise, earlier I entered the main hotel for the teams - The Le Meridien Pegasus in Georgetown - with no challenge whatsoever and was able to walk freely around the ground floor without any questions being asked.

Still even with these caveats, it seems Guyana may pull if off, in typical Guyanese fashion when the first ball is bowled at 9:30 this morning. – Hardbeatnews.com

Chaos feared for Guyana stadium

2007-03-25T10:49:00.000-04:00

Georgetown, Guyana
March 26, 2007

Article at: The Age

WORLD Cup organisers have warned of potential chaos at super eight matches in Guyana because the Providence Stadium here is still not ready despite years of planning.

The local organising committee and World Cup chiefs are already at loggerheads over the $US25 million ($A31 million) venue.

On Friday, World Cup organisers relieved the local organising committee of control of the ground, with a British company taking charge in an effort to salvage the project ahead of Wednesday's match between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Among the myriad of problems at the venue, which is the only one on the South American mainland, are failures to provide security and crowd control turnstiles, poor accreditation facilities and video boards. Power shortages also are expected to blight the venue.

Local media also have reported that Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, which hosted first-round games, and Jamaica's Trelawny Stadium, where warm-up matches were played, are on stand-by to stage the six matches planned for Georgetown.

■Opener Ed Joyce hit 75 to help England into the super eights with a seven-wicket win over Kenya in a rain-affected World Cup group C decider in Gros Islet, St Lucia, yesterday (Melbourne time).

Dublin-born Joyce, who made 66 against Canada last Sunday, combined with Kevin Pietersen (56 not out) to eliminate the Africans with 10 overs to spare and set up a super eight match against Ireland in Guyana on Friday.

England's Andrew Flintoff, back after being dropped because of a drinking scandal, had taken two wickets earlier to help limit Kenya to 177.

The match, which started two hours late, was reduced to 43 overs-a-side because of overnight rain but Kenya captain Steve Tikolo sprung a surprise by electing to bat.

"We were good today. When you come up against a potential banana skin, you just want the basics done right and be very professional," England captain Michael Vaughan said. "Bowling first was want we wanted to do."

Tikolo defended his decision to bat. "I thought the wicket looked fairly good for batting," he said. "The decision to bat was valid, we just didn't get partnerships going, we lost wickets at regular intervals."

Tikolo's choice backfired when a James Anderson delivery kept low to bowl opener Ravi Shah for four in the fifth over. Clever field placings contributed to the downfalls of Maurice Ouma and Tony Suji, who came into the side for opener David Obuya.

Another low delivery from Paul Collingwood undid Tanmay Mishra, who chopped a cut on to the stumps for a duck taking the score to 4-74.

A mix-up with Tikolo led to Collins Obuya being run out for 10 before all-rounder Flintoff trapped Thomas Odoyo leg before wicket. Flintoff nearly had two more wickets, with another excellent lbw shout and Tikolo being badly dropped by Joyce at mid-on, before Jimmy Kamande was bowled by Collingwood's slower ball.

"When you have your premier all-rounder back in your team, you look a better team for that," Vaughan said of Flintoff.

Despite bowling out a side for the first time in this World Cup, England's attack was inconsistent and leaked 22 sundries, including eight no balls.

England's run chase had a stuttering start, with Vaughan out for one as he struggled with his one-day form. AGENCIES

YESTERDAY (Hayden 101, Clarke 92, Ponting 91; Hall 2-60) d South Africa 294 (de Villiers 92, Smith 74; Hogg 3-61).

Australia 6-377

England 3-178 (Joyce 75, Pietersen 56no; Tikolo 1-18) d Kenya 177 (Tikolo 76; Anderson 2-27).

PLAYED OVERNIGHTQueen's Park Oval, Port of Spain

Bangladesh v Bermuda

SUPER EIGHTS(11.15pm Tuesday, Melbourne time)

March 27

West Indies v Australia, Antigua

March 28South Africa v Sri Lanka, Guyana

March 29West Indies v New Zealand, Antigua

March 30Ireland v England, Guyana

March 31Australia v Bangladesh*, Antigua

April 1West Indies v Sri Lanka, Guyana

April 2Bangladesh* v NZ, Antigua

April 3Ireland v South Africa, Guyana

April 4England v Sri Lanka, Antigua

April 7Bangladesh* v South Africa, Guyana

April 8Australia v England, Antigua

April 9Ireland v NZ, Guyana

April 10West Indies v South Africa, Grenada

April 11England v Bangladesh*, Barbados

April 12Sri Lanka v NZ, Grenada

April 13Australia v Ireland, Barbados

April 14South Africa v NZ, Grenada

April 15Bangladesh* v Ireland, Barbados

April 16Australia v Sri Lanka, Grenada

April 17South Africa v England, Barbados

April 18Ireland v Sri Lanka, Grenada

April 19West Indies v Bangladesh*, Barbados

April 20Australia v NZ, Grenada

April 21West Indies v England, Barbados

SEMI-FINALSJamaica

April 24

April 25 St Lucia

FINALBarbados

April 28

*Provided Bangladesh defeats Bermuda overnight. If not, India replaces Bangladesh.

Drugs en route from Guyana seized off Panama coast.

2007-03-23T13:52:00.000-04:00

Mexican Cartel Behind Cocaine Seizure

Associated Press

March 23, 2007

By KATHIA MARTINEZ - Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel was behind the record 20-ton cocaine shipment that was seized by the U।S. Coast Guard off Panama's Pacific Coast last weekend, officials said Thursday.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has called the seizure, worth nearly $300 million, the largest ever by the Coast Guard. The drugs were found in containers on a ship that left Guyana and passed through the Panama Canal on March 15 on the way to the Mexican state of Sinaloa, said Panama's top drug prosecutor, Jose Almengor.

Coast Guard officials detained 11 Mexicans and three Panamanians during the seizure Sunday about 20 miles southeast of the island of Coiba off Panama's coast. The Mexicans will be taken to the U.S. to face trial, while the Panamanians will be jailed in Panama.

Almengor said the Sinaloa cartel has just begun to establish itself in Panama, which borders Colombia. The majority of Colombia's drugs move along Central America by boat or plane and then pass through Mexico over land before they are smuggled into the United States.

The ship was initially spotted by a Coast Guard patrol aircraft on Saturday. After obtaining permission from the government of Panama, a Coast Guard boarding team searched it on Sunday and discovered the drug cache.

Officials believe fast boats from Colombia had delivered the cocaine to the ship after it had passed through the canal.

'The drugs didn't pass through the canal,' Almengor said. 'That's clear from the way it was packed in a rudimentary way, in sacks within the containers.'

A day before the seizure, officials arrested Mexicans Jorge Alonso Nunez and Jose Ernesto Mondragon as they tried to leave Panama. Both men have been tied to the shipment and face drug trafficking and money laundering charges in Panama.

Most of the cocaine will be sent to the United States to be destroyed, but Panama will keep more than 200 pounds as evidence.

Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright © 2007, InterestAlert

Guyana Photo of de Week

2007-03-22T17:29:00.001-04:00

DSCN0614.JPG, originally uploaded by MattHartzell.

Guyana's Only Escalator

Riding the escalator is THE thing to do now. I wish I had a picture depicting some of the stories that I've heard about people riding on these escalators

Once Rare, U.S. Visas Now Almost Impossible

2007-03-22T15:02:00.000-04:00

POLITICS-GUYANA:
Once Rare, U.S. Visas Now Almost Impossible
Bert Wilkinson

GEORGETOWN, Mar 21 (IPS) - It was always in the cards given the level of official corruption, warnings from Washington about the failure of authorities to deal with Guyana's growing brigade of drug barons, and the desire of so many to leave this former British colony for so-called greener pastures in the United States।

Read Article: here

Guyana: No to chicken feed from France

2007-03-21T20:21:00.000-04:00

I'm just surprised that Guyana was mentioned in Businessweek.....wow..

Guyana: No to chicken feed from France

GEORGETOWN, Guyana

Guyana on Wednesday refused to allow a ship to unload poultry feed from France that could be contaminated.

French authorities said the shipment of 900 tons of soya-based feed intended for the South American country might be contaminated with salmonella, according to Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud.

"We are not giving them permission to offload that ship. I am obligated to protect the national food chain and people from contaminated food," Persaud said.

Salmonella, a bacterial infection that affects the intestinal tract, can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting. Serious cases can result in death.

French authorities have indicated they will recall the Bahamas-registered ship, Persaud said. Calls to the French agriculture ministry in Paris went unanswered Wednesday.

Persaud added authorities will not allow the vessel to transport a shipment of sugar to Europe as planned, fearing it could contaminate Guyana's premier export commodity.

Guyana gets sugar quota transfer from Belize

2007-03-21T11:54:00.000-04:00

Belize gets Additional EU Sugar Quota

Agreement expression of solidarity

Belmopan - 20 March, 2007 -- A major breakthrough was achieved in Brussels last week when a Special Meeting of Ministers of the African Caribbean and Pacific countries agreed that the shortfall in Sugar Protocol supplies resulting from the cessation of production in St Kitts should be reallocated within the Caribbean region. CARICOM sugar stakeholders have agreed that this reallocation should be shared equally by Belize and

Guyana

. The result is an increase of some 8 000 tons or nearly 20 % in the permanent quota of

Belize

to the European market.

Belize is elated by the decision. According to Hon. Eamon Courtenay, “This decision is the culmination of a year long struggle to persuade the ACP countries that having on several previous occasions ceded quota shortfalls to their African colleagues the CARICOM nations had to keep this vital access within the newly established Caribbean Single Market. The final agreement was a welcome expression of solidarity amongst ACP sugar producers and halts a growing transfer from the Caribbean of long standing commodity trading benefits .”

rest of article:

I usually like what Stella says...not today though

2007-03-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

Stella Says…The mistress role hurts the women’s movement

Stella said:

"I am not going to cite religious verses about sex outside of marriage because they are just control methods from the patriarchal system to make women feel guilty for having sex. However, speaking purely from a social standpoint.... "

How bout you don't cite religious verses because this isn't a religious column anyway and because you're addressing a crowd of religious diversity that IS Guyana?

What you've accomplished here was to achieve potential alienation from those who might have a religious view and may not think that religion is a patriarchal attempt to dominate women and society.

Even religious moderates may be offended at that view.

In your non-mention of religious verse, you still stated a religious opinion.

You certainly had a very good and (to me) enjoyable column until I got to that part.....

Now instead of finishing the column, I am writing you one.

Maybe it would have been better to just not mention religion at all (period).

Ethanol, Sugar and Guyana

2007-03-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

If you've come to read about Miranda LaRose's journalistic misstep, scroll down and you'll see that below this.

Here's something that we need to know about Ethanol and Sugar.

Let me begin with Ethanol Production in the US. The installed Ethanol production capacity in the US will arguably (depending on who you talk to) will be too much becuase the corn that it will take to feed these ethanol production facilities will take such a huge chunk out of the annual corn crop, that that price increases for corn will almost eat up the profit of producing ethanol.

Look at the price of corn tortillas in Mexico over the past year. It's gone up 400% because the corn is flowing north to Ethanol production facilities.

Many in Mexico are furious over this because of the implications of this for the poor. I believe that it was President Cardenas (not sure) who said that this is a good development for poor Mexican farmers who will now get more money for their corn.

Let's apply this to what we know about Guyanese sugar production:

As much of the world converts to making and using flexible fuel vehicles that burn up to 85% ethanol and mandating at least 10% ethanol be used with any and all gasoline, more ethanol will be demanded.

More ethanol will be produced from other starchy crops, cellulosic feedstocks and yes, sugar.

As more sugar is utilized in ethanol production, the price of sugar for those who want to use it as food, will increase.

People may be outraged at the expensive sugar, but people will come out and say that this is good for the poor sugar producing countries who "NEED" sugar revenue to survive and develop (of course we know that it probably stifles development).

The truth is that Guyana may never produce sugar or ethanol as efficiently and cheaply as Brazil and some other big industry players,BUT high prices leave room for inefficient producers, like Guyana, to stay in business. Maybe to the chagrin of people who tend to blame the sugar regime for the continuing backwardness of the country, Guyanese sugar isn't dead yet.

Miranda LaRose needs to learn about biofuels before writing about them

2007-03-19T12:29:00.000-04:00

LaRose is way off in her article. Sure you can add Ethanol to Diesel fuel in small amounts I THINK (not sure).

However, adding ethanol to diesel fuel DOES NOT make turn it into Bio-Diesel. Bio-Diesel is made when plant oils or waste cooking oil of any type are combined with Ethanol OR Methanol and a catalyst to pecipitate the glycerin out of the oil.

The resulting fuel is known as a Methyl or Ethyl ester depending on which type of alcohol is used.

That Miranda LaRose would think that mixing Ethanol with Petro-Diesel would yield Bio-Diesel shows me that we should be alarmed at the knowledge or lack thereof of significant world phenomena in the Guyanese press.

I hope that she's not representative of the rest of our journalists or educated people in our country.

See the bolded text below in her article.
=======================

Brazil ethanol investor still awaiting information

Sunday, March 18th 2007 (Stabroek News)

Brazil's second largest producer of bio-diesel, Bio-Capital, is still awaiting detailed information on policies and practices from the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) in order to move ahead with a proposed investment for sugar cane cultivation and ethanol production.

Asked about developments in the investment bid, Brazil's ambassador to Guyana Arthur VC Meyer told Stabroek News that the Brazilian businessmen were very keen on investing the sum of US$300 million to procure some 50,000 hectares of land in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) for cane cultivation and to establish a distillery for the production of ethanol.

Meyer said he was seeking a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Go-Invest Geoffrey Da Silva to follow up on the interest of the Brazilian investors. Stabroek News was on Thursday unable to contact Da Silva.

The ambassador said the Brazilians had asked for several items of information regarding Guyana's investment policies as well as a response to their application.

Asked what he felt might be the reason for the delay, Meyer felt it was just a matter of bureaucracy. In a previous interview he had said he was confident that the Brazilian investment in ethanol in Guyana would be implemented shortly. He had said that one of the aims of the project was to export ethanol to the American market because Guyana would be in a position to benefit from some special preferential quotas for ethanol created by the American government.

Bio-Capital, he noted, had begun a similar investment in the State of Roraima in northern Brazil and it was expected that the Guyana project would complement that project.

The investors were in Guyana last November when they met Prime Minister Sam Hinds, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad and Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn. They also met the Prime Minister when he was in Brazil for the last Mercosur meeting.

The Brazilian businessmen had also met officials of the Lands and Surveys Department and Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation's Board of Directors Ronald Alli. Part of Guysuco's modernization strategy is the production of ethanol as bio-fuel to feed into the national grid.

It is expected that the Brazilians would produce ethanol for the manufacture of bio-diesel - a mixture of fossil fuel and ethanol. Bio-diesel can be used in diesel-powered cars as a fuel on its own, or mixed with diesel in order to reduce the volume of the fossil fuel. Brazil has used bio-fuel for the past three decades, mixing fossil fuels with 20% to 25% ethanol. Bio-Capital specialises in the production of bio-diesel using ethanol with vegetable oil and animal fat. (Miranda La Rose)

Bank Of Guyana To Release Commemorative Cricket Coin

2007-03-19T04:27:00.000-04:00

Hardbeatnews, Georgetown, Guyana, Mon. Mar. 19, 2007: Get ready for the G$6,000, silver proof cricket stadium coin. To mark the opening of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara, the Bank of Guyana will be issuing a commemorative coin.

The coin is set to be released on March 26 and will weigh 28.28 grams. Bank officials say. It will also bear the Guyana National Coat of Arms on one side and a raised image of the Stadium on the back.

“In recognition of the commitment to sports represented by this facility that allows for the hosting of sports events of internationally acceptance standards, the Bank decided on the issuance of the special commemorative coin,” the Bank stated Friday

The coin will be available at the Bank at a cost of six thousand dollars each.

Guyana will be hosting its leg of Cricket World Cup 2007 from March 28 to April 9. – Hardbeatnews.com

Guyana VODW - Napoleon Dynamite Dances to Terry Gajraj

2007-03-18T03:19:00.001-04:00

This is probably one of the funniest videos I have ever seen on Youtube. Even if you have never heard of Napoleon Dynamite, this is well worth a watch. If you've seen the movie before, you will see this scene in a whole new way. Watch a nerdy white bai do some justice to a Guyanese Chutney song. Enjoy.

Guyana’s parliament passes three bills for World Cup security

2007-03-18T02:17:00.000-04:00

Guyana's parliament has passed three bills to strengthen security for the Cricket World Cup, including one giving foreign security agents special protection under local laws during the seven-week tournament.

Under the so-called "Visiting Forces” Bill foreign agents will form part of a special regional task force to protect against security breaches during the sport's biggest event.

Another law clears Guyana to accept special help to minimize international crimes, including terrorism, from international agencies like the FBI and Scotland Yard, while another legalizes special visa requirements during the tournament to ensure hassle-free travel.

All Caribbean host countries are required to pass similar legislation for the tournament, which started Tuesday and culminates with a final at Barbados on April 28.

Guyana: Joint Services Raid Nabs AK-47

2007-03-16T03:03:00.000-04:00

I'm one of the people who are still saying that they can't believe that those guns went missing in the first place. Someone pinch me.....................please.

One gun of questionable origin was uncovered.....whoop-tie-doo.
---

Hardbeatnews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Fri. Mar. 16, 2007: Five persons were yesterday arrested after members of the Guyana Joint Services, acting on a tip off, raided a Georgetown home and discovered an AK-47 rifle.

The sawn off weapon was reportedly discovered at the top section of a two-storey building at Lot 190 B Church Street, North Cummingsburg in the capital.

Officials could not immediately confirm if the weapon was one of some 30, stolen from a storage bond at the Guyana Defence Force Camp Ayanganna headquarters last February.

Guyana officials last year had claimed suspected drug lord, Roger Khan, now in a US jail, was behind the robbery of the weapons. Former Police Commissioner Winston Felix had said late last year that the inability of the local security forces to speak with the detained Guyanese businessman was a setback in the weapons search. – Hardbeatnews.com

Guyana Photo of De Week - Waramuri Reservation

2007-03-15T20:37:00.001-04:00

Waramuri Reservation, originally uploaded by sashalbruce.

What can I say? What DO you say? It's a white baby doll in an Amerindian village in Guyana. She's got to feel out of her element.

Guyana Video of de Week - Movie: Guiana 1838 Trailer

2007-03-12T04:54:00.001-04:00

Even though the movie has already been released, the trailer was only recently uploaded to youtube. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I want to now. The movie shows (among other things), how Indians and Blacks might have come to understand one another through shared experiences. Those of you who have seen it, please leave comments for those who haven't.

Guyana: Georgetown Mayor Arrested - False Reporting?

2007-03-09T17:52:00.000-04:00

An article has apparently been circulating in e-mails of Guyanese the world over. As far as many of us can tell, it's false. There is nothing in the news media that we've searched that has anything to do with this topic. There isn't even anything in the media seeking to rebutt the claims if this incendiary article below.

I would welcome any clues that could reveal where this article came from. You can leave a comment or send me an e-mail. My address is in my profile at the bottom of the page.

=============================
"Guyana: Georgetown Mayor Arrested

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 8, 2007

Hamilton Green, the mayor of Georgetown, the largest city in Guyana, was ordered arrested by a local court on suspicion of embezzlement and abuse of office. He left the court in handcuffs. Mr. Green, who was stripped of his Mayoral (capitalization error) post ,is suspected of handing out plots of land to unidentified individuals for private use and of using city funds to pay for private guards and to back a gang of ex-Burnhamitie thugs who wanted to overthrow the present PPP/Civic government. The Associated press said sums allegedly embezzled by Mr. Green and other top city officials topped $13 million US dollars. Mr. Green who used to be a Vice-President in the previous People's National Congress government, broke away from that group when it lost power in 1992 and formed his own party that is called GGG ( Green Good for Guyana). Hamiliton Green was born a christian, later converted to Sun Moon's cult, however, he considers himself a practicing Sunni Muslim and regularly visits a Georgetown Buddhist Temple for prayers. Allegedly, he is responsible for the dissapearance and death of several Guyanese citizens during the People's National Congress reign of terror and corruption from December 1964 to December 1992.

More Articles in International"

Guyana PODW 07 March 07

2007-03-07T23:06:00.001-04:00

Laptop in Guyana, originally uploaded by choyrizo.

Guyana Photo Of De Week

"Laptop in Guyana"

Posted by choyrizo on flickr.com

Caption: "I donated my old laptop to a guy in the Peace Corps and he brought it to a classroom in Guyana--Many of these kids have never even seen a computer before, so it's pretty neat to see my laptop there."

This is an inspiring picture that makes me think of Guyana's future, which I hope is bright.

======================================

This is choyrizo--I didn't know about your blog before--thanks! Phillip (the guy in the Peace Corps) will only be there for another couple of months, so before he leaves I'm going to try to send them some more software, a battery reconditioner with a couple of extra batteries (since it's never clear how much longer those things will last), and maybe even one or two ibooks if I can win them off of ebay. Because their village doesn't have electricity, they have to bring the laptop to a neighboring village to recharge, so they are thinking about setting up a solar generator for it, which means it is probably good if they have some backups.

Beyond Pork Knocking - Civil Rights Abuses and Environmental Degradation in Guyana

2007-03-06T18:10:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have come looking for the pork knocking video, a quick scroll down the page will show you that it's still there.

In the meantime, however, I would like to fulfill the charter of of Guyana's Overstream and give my new found faithful something to really think about. Many of us know that Guyana can't really be that pristine with all the gold mining that takes place in the interior. Many of us, have no clue how much of it really goes on and how destructive it really is.

Peacejournalism.com announced an hour ago, the publication of "All That Glitters", a report on the mining-related damage done to Amerindian communities and the surrounding environment in Guyana. This due not only to lax mining laws, but also the inability of only 11 officers to enforce the existing laws all over the country.

Please read this report thoughtfully and join me in discussing its contents.

73 pages PDF from peacejournalism.com

Also read:
Guyana: Gold mining causes severe human rights abuses and environmental damage

The Nation News, Barbados - The only news is the need to proof read articles.

2007-03-06T14:08:00.000-04:00

The Guyana, Venezuela border row

Is this an article about the latest developments in the border dispute between said countries or is it an obituary? This article accomplishes neither. At first I was annoyed by the lack of real news contained in this article, then I noticed the following error: " Surprisingly, however, having confirmed his participation in the summit, the Venezuelan leader failed to turn up, as expected, last Friday with an explanation being offered that we was "not well"."

'We', of course, refers to 'HE', the Barbadian diplomat Oliver Jackman.

One would think that since Oliver Jackman was a BARBADIAN diplomat, that he'd get the honour of an obituary instead of an unceremonious burial in the lines of an article that doesn't even give substantive material related to its own title.

For heaven's sake, if he is to be written about properly, the 'H' key is 4 keys from the 'W' key 'as the finger flies' on a qwerty keyboard. Don't make me post an image of that on here.

On second thought, maybe I will:

Guyana VODW - Pork knocking on the Essequibo

2007-03-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

Someone dares to go further off the beaten path than most Guyanese to find what are probably some of the last pork knockers left out there. I don't know how many independent pork knockers there are left. The notes say that the video is old, but Guyana has a timeless quality about it. The only way that I can tell that this video wasn't shot yesterday is because of the cars in G/T.

Notes from Youtube:
"Porknocking for gold in the Essequibo region.
Guyana Gold Digger.

Documentary Film...Donkey years ago.

Use more treble for better sound.
The sound isn't clear, it was taken from a old VCR tape. "

Help Get Slingshot Back on his Feet.

2007-03-04T04:17:00.000-04:00

I want to let everyone know that Wayne Moses of "Wayne's Guyana Outpost" is doing a fund raiser for Slingshot. Many of you already know Wayne. He's been running his website for about 10 years now. Every now and then there arises a need to raise funds for someone and Wayne takes it upon himself to organize a drive and get the funds to the person in need. Slingshot is a member of Wayne's email list and a a warm caring member of the Guyanese online community. I never even knew he was a soca artist until his accident because he went under another name on the mailing list. If any of you would like to know more about what Wayne's fundraising effort please go to this URL:

Guyana Outpost Fundraising

Here you can read more about the circumstances surrounding the accident, and how you may donate. I'll vouch for Wayne's good character. He will get the funds to the right place.

==============================================================
Addendum
==============================================================

This is the receipt from having sent funds derived from your 'legitimate advertisement perusal' to Wayne Moses of Gondola Webworks to help out Slingshot.

I've erased the last digit on the Transaction ID to protect privacy.

For more information about how you can directly donate to Slingshot to aid in his recovery and safe return to his home, scroll up and click on the link to Wayne's fundraising site section of 'Guyana Outpost'.

For those of you who already heeded my call to help slingshot, thank you and if you've donated, I am not able to tell becuase that information isn't available to me.

As of the last update yesterday, Wayne says that 497 USD was raised for Slingshot and Harold Hopkinson, chief of airport security at Cheddi Jagan Inernational Airport has donated another $G100,000 that he's given to Slingshot directly. We can do better than that!

Thanks again to all.

GUYANA PODW (Pic of de week)

2007-03-01T23:46:00.001-04:00

IMG_0261, originally uploaded by deonandan.

The very first thing that I thought when I saw this flower was "Now I know where Mashramani costumes come from. It's a beautiful flower and a wonderful picture. Thanks to deonadan.

A Tribute to Slingshot - Get Well Soon

2007-02-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

The AFC sees the benefit of internal democratic processes

2007-02-28T14:30:00.000-04:00

When the AFC seemed almost impervious to ideas from the party membership and junior members, many of us got worried. This recent announcement is positive and may be a bit overdue. I don't know why it isn't on or near the front page in Stabroek news. Something like this should be promulgated more widely. The PPP and PNC both have elections for officers and party posts. I hope that this allows for the eventual cycling through of party members over time. This is good not because of any particular party members that need to go, but because a party eventually loses touch with its base if it doesn't shuffle itself and allow for the entry of new ideas. IF the leadership of the AFC can handle such potential wounding of their egos, it would serve for the continued survival of their parties to allow such things to happen.

----------------------
Leaders will be elected at national conference - AFC
Tuesday, February 27th 2007
Stabroek News

In the wake of recent criticism by one of its Region Four councillors, the Alliance For Change (AFC) says that its leadership is only interim until it holds its first national conference.

The AFC Steering Committee said on Friday that a more precise party structure would be put in place. Last week, regional councillor Michael Carrington went public with concerns over the management of the group. Carrington called a media conference and said there was no transparency or democratic system in place to allow members of the party an opportunity to contribute to debate and its development.

However, in a press statement on Friday, the AFC maintained that it values the ideas and initiatives of all its members and supporters, and it added that as one of the local leaders Carrington should use the upcoming conference to bring forward any suggestions for its policies or structure.

The party explained that it had to organise an election shortly after its launch, and after consultation with its members the steering committee was given the mandate to proceed with an election campaign as its only priority. It said it was clear that this course would mean less emphasis being placed on party form and structure. "It was expressly understood that the first national conference would be convened at an appropriate time after the general and regional elections," it said, while explaining that the event would be used to put flesh and muscle to the party's bones.

Since September 2006, the steering committee has been operating as a caretaker body until the holding of the first conference. When the first anniversary General Members' Meeting was held with representatives from all ten regions, a document was released to members nationwide concerning the holding of the first national conference, before the end of the first quarter of this year. In that document, it was proposed to members that they form themselves into groups within each of the regions in preparation. Each group was advised to review the Draft Constitution and related documents and to submit recommendations, amendments and motions to be considered by the delegates at the first conference.

The AFC explained that Carrington is in possession of this document and the accompanying guidelines. It said there is a process that all members can follow to have suggestions for the restructuring of the organisation heard and considered by a democratic body. "We are convinced that [he] will find this a fair and appropriate mechanism which will allow his voice to be heard with all other interested people," it added.

It said too that all recommendations, amendments and motions have to be presented through party groups for the consideration of delegates at the first conference. The caretaker committee, it pointed out, has no authority to make any decisions on the form, structure and management as these have to be approved by the delegates at the conference. The group did, however, encourage Carrington to use his energies and influence to organise groups in Region Four over and to channel his recommendations through his group for the consideration of the conference.

Carrington said the party could have done better at the elections and even after had the necessary management skills which the party had access to been used. Saying that some major ideas he put forward were not considered, he said that in the elections campaign he made a suggestion which was turned down by the AFC but a similar idea implemented by the PPP/C proved effective. He added that he was also upset that after the elections there was no transparency in the selection of representatives of the AFC for the five parliamentary seats. He and others, he said, supported Gaumattie Singh and youth representative Trevor Williams but AFC Vice Chairman Sheila Holder felt that Williams was too young and lacked experience. (The AFC had a very public and very acrimonious parting with Singh, who left after saying she was not given a parliamentary seat as promised to her.)

Carrington also said that his idea for the establishment of a fund to be used exclusively by AFC councillors to carry out work in the region they represented was not pursued.

In a letter to the AFC leaders, he suggested the creation of a Regional Councillors Fund since he noted after attending statutory meetings that the majority of projects proposed and approved by the RDC fall through because of a lack of government funding. He also suggested that regional councillors also be paid a stipend in the same manner as MPs because of the volume of work they do in the execution of their duties.

But the AFC steering committee said while it agreed with Carrington on the issue of remuneration for regional councillors, it would not use the donations from supporters, provided in good faith that those funds would advance the AFC cause, to do that. "We believe that all councillors deserve compensation for the services they render to the country and we are working towards that end," it said.

Guyana VODW 26 Feb 07: Guyana Yours To Discover 2007

2007-02-26T13:31:00.001-04:00

Great video. My wife started craving fish after she saw those Amerindian men shotting fish with arrows and pulling them in with regular tackle. It takes a litle patience to get through all the scenery parts (which are inspiring nonetheless), but I really enjoyed watching the Amerindian women processing the cassava.

I try to check the videos most recently added to Google video and you tube. Something at least mildly interesting shows up at least every day and certainly every week. I've decided to offer something like a Guyana VODW (video of de week).

Next time, I do want to see a Guyana tourism video covering the Rupununi.

De new cookup rice child

2007-02-19T17:18:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the newest member of one of Guyana's oldest families.

Sahana Ann Marie Bollers (Sahana = Patience in Hindi)

Here's the Cookup Rice Part.

Here's what we know she is: 3/4 Guyanese and 1/4 American.

Here's what we think she is:

Sahana's Ancestry	Percent
Mom
East Indian	37.5
Spanish	6.25
Amerindian	6.25

Dad's Side (oversimplified)

Dad's Guyanese side
Scots-Guyanese (Clark)	6.25
'Dutcho'-Guyanese (Bollers)	6.25
Judeo-Guyanese (Benson) (Portuguese Jew via Suriname -->
and British Jew with a drop of Spanish (Penedo) and French (Vanier) and Amerindian)	12.5

Dad's American Side
Polish	6.25
English	12.5
French Canadian (w/ Ojibwa/Huron Amerindian admixture)	6.25

Total	100

Vital Stats:

Birth time: 11:33am

Birth Weight: 9lbs. 9oz.

Gender: Female

Hobbies: Grunting like a puppy, crying herself voiceless, Pooping curds and gravy.

Occupation: breast pump, though she can only pump one side at a time.

Skin Colour: Pink

Hair Colour: Chestnut Brown

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Guyana's Shadow Parliament

2007-02-19T16:55:00.000-04:00

Guyana's Shadow Parliment

I'm convinced that that genesis of a cohesive Third force that comprises the majority of non PPP/PNC political entities in Guyana is the best thing. It would drive a wedge in between the two archaic socialistic parties and foster the creation of laws that will result in substantial real progress towards a modern Guyana .

I would like to dip my toes in the water in furthering this concept to the next level by proposing the idea of a political house of democracy as an addition to the third force concept.

To illustrate the need for this and its definition I‘ll say that each political party has its own apparatus through which it adopts ideas, chooses leaders and forms and changes it‘s priorities and agendas. It just so happens that the PPP has a party apparatus that not only determines it’s own agenda but also the agenda of our Republic by virtue of having the presidency and a simple majority in parliament. .

The point is: Assuming that a cohesive Third Force contests elections and wins enough seats to prevent any other party from having a simple majority, Guyana will effectively be governed by 3 separate and distinct political apparati that meet in parliament to produce laws. This alone will be a wonderful achievement because of obvious reasons. All that is required is a simple 10 to 15 percent of the vote on a regular basis to maintain that situation. This may or may not occur depending on a myriad of factors that determine the outcome of every election. So, other than forcing the creation of good laws and playing the good political game, how can this Third Force ensure a continuation of electoral success even unto attaining the government? How can the average Guyanese believe in this enough for vote for this continually? How can they be sure that this third force doesn’t fragment back into its constituent pieces to fight with each other or be bought out by the corrupt PPP/PNC politicians?

People vote/vote for you, in my estimation, for three reasons:

1. Trust: They trust your party or candidate more than the other or they distrust the other party or candidate more than yours.

2. Enlightened self-interest: They have enough to gain by voting for you or too much to lose by letting the other party win. This factor is too strong in Guyana.

3. Hope: They feel that voting will make a difference because they still have hope in the political system of the country. This is manifested by voter turnout which is used to gauge public acceptance of the prevailing system of government.

Without any of these three things working for you, not enough people vote and not enough of them vote for you. So, besides passing good laws and playing the good political game how do you turn all of these to your favor?

A House of Political Plurality.

Guyana is now ruled by one ‘house’ : PPP Headquarters. Parliament is merely a rubber stamp where PPP legislation gets passed into law. If a third force gets enough seats then Guyana will be ruled by three houses who will meet in parliament to legislate. Excepting parliament, how does any one of the remaining three houses gain primacy over the other two? Create a better house that:

*Is composed of multiple and separate issues-oriented parties
*Drafts and multilaterally passes a constitution that governs internal operations and procedures
*Models its practices after that of a legitimate/transparent house of parliament
*Forms an assembly to fairly represent all Guyanese/parties seeking representation within the party or plurality.
*Holds fair and internationally observed elections for party posts and party or “house” list places
*Contests general elections with a unified list of internally and democratically elected candidates
*Contains a mini-judiciary that monitors operations in terms of constitutional provisions
*Represented in parliament by MP’s who legislate according to the collective will of the House Assembly

The end result of the creation of a “Political Plurality” carefully operated according to democratic principles, is a formidable entity that could contest Guyana general elections not as merely a political party with an agenda, but as list of candidates already democratically elected by a plurality of interests in a “Shadow Government” framework. People would vote for this list of candidates over a traditional oligopoly because of trust, self interest and hope. They would trust the processes that went into selecting the candidates and the ISSUES (not races) they represent. The voters would increasingly feel they have more to gain for themselves and their country as a result and they would vote in large numbers because they would have a renewed hope in the political process. It would be common knowledge that the members of the House Assembly elected to parliament really represent the will of the people of Guyana.

There might be democracy in Guyana but the political parties in power aren’t democratized.

Please offer your critique as this is a concept in progress.

More Elaboration Later

Guyana/Brazil bridge back on track

2007-02-15T15:57:00.000-04:00

Guyana/Brazil bridge
construction back on track

Work to complete the Takatu Bridge to link Guyana and Brazil by road will recommence soon.

Wed 14 Feb 2007
Kaieteur News

The work was halted a little over two years ago but an agreement was reached between the two governments to complete the bridge following a visit by Brazilian President, Luis Ignacio Lula Da Silva two years ago.

The Brazilians have agreed to complete the facility.

According to a source, Brazilian officials yesterday met with authorities of the Region Nine Democratic Council and held discussions which centered on the recommencement of the bridge project.

At present, only the foundation and a slight elevation are visible on both sides of the Takatu River .

The bridge, when completed, is expected to significantly increase trade between the two neighbours.

Nationals from Guyana and Brazil travel freely across the borders with limited immigration requirements.

Medicinal Properties of Coconut Oil - An Opportunity for Guyana

2007-02-14T01:35:00.000-04:00

Roughly 45 to 50% of fatty acids are called Lauric acid. It is a fatty acid that is 12 carbons long and it is saturated. It is known as a medium chain fatty acid or MCFA. Lauric acid is known to kill viruses and bacteria that are enveloped in a phospholipid membrane. Examples of viruses with a fatty capsule are: influenza viruses and HIV to name a few. The cold virus has no phospholipid membrane. Hepatitis does, however.

People began researching the properties of Lauric acid in a coconut oil context when reports circulated of individuals being 'cured' of AIDS upon prolonged and continued oral ingestion of the oil. Additionally, Crohn's diseases sufferers found that they felt better by eating two coconut macaroon cookies (of a certain high coconut brand) a day.

The PCA, Philippine Coconut Authority conducts trials on AIDS/HIV patients. The treatment which seems to work is 3 tablespoons of coconut oil taken 3 times daily, a total of 9 tablespoons over the course of 6 to 8 weeks and then a maintenance dose of 3 tablespoons a day from thence onward.

Patients with full blown AIDS have gone to simply HIV positive. HIV patients have considerably reduced their viral loads. Some patients have gone to 'undetectable' which simply means that the viral count is nonetheless there, but too small to count given the method utilized.

Coconut itself contains about 75% fiber, not bran fiber from wheat and grains (which contains phytic acid that absorbs calcium and other mineral from your body before it is excreted), but dietary fiber that feeds beneficial colon flora. As the fiber is metabolized by the naturally occurring bacteria, they., by default, crowd out other potentially harmful pathogens and produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA's) like acetic acid (minute amounts of vinegar and butyric acid (originally isolated in butter) both compounds are known to have varying degrees of antimicrobial activity. These fatty acids are absorbed directly into the colon and serve as energy in that way. butyric acid has been shown to have anti-tumor properties.

The story that I read in 2002 which I cannot find anymore tells of a guy whose name is unimportant because it was changed anyway to protect his identity. He had full blown AIDS and had prepaid his funeral. This is in 1997 btw. He went to Suriname and stayed in a village of Indians (Amerindians or East Indians I know not...it wasn't written by anyone from the Caribbean). There he grated the equivalent of half a coconut and ate it with his cereal every single day for what seems to me a few months. He went back home feeling fine and his viral count was undetectable. Every day back in the US, he eats that cereal and is reported to be doing fine.

There are vendors in the US who sell VIRGIN coconut oil, which is processed by a labor intensive means that retains the original coconut scent. Most of this oil is made in the Philippines, (hence all the research done by the PCA), Indonesia and many Pacific Islands. There are several types of production methods that I've researched that I won't get into.

Tropical Traditions, based out of the US, is the first vendor to market virgin coconut oil. They sell a 454g tub (16 oz) for roughly 16-18 USD retail.

I have on occasion approached a few people in Guyana about producing this virgin coconut oil and it's an idea that I think falls flat because they don't have the research and they haven't seen the health benefits. From 2001 till now every health food store in the US now sticks virgin coconut oil or vco. There's already a lot of competition in the marketplace and there are brands all over the place, hence the commoditization of the product. However, if someone were interested in a VCO production in Guyana, I would like to be a part of it indeed.

There is only one producer of VCO in the Caribbean that I know of as of a few years ago when I last checked. It is a man in Jamaica who has a small setup and he sells his oil to a website firm in the US who sells it online.

Coconut oil does not contribute to heart disease in any way. US and Canadian Soy, Corn and Canola oil interests have banded together and spent large amounts of money to buy science supporting false claims against saturated fats in general. Our bodies use saturated fats structurally, to store energy and to perform bodily functions like absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere. Polyunsaturated fats weren't even considered food before WWII. Canola or rape seed oil was used in varnishes because since it is unsaturated, it oxidizes quickly and hardens. It is a fact that plaque tha collects and hardens in one's arteries isn't just cholesterol, it's OXIDIZED cholesterol. Saturated fat can't form plaque because it can't oxidize. Saturated means that there's no place for an oxygen molecule to attach itself.

Polynesians and native pacific peoples have used coconut oil for generations since time immemorial. It's never hurt them. They've only started getting obese when "White man's food" became their principal diet. Among Europeans and Americans, high incidence of heart disease only appeared after unsaturated plant fats replaced traditional dietary fats. I don't claim a complete causal relationship here, but it's part of the reason.

Any coconut oil that was scientifically proven to be harmful to humans or animals was HYDROGENATED. We now know that any hydrogenated oil is full of TFA's or trans-fatty acids. What's the difference between the hydrogenated coconut oil that we were told was evil (minus and not told all the information) and the Hydrogenated vegetable and cottonseed oil that Margarine and crisco are made from? Coconut oil is from abroad and must be imported and vegetable oil and cottonseed oil is from the US of A. Now you know........ the REST of the story.