The Transparency International report
Stabroek News. September 29, 2008 @ 5:01 am In Editorial | 7 Comments
When he dismissed the latest unflattering report of Transparency International (TI) on perceived corruption here, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon employed one of the well-worn excuses of his administration by suggesting that those persons who might have been interviewed for the purposes of the survey might have had an anti-government stance.
It is one of the most enduring and distasteful of the weaknesses exhibited by PPP/C administrations since 1992: the tendency to equate professionalism and dissenting views with an oppositionist agenda. Dr Luncheon evinced no readiness to concede that the persons interviewed may have conveyed their professionally held views and that this was something that the government would seek to address.
The TI reports have been well thought of in influential circles internationally and the government would do well not to dismiss them so easily and unthinkingly.
With the highest perceived corruption in the English-speaking Caribbean, the government should consider what that might do in relation to the investment attractiveness of this location. Savvy investors will consult a multiplicity of sources about the investment climate here including TI so one of the immediate dangers is that this index could dissuade investors unless they are of the mercenary breed and prepared to pay bribes to plunder resources or the local market.
The other serious toll of corruption is the loss to the economy from evasion and smuggling, the loss to average citizen and taxpayer who is a victim of these acts and the renting of the fabric of uprightness of the society.
The findings of the TI report are unsurprising and not only because they are in line with the verdicts of previous years. There are strongly held views locally that corruption is entrenched at many levels of public business and in high places. Those views may not have shaken the ruling party in an electoral sense but they do exist and may have been the type that contributed to the TI assessment.
Broadly conceived, corruption would be the flouting or nullification of any law or procedure for inducement. While the average person might envisage it mostly in terms of evasion of taxes or avoidance of duties at ports or kickbacks in high-profile deals it also refers to every other engagement between the citizen and the machinery of the state such as the demanding of fees for the illegal reconnection of a utility service or for the placement of a child in a certain school or at a police check point.
Those acts in the every-day lives of Guyanese have become legend and there isn’t one among our midst who couldn’t readily recall with some mirth or awe a corrupt act either demanded or procured recently.
That is one level. Another exists in the rarified atmosphere of the corridors of power where big deals are hammered out. It doesn’t only refer to acts of outright corruption but also the opaqueness and silence – the ever darkening veil of officiousness around major deals – that is supposedly to protect investors from some unseen enemy but is more likely to spare the blushes of those engaged in the deal making.
What goes on away from the glare of public scrutiny can often lead to unremitting and unrequited questions which eventually spawn the perception that something has gone wrong. The deal for the QAII investment is a case in point. The government was caught promising concessions that were not catered for by the law and only after weeks of pillorying did it do the mature thing and offer its regret. There remain other disturbing questions about the fairness of this deal and it is a prime example why being above board and doing everything in the open is an important safeguard from.
The government has entertained a slew of these deals over the years including the secret MOU for the Buddy’s investment, the transaction for the National Archives building, the Kingston hotel information blackout etc. In addition if one were to refocus on abominations such as the export of dolphins from within the Office of the President and the ongoing concerns about the Fidelity probe and what it will expose about the shenanigans at the Customs and Trade Administration one can easily see where these TI perceptions may be generated from. Around 18 months after the completion of the world cup there is no accounting for the expenditure or a detailed description of the investment for it and there is still no credible account of the massive expenditure during the Great Flood of 2005.
Unless there is a clean and comprehensive break from the improper ways of doing things the ghosts will come back to haunt and remain on the radar of the corruption watchers. If the government were serious about dispelling these perceptions it wouldn’t do what Dr Luncheon essayed at his press conference. It would do what other countries high up in the TI rankings have done for many years: invest the money and resources in watch dog institutions such as the Office of the Auditor General, the dysfunctional Integrity Commission, the Ombudsman, the yet to be formed Public Procurement Commission (PPC) and others so that they could perform the functions of teasing out cases of corruption and addressing them. That is simply not happening at the moment. How can billions of taxpayers’ and donor money be disbursed annually minus a PPC and its tribunal without this stoking concern about the lack of transparency?
The government seems obstinately committed to the policies of opaqueness, unchecked discretion and silence in dealing with many matters of public importance. The fallout from this will continue to be reports of the sort that emanated from TI.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/editorial/the-transparency-international-report/
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Fidelity/ Customs report at last?
The Fidelity/ Customs report at last?
Stabroek News. September 19, 2008 @ 5:01 am In Business, Editorial
http://www.stabroeknews.com/editorial/the-fidelity-customs-report-at-last/
Few recent corruption-related revelations – and there have been quite a few in recent years - have attracted the same level of public attention as the alleged Customs/Fidelity fraud. This may well have to do with huge sums of money said to have been involved or perhaps because a prominent private sector entity has been openly accused by the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of attempting to deny the public treasury hundreds of millions of dollars in duties.
What also helped the matter gain public attention was the decision by President Jagdeo to insert himself into the process through an aggressive public pronouncement about a full and transparent investigation (which he said would extend beyond the actual Fidelity matter) involving, among other things the investigation of assets including bank accounts and an undertaking that the guilty would pay, whatever their political connections. The President had also said that Fidelity too could expect to be in hot water if a case could be proven against them. Utterances of that kind are almost certain to secure a measure of public attention in circumstances where, in the past, corruption-related occurrences have not exactly attracted generous official comment.
A pronouncement of this nature was also likely to secure a measure of public attention given the widespread belief that the guilty invariably do not pay. The President, it seemed, went out of his way to assure the nation that this time around those persons caught in a web of corruption would pay. By creating reasonable expectation that action would be taken on this occasion the President actually added considerable currency to the investigation and to any report on its outcomes.
No one seriously doubts that relations between operatives within the Customs and Trade Adminis-tration and businesses are often characterized by ‘arrangements’ that have to do with the evasion of duties and taxes. In fact, both the President and the Commissioner General have alluded to “rackets” and “shakedowns” in the Customs process. And while “runnings” involving payment for favours may not necessarily be confined to Customs, it is at Customs, – because of the nature of its operations and the opportunities that exist for bribes and kickbacks - that fingers are mostly pointed at whenever claims of official corruption are made.
President Jagdeo understands this only too well and his pronouncement in the wake of the Fidelity revelations was intended to make the point that in the process of pursuing the Fidelity matter government would also be seeking to break the back of the wider problems associated with the corruption-related issues inside the Customs department. And while no one is likely to be persuaded that the scams and shenanigans can be swept away purely on the basis of a presidential undertaking, President Jagdeo can hardly be blamed for trying since he is aware that bringing an end to the problems at Customs will go some way to reducing allegations of corruption against his administration.
For all these reasons it is a decidedly good thing that, according to what we learnt recently from the Auditor General’s Office, the report on the investigation promised by the President on Fidelity and other Customs issues will be made public in a few weeks time. This is the second time in recent months that we have been told that the report is nearing completion and we must hope that the phrase in a few weeks time - the promised time frame for the release of the report – is not one of those creatively contrived expressions that actually allows the real time frame for publication of the report to run into several months.
One of the reasons why publication of this particular report is so important is that it will allow for a public judgment as to whether the issues that it addresses tally with the promises made by the President. Certainly, it would be interesting to learn what the findings of the Office of the Auditor General are on the practices within the Customs and Trade Administration and whether the fact that people are able to beat the system despite a regimen of IT and human safeguards does not bespeak a wider management problem. Put differently, to what extent was the Fidelity Affair actually facilitated by sheer managerial incompetence?
What the President said, therefore, has implications for much more than publication of a report.
Since both the President and the Commissioner General of the GRA have gone on record as conceding irregularities within operations of Customs and since the President has promised to “dig deep” on this issue, one expects that the report will also a provide a perspective on this issue. And of course it will be interesting to see whether the President’s promise of “no sanctuary” for those guilty parties will hold up or whether those involved in the scam will scurry for political protection.
This newspaper has repeatedly reminded – in at least three editorials – of the need to push ahead with the promised investigation, not because of any feigned sense of moral outrage but because the President had more-or-less placed his own credibility on the line by pointedly pronouncing on the issue. We believe – and we have said this previously – that given what both the President and the Commissioner General have said about the matter any attempt to evade an investigation or to “doctor” or “duck” any of its findings is bound to have the effect of deepening already existing healthy public cynicism about the commitment of the government to stamping out corruption in public institutions.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/editorial/the-fidelity-customs-report-at-last/
Stabroek News. September 19, 2008 @ 5:01 am In Business, Editorial
http://www.stabroeknews.com/editorial/the-fidelity-customs-report-at-last/
Few recent corruption-related revelations – and there have been quite a few in recent years - have attracted the same level of public attention as the alleged Customs/Fidelity fraud. This may well have to do with huge sums of money said to have been involved or perhaps because a prominent private sector entity has been openly accused by the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of attempting to deny the public treasury hundreds of millions of dollars in duties.
What also helped the matter gain public attention was the decision by President Jagdeo to insert himself into the process through an aggressive public pronouncement about a full and transparent investigation (which he said would extend beyond the actual Fidelity matter) involving, among other things the investigation of assets including bank accounts and an undertaking that the guilty would pay, whatever their political connections. The President had also said that Fidelity too could expect to be in hot water if a case could be proven against them. Utterances of that kind are almost certain to secure a measure of public attention in circumstances where, in the past, corruption-related occurrences have not exactly attracted generous official comment.
A pronouncement of this nature was also likely to secure a measure of public attention given the widespread belief that the guilty invariably do not pay. The President, it seemed, went out of his way to assure the nation that this time around those persons caught in a web of corruption would pay. By creating reasonable expectation that action would be taken on this occasion the President actually added considerable currency to the investigation and to any report on its outcomes.
No one seriously doubts that relations between operatives within the Customs and Trade Adminis-tration and businesses are often characterized by ‘arrangements’ that have to do with the evasion of duties and taxes. In fact, both the President and the Commissioner General have alluded to “rackets” and “shakedowns” in the Customs process. And while “runnings” involving payment for favours may not necessarily be confined to Customs, it is at Customs, – because of the nature of its operations and the opportunities that exist for bribes and kickbacks - that fingers are mostly pointed at whenever claims of official corruption are made.
President Jagdeo understands this only too well and his pronouncement in the wake of the Fidelity revelations was intended to make the point that in the process of pursuing the Fidelity matter government would also be seeking to break the back of the wider problems associated with the corruption-related issues inside the Customs department. And while no one is likely to be persuaded that the scams and shenanigans can be swept away purely on the basis of a presidential undertaking, President Jagdeo can hardly be blamed for trying since he is aware that bringing an end to the problems at Customs will go some way to reducing allegations of corruption against his administration.
For all these reasons it is a decidedly good thing that, according to what we learnt recently from the Auditor General’s Office, the report on the investigation promised by the President on Fidelity and other Customs issues will be made public in a few weeks time. This is the second time in recent months that we have been told that the report is nearing completion and we must hope that the phrase in a few weeks time - the promised time frame for the release of the report – is not one of those creatively contrived expressions that actually allows the real time frame for publication of the report to run into several months.
One of the reasons why publication of this particular report is so important is that it will allow for a public judgment as to whether the issues that it addresses tally with the promises made by the President. Certainly, it would be interesting to learn what the findings of the Office of the Auditor General are on the practices within the Customs and Trade Administration and whether the fact that people are able to beat the system despite a regimen of IT and human safeguards does not bespeak a wider management problem. Put differently, to what extent was the Fidelity Affair actually facilitated by sheer managerial incompetence?
What the President said, therefore, has implications for much more than publication of a report.
Since both the President and the Commissioner General of the GRA have gone on record as conceding irregularities within operations of Customs and since the President has promised to “dig deep” on this issue, one expects that the report will also a provide a perspective on this issue. And of course it will be interesting to see whether the President’s promise of “no sanctuary” for those guilty parties will hold up or whether those involved in the scam will scurry for political protection.
This newspaper has repeatedly reminded – in at least three editorials – of the need to push ahead with the promised investigation, not because of any feigned sense of moral outrage but because the President had more-or-less placed his own credibility on the line by pointedly pronouncing on the issue. We believe – and we have said this previously – that given what both the President and the Commissioner General have said about the matter any attempt to evade an investigation or to “doctor” or “duck” any of its findings is bound to have the effect of deepening already existing healthy public cynicism about the commitment of the government to stamping out corruption in public institutions.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/editorial/the-fidelity-customs-report-at-last/
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Shame on you, Barama. Pay your taxes instead of paying starvation wages and pitiful bursary awards.
Shame on you, Barama. Pay your taxes instead of paying starvation wages and pitiful bursary awards.
Nation:
Do you know what is the 'acreage fee' which Barama pays in return for exclusive right to log on 1.6 million acres of Guyana?
Answer:US $2,000 a year.
By the way Barama is in arrears for those payments. Additionally Barama has not declared a profit in any year since it began operations in Guyana in 1992.
Barama should be ashamed to issue a press release praising itself for pledging to make a one time award of US $2,700 total (US $1 - G $200) to 9 Guyanese children of its employees.
Barama should also disclose the monthly salaries of its Guyanese AND Malaysian employees.
Children of Barama employees get bursary awards
Stabroek News. September 20, 2008
http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/children-of-barama-employees-get-bursary-awards/
Nine children of employees of Barama Company Limited who passed the National Grade Six Assessment will benefit from bursary awards that will be presented to them by the company.
The awardees will be receiving $20,000 each for the next three terms of the academic year.
A Barama press release yesterday stated that the company had agreed in July to reinforce the awards to benefit the children of their employees from both the Land of Canaan and Buckhall locations.
The company said also it was proud of the nine children who will be presented with the awards since they had met the criteria of 450 marks and above. Barama added that it encourages all parents to be supportive of their children’s education.
The top three students were Kimeka Craig (494), Shemar Martins (487) and Tyhesia Higgins (485).
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/children-of-barama-employees-get-bursary-awards/
Nation:
Do you know what is the 'acreage fee' which Barama pays in return for exclusive right to log on 1.6 million acres of Guyana?
Answer:US $2,000 a year.
By the way Barama is in arrears for those payments. Additionally Barama has not declared a profit in any year since it began operations in Guyana in 1992.
Barama should be ashamed to issue a press release praising itself for pledging to make a one time award of US $2,700 total (US $1 - G $200) to 9 Guyanese children of its employees.
Barama should also disclose the monthly salaries of its Guyanese AND Malaysian employees.
Children of Barama employees get bursary awards
Stabroek News. September 20, 2008
http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/children-of-barama-employees-get-bursary-awards/
Nine children of employees of Barama Company Limited who passed the National Grade Six Assessment will benefit from bursary awards that will be presented to them by the company.
The awardees will be receiving $20,000 each for the next three terms of the academic year.
A Barama press release yesterday stated that the company had agreed in July to reinforce the awards to benefit the children of their employees from both the Land of Canaan and Buckhall locations.
The company said also it was proud of the nine children who will be presented with the awards since they had met the criteria of 450 marks and above. Barama added that it encourages all parents to be supportive of their children’s education.
The top three students were Kimeka Craig (494), Shemar Martins (487) and Tyhesia Higgins (485).
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/children-of-barama-employees-get-bursary-awards/
Friday, September 19, 2008
Timehri demolition…Bulldozer operator refuses order, breaks down in tears
The following KN story illustrates the (mis)governance prevalent in Guyana: swift action by the government to bulldoze the homes of the poorest Guyanese; at the same time no official response or investigation of the allegation that the Timehri runway lights were stolen by GDF ranks and sold to a well-known PPP activist / fish exporter.
Was the bulldozer operator or his company acting in accordance with a court order? If not, why not?
Timehri demolition…Bulldozer operator refuses order, breaks down in tears
Kaieteur News, September 19, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under News
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7820
Government must order an immediate halt to demolition, and forthwith arrange a genuine consultation with the residents towards the end of regularising the area into a housing scheme.
This is according to the Alliance for Change in a statement to the media yesterday. The political party also questioned whether the government was not cognizant of “what it might be spawning when children watch in horror how their parents’ homes and belongings are crushed? The AFC demands a better way out than the demolition of homes of law abiding Guyanese.”
The party noted that it was increasingly outraged at the manner in which the government, especially through its Minister of Works, Robeson Benn, was destroying the houses of hardworking Guyanese in the Timehri area aback of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. “There must be a better, more humane way out of this dispute.”
More than 400 families have made the contentious area their homes over the last 40 years. “Some like the ‘Sams’ have been there for in excess of 50 years. Others are of more recent vintage, all of whom have found gainful employ in the area but all of these persons have worked hard to clear the grounds of thick vegetation and leveled the land to set up their foundations and structures, utilizing the entirety of their life’s savings…The values of some of these structures must be in the vicinity of $10M and more.”
The party also noted that the demolition exercise was all done in the face of Central, Regional and Local Government officials from the very inception. “Yet in this background of open acquiescence by the authorities and what must be regarded as actual permission by virtue of the granting of lights and water to these families, a demolition job has commenced where a minimum of eight houses have already been brought down.”
It was noted that the ninth did not go down because the bulldozer driver simply started crying when he realized that the next house he was instructed to destroy belonged to his friend.
“He simply could not do it in spite of the exhortations of the police officers that he drive and destroy the homes…The AFC commends the driver for telling the officers, ‘Officer I can not do it…Enough is enough…You might soon instruct me fuh bulldoze me own one too. No!’”
The AFC also reported that based on recent meetings with families made homeless and threatened with homelessness upon a recent visit into the area, the party has learnt that the whole community has been demonised as a result of the recent spate of theft of the airport’s runway lights.
It was also noted by the party that utterances from senior Government and Regional officials, who were asked why the ‘draconian’ measure of demolition of homes was being used, insinuated that the community had harboured Fine Man and Skinny, an allegation which the residents totally denied.
Others alleged that the residents had stolen the airport runway lights.
The party noted that its investigations have revealed that two GDF ranks stole the runway lights and sold them to a well known PPP activist who is also a high profile exotic fish exporter.
“Instead of charges being instituted for larceny and receiving stolen property against these culprits, the Minister of Demolition Mr. Robeson Benn, who is right now facing contempt charges for demolishing a structure in breach of a High Court Order, is on his merry-way ordering the breaking up of everything in the area…
“Leaders of the AFC have seen the frustration, defiance and anger in the eyes of the children and young people made homeless and who are threatened with homelessness…It is frightening to contemplate what passions may be aroused as a result of this uncaring, heartless action on the part of the Government unto these who the government calls the future of Guyana.”
Was the bulldozer operator or his company acting in accordance with a court order? If not, why not?
Timehri demolition…Bulldozer operator refuses order, breaks down in tears
Kaieteur News, September 19, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under News
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7820
Government must order an immediate halt to demolition, and forthwith arrange a genuine consultation with the residents towards the end of regularising the area into a housing scheme.
This is according to the Alliance for Change in a statement to the media yesterday. The political party also questioned whether the government was not cognizant of “what it might be spawning when children watch in horror how their parents’ homes and belongings are crushed? The AFC demands a better way out than the demolition of homes of law abiding Guyanese.”
The party noted that it was increasingly outraged at the manner in which the government, especially through its Minister of Works, Robeson Benn, was destroying the houses of hardworking Guyanese in the Timehri area aback of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. “There must be a better, more humane way out of this dispute.”
More than 400 families have made the contentious area their homes over the last 40 years. “Some like the ‘Sams’ have been there for in excess of 50 years. Others are of more recent vintage, all of whom have found gainful employ in the area but all of these persons have worked hard to clear the grounds of thick vegetation and leveled the land to set up their foundations and structures, utilizing the entirety of their life’s savings…The values of some of these structures must be in the vicinity of $10M and more.”
The party also noted that the demolition exercise was all done in the face of Central, Regional and Local Government officials from the very inception. “Yet in this background of open acquiescence by the authorities and what must be regarded as actual permission by virtue of the granting of lights and water to these families, a demolition job has commenced where a minimum of eight houses have already been brought down.”
It was noted that the ninth did not go down because the bulldozer driver simply started crying when he realized that the next house he was instructed to destroy belonged to his friend.
“He simply could not do it in spite of the exhortations of the police officers that he drive and destroy the homes…The AFC commends the driver for telling the officers, ‘Officer I can not do it…Enough is enough…You might soon instruct me fuh bulldoze me own one too. No!’”
The AFC also reported that based on recent meetings with families made homeless and threatened with homelessness upon a recent visit into the area, the party has learnt that the whole community has been demonised as a result of the recent spate of theft of the airport’s runway lights.
It was also noted by the party that utterances from senior Government and Regional officials, who were asked why the ‘draconian’ measure of demolition of homes was being used, insinuated that the community had harboured Fine Man and Skinny, an allegation which the residents totally denied.
Others alleged that the residents had stolen the airport runway lights.
The party noted that its investigations have revealed that two GDF ranks stole the runway lights and sold them to a well known PPP activist who is also a high profile exotic fish exporter.
“Instead of charges being instituted for larceny and receiving stolen property against these culprits, the Minister of Demolition Mr. Robeson Benn, who is right now facing contempt charges for demolishing a structure in breach of a High Court Order, is on his merry-way ordering the breaking up of everything in the area…
“Leaders of the AFC have seen the frustration, defiance and anger in the eyes of the children and young people made homeless and who are threatened with homelessness…It is frightening to contemplate what passions may be aroused as a result of this uncaring, heartless action on the part of the Government unto these who the government calls the future of Guyana.”
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
New Skeldon plant commissioning pushed back
New Skeldon plant commissioning pushed back
Stabroek News, September 16, 2008 @ 5:06 am In News | No Comments
– contractor correcting technical issues
Technical problems, which arose earlier this month, have seen the commissioning of the $181 million Skeldon sugar factory pushed back, possibly to early October, GuySuCo Chief Executive Nick Jackson said yesterday.
At a press conference at Herdmanston House yesterday, Jackson, the Chairman of GuySuCo’s Board of Directors Ronald Alli and construction contractor Andrew Jin of CNTIC of China sought to assure the media that the problems at Skeldon, which were brought to the public’s attention by the AFC on Friday, did not involve major technical component failures or structural deficiencies.
Last week the AFC had said that the sugar industry was in danger of collapse; that component failures and structural problems were found during the commissioning of the plant.
Asked when the commissioning would resume, Jackson said: “It is very difficult to anticipate at this stage but we assume that we could restart the commissioning in early October.”
Explaining the technical problems, Jin said that during the second part of the commissioning exercise, earlier this month, involving a 72-hour test run, the plant experienced some difficulties.
These involved problems of the interface between the punt dumper and the conveyor belt and problems with the shredder bearings among other technical difficulties. The contracting company, he said was conducting assessments and remedial work and was working collaboratively with the engineers and employers to move the project to the next stage of the commissioning.
He said CNTIC has invited specialists from reputable suppliers of machinery and equipment for the plant, from South Africa, England, Australia and Sweden among other places, to take part in the commissioning.
“I want to clarify that we do not have any major component failure or structural problems during the commissioning,” Jin said adding that from the design and the supply of equipment, the project was a very advanced one.
He said major construction was completed in May and the commissioning began on August 26 with three dry runs. From September 9 to 11 the factory crushed a total of 2,000 tonnes of sugar cane when it ran into technical difficulties.
He said an engineer from Australia who has worked on a similar project on that continent was working along with CNTIC to recommence commissioning as soon as possible.
Asked about losses resulting from the delay of the commissioning of the new plant, Ally said the major issue was to get the sugar cane off the ground. “That is why we have said that we are mitigating those risks by starting the old factory and commencing the extraction of sugar from the sugar cane that is in the ground from Skeldon,” he said.
By the time the tests are completed, he said, he hoped there would still be enough cane to process in the new factory in preparation for the first crop next year.
According to Jackson, with the close of the first crop in May 2008 and the completion of the factory, GuySuCo had to wait for the commencement of the second crop to carry out two important tests prior to the handing over of the factory – a 24-hour test and a 72-hour test.
He said after those two tests, which would allow for the handing over of the project to GuySuCo, there would be three other 72-hour tests over the next year and the contractor would still be liable for defects arising from those tests. However, the factory would be in commercial use during that period.
In response to how GuySuCo was dealing with the loss of working days owing to inclement weather recently, Jackson said that because land preparation and planting were greatly affected, the corporation had increased its machinery fleet and contracted out some of the work to ensure it was completed in time.
Alli said that in addition to augmenting the fleet, GuySuCo was also looking at new and improved techniques to reduce the volume of work so that tillage, normally one day for 2.2 hectares, could be reduced during the uncertain weather patterns.
Jackson said that it was never anticipated that the factory would be fully utilized for the first year, but that it would be at full production by 2010.
He said that during the aborted commissioning phase, GuySuCo put into operation its mechanised harvesters for the first time on a commercial basis to provide cane to the factory. “I must admit that for the first couple of days, the guys who had never driven them before did a fantastic job at harvesting cane, collecting and putting them into the punt,” he said.
In addition, he said that as a part of the modernising of the factory, GuySuCo has been providing 10 megawatts of power to the national grid, which is fed to the Berbice area since December 2007.
On July 11, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud had told the parliamentary Economic Services Committee that the Skeldon factory was set to roll on August 2.
He had said that GuySuCo was “contractually obliged to supply cane to the new factory from August 2, with a date of takeover of August 8, 2008.”
CNTIC, he said, would then have 28 days from the date of takeover to achieve full operation.
If the takeover process was not completed during this period, liquidated damages would apply.
While he admitted that the Skeldon project was behind its scheduled start up time, he said that contrary to an assumption, there was never any agreement to deliver the factory in 2006. He noted that the project was conceived in 1998/1999 but Guyana’s classification as a Highly Indebted Poor Country delayed the start until 2004. The contracts were not signed until late January 2005, owing to the floods that affected the country’s coastland.
The original date of completion was October 2007 but because of increased piling and other delays, including weather and the Chinese contractors’ visa issues, completion was set for August 2 this year.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/new-skeldon-plant-commissioning-pushed-back/
Stabroek News, September 16, 2008 @ 5:06 am In News | No Comments
– contractor correcting technical issues
Technical problems, which arose earlier this month, have seen the commissioning of the $181 million Skeldon sugar factory pushed back, possibly to early October, GuySuCo Chief Executive Nick Jackson said yesterday.
At a press conference at Herdmanston House yesterday, Jackson, the Chairman of GuySuCo’s Board of Directors Ronald Alli and construction contractor Andrew Jin of CNTIC of China sought to assure the media that the problems at Skeldon, which were brought to the public’s attention by the AFC on Friday, did not involve major technical component failures or structural deficiencies.
Last week the AFC had said that the sugar industry was in danger of collapse; that component failures and structural problems were found during the commissioning of the plant.
Asked when the commissioning would resume, Jackson said: “It is very difficult to anticipate at this stage but we assume that we could restart the commissioning in early October.”
Explaining the technical problems, Jin said that during the second part of the commissioning exercise, earlier this month, involving a 72-hour test run, the plant experienced some difficulties.
These involved problems of the interface between the punt dumper and the conveyor belt and problems with the shredder bearings among other technical difficulties. The contracting company, he said was conducting assessments and remedial work and was working collaboratively with the engineers and employers to move the project to the next stage of the commissioning.
He said CNTIC has invited specialists from reputable suppliers of machinery and equipment for the plant, from South Africa, England, Australia and Sweden among other places, to take part in the commissioning.
“I want to clarify that we do not have any major component failure or structural problems during the commissioning,” Jin said adding that from the design and the supply of equipment, the project was a very advanced one.
He said major construction was completed in May and the commissioning began on August 26 with three dry runs. From September 9 to 11 the factory crushed a total of 2,000 tonnes of sugar cane when it ran into technical difficulties.
He said an engineer from Australia who has worked on a similar project on that continent was working along with CNTIC to recommence commissioning as soon as possible.
Asked about losses resulting from the delay of the commissioning of the new plant, Ally said the major issue was to get the sugar cane off the ground. “That is why we have said that we are mitigating those risks by starting the old factory and commencing the extraction of sugar from the sugar cane that is in the ground from Skeldon,” he said.
By the time the tests are completed, he said, he hoped there would still be enough cane to process in the new factory in preparation for the first crop next year.
According to Jackson, with the close of the first crop in May 2008 and the completion of the factory, GuySuCo had to wait for the commencement of the second crop to carry out two important tests prior to the handing over of the factory – a 24-hour test and a 72-hour test.
He said after those two tests, which would allow for the handing over of the project to GuySuCo, there would be three other 72-hour tests over the next year and the contractor would still be liable for defects arising from those tests. However, the factory would be in commercial use during that period.
In response to how GuySuCo was dealing with the loss of working days owing to inclement weather recently, Jackson said that because land preparation and planting were greatly affected, the corporation had increased its machinery fleet and contracted out some of the work to ensure it was completed in time.
Alli said that in addition to augmenting the fleet, GuySuCo was also looking at new and improved techniques to reduce the volume of work so that tillage, normally one day for 2.2 hectares, could be reduced during the uncertain weather patterns.
Jackson said that it was never anticipated that the factory would be fully utilized for the first year, but that it would be at full production by 2010.
He said that during the aborted commissioning phase, GuySuCo put into operation its mechanised harvesters for the first time on a commercial basis to provide cane to the factory. “I must admit that for the first couple of days, the guys who had never driven them before did a fantastic job at harvesting cane, collecting and putting them into the punt,” he said.
In addition, he said that as a part of the modernising of the factory, GuySuCo has been providing 10 megawatts of power to the national grid, which is fed to the Berbice area since December 2007.
On July 11, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud had told the parliamentary Economic Services Committee that the Skeldon factory was set to roll on August 2.
He had said that GuySuCo was “contractually obliged to supply cane to the new factory from August 2, with a date of takeover of August 8, 2008.”
CNTIC, he said, would then have 28 days from the date of takeover to achieve full operation.
If the takeover process was not completed during this period, liquidated damages would apply.
While he admitted that the Skeldon project was behind its scheduled start up time, he said that contrary to an assumption, there was never any agreement to deliver the factory in 2006. He noted that the project was conceived in 1998/1999 but Guyana’s classification as a Highly Indebted Poor Country delayed the start until 2004. The contracts were not signed until late January 2005, owing to the floods that affected the country’s coastland.
The original date of completion was October 2007 but because of increased piling and other delays, including weather and the Chinese contractors’ visa issues, completion was set for August 2 this year.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/new-skeldon-plant-commissioning-pushed-back/
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sugar on the line
Sugar on the line
Kaieteur News. September 15, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under Editorial
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7411
The temperature is rising in the sugar industry. It has recently been forced to deal with a three-day strike that brought its operations in all eight sugar estates to a complete halt.
The issue that precipitated the strike – a wage offer by Guysuco that was deemed totally unsatisfactory to the workers and their union – is still outstanding. It has been sent to arbitration and the two sides are still very far apart.
The workers are signalling that they may resort to the strike weapon if the wage offer remains unsatisfactory, or if their union buckles under.
One political party has entered the fray and has made a number of accusations about alleged maladministration in the industry.
These charges were promptly answered by management. The Minister of Agriculture has accused the political party of opportunism, and we can all be sure that there will be further charges and counter charges.
We would wish to caution all concerned stakeholders about the dangers of making the sugar industry into a political football. The stakes are just too high for our country.
Without even getting into the abstractions of percentage share of the GDP, sugar remains the bedrock of our economy – at least for the foreseeable future – and it is owned by the people of Guyana.
The immense investment in the new Skeldon Estate of approximately one-quarter billion US dollars is a done deal, and the eighteen-odd thousand workers of GuySuCo represent the largest organised bloc of workers in the country.
Their taxes are very significant to the national coffers. The foreign currency brought in by sugar remains very significant, and even though it has been eclipsed by remittances, the latter is a volatile quantum.
Then, of course, there are the cane farmers, whose numbers and acreages were to be greatly augmented by the Skeldon expansion.
Sugar, then, is part and parcel of our national patrimony, and we have to all work together to ensure that it remains a healthy industry that can benefit us all. The Government is obviously aware that all is not well in the industry, since it has ordered a far-reaching review of the operations of GuySuCo.
The Government must not automatically assume that the comments on the industry from other Guyanese organisations and institutions are inherently negative. They could very well arise from the same concerns that prompted the Government-inspired review, and it is, in fact, the duty of all Guyanese to inquire about their patrimony.
Unfortunately, one of the major problems that confront the concerned citizen who wishes to gauge the state of health of the sugar industry is the paucity and lack of relevant information.
Even though a full decade has elapsed since the launch of the sugar modernisation (and expansion) plan, the GuySuCo Annual Report is still invariably over a year late – every year. For instance, we still do not have the report for 2007.
This state of affairs is totally unacceptable in a world of global corporations with annual sales many times the size of Guyana’s GDP, which release consolidated reports quarterly. One hopes that the The Skeldon expansion is the linchpin of the sugar strategy, and its launch has now been delayed by some two years and counting.
GuySuCo has to be much more forthcoming with the details of the project. In the absence of hard, reliable data, it is not surprising that rumours have taken over. Questions abound even to the layperson.
If, for instance, the increased acreage at Skeldon was supposed to be delivering cane since 2006, where has the excess cane gone in the absence of the new factory? The question becomes even more pointed in the face of actually declining overall production.
This newspaper intends to conduct its own inquiry into the state of health of the sugar industry as a public service initiative. It is our hope that the management of GuySuCo and the Ministry of Agriculture will cooperate with us as we all try to serve the people of Guyana.
Kaieteur News. September 15, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under Editorial
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7411
The temperature is rising in the sugar industry. It has recently been forced to deal with a three-day strike that brought its operations in all eight sugar estates to a complete halt.
The issue that precipitated the strike – a wage offer by Guysuco that was deemed totally unsatisfactory to the workers and their union – is still outstanding. It has been sent to arbitration and the two sides are still very far apart.
The workers are signalling that they may resort to the strike weapon if the wage offer remains unsatisfactory, or if their union buckles under.
One political party has entered the fray and has made a number of accusations about alleged maladministration in the industry.
These charges were promptly answered by management. The Minister of Agriculture has accused the political party of opportunism, and we can all be sure that there will be further charges and counter charges.
We would wish to caution all concerned stakeholders about the dangers of making the sugar industry into a political football. The stakes are just too high for our country.
Without even getting into the abstractions of percentage share of the GDP, sugar remains the bedrock of our economy – at least for the foreseeable future – and it is owned by the people of Guyana.
The immense investment in the new Skeldon Estate of approximately one-quarter billion US dollars is a done deal, and the eighteen-odd thousand workers of GuySuCo represent the largest organised bloc of workers in the country.
Their taxes are very significant to the national coffers. The foreign currency brought in by sugar remains very significant, and even though it has been eclipsed by remittances, the latter is a volatile quantum.
Then, of course, there are the cane farmers, whose numbers and acreages were to be greatly augmented by the Skeldon expansion.
Sugar, then, is part and parcel of our national patrimony, and we have to all work together to ensure that it remains a healthy industry that can benefit us all. The Government is obviously aware that all is not well in the industry, since it has ordered a far-reaching review of the operations of GuySuCo.
The Government must not automatically assume that the comments on the industry from other Guyanese organisations and institutions are inherently negative. They could very well arise from the same concerns that prompted the Government-inspired review, and it is, in fact, the duty of all Guyanese to inquire about their patrimony.
Unfortunately, one of the major problems that confront the concerned citizen who wishes to gauge the state of health of the sugar industry is the paucity and lack of relevant information.
Even though a full decade has elapsed since the launch of the sugar modernisation (and expansion) plan, the GuySuCo Annual Report is still invariably over a year late – every year. For instance, we still do not have the report for 2007.
This state of affairs is totally unacceptable in a world of global corporations with annual sales many times the size of Guyana’s GDP, which release consolidated reports quarterly. One hopes that the The Skeldon expansion is the linchpin of the sugar strategy, and its launch has now been delayed by some two years and counting.
GuySuCo has to be much more forthcoming with the details of the project. In the absence of hard, reliable data, it is not surprising that rumours have taken over. Questions abound even to the layperson.
If, for instance, the increased acreage at Skeldon was supposed to be delivering cane since 2006, where has the excess cane gone in the absence of the new factory? The question becomes even more pointed in the face of actually declining overall production.
This newspaper intends to conduct its own inquiry into the state of health of the sugar industry as a public service initiative. It is our hope that the management of GuySuCo and the Ministry of Agriculture will cooperate with us as we all try to serve the people of Guyana.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
WHERE WAS THE SCRIBE?
WHERE WAS THE SCRIBE?
Kaieteur News. September 14, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7272
The developed civilizations of the West have always prided themselves in their record-keeping. Bureaucracy and its paper-keeping remain features of western civilizations despite the many destructive wars and battles that have caused so much destruction in those parts of the world.
Great empires have fallen but what has never been diminished was the preoccupation with record-keeping and especially the need to preserve for history the minutest of details.
The archives of Europe have an unmatched collection of records, not only chronicling its long and violent past but also equally reprehensible and brutal colonization of the New World.
It was to these records of treaties, maps and agreements that the high level team which argued Guyana’s case before the Law of the Sea Convention went in preparing their brief.
It is doubtful whether without access to these resources, preserved in Europe, that Guyana would have been able to have emerged with such a convincing case.
That we did is a tribute to the team, to their understanding of international law and to the sources which they could rely on to support Guyana’s case in its maritime border dispute with Suriname.
Record-keeping, especially diplomatic note-keeping, is of vital service to history. Each year hundreds of top secret and previously classified files are made public.
These provide a lasting account, adding to our knowledge, helping to revise or confirm history, always extremely useful.
The release of records now also includes transcripts of official telephone conversations between top government officials in the US.
One such release provides an account of how amused the Americans were of the Guyanese administration in the early seventies.
It gave a sense of the overall esteem with which our government was held despite the convenience of a relationship occasioned by common Cold War interests. To the historian, even the finest details are something to be valued.
The notes of what at the time may seem to be the most unimportant of meetings unravel a great deal about the period.
When it comes to diplomatic exchanges, however, no meeting is unimportant. Every encounter presents an opportunity to gain deeper insights.
Beneath the fineries of diplomatic language are to be found the crucible of motivations and intent.
For this reason, diplomatic note-taking is vital for both the present and forthcoming generations.
The Brazilians, who recently along with their ambassador paid a visit to our Head of State, appreciate the utmost importance of detailing what was said at that meeting because the record of such meetings have both historic and legal significance.
At the meeting with our President, clips of which were shown on national television, there was a member of the Brazilian delegation taking detailed notes of what was being said. This was no ordinary courtesy call. This was a meeting between our Head of State and a visiting delegation.
Yet, as we have seen on so many occasions in the past, and for some inexplicable reason, our President met alone with the delegation.
Not even the Minister of Foreign Affairs was present. But more regrettable, there was no official note-taker for Guyana.
Any official record of that most important meeting will now have to come from the Brazilians. And if in the future there are differing interpretations of what was said at that meeting, there will be only one written source, the Brazilians’.
The Jagdeo administration continues to ignore these important protocols in diplomatic exchanges.
It is tragic for a government which when it took over office could not find the minutes of Cabinet meetings to continue after sixteen years in power to not appreciate the importance of diplomatic protocols, one of which is the need for someone to be present taking notes. It reveals a great deal about how this country is managed. It is sad indeed.
But none more sad than last Thursday’s press conference, which ended by the President asking the coterie of reporters whether they had any more questions.
Once again, our President was forced to chair his own press conference. There is no precedent anywhere for something like this.
It is unacceptable that the President of Guyana should not have someone to moderate his press conferences and briefings.
I can just see a historian fifty years into the future being bemused by all of this. I can just imagine the numerous light-hearted references that will be made.
Let us hope that now that there is an appreciation that you cannot simply announce the appointment of an ambassador - that there are diplomatic protocols to be followed, including gaining the approval of the foreign country to which the ambassador will be assigned - that we will see a marked improvement in the way diplomatic engagements are treated.
Let us hope that in the future whenever a foreign diplomatic team has to visit our Head of State and Head of Government, that Guyana will not have a singular presence at that meeting.
Kaieteur News. September 14, 2008 | By knews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=7272
The developed civilizations of the West have always prided themselves in their record-keeping. Bureaucracy and its paper-keeping remain features of western civilizations despite the many destructive wars and battles that have caused so much destruction in those parts of the world.
Great empires have fallen but what has never been diminished was the preoccupation with record-keeping and especially the need to preserve for history the minutest of details.
The archives of Europe have an unmatched collection of records, not only chronicling its long and violent past but also equally reprehensible and brutal colonization of the New World.
It was to these records of treaties, maps and agreements that the high level team which argued Guyana’s case before the Law of the Sea Convention went in preparing their brief.
It is doubtful whether without access to these resources, preserved in Europe, that Guyana would have been able to have emerged with such a convincing case.
That we did is a tribute to the team, to their understanding of international law and to the sources which they could rely on to support Guyana’s case in its maritime border dispute with Suriname.
Record-keeping, especially diplomatic note-keeping, is of vital service to history. Each year hundreds of top secret and previously classified files are made public.
These provide a lasting account, adding to our knowledge, helping to revise or confirm history, always extremely useful.
The release of records now also includes transcripts of official telephone conversations between top government officials in the US.
One such release provides an account of how amused the Americans were of the Guyanese administration in the early seventies.
It gave a sense of the overall esteem with which our government was held despite the convenience of a relationship occasioned by common Cold War interests. To the historian, even the finest details are something to be valued.
The notes of what at the time may seem to be the most unimportant of meetings unravel a great deal about the period.
When it comes to diplomatic exchanges, however, no meeting is unimportant. Every encounter presents an opportunity to gain deeper insights.
Beneath the fineries of diplomatic language are to be found the crucible of motivations and intent.
For this reason, diplomatic note-taking is vital for both the present and forthcoming generations.
The Brazilians, who recently along with their ambassador paid a visit to our Head of State, appreciate the utmost importance of detailing what was said at that meeting because the record of such meetings have both historic and legal significance.
At the meeting with our President, clips of which were shown on national television, there was a member of the Brazilian delegation taking detailed notes of what was being said. This was no ordinary courtesy call. This was a meeting between our Head of State and a visiting delegation.
Yet, as we have seen on so many occasions in the past, and for some inexplicable reason, our President met alone with the delegation.
Not even the Minister of Foreign Affairs was present. But more regrettable, there was no official note-taker for Guyana.
Any official record of that most important meeting will now have to come from the Brazilians. And if in the future there are differing interpretations of what was said at that meeting, there will be only one written source, the Brazilians’.
The Jagdeo administration continues to ignore these important protocols in diplomatic exchanges.
It is tragic for a government which when it took over office could not find the minutes of Cabinet meetings to continue after sixteen years in power to not appreciate the importance of diplomatic protocols, one of which is the need for someone to be present taking notes. It reveals a great deal about how this country is managed. It is sad indeed.
But none more sad than last Thursday’s press conference, which ended by the President asking the coterie of reporters whether they had any more questions.
Once again, our President was forced to chair his own press conference. There is no precedent anywhere for something like this.
It is unacceptable that the President of Guyana should not have someone to moderate his press conferences and briefings.
I can just see a historian fifty years into the future being bemused by all of this. I can just imagine the numerous light-hearted references that will be made.
Let us hope that now that there is an appreciation that you cannot simply announce the appointment of an ambassador - that there are diplomatic protocols to be followed, including gaining the approval of the foreign country to which the ambassador will be assigned - that we will see a marked improvement in the way diplomatic engagements are treated.
Let us hope that in the future whenever a foreign diplomatic team has to visit our Head of State and Head of Government, that Guyana will not have a singular presence at that meeting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)