The year 2011 marked a turning point in Guyana's history. For the first time the country has a minority government, capping a year of contentious political rumblings and cross-party traffic which climaxed with the November 28th general elections.
Throughout the year, the PPP/C came under fire for nepotism, corruption and incompetence – often undeserved – but all in the name of election campaigning. The creation of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – in reality a revitalized former Peoples National Congress/Reform (PNC/R); and the strengthening of the "party of defectors" - the Alliance for Change (AFC), placed increasing pressure on the PPP/C.

Prior to the elections, shifting allegiances among party members and leadership struggles gave the impression of a disorganized challenge to the incumbent PPP/C. These events also highlighted a high level of disenchantment among supporters with their original parties. This created voter confusion, evident by the low voter turnout.
The results of the elections in which the PPP/C secured 32 of the 65 available seats; APNU 26; and the AFC seven seats indicate that the PPP/C has lost favor with the population, following its largest majority victory ever just five years earlier.
Incidentally, the AFC achieved what it wanted – the role of potential spoiler in parliament. Compared to 1964 when the PNC and the United Force formed a coalition government, such coalition is no longer constitutionally possible. However, with no party having a majority, the AFC could vote either way, leaving the challenge of decision making in its hands.
The arrogance and overconfidence of the country's former President Bharrat Jagdeo, widely regarded as "a power of one" proved fatal to his party, leaving his successor Donald Ramotar with the challenge of heading a minority government – opposed by a pack of hungry wolves.
With political manoeuvrings overshadowing all other activities in the country, the surge in economic growth went largely un-noticed. During the first half of the year the economy grew by 5.9% - outpacing the annual forecasted growth of 4.6% in the 2011 budget - largely on the back of the agriculture, mining, manufacturing and services sectors. These sectors, according to the Bank of Guyana, benefitted from high commodity prices and greater investments. On the other hand, the forestry, fishing and diamond industries lost ground.
Inflation remained relatively low at 2.97% at mid-year, below the projected rate of 4.4% - in spite of higher food and energy prices. Evidently, the Value Added Tax has not had a significant effect on prices.
The country's debt level – both domestic and external - continued to rise on borrowing to support development initiatives – putting the level of public debt at close to record levels – in spite of more than $1 billion in debt relief during the last decade. Servicing costs for the external debt also rose, putting the country at risk of an unsustainable debt load in the near future.
Food imports also rose as Guyanese continued to maintain an affinity to foreign goods, in spite of the country having a bias towards increasing food production. This contributed to the country's increasing trade deficit – although exports remained strong.
Crime and its twin evil - corruption and drug trafficking - remained concerns throughout the year, although there were only few major events that put these illegal activities in the limelight. The prevalence of these activities drew a lot of criticism for the PPP/C and may have resulted in the loss of its traditional supporters.
Non-traditional agriculture made modest gains in 2011, although the sector remains below its peak performance, with higher exports to the Caribbean, North America and Europe. But problems relating to pricing, transport logistics and storage facilities continued to haunt the sub-sector, with disenchanted farmers complaining of high levels of spoilage and ineffective marketing.
In the traditional sectors - sugar, rice, bauxite and gold remained in focus with plans to return these sectors to viability, concentrating on profitability and global competitiveness. Rice production stayed on track; gold took off on the back of greater foreign investments and higher prices; bauxite activities picked up, although the sector was plagued by labour problems.
Sugar continued to operate below capacity – though better than the previous year - with the modernized Skeldon factory continuing to underperform. Incidentally, in spite of its failures over the past four years, sugar remained one of the main drivers of economic growth.
Activities in oil exploration also picked up, giving the country hope that it could become a significant oil producer in the future. Yet it would not be for several years before such a dream becomes reality.
The country's election-year budget was a laundry list of projects that conveniently highlighted the government's 5-year performance track record. It was tax-friendly to individuals and corporations, increasing old age pensions and public assistance and cutting corporate taxes.
The $161.4 billion budget was 13.1 percent greater than last year's. Education, followed by public security and safety received the highest allocations, while projects related to implementation of the country's Low Carbon Development Strategy came next. Incidentally, the hype over the LCDS, a "power of one" creation, fizzled as expected. Norwegian support for LCDS initiatives appears to be "on ice" and reports of improprieties in LCDS programs began to surface.
Ironically, the LCDS placed Guyana's economic future at risk for the sake of self-aggrandisement of its former President in an area which is dominated by interest groups. In reality, the world would go on paying only lip service to climate change. Cases in point: the world's largest economy, the US is not a signatory to the Kyoto protocol and Canada pulled out earlier this month.
Although alternative energy remained a priority on paper, there were no "real" significant developments in this area. The only project which appeared to be progressing is the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, albeit under a cloud of corruption. Incidentally, this project was an election promise five years ago.
Efforts at modernizing the traditional productive sectors and promoting the development of new and emerging sectors remained on the drawing board. As well, there were no significant new developments in the traditional or the new and emerging sectors – although the budget committed to diversification initiatives.
The underground economy, which accounts for almost 60% of the real economy, continued to flourish, perpetuating the widening of the "rich-poor gap" and robbing government coffers of tax revenues. Closely tied to these activities is the expansion of the tax base which remained a challenge as many Guyanese continued to find ways to stymie government efforts to broaden its revenue base; that included the evasion of the VAT. Nonetheless, the government made inroads into improving tax collection during the year.
Guyana undoubtedly took a step forward economically in 2011. The private sector remained strong. However, while the country appeared to be progressing relatively fast, it was nonetheless standing still. The reality is: there was much ado about nothing in many cases. A lot of what was achieved did not exceed expectations and consequently got lost in the daily shuffle of everyday living. With the potential for a "hung" parliament, a lot of the gains made could be lost due to political brinksmanship.

 

Georgetown - Charges of assault and threatening language have been brought against Kwame Mc Coy, Information and Press Liaison to the President while the Director of Public Prosecutions has recommended that Presidential Adviser Odinga Lumumba be charged for the alleged assault of presiding officer Onika Beckles on Elections Day.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry last Friday, Mc Coy, was placed on two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm, in which it is alleged that he maliciously and unlawfully wounded Clifton Stewart and Natalie Ross. He was also charged for the use of threatening language towards Stewart.
Mc Coy allegedly committed the offences on November 12. He also allegedly committed similar offences against Natalia Ross but she was not present in the court. Mc Coy pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and was later placed on a bond to keep the peace and ordered to lodge his passport with the police. He has been ordered back in court on February 21. He was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos.

The prosecution alleged that on November 12, stemming from an argument with Natalie Ross, McCoy drove his vehicle in a dangerous manner, hitting Ross and rendering her unconscious. The prosecution added that members of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) were installing posters of the party's Presidential candidate when they were approached by the defendant who told them to "get that f***ing thing down". The court heard that an argument ensued between Mc Coy and Ross, where Mc Coy subsequently got into his vehicle and hit the woman with his car. Ross fell unconscious and was later hospitalized. She subsequently reported the matter to the police.
The court was also told that on the same date at Norton Street, Lodge, Mc Coy, along with others were posting photos of the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP) Presidential Candidate on utility poles when he was rebuked by Stewart who told him to be careful with the APNU posters which were erected. Mc Coy, it is alleged, told Stewart that he (Stewart) was a marked man. The defendant allegedly started taking photos of Stewart who became fearful and began to walk away.
Mc Coy, along with four women, allegedly followed Stewart and an argument ensued during which Mc Coy allegedly took out a silver gun and dealt Stewart a blow to the head with the said firearm. McCoy immediately got into a taxi and made his way to the police station and made a report.
Attorney Basil Williams, who appeared for both Ross and Stewart, though Ross was not present in court, said that the incident involving the car should be attempted murder rather than an assault charge adding that the charges instituted against Mc Coy did not reveal the severity of the offences. Williams also said that Mc Coy's firearm should be lodged at the police station but the request was denied since the court indicated it was the job of the police to make such an application.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions has recommended that Presidential Adviser Odinga Lumumba be charged for the alleged assault of presiding officer Onika Beckles on Elections Day. Lumumba is likely to appear in court this week.
It is alleged that Lumumba verbally abused Beckles and also shoved her against a wall on November 28 at an Aubrey Barker Road Polling Station. It is also alleged that the PPP candidate also grabbed the camera phone from an Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) observer who was recording the altercation and threw it to the floor destroying it in the process.
Lumumba subsequently apologized to the elections observer and later replaced the phone with an explanation that he was angry at the time.

Georgetown - The Minister of Finance will meet with two identified finance persons of the opposition parties - APNU and AFC - in the near future to consult on the preparation of the 2012 Budget. This was disclosed in a joint statement issued through the office of the president following a meeting held between the two parliamentary opposition parties and a team led by President Donald Ramotar last Thursday.
The two sides which comprised A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) on one hand and and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) on the other, met at the Office of the President.
At the meeting several issues pertinent to the country's development were raised and discussed. According to Kaieteur News (KN) it was agreed upon that the National Assembly will not be convened in December and that the two opposition parties would name two persons each as their plenipotentiaries who will meet after December 21, to work on identified and agreed on priority issues.
The three parties were expected to reconvene last Monday to exchange lists of issues for discussion and prioritization at their next meeting which is scheduled for December 21.
The invitation for the meeting was extended by President Ramotar. He was accompanied by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon and Presidential Adviser Gail Teixeira. The APNU delegation comprised Brigadier (retired) David Granger, Dr. Rupert Roopnarine and Joseph Harmon while the AFC delegation included Raphael Trotman, Khemraj Ramjattan, Clayton Hall and Gerhard Ramsaroop.

 

Georgetown - An Uitvlugt business family was terrorized and robbed by two bandits who posed as customers, grabbed over $2.6M in cash and a substantial amount in jewellery before vanishing minutes before the police arrived at the scene.
Kamini Narine, popularly known as Kamo, operates a grocery and beverage store with her husband, and share their Uitvlugt, De Groot-en Klyne, West Coast Demerara home with their nine-year-old son and Narine's sister.
At around 9 am Kamini was downstairs when a man came to her gate purportedly to buy two cases of beer. She opened the door to the bond where she stores her beverages and asked the man to get the beers for himself.
The man emerged from the bond with a case of beer but instead of paying, he pointed a gun at her, ordering her not to scream, while demanding money and jewellery.
Another bandit appeared and held on to her neck from behind, putting a plastic bag over her head and tying it with wire, the businesswoman told Kaieteur News.
The woman said she was beginning to suffocate and tried to convince the bandits that she would cooperate with them. The men dragged her into the bond and kept on demanding money and jewellery. Meanwhile one of the bandits went into the house and held Narine's sister and her son at gunpoint.
Narine eventually took the bandit who was still holding her at gunpoint into her bedroom where there was a stack of cash totaling $2.6M on the bed. She explained that she was about to leave home with the money to pay Banks DIH $2 million and to deposit $600,000 in the bank.
The bandits demanded jewellery and one of them threatened to kill her. They grabbed the cash and jewellery, tied her hand and mouth and forced her under a bed while bundling her sister and her son into a toilet. They then dragged her from under the bed and stuffed her into the toilet with the two other victims and bolted the door from outside.
She later freed herself and called for help. The police arrived after the crooks were gone.

 

Georgetown - Ramlogan Singh, 72, a poultry farmer of Unity, Mahaica whose body was found by his son on Sunday morning with a cloth tied tightly over his mouth and around his neck, was strangled as determined by a post mortem examination.
Singh's ransacked home suggests that robbery was the motive.
Police have detained several persons from the community, based of information that they were seen acting suspiciously around the time that Singh was believed to have been slain. But so far they have only been held under suspicion.
Singh lives alone and his son Surujballi, who lives in a house next door to his father, said that he was aroused by someone calling at his father's gate to purchase chicken. After his father failed to respond to the calls, Surujbally went to investigate and found the man's dead body.

 

Georgetown - An incendiary device was thrown at the residence of Philomena Sahoye-Shury, National Director of Community Development Councils and People's Progressive Party stalwart, two Fridays ago. She lives at Section 'K' Campbellville.
The device, a Molotov cocktail (channa bomb), landed near a flower pot close to the garage and exploded but damage was minimal.
Ms Sahoye-Shury suffered similar attacks in January and March and believes that the attacks are politically motivated. She deemed the recent attack an act of terror.
The PPP stalwart opined that the intruder appeared to know the location of the security cameras and was able to avoid detection.
A channa bomb was also hurled at a city auto sales stockyard two Wednesdays ago.

 

Georgetown - Rowletta Onica Greaves, a 32-year-old woman died two Mondays ago, after being bludgeoned by her father, Charles Greaves. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Skeldon Hospital where she was taken.
Charles, 50, a security guard attached to the Mayor & Town Council of Corriverton, reportedly dealt his daughter several blows to her head with a piece of wood resulting in her brains spewing out. The woman also lost her teeth in the attack.
Rowletta had gone to the home of her 83-year-old aunt, Carolyn Ferdinand at Princetown, Corriverton to help her with household chores as she usually does on a daily basis. Her father also lives at the same address.
According to reports the killing stemmed from an argument between Charles and his daughter when he went to her room and plugged in an iron to iron his clothes. Rowetta reportedly unplugged the iron and the argument escalated to a fight with Charles picking up a piece of wood and Rowetta a cutlass.
It was revealed that Charles Greaves was discharged as a service member of the Guyana Defence Force some 25 years ago for being mentally unfit for duty. The relatives stated that he had been using illegal drugs since and usually "trips out" from time to time.

 

Georgetown - Cleveland Smithet, 37, a miner of of Kuru Kuru, Linden/Soesdyke Highway, was shot and killed in the Five Star Backdam, North West District two Tuesdays ago following a robbery. He was shot once to the region of his heart and reportedly died on the spot.
Also injured in the shooting were the dead man's elder brother, Trevor Smithet and Lloyd David. Trevor was shot in his foot and also beaten in the head with a gun. He is recuperating at home after receiving medical attention.
The men were on their way out of the backdam when they were confronted by the bandits who relieved them of all the "raw gold" and cash that they had in their possession.
Two persons are in custody in connection with the attack. A woman, who was initially reported to have been kidnapped, is believed to be part of a plot to rob the men and is being questioned by the police.
Recently Brazilian, Felix De Souza, and another man were attacked and robbed by four men, two of whom were armed with handguns at the same Five Star Backdam. The attackers entered a mining camp, held up the men and took away a quantity of raw gold, a digital camera and a licensed .32 pistol with seven rounds from them. The attackers discharged several rounds, hitting De Souza to his shoulder and jaw. The police have arrested and charged several persons in connection with that incident.

 

Georgetown - The non-execution of some projects and the slow pace of others for which money has already been released could lead to the European Union (EU) cancelling grants worth billions of dollars for sea defence projects in Guyana.
According to Kaieteur News (KN) EU is calling for a speeding up of some $3.7B worth of projects which it says are way behind schedule and which are contracted to B.K. International. Last week representatives of EU, BK International and the government carried out inspections on several locations for "provisional acceptance".
A likely possibility is that government may have to resort to seeking liquidated damages from the contractor, B.K. International for the incomplete works as the EU warned that Guyana faces the very real possibilities of seeing the remainder of the grants not being released.
KN was told that once the deadline for a project has passed and it has not been completed, no further disbursements can be released from the EU. The EU believed that the delays were caused mainly by a certain lack of capacity in managing the large portfolio of the contract and to some extent inadequate provision of resources for the completion of the jobs which stretch from Essequibo to Springlands, Berbice, KN reported.
Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, commenting on the EU statement, reportedly said that the matter has been engaging the attention of his Ministry for a while. "There has been a constant review of the projects and if there are options where we could recover monies through liquidated damages, we will pursue them. There have been several notifications to BK over the outstanding works and efficiency," Benn said.
Benn stated that BK has been made to pay damages for late contracts in the past and this time would be no different if the company falls short, KN reported. KN understands that the contracts were signed over two years ago and were to the tune of €13.6M ($3.7B).
The EU is the largest provider of support to the Government of Guyana in this sector having contributed a total of $22B (€80M) in grants towards this sector since the mid 70's. In addition, the release stated that the EU is funding the ongoing Mangrove Programme through the Global Climate Change Alliance at a value of $1.12B (€4.1M), which aims at securing the natural protection from the sea and establishing new mangrove reserves.
EU's recent support include new construction of 1.6 km of sea defence in the areas of Clonbrook, East Coast Demerara, and Springlands, East Berbice; the rehabilitation, upgrading and maintenance of 18 km of sea defence in 31 different locations; provision of supervision services; procurement of supplies and technical assistance for the Works Services Group at the Ministry of Public Works.

 

Georgetown - Rice exports for this year so far have exceeded 277,000 tonnes earning more than $US150M in foreign exchange. Of this, almost 160,000 tonnes were exported to Venezuela, which is the largest importer of rice produced by Guyana.
Other countries which Guyana exported rice to include Jamaica (46,000 tonnes), Trinidad and Tobago (20,000 tonnes) and the European Union (50,000 tonnes) this year.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that he is optimistic that rice will be "even bigger" in terms of production and export earnings. "Guyana produced more than 400,000 tons of rice in 2010 and is on track to surpassing this amount in 2011. In 2011, Guyana earned more than $US154M in rice export. So far for 2011, Guyana has earned more than $US157M, and this year is likely to be a record setting year for rice earnings," Dr Ramsammy said.
While rice production has shown positive signs, the same cannot be said of sugar. Officials of the Guyana Sugar Corporation said last week that sugar output for this year is expected to touch just 240,000 tonnes which is 20,000 tonnes more than last year's output of 220,000 tonnes but well below the original target of 300,000 tonnes.
At the beginning of this year, with almost 500,000 tonnes of cane left in the fields from 2010, GuySuCo had projected a 2011 target of 300,000 tonnes. This figure was later revised to 282,000 tonnes but even that lower target would not be achieved.
The industry has been plagued by a combination of factors including technical problems, a falling work force, bad weather and low yield low yields and poor attendance of cane harvesters.

 

Georgetown - A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will be using its influence in the 10th Parliament to seek a complete overhaul of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
This was disclosed by APNU's Dr Rupert Roopnarine, who told media operatives last Thursday that they will need the support of both the Alliance for Change (AFC) and the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), since such a constitutional move requires a 2/3 majority vote in the House. Dr Roopnarine informed that there is an alternative in the form of a Parliamentary Referendum, which only requires a simple majority but poses a "catch 22" given that it will have to be the same Commission that will be asked to implement the changes being sought.
APNU's Mervyn Williams told the media that a large section of the electorate has lost confidence in GECOM as presently constituted and operated. He said that the Commission is now seen as partisan and not being independent, as the law intends for it to be in a democratic society. He went on to say that the Carter formula, which has been used over the years, has failed to deliver an independent Commission.
He said that APNU is adamant that the attitude and approach of Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of the Elections Commission and Gocool Boodhoo, Chief Elections Officer do not help and fuel the lack of confidence and the growing mistrust of the people for the Commission.
"The consistent failure of the Elections Commission to honour its word and provide early results, is a clear indication of its incompetence…In addition, the long wait between the counting of the ballots at the place of poll and the official declaration of the results gives credence to the view that those sympathetic to the PPP/C in the Commission were involved in the altering of the results to keep the PPP/C in Government…In this regard, the Chairman of the Commission and the Chief Elections Officer have to take responsibility."
He believes that there is compelling evidence that they were on the verge of incorrectly declaring the PPP/C to have won a majority when they did not.
"It was only as a result of the vigilance and quick action by the opposition members of the Commission that the entire will of the people was not sacrificed at the altar of narrow partisan political interest."

 

Georgetown - While A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has not formally made an announcement on its list of Members of Parliament for the upcoming 10th Parliament due to be convened next January several new faces have been touted.
According to Kaieteur News (KN) some of the new faces in the line up are Attorney-at-Law James Bond who was shot during a recent protest march when police opened fire with rubber bullets, GYSM Chairman Chris Jones, Annette Ferguson, Ronald Bulkan, Sydney Allicock and Renis Morian. Also expected are former Commissioner of Police Winston Felix and former Guyana Defence Force Major Joseph Harmon who will be there alongside APNU's Presidential Candidate, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger.
New comers, Working People's Alliance's (WPA) activists, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, who served as the coalition's Prime Ministerial Candidate, Dr. David Hinds and Desmond Trotman are also expected in the list.
Other MPs expected to be returned are Volda Lawrence, Dr. George Norton, Dawn Hastings, Keith Scott, Africo Selman, Jennifer Wade, Amna Ally, Vanessa Kissoon, Basil Williams, Clarissa Riehl, Deborah Backer and Joan Baveghems. Former Finance Minister in the PNC Government, Carl Greenidge and PNCR Chairman 'Cammie' Ramsaroop are also in the line up.
Notable omissions are stalwarts including former Parliamentarians Mervin Williams, Aubrey Norton and Anthony Vieira.
Some of those former MPs who will not be there are Everette Lance Carberry, Desmond Fernandes, Dr John Austin, Dave Danny, Judith Blair, Ernest Barnabas Elliot and Cheryl Sampson.
Leader of the People's National Congress Reform Robert Corbin, who will not be returning to the National Assembly as a Parliamentarian, is said to have had a significant hand in the selection process.
APNU is the only party to have not formally made an announcement on its MPs for the 10th Parliament. The Alliance for Change has indicated its intention to include Trevor Williams who heads that party's youth arm, Dr Veersammy Ramaya, Cathy Hughes and Moses Nagamootoo in their list of Parliamentarians. One other person is still to be identified. Both leaders of the party will retain their seats in the House.
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has already formally issued its complete list of MPs for the 10th Parliament.
Meanwhile Demerara Waves Online has reported that APNU Chairman, David Granger and APNU Vice Chairman Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine have agreed to hold talks with Aubrey Norton at a more than two-hour meeting with disgruntled pro-Norton supporters at Congress Place headquarters. Norton's supporters are dissatisfied that the long time PNCR big wig is to be omitted from the next parliament.

 

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