Nepotism and abuse of state funds

(According to News Center of MoneyControl) Caricom heading for bankruptcy, says Guyana President

It would appear, according to Jagdeo, that Caricom is heading for bankruptcy. Well, he has to know what he is talking about as he is clearly bent on putting Guyana in the same position.

In a previous article we positioned Jagdeo's intent on his fiber optic cable that should see the successful completion of the Queens Atlantic data center and IT center. This blog has learnt that after the fall-out of the Norwegian US$30 million deal, Jagdeo has vowed that he will build his cable with local funds.

However, no one has seen the feasibility study of Jagdeo's cable and its total cost to Guyana. What is becoming more real than apparent is the sidling off of state funds to complete the
President's Pet Projects, a PPP - which will continue long into the PPP's next election victory.

STRANGE THINGS
While the data project seems noble, this blog will be proven by the test of time for the use of Jadgeo for e-governance. We predict that the cable will be completed, will be used by the Bees (the Bees will form the management committee) - all achieved by abusing Guyana's national treasury for meeting personal financial goals.

Meanwhile, the abuse of state funds will continue. More Presidential Pet Projects will be done by state funding and the 2011 elections will see the national reserves at an all time low of 300 million (which incidentally will be 200m more than what the PNC had). Donald will boast about the 300m as being a better performance than the PNC.

CONCLUSION
Before year end, the sale of state assets will ensure the rebuilding of the reserves.
So?
So, the Bees will have be laughing all the way to the bank - with my money!

Guyana features in Poker News

Guyana Opens First Casino, But Locals Barred from Gambling

The Princess Hotel in Guyana officially opened the country's first casino last week, but because of a law passed in 2007, Guyanese residents are forbidden from playing there. The Gambling Prevention Act restricted Guyanese gambling after several religious leaders and politicians led an anti-gambling crusade. For now, the only people who can gamble at the casino's 300 slot machines and 11 gaming tables are international ecotourists and the many Brazilians the casino hopes will travel there to gamble.

The government decided to grant limited casino licenses to hotels with a minimum of 150 guest rooms as a way to accelerate the growth of the country's young tourism industry. Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo denounced the hypocrisy of opening a casino where only foreigners are welcome, saying that freedom of choice should outweigh antigambling concerns. “For me, this is something that I find distasteful. I believe that Guyanese should enjoy all of the choices in the country… our society is a moderate one…there was opposition, but we will give people choices,” Jagdeo said.

The Princess Hotel is owned by Turkish hotel group Princess Group, which owns 14 hotels internationally. The company, which bought the hotel for $15 million in 2008, is exploring legal loopholes that would allow Guyanese residents to gamble at the casino as long as they are guests of the hotel. In addition to slots and table games, the casino plans to host poker tournament satellites in the future.

Legalized Gambling illegal to Guyanese - Imran Khan

Legalized Gambling illegal to Guyanese
By Imran Khan

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Following comments made by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the formal opening of the Princess Casino there has been a reheating of the debate on the virtues of casino/gambling legislation in Guyana. The President finds himself in some difficulty with regard to what appears to be an about face on the issue given his most recent comments and has been copping some criticism.

There is merit in most of the criticisms I have seen, however I have found that a narrow view is being mostly propagated (perhaps for political and other convenience) when there is a critical larger issue which needs to be ventilated.

The point of conditional and thus discriminatory casino/gambling legislation, in my opinion, takes a U-Turn from basic human equality – an essential facet of life now, apparently, taken much for granted to the point where it is treated with scant regard by even our National Assembly.

In my mind the issue is a simple one which can be a sorted through by asking a basic question. “How can an individual – regardless of who he or she is – have a legally protected right to partake in an activity in MY country which legally I, as a citizen of said country, am debarred from participating in?”

I am not a gambler and I may never visit a casino in Guyana or anywhere else, however I take offense to any law which prevents me from participating in an activity which foreigners are allowed to freely partake in. There can be no moral justification of it in what we all consider – perhaps to varying degrees – to be a democracy. The freedom of choice has been withdrawn from locals while foreigners have that option.

I have agonized over this to find some way of accepting that it can be. I am unable to find even an iota of sense or good judgment in it.

My view is that gambling should either be made legal and permissible for all in Guyana (whether Guyanese or not) or it should be an illegal activity for all. Legislation which discriminates on the basis of nationality reverses hundreds of years of social advancement.

It cannot be legal for some and illegal for others. Surely we have not forgotten times when there were restaurants for some, washrooms for some and when the front of the bus was only for some among other discriminatory practices.

The contention that government should allow vices for foreigners in our land whilst ‘protecting’ its citizenry from these vices is a flagrantly dangerous one as it is grounded in false logic and flawed thinking.

It is, in fact, the bedrock of hypocrisy.

The legislation as it now stands allows a loophole which defeats the presumed intention of the law. A local can very well enter and partake in the activities of the casino if they are a guest of the hotel. Therefore there is no real protection of the citizenry against the vice. It is in fact a worsening of the vice.

Whereupon a Guyanese wishing to gamble could have just walked into the casino and so do, they now have to expend additional financial resources to book a room to qualify themselves to gamble. For persons who are intent on gambling this is not a deterrent, it is a mere inconvenience. Addicts will find a way of overcoming the hurdles and the current design of the law aids them in so doing.

Also for government to take the role of – based on the construct and operations of our Parliament – unilaterally determine what is good and what is not for citizenry and enshrine same in law is to set a scandalously treacherous precedent – the perils of which, through unkind experience, I am sure most are all only too familiar with.

What next? Exclusive dining options for foreigners? Special airport transportation services only for foreigners?

The precedent has been set.

THE ROTTING CORPSE OF THE MARRIOT AWAITS BURIAL

In January 2009 the President assured Guyanese of an alive and well Marriot Hotel, aback of Kingston.

With the government already spending millions of dollars on relocating and revamping 42 sewage pipes it was a done deal ! or so u would think.

Why has President Jagdeo held on to a deal that is dead with no real hope of revival? One can only think that he believes that there was such a DEAL.

WHY ? Why? EXACTLY WHY HASN’T THE MARRIOT HOTEL BUILT?? We refuse to believe that the Marriot Deal was used to moved squatters off the seawall, we refused to believe that the Marriot could have replaced the Pegasus and we refuse to believe that the President dreamt that he has a deal with the company, Marriot Incorporated.

This ‘Marriot Hotel deal’ was expected to be closed since mid 2008 but then the President said that “That was the time when the turmoil in the capital markets escalated with the collapse of some financial institutions and you had the catastrophic drop in the stock exchange and the credit crunch deepened and therefore, traditional sources of capital that were identified were no longer there. So the financial closures simply could not have happened,”

In May 2009 government advertised for expressions of interest in a joint venture for the a location aback of the Kingston Seawall. The Privatisation Unit said the government was seeking interested investors for the project, a total of 6.9 acres of land situated in the north-western part of Kingston bordered by the Atlantic and the Demerara River. The government was look for an investment of US$20M.

Oh well and in 2010? We still await this government rated 5 Star hotel or RIP Marriot.

Boycott looms for Guyana's 1st elections since '94

Boycott looms for Guyana's 1st elections since '94
(Associated Press)


GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Opposition leaders in this South American country threatened Thursday to boycott the first municipal elections in 16 years over a plan to give a government-dominated commission control over local affairs.

The government says the proposed seven-member commission would reduce the central government's power over cities, but critics note that the government would still appoint a majority of its members.

"We can't agree with this and are not prepared to work with this," said Oscar Clarke, general secretary of the main opposition People's National Congress.

Clarke said his party might boycott planned April elections if the government doesn't agree to give local governments greater control over their own affairs, such as helping decide how to allocate funds.

He complained that the current system gives the central government power to fire and hire key city staffers, as well as to withhold funds for municipalities and neighborhood councils.

The government has proposed the commission plan to parliament as an alternative.

Vishnu Persaud, Guyana electoral commission spokesman, said officials are planning elections for a still-unset date in mid-April to choose mayors and councilors of six towns and 65 rural districts.

Guyana has not elected mayors, district and village leaders since 1994, largely due to continuing disputes about how to update voter registration lists.

Disputes over voting lists also prompted delays in several recent presidential elections.

Plans to hold municipal elections last year were scrapped because officials said new voter cards based on updated lists were not yet ready and a redistricting project had not been completed.

Presidential and general elections are scheduled to be held next year.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.