What's more to come

What else is in that sleeping man's head? What else is Cheddie and Janet and Burnham and Hoyte telling him to ignore?

We wait with bated breath! BUT, maybe as soon as the license is granted, that threat disappears? Huh?

We know the thieves. The SAD part is that they know that we know but that we cannot do anything about it! (Except talk)

GT&T shareholding in spotlight

The Government has decided to give up its 20% shareholding in GT&T and a number of concerns are being raised in all quarters.

The PNC has questioned the sale of the shares and the Kaieteur news has questioned who will buy the shares as it is opined that the friends of the Government will buy the shares.

The Government, in response to the PNC, attempted to place the telephone company in bad light Here is what the Government said, along with our thoughts:
1) Gog:The annual amount (dividend) paid to GoG fluctuated between 1 and 4 million dollars. The TRUTH: GoG received an average of 2.6 million US$ per year from year 2000.
2) Gog:The shareholder has been prevented from influencing the company. The truth: THANK GOD! The Government would have interfered and bungled everything in their usual style. MORE TRUTH: We suspect the GoG didn't bother to attend meetings and never appointed directors to the board.


It is obvious is that the GoG is very eager to shut this company down - maybe because it was started up under the PNC government and has been a success story for Guyana. The total dividends received by the government more than paid for the sale of the company. Obviously the Government cannot account for any of this money.

The company continues to function without influence of the Government. This does not fit with the Government's plans for control of all telecommunications in Guyana (TV, Newspaper, Radio, Telephone). Maybe Digicel is paying or playing the Piper.

In conclusion, the Government said that it will take the money from sale of shares and put it toward ICT. We challenge the Government to say what it did with the dividends received each year. OR what it did with the company's taxes. GT&T says it pays 15-17 MILLION US dollars in taxes each year....why not invest that in ONE YEAR and get ICT going.

Norton invokes a kangaroo and brings PNC into disrepute

Norton of the PNC has invoked the old PNC god of kangaroo (kangaroo court, kangaroo election, kangaroo everything). He will now be tried by his peers (all kangaroos) in the PNC's kangaroo court. May the kangaroos bless Norton.

Meanwhile, he has vehemently denied that he has brought the PNC into disrepute. This shocking denial comes at a time when the PNC needs no help in being of poor repute. To Norton's credit, teh PNC needs no help to get worse...they are doing so naturally by just being!

Also, Norton forgets when he started the run into disrepute from his days as a creature of Hoyte.

As we commented before, the PNC (always in disrepute) is wallowing in the pits of disgust, dishonesty and disappearance. Their next name change will be PNCD (instead of PNCr). Their future has disappeared. All they will ever be is a bitter part of Guyana's sad history.

Sadly, Guyana loses again.

PNC cannot be diverted to real issues

Corbin's recent statements can be taken as a fact that the PNC cannot be diverted to the real issues facing the nation (PNCR cannot be diverted from real issues facing the nation – so said Corbin).

The PNC seems not to be concerned about what is happening to Guyana. While the PPP cannot account for Millions of dollars, the PNC continues to be obsessed with rigging its internal elections so that Corbin can retain leadership.

A very instructive comment by Corbin reads, "“Sometimes when people don’t understand fully the reasons for strategy and tactics they can arrive at incorrect conclusions"

We can only shudder to think of the inner meaning of this statement as it represent the PPP and PNC. God help Guyana!

utcex2ph7s

utcex2ph7s

PNC falling apart

The PNCR is falling apart at its seams every day. Corbin seems happy with his 300,000 salary plus driver plus security and lifelong pension. He is not going to budge!

Who is the loser?
Norton? Definitely NOT!

The BIG loser is GUYANA!

We believe that PNC's disorganized state and its ridiculous pursuit of its role as OPPOSITION is the cause for Guyana descent into the runaway corruption of the current Government.

Guyana ends up losing again!

Guyana Government cannot account for BILLION$ - Part II

Following our earlier blog in which we were contending that Government misappropriated over 100 million US Dollars in 2007 (cannot give account for it); other reports have been seen about the Health Ministry and Education Ministry financial irregularities.

The overall fraud and irregularities that have been exposed leaves us breathless. Shame on our Government! Shame on our Parliament! Shame on the opposition!

Is it time that we petition international agencies to investigate what is happening in Guyana. Cheddi Jagan cried to the world during the days of dictatorship. Who will cry out now?

Recap of the details on the Min of Education financial irregularities. For the previous blog on the >US$100million see link.
Min of Education: “failure to recover several millions of dollars in overpaid salaries, bank accounts with overdrafts of millions not being reconciled and overpayments to contractors among others.”
The failure to recover the overpaid salaries might be forgiven (though it is not right) since those who left the service also left the country. However:
- $78 million - bank account was overdrawn
- $4.3 million – outstanding ‘transactions’
- $2 million paid for questionable contract for TV ads (who is Ross
Enterprise?) – “All attempts to trace
this firm have been futile.”
- 1,146 teachers allegedly not registered for social security (NIS)
- $32 million overpaid to contractor (who?) for President’s College.
- $2 million paid for text books (to whom?), no books received.
- $23 million spent supposedly for Berbice Campus – no supporting documentation.

Guyana continues to despair as the powers that be continue to sweep every scandal under the carpet – and every of it financial irregularity takes place brazenly. Who will hold them accountable?

The question we have is with all this blatant corruption, why is this nation so silent?

Digicel debt

Digicel Debt placement

New Digicel placement
Published: Wednesday | July 1, 2009
(Taken from another blog)
Digicel Limited (DL), an affiliate of Digicel Group Limited, on Tuesday offered up for sale an additional US$250 million of its 12% senior notes, in a private placement in New York. This will be used partly to finance future unspecificied acquisitions.
The notes mature in 2014, alongside another US$350 million already issued. The debt is guaranteed by 9 of the Irish company's subsidiaries, including Digicel Jamaica.
“We are offering an aggregate of US$160,000,000 of new notes," said DL's offer document.
Denis O'Brien, indirectly owns 95 per cent of our common shares. Denis O'Brien, who also controls 100 per cent of Digicel Group - ultimate parent of Digicel Limited - has since the company's formation in 2001 showed a marked preference for debt to finance the mobile provider, whose holdings extend across the Caribbean and into Central America.
Digicel Debts
Digicel Limited's debts, reached US$1.8 billion at March 31, 2009, or 2.68 times EBITDA of US$676.6 million. A portion of the DL debt, US$75 million, is owed to Digicel Group Limited.
Digicel Limited, a US$2.27 billion operation incorporated in Bermuda, also reported consolidated net profit of US$166 million from revenue of US$1.7 billion.
However, the company also disclosed that subsidiary Digicel Holdings Central America Limited has a big loss of US$176.6 million.
More losses coming
"We may continue to incur losses in the near future," the company said.

Guyana Government cannot account for BILLION$

What is happening in Guyana? Has the PPP Government literally robbed Guyana of billions of dollar$ per year? Can we petition the international agencies as Cheddie did to track these millions of US Dollars?

Look at the accounts of the Government for 2007. Billions of Guyanese dollars cannot be accounted for. Assume the minimum amount of US$100 million is unaccounted for (stolen) in 2007... now multiply that by the number of years PPP is in Government.

Who will help Guyana? Is this country now totally lost?

The Auditor General report for 2007 shows numerous deficiencies and DELIBERATE falsification of accounts.
- Grants received by the Government not recorded. Therefore there is no trace of where the monies have gone or whose bank account deposited into.
- Contingencies Fund abused to pay expenses that do not qualify for such funding.
- $3.1B were drawn from the Fund by way of 115 advances and as at 31 December 2007, sixty-four of these advances totaling $1.459B remained outstanding.
- PLUS over 600 million in liabilities still on the books – add 600m to the 1.459 billion = 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS.
- Understatements in other areas.
- Consolidated Fund overdrawn by 47 BILLION dollars.
- 42 Inactive bank accounts
- The 42 inactive accounts had overdrafts of 686 MILLION dollars
- BILLION of DOLLARS used by the Government in 2007 and cannot be accounted for

Worth repeating: BILLION DOLLARS cannot be accounted for – 100 MILLION US DOLLARS?

Isn't Minister Ashni Singh a qualified Accountant? Well done Ashni!

God help Guyana.

Clico payouts

Clico is in the news again.

Previously we had learnt that Geeta Knight allegedly pocketed $200million through a cover company she had set up to (supposedly) offer security services to Clico.

It appears that the directors have all been involved in FredSookdeoism since they all have been up to one skullduggery or another. One director stood to gain $45million through well-devised schemes.

Our question to be asked: How much of the 1.5 BILLION dollars went to Government friends, unions and associates of the president?

We also note that Geeta Knight remains a member on the GuySuCo board. Question - Is this the same Person whose husband was once the Finance Director and acting CEO for GuySuCo?

Bye Michael Jackson

Thank you for the music!
The best, Earth song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8muMo0fw_M&feature=related

Shiela Holder - Telecoms owner

Sometime ago Shiela Holder called on the Government to take action on the GT&T's monopoly. Here is a parliamentarian who is protecting her own interest.

Like Clinton who said the act is not really the act....Shiela is saying that her family business is the selling of data and voice - but that it is not telecommunications. Furthermore Shiela is saying that when there is no monopoly then there is no need for telecommuncations regulation.

Therefore when the GT&T's monopoly ends in 2010, there will be no need for PUC as far as telecoms is concerned. No wonder Digicel takes GT&T to court! No wonder GT&T wants to get rid of it quicker than a hotplate! No wonder I-net is agitating in parliament to break the monopoly. Watch out Guyana. The days for wild-west telecomms is coming!

Any comments on this Prem?

Here is what Sheila wrote in 2004 in defence of her family's business.
Had the PUC Chairman respected the quasi-judicial role of the PUC in being the facilitator and an honest broker in balancing the scales between the interest of the utility and the rights of the consumer, he would not have made the improper reference to i-Net Communications Inc. in which my husband is an investor and the CEO.
He further compounded the faux pas by erroneously stating that i-Net is a telecommunications company, which the PUC has not gotten around to regulating. Surely the Chairman should know that i-Net Communications Inc. is a Guyanese Company offering competitive computer, broadband and internet services (there are many other companies offering such services in Guyana) and as such does not qualify to be regulated, since in a market economy, only monopolies need to be regulated.

Clico-Knight

A knight in shining armour. Singing-Knights.

Typical scandal except that in Guyana these scandal-makers face no charges or consequences and retain top positions in national boards.

Here is a top executive of a company - sets up a side-company to funnel monies into. Assists in bleeding the original company dry.

And, the knight still a part of the sugar board?

Jagdeo's trippps

“We don’t have any obligation to announce every time the president leaves the country,” said President Bharrat Jagdeo’s Press Liaison Officer, Kwame Mc Coy

Ok kwamy, we cannot insist. We won't ask.

But, as a taxpayer, I am paying for this chap's trippps all the time. His travels are not being funded by the IMF, Worldbank, IDB or whatever - they are funded by ME and other hardworking people in Guyana like me!

So, as a taxpayer, can I ask the Auditor General or Ashni Singh - or Chris Ram - please tell us how much Jagdeo's trippps cost us?

Thank You!

Go Pakistan!

Too bad WI couldn't have made it to the finals. But, the better teams (of the day) won. A lot of people wrote the Pakistani team off. But they have done well. T20 is a lot about variety.

Congratulation to the Pakistan team!

How crowded is Guyana?

Guyana is a crowded country. The emigrant population is creating problems for the Government as the challenge for distribution of land remains a tough one.

The Government is cognizant of this fact - that is why they give out very small houselots. Land given out by the Government can only accommodate a regular size house and maybe an outhouse. Government caters for the outhouse because there is an environmental plan for a non-sewage Guyana in the future. The Hope canal will either spread everything or wash into the ocean after flooding its banks annually.

An analysis of the population density of Guyana gives the proof of how crowded this country is. With 215,000 km2 and 700,000 people we have only 0.3 of km2 per person!So really, this country is too crowded.

No wonder people are leaving in droves. Nothing to do with economic problems or crime or any such negative! There's just not enough land around for everyone!

Are Guyanese so nice?

A few years ago, the Elephant Man called every Guyanese a thief. No apologies from him.
Now, Digicel is bringing him again to Guyana.

Are we such an insensitive nation that those who call us thieves, those who insult our nation, would be foisted on us?

Do we now lack the guts or the moral fortitude to say no to any of this?

And Digicel - is this what you do to Guyana?

Enmore martyrs day - has anything changed?

As usual Jagdeo uses his presidential powers to savagely lash out at anyone who is critical to his rulership or to any who may provide analyses that Jagdeo's leadership (or lack of) is inimical to Guyana’s development. Some time ago he lashed out at the president of the Private Sector Commission (not the current soup drinker). Then a list that includes Yesu Persaud.

More recently he lashed out at Gillian Burton’s suggestion that workers may not be better off today than they were in the past. While Burton’s analysis may have been flawed in its presentation, it does offer some food for thought. Let us answer some questions:

1948: What were the levels of development of Barbados, Trinidad, St Lucia, Suriname, Brazil and ALL other countries in the Caribbean?

1992: what were wages levels comparative to the basket of goods? What could a worker purchase with this wage? Income tax rate? No VAT! Exchange rate was G$190/US$1.

2009: What are the wage levels now comparative to the basket of goods? What can a worker now purchase with this wage? Income tax rate? VAT 16%! Exchange rate is G$206.50/US$1

In 1948 to 1964 saw PPP governance…1992 to 2009 PPP Governance. What is the foreign debt of Guyana in 2009 compared to debt in 1992?

What were Government expenditures then to now?

What was the Presidential travel bill then to now?

Are we really better off?

Riddle of the "seat-stealers"

Riddle riddle riddle
Whoever solves this riddle will win either of the following prizes
1) 15 minutes of free talk on digicel (after you talk for 3 mins)
2) A day's talk for $1/min from GT&T (after you talk for 10 mins)
3) Free breeze from the Guyanese politicians new housing area
4) A blog prize (to be named)


Somebody stole somebody's seat.
The persons who saw it stolen did not report it correctly.
The people who stole it sit in it every week.

Whose seat is it?

Labour may be therapeutic for prisoners

Kaieteur News editorialized the view that labor may be therapeutic for prisoners.
At the risk of being licentious, one wonders if this is in reference to female prisoners being in labor or male prisoners viewing labor pains of women....

Damn these glitzy headlines!

Call Centers in Guyana?

How many call centers are there in Guyana and who provides them with bandwidth?
So far we have found: Qualfon, ATC, NPI.

How many companies we have that sell bandwidth?
GT&T, ENetwork, Broadband, Digicel....

Low carbon strategy for Guyana

The wise persons in Government are working up a Guyanese storm on low carbon strategy.

Anything to change the focus of people from their problems with GPL!

Millions of dollars are being lost through power surges. Hours of valuable work are lost due to long hours of blackout.

While we strategize towards a low carbon future, we are continuously pushing people to buying generators for every home in Guyana - creating untold damage to the environment!

What happens when an island owner runs Power and a roving president runs Guyana?
t-a-l-k t-a-l-k t-a-l-k

We do support such strategy however as we need to care the environment. But, we must proactively care for this Country and take care of its problems that are destroying the environment that we want to care for. Wind, Solar and Hydro have been coming for decades and have not arrived. In the meantime, we lost millions through Fuel imports, carbon emissions and loss of equipment and time. Were we to value this loss, we may well find that it quantifies more than the GoG will get from the people who will 'sponsor' his strategy.

US-based Guyanese missing - let us PRAY

Our prayers are with the family.....

The gentleman is allegedly missing after visiting Buxton.

Let us PRAY that this is not a sign of things waiting to blow up again.

Jagdeo finally admits to the "wrongs" of his Government

Jagdeo has finally admitted that his Government has run down this country. This amazing confession has come finally in answer to calls from everyone for the PNC and PPP to admit to the wrongs they have done to Guyana.

Stabroek's columnist, Kissoon, has quoted Jagdeo's admission in one of his columns:"When we run down our country all the time, then every immigration officer feels that every Guyanese wants to run away.” Obviously Jagdeo is admitting to running down the country.

Is this a hopeful positive beginning of admission to the wrongs they all did to this country? Will Jagdeo continues in this vein? We will wait - but not with bated breath!

Head teachers are still at nursery level

Chief Education Officer says that head teachers are still at nursery level and should learn to embrace. This was done in the presence of Education Minister. Hmmmmmm!

Stabroek News:
Chief Education Officer Genevieve Whyte-Nedd yesterday urged school managers, especially those at the nursery level, to embrace change even as teachers complained of the current curriculum being too taxing for children

Lazy magistrates Billed by Ramson

Ramson has taken first reading of this Bill to parliament.

The bill proposes that a lazy magistrate shall have jurisdiction throughout Guyana. These Lazy Magistrates will be given a clerk each.

These lazy magistrates could only try
- criminal cases where the punishment does not exceed G$10,000
- civil cases where the dispute does not exceed G$25,000

Of course they could transfer cases or adjourn cases.

The question in our minds:
Will Guyana's legal system be better served by this bill?

Prakash Gossai's passing

We are saddened by the passing of Prakash Gossai. (Link)
There are not many persons who have left their domicile in USA to work for Guyana on an almost gratis basis.
Hats off to the Pandit!

How crowded is Guyana?

Guyana is a crowded country. The emigrant population is creating problems for the Government as the challenge for distribution of land remains a tough one.

The Government is cognizant of this fact - that is why they give out very small houselots. Land given out by the Government can only accommodate a regular size house and maybe an outhouse. Government caters for the outhouse because there is an environmental plan for a non-sewage Guyana in the future. The Hope canal will either spread everything or wash into the ocean after flooding its banks annually.

An analysis of the population density of Guyana gives the proof of how crowded this country is. With 215,000 km2 and 700,000 people we have only 0.3 of km2 per person!So really, this country is too crowded.

No wonder people are leaving in droves. Nothing to do with economic problems or crime or any such negative! There's just not enough land around for everyone!

Power for health services!

No power in Guyana; How health services suffer in Guyana:

The acquisition of reliable and affordable power poses a challenge to many health facilities.

- In Guyana the PEPFAR program and the Ministry of Health (MOH) requested USAID assistance in assessing options for improving energy services in health facilities.

- Full service district hospitals located on the coast suffer from expensive, unreliable, and poor quality power.

- District hospitals located in the interior face similar problems compounded by the fact that the power is intermittent, of worse quality, and from a variety of expensive sources.

- Hinterland health centers often have no energy at all.
- The expensive cost of electricity in Guyana makes the long-term operating costs of power intensive health care facilities currently under construction significant.

Full article: Powering health Guyana

Thesis: Donkey-cart Economy

The following is extracted from a letter-writer (Tarron Khemraj) to Kaieteur news
And, the pic is taken from another Blog

The donkey-cart economy has the following characteristics:

1. The production of goods that are at the low end of the global hierarchy of products. In other words, we produce things that people really can do without. Our products are not as special as we would like to believe; not even in CARICOM, let alone the world.

2. Given number 1, it means the income elasticity of demand for the country’s primary exports is small. Meaning as world income (and CARICOM’s income) increases the demand for the country’s products will not rise accordingly. Sugar, for example, is clearly a product that fits the production profile of donkey-cart cart economy. Let’s face it, there is a finite amount of sugar the rich can consume (as a matter of fact, the rich might consume less sugar and sugar-related products as it is one way to stay slim). On the other hand, as the world gets richer we all consume more energy. Therefore, a superior strategy to save the Demerara estates would be ethanol and of course the bi-product of baggasse.

Furthermore, the Jagdeo Administration’s REDD strategy and low carbon development strategy are too narrow and are not likely to impact directly on job creation and industrial development. In addition to the REDD, what the country needs is to develop a bio-energy industrial base with cane sugar as a feedstock for this industrialization. However, the low carbon development strategy should be seen as only one policy measure in a portfolio of industrial policies necessary to raise the welfare of the masses.

3. The production structure of the donkey-cart economy is mainly in the form of low productivity goods and petty services. For instance, immediately after Mr. Hoyte’s ERP the country

stopped producing soaps, toothpaste and similar small consumer items and left it to the local importer in the name of liberalization. The country also destroyed its local plywood making firm and replaced it with a foreign multinational. In a donkey-cart economy it is never a good idea to destroy your manufacturing base no matter how inefficient and trivial it might seem. You have to work with the capitalist class in a industrial policy framework to make the manufacturing base superior.

4. The production structure is made up of products that allow little room for learning by doing, innovation and technological change – the critical ingredients for long-term growth in per capita GDP and higher living standards.

5. Remittances prop up private consumption and create a false sense of success among government officials and the masses.

6. Remittances and underground economic activities indirectly feed foreign exchange into the domestic foreign exchange market from which the central bank (BOG) buys to accumulate foreign reserves (a required target under the IMF’s financial programming). Thus, remittances help to maintain the IMF/WB’s much touted macroeconomic stability (there have been several pro-government letter writers promoting macroeconomic stability as a great achievement). Therefore, a donkey-cart economy can be stable with relatively low inflation (owing to exchange rate stability) as is the case with Guyana. But this notion of macroeconomic stability is narrow, short-term in focus, and does not imply a success on the production/supply side of the economy. This point will take a full academic paper to explicate.

7. The donkey-cart economy imports most of what it consumes. Thus remittances are mobilized by economic actors and are used to make payments for imports of even basic consumer items (some of which we stop producing after the ERP). Therefore, unlike what some IMF/WB literature have argued and have been cited in the local media (see Dr. Prem Misir in SN 02-06-09), remittances are highly unlikely to lead to productive domestic investments in the Guyana context.

8. The donkey-cart economy exports most of its skilled and educated workforce. According to the OECD, Guyana exports 83% of its skilled population (the highest percentage among developing economies). Hence, there is the depreciation of the human capital base, which is a critical ingredient for long-term growth and development. Furthermore, the depreciation of the human capital base also involves the downgrading of the entrepreneurial and risk taking base. Of course, the contribution of human capital to growth (of high quality) is well explicated by endogenous growth theory. Moreover, Guyana is not India and is unlikely to earn the touted brain gain (as Dr. Misir has assumed) as in the Indian case.

9. The government significantly depends on foreign aid and finance from IMF/WB/IDB and bi-lateral aid donors. Even small projects depend on these sources of financing. For instance, the CARICOM building and the Convention Centre were built by grants (with aid-tying I am sure).

10. The government depends on IMF/WB for policy advice and analysis.