Oil
Tullow finds oil in Orinduik Block: Director, Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe on August 12th announced that UK-based Tullow Oil Plc’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tullow Guyana B.V, has discovered oil in commercial quantities in the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. The Jethro-1 well was drilled by the Stena Forth drillship to a total depth of 4,400 metres in approximately 1,350 metres of water. Dr. Bynoe said the Jethro-1 well is the first discovery on the Orinduik Block and comprises high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs of Lower Tertiary age. The discovery is significant as it is the first reputed commercial find outside of the Stabroek Block which has seen ExxonMobil hitting 13 major finds since May, 2015. Tullow’s discovery will likely attract even more investor interest to the Guyana basin. The Stabroek Block has already been assessed at around six billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Politics
‘Elections will be held this year,’ minister tells Corriverton outreach: Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe on Friday told a handful of Corriverton residents that based on information from President David Granger, general elections will be held this year. “Elections will be this year, according to president. Elections will be this year,” Garrido-Lowe stressed during a public meeting at Corriverton. Her comments were made even as the president himself has maintained that he cannot set a date for the polls, which are due as a result of the passage of a no-confidence motion that was passed since last December, and that it is the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM that is responsible for the process.
House-to-house registration legal: Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire on Wednesday, August 15th, ruled that the current house-to-house registration exercise being conducted by GECOM is legal while also cautioning that existing registrants cannot just be deleted from the list unless certain criteria are met as provided by law—that being by death or by specified means of disqualification. The judge also said that while GECOM as an independent body has the right to execute its mandate as it sees fit, it must be cognisant of the fact that as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had pointed out it is not operating in the normal electoral mode, but rather against the background of a validly passed no-confidence motion and so these are all factors which ought to be taken into account by the Commission. The ruling is expected to inform a decision by GECOM on when elections will be held.
GECOM still to decide on polls: A long-awaited meeting of the fully constituted GECOM on Thursday, August 15th, failed to yield an expected decision on the holding of general and regional elections as the body was not yet in receipt of a written copy of the High Court’s ruling on the legality of the ongoing national house-to-house registration exercise being undertaken by the commission. “The question on the way forward was not determined in the main because we are still not yet in receipt of the written ruling of the judge and there are those of us who prefer not to rely on reports and third hand information,” government-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander explained outside GECOM’s High Street office after the meeting.
Jagdeo says gov’t illegal since March 21st: Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday, August 15th, announced that the PPP/C has taken the position that government became illegal due to the failure to hold elections by March 21st and as a result the opposition would not recognise key actions taken after the passage of the no-confidence motion last December. “Since March 21st, the government has been practising unconstitutional rule. It is a usurper… it is acting outside the provision,” Jagdeo told a press conference. Jagdeo said that the PPP/C had been willing to count the 90-day period not from December 21st, 2018, when government lost the confidence vote, but from June 18th, when the CCJ made its ruling. However, his pronouncement followed Wednesday’s ruling by the Chief Justice, during which she echoed an observation by the CCJ that elections were due by March 21st given the passage of the motion. Prior to her judgment, the opposition had held that polls were due by September 18th, three months from June 18th, when the CCJ delivered its judgment on the validity of the motion.
AFC seeking renegotiation of Cummingsburg Accord before elections: The Alliance For Change (AFC) is seeking the revision of the governance pact between it and governing coalition partner A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). Following discussions at an AFC National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, sources told Stabroek News that the AFC wants the renegotiation of the Cummingsburg Accord to be settled before general elections are announced and because the accord expires next year. “It has worked well and we feel that it should be dealt with before we go into campaign mode,” a source explained. The AFC has also maintained that it will stand by its choice of current Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, although the PNCR – the main player in the APNU – has said that it has not discussed the matter of a prime ministerial candidate yet.
WPA sorry for gov’t shortcomings but sticking with coalition for polls: Giving the APNU+AFC a “mixed review” and apologising for its shortcomings while in office, APNU member the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) on Friday, August 16th, announced that it would remain in the governing coalition for the next elections and pledged to be active in ensuring that promises are kept. At a news conference, WPA Executive David Hinds apologised for the coalition’s shortcomings. “We do share our fair share of responsibility for this. We are not shying away. We have one minister—our representative was always there when these decisions were or not made. We apologise for these shortcomings on behalf of the government,” Hinds said.
The Economy
Half-year growth pegged at 4%: Guyana’s economy grew by 4 per cent in the first half of this year as key sectors expanded and the overall growth rate for the year is now projected to be 4.5 per cent, slightly down from the 4.6 per cent projection contained in Budget 2019 but up from the 4.4 per cent revised estimate in April. “Growth continued to be broad-based with notable expansions in key sectors such as rice, forestry, gold, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, and financial and insurance activities,” says the Mid-Year Report 2019 of the Ministry of Finance, which was released on August 14th. Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said 2019’s half year performance compares “extremely favourably” with 2018’s revised half year growth rate covering the same period, which was 5 per cent. Jordan said that 2019’s half-year growth rate has been achieved despite weaker growth in the global economy and “relatively unfavourable” commodity prices in a number of sectors.
Education
Guyana records 73% CSEC pass rate: Guyana has recorded what education officials say is its highest ever pass rate at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, but key areas like Mathematics continue to see below par achievement.
This year the number of candidates who earned Grade 1s in eight or more subjects reached a whopping 251 students. Of that number 55 secured 12 or more Grade 1s, Education Minister Nicolette Henry said on Wednesday, when she reported that that of the 11,467 students registered for 2019’s CSEC, 73% were able to achieve Grades 1 to 3 at the General and Technical proficiencies. This pass rate is greater than the 64% regional pass rate recorded by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and the “best recorded performance” of Guyana as a country.
Riana Toney is Top CSEC performer: The country’s top CSEC performer this year is 16-year-old Riana Toney, of the Anna Regina Secondary School, who secured 19 Grade 1 passes.
Toney told Stabroek News that she was shocked and overjoyed at her results. She explained that she wrote the many subjects not only “to challenge” herself but also because she wants to be “an all-rounder” who knows a little bit of something from different fields.
Health
Gov’t to roll out PrEP initiative to combat HIV: Government plans to introduce the HIV transmission countermeasure Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a move welcomed by rights advocate Joel Simpson, who described it as an important first step and expressed hope that the drug would eventually be available countrywide. The announcement was made at an HIV Clinical Management and Implementation of PrEP through a Public-Private Partnership Workshop last Wednesday. The Department of Public Information (DPI) reported that the ministry is planning to introduce PrEP to combat HIV transmission while another countermeasure will see the government establishing a public-private partnership with doctors within the private sector to whom patients will be referred for treatment. Exactly how the two measures will be implemented was not made clear by the DPI report.
Crime
Cop found unconscious on Mandela Ave succumbs: Police Constable #2045 Winston Cooper, who was discovered lying on Mandela Avenue on July 1st with serious wounds to his head succumbed at a city hospital yesterday and President David Granger has since called for an inquiry into his death. Cooper, who was a Presidential Guard and resided at Lot 761 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) on the morning of August 14th, after relatives rushed him to the facility because he was experiencing problems breathing. He had been discharged from the hospital on August 6th, following his initial hospitalisation. The police had said that Cooper was rushed to the hospital on July 1st after he was discovered lying in an unconscious condition opposite the National Gymnasium. He spent approximately three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where he remained unconscious and was later transferred to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) before being discharged.
DPP recommends CJIA manager be charged over sex assault complaint: The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised on August 14th that Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) manager Andre Kellman be charged with the sexual assault of a staffer at the facility, almost two months after a complaint was made to the police. In a press statement, the DPP’s Chambers said that the case file has been returned to the police. “Based on the evidence contained in the police file, legal advice has been given to the Guyana Police Force for the charge of sexual assault to be instituted against the accused Andre Kellman,” the statement said.
