(Kaieteur News) – The PPP/C Government keeps on insisting that it is serious about crime.  We could take that as a given, when there are actions that match those words.  We are forced to go in a different direction when claims about looking out for the best interests of the victimised vanish into some political black hole, and alleged perpetrators are allowed to carry on as if nothing happened.  There is a case of an alleged rape that happened at the hands of a senior Guyana Police Force officer.  It has attracted a broadside of condemnation.  Yet, after all the firm commitments about getting to the bottom of alleged crimes, and that there are no sacred cows, the best that arms of the government can do is hide behind a wall of silence.

Rape is as serious as they come, with lifetime trauma inflicted on some victims.  In interactions between men and women, especially where the men have all of the power, women come out on the losing end most frequently.  With a female Minister of Home Affairs, one that has oversight of the Guyana Police, expectations were high that there would be some information on what was being done with the accuser’s report of rape.  Minister Oneidge Walrond was silent too long, and when she finally broke her silence, embarrassed herself.  What “formal confrontation” could there be between the accuser and accused in this situation, when that is prohibited?  The minister seemed tentative, but felt that the senior officer should be sent on administrative leave.  That should have been the first step.  Also, there are other women who hold senior positions in the PPP/C Government, but who are afraid to speak.

The history of the last few years of the government has been that whenever an allegation of this kind surfaces, there are frantic efforts to conceal the matter, intimidate the victim, force them into retreat, and protect the alleged wrongdoer.  That sequence has played out so often that it is now ingrained in the expectations of citizens.  Could this be what is happening, once again?  A man with much power as part of his official role is the recipient of what gives every impression of governmental circling of the wagons.  We have no knowledge, we are in no position, to pronounce on the innocence or guilt of anyone, and we make that clear in this situation.

What is alarming, however, is the silence that has many layers, and may be muffling quite a bit.  The commissioner of police cannot be the voice that is missing at a time like this.  The Minister of Home Affairs has to be concerned about how she is seen, when weakness has become her automatic go-to standard.  When women are allegedly victimised, probably weak and vulnerable women, and women in the PPP/C Government’s cabinet tighten their mouths, so that no sound escapes, then that sends a message to the public.  There is more to the story of alleged rape, but the government is still putting its story together in the hope of getting it in some sort of acceptable state.  That can never be good enough.  Once the senior police officer is in the clear, that should be in the public domain, as a matter of fairness.  If, on the other hand, there are doubts about his representations, with pieces missing or not adding up, there is a duty to the victim and to the public for something to be said.  A bland, safe, official statement from the commissioner or minister would represent a welcome start.

Both the commissioner and the minister should know that silence, or belated disclosure, do not inspire.  Confidence and trust are not given a shot in the arm.  The opposite holds true: silence and retreat open the door to speculation, and the endless suspicions that take hold of the imagination.  After all these years in office, and more than its share of scandal and attempts at coverup, the PPP/C Government should be wiser.  Silence and delay do not help its cause.  The accuser suffers in silence.  The accused struggles to continue as normal, while the juniors and seniors and strangers give him a sideways look.  Delay damages all involved, wastes time.

Source: Kaieteur News

Editorial…

(Kaieteur News) – If to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), then far less should be expected to Guyana.  When ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation could be so uncaring, so reckless, to file with the SEC that it paid US$1.1B in 2025, that highlights what this country has for a partner.  If ExxonMobil can claim that payment (and it did), then there is no limit to what it could do to the Guyana Government and the people of Guyana.  A driller for oil should be careful about the line that it walks: a claimant of what it did not do, one that takes a huge risk with an SEC filing with that US$1.1B tax hole.

ExxonMobil did not pay Guyana’s sole taxing authority, the GRA, any US$1.1B in 2025.  ExxonMobil’s shifty and self-serving 2106 oil contract has a provision in Article 15.1 that exempts it from paying a series of taxes, with taxes on income from petroleum operations being the highlight.  Once again, we at this publication ask these simplest of questions.  What US$1.1B in taxes paid in 2025?  Paid to which part of the GRA?  When was that paid?  When did money, over a billion in taxes paid, leave ExxonMobil’s treasury and reach into Guyana’s treasury?  But the company has a receipt, a tax certificate, for taxes that it did not pay itself.

That is not a sleight of hand move.  It is a sleight of hand trick along with Guyanese citizens and U.S. citizens being sold the Brooklyn Bridge and told how great of a favour they got from ExxonMobil.  Not a cent paid in income taxes on operations, yet a trick of this magnitude can be so barefacedly played on the people of two countries.  Only the most brazen and determined risktaker of a company would think of something like that, then arrange it, and last do it.

The people of this country are shortchanged with taxes that should be due to them in the normal course of business.  The American people do not get their due, for they also are squeezed through receiving less.  Regular companies and ordinary people pay their taxes.  ExxonMobil pay its people to play these types of games.  The Government of Guyana is seemingly happy to go along with this tax charade of no taxes paid by ExxonMobil, and a tax receipt/certificate issued to the company.  A handful of U.S. Senators are not happy at all, at what is seen as nothing but a crude tax hustle.  One that if stopped would save U.S. taxpayers approximately US$71.5B over 10 years.  The PPP/C Government has dodged this farce of a tax setup, seemingly unconcerned about the substance and appearance of the issue.  In the U.S., there is concern over what does not make sense, and insults the intelligence.

We have a couple more questions for local taxpayers.  If ExxonMobil can take this risk with US$1.1B in taxes that it did not pay, then how much more risk may it not take with a billion barrels from recent oil discoveries that it refuses to disclose?  Oil operations are 200 kilometers offshore, and Guyana is in the dark (while enjoying it).  Six decades after national independence and governments have no idea about how to deliver a reliable supply electricity to citizens.  What interest would it have, what would it want to know and do, about huge oil developments 200 kilometers from shore, a planet away?  Further, ExxonMobil could be so openly aggressive with US$1.1B in taxes that it did not pay, how much more aggressive may it not be a billion (US) in audit findings that it does not want to see the light?  And, if ExxonMobil can look at the Government of Guyana and the people of Guyana in their faces, and call itself a partner, after its US$1.1B scheme, then how much can this company still be assessed as a partner to be trusted?

We study the lengths to which this supergiant of an oil company goes for slightly over a billion US dollars, and raise this last question.  What else, how much further, would ExxonMobil not go, in pulling the trigger and taking off nonchalantly when the stakes are higher and the dollar amounts are bigger?

Source: Kaieteur News

(Kaieteur News) – The warning from INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza last week that criminal networks are now operating like corporations is serious enough for Guyana, and the wider Caribbean to take note of.

The days when organised crime could be understood simply as gangs moving drugs from one place to another are long gone. Criminal enterprises have become sophisticated, diversified and international. They exploit legitimate businesses, maritime routes, digital platforms, financial systems and increasingly sophisticated technologies to move people, weapons, drugs and illicit money across borders.

In Guyana our extensive Atlantic coastline, rivers, forests, porous borders and expanding economic activity provide legitimate opportunities for development. But those same characteristics can be exploited by criminal networks. The country’s growing connectivity also creates new avenues for cybercrime, fraud, money laundering and other technology-enabled offences.

The threat is therefore much larger than the quantity of cocaine, firearms or illegal gold intercepted by law enforcement. INTERPOL’s message is that law enforcement must go beyond the cargo. Urquiza pointed to Operation Guyana Shield and its efforts to trace illegal timber, gold, mercury supplies, shell companies and laundered profits. His observation that seizures take away criminals’ cargo while following the money takes away their business deserves serious consideration.

For too long, success in the fight against organised crime has often been measured by the number of arrests, the quantity of drugs seized or the number of illegal weapons recovered. Those are important achievements, but they do not necessarily dismantle a criminal organisation.

A trafficker can lose one shipment and replace it. A criminal syndicate can lose several couriers and recruit others. But when investigators identify the people financing the operation, trace the proceeds, expose shell companies and seize the assets acquired with criminal money, the organisation’s ability to operate is fundamentally challenged. That is where Guyana must place greater emphasis.

The country needs strong financial intelligence capabilities, effective asset tracing, robust anti-money-laundering enforcement and closer cooperation among the police, customs authorities, financial institutions, regulators and other agencies responsible for combating economic crime.

International cooperation is equally important. As Commissioner of Police, Dr. Clifton Hicken correctly noted at the recently concluded conference, no country can successfully confront transnational crime in isolation. Criminal networks do not respect borders. They can move money, communications, people and commodities across jurisdictions far more quickly than traditional law enforcement systems can sometimes respond.

Guyana must therefore ensure that its law enforcement agencies are not only adequately equipped but properly connected to their counterparts throughout the region and beyond. The proposed INTERPOL Silver Notices Initiative could provide another important tool by helping countries trace and disrupt illicit assets across borders. Guyana should make full use of every legitimate international mechanism capable of helping investigators identify and recover criminal proceeds.

But international assistance cannot substitute for domestic vigilance.

Financial institutions, businesses, professionals and public authorities must understand that organised crime can infiltrate legitimate economic activity. The dirty money does not always arrive carrying a label. It can be disguised through companies, property transactions, investments, gold, cryptocurrency and other seemingly legitimate activities.

This means that the fight against crime must increasingly become a fight against concealment. Guyana’s development must not create opportunities for criminal enterprises to entrench themselves in the economy. As billions of dollars flow into the country and new businesses and industries emerge, systems must be strong enough to distinguish legitimate wealth creation from wealth generated through criminal activity.

INTERPOL has delivered the warning. Guyana must now demonstrate that it understands the challenge. The objective cannot simply be to seize the drugs, guns or illegal gold. The greater objective must be to identify who finances the operation, who profits from it, where the money goes and what assets have been acquired with it. Follow the money, and the criminal corporation becomes vulnerable. That is the fight Guyana must be prepared to wage.

Source: Kaieteur News

habeeb October 8, 2026 at 8:25 pm

Source: Kaieteur News

(Kaieteur News) – Sixty Grade 10 students of Freeburg Secondary School have embarked on a six-month welding programme aimed at equipping them with internationally recognised technical skills and preparing them for opportunities in Guyana’s rapidly expanding industrial sector.

Under the theme “Building the foundation for the future”, the initiative was conceptualised by the Deputy Chief Education Officer for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Dr. Ritesh Tularam. It aims to introduce young people to the fundamentals of welding and occupational safety, establishing a base for future technical education, apprenticeships, employment or entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Education said in a press release.

Students during one of the training sessions as part of the “Weekend Welders” programme.

The course runs for 208 hours over 26 weeks at the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) workshop, located on Woolford Avenue, with the Ministry of Education providing transportation for all participating students. The programmes were specifically designed to condense a one-year programme. Combining weekday sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with weekend training on Saturdays and Sundays, the schedule is designed to simulate a commercial workshop environment, with each session dividing four hours of daily contact time between theoretical safety briefings and continuous hands-on booth instruction.

Over the six months, the programme takes students through a progressive sequence of trade skills. Early modules cover health and safety, manual handling, housekeeping, technical drawing and precision measurement. Students then move on to power tool operation, mechanical cutting and introductory engineering calculations before starting core training in Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) and Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW). The final stages focus on workplace communication, advanced computations and practical assessments.

The entire course is aligned with the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Level I in Welding (CCMEM10202). Students who demonstrate competence across all required units—including joint preparation, heat control and workshop safety—will receive full regional certification following final internal and external verification.

Education officials highlighted that rapid growth across construction, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure has created an urgent need for certified tradespeople. By holding sessions outside regular school hours, the programme provides essential vocational training without disrupting the pupils’ standard academic timetables. Dr. Tularam noted that the programme is expected to expand to additional secondary schools in 2027, incorporating other critical technical disciplines. Beyond modernising TVET nationwide, the Ministry of Education is driving a broader mandate to ensure every secondary school student graduates with proficiency in at least one practical skill.

Source: Kaieteur News

– expand affordable water services

(Kaieteur News) – The government is advancing plans to drill 14 new wells across four regions, strengthening water infrastructure in several developing and established communities as part of efforts to expand reliable access to potable water.

The initiative, being advanced through the Ministry of Housing and Central Housing and Planning Authority, will see six wells drilled in Region Four, four in Region Six, three in Region Three and one in Region Ten.  The planned wells are expected to support the continued development of housing schemes by ensuring that critical water infrastructure keeps pace with population growth and the expansion of residential communities.

The programme will complement wider efforts by the Guyana Water Incorporated, GWI, to improve access to water and make the service more affordable for residents. According to GWI’s Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh, the wider initiative followed a mandate from His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, for the utility to strengthen water services across Guyana. “This is an initiative to serve the people of Guyana and to make water affordable to the people,” he said.

Among the initiatives is the establishment of water refilling stations across the regions, with at least two to three stations planned in each region. Several are already operational, including stations at Lima in Region Two, Port Mourant in Region Six , Pouderoyen and Vergenoegen, where the CEO described the facility as a success. The programme is also being expanded to communities including Bartica and Linden.

For residents, the stations are designed to provide a more affordable option for accessing treated water, with a five-gallon container costing just $100 to refill. The two initiatives therefore address different but complementary aspects of water access, while the planned wells strengthen the infrastructure needed to support growing communities, the refilling stations provide residents with an accessible and lower-cost option for obtaining potable water.

Together, they form part of the government’s broader efforts to expand water services, support the development of new housing communities and improve access to an essential service across Guyana. (DPI)

Source: Kaieteur News