Opinion
Institutions in charge of gold are clearly broken
One of the most valuable non-renewable resources that Guyana has, apart from oil, is gold. The price for an ounce of gold on the World Market (June 16, 2024) is US$2,348.40 (https://www.google.com/search?q=price+of+gold&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1113US1113&oq=price+of+g&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggBEAAYsQMYgAQyBggCEEUYOTINCAMQABiSAxiABBiKBTIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDINCAYQABixAxjJAxiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQA); and therefore, one pound of gold is US$37,574.40, as compared with a pound of sugar at US 19.35 cents and rice at US 18.15…
Indicators raised by Mr. Bhagwandin are irrelevant
I refer to Mr. Joel Bhagwandin’s letter in SN dated June 14, 2024 submitted in response to my letter dated June 12, 2024 on the shortage of royalty paid by EMGL. Mr. Bhagwandin claims, among other unrelated issues, that the shortage observed in royalty was associated with the following: ’(I) royalties …(being) deposited every quarter…
Anyone who places the sanctity of a hugely questionable and lopsided contract above sovereignty is no better than the fool who signed the contract in the first place
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 130 – June 14, 2024 Exxon’s incredible (and unique) return on Equity Introduction This week’s column features the financial statements of the Guyana branch of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, a 45% stakeholder, and the designated Operator, in the Stabroek Block. In what was a…
Royalty discrepancy in EMGL Annual Report
Reference is made to the ExxonMobil Guyana Limited Annual Report 2023 (https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/locations/guyana/annual-report). In that report (Page 36), it is recorded that royalty paid is G$21,922,725,604.00, representing 2 percent of total revenue of G$1,108,897, 727, 566.00 (Table1). However, the royalty paid is not 2 percent of total revenue; instead, it is only 1.977%. The correct royalty…
Public investment in brackish water shrimpers versus coastal artisanal fishers
Since few government officials respond to questions that are raised in the Press, we must thank Tejnarine Geer, Aquaculture consultant, for information on the brackish water shrimp project in Region 6 (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/06/07/opinion/letters/brackish-water-shrimp-project-has-proven-to-be-tremendous-success/). Through your newspaper, I ask Mr Geer some follow-up questions: In 2021, Minister Mustapha informed that ‘$58M [was] being injected to up Region Six…
GPL, there are still people around who can understand electricity
GPL, there are still people around who can understand electricity I grew up in New Amsterdam in the 1950s, where there were hundreds of vultures, which we called carrion crows. Some used to come home to roost in coconut trees between where I lived and the then NA hospital. They also perched on electric power…
Insurance and its adequacy (Part 3 final)
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 129 On 29th December 2023, in a letter to the press, I argued that the Natural Resource Fund was overstated by G$274 BN., the amount of the Corporation Taxes paid by the Government on behalf of the oil companies required under Article 15.4…
Regarding Guyana’s life expectancy forecasts, Dr. Ramsammy should let the professional people provide expert advice
Reference is made to a letter written by Dr. Leslie Ramsammy in response to my letter on the subject of life expectancy in Guyana (SN 5- 30-2024), and I would like to make the following observations. First, in Dr. Ramsammy’s letter he stated that ‘At the moment, Guyana’s life expectancy is approaching 71(years)…’. (and) ……
Unthinking paternalism displayed by the current government towards Guyana’s diverse Amerindian Villages and Communities
Dear Editor, Your editorial ‘Govt and the Indigenous’ (SN 02 June 2024, https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/06/02/opinion/editorial/govt-and-the-indigenous/) touches on the remarkably unthinking paternalism displayed by the current government towards Guyana’s diverse 200+ Amerindian Villages and Communities. What genuinely caring government would buy a job lot of 200 identical agricultural tractors and attachments and hand them out without considering the range…
Guyana’s welcomed improved life expectancy, as reported by President Ali, is challenged by the absence of critical data
Dear Editor, On the occasion of Guyana’s 58th Independence Anniversary, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali is reported to have said that from 2020 to now (2024), the country’s life expectancy has increased by two years overall to 70 in males, and 74 for females. And that government’s new target is to increase overall life expectancy to…