Black Immigrant Daily News

After decades of posing a smoke nuisance and its attendant health risks to thousands of Corporate Area residents, the Riverton City dump off Spanish Town Road in St Andrew is to be decommissioned.

The announcement was made on Friday by Prime Minister Andrew Holness during the special joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives to mark Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of Independence.

Holness said the Government has undertaken a comprehensive review of the country’s public sanitation, garbage collection and waste disposal system which he described as a “perennial problem for Jamaica”.

“We now have a plan which will see greater private sector participation in waste collection, the introduction of waste-to-energy conversion, the commissioning of new and properly built disposal sites and the decommissioning of various dumps including the Riverton City dump,” Holness told the sitting.

He said that by September he will be having discussions with the Member of Parliament for St Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, in whose constituency the problem-plagued dump is located, to fully brief him on the plans and to secure his support for the plans.

Holness acknowledged that the dump sites are revenue earners for some people.

“Just to be clear, this is something that the political class will have to work together on. It’s not simply a matter of saying we’re closing down Riverton City dump, people depend on it for their economic survival, people live around (the facility),” said the prime minister.

Efforts have been made over the years to upgrade the Riverton facility to a landfill but periodic fires there means it continues to pose a health threat to residents of nearby communities who are at times forced to inhale the toxic smoke for days at a time while firefighters battle to bring the situation under control. Environmentalists have in the past threatened class action lawsuits to get the authorities to resolve the longstanding problem.

Reports have also emerged over the years that the dump was deliberately lit on numerous occasions by unscrupulous persons who in turn benefit after being contracted to help extinguish the fires.

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Let’s speak the truth. Or should we plead the fifth? Prison raid!!!

I was remanded for a few days, trust and believe me, 1735 is a hell hole. I contemplated suicide twice. Other people in the cell had reasoning power. They even had me see the consultants the prison provides. You get a phone call once every two weeks for like 3-5 minutes.

Food: On remand, if you are lucky you can get permission to get outside food, but you get breakfast between 6 am to 7am (which is nothing much). Lunch (11 am to 12 noon). After that you suck sarl until the next morning!!!!

Bare necessities. (Soap, toothbrush and paste, toilet paper). You have to buy from the prison or have someone bring them for you. You bathe once a day!!!  The bathroom is green nf with algae etc., Let’s not even mention the area where you have to do a #2.

Let’s speak about the cells. Three bunk beds but 8 to 10 inmates or even more!!! Maskita, rats big like a Toyota passo. Thank God for the fan in the cell. The inmates got creative. Very, very creative I must say. Cause my second night gas dey a heng me, and an inmate made everyone in the cell some tea.

Before I go further, you judgemental people, this is remand. (I’m innocent until proven guilty). One inmate was like “yo, call ur girl or ur mom or whoever and clear your head and calm your mind, but remember to top back up the phone, and delete numbers. Blessings youth!!

You wanna know what 1735 feels like? Go in a garbage truck at night and just just stand up in the back of it with trash in it. It’s still 10 times worse at 1735.

I can understand the raid when it comes to weapons etc., but a kettle, hot plate, food? Not even drinking water in Dey!! And you take away an igloo (where u have to buy a half bag of ice for the same as a full bag, and bear in mind the ice done ah melt.

Prison ain’t no bed ah rose, but damn, 1735 is a breeding ground for mental health issues. Honestly, some type of prison reform is needed, because you come out more effed up than you went in. I was only in there for five days and it felt like five years. Sometimes just to keep your sanity you just need to hear a loved one’s voice. Honestly, that raid did more harm than good.

Must say big respect to the innocently charged people, governor representative Wendel Robinson a.k.a Johnny Cochrane, a.k.a Matlock, a.k.a Perry Mason.

Is like people current after carnival when the APUA rasta man shows up. I’m out.

My two cents

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As the Guyana Police Force (GPF) collaborates with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to educate the public on noise nuisance, it was announced that heftier fines are expected for violators who continue to break the law.

Three months after the Guyana Police Force signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the EPA to tackle noise nuisance, this development was announced.

The agreement was signed to pave the way for greater collaboration between the EPA and the Police in the areas of training and enforcement of noise management.

However, on Friday, the EPA and the Police Force said that their collaboration is allowing for more implementations of penalties.

Only last month, the EPA presented the Guyana Police Force with 25 sound level meters to aid in the Force’s efforts to curb noise nuisance.

During the conference, the Deputy Commander of Regional Division Three, Superintendent Khalid Mandal said that the Police’s Offence Act does not cater for hefty fines for offenders.But, due to the collaboration with the EPA, the Police Force will be able to implement heftier fines.

“We recognise that when we charge people under the summary jurisdiction act… the fine for the first conviction is very small – $7500 to $10,00 and to $15,000. For the second offence, $10,000 to $20,000. Under the EPA act, it is much hefty. It starts at $80,000 to $750,000. So, with us getting that Act, that will be a deterrent in itself,” he said.

Mandal said this would be a good move to put a stop to those who refuse to comply with the laws.

Top Cop Clifton Hicken stated that members of the public can look out for the Guyana Police Force’s proactive arrangement in terms of dealing with noise pollution, which is expected to bring some degree of relief.

He said the Force continues to develop partnerships with wider stakeholders, and they will ensure that more focus is placed on noise pollution in a constructive way.

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ASSOCIATES TIMES: After a lot of controversies Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia confirmed they don’t have any associations with “Globe Detective Agency” to carry out due diligence checks on citizenship by investment programme applicants. The countries added that they only trust internationally acknowledged agencies based in the United Kingdom and the United States to do background checks on applicants for more robust vetting procedures.

These three Caribbean nations specified that the background checks conducted by “Globe Detectives” are insufficient and lack thorough investigations, resulting in a loophole in national security.

To mitigate any future security and safety threats, these three countries have blacklisted the “Globe Detective Agency” from doing due diligence checks on CBI/CIP applicants. Even though the CIP website of Saint Lucia has specified “Globe Detective Agency” as “due diligence partners”, the authorities confirmed that they no longer operate with the agency, and the website is yet to be updated with the new information.

The citizenship by an investment unit of Antigua and Barbuda also denied working with “Globe Detectives” and added that they never operated or handed over applications to the agency.

Les Khan, Head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit of St Kitts and Nevis, also released an official statement, which said that “Globe Detective Agency” has no associations whatsoever with the CBI Programme. Notably, the citizenship by investment programme of St Kitts and Nevis has the highest rating in the pillar of due diligence CBI Index 2021 report.

Les Khan said, “We take the security of our people and the global community as our utmost priority, and only the topmost agencies based in the United Kingdom and the United States of America are selected to do due diligence checks on applicants; we ensure that people of the only highest standard of character are granted citizenship. The process is multi-layered.”

Khan said that St Kitts and Nevis never works with agencies like “Globe Detective” because their reports are often insufficient and carry incomplete information.

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London-based Tullow Oil has hit water in the Beebei-Potaro exploration well, drilled in the Kanuku Block offshore Guyana.

In a statement issued on Friday, Tullow announced that drilling operations have been completed at the Beebei-Potaro well, which has been plugged and abandoned following these results.

“The well encountered good quality reservoir in the primary and secondary targets, but both targets were water-bearing,” the oil company has said.

The Noble Regina Allen rig drilled the Beebei-Potaro well to a total depth of 4325 metres in 71 metres of water.

While Spain’s Repsol is the operator of the Kanuku Licence with a 37.5 per cent working interest, Tullow holds 37.5 per cent, with TOQAP holding – a joint venture between Total E&P Guyana and Qatar Petroleum – holding the remaining 25 per cent.

According to Friday’s statement, Tullow said it would integrate the well results into its regional subsurface models, and work with its joint venture partners before deciding on next steps. Previously, Tullow had encountered oil at the Carapa-1 in the Kanuku Licence, but not in commercial quantities.

Several international reports, including from Reuters, have reported that Tullow has been focused on its successful operations in Africa. A Reuters article on Friday reported that Tullow had previously said it would limit capital exposure in Guyana, and would possibly be selling a portion of its stake to another company. But the article noted that the company has so far not announced any plan to do so.

Last November, Tullow was confident of the exploration results from the Kanuku Block, which is adjacent to the oil-rich Stabroek Block.

“In Guyana, the Kanuku JV Partners plan to drill the Beebei-Potaro commitment well in mid-2022, targeting in excess of 200 mmbbls gross mean unrisked prospective resources across two targets,” Tullow had said back then.

In addition to its interest in the Kanuku Licence, Tullow is also the operator of the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, where it has made two other discoveries at the Jethro-1 and Joe-1 wells.

However, those findings showed heavy crude with high sulphur content – a variety of oil that is less economically viable than the light, sweet crude found by United States oil giant ExxonMobil in the neighbouring Stabroek Block.

As the operator of the Orinduik Block, Tullow holds 60 per cent working interest, while Eco Atlantic hold 15 per cent and TOQAP holds the remaining 25 per cent.

In March 2021, the Government of Guyana granted Tullow Oil and its partners an extension of its prospecting licence in the Orinduik Block until 2023. Eco’s Chief Operating Officer, Colin Kinley, had stated at the time that the joint venture partners would continue their exploration activities with the use of available geophysical data and evaluations of their Joe and Jethro wells’ discoveries.

“The partnership is focused on its multiple light sweet oil prospects on the Orinduik Block, and we are high-grading candidates for the next drilling program, with the Operator expected to select targets later this year. We will update the market on further drilling plans in due course on our opportunity and prospects in this prolific oil basin,” he was quoted as saying.

The Orinduik oil block is just a few kilometres from ExxonMobil’s discoveries in the Liza and Payara fields. It is under administration of Eco Guyana and Tullow.

It has been a rough few years for Tullow, which in 2020 was forced to write off US$1.2 billion in wells that were not financially viable. Included in the 2019 amount is US$60 million for three wells Tullow drilled offshore Guyana, but could not continue working thereon.

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