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A New Grant man allegedly caught dumping green coconut shells on the roadside in Princes Town over the weekend has been charged with littering.

The 42-year-old man from Monkey Town Branch Road was also charged with driving without a valid insurance certificate. He is expected to face a Princes Town magistrate on Monday to answer both charges.

A police report said WPC Mitchell-Ramsey and other Princes Town municipal police were on mobile patrol on Saturday in a marked police van along Gopaul Bypass Road in Princes Town.

They saw a parked white Mazda van and a man throwing the coconut shell from the tray onto the roadside, a public place.

The police approached and told him of the offence – depositing litter in a public place – and cautioned him.

The police asked for his driving documents and found his driver’s licence was valid, but his insurance certificate had expired on August 2.

He was taken to the Princes Town municipal police station, where WPC Mitchell-Ramsey laid the charges.

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…750 persons to be employed during construction – American investor

A US$200 million oil refinery and integrated petrochemical manufacturing complex, which will employ 750 persons during its construction and 300 permanent workers, is being planned by a United States (US) investor, Chemtech Limited, for the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

According to Chemtech in its project summary, they have already received no-objection letters from the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for the project which has a proposed site on 492 acres of land at Plantation York.

“The Government of the Republic of Guyana is seeking to further diversify the economy from oil and gas, mining and the export of logs, there is a need to develop the downstream industry,” the special purpose company explained.

“This oil refinery will produce the products which is being imported at this time, the excess will be for the markets in the Caribbean, these products are being imported and sold at very high cost to the end users, the integrated complex will be a pioneer in processing 1st stage downstream products.”

An oil refinery and fertilizer plant site in the Ibeju Lekki district, outside of Lagos, Nigeria.Photographer: Tom Saater/Bloomberg

The company went on to list some of the downstream products of the oil and gas sector it will be processing, such as methanol, urea and melamine, as well as marketable products such as veneer board, formaldehyde and fertiliser. These products, they noted, can generate revenue from exports and domestic profit, as well as the training opportunities for employees.

Its first phase will be focused on the integrated chemical complex, while its second phase will see a port being built to service the oil and gas sector and provide ship building and repairs. All in all, the company estimates the project will cost US$200 million.

“A strategic partnership with the Guyana Government to supply the feedstock for the oil refinery and/or private sector to supply the raw material to support the Veneer Board and Oriented Strand Board (OSB) plant and other related products in the Integrated Complex. Chemtech board industry in Guyana will utilise the adhesives manufactured from the chemical complex; the excess will be for the export market.”

“This project will create several jobs for the wood industry, the engineered board will be termite resistance, and not forgetting this will generate foreign currency. The Engineered Board (OSB) Oriented Strand Board will be an opportunity to build low-income houses, luxury homes and pre-fabricated homes for the export market. Veneer Board will allow the manufacturing sector to export world class furniture,” the company also explained.

When it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the company assured that the agency’s requirements will be adhered to and that process and technical data will be available for each plant. They also listed their source of financing as United Securities Trust of Switzerland. According to the company, the oil refinery will take between 24 and 30 months to construct, while the integrated complex will take between 18 and 24. The project, it assured, would not need natural gas but would utilise products already made from the natural gas, such as methanol and urea.

This is even as procurement has already been started by the Government of Guyana for a gas-to-shore project that will have a 25-year lifespan and is expected to employ up to 800 workers during the peak construction stage, as well as some 40 full-time workers during the operations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommissioning stage. The gas-to-shore project will include a power plant and a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant, all of which will be constructed under a combined Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) process within the Wales Development Zone (WDZ). The aim is to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 for the power plant while the NGL facility is slated to be online by 2025.

The Guyana Government has already invited interested parties to make investments in the WDZ, which will be heavily industrialised and for which approximately 150 acres of land has been allocated. Those lands were previously used by the Wales Sugar Estate.

Head of the Gas-to-Shore Task Force, Winston Brassington has previously stated that ExxonMobil Guyana, which is funding the pipeline aspect of the project out of cost oil, has found that there would be substantial savings from combining these two facilities.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Over 200 persons applied to join the Guyana Police Force (GPF) during a recruitment drive held in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The COVID-19 pandemic had halted the recruitment and training of persons to join the Police Force, however, recruitment has once again commenced for persons wishing to become officers in the GPF.

The Police Force is initially seeking to recruit some 700 new officers and will be holding similar exercises in other regions across the country.

According to Deputy Commissioner Calvin Brutus, the current demand for human resources in the Police Force is large.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus

While he did not say what the quota is to bring the organisation to full capacity, Brutus noted, however, that they are looking to train 700 new ranks after which they will move to recruit more persons.

But in doing this, the Deputy Commissioner explained that efforts are being made to ensure that the Guyana Police Force truly reflects the Guyanese society. To this end, persons are being recruited from all geographic locations across Guyana.

Brutus said this will allow the Force to have persons from the different demographics of the country.

“A lot of our members are drawn from the coastland, particularly Berbice; some from Linden and Central Georgetown. Not because they are the ones that are most keen to join the Force, but because access for them is easier than those from the far-flung areas.”

Information on recruitment is also more readily available to persons on the coast while there is also a much higher cost for applicants who are not on the Coast.

Berbicians taking advantage of the initiative

However, according to Brutus, all of those discrepancies or disadvantages for persons from hinterland regions will be changed, allowing all equal opportunities.

Brutus said the Force has now made it much easier for persons who wish to become Police officers by reducing most of the miscellaneous costs attached to the application process.

“Once you would have gone through the process and you are ready to be sworn into the Guyana Police Force, a list in the past was given to recruits to purchase their civilian clothing, dress shirts, ties, dress pants, shoes, socks and other things like soap and toothpaste and so on. It is a challenge for many persons because remember that they don’t have a job; they would have to borrow money and some of their families and friends would not have that amount of money to lend them so the support for them was not readily available.”

This, Brutus pointed out, has in the past resulted in many recruits not entering training school.

“A lot of persons abandon the process because they could not stand it financially. Now the organisation has taken a decision at the Commissioner level that the Force will bear that cost and that will remove that burden from them.”

Additionally, if needed, the Force will take the photographs of applicants and print the pictures of those who do not walk with photographs. Brutus noted that the photocopying of all certificates is now being financed by the Force.

“We have even applied for birth certificates for persons who were never issued with a birth certificate and we have had to apply for a replacement for a lost birth certificate,” Brutus told the media as he explained the extent to which the Force was assisting applicants.

The Force is also footing the bill for the required medical and went to the extent while in Berbice to provide transportation for persons to go to have their medical examinations done.

“Your role is to come in and assimilate all that you can learn from the manuals that we present – learn policing and then you will go out to perform your duty.”

Similar drives will be held in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and One (Barima-Waini) within the next few weeks.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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by Herma Demacque

Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Transport, Physical Development and Urban Renewal, Hon. Stephenson King, during a sitting of the House of Assembly, updated the nation on the progress of the Millennium Highway and West Coast Road Reconstruction Project.

The project will rehabilitate 14.2 km of existing roads along with associated drainage, retaining structures, bridge replacements, road realignment and roundabout construction. Expected outcomes include increased efficiency and road safety.

Minister King explained that the Ministry of Infrastructure has instituted subcomponents aimed at meeting project deadlines.

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“Subcomponent one will focus on the construction of the roundabout while maintaining the quality requirements of the embankment fill. Subcomponent two will focus on the full depth reclamation of the existing road pavement and its reconstruction. Subcomponent three will take into consideration ancillary works that include drainage, major culverts, sidewalks and other road fixtures for that new bridge.

“The public will notice work on the roundabout between the new Cul de Sac bridge and the Commode Hill,” he continued. “This is to construct the new approach road and embankment of the new bridge which is due for completion in August.”

The Millennium Highway and West Coast Road Reconstruction Project is funded by the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UK-CIF), and the Government of Saint Lucia. The project funding is managed through the Caribbean Development Bank CDB.

Source: Government Information Service. Headline photo: Stock image

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