the dogs of Berbice

[color=rgb(20, 24, 35)]EAST BERBICE RICE FARMERS TO SUFFER AFTER ROSE HALL SUGAR ESTATE CUTS OFF WATER SUPPLY TO THEM. NAGAMOOTOO ASSISTANCE REFUSED TO HELP. [/color][color=rgb(20, 24, 35)][/size]Rice farmers on the East Coast of Berbice, along the No. 19 road, are appealing for help as they are on the verge of losing millions of dollars in their rice crop after GuySuCo cut off a water supply.The rice fields which are at varying stages of growth badly need water and some plants have begun to wither.The main reason for the farmers’ plight is the action taken by the GuySuCo, Rose Hall Estate.
The sugar estate used hymacs to block a waterway that allows water to flow into the rice fields. The estate also depends on this source of water for the sugar crops.
The move has left the farmers who had already planted their rice, in a dilemma.
They allege that no one from GuySuCo informed them of this move.
The GuySuCo waterway that is just a few yards away from the farmers’ rice fields
The GuySuCo waterway that is just a few yards away from the farmers’ rice fields
The farmers say they have contacted GuySuCo and were told that nothing could be done by the Sugar Corporation. They contacted the Regional Administration and were told that they have no say in what was happening.
The farmers said that they subsequently contacted Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Gobin Harbajan who sent then back to GuySuCo and subsequently told them that there was not much he could do.
Meanwhile, thousands of acres have been abandoned since the farmers cannot cultivate the land due to a lack of water.
However, some had already ploughed their fields and had incurred thousands of dollars in losses. To prepare an acre of rice land including, plowing, sowing and fertilizing reportedly cost between $50,000 to $80,000.
Bags of fertilizers have been bought and stocked. [/color]

[color=rgb(20, 24, 35)]Two men armed with handguns on Monday morning walked pass security at the Lands and Survey Commission in Durban Backlands, Georgetown, made their way to the cashier and carted off just over $1 Million without much of an alarm being raised. [/color]
[color=rgb(20, 24, 35)][/size]Investigators were called to the location just after the incident but persons living and working nearby were totally in the dark with regard to what occurred. [/color]
[color=rgb(20, 24, 35)][/size]The Security entrance to the Commission’s building has a sign which indicates “No Weapons Allowed” but checks are not carried out for weapons. [/color][color=rgb(20, 24, 35)][/size]A police source close to the investigation said based on statements provided to the investigators, the two men were well dressed and appeared as if they were at the location to conduct business. They quietly made their way into the building and to the cashier’s department where they held the cashier at gunpoint, collected the money and quietly exited the building the same way they entered.
“It’s surprising no one in this building with over 50 employees raised any alarm, so the security at the gate did not even know what happened”, the source said.
Two men building a house nearby said they can’t believe there was a robbery at the building since they heard no alarm or saw any movement that would have indicated that something was wrong.
Investigators have started to question the security and a number of staff members as they begin their probe. The building reportedly has no security cameras. [/color]

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Winston Brassington, has resigned from his post.
He confirmed this with Stabroek News last evening but did not provide any specific reason for his resignation.

Guyana is again ranked among the most corrupt in Transparency International’s (TI) latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with a rank of 119 and a score of 29.
A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). In the latest report, CPI 2015, released yesterday, Guyana’s score was 29, compared to 30 in 2014, 27 in 2013

The opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has ruled out sitting on the University of Guyana’s (UG) Council and State Boards unless President David Granger assures that there would be no political intervention in decision-making.
“Until we have assurances that the Boards would have total autonomy over the entities, we cannot be part of rubber-stamping corruption or discrimination or any precipitous action made by the government elsewhere but carried out by the boards,” Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo told Demerara Waves Online News.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson recently noted that the PPPC has not even acknowledged his requests for that party to nominate persons to a number of boards such as those for the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and Guyana Power and Light (GPL). “I would have thought that as an efficient opposition, as they claim they  claim to be, they would have already discussed who the  nominees would be to various agencies,” he said.
Jagdeo said the PPPC would “probably” inform government of its position because his party needed a public assurance by President Granger that the boards would be responsible for the affairs of those entities.
He singled out the recent announcement of the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate and Factory by government instead of the Board of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation as an example of government’s overreach in decision-making. “We are not going to participate in agencies where would be blamed for decisions that are made elsewhere,” he said.
The Public Infrastructure Minister said the PPPC was informed last week- the same week in which the board members were appointed- to submit their nominees. “This is the third or fourth board that I have appointed and we have not received a response and I don’t think any of the other ministries has ever received a response for a nominee to any of the boards,” he said.
Patterson noted that President Granger has committed to having opposition members sit on State Boards following initial talks with the Opposition Leader.

VAT reduction won’t be easy- Finance Ministernow dem realize this?

The opposition PPP/C has promised a “hot” budget debate next week and several of its shadow ministers yesterday criticised aspects of the APNU+AFC government’s “taxation” budget charging that it is not for the ordinary man.
“Clearly, the budget is a taxation budget,” PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira said at a media briefing at PPP headquarters Freedom House yesterday. She said the budget debate next week will be a “hot” one and highlighted several areas of concern.