Twenty-four-year-old Vijay Arjune called “Kevin” of Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, who allegedly shot his pregnant teenage fiancée then took his own life last Thursday evening, might have premeditated the act.
Dhanwantie Raghoo, eldest sister of the now dead Parbattie Raghoo called “Priya”, told this newspaper that she accompanied the couple to Suriname where they were supposed to spend two days, but instead they spent eight. During the trip, she added that he treated both of them with a lot of love but more importantly, he confided in her about his problems with his mother, who was not too keen on the relationship. He reportedly told her that he was fearful of losing Priya since he loved her sincerely.

Vijay “Kevin” Arjune and Parbattie “Priya” Raghoo in happier times

Arjune, she added, told her that his mother was never in favour of the girl he chose to become his wife and would always create a rift between them. Days before they departed for Suriname, Raghoo said that he was happy upon receiving the news that her sister was pregnant with his child. While he was elated, his mother did not share his joys and started to ridicule him about the relationship. This was the reason for him planning the trip to Suriname.
The now dead auto electrician reportedly withdrew all his money from his bank account with the hope of having a grand time. She explained that while they were returning from Suriname, Arjune threatened to kill her sister and then himself, but she did not take it for granted. In addition, he started to talk about funeral homes and arrangements.
While they did not take him seriously, they laughed off the “talks” as jokes but it turned out to be serious.
At the house of the dead man, his mother Babita Persaud told this newspaper that the last time she saw her son alive was Friday morning when he left the home after telling her that he wanted to spend some time with his pregnant girlfriend. She then received a text message from him on Saturday morning wishing her a happy birthday and that he loved her. From then on, the aggrieved mother stated she has been trying to contact both her son and Raghoo, but to no avail.
She explained that before he left on Friday morning, her future daughter-in-law promised to take care of “her baby” since she was cognisant that her husband was not at home. During their time in Suriname, Persaud was in constant contact with Priya’s mother and updated her of their whereabouts since she was in contact with them. On Thursday, she explained that she went to Georgetown and upon reaching home, she received a telephone call informing her that her son was back in Guyana and he was on his way home with his fiancée.
No response
She explained that surprisingly, the teenager’s mother contacted her to find out if they had reached home. Another half hour elapsed and she called again to find out, but got another negative response.
The mother explained that the relatives of both parties started to get worried, but held out that they will return during the night. Persaud said after time was swiftly passing, her husband decided to look for them but was not sure where to start since they were not certain if he had gone to Georgetown.
Nevertheless, Arjune’s relatives decided to visit the home of the owner of the service from which their son had rented the car, but on their way, they recognised a white Toyota Raum motor car parked in a dark corner along the Caledonia road, but drove pass. At the home of the owner of the rental service, they were told that Kevin returned since Wednesday and in the same breath, the man also told them that he just passed the rented vehicle parked along the Caledonia Public Road.
With a sigh of relief, they telephoned the relatives of the teenager and informed them, who in turn asked them to wait so that they can go to the vehicle together. Upon arriving at the scene, Persaud jumped out of her car and saw her son and Raghoo lying in the car and thought that they were asleep, but they were confronted with their worst fear when they got close.
“We started to hit the car for them to wake up, but they nah move, so I decide to go around on the left hand side but when meh brace the car meh hand went in the car… de glass break… by this time, she father came and when he look, he seh u known wah, these people dead,” the woman cried.
When asked if Arjune had issues at home, she explained that on Wednesday last, her son informed her that his fiancée was pregnant and wanted to get marry. This, she noted was alarming to her and she told him that it was not possible to get married during this time because of the death of her brother.
She reportedly told him that since the girl is pregnant, and a traditional Hindu wedding was impossible, and she agreed that they would “sign papers” and then they will have a little reception later in the year.
This, she said, did not go down well with her son, thus he became angry and left. She feels that the parents of the girl were pressuring her son to get married to their daughter and he might have been frustrated and resorted to take actions into his own hands.
Meanwhile, the father of the dead girl said the couple shared a special relationship and they loved each other. He said that they recently returned from Suriname, but upon his return, Kevin refused to go home and instead, he slept over. With tears in his eyes, he said he left for Georgetown on Thursday morning leaving them at home and even when he returned home, they were fine and he was not aware of any arguments.
A few minutes later, Arjune told him that he was heading home and left the Soesdyke house, but subsequently returned and requested his daughter to accompany him. His daughter, he added, was reluctant to go but after some encouragement from her mother, she decided and went along and that was the last time he saw her alive. The next time he saw his daughter was in the rented car, dead.
He said his daughter had a gunshot wound to her right temple in the vicinity of her ear and Arjune had one to his right temple as well. He also stated that Arjune had issues at home since his mother wanted to control his life, which he was not in total agreement with. Both families are blaming each other for the couple’s death. The man leaves to mourn his parents, and foster siblings, while the teenager is survived by her parents and two siblings.

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The Alliance For Change (AFC) said it will not support the recently tabled Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, citing President Donald Ramotar’s veto of two opposition bills as its reason, a move which government has deemed an example of “vulgar abuse” on the part of the minority party.
But, from all appearances, the AFC will be standing alone, as its main parliamentary ally, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), said it has already given its commitment in the House that once the bill is fine tuned at the level of the Select Committee, it would get its blessing.

AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan

AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday announced that his party is withdrawing its support for the bill until the president assents to the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Bill 2012, both passed by the combined opposition using their one-seat majority.
However, last week, President Ramotar informed the Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman that he will not give his approval.
Now, the AFC is vindictively claiming that its decision to withdraw its support is based on the actions of the president.
“The AFC will reconsider its support for the anti-money laundering bill in view of the fact that the government is not assenting to the two opposition bills, mainly the Fiscal Management and Accountability Amendment and the President’s Former Benefits Amendment,” the party leader stated.
Addressing the press at the SideWalk Café, Ramjattan said that with Guyana’s limited resources, the benefits of the former president must be capped, emphasising that a ceiling must be put in place.
Ramjattan’s acknowledgement
Turning his attention to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Amendment Bill, Ramjattan said when approved, it will have tremendous benefits as it relates to accountability.
This bill, the party argued, will help to root out corruption and aid in transparency.
He accused the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) of dragging its foot on the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission and reiterated that the party will not support the Anti-Money Laundering Amendment Bill 2013 until its demands are met.
Standing alone
However, from all indications, it appears as though the AFC will be standing alone when the anti-money laundering bill goes to the National Assembly for approval.
APNU Chairman David Granger told Guyana Times International that the coalition made a commitment in the National Assembly to examine the bill in a special select committee and it will stand by that decision. He said the anti-money laundering bill has been in the pipeline for several years, noting that it is time that the people of Guyana benefit from such a move. He further added that while passage of the bill is important, enforcement is key.
He said the international community may be more concerned about enforcement, rather than meeting a deadline, adding that the APNU will not be making any deal with the president, since it is his constitutional right not to assent to the two bills.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, commenting on the AFC’s position, said the timely passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill is so important to national interest that any responsible party would take all available steps to ensure its approval.

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Washington, US (CMC) – The United States Congress has started formal consideration of a sweeping immigration reform bill that creates a “path to citizenship” for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, including Caribbean nationals.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to finish work on the bill, this week, adopting Republican amendments aimed at stronger border security.
The immigration bill requires the US federal government to gain almost total control of the border, authorising money for drones, Customs and Border Protection officers and prosecution of illegal entries.
Under the bill, new guest worker programmes would be established, particularly for low-skilled workers, and employers would be required to verify the legal status of all employees.
In exchange, Caribbean and other immigrants now in the US without legal status would be eligible for provisional status if they paid fees, fines and taxes.
They could gain legal residency 10 years after the border was declared secure. After 13 years, they would be eligible for citizenship.
The eight senators in the bipartisan group that drafted the bill – four of whom are on the 18-member Judiciary Committee – were successful in fending off changes that would derail the bill.
Immigration advocates and legal experts say no previous Congressional effort to change immigration law has offered such a broad, swift reprieve to immigrants deported by the US.
The bill would give a legal second chance to thousands of Caribbean and other deportees without serious criminal records who have a child, parent or spouse with a green card or American citizenship.
Many deportees brought to the United States before their 16th birthday would be eligible to return as well.
An amendment from Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who is among the bill’s most vocal critics, has sought to strip out the deportee reprieve.
But other opponents have welcomed it as a political godsend, describing it as such an overreach that it would make the entire immigration bill easier to defeat.
Some Democrats and immigrant rights groups have pledged to defend the deportee return, characterising it as an important step in righting a wrong.
“We have had four million people deported since 2002 and close to two million since 2008,” said Angelica Salas, director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.
“This is the only way to reunite families that have been destroyed by our outdated, broken and cruel immigration policies,” she added.
The Senate bill would reduce future deportations by giving millions of immigrants in the United States provisional legal status.
But a Senate aide involved in legislative negotiations says deportees would not be granted an automatic right of return; they would have to apply.
He said Caribbean and other deportees would be ineligible if they had been expelled for criminal reasons, or if they were convicted of a felony or at least three misdemeanors. The waivers would be granted at the discretion of the secretary of homeland security.
Immigration lawyers, however, say that could mean approvals end up being inconsistent, adding that some immigrants would likely not trust the system that had deported them.
“It’s arbitrary. It depends on who picks you up, when, and where they pick you up,” said David Leopold, general counsel for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“So who will become eligible or ineligible in terms of illegal re-entry is really luck of the draw,” he added. (CMC)

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By Vishnu Bisram -

The 28th Annual Indian Arrival celebrations to mark the 175th anniversary of East Indians in the Caribbean will be held on Sunday, May 19, at the Smokey Park at 127th Street and 95th Avenue in the heart of Richmond Hill.
The organisers have invited representatives of the governments of Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and India to grace the event. The Indian arrival programme will commence at 2:00 PM and conclude around 8:00 PM. It includes a cultural variety concert featuring a live band and singing and dancing competitions as well as modelling of Indian outfits.
The idea of observing “Indian Arrival Day” in New York was initiated by a group of Indo-Guyanese and Trinidadians in 1984, and since then the concept has taken off, expanding in scope with annual observances.

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By Sabatini Daniels -

The number of tourists visiting Guyana this year is expected to reach a new high as the country is set to top the 34-member Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) in tourist arrivals for 2013.
This is according to Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Indranauth Haralsingh, who said Guyana is expecting to see a 20 per cent increase in tourist arrivals in the country this year.
This is attributed to the fact that starting this year, the GTA will commence collecting data on arrivals from the various points of entry into the country and not primarily at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). The other points include the Ogle International Airport, Lethem, Moleson Creek and Bartica.

GTA Director Indranauth Haralsingh

In 2013 thus far, visitor arrivals have increased by 8.9 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. Haralsingh noted in March, there was a 33 per cent increase in arrivals from last year.
“Approximately 18,340 visitors came into the country for this month compared to 13,794 in 2012.”
He said Guyana is expected to again lead the 34-member Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) in terms of percentage increase in arrivals, adding that thus far, Guyana is ahead of the other countries in the grouping.
The United States is currently leading in tourist arrivals to Guyana, followed by Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.
Haralsingh emphasised that often people do not recognise the key impact that increased tourist arrivals have on the country and the economy, underscoring that it means the creation of more job opportunities, foreign investment, expenditure and revenue flow.
“This is healthy for any economy and it is a good thing that the tourist arrivals in Guyana is growing.”
Meanwhile, the GTA director expressed disappointment over the CJIA project cut, explaining that the upgrade of the airport would have a greater impact on the country’s tourism sector.
He said the airport is the driver for economic and tourism development and is also the foundation for tourism expansion and connectivity to other parts of world.

Guyana is set to record its highest number of tourists this year

“Airports and air transport [are] at the very heart of travel and tourism.”
The CJIA project is a transformational initiative which is part of Guyana’s strategic vision and priority for tourism, he stated.
“We see the CJIA airport project as being a catalyst for tourism development in Guyana, it is one of the most significant investments for tourism as a whole as well.”
Haralsingh explained that this is so since the airport will provide accessibility essential for a modern economy. He noted that the country inhabits a strategic location in South America, highlighting that the CJIA transformation will serve as a major hub for regional and international air transport linkages, as it will help Guyana to attract many other international carriers since the runway would be expanded and improved and the facilities would be updated to meet world-class standards.

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East Indians created a unique space in the world and enriched it with their rich culture; they laboured hard and made tremendous sacrifices in order to educate their children at home and abroad, while the women kept up the cultural practices.
These were some of the declarations of Professor Dr Brinsley Samaroo, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s icon historians, who delivered the first in a series of lectures in observance of the 175th anniversary of Indian arrival in Guyana. At present, Dr Samaroo is a Senior Research Fellow at the Academy of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) for Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs.
Professor Samaroo, delivering his lecture at the Umana Yana, Kingston, Georgetown, under the theme “Making a difference: the East Indian Presence In the Caribbean, 1838-2013”, presented an in-depth address on the many contributions of East Indians in the Caribbean, both physically and spiritually. He said that East Indians made significant impact on the Caribbean’s economy, replacing a rapidly depleting African labour force.
Guyana has the largest number of Indian immigrants in the Caribbean out of the 1.3 million labourers who left India for the plantation colonies of the Caribbean. He said after settling in Guyana, a number of the Indians migrated back to India because they were promised land by the then British government, but were never given any.
Professor Samaroo said the Indians did not come into an economic disaster area as so many persons have wrongfully believed. He said that the Africans cleared the jungle and swamps and laid the foundation of the plantation systems upon which the Indians built.
The Indians also brought many of their cultures, their practices, their musical instruments, agriculture, jewellery, animals, and decorative craft, among others.
After 1857, the pace of the Indians quickened to escape the vengeance of the British. Professor Dr. Samaroo said that about 75 percent of them remained in the Caribbean making a substantial difference to the evolution of Caribbean civilisation.
He pointed out that the trip across 10,000 miles over the Indian and Atlantic oceans was traumatic. From the time they entered into the Caribbean he said, they changed because they had to mix with persons from other class, religion and race. Thousands of them had to change their names because they wanted to upgrade themselves in the new environment.
He said that the Indians made a difference by introducing a different view of the world, a totally historic approach of life by creating a unique space in the world.
Very often, Indians were described as “poor but proud” because so often they were barefooted, and challenged the Canadian missionaries theologically and quite often the Canadians couldn’t answer them.  He mentioned Toolsie Dass, a playwright and poet who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
The Indians brought their skills and knowledge and resuscitated the sugar industry in the region. Those areas where large numbers of Indians went were the first to show vast improvement in the sugar industry, he stated.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony during brief remarks spoke of the importance of such lectures to educate Guyanese about their rich cultural backgrounds.
He said that Arrival Day represents everyone who came to Guyana as indentured immigrants.
“When we speak of Arrival Day we speak about the arrival of our East Indians, Portuguese, Chinese and African ancestors, something that we don’t relate to,” Minister Anthony said.
This year also marks the 190th anniversary of the 1823 Slave Rebellion and the ministry held several lectures, educating people on that event. Minister Anthony said that these activities have been very successful and government strongly believes that the only way to greater understanding is through lectures.
He said the ministry will also be erecting a monument in honour of the immigrants who came. He encouraged Guyanese to come together and recognise the sacrifice of their ancestors and learn from their contributions to make the country a better place.
The second lecture will be held on May 15 and will be delivered by Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Dean, Faculty of Law, UWI, St Augustine, Trinidad followed by Gaiutra Bahadur, an American journalist and book critic, on May 21.

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The melodious voices of renowned Bollywood singers, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan boomed through the speakers of the Fusion Sound Systems on Sunday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, captivating the hearts of thousands who were present.
The spectacular performances by the duo undoubtedly left the young hearts ticking and made the older folks feel as they were in love all over again. It was indeed a magical night with five hours of non-stop entertainment from the melody queen and the king of filmi music. The show started on time with Dr Vindhya Persaud welcoming all to the event, promising that it would be a night of pure magic and entertainment.

Udit Narayan during one of his performances accompanied by members of the Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh

The Member of Parliament also reiterated that the event was hosted to commemorate the 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival in Guyana, while expressing wishes to the thousands who flocked the parking lot of the Guyana National Stadium to be a part of the electrifying event.
Dr Persaud introduced Derek Alexander and his musical band that travelled with the two artistes to perform in Guyana for the first time. Alexander stunned the audience when he belted out a few hit songs that set the mood for a wonderful evening of breathtaking music from yesteryear to present. After five minutes serenading the crowd, the beautiful Alka Yagnik was introduced to perform her first segment.
The melody queen started to sing “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” from backstage before she actually made her appearance on stage. After a few lines into the song, the Bollywood playback singer made her grand appearance to load roars, claps and screams.
From there on, the melody queen erupted like a volcano as she performed several other hits, from some of the most popular Indian movies which she thought were most liked in this part of the hemisphere.
She was accompanied by members of the Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh, who performed gracefully.
Enter Udit Narayan
Within minutes after Alka Yagnik left the stage, the king of filmi music was introduced. Following the approach of Yagnik, he as well started to sing the title song of the movie “Tere Naam” from backstage. His manly and melodious voice sent the crowd into a silent mode, but they erupted when he appeared on stage.
After dishing out the first tune, he took time out to congratulate Guyana on its 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival in Guyana. He also acknowledged the presence of President Donald Ramotar.
From then on, he preformed tunes after tunes which were not enough for the audience.
After Udit Narayan and a performance by Alexander, Alka Yagnik took to the stage once again.
This time, she chose to mix her selection with some fast ones that had the audience clapping and dancing in their seats. Those who were standing were definitely having a grand time, especially the members of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, who are well known for their dance moves.
After a while, Yagnik was joined by Narayan and the duo had the audience rocking.
They then went on to perform a popular song from “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” and tunes from other popular films including “Duplicate”; “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” and “Lagaan” among others. The magnificent night came to an end with Udit Narayan singing “Radha On The Dance Floor”, the hit number from the movie “Student of the Year”.
They thanked their fans for coming out in their numbers to be part of the occasion; one that will leave an embedded mark on their minds for a long time.  In attendance were former President Bharrat Jagdeo, government ministers, other senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
The event was made possible through the support of a number of entities including Digicel, ICEE, NTN, E-Networks, Digicom, Rent-a-tent, Princess Hotel and Lens.
The event was planned by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, in commemoration of the 175th anniversary of Indian Arrival in Guyana. All proceeds from the concert will be used toward the construction of the Sabha’s Children’s Shelter “BalNivas” in Ankerville, Berbice.

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Former President Bharrat Jagdeo was lauded by the Forbes Magazine for embarking on Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and commended for the manner in which he was able to secure funding from the Norwegian government for the protection of rainforests in Guyana.
In  “Standing up: Guyana and Norway partner to keep trees standing”, written by contributor Mindy Lubber and published online at www.forbes.com on April 26, the vastly different two countries’  partnership  on a project that will benefit thousands of Guyanese by providing them with cheaper, cleaner energy, was highlighted.
Below is the full text.

Guyana has kept 99.5 percent of its forests healthy

Sustainability is all the rage these days. The phrase “sustainable development” can be heard with equal frequency in both boardrooms and dorm rooms. That’s because it’s a phrase implying you can have your cake and eat it too.
The only problem is, sometimes the “sustainable” part of the equation gets lost along the way.
But one initiative involving two very different bedfellows is worth noting, precisely because it hasn’t lost sight of the forest for the trees when it comes to balancing sustainability with development. The two bedfellows in this case are the governments of Guyana and Norway.
On first glance, these two nations couldn’t be more different. One is a developed northern European nation of 4.7 million people, with a GDP of US$265 billion and a geography with far more fiords than forests. The other is a developing nation whose population is only slightly larger than North Dakota’s, has a GDP of about US$5 billion and is home to one of the largest and most important tropical forests in the world.
Where this starts to get interesting is that Guyana has embarked on a long-term commitment to a “Low Carbon Development Strategy” (LCDS) whereby it will avoid tropical deforestation and degradation, create low-carbon infrastructure such as hydro-electric power plants, and provide its people with the tools they need to succeed without plundering the nation’s vast ecological and natural resources.
This type of activity has a name in those circles that wake up to a cup of fair-trade coffee every morning. It’s called REDD, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. And it’s got some serious science behind it.  Every grade school student knows that trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
But what they may not know is that deforestation accounts for about 20 per cent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and that keeping trees vertical and forests healthy is one of the simplest things we can do to address global climate change.
But with all the economic pressures to develop these natural resources, what’s a developing country with huge tracts of forested land to do? Many choose to harvest these resources; a few even try to use them to bring their people out of poverty and into a higher standard of living. That’s development. But there’s nothing sustainable about it.
A better way
Which is why Guyana’s story is so unusual and so compelling. Guyana, led by then President Bharrat Jagdeo, had the audacity in 2008 to ask a deceptively simple question: Isn’t there a better way?
Isn’t there a better way to provide the people of Guyana with the development they crave? Can there be another way to grow the economy without cutting down old growth forests, degrading the pristine ecosystems that are home to thousands of species of plants and animals (some that live nowhere else on earth) and following the old model of cut first, ask questions later?
The answer turns out to be yes, but with a big caveat. Guyana has been able to do what few developing forested countries have done – resist the economic forces to cut their natural resources for cash (something that would provide development, but would be a sustainability disaster for both their land and our climate). They’ve kept more than 99.5 per cent of their trees vertical and their forests healthy.
But here’s the caveat: They’ve been able to do this with the direct investment of countries like Norway, which has pledged some US$250 million in payments to Guyana for avoiding deforestation and degradation. Norway is paying for measured results by Guyana in delivering services that cool the planet’s climate by avoiding the destruction of trees.
It’s a win-win.  The world gets closer to stopping runaway climate change while countries like Guyana can develop what President Jagdeo calls “new economies” – built on inclusive green growth. Guyana has leveraged funds to deploy foreign investment for clean energy and social good, bringing foreign investment into the country for a first-of-its kind hydro-electric project, solar panels in villages and computers to families without the means to acquire them otherwise.
One of the keys to the Norway agreement is that the activities of Guyana are verified by outside third parties who examine both actual forest loss through scientific sensing equipment as well as social impacts. These verification systems are critically important to assure everyone involved that progress is truly being made.
Of course, this kind of work doesn’t come without problems. Guyana still faces criticism on indigenous rights issues, land tenure issues, and whether or not the payments from Norway will end up as just another form of traditional development aid. These critics should be heard. But no one said that changing the world was going to be easy.
And the fact is, the lessons learned from the problems in Guyana will serve as a roadmap for other forested countries that follow in their footsteps.
The money paid by Norway to Guyana is something of an analogy for what could happen if there were a global trading programme for REDD.  Such a programme makes sense on a number of levels, but first and foremost, it’s the single easiest and cheapest way to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.  The hope, of course, is that the Guyana model can be applied to any number of developing countries with forests that need to be protected and people who want some of the benefits that we enjoy in the developed world. So if our development is to be sustainable, we might well want to answer President Jagdeo’s audacious and simple question. (Excerpted from Forbes Magazine)

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Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner David Devine said that a great deal of preparation must get underway with a matter of urgency if Guyana is to develop its oil and gas sector and in the event that the country finds oil.
Devine stated that although oil is yet to be found, there remains a huge potential for the discovery of the ‘black gold’. According to Devine, there is much of a gap to be filled; adding that once the preparation is undertaken, there will be multiple potential for a vast amount of businesses.

Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner David Devine

He stated that regardless of the size, businesses must adopt high standards of quality and general compliance.
“Not because you’re small, it means you cannot work to supply other large or medium-scale firms in the oil and gas sector, but you must be good at what you do and comply with the required standards,” the high commissioner said.
Devine advised that Guyanese businesses must think ahead of the curve, saying, “It will be difficult and complex, but it is not impossible. It will undoubtedly be a driver of business and general economic growth.”
He remarked that it may seem complex when considering the implications of such a dream and all the processes that must be put in place for its accomplishment. However, Devine said with vision and motivation, the country can achieve greater standards to iron out the process and create such an important and innovative sector.
Deliberating on the standards required, Devine pointed out that one of Canada’s largest offshore petroleum associations creates a supply and support sector just for oil and gas.
“The sector would not have flourished without this,” he said.
According to Devine, the oil and gas association has a wide cross-section of members, comprising both large and small businesses from caterers to carpenters and accountants, to architects in 160 different trades and sub-trades.
He related that there is someone in almost every profession that supplies directly or indirectly to the oil and gas industries in that province. He mentioned that these services which are provided, must be of a certain quality and standard.
Chances are high
Devine said despite the recent results from the drilling of the ‘Eagle One’ well, which came up empty, the chances of local oil and gas find are high. The Canadian diplomat believes that while there may be many challenges ahead, the country would have to be persistent in its work.
Referring to Canada’s experiences of oil exploration, Devine said the country had to drill some 42 wells before a discovery was made in what remains one of the richest oil and gas exploration areas in Canada. Devine’s optimism of Guyana’s high chances of a successful oil find is based on research.
He also underscored the importance of such a sector to Guyana’s economy, but said the resources gained from oil and gas should be managed properly. He, therefore, urged that the government and the private sector start planning ahead, taking into account the returns of investments it could gain.

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Guyanese passengers who frequent the Georgetown to New York route will be delighted to learn that Caribbean Airlines (CAL) on Tuesday announced that it will add a fourth weekly non-stop flight to the John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport, New York, beginning May 5.
This announcement comes less than three months after the decision by Delta Airlines to bring its service to an end in Guyana.

Guyana Times International was told that the service will be operated by the company’s 767-300 ER and will also be joined on May 10 by a second weekly non-stop service to Toronto.
CAL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Corbie in a recent statement said his company has responded “proactively” to the need to fill the void created by Delta’s pull- out from Guyana.
He stated that CAL will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the Guyanese and overseas-based Guyanese who travel frequently. Corbie said Guyana continues to be a very important market for the airline.
It was also explained that with summer approaching, there will be another additional daily flight to the New York route. The statement said CAL operates a core schedule of 85 flights per week from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to the Caribbean and North America.
On February 14, Delta Airlines confirmed that it would no longer offer its service to Guyana effective May 6 of this year. Delta has been operating direct flights between Georgetown and New York since 2008.
“Delta Airlines will close its station in Georgetown, Guyana, discontinuing flights between the John F Kennedy International Airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport effective May 6, 2013, due to poor performance of the route,” Corporate Communications in Latin America and Caribbean, General Manager Sarah Lora had told media.
She explained that while Delta would prefer to continue serving the market, flights between Georgetown and New York’s JFK International Airport had experienced a significant decline in passenger loads and revenues for the past 18 months. This resulted in the company suffering unsustainable losses. Delta’s exit is a blow for airlift into the country following the collapse of EZjet last year, which had also serviced the New York to Georgetown route.

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