…private engineers calling for project reviewThe contractor executing the $310M steel sheet pile revetment works at New Hope has failed to meet the project revised February 23 deadline.This may be a blessing in disguise, according to two private engineers who are of the opinion that the Public Works Ministry should inspect the project thoroughly before granting another extension. They claim that the works being done by the contractor are substandard.However, officials at the Works Ministry are mum on whether the contractor has requested an extension.If the project is extended, this would be its second extension since the contract was signed in May 2011.Initially the project was expected to commence in May 2011 but difficulty sourcing steel sheet piles on the European Market at that juncture was cited for its delay. Nonetheless, not until November 2011 physical works commenced under the project and the Ministry had slated February 23 as its new deadline.According to one of the private engineers,Wholesale Jerseys From China, who has been observing the works over the past few months,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, one of the obvious flaws with the project is that the steel sheet piles are not being tarred. In fact, several steel sheet piles that are stocked on the East Bank Public Road are already rusting.He stressed that tarring of the steel-plates is important since it prevents corrosion (as he says is now occurring) as the metal over time “cannot adequately withstand salt water and exposure to salt air”.The engineer claimed that the contractor is “hurrying up” the project by re-enforcing the old revetment. He said that at the beginning of the project the contractor was building the revetment with new materials but as the project duration diminished the old revetment was being used.However, according to Geoffrey Vaughn, Chief Sea and River Defence Officer, Public Works Ministry, the utilization of the old revetment is necessary. “If it is removed the area would give way,” he explained,China NFL Jerseys, adding that the contractor is attaching new materials to the old revetment.The engineer also insists that the level of the revetment should be considerably higher than the road and act as a safety barrier. However, with current works,NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic, after the revetment would have been erected and the road is reconstructed,Wholesale Stitched Jerseys, the structure and road level would more than likely be in line. This he describes as “engineering to its poorest”.Meanwhile,cheap jerseys, another engineer, who is totally against utilising steel sheet piles to construct revetment stated, “The steel plates are slicing or separating the river-channel bed from the solid/compounding land surface, meaning that the hypotenuse (on the left hand side: out into the open channel bed) or the lips of the river shore bed, would gradually be smelted and eroded away, leaving a depth of 9-12 metres from high tide water elevation.”He cautioned, “This is a time-bomb. The steel plates would be corroded /rotten and falling apart, leaving the earthen side walls at the depth of the outward channel, which is 9-12 metres deep. Take warning people, please take warning. Do not slice or separate the river foreshore bed from the solid surface soil, which is adjacent to the vibrating/heavy travelling the highway.”

Head of the Special Organized Crime Unit, (SOCU),Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic, Sydney James, has expressed optimism that the state will secure more convictions under the recently implemented Anti-Money Laundering Legislation. Assistant Commissioner James pointed to a recent conviction for the non-declaration of currency.SOCU Head:?Sydney James“There was a court matter over the non-declaration of currencies. I think in that case,China Soccer Jerseys, the magistrate had awarded that the money be confiscated. We anticipate further successes in conviction for such crimes,” he said.At present, the SOCU Head said that the unit is managing a number of investigations of Financial Intelligence Crimes.These include, several gold and diamond smuggling investigations, investigations into NICIL, the Guyana Marketing Corporation, (GMC), the 2007 World Cup Cricket probe and the Pradoville 2 land acquisition. Some of the investigations have resulted in persons being charged and placed before the court.But the SOCU head still feels that there is need for more sensitization as it relates to combating money laundering activities.He therefore shares the view that further training should be offered to Magistrate, Prosecutors, Judges and officials of the Legal Affairs Ministry on the topic.“There is need for more sensitization as it relates to combating money laundering activities for the entire regime, in general. I think that once there is sensitization, there will be greater convictions,” James opined.Having exited the watch list of the global Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism compliance process of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),Cheap NBA Jerseys China, earlier this year, Guyana must now produce more convictions to show sufficient progress on effectiveness.After returning from his visit to Paris, Attorney-General, (AG) Basil Williams noted,Wholesale Authentic NFL Jerseys, “Guyana cannot be complacent as the fourth round mutual evaluation beckons. The test there is whether Guyana would have shown “sufficient progress on effectiveness,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, for example having more convictions for offences of money laundering, terrorist financing and the purloining of state assets.”Asked how equipped is the government to go after persons suspected of money laundering based on the new development, Williams said that the first Anti-money laundering legislation was passed in 2000 but no one was ever investigated or charged.”Between 2000 and the time we took office no one was ever prosecuted for any money laundering offence in Guyana. It is only when we took office that people were not just investigated but they were also charged and taken to court.”The administration came to office in May 11,Cheap NFL jerseys China, 2015.Williams said that a lot of those cases have not resulted in convictions. He said that in some situations money as well as gold bars were returned to the person being prosecuted. However, he explained that this will not be sufficient in the fourth round.”In the fourth round, we will have to show effectiveness and that we are making sufficient progress, in other words, convictions. We can’t tell them we charged 100 people and we don’t have convictions.”He said that Guyana needs to do work in this regard because if initial investigation is done and this area is missing, the country can return to the ICRG review process. He stressed that what is important hereinafter is a large degree of self-assessment.”We have to start ensuring that all of these legal framework and regulatory framework are effectively addressed in the fourth round. By the time 2020 we must be able to show regular convictions for money laundering offences.”The AG said that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has been doing a lot of work. He said that the matter of state assets has been added to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism process.

The National Trust of Guyana recently donated $200,NFL Jerseys Wholesale,000 towards the rebuilding and preservation efforts of one of Guyana’s oldest churches,Jerseys NBA China, the Mission Chapel Congregational in New Amsterdam.CEO of the National Trust, Nirvana Persaud hands over the cheque and other material to the pastor of the church,Cheap Jerseys, Tyrone SulkerAccording to CEO of the National Trust,Wholesale Jerseys From China, Nirvana Persaud,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, “our aim was to make a donation towards the maintenance of this historic church”. She said that the edifice is more than a historic structure, since “it (the building) has existed for some 170 years and the church has been in existence for 192 years” and “we thought it fitting to make a donation”.Apart from the fact that the church had requested a donation, Persaud added that the church’s legacy and the Trust’s “business of preserving heritage” go hand in hand. The Trust cannot undertake large- scale restoration projects,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, she admitted, but would make small donations whenever it is possible. Persaud also handed over some promotional material such as brochures, booklets, maps and stickers to promote the work of the National Trust.Another initiative of the Trust, according to Persaud, was placing signboards at historical sites to create public awareness. Receiving the cheque for the church was Pastor Tyrone Sulker.