By Tusika MartinGovernment has offered to sell its 20 percent shares in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).Chairman of the Privatisation Union, Winston Brassington, told Kaieteur News that the announcement was made at the company’s Annual General Meeting, yesterday.The initial offer of sale, he said,J.R. Smith Jersey, is being made to GT&T’s parent company Atlantic Tele-Network Inc.“We have offered to sell it to ATN, and if ATN does not want to buy it or if we cannot agree on a price, then we reserve the right to sell it to whoever we want.”According to the Head of the Privatisation Unit, the telephone company’s financial status is excellent, making it a prime time to sell its shares.“We are hoping to get a very good value…You value your share based on how much money you can make…I do not believe that any other company in Guyana is doing as well as GT&T,” Brassington added.He stressed that the administration will not ‘give away’ or sell its shares ‘cheaply.’Even as the administration prepares to sell its shares in the company, yesterday it did not vote in favour of the 2008 accounts.Speaking about the decision not to vote in favour of the 2008 accounts, Brassington said that Government objected, and did not vote, primarily because they are not satisfied that the six percent advisory fee to ATN is a legitimate expense.Each year,Wholesale China NFL Jerseys, the company has to pay ATN six percent of its total revenue as advisory fees.“Last year at the annual general meeting in respect of the 2007 accounts, we had abstained from voting any accounts because we raised some questions about the nature of the services that accompany the six percent advisory fee.”This particular expense, he said,Cheap Jerseys Online, is not backed by invoices since according to him the company categorizes it as ‘general services.’“We do not believe that those services amount to a great deal, definitely not worth $1B a year…In the last five years over $5B has been paid as advisory fees.”Brassington explained that it is believed that the six percent advisory fee is a profit distribution.As a shareholder, he added,Wholesale Air Max Tn, the government should be entitled to its 20 percent shares.“If it’s treated as profit as opposed to expense,Jordan Shoes For Sale Cheap, it also means that it would not be deductable for tax purposes.”He added that ATN has the majority and the company can approve the accounts without the concurrence of the government which is the minority shareholder.The agreement with the company,Air Max 97 2018, he added, states that management services can be acquired but the administration’s contention is that what is being paid to ATN is not ‘backed up’ by any evidence of services.“If they can prove that they were providing services on an ‘arms length’ competitive services then it would be different but instead they have been consistently been charging six percent of the revenue.”GT&T’s profit after tax was $4B in 2008 and this was after it had deducted the $1B in advisory fees, Brassington said.If the $1B expense is not legitimate, Brassington said, then there are several implications including having to pay 45 percent more in taxes and paying more to the government as a minority shareholder.

“Me ain’t want no money I just want justice for this child and make sure that he doesn’t do it to no other little girl.”The words of the aunt of a 14 year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a member of the Guyana Police Force a few days ago.According to the woman, the man has been calling relatives and has offered to pay them $180,000 to settle the matter.The woman said that he offered to pay $100,000 this coming Friday and the remainder of the money the following Friday.She said too that the man has apparently offered the victim’s older cousin who was with the girl and to whom the story of rape was related,Cheap Jerseys From China, $50,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,000 for her to change her story.The aunt said that she was unable to get the medical investigation done privately as she was told by the doctor that the police had to be present as well as a police medical had to be issued.She said that because she is fearful that it will be police investigating police, she was advised by persons to meet with the Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, which she hopes to do today.The 14 year-old alleged victim who hails from Haslington,Nike Air Max Zero Mens, East Coast Demerara,Cheap NFL Jerseys, along with a cousin, had earlier on the day of the incident, visited one of their aunts,Wholesale Jerseys China, who resides at Grove, East Bank Demerara.She said that while they were returning to Georgetown she called the Police whom she knew.The rank, who was in plainclothes at the time,China Jerseys Free Shipping, met the girls in the vicinity of Demico House when they arrived in Georgetown and he offered to buy them something to eat.The older cousin reportedly left to go purchase chicken at a nearby eatery and it was at this time that the police rank who was also in the company of another couple asked the 14 year-old if she wanted to go for a drive.He summoned a taxi and the quartet headed for a city guesthouse where he allegedly committed the act. He returned some two hours later to the car park.The angry older cousin began chiding the girl for leaving her there at the park and it was at this point in time that she related to her what transpired.

Venezuela has signaled intentions to take excess rice from neighbouring Suriname, putting a dent on any hopes that Guyana may have had about reviving an oil-for-rice deal.It appears that Venezuela is not interested in taking rice from Guyana anymore.Suriname media reported yesterday that the Venezuelan leader,NFL Jerseys Outlet, Nicolas Maduro, during a visit there on Friday, spoke to President Desi Bouterse about the possibilities of taking some rice.The rice silos in Nickerie are reportedly full and Bouterse has asked Venezuela to take off some. The commitment is one of the concrete outcomes of the meeting Friday.“We have decided to deepen trade relations and will intensify the implementation of the rice agreement,” Maduro said at a news conference Friday.Venezuela is a major rice market,Cheap Wholesale Jerseys, stressed Bouterse.?”The foreign ministers have an explicit mandate to deepen trade relations and to ensure the import of rice from Suriname,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping,” he added.President Bouterse noted that it is irrelevant whether Suriname can cover the total rice requirement of Caracas.“What we have…we should try to sell it.”Similar to Guyana,China Jerseys Free Shipping, Suriname would be hoping that Venezuela would pay for the rice under the PetroCaribe arrangements.That decade-old arrangement had been seeing Venezuela supplying oil on concessional terms to states around the region. The countries are required to pay a percentage of the monies owed on the oil upfront.In Guyana’s case, for over five years now farmers and millers have been supplying rice with the monies owed to Venezuela for oil discounted.But Venezuela has not signaled any intentions to renew the deal with Guyana when it expires at the end of November.The two countries are at odds over a revived claim by Venezuela of Essequibo and sections of the maritime areas under Guyana’s control.Already Guyana has eased on taking oil under the Petro Caribe arrangements from Venezuela and is now receiving supplies from Trinidad and Tobago.Guyana is now actively seeking new markets but with harvesting ongoing for the last crop,Chile Jersey, there is real worry about the excess rice.Rice has been the biggest foreign currency earner for Guyana within the last year after gold slipped from world prices.The Venezuelan rice market this year itself has not been without troubles.More than 800 containers of rice have been stuck at the congested wharves there. Guyana may still have some shipments remaining from this year’s quota.Under this year’s agreement, some 120,000 metric tonnes (Mt) of paddy along with 84,Authentic Jerseys China,000 Mt of white rice have to be supplied to Venezuela. The deal was worth around US$113M.But the Government of Guyana is resigning itself to the fact that the rice deal with Venezuela may be over, especially with the Suriname arrangement that is now more than likely to be in place.Reportedly, Suriname is agreeing to take half of what Guyana was getting for the rice and paddy shipments.Venezuela itself is facing food shortages with Maduro’s refusal to renew the deal seen as placing pressure on the recently sworn-in administration of President David Granger.Both Guyana and Venezuela have agreed for the United Nations to intervene in helping to resolve the border controversy.Already a technical assessment team from the UN has visited both countries and will be returning next month for more talks.