By Gary Eleazar“They are acting out of complete and total ignorance…We can’t put it anyway better, they are totally ignorant of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).”These were the words of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Bharrat Dindyal, who yesterday in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News fired back at critics of the power company.(CEO) of GPL, Bharrat Dindyal“It is especially unfortunate, the aspersions emanating from the Alliance For Change camp. I don’t know who is advising them, they are so astonishingly wrong that it begs the question why aren’t they trying to get facts, why aren’t they trying to understand what is going on before talking.”No taxpayer giftAccording to Dindyal, among the incorrect notions being peddled by the combined opposition is that the money that had been transferred to the power company by government through the budget is sourced solely from taxes in the Consolidated Funds and considered “gifts.”Dindyal said that the monies represent loans that government has sourced for GPL through agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Venezuela under the Petrocaribe arrangement and China.The CEO said the power company does not have to approach Parliament for money but rather could raise the money through increased tariffs. He explained,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, however, that each time GPL indicates a willingness to increase its tariffs, government says “no, we will make money available.”This money, according to Dindyal, is made available by government accessing concessionary loans as the company by itself would not be able to source the money commercially, given its financial position.He added that even if the company were to source the money commercially it would be at 8 per cent or 10 per cent as against the one or two percent under the concessional loans that government sources.The loans, he said, have to be and are repaid by the power company.“The concessional loans are coming in and allowing us to invest in capital projects to reduce costs and to reduce losses importantly.”This repayment,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, he stated, is reflected in the company’s annual reports each year.Dindyal said the 2012 audited statements have been completed, and the completed annual report will soon be finalised and tabled in the National Assembly.He pointed out that in the years where the power company records a deficit, “it doesn’t make sense to borrow money from government to repay government.”“What we do is defer the payments; we accrue the interest and defer the payments so that the money coming from government goes straight to customers or capital projects.”FuelResponding to the fact that the AFC continuously makes reference to the subsidy transferred to the power company last year, Dindyal said that $6B went straight into the purchase of fuel.“In 2012 we went to Government for operational support, we said that fuel was a burden to carry, we couldn’t carry it…We had an $8B increase in fuel from 2011 to 2012 and Parliament approved $6B.”Dindyal said that for this year the power company has asked for just $1B, taking into account the fact that the fuel prices are projected to reduce.“This year we asked for $1B in operational support, not $6B like we did last year.”According to Dindyal, this is a reality seemingly not being recognized by the critics, “last year they approved $6B in operational support and this year we went for $1B…$5B less.”Commercial LossesOn the matter of the company failing to reduce its technical and commercial losses over the years, Dindyal said that through a loan from the IDB at least US$6.5M was put into the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP) which saw the construction of networks for 20,000 customers,Cheap Jerseys Store, with the first phase of the project finishing one year ahead of time.This programme targeted specifically the sore issue of commercial losses such as massive electricity theft.He said that upon the early completion of the IDB-funded project, the Guyana Government decided not to wait and went ahead and funded Phase II of the project.“Government basically moved ahead and provided networks for almost 22,000 customers.”Dindyal said that recognizing that the government had already taken on a significant portion of the works, it approached the IDB and said “the resources are there so why not dedicate some to loss reduction.”The resources were available from the IDB, given that government went ahead and funded the second phase of the UAEP.He said that GPL approached the power company with a view to having the money diverted toward investing in technical loss reduction.Dindyal explained that commercial losses include electricity theft and losses through defective meters among other f

A 49 year old father of five was yesterday sentenced to six months in jail when he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court.Roy Singh,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, a gardener of West Berbice, pleaded guilty to the allegation that on February 11,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, last,Wholesale Jerseys From China, at David Street, Kitty,Cheap Jerseys Online, he stole a Nokia cellular phone valued at $15,Wholesale Jerseys Cheap,000 from Amzad Hussein.Singh told the court that he informed the arresting officers that he took the phone and sold it for $15,Jerseys NFL Wholesale,000 to an employee of Jerries Snackette.The man said his action came as a result of the complainant refusing to pay him for services he had provided.“I wuk three day with he, he does work with a church. I de got fuh get pay fuh me wuk.”Prosecutor Vishnu Hunte told the court that the defendant had recently spent six months in prison for a similar offence. Singh went to the complainant’s place of work after his release and committed the act.The prosecutor related that in the statement which Singh gave to the police he claimed that he found the phone in a walkway and sold it.The complainant told the court that on the day of the incident he was about to pay the defendant but later found that the man had stolen his phone and went missing.

Guyanese-born New York-based businessman, Edul Ahmad,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, has been given an extra three weeks grace period to know his fate after his lawyer asked for more time, citing medical reasons.According to court documents filed in a Brooklyn, New York court earlier this month,Attorney-at-law, Steven Kartagener, who wrote Judge Dora Irizarry said that he was due for a hip replacement on December 8.With recovery,China NFL Jerseys, the lawyer said that he was unable to make it back to work until the middle or end of January.Prosecutors had already agreed to shift in date with the court setting March 4, at 11:00am for sentencing.Ahmad’s sentencing would come almost three years after he pleaded guilty to a mortgage fraud charge in the US.Prosecutors had managed to use Ahmad as a star witness in a witness tampering case against the businessman’s former friend,Discount NFL Jerseys, ex-Senator, John Sampson. Sampson was found guilty earlier this year.The sentencing had been delayed for Ahmad,Wholesale NBA Jerseys, a well-known businessman in both New York and in Guyana, but prosecutors moved in immediately after Sampson was found guilty, instituting proceedings to bring the matter to closure.In February 2012, Ahmad reportedly wore a wire, recording Sampson during a meeting. In July, he gave testimony during a four-week trial.Edul AhmadAhmad is well known to tens of thousands of Guyanese living in the New York area, as he was well connected in the Real Estate business.A former policeman in Guyana, he appeared in a New York court before Judge Irizarry in October 2012 and pleaded guilty to count one of the ten-count criminal complaints against him, and told the court that his attorney has advised him that there is no viable defence to the charges against him.In admitting guilt, Ahmad told Judge Irizarry that between January 1995 and January 2009, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, together with others, he knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud several lending institutions, in a mortgage fraud scheme that lasted almost 15 years.The United States Attorney’s office said that Ahmad was part of a scheme that defrauded American lending institutions of approximately US$50 million, obtaining approval for mortgages on various properties by falsifying documents submitted to the lending institutions, using a string of straw buyers, and other illegal practices.In detailing the allegations against the Queens businessman with strong political connections,Cheap Jerseys, Judge Irizarry outlined a scheme which had as its victims not only financial institutions, but also many ordinary New Yorkers, most of whom were Guyanese immigrants pursuing the American dream to own their own home, only to find themselves trapped in a Real Estate scheme, ultimately resulting in them losing their homes in foreclosure proceedings,Wholesale China Jerseys, while Ahmad and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars.Ahmad’s attorney had signaled intentions to challenge the financial loss attributed to him.Prosecutors had advised a term of between 121 and 151 months (10 to approximately 13 years) of imprisonment for Ahmad.Ahmad’s case has attracted much attention from the media in Guyana and in New York.

-recommends transfer of fee collection to CitizenshipThe Forensic Audit conducted into the Passport office has recommended that a new criterion beMinister of Citizenship, Winston Felixestablished whereby fees collected for passport applications,NFL Jerseys Outlet, visas and citizenship should go directly to the Department of Citizenship, which has oversight.These sums were collected by the Ministry of Home Affairs and this state of affairs is continuing under the Ministry of Public Security. However,2018 Nike Vapor Max Plus, according to the auditor, Maurice Solomon, of Maurice Solomon and Associates, consideration for such a change ought to be given soon.“With the establishment of the new Ministry, consideration should be given as early as possible to separate all revenues between the then Ministry of Home Affairs inclusive of the Police Department and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Ministry of the Presidency,” the report stated.The report added, “All revenues collected for passport applications, visas, citizenship will now flow to the new Department of Citizenship and Immigration. The same criteria will apply to all expenditures.”The Department of Citizenship was established last year, with Winston Felix as the subject Minister. Felix had laid out the organization’s structure of his Ministry during his address to the National Assembly in June of 2015. He had stated that the Ministry would comprise two divisions.One, according to Felix, would have been registering births, deaths and marriages, while the other would have been in charge of registering citizens,Jerseys From China, naturalization,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, visa extensions, passport applications and other related matters.The audit also recommended a review of the facilities at the International Airports of Timehri, Moleson Creek and Ogle. This was flagged because of the increased passenger arrivals.At present, Guyana’s premier international airport is the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), located at Timehri. It boasts a terminal building, landing and maneuvering area, parking apron and other features.Currently, however there is a multi-billion-dollar CJIA expansion project being carried out by contractor China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). In this year’s budget, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan announced that $5.2B has been set aside for the development of air services industry,Wholesale Jerseys, and expansion of CJIA International Airport which is budgeted at $4B.“There is the need to review the facilities available including the number of immigration booths especially at Ogle Airport,” the audit report added.“With the increase in international traffic at Ogle,China Jersyes Cheap, priority should be given to upgrade the departure/arrival areas with state of the art facilities for baggage handling, customs inspection and speedy immigration procedures with additional immigration booths installed for improved service.”The forensic audit report, which was compiled by Maurice Solomon and Company; Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants, was completed by March 16. The audit is one of several announced by the present Government soon after coming into office. Maurice Solomon had been given the Passport & Police Office to audit for the sum of $5.5M.