The Hydrometeorological Service has issued a Special Information Bulletin warning of unstable atmospheric conditions, widespread rainfall, and an increased flood risk across Guyana from tonight, May 10, 2026, to May 15, 2026. Residents, especially those in low-lying and poorly drained areas, are urged to remain alert and take all necessary precautions.[
Rainfall is expected to affect the country over the next several days, with a period of reduced rainfall anticipated from May 11 to 13, followed by a more significant increase on May 14 and 15. Forecast models indicate that all regions may be impacted, with rainfall totals potentially reaching 25 mm to 50 mm in 24 hours, and in some areas 25 mm to 75 mm in 24 hours.
Members of the public are advised to: • Clear drains, culverts, and waterways near homes and businesses. • Secure property and move valuables to higher ground where possible. • Exercise caution while driving or walking through flooded areas. • Monitor official weather updates and follow instructions from local authorities. • Prepare for possible localized flooding and disruptions to travel and daily activities.
Fisherfolk, farmers, and residents in flood-prone communities are especially encouraged to take early protective measures. The public should remain vigilant and treat this weather system seriously, as conditions may worsen rapidly.
For official updates, continue to monitor announcements from the Hydrometeorological Service and emergency management authorities.
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has landed in the Netherlands to personally lead her country’s delegation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), signaling a renewed and highly strategic push in Caracas’ long-standing claim to Guyana’s Essequibo region.
According to an official statement from Venezuela’s presidential office, Rodríguez will appear before the UN’s principal judicial body as hearings resume in the case brought by Guyana in 2018. The matter centers on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which legally settled the boundary in Guyana’s favor—an outcome Venezuela has persistently sought to overturn.
Her presence at The Hague underscores the political weight Venezuela is now attaching to the proceedings, particularly in the wake of heightened geopolitical tensions following the dramatic removal of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. This marks Rodríguez’s first visit to Europe since assuming power under extraordinary circumstances.
The Essequibo region, which comprises over two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass and is rich in oil and natural resources, remains at the heart of the dispute. Guyana has maintained that the matter is settled under international law and has consistently rejected Venezuela’s claims as baseless and destabilizing.
While a final ruling from the ICJ is still months away, its judgment will be legally binding, though enforcement mechanisms remain limited, relying ultimately on the UN Security Council.
Rodríguez’s direct involvement raises fresh concerns about Venezuela’s broader strategy, including whether this appearance is a genuine legal engagement or part of a wider political maneuver aimed at bolstering domestic legitimacy and international positioning.
For Guyana, the stakes could not be higher. The proceedings at The Hague are not merely legal formalities—they represent a defining moment in the defense of its territorial sovereignty.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/img_0005-1.jpg8391170Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-10 18:38:152026-05-10 18:38:15Venezuela Escalates Essequibo Campaign as Interim President Arrives for ICJ Hearing
An investigation has been launched into reports of an oil spill in the Gulf of Paria, following claims by the Venezuelan Government that the incident has already caused significant environmental harm along its coastline.
In a formal communiqué issued on Saturday, Venezuela—under Acting President Delcy Rodríguez—alerted the international community to what it described as an oil spill “originating from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” with documented impacts on the coastal states of Sucre and Delta Amacuro. According to Venezuelan authorities, preliminary technical assessments indicate that the spill has affected marine ecosystems, shorelines, and fishing communities, while posing serious risks to mangroves, wetlands, and other ecologically sensitive zones critical to regional biodiversity and food security.
The communiqué further warned of damage to vulnerable species and hydrobiological resources, underscoring the potential long-term ecological consequences if containment and remediation measures are not urgently implemented.
Venezuela has since instructed its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to formally request detailed information on the incident, including the scope of the spill and the response plan being undertaken by Trinidad and Tobago.
Additionally, the Venezuelan Government is calling for full compliance with international environmental obligations and has signaled its expectation for reparative action to address any confirmed damage.
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will continue to deploy all necessary actions to protect affected ecosystems and safeguard impacted communities,” the statement concluded. In response, Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister, Dr. Roodal Moonilal, confirmed that state-owned Heritage Petroleum Company Limited is currently conducting inquiries into the matter.
He indicated that a formal investigation is underway and assured that further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/img_0004.jpg7681170Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-10 15:59:082026-05-10 15:59:08Trinidad Probes Reported Oil Spill as Venezuela Raises Alarm Over Environmental Damage
Allegations now surfacing about the distribution of contracts at the National Stadium strike at the very core of fairness, governance, and public trust in Guyana. The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, led by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, has sounded the alarm—but what is most troubling is that these claims do not exist in isolation. They fit into a long, uncomfortable pattern.
At the heart of the issue is a familiar accusation: that state contracts are being funnelled to loyalists of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), while ordinary contractors—many already battling economic hardship—are left on the outside looking in. If true, this is not merely political patronage. It is the systematic exclusion of citizens from opportunities funded by their own tax dollars.
This is not how a functioning democracy allocates resources.
The Procurement Act of 2003 was designed to prevent precisely this kind of abuse. It was meant to guarantee transparency, competition, and fairness. Yet, more than two decades later, confidence in the system is eroding, not strengthening. The persistent complaints from contractors and civil society suggest that the law exists more on paper than in practice.
There are growing concerns that procurement procedures are being manipulated—whether through sole-sourcing, restricted tendering, or opaque evaluation processes that raise more questions than answers. When contracts repeatedly land in the hands of the politically connected, merit becomes irrelevant and public confidence collapses.
And where, one must ask, are the watchdogs?
The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) were established to act as safeguards against precisely this kind of misconduct. Yet the perception—fair or not—is that oversight is either weak, selective, or entirely absent. Silence in the face of mounting allegations only deepens suspicion.
This is bigger than one stadium. It is about whether Guyana’s development is being built on competence or cronyism.
Small contractors across the country are watching. They are working, struggling, and competing—only to feel that the game is rigged before it even begins. When access to opportunity depends on political allegiance rather than qualification, the message to citizens is clear: loyalty matters more than legitimacy.
That is a dangerous message for any nation.
The government must understand that transparency is not optional—it is a duty. If the procurement system is clean, then open it. Publish the contracts. Disclose the evaluation criteria. Let the public see who is winning, and why. If everything is above board, there should be nothing to hide. But if it is not, then what is unfolding at the National Stadium is not just mismanagement—it is a betrayal of public trust.
Guyana cannot afford a system where national resources are treated as political rewards. Development must belong to all, not a privileged few. Until that principle is upheld—not in words, but in action—the questions will not go away.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/img_9997.png10411008Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-10 14:00:032026-05-10 14:00:03The Rot at the National Stadium
Another day, another gut-punch to the Guyanese taxpayer—and this time, the stench of elite privilege and systemic failure is impossible to ignore.
Information now in the public domain reveals that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) may have been fleeced of hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes tied to the importation of three high-end luxury vehicles by a prominent attorney, Devindra Kissoon, a founding member of the London House Chambers.
This is not a story about success or wealth. It is a story about manipulation, apparent deception, and a tax system that continues to bend for the powerful while squeezing the ordinary citizen. Start with the most recent transaction.
In January 2025, a Lamborghini Urus—one of the most recognisable luxury SUVs in the world—was imported and declared at a value of just GY$22.5 million, roughly US$107,000. Globally, that same vehicle commands between US$240,000 and US$280,000. That is not a minor discrepancy. That is a brazen undervaluation that effectively slashes the government’s rightful tax intake by tens of millions of dollars.
And this was no isolated incident. In April 2024, a Porsche sports car was declared at a laughable GY$4.7 million—just over US$22,000. That figure would barely secure a used economy vehicle, far less a high-performance German machine with a market value starting around US$135,000.
Then there is the 2021 importation of a Mercedes-Benz GLE 350, declared at GY$9.3 million (US$44,000). While less outrageous on paper, it fits a now unmistakable pattern: luxury vehicles, consistently undervalued, systematically eroding the country’s tax base.
This is not coincidence. This is a method.
And the most disturbing question remains unanswered: how did these declarations pass through the GRA without triggering red flags, audits, or enforcement action? Because here lies the deeper crisis—not just individual conduct, but institutional weakness.
When a school teacher, a vendor, or a small business owner falls short on taxes, the system moves swiftly and decisively. Penalties are imposed. Licenses are threatened. Compliance is enforced. But when the elite manipulate invoices and shave millions off import values, the system appears to fall silent.
This is the very definition of a two-tiered society.
Even more troubling is the eerie resemblance to the Azruddin Mohamed scandal, where luxury vehicles were similarly undervalued, and where political proximity blurred the lines between governance and favouritism. In that case, the country was rocked by revelations of a staggering $1.2 billion in unpaid taxes, alongside claims of direct communication with the Head of State regarding reduced tax payments.
Different actors. Same playbook. Guyana cannot continue down this road.
Every dollar lost through tax evasion is a dollar stolen from public development—schools left unfinished, hospitals under-equipped, roads riddled with neglect. These are not abstract losses. They are real consequences borne by citizens who play by the rules.
The GRA must answer. Were these valuations independently verified?
Were internal controls bypassed or compromised?
Who approved these declarations? And most importantly—will there be consequences?
Because without accountability, this is not just a scandal. It is a signal.
A signal that in Guyana, wealth can purchase leniency, influence can silence scrutiny, and the law can be negotiated.
That is a dangerous precedent for any nation—especially one standing on the brink of unprecedented economic transformation. If the institutions tasked with protecting public revenue cannot—or will not—act decisively, then they risk becoming complicit in the very corruption they are meant to prevent.
The Guyanese people deserve better. And they are watching.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/img_9991.jpg9231170Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-10 13:09:252026-05-10 13:09:25Luxury Lies, Missing Millions: How Guyana’s Tax System Was Gamed Again
On this Mother’s Day, we pause to honour the women who so often give more than they have, and ask for nothing in return. Across Guyana and throughout our diaspora, mothers continue to carry the quiet weight of families, communities, and, in many ways, the nation itself. They rise before dawn and rest long after night falls, stretching limited resources, absorbing burdens, and shielding their children from hardship—even when they themselves are weary. Their labour is not always seen, their sacrifices rarely quantified, yet their impact is profound and enduring. In homes where challenges persist—economic strain, social pressures, and uncertainty—it is mothers who steady the ground beneath us. They are providers, protectors, teachers, and, too often, the last line of support when systems fall short. Their resilience is not accidental; it is forged daily in the face of responsibility that rarely relents. Today, we do more than celebrate. We acknowledge. We recognize the overextension, the silent endurance, and the unbreakable commitment that define motherhood in its truest form. To every mother who continues to give, to hold, to build, and to believe—thank you. Your strength shapes generations. Your love sustains a nation.
Happy Mother’s Day.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/img_9974-1.png7681408Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-10 10:44:482026-05-10 10:44:48She Carries the Nation: Honouring the Strength and Sacrifice of Our Mothers
Royal Chicken and its consortium benefitted from state-backed land and infrastructure meant to lower feed costs and reduce food prices. Instead, the public now faces imported concessions, local exports, and no meaningful relief at the checkout line. The Royal Chicken arrangement is a textbook example of how public power can be used to manufacture private advantage while ordinary citizens are left to carry the cost. What was presented to the Guyanese people as a bold agricultural solution was supposed to do several things at once: build local soya and corn production, reduce dependence on imports, lower feed costs, support farmers, and eventually bring down the price of chicken and eggs. To make that happen, taxpayers helped fund the land, the roads, the silos, the wharf, and the wider infrastructure needed to sustain the project. That was the promise. Relief. But the reality now emerging is deeply troubling. Royal Chicken is still reportedly receiving duty-free concessions for feedstock imports, even as the consortium tied to that taxpayer-supported venture is exporting locally grown product that was supposed to help meet domestic needs. In plain terms, the public financed a system designed to reduce costs, but the same system appears to be allowing the same players to import tax-free and export for profit at the same time. That means the people have been made to pay twice. First, they paid through taxes that helped build the infrastructure and support the venture. Then they paid again in the market, where food prices remain high and the promised relief has not materialized. The burden never went away; it was simply shifted onto the backs of consumers. This is not a small administrative mistake. It is a serious abuse of public trust. A handful of dominant operators appear to benefit from every side of the arrangement: public land, public infrastructure, import concessions, and market control. Meanwhile, small farmers continue to struggle with high production costs, and ordinary households continue to face expensive chicken and eggs. The people who were supposed to benefit from the policy are the very people still paying the price for its failure. If the goal was self-sufficiency, why are imports still being subsidized? If the goal was lower prices, why is the consumer still suffering? If the goal was to strengthen local production, why is local output being exported while domestic demand remains under pressure? Those questions go to the heart of the matter. This is not simply about feedstock. It is about whether state policy is being used to serve the public interest or to protect a privileged few. The greatest insult is that the public was sold a story of relief, development, and national benefit. Instead, it appears to have received a system where taxpayers underwrote the infrastructure, subsidized the imports, and still did not receive affordable food in return. That is why this issue has cut so deeply. It is not just a policy failure. It is a warning about what happens when public resources are captured by private interests under the banner of development. The result is brutally simple: the people paid for the relief, and then they were left subsidizing the very arrangement that denied it to them.
A US$27.3 million battery storage contract is not a triumph of foresight; it is an indictment of a failed energy doctrine that spent years mocking the very solutions it is now rushing to embrace.
For too long, Guyanese were told to trust the grand promise of gas-to-energy, a project sold as the magic wand that would cut electricity bills in half and deliver cheap power on demand.
Instead, the country is now watching GPL scramble to patch a fragile grid with battery storage, solar systems, control upgrades, and emergency fixes — the very measures that should have formed the backbone of a serious energy strategy from the start.
That is the scandal at the heart of this story. The problem is not that Guyana is finally investing in modern grid support. The problem is that these investments are arriving only after years of political swagger, inflated promises, and a relentless refusal to admit that a single mega-project could not carry the weight of the country’s energy future.
The new battery systems at New Sophia and Goedverwagting may improve stability, reduce outages, and help integrate renewables. Fine. But what does it say about the original plan when the grid now needs a costly battery layer just to function properly? What does it say when the state must spend millions more to make the system resilient, while the public is still waiting to see the promised payoff from the gas-to-energy gamble?
This is where Pandora’s box opens. Once the lid is lifted, out spill the uncomfortable questions: Why was solar dismissed as too expensive when the government is now spending heavily on technologies built around solar integration and energy storage? Why was the nation railroaded into a US$2 billion bet on a single path when a diversified clean-energy strategy could have created local jobs, technical capacity, and industrial growth? Why are Guyanese being asked to accept ever more spending as normal, while accountability remains optional?
The arithmetic is unforgiving. Every new contract, every grid upgrade, every emergency fix adds weight to the argument that the original energy vision was not merely ambitious but dangerously narrow. If a project was supposed to solve the crisis, why is the crisis still demanding more public money, more imports, more foreign expertise, and more damage control?
Guyana could have used its oil-era resources to build a domestic energy industry, not just purchase pieces of one. It could have invested in solar manufacturing, battery assembly, training centers, and export-ready clean-energy capacity. It could have turned a national necessity into an economic engine. Instead, it appears to be buying expensive apologies for bad planning.
The public should not be comforted by the language of “modernization” when modernization is being used to disguise correction. A battery storage system is useful. A reliable grid is essential. But neither should be used as cover for a broader failure of judgment, transparency, and economic imagination.
If the government wants the country to believe in its energy plan, then it must do more than announce new contracts and repeat old slogans. It must publish the numbers, explain the delays, account for the rising costs, and admit what many Guyanese already suspect: that the great cheap-power promise has not aged well.
The lid is off now. What remains in Pandora’s box is not just technical failure, but political reckoning.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/669823672_122106605529075051_3633396510629331732_n.jpg5121024Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-09 10:38:392026-05-09 10:38:39GPL’s battery deal has blown the lid off the government’s energy mirage.
Because in the global race for film and creative industry investment, Guyana is not entering a vacuum. It is stepping into a fiercely competitive marketplace where countries have spent years—sometimes decades—building legal frameworks, financial incentives, and institutional systems designed specifically to attract and retain production capital.
Consider Trinidad and Tobago. Through its Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (FilmTT), the country offers structured cash rebate programmes of up to 35% for qualifying local and foreign productions. This is not a vague promise—it is codified, accessible, and supported by clear guidelines. Productions benefit from established permitting processes, location scouting support, and a functioning ecosystem of trained crew and service providers.
Jamaica goes further. Its Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) administers a well-defined incentive regime offering up to 25% in tax rebates, combined with streamlined customs facilitation, duty concessions, and an established film commission that actively manages international productions. Jamaica’s Film Commission is not aspirational—it is operational. It closes deals, facilitates logistics, and ensures that investors encounter efficiency, not uncertainty.
Even Barbados, with a smaller landmass and resource base, has moved decisively to position itself as a creative economy player, offering production incentives, modern intellectual property protections, and clear regulatory pathways for investors.
Beyond the Caribbean, jurisdictions like Georgia in the United States offer transferable tax credits of up to 30%, while countries like Canada and South Africa have built billion-dollar film sectors on the back of aggressive, well-structured incentive frameworks and robust legal protections.
Guyana’s Copyright Act, rooted in outdated provisions, does not reflect the realities of digital distribution, streaming rights, or complex international co-productions. Enforcement mechanisms remain weak, leaving creators and investors exposed. Trademark protections exist in theory but lack the consistent enforcement necessary to build investor confidence.
And perhaps most critically, there is no integrated policy architecture that connects vision to execution.
Instead, what Guyana currently offers is natural beauty without regulatory clarity. Potential without protection. Invitation without infrastructure.
This is not a small gap—it is a structural disadvantage.
When a production company evaluates a location, it is not simply asking, “Is this place visually compelling?” It is asking:
On each of these questions, Guyana struggles to provide a competitive answer.
The $3.7 billion allocated to the orange economy, while significant on paper, does little to resolve these fundamental deficiencies if it is not directed toward building legislative and institutional capacity. Without reform, that investment risks becoming symbolic—an announcement rather than a transformation.
The creation of a National Multistakeholder Taskforce may suggest movement, but taskforces do not compete with tax credits. Consultations do not replace compliance frameworks. And ambition, no matter how frequently repeated, does not reduce investor risk.
President Ali is correct in one respect: Guyana should not be on a single track. Diversification is necessary. The orange economy, if properly developed, could unlock new revenue streams, empower local creatives, and position the country within a rapidly expanding global industry.
But diversification without preparation is not strategy—it is exposure.
If Guyana is serious about becoming a “mega hub” for culture and entertainment, then the work ahead is not promotional—it is legislative. It is institutional. It is technical.
https://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/668592888_122105636139075051_8509598050607517281_n.jpg5121024Editorhttps://592guardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/for-papaer-300x114.pngEditor2026-05-09 10:22:402026-05-10 01:33:26Lights, Camera…No Action: Guyana’s Film Ambition Without a Framework
Across villages, towns, and cities, a quiet unease has been growing into something louder, something harder to ignore. It is not just about one man. It is not just about one party. It is about a pattern people believe they are seeing—one where power appears to tighten its grip, where justice feels uneven, and where fear is slowly being introduced into spaces that once held hope.
What happened on May 5th did not exist in isolation. It struck a nerve because it confirmed what many have been whispering: that dissent is becoming dangerous, and that those who challenge the status quo may be made examples of.
Because let’s be clear: the road ahead will not be easy. It will test patience. It will test unity. It will test resolve. Those who choose to speak out will be scrutinized, pressured, and at times, isolated. That is the nature of any struggle where power is being questioned.
It is a call to citizens—regardless of race, class, or political alignment—to pay attention, to ask questions, and to refuse to accept a version of justice that depends on who you are or who you support.
If we allow fear to take root, then we surrender more than a moment—we surrender the very foundation of democracy itself.
And so, as the days unfold and tensions rise, one thing must remain unshaken: the belief that Guyana belongs to its people—not to power, not to intimidation, not to selective justice.
