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A 32-year-old miner was reportedly shot dead by a security officer during an altercation at Sands Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven, on Monday.
The deceased has been identified as Ceton Courtman of St Monica Village, Upper Pomeroon River, Region Two.

Based on preliminary investigations, the deceased and the 27-year-old suspect, who is attached to a private security firm, were involved in an altercation during which the suspect allegedly discharged a round that struck the miner in the head.
The injured man was transported to the Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An inspection of the body revealed a gunshot wound to the centre of the head.
The suspect was subsequently arrested and is presently in police custody. Police stated that a Tacentre32 pistol, along with 12 matching live rounds of ammunition, was recovered as investigations continue.

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…as Government pursues new export markets

Hundreds of rice farmers from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) on Tuesday received their subsidy from the Government at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora. The Region Three distribution is part of a nationwide $3 billion subsidy programme for rice farmers. This initiative is in keeping with a commitment made by President Dr Irfaan Ali in April following consultations with farmers across the country.

From those consultations, it was agreed that rice farmers cultivating 50 acres or less will receive $15,000 per acre, while those cultivating more than 50 acres will receive $10,000 per acre. More than 5100 rice farmers cultivating over 235,000 acres of rice across Guyana are set to benefit. The initiative was introduced as a targeted intervention to support rice producers as the industry continues to face increasing global challenges affecting agricultural production, input costs and international markets. In Region Three, 560 rice farmers cultivating a combined 15,636 acres are expected to benefit from more than $201 million in relief.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the Government had already commenced the distribution in Region Two, where more than 1300 farmers benefited.
“…We started this programme last Saturday in Region Two. His Excellency, the President, was there himself, and we rolled out the programme where approximately 1301 farmers benefited, and we paid out $403,149,360 in Region Two. In Region Three over the next few hours, the staff will be here throughout the day so that people who come late can collect their cheques. We have 560 farmers listed who cultivated 15,636 acres of land during the last crop, and we will be paying out $201,696,055 in Region Three.” According to the Minister, the total cost of the programme is $2.763 billion.
“That is direct cash to you, the farmers, which you can utilise. As the Minister within the Ministry said earlier, those cultivating 50 acres or less will receive $15,000 per acre, while those cultivating more than 50 acres will receive $10,000 per acre,” he said, adding that the initiative will help reduce farmers’ production costs while providing them with additional disposable income.
He pointed out that farmers also have a role to play in lowering production costs, noting that land rental and drainage and irrigation (D&I) charges remain among the industry’s major expenses. He said the Government reversed the increases in those charges after taking office in 2020, restoring them to their previous rates.
“This will help to reduce production costs, and we are working with you. Farmers also have to play their part because, when we travel around the country, one of the main production costs is land rental and D&I charges. When we came into Government in 2020, we reversed all the increases that were imposed by the APNU+AFC Administration. We brought the charges back to where they were. For example, in the MMA Scheme, land rental and D&I charges were $3,500 per acre when we were previously in Government. When the APNU+AFC got into office, they increased it to $15,000.”

Growing agriculture industry
The outlook for Guyana’s rice industry is also promising, as Mustapha revealed that the Government is pursuing new export markets, including Mexico, Haiti, Cuba and other CARICOM countries.
“We have been talking to Mexico. We have been discussing opportunities with Haiti. There will be new opportunities in Cuba, and we are still looking within the CARICOM region so that we can secure more markets.” He also announced a series of infrastructure projects for Region Three aimed at further supporting rice farmers.
“In the coming months, you will see massive infrastructure development in Region Three. A number of new farm-to-market roads will be built. We know for a fact that we have to modernise the industry. We are also looking to introduce drone technology to help small-scale farmers because they are experiencing serious labour shortages. We want to modernise the sector by using drones to apply fertiliser. We are also encouraging farmers to set aside one or two acres of their land to diversify production so that we can work with them to create integrated farming systems.”

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The news that the US sent only US$300 million in aid to Venezuela in the wake of their earthquake, which flattened whole sections of towns with fatalities over 3350 and counting, has raised criticism. Not only because over US$8 billion is sitting in US-controlled accounts from sales of Venezuelan oil – but because back in 2010, the comparable Haitian earthquake they’d sent in US$3 billion in aid – within US$13 billion overall commitments!! So why didn’t the Yanks do even comparably this time?? Was it just because they’ve cut back their USAID programme?? In your Eyewitness’s view, it’s more likely because of the rampant CORRUPTION that saw most of that money never reaching the intended beneficiaries – the Haitian people!! Surprisingly, the biggest culprits appear to be the Clintons – through whose “charitable” Trust, most of the money was funnelled!!
And that’s the thing about corruption: it infects everyone – high and low; rich and poor!!  And sadly, the economic system we practice – “capitalism” – actually encourages this tendency since it comes with its own morality – where money is god and making money is the reason for our existence. By any means necessary.
But even Karl Marx, who railed against capitalism’s tentacles, admitted it was the most efficient system even invented to produce more and more for less and less – pushed by greed!! So the item you’re selling is defective…do you tell the buyer? Heck no!! “Caveat emptor” is the rule – BUYER BEWARE!! But what about things BEFORE capitalism?? Were folks angels flitting around with halos hovering over their heads? Ha, ha, ha!! Using people as serfs and slaves to work their land wasn’t corruption – plus having the seignorial “right” to bed their wives and daughters??
One influential ole head back in the day threw up his hand in disgust and concluded we’re all created “out of this crooked timber”. It’s a good analogy – corruption’s from within, none of us are “straight” – we all got a price. The sooner we concede this, the sooner we’ll be able to deal with corruption. We gotta accept that any politician who denies there’s corruption at all levels of Government is either a fool or a vagabond!! Some time back, didn’t VP Jagdeo and then later Pressie, admit there’s corruption in the Government! They just don’t think it’s as prevalent as the Opposition claims!!
So what should Government leaders do?? Well, take a leaf from Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew’s book (literally!!) and make Government workers less susceptible to bribes from the business class by educating and paying them so well they’re insulted when a bribe’s offered!! And coming to all the brouhaha being raised by the OFAC-sanctioned LOO, we should accept that politicians can also make investments!!
And not demand they wear sackcloth and ashes!!

…US World Cup ouster
While your Eyewitness is a cricket fanatic – he gotta admit that football is “the biggest name in sport”!! The viewership in FIFA’s World Cup – with 48 nations participating – reached 1.3 BILLION in a single game, Cape Verde vs Argentina!! For the longest while, the US had resisted the charms of football, of which they had their own variant!! But the lure of the big bucks proved too much, and back in 1975, they’d inveigled Pele, the then-iconic football player, to front a NY Club, Cosmos and launch them on the World stage.
They qualified starting in 1990 and hosted World Cup 1994 – where they advanced to the Group 16 stage and were knocked out by Brazil with Romario!! This year, however, while their team had noticeably improved, their Group 16 knockout match against Belgium was marked more by politics than football dexterity. Pres Trump had intervened to have a red-card disqualified player reinstated – earning the entire football world’s ire!!
Their 4-1 drubbing and elimination was unsurprisingly celebrated!!

…LOO’s barefacedness
Sanction Man has demanded Pressie’s resignation – based on his accusations about improprieties in the ownership of Pressie’s farm on the Linden Highway!
But what about HIS retention of the office of LOO – while being officially sanctioned by OFAC?!!

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Guyana’s campaign to secure the position of United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) for Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett received a boost on Tuesday after several Caribbean Community (Caricom) member states endorsed her candidacy during the regional bloc’s Heads of Government meeting in St Lucia.
President Dr Irfaan Ali, in a post on social media, said Rodrigues-Birkett addressed Caricom Heads of Government on her vision and candidacy for the top United Nations (UN) post. According to the President, the presentation was well received, with several member states expressing support for Guyana’s nominee.
“Her presentation received strong support, with several Member States endorsing her nomination – another significant milestone as our campaign continues to gather regional momentum on the international stage,” President Ali stated.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the UN on it social media page said that Rodrigues-Birkett participated in the 51st Meeting of Heads of State and Government of Caricom, where she outlined her vision for the role of UN Secretary-General. The Mission said the former Foreign Affairs Minister was invited to address the regional leaders and used the opportunity to present her candidacy for the position. It added that Rodrigues-Birkett also thanked Caricom leaders for their support and words of encouragement following her presentation.
Guyana officially launched Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy in May as it seeks to secure broad international backing ahead of the selection process for the next UN Secretary-General. Five official candidates are running to succeed António Guterres as the next UNSG, whose five-year term begins on January 1, 2027. According to the UN, the Secretary-General (SG) is appointed by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. While the 15-member Council, particularly its five permanent members who may veto any candidate, plays a decisive role in shaping the recommendation, the appointment is ultimately made by the Assembly. In the 80 years since the founding of the UN, there have been nine SGs, but a woman has never held the post. If successful, Rodrigues-Birkett would make history as the first woman ever elected to serve as SG of the UN since the organisation was established in 1945. She would also be the first Caribbean national to hold the position. Rodrigues-Birkett has served as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN since 2020. In that capacity, she led Guyana’s participation during its Security Council tenure and played a key role in advancing the country’s positions on issues relating to international peace and security.
Prior to her current post, Rodrigues-Birkett served as director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Liaison Office in Geneva from 2017 to 2020. She previously served as Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2015 and as Minister of Amerindian Affairs from 2001 to 2008.

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…exposes US-sanctioned Opposition Leader’s “political theatre”

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister (PM) Kwame McCoy has pushed back against United States (US)-sanctioned Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed over his continued misinformation campaign about the Government’s development agenda, arguing that the businessman-turned-politician is attempting to deflect attention from his own legal troubles.
In a video message released on Tuesday, McCoy responded to Mohamed’s allegations of residents at Long Creek on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway being without electricity and potable water for years. McCoy described the claims as “one of the worst forms of mischaracterisation and misdirection” on the work being pursued by the Government on the highway corridor. He highlighted that while a significant portion of the area in question includes informal settlements, where persons are squatting on both private and state lands, the Government has not ignored them.
“Four housing schemes are already being pursued along the highway with the aim of regularising the situation, bringing communities into conformity with proper housing standards and giving people access to better, safer and more formal living conditions. That means order, that means planning, that means ownership documents, that means dignity, and beyond those four schemes, the search for additional lands is continuing so that more families can be moved into organised communities with proper services and security of tenure,” McCoy outlined. “But Mohamed does not tell people that,” he added. “He does not explain the plan. He does not acknowledge the work. He does not respect the process.” Instead, McCoy posited, Mohamed “shows up after listening to Government’s plans, visits communities, riles up people and tries to create the false impression that his political noise is what forced action.”
The Minister described these actions as “dishonest”.
Moreover, he highlighted that electricity expansion has already been outlined along the highway corridor, including areas such as Moblissa, Banakari, Long Creek, Yarrowkabra, Samsville, Kuru Kururu and now into Laluni.
“Work has already commenced on the electricity power station at Kuru Kururu, and the same applies to water. Just a few weeks ago, in my interactions with residents of Long Creek, I spoke of the plans for more wells to be developed. So, Mohamed is not exposing neglect. He is seeking to exploit the process already in motion by using a dangerous cocktail of misinformation and disinformation,” McCoy posited.

Do not be fooled
McCoy is urging Guyanese to not be fooled by these actions, cautioning that “the same people who now pretend to care about water and electricity are associated with serious allegations involving tax evasion, gold smuggling and money laundering”. He posited that these allegations speak directly to resources that should have benefited the people of Guyana.
“Those resources could have supported development. Those resources could have strengthened services. Those resources could have helped communities. The $191 billion in tax evaded by the Mohameds when calculated can build over 2000 homes with water and electricity on the highway,” McCoy contended.
The $191 billion he refers to is the tax claim by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) against the businessman and his family. The claim was made in October 2025 following an audit that found the company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, understated its income by over $34 billion for the years 2019-2023. However, those charges were withdrawn following the US request for extradition. The US Government, in early November, requested the extradition of Mohamed and his father, who have been indicted by a grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 11 criminal charges ranging from wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, primarily connected to the export of gold to the US by their company, Mohamed’s Enterprises, between 2017 and June 11, 2024.

“Remake his image”
According to McCoy, Mohamed is simply trying to “remake his image” in the face of these indictments. “In Mohamed’s futile masquerade across the country, his vengeful agenda unfolds to suggest corruption exists in every quarter of society. His main accomplishment on this trail is to divide communities, skew a barrage of lies and disinformation, all with the aim of distracting from the serious trouble he faces as the United States pursues his extradition. He offers no serious plan, no sensible policy and no rational perspective on Guyana’s development,” he asserted.
But McCoy said Mohamed “can continue with his noises” as a sensible Guyanese under the difference between genuine development and manufactured outrage. “The work is already being done and is on the way. And no amount of political theatre from Mohamed and his cabal will erase the truth. Development is happening. Do not be misled,” McCoy expressed.

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