How Guyana gets ROYALTY from Foreign Companies (A simple explanation)

May 23, 2021 News

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By Glenn Lall

Kaieteur News – Royalty is the meat of our product, of anybody’s product; this is the heart of the business. This is where you have to really benefit from the thing you own, when you do a business with somebody, with your own product, your own wealth, you must make ‘a money’, you does got ‘fuh’ come out smiling, shining; you must able to sling fat, fat gold chain and diamond rings to show off, to show that you are wealthy and rich.
You must be living in mansions, driving Mercedes Benz, living like kings and queens, from a deal with anybody.
Instead the contract ‘wha’ Robert Persaud ‘dem’ sign with Aurora Gold Mines, have the gold people ‘dem’ living like kings and queens, driving the Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus, drinking champagne and fine wine, eating the chicken and prawns, fish and steak and the Guyanese people left to collect the gravy.

‘Dem’ can eat at New Thriving, Sarwan restaurant, Marriott, Pegasus and all dem high class place, drink the best, and the money ‘dem’ decide ‘fuh’ we in royalty, you can barely buy a pack of pampers or a tin of baby milk, can you believe that? ‘Yuh’ can’t even afford the cheapest ‘chiney’ food in this country. The AGM royalty our leaders agree to, our brothers and sisters will continue to ride donkey cart and bicycle.
We reported that the gold company decides what royalty Guyana gets, ‘de’ people ‘dem’ respond and ‘dem’ didn’t deny it. All ‘dem’ say is that ‘dem’ payments up to date. The contract says the applicable gold royalty shall be determined in accordance with the following, the % of royalty is 5% and 8%. It says 5% is when you sell the gold at US$1,000 or less and 8% is when you sell the gold for any amount over US$1,001.
The contract specifies that the company pays royalty only on the price ‘dem’ sell the gold at; it doesn’t have to be the world market price, this ‘deh’ in the contract, guys.
Guys, y’all understand what that thing mean; do you really understand what you just read there? Well this is not robbery, this is like we invite these people to come here to pick up we gold and ‘go lang’ with it; ‘tek’ it man, ‘tek’ it and throw whatever y’all want to throw at Guyana, and we have to accept it, that is what those words mean. This is the contract that our leaders signed.
People, our local gold miners have to take their gold to the Gold Board and sell them at the world market price, and the Gold Board take out their full 5 – sometimes 7 or 8% – royalties, on the world market price.
On top of that, those miners got to go to GRA and pay their fair share of taxes on the business ‘dem’ doing. But let me tell you how we get we Royalty from AGM, and I guess all the rest of foreign companies. I’m not certain of the rest but I’m certain on this one, which I’m talking about – Aurora. Them don’t have to carry their gold to the Gold Board for we to take out our 5% on the world market price, no, no… They are allowed to sell ‘dem’ gold to anybody, even ‘dem’ family for whatever price, it don’t have to be the world market price. The price today is $1,800 and ‘dem’ can sell it for $500 an ounce and then pay Guyana 5% on that $500. Let me repeat, dem can sell the gold to them uncle or dem daddy for $100 an ounce (oz.) and pay Guyana 5% of that $100 when the world market is $1,800.
Let me do the maths for ‘alyuh’, if we get 5% on $1,800, Guyana is entitled to 90 US dollar on every ounce; if ‘dem’ sell it for $100, Guyana get $5. That is business ‘fuh’ we leaders man, that is how you a sign contract, that is their plan to develop Guyana. Robert Persaud ‘dem’ sign that contract and Sam Hinds defending it; he got a letter in Friday’s newspaper about it.
‘Dem’ get the land for $1,000 an acre; ‘dem’ get duty free; ‘dem’ get tax free; ‘dem’ only paying 10% on fuel, ‘dem’ are allowed to pay what ‘dem’ want to pay in royalties while Guyanese, who doing the same business have to pay all their taxes. We have to pay three and a half times more for the diesel and gasoline, pay full royalties, plus taxes and these leaders who we have in this country, these financial gurus, these business people who running this country, ain’t see nothing wrong with that. What a Guyana this is, beautiful Guyana! The contract has more fuh me to tell y’all because remember ‘dem’ say ‘dem’ come to do underground mining.
‘Dem’ is the best in the world. The royalty part of this large-scale underground mining ‘wha’ the region never see before, this one provision is tricky and more dangerous.
‘Dem’ say, if the feasibility study show that that they wouldn’t be able to sustain this modernise underground gold digging ‘dem gon’ do, then the government got ‘fuh’ flex with them and don’t charge any extra 3% that they promise to pay on the 5%.
So basically, it means ‘dem’ could keep selling gold if they do go into it, under the same arrangement for royalty and keep flinging pennies at us. This is the kind of contract, which we leaders sign onto.
People, I have been in this news business for 27 years now, and I have seen corruption, thievery and crime of all magnitude, but what is being revealed of late, it is mindboggling to say the least.
It is heart breaking, unthinkable and unimaginable, the betrayal of our livelihood by our leaders.
Is this investment; is this development? It is development, yes, but development for who – Guyana or the foreign companies? And our leaders like Sam Hinds are proud to say that this is foreign direct investment. And ‘dat’ we lucky ‘fuh get wha’ we get, and we must ‘tek’ it.
In ‘he’ letter in de papers, he saying how dem take years to standardise and bring back people to Guyana fuh invest and how Aurora is paying a standard $1,000 rate ‘fuh’ rent we land, and how we mustn’t complain about getting crumbs.
So I asked him to tell the Guyanese people if he believe that Guyana getting crumbs, he should show us any contract in the world that is worse than Guyana’s Exxon deal and the Aurora Gold contract for now.
I would like to thank the former PM for confirming what the newspaper has been saying is accurate about the $1,000 Guyana getting in rent for our rich gold and diamond lands.
I want to tell him however, to say that it is the standard rate to operate in Guyana with the people’s wealth is an insult to the nation’s intelligence. I hate to think he was a leader, running the affairs of this nation in that fashion, especially in our mining sector. Let me ask him, would you run your own mining land like this? Do you know of any Guyanese, who rents mining land for 1,000 Guyana dollars per acre, per year, and accept the conditions what Aurora get? I will give you a million dollars in your pocket to name one Guyanese.
Seen that Mr. Hinds was kind and forthcoming, I would like him to comment on the royalty rate and the way it is being paid to us from Aurora Gold Mines.
I hope he cares to shed some light in another letter or come on the radio and let’s have a frank discussion. My invitation is open and I would like to thank Mr. Hinds and any other leader in advance for coming and defend the AGM contract. You don’t have to come in the studio, you can call the phone and let’s have this discussion.

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