Decision rests with Government -- says P.M. Hinds Guyana Chronicle May 12, 2000 PRIME Minister Hinds (second from right) flanked by Mr Heyligar on his right and Mr Deochand Naraine. Seated next to Heyligar is Guyana Information Services Senior Officer Mr Chamanlall Naipaul. (Picture by Mike Norville) By Linda Rutherford PRIME Minister Mr Samuel Hinds said yesterday that though he welcomed the interest shown by the PNC in ensuring that Guyana exacted a fair deal in its negotiations with Beal Aerospace, the final decision will rest with the Government. "We value the continuing interest and concern of the political opposition to contribute to the conclusion of an agreement that will benefit the country....Ultimately, it is always the elected government in office which must make the final judgement calls and fulfill its obligations," the Prime Minister said. He made the observation during a more than an hour-long press conference late yesterday at the GTV 11 Homestretch Avenue studios. With him were the Government's Chief Negotiator in the Beal Aerospace talks, Mr Edgar Heyligar, and Go-Invest Director Mr Deochand Naraine given the administrative and financial nature of the matter at hand. The objective was to correct a number of what he deemed inaccuracies, some 12 in all, contained in information being disseminated by the PNC to the public about the Beal arrangement by way of a press conference held earlier in the day at its Congress Place headquarters and hosted by party leader Mr Desmond Hoyte. Mr Hinds said it was apparent that the document from which Hoyte extracted his information and quoted extensively during the course of the conference was "one in a series of draft agreements considered at various stages of the negotiations". Noting further that indeed, many of the concerns raised by Hoyte about certain clauses were ones also shared by the Government and have already been addressed, the Prime Minister said that negotiations had now advanced "well beyond the document Mr Hoyte has used as his reference point". One of the major concerns raised by Hoyte at the conference was what he termed "the astonishingly paltry" sums - a one-off payment of US$75,000 in one instance and US$1 per acre per annum in another - being negotiated with Beal for the more than 75,000-acre concession located on the Waini River in the Essequibo region. In addition, it was felt that based on the terms on which it was to be agreed, the arrangement will bring the Government no recurring revenue from the proposed operation of a spaceport other than the launch fees, which in themselves were ludicrous, the US$1 per year and a further US$100,000 per annum to defray such administrative costs as deploying customs, immigration and other officials and as a commuted payment for any fees the company might incur. With reference to the 76,000-acre buffer zone, which is the area that is to be leased at the annual rate of US$1 per acre, Naraine, who elected to address this issue, explained that given current acreage fees for Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs) of between US$0.08 - US$0.15, the price being negotiated was feasible. Chand said, too, that contrary to popular opinion, the buffer zone area will be accessible to residents within its environs for the purpose of fishing and other activities. Another issue about which Hoyte feels very strongly, based on his allegedly outdated copy of the draft agreement, is that the Government had agreed "to remove the protection that workers enjoy under the Factories Act, [and that] by way of a letter to be signed by the Minister of Labour...to modify [it] to exempt the Beal facility from its provisions". Admitting that Beal had earlier asked for a modification of the Factories Act, Naraine said that while at the time of negotiation it was a contentious issue between the two parties, he was happy to say that the offending clause no longer exists. "In the latest version which is Article V of the old version, the request for modification to the Factories Act has been complete withdrawn," he said. Asked whether Hoyte was right in saying that the agreement was almost complete and about to be signed, Mr Hinds said, "I would say yes, to my knowledge we have cleared all issues; we've been going through a process; it is now for one party to prepare a `clean document' to which both parties would subsequently agree." He conceded that Beal was the party charged with the responsibility of drawing up the document, noting that it was the norm with such agreements for one side to do the crafting. The Prime Minister said the Government is being guided legally in its negotiations primarily by the Attorney General's Chambers. The document is to be laid in Parliament soon after it is finished. The Prime Minister said that while it was possible that the document could be signed within a week, it was his fervent hope that it could be completed before monthend. He seized the opportunity to offer an apology of sorts to Mr Hoyte for not acknowledging receipt of a letter in which the PNC had made some suggestions aimed at safeguarding the country's interest. Mr Hoyte had noted the slight at his press conference. Admitting that he "should indeed have acknowledged receipt of their letter," the Prime Minister said: "It was an unfortunate oversight no doubt occasioned by the preparations for the public information seminar which was held within a week [supposedly of the letter's receipt] on December 17, 1999". The Prime Minister said, however, that now that the air was clear about many of the concerns Mr Hoyte had raised, the Leader of the Opposition may well find that the Government did after all take on board "much of the ideas his party raised with us". Mr Hinds said, too, that the Government was "equally grateful" for the advice and comments offered by the other social partners which, in the long run, helped shape the agreement with Beal.