Dear Editor
Mr. Sherwin Downer has again surfaced in the papers, this time claiming to be the spokesman for ‘Bartica Chamber of Commerce and Industry or BCCI’, pronouncing on mining matters as if he is some expert in this industry or is even a miner. He ‘BCCI’ spokesman has written several articles criticising the government, the Finance Minister, the GRA and the 2017 budget.I would therefore like to ask, what is Mr. Downer’s credential? Is he an esteemed economist: An accountant perhaps? Is he an expert in mining matters? Does Mr. Downer know bush? Does he have a dredge? How many years has he toiled in the mining industry? From whence has he accumulated this expertise to be able to pronounce publicly on these matters with such high esteem so as to have his pronouncements published in the daily periodicals?
Secondly, no one in Bartica is familiar with the BCCI. What is the ‘BCCI’? When was it formed? Which companies make up its membership? How many members does it have? Who are the ‘BCCI’ executives and so forth and so on?
The ‘BCCI’ has an official sounding name but I suspect it is no different from those fake sites that pop-up on the internet professing to be legitimate businesses whose true purpose is to scam consumers or release fake ones.
This is the same Sherwin Downer, a known PPP activist, who was rewarded with the position of press officer for the Bartica IMC. He claimed in 2016 to be the President of the National Mine Workers Union of Guyana (NMWUG). This turned out to be a scam for which he was arrested and remanded to Camp Street Prison for fraudulent conversion.
I would suggest to my fellow Guyanese to be vigilant and not be deceived. Google ‘BCCI’. Call the numbers. Do your own research. BCCI is not a legitimate entity; neither is its spokesman Mr. Sherwin Downer.
Regards
Olga Fredericks
Bartica Resident