By| Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The unfolding controversy surrounding Guyana’s multi-million-dollar cattle import program has taken a highly suspicious turn. The main opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has formally questioned whether the first batch of 300 pregnant Brazilian heifers was ever genuinely destined for the state-run Ebini Breeding and Research Centre, or if they were diverted at the last minute to cover up a deeper political scandal.
The suspicion arose after an APNU parliamentary delegation visited the Tacama/Ebini Landing along the Berbice River on Monday. They discovered approximately 25 heavy-duty transport trucks carrying the pregnant heifers stranded at the waterfront for upwards of 72 hours. According to the opposition, there was no suitable barge prepared to transport the massive trucks across the river, forcing on-site workers to frantically scramble for an excavator to modify the banks once the animals had already arrived.
“Everything about this importation points to an absolute, glaring lack of preparation,” stated APNU Member of Parliament Dr. Terrence Campbell during a live broadcast from the landing. “An operation of this magnitude—moving hundreds of vulnerable, pregnant animals over a grueling 1,000-kilometer trail—should have had a clockwork, pre-confirmed river-crossing plan long before the first truck departed Brazil. You cannot tell me these cows were always meant for Ebini when you didn’t even have a functioning barge waiting for them.”
Divergent Theories: Where Were the Heifers Supposed to Go?
The logistical breakdown at the Berbice River crossing has fueled intense speculation that the animals were originally bound for a completely different location and were rerouted in a panic:
| Operational Feature | APNU / WIN Diversion Theory | GLDA Official Position |
| Suspected Destination | The controversial private ranch at Long Creek/Soesdyke-Linden Highway. | The state-run Ebini Breeding and Research Centre. |
| Rerouting Trigger | Public exposure of the Lethem-Linden trail shipment by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed. | Strictly scheduled, long-planned national breeding program logistics. |
| River Crossing Delay | Zero preparation, lack of a suitable barge, and last-minute notification of local staff. | Standard precautions due to unfavorable overnight tidal flows. |
| Legal Documentation | Demand for immediate disclosure of the original import manifests and shipping clearances. | Verified “crystal clear” inter-regional transit permit: Lethem-Linden-Ebini. |
“We spoke with personnel on the ground at the site, and they privately confirmed they only received notice of this massive shipment’s arrival at the very last minute,” MP Campbell revealed. “If the Ebini farm was the planned destination all along, why were the technical staff and pasture managers kept in the dark until the trucks were already backed up at the waterfront?”
Adding weight to Campbell’s concerns, MP Saiku Andrews argued that the Ministry of Agriculture had months to coordinate the logistical transit from Roraima State, Brazil. He pointed out that forcing heavily pregnant heifers—each valued at G$245,000—to endure days of confinement inside stagnant, metal-sided trucks in the tropical heat is a severe act of negligence that directly threatens taxpayer-funded assets.
While the opposition claims the prolonged delay caused between 12 and 15 animal fatalities, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) has fiercely disputed those numbers. GLDA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Dwight Walrond confirmed only three documented mortalities, attributing them to the standard stresses of long-distance transport rather than administrative failure.
Dr. Walrond also flatly dismissed the opposition’s diversion theory as politically motivated fiction. He maintained that the cattle were never legally or logistically cleared to pass through the Soesdyke-Linden Highway corridor, stating that the official inter-regional transport permits specifically restricted the fleet’s route to the Lethem-Linden-Ebini trail. However, as technical teams continue to offload the remaining heifers at the Ebini pasturelands, APNU is preparing a formal parliamentary motion demanding the immediate release of all shipping logs, supply contracts, and veterinary manifests to clear the air once and for all.
