Recent events review Saturday, January 28 to Friday, February 3

Saturday, January 28

Miners threaten mass protest over new tax measures

Unless President David Granger agrees to a meeting within a fortnight, miners yesterday warned that the country will be treated to a slowdown in declarations and mass protest over issues of contention, including new tax measures that they say will hurt their operations. Forty-five of the 120 miners present at a meeting of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) at its North Road headquarters voted to have the association document their concerns in an open letter to President Granger. This letter, which is to be published in the local media, will call on the president to make himself available for a meeting with the GGDMA within a fortnight.

Monday, January 30

AG in scathing attack on Deputy Solicitor General

Attorney General, Basil Williams yesterday launched a scathing attack on Deputy Solicitor General, Prithima Kissoon following a disclosure that she had complained to the Public Service Commission (PSC) about him in an escalating row that has also drawn in Solicitor General Sita Ramlal. The controversy revolves around the State’s handling of a case in which former President Bharrat Jagdeo had been accused of racially inflammatory language. The appeal brought by the state against a decision by the High Court that the magistrate had no jurisdiction was thrown out by the Guyana Court of Appeal this month as an abuse of the court’s process. This result has seen the AG accusing Kissoon of responsibility for this, which she has denied, and she has issued her own accusations against the AG. In his statement yesterday, Williams said “Our government can no longer continue to sustain the Deputy Solicitor General Ms Prithima Kissoon’s unrelenting undermining of its cases. Having been employed by former Attorney General Mr Anil Nandlall under the PPP/C regime, as Deputy Solicitor General, and paid over one million dollars ($1,000,000) and other benefits per month, Ms Kissoon has been openly supportive of Mr Nandlall and the PPP/C even when seated on government’s bench.”

Man killed during attempted robbery at McDoom was no criminal - family

company ahead of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), according to former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran. He also says that the law should be amended to allow companies that protest contract awards and win their cases to be adequately compensated and not just given a reimbursement for the preparation of their protest documents. “This is indeed regrettable and points to the inadequacy of the law in providing relief to contractors and suppliers if they are unfairly treated,” Goolsarran told Stabroek News in an interview.

Tuesday, January 31

Gov’t nixes PPP/C plea for zero-rated VAT items

The government used its one-seat majority in the National Assembly last evening to defeat a PPP/C motion calling for the restoration of items that were previously zero-rated under the Value Added Tax (VAT), with Finance Minister Winston Jordan once again arguing that the changes were necessary to stem the continuing decline of revenue yielded by the tax. The motion, which was debated for over three hours, was moved by opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, who voiced concern that Guyanese are being burdened by the government’s widening of the application of VAT. The motion challenged the Value-Added Tax (Amendment of Schedules) Order 2016, which moves items which were previously zero-rated to exempted status. The order comes into effect tomorrow.