Recent events review Saturday, August 18th to Friday August 24th
Saturday, August 18 Gov’t won’t be ‘intoxicated’ by oil, Granger says
Dubbing the PNCR as the “natural, national leader,” President David Granger yesterday said that the APNU+AFC government will not be “intoxicated by oil” as he vowed that the petroleum sector will be managed in accordance with “international best principles”. Giving the first signal at the 20th Biennial Delegates Conference that the 2020 General Elections could be held early in that year, Granger, also the PNCR Leader, committed the party to working with its current coalition partners to secure a victory at those polls. He stressed that the party’s three-day forum at its Congress Place, Sophia headquarters would be used to liaise with community representatives and strengthen the relationships formed. “Congress has much to accomplish in a few brief days. It seeks to… re-set the agenda for governance, as this, arguably, will be the last Congress before local government elections in 2018 and before the general and regional elections in 2020 – and energise the party for success at these polls,” Granger told attendees. Among other objectives, he said, Congress would “review the Party’s performance in government and direct its ministers, members of the National Assembly and councillors in regions and neighbourhoods to the way forward over the next two years; renew the networks among Party members aimed at collectively improving their communities and recognise differences and difficulties when they arise and to propose new policies to be pursued.”
Nandlall asks court to jail AG until judicial review law is operational
Attorney Anil Nandlall yesterday filed contempt of court proceedings, which seek to have Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams SC be held at the Camp Street Prison until he brings the Judicial Review Act (JRA) into force. This development comes just over a week after the Court of Appeal dismissed Williams’ application for a stay of execution of an order, made by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George on May 28th, compelling him to operationalise the law on or before July 31st. Nandlall, in an application filed in the High Court yesterday afternoon, asked for an order committing Williams to the Georgetown Prison, Camp Street, Georgetown “for such period and on such terms and conditions as are just for failing to bring the Judicial Review Act Chapter 8:06, into force...”
He also asked for Williams to pay such costs as are just and to comply with any other order that the court considers necessary. The matter has been fixed for hearing before Justice Navindra Singh on the September 14th at 9 am.
Cop charged with murdering Brazilian miner
Robert Daniels, the 23year-old police constable who fatally shot a Brazilian miner at Puruni, in Region Seven, was yesterday faced with a murder charge. Daniels, of Victoria Road, Plaisance, was not required to offer a plea to the indictable charge, which stated that on August 11th, 2018, at Puruni River, he murdered 37-year-old Estevao Costa Marques. At Daniels’ arraignment in Georgetown, his attorney, Patrice Henry, requested that the particulars of the charge be reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, while noting that the deceased miner discharged a loaded firearm at his client, causing him to return fire with his service rifle. Henry’s statement was consistent with an initial police statement which stated that Daniels told a Subordinate Officer that was with him that a man had discharged a round at him and he returned fire. An autopsy revealed that Marques sustained a gunshot to his head. It found an entry wound at the back of his head and an exit wound at the front.
Sunday, August 19 Plans for revamping GuySuCo awaiting funding, new CEO says
GuySuCo has not yet received any funds from the $17 billion that was secured by the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) since May to revamp its operations and as a result it cannot begin the implementation of any of its modernisation plans, newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Dr. Harold Davis Jr says. “There has been a lot said in the press about all this money but that is, strictly speaking, not quite true because we have not yet received the funds that we really need,” Davis told Sunday Stabroek News in a recent interview. The government holding company, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), which set up the SPU, officially issued a $30 billion equivalent bond facility, arranged by Republic Bank Limited. NICIL had said that the bond would be issued in multiple tranches, with the first tranche of roughly $17 billion or US$85 million equivalent having already been issued in May. Told that the SPU announced that it had collected the first tranche, and asked if the funds have not yet been transferred to the corporation, Davis responded in the negative. “Have we? No. Well, I don’t know about that. We requested some money… but we haven’t received that. Wherever you got that [information], you didn’t get that from us and I am sure you didn’t get that from the Ministry of Agriculture. There is a commitment to release some of these funds but we haven’t really as yet. That is still in discussion,” he said.
Monday August 20 Volda trounces competition
Volda Lawrence was just after midnight today declared the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chairman beating out Joseph Harmon by 59 votes in a win that President David Granger believes is one for women everywhere. When the results were officially announced sometime after 12:30 am, Returning Officer Hewley Griffith declared Lawrence, who is the Minister of Public Health, the winner and informed that she had secured 346 votes against Minister of State Harmon’s 287. Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams received 183 votes Griffith said. Williams’ result would represent a major defeat for him and the hope of being considered as a likely successor to President Granger. Lawrence had also secured one of the two vice-chairman positions with 244 votes along with Annette Ferguson who got 260. However, given that she was the winner in the Chairmanship race, the 2nd position went to Dr George Norton who got 242 votes.
AG’s move to enforce act still contemptuous of court order –Nandlall
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall says that a move by Attorney General Basil Williams SC to bring the Judicial Review Act into force on January 1st next year is still in contempt of a court order which mandated that he operationalise it by July 31, 2018. Under pressure to comply with a court order requiring that he operationalise the Act, Williams issued the commencement order on Wednesday. The Judicial Review (Commencement) Order 2018, which was made on August 15th, gazetted on August 16th and published in an Extraordinary Edition of the Official gazette on Saturday, states, “I appoint the 1st day of January, 2019 as the day on which the Judicial Review Act shall come into operation.” The move by Williams appears to be an attempt to forestall contempt of court proceedings that were initiated by Nandlall over Williams’ failure to bring the law into force, in keeping with the decision handed down by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George in May.
WPA criticises gov’t over teachers pay talks
The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) on Friday criticised the government on its attitude towards wage talks with teachers. The WPA, a member of the key governing coalition partner, APNU, said it was dismayed at the inability of the government to arrive at an amicable agreement on the wage issue with the Guyana Teachers Union. Teachers have vowed to go on strike from August 27 after protracted talks with the government failed to yield results. “What is even more frightening is the government’s apparent indifference to the threat of industrial action by the teachers. Rather than trying harder to arrive at an agreement, the Ministry of Education, according to reports, appears to be more concerned with hiring scablabour to counter the teachers’ threat. This insensitivity towards the teachers’ reasonable demands is at odds with President (David) Granger’s strident education activism and advocacy for increased and improved access to quality education by our children”, the party said.
Tuesday, August 21 $20 hike in bus fares from Sept 1st
Minibus fares are to be increased by $20 across-theboard from next month following an agreement between the United Minibus Union (UMU) and the Ministry of Business. The UMU and operators from various routes have been lobbying for toll increases for months after increases in the price of gas and some East Coast and East Bank operators have staged protests. According to a press release issued by the Ministry yesterday, at a meeting with the Union on August 9th, it was agreed that a $20 “across-the-board fare increase” for minibus operators was appropriate at this time. “The Ministry of Business has undertaken to draft the new fare structure for the various zones and routes and make this available to the United Minibus Union for circulation to its members. Minibus operators are required by law to display the fare structure in all buses,” the statement said. It also said both parties have agreed for there to be an established code of conduct for minibus operators and for them to continue their engagement on the matter. The need for proper enforcement was also highlighted and discussed at the meeting and there was a consensus on the need for it to be urgently addressed with the relevant authorities.
Body found in Canal No. 1 trench ID’ed as Grove man
The man whose body was found floating in a trench earlier this month at Canal No. 1, West Bank Demerara, has been positively identified as Grove resident Haimchand Persaud, whose family is calling for justice as it appears that he was murdered. A police source yesterday told Stabroek News that the remains of Persaud, called ‘Anand,’ 42, of Grove, East Bank Demerara, were positively identified by his brother, Ram Ganesh Persaud. The source added that an autopsy that was conducted on Persaud’s remains last Thursday found that he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head, compression to the neck and drowning. As a result, the source added that persons from Parika, East Bank Demerara, who were reportedly last seen in company of Persaud, were detained for questioning. They were, however, subsequently released. Nevertheless, the investigation remains active, the source added. Persaud’s body was discovered floating in the trench around 11 am on August 10th.
Interdicted Cadet Officer held over threat to shoot wife – police
Interdicted Cadet Officer Franz Paul, who was cleared just three months ago of the shooting of a teen boy, is now back in custody for allegedly threatening to shoot his reputed wife with an unlicensed firearm during a misunderstanding at their Alexander Village home this morning, the Guyana Police Force has said. Police spokesman Jairam Ramlakhan, in a press statement, confirmed that Paul was taken into custody at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he went to seek medical attention for an
injury he sustained during the incident, which occurred around 5.15 am at the couple’s Second Street, Alexander Village home. Ramlakhan also said Paul has admitted ownership of the unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He noted that Paul’s reputed wife alleged to the police that he drew a loaded firearm and threatened to shoot her during a misunderstanding between them. The woman, however, managed to disarm Paul.
Wednesday, August 22 Bandits grab millions, beat businessman in over hour-long attack at supermarket
A gang of masked bandits early yesterday morning invaded the Real Value Supermarket at Church and Thomas streets, Georgetown, from where they carted off roughly $11 million in cash, jewellery and other valuables after a more than one-hour long raid. The attack was carried out between 3 am and 4.15 am at the Lot 246 Church and Thomas streets, Georgetown business and it saw proprietor Jason Wang, 40, being gun-butted to his head. Wang was later rushed to a private city hospital, where he received twelve stitches for his wounds, before being discharged. During the attack, which was captured by surveillance cameras, Wang, his wife, their six children whose ages range from two to 15, one of his cousins, known as ‘Tina,’ and his mother-in-law were on the premises. The family occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the building, while the supermarket is located on the first and second floors. The crime was allegedly committed by a group of about six to eight men, four of whom made their way into the building. The others reportedly acted as lookouts and were constantly in contact with those inside the building.
Tremor from massive Venezuelan quake felt along Guyana’s coast
Guyanese yesterday panicked after a tremor from a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in neighbouring Venezuela caused the earth to shake and buildings to sway. Up to press time there were no reports of serious property damage or injury to persons here but citizens have sought to blame the event on everything from unholy living to ExxonMobil’s drilling to a failure by Government to adequately pay teachers. In Georgetown, the tremor was experienced at around 5.31 pm. “I was sitting at my desk and felt the building shaking. My friend asked me if I felt something strange and said we should probably leave but there was no probably, I was already out the door,” a member of the Teleperformance staff on Camp and Robb streets told Stabroek News. He along with his colleagues had rushed out of the five-storied building in a tide of bodies which covered the intersection of Robb and Camp streets bringing traffic to a standstill.
Man burns Mon Repos woman, torches house
A retired head teacher is currently in a critical condition at a city hospital after she and her home were set ablaze by her husband, after she reportedly refused to provide him with $500 to purchase alcohol. Debra Mootoo, 58, sustained severe burns about her body from her shoulders down while her Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara home was destroyed after the attack, which occurred sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning. Mootoo is currently admitted in the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where her condition is listed as critical. Commander of ‘C’ Division Leslie James yesterday confirmed to Stabroek News that the suspect, Prakash Ramdeo, was arrested. He remained in custody up to late yesterday afternoon, pending charges. Marissa Persaud, the injured woman’s only child, told Stabroek News that based on what her mother related to her, Ramdeo, who is an alcoholic, tied her up with a mosquito net before dousing her with kerosene and setting her alight after she refused to provide him with $500. The fire quickly spread and engulfed the one-bedroom wooden house, located at Lot 209 Block 8 Mon Repos, which Mootoo shared with Ramdeo for the past eight years.
Thursday, August 23 East La Penitence woman murdered
Another young woman is dead after allegedly being stabbed in the neck by her boyfriend, who subsequently turned himself in to the police yesterday morning. Dead is Shanece Lawrence, an employee of Hicksville Hotel, West Ruimveldt, who was allegedly killed by boyfriend, Jermaine Gavin Bristol, a security guard employed by GUYOIL, during a visit to the apartment the couple previously shared at Freeman Street, East La Penitence. Stabroek News understands that subsequent to allegedly killing the woman, Lawrence made his way to the Brickdam Police Station where he was arrested after reportedly confessing to the crime. Demani Hall, the owner of the apartment which Bristol was renting and who was home when the murder took place, expressed shock that there had been no sound or sign that would have indicated that a struggle or confrontation of any kind was taking place during the time his tenant allegedly killed Lawrence. He explained that the couple had moved in to the self-contained apartment, which is located in the back half of the house, sometime in June this year. However, Hall said he observed sometime last week that Lawrence had stopped sleeping there but did not think too much of it.
Woodlands Hospital launches new $100M ICU
Woodlands Hospital Limited has commissioned a new multi-million dollar Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as part of its continued expansion in order to meet the needs of its patients. The new unit, which has an estimated cost of $100 million, was commissioned last week Tuesday. Managing Director of the hospital Dr. Neville Gobin told Stabroek News on Monday that the new unit marks the second upgrade to the ICU, which was introduced some 20 years ago. “This would be the third ICU that the hospital would have (had) since it was established almost 50 years ago; the first ICU was opened in the late 90’s and it took about 30 years for us to open it and that too was in a very small area in the hospital that could have barely accommodated two beds. We hadn’t the proper equipment back then nor were the staff trained in that specific area,” he explained. “However as the popularity of the hospital grew, the demand and the kind of patients changed. We needed the intensive care so with the expansion of this building we got a slightly larger building where we were able to put four beds and that ICU was also a bit more equipped than the previous one; the staff were trained and would have gotten the experience. With the influx of the specialists’ doctors, we found that this also proved to be too inadequate to meet the needs of the hospital so we decided to expand once again,” Dr. Gobin added.
West Dem man, 54, dies in motorcycle accident
A 54-year-old Good Intent, West Bank Demerara, man is now dead after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a man on the Belle View Public Road on Tuesday night. According to information reaching Stabroek News, Oswald Dey, an Operations Officer at UNICEF was riding his motorcycle, CH 4288, on his way to a friend’s residence in Belle View when he collided with the man on the road. When Stabroek News visited the man’s Good Intent home yesterday, his father and close friends had already gathered to offer his three children, with whom he resided, their condolences and emotional support. One of his sons related that the man had to have left home sometime before 9 pm because he received the call informing him about the accident a few minutes after 9 pm. “What seems to be the situation is that there was a junkie in the street, and because the place is not well lit he came upon the individual and applied the brakes to avoid hitting him, and flew off the bike which led to him suffering serious injuries to his neck, head and other parts of his body. We can’t confirm the direct injuries because the post-mortem examination was not done yet,” his son, Marlon Dey, explained to Stabroek News yesterday.
Friday, August 24 Trotman defends ‘strategic’ ties with Exxon
Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman yesterday defended the APNU+AFC administration’s “strategic relationship” with ExxonMobil, saying that it is guided by the long-term security of the state and not just future income. Addressing a visiting US congressional delegation on Wednesday at his ministry’s office in Kingston, Trotman welcomed the entrance and involvement of American companies in the extractive industries sector, and identified ExxonMobil as a strategic national development partner. “This government has been criticized for this strategic relationship, but we will not recoil or resile from our position as we are mindful not just about the income of tomorrow, but equally also, about the long term security of the state,” he said, according to the statement he made to the visiting lawmakers and military personnel. Trotman further assured that this country would not nationalize the assets of American businesses or be hostile to them. “American business and interests can rest assured that we will not nationalize their interests or take actions inimical to them,” he was quoted as saying in the statement, which was released by his ministry. ExxonMobil’s assets were seized by the Venezuelan government under Hugo Chavez’s rule in 2007 and the company said that it had lost over US$10 billion as a result.
Bogus auto dealer gets three years for conning customers
A 24-year-old man was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to conning three persons out of a total of $900,000 by pretending that he could supply them with vehicles. Jermaine Fraser, of Lamaha Springs, was sentenced by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown after he pleaded guilty to three separate charges of obtaining money by false pretence. Fraser denied a fourth charge. Fraser admitted that with intent to defraud, he obtained the sum of $400,000 from Baldeo Puran on April 26th, at Georgetown, by falsely pretending that he was in a position to obtain a Toyota Carina 212 for him.
Venezuelan plane held at Ogle airport in laundering probe
A second Venezuelan plane has been detained by SOCU amid an investigation of money laundering, head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Sydney James says. Stabroek News was reliably informed that the Unit detained a Beechcraft BE 58 plane at the Eugene F. Correia international Airport at Ogle yesterday, bearing registration number YV-2377. The plane had reportedly arrived from Puerto Ordaz in Venezuela. When contacted yesterday, James confirmed that the plane was seized and said, “SOCU has detained an aircraft as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation.” He also added that that is all the information that can be released at this point in time. Roraima Airways is the ground handling agent for the aircraft. Roraima Airways head, Gerry Gouveia, was also contacted yesterday and confirmed that the plane was detained by SOCU. He noted that the plane arrived on Wednesday and was scheduled to leave yesterday [Thursday] and the incident is being investigated. Gouveia was also unable to provide any additional information on the matter.