In the courts

Ramps wins court battle for local content certificate: Finding that Ramps Logistics had satisfied every requirement of the Local Content Act, acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC has ordered Head of the Local Content Secretariat Martin Pertab to ensure that the Company is issued its Certificate of Registration no later than noon on Monday. In a ruling handed down on Friday, Justice George warned Pertab that failure to do so could result in him being held in contempt of court and imprisoned or fined. Reacting to the ruling, Ramps said “this win is significant for the people of Guyana,” while adding that “this swift verdict shows the independence of the Court and that private and foreign businesses invest in Guyana with the support of a fair and transparent judicial system. It further said it is pleased that it will be receiving its Local Content Certificate on Monday. Ramps, whose parent company is Trinidadian, had argued that it was entitled to be issued a certificate of registration and to be entered into the Local Content Register in accordance with Section 6 of the Local Content Act. It is against this background that it moved to Court for judicial review seeking a number of declarations, among them that the decision of the Minister of Natural Resources and/or the Secretariat made four months ago—on June 8th—refusing to grant the certification was unlawful.

In her ruling on Friday afternoon, the Chief Justice said that both the Minister and the Secretariat had breached the Act. In fact she made it clear that “the Minister had, and has no authority under the Local Content Act, to grant or refuse certification.” Further, she said that the Secretariat misconstrued the Act and had taken irrelevant factors into consideration, such as pending criminal charges against the company that have “absolutely” no bearing in the determination of whether certification should be granted or not.

Bloomfield man charged with murdering wife: A Bloomfield, Corentyne estate labourer was last Thursday remanded to prison after he was charged with the murder of his wife. After leaving the court the man told onlookers that he is heading to “home sweet home.” Mahendra Paltoo, also known as “Ajai”, 35, of Lot 172 Bloomfield, Corentyne, appeared at the Whim Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Renita Singh where the charge was read to him. He is accused of murdering Oma Davi Virasammy on November 6th at Bloomfield Village, Corentyne. Although the unrepresented man was not required to plead to the charge he told Magistrate Singh that he wished to plead guilty to manslaughter. Magistrate Singh then told him that he was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge and remanded him to prison. He will return to court on December 12th.

Rupununi farmer gets 12 years for 2019 Christmas Day killing: Last Monday Rupununi farmer Darrel Williams was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for the 2019 Christmas Day stabbing death of a Brazilian farmer Elvis Aulicio at Moco Moco Village, Central Rupununi. Williams called ‘Fox’ had been originally indicted for murder, but at his arraignment last month, admitted guilt on the lesser charge of manslaughter for unlawfully killing Aulicio at Moco Moco. His sentencing had been deferred to facilitate the presentation of probation and social impact reports; following which on Monday Justice Brassington Reynolds at the High Court in Demerara imposed the 12year prison term. The police’s case had been that Williams and Aulicio, 44, a farmer of Bon Fim, Brazil were known to each other, and were both at a birthday party on the day in question. According to reports, Williams accused Aulicio of stealing his haversack which had ‘labba’ in it. Incensed, Williams later followed Aulicio into the Moco Moco savannah where he dealt him a stab to his neck. Reports indicated that the body of the man was found on a track in the open savannah at about 2 am on December 26th with wounds to his back and forehead. Williams was represented by Damien DaSilva, while the prosecution was represented by state attorneys led by Latifah Elliot.