Weekend Mirror 3-4 August 2019

3-4 August, 2019 / Vol. 10 No. 84 / Price: $100

Internet: http: //www.mirrornewsgy.com / e-mail: weekendmirror@gmail.com

Granger's gov’t After September 18…

ILLEGAL [See stories on Pages 2, 3, 11]

SEE INSIDE

Jagdeo confident that PAGE 10 Claudette Singh will ‘deliver fair elections’ Jordan engages in barefaced denial of position PAGE 9 voiced by Chief Elections Officer Local Content Policy is critical for ensuring readiness, greater PAGE 12 benefits to Guyanese – Ali

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Hundreds protest outside Ministry of the Presidency A massive protest action was staged outside President David Granger’s office, the Ministry of the Presidency, on Wednesday (July 31, 2019), with calls for him to comply with the Constitution and the rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to address the issue of General and Regional Elections within the three-month deadline – that is by September 18, 2019.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

No action on Jagdeo's call for constitutional compliance I

n response to a letter that Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo penned demanding that the President and Cabinet resign and Parliament be dissolved – as is constitutionally required when a No-Confidence Motion is passed against Government, President David Granger has responded by saying that his Attorney General is examining “the requests”.

While the President has termed the demand as a “request” the Article 106 (6) of Constitution of Guyana states: “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence”.

Meanwhile, Article 106

(7) states: “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election”.

In a letter written and signed by caretaker President Granger dated July 26, he acknowledged the Opposition Leader’s letter from July 20, in which he demanded the resignation of the President and Cabinet, the dissolution of Parliament, and the naming of an election date.

Despite the unambiguity of the Constitution, the President stated in the letter that these “requests” were being examined by Attorney General Basil Williams, “in light of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the relevant rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice”.

A No-Confidence Motion was passed against the Granger-led Government on December 21, 2018. However, elections were not held – as was constitutionally required. Instead, Government went to court unsuccessfully arguing that the NCM was not validly passed. The CCJ, having made its final ruling on June 18, 2019, now paves way for General and Regional Elections in September.

Increased concerns about people smuggling, issuance of fake documents – Jagdeo T he issue of registration of foreign nationals is an increasing concern, according to Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, who referred to the damning disclosures made this week.

Jagdeo noted that there is also a worry that the issuance of false documentation will be used to pad the voters’ list.

However, he proffered the view that this “people smuggling” racket is essentially a “corrupt practice” involving the Coalition Government.

According to immigration numbers, thousands of Haitians are being ‘brought’ to Guyana. From January to July, it was, 952, 673, 345, 1321, 2010, 1749 and 1552 respectively – a total of over 8,600 Haitians who arrived in the last seven months.

They all arrived on flights of the Panamanian-owned Copa Airlines.

During his Thursday (July 31, 2019) news conference, he said, “We believe that a lot of this is people smuggling. It is a lucrative, very, very, lucrative criminal enterprise…the latest numbers show that 8,700 have come into the country in the last seven months alone and we gather that less than 25 have left….it is unbelievable that these numbers have come in and the government is not involved….this is not normal. “…recently after the passage of the no-confidence motion we saw a surge in the numbers. We believe that this surge has something to do something with the registration (house-to-house registration) process that is ongoing now...we believe that people are being issued with fake documents. We believe that they are being registered quietly by some enumerators, who might be close to APNU, in some areas. Therefore many of these foreign nationals, not just Haitians, but others, who are not eligible, will form part of the new Voters’ List if house-to-house registration succeeds. This is why APNU really wants house-to-house registration.”

Last year, when this issue came up, Jagdeo stated that the matter will be brought to the attention to the international community, including agencies like the UNDP. “We will bring it to their attention because we believe that this is people smuggling,” he had said.

JUNE 2018 DISCLOSURES The “alarming” statistics on the number of Cubans and Haitians who cannot be accounted for, since entering Guyana, caused the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs to summon Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge, on June 13, 2018 to discuss possible human trafficking.

After the issue first came up, Minister Felix, on May 23, wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly and provided statistics of several main groups of foreign nationals, with the largest arrival and departure figures, for the past five years and the first quarter of this year.

A breakdown of the information showed alarming information for two groups – Cubans and Haitians.

According to the numbers, from 2015 to April 30, 2018, a total of 93,374 Cubans arrived in Guyana, but only 76,663 were recorded to have left. This means that there were 16,711 Cubans still in Guyana.

For Haitians, the numbers show that, from 2015 to April 30, 2018, a total of 6,245 arrived in Guyana, but only 963 were recorded to have left. This means that there were 5,282 Cubans still in Guyana.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Committee Member, Zulfikar Mustapha had pointed out last year that there is no data or information on where in Guyana the Haitians were living or if any of the numbers remaining here have been naturalized and are registered by the Guyana Elections Commission, thus giving them power to vote at elections.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

EDITORIAL

The Election Clock and time wasted

J

ust over six weeks. That is all that is left. In just over six weeks, Guyana faces down the end of the three-month deadline, with which General and Regional Elections should have been held – by September 18, 2019.

On June 18, 2019, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that the no-confidence motion was validly passed. On July 12, 2019, noting that General and Regional Elections should have been held by March 21, 2019 – after the December 21, 2018 passage of the no-confidence motion – the CCJ made clear that the three-month constitutional time within which Elections should have been held started on June 18, 2019.

So what has been done in the last six weeks by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government – a caretaker government?

Nothing. Nothing has been done to comply with key CCJ rulings –namely that: The Cabinet and President must resign; The David Granger-led APNU+AFC Coalition will continue as a caretaker government; and that the APNU+AFC Coalition must restrain the exercise of its legal authority.

Will Guyana see General and Regional Elections being held before the September 18, 2019? This is left to be seen.

Whether Elections can be held within the remaining time – how possible this is – can be answered by looking at the work plan that was put forward by the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners when the March 21, 2019 Election deadline was looming.

The Plan contemplates a 50-day timeframe: 1. Nomination Day to Elections Day – 40 days.

2. Election Day being named based on a timeline of 35 days.

This timeline includes the printing of ballot papers.

3. Events preliminary to Nomination Day – 10 days. These events include sending invitations to interested parties to submit lists.

According to the plan, all the other activities hereunder listed can be done CONCURRENTLY during the same 50 days.

These activities include: 1. Training, testing and selection of Election Day staff - 42 days. During 2018, in preparation for the LGE of November 12, 2018, a total of 10,500 persons were trained of which just over 7,500 were employed. Training manuals have been corrected and printed. Training aids are currently being acquired.

There is need for approximately 12,000 staff to work in 2356 polling stations countrywide. Hence there is need to train about 3,000 new persons and re-train where necessary, any of the 10,500 persons previously trained. The excess is included to account for attrition over the short period.

2. Advertise and invite persons for training and retraining where necessary – 11 days.

3. Hold daily training programmes in an intensive training exercise all over the country, to train and retrain all the staff needed – 21 days. If as is claimed that mostly teachers apply to work, then those who are to be trained can and should be given the necessary time-off to attend the training exercises which is 2 days or 3 days at most for any group of trainees.

4. Evaluate, select and appoint polling day staff – 10 days.

This exercise is the primary responsibility of the Human Resources department.

5. Procurement of sensitive and non-sensitive materials – 42 days. All the necessary waivers can and should be given to allow GECOM to sole source materials, especially from outside Guyana, in order to avoid unnecessary delays. The Chief Elections Officer has or should have a list of all materials needed, what is already on hand, what can be sourced locally and what needs to be sourced internationally. The technology exists within GECOM, to electronically source any and all materials needed and payments can be wired wherever needed in a matter of days. This exercise is the responsibility of the accounts department with input from the chief elections officer.

6. Civic and Voter education – 49 days.

What this work plan showed was that credible elections can be held within 50 days. Whether this proposal will be given consideration.

However, what is clear is that after September 18, 2019 Guyana will be in a serious constitutional crisis.

A dangerous threat to our democracy Dear Editor,

A

braham Lincoln, who served as the 16th President of the Unites States, must have had Basil Williams in mind when he wrote, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt”.

Last week, Guyana’s infamous Attorney General was sitting in the “Hot Seat” of Stan Gouveia’s radio programme responding to questions relating to the CCJ’s ruling of the No-Confidence Motion and Granger’s reluctance to name a date for elections.

As the programme started, I sat in total disbelief and shame at how natural it is for the main legal advisor to the Government to deliberately misinform and shamelessly lie to the nation. If Basil Williams had any sense of decency, he would have taken Abe Lincoln’s advice and decline the invitation to appear on this popular radio programme.

During the interview, Stan Gouveia reminded the AG that Government fell to a vote of no-confidence since December 21 of last year, and therefore, Government needs to call elections now because going forward, everything Government does would be illegal. “What is your take on that?” he asked.

BASIL’S LIE: “Well, it is not my take, it is the take of the ruling of the CCJ. And the CCJ ruling is very clear. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition and the other Members of the Opposition who appealed to the CCJ, sought coercive orders from the CCJ against the President, against GECOM and other constitutional actors… Well let me say from the outset, the CCJ refused all of the coercive orders that the Leader of the Opposition sought. And those orders included that the President and Cabinet should resign.

That was rejected by the CCJ; the other one was that elections be held within three months… That was also rejected by the CCJ. Thirdly that the President remain and be directed to hold election no later than the 18th of September, that too was rejected by the CCJ and the question of which or what list that GECOM should be directed to use was also rejected by the CCJ. Other rejections included in relations to the GECOM’s Chair appointment, they sought a coercive order that the President and Leader of the Opposition conclude their negotiations, and the President will take no more than three days after receipt of the list from the Leader of the Opposition to name a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

So, all of these orders they sought, and all of these orders were refused by the CCJ. (But) Why did they refuse those orders? They (the CCJ) said clearly that they would not be presumptuous to make coercive orders or give detailed directives to these constitutional actors which include the President and GECOM. And in relation to GECOM, that they would not give deadline and timeline to GECOM in relation to the holding of elections. What they (CCJ) indicated is that all of these constitutional actors know their responsibilities under the Constitution, and they ought to discharge of this responsibility with integrity. I think it is a clear victory for our Constitution; a clear victory for the Doctrine of Separation of Powers…”

THE FACTS: The Attorney General deceptively omitted the parts of the judgements which say emphatically, that those orders were not granted because the Constitution itself, specifically and adequately, provides for what must happen when a No-Confidence Motion is passed in the National Assembly, that is to say, Cabinet, including the President, must resign, elections must be held within three months and within that

three-month period, the Government remains in office as a “caretaker” until the next President is sworn-in.

It is clear, that Basil Williams wishes to portray that because the specific orders prayed for were refused, then the judgements of the CCJ can be ignored by the Government.

So by analogy, if a wife goes to the court and complains that her husband consistently beats her and she prays for an order restraining the husband from beating her, and the Magistrate refuses to grant such an order on the grounds that the laws of the land already prohibit the husband from beating her since assault, actual bodily harm and wounding etc are all criminal offences; then because the order was refused, the husband can continue to beat his wife.

There is no other way of describing such line of reasoning, other than to say that it is an expression of unparalleled “dunceness”. (Anil Nandlall) Basil Williams was next asked why was Granger inserting or suggesting names for inclusion in the final list of six that the Leader of the Opposition would be submitting the President for him to select the Chairman of GECOM? BASIL’S LIE: “Well that’s the usual approach of the Leader of the Opposition. Look, the ruling of the CCJ is very clear. You recall the old process was, the Leader of the Opposition presents a list to the President of six names that are not unacceptable to the President. That was the old process.

And the President and the Leader of the Opposition followed that process, and the CCJ said that that process was flawed.

And in fact, it was Nandlall who started that argument that it was a unilateral appointment, and that the whole philosophy was to move away from unilateralism to consensualism. They (the PPP) started that argument.

And so, the Court found, after tracing the history of the legislation and applying a method of interpretation, they (the CCJ) found that that process was flawed. So, the process was not one of the unilateral appointments of Justice Patterson after three lists… (inaudible, break in transmission) which are not unacceptable to the President and also would satisfy the illegibility requirements in the Constitution. That is the new process.

Before the list is presented, the President and Jagdeo must now talk about the list. And the Court went further to say this approach gives the President now, a role in identifying names to go on the list. So, no longer unilateralism with Jagdeo alone determines the composition of the list, now the President is part of that process”.

THE FACTS: This type of reasoning characterises the quality of legal advice the President receives which has now culminated with the President convincing himself that the CCJ judgement, in relation Article 161(2), has conferred upon him a power and right to submit names to the Leader of the Opposition, which the Leader of the Opposition must include in the final list of six names to be submitted to the President for the appointment of a Chairman of GECOM. In other words, the President is insisting upon submitting names to himself for appointment by him. The very thing he did in respect of the appointment of Justice Patterson, which the CCJ ruled was flawed and in contravention of Article 161 (2) of the Constitution. It is becoming extraordinarily difficult to refrain from questioning the mental make-up of these people. (Anil Nandlall) During the interview, Basil Williams said the CCJ made (Turn to page 5)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Get down to serious business of preparing for Regional and GECOM wasting hard-earned General Elections Dear Editor,

tax payers’ money Dear Editor,

G

ECOM and the fallen APNU cabal have utilised every available media in an attempt to farcically justify their wasteful use of our taxpayers’ dollars. The dubious report of 20, 000 completed registrations is totally false and intended to camouflage the biased contemptuous behaviour against the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the constitutional pillars of our democracy.

The shenanigans are nothing but putting plans ‘X, Y and Z’ into place, in advancing other flagrant attempts to further delay mandated National and Regional Elections.

The approach will result in the disenfranchisement of thousands of living citizens currently on the List of Electors and is designed to create much confusion towards the end of the process. By that time, many of our citizens who live here in Guyana or are otherwise overseas for whatever useful purpose will be scrambling with a crunched announced deadline for elections.

It is obvious that GECOM has proceeded to advance the lawless, vulgar process in the first instance without officially inviting scrutineers from the main opposition political parties. It is rational that the effort seeks to falsify positions of the list which existed prior to April 30, 2019. The approach is very slow and certainly cannot end by the three-month constitutionally mandated period. In addition, the process can be further abused as there are indications that many of the enumerators will be stretching the process for as long as possible to get as much tax-free money that they can accumulate.

On Saturday last, two officials from GECOM, along with a PNC scrutineer, attempted to complete registrations of citizens following the commencement of the illegal House-to-House Registration. Information received informs that for this group, a total of nine registrations transactions were completed in the fields that day. The officials went through a frustrating morning from their Registration Office and also struggled in the field to do the ‘House-to-House’ exercises. At the end of their first-day sojourn that day, they reported to their seniors at the office where they were verbally abused and instructed to return the next day and correct all nine of transactions.

On the following day, the GECOM officials returned to the first person who demanded that if he is to ‘re-do’ his transaction, it must be ascertained that the first documents that he signed have been cancelled.

The official told him that the document was cancelled and the officer in charge at the office has the documents. The registrant insisted that he wanted to see the cancelled document which was requested by GECOM official who returned after three hours. To the registrant’s surprise, the document was not cancelled. After another approximately two hours, the transaction was said to be ok at that level.

Observations after the first two days reveal that the trainers and the persons trained for the ‘House-to-House Registration’ process need some measure of refresher training since they were trained since last year/ January. In some instances, it is believed that some are totally unfit for the tasks.

It is of interests that the GECOM of-

ficials are not visiting the houses in any sequential manner. It has been alleged that the PNC scrutineer is directing the GECOM Officials to selected homes. It is observed that the “RO -1 Form” that the declarant has to sign has space for the signature of two scrutineers. However, only one PNC scrutineer is signing and this is much cause for concern as the deliberate attempt to leave some persons off the list and force perceived supporters of the opposition to clamber for registration if this is process is allowed to continue.

It is of significant note that the employment of all GECOM staff under the relevant law is to be done only by the GECOM Commission/Commissioners. The Secretariat is not authorised to employ staff, but in their deliberate actions, the serious imbalance continues. It is a fact that approximately ninety per cent of the GECOM staff are all Afro-Guyanese and many of these officials are not visiting the houses in any sequence. The PNC scrutineer is directing the GECOM officials to selected homes. The “form” that the declarant has to sign has space for two scrutineers to sign; however, only one PNC scrutineer is signing.

The camera seems to be faulty while the ink-pad that they are using is certainly inferior and it will lead to serious smudging.

The GECOM officials/ enumerators claimed that they were trained very long and they were called suddenly to do this ‘house-tohouse’ thing. If after two days one set of GECOM officials can only do four transactions, then the end results will be confusion and more delays.

There are also reports of enumerators engaging persons on the road and other commuters to do registration, whereas it’s clearly defined that these registrations must be done through house visits. There are also claims of no photos been taken but promises to return and do same.

Further, many persons have reported that the enumerators seem to be going to houses in a very ad-hoc manner while skipping some houses all together. This process is certainly a waste of time and money.

It is indeed sad to hear from the mouth of the GECOM Chief Executive Officer Mr Keith Lowenfield that the list is not bloated and the list can be ready for elections within a short period of Claims and Objections.

This nation must ask the question: why is it Lowenfield and the GECOM secretariat are allowed to continue to do what they want without the Commission’s authorisation?

It must be noted that in the 29 permanent GECOM offices throughout the country, each has an Assistant Chief Scrutineer representing the PPP, yet they are not privy to any information coming out of the illegal House-to-House Registration. Collective information through reliable sources confirm that less that 2000 transactions were completed since the commencement.

GECOM is not above the laws of Guyana, the Chief Elections Officer must abide by the Constitution or face Contempt of Court. Elections must be held by September 18, 2019.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

I

t is indeed refreshing that an agreement has been reached regarding the appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Guyanese were already getting tired of the protracted delay in the naming of a new GECOM Chairman

by President Granger.

Now that a Chairman has been named, it is important that GECOM get down to serious business of preparing for Regional and General elections within the constitutionally stipulated timeframe.

The Chief Election Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield is on record as saying that the existing Voters’ List could be used as the basis for a sanitization process in order to create a credible Official List of Electors (OLE).

The Commission needs to now ascertain the validity of that information provided by Mr. Lowenfield at its next meeting having regard to attempts by a senior government official to suggest that Mr. Lowenfield may have been ‘misquoted’ in the media.

The next ‘hurdle’ in the holding of elections within the stipulated constitutional deadline is to have a date for elections announced

by President Granger. The challenge facing the new GECOM Chair is to now advise the President on that body’s readiness to hold elections on or before September 18 2019.

This would pave the way for elections to be held within the shortest possible time, given President Granger’s insistence that he cannot name a date for elections unless he is so advised by GECOM. The naming of a GECOM Chair which accords with the constitutional provisions, even though delayed, has generated renewed optimism in the democratic processes.

I take this opportunity to extend congratulations to Justice Claudette Singh on her appointment as the new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission. The fact that she is the first woman in Guyana to hold such office is not without significance.

Yours faithfully, Hydar Ally

A dangerous threat... the decision that the Cabinet, including the President will remain in office. Again, he lied. At all times, the CCJ made reference to the Constitution of Guyana, and instructs that “All must be faithful to the spirit and letter of the Constitution and operate within the parameters given to each by the Constitution… these particular provisions (Article 106(6) and (7)) require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them”.

Like David Granger, Basil Williams poses a dangerous threat to our democracy and our Constitution by misrepresenting the rulings of the CCJ to stay in power by all means necessary. So for convenience and clarity, I now quote sections of the consequential orders made by the CCJ on July 12, 2019. Readers can form their own opinion.

Consequential orders in part: [5] The Judiciary interprets the Constitution. But, as we intimated in our earlier judgement, these particular provisions require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable.

Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them. Upon the passage of a vote of no-confidence, the Article requires the resignation of the Cabinet including the President. The Article goes on to state, among other things, that notwithstanding such resignation, the Government shall remain in office and that an election shall be held ‘within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine …’ The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has the

(From page 4)

responsibility to conduct that election and GECOM too must abide by the provisions of the Constitution.

[6] Given the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on 21 December 2018, a general election should have been held in Guyana by 21 March 2019 unless a two thirds majority in the National Assembly had resolved to extend that period. The National Assembly is yet to extend the period. The filing of the court proceedings in January challenging the validity of the no confidence vote effectively placed matters on pause, but this Court rendered its decision on 18 June 2019. There is no appeal from that judgement.

[7] Article 106 of the Constitution invests in the President and the National Assembly (and implicitly in GECOM), responsibilities that impact on the precise timing of the elections which must be held. It would not therefore be right for the Court, by the issuance of coercive orders or detailed directives, to presume to instruct these bodies on how they must act and thereby pre-empt the performance by them of their constitutional responsibilities.

It is not, for example, the role of the Court to establish a date on or by which the elections must be held, or to lay down timelines and deadlines that, in principle, are the preserve of political actors guided by constitutional imperatives. The Court must assume that these bodies and personages will exercise their responsibilities with integrity and in keeping with the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution bearing in mind that the No-Confidence Motion was validly passed as long ago as 21 December 2018.

I rest my case.

Harry Gill, PPP/C Member of Parliament

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

PNC’s age-old trick must not be allowed to flourish again

Coalition is bent on an illegal trajectory even if it means that Guyana becomes a pariah state Dear Editor,

I

t’s quite late at night and sleep is yet to visit me as I lay awake submerged in the sad reality that life in Guyana has come full circle and we are once again starkly staring at a full-fledged PNC dictatorship. But this time it is far worse than that which Guyanese had experienced during the period 1964 to 1992.

This time, it began almost as soon as the PNC-dominated coalition assumed Office with the complete disdain and utmost defiance of the Supreme Law of the land which ironically was conceived and given birth to during the same dark era of Burnham’s PNC dictatorship rule.

It was equally sad to helplessly stare in bewilderment as two of Cheddi Jagan’s self-proclaimed ‘disciples’, Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan, joined hands with the very people who had terrorised, impoverished and oppressed the entire Guyanese nation and have now themselves metamorphosed into an integral part of the growing PNC dictatorship.

In fact, they have now become worse dictators having immersed themselves in the wealth snatched from the blood, sweat and tears of the taxpayers. Ill-gotten wealth which could have fed the children of the thousands of jobless persons, which could have created jobs for our young people and which could have improved the healthcare of the poor masses. All these are issues which they have fought against the same PNC which they now gleefully embrace.

The masses in Guyana are poor people, of which multitudes have fled from their homeland in a courageous quest to bring good to themselves and families and they live abroad with the earnest hope that one day those living in poverty will live an improved life in an economically prosperous environment.

In 1992, we saw the advent of such a life as Guyanese were taken from dire poverty and oppression into a journey which saw their lives improved almost on a daily basis.

Guyana was taken from bankruptcy to prosperity and for 23 years had almost forgotten the 28 years suffered under the PNC dictatorship when it was a crime to eat food!

Empty shelves became filled as never before and Guyanese were becoming owners of homes and luxurious items as not only needs but wants were fulfilled.

Our National Treasury was once again becoming filled as we moved up the economic ladder to become a middle-income country.

Guyanese had started to go to the US on vacation enjoying their ten-year visa. But this came to an end in 2015 which saw the venomous resurgence of the PNC and the diminishing of such holiday visas as Guyanese once again are seen as fleeing from economic hardships.

The coalition’s adamant refusal to abide by the Constitution and the defiance for the rule of law has exposed its true dictatorial nature, not only to Guyanese but to the world at large. It took a meagre four years for that to materialise! Many Guyanese had thought that in this new era, that the PNC, after several baptismal names change, would have learnt an invaluable lesson from the 28 years it was in Government and sought to erase that sinister and catastrophic image it had indelibly carved in their psyche.

But that was not to be since the true PNC characteristic began to emerge on a daily basis as squandermania, corruption, cronyism, criminal activities and harsh taxation measures wreaked havoc as the balance of payments deficit grew, our gross domestic product declined and economic development took a plunge. We now have bigger budgets but equally bigger corruption.

It now becomes clear that the coalition is bent on an illegal trajectory to remain in power even if it means to once again become a pariah to the civilised nations of the world.

They believe that the revenue from oil will see them through this time around but they are mistaken. Guyanese will not allow the PNC to get away with its dictatorial rule this time. We demand that democracy prevails!

We have had enough of poverty and hunger under the PNC and we must now stand up to this PNC monster which once again threatens to gobble this nation. We demand that GECOM’s Chairman be appointed and elections be held by September 18, 2019, as per our Constitution and the CCJ’s rulings.

We demand that the delaying tactic of Houseto-House Registration be jettisoned immediately! We want no more PNC fabricated delaying tactics!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Dear Editor,

T

he illegal exercise of a House-to-House Registration has a threefold dubious agenda: 1. It is the PNC-dominated coalition’s intention to pad the voters’ list with names of those foreign nationals in one last-ditch desperate attempt to beef up their chances at the next general election. There are a number of Haitian nationals brought into Guyana expressly for that exercise. Further, this is the reason why Lowenfield did not notify the Opposition nor did he include Opposition scrutineers in the exercise.

2. In like manner, The PNC-controlled GECOM hopes to delete the names of voters from the list who they think are supporters of The PPP/C. Mark you well, one of the questions in the House to House Registration officers arsenal of tricks is the subtle question as to which is the party of your choice, This in itself is an illegality, aimed at disenfranchising a potential voter for the Opposition. This means at the affirmation that if you are a supporter of the Opposition you would immediately become a target for either a removal from the list of electors or struck off as being deceased. This old PNC tactic of tampering with the list of electors would have succeeded in removing legiti-

mate voters from the list or at the least create confusion on election day when hundreds of persons would turn up to vote only to find that their names are not on the voters’ list.

3. Lastly, the House-to-House exercise is meant to extend the life of the PNC in office for a possible two years more. And here’s the trick; that house-to-house so-called registration cannot be completed in three months as hinted by GECOM, House-to-House takes at the minimum 15 months to complete and no less time. So, that 3-month suggestion is just a ploy designed to lull the Opposition into believing that the registration exercise can be effectively done in time for general elections on or around September 18, which is the stipulated deadline given by the CCJ. In all of this, the PNC hopes to rig the next general elections and secure an illegal victory at the peril of the people of this entire country.

This PNC’s age-old trick must not be allowed to flourish again, ever, and on this note, I call on all the people involved to get on board so that we can save our country from this tyrannical, illegal PNC regime and return Guyana to the beaten path of democracy.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Public officers have to now be very careful about payments they make Dear Editor,

I

n the current dispensation, the life of this caretaker/interim government comes to an end on the midnight hour of September 18, 2019. In its place, we would be having an illegitimate government replacing it unless there are free and fair elections. An illegitimate government does not have the power to make any appointments, any policy decisions or enter into any contracts on behalf of the people of Guyana.

So the question is, can the accounting officers or heads of budgetary agencies (public officers) make payments on contracts signed after June 18, 2019? Ch 73:02 called the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA) is the primary law that prescribes what public officers can and cannot do with public funds. The first thing that these responsible officers have to ascertain is if the contract is legally enforceable. My recommendation to them would be – seek independent legal advice on the CCJ Judgment and what it means for all contracts signed after June 18, 2019.

Article 11 of the FMAA clearly states how public officers operate. He or she must promote the proper use of public funds at all times. Funding of unauthorized contracts signed during an unauthorized period during the life of the caretaker/interim government can be challenged and those public officers can be surcharged for such activities. When the life of the caretaker/interim government expires on the midnight hour of September 18, 2019 and if this Granger Group occupies their offices, they shall automatically morph into usurpers and impostors. Under such conditions everything changes.

The law is very clear, only the current budget shall be supported for routine payments on contracts signed before June 18, 2019 (salaries, fuel, stationery etc) and that right expires on midnight of December 31,

2019. It then mutates into a situation where only 1/12th of the previous year’s budget can be spent on these routine activities like salaries etc. With respect to the capital budget, only those contracts signed before June 18, 2019 must be honoured. Any capital works contract signed after June 18, 2019 must not be paid. If paid the public officers can and will be surcharged. On these illegitimate contracts, the law provides for them to be treated as fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds and thus can carry with it a jail sentence for public officers.

That is why I am taking this opportunity to highlight for all permanent secretaries, regional executive officers and heads of department with cheque signing powers to cease and desist from paying on all contracts signed after June 18, 2019 since they can be surcharged and even jailed for proceeding along this line.

It is not business as usual and public officers must seek legal guidance to ensure their self-interest are protected. At the end of the day, who signed the contracts and payment documents will be the ones who will feel the full brunt of the law. So my appeal to all public officers, before you sign any document, consult and double consult with your colleagues. Great resource personnel are the Office of the Auditor General and inhouse legal teams. At all times ask yourself, what is the legitimate instrument of authority empowering you to act or not act.

May the forces of reason and good always be with our public officers so that they do the right thing and not fall victim to their political bosses. It would be a most unfortunate thing to see professionals in the lock ups because they do not understand their role or choose to act politically and not carry out their work with due care.

Yours faithfully, Sasenarine Singh

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Days have long past when governments can willy-nilly suppress and oppress the political opposition Dear Editor,

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s if the ongoing saga over the selection of a new Chairman for GECOM and the attendant concerns as regards the holding of free and fair elections are not sufficient enough for the nation to bear, National Security Minister, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan recently made certain belligerent remarks that should not go unchallenged.

The background to this sad episode is as follows: Mr. Ramjattan took off on a jaunt to Berbice where upon arrival at New Amsterdam, he ensconced himself at a local TV station and, while facing the cameras, he wittingly or unwittingly, framed what could very well turn out to be his government’s public security narrative for the impending general and regional elections.

Mr. Ramjattan was at the time speaking in his capacity as Minister of Public Security on an AFC TV programme.

Brushing aside the CCJ assigned name tag, ‘caretaker government,’ the Public Security Minister went off on a frolic of his own seeking to convince Berbicians that the coalition government’s legal authority is

unfettered and unrestrained.

Waxing warm in a rather unpolished and bullish manner, the Public Security Minister, boasted; “We have all the powers… we will utilize all those powers to maintain that we have credible elections.”

And as if his implicit threat was not ominous enough, Ramjattan went on to warn listeners; “And of course if they the Opposition feel they want to create civil strife and all that in the streets of Georgetown, or Port Mourant or in Anna Regina or wherever, we have what it takes to ensure that we have stability and security in this country.”

Mr. Ramjattan’s fulminations were unpropitious, as they were provocative to say the least, especially when situated in the context of an already combustive political environment and more so, when placed in the context of what portends for future elections in Guyana.

From his statements the Minister of Public Security seems inclined to take Guyana back to what the GCCI described as, ‘the dark days of ‘Trouble’ during election periods…’

Questions are being asked; what did Mr. Ramjattan mean when he said “we have what

it takes?”

The Minister must offer a public explanation as regards who is the “We” and what is it that the lame duck government, intends to use against peaceful protestors and who is it he anticipates creating the “civil strife” he talks about.

Beginning with the elections in 1973, when the army took possession of the ballot boxes resulting in the death of two militants of the PPP, on the Corentyne, elections in Guyana have been marred by fear, threats, bullyism and violence.

As recent as the last elections in May 2015, there were episodes of violence, arson and beatings on elections day at Sophia and Lodge, Georgetown.

The victims were known, or suspected to be, sympathetic to the PPP. These occurrences were reported to the police but, as is common with reports from PPP activists to police stations at elections time, such reports go no further than the four corners of the station sergeant’s desk. Some reports are not even entered into the occurrence book.

Mr Ramjattan must know that suspicions and tensions tend to run high during an elections campaign, on elections day itself and in the post elections period depending on the elections results. There is nothing hypothetical about this.

So for Mr. Ramjattan to come along suddenly and brusquely hurl threats at the PPP about how he intends to deal with civil strife, is to feign ignorance of the impact his statement would have on the behaviour of voters from both opposition and government.

Past experiences showing how the security forces under the PNC have dealt with opposition political parties during an elections period do not leave much ground for optimism.

While the comment by the Commissioner of Police that “the Guyana Police Force is fully prepared for the hosting of general elections whenever the announcement is made”

appears apolitical, the question is, should the Commissioner’s “fully prepared” be read to mean “We have what it takes to ensure stability and security” in the words of his Minister?

The fundamental question therefore is, knowing that any instruction by Mr. Ramjattan to the Commissioner of Police in the midst of elections season is a political instruction, would the Commissioner and his commanders on the ground, act in accordance with those instructions or in a professional unbiased, and nonpartisan manner towards the broad array of non-governmental and political forces in the run-up to the elections, on elections day and in the aftermath of the elections?

That aside, If the puffs of ominous smoke emanating from government especially the Ministry of the Presidency with respect to the consequential orders of the CCJ are indications of the path the coalition intends to take then clearly, we can expect increased violations of the Constitution, continued undermining of the rule of law, backsliding on our democratic gains and the eventual establishment of authoritarian rule in Guyana.

Under these conditions, the role and place of the Joint Services will be of great interest nationally and internationally.

Any security blanket established for the holding of elections is unique to the local conditions obtaining in every country and Guyana is no exception, however, whatever the security coverage, it should not, or rather, it must not be perceived as partisan nor biased in favour of the ruling coalition.

The Public Security Minister must recognize that the days have long past when governments can willy-nilly suppress and oppress the political opposition, elections or no elections. The days of strongman rule as an alternative to democratic rule has been tried and tested by many but it has been proven obsolete in today’s world.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee

CARICOM cannot continue to sit on the fence Dear Editor,

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ome readers might find it is interesting, while others might find it appalling to learn that throughout its existence, CARICOM has selectively remained silent on the political plights of Guyana. While from time to time, individual leaders have broken their silence and spoken out against the Burnham-Hoyte-led Govern-

ments, such utterances have been far apart. Interestingly, they found their collective voice in the wake of post-1997 elections unrests.

However, questions have arisen as to the true motive of this odd potpourri of leaders who are yet to dance in unison, to send the ‘three wise men’ to Guyana. The team had brokered, among other conditions, an unconstitutional

shortened term of office for President Janet Jagan, vis-avis the Herdmanston Accord.

Guyanese are now left to ponder CARICOM’s muteness despite numerous calls across the media and by leaders in light of the current political and legal quagmires.

Clearly, Mr Granger and his APNU/AFC Administration have continued to poke fun at the CCJ. The ‘cat and

mouse’ game continues as Granger speaks with a forked tongue. On one hand, he says he is committed to upholding the decisions and orders of the CCJ; on the other, he has not only defied those very orders, but has attempted to reinterpret and write his own orders.

With regards to the appointment of the GECOM Chair, he has insisted on submitting a list of names in what

David Granger’s integrity as a political leader is decaying Dear Editor,

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o Granger’s lies really matter?

Are they different from other lies? Research has demonstrated that other Presidents told lies for a variety of reasons, from legitimate lies concerning national security, to trivial misstatements or shading the truth, or avoiding embarrassment, to serious lies of policy deception.

However, when Granger continues to insist that his previous false statements are true, the institutions of Government become corroded and democracy is undermined. Of course, many of Granger’s lies are “conventional” lies, similar to those that politicians often tell in order to look good or avoid blames but these lies are in contravention of the Constitution.

The most recent being in the process of the appointment of the GECOM

Chairman, whereby he said that he would consider the previous lists of eighteen persons that was submitted and then reneged on his pronouncement, accusing Jagdeo of not acting in good faith.

Then the statement to the nation, when he lied again that the appointment of a GECOM Chairman can be concluded in days, then subsequently stated that the process can end in gridlock if his nominees are not on the list that is being submitted by Bharrat Jagdeo.

The other statement pertaining to the passage of the National Budget would be another deception since all governmental agencies were instructed to submit their proposals including the Regional Democratic Councils.

The integrity of David Granger as a political leader is decaying, the people of Guyana must not ever believe in him

anymore because of his lies, deception, disrespect for the Constitution, doing everything unlawful to remain in power etc. The present political situation in Guyana can be considered a ‘dictatorship state’ since the APNU/AFC coalition Government is manipulating all the systems in order to regain power.

Since the APNU/AFC coalition Government’s assumption to Government, corruption has reached an uncontrolled level, so Granger is desperately trying to prevent the exposure of this corruption by his Cabinet and Government. The situation at GECOM is worrying and Guyana might not see another free and fair elections, we must stand up against what is happening in GECOM. Guyana needs immediate help!

Regards, Zamal Hussain

he referred to as integral to his active participation in the consensus-dialogue with the Leader of the Opposition.

Similarly, he stated that he has accepted his caretaker or interim Government role but refused to accept the resulting constitutional and CCJ-reinforced limitations on such a role.

Further, the GECOM proposed House-to-House Registration is yet another clear defiance of the CCJ orders.

The CCJ concluded that the process that led to Patterson’s appointment was flawed, and, therefore, unlawful. Patterson’s subsequent resignation is a testimony to his acceptance of the decision/order.

It follows, therefore, that many of Patterson’s decisions as Chair of GECOM were flawed/unlawful. However, while we cannot rollback those that have been acted upon due to completion or time-lapse, we must put a halt on all those proposed/future actions, with House-to-House Registration being at the core.

GECOM is also in defiance of the CCJ orders which stated that it should be ready for elections by September 18.

Meanwhile, CARICOM remains selectively mute.

Their tight-lipped posture may not only signal acquiescence of Granger and his Administration’s flouting of the CCJ, but may also torpedo

the CCJ’s future as the court of last resort for the entire region.

Critics and supporters alike understood that the CCJ represents a manifestation of aspirations to promote the building of ethical legal processes by fostering due process and the rule of law, among other ideals. Today, this very Court, born out of a collective desire to concretise self-determination, national and regional politics, economic integration, and human rights obligations, is being severely undermined by Granger and his Administration.

In a nutshell, CARICOM must, out of necessity, step off the fence. Regional leaders cannot continue to be mute; through conscience-viagra, they must voice their disapproval of Ganger and his Administration’s blatant disregard for the CCJ. Granger’s ‘cat and mouse game’ snubs the CCJ, defies logic and signals a political degenerative process. These actions clearly contravene the democratic goals and ideals of Guyana and the region as a whole; they derail national and regional progress and prosperity, and ultimately, the rights and well-being of the people.

CARICOM, it’s time to shift your paradigm!

Yours sincerely, Ronald Singh (Barrister and Solicitor)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

9

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Jordan engages in barefaced Lowenfield admits that he denial of position voiced by must be guided by decisions Chief Elections Officer of the full Commission D espite living in the current age of technology, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member and Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, last Friday (July 26, 2019) tried to pull the proverbial wool over the eyes of Guyanese.

Jordan, who was pushing the need for new national house-to-house registration, was asked about the positions articulated by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, relative to the fact that a new national house-to-house registration is not needed for the impending General and Regional Elections.

Lowenfield, on July 23, 2019, admitted that the last valid List of Electors, as of April 30, 2019, can be refreshed via a Claims and Objections period and used for new General and Regional Elections. He said, “If a claims and objections exercise is to

be used, then that will form the basis of a preliminary list.” Asked specifically if the last Valid List can be used to conduct a free and fair Elections, Lowenfield said, “That is correct.”

Lowenfield’s comments this week mirror those he made in February this year. On February 5, 2018, Lowenfield, declared that a short period of Claims and Objections can refresh the validity of the Voters’ List. “We can move toward the conduct, as I said yesterday, of a claims and objections exercise of a duration to be specified by the Commission so that we can arrive at a list,” Lowenfield had said.

Also on February 5, 2019, he stated too that the last Valid List of Electors was “clean” – a sentiment echoed by all the political parties who contested the November 12, 2018 Local Government Elections.

Further, when asked to

comment on Granger’s assertion that the voters’ list is bloated by about 200,000 names, Lowenfield, on July 23, 2019 said, “You are saying my List is bloated….bloat is not a word it would affix to it (the List).” The Chief Elections Officer also stated that Granger’s claims is based on speculation. Lowenfield said, “It’s speculative. I will want to do an exercise to determine that amount and that exercise can be done,” he said.

When confronted with Lowenfield’s comments, Jordan said, “I believe when Mr. Lowenfield was contacted by certain people, he suggested that he was misquoted.”

The Finance Minister’s comment about Lowenfield being misquoted comes when video recordings of Lowenfield have been widely circulated on social media platforms and widely reported on by the local media corps.

Further arguments to be made in challenge to house-to-house registration

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court hearing in the High Court on Tuesday (July 30, 2019) was intended to address an Application filed by the Attorney General, Basil Williams, and one filed by the Attorney representing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Stanley Marcus, in the challenge to the continuance of house-to-house registration.

The Attorney General’s Application asked the Court to dismiss the matter on the ground of abuse of process. Marcus’ Application is asking the Judge, Chief Justice, Roxanne George-Wiltshire, to recuse herself from the case on the ground that she said an elections must be held on or before the 18th September 2019, and that in GECOM’s view the CCJ never said that.

As a result, Nandlall for the Applicant, Ram, filed an Affidavit in Answer to Marcus this morning and Marcus asked the Court for time to file an answer to that Affidavit. So, the CJ gave him until 3:00 PM tomorrow afternoon to do so.

Additionally, Marcus indicated his intention to file submissions in the substantive matter – that is the Fixed Date Application to grant an injunction against the House-to-House registration process. He was granted until the August 2019 at 11:30 am to do so.

The Attorney General has asked to file an Affidavit in reply to the supplementary Affidavit filed by Nandlall. He was granted leave to file that Affidavit on or before Wednesday (July 31, 2019). He also has until the August 2, 2019, to file his written submissions in the substantive matter.

The Chief Justice said she will deal with both Applications and the substantive matter, after

which she will indicate a date for ruling.

Last week, a court challenge was mounted against the Houseto-House Registration being carried out by the GECOM, by Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram. The court documents detail requests for the following declarations: 1. A Declaration that the House to House Registration exercise currently being conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration is in violation of Article 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana; 2. A Declaration that the House to House Registration exercise currently being conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration is in violation of the letter and spirit of the Judgment and Consequential Orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the consolidated Appeals: a. CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/009 – Christopher Ram v AG & Others; b. CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/010 – Bharrat Jagdeo v Ag & Others; c. CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/011 – Charrandas Persaud v Compton Herbert Reid 3. A Declaration that the House to House Registration exercise currently being conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration is illegal, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.

4. A Declaration that the House to House Registration exercise currently being con-

ducted by the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration is contrary to Articles 161 A, 162 of the Constitution of Guyana and the National Registration Act Chapter 19:08.

5. A Conservatory Order prohibiting the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and or Commissioner of National Registration from conducting or continuing to conduct the current House to House Registration process.

6. An Order compelling the Guyana Elections Officer, Chief Elections Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration, to immediately take all steps and actions necessary and requisite to hold General and Regional Elections on or before the 18th day of September 2019, in compliance with Article 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana and the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the consolidated appeals: • CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/009 – Christopher Ram v AG & Others; • CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/010 – Bharrat Jagdeo v Ag & Others; • CCJ Appeal No GYCV2019/011 – Charrandas Persaud v Compton Herbert Reid.

Representing Ram is former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, who on Monday (July 22, 2019), filed an Application in the High Court against the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, the Commissioner of National Registration, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), and the Attorney General.

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hief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, insists that the House to House registration process continues as scheduled, even as he admitted that the decisions of the newly appointed GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, will have a bearing on the matter.

On Monday (July 29, 2019) he said, “At the moment we have exceeded approximately 50,000 registrants. We had some challenges and we continue to have challenges in operationalizing the event.

These challenges includes, for example, where persons are told that to register is an illegal activity and they are fending them away from participating in the process.

We have had incidences where dogs are let out on our numerators on the field.

We have had scenarios in which the numerators are told it’s the staff working with us, that they will not be paid and that they should no longer participate in the process. These are all erroneous or that is particularly erroneous. As you are all aware, monies were budgeted for the conduct of House to House this year, so that is approved.”

In the same breath he said, “At this juncture, with the new Chair in place, whatever decisions is required to take us forward to the earliest possible elections, no doubt will be done.”

“I will be directed as far as the exercise goes by the new duly constituted Commission…the Commission shall deliberate and the Commission will make all the necessary decisions going forth.”

General and Regional Elections are due by September 18, 2019, in line with the three-month deadline that was triggered with the passage of the no-confidence motion last December. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Guyana’s final court, made it clear that the no-confidence motion was validly passed and the three-

month clock started on June 18, 2019 – the date of the CCJ ruling.

Regardless of these facts, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) led APNU+AFC Coalition Government is pushing ahead with its calls for new national house-to-house registration – a process that GECOM has already started.

House-to-House registration was started on July 20, 2019, with an end date of October 20, 2019 – a total of 93 days – as per the June 11, 2019 Order signed by the illegally appointed, now resigned, GECOM Chairman, James Patterson.

The 93-day timeline is in stark contrast with a work plan produced by GECOM itself in March 2019 – a work plan that gave a timeframe of 290 days for houseto-house registration.

According to GECOM’s work plan, house-to-house registration was supposed to start on June 2, 2019 and run until December 20, 2019.

The fact is that house-tohouse registration started on July 20, 2019 – a total of 48 days later than the June 2, 2019 planned start date.

This means that the new end date for house-to-house registration – based on the GECOM’s work plan – would be February 6, 2019.

As such, this is the major problem with the house-tohouse registration; that the exercise will move Guyana into 2020, long after General and Regional Elections are constitutionally due.

The position of the Parliamentary Opposition is that the CCJ ruling and orders make it clear that GECOM must comply with the Constitution – meaning it must

ready itself for Elections within three months – and, as such, the CCJ’s ruling and the Order to initiate houseto-house registration.

The three-month deadline also takes away the discretion of President David Granger, relative to setting a date for General and Regional Elections, beyond the three months, which he could have done in the normal course of a five-year term in office. However, with the passage of the no-confidence motion, in addition to the CCJ’s ruling and orders, the Constitution, also, removes this discretion from the President and states clearly that a date for General and Regional Elections must be within a threemonth time period.

Article 106 (6) states that: “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”

Further, 106 (7) adds that, “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”

The Parliamentary Opposition has already made clear that there will be no vote in the National Assembly to extend the life of the APNU+AFC Coalition government, which is what Article 106 (7) speaks to.

HELP IS AVAILABLE!

Persons who feel like they are at risk of harming themselves or are in need of emotional help should call the ‘Suicide Helpline’ on Telephone numbers (+592) 223-0001, 223-0009, 600-7896, 623-4444, or Email: guyagency@yahoo.com; Twitter: guyanaagency, WhatsApp: +592-600-7896, 592- 623-4444; Facebook: Guyana Interagency Suicide Prevention Help Line.

10

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Jagdeo confident that Claudette Singh will ‘deliver fair elections’ A

meeting between Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, and President David Granger, last Friday (July 26, 2019) saw a resolution on the issue of the appointment of a new Chairperson for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Justice Claudette Singh, SC, CCH, was selected as the new GECOM Chairperson.

Justice Singh, a former Justice of Appeal, is the first female to be appointed to the post at the helm of GECOM. She was appointed a Senior Counsel back in January 2017 and is currently the Guyana Police Force (GPF) legal advisor.

A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said, “Justice Singh satisfies the criteria for the appointment and also satisfies the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for a consensual appointment supported by both the President and the Leader of the Opposition.”

Meanwhile, during an impromptu news conference at his Church Street office on Friday (July 26, 2019) afternoon, Jagdeo describe the development as “extremely positive” for Guyana’s development. “Today, at the meeting we have had, we had a very, very positive engagement,” he said, INFORMAL PROCESS Addressing the informal process, Jagdeo said, “So you will recall the engagements that we have had, several letters that went back and forth between my office and the office of the President.

“The meeting that we have had at the Ministry of the Presidency where I was accompanied by a large team

from my side and, the President, a team from his side. At that engagement we agreed that we will name representatives that will work at hammering out, using the CCJ’s words, a list of names not unacceptable to the president. That team met and out of their work emerged five names that were recommended to the President.

“When Irfan Ali and I met with the President thereafter, we had an engagement with the President and Mr. Harmon. The President chose four of those five names as not unacceptable to him.

“The President submitted two nominees, made two suggestions, and those did not find favour with me.

“So that meant that we had to arrive at two other names not unacceptable to President. Today, at the meeting we have had, we had a very, very positive engagement. The President chose an additional name. And there was a discussion about another nominee….that meant that we had six nominees who are not unacceptable to the President.”

FORMAL PROCESS After last Friday’s meeting, Granger, in a letter dated July 26, 2019, wrote to Jagdeo inviting a formal submission of a list of nominees for the post of GECOM Chairperson.

Jagdeo, in a letter dated July 26, 2019, named the following persons as his nominees: 1. B. S. Roy (Retired Judge) 2. Claudette Singh (Retired Judge) 3. Kashir Khan (Attorney-at-Law) 4. Lawrence Latchmansingh 5. Ronald Burch-Smith

(Attorney-at-Law) 6. William Ramlall (Retired Judge) Granger, later, in a July 26, 2019 letter, then responded to say he selected Singh to be the new GECOM Chairperson.

Jagdeo in commenting on the formal process said, “We are very, very happy with this development….the process was consensual, the names on the list enjoy my confidence and the confidence of the President. They were found not unacceptable to him so therefore he chose from a list of six names that I submitted to him. So there was no question of a unilateral appointment being done here and that is a great development for Guyana.”

Jagdeo added that the selection of a GECOM Chairperson was the result of a “good faith” engagements.

“We are very, very pleased with the development here today…I think both sides engaged in good faith in arriving at this decision,” he said, MEETING WITH SINGH The Opposition Leader added that before he sent his list of nominees to Granger, he met with Singh who agreed to have her name submitted to the President.

This is not the first time that Singh was considered as a nominee for the post of GECOM Chairperson by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

Jagdeo, during today’s news conference said, “I had asked her to be part of my submissions some time ago when I had submitted the second list of the manes to the President, but at that time she had said that she could not accede to my request to

must be announced with urgency given the ruling of the CCJ, and the imperative of our Constitution.”

He added, “Most people recognize that this was a critical starting point – getting a Chairperson in place at GECOM was essential to the process of early election and now we have resolved that issue, it is a real positive development for all of us and for the country.”

be part of the names going forward. Today I had met with Justice Claudette Singh and she has agreed to have her name submitted to the President, so we discussed that name.”

Notably, on May 2, 2017, the Opposition Leader in speaking about consultations to arrive at a list of names – prior to the move by Granger to unilaterally appoint now resigned GECOM Chairman, James Patterson – talked about engaging Singh as a possible nominee during consultations. He had said, “In particular, I wish to thank the Hon. Madam Justice Desiree Bernard, Madam Justice Claudette Singh (ret’d) SC, Mr. Ralph Ramcharan SC, Timothy Jonas and Ronald Burchsmith, Attorneys-at-law, and others with whom I consulted but who

indicated that their current commitments do not permit them to serve in the office of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, at this point of time.”

FAIR ELECTIONS Commenting on his confidence in Singh as the new GECOM Chairperson, Jagdeo said, “Justice Singh enjoys our confidence. We believe that she will deliver fair elections and that is all the PPP wants from any Chairperson of GECOM, fair and timely elections.”

According to him, the selection of a GECOM Chairperson by the President moves Guyana once step closer to General and Regional Elections. Jagdeo said, “This brings us closer, one stage closer to election and election date, which now

WELCOMED DEVELOPMENT Meanwhile, the development was lauded by the western diplomats here in Guyana on Friday (July 26, 2019).

The US Embassy posted on its Facebook page, “We commend Guyana’s leadership for agreement on an Elections Commission Chairperson, in compliance with the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling. We encourage continued collaboration toward free and fair elections”.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner Greg Quinn said in a tweet, “I welcome this extremely positive development. I look forward to meeting the new GECOM Chair. All relevant actors are to be congratulated on this agreement”.

Adding to the commentary, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Lilian Chatterjee tweeted that the selection of a new GECOM Head is, “Progress for the citizens of Guyana”.

The CCJ ruled that the December 21, 2018 passage of the no-confidence motion was valid, triggering General and Regional Elections within three months of June 18, 2019, when the judgement was handed down – that is by September 18, 2019.

New GECOM Chair commits to ‘free, fair and transparent elections’

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onsensus between Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo and President David Granger, on her nomination as the new Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was one of the reasons for acceptance of the position, according to Justice Claudette Singh.

Sworn in as the new GECOM Chairperson on Monday (July 29, 2019), Singh said, “I was a very reluctant yes and I was told that both Leaders repose confidence in me and because of that there was con-

sensus; had there been no consensus, I would not have taken the position, but both Leaders wanted me.”

She welcomed the confidence reposed in her by both leaders.

Asked about her preparedness to take on the new role, Singh said, “I am aware that this job is controversial and it’s challenging. I am aware of that. I am aware that you cannot please everyone….everything done will be in accordance with the law, it will be in accordance with the Constitu-

tion….my priorities are endeavouring to have free, fair and transparent elections.”

According to Singh, she will be engaging the Opposition-nominated and Government-nominated GECOM Commissioners, moving forward. “I am also looking forward to having meetings with each set of Commissioners. And I will have them separately. The meeting with Government and Opposition Commissioners. Then I will bring all of them together. I believe in inclusivity and I will

speak with everybody. And I don’t believe in people walking out when there is a disagreement. I believe in sitting down and resolving whatever the problem is.”

Attending the swearing-in ceremony were Jagdeo, several People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarians, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, GECOM Commissioners, and former Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Cecil Kennard, among other notable dignitaries.

Justice Claudette Singh sworn in as new GECOM Chairperson

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

(Acknowledging the public interest in this matter, this week, the Mirror Newspaper publishes the full order of the Caribbean Court of Justice following the June 18, 2019 ruling on the challenge to validity of the no-confidence motion passed on December 21, 2018 in Guyana’s National Assembly)

CCJ orders that the provisions of Article 106 ‘immediately became engaged’ once the no-confidence motion was passed The judgment of the Court, handed down on Friday, July 12, 2019 is as follows: [1] These cases were consolidated and heard together on 9 and 10 May 2019. On 18 June 2019, this Court rendered its judgment in which it reached a number of conclusions but stopped short of issuing any orders. Leading Counsel for the Attorney General and the Leader of the Opposition respectively had previously jointly requested that the Court should not make any consequential orders without first hearing from the parties. Accordingly, the Court ordered the Parties to make written submissions to the Court no later than 1 July 2019 on the orders and directions the Court should make in light of the conclusions arrived at in the judgment.

[2] The Court gratefully received written submissions from counsel for the Attorney General, the Leader of the Opposition, the Guyana Elections Commission, Mr Charrandas Persaud and Mr. Joseph Harmon. In choosing now not to re-hash these submissions, the Court intends no disrespect to counsel. The submissions were useful and helpful and have been fully considered by the Court.

[3] Due observance of constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Guyana rests, in large measure, with the conduct of the various branches of government, that is, the President and the Cabinet, the Parliament and the Judiciary.

All must be faithful to the spirit and letter of the Constitution and operate within the parameters given to each by the Constitution.

[4] Article 106(6) and (7) of the Constitution states as follows: (6) The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.

(7) Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.

[5] The judiciary interprets the Constitution. But, as we intimated in our earlier judgment, these particular provisions require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them.

Upon the passage of a vote of no confidence, the Article requires the resignation of the Cabinet including the President. The Article goes on to state, among other things, that notwithstanding such resignation, the Government shall remain in office and that an election shall be held “within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine …”

The Guyana Elections Commission (“GECOM”) has the responsibility to conduct that election and GECOM too must abide by the provisions of the Constitution.

[6] Given the passage of the no confidence motion on 21 December 2018, a general election should have been held in Guyana by 21 March 2019, unless a two thirds majority

in the National Assembly had resolved to extend that period.

The National Assembly is yet to extend the period.

The filing of the court proceedings in January challenging the validity of the no confidence vote effectively placed matters on pause, but this Court rendered its decision on 18 June 2019. There is no appeal from that judgment.

[7] Article 106 of the Constitution invests in the President and the National Assembly (and implicitly in GECOM), responsibilities that impact on the precise timing of the elections which must be held. It would not therefore be right for the Court, by the issuance of coercive orders or detailed directives, to presume to instruct these bodies on how they must act and thereby pre-empt the performance by them of their constitutional responsibilities. It is not, for example, the role of the Court to establish a date on or by which the elections must be held, or to lay down timelines and deadlines that, in principle, are the preserve of political actors guided by constitutional imperatives. The Court must assume that these bodies and personages will exercise their responsibilities with integrity and in keeping with the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution bearing in mind that the no confidence motion was validly passed as long ago as 21 December 2018.

[8] It is important, however, that the Court makes this point. In mandating that the Government shall remain in office notwithstanding its defeat and the resignation of the President and the Cabinet, Article 106 envisages that the tenure in office of the Cabinet, including the President, after the Government’s defeat, is on a different footing from that which existed prior to the vote of no confidence.

Chancellor Cummings-Edwards, citing Hogg, the Canadian constitutional expert, was right to note that: “…The government continues in office as a caretaker government or an interim government until the next elections ensue and a President is appointed (or reappointed) depending on the

results of that election.”

By convention, the government is expected to behave during this interim period as a caretaker and so restrain the exercise of its legal authority. It is this caretaker or interim role that explains the three month deadline, in the first instance, that the Article lays down, in principle, for the holding of the fresh elections.

[9] In all the circumstances, the Court makes the following declarations and orders: The provisions of Article 106(6) and (7) of the Constitution apply to a No Confidence motion; Thirty-three votes constitute a majority of the 65 member National Assembly; Mr Charrandas Persaud was ineligible to be elected to the Assembly by virtue of his citizenship of Canada but his vote on the motion of no confidence was valid; Nothing in the anti-defection regime established at Article 156(3) of the Constitution rendered Mr Persaud incapable of casting his vote on that motion in the manner in which he did; The National Assembly properly passed a motion of no confidence in the Government on 21 December 2018; Upon the passage of this motion of no confidence in the Government, the clear provisions of Article 106 immediately became engaged.

Costs are awarded to Mr Jagdeo and Mr Persaud respectively to be taxed if not agreed. In each case those costs are to be paid by the Attorney General. In the case of Mr Jagdeo those costs are certified fit for two counsel; and Mr Ram is awarded 60% of his Costs to be taxed if not agreed. Those costs are to be paid by the Attorney General.

Mr Justice Saunders, President of the CCJ Mr Justice Wit, Justice of the CCJ Mr Justice Hayton, Justice of the CCJ Mr Justice Anderson, Justice of the CCJ Madame Justice Rajnauth-Lee, Justice of the CCJ

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Perspectives from the PPP/C Presidential Candidate

Local Content Policy is critical for ensuring readiness, greater benefits to Guyanese – Ali “T

here is not a country on this earth with oil and gas resources that does not see it fit to have a Local Content Policy,” declared the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) presidential candidate.

He said, “An effective Local Content Policy is considered a necessary

condition for ensuring that countries that possess this valuable resource obtain maximum economic benefits from its exploitation.

“In Guyana, however, the utterances and actions of senior officials of the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government seem to suggest otherwise. The latest confir-

mation that Local Content Policy is not a priority came from the caretaker Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, at a Press Conference at Congress Place.”

Jordan last Friday (July 26, 2019) said, “While legislation is important, we should not make it the be-all and end-all. Many compa-

“Because of the absence of an LCP our people may be caught with their pants down as oil flow through the system.” – PPP/C presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali nies that are coming aren’t waiting for local content and other legislation.”

According to Ali, this statement, coming from the caretaker Minister, as Guyana edges closer to ‘first oil’, is unfortunate. “As a country heading to first oil we are left with an extremely vulnerable due to the weak legal and regulatory framework. After more than four years in office, the caretaker Minister and his failed to formalize this important policy to safeguard the interest of our country and its citizens,” he said.

The PPP/C presidential candidate pointed out that it would take less than one year, with the help of international organizations, to develop such a policy at a cost that is affordable.

He said, “The literature on Local Content Policy is very explicit on why it is essential for every country involved in the production of oil and gas that is technical and capital intensive. Consequently, the direct economic impact from the production of oil and gas is not as significant as the indirect contribution, especially in emerging oil-rich countries without an industrial base.”

Ali explained that the literature argues that Local Content Policy is essential for ensuring that maximum economic benefit is derived from the production of oil and gas since it provides the framework for: • The creation of important backward, forward and lateral linkages in the supply chain of the oil and gas sector; • The creation of value added economic activities which can exceed the direct contribution from the production of oil and gas;

• Creation of employment opportunities for the local workforce through the stimulation of investment and entrepreneurial activities; • Correcting market failures that is required for optimal resource allocation; • Integration of local firms in the global economic network; • Improving the competitiveness of the non-oil and gas sector to avert the Dutch-disease; • Ensuring equitable distribution of wealth generated from oil and gas production; • Poverty reduction; and • Catalyzing the economic diversification and transformation of the economy.

He said, “Because of this it can be argued that the developmental impact of the production of oil and gas can be diminished if the country proceed without a Local Content Policy. As a matter of fact, the literature shows that countries which exploit oil and gas without an effective Local Content Policy experience less development when compared to those with sound regulatory policies…the literature also argues that Local Content Policy is critical for ensuring that local firms, workforce and citizens are placed are in a state of readiness to benefit optimally from this resource.

“Because of the absence of a Local Content Policy our people may be caught with their pants down as oil flow through the system. This ‘clear and present danger’ is evident since our workforce has not been trained to take up jobs in this new sector, the private sector has not been re-tooled and/or re-organized through incentives to prepare fully for oil and gas and everyone will be fully exposed to the negative

consequences of oil and gas production but with little hope of being compensated economically or socially.”

The PPP/C presidential candidate noted too that Local Content Policy is not only necessary to safeguard Guyana and the Guyanese people, but is seen as crucial component of a productive development policy, which in turn could strengthen the productive structure and enhancing wellbeing of people.

He said, “Hopefully, once the constitution is honoured by the holding of election as per the Constitution.”

Once this happens, Ali assured that a new PPP/C Government will do everything to ensure that LCP is drafted and implemented to: • Promote the use of domestic material and services by companies directly involved in the production of oil and gas; • Equip our people with the requisite training to take up jobs directly and indirectly created in the oil and gas sector; • Provide incentives for companies to retool and reorganize to exploit business opportunities downstream; and • Provide the enabling environment for attracting greater investment in the sector.

“The PPP-C is conscious that development cannot occur by accident but must be planned. In this regard, when the PPP-C is elected in three months’ time, it will move quickly to develop the Local Content Policy and the accompanying state bureaucracies to ensure that every Guyanese benefits equally from the positive developmental outcomes that are expected to accrue from the production of oil and gas,” Ali stressed.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Countrywide protests actions outside GECOM offices

A

massive countrywide protest was staged outside Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) offices on Friday (July 26, 2019), to demand Regional and General Elections and to voice rejection of the ongoing House-toHouse Registration which will cause a delay of constitutionally mandated elections.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Secretary and Chief Scrutineer, Zulfikar Mustapha, in comments said, “GECOM is violating our Constitution, especially the Chief Elections Officer. GECOM should have never embarked on a House-to-House Registration because the CCJ has ruled that election will have to be held within

Region 1

Region 2

three months. We are seeing is a violation of our Constitution and we are urging that GECOM should stop the House-to-House Registration and they should immediately embark on preparation for national and regional elections.”

This is a latest in a series of protest actions.

14 Region 3

Georgetown

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019 Region 6

Region 7

15

16 Region 9

Region 10

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Timeline of what happened since December 21, 2018 21st December 2018: • Motion was successfully carried by the National Assembly by a vote of 33 (Parliamentary Opposition) to 32 (Government).

• The Prime Minister accepts the Government had fallen 22nd December 2018: • President Granger via the Ministry of the Presidency accepts that the Government has fallen and vows to follow the Constitution.

• GECOM Secretariat holds meeting to address preparations for Elections.

23rd December 2018: • Nigel Hughes publicly argues new calculation on the majority of the National Assembly [65/2=32.5, roundup to 1 = 33, add one =34]

27th December 2018: • GECOM secretariat announces, via Public Relations Office, Yolanda Warde, they can hold election in the mandated timeframe. (Article published by Guyana Chronicle - http:// guyanachronicle.com/2018/12/27/gecomready-for-elections) 2nd January 2019: • AG Basil Williams writes to the Speaker to reverse his decision.

3rd January 2019: • Parliament meets to deal with the consequences of the passage of the no-confidence motion • The Speaker refuses to reverse his decision and further instructed that the motion stands 5th – 7th January 2019: AT GUYANA’S HIGH COURT • Compton Reid, private citizen, files a challenge to the passage of the motion using dual citizenship argument • Basil Williams files to challenge the majority of the National Assembly • Chris Ram files that the government should uphold the motion and call elections

9th January 2019: • 18 days after the passage of the motion President Granger meets with the Leader of the Opposition.

• A joint communication came out of this meeting: ■ It was agreed that the two Chief Whips will meet with GECOM. ■ Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield refuses to meet, preferring the Chairman to meet the two Chief Whips.

31st January 2019: • (GUYANA’S HIGH COURT) The Chief Justice makes her ruling on all the matters before her: ■ 33 is the majority; ■ The government stood resigned in keeping with the article 106 (6) and (7); ■ Dual citizens are not eligible to be candidates and Members of Parliament, however, Charandass Persaud’s vote is valid in accordance with electoral laws and art 165; ■ A challenge to the eligibility of an elected Member to Parliament, including dual citizens, must be challenged by an election petition in the High Court within 28 days after elections.

5th February, 2019: AT GUYANA’S APPEAL COURT • The Government files its appeals to reverse the Chief Justice rulings in the Court of Appeal.

The President makes clear that if the Appeal Court does not rule in the Government’s favour it will take the matters to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

5th February, 2019: • GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, declares that a short period of Claims and Objections can refresh the validity of the Voters’ List. “We can move toward the conduct, as I said yesterday, of a claims and objections exercise of a duration to be specified by the Commission so that we can arrive at a list,” Lowenfield had said.

• GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, declares that the last Valid List of Electors was “clean” – a sentiment echoed by all the political parties who contested the November 12, 2018 Local Government Elections.

8th February, 2019: • The Chairman of GECOM during a press conference where the Commission stated that it needed 148 days to prepare for elections.

25th February, 2019: • GECOM asked by the Government to provide a work plan, 66 days after the passage of the no-confidence motion.

6th March, 2019: • Leader of the Opposition once again meets with the President and proposes a face- saving device to the President in the interest of averting a constitutional crisis.

The Parliamentary Opposition proposes that it would give its support for a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly in accordance with article 106(7) to extend the time for elections to be held on or before April 30, 2019, when

the voters’ list expires. This was conditional that no new contracts/agreements are signed by the government in the interim and it is “not business as usual.” This proposal was ignored and rebuffed.

President Granger stated that he was not prepared to call elections until: (a) the Voters’ List is ‘sanitized’; and (b) the legal processes are concluded. The Government continued in its current ‘business as usual’ mode.

8th March, 2019: • President meets with GECOM commissioners • Opposition-nominated GECOM commissioners present a work plan which was rejected.

However, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, informally, accepts copy of the work plan that caters for Elections within 50 days.

19th March, 2019: • The Chairman of GECOM writes to the President requesting more funds for elections and advising elections could not be held sooner than the end of November 2019 after House to House Registration.

22nd March, 2019: • The Government held office illegally for 16 hours • (GUYANA’S APPEAL COURT) The Court of Appeal in a three judge court made a ruling: ■ 2/3 Judges stated that 34 is the majority, making an absurd argument of absolute and simple majority.

■ 3/3 Judges agreed that dual citizens should not sit in parliament ■ 3/3 Judges stated that Charandass’ vote was valid 26th March, 2019: • The Parliamentary Opposition moved to appeal the Court of Appeal rulings in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

27th March, 2019: AT THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE • The Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition and others move to the Caribbean Court of Justice to challenge the Appeal Court ruling on the no-confidence motion case • Zulfikar Mustapha moves to the Caribbean Court of Justice to challenge the Appeal Court ruling on the unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman.

18 29th March, 2019: AT THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE Case management conference held. Decisions are as follows: • Challenges related to the validity of the no-confidence motion are to be consolidated.

• Challenge to unilaterally appointed GECOM Chairman is set for hearing.

8th May, 2019: AT THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE • Hearing of the unilateral appointment’s case 9th and 10th May, 2019: AT THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE • Hearing of the consolidated cases related to the challenge of the validity to the no-confidence motion.

April - May, 2019: • GECOM continues to train staff and procure goods for a national House to House despite the matter being before the CCJ. 13th May, 2019: • GECOM’s in-house Legal Counsel advises against House to House registration.

A legal opinion, prepared for the Commission a month before, said: “The use of the word ‘revise’ [in the Election Laws (Amendment) Act 15 of 2000] suggest that the process is not one where a ‘new’ List is generated, but one where the most recent list is updated or amended….I therefore advise that procedures be put in place to ensure the revision of the list, otherwise the Commission would be acting in defiance of the law and may prejudice a by-election that may become necessary.”

23rd May, 2019: • The National Assembly approves the Supplementary Financial Paper allocating an additional $3.4B (equivalent to US$16.5M) to GECOM’s 2019 appropriations of $5.3 B. 18th June, 2019: • (CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE - RULING) The CCJ rules on the consolidated cases related to the no-confidence motion: 1. The no-confidence motion was validly passed; Article 106 (7) was triggered when the no-confidence motion was validly passed.

2. The majority needed for the passage of the vote on the no-confidence motion was 33 votes of “all 65 elected Members of the National Assembly whether present and voting” and not 34, claimed by the Coalition Government.

3. The vote of former Parliamentarian, Charandass Persaud, was valid and Mr. Persaud was not “required to vote against the motion of no confidence along with other members of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government.

4. There was nothing to prevent the tabling of a no-confidence motion by any member of the National Assembly, including the Opposition Leader.

5. Despite the Speaker of the Assembly declaring that the motion had been validly passed, the Government neither resigned nor announced impending elections.

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

• (CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE - RULING) The CCJ rules on the case related to the unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chairman.

In their press release, the CCJ said: “The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today ruled that the process through which Reverend Justice (Retired) James Patterson was appointed Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by His Excellency, Brigadier David Granger, President of Guyana was flawed and in breach of Guyana’s Constitution.”

12th July, 2019: • (CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE - ORDER) In the matter of the unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chairman, the Court said, (Paragraph 3) It is now a matter of the greatest public importance that the President and the Leader of the Opposition should, as soon as possible, embark upon and conclude the process of appointing a new GECOM Chairman.

This imperative is now of the utmost urgency in light of our decision in the no confidence motion cases that the motion was validly passed thereby triggering the need for fresh general elections.

12th July, 2019: • (CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE - ORDER) The Court makes the following declarations and orders in the consolidated no-confidence motion matter: a) The provisions of Article 106(6) and (7) of the Constitution apply to a No Confidence motion; b) Thirty-three votes constitute a majority of the 65 member National Assembly; c) Mr Charrandas Persaud was ineligible to be elected to the Assembly by virtue of his citizenship of Canada but his vote on the motion of no confidence was valid; d) Nothing in the anti-defection regime established at Article 156(3) of the Constitution rendered Mr Persaud incapable of casting his vote on that motion in the manner in which he did; e) The National Assembly properly passed a motion of no confidence in the Government on 21 December 2018; f) Upon the passage of this motion of no confidence in the Government, the clear provisions of Article 106 immediately became engaged.

16th July, 2019: • Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, through his attorney, Anil Nandlall, wrote to Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM, Keith Lowenfield, to “request that he immediately commence preparations for the holding of General and Regional Elections on a date no later than September 18, 2019.”

17th July, 2019: • Order 25 of 2019, issued by GECOM mandating that new national house-to-house registration commence on July 20, 2019 was made public. The Order is dated June 11, 2019.

18th July, 2019: • The People’s Progressive Party releases press statement that said: “Our Party has not received any official communication from GECOM. Our numerous calls to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield have gone unanswered. This activity is a clear violation of the orders of the Caribbean Court

of Justice (CCJ), issued on July 12, 2019.

We call on all Guyanese to protest the CEO‘s unlawful act.”

• Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, makes clear that the house-to-house registration is being done illegally.

22nd July, 2019: • A court challenge has been mounted against the House-to-House Registration being carried out by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), by Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram. Representing Ram is former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran.

23rd July, 2019: • While the Granger-led APNU+AFC Coalition has been insisting that there can be no move to General and Regional Elections without a new national house-to-house registration process to create a new Voters List, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, under pressure, has admitted that this is not so.

When pressed by the media on Tuesday (July 23, 2019), he admitted that the last valid List of Electors, as of April 30, 2019, can be refreshed via a Claims and Objections period and used for new General and Regional Elections. He said, “If a claims and objections exercise is to be used, then that will form the basis of a preliminary list.” Asked specifically if the last Valid List can be used to conduct a free and fair Elections, Lowenfield said, “That is correct.”

• Further, when asked to comment on President Granger’s assertion that the voters’ list is bloated by about 200,000 names, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield said, “You are saying my List is bloated….bloat is not a word it would affix to it (the List).” The Chief Elections Officer also stated that Granger’s claims is based on speculation. Lowenfield said, “It’s speculative. I will want to do an exercise to determine that amount and that exercise can be done,” he said.

26th July, 2019: • A meeting between Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, and President Granger saw a resolution on the issue of the appointment of a new Chairperson for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Justice Claudette Singh, SC, CCH, was selected as the new GECOM Chairperson.

26th July, 2019: The Caribbean Court of Justice Orders said: ► The Cabinet and President must resign; ► The David Granger-led APNU+AFC Coalition will continue as a caretaker government; ► The APNU+AFC Coalition must restrain the exercise of its legal authority; and ► That three-month Election clock started on June 18, 2019.

A letter from Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on July 20, 2019 to President Granger called for compliance in all these regards.

Granger responded to say that these “requests” are being examined by Attorney General Basil Williams.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Positions from Freedom House this week (A look at the latest statements made by the People’s Progressive Party)

Enough political rhetoric, Granger has serious questions to answer A

s expected, President David Granger trotted out the ‘usual line’ when he addressed the members of the Diplomatic Corps today.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is of the view that Mr. Granger’s comments about acting in a manner that “fortified democracy” in Guyana are the furthest thing from the reality of the current state of affairs.

NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION While Mr. Granger claims that the legal processes his Government kicked into gear were not “calculated to delay the consequences” of the no-confidence motion, he seems to have forgotten that his Coalition’s move to the court came after his initial acceptance that the passage of the no-confidence motion triggered General and Regional Elections, which should have been held since March 21, 2019 – an acceptance he backpedaled on with the move to the courts. It was the PPP/C that acted responsibly and saw the legal process through to the end; an end that returned Guyana to the position we were at on the night of December 21, 2018 – the no-confidence motion was declared validly passed and General and Regional Elections were now due, as per Article 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution.

Curiously, while Mr. Granger says, in passing, that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Guyana’s final court, ruled on June 18, 2019 on the validity of the no-confidence motion and handed its orders down on July 12, 2019, he failed to even voice what those orders were.

Key among the orders made by the CCJ were that: “The provisions of Article 106(6) and (7) of the Constitution apply to a No Confidence motion”; and that “upon the passage of this motion of no confidence in the Government, the clear provisions of Article 106 immediately became engaged.”

NEW GECOM CHAIR Mr. Granger quotes from the CCJ ruling on the challenge to his unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman selectively to ascribe to himself a role that seemingly goes beyond what the Constitution of Guyana envisages.

It must be noted that it doing so, he selectively quotes from paragraph 28 of the CCJ’s June 18, 2019 ruling.

While, Mr. Granger quotes the CCJ as saying that “This approach gives the President a role in the identification of the six names” – in fact, he ignored that this paragraphs deals with him being prevented from making a unilateral appointment.

In its totality, paragraph 28 reads: “Once the President and the Leader of the Opposition have hammered out a list of names not unacceptable to the President, the list, comprising the six persons, must then formally be submitted to the President by the Leader of the Opposition and the President must then select the Chairman from among those names. This approach gives the President a role in the identification of the six names, but it obviates the possibility that, after the formal presentation of the list, the President could suggest that one or more of the names, or indeed the entire list, is ‘unaccept-

able’. Unilateral appointment by the President in keeping with the proviso to Article 161(2) can hardly be an option if the Leader of the Opposition demonstrates a willingness to engage in good faith the process outlined above.”

Additionally, Mr. Granger clearly refused to even address the orders of the CCJ, in the matter of appointing a new GECOM Chairperson.

On July 12, the CCJ said, “It is now a matter of the greatest public importance that the President and the Leader of the Opposition should, as soon as possible, embark upon and conclude the process of appointing a new GECOM Chairman. This imperative is now of the utmost urgency in light of our decision in the no confidence motion cases that the motion was validly passed thereby triggering the need for fresh general elections.”

“The Court refers to the views we expressed at paragraphs 26 – 29 of our earlier judgment in this matter as a suitable frame of reference for the process leading to such an appointment.”

The CCJ has not re-written Guyana’s Constitution, relative to the defined roles of the President and the Opposition Leader in the appointment of a new GECOM Chairperson.

Even Mr. Granger, on July 4, 2019, accepted that he cannot nominate names to himself for approval.

For this reason, the Party finds it strange that Mr. Granger is now seemingly attempting to define “serious consideration” of his allowance to suggest names of nominees for the post of GECOM Chair to mean acceptance by the Leader of the Opposition of his

suggestions.

CREDIBLE VOTERS’ LIST The Party was also not surprised at Mr. Granger’s reiterations about the need for a “credible Official List of Electors” before General and Regional Elections and the need for new house-tohouse registration.

Mr. Granger must be reminded that the Constitution and the CCJ made it clear that elections are due within three months of June 18, 2019 – that is

by September 18, 2019. He also needs to be reminded that GECOM was ordered by the CCJ to comply with the Constitution.

The Party notes that while Mr. Granger repeats his so called justifications for a new national houseto-house registration, to produce a new Voters’ List, it was the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM who said: The last valid List of Voters can be updated via a Claims and Objections process; and that the comments made

by Mr. Granger about a “bloated” Voters’ List are speculative.

The Party agrees that the independence of GECOM is safeguarded by the Constitution. However, GECOM is subservient to the Constitution, not the other way around.

The Constitution is clear that elections are due in three months. The CCJ is clear that GECOM must comply with the Constitution. The CCJ in its July 12, 2019 order said: “The Guyana Elections Commission (“GECOM”) has the responsibility to conduct that election and GECOM too must abide by the provisions of the Constitution…Article 106 of the Constitution invests in the

President and the National Assembly (and implicitly in GECOM), responsibilities that impact on the precise timing of the elections which must be held.”

THREATS TO THE JUDICIARY Mr. Granger’s insistence that the Court cannot instruct when General Elections must be held because the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is an independent agency can only be interpreted as a threat to the judiciary.

Only today the PPP General Secretary said, “It’s impossible to take a President who is so ill-advised seriously. He should familiarize himself with the Esther Perreira case in which the court actually ordered elections by a certain date.

“In this case the Constitution sets the timeframe for elections when a government is defeated on a vote of no confidence.

GECOM was a party to the proceedings in the court and the CCJ orders are binding on it. I interpret his comments as intending to intimidate the Judiciary.”

BAD FAITH Further, while Mr. Granger talks about his Government’s positions being subject to “misinterpretation and misrepresentation” he seems to oblivious to the flip-flopping and backpedaling he, as well as his colleagues, have been engaged in over the past several months.

The actions of both him and his APNU+AFC Coalition colleagues demonstrate nothing but bad faith.

The PPP is clear that the CCJ ruled that a new GECOM Chairperson must be appointed with “utmost

urgency” and that the passage of the no-confidence motion on December 21, 2018 was “valid” – triggering a move to General and Regional Elections.

What Mr. Granger needs to answer, in line with the Constitution, as well as the ruling and orders of the CCJ, are: 1. If he was committed to ensuring the appointment of a GECOM Chairperson with utmost urgency, why have there been no meetings for over a week now on the matter?

2. Why has the GECOM Secretariat not been invited to advise on its readiness for General and Regional Elections – while the process of a new GECOM Chair is being addressed – when none other than the Chief Elections Officer has admitted that a Claims and Objections process can update the last valid List of Electors’ to allow the move to Elections?

3. Why has he and his Cabinet not resigned, in accordance with Article 106 (6) of the Constitution?

4. Why is his Cabinet still meeting when the Government’s legal authority has been restrained?

5. Why has there been no acknowledgement that there is a ticking clock (the three-month deadline having been restarted on June 18, 2019) on the time within which constitutionally mandated General and Regional Elections have to be held?

Rather than mouthing more political rhetoric, these are the questions that Mr. Granger must answer – not just for the Diplomatic Corps, which is paying keen attention to the developments in Guyana, but, importantly, for the Guyanese people. (July 25, 2019)

20

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Focus on Guyana’s First People Op-Ed: Amerindians have to vigorously protect gains made, guard against further reversals

By Alister Charlie, PPP/C Parliamentarian

M

y dear Amerindian brothers and sisters of Guyana We, the first people of our beloved country, firmly believe that the full protection of our rights as Amerindian Peoples in the Constitution and in our Amerindian Act that govern us, provide the bedrock for the realization of our economic, social, cultural and political aspirations within a truly Guyanese society.

We have made significant strides over the last two decades under the successive PPP/C administration, we clamoured for and maintained the protection of our rights, including the rights to our lands and resources which we have occupied or otherwise used and acquired; is not only fundamental to the realization of our economic, cultural, social and political rights but to our very survival. This resulted in the appointment of an Amerindian Minister and the establishment of a Ministry dedicated to address our issues, the enactment of the Amerindian Act, the settling of several land issues, and most importantly the increase in access to education. Today we are proud to say that we own 14 percent of Guyana’s land mass, even while our compatriots in other parts of the world continues to struggle for their land rights to be recognised. Some pay the ultimate price.

The Amerindian popu-

lation, as all other peoples, aspire to fulfil our true potential and to achieve excellence in our endeavours. Despite the challenges still to be surmounted, many of our young Amerindian people had achieved distinction in their chosen field of endeavour under the successive PPP/C Administration, for example, just over two decades ago we had a single secondary school in Region 9, a single Amerindian medical doctor and just a few engineers.

Today, Amerindians can boast to have several secondary schools, scores of doctors, engineers and many other tertiary graduates contributing to the development of our country and also we have seen the greater integration of Amerindians in the retail and security sectors under the successive PPP/C administration.

However, in as much as significant developments among our Amerindian Peoples of Guyana have been realized under the PPP/C administration, our full potential still must be realized.

We must continue to advocate for our rights and for our developmental goals to be facilitated; greater participation, removal of disparities, equal access to goods and services will ensure that Amerindian people can attain greater achievements and help to make our country a progressive, productive and prosperous place for all.

We must continue to work and hope for the better.

Yet while the present Government ministers and officials in the capital and elsewhere are making glowing statements about the benefits, privileges and “good life” that the Amerindian People now enjoy, at the level of the communities it is a different reality. It is clear that the gains made over the last couple of decades are being reversed at a frightening speed.

The Amerindian peoples of this country are aware that

there are serious violations of our rights. We are being dispossessed, marginalized and criminalized under the David Granger led administration.

The examples are many, the discontinuation of the Hinterland Household Electrification Programme, we were robbed of our 6000 solar panels; no continuation of the Hinterland Road Programme; our children were robbed of their 10,000.00 cash grant; the distribution of school uniforms for our school children are distributed in an untimely and fragmented manner to hinterland communities since the coalition government office took office. . In many of our Amerindian communities, our health is threatened due to persistent shortage of drugs and medical supplies.

Our young Amerindian people were dismissed due to “witch hunting” by the coalition government and replaced by their supporters.

1972 of our young Amerindian people under the CSO programme were dismissed by the coalition government because they were not seen as young enthusiastic Guy-

anese with much to offer but instead as PPP/C supporters that must be gotten rid of. The HEYS programme which replaced the CSO programme is now in jeopardy.

President Granger at an International meeting pledged two million hectares of forest for conservation.

No Guyanese knew of this until it was announced after the pledge was made in New York at the signing of the COP21 at the United Nations. The President made no similar pledges to address the recognition of Amerindian lands. Instead, one of his advisors who is ironically, tasked with making the claim to former colonisers for reparation for indigenous genocide, claimed the Amerindians were not the first to inhabit Guyana. These claims are ostensibly made to deny us of our rights over lands we have occupied and now seek to have legally recognised. Sadly todate, the Head of State has not dismissed or disassociate his administration from such a ludicrous claim.

Small wonder then why

the Amerindian Land Titling programme is grounded?

After mere months in office, a massive increase in salaries for APNU+AFC Ministers, the appointment of two Ministers of Indigenous People’s Affairs and a slew of advisors, despite this not a single new land title has been processed.

Instead of being treated as Guyana’s first people and give us what we deserve, the David Granger-led administration chose to give a massive salary increase to its Ministers, while telling us we have to create our own employment.

Under this David Granger led administration, the Prime Minister is benefitting from a whopping 20.580 Million per annum while Vice Presidents receive 11.135 Million. A cabinet minister now receive a hefty sum of 10.439 Million annually while junior ministers are paid 8.346 Million per annum. This excludes benefits – housing, 24 hour security, housekeeping staff, utilities, vehicles, fuel, vacation allowance, increased allowances both lo-

cal and overseas. Similar increases have not been granted to our Toshaos, teachers and other public officers who toil on a daily basis in difficult circumstances in the hinterland. Ironically both the APNU and AFC, prior to taking office in May 2015 had vigorously spoken out against the “fat cat” salaries of the President, Ministers and government officials!

What is happening today?

My fellow Amerindian brothers and sisters, young and old, we must vigorously protect the gains made and guard against further reversal of these.

Let us not forget that we struggled for centuries for our recognition and our rights and now we must be prepared to struggle again to ensure that our achievements thus far are not taken away from us. Not only we have given Guyana its name and its boundaries, we inhabited this country first and welcome those who came after.

We must be treated with dignity and respect as we stand firmly for what we believe.

THE APNUAFC GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED THE AMERINDIAN PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES: ► NO INCLUSIVITY ► NO FREE PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT ► DISRESPECT SHOWN TO THE TOSHAOS AND VILLAGE COUNCILS ► DISRESPECT SHOWN TO THE NTC ► NO JOBS ► INCREASED POVERTY ► NEGLECTED COMMUNITIES ► NO LAND TITLES ISSUED ► UNDERMING LAND RIGHTS ► NO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN SPENDING $$$ FOR AMERINDIAN COMMUNITIES ► NO INTEGRATION OF THE VILLAGE ECONOMIES ► NO MODERNIZATION OF THEIR ECONOMIES ► ABANDONED PROGRAMMES THAT HELPED TO ADVANCE AMERINDIANS AND COMMUNITIES ► WORSENING OF THE CONDITIONS OF ACCESS TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION SERVCIES ► NEGELCT OF INFRASTRCUTURE IN COMMUNITIES AND BETWEEN COMMUNITIES WITHIN REGIONS WITH THE NO CONFIDENCE MOTION PASSED AND VALID THE CORRUPT APNU+AFC CABAL MUST GO!!!

21

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Focus on Guyana’s First People Paruima Village complains APNU+AFC Coalition broke its promises – Kamarang residents about total neglect N

o distribution of uniform materials, since 2018, is one of many concerns of residents from Region Seven’s Paruima Village.

The school uniform vouchers initiative was started under the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government, in an effort to support vulnerable families and ensure that there are less barriers preventing children from attending schools. The vouchers were redeemable at businesses that patterned with the government.

On the coastland, the Ministry of Education administers the Uniform Voucher Programme, while in Hinterland communities the assistance is administered by the Ministry of

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs.

To date, neither the Ministry of Education nor the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs has responded to the concerns raised.

Since taking office, the APNU+AFC Coalition has boasted that success has been made in improve the three ‘A’s’ of education – access, attendance, and achievement.

President David Granger had said, “Education is the gateway out of poverty; it will unlock opportunities for employment for our young people…education will help our young people to participate in the local and global economy. Each child, therefore, must be in school if that child is to avoid or overcome poverty." Guyanese affected by the Coalition’s failures are now questioning whether

the current Administration has truly placed education among its top priorities.

In addition to concerns about the school uniform assistance, Paruima Village residents contend that the community is also in need for an increase in the presidential grant.

The residents are also concerned too that Amerindians are not given the opportunity to secure higher positions in the public service or within the Joint Services.

Failure of the Coalition to address land titling was another issue that was raised.

Since taking office in 2015, the APNU+AFC Coalition has neglected the Paruima Village with no ministerial visits to the area in over four years.

Kangaruma’s children forced to paddle to school A

shortage of teachers and school supplies is among some of the main concerns of Kangaruma Village. The residents also complained that no school uniform material or voucher was received for 2018. School children are also forced to paddle boats to school since requests for fuel to by the Regional Dem-

ocratic Council (RDC) have not been responded to.

In the heath sector, a crippling shortage of drugs at the health post and the lack of a microscope to conduct malaria testing were the major complaints.

Additionally, the community pointed to the fact that there has been no in-

frastructural works done in the community since the APNU+AFC Coalition Government took office.

Land tilting issues were also raised by the community as a concern.

After more than four year, no Coalition government offiicals has visited the community.

No medical supplies delivered to Isseneru for 2019

A

request for medical supplies was dispatched by Region Seven’s Isseneru since December 2019, but not received until March 2019. For 2019, residents from the community contends that no drugs or medical supplies have been delivered to the community.

Isseneru residents also complained there is no microscope to read malaria slides, when malaria is a serious concern in the community.

Notably, only this week, shortages of malaria drugs were reported even on the Coast, at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation – increasing concerns about the state of affairs in

hinterland communities.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease which can lead to death. The disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Due to the fact that the malaria parasite is found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared use of needles or syringes contaminated with blood. Malaria can be cured once treated with the right drugs. Affected persons will experience shaking, high fever, profuse sweating, headaches, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea among

others.

Additionally, accommodations for the community’s doctor remain an issue.

Other concerns in Isseneru include the need for assistance in the agriculture sector, such as support in ensuring farm to market linkages.

In the education sector, residents pointed to the failure of the Coalition to deliver school uniform vouchers in 2018 and the need for the $10,000 cash grant to all public schools students to be restored.

Meanwhile, no APNU+AFC Coalition government official has visited the community in the last few years.

T

he failure of the APNU+AFC Coalition government takes center stage in Kamarang, Region Seven, with residents complaining about the high cost of living and the increase in taxes.

The Upper Mazaruni area noted that there are several areas where they need assistance.

The extension of the scholarship programme for young Amerindians was one of these. Another was the need of school children to be able to access internet services and timely distribution of school uniform materials that were not distributed in 2018. School children in Kamarang are also not receiving the benefits of

President David Granger’s Five B’s initiative.

The need for a boat and engine was also cited as a major need of the community.

Many in the community contend that the APNU+AFC Coalition broke the promises it made prior to taking office in May 2015.

Waramadong in need of services in education, health sectors

T

outed as a major initiative to bolster attendance of Guyanese children in schools, more so in remote areas, the APNU+AFC Coalition has talked up repeatedly its Five B’s programme.

But for communities like Waramadong, Region Seven, residents have complained that the school children from the village are not beneficiaries.

The Five ‘B’s initiative –Busses, Boats, Bicycles, Books and Breakfast – was started after the Coalition Government scrapped the $10,000 cash grant to all public school students that

was started under the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government.

Waramadong residents have also complained about the need for the construction of a new primary school, or the extension of the current facility, which is congested.

Additionally, the need for a boat and engine, as well as communication and internet services also remain unfulfilled desired.

Residents raised too the need for a 20kva generator for floodlights at a local play field and 80kva generator for village to address sustainable power supply.

Adding to the hardships of the community is the need for a proper road network from Waramadong to Kamarang and the need for an airstrip in the cases of medical emergencies.

The local Health Center and doctors’ quarters are reportedly in a bad state and there is need for more to be done to ensure the timely delivery of drugs and medical supplies.

These and several other major concerns, according to residents, are not being heard by the APNU+AFC Coalition government, which has not visited the village since taking office.

Vulnerable groups in Tassarene neglected T

he Coalition Government’s neglect of Tassarene Village, in terms of providing goods and services to the community has exposed its broken promises.

There are two teachers who cater to the needs of 96 students in Tassarene.

And requests for teachers are yet to be responded by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government.

The Village had requested one drum of gasoline per term to transport school children to Issano School,

but this request continues to be ignored. Also, no school uniform material and vouchers were received for 2018.

At present, school children travel by boat, sometimes by paddling to attend school at Issano. Elderly persons, as well as sick villagers, also have to depend on this mode of transportation, to get to Issano when they need medical attention.

Another pressing request made by residents was for a secondary school and dormitory for Middle Mazaruni

District. However, there has been no response to even indicate that this request is being considered. The need for a primary school and a health center was also raised.

The community contends that old age pension payments should be done in Village. Currently, payments are made in Bartica, but is very costly for pensioners.

Additionally, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) needs in the village remain unaddressed.

22

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Focus on Guyana’s First People Businesses, passengers Amerindian farmers being asked paying hefty sums to get to pay upwards of $100,000 to access firearms goods into Mahdia E

ven as the Administration continues to downplay the deteriorated state of the Linden to Lethem road, which has been creating hardships for road users, particularly minibus operators and businesses, the condition of the trail continues to worsen.

With no efforts being made by the Administration to remedy the issue, road users are left to push through by any means necessary to secure their daily bread.

Minibus operators, who over the past two weeks were

forced to park their buses due to the state of the road, are now back on the trail but this time with a new initiative whereby they transport passengers and goods up to a certain point that their minibuses can reach then transfer those goods and passengers onto pickups and ATVs that continue the journey into the mining town.

This in itself is posing new challenges for passengers and businesses who now have to pay two fares to get into Mahdia.

Further, consumers are

feeling the squeeze as businesses were forced to inflate their prices to offset the transportation cost.

This ongoing issue of the deteriorated Linden to Lethem road has been a bother for those traversing that roadway.

Several concerns were raised in this regard by those users who reached out to this publication on several occasions to have their views heard. Videos, photographs and live feeds complaining of the state of that road were also shared on social media over the past weeks.

Gov’t not budging: Amerindian representation on Indigenous People’s Commission to be reduced

D

espite criticisms, the Coalition Government is maintaining its push reduce the Amerindian representation on the Indigenous People’s Commission (IPC).

Minister George Norton chairs the Committee of Appointments, which made the controversial move, via its report which is current before the National Assembly.

Approval of the report – and the reduction of Amerindian representation of the IPC – requires a twothirds vote of support in the National Assembly. Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has already said that the PPP/C will not support this position.

According to the report, the Coalition Government plans to reduce Amerindian representation on the 15-member Commission

to 30 per cent. Of the 15 members, three representatives are from the National Toshaos Council and two are from local Amerindian organisations.

The other 10 members will come from the: Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs; Ministry of Public Health; Ministry of Social Protection; Private Sector Commission; Environmental Protection Agency; Bar Association of Guyana; Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association; Forest Products Association; National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI); and the Inter-Religious Organisation.

The latter, the Inter-Religious Organisation, was a proposal that came from PNCR General Secretary, Amna Ally, who defended her recommendation by

saying that “the majority of indigenous people” may not be Christians.

Meanwhile, the Coalition Government has come in for blows over the past years for cutting the budgets of the Indigenous Peoples Commission, despite arguments by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarians – Alister Charlie, Yvonne Pearson, Gail Teixeira and Nigel Dharamlall – for them not to do so. The PPP/C Parliamentarians had argued that the Indigenous Peoples Commission has a mandate to investigate and treat with the rights of Amerindians.

The seventh report of the Committee of Appointments, in relation to the appointment of members of the Indigenous People’s Commission, was tabled in the House in March 2018.

Amerindian communities want cash grant restored A fter taking office in May 2015, the APNU+AFC Coalition Government scrapped the former PPP/C administration’s ‘cash grant’ initiative, which saw every public school student receiving financial support to ensure that they attend school regularly.

Residents in Amerindian communities, as well as in other hinterland areas, have called for the cash grant to be

restored, so that parents have access to much needed financial support.

However, the APNU+AFC Coalition government remains unresponsive.

The cash grant was a $1.7B initiative.

Under the PPP/C government, injections of resources in the education sector included: investments into new schools and rehabilitation of schools,

the provision of text books, the hot meals programme, the uniform assistance programme and other measures that aim to support Guyanese children – all of which went towards improving the standard of living and quality of life for all Guyanese.

Prior to 1992 the investment in the social sector was a measly eight per cent of a small national budget.

D

uring the amnesty for unlicensed firearms in 2015, scores of Amerindians handed in weapons used to protect their cattle and crops and support their livelihoods, with the promise of receiving licences.

The APNU+AFC Coalition Government delayed the return to April 2018 and delayed it again, until the end of July 2018. However, July and August 2018 have passed and no move has been made to fulfill the promise by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government.

Now Amerindians are being asked to pay as much as $100,000 to access the firearms they handed in during the amnesty. Majority of those affected are farmers who cannot afford the sum.

In the meantime, they have been left counting their losses, which their firearms could

have saved then from. Requests for compensation remains un-responded to by the APNU+AFC Coalition.

In 2018, the APNU+AFC Government, using its majority in the National Assembly, approved the Firearms (Amendment) Bill he noted that one of the criteria for being granted a licence to hold a firearm is to protect large sums of money. As such, he contends that the increased are not major increases.

Licences for shotgun will increase by $3,000 to $5,000; handguns from $5,000 to $25,000; rifles from $5,000 to $40,000; and dealers from $7,500 to $150,000.

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP), Dharamkumar Seeraj, had argued that there are categories of firearm holders who

need firearms, not to protect large sums of money, but ones that need it to support their livelihoods, specifically, farmers and Amerindians.

“The timing of the increase is also something that we have to address,” he said, noting that state of the rice industry and the circumstances of local rice farmers and stressed that “every dollar counts” in the current situation. Consequently, he called for Government to reduce the increase in the licence fees and not apply the entire amount to renewals.

Guyana as just over 8,000 persons who are licenced firearm holders, according to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan. He disclosed that currently there are about 3,000 licenced shot guns, 4,500 licenced pistols and revolvers and 347 licenced rifles.

Hinterland communities wants electrification programme to continue A

total of 7,000 solar power systems were distributed to hinterland homes across the country under the former PPP/C government.

When the APNU+AFC Coalition took office in May 2015, this initiative was scrapped.

Several hinterland communities have since called for the programme to be continued to reach all households.

Calls have also been made for support to be given to the Amerindian communities to secure new batteries for the solar systems that were distributed under the PPP/C government.

The APNU+AFC Coalition remains unresponsive.

Notably, the former PPP/C administration as part of its socio-economic development and poverty alleviation objective has embarked on a programme to extend electricity to un-served areas under the Strategy for Hinterland Electrification.

In several hinterland communities, solar electricity is

used for electricity, water pumping, 2-way radio transmission and telecommunication. A 2005 Hinterland Study indicated that solar energy is probably the energy source for a majority of the hinterland communities, given their remoteness and low, dispersed demand for electricity. The study found that using solar as an electric energy source, Solar Home Systems (SHS) would facilitate the installation of individual, isolated systems avoiding the use of grids that would be costly due to long distribution lines to serve the characteristic dispersed housing arrangement in these communities.

In addition to the 7,000 solar systems that were distributed, another 6,000 were purchased for distribution.

However, these 6,000 were never delivered to hinterland communities as they were kept in the Capital by the APNU+AFC Coalition government.

The disclosure that the solar panels will not go the Amerindian communities was made when the PPP/C, in the National Assembly, questioned the spending of $48.6M on furniture and equipment for the Ministry of the Presidency and State House in 2015. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, in response, disclosed that part of the $48.6M was spent of 6,000 solar panel systems for the Ministry of the Presidency and State House.

The Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, has charged that the panels should be handed over to the communities. “Hand over the 6,000 solar panel and install them where they should be,” Teixeira said.

Meanwhile, President David Granger has said that his Government wants to see hinterland development advanced on par with that of coastland communities, he did not expound on how this will be done.

23

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Focus on Guyana’s First People WEEKEND MIRROR 11-12 AUGUST, 2018 15

Granger’s 10 na’s First People major promises D Three years later: List of

years later: List of promises made to Amerindians and broken by gov’t dianThree people and communities sincreasing

en He red nd x-

s

a r, ast mher be ot of ll mute rner th ist 17 ed nd ger at ed es ee on nd ic hso id to ck ds se er ns

On August 18, 2015, President David Granger outlined a 10-point “strategic and holistic plan” for Hinterland development. He claimed that the plan would have seen Amerindian communities becoming thriving economic units, extreme poverty being eradicated, youth unemployment being addressed and increased prosperity realised.

promises made to Amerindians ‒ ALL and broken byBROKEN gov’t increasing Three years later, that plan stands as evidence of more failures of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government and increases the list of promises made by the Coalition and broken.

However, despite the failures to address the promises made in his 10-point plan, Granger and his Government ministers have gone silent on the issue.

O

n August 18, 2015, President David Granger outlined a 10-point “strategic and holistic plan” for Hinterland development. He claimed that the plan would have seen Amerindian communities becoming thriving economic units, extreme poverty being eradicated, youth unemployment being addressed and increased prosperity realised.

MAKE THE STAND OUT A failures BIT WHEN YOU CoaliDO Three years later, TABLE that plan stands as evidence of more of the APNU+AFC tion Government and increases the list of promises made by the Coalition and broken.

THE LAYOUT PLEASE However, despite the failures to address the promises made in his 10-point plan, Granger and his Government ministers have gone silent on the issue.

PROMISE MADE

1. Hinterland Education Support Programme

The 2017 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Guyana released by the United States of America’s (USA) State Department, on page 11 states that: “They (Amerindians) have limited access to education and health care.”

2. Hinterland Employment and Youth Service

Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock, has gone on record to say that 40,000 persons are unemployed to date in the Hinterland communities.

3. The Hinterland Poverty Reduction

No mention of any substantial work to improve the lives of Amerindians in Guyana was made in the 2017 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Guyana released by the United States of America’s (USA) State Department.

Programme

ly ent nd ’s

n

le ed yal he nd ain of of not ng en lino me ce ast ll ets to es a arce e’s ts vic ed ns ne nd C em or /C nd ed lles of ate ve ith as. ng al of ntnhe in ers nt e’s n, tsin .

d

REALITY

No major initiative has been embarked on to date.

Page 11 of the 2017 report states that: “The standard of living in indigenous communities was lower than that of most citizens.”

4. Hinterland Infrastructure Extension Programme 5. Hinterland Energy Development Programme

No major initiative has been embarked on to date.

No major Initiative has been embarked on to date. The 6,000 solar panel systems earmarked for distribution to Amerindian communities by the former PPP/C government were taken away from the communities by the APNU+AFC Coalition government.

6. Hinterland Happy Household Programme

No major initiative has been embarked on to date.

7. Hinterland and Indigenous People Lands

No new villages have received titles to lands in the last three years.

Commission

The Commission of Inquiry into Lands, which combined Amerindian and African land rights issues raised concerns that Amerindians would be dispossessed of their lands.

8. Hinterland Public Service Provision

No major initiative has been embarked on to date.

9. Hinterland Language Cultural and Sport

The Language Preservation Project started under the former PPP/C administration in 2013 is the only major effort being currently made in this are.

Scheme Service

The Project aimed to preserve the Arawak and other Amerindian languages.

10. Hinterland Tourism service

No major initiative has been embarked on to date.

50% of children in hinterland do not have access to secondary education – UNICEF uring the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) World Literacy Day, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Representative, Sylvie Fouet, gave an analysis of the education sector in Guyana, which highlighted the fact that only half of the children in the hinterland communities attend secondary school after

they would’ve graduated from the primary education programme.

“Literacy is a child’s right that is very important to a right to quality education but overall, literacy also empowers and develops a young person to become an adult. In Guyana, it’s very critical to overcome the fact that there are a couple of challenges that are part of school. Data

states that 75 per cent of teenagers will access secondary school in Guyana and maybe outside the coastal area, actually its 50 per cent,” said Fouet.

Despite multiple calls by the Parliamentary Opposition for work to be done to address several concerns of Amerindians in Guyana, no substantial work has been done.

APNU+AFC wants another year to address land tilting issues ‒ after over four years of failures

T

he life of the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) project has been extended to 2021, according to Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock.

The current APNU+AFC Coalition caretaker government is now in its fifth year in office and has failed to tile any new title for Amerindians.

Guyana has been internationally recognized for its policies and constitutional and legal architecture with regards to Amerindian land rights. As of 2015, land communally owned by Amerindian communities increased from 6.5% to 14% of its land mass in less than a decade.

In addition, Guyana‘s “first people” population is the fastest growing ethnic group in Guyana increasing in size from 5% to over 10% between 1992-2015 due to improved access to the delivery of health and education services, and, water, and improved quality of life, which reduced levels of infant and child mortality and increased life expectancy.

Successive People’s’ Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administrations (1992-2015), addressed a large number of Amerindian land issues under the 2006 Amerindian Act. As of May 2015, 103 Amerindian villages were awarded Absolute (and Forever) communal grants of which 83 were demarcated by 2014.

Fifteen (15) applications for extensions were pending and 6 were awaiting title by the time General and Regional Elections were held in May 2015.

This success was the culmination of a very long struggle by Amerindian communities to have their rights and their land rights recognized.

Following the Amerindian Lands Commission Report of 1969, an amendment was enacted in 1976 to the 1951 Amerindian Act which provided for the granting of lands to Amerindian communities.

In the same year sixty-four (64) Amerindian communities received legal recognition to the lands they used and occupied. In 1991, these very state lands for an additional ten (10) communities were granted under the State Lands Act through the issuance of Absolute Grants. This brought the total percentage of lands owned by Amerindians to almost 6% of Guyana’s territory.

BUNGLED MOVE As a result of the lack of consultations with these Amerindian Communities by the then PNC governments before the descriptions of the areas were gazette, many considered the areas legally recognised via the Absolute Grants to be inadequate, and, or incorrect; in some cases, the communities were located outside of the legally recognized areas.

Additional problems were caused due to the absence of physical surveys, since many communities disagreed with the descriptions in the then Amerindian Act as being unrelated to the reality on the ground. This resulted in many communities requesting demarcation, and in some cases, extension to their communities' legally recognized boundaries.

With the change of government after the first free and fair elections in 28 years in October 1992, President Jagan set about fixing this mess his

Administration had inherited.

He created at the level of the Office of the President, a special “Amerindian Unit” headed by a Minister who was himself an Amerindian and the first Amerindian to become a Minister. This Unit was mandated to correct the more pressing issues affecting Amerindian communities while efforts to setup more permanent interventions and structures were taking shape.

President Jagan took a personal interest in its supervision.

This “Unit” was the predecessor of the fully-fledged Ministry of Amerindian Affairs established by 2001, also headed by an Amerindian. That Ministry grew in stature under the PPP/C over the years.

With Cabinet and subsequent PPP/C Presidents support, it continuously sought resources and advocated and worked with other Ministries to produce tangible improvements in the lives of Amerindians and their communities.

CLEAR GOALS On the specific issue of land tilting, the ALT project, under the former PPP/C government, sought to achieve three major goals: completion of land titles issues and demarcation process for all Amerindian villages that submitted requests, increased use of existing and alternative mechanisms to resolve land titling disputes and thirdly a communication strategy including a handbook describing the process of titling, demarcation and social economic impact of secured land tenure.

While Indigenous people in many Countries have right of use of the Land only, in Guyana Amerindians own land including the forests resources within their Titled Lands.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

Holding the APNU+AFC Coalition to account – a review of local happenings

Another corruption scandal rocks Guyana

By Leslie Ramsammy

E

very single day since May 2015, the story of APNU+AFC has been one corruption scandal after another. This day's story is the exposure more than 300 seized vehicles have been sold by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) without public tender or public auction, as mandated for in the law. This story has been circulating in the public for several months now, an open secret.

There has been steadfast silence from the GRA,

the President and his resigned, caretaker Cabinet.

While time has been taken to threaten GRA staff suspected as the source of accurate information previously exposed, the Director General (DG) has not taken time to inform the public about the veracity of these stories. Are these stories true? The Guyanese public deserves an answer. The crime is the corruption, not the exposure.

While I know very little about the DG of the GRA, I believe him to be an honorable man. I would be shocked if he were involved in any skullduggery. But something is dreadfully wrong with these transactions. The story has names, has GRA registration, there is a paper trail showing prices etc. On the other hand, there is no paper trail or any kind of public record to show any advertisement or that these transactions were above board. So even if the whole story has not

been told, the part told is backed-up by evidence and is scandalous. Maybe the part of the story not told will reduce the scandalous nature of the story. It is high time, therefore, for a public accounting of all vehicles seized, the reason why they were seized, and the status of each seized-vehicle. This is not a State Secret; it is a matter that every Guyanese is entitled to have full accountability.

No doubt a public-relations and media spin is in the works and will soon be pushed by the government's sycophants. But serious questions abound and it will be difficult to spin away the obvious corruption that stinks up and pollute the environment. How do you explain, for example, two of these vehicles sold by the GRA on the same day (May 21st, 2018), with sequential registration numbers (PWW9601 and PWW9602) to two persons with the same last name as the Min-

ister of Finance, one with the same exact address as the Minister of Finance and both with first names identical to close relatives of the Minister? How do you explain these vehicles, with a market-price in the millions were sold for $250,000?

How do you explain these vehicles were sold in secret, with no record of any published intent to sell, no evidence of public tender or auction? The spin is made more difficult when one considers the selling entity, the GRA, is under the administrative responsibility of the Minister of Finance?

Unquestionably, the stench of corruption plays a pivotal role in the loss of confidence in APNU+AFC and why APNU+AFC is so morbidly scared of facing the electorate. At the same time hundreds of millions of dollars in public revenue are lost because of corruption, such as the sale of seized vehicles for prices way, way below market

value, in a process avoiding any import duties etc., farmers in one of Guyana's most productive farming community, a community which helps make Guyana food-secured are being burdened by the Government to pay dramatically more money for Drainage and Irrigation. At this very moment, farmers livelihood are threatened in Black Bush Polder because APNU+AFC has removed the subsidy for the Black Bush Water Users Association.

Yet billions of dollars are allowed to pour through the corruption sieve. This is wholly unacceptable.

Lest we forget, APNU+AFC has burdened the Guyanese people with more than 200 new or increased taxation measures. Since May 2015, APNU+AFC has collected more than $400B in new revenues on the backs of the Guyanese people, while at the same time allowing billions to pour out of the system in

sweetheart deals with families, friends and donors.

For APNU+AFC which rode itself into the government because it accused the PPP, without evidence they claimed they had, and which they failed to accumulate in dozens of forensic audits, its own track record is damning.

In the more than four years in Government, APNU+AFC has defined itself as the most corrupt government in Guyana's history and in CARICOM. The GRA scandal is only the tip of the iceberg.

There are so many corruption that the average is now, at least, one per day for this government.

Not a single day passes by that another shameful corrupt transaction does not reveal itself. Enough is enough, no spin can hide the truth.

It is why this government is digging everywhere for one reason or another to avoid an election.

More questions than answers over GRA’s handling of ‘want of sale’ vehicles

T

he People’s Progressive Party (PPP), this week, questioned the sale of vehicles under the want-of-entry initiative and other vehicles

seized by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

According to the PPP, “For a while now we have been calling on Commis-

sioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to release information related to the disposal of want-ofentry and other vehicles that

were seized by the GRA. Over 300 vehicles have been sold without going to tender or public auction. The beneficiaries of this scheme, which has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars, are mostly government officials and their relatives and other individuals connected to the APNU+AFC.” Two instances of sale under want-of-entry disclosed by the PPP are: “Registration number PWW 9601. Registration date: May 21st, 2018.

Registered to Yanic Jordan, whose address is listed as Lot 94 Sugarcane Street, South Ruimveldt Gardens, which happens to be the same address as Minister of Finance Winston Jordan…. registration number PWW 9602. Registration date: May 21st, 2018 as well. Registered to George Jordan whose address is listed as Lot 13 Durban Street, Georgetown.”

Notably, the PPP stated that “It is interesting to note that both vehicles were registered on the same date and

carry sequential registration numbers. No information is provided on the part of the registration document where is says “custom details”.”

Further, “There was no publication in relation to the sale of these two vehicles in the official Gazette as is required if they were sold by way of public auction. They were sold for $250,000. The GRA falls within the portfolio of Minister of Finance Winston Jordan. He therefore needs to explain this situation urgently.”

The PPP stated that “This scandal runs deep and this latest revelation explains the GRA’s resistance to our calls for an audit of the disposal of all want-of-entry and other seized vehicles. In fact we have repeatedly called on Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, to make public all information related to this matter. Information such as who they were sold to and at what price, a call which we restate at this time.”

Notably, just last month

(June 13, 2019) a request for an investigation was made to the Police Commissioner, Leslie James, by People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP), Juan Edghill, into fraud involving a top People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that two Toyota Land Cruisers, bearing Venezuelan registration plates, seized by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in Lethem, Region 9, ended up in the possession of a PNCR member.

He added that the vehicles were seized in May 2018, but then had a backdated registration, dated March 14, 2019, before they were handed over to the PNCR officials.

“There is a big racket here…luxury vehicles seized and not registered in the want of entry logs…they are kept off books and given out…this racket runs into millions,” he said.

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

OBSERVER

25

Granger is not beyond reproach (Part 1) T

here is an already accepted insistence – propelled by the refusal to frontally call a spade a spade – that President David Granger is somehow above reproach. This false notion is somehow entrenched the in psyches of some.

However, this cannot be allowed to the order of the day. The buck stops with Mr. Granger.

He is ultimately responsible for the undermining of Guyana’s democracy, which is currently underway.

He is ultimately responsible for the hardships inflicted on the Guyanese people.

He is ultimately responsible for the corruption we have seen over the past four years of the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition’s term in office.

This week we will look at the uncontrollable levels of corruption permeating from his government.

In the four plus years since assuming office the Granger-led government has averaged at least two scandals per month. We have had scandals related to either corruption, a conflict of interest or clear breaches of the law. In that time he has either responded in a superficial manner – just shuffling around the offending Government officials to a different area or has refused to act at all.

We will highlight several of these corrupt practices of the most egregious nature, which paint a picture of the reality of the corruption under this Granger led cabal.

1. The deposit of US$9,000 into the personal bank account of Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson. It was the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who made it clear that it is not the norm for a foreign company to deposit monies into a Government Minister’s personal bank account. These were monies that Minister Patterson claimed was a reimbursement of monies he took from Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to fund a “business” trip to China. To date the silence from the Minister, who promised to provide documentation to show there was no corruption, has been deafening. The silence from the President on this issue speaks volumes. We can only deduce from his silence that he has no issue with this unusual

transaction.

2. The transfer of over $20M of taxpayers’ monies to the children of Minister Simona Broomes. Details on the matter indicate that in 2018, two transfers of US$25,000 each were made to the daughter of Minister Broomes by the Department of Public Service within the Ministry of the Presidency. In 2019, there was another transfer to Broomes’ daughter of US$36,450 by the same entity. Also in 2019 a transfer of GYD2.51M was made to the Minister’s son from the same Department.

The disclosure from the Director General, Joseph Harmon that the monies represented sums for scholarships raises a lot of questions. Were these scholarships merit based? Is it the government’s policy to grant preferential treatment to the children of government Ministers? How many government Ministers children or relatives currently benefitting from scholarships? The citizens of Guyana would really appreciate answers from our President on these questions.

We would not hold our breath however for an answer as he has a pattern of avoiding difficult questions.

3. The failure to account for the use of taxpayers’ monies on the multi-million dollar D’urban Park Project. After months of stalling, it is only recently that information has been finally handed to the Audit Office by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. The 2017 Audit report pointed out that millions spent on the project was unaccounted for. To date the President has held no one to account for this wastage of our taxpayers’ monies.

4. The continued breaches of Guyana’s procurement laws, relative to the feasibility study on a new Demerara River crossing. The Public Procurement Commission has pronounced on the illegal nature of this undertaking.

The report stated: “The PPC noted that the Minister of Public Infrastructure, by memorandum dated November 18, 2016, made a request to the Cabinet for government seeking consideration and approval to use funds from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation to fund the feasibility study and to commence a contractual engagement with LievenseCSO as of the 1st

January 2017. The PPC also noted that this request was not forwarded through the NPTA but submitted directly by the Minister. The PPC also noted that in November 2016 the cabinet approved a total sum of $161,514,420 to be used to cover the cost of the feasibility study. To date however based upon new information the Minister has spent close to $300 million. Our President who likes to preach about integrity has offered no explanation of this.

5. The racket involving the fraudulent appropriation of vehicles at the Guyana Revenue Authority. There is clear evidence of two vehicles which were seized by the GRA in May 2018, having backdated registrations for March 14, 2019 before they were handed over to PNC member, Carlton Beckles. This is just another example of persons benefitting from the state’s largesse once they are part of the Granger led cabal.

6. The use of taxpayers’ monies for PNCR campaign work. Credible information released indicates that some $50 million of taxpayers’ monies paid via a government cheque was spent on tickets for the Buju Banton concert and these tickets were distributed by the PNCR General Secretary, Amna Ally in several communities. It is sad that those funds that could have been spent on more sustainable needs for those communities were wasted on this event.

Did Mr. Granger approve this expenditure? We would love to hear from him on this.

7. The use of public office

by Minister Cathy Hughes to bolster her financial standing and that of her company, Videomega Productions. The head of the Department of Energy, Dr. David Bynoe admitted no due diligence was done in the awarding of a contract to the company owned by the Minister for $832,200.

It was further revealed that the Minister’s company was granted contracts totaling in excess of $10 million from the government. A clear conflict of interest. Despite these revelations no action has been taken against the minister or those who awarded the contracts. It would appear that our President is impotent with regards to initiating disciplinary measures against his

Ministers.

8. The handout of contracts, in total disregard of due process. From January to April 2019, contracts totaling $479.9M were issued by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, through ministerial tender board. Most of which were done through selective tendering or without any tendering process being followed at all. It was revealed through the local media that at least two of the companies that benefitted from these contracts have no business registration, yet each received contracts over $24M each.

9. Sell-off of state assets the sale by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) of two GUYSOCU Transmission towers to Bobby Viera’s Multicultural Communications Inc. without public tendering at a vastly undervalued price.

It is ironic that when in opposition Granger and his cohorts accused the PPP/C of similar action. I guess it is different when you are in government.

A clear example of the insincerity of President Granger.

10. The securing of a $30B bond against assets of GUYSUCO to date this remains a secret, despite the fact that tax dollars are being used to repay interest on the bond, and will be used to repay the bond in years to come. For a President who touted transparency, this is another example of his hypocrisy.

11. The non-reflection of the US$18M signing bonus in the National Accounts. For three years, 2017-2019, the receipt of these monies was not reflected in the annual National Estimates. The intent behind the attempt to hide the receipt of monies from the Guyanese people remains unexplained. Another example of the hypocrisy when it comes to being transparent.

Were it not for the patriotism of a few who revealed this we are certain these funds would have never been accounted for.

12. The settlement of taxes owed by Demerara Distillers Limited. The sum owed by DDL, according to the GRA assessment was $5.392B from 2001 to 2006. The settlement saw DDL paying only $1.5B and also write offs of all possible liabilities in respect of Excise Tax up to March 2016.

This unexplained write off has exposed us to billions of dollars in losses, as seen with the case filed by Banks DIH. It DDL had not revealed this public would have been kept in the dark about this. Other similar write offs are shrouded in secrecy. The Guyanese people are in the dark about what revenues have been given up as a result of our Administration’s actions. Where is the accountability that Mr. Granger promised?

13. The sale of gun-licenses information from whistle blowers has indicated that gun licenses are being sold from upwards of $1.2M. Despite this information surfacing, there has been no move by our Government to investigate this matter. President Granger can’t deny knowledge of this.

14. Misuse of public funds. The State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), the Public Procurement Commission and the Auditor General’s Office have been called on to investigate the use of taxpayers’ monies to fund a private appeal at the CCJ by Compton Reid. This is a departure from the financial rules and regulations since the State is not allowed to use public funds to pay for a private legal action brought by a private citizen.

Queries were raised with the President, but this has only been met with silence.

15. Breaches in the procurement of drugs and medical supplies. In 2017, it was revealed that the National Procurement and Tender Administration did not grant approval for the single sourcing of over $600M in emergency drug purchases for the Georgetown Public hospital Corporation, between January 2016 and April 2017. When this was raised the then Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence admitted that she failed to comply with the laws. Also the PPC found that procurement laws were broken in the awarding of contracts totaling $632 M for the emergency supply of drugs, and that the government approved a payment of $515.1Mto supplier ANSA McAL for fulfilling said contract. It would appear that compliance with the law does not apply to this President Administration.

In addition in 2017 it was revealed that a company out of New York supplied emergen-

cy drugs far above the price of other competitors. Also it took six months to deliver these “emergency” supplies. It was also revealed that the company was still owed $168.5M, with no effort to collect. Is our President ensuring we get value for our monies?

16. The payment of over $300M, for a three year period, in rentals for the house of a card-bearing PNCR member that was passed off as a drug bond. Until pressure was brought to bear by the opposition only then was this revealed. It was revealed that what were being rented were an office and not a drug bond.

Where was the disciplinary action from you for this Mr. President?

17. Annulment of tenders.

Guyanese , over the past four years have been witness to the pattern of advertisements being placed, bids being submitted and the tenders being annulled- an undertaking that seems geared to ensure that a handpicked contractors are engaged.

18. The non-declaration of assets to the Integrity commission. The President by his own admission failed to declare his assets to this body as required by law. This from a President who promised to lead by example. Yet another promise not kept, and no one else to cast the blame on.

President David Granger had touted that he has zero tolerance for corruption and that he will promote transparency and financial probity and accountability at all levels of government. All that was revealed above clearly demonstrates that, it was just campaign rhetoric and that there was never any intent to follow through on this promise Apologists for Mr. Granger are quick to defend him and blame those around him for the scandals. This defense must not be allowed to stand any longer. The fact that he has taken no substantial disciplinary action against these officials speaks volumes. His demeanor as a disciplinarian is severely destroyed; he is just a facilitator of his government corrupt practices.

The President promised change from his administration. Certainly no one expected a change for the worst. By now we know that we cannot take this President at his word.

26

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

PPP/C details priorities to be included in Manifesto ahead of General and Regional Elections The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders is working on a detailed Manifesto, which will elaborate on the Party’s policies for improving the lives of all Guyanese.

Some of the priority actions of the next PPP/C Government will be to: 1. Restore– the $10,000 cash grant to school children. The APNU+AFC took away $1.67B per year, a total of $8.35B from Guyanese children.

2. Reinstate the water subsidies to pensioners. The APNU+AFC removed $500M in subsidies per year amounting to a $2.5B burden that had to be paid by our elderly.

3. Reverse VAT on essential services including water, electricity, and health care. The APNU+AFC imposed this on Citizens which led to billions in tax collection from Guyanese people and escalated the cost of living.

4. Reopen the closed sugar estates. Over 7,000 persons lost their jobs directly and another 4,000 lost their livelihoods indirectly.

5. Restore zero-rated VAT for machinery and equipment for agricultural, mining and forestry industries. For example, a tractor or excavator now attracts in excess of $5M in additional taxes.

6. Reverse cost of license and permits for doing business and accessing Government services. The APNU + AFC increased over 200 fees, e.g. vending licenses increased from $12,500 to a burdensome $65,000. This, added to the cost of living, hampered small business development.

7. Reverse land rents and drainage and irrigation charges. These have moved up in varying degrees, from $2,500 to $293,000 per acre, a policy that is suffocating many sectors including agriculture and tourism.

8. Remove age limits on vehicles. The APNU+AFC added at least $1M to the cost per vehicle, an unnecessary hardship for those aspiring to own a vehicle, especially young people.

9. Remove the restriction on used tyres. The imposition of this restriction increased the cost of tyres by 300%.

10. Reverse VAT on exports.

11. Reverse VAT on building materials.

12. Reinstate the joint services bonus. The APNU+AFC in a Grinch-like move took away the Christmas bonus from the joint services.

13. Remove VAT on data. The APNU+AFC has taxed the internet and your cell phone data.

14. Reverse the 2 A.M curfew. The arrogant implementation of this measure has not helped to address the noise nuisance issue and has affected quality of life and hurt job creation and businesses.

In addition to correcting these draconian impositions, the next PPP/C Government pledges to: 1. Create 50,000 jobs in the first five years.

2. Assist small businesses through the implementation of programmes to help small businesses grow by providing technical advice, small grants, loans, and training for workers. Women entrepreneurship will receive special attention.

3. Deliver 8,000 to 10,000 new house lots per year.

4. Implement a programme for affordable financing for home ownership.

5. Deliver quality health care and end drug shortages.

6. Improve the quality of and access to education at every level including offering 20,000 persons online University education.

7. Implement measures to expand the capability and increase the effectiveness of the security forces so that people can once again feel protected in their homes, on the streets and in workplaces.

8. Create conditions for our young people to prosper, realise their dreams and to involve them in all levels of Government.

9. Ensure better working conditions and remuneration for teachers, healthcare workers and other public servants.

10. Improve infrastructure (roads, wharves, bridges, airstrips, drainage etc) in Georgetown, other Towns and Villages across Guyana.

11. Extend and improve Government services and ICT on the Coast and in the Hinterland.

12. Ensure that revenue from Oil and Gas is not squandered and stolen and leads to the improvement of the lives of ALL GUYANESE. 13. Create the conditions and strengthen the institutions to expand and protect the civil, cultural and human rights of all Guyanese.

14. Improve governance, including expanding and strengthening measures aimed at fighting corruption.

15. Protect our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The PPP/C has said that it is time to restore Guyana to the path of progress and prosperity.

Since taking office, the APNU+AFC cabal has put forward five budgets, spent $1.3 trillion, borrowed US $ 900M and increased taxes by approximately $88B per annum.

They are spending every year $1.6 B more for food allowances, $1.1B more for rentals, $1.2B more for local travel among other things, as part of their extravagant lifestyle. Meanwhile over 30,000 Guyanese have lost their jobs. The cost of living has skyrocketed and health care, education and quality of life have deteriorated rapidly.

27

WEEKEND MIRROR 3-4 AUGUST, 2019

CARICOM say nothing about Coalition’s...

2019 – meaning Elections have to be held by September 18, 2019.

None of these have been done – representing open defiance of the Caribbean Court of Justice – Guyana’s

final Court.

Guyana is bound by the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Article 26 of the Agreement, headlined ‘Enforcement of Orders of the

Court’, said: “The Contracting Parties agree to take all the necessary steps, including the enactment of legislation to ensure that: (a) all authorities of a Contracting Party act in aid of the Court and that any

(From back page)

judgment, decree, order or sentence of the Court given in exercise of its jurisdiction shall be enforced by all courts and authorities in any territory of the Contracting Parties as if it were a judgment, decree,

order or sentence of a superior court of that Contracting Party; (b) the Court has power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of

any document, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of court that any superior court of a Contracting Party has power to make as respects the area within its jurisdiction.”

Abuse of State resources continue – Jagdeo A

t a time when the Government should be in a caretaker mode, following the ruling and order of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on no-confidence motion case, the APNU+AFC Coalition administration is continuing with activities outside of its routine role, And Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, charged that the open abuse of State resources is clear.

He pointed out that the caretaker Government is still

operating outside its routine functions. One such activity, he highlighted was the recent Investors Conference held in Trinidad and Tobago, which Jagdeo said was hosted using large sums of taxpayers’ money in a period when the Government should really be operating in a caretaker role.

“They didn’t even do it when they had full powers but suddenly, they decided to go to Trinidad and Tobago and have an investors’ meeting.

But what can they promise

investors now? Nothing, because they can’t sign agreements and so on,” he said, Jagdeo noted too that the Coalition is still spending taxpayers’ monies on its politically-motivated ministerial outreaches. A recent notice circulating from Government announced another one of the coalition’s “Bring Government to the People” outreach, this time in the Upper Mazaruni region on August 1. The programme details visits of: Indigenous

Peoples Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock to Imbaimadai Village and Paruima Village; Minister of State Dawn Hastings-Williams to Jawalla Settlement; Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan to Waramadong Village and Government Member of Parliament Mervin Williams to Kako Village.

The Opposition Leader said, “Areas they’ve neglected and never been to in four years (while in office), now four ministers are going to

the Upper Mazaruni on Cabinet/ministerial outreaches.

That is not limiting expenditure and that is not a routine function of the government.

“Routine functions of the government mean ensuring that the light is on, water keeps flowing, that people get paid – the public servants, etc. – not with ministerial involvement but at the technical level. So they continue to use taxpayers’ money in this manner although the President claims that they should limit expenditure.”

To this end, Jagdeo posited that the monies spent by the caretaker coalition ministers will have to be repaid when he Government changes after the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) wins office. He said, “Any minister who goes on these activities that are not consistent with routine functioning of the government or make expenditure and the technical officers who approve these expenditure will have to repay the money. Because we’re going take legal actions against any minister and all

of the technical officers who approved these expenses. We will either surcharge them or make it a charge against the State’s obligation to them or take legal action because this is an abuse of State resources.”

Notably, last week, Granger had admitted that his Coalition’s legal authority has been restrained, which is what the CCJ had made clear.

He had said, “We obviously have to keep Government running; routine functions of Government. I cannot undertake State visits and sign agreements with foreign countries. We have to limit our expenditure. We have to ensure that we do not embark on any controversial projects.”

Concerns have been mounting over recent weeks over the Coalition’s apparent disregard of the CCJ’s rulings and subsequent consequential orders, since APNU+AFC Coalition government officials continue to insist that the Administration cannot function with limited authority.

CARICOM say nothing about Coalition’s open defiance of CCJ ruling

T

here has been weeks of silence, with no formal statement on the position of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) having been issued, on the state of affairs in Guyana and the defiance with which the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling and orders, in the no-confidence motion case, are being treated.

Under increasing public pressure about its silence, CARICOM’s Secretary General Ambassador, Irwin LaRocque, has said that the Secretariat has been closely monitoring Guyana’s situation. His comments came on the sidelines of the 10th general meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations.

He said, “It does not mean we don’t care; it doesn’t mean we are not concerned…

CARICOM does not interfere unless there is a democratic and judicial process breakdown. We continue to monitor everything very, very closely. There has been a process that has been ongoing since the vote of no confidence, and we have seen that the process has worked so far in the sense that the CCJ delivered a judgment and its consequential orders…we (CARICOM) are very much

engaged…I am in touch, and will continue to be in touch with the relative parties involved…. I have spoken to both of them [the president and opposition leader], I have made the offer that CARICOM is prepared to assist if both parties deem it necessary.”

The Secretary- General added that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling in his view was “very, very clear that all of the actors concerned; the Executive, the Opposition and GECOM must play their part.”

Notably, LaRocque has said nothing specifically about the Coalition’s defiance of the CCJ. The CCJ on June 18, 2019 ruled that the no-confidence motion was validly passed.

On July 12, 2019, the Court issued its orders in the case.

Among other things, the orders said: • The Cabinet and President must resign; • The David Granger-led APNU+AFC Coalition will continue as a caretaker government; • The APNU+AFC Coalition must restrain the exercise of its legal authority; and • That three-month Election clock started on June 18, (Turn to page 27)

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