Weekend Mirror 14-15 September 2019

14-15 September, 2019 / Vol. 10 No. 88 / Price: $100

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

Elections before year end GECOM Chairperson says…

‒ Jagdeo hails meeting as ‘encouraging’ PAGE 10 SEE INSIDE

Opportunities for empowerment Rapid of Guyanese youth will be assured levels of borrowing by next PPP/C gov’t – Ali PAGE 8

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Ten months later…

Nandlall says battle for constitutional compliance continues Greater international presence needed at GECOM PAGE 3

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worrying

Extraneous discussions at the center of delays at GECOM PAGE 18

After damning audit findings…

Ramjattan admits SOCU Head ‘not coming back’ PAGE 2

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Ali joins Indigenous Heritage month celebrations

Jagdeo repeats call for ERC After damning audit findings… to condemn, address use of state-media to play ‘race-card’ Ramjattan admits SOCU Head ‘not coming back’

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tate funds and state assets continue to be used by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC) led APNU+AFC Coalition to polarize the Guyanese people, yet the Ethic Relations Commission (ERC) remains inactive.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, recently lamented this state of affairs, saying, “The ERC seems to be asleep. I am a great supporter of the ERC because they have power to act, but they are doing nothing.”

He referred to the use of the state-owned media to peddle propaganda that raise the spectre of race.

This is not the first time Jagdeo has called out the PNC-led Coalition for using state resources to play the ‘race card’. In January 2019, he pointed to examples of this being done and had said, “They (APNU+AFC Coalition) have one game…they don’t have a track record… they have one line…the lies of the past are what they are trying to resurrect to polarize our people…the race card is the only one they have left to play.”

The Opposition Leader had also called on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to not only condemn what is happening, but take steps to address it. “It is illegal and ERC has a responsibility to condemn it and address it,” he had said in January 2019.

Notably, only recently, after delaying action for over a month, the ERC moved to investigate “racially insensitive comments” against the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) by government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Desmond Trotman. A complaint was filed by the Private Sector Commission on July 31, 2019, via a letter. The letter said, “The Private Sector Commission wishes to register a formal complaint to the Commission with regard to the racist content, the racial hate and the threatening racist tone of the letter and requests that your Commission conduct an immediate investigation into and take appropriate action on this matter.” The status of this investigation, to date, is unclear.

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he embattled Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Sydney James, who is currently on administrative leave amidst allegations of mismanagement of taxpayers’ monies at the Unit will not be returning to his post.

The disclosure was made

by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, when pressed on the matter. He said, “Some else named Ms Althea Padmore has taken on his functions. So, he is not going to come back to the job.”

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Leslie James, also on Friday, told reporters that the probe into James’ operations at SOCU is still in progress. The probe follows the damning findings of an audit that was ordered by the Police Commissioner in February 2019, which was triggered after the former British adviser, Dr Sam Sittlington, had made a number of allegations against the Unit.

Based on the information provided, the GPF’s Audit

Department, which conducted the investigated, looked into 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. From which it was shown that $52 million was collected from the Ministry of Public Security by SOCU for its operational fund. Monies from the fund are used to pay SOCU informants, rent surveillance vehicles, maintain the building housing the unit, day-to-day administrative expenses, and other expenditures.

The audit revealed that several staff members collected monies totally millions of dollars, with claims that it was being used to gather intelligence, without providing any corroborating evidence. The examination of some payments more than half a million dollars each to a few of the ranking officers in one 2016 month, showed the receipts to have been backdated, to give an air of legitimacy to the payments.

It was reported that the auditors were hindered when attempting to conduct the audit by the absence of re-

ceipts and monies not being detailed as to the purposed it was spent. Evidence surfaced of unsigned entries in the financial records. In another case, there was evidence of forgery of an official signature.

Further evidence showed that some of the listed expenditures were fabricated.

Reports of purchases from well-established vendors were indicated, when they auditors attempted to verify, it was clear that the officials at SOCU only collected quotation but never purchased the recorded items. Evidence on some of the invoices showed duplication, tampering, fraudulent double entries and fake entries.

Monies seized by SOCU should be in an account bearing interest, however in clear violation of the anti-money laundering laws, seized cash was being kept at the unit and some at the Guyana Police Force’s Finance Department.

Concerns were raised over this matter, on several occasion, no actions was taken to

correct the illegality.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Opposition maintains that SOCU, which was set up to fight money-laundering and other white-collar crimes, has become a political Unit under the APNU+AFC regime.

SOCU has been involved in a number of controversial operations, including the high-profile car chase of the wife of a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP), which resulted in the death of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Sergeant Robert Pyle and his wife Stacy, along with another civilian in a smash-up on Carifesta Avenue in December 2015 – an incident that remains the subject of many unanswered questions.

SOCU’s establishment – under the Guyana Police Force – was part of Guyana's international obligations to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Loss of democracy in Illegal Cabinet green-lights Guyana could impact spending of $2.5B not regional stability approved by Parliament – US Congressman …writes congressional foreign affairs committees

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United States (US) Congressman Vincente Gonzalez who heads a key committee has written to two senior colleagues who head a committee and subcommittee in the US Congress, urging them to keep Guyana on the path of democracy, even as the country meanders on several months overdue for elections.

In the letter Gonzalez, a representative of the 15th District of Texas, wrote to Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security and Trade, Albio Sires.

Gonzalez warned in his letter that a loss of democracy in Guyana could have disastrous effects on regional stability. He also said that as the US has worked to bring democracy around the world, Guyana should be no exception.

The letter said, “The United States has maintained a friendly relationship with Guyana since 1992, after then Guyanese President Desmond Hoyte decided to reform the country’s electoral laws and held free and fair elections. Any reversal of these efforts could impact regional stability and endanger the well-being of the Guyanese people.”

“I request that the Committee continue to keep a watchful eye on Guyana moving forward. It is imperative that we continue to

he contract between Mercury Public Affairs and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – inked to ensure that the Party has a presence in the United States of America (USA) capital, Washington – has been renewed, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Pressed by the media last Friday (September 6, 2019) as to whether the contract was renewed, he responded in the affirmative.

In April 2019, Jagdeo addressed the initial move by the PPP to engage the firm and explained that it was a decision of the PPP Executive.

He had said, “We badly needed a presence in Washington because a lot of the options formed in Washington from many organisations, including

he decision of the illegal APNU+AFC Cabinet – the members of which should have resigned with the successful passage of the no-confidence motion – to spend a whopping $2.5B to procure a new border management and e-passport systems was announced by Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday (September 6, 2019).

Cabinet has been meeting in total defiance of the Constitution of Guyana and the ruling and orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice

(CCJ).

Harmon at a post-Cabinet press briefing said the project will be carried out for the Ministry of Citizenship.

He added that the $2.5B (US$12.420M) will be paid to Canadian Bank Note Company Limited from the public treasury.

However, Budget 2019 does not cater for this sum of money to be spent.

No such funds were catered for under the Ministry of the Presidency’s budget.

Moreover, the capital budget of the Department

of Citizenship, under the Ministry of the Presidency, is only $802.09M, which caters for building, furniture and equipment costs.

Also, there has been no supplementary financing that was approved by the National Assembly.

Questions are now being asked about where the money is coming from and why is the caretaker Coalition government embarking on new spending during this period – when its only task is to deal with the holding of Elections.

Ten months later…

Nandlall says battle for constitutional compliance continues

C bring democracy (globally) and Guyana is no exception.

I am available to work with you and the Committee on legislation for the betterment of the Guyanese people.”

The Congressman pointed out in his letter that President David Granger lost a no-confidence vote in December 2018 and that after six months of legal challenges, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) unanimously upheld the no-confidence vote.

He noted that even though the regional court had rec-

ognised that elections ought to have been held by March 21, 2019, the Guyana Elections Commission had insisted on preparing for elections in a lengthy House-to-House Registration process.

“The People’s Progressive Party has requested that elections be held within 90 days of the CCJ’s June 18, 2019 ruling or September 18, 2019. CCJ’s internal counsel has advised that the Houseto-House Registrations would be an act of contempt against the CCJ,” Gonzalez advised in his letter.

PPP renews contract with lobbing firm to maintain presence in Washington

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the multilateral financial institutions, the OAS and of course the US government, could be tainted by the lies that APNU has been telling in these areas …so we have to have a presence there so that we can have access to those bodies so that we can bring a balance to what is being peddled in those circles…therefore, we took that step as a party to have that presence and we’re going to continue with that presence. “…I believe we’re getting all our views into all the circles that matters so when the lies come from Guyana through the various sources and Government, people can ask the right questions from them. “…we’re very happy with the firm, we’re happy with its credentials, we’re happy that the firm is a bipartisan firm – both Democrats and Repub-

licans…we need an effective firm to counter the lies being told by the APNU in Washington…every cent is worth it…it is a universal value…we are doing this for Guyana…. they’re working on our behalf, we’ve seen evidence of this.” “…all the PPP wants is free and fair elections in Guyana, that what we’re lobbying for. It’s a shame that we have to, in the 21st century, go to Washington to lobby for free and fair elections because of this government’s transgressions; refusing to accept a no confidence vote, install [ing] one of their persons in the GECOM, violating the constitution.”

The contract first with Mercury Public Affairs, a short-term contract, was signed in March, it came to an end in May 2019.

hief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, has set dates for submissions in the case filed by Attorney-at-Law, Manoj Narayan, acting on behalf of his client former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, where a move has been made to compel the David Granger-led APNU+AFC Coalition to comply with the Constitution of Guyana.

Both sides have been asked to file submissions by September 23 2019.

After Nandlall’s case was filed, the State filed a Notice of Application to strike out the case on September 5, 2019, on the basis that it was an abuse of process, moot, and an affront to the doctrine of stare decisis (meaning let the decision stand), or rule of precedent, given that the issue was litigated before the CCJ. Nandlall put Attorney General, Basil Williams, on blast for this move, charging that Williams stands by an “atrocious” contention. He said, “It’s unfortunate that we have to resort to this kind of strenuous efforts in the court to get the Government to obey the clear language of the Constitution….every one of you would have read the Constitution and every one of you would know that Article 106 says that upon the successful passage of the No-Confidence Motion, Cabinet, inclusive of the

President, shall resign.” “…we are asking for a declaration that the Cabinet stood resigned on the passage of the no-confidence motion in December 2018.

Alternatively we are asking for an order that Cabinet be resigned…we are asking for an order to give effect to that resignation…also we are asking for an order to bar Cabinet from meeting.”

Article 106 (6) of the Constitution 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) goes on to say: “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.”

A No-Confidence Motion was passed against the Government since December 21 of last year. However, elections were not held and there was no resignation.

Instead, the Government went through several levels of court, unsuccessfully arguing that the No-Confi-

dence Motion was not validly passed.

At the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the final court had thrown out the Government’s case and had handed down judgement saying that when the No-Confidence Motion was passed on December 21, 2019, Article 106 of the Constitution had immediately been activated.

In addition, the court had noted that the provisions of the Article were clear.

In further comments, Nandlall said, “Ten months after the passage of the no-confidence motion we are here battling to get the government to give effect to the Constitution, which is our supreme law. This is the level to which we have descended….what we are doing is trying to get constitutional compliance….the Constitution is the law of the land and compliance is what a constitutional democracy demands. “…the only type of pressure the President seems to be responding to is court orders, though he is still not responding as he should because he is not complying with all the court orders. But it is the one form of pressure that seems to attract some degree of response from the President and his government.”

The case is scheduled to come up for hearing again in the High Court on September 30, 2019.

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GECOM Chairperson must deal decisively with a compromised Secretariat Dear Editor,

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ECOM's secretariat, led by the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, has provided a timeline for elections in late March 2020, more than a year after the deadline for elections expired and more than 15 months after a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) ended the life of the government. The timeline is offensive to the constitution and contemptuous of the judiciary which has ordered elections must be held at the earliest possible time. Instead, GECOM provides a timeline for election as late as possible. GECOM's proposed timeline further violates the constitution which required elections before March 21st, 2019, more than 6 months ago, after the NCM was passed in Parliament on December 21st, 2018. A few days after the NCM, on December 27, GECOM assured the nation it was ready to conduct elections, in accordance with its constitutional mandate. But GECOM became beholden to and a creature of APNU+AFC, doing the bidding of the government in every way possible to prevent elections. The March 2020 proposal exposes again the conspiracy between Lowenfield, his staff and APNU+AFC, mocking the constitution and the Judiciary and trampling democracy.

Even the most ardent anti-PPP critic cannot deny any more that GECOM is compromised by APNU+AFC to do its dirty job of preventing elections. From the moment the NCM was

passed on December 21st, GECOM became a co-conspirator with APNU+AFC to breach the constitution, delaying elections for as long as possible. With Justice James Patterson, himself a creature of the PNC and David Granger, at the helm before July 29, the secretariat was transformed into an APNU+AFC frontline hatchet gang, taking orders from Congress Place, conspiring in every way whatsoever to administratively block the elections. Even with Justice Patterson forced exit with the CCJ's ruling his appointment was illegal, GECOM's secretariat has continued virtually unimpeded to create as many roadblocks as possible to prevent the elections.

The new Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, has been in place now for almost six weeks. Her decision to terminate the Houseto-House Registration on August 31st provided a glimmer of hope that GECOM's integrity and independence would be restored. But that fleeting moment of good sense has not deter GECOM's secretariat from continuing its conspiracy with APNU+AFC to delay elections. GECOM has played its puppet role masterfully.

Justice Claudette Singh has built a sterling career and a reputation. She has shown she can steer GECOM to function as it was intended, with integrity, fairness, independence, at all times in accordance with the constitution and the law. Justice Singh promised she will act only in accordance with the constitution and the law. Her action in terminating HTH was not in favor

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019 of or against any political party; it was based on the law and on the requirement for holding of elections at the earliest possible time. But the decision is quickly becoming meaningless since GECOM's Secretariat is ensuring the timeline is still in the far distance, totally abrogating the orders of the court and continuing the reckless violation of the constitution. Justice Singh must put a stop to this recklessness.

Given Guyana's experience since December 21st, 2018, there was always an expectation Lowenfield and his staff will insist on a timeline designed for the latest possible date for elections, instead of the earliest possible time. There are many experienced persons who could identify the obvious inflation of time. Justice Singh should seek advice from those who have conducted elections in the past. Lowenfield was personally recruited to GECOM by Joe Singh, a former Chair of GECOM and worked under Steve Surujbally, the most recent former Chair of GECOM, Patterson being discounted because he was illegal. Both these former Chairs have had extensive experience. In addition, Rudy Collins served as the first Chairman of GECOM under the Carter formula. There are former Chief and Deputy Elections Officers. There are experienced persons outside of the political realm, like Lawrence Latchmansingh.

Among these persons, Justice Singh can find an independent team to analyze Lowenfield's proposal to find the earliest possible date for elections.

Already we know one way to cut the time Lowenfield proposed. The merging of the recent HTH data with the existing NRR is unnecessary. In any case, it is also illegal since the recent HTH data was compiled without the scrutiny of the PPP, a fatal fault. With Justice Singh's decision to end HTH on August 31st, everyone now accepts claims and objections provide the legal remedy to add unregistered persons and to remove any name which is successfully objected to. This would mean the cross matching of and printing of new ID cards for only several thousand of new registrants, not the 370,000 Lowenfield wants.

In any case, the merging would require cross matching with the entire NRR, an impossible feat with the time limits available.

Should Justice Singh seek advice from those who previously conducted elections, she would find that many of the sequential steps Lowenfield identified can be done concurrently and in less time. In fact, the Lowenfield plan for March 2020 can be deflated for elections as soon as November 2019.

Justice Singh must end the conspiracy now.

Sincerely, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

Are PNC-led Coalition government-nominated GECOM Commissioners protecting interest?

Dear Editor,

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he comments by the PNC-led Coalition government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, as captured in the Guyana Chronicle report on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 – captioned ‘No space for polls this year’ – make it clear that the Parliamentary Opposition’s criticisms on the role of the government Commissioners at GECOM are valid.

Vincent Alexander’s maintained demeanor during this uncertain period and comments demonstrate clearly that the primary focus of the government Commissioners at GECOM is to delay General and Regional Elections that should have been held since March 21, 2019 – even as their principal talks about elections being held before the end of the year.

Editor, I was part of the Parliamentary Opposition delegation that met with the full Commission on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, and the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, was pellucid when she stated that the views articulated by the Opposition Leader would be taken into consideration, with a view to having Elections before the end of 2019.

Despite this, Vincent Alexander – happy with elections being delayed until 2020, a full year after it was constitution-

ally due – insists, according to the Guyana Chronicle report, that the GECOM Secretariat’s election timeline has no space for an election this year.

The election activities timelines that gives March 2020 as the election date, which was proposed by the GECOM Secretariat – where elements have clearly been influenced by the likes of Vincent Alexander and others – can only be described as notorious, given the lengthy delays. For example the allocation of 55 days between Nomination Day and Elections Day, when the standard period is 35 days.

The most recent version of the timelines of elections activities contemplate the start of Claims and Objections all the way until November 19, 2019. It also proposes other activities – the necessity of which have been discredited.

Also, only last week, I pointed out that any merger of data from the house-to-house registration with the NRRDB is worrisome for several reasons. Firstly, the merger of the data with the existing National Register of Registrants will contaminate the database and it will may take months to address any such contamination. Secondly, the data gathered is suspect since the gathering of said information was not scrutinized. Thirdly, the form used in the house-to-house registration was not the statutory form required for such a purpose.

Editor, I wish to remind, that since March 2019, a work-

plan was proposed by the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners, which would have seen election activities being run concurrently and concluded in under 60 days. I wish to also remind that the 2015 General and Regional Elections were completed within 71 days of Parliament being dissolved on February 28, 2015.

The logical and simplest way, using a time-tested method, is a move to a Claims and Objections exercise, which would kick off once the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) is extracted from the NRRDB and published.

There is now one question that must be answered. Are the PNC-led Coalition government-nominated GECOM Commissioners, apart from protecting a political interest, protecting some pecuniary interest? Is this the reason that they are actively pushing for constitutionally mandated elections to be delayed further?

I daresay, it is time for the international community focus their attention more closely on elements within the GECOM Secretariat, given what is at stake – Guyana’s standing as a constitutional democracy.

Sincerely, Bishop Juan Edghill, PPP/C Parliamentarian

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Guyana has become a laughing stock among democratic nations Dear Editor,

Will GECOM again prove to be a willing partner in W the political power play Dear Editor,

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t is becoming increasingly apparent that the Constitution of Guyana is worth little more than the paper on which it is written.

At least that is how it is coming across in so far as the current APNU-AFC administration is treating with the provisions of the Constitution as it relates to the no-confidence vote and the rulings of the Caribbean Court of Appeal in its interpretation of the Constitution.

What is playing out today is not entirely new. History will show that the Constitution was always used, conveniently, to subvert democratic rule going back since the elections of 1953, the first under universal adult suffrage.

The PPP won a landslide victory by capturing 18 of the 24 seats. Despite that overwhelming victory, the British Government suspended the Constitution and ejected the popularly elected PPP out of the seat of government after a mere 133 days in office.

An interim government was appointed by the British Government until 1957 when fresh elections were held which were convincingly won by the PPP (Jagan).

In the elections of 1964, in what the former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson described as a “fiddled constitutional arrangement’ the PPP was again engineered out of office despite “having won a plurality of the votes.

Since 1964, several attempts were made by the PNC regime to fiddle with the Constitution to institutionalize minority rule. In 1980, the Constitution was amended to allow for an Executive President and a Minority Leader which positions were held by Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan respectively, albeit in highly flawed elections.

The point I am seeking to make is that Guyana’s problems are essentially political and not ‘constitutional’. The Constitution is used, as in the past, to institutionalise undemocratic rule. At the bottom of it all is the desire of the PNC, now APNU-AFC to perpetuate its life in Government by undemocratic means.

In doing so, it had almost invariably found common cause with the Guyana Elections Commission, with the exception of the post-1992 period when the Commission was reconfigured and revamped, thanks to the intervention of the Carter Centre and other western powers.

History has a way of repeating itself, even in some of the most ingenious ways. Will GECOM again proved to be a willing partner in the political power play?

Is it willing to facilitate free and fair elections within a reasonable time frame given the fact that the elections are already long overdue? Only time will tell.

Sincerely, Hydar Ally

Let the will of the people be done Dear Editor,

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hen Mr Charrandas Persaud voted in favour of the no-confidence motion, he was representing most of us; or, otherwise explained, he was expressing the will of the people who elected him to office. Quite contrary to what is being peddled by the PNC, that that “one man” betrayed his party and, as such, toppled the Government.

This is falsehood at its worst, this erroneous theory as propagandised by the PNC: that one man caused confusion in an otherwise “settled” Government, in his quest to cause division in an otherwise “unity” Government.

It is a very sick joke, if anyone should listen to them. In this regard, they are putting up stout resistance against the no-confidence motion, despite several court orders to the contrary. Their stance on this is that no one man should topple a Government, and as such they will stay in office irrespective of the laws governing a successful no-confidence motion.

Well, they are ever so wrong. Mr Charrandas did not represent a single person, his representation is that of the entire nation, which in this instance is significant of the number 33, which is the majority in

our Parliament. Mr Charrandas’s vote is a reflection of the pulse and heartbeat of the people of this country: that they do not have any faith in the PNC/AFC Coalition. This should have triggered an election ever since.

That did not take place, due to the obstinacy of the PNC, the main partner in the coalition, because they are terrified at the very thought of facing the electorate at this time.

But this is not a battle against the PPP/C or Dr Jagdeo; it is a battle against the people of Guyana, who are being kicked aside at every court case, as the Government use our own taxpayers’ money to fight against the people; billions of dollars of our money. It is outrageous, to say the least, when a Government can fight against its own people.

The PNC-led Coalition is telling the people of Guyana that they have to abide by their rules, regardless. This is naked aggression against the fundamental rights of a people.

However, I must herald the alarm: that, in the final analysis, the very same people will be triumphant, and they will be very severe with those who were stifling their decision to express themselves in regard to whoever governs them.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

hile Guyanese are battling to force an errant Government to comply with crystal clear language of their Constitution, their supreme law; to obey Orders emanating from the highest Court in their judicial hierarchical structure; and, to extract from its elections body, a clear signal that it is prepared to carry out its fundamental constitutional duty to hold elections that are long lawfully overdue, the world is witnessing, at the other end of the democratic spectrum, the citizens of one of the oldest democracy on earth, the United Kingdom, being allowed to freely exercise their rights and freedoms and in so doing, stretching the institutions of democracy of that nation to its elastic limits.

The contrast is indeed a graphic illustration of the difference between civilization and its lack thereof.

It is ironical that this constitutional and democratic revolution unfolding in the UK was triggered by certain legal proceedings initiated by a Guyanese-born UK citizen, Gina Miller, formerly Gina Singh, the daughter of Doodnauth Singh SC, former Attorney General of Guyana. In 2017, the UK Government attempted to trigger Article 50 of the European Union Treaty to initiate the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. The Government felt that it could use the recognised Prerogative Power to make and un-make treaties, to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval. Ms. Miller, etched her name radiantly across the canvas of European history by challenging the legality of this initiative. In short, the Supreme Court (UK) ruled that it would not be legal for the Government to use Prerogative Powers to trigger Article 50: instead, primary legislation was required. In other words, the process must receive the sanction of Parliament. The groundbreaking nature of this ruling is beyond the scope of this article to examine. Suffice to say, that Ms. Miller, by her legal challenge shook the very foundation of the Royal Prerogative, which was just a few decades prior, believed to be beyond the scope of judicial review and has further entrenched the supremacy and sanctity of the British Parliament.

Over the past two weeks, the UK has experienced a series of profound constitutional actions, encompassing an interplay between the Crown, the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary, which have portrayed constitutional actors discharging their lawful duties, in respect of an unwritten Constitution with the highest form of integrity and adhering to constitutional doctrines, such as the Separation of Powers, Independence of the Judiciary and the Will of Parliament with deserving rectitude. Comparatively, it makes us in Guyana look like a society now emerging from Thomas Hobbes’ “State of Nature”.

The ongoing revolution has already gobbled up Prime Minister, Theresa May, who resigned voluntarily and without any political rancor, after failing to muster support, in Parliament, for her position on Brexit. With the same political ease, Boris Johnson, was appointed Prime Minister, after winning the internal contest within the Conservative Party. He did so upon the platform promise that he will deliver Brexit by October 31, 2019. Recognizing now that he will not get parliamentary support to do so, he has pe-

titioned the Queen to prorogue Parliament.

The Queen acceded to his request and it is still to be seen whether he will effect the prorogation later this month.

Juxtapose these constitutional processes against what obtains in Guyana and one gets a vivid picture of the humungous differences that exist in political behaviour between these two nations. Prime Minister May did not hesitate to resign when she lost parliamentary support. It was done contemporaneously. Ten months after our Government lost parliamentary support in a No-Confidence Motion, the Cabinet, including the President, refuses to resign and the President refuses to dissolve the Parliament and fix a date for elections, as is mandated by our Constitution.

Instead, he proffered the baseless excuse that he must await the “readiness” of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) before he does so. In 2014, President Donald Ramotar invoked a provision in the Constitution and prorogued the Parliament. The then Opposition begun to masquerade in an unschooled frenzy, shouting prorogation is “unconstitutional” and “undemocratic”.

Strangely, they managed to so persuade the diplomatic community, who imposed unrelenting consequential pressure upon the Ramotar Administration. In Britain, it is not that the prorogation was not met with dissent, but the civilized option of challenging it in the Judiciary is currently being pursued. A challenge in the Scottish Court was already heard and the Court upheld the legality of the prorogation. Gina Miller launched proceedings in the High Court of England which has also upheld the right to prorogue and the matter will now be heard by the Supreme Court..

In the meanwhile, Ministers are resigning from Cabinet and Government MPs are crossing the floor daily– another classic example of democracy, freedom and sovereignty at work. I have not heard or read a single allegation of “betrayal” or “treachery” or “bribery” that were barbarically made in Guyana, when Charrandass Persaud, exercised his constitutional right of freedom of conscience and voted against his own Party, on the 21st December 2018.

Prime Minister Johnson has boldly asserted a desire to go to the polls in October, before Parliament votes on Brexit. However, his only hurdle was an amendment to a legislation, which fixes elections to be held at five-year intervals. He needed to amend that law. On the 4th September, he failed in a bid to do so. Many of his own MPs voted against him – another instance of freedom within the Parliament. However, were he successful, elections would have been held in October.

That would have given the elections commission of that country just one month’s notice.

Yet, that body would have been ready to hold those elections, in relation to an electorate spanning dozens of millions. In Guyana, after ten months’ notice, with an electorate of just over half of a million, our elections commission is still not ready.

Justifiably, we have become a laughing stock. No wonder some Guyanese continue to question whether independence from Great Britain, so valiantly struggled for by so many, was a step in the right direction.

Yours faithfully, Anil Nandlall

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Another election ruse?

Dear Editor,

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aving issued no Amerindian land titles nor extensions since coming to office in May 2015, the Department of Public Information's announcement on September 6th that the " Cabinet has given the green light for absolute grants of land titles for eight indigenous communities" must be met with a huge dose of cynicism.

After all this is a decision of a President and Cabinet that has "stood resigned" since December 21, 2018 according to Article 106 (6) and (7) of our Constitution and upheld by the Caribbean Court of Justice on June 18th and July 12th 2019. Therefore under what authority will the President sign such absolute grants and titles when the Caribbean Court of Justice explicitly ruled in its consequential orders of July 12th that the government would be a caretaker government with restricted legal authority?

The same release goes on to refer to the "establishment of legal boundaries" and names four communities--Parabara, Rockstone, Tasaarene and Kangaruma.

Interesting choice of words. Does this mean that the illegal Cabinet is commencing the demarcation of these communities and therefore the DPI is misinforming and misleading the public and the Amerindian communities that "absolute grants of land titles" are being issued?

Without the no confidence vote and the growing demand for elections now long overdue elections since March 21, 2019, the caretaker government would not have moved an inch to issue any absolute grants.

This last minute ditch to win votes in Amerindian communities during Amerindian Heritage Month is just an election gimmick.

One must remember that the PPP/C Government left US$10M for Amerindian Land Titling. Over the past 4 years the PPP/C has repeatedly raised the issue of no titles and extensions being granted in the National Assembly, in the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, and in many other fora to no avail. The National Toshaos Council also repeatedly raised this

issue to no avail over these four years. Individual communities have also raised their outstanding applications for extensions and titles with the government to no avail.

This new election gimmick is like another recent announcement of the removal of the 14% VAT for hinterland passengers travelling to interior locations. Following this announcement the GRA issued a list of 54 airstrips where the VAT would not apply.

However with the exception of Kamarang, few flights if any ever go to the other 53 airstrips, maybe only a charter here and there. For example, no planes have gone to the listed airstrips in region 9 for years with the exception of RAMS. This is another election ruse by a caretaker government and we should expect and witness many more to come.

The Guyanese people remember the plethora of promises of decriminalizing marijuana and amending the sentencing for small quantities, the promise of 20% salary increases for public servants and teachers, just to name a few. All are “broken promises.”

In the 2019 Amerindian Heritage month celebrating the first peoples of Guyana, the APNUAFC is once again trying to fool our Amerindian peoples again.

On September 10th, Amerindian Heritage Day, in honour of the first elected Amerindian Member of Parliament, Mr. Stephen Campbell, the caretaker President and his large entourage accompanied by its “green cheerleading brigade” will descend on the Riverview community. Do not be surprised if another election gimmick is announced and “goodies” distributed.

No matter what the caretaker government promises at this stage, nothing, however, can remove the fact that the electorate recognises knows that this caretaker government is petrified to face the electorate.

Within a few days, on September 18, 2019 the caretaker government will be illegal.

Sincerely Gail Teixeira

Caretaker APNU+ AFC Coalition gov’t must know they can buy time but not morality Dear Editor,

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he abundance of conspiracy theories notwithstanding, one particular view attracted my attention recently.

Ralph Ramkarran in his recent ‘Conversation Tree’ column (S/N 8.9.’19) put forward what could be considered the most plausible possibility thus far. This is how he put it: ‘At the current estimated date of March, only two more months are needed for the government’s five-year anniversary, by which time all those seeking citizenship will probably have their applications granted.’ Implicit in Ramkarran’s theory is his take that time and space is critical for the APNU+AFC. That the coalition needs time to make campaign space for themselves, and time to allow for the maturing of calendar dates for non-nationals to be qualified for citizenship and, by extension, the right of passage to vote at what some have baptized the ‘Mother of all Elections.’

In essence, what this means is, if there is to be rigging, then it will be done with a modicum of sophistication that will make detection possible but a challenge highly improbable.

The APNU+ AFC must know they can buy time but not morality.

It has long been suspected that the Department of Citizenship under the Ministry of the Presidency has been engaged in shenanigans aimed at operationalizing what can be described as a ‘Citizenship for Votes’ operation.

In the circumstances, in order to appear clean and legal, this type of concocted citizenship can, or may have been facilitated via ‘Late Regis-tration’ in collaboration with the GRO; Arranged marriages and CARICOM Free Movement of Skills Certificates to facilitate ‘Indefinite Stay’.

Needless to say, each of the application processes mentioned earlier can be circumvented within the meaning of the Guyana Citizenship Act, Cap 14:01 Section 7 (2) which states inter alia: ‘The Minister shall not be required to assign any reason for the exercise of any discretionary power confirmed on him as to the registering as a citizen, the naturalizing or certifying the Citizenship of any person and no exercise of any such power shall be subject to appeal or review in any court.’

Clearly, this is not conspiratorial, it is objectively, a dangerous discretionary power the APNU +AFC has in its arsenal of weapons that we know of, and can be utilized at this point in time to reap a bountiful harvest of

supposedly legal votes.

But as the plot thickens, the refusal by the previous Chairman of GECOM and, what appears to be the line of march of the current chairperson not to entertain any involvement of international elections experts at key and critical levels of the elections machinery is tantamount to a conspiracy between the government appointed members of the commission, the CEO and the coalition administration.

Ms. Singh has to make sure she does not become trapped in this conspiratorial vortex.

The situation is made no better since, with every passing day, public perception seem to be growing stronger to the effect that the GECOM chairperson appears to be tiptoeing around the laws of Guyana.

Guyanese who want to see a change of government have a right to ventilate their views on any move they consider suspicious or conspiratorial on the part of government especially when it comes to elections.

This brings us to the big question of trust.

There is no doubt that the APNU+AFC coalition administration has lost whatever the level of trust it reaped before May 2015 and during the honeymoon period immediately thereafter.

Leading members of the coalition have from time to time, either lied, covered-up or thrown dust in the eyes of the electorate.

From day one of the regime’s assumption to office the nation was lied to justifying the humongous increases in salaries and allowances to the newly minted cabinet ministers.

This was followed by the drug bond and the D’Urban Park fiascos, the unexplainable sole-sourcing of drugs for the GPHC and the more recent freeing of the crime chief of corruption charges, a move that reeks of political interference from the highest level.

The APNU+ AFC interim administration is yet to learn that trust will not be gained from an already frustrated electorate who have grown tired of promises of a ’good life’ and empty rhetoric about being ‘on the right path’.

So long as the interim administration continues with its shady and conspiratorial dealings, the electorate will grow restless and at some point in time, a crescendo of voices clamouring, ‘We the People’ will shake the foundations on which the interim administration now stands.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee

Elections delay wearing Guyanese people’s patience thin Dear Editor,

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he Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) is deeply concerned regarding the continued delay in the hosting of National and Regional Elections in our country. It is a now well-known fact that elections ought to have been held nearly six months ago. The reality is that today we are really no closer to the hosting of the elections.

From recent media reports, we learnt that elections possibly can be held in March 2020, one year after they were constitutionally due.

This has to be a record of sorts, we believe.

The FITUG is conscious that, among other things, the elections deadline slipped because of what has been recognised as a baseless case challenging the legality of the No-Confidence Motion. While it is opined that the unnecessary and costly pursuance of the legal gymnastics was one of the means to delay the inevitable, the Guyanese people, notwithstanding the clarity they have on the matter, are today being denied their inalien-

able constitutional right to exercise their franchise in free and fair elections. We hasten to remind, again, that this right was won out of the struggles of the Guyanese working people.

The Federation has seen and heard of several of the rationales regarding the reason(s) for the protracted delay in the hosting of elections. While we will refrain from offering a specific comment, we well recognise there seems to be more than what meets the eye. The delays have, undoubtedly, caused us and many Guyanese to be anxious and apprehensive. And, the continued delays have only served to heighten anxiety and worry.

At this time, when several important national matters remain unaddressed, the bedrock of our democratic foundation, it appears, is being taken for granted by those who hold the reins of power and authority. This is neither in our interest or well-being and can well set a very negative precedent for the future.

The FITUG is aware that, over the years, huge sums have been allocated to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to improve

the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness. Apart from State support, friendly and supportive bodies have also lent their assistance and expertise to improving the functioning of the electoral body, undoubtedly, in recognition of the important role it plays in our country. It is, therefore, for us, a great disappointment that the body, it seems, is unable to get its act togetheewr and undertake its significant function in upholding our nation’s democracy through elections that are free and fair and free from fear as well. Indeed, as Stabroek News reported on September 9, the conduct of elections with acceptable outcomes within a short space of time is not outside of the remit of the electoral body. It obviously brings into question what is preventing GECOM from repeating past feats on this occasion.

Our constitutional clock is essentially now beyond the midnight hour and yet we continue to hear excuse after excuse being invoked. Undoubtedly, the patience of all right-thinking Guyanese has worn thin and

the need for credible elections within a short space of time cannot be underscored. The unnecessary procrastination has caused us too much time and the need for further delay cannot be excused. At this time, it is our view that the use of the House-to-House data remains questionable at best and really should be set aside. Certainly, the time-tested Claims and Objections remains the best approach to address non-registered, eligible voters.

The FITUG, at this time, looks to the new Chairperson of the Commission, Justice (retired) Claudette Singh to take decisive action.

The Chairperson had publicly committed to upholding the law, which has been dissected in recent times, and for which the consequences are now as clear as day. Continued temporising by the Chairperson is not in our country’s interest and we look to her to live up to her “Iron Lady” moniker.

Sincerely, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana

7

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Lincoln Lewis continues to peddle misleading notions Dear Editor,

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he GAWU cannot fail to address the several contentions raised by Mr Lincoln Lewis in his letter that appeared in the September 06 editions of the Kaieteur News (I remain steadfast in my commitment, regardless of political season or leadership), Guyana Chronicle (Accountability must not be selective), and Stabroek News (It was the Jagdeo gov’t that initiated the closure of Diamond, LBI sugar fields) as he sought to offer a response to our letter which appeared in several sections of the media on September 05, 2019.

Mr Lewis begins by charging that we are engaged in deception. We wonder how such a charge can be levelled in the first place. All we have done is to merely point to relevant facts in order to bring clarity to issues raised

by Mr Lewis in the first place. The apparent admonishment, in our view, is misplaced and certainly has no basis.

We are told that by the letter writer that the closure of the Diamond factory in 1985 did not, as a consequence, mean that the estate was closed. It appears to us however, that Mr

Lewis did not carefully consider our letter.

We evidently pointed out that, apart from the factory closure, that a significant section of the then Diamond Estate cultivation was abandoned as all the canes could not have been processed at the next closest factory located at LBI. What essentially remained in the post-1985 period was a shell of the former Diamond Estate. The GAWU hastens to point out too that we did not say we endorsed the decision to close the remaining section of Diamond Estate.

Turning to LBI, the GAWU shared in its letter the circumstances which led to the decision to close the LBI factory. If we, or anyone for that matter, are to go by Mr Lewis’ logic, the closure of the factory ought not to be indicative of the closure of the estate.

Recall, the letter writer posited that the estate is comprised of several elements of which the factory is one. In the instance of LBI, this was indeed the case. The former GuySuCo Human Resources Director, Jairam Petam, who was a central figure in the process, in a letter appearing in the April 27, 2016 Kaieteur News pointed out that “…discussions with the Unions [GAWU and NAACIE]

was restricted to the mergers of the LBI & Enmore factories”. Mr Petam went on to say “…meetings… focused on the redeployment of workers from LBI to Enmore, criteria for early retirement, payment of holiday with pay for LBI workers and the interviewing process with each employee”. Clearly, as Mr Petam points out, the intention was solely regarding the closure of the LBI factory.

Thus, the argument that closure of the factory was the precursor to the closure of the LBI estate holds little water and credence for that matter. It is clear as day that the sole and only intention in 2011 regarded the factory.

As Mr Petam said in his letter the Union was assured “…that only the [LBI] factory will be affected by the merger…”. Moreover, the cultivation and other operations at LBI remained intact until 2016 when the Corporation decided that it needed to ‘consolidate’ LBI and Enmore’s operations. Of course the so-called ‘consolidation’ was short-lived as Enmore estate was closed just a year later and thousands put on the breadline.

Again, Mr Lewis contends that if the Union had engaged Minister Ramjattan as a consequence it was the workers engaging the erstwhile gentleman as well. However, the reality is that Minister Ramjattan was not engaged by the GAWU; it was Senior Counsel Ashton Chase who acted on the Union and workers behalf. It would have been hypocritical, if not asinine, for the Union to engage the now Minister. At that time, the GAWU had taken the now Minister before the Courts regarding untrue statements he made about the Union while on television. Minister Ramjattan’s involvement was rather stoked by what we deemed his rank opportunism. While he did commit to some workers of Diamond that he would represent their case, he did not fulfill that commitment. As we pointed out previously, he confessed to us that he couldn’t have seen the relevant section in the law to buttress the workers right to severance. Mr Lewis’ talk of ludicrousness is rather unfortunate.

We did not, at any time, fail to acknowledge Mr Lewis’ support to the recent struggles of the sugar workers. We and the workers are very appreciative for his stance and support as we, like him, seek to build workers and union solidarity. GAWU, as the writer well knows, has been steadfastly calling for and supportive of all efforts regarding closer worker/union collaboration and co-operation. At the same time, we cannot ignore the reality that different approaches to the sugar workers plight have been taken. We too cannot fail to point out that our Union and the workers together with their families went to great lengths and suffered great pains to ensure that their lawful rights were respected and to ensure that justice was served. In calling for accountability we must be fearless in calling a spade a spade and reading the obvious tea leaves.

Mr Lewis, who seems to describe himself as a Man for All Seasons, has charged us of seeking to absolve our so-called ‘masters’. As he well knows, we serve no master and we have stood and are standing with the workers whose interest we must protect and advance.

Certainly, in defense of their interest we cannot idly stand by nor meekly countenance any wrong notwithstanding the perpetrator. It is, undoubtedly, our bounden duty to speak up and speak out regarding decisions or actions which violate the meaning and spirit of our Constitution or any other law for that matter as they affect the well-being and welfare of the Guyanese people, who are largely comprised of the working-people and their families.

Finally, Mr Lewis is also well aware of our stance regarding exploitation of workers, protection of the environment and exploitation of our natural resources. We have not changed, our commitment to workers remains firm.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine, GAWU General Secretary

To succeed the people must stand-up against the corrupt, uncaring APNU+AFC cabal Dear Editor,

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he nature of the PNC/APNU+AFC is unfolding before our very eyes. They are dismantling all the democratic gains made since 1992 and have created an illegal government in our country. Indeed this elite group has resorted to the same type of governance as was done between 1964 -1992.

It must be no surprise to anyone that the governing elite has accumulated huge fortunes in the short period in power. Apart from the newfound wealth, they seem to get a strange delight in wielding power over the people more akin to a feudal lord ruling over his/her peasants.

To stay in power to protect their ill-gotten gains and to increase it even more, this clique is destroying and emasculating all of our more important state institutions.

It is succeeding because many persons in the Public Service, including in Constitutional institutions, are either in cahoots with the clique and therefore part of the elite, or are afraid to stand up for the rights of our people. The clique that wields power is most likely using a combination of threats and bribes to obtain results that it wants from our “independent” offices.

That is the only explanation that makes any sense as we examine events unfolding since this clique seized power in May 2015.

Let us take, for instance, the decision of the GECOM to merge the data from the House to House Registration with the present clean voters’ list, that gave us elections in 2015 and later, Local Government elections. What is the purpose of this and where is it taking us?

It is clear that by undertaking such an exercise, the whole present verified list would be contaminated and therefore made unsuitable for elections. It could be so deliberately damaged

that elections could be postponed for years.

This is precisely what the PNC did in 1990 when elections were supposed to have been held. They messed up the list so badly that it was rendered useless. To correct that, a new house to house registration had to be done. That gave the PNC two extra years in power! This is what it appears they want to repeat.

Without doubt, the PNC has put its rigging machinery in full swing.

The house to house registration of 2019 was an illegal act. I say this boldly because even though I am not a lawyer, I was a member of the National Assembly in 2007 when, in order to do house to house registration, the National Registration Act had to be amended. That was done by amendment 31 of 2007. That amendment stated that data compiled was the basis for continuous Registration.

The National Assembly made no further amendments to that Act since then. Therefore, the latest house to house Registration was illegal.

Moreover, the law states that any such exercise must be supervised by the Elections Commission. The staff that is recruited to accomplish that task must be chosen by the Commission, not by the Chief Elections Officer.

Since the Commission was not functioning then, that exercise was not done by the Commission, not in accordance with the law, thus on those two further counts it was illegal.

According to the law, any person who is registered twice is breaking the law. It is a criminal act with penalty of imprisonment. The illegal staff was conducting an illegal activity when they ventured to register persons another time.

The only proper thing to do with the data compiled by GECOM “staff” is to discard it. It must not be allowed to contaminate a list that

has been verified, and a good basis for holding elections after a Claims and Objections period.

Trying to merge it is to pursue the plans of the PNC/APNU which is unfolding in the glare of the public. The PNC/APNU+AFC clique is doing its darnedest to frustrate the will of the Guyanese people.

I have stated before that the sole purpose of establishing a Ministry of Citizenship was to rig elections, to perpetuate themselves in power.

Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the PNC/APNU knows that they are specialized in corruption, including corrupting elections.

They have the most experience, the world’s best riggers, without a doubt.

From the beginning they decided that they would use the state to enrich themselves and to stay in power by foul means, including criminal acts.

How else can we explain the total insensitivity of increasing their salaries by 50% and allowances by an unknown rate? What was the logic in the massive dismissal of Indian and Amerindian Guyanese from the public service?

How can we understand the dismissal of workers in forestry and the more than two hundred tax measures placed on our people, including the small and medium scale producers in Mining and Agriculture? This is only a few of the outrages they have committed.

Clearly they are not looking to have people to support them, because they have established a rigging machinery from the beginning with the intent of staying in power without a mandate from our people.

The PNC APNU/AFC operation was disrupted by the No Confidence Motion.

The main aspect of that operation was to use immigration to give themselves some more seats. This is an operation financed by APNU,

most likely using state funds. That is why we can be sure that they would destroy the Audit Office or staff it with loyal PNC activists Who is paying for the air tickets for these people? These are people given jobs as watchmen and cleaners in this country, it is logical to assume that if they come here to do menial jobs they could not afford an air ticket. I was recently told that Haitians are boarding the plane in Panama with Guyana Passports. How and where did they get those passports?

Added to this is the fact that they are given special attention/privilege at the CJIA and transported in buses to their destinations in Guyana.

The fingerprint of the PNC is all over this operation, it stinks to high heaven.

This is blatant exploitation of poor Black people for the further enrichment of the PNC elite. It will result in degradation and poverty of all Guyanese, including those being recruited now. What a tragic turn of history!

This PNC elite will be judged harshly. It is also a massive operation of trafficking in persons and given legal covering by the regime. A more naked political prostitution is hard to imagine!

The PNC/APNU/AFC while mouthing nationalist slogans really do not care a damn about the people of this country. All they want is to continue enriching themselves at the nation’s expense. This is a real recipe for disaster. This diabolical plan must be frustrated!

To succeed the people must stand-up against the regime. They must make their voices heard!

Moreover, they must demand that some persons in Constitutional offices stop kowtowing to the PNC, straighten their backs, and prevent another tragedy from visiting our country.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar, Former President

8

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

From the desk of Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo...

Guyana Under Review Several issues were addressed a weekly news conference held by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday (September 12, 2019), including the Parliamentary Opposition’s continued engagements with the diplomatic corps, the wanton and excessive spending of the current caretaker government and escalation of borrowing that is taking place, among other issue.

Rapid levels Campaign of misinformation ongoing of borrowing A worrying ‒ calls for comprehensive crime wave CoI continues to be ignored

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urrent levels of borrowing by the current caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government is more rapid than what took place prior to 1992 under the then People’s National Congress (PNC) government, according to Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

During his weekly news conference, on Thursday (September 12, 2019), he decried the current state of affairs, noting that the Coalition government is increasing Guyana’s indebtedness, while there is no corresponding development or benefits

flowing to the Guyanese people.

At the end of 2018, the total stock of government’s public debt increased by 1.5 per cent, representing 43.9 per cent of GDP, with the stock of external debt increasing by 5.5 percent and accounting for 33.9 per cent of GDP. The External debt service payments increased by 27.7 per cent to US$78 million from US$61 million in 2017. This represented 5.1 percent of export earnings and 7.5 percent of Central Government’s current revenue.

In the first quarter of 2019, Bank of Guyana reported a decline of 4.1 per cent in the stock of external public debt, resulting mainly from lower bilateral debt stock by 10.4 percent or US$52 million. This outcome was primarily as a result of a US$50.7 million debt cancellation from Kuwait during the first quarter of 2019. The External debt service payments rose by 2.8 percent to US$25 million due mostly to higher principal and interest payments to multilateral creditors.

s the state-owned Guyana Chronicle continues to serialize reports from the period of “APNU inspired violence” the call for a comprehensive Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the crime wave of the 2000’s was reiterated by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Noting the continued publications, he, during his Thursday (September 12, 2019) news conference, charged that the motive of such reportage is clear – that is to mislead Guyanese.

“There is an entire campaign of misinformation that is ongoing,” he declared.

For over a year now, Jagdeo has been repeating his call for a comprehensive CoI to be done – calls that have fallen on deaf ears of those in the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) led APNU+AFC Coalition.

In July 2019, he said, “We have no problem with any inquiry…this government has had four years plus to do this and they refused

to.”

The Opposition Leader maintains that the David Granger-led Government would not approve such an inquiry because of the damning findings that will very likely be exposed.

Notably, Jagdeo had also repeated the willingness of the Parliamentary Opposition to work with the APNU+AFC Coalition Government to craft the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for a comprehensive CoI and to select credible commissioners. He charged that in this way, no political party can claim that the other is trying to secure “political mileage” from the findings of the CoI. “Let’s find out the truth,” he said, referring to the devastating incidents at Agricola, Lusignan and Bartica.

Jagdeo had decried Granger’s decision to “cherry pick” incidents for investigation, as was done with the Lindo Creek CoI. Jagdeo said the comprehensive Commission of In-

quiry into the crime wave should start with the escape of prisoners in 2002 and also seeks to inquire about the political players in incidents subsequent to the jailbreak, as well as seek to ascertain how army weapons ended up in the hands of criminals. “They can also look at the role of drug dealers and whether the drug dealers had links to the government,” he had said, referring to the criticism repeated by members of the PNC-led Coalition Government, regarding Roger Khan.

Jagdeo added, “…it (a comprehensive CoI) is not going to happen because some of the players are now huge in the current Government.”

The Opposition Leader added that if there was a “real” CoI – a comprehensive review of the crime wave – several persons in the Coalition government, including Government Ministers, would be “really” uncomfortable.

$2B of tax dollars being spent on campaign outreaches W Year

External Debt

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

1,143,086 1,162,488 1,247,916 1,322,060 1,267,810

TAXES As the Coalition’s borrowing continues, the tax burden on Guyanese is also

(US$ Thousand)

on the rise. Over the last four years, revenue collected from taxes have been on the constant rise, which is

indicative of an increasing tax burden on the citizens of Guyana.

At the end of 2018, revenue collected from taxes amounted to $198.51B, which is an increase of $63.2B from the year 2014, under the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

In 2015, Guyana’s tax burden was 24.8 per cent.

The tax burden is expected to increase further in 2019, with revenue from taxes forecasted at $223.58B.

ith growing criticisms about the levels of government spending on ‘outreaches’, Opposition Leader, Bharrat, charged that at least $2B of taxpayers’ monies are being spent on activities that are “meaningless” to the Guyanese people.

He added that while the activities are being billed as ‘outreaches’, partisan political campaign work is also being done. Jagdeo also raised concerns about the corruption involved in spending on these activities as well.

Last Friday (September 6, 2019) when pressed on the spending, Director General of the Ministry

of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, said, “These were matters which had been budgeted for in the 2019 budget. Therefore these are budgeted expended… you will find it in all of the ministries. I can’t tell you what line item it is, but it is in the budget…these are not extra-budgetary expenses.

The costs associated with these outreaches are part of our budget.

However, aside from budgeted sums from local travel by government officials, there is no other budgetary allocation of ‘outreaches’ in Budget 2019.

Notably, though in a

$7.962B financial paper that the Coalition took to Parliament earlier this year – monies in addition to the billions approved in Budget 2019 – provisions were made for ministerial outreaches. Those were expected to cost at least another $300M. A total of $800M of the $7.962B was earmarked to pay the judgment awarded to Dipcon, as well as cover the costs associated with Ministerial outreaches. However, the Dipcon monies (about $500M) were never paid over, raising concerns as to whether the entire $800M was spent on ministerial outreaches.

9

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

From the desk of Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo...

Guyana Under Review Several issues were addressed a weekly news conference held by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday (September 12, 2019), including the Parliamentary Opposition’s continued engagements with the diplomatic corps, the wanton and excessive spending of the current caretaker government and escalation of borrowing that is taking place, among other issue.

Claims and Objections Carter Center meeting addressed is ‘time-tested’ exercise constitutional compliance to facilitate Elections A ‒ only logical way forward

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omments made by Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, saw him coming in for blows by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, during his weekly news conference on Thursday (September 12, 2019).

Harmon, last Friday (September 6, 2019), said, “We have heard statements from the Opposition that they can do this and that they can do that. Let them take that information to the elections commission and the let the commission interrogate it to see what you will find….my information from one of the commissioners is that the process suggested by the PPP will take an even longer time that what GECOM is suggesting.”

Jagdeo pointed out that the position of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has been expounded on repeatedly.

He reiterated that the call has been for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat to address an election timeline that starts with the extraction and publication of a Preliminary List of Elections and move into a Claims and Objections exercise.

GECOM itself has said that a Claims and Objections exercise will: Allow any eligible Guyanese who has reached the age of 18-years-old to be registered if their name is not on the Voters’ List; Allow any eligible Guyanese to get a transfer from one voting district to another, in the event that they changed their place of residence; Allow any eligible Guyanese to do a name change; Allow for the removal of a dead person from the Voters’ List; and Allow for objections to be made to the name of someone not eligible to be on the Voters List.

Instead, the GECOM Secretariat has proposed to complete the production of re-designed identification cards and the cross-matching of fingerprints of the 370,000 persons that the Secretariat claims were registered during the now scrapped house-to-house registration. Thereafter, there is a proposed plan to merge the data garnered from the house-to-house registration with the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB).

Jagdeo has made it clear that the production of new re-designed identification cards is unnecessary, the cross-matching of

fingerprints of the 70,000 persons that the Secretariat claims were registered is problematic and the merger of data from the house-tohouse registration with NRRDB will create a host of challenges that could delay elections preparation and the holding of Elections, which should have been held since March 21, 2019, future.

On the latter, he said, “We argued that you cannot merge the two database…they want to merge the NRR with something that is now being created now because, as a week ago, they only inputted 120,000 of the 370,000 persons they said were registered. ….if they do that you will have duplicate registrants. “….the purpose of using any data from the house-to-house registration would be to identify the people who are new registrants… they system they are using will now allow us to identify who the new people are….by law only the new registrants can be added to the NRRDB. “So why take three months to find out who the new registrants are, spending millions of Guyana dollars to do this, when you can move to a Claims and Objections exercise….the only inconvenience is that the persons who are first time registrants will have to come back in during the Claims and Objections to register…this way we can do better verification and it could be completed in a shorter time period The Opposition Leader questioned whether there was a sinister motive for resisting the time-tested method of Claims and Objections.

meeting between the Carter Center and a Parliamentary Opposition, led by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Monday (September 9, 2019) was productive, according to him.

During his Thursday (September 12, 2019) news conference he noted that the issues that were discussed included the conduct of early elections and constitutional compliance.

“I will continue to engage the international community,” he said.

Jagdeo and a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) team met with the Carter Center earlier this year.

Commenting on that meeting, Jagdeo had said, “We welcomed the meeting and we’re pleased that they’ve shown continued interest in the governance issues in Guyana, particularly free and fair elections. We also used to the opportunity to outline our perspective on how the matters are evolving.”

He added that the Carter Center was informed that the APNU+AFC Coalition Government seems “hell bent” on violating the Constitution of Guyana. “I told them that there is almost no respect for the [High] Court’s decision and that Government is operating in a manner and have made

public pronouncements that it is ‘business as usual’.

There has been no good faith effort made by this Government to meet the constitutional deadline and that they are pushing us into a constitutional crisis once the March 19 deadline expires,” Jagdeo said He added, “…we’ve been having regular meetings with the international community and I know that they are very concerned with the developments in Guyana and I believe that at the appropriate time, stronger views will be expressed.”

The Carter Center team has also met with other stakeholders in the political arena this week.

Greater international presence needed at GECOM

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call for greater international presence at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was made by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday (September 12, 2019).

Responding to questions during his weekly news conference, he stressed that having international presence is vital in hosting free and fair elections in Guyana.

He pointed out that the former Chairman of the Commission, Justice (Retired) James Patterson and government-aligned commissioners, failed to follow up on requests made by the United Nations (UN) in the past, to assist the commission in its work.

Jagdeo said, “Before 2014, we had international staff imbedded in the commission. The APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) Commissioners and the

Chairman that was there, Mr. Patterson, requested help from the UN [and] when the UN said no house-to-house registration, they refused.

The UN tried to meet with them several times, they refused to meet. Until now, that offer is there on the table.”

Noting that elements at GECOM, the GECOM Secretariat included, are acting in an unconventional manner, he charged that this demands “another pair of eyes” to ensure that all the processes are above board.

Jagdeo also chided the current caretaker president, David Granger, for not actively pushing for also. “If the president is concerned about credible elections, how come he is not making the case that we can get a lot of international help, etcetera.

They [government] don’t want that, but the commission – the independent com-

mission – should seek international help immediately to look at polling day activities, to look at the integrity of the Voters’ List [and] the tabulation process,” he said.

The Opposition Leader pointed out too that some international bodies, including the Commonwealth and the UN, and several bilateral donors, have communicated their willingness to assist, and are just “waiting for the request”. He said, “In fact, they have said this to me, that they are prepared to assist the commission in ensuring credible elections…When I met with the international community – this was a few months back – I asked if that offer [to assist] is still on the table, and they said yes, the offer is still on the table.

Since then I’ve spoken to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, and other bilateral donors.”

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

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

‘Rouge’ GECOM Secretariat cannot be allowed to undermine democratic process

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he latest press statement issued by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat – captioned ‘Decisions of the Commission has placed Nominations Day earlier than usual - No ‘Lengthy Gap’ – is another manifestation of the lengths to which it will go to justify delaying General and Regional Elections, which ought to have been held since March 21, 2019.

The ‘runaway’ Secretariat continues to invent reasons for lengthy timelines (for which it has been called out by the local media corps) that were included in its notorious election activities plan that envisages Elections being held until March 2020 – a full

year past the constitutionally mandated deadline.

Further, the statement from the GECOM Secretariat comes as a surprise, given that, minutes before its release, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, along with his team, concluded a meeting with the full Commission, where positive signals were sent on the timeline for Elections. It is as though elements at the Secretariat were not pleased with this outcome.

Notably, the statement was also issued before the conclusion of today’s statutory meeting involving the

GECOM Chairperson and the six GECOM Commissioners, where key issues were addressed.

This is the fourth statement issued by the GECOM Secretariat that has either included errors or has touted positions akin to those held by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) led caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government.

The PPP is of the view that the ‘rogue’ GECOM Secretariat cannot be allowed to undermine the process that would allow for constitutional compliance and adherence to the rulings and orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). (September 10, 2019)

WPO condemns APNU+AFC appointed REO’s attack on Region 2 Vice-Chairwoman

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he Women’s Progressive Organisation condemns the recent physical and verbal onslaught on the Vice-Chairwoman of Regional #2, Ms. Nandranie Coojah and calls on the government to stop the harassment and victimization of political elected women and professional women in Guyana.

Since 2015, several women have suffered emotionally, financially and in this case, verbally and physically by the Granger’s Caretaker government and in this specific case at the hands of the REO of Region #2. While this matter was reported to the police station at Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast and is under investigation, the WPO will be paying keen interest to how the Guyana Police Force will be handling this issue of harassment, physical and verbal abuse.

Women in Guyana is more than 50% of our population, and in the last three decades, women’s empowerment and gender equality have been gradually climbing to the fore of the national agenda. On March 8, 2016, the Caretaker President, Mr. Granger, at the

International Women’s Day celebrations at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, committed his government to achieve women’s equality in governance of 50/50 by 2030 as recommended in the SDGs. In contravention to this commitment, the APNU+AFC politically appointed and directed official continues to indiscriminately violate the rights of this elected women to political office.

Reports received during the past 4 years suggest that the REO and his predecessors have used the powers of their office to discriminate, victimize and harass Ms. Coonjah, who is an elected member and Vice-Chairwoman of the Regional Democratic Council, Region #2. It was said that the REOs have deliberately sabotaged the Vice-Chairwoman from effectively performing her duties by not providing her office with the necessary entitled amenities, which includes a vehicle and a driver. The Minister of Communities was written regarding the REOs blatant disregard for the rule of law, gender equality and gender equity.

WPO is concerned about

the continuous harassment at the place of work and remind those in authority that Guyana is a signatory to the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that speaks to gender equality of 50/50 by 2030 and several other conventions that speaks to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Nandranie Coonjah is a member of the Central Committee, Secretariat and is the Assistant General Secretary of the WPO. Further, Ms. Coonjah is a Commissioner on the Women and Gender Equality Commission with responsibility for Regions #2, #5 and #6.

WPO Calls on all women’s organisations, including the Women and Gender Equality Commission to condemn the actions of the REO of Region #2 and for his resignation with immediate effect.

Further, the WPO calls on the Minister of Communities, with responsibility for RDCs, and Minister of Social Protection with responsibility for Gender Affairs to launch an immediate investigation into this matter.

GECOM Chairperson says…

Elections before year end ‒ Jagdeo hails meeting as ‘encouraging’

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meeting on Tuesday (September 10, 2019) between the full Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) – the GECOM Chairperson and the six Commissioners – and a Parliamentary Opposition team, led by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, was encouraging.

He said, “We had a good meeting…we spoke about the President using GECOM as an excuse for not holding the elections and therefore it is their responsibility to comply with the Constitution. “…the Chairperson said some encouraging words at the end of the meeting, some very encouraging words… there were some encouraging statements made…encouraging words because it has an outside limit to this ordeal we are going through…the March 2020 election date is clearly out the window now…March is totally out the window…we are looking at Elections before the end of the year.”

Elections should have been held since March 21, 2019 after the APNU+AFC Coalition suffered a no-confidence motion on December 21, 2019. According to the Constitution of Guyana, Elections are supposed to be held three months after the passage of a no-confidence motion. Also, 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.

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.”

Addressing the activities being contemplated by the GECOM Secretariat, headed

by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, the Opposition Leader said these are not necessary.

The activities, he referred to, are options on how to deal with the production of re-designed identification cards and options on how to deal with the cross-matching of the fingerprints of the persons registered during the now scrapped house-tohouse registration.

Jagdeo said, “We went through the details of the merger that: one, GECOM

would be merging unverified data with an unverified database; two, it will take a long time; three, the cross-matching of fingerprints will not help us to identify duplicate registrants; four, the NRR will be contaminated. “…we have said there is a simple way to deal with all this…there must be a move to Claims and Objections… we said they should make a decision to extract a Preliminary List of Electors and go to Claims and Objections.”

Notably, has said that Claims and Objections will allow: 1. Allow any eligible Guyanese who has reached the age of 18-years-old to be registered if their name is not on the Voters’ List.

2. Allow any eligible Guyanese to get a transfer from one voting district to another, in the event that they changed their place of residence.

3. Allow any eligible Guyanese to do a name change.

4. Allow for the removal of a dead person from the Voters’ List.

5. Allow for objections to be made to the name of someone not eligible to be on the Voters List.

Jagdeo stressed that the position of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is that General and Regional Elections can be held long before the end of the year. “We believe that Elections can be held long before the end of the year,” he said.

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Opposition Leader interacts with Guyanese during CPL game

Jagdeo engages Guyanese during Indigenous Heritage celebrations

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

APNU+AFC gov’t inaction this week

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…a snapshot of headlines making the news

Granger says Guyanese can expect accomplished development in 2029

Harmon claims achievement on functioning of Integrity Commission

Refusing to address the plethora of failed promises, which were made by his APNU+AFC Coalition on the 2015 Elections campaign trail, the current caretaker president, David Granger, is now touting a new line; he says Guyanese can expect accomplished development by the year 2029.

Granger has been premising his call for support at the anticipated elections by declaring a national decade of development, starting 2020. However, this declaration focuses primarily on access to education.

It is unclear when and if the caretaker president will address the failures of his administration – failures that has resulted in increased cost of living, increased taxation, loss of jobs and a downturn in the local economy – among other consequences.

In an increasing show of desperation to claim achievement during its time in office, Director General Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, said the Integrity Commission was given a new lease on life under the current caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government. “It was dormant for a long time before we came into office,” Harmon claimed, adding that before May 2015 the Integrity Commission was inactive.

In addition to Harmon’s comments being patently false, it was the APNU+AFC Coalition that disbanded the Integrity Commission Secretariat after it took office. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency, Abena Moore, admitted this during a meeting of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). According to her, there was only one staffer remaining at the Integrity Commission Secretariat after it was dismantled.

Last year, President Granger finally swore in the Commissioners of the Integrity Commission. However, the new Chairman, a self-proclaimed ‘friend’ of the Government, has said that he will not ask for declarations to be made for 2015, 2016 and 2017 – rather he will only deal with 2018. This is despite the fact that the Chairman has to power to call for back-dated declarations to be made to the Integrity Commission.

Removal of VAT on hinterland flights, freight an election gimmick In what is a clear election gimmick, the current APNU+AFC Coalition caretaker government announced the removal of the 14% VAT for hinterland passengers travelling to interior locations.

Following this announcement the Guyana Revenue Authority issued a list of 54 airstrips where the VAT would not apply.

A few of the 54 listed locations are located in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

They include Achiwib, Aishalton, Annai, Baramita, Chenpau, Dadanawa, Iwokrama, Kamarang, Kato, Monkey Mountain, Orinduik, Paramakatoi and Waramadong.

However with the exception of Kamarang, few flights if any ever go to the other 53 airstrips, save and except for a few chartered flights.

Since 2016, when Value Added Tax (VAT) was contemplated on hinterland airline tickets and freight, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) made clear its objections.

VAT on hinterland airline tickets and freight came into effect on February 1, 2017.

Illegal cabinet approves spending of almost $4B in a single week The Cabinet of the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government has been meeting in total defiance of the Constitution of Guyana and the ruling and orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). And it continues to spend billions of taxpayers’ monies.

On Friday (September 6, 2019), Director General, Joseph Harmon – refusing to acknowledge that Cabinet stands resigned with the passage of the no-confidence motion – admitted the some $3,880,980,000 was approved for spending.

The multi-billion spending in one week alone, follows the approval of the illegal Cabinet for billions more to be spent in the previous weeks.

APNU+AFC pushing for re-designed national ID cards to be produced Using the state-owned Guyana Chronicle to advance its narrative, the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government is pushing for the production of new, re-designed national identification cards for all Guyanese – a process that the GECOM Secretariat, headed by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, wants completed before preparations for constitutionally mandated elections can even begin.

However, the process to even produce the re-designed identification cards has not even been decided on.

Lowenfield, has proposed two options: 1. The use of the Electoral Office of Jamaica to produce the new identification cards at a cost of US$525,000, at a minimum. This would take more than two months to be completed.

2. The purchase of a laser engraving system for GECOM to produce the re-designed identification cards itself at a cost of almost US$500,000. This would take over a month to be completed.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo has made clear that this is wholly unnecessary, since Guyanese voters are not required by law to have identification cards to vote and since all polling day staff will have folios (folders with voters’ information) of all voters.

Has caretaker president Granger complied with the law?

In May 2019, caretaker President David Granger admitted that he had not submitted his declarations to the Integrity Commission. When pressed on the issue, Granger had said, “I have not submitted all of my declarations. It is taking some time but I am in touch with them and the Commission has heard from me…I’m in touch with the Integrity Commission. I have written to them.”

Granger’s admission came less than a week after Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, highlighted the non-compliance of APNU+AFC Coalition Government officials with the laws of Guyana – via their non-declarations to the Integrity Commission.

To date it is unclear if Granger has complied with Guyana’s laws and submitted his declarations to the Integrity Commission.

The declaration of assets by public officials to the Integrity Commission has been a routine action since the laws were enacted. Under the law, passed in 2000, certain categories of public officials are required to declare their assets to the Integrity Commission or face criminal charges for not doing so. Under the law, any public officer who fails to comply with the Commission is liable upon summary conviction, to a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for a period of not less than six months or more than one year.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Real Time Economic Insights (An analysis of Guyana’s economic performance)

Declines seen in employment rates, productivity, national savings T

he Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has constantly reminded the citizens of Guyana of the 4.1 per cent growth in Guyana’s economy, however, taking a closer look at various aspects, there were significant declines.

Following the no-confidence motion in December 2018, there has been a decline in the reserve money.

In 2018, the reserve money stood at G$180,490M. The Bank of Guyana First Quarter Report stated, “Reserve money declined by 2.4 per-

cent or G$4,482 million to G$182,008 million from its December 2018 level, reflecting contractions in both net foreign assets and net domestic assets by G$2,639 million and G$1,843 million respectively. The decrease in net domestic assets resulted from a 2.4 percent decline in both liabilities to the commercial banks and currency in circulation.”

Reserve money is influenced mainly by the operations of the Bank. Changes in the Bank’s net foreign

assets and net domestic assets (which are largely affected by the operations of the central government) impact on the level of reserve money.

The Bank of Guyana 2018 Annual Report highlighted that the Public sector employment declined by 11.1 percent at end-2018. According to the Report, “There was lower recruitment in the core civil services by 0.5 percent, which represented 63.1 percent of total public sector employment. In the rest of the public sector, employment fell by

Guyanese urged to use social media platform to make anonymous submissions about corruption

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ith the four-year mark of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government being in office having passed and with more and more Guyanese forwarding information about increasing levels of corruption in office, a platform has been created to allow for easier communication of such information.

Opposition Leader, Bharat Jagdeo, has urged Guyanese to make use of the social media platforms and participate in the effort to continue to expose the misdeeds of the APNU+AFC Coalition. He assured that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will continue its investigations in the push for greater accountability and transparency.

Guyanese can make submissions of information anonymously via Facebook on ‘Corruption Watch 592’ and via WhatsApp on telephone number (592)-653-6637.

29.4 percent.”

The decline in the public corporations contracted on account of lower recruitment

by GUYSUCO and financial institutions by 39.2 percent

flation rate of 2.4 per cent at the end of June 2019.

In the 2018 Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Bureau of Statistics reported an increased fourth quarter unem-

to US$1,373.8 million from US$1,437.3 million in 2017.

Major exports for Guyana includes Sugar, Rice, Timber, Gold and Bauxite. The Bank of Guyana Report stated

and 0.6 percent respectively.

Decline in employment was also noted for the local gold mining and fishing industries. This increase in unemployment is coupled with the increased inflation of 1.6 percent at the end of 2018.

The Mid Year Report 2019 from the Ministry of Finance indicated that there was an increase of 1.6 per cent in June 2019 from that of December 2018, with the 12-month in-

ployment rate of 13.8 per cent from an unemployment rate of 12.2 in 2017. According to LFS Report, “The rural unemployed population represents the vast majority of the total unemployed for all four quarters of 2018 and the unemployment rate for women appears to be higher than that for men.”

A further look at the 2018 economy reveals a decline of 4.4 percent or US$63.6M

“Receipts from sugar, rice, timber and gold declined by 44.1 percent, 7.5 percent, 6.9 percent and 6.2 percent respectively. Higher receipts were from bauxite and “other exports” which increased by 22.6 percent and 1.0 percent respectively.” According to the 2018 report, the decline in sugar, rice, gold and timber export earnings was attributed to decline in the export volume.

Guyanese interested in volunteering asked to contact Party

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he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is now available on WhatsApp number 592-611-PPPC (7772) and it encouraging Guyanese, who are interested in political activism and volunteering, to contact the Party.

WhatsApp allows persons to message from Guyana other countries at no cost.

Operators are manning the line on a 24-hour basis and interested Guyanese are asked to communicate this to the Party.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Widespread protests likely after September 18 …if no election date is set

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he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will embark on widespread protests across the country after September 18 if no date is announced for general and regional elections by the end of the year, according to PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo.

He said, “The March 2020 proposal for elections will never ever be acceptable to the People’s Progressive Party….they’re looking for widespread protest; we’re [going to] shift the nature of the protest after September 18. We want to be respectful of the decision of the CCJ and we are waiting on September 18…because this Government continues to behave as though it does not have to respect the Constitution. “…a caretaker President who is defying a court ruling and the constitution and they’re acting as though it’s business as usual.

Jagdeo had made it clear that there will be no agreement by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to an extension of the Coalition Government’s time in office at this time, He reiterated that the call for General and Regional Elections within three months is non-negotiable.

The PPP General Secretary has also indicated that preparations are already un-

derway in the Party’s camp, ahead of early General and Regional Elections.

A No-Confidence Motion was passed against the Government on December 21, 2018.

Article 106 (6) of the Constitution 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.”

Article 106 (7) goes on to state 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.”

However, elections were not held and there was no resignation. Instead, Government went to court unsuccessfully arguing that the No-Confidence Motion was not validly passed.

The case reached the CCJ, where the regional Court ruled against the Government, but stopped short of issuing an order fixing an election date.

The Court made it clear that

the three-month deadline for elections started on June 18, 2019.

CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders pointed out that elections should have been held on March 21, 2019, following the December passage of the Opposition-sponsored motion, but that the process was on “pause” pending the legal proceedings. That

process, Saunders had clearly said, was no longer on pause following the Court’s June 18, 2019 ruling, which upheld the validity of the No-Confidence Motion and, thus, triggered the need for fresh elections. In keeping with the constitutional three-month provision, this means General and Regional Elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019.

Saunders had said too that when the No-Confidence Motion was passed on December 21, 2019, Article 106 of the Constitution had immediately been activated. According to Justice Saunders when he read the ruling, there was no need for the Court to gloss over the provisions of Articles 106 (6 and 7), but it is in fact the responsibility of

the constitutional actors to be faithful to the rule of law and operate within parameters of the Constitution.

Further, the CCJ President had noted that with GECOM also responsible for the conduct of those elections, it therefore meant that the elections body “too must abide by the provisions of the Constitution.”

Party activists engaged in Region 2 As the ground work of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) continues, activists in Region Two were engaged during a meeting in Anna Regina this week.

In the meantime, community meetings and other activities are also ongoing.

Granger’s meeting with miners an election gimmick – Jagdeo “H

ow shameless can you be?” questioned Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, referring to the eleventh hour engagement between caretaker president, David Granger, and a group of miners.

As per an invitation issued by Granger, miners were invited to a business luncheon at State House – the official residence of the President – on Main Street, Georgetown, on Friday, September 6, 2019.

Jagdeo said, “Imagine this caretaker president hosted a luncheon, using taxpayers’ money, to meet the miners when he ignored them for several years now… he snubbed them when they have been trying to meet with him for years now.”

According to the Opposition Leader, the engagement was forced, given that elections are on the horizon.

“With elections in the air, he is meeting them. He is going to meet with them and say trust me again…he

will undoubtedly make new false promises as an election gimmick…the reality is that his government has put in place policies that have devastated the mining sector…. people have seen them now,” he said.

In 2018, local miners went as far as to give the Coalition Government a two-week ultimatum, after its calls for a meeting with President David Granger went repeatedly unanswered.

The miners wanted to discuss taxes and other issues that were affecting the mining sector, largely because of policies implemented by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government.

As recent as May 2019, the APNU+AFC Coalition was reviewing a proposal to increase fees for mining permits – even as the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) appealed for support.

According to GGDMA in a statement, raising fees will, in fact, be counterproductive

for the industry. The association noted that the mining sector is already in decline.

As such, they noted that additional burdens on miners will negatively impact the economy. “The sector is already in decline, proposing to put such additional burden on the local entrepreneurs that operate with tremendous uncertainties will further impact the communities and villages that depend on it for sustenance,” the GGDMA said.

According to Bank of Guyana numbers for the first quarter of 2019, the mining and quarrying sector registered lower production.

There was a decline in declaration of gold by 4.9 per cent. This outturn was due to lower output by the two foreign gold mining companies by 15.0 per cent. Troy Resources output declined by 40.4 per cent while Guyana Goldfields Inc. output increased marginally by 1.0 per cent. In contrast, the local gold miners’ declarations

The luncheon invitation issued by caretaker president, David Granger

was higher by 3.6 per cent.

Also, the production of bauxite contracted by 24.4 per cent due to major industrial unrest at RUSAL operations.

In 2017, the mining saw

an 8.8 per cent decline and barely saw a 2.9 per cent improvement in 2019.

The Opposition Leader has repeatedly called for the APNU+AFC Coalition to pay attention to the con-

cerns of the miners, given the importance of the mining sector to Guyana’s economy, relative to employment and its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Perspectives from the PPP/C Presidential Candidate

Opportunities for empowerment of Guyanese youth will be assured by next PPP/C gov’t – Ali T

he current caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government has a plethora of broken promised on its record and those made to Guyanese youths are among the most egregious, according to People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali. He said, “The present administration made a lot of promises to young people and one of the promise was a major stake at the table of governance and leadership in our country. This administration is indeed failed in relation to this promise.

“You can examine our track record in terms of youth participation in governance and not only at the political level but at the technical level. I myself came through the state planning Secretariat and I can tell you many young people made up the staff compliment at the State Planning Secretariat.

Not only that many young persons moved on from there to become more.”

He noted that ahead of the next expected General and Regional Elections, the clear involvement of youths will be seem. “You will see in a PPP/C List of Candidate, to begin with, a lot of young people…. we have a track record in terms of youths having involved and this would continue…to continue with our track record, you will see a lot of young persons in government and in Parliament. If you look at the parliamentary opposition now you will see many young persons below age of 40….I myself went to Parliament in in my twenties,” he said.

Looking at the make-up of Guyana’s population, Ali stressed that a large segment of the population are young people, therefore there must be opportunities for both involvement and advancement.

He said, “Our population is very young population, youths make up a large segment of our population and we to be able to harness

that potential by making available more opportunities – opportunities for our young people to develop their potential, opportunities to get experience and opportunities to meaningfully participate in leadership and in governance.”

INCREASED ACCESS TO EDUCATION The PPP/C presidential candidate charged that increased access to education is one of the means of affording young people greater opportunities. He said, “Education is an important road map in creating opportunities for young people….under the PPP/C government we achieved universal primary education… universal secondary education is critical and that is ensuring that all our all our children, all our young people., have access to secondary education regardless of the social status or any other differentiating factor. “…universal secondary education is about ensuring we build enough physical infrastructure, but very importantly too we have to ensure we have the right number of teachers who are trained and well-equipped teachers. …we have to build the ICT platform in such a way that it creates the opportunity for them to through distance education and online education so a teacher in a Lethem can have access to a university degree in Education or in English or in Mathematics just like a teacher from the Coast….the hinterland teachers, their career and their progression depends on their own educational up-liftment.”

He charged that the advancement of the local education sector must be done in a multi-faceted way. “The education system itself must not be designed to throw young people out of out of the system itself…our education system has to be multi-faceted and it must create opportunity for youths…

some people are not inclined to academics, but they're very inclined to technical education,” Ali said.

According to him, failures to advance the education sector has resulted in the erosion of yoth empowerment. He said, “What we have seen is that the empowerment of young people has really been eroded…. the Coalition’s promise was free education, have seen all the new increases in not only fees, but taxes, and how that adds to the hardship that young people and not only… the increases we have seen at the University of Guyana is inhibitive to many programmes…the PPP/C has made it very clear that within our five years in government we're going to make university education free. “…we will not only make university education free, but ensure that is accessible to all through investment in distance education and online education. This is something that we are committed to.

This is something that will improve the prospects of our young people.”

MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES In addition to greater access to educational opportunities and more involvement in governance, Ali explained that the creation of more job opportunities is also critical.

The PPP/C Presidential candidate said, “Job creation is very important aspect of developing for young people…we have to ensure that young people have the right training; that we invest in technical education that will give them the competence and the certification that would allow them to benefit from opportunities of new sectors that will emerge as a result of oil and gas. That itself would create a number of jobs.”

He stated that the target of the next PPP/C government is the creation of 50,000 new jobs.

Ali said, “We have to

put back those 2,000 CSOs Amerindian young people who were working as community support officers. We have look at the more than 17,000 jobs that have been lost in the forestry sector and mining sector. “…we have to do this, as we create new jobs. New jobs will be created: through investments in housing; through investment in the different sectors; the creation of opportunities as a result of the building of infrastructure; the opening up of new opportunities for Guyanese investment in ICT industrial park.

“We have to also create a national entrepreneurship programme where we identify young people who will create business ideas because there is great potential here and a lot of young people would like to become entrepreneurs but they face many challenges, so we have to develop a national entrepreneurial programme to address these. “…we have to create the infrastructure, an enabling environment, that would help our young…you will be seeing a lot of investment in that area too that will generate tremendous opportunities for young people in the rural areas.”

NEW SECTOR OPPORTUNITIES The creation of an enabling environment extends to opportunities in new economic sectors, specifically oil and gas, according to him.

Ali said, “In terms of advancing Guyana, we have an emerging sector oil and has sector that would require a lot of brainpower, a lot of new training and we will be targeting young people to ensure that they are empowered and trained to take on this sector – to take on a new and emerging opportunities that would be created in our country.

“If we look at a number of persons who have migrated – including many young

people with great potential great training – they will tell you that they left because of a lack of job opportunities… we have to work hard to ensure that your young people are given opportunities…to ensure that they are involved in the development of society, that they are meaningfully occupied in terms of the economic well-being of our country.”

FOCUS IN TRADITIONAL SECTORS However, he made clear that the creation of opportunities in the traditional economic sector cannot be ignored.

Ali said, “We have to get back these sectors going we have to get the sectors working for Guyana again.

We have to get these sectors working for young people again by creating opportunities for them.

“We are going to re-open the sugar estate….to get the estates going again, we are going to have to subsidize… for the persons who have been affected in the sugar sector, we have to provide opportunities in retraining and re-skilling and retooling so they can function in other sectors of the economy. “…we going to ensure that we create an enabling environment for new investment in mining sector and in the forestry sector…we are going to empower persons through fiscal incentives – whether it's a waiver of taxes or giving them greater access to capital that will allow them to re-capitalize allow them to go back and invest.”

INVESTMENT IN SPORTS Touching on sports, the PPP/C presidential candidate assured of equality of access.

He said, “We have to look at sports academy the development of Sports Academy and investment in sport architecture and infrastructure. “…we have to ensure that the investment is there

to allow us to diversify in all areas of sports and ensure that all the areas all our regions benefit and have access to facilities.”

HINTERLAND FOCUS The hinterland, according to him, is a major area that will see focused interventions, since opportunities must be equal among all Guyanese.

Ali said, “Whatever opportunities are created must be for all Guyanese and geographic location must not be a barrier to the opportunities….…specific attention must be payed to young people in the hinterland…this is linked directly to the creation of infrastructure. We have to have the infrastructure that would enable us to reach all Guyanese and that is why investment in ICT is so critical in creating that opportunity.

“We have to look at creating TVET centers beyond the coastal regions, because we have a lot of young people with great technical talents…we have to harness that technical potential and the only way we can harness that is if we have the opportunity or the infrastructure that we can bring them together and train then in particular areas.

“We have to ensure that they are trained, with the focus of being empowered to access job opportunities.

That is key and critical for us and ICT investment – not only as a tool to reach people, but as an opportunity to create jobs – has to be pursued…ICT has tremendous potential.

As such, he noted that an expanded scholarship programme is also on the cards.

Opportunities and matching investments in empowering Guyanese youth will have major focus by the next PPP/C government, Ali assured. “I want to assure you that we're going to create opportunities…investments in young people will be geared towards empowering them,” he declared.

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

17

18

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

No decisions on way forward finalized as yet – Gunraj A

t Tuesday’s (September 10, 2019) statutory meeting the full Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) – the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, and the six Commissioners – no major decisions were made on the

way forward.

Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, in comments about the meeting said, “We have not made any decisions today.”

As part of Tuesday’s meeting, the full Commission

engaged a team from the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), led by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Gunraj said, “The Commission was very receptive of the ideas and I am sure he [Jagdeo] has made his case to you when he came out as to

what ideas he has pitched to the Commission and, I must say, that the Commission was very receptive to those ideas.

He added, “A reaction of the Chairperson has to come from the Chairperson, not me.” Notably, the GECOM Chairperson has not com-

mented on the engagement with the Parliamentary Opposition.

Meanwhile, Gunraj also said, “We’re meeting again Thursday (September 12, 2019) hopefully to have some meaningful discussions in relation to the holding of

elections.”

However, the meeting set for Thursday, September 12, 2019, was postposed to Friday, September 13, 2019 – where the full Commission is expected to engage a team of APNU+AFC Coalition representatives.

More delays at GECOM, still no move towards election preparations A nother statutory meeting, held on Friday (September 6, 2019) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was a non-starter, relative to the commencement of preparations for General and Regional Elections with the extraction of a Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

The over four-hour long meeting, according to Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, saw no progress being made on elections in the soonest possible timeframe. “We are no nearer to a date for Elections,” she said, adding that the election date being proposed is sometime in March 2020.

Shadick added, “We dealt with many issues that were not related to elections preparations, which is what we should be doing…we sat there for over four hours.”

Elections should have been held since March 21, 2019 after the APNU+AFC Coalition suffered a no-con-

fidence motion on December 21, 2019. An election date in March 2020 means that elections would be held an entire year later than is constitutionally mandated. According to the Constitution of Guyana, Elections are supposed to be held three months after the passage of a no-confidence motion.

Currently, Guyana is over five months past the constitutionally mandated deadline for Elections.

OTHER DISCUSSIONS Notably, the last meeting discussed the printing of re-designed identification cards and the process to cross-match the fingerprints of over 370,000-plus persons whom the GECOM Secretariat claims were registered during the now scrapped house-to-house registration process.

Shaddick explained Friday’s meeting did not vary much from the previous meeting. According to her, the discussions focused on

several issues that did not specifically deal with preparations for elections. “ID cards are not necessary…. if someone’s name is on the list and they go to vote the polling day staff have a folio (folder with all voters’ information) in front of them…. as I said, we are no nearer to a date for Election,” she said.

On the issue of the use of identification cards for the purpose of voting on Election Day, the current GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, during her tenure as a High Court judge, after the 1997 Elections had ruled that an identification card was not required for a Guyanese voter to cast their ballot.

The Final Report from the Guyana Long Term Observation Group & European Union Observation Mission in 2001, on page five, said: “In 1998 Esther Pereira, a PNC supporter, petitioned the High Court to set aside the results of the 1997…Justice Claudette Singh found that

the requirement for voters to have a voter ID card in 1997 was ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution (despite a parliamentary agreement to use the cards).

Consequently the elections were therefore null and void.”

MERGER On the question of another sore issue – the merger of data garnered from the scrapped house-to-house registration with the National Register of Registrants (NRR) – Guyana’s national voters’ database – Opposition-nominated Commissioner, Robeson Benn explained that there was continued talk about moves in this direction.

“We are insisting that GECOM’s actions accord with the constitutional imperatives,” Benn stressed.

He explained that the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners are advocating for “minimal use” of the data from house-to-house registration – that is for the first time voters who were

registered to be identified.

Once this is done, according to him, a period of Claims and Objections will ensure that the first time registrants are added to the Voters’ List.

The caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition Government has been pushing for the merger of data from the scrapped house-to-house registration with the National Register of Registrants.

The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has been advocating against this, given the dangers of a merger. The Parliamentary Opposition’s position on the matter is the planned merger of data from the house-to-house registration will not improve the quality or ‘credibility’ of the database – rather it will further contaminate the National Register of Registrants and cause further delays in the holding of Elections.

Meanwhile, the PPP in a press statement, on Thursday (September 5, 2019), said, “The position of the Party has been repeated ad

nauseam – the data garnered from the now scrapped house-to-house registration must not be used to contaminate the National Register of Registrants; a Preliminary List of Electors must be produced by GECOM; and there should be a move to Claims and Objections, which is a time-tested method, to allow for persons who are first time voters to be registered, among other transactions. “…too much time has passed already. The Party stresses the call for GECOM to begin preparations for Elections now. It would seem that the Constitution of Guyana and the rulings of the Court are secondary in the considerations of GECOM. The Constitution of Guyana remains the supreme law of the land and GECOM has a responsibility to uphold it.”

Further, the GECOM Chairperson is yet to make a public statement on the delay in preparing for General and Regional Election.

Extraneous discussions at the center of delays at GECOM ‒ Jagdeo says GECOM Chair must act decisively

T

alks during the last few statutory meetings of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have been centered on issues extraneous to the matter of preparations for elections, which ought to have been held since March 21, 2019.

And Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, contends that it is “uncanny” how the GECOM Secretariat’s positions accord with those emanating from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR). “The Secretariat at GECOM or individuals at the Secretariat seems to find a happy coincidence with the APNU (government-nominated) commissioners. It is uncanny how the documents prepared by the Secretariat closely reflect the positions of Congress Place (PNCR headquarters),” he said.

Jagdeo added, “In discussing extraneous issues, they have still not start preparations for elections as yet… elections preparations starts

with the extraction of the Preliminary List of Electors.”

The extraneous discussions referred to by the Opposition Leader relates to talks about options on how to deal with the production of re-designed identification cards and options on how to deal with the cross-matching of the fingerprints of the persons registered during the now scrapped house-to-house registration.

Both of these, according to the GECOM Secretariat have to be done before election preparation activities are started.

The Mirror Newspaper has seen documents related to these matters.

RE-DESIGNED IDENTIFICATION CARDS On the issue of producing re-designed identification cards, Chief Elections Officer and head of the GECOM Secretariat, Keith Lowenfield, has proposed two options:

1. The use of the Electoral Office of Jamaica to produce the new identification cards at a cost of US$525,000, at a minimum. This would take more than two months to be completed.

2. The purchase of a laser engraving system for GECOM to produce the re-designed identification cards itself at a cost of almost US$500,000. This would take over a month to be completed.

Jagdeo has made clear that this is wholly unnecessary, since Guyanese voters are not required by law to have identification cards to vote and since all polling day staff will have folios (folders with voters’ information) of all voters.

FINGERPRINT CROSS-MATCHING On the cross-matching of the fingerprints of the persons registered during the house-to-house registration, Lowenfield has proposed

three options: 1. The use of a company Gemalto (a company that bought over Cogent Systems, Inc. –a manufacturer of automated fingerprint identification systems) at a cost of US$105,000 to cross match only 350,000 sets of fingerprints. This would take about two weeks.

2. The use of the Electoral Office of Jamaica, which would only cross match four – not all 10 – fingerprints of each person on the National Register. This process would take over a year. The cost of this was not disclosed.

3. The purchase of a system that would allow GECOM itself to conduct the cross matching. This would take over a month. The cost would be a whopping US$1.14M. Notably, this option can only be pursued with assistance from the Electoral Office of Jamaica. However, the Director of the Electoral Office of Jamaica, Dr. Glasspole Brown, in an August 29, 2019 letter to the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, said, “There is a

high risk in this scenario and it must be noted that there can be no guarantee on timelines for procurement and delivery of the system.”

Jagdeo has stressed that while the GECOM Secretariat has said it wants to do cross-matching of fingerprints before they start elections preparations – cross-matching is something that is done after a Claims and Objections exercise is completed.

He said, “They want to now cross-match the fingerprints. At the end of the Claims and Objections, that is something that is necessary. You have to check all the fingerprints, cross-match to see that you don’t have duplicates. That will come at the end….they want to do that now too, and spend millions of our money in a lengthy process. “…this current fingerprint matching exercise is a waste of time to delay once again the elections because, at the end, you still have to cross-match when you finish the Claims and Objections.

That’s the final test of the

list…It’s a useless activity that will cost us a lot of money.”

SHIFTING DATE The continued delays in commencing election preparations are worrying, the Opposition Leader said. .

He pointed out that the GECOM Secretariat keeps shifting the date by which it will be ready for General and Regional Elections, which ought to have been held since March 21, 2019.

In June 2019, the date proposed was December 25, 2019. At the end of August 2019, the date proposed by the Secretariat was April 27, 2020. By September 6, 2019, the new date was March 23, 2020.

According Jagdeo, the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, has to act decisively. “At some point in time, she would have to make the tough decision which is that we are going to respect the Constitution and stop the prevaricating by the commissioners on the other side,” he said.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

Proposed March 2020 election date rejected A

timeline of election preparation activities was presented by the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, who heads the Secretariat of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), and it projects March 23, 2020 as the Election date.

This timeline was rejected by the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners – Bibi Shadick, Robeson Benn and Sase Gunraj – who contend that the constitutionally mandated General and Regional Elections, which ought to have been held since March 21, 2019, can be held in November 2019. On the other hand the government-nominated GECOM Commissioners have welcomed the March 2020 Election Date.

Earlier this year, GECOM told the Caribbean Court of Justice that it would have been ready by December 25, 2019.

Given this, the CCJ, in ruling that the no-confidence motion was successfully passed and elections have to be held within three months, 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 “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.”

NOVEMBER POSSIBLE Notably, Lowenfield’s timeline caters for the production and distribution of

re-designed national identification cards. The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has repeatedly called attention to the fact that Guyanese voters are not required to have an identification card to cast their ballot, since it is not required by law and polling day staff have folios (folder with voters’ information).

Lowenfield’s timeline also caters for the merging the data garnered from

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

2. Election Day April 29, 2019 - This is based on a timeline of 35 days provided to Commissioners on January 23, 2019, by the Chief Elections Officer who indicated that his 35 days did not cater for a few extra days for any risks.

This timeline includes the printing of ballot papers.

“If we leave it to APNU, we would not have elections till next year, and even then, they may not want elections.”

- Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo 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

“They will do whatever it takes to delay the elections with the hope that they can go out in the so-called outreach using taxpayers’ money…to polarise our country once again, hoping that somehow, they will change the outcome or their electoral fortunes on the ground.” - Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo house-to-house registration with the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB). The Parliamentary Opposition’s position on the matter is the planned merger of data from the house-to-house registration will not improve the quality or ‘credibility’ of the database – rather it will further contaminate the National Register of Registrants and cause further delays in the holding of Elections.

The Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner have said that an Election date in November is possible.

According to GECOM Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, the proposals presented

by Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield will see elections held “one year and two days after the time provided for in the Constitution.”

50-DAY TIMELINE Of note is that in March 2019, the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners proposed a work plan that would allow enough time for all the activities needed to ensure GECOM’s readiness to be completed.

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

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. This very important

component of any election process is an ongoing one which can be very competently coordinated and executed by the GECOM’S Public Relations Officer and that department. Infomercials and other material have been procured for the Local Government Elections, last November, and will need only some changes for the General and Regional Elections.

If this work plan were to be revived, elections could be held before the end of November 2019.

NO DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT Meanwhile, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon told a post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday (September 6, 2019) that President David Granger is still not prepared to dissolve Parliament without advice from GECOM with regards to an election date.

He said, “The President has made it very clear that he is not going to dissolve parliament. Neither will he name a date for election until such time that he is advised by GECOM that it is ready to provide for credible elections and he has also said publicly that once he is advised by the Elections Commission that they are ready to do so, that he will call, name a date for the elections in the shortest time, once he is given that advice.”

MORTALLY AFRAID Further, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday (September 6, 2019) charged that the question on the minds of most all Guyanese is ‘When would we have elections?’

He said, “If we leave

it to APNU, we would not have elections till next year, and even then, they may not want elections. “…hey are mortally afraid of elections, let’s get that very clear. They are terrified…terrified…you see ghastly pales come over them when you mention elections…the whole demeanour changes…. I had little pleasant run-in with a few of them at cricket yesterday and…once we mentioned elections you see like people becoming a little unhinged, reason flies out of their head and everything else. “…they will do whatever it takes to delay the elections with the hope that they can go out in the socalled outreach using taxpayers’ money…to polarise our country once again, hoping that somehow, they will change the outcome or their electoral fortunes on the ground. “…in doing so, they’re trampling on the Constitution and a court ruling,” the Opposition Leader insisted…Guyanese must assess the APNU based on how they relate to that document, the Constitution. If I can’t trust you to obey the law, to respect the Constitution, how can I trust you to fulfil any of your promises?”

Jagdeo noted that the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition, in its defiance of the Constitution of Guyana and the Caribbean Court of Justice, is becoming more isolated. “Thankfully, they’re becoming more isolated, I know from the international community because I’ve been meeting with the international community and they’re saying constitution and you’ll have to have elections and Guyanese are saying the same thing.”

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 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.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

More opportunities must be available to Guyana’s indigenous population to bolster equality – Jagdeo T

he celebration of Indigenous Heritage Month is one that all Guyanese should pride themselves in joining in, according to Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo. “It is a celebration all Guyanese should partake in,” he said.

And he stressed that significant efforts under successive People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administrations to move Guyana to a place where indigenous culture was no longer treated as less than equal. “It had seemed that indigenous culture was less than equal in Guyana and we took a long painstaking road to arrive at where we are today,” he said.

The efforts to ensure equality extended to equality of opportunity as well, according to him. Jagdeo said, “The challenge of equality was economic too…there was a clear divide between coast and hinterland….with limited resources – facing dire economic circumstances in 1992 – we, from the beginning, worked to overcome this gap.”

In the education and health sectors, as well as in the area of land rights, the Opposition Leader and former President stated that much progress was made.

LAND He said, “Land is a big

issue…we have all seen the disparaging comments made about Amerindians when it comes to land issues… comments by Eric Phillips, Minister Keith Scott calling Amerindians avaricious (greedy) and even Minister Sydney Allicock, who took the position of an apologist for the APNU (APNU+AFC Coalition government) on the question of their failures to address land rights over the more than four years they have been in office. “…under successive PPP/C government, titled lands moved from six per cent to 14 per cent (of Guyana’s land mass).”

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.

Jagdeo said, “We left over $US10M and a Land Titling Unit to continue for the work we started to be continued.”

On the specific issue of land tilting, the Amerindian Land Titling Project was initiated under the former PPP/C government. It 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.

As of May 2015, some 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.

After taking office, the APNU+AF Coalition Government, sent home the entire unit dealing with the Amerindian Land Titling programme. The Project Management Unit was ben established in June 2014 to support the implementation of the project.

The Opposition Leader noted that in the last few weeks, there have been

moved to re-establish the Unit. He said, “The Unit was dismantled and nothing was done. Now APNU wants to re-establish the Unit because of Elections.”

However, he charged that the failures of the APNU+AFC are clear. Currently, the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition Government is now making it more difficult for Indigenous peoples to obtain lands and land extensions by stipulating that they provide a Village Improvement Plan (VIP) as part of the process in the granting of their rightfully owned properties.

SOCIAL SECTORS In the area of education, Jagdeo said, “As late as during the 90’s, the most children in the hinterland could aspire to, was primary education because of the lack of opportunities. We started to expand primary school network. We built almost 13 secondary schools with dormitories. We expanded the scholarship programme to 400-500 per year so children could go to UG (University of Guyana), GSA (the Guyana School of Agriculture), GTI (the Guyana Technical Institute) and to study medicine.”

These empowered youths from the hinterland communities, according to him.

In the health sector, he said, “At one point we had a single Amerindian doctor.

When we left office, there were over 100….there were opportunities to integrate persons from the hinterland in nursing, etc.….there was improved primary level health care,” he said, pointing to the establishment of health hits, the training of over 400 community health workers, improved systems to ensure better delivery of drugs and medical supplies and upgrades to regional hospitals serving hinterland areas.

Jagdeo said, “Right now, after four-plus years under APNU, we are concerned about the deterioration of health sector.”

Notably, no mention of any substantial work to improve the lives of Amerindians in Guyana was made in a recent Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Guyana released by the United States of America’s (USA) State Department – underscoring a major failure of the APNU+AFC Coalition government. Page 11 of the report states that: “The standard of living in indigenous communities was lower than that of most citizens, and they had limited access to education and health care.”

In contrast, the 2015 Country Report on Human

Rights Practices in Guyana, on page 14, said: “All indigenous communities had primary schools, and as of 2012, there were 13 secondary schools in remote regions.

All indigenous communities had school dormitories that housed students at government’s expense. Government programmes trained health workers, who staffed health facilities in most communities.”

OPPORTUNITIES MUST BE AVAILABLE Even as Indigenous Heritage Month is celebrated, Jagdeo called attention to the fact that the only way to move Guyanese people forward and ensure their prosperity is to create the conditions that make available more opportunities for advancement.

“Indigenous people play a major role in our national legacy…if we are to move all our people forward, they must have the opportunity to do so, regardless of their race…we must have equal opportunities for all our people,” he said.

That said, the Opposition Leader assured of continued support for Guyana’s Indigenous people by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

22

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

OBSERVER

More proof that caretaker president Granger cannot be taken at his word O

n July 21, 2019, the caretaker President, David Granger advised that in keeping with global con-

ventions on the how caretaker governments operate, he would: not undertake any state visits; not sign agree-

ments with any foreign country; and his government will limit expenditures and will ensure that they do not un-

dertake any controversial projects.

As we have come to realize since assuming office in 2015 and especially since the successful passage of the No Confidence Motion in December 2018, this President cannot be taken at his word.

Since making his pronouncements on how his government would function, specifically as it relates to spending, the Coalition government has awarded contracts to the tune of $3.9 Billion in one week alone.

This level of contracts being given out in such a short space of time in unprecedented. If this is limiting expenditures the president needs to explain to us what would normal spending look like. It is obvious the presidents and his cohorts believe we the citizens are gullible.

What should be questioned also is the legality of these contracts. Given their caretaker status does the government have the authority to award these contracts? The recipients of these contracts should ascertain the legality of them.

Cabinet is involved in the approval of these contracts which is in violation of our laws in relation to the awarding of contracts. This is the function of the Public Procurement Commission.

When this body was formed it took away that function from the cabinet. The cabinet in contravention of this is circumventing this.

Another major issue of concern is that a large portion of these contracts were not budgeted for. One therefore has to question where are the monies coming from to pay for these contracts.

This is being queried against the backdrop of the rapidly decreasing reserves. Will

the government be diverting funds budgeted for more important things to pay for these contracts or will the contractors have to wait for an undue length of time for payment. It is hoped that funds earmarked for important areas like education and the health services are not being diverted to satisfy these contracts.

It is not beyond this government to do so however, as we know that this government have the wrong priorities.

One of the contracts recently approved by the caretaker government is one under the Ministry of Citizenship awarded to Canadian Bank Notes Company Ltd, for a New border Management systems and E-Passport for US$12.4 million. A perusal of the 2019 Budget for this Ministry does not have this expenditure approved anywhere. It therefore leaves one to query where exactly will the government be sourcing these funds from? This is in excess of G$2.6 billion.

When one considers that our assets are being depleted at an alarming rate, it is not unfair to question the veracity of this expenditure. This is an expenditure that is not necessary at this time.

What is also of concern is this government’s track record when it comes the quality of work in relation to infrastructure works done during its tenure. One only has to take into account the quality of work in relation to the airport expansion. This is most concerning when you take into account the haste in which they are trying to have these works completed. This can result in shoddy work being done. We have become accustomed with this government not giving us quality for

our money.

Two weeks alone, almost $1B in contracts were given the greenlight by the illegal Cabinet.

It must be noted that the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition cabinet continues to meet in defiance of the Constitution of Guyana and in defiance of the ruling and orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

These excessive spending escalated after the passage of the no confidence Motion, as the APNU+AFC Coalition rolled out works in a bit to convince Guyanese that they are working in their interests.

Needless to say most all Guyanese see past this election gimmick.

In addition to excessive spending, Guyana has also seen a depletion of our total assets to the tune of $7 Billion, with no concrete plan in place to recover these assets, between December 2018 and June 2019 alone.

Whilst the citizens of the country welcome any improvements to our infrastructure, especially as many of these projects were approved since the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration was in office and were long overdue, they understand why the sudden rush to have them done. They are well aware that elections are fast approaching and this government that has failed them throughout its tenure are trying to win them back.

This attempt by the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government however is an exercise in futility as the citizens have already made up their minds.

The track records of the former PPPC government and the Coalition is as different as night and day.

WEEKEND MIRROR 14-15 SEPTEMBER, 2019

23

PYO celebrates 67th anniversary with symposium

Engagements with Dip Corps continue – Jagdeo T

here have been continued meetings between the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and representatives of the diplomatic corps, according to Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Pressed on the matte recently, he said, “I know they are working and are concerned about what is happened…we will continue to engage them.”

In June 2019, representatives of Guyana’s key diplomatic missions stressed that there must be respect for the ruling handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). This was made clear in a joint statement issued on June 18, 2019, by the United States of America Ambassador to Guyana, Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; United Kingdom High Commissioner to Guyana, H.E. Greg Quinn; High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana, H.E. Lilian Chatterjee; and the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videtic.

“The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled and

it is important that all sides respect that ruling. We also encourage all to come to an agreement on the way forward,” the brief statement said.

On July 15 2019, a second joint statement from the key local diplomatic missions called for compliance with the Caribbean Court of Justice’s Definitive Orders, which were issued on July 12, 2019. That statement said, “The Caribbean Court of Justice – Guyana’s Supreme Court – has spoken.

It is important for the rule of law that all invoked actors abide by its ruling and the relevant provisions of the Constitution. We urge everyone to do so expeditiously.”

Following months of legal challenges over the validity of the no-confidence motion, the CCJ on June 18, 2019, ruled that that the no-confidence motion was validly passed on the National Assembly on December 21, 2019. To date, the caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government remains in defiance of the CCJ’s ruling and consequential orders.

Income tax threshold will move to $100,000 – Ali assures

G

reater support in terms on increasing the disposable income of Guyanese is assured under the next People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government, according to Irfaan Ali. Ali, the PPP/C presidential candidate, during a televised interview on Sunday (September 8, 2019), said, “We will move the income

tax threshold to $100,000.”

During a prior interview, the PPP/C presidential candidate noted that over the last three and a half years, Guyanese have witness “tremendous difficulty” in the country in the economy, as well as on other fronts. In moving forward, he made it clear that there must be a focus on the wellbeing on the Guyanese people, not

on ratios.

He said, “Development goes beyond ratios…we cannot afford to manage the economy based on traditional indicators and ratios.

Instead, we have to manage the economy to ensure sustainable development, which balances economic growth with social development and environmental priorities.

“The development must be felt by every Guyanese.

In this regard, we have to focus on issues of inequality, income distribution, vulnerabilities of at risk communities and groups, so that as the tide of the economy rises, all will be placed in a better position.

“The objective of national development goes beyond statistics and ratios,

such as Gross Domestic Product...the concept of sustainable development and managing for people is very different.”

As such, he noted that several questions must be asked and answered, including: • Are the policies and programmes making a difference in the lives of people?

• Are our policies and programmes creating jobs?

• Are our policies and programmes generating more income for our people?

• Are our policies and programmes improving the well-being of our people?

• Are our policies and programmes expanding social and economic goods and improving services?

• How are our policies and programmes impacting the pockets and bank accounts of our people?

Ali said, “These are

critical questions that we must pose when we develop economic programmes and plans, and not just look at development ratios. As we saw under the APNU+AFC Coalition, policies were only geared at one side of the equation – increased tax collection – but on the other size the taxes were inhibitive to business growth and the development and at the end of it, people were affected. People lost their jobs. People lost their income. And the economy, as a whole, was affected.

“Our focus must be about policies in the short, medium and long term that will bring real benefits, some immediately and some later, by answering the questions that I posed.”

A clear and realistic vision for the future will ensure Guyana’s development and progress for the Guyanese people, according to him.

While acting in defiance of Constitution, CCJ ruling…

AFC admits to business community that elections must be held

A

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s the business community persists in its call for General and Regional Elections, which ought to have been held since March 21, 2019, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has admitted that the delay will impact on business and investment in Guyana.

The AFC met with a with executive members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Friday (September 6, 2019) and in a statement following the meeting, the Party – the junior partner in the current caretaker APNU+AFC Coalition government – said, “The AFC also acknowledged in the meeting that a prolonged delay in the holding of elections would negatively impact business and investment in Guyana.”

The AFC also told the PSC that it “wished to see elections held as early as possible” in Guyana.

Political observers have said the disingenuous nature of the AFC was on full display with the meeting with the PSC, given that it has been complicit in the care-

taker Coalition government’s defiance of the Constitution of Guyana and the Caribbean Court of Justice’s ruling and orders.

The Constitution demanded the resignation of Cabinet, including the President, after the successful passage of the no-confidence motion. This has not been done. In fact the AFC members, as part of the APNU+AFC Coalition Cabinet, continue to meet and approve contracts, etc.

Also, the CCJ in its July 18, 2019 order, said: “A general election should have been held in Guyana by 21 March 2019…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….all must be faithful to the spirit and letter of the Constitution and operate within the parameters given to each by the Constitution.”

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