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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday March 20, 2015
MUSTAPHA TELLS ‘BANGLADESHIS’...
Ramayya in contempt of Court
– could be jailed for not apologising “THEY talking so much about corruption, so much so they cannot prove the corruption. You cannot make allegation or talk about corruption; you have to prove the corruption…” he said. “They made a lot of allegations, calling people names and saying people corrupt. So we decided to let them prove it: We went to the Courts, and you know what? A man crying now; he is in contempt of court, anytime he can go to jail. The bush doctor...” The foregoing annecdote was told to scores of Port Mourant Corentyne residents by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Member, Zulfikar Mustapha, during a meeting at Third Street, Bangladesh, where the ruling party continued its political campaign, leading up to the May 11 General and Regional elections. Lapsing into the vernacular to better engage his audience, Mustapha said: “The judge ordered the Clerk of Court to go through the words of the apology many times; the man say that he will remember the words, and he still go on television and seh wrang t’ing. Imagine dem people dah want run country and dem can’t read wan li’l thing likka tha. “I was going through ‘The Times’, and I was laughing just now, because dem seh dat de Court went through the t’ing wid de man like a school child in a primary school, and still he go on television and talk garbage. “So he in contempt of court. He will be jailed; they cannot prove it. And he will now have to pay for his mouth. He also got to pay money, which we will use for charity; give to Children’s Homes.” The former Regional Chairman’s remarks was as a result of a Court order made by Justice Nareshwar
Zulfikar Mustapha
Verasammy Ramayya
Haranand, at the Berbice High Court on March 3. However, legal sources close to Mustapha are expected to file a contempt proceedings next week, after Alliance for Change activist, Veersammy Ramayya failed to accede to an order issued by the judge. Ramayya was given seven days to publically apologise to Mustapha, following the filing of a libel lawsuit back in 2011. According to Court documents seen by this reporter, Ramayya was expected to say on a television programme aired on November 19, 2011: “I, Verasammy Ramayya, Executive Member of the AFC (Alliance For Change) alleged that Zulfikar Mustapha, who was Regional Chairman for Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) at the time, and a prominent member of the PPP/C, was corrupt and dishonest. “I, Verasammy Ramayya, unreservedly hereby withdraw all implications made by me on the character, conduct and good name of Mr Zulfikar Mustapha. I acknowledge that the statements made were wholly unfounded. “I wish to express my deepest regret to Mr Zulfikar Mustapha, and wish to apologize to him and family, friends, the Regional Administration of Region Six and the RDC (Regional Democratic Council), and for any embarrassment which this
may have caused him.” However, instead of adhering to the Court’s order by repeating the prepared apology, Ramayya, on March 7, 2015 on a televised live broadcast during the ‘Alliance on the Move’ programme, said: “I was ordered by the Court, and I am not very comfortable with what I have to do or say. On behalf of myself and DTV-8, we want to apologise to Zulfikar Mustapha for the allegation that was made on this television programme. So, that ends the episode with a very big full stop.” Meanwhile, in the Tuesday March 10, 2015 edition of the Kaieteur News, 10, 2015, in an article captioned ‘AFC Ramayya publicly apologises to PPP executive’, the author noted that Ramayya had fulfilled his legal obligation as ordered by the Court. But Mustapha’s legal team, in an invited comment on the issue, said in response: “What was said was not what was ordered. He was given a printed copy of what he had to say, but he deviated.” In addition to the apology, Ramayya was ordered to pay $250,000 which, when paid, will be given to charity. Mustapha was represented by Attorney- at-Law Adrian Anamaya, while Veersammy’s counsel was Alliance For Change Leader and Attorney, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan.
Finance Minister unhurt following vehicular accident – driver hospitalised AT approximately 14:30 hrs yesterday, the driver of the Minister of Finance was involved in a vehicular accident on the public road at Buxton, East Coast Demerara. The Minister of Finance and his security detail were also in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Only the driver of the Minister’s vehicle was injured and he is currently receiving medical treatment at a city hospital. The occupant of the other vehicle involved in the accident is also unhurt. All parties are cooperating with the investigation. The Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh would like to express his gratitude to the many public spirited individuals who rendered assistance immediately at the scene of the accident and who transported him and his driver to the hospital. The Minister would also like to thank the management and staff of the hospital for their immediate and professional response.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh
2.5 kilos marijuana found
– at Police roadblock at Fort Wellington AT about 18:30 hrs yesterday, police ranks conducted a search on a motor vehicle at a road block at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice, during which 2.5 kilograms of compressed marijuana were found. A man has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations.
More jobs to be created for Lindeners – with upcoming projects LINDEN and indeed Region 10 have had their fair share of development, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), whose aim is to ensure that citizens receive the needed services to improve their lives. The PPP/C Administration promised Lindeners that it will deliver jobs, and according to Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill, the Government has been so doing. While highlighting some of the factors that have contributed to this development, Minister Edghill emphasised that the recently commissioned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) Kurubuka mine, located immediately adjoining to the Berbice River, will see several hundreds of direct jobs being created. BCGI, a subsidiary of the Russian company, RUSAL has invested over $4.6 billion on the mine. Surrounding communities stand to benefit as hundreds of Guyanese are currently employed by the company. “BCGI will be providing 506 direct jobs, plus hundreds of other jobs, because people have to supply food,
cleaning and other auxiliary services to the BCGI. From 2009 to 2014, BGCI invested close to US$98 million into the investment in Aroaima area,” Minister Edghill pointed out. He further stated that while bauxite has been a major contributor of job creation, the forestry sector has also played its part. To this end, the Government has created the environment for foreign investors to inject money in this area, so much so that even the Government’s worst critic, the Kaieteur News, has highlighted the magnitude of what is taking place in the sector. “Logs don’t fall by themselves; trucks don’t just drive by themselves, tractors and skidders and the boats don’t operate by themselves, all of those are jobs, and so when you think about foreign investments and joint venture arrangements between locals and these partners who have provided financing and machinery, they have made significant investments in Region 10,” Minister Edghill explained. However, he said more jobs could have been created had other projects been
on stream, for example, the wood processing facility at Conception that was to be created by Bai Shan Lin, but a number of factors have contributed to its non-completion. “When we looked at the investment agreement of BCGI, Bai Shan Lin, the deep water harbour and the paving of the Linden/Lethem road and how they will open up opportunities...once that road is open and there is a deep water harbour, there have to be hotels, restaurants, service stations, personal care, and food supplies,” Minister Edghill stressed. The minister emphasised that Government is working to ensure that there is cooperation from all stakeholders to engender confidence, so that the necessary investments in Linden and Region 10 can be made. While these projects have sought to create jobs for residents in the region, the communities themselves have also benefited, and are almost sharing the profits. At Aroaima and Hururu, the bauxite company maintains the schools. In the case of Hururu, electricity is supplied to the residents and the community provides certain services in a trade of manner. (GINA)