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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Attorney Dela Britton to be sworn in as PUC chairperson Man gets 11 years for killing step-father
PRESIDENT David Granger will today swear in attorney-at-law Dela Britton to serve as Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). She replaces Justice Prem Persaud, who proceeded into retirement in March 2017 after serving the PUC for nearly two decades, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications said in a release. Britton had herself been serving as a PUC commissioner, and she brings to this public utilities regulatory body a wealth of legal experience in Guyana and the USA. She was admitted to the
Guyana Bar in November 1995, after completing her Legal Education Certificate (LEC) at the Hugh Wooding Law School. A few years later, she enrolled in the Fordham University School of Law to pursue a Masters of Law (LLM) degree in International Trade Policy, Intellectual Property, Corporate Governance, International Law and more. Over the past two decades, Ms. Britton authored and co-authored a number of Selected Papers and Publications while serving as a Managing Partner at the local law firm Britton, Hamilton and Adams. She has been the Legal Counsel/Expert for
Dela Britton is to be sworn in today as Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
an array of large and medium-sized industrial business concerns, commercial banks
and international organisations such as CARICOM and the UNDP. In addition, as a Consultant/Trainer with UNICEF she was integrally involved in several interventions concerning rights and conditions, health, education and general welfare for Guyana’s women and children. Ms. Britton intends to apply her broad repertoire of skills to the government’s bid to strengthen the effectiveness of the Public Utilities Commission, which was established to regulate and monitor every public and private sector utility, ensuring that they operate at industry standards. The PUC was established in October 1990 under the Public Utilities Commission Act No. 26. This piece of legislation was subsequently amended four times -- in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2016. The commission consists of a chairman, who serves on a full-time basis and three commissioners appointed to serve part-time.
HERMAN George, 21, who pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter for the March 29, 2012 murder of his step-father, was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh in the Georgetown High Court on Tuesday. The judge told the court that his sentence is 11 years and time served must be deducted and wished George ‘good luck’ before he was escorted out of the courtroom. In his plea of mitigation, defence attorney Mark Conway said that his client was only 16 years old at the time of the incident and resided with his parents and sister in the hinterland. He related that his client’s had an unfortunate upbringing and as such had to drop-out of school and went into mining. Conway added that George is very remorseful and asked the court for mercy. In response, State Prosecutor, Tameika Clarke told the court that George killed the husband of his mother when he asked him “why he was working so young.” Williams’ was fatally chopped to the back of the head once with a cutlass, which almost severed his head. She asked that the maximum sentence be handed down. When asked by the judge if he had anything to say, George said he did not. He killed his step-father, Michael Williams, 50, at the Kariabo Backdam in the North West District, on March 29, 2012. According to reports, Williams was heading to his home at the Kariabo Mission when he stopped to take a rest. Reports stated that the man was seen sitting on a log while his friend continued walking. The accused was reportedly seen walking on the trail with a cutlass over his shoulder on the day in question.
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