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Man dies after Banks DIH building collapses on him PAGE
GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 9, 2020 9 CEO’s report must still be based on valid votes
― Attorney Mayo Robertson says CCJ maintained that the law demands valid votes for election declaration ― says the Court did not invalidate country’s laws
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By Lisa Hamilton
AT TO R N E Y- AT- L AW, Mayo Robertson, has stated that, while he is disappointed that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that it had jurisdiction over the Guyana elections case, he is pleased that the Court did not invalidate any of the country’s laws and has maintained that valid votes must be used to determine the elections results.
Robertson represented the first respondent in the case filed by People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, and PPP/C’s Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, before the CCJ, challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision to interpret Article 177 (2) of the Constitution to mean “more valid votes are cast”.
Shortly after the CCJ, in assuming jurisdiction to hear the application, set aside the Appellate Court’s decision and invalidated the Elections Report submitted by the Chief Elections Officer
ONE man is dead and two others critically injured after a building owned by Banks DIH at Industrial site Ruimveldt, collapsed Wednesday afternoon.
Reports are that five persons were in the building which was being demolished when it collapsed. Two of the men who were trapped within the building when it collapsed were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital with serious injuries. They have been identified as, Jagmohan Bissessar, who was confirmed dead, and Anthony Lowe.
The employees are attached to Home Designs Construction, the company that was carrying out the demolition on the building at the time of its collapse. Station Officer, Clive McDonald, Second in Command for Operations at the Guyana Fire Service, in an interview with the media, stated that (CEO), Robertson appeared on a programme hosted by the APNU+AFC to give his comments.
“That was a little bit disappointing for us because we believe that we had presented a persuasive case to allow the Court to reach a different conclusion but we must not over play the effect of today’s ruling,” he advised.
“The Court has stood by its previous position that it cannot tell GECOM how to do its job. All the Court has said is that ‘the process must continue; we believe the Court of Appeal was wrong but the law in Guyana still stands’ and that law is that the CEO prepares his report and it’s only on the basis of that report that the declaration can be made. They invalidated the report that was presented earlier but that doesn’t mean that the declaration can proceed without a report. Another report has to be presented. So, I would suggest to our friends that they keep the champagne on ice for a little while.”
Robertson said that not the fire service immediately responded following news of the incident. “On arrival at the scene, the crews were informed that two persons were trapped under this collapsed shed; immediately they went into operation and rescued two persons who are presently at the Georgetown Hospital in a serious condition and there are there others who suffered minor injuries.” McDonald said. only did the CCJ reject the invitation to make declarations about which party won or lost, but it did not interfere with the concept that “valid votes” must be the governing principle that the CEO uses to prepare his report.
Furthermore, he explained that given that the CCJ ruled that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction to hear the application filed by Eslyn David, it is therefore consistent with its ruling that the CEO’s report was set aside as it was premised on the decision of the Court of Appeal.
He stated: “My understanding is that the CCJ reaffirmed the concept of a valid vote and it is clear that our law requires the CEO to provide a report based on valid votes…
Attorney-at-Law, Mayo Robertson
the Court did not specifically say ‘x’ number of votes are valid or ‘y’ number of votes are valid. It simply said that the decision of the Court of Appeal was wrong so that the CEO’s report which was based on the Court’s decision should be set aside. It did not say that
Man dies after Banks DIH building collapses on him …two others critically injured
the CEO should not go and
Family members of the deceased and injured workers declined to speak to the media. Banks DIH Limited, in a release, confirmed the accident and the fact that five employees of Home Designs Contractors were injured. The company stated that it is working with the authorities to ascertain the cause of the accident and is adamant that it is working to ensure the injured employees get the best possible emergency care.
The scene following the collapse of the building
prepare a report based on valid votes and I fully expect that that is what he will do.”
The Attorney-at-Law said that while he would not be surprised if some would run with headlines today proclaiming victory, the process is not yet complete as the CEO has not yet submitted the necessary report and a declaration has not yet been made.
He said that what are needed is steady heads and hands to correctly analyze the official decision of the Court and to comply with the said decision.
“To the extent that the Court made a ruling, it’s not very much different from what we were seeking. Remember we went to the Court under [Article] 177 (4) to get the Court to agree that only valid votes could be used in the tabulation of the recount to make a decision as to who should be declared the President. The Court has confirmed that, only valid votes could be used,” he said.
“In addition, the Court has not changed our Constitution. The Court has certainly not suggested that the CEO does not have to prepare a report. He still has to prepare this report as required by the Constitution and it’s still only on the basis of that report that the Chair can then proceed with the declaration process. So, while the Court agreed to take jurisdiction, I don’t believe the result is earth-shaking because the Court did not disavow the concept that only valid votes could be used in the tabulation and the Court also reaffirmed the position of the CEO with respect to the report.”
Robertson also said that the national recount Order No. 60 has not been invalidated by the Court and the CEO must therefore take it into consideration in the presentation of his report. He advised the Guyanese public that while they may be disappointed with the decision of the CCJ to assume jurisdiction, the Court did not invalidate any of the country’s laws or processes.
Guyana Goldfields Inc. achieves half year production of 56,600 ounces
GUYANA Goldfields Inc., on Wednesday, announced that the company has processed the last batch of ore from stockpile and will continue to recover gold in cir- cuit inventory over the next several days. “Thereafter, as previously announced, the mine site will go into a period of care and maintenance,” said a press release from the company.
The release said that gold production for the second quarter totaled 28,500 ounces, bringing total gold production for the first half of the year to 56,600 ounces. “This is above our guidance of 45,000 to 50,000 ounces for the first half of 2020 as disclosed on May 28, 2020. Our unaudited cash balance as at June 30, 2020 was US$28.8 million (inclusive of US$10 million restricted cash) with US$6.5 million in debt,” the company said in the release.
It noted that as part of the transaction announced with Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd., a US$30 million secured loan facility was provided to the company. “The loan balance of US$6.5 million is as a result of the first advance under the Zijin Facility, following our payment to Silvercorp Metals Inc. of the C$9.0 termination fee on June 11, 2020 to terminate the company’s previous arrangement agreement with Silvercorp,” said the release.
