Guyana Post, Monday October 26, 2020
SENIOR COUNSEL ROYSDALE FORDE SAYS THE PPP WILL TRY TO STALL THE ELECTIONS PETITION
Senior Roysdale
Member of Parliament, is satisfied that the coalition satisfied all the laws pertaining to the elections petition. His comments came in the wake of objections of a lack of service on Bharrat Jagdeo, the representative of the PPP list of candidates. Rep r es en tin g Jagdeo is Senior Counsel D o u g l a s Mendes. “There were indications of objections being Counsel raised by Mr Forde, a Mendes on behalf of Mr
Jagdeo in relation to the service of the elections petition but I am satisfied that we would have complied with all the legal requirements in relation to the elections petitions and the laws governing them. “We therefore expect that these elections petitions will be heard and determined quickly and in favour of the petitioner.” Mr Forde said that he is confident about the petitions being successful. He said that the petitions should be heard expeditiously. He said that his team that included attorney Mayo Robertson, anticipated such objections.
CDC says there is no risk of oil spill from Nabarima vessel The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) wishes to notify the public that there is minimal risk of an oil spill in the Gulf of Paria. This information comes after assessments conducted by Trinidad and Tobago, efforts to relieve the Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) NABARIMA of its cargo and the ongoing remedial works. Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister, Franklin Khan, said yesterday, “The FSO Nabarima is upright and stable with no visible tilt and there is no imminent risk of tilting or sinking.” A three-man team from Trinidad and Tobago assessed the situation and reported that the ongoing maintenance on the vessel
was “quite satisfactory” with pumps and electrical motors being repaired and replaced as needed. The Guardian Newspaper reported that the Venezuelans and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) had started to offload the vessel on Tuesday after the arrival of PDVSA’s Aframax ship, Icaro – a much smaller vessel than Nabarima. Khan said that the team recommended that the transfer of oil from
the vessel be done by a larger vessel which will reduce the offload time and logistics of the transfer as “this will reduce the possibility of an environmental incident occurring in the Gulf of Paria.” The CDC will continue to liaise with its local, regional and international counterparts to ensure the situation is adequately monitored and that no threats are posed to Guyana.
“It was clear during the process of serving of the petition that Mr. Jagdeo, the representative of the list, would have sought to avoid service, repeatedly. “But the law, the National Assembly Validity Act, contemplated those possibilities. We complied with the law, we applied to the court in due time and got orders of court granted in respect of himself and other respondents we had difficulty effecting service upon and we were able to comply with the law.” The preliminary case is that the objections may not have merit. Mr Forde said that the objections
would be exposed as being misconceived. The fact that the two petitions filed by the coalition may be seeking the same end result does not mean that they are the same. Mr Forde said that the reliefs being sought are completely different. And in response to the comment by Attorney General Anil Nandlall that the petitions will go nowhere, Senior Counsel Forde said that the PPP is simply putting up a front. “If they have all this degree of confidence in the elections petition being without merit, why spend state resources hounding down employees of the
elections commission? Why spend considerable time and energy seeking to use state force against persons? “Why seek to lockup people? I am not worried by the statements made by the Attorney General. What I know as a fact is that they are extremely worried about the elections petitions being heard so early and what they are likely to reveal. Because a petition seeks the removal of a government from office, lawyers will seek every available path to delay an elections petition from being heard, according to Mr. Forde.
Police force receives donations from PSC to help protect them from COVID-19
Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie received 2,000 masks and a check for $99,000 from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) done by Chairman of the PSC, Nicholas Boyer
Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie received 2,000 masks and a check for $99,000 from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to help protect ranks from COVID-19. The handing over was done by Chairman of the PSC, Nicholas Boyer, and businessman, Maniram Prashad, today, October 23, at the Commissioner’s conference room at Eve Leary.
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The Commissioner said the funds will be used to purchase materials to sew reusable masks for the police ranks who are a part of the Government’s COVI-Curb operation. The COVID-curb operation was started with the goal of sensitizing the public to the importance of the measures that are in place for the prevention of COVID-19. The Police Force is working in every Region
to “engage, encourage, educate and enforce.” The Commissioner also said that he hopes people will continue to adhere to the measures in place. Boyer also encouraged the public to work with the police force and to follow the guidelines set by the Ministry of Public Health and the international agencies, WHO and PAHO.
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