Guyana Post Newspaper

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ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER

Wednesday March 10, 2021

Frontline workers, MPs, elderly among first to receive COVID-19 vaccine

Harmon keen to see Chancellor, Chief Justice confirmed

Cocaine in saltfish leads to six arrests

Guyana Post Wednesday March 10, 2021

WIFE DIES FOUR DAYS AFTER HUSBAND

Sherry Alicia Jaigobin

Just four days after a husband died during a horrific accident in the Berbice area, his wife became the second fatality

from that accident.

The dead man was 33-year-old Vijay Jaigobin. Now 30-yearold Sherry Alicia Jaigobin

from Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice is dead.

Reports are that it was just after 5 PM Friday

when PYY 6586 was driven at a fast rate by Vijay. He reportedly lost control of the car hitting a concrete culvert on the northern side of the road and then ending up in a nearby trench on the

Berbice River Bridge, Public Road.

Responders quickly rushed to aid the couple by pulling them out of the wrecked car and later rushing them to a nearby hospital.

Unfortunately, Vijay did not survive the crash while his wife was admitted as a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital. She has now succumbed to her injuries.

MEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW: PALACE TAKING RACE ISSUES ‘VERY SERIOUSLY’

The race issues raised by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey are “concerning” and “taken very seriously”, Buckingham Palace has said.

In a statement, the Palace said “recollections may vary” but the matters will be addressed privately.

Meghan told Oprah Harry had been asked by an unnamed family member “how dark” their son Archie’s skin might be.

The Palace said the Sussexes would “always be much loved family

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members”.

The response from Buckingham Palace came after crisis meetings involving senior royals.

The Palace had been under growing pressure to respond to the interview in which Meghan - the first mixedrace member of the modern Royal Family - made the comments about their son’s skin colour.

Prince Harry later clarified to Oprah that the comments were not made by either the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh.

The statement, which

came a day and a half after the interview was first broadcast in the US, said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

It is understood the royals wanted to carefully

consider their response and to give the British public an opportunity to watch the interview first when it was broadcast on Monday evening.

The royals are said to consider this a family matter and to believe they should be given the opportunity to discuss the issues privately.

Although likely, it was never absolutely certain that the Queen would issue a statement following the interview given by her grandson and his wife.

The risk was that any response would add to the “Royals in crisis” narrative which is playing out across front pages and TV screens across the globe.

But having had time to discuss the claims made

by Harry and Meghan, four short sentences convey the message from the Palace that this is a private family matter and the specific allegations will not be publicly addressed.

The tone is conciliatory, with reference to the Sussexes as much loved family members. There is a gentle challenge in the line “whilst some recollections may vary”,

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but also an assurance that concerns will be taken seriously.

And we can be sure that - at least as far as the UK-based royals are concerned - any bridgebuilding will be done in private During a visit in London earlier, Prince Charles did not speak about the interview, in which the Sussexes addressed deeply personal topics of racism, mental health, the media and other members of the Royal Family.

The UK broadcast on Monday night was watched by an average of 11.1 million people.

In it, the duchess said there had been times when she “didn’t want to be alive any more” because she found royal life so difficult. She said she asked for help from the Palace but received none.

Meghan said conversations about how dark Archie’s skin might be when he was born took place “in tandem” with discussions about why he would not be given a royal title and police protection.

Under rules in place since 1917, the couple’s

children would not automatically become princes or princesses unless the Queen was to intervene.

Asked by Oprah whether there were concerns that her child would be “too brown” and that would be a problem, Meghan said: “If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.”

But the couple have refused to say which family member made the comments. “That conversation, I am never going to share,” said Prince Harry. “At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.”

Harry also said it hurt that no-one in his family ever spoke out in support of Meghan after news headlines and articles with “colonial undertones”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Meghan’s allegations about racism and a lack of mental health support should be taken “very seriously”.

Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson had watched the interview on Monday night, but declined to comment further.

Guyana Post Wednesday March 10, 2021

COVID-19: UK REJECTS ‘COMPLETELY FALSE’ EU VACCINE EXPORT BAN CLAIM

A fresh row has broken out between the UK and the EU after the bloc’s most senior official suggested the UK had banned all Covid-19 vaccine exports.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, wrongly claimed the UK had an “outright ban” on exports of vaccines produced on its soil.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the claims were “completely false”.

He has summoned a representative of the EU

in London to the Foreign Office for “further discussions” on the issue.

It is the second time since the start of the year that the UK and EU have been at loggerheads over the issue of the production and distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

In January, the EU threatened to suspend all vaccine imports from the continent to Northern Ireland in a row over postBrexit trade arrangements and controls.

The bloc’s leaders have been under pressure over the slow rollout of

Covid-19 vaccines on the continent, compared with the UK, where 22.5 million people - a third of the adult population - have received their first dose.

Earlier this month, Italy blocked a shipment of 250,000 doses of OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine to Australia as part of a new system of export controls approved in January.

‘Vaccine nationalism’ In his weekly briefing note, Mr Michel - who represents the bloc’s 27 members - said he was shocked when he heard the EU being accused of

“vaccine nationalism” as the bloc had “never stopped exporting”.

“Here again, the facts do not lie,” he wrote.

“The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory.

“But the European Union, the region with the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, has simply put in place a system for controlling the export of doses produced in the EU.” In response, Mr Raab

has written to Mr Michel to “set the record straight”, expressing concern that the “false claim has been repeated at various levels within the EU and the Commission”.

In the letter, he wrote: “The UK government has not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine components.

Any references to a UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines are completely false.”

He added: “We are all facing this pandemic together.”

The EU has faced production problems with three leading vaccines.

The rollout of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine was delayed in some countries because of a temporary reduction in deliveries, to enable Pfizer to increase capacity at its processing plant in Belgium.

Distribution of the Moderna jab also ran into problems, with Italy and France both saying they

were receiving fewer vaccines than expected.

The OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine has been in short supply within the EU as well, with production shortfalls at plants in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The UK, which is expected to have a large surplus of vaccines after ordering 400 million doses, has said it will donate most of those left over to poorer countries.

The UK, which left the EU in January 2020, is one of the leading financial backers of the Covax scheme, which aims to ensure vaccines are shared fairly among all nations, rich and poor.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has said richer countries should send up to 5% of their current vaccine supplies to poorer nations.

collapsed, opponents of the government have been jailed and mistreated, and inflation has soared.

“It is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals

already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises,” a statement by Mr Mayorkas read.

Under the provisions, Venezuelans in the US have 180 days to register and - if they meet the criteria - they will receive work permits and be allowed to legally remain in the US. The decision was welcomed by Venezuelans whose future had been uncertain as they waited for a decision by the US government.

Encouraged by Donald Trump’s tough stance against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who he called a dictator, many Venezuelans had pinned their hopes on the then-president granting them TPS. But on his last day in office, Mr Trump chose

to grant them Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) instead. While - like TPS - DED also offers protection from deportation and allows recipients to apply for permission to work, it can be revoked by the president at any time.

Venezuelans in the US were further left in limbo when the Biden Administration took over hours after Mr Trump’s announcement and applications for DED were not opened.

M o n d a y ’ s announcement means Venezuelans in the US now have a clear route to a legal immigration status which is guaranteed for 18 months.

The decision comes just weeks after the Colombian government granted almost a million Venezuelans living in Colombia protected status for 10 years.

Headline: US grants Venezuelan migrants temporary protected status

The US government is granting Venezuelans who are living in the US temporary protected status (TPS).

The decision will allow hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans the chance to stay and work in the US legally.

It will apply to info@guyanapostonline.com

Venezuelans already residing in the US as of 8 March 2021 and be in effect for 18 months.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that living conditions in Venezuela revealed “a country in turmoil”.

Granting Venezuelans

TPS had been one of US President Joe Biden’s campaign promises.

Mass migration An estimated 5.4m Venezuelans have left their homeland in recent years to escape a worsening political and economic crisis.

The health service has

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Guyana Post WednesdayMarch 10, 2021

Frontline workers, MPs, elderly among first to receive COVID-19 vaccine

With several leaders around the world taking the COVID-19 Vaccines as a sign of confidence in the vaccine, the Ministry of Health, after starting the vaccination campaign, and targeting the frontline workers as the first to be vaccinated, is now looking to vaccinate

parliamentarians.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, said during his COVID-19 daily update that Members of Parliament will be catered for during this stage of vaccination based on numerous calls for MPs to be immunised to boost public confidence

in the vaccines.

“We are going to consider that during this current run because there are not many parliamentarians and we think we will be able to cover them. So, those parliamentarians who would be interested in getting their vaccine, we

will make those vaccines available in this round,” Minister Anthony said It is unclear how the Ministry plans to do so while sticking to the initial phase which never included MPs. The Government is set to immunize 80% of the population by year-end.

This will happen through a phased process, where Frontline Workers are said to be the first to receive.

They would be followed by the elderly, those with underlying conditions and later the rest of the population.

“Our deployment of vaccines, we can envisage … maybe four phases. In the first phase we want to prioritise healthcare workers. We can say that is Phase I (A), then Phase I (B) would be all the people. Phase One (C) would be persons with comorbidities, Phase I (D) would be other essential workers like teachers,” Anthony maintained The Government has so far received 3000 doses of the Oxford-

and Chief Justice (CJ) largely due to the lack of consensus on the issue between the two main political leaders.

This issue has been a source of concern for both local and regional judicial bodies.

Mr Harmon during a rally for women, maintained that he intends to work with President Irfaan Ali to ensure that the Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards and Acting Chief Justice Roxane G e o rg e - Wi l t s h i r e ’s position are confirmed.

“Irfaan Ali has to take the steps to ensure that those two women are confirmed in their jobs. I am prepared to do what is necessary to ensure that it happens.

They must be confirmed in those positions.”

Harmon added that he believes that this is the only way that women will be able to stand firm and not be influenced, politically.

“This question about keeping people in an acting position is a way of controlling people.

It’s a way of holding your feet, it’s a way of preventing you from taking actions you should take,” Harmon emphasized.

According to Article 127 (1) “The Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition”.

Article (2) added that “If the office of Chancellor or Chief Justice is vacant, or if the person holding the office of Chancellor is performing the

functions of the office of President or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his or her office, or if the person holding the office of Chief Justice is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his or her office, then, until such a person has been appointed to and assumed the functions of such office or until the person holding such office has assumed those functions, as the case may be, those functions shall be performed by such other of the Judges as shall be appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.”

However, since the amendment of the law back in 2001, not a single Chancellor or CJ has been confirmed in the positions.

AstraZeneca vaccine from the Government of Barbados (through the Indian/Caribbean Agreement), 20,000 doses of Sinopharm the Government received from China and recently, 80,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India.

The Government of Guyana is set to receive several more donations through the COVAX Mechanism. It also will be looking at purchasing some vaccines.

With the two Vaccines at hand, the Ministry of Health will look to distribute the vaccines to all across the country.

These vaccines are said to be administered based on a request by persons and are not deemed mandatory.

Harmon keen to see Chancellor, Chief Justice confirmed

APNU-AFC Opposition, Joseph Harmon

In the wake of Guyana not having a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice for the past 20 years, the Leader of the APNU-AFC Opposition, Joseph Harmon, says that he plans to work with the Government to ensure that the positions are confirmed.

This comes some

twenty years after a constitutional amendment was made to allow the two top judicial office holders to be appointed substantively by the President after obtaining the agreement of the Opposition Leader.

To this day, Guyana remains without a substantive Chancellor

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Justice CummingsEdwards, was sworn in

by Granger on March 27, 2018, following the retirement of Justice Carl Singh, while Justice George was also sworn in to act as Chief Justice in December 2015, following the retirement of the late Justice Ian Chang, S.C and has still not been confirmed up until today.

Guyana’s inability to appoint a substantive Chancellor of the Judiciary has several bodies including the highest court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), expressing some level of disappointment.

Some may have even pointed to the fact that the independent and impartial judiciary might be an issue.

Tucville, Georgetown, Guyana, Tel: 592-623-9971

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Guyana Post Wednesday March 10, 2021

Giftland does owe taxes but collection is dependent on current evaluation

With the Mayor and the Giftland Mall going back and forth over the decisions made by Acting Chief Justice Roxanne George to dismiss a matter brought by the Mayor to collect over $100M in taxes from Giftland, the Chief Justice has clarified that this does not mean that Giftland does not owe taxes.

Just a few weeks ago, Giftland’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Roy Beepat, declared victory and claimed that the Court has ruled that he does

not owe any taxes to the Georgetown City Council.

IN a statement Beepat noted that the Judge had ruled on all points in this case and has found favour in them since the Mayor and City Council has acted illegally in the matter against the Giftland Mall. At this period no taxes are owed

by Giftland Mall to the City, contended Mr. Beepat.

Beepat added that he was fully vindicated against the damage which has been done by the terrible slander

mean that taxes are still not owed.

Wade said based on the ruling, the Chief Justice appears to be of the view that a modern evaluation must be done in order for the Council to demand taxes. He said once that updated evaluation is done, the taxes are likely to be much higher and 1the City Council will stand to benefit more.

With a different interpretation under which the matter was dismissed the Chief Justice has clarified what vocalized by the “Mayor is explained in the Media and his cohorts”.

“We have stood up against the vilest and offensive attacks on our reputation.”

However, later that day, City Council’s Attorney, Darren Wade, explained that the matter was dismissed on the grounds that a proper evaluation of the taxes owed was not done. He said that is not the same as no taxes being owed He added that while taxes cannot be demanded based on a system that has not been updated, that does not

Members of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit incepted over seven pounds of cocaine stashed in a quantity of saltfish fishbone at the Cheddi

Jagan International Airport, yesterday.

According to reports, CANU ranks after noting several parcels of saltfish slightly tampered with in

a manner that was unusual opted for a manual inspection. The shipment was destined for Miami.

While searching some 280 pieces, ranks found

against what is the fact of the matter.

Justice George has maintained that while she cannot get into what is in the media it is believed that while the procedures are followed that Giftland will be applicable to taxes according to law.

She said that if the Media does not believe that Giftland does not have to pay taxes that they are simply mistaken.

She said that if anyone would have listened to the recording they would have been aware

of the fact that once the right procedure is to be followed then Giftland will have to pay taxes.

In this case, the chief evaluation officer failed to follow the law, which is under Chapter 28/04 the valuation for rates and taxes of properties is to be valued every five years.

However, the reality of this matter is that properties in Georgetown and the entire country has not been valued since 1996.

Consequently, there is no lawful list.

Cocaine in saltfish leads to six arrests

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several plastic-wrapped pencil-shaped parcels stashed in the bones of the saltfish.

Six people have since been arrested.

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