Keeping you updated on current events... ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER
Saturday March 27 , 2021
Former Assistant Commissioner, three police ranks charged with fraud
Young mother blames unprofessional nurses for the state of her newborn
APNU+AFC SAYS PPP GOVERNMENT WANTS TO MANIPULATE PAC
Guyana Post Saturday March 27, 2021
India buys one million barrels of Guyana crude
As the Guyana Police Force continues to conduct its probe into a multimillion-dollar fraud committed by ranks in the Finance Department, four members, including a Former Assistant Commissioner were today slapped with several charges of fraud and placed on bail. The four appeared before the Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and denied allegations made against them. Those appearing were Former Assistant
Commissioner, Kevin Adonis of 95 Stewartville, West Bank Demerara; Jermaine Fraser of 4116 Phase One Westminster, West Bank Demerara;, Rawle Haynes, of Two Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo; and Michael Corbin, of 315, First Avenue, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara. The Police case is that Fraser, Haynes, Corbin, and Adonis between March 26, 2019, and March 29, 2019, at Georgetown, conspired with each other and persons unknown while
being public officers, employed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and stole $19,030,767, belonging to the Guyana Police Force, their employer. It was further noted that Corbin also on March 26, 2019, at Guyana Police Force, Finance Office, Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown, input electronic data, that is to say, a payment voucher entry in the sum of $19,030,767, resulting in inauthentic data, with the intent that it be considered or acted upon by the Ministry of Finance Integrated
Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) staff as if it was authentic, regardless of whether or not the said data was directly readable or intelligible. It was further alleged that Haynes on March 29, 2019, at Georgetown, while being a public officer, and employed by the Guyana Police Force, stole 19,030,767, money belonging to the said Guyana Police Force, his employer. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to them. The four were released on $150,000 bail on
the first charge and on the hand Corbin was released on $100,000 for his separate charge while Haynes was granted $50,000 bail on his individual charge also. As such, the four were also instructed to return to court on April 12th. Reports are that Corbin and Fraser were stationed at the Votes Section of the Police Finance Office, Force Headquarters, Eve Leary in March 2019 and were responsible to input and approve information respectively from Payment Vouchers in the Integrated
Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) resulting in the Ministry of Finance to cut cheques to the amount inputted. It was on March 26, 2019 Corbin reportedly reused a payment voucher with supporting documents for fuel purchased from GUYOIL to input information in the IFMIS. Jermaine Fraser approved the said information, resulting in a cheque in the amount of $19,030,767 Guyana dollars to be cut, payable to O/C ‘F’ Division. The cheque was uplifted from the Ministry of Finance and lodged at the Police Finance Office. Adonis later endorsed the said cheque and Haynes, who was not authorised or being the Finance Representative for ‘F’ Division encashed it at the Bank of Guyana using Adonis’s national identification card. No records were made of the cheque or to whom the money was disbursed to at ‘F’ Division. An Audit was conducted by the Auditor General, followed by the police investigation.
Young mother blames unprofessional nurses for the state of her newborn
The cries of another mother are being heard. This mother continues to blame the negligence
explained that her first pregnancy might come as her worst; as she cried and screamed for six hours. But that was not enough for the hospital staff to see that it was time for her to give birth, even with her water being broken at the Georgetown Public Hospital. According to France, in the past, she praised the Georgetown hospital for being one the best in providing health care ever, since she had given of the hospital for her is 19-year-old, Russell birth there. But now that perception has changed newborn baby to be in a France of Sophia. critical condition. In a letter soiled by the due to the Hospital’s The young mother crying mother, Ms. France actions that caused “me so
much pain that I’ll never be able to forget.” France explained that she was admitted there on Monday, March 22 since she was experiencing on and off the pain. She was 42weeks pregnant and was in the stage of post-term, so the hospital wanted to induce labour the same day. She said that around about 4:00 hours, she was taken to the labour ward for delivery to be induced. “The nurse asked me to sign some papers stating in case of any emergency or anything they will give me a C-section.” She
then was administered some tablets to induce her labour. Just around midday, the young pregnant mother explained that the pain came again but this time her water broke. She started to feel intense pain and started to scream. It was then according to the young pregnant mother that things got bad. She said that her screams brought a female nurse and even with the event of her water bag breaking, the nurse said that it did mean that she was in labour. Con’t on pg3
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Guyana Post Saturday March 27, 2021
APNU+AFC SAYS PPP GOVERNMENT WANTS …issue involves the Chair of the PAC. TO MANIPULATE PAC
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) has condemned the attempts of the PPP Government to further dismantle the guardrails of national democracy through the efforts of its members
in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). In this most recent instance, they seek to erode the meaning and spirit of Standing Order SO 82 (2) which grants the main Opposition in the National Assembly the right and power to
impartiality; and, a Chairman from the Opposition appointed exclusively by the main Opposition is fundamental for such impartiality. The APNU+AFC thus finds reprehensible, the device and artifice being utilised by the PPP to erode this entrenched norm, which is to demand removal of the duly appointed Chairman, David Patterson via a noconfidence motion. The APNU+AFC maintains that the lawful selector of the Chairman of PAC is the main Opposition. The law and practice on this matter are certainly not who the Government finds unfit and improper,
select the Chairman of that Committee. There are significant history and an important purpose why this entitlement belongs to the main Opposition. Scrutiny of spending and of all other financial matters demands
US$383 million replenishment for CDB fund …money to reduce poverty and inequality in the Caribbean
The Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Board of Directors has endorsed a US$383 million programme for the 10th cycle of the Bank’s Special Development Fund (SDF). The programme is devised to reduce poverty and inequality and transform the lives of citizens in its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). The SDF represents the principal pool of concessional resources available to the Bank to assist BMCs in addressing poverty, sustainable development, governance, capacity development, gender inequalities, environmental sustainability, climate change, disaster risk management, and regional cooperation and integration. Established in 1970, the Fund is a unique partnership among the Bank’s stakeholders with both borrowing and nonborrowing members contributing to its resources. With support from CDB and other development info@guyanapostonline.com
partners, the BMCs have been making consistent efforts over the past two decades to reduce poverty and inequality. However, pressing development challenges persist and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has undermined some of the socioeconomic gains achieved. “A key concern for the Special Development Fund over this cycle will be the need to respond meaningfully to the challenges of poor and vulnerable groups whose conditions have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The priority will be a focus on developing social resilience by building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries so that they
are prepared for shocks, and can cope when they do occur,” CDB President Dr William Warren Smith said. Member countries have pledged to contribute US$188.2 million to the SDF for the period 20202024 while the Bank has allocated US$162.8 million from internal resources, such as loan repayments. The remaining gap in the programme funding of US$32 million is expected to be provided by existing and prospective contributors. About twothirds of the Fund will be used for concessional loans to BMCs with the remainder allocated to grants. The top five contributors to SDF 10 are
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Canada (C$81.4 million / US$59.6 million), United Kingdom (£21 million / US$26.5 million), Germany (€12.4 million / US$13.7 million), Jamaica (US$13 million) and Trinidad and Tobago (US$11.3 million). “The impact of Covid-19 has put tremendous stress on social protection systems that were already challenged to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable. “The Bank welcomes the sustained commitment of the Contributors to the Special Development Fund. Through this solid partnership, CDB can continue to lift people out of poverty and support countries in the recovery phase,” Smith said. To tackle the fallout from the pandemic and make further development gains, the overarching goal of SDF 10 is to assist BMCs to reduce poverty and inequality and to transform the lives of BMC citizens consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals.
but who the main Opposition finds fit and proper. Otherwise, the Government by such a device of a no-confidence motion can become the final selector of the PAC’s Chair, thereby completely eroding the intent and purpose of SO 82(2). Just like Bishop Edghill and his team is seeking to do David Patterson, they can easily do so to Ms. Fernandes, Mr. Figuero, and Mr. Mahipaul. In the last Parliament, the APNU+AFC Government respected the Opposition’s PPP appointee, Mr. Irfaan Ali, who was allowed to chair the committee, despite being charged
with multiple offenses, because we respected the sanctity of the tradition that was enshrined in the Standing Orders and the non-violability of SO 82 (2). This longstanding standard should be reciprocated and borne out in this Parliament. This attempt at Mr. Patterson’s removal is what is stymieing the work of the PAC at present. It is absolutely not his absence, or inaction, or stalling. Hence, there is no need to even give SO 95 any attention as the Government team is seeking to do, much less any weird amendment to any of the Standing Orders.
Young mother blames...
Con’t from pg2
However, when checks were made again on her “and at that time my cervix was still two centimeters dilated checks were later made.” Around three that morning the nurse came to examine me once again and I was only four centimeters dilated. The young pregnant mother said that through the night she screamed and begged for a C-Section, as she remained weak in pain but was told she was being negative and that she should stop her screaming. At sunrise, the young pregnant girl said she was injected and was told that the shot will dilate the cervix more and they then took me to the birthing room. She maintained that when she started to cry in pain the nurse then said that they could not be in the room with me if she is going to make noise. She then started to push and they criticized her and
told her not to do it but some time later told her to push again. Then she told me she was not doing it right. The doctor threatened to leave her until she got it right. They even told her that her baby was not moving. The staff told her she would suffer third-degree perineal tears. When the baby came out he was not moving or anything. They rushed the mother to emergency surgery to repair the tear and help stop the bleeding. The young mother said that it was due to the delay during labour that her baby didn’t take his first breath so no oxygen went to his brain. Her son remains in a critical condition and is unlikely to survive, and the young mother is calling for authorities to look into the matter.
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Guyana Post Saturday March 27 2021
No, the idea of CARICOM is not dead
By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College at the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own) A commentary, published on March 8 by Camillo Gonsalves, a Minister of the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, was headlined “Every Island for itself’. The first line was unequivocal in stating that “The idea of CARICOM died on December 16, 2020”. Camillo Gonsalves is a Caribbean man and an integrationist. Only deep frustration could have occasioned his decision to publish the commentary on his blogsite. In the event, his remarks prompted a series of questions to me from Johnson John rose, a Caribbean journalist of known repute. I reproduce below the questions he posed and my answers. Q. Do you agree that the idea of CARICOM – the principle of solidarity, the ethos of all for one, and one for all – has died? Why? A. The ‘idea’ of CARICOM is not dead. The ‘dream’ of a more perfect union is not lost. The idea and the dream are too basic to our future for them to be abandoned. CARICOM as a whole is extremely rich in natural and human resources, but individual member countries are weak and vulnerable. In the international community, individual countries have little or no bargaining power; only when they act collectively do they have any strength. Fourteen votes collectively have a modicum of power; one vote, backed by no military might or economic clout, is by itself of little value. Q. What’s your greatest concern about the future of the movement? A. That only the demands info@guyanapostonline.com
of survival, resulting from the disaster, will cause leaders of the individual countries to recognize that the ‘sovereignty to which they cling is only exercised against each other; it is meaningless in the global power theatre where powerful countries and regions dictate their relationships. Leaders should see the disaster looming in Climate Change and its threats to the very existence of islands and mainland territories with low-lying coasts, agriculture, tourism, and human habitats. Lack of individual capacity is evident in each country’s inability to respond robustly to pandemics, such as COVID-19. None of them has large enough populations or enough money to compete with richer nations that have bought the available vaccines, depriving the rest of the world. Q. CARICOM has endured a lot of internal strife but has managed to survive, could it be that the issue of Venezuela’s sovereignty will be what destroys the movement? It is not Venezuela per se that has caused division and conflicting positions in CARICOM. The real cause is dependency. Some CARICOM countries depended on Venezuela for oil and ran up a large debt in deferred payments; others depend on the US and Canada for aid, markets, and help with borrowing. When CARICOM countries recognize that they could be less dependent on external forces and less obliged if they pool their resources and their sovereignty, they will be more independent in their decisions and action. This same argument applies to the cruise ship industry and to foreign airlines which play them off against each other, resulting in fewer revenues to each of them and greater advantage to the airlines and cruise operators. Q. Why didn’t Antigua and Barbuda join Trinidad and Tobago in seeking a boycott of the OAS until Guaido is removed? Trinidad and Tobago have not boycotted the OAS ‘until Guaido’s representative is removed’. Trinidad and Tobago is an active member of the OAS. Eleven of the 14 independent countries of CARICOM at the OAS do not recognize Guaido or his representative’s legitimacy in the OAS. These 11 countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, do not recognize
Pomeroon farmer faces attempted murder charge
Guaido’s representative or his vote or participation in any decision-making in the OAS. Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Haiti do deal with Guaido’s representative – this latter point was what motivated Gonsalves’s blog. Q. How do you feel about CARICOM’s current path? A. It is not good for the autonomy of individual states in the international community. Such autonomy as they enjoy is being eroded. Economically, unless the leadership – at both the political and business levels – acknowledge that their markets are puny and their production minuscule in global terms, and that integrating their markets and production would strengthen each of them as integral parts of a larger, more competitive unit (in terms of raising money on better term and bargaining for better terms of trade) the current path will weaken each of them still further. Perhaps the truth is that they all know that, ultimately, they need CARICOM which is why none have left it, and none have chosen to destroy it. It may well be that those who encourage the notion of their own vehicle, keep the engine of the CARICOM bus running because they know that they will need to board it to drive to salvation. I understand Camillo Gonsalves’s frustration. I share it. But I also know that we cannot pronounce CARICOM dead. Its lifeblood continues to pump in the veins of Caribbean people everywhere who long for a single region in which they can travel freely on one passport, move to jobs, set up businesses anywhere in the region, just like the people of the 50 states of the United States do. The imperatives of survival rest not in separateness but in togetherness where the bounty of the region is shared by all in a truly integrated single area, and where standing together in the international community gives the Caribbean solid meaning. This does not mean giving up national identity; it means recognizing that we can also benefit from a Caribbean identity – just as people from Texas are Texans and Americans; and people from Italy are Italians and Europeans, so too we can be Jamaicans, Barbadians, Antiguans and yet be the Caribbean.
A farmer in the Pomeroon area has found himself in some serious trouble after chopping his pregnant wife about his body, and later setting the house on fire. The incident reportedly took place at Grant Friendship, Lower Pomeroon River in Region Two about 9:00 hrs yesterday morning. Reports are that at the
time of the incident the two had an argument, and during that argument, the husband picked up a chopper and dealt the woman several chops about her body, chops, which left injuries to her head, and to her hands. One hand remains partially amputated. The woman later cried out for help from her neighbours, sometime
after her husband was gone but not before he had set the house on fire. He was arrested later and is currently in police custody assisting with the investigation while the Wife remains a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The Husband is set to be charged with attempted murder.
Hunt on for rape suspect
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Police are now on the hunt for a man, who allegedly has raped his family member in a Region One location. According to the police, they are currently investigating an alleged sexual activity with a child by a family member. The incident occurred between Saturday, February 28,
2021, and Sunday, March 01, 2021, in Region One. The Force has maintained that the matter was first investigated by the Child Protection Agency and reported to the police on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. With the allegation raised, the suspect has reportedly fled the area
of the crime and is yet to be arrested. Since the investigation was launched also, the suspect has also been fingered in other crimes of a similar nature. As such, the force has taken a step to investigate all the matters. It is also focused on the apprehension of the suspect.