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Thursday Nov. 11, 2021

MINISTER JOINS HOTEL PROPRIETORS IN TURNING SOD FOR US$32.2M HYATT PLACE HOTEL

CCJ RESERVES DECISION IN BISRAM LEGAL CHALLENGE

F.W. DE KLERK, LAST PRESIDENT OF APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA, DIES AT 85

FIRE DESTROYS TOP FLAT IN DUNCAN STREET

Thursday Nov. 11, 2021

MINISTER JOINS HOTEL PROPRIETORS IN TURNING SOD FOR US$32.2M HYATT PLACE HOTEL

As Government continues to create and foster investment opportunities in the country to allow for job creation and economic growth, Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni K. Singh was joined by Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Kwame Mc Koy, GOInvest Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Peter Ramsaroop and officials of SIR Investments Guyana Inc. Imtiaz and Reyaz Ahamad to turn the sod for the construction of a new US$32.2 Million Hyatt Place Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

The new hotel which will comprise over 125 rooms is slated to be completed in 2024. It will create 300 jobs during its construction phase and another 80 permanent jobs afterward along with several part-time

job opportunities for Guyanese.

It is expected to be a four-Star Hotel targeting the needs of Guyana’s middle to upper-class corporate clientele and valueconscious business and leisure travelers.

Additionally, the hotel is expected to increase economic activity at Providence where that part of the East Bank corridor is also targeted for the construction of the New Demerara Harbour Bridge while additional housing communities being established are in close proximity as well as several major businesses u n d e r g o i n g expansion.

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Minister Singh re-emphasized the Government’s commitment to the continued fostering of economic growth and job creation.

He also reminded that the Providence

area had long before been cane fields prior to being vastly developed under the previous People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Government.

“It took at the time a bold and visionary Government that recognized the trajectory that Guyana could be heading towards to develop this entire new development that today we might easily take for granted.

“Not so long ago this entire area represented fields that were unutilized, and we embarkedthe previous People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Governmentrecognizing that we were simultaneously laying the foundation for a tremendous economic take-off in Guyana.

“Indeed, long before oil and gas had been discovered and confirmed that led to the opening of vast new areas such as Providence, such as

Diamond/Grove, such as Eccles.” Dr. Singh reminded.

Dr. Singh added that the sod-turning ceremony marked the home stretch approaching the culmination of a long journey borne out of a tremendous vision for the future.

Minister Singh also complimented SIR Investments Guyana Inc. for recognizing Guyana’s tremendous potential as a destination for investment and re-emphasized the Government’s commitment to the continued fostering of economic growth and job creation.

Also addressing attendees at the sod-turning event, Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond posited that Government will continue to facilitate expansion and investment in the tourism and hospitality sector and

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assured that there was more to come.

“I reflect that it was but just a short while ago (in March of this year) that I had the privilege to share the stage with his Excellency President Ali as we turned the sod for the construction of a 101room hotel in central Georgetown under the Best Western brand.

Scarcely four months later, last July, we again shared the stage, this time in Timehri- to turn the sod for a Marriottbranded hotel which, on completion, will feature 140 rooms.

“Today, we are about to turn the sod for the construction of a Hyatt brand, first one of its kind in Guyana which will feature 125 rooms,” Minister Walrond posited.

The Minister said further that developments such as these are proof of the confidence of investors in the

economic potential of the country and in the ability of its Government to competently manage Guyana’s affairs.

M e a n w h i l e , Chairman of SIR Investments Guyana, Mr. Imtiaz Ahamad said, “Guyana was on our radar as a booming rapidly-growing market and after conducting various feasibility studies this opportunity presented itself and has brought us to this point today.”

The Chairman thereby expressed appreciation to the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Office for Investment, and other stakeholders.

He also noted that in the current landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, the investment group’s decision to expand its brand to Guyana shows its confidence in Guyana’s economy, the country’s tourism sector, and business as a whole in Guyana.

Thursday Nov. 11, 2021

Fire destroys top flat in Duncan Street An afternoon fire at the three-story Duncan Street building which houses a tyre shop business, housing complex, and Digicel Tower, has destroyed the entire top flat of the building.

According to information, the fire started just after 2 PM in the upper flat of the building in a room filled with Spanish nationals.

When the fire service arrived, the ranks quickly sprang in action and later contained the fire to the upper flat of the building by attacking the fire from each end.

In explaining what may have happened, the owner of the said property, Forbes Garraway, said that he was home at the time of the fire. He smelled something was burning and went to check.

At the time, Mr. Garraway said that he said that he thought that it was his neighbours burring

copper but it turned out not to be so.

Garraway said that he was later contacted by the neighbours telling him that fire was coming from the top flat of his building.

He said he went up with a fire extinguisher but could not compete with the fire which was too big at the time.

“I went upstairs with two fire extinguishers because I got like ten of them. I got into the apartment, but the fire was in the room. I stomped down the door and it was like an oven. I couldn’t have done anything about it because the smoke started to choke me. I had to leave it and come out.”

According to Garraway, no one was in the apartment. A large number of foreign nationals normally occupied the place.

Garraway further noted that it is now time to count his losses, build

back better and he is set to approach the insurance company soon.

Only the top flat of the building was destroyed, and the Digicel tower was saved.

Speaking to the media after the fire was under control, Divisional Commander Andrew Holder said that he remains unsure what may have caused the fire.

Investigators have not yet determined what may have caused the fire but they had arrived promptly on the scene.

Mr. Holder said on arriving at the scene there were some difficulties with water in the vicinity with no function hydrant being close by and limited water resources in the surrounding drains.

“The closest water source, I think, is on Laluni Street. It is a considerable distance away from here. We try getting water from a canal;

within minutes that was exhausted. Fire hydrants were non-functional; the fire service is currently in the mode of inspecting and operationalizing fire hydrants throughout the city but I must stay here today, the fire hydrants failed us,” Mr. Holder explained.

Holder said his men did a good job and were properly equipped with gears to fight the fire.

Mr. Holder pointed out that while the fire service continues to improve, it remains also on owners of the building to get themselves in order knowing how the buildings are situated in and around Georgetown.

“I continue to stress the need for proper fire protection in highrise and semi high-rise buildings; in terms of fire extinguisher, smoke alarms” The fire remains under investigation.

CCJ reserves decision in Bisram legal challenge

With questions still to be answered as to whether the Director of Public Prosecutions acted rightfully in ordering a Magistrate to commit Millionaire, Marcus Bisram, to stand a high court trial for ordering the killing of Berbice carpenter for refusal of his sexual advancement back in 2016, the Caribbean Court of Justice today heard arguments from both sides.

It is set to make a decision soon.

In court today, the matter was heard before CCJ President, Justice info@guyanapostonline.com

Adrian Saunders, and with several other Judges from the CCJ. The murder accused, Bisram, was represented

by Attorney at law, Dharshan Ramdhanie, who argued that DPP acting outside the law.

As such the decision to order Bisram committal was unlawful, she contended.

The DPP, on the other hand, insisted that law permits the body to order such action knowing the evidence provided to the court and by which the powers provided to them must allow them to act in a specified manner.

Bisram was charged for the 2016 murder of Berbice carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt, in a court in Guyana after fighting extradition from the United States of America.

The accused was fingered in ordering the beating and killing of the carpenter. He had earlier

made sexual advances and he was refused. In court, the led evidence all went down to a young man, who had claimed that he had overheard Bisram order the killing.

However, when the matter came up before Magistrate Renita Singh, she had ruled that evidence led by a young man was not sufficient and that Bisram would be able to walk away from the charge during a young man said that all he said was not true because he was afraid of the police during cross-examination

by Bisram’s lawyers Subsequent to the hearing, the DPP sent a letter requesting for deposition and the magistrate was ordered to reopen the matter.

Stacy Gooding, who was the DPP Prosecutor at the time, told the court that she spoke with DPP, and in the conversation, the DPP related that they went

through the evidence and through its powers under sections 72 (1) and (2) (ii) (b) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, ordered the Magistrate commit.

On the orders of Bisram, the decision of the DPP was appealed in the high court. Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall granted an order of certiorari quashing a directive by the DPP to Magistrate Singh for Bisram to be committed to stand a high court trial.

The DPP appealed that ruling to the Appeal Court and won. The matter was later appealed by Bisram lawyers at the CCJ and the decision of the appeal court in Guyana was set aside.

Hearing arguments in the CCJ on the matter, Attorney Ramdhanie contended that the DPP acted outside of the law by taking away the right to a fair trial.

He pointed out that

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under section 122 A constitution, which speaks to the independence of the Judiciary, those rights are being infringed on.

If there is to be a fair trial, we should have this serration of powers in order for other bodies or person to intervene in any processing.

Ramdhanie said that in this case, the DPP has completely rewritten the law and now if the case is ruled in the DDP favour the attorney will run into the procedural problem since Bisram was never committed to stand a high court but in fact ordered.

He said the DDP should have looked at the evidence then made a decision in this case and then made a decision to challenge the Magistrate decision instead of immedicable ordering the magistrate.

Shalimar Ali-Hack, the DPP, did not fall to the independence of the court

since it did not interfere with the case but merely allow the case to continue in another court before a Judge and a Jury for a fair trial.

Ms. Hack explained that while in most instances, the DDP acted in the public interest–and knew of the evidence that was going to be presented to the court.

She prepared the two letters to the court before the deposition was created.

Additionally, Ms. Hack said that she found that the credulity of the witness was being questioned and that is the Job of the Judge in the high court.

She added that Bisram did not also lead his defence or call on any witnesses. The DPP worked within the confines of the law.

With both sides being heard on the matter, the CCJ has reserved its judgement on the matter.

Thursday Nov. 11, 2021

F.W. de Klerk, Last President of Apartheid South Africa, Dies at 85

F.W. de Klerk, who as president of South Africa dismantled the apartheid system that he and his ancestors had helped put in place, died at his home near Cape Town on Thursday. He was 85.

His death was confirmed by the F.W. de Klerk Foundation, which said in a statement that he had been receiving treatment for cancer.

A member of a prominent Afrikaner family, Mr. de Klerk had vehemently defended the separation of the races during his long climb up the political ladder. But once he took over as president in 1989, he stunned his deeply divided nation, and the wider world, by reconsidering South

Africa’s racist ways, a step that led to his sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, whom he had released from prison.

South Africa had become such a pariah in the eyes of the world by the 1980s, its internal strife and tainted reputation so disruptive to the economy, that Mr. de Klerk argued that the country’s future depended on a new course.

“He didn’t say apartheid was bad or immoral, but that he had decided it wasn’t going to work,” said Herman J. Cohen, who held talks with Mr. de Klerk during that tumultuous time as the State Department’s top Africa adviser in

the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

With its web of insidious laws doling out rights, privileges, and even meal sizes in prisons based on skin colour, apartheid was not easy to undo; ending it required years of legislative action and significant national angst.

But when Mr. de Klerk in 1990 announced the lifting of the 30-year ban on the African National Congress and the release from prison of its most prominent leader, Mr. Mandela, he set in motion a transformation so powerful that it quickly pushed him to the margins.

Mr. Mandela would

trample Mr. de Klerk in presidential elections just four years after winning his freedom. Even as Mr. Mandela invited Mr. de Klerk into his transitional government as second deputy president, Mr. de Klerk struggled with his diminished role and eventually quit.

He then sought to transform the National Party, which his grandfather had helped create, from a whitedominated organization into a multiracial one with the clout of the A.N.C., but those efforts fizzled. Frustrated by internal party tensions and criticism from the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated the

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country’s past, Mr. de Klerk announced his retirement from politics in 1997.

“I was seething,” he wrote of a frank speech Mr. Mandela made in Sweden after the prize ceremony. “It was only with the greatest selfcontrol that I once again managed to bite my tongue and not shatter once and for all the illusion that there was a cordial relationship between me and Mandela.”

He added: “It was ironic that we had both traveled so far to be granted the world’s highest accolade for peace and reconciliation — while the relationship between us was characterized by so much vitriol and suspicion.”

In his own autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” Mr. Mandela characterized his relationship with Mr. de Klerk as one born of necessity. “To make peace with an enemy,” he wrote, “one must work with that enemy, and that enemy becomes one’s partner.”

Although the two men would become symbols of racial harmony, their likenesses sold in South African shops on T-shirts and as salt and pepper shakers, Mr. Mandela was circumspect in his praise of Mr. de Klerk’s role in ending apartheid.

“Despite his seemingly progressive actions,” Mr. Mandela wrote, “Mr. de Klerk was by no means the great emancipator.

He was a gradualist, a careful pragmatist.

He did not make any of his reforms with the intention of putting himself out of power. He made them for precisely the opposite reason: to ensure power for the Afrikaner in a new dispensation.”

As a new generation of Black South Africans found their voice, Mr. de Klerk’s legacy faced increasing criticism. In a final message — a video released by his foundation hours after his death — he clarified his stance on apartheid.

In particular, he spoke to those who he said did not believe his apology for the pain and indignity caused by racist policies, and apologized once again, “without qualification.”

“Allow me in this last message to share with you the fact that since the early ’80s, my views changed completely,” Mr. de Klerk said, looking frail, his voice shaking. “It was as if I had a conversion and in my heart of hearts realized that apartheid was wrong.”

He is survived by his wife, Elita, and his children Jan and Susan, his foundation said.

Thursday Nov. 11, 2021

Schuman writes on Chief Election Officer and Senior functionaries of the GECOM Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh Chairwoman of the Guyana Elections Commission High Street Georgetown Guyana Dear Madam Chair It is my sincere hope that you have been keeping well in this time of COVID and wish you continued strength. I also take this opportunity to wish you the best on this Remembrance Day. The sacrifices of our people in uniform cannot be forgotten.

In reference to the captioned subject matter, I write to solicit your forceful intervention as the Executive Chair of the Commission to seek external support for the hiring process for these very important positions.

Madam Chair, the troubles of the political history of Guyana and the troubles that reoccur are but a few page-turns away and quite voluminous.

There continue to be two political parties that purport to represent Guyana sitting to the right and left of you, when in fact we know they are very partisan; and the nation is aware that the

Price-Carter formula has outlived its usefulness as was clearly evidenced by the most recent elections and previous elections.

The last elections also saw arguably the largest number of observer missions attending Guyana’s elections of which there are, at minimum, four reports emanating from the 2020 elections. In all the reports dating back to the initial elections that came out of the Price-Carter formula, there have been consistent calls for a revision of a variety of processes to ensure an impartial and unbiased Commission.

Were we to set aside those recommendations, it would demonstrate the respect we have for our international partners, the value we place on their work, and it has the potential of painting Guyana as finding friends of convenience instead of friends with mutual values and respect.

Against this backdrop, as the leader of the Liberty and Justice Party, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and as a Sitting Member of Parliament, I am imploring you to guide the commission to solicit and accept support from our international partners to conduct this process to fill these important offices and restore the integrity, credibility and public’s confidence in the commission that is so desperately needed at this juncture.

If this cannot be done, there exists a public fear that the status quo will once again lend itself to political manipulation as we have seen in the past and that will further undermine “THE” institution that was meant to fortify democracy in Guyana.

The confidence I place in you as the Chair is unquestioned, however, the commissioners in themselves, though highly

qualified and capable as individuals and specialists in their respective fields, do not enjoy the same from me nor the public.

I and the public look forward to your kind and timely response on this matter.

Sincerely yours_____________________ Hon. Lenox R. O. Shuman Deputy Speaker; MP

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