Guyana Post Newspaper

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Wednesday Nov. 3, 2021

ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER

POLICE ISSUE WANTED BULLETIN FOR FORMER SOCU HEAD

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NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR TAXPAYERS ENTERING GRA’S OFFICES

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Wednesday Nov. 3, 2021

POLICE ISSUE WANTED BULLETIN FOR FORMER SOCU HEAD

NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR TAXPAYERS ENTERING GRA’S OFFICES

Sydney James.

Two years after allegations of fraud were emulated from the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) due to an audit conducted at the agency, the Guyana Police Force has now issued a wanted bulletin for then head, Sydney James.

In a media statement, the police are asking for information that could lead to James’s arrest James.

According to the force, James is wanted for obtaining money by false pretense and fraud.

James was sent on administrative leave, in light of allegations of mismanagement of funds at the entity that is in charge of investigating whitecollar crimes such as corruption and money laundering.

The decision to send the SOCU Head on

leave came months after an audit revealed that there were serious irregularities at the entity, including the falsification of records.

Back then, claims of grave mismanagement which included the misuse of its operational fund emanated. James was sent on leave and later replaced by a new acting head.

Woman robbed in suspected taxi

A 21-year-old female is traumatized and left to count to losses after she was robbed while on her way home in a suspected taxi with three armed men last night.

Initial investigation has suggested that a young woman just about 22:00 hours was on her way home when the incident occurred.

At the time, the young woman ventured to get transportation for home

and flagged a motorcar bearing number plate PVV 5519.

She then entered the back seat where a man was seated while another was in the front passenger seat.

In the vicinity of the Leonora Stadium, the ride home got scary, as one man in the front seat told the driver to stop, then the man in the back seat turned to the victim and pulled out a silver methal

knife and cut the victim’s purse and took away one grey LG cellphone valued $30,000, one black purse valued $11,000 containing $14,500 cash, and one National Identification card and Covid-19 Vaccination Book.

She was then pushed out of the car and the driver drove away heading east. A report was then made and quick response by the police led to the driver of the said car being intercepted at Windsor Forest Public Road West Coast Demerara.

The other men were not however caught but the driver was arrested and placed into custody pending further investigation

Subject to the updated Covid-19 Emergency Measures publicized in the Official Gazette of October 30, 2021, any person who wishes to enter the offices of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) must now be fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals must make an appointment to visit the entity and present a valid negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result. A PCR test result is valid for seven days.

The updated measures define a fully vaccinated person as someone who has been inoculated with one of the following; • An approved singledose vaccine.

• The second dose of an approved two-dose vaccine.

• Any mix-and-match combination of approved vaccines administered at least seventeen (17) days apart.

To date, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is the only one, of seven approved vaccines, that can be administered as a single dose.

Given the aforementioned, the Revenue Authority will require taxpayers to present proof of full vaccination or valid negative PCR test results to security personnel at the entrance to any of its offices. This measure takes effect from Monday, November 8, 2021.

Visits by appointment can be facilitated via the switchboard operator on telephone numbers 227-6060 or 227-8222 extension 1502, 1506/7, or through its online mailboxes: • appointments@ gra.gov.gy – for GRA’s Headquarters.

• branches@gra.gov. gy – for all Integrated Regional Tax Offices (IRTOs).

• wharves@gra.gov.gy – for all GRA’s operations at the Wharves/Transit Sheds.

All taxpayers whether vaccinated or unvaccinated must comply with the existing COVID-19 protocol, that is, wearing of masks, sanitizing of hands and social distancing.

Man rapes woman walking the street

A man suspected of raping a 21-year-old woman while she was walking on the street, after snatching her, dragging her into some bush in Region Six, and raping her has been arrested.

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Reports are that the incident occurred just about 18:15 hours Tuesday.

At the time the young woman was walking on the street when the suspect came from behind and

grabbed her by the neck and threw her into a bushy drain next to the street and committed the act.

The young woman resisted and bit the perpetrator and managed to escape.

A report was made to the police and she was escorted to the hospital.

The suspect was thereafter arrested and told of the offence and he admitted. He was placed into custody pending charges.

JAGDEO LOOKS FOR PEOPLE FROM AFAR TO WORK IN GUYANA

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note book

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that Guyana will have to import labour. He has not specified the reason except to suggest that Guyana does not have enough people to satisfy the job market.

Many years ago, in fact, more than 40 years ago, the then Minister of Economic Development, the late Dr Kenneth King, had uttered a similar statement. His comments stemmed from the fact that the hydroelectric plant that the then government was establishing at the time in the Upper Mazaruni was going to open up industries.

That project went belly up because the World Bank, under pressure from Venezuela, withheld funding. A lot of work and equipment had gone into the Upper Mazaruni Hydro Project but such was the info@guyanapostonline.com

Venezuelan opposition that the project was halted. It eventually died.

At the time, also, Guyana was funding the project startup from its coffers. Rice and sugar had brought in substantial foreign exchange. The government was using this windfall for national development. It goes without saying that Guyana could not fund the entire hydroelectric project from its coffers.

It funded the road.

On this occasion, Mr. Jagdeo is talking about importing labour from the Middle East. We don’t know why as yet.

Guyana has a high rate of unemployment.

The government itself rendered a number of people jobless because of perceived political differences. At the same time, current programmes and situations have people trying their utmost to bail

out of Guyana.

But let us say that there are not enough people in this country to pursue the jobs that would pop up. If the saying that charity begins at home is anything to go by, then if labour is to be imported, Guyana should first look to the Caribbean.

Even more, there are thousands of migrants from neighbouring Venezuela and Brazil.

These people are coming because they see Guyana as a haven. They would jump at job offers.

Is Jagdeo saying that the migrants are not enough? At last check there were more than 50,000 Venezuelans in Guyana. And since he feels so strongly about the shortage of labour why has his government moved so harshly against the Haitians?

The Haitians are seeking a better life outside of their country.

They have skills as those who have reached the United States have demonstrated.

Already, there are people in Guyana who believe that the outreach to the Middle East is to help the PPP consolidate its hold on power. It has not made a similar outreach to Africa.

There was the same raised eyebrow when Indian nationals were constructing the Providence Stadium.

This was happening about the same time as Guyana was heading to the 2006 elections. The rules allow for people from a Commonwealth country who have been residing in this country for more than nine months to vote at elections.

A few weeks ago, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon said that he was on the Essequibo Coast when

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he found out that Robert Persaud was arranging for birth certificates to be provided to some Venezuelan migrants.

Indeed, some of the migrants are Guyanese who were born in Venezuela to Guyanese parents. So they would be speaking Spanish and have all the traits of people from the Spanishspeaking Republic.

Although they are Guyanese they cannot have Guyanese birth certificates.

They would be required to produce the necessary documentation to be granted Guyanese citizenship. There are no shortcuts unless the authorities have some nefarious intention.

They simply cannot get Guyanese birth certificates.

However, the focus should be on the labour shortage as perceived by Jagdeo.

Have these shortages been advertised so that Guyanese could attempt to fill the vacancies? And what numbers is Jagdeo talking about?

There was a time when we hired teachers from Sri Lanka because we did not have enough.

Others had come and had recruited our teachers who were only keen to pursue greener pastures since we were not paying enough.

But this country ended up being penny wise and pound foolish.

The imported teachers were paid better than the locals and they were provided with housing.

Surely, each foreign teacher cost this country more; money that could have been paid to the locals and so keep them at home.

And while this talk about recruiting labour from the Middle East is going on, the government is not doing anything to keep the people at home informed. There are no post-Cabinet briefings

to inform of what is happening.

Press conferences have become rare. And to think that David Granger was criticized for not hosting press conferences. Parliament is once again rarely meeting.

To better understand why some people believe that the institutions are under threat, just take into consideration the fact that the Public Accounts Committee, the body that examines how the government spends the public funds, has been effectively shut down.

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, by way of letter, said that the clerk is stressed out and therefore cannot sit. He said that no other clerk wants to work with the Committee. What joke is this?

The clerk is a public servant. Which other public servant can report to his or her employer at this time and say that he or she would not be working because he or she is stressed?

To compound the issue, others say that they are refusing to work with the Public Accounts Committee.

Minister Oneidge WalrondAllicock actually stood in the National Assembly and said that those who were terminated when the government came into office had expressly stated that they could not work with the government.

Why is this different?

Is it because the Public Accounts Committee is chaired by the opposition? Had the government been chairing it, would the same situation have occurred? And would Gail Teixiera have remained impassive if not deaf to the happenings?

It just goes to show.

Wednesday Nov. 3, 2021

WOMAN CAUGHT ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE GANJA INTO LUSIGNAN PRISONS

With many person seeking more and ways to smuggle illegal drugs into the prison, a Sophia woman got caught and

A cyclist, Tyson English, who journeyed with his bicycle from Georgetown to Lethem to spread awareness for Cancer and Mental Health has reached his destination.

With the task of completing a journey that would take about 15 to 19 hours by bus or car and cover over hundreds of miles, English completed that journey, Tuesday evening.

Upon completion, English explained that he was inspired by the passing of his Aunt Noreen Crawford to Cancer about a month ago. And upon seeing many of his close friends suffering from mental health issues, he saw it fit to raise awareness on the issues.

“My Aunt actually died recently from cancer so that’s one of the reasons why I decided to take a whole active approach. I was more laid back. And, I do have a few friends who are going through their phases of depression and those sort of stuff, so I want to ensure that I lend

was with six months of community service along with fine of $13,200 after her attempts to smuggle 22 grams of marijuana in

blue soap failed.

The convict was 20-year-old, Monique Caesar of Cummings Street, Sophia.

Caesar appeared Magistrate Fabayo Azore and pleaded guilty to two charges of trafficking and taking a prohibited item into a prison.

She was then fined $13,200 along with the community service for the narcotics charge and $26,000 or one month imprisonment for the attempt to smuggle the drugs.

Caesar was arrested on Monday around 12:40hrs.

She was taking the items to an inmate when she was subjected to a search.

Prison Officers noticed the soap during the search and upon closer examination, eight plastic

parcels with leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were found.

The marijuana was weighed and it amounted to 22 grams

would normally use May and October to bring awareness to the issues.

During both months several actives are done to bring awareness to both issues. This awareness would normally come in the form of awareness campaigns and other activities to spread or raise funds to fight the two illnesses.

English said that while his aim was to bring awareness he was not expecting the level of publicity since his action was personal. He always

was also going to do something that is out of the norm, so he chose to ride the long journey.

“I decided ok, it’s Cancer Awareness Month. I’m going to do this thing for a worthy cause, forgetting about myself and making an initiative. So, I decide I am going to do it for breast cancer and mental health because those are two issues or topics that we don’t really take seriously.

“They should be given more attention. I said everybody is doing things that are conventional and if I’m going to get the attention from persons in that regard I have to do something that is going to capture their attention, something out of the ordinary.”

Mr. English started his journey on Thursday morning and was looking to cover 100 miles in a day. After riding cross country for personal gains from time to time on weekends, this time he wanted to challenge himself to go a bit further He and his friend planned the trip. They

Ride for hope

Tyson English, whatever support that is necessary.

“So, I said ok. I have to be more actively involved and get this thing done.”

As Guyana continues to suffer from the issue of mental health, which has in the past led to the loss of several lives, cancer also is no stranger to many individuals who have suffered over the years.

N o n - P r o f i t Organizations along with the Government and other stallholders

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also noted that they planned to have more meaning to their journey and also think about those suffering.

“I chose to do this; nobody forced me to do this because there are persons who are suffering from illnesses and persons who are affected by cancer. They didn’t choose it, it chose them. So, I wanted to ensure that whatever platform I used to get over a message that we should take seriously.

“It is something different and something that is going to be impactful,” Mr. English further noted.

Throughout the

journey, he explained that he only took two hours of rest each day.

His body was under an enormous amount of pressure being put through the wildlife and under conditions different from driving.

This, he explained, also came about with the little finance he had received from a few individuals and the little money that he had.

Mr English said he was overwhelmed by the support he got. He is going to plan a yearly event to raise funds and bring awareness to the two illnesses—cancer and mental health.

Wednesday Nov. 3, 2021

Doctor found murdered in his Kingston NCN driver arrested for forged media pass office, car stolen

Following what appears to be a murder committed during a robbery of a wellknown Medical Physician, Dr. Colin Roach, two of his staff were arrested.

Dr. Roach, 49, from Windsor Estates, East Bank Demerara, was found last evening with his head bashed in and his phones and car missing from his Duke Street Kingston Office.

According to the police, Dr. Roach may have met his demise sometime between 15:00 hours and 22:00 hours yesterday.

During that time, it was noted that Dr. Roach who owns and operated the International Medical Clinic located in a threestoried building on Duke Street Kingston, was working when two men who work with the doctor were at the clinic during the business hours of 07:00hrs and 15:00hrs.

After the clinic closed, one of the men went out while the other retired to his living quarters in the top flat, leaving the doctor in his office on the middle flat.

However, just about 20:00hrs a man was seen exiting the building. He returned about seven minutes later and reentered the clinic.

Subsequently, at about 22:18hrs the vehicle belonging to the doctor drove out of Duke Street heading north, while the lights in the doctor’s office were still on. This prompted one of the Men to call the doctor on his

cellular phone but he got no answer.

The other man was alerted and using their office keys he went to turn off the said lights when he discovered the doctor lying motionless on his back in a pool of blood in the examination area.

Police were then summoned and a wound was seen on the left side of his forehead.

A medical emergency team later arrived at the scene and pronounced him dead on the scene.

Roach’s body was then escorted to the Memorial Gardens Mortuary to await a post mortem examination.

And the Ministry of Health, in a statement, noted that it finds itself saddened and shocked at the death of Dr. Roach.

It expressed deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Roach.

The statement further noted that Guyana has lost one of its young, but experienced doctors.

“Significantly, our country has lost one of its most experienced Biomedical pathologists.

“Dr. Roach was part of the pioneering team that began revolutionizing laboratory science in Guyana. He was a leading member of the team that began the transformation of manual procedures to automated technology.

When PEPFAR worked with the MOH to establish the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL), Dr. Roach was

the person that led the technical team under the then Minister of Health that put together the plan.

“He was appointed the first Director of the NPHRL,” The statement added.

Dr. Roach was appointed Consultant to the United States (US) Centre for Disease Control (CDC). He also pioneered PCR (DNA) testing in

Guyana.

MOH added that at the time of his death, he was in close discussion with the MOH as the MOH begins a new era of transformation for chemical pathology. Now with his death, Guyana has lost a genuine national asset.

The Ministry expressed deep condolences to the Family of Dr. Roach.

A Jealous ex-Husband is now in the custody of the Police after stating, “I gon kill you and yuh man” and later in the evening shooting his ex-wife, with intent to murder her in Linden.

The victim is a 36-yearold businesswoman, who owns and operates a grocery store at Block 22 Squatting Area, Wismar, Linden Reports are that just about 17:00 hours the suspect who is her exhusband stopped in a motor vehicle and made threats saying that he is going to kill her and her new man.

The businesswoman did not, however, take the threat for anything and continued to do what she was doing.

About 19:30 hours she

was at the counter within her grocery shop when the suspect entered, armed with a handgun, and fired two shots in her direction.

One of the bullets struck her to the right side abdomen causing her to fall to the ground.

The suspect then made good his escape on foot in an unknown direction. The victim managed to make a phone call to her church members who assisted in taking her to the Linden Hospital Complex where she has been admitted and is being treated for gunshot injuries.

The suspect was arrested at Canvas City about 20:45hrs and escorted to the Mackenzie Police Station where he was told of the allegation and cautioned. Hd he opted to remain silent.

Jealous ex-husband shoots estranged wife

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A National Communications Network Driver is accused of forging a Guyana Press Association (GPA) Media Pass with two signatures including one of the former Commissioner of Police.

The suspect’s name has not yet been released but sources close to the incident have noted that the individual was arrested and the matter is currently being investigated.

In a statement yesterday the GPA said, “It is unfortunate that a staff member of a media house who is not among the category of workers accredited by the media house or GPA was found in the possession of a forged media pass.

“The staff member claims that he bought the document. That document bore the signatories of two officials including a former Commissioner of Police.”

According to the GPA when the matter was reported the body quickly got the Guyana Police Force to investigate the matter which had led to the suspect being arrested.

GPA further warned the general public that forgery of its media passes is a criminal offence.

“If any member of the public is found in possession of a forged copy of a media pass, this would be reported to the police.”

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