Friday November 30, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Govt, opposition share chairmanship of Parliamentary Committees
APNU’s Rupert Roopnaraine According to the Parliament Office, on Wednesday, Raphael Trotman, Speaker of the
National Assembly, convened meetings of the several Special Select Committees to elect their Chairpersons. A special committee that will oversee the appointment of a new council to ensure the transformation of the University of Guyana (UG) w i l l b e c h a i r e d b y D r. Rupert Roopnaraine of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU). It will be called the “Special Select Committee on the appointment of new, fully constituted Council to ensure that the University of Guyana has a governing
body that has the capacity to transform the institution into a truly National Asset”. The running of UG has been worrisome for government and opposition alike, with the latter arguing that the University Council, one of its highest decisionmaking bodies, is too political and has been hampering the growth of the campus. A number of government officials sit on the council. Poor facilities and not enough revenues have been dogging UG for years now. There have also been calls for a revamping of the subjects to make them more in line with
Cocaine-in-coconut milk…
One jailed, one remanded for $$M Malaysia shipment The two men who were charged in connection with the shipment of cocaine that was discovered in canned coconut milk, and which arrived in Malaysia earlier this month, made their appearance yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. One of the accused, Luknauth Danesar, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined $30,000. Danesar of 1 Coldingen, East Coast Demerara was jointly charged with Vijay Bisraj of 57 First Street Section B, Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara, Danesar, who is the Manager of New Sococo Enterprise (a packaging plant) was charged with trafficking an “unknown quantity of cocaine”. He pleaded guilty to that charge while his coaccused, Bisraj, pleaded not guilty to a charge which stated that he was in possession of two tins of coconut milk which contained liquid cocaine. Customs Anti Narcotics Unit Prosecutor Oswald Massiah in presenting his case to the court on the first accused, Danesar, said that between August 1st and November 20th of this year, the manager of the packaging plant, using his expertise, conspired to conceal liquid cocaine in coconut milk cans. Meanwhile, the prosecutor noted that Bisraj had worked at New Sococo Enterprise for 10 years before leaving to become a fisherman and he had used his expertise in sealing cans to conspire with persons unknown to conceal cocaine in the cans,
Luknauth Danesar however he was “shortchanged” for the job, so he took two cans of cocaine which he was found with. Meanwhile Danesar, when asked if he had anything to say, told the court that he had no knowledge as to where the items he packaged were being sent. He further stated that he was paid $100,000 to do the job and was promised $1M more when the cocaine would have arrived at its destination. The accused went on to state that he willingly participated because he needed the money to maintain his three children and was not working for sufficient money to do so. Bisraj was represented by Attorney Shellon Boyce, who told the court that while the two cans were found at her client’s premises, he was not there at the time of the discovery. Further, Ms. Boyce said that Bisraj’s premises is frequented by numerous individuals.
Meanwhile the Magistrate in handing down her ruling said she took into consideration that Danesar did not waste the court’s time or the state’s resources. He was then sentenced. Bisraj was remanded to prison and will make his next court appearance on December 7 at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court. A few weeks ago Malaysian authorities had seized a container filled with a reported US$7M in cocaine in liquid coconut milk which originated in Guyana. It is believed that the US’ Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) may have been tracking the container since it left these shores. Bernama News in Malaysia had reported that Bukit Aman Narcotics CID director Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the tactic was foiled by the Selangor Customs Department after detaining a ship carrying a container cargo in which a section contained drugs worth RM22 (US$7.1M). “Based on information from United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA), the ship which arrived on Monday (Nov 12) at Port Klang was filled with 980 cartons of cans containing coconut milk and pieces of pineapple.” Bernama reported that 16 cartons comprising 384 cans of coconut milk were identified as mixtures with 400 grammes of cocaine in each can by the Malaysia’s Chemistry Department. Ibrahim said the container which originated from Guyana was to be sent to Mozambique.
the demands of Guyana’s labour market. The Chairpersons for two other committees were also chosen on Wednesday. Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, is the Chairperson for the “Special Select Committee on Guyana’s Commitment to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council”. This committee has oversight responsibilities for the “abolition of corporal punishment in schools, the abolition of the death penalty and the decriminalization of lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals and transgender persons. Attorney General, Anil Nandlall was elected to chair the “Special Select Committee on the Deeds Registry Bill Bill No.11 of 2012”. The Bill, introduced to the National Assembly last week, seeks to make the Deeds Registry more independent and efficient. The Parliament Office said that the Speaker urged the newly elected Chairpersons to ensure that their respective committees meet as soon as
possible to prepare work programmes. Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Parliament has released the names of the Parliamentarians who will serve on a number of critical committees, including the Committee of Privileges - the one that disciplines members. The 10-member committee is controlled by five members from the opposition, with the Chairman being House Speaker, Raphael Trotman. From the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) the representatives are Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee; Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Robert Persaud, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. From APNU, there were four persons - Basil Williams, Dawn Hastings, Christopher Jones and Richard Allen – all of whom were nominated back in March. Catherine Hughes is the Member of Parliament from the Alliance For Change who will sit on the Committee.
Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee The Committee of Privileges took centre stage last week after the House Speaker sent an APNU-tabled motion to gag Minister Rohee in the National Assembly. The Minister had been under pressure after the combined APNU/AFC opposition passed a no-confidence vote against him back in July. Government earlier this week has challenged the Speaker’s ruling in court asking for orders that will prevent the Committee of Privileges from hearing the matter involving Minister Rohee.