11 News
guyanatimesgy.com
tuesday, october 1, 2013
Caricom, Spain to cooperate on US$1.1M programme T
he Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Spain will collaborate on a citizen security project that will focus on youth and gender issues. The Caricom-Spain Citizen Security Project was signed off on September 25, during discussions between representatives of the Caricom Secretariat and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), to formalise approvals for new regional interventions for the 2013-2014 period. The US$1.1 million total investment of the CaricomSpain Joint Fund in the activities approved for the 20132014 cooperation programme will consist of both cash and in-kind contributions of the parties to the joint fund. The interventions under the project focus on support for the prevention and reduction of youth on youth violence in schools and communities in five Caricom member states, and support for the implementation of youth entrepreneurship training through the Creative for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) Programme in 10
Director of the AECID’s Department for Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean, Rafael Garranzo García
Caricom member states. These interventions will be implemented in large part by the Caricom Secretariat and will entail collaboration with national public and private sectors, civil society partners and other stakeholders. Last Wednesday’s discussions served as a follow up to the second meeting of the Joint Technical Committee to the Joint Fund, which
was hosted on September 11 at the embassy of Spain, in Port of Spain Trinidad. There, Spanish high-level officials, led by Rafael Garranzo Garcia, director of the AECID’s Department for Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (DCALC) in Madrid, and the ambassador of Spain accredited to Caricom, Joaquin de Aristegui, met with senior officials of the Caricom
Secretariat. The Joint Technical Committee, which is established by the addendum to the agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Caricom and the Kingdom of Spain, is charged with proposing and approving the implementation of regional development programmes and projects, monitoring those programmes and projects, and overseeing the operations of the joint fund. The second meeting of the Joint Technical Committee also reviewed the progress of current institutional strengthening and economic development projects and agreed on the systems and resources required for effective management and operations of the joint fund for the current period. Despite the grave economic and financial crises which the country has been battling in recent times, the government of Spain has continued to provide important technical and financial assistance for development in the region, a sign of commitment to its engagement with the member states and peoples of Caricom.
GGMC investigating miners’ deaths A
cting commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Rickford Veira told a media conference on Monday that the pit collapse which claimed the lives of four miners, could have been avoided. Veira said the miners were evicted some three weeks ago, after a visit was conducted in the area by GGMC officials. However, it was reported that the miners went back to the area and recommenced mining. He added that from preliminary reports, the mining team was engaged in unsafe mining practices, hence, the reason for the recent incident. This is still to be confirmed. Further, it was reported that the miners came into Guyana illegally through Venezuela and are not in possession of a work permit. A miner who survived the tragedy is expected to be charged. The GGMC head said that a senior engineer and an occupational health and safety officer have been
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud dispatched to the area to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud said he is disappointed with what happened; noting that while the GGMC has some general oversight of mining operations, the village councils in these areas have full responsibility.
Persaud said this is an issue which his ministry is looking at, because support and proper training will have to be provided in order for them to maintain proper work ethics; particularly as it relates to mining villages. “I’m hoping that through this mechanism that we can augment and help Amerindian communities to better manage mining operations. We’re very hopeful that this proposal will win some form of support with the various stakeholders,” he added. He assured that his ministry is making every effort to reduce such incidence, but admitted that this is difficult given the terrain and the scattered way in which gold mining takes place. Nevertheless, he said a plan will be introduced shortly. The incident which occurred at Arau Backdam, Eteringbang, claimed the lives of four Brazilians on Thursday afternoon. The Brazilian nationals Taigo Nunes Pinto, Ronaldo Da
Silva Sousa, Joao Nelson Pinto Mands and Joao Gonsalves Martins were killed after a mining pit about 40 feet deep caved in on them. One of the men, Jose Roberto Diaz, survived the incident and was admitted at a private hospital. It was reported that after the pit caved in; it took other workers sometime to reach the location the men were trapped. At that time, persons thought that it was more or less a recovery mission, but were surprised to have found Diaz alive. The four men were finally pulled from under the clay and their bodies were transported to the Lyken’s Funeral Home via the Ogle International Airport. In April of this year, Dennis Anthony Barker, 16, of Lot 550 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown was killed and another person injured when a mining pit caved in on them at Pamela, Mahdia, Region Eight.
Lethem man found in Abary River
T
he partially decomposed body of a labourer was on Monday morning found in the Abary River, Region Five after he was seen floating by residents in the area. Orin Wayne Anastace, 34, of Lethem, Central Rupununi, was believed
to have drowned. He was employed with Anthony Marques, an overseas-based Guyanese, as a labourer. Information reaching this newspaper revealed that Anastace was last seen on Saturday with three other men at a popular drinking spot.
About 10:00h on Sunday, a resident reportedly saw the body floating in the Abary River and alerted the police. On Monday morning, the police travelled to the area and recovered the body. After a few hours, the man’s remains were transported out
of the area, but investigators could not confirm whether the body bore marks of violence owing to its state of decomposition. His body was taken to the Lyken Funeral Home to await a post-mortem examination. Anastace’s family has been contacted.
CCJ No wasting
C RNER
of the court’s time
By Shara Reid, Norman Manley Law School
A
fter initiating no less than six proceedings in a range of different courts, Delroy Garraway’s claim was brought to a final rest in the Caribbean Court of Justice. In Garraway vs Williams [2011] CCJ 12 (AJ), after dismissing Garraway’s appeal, the CCJ ordered him to give up possession of certain disputed property within two months to Alvin Rambarran, the new owner of the property. Garraway had taken the owners of a piece of land to the High Court of Guyana in order to force them to sell the land to him. He failed on that occasion. He appealed to the Court of Appeal and he was again unsuccesful. He subsequently brought the same matter to the Land Court, failed, then appealed that decision to the Court of Appeal and failed again. He appealed to the CCJ which had to decide whether, on Garraway’s second trip, the Court of Appeal, was correct in finding that his claim in the Land Court was barred based on the legal doctrine of res judicata. The judges looked at doctrine of res judicata and noted that its purpose was to prevent continued litigation between the same parties about the same matter. The doctrine serves to bar “the same parties from litigating on the same claim or any other claim arising from the same transaction or subject-matter that was or could have been raised in the first suit”. Garraway’s case fitted squarely within the scope of this doctrine. Consequently, since, on Garraway’s first trip, the Court of Appeal addressed his complaint concerning possession of the piece of land, the doctrine of res judicata applied. He would not be allowed to re-litigate the same matter with the hope of securing his desired result. In fact, the court also found Garraway’s unfounded persistence to be an abuse of the court’s process. He failed once again. This summary is intended to assist the Caribbean public in learning more about the work of the CCJ. It is not a formal document of the court. The judgment of the court is the only authoritative document and may be found at http://chooseavirb.com/ccj/wp-content/ uploads/2011/08/JUDGMENT-FINALCV-1-of-2011.pdf.
Whim man dies after complaining of abdominal pains
T
he relatives of a Berbice man were plunged into mourning following his mysterious death on Saturday evening. Parsveran “Boy” Appadu, a 44-year-old lorry driver of Lot 46 Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice was found dead by his son between 21:00h and 21:30h at his home. Appadu shared the home with his son, Harrynarine called “Vicky”. The younger Appadu told investigators that his father complained about feeling pain in his abdomen and so he went to use the outdoor lavatory. After a few minutes, he returned to the house and went into his room. About 21:00h, the distraught son explained that
he made a mug of milkshake and called out to his father asking if he wanted a glass, but there were no response. This promoted Appadu to go to his father’s room where he observed him lying on his bed. He said he shook him repeatedly, but he was motionless. He checked for a pulse on his hands but there was none discernible. He then alerted his neighbours and made contact with the police. No marks of violence were visible on the body. Appadu was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor on duty. His body is at the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.