charged for Berbice fatal accident P

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM No Govt has held more consultations than President Ali – AG

…says APNU/AFC claims baseless

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, SC, on Saturday rejected claims by the coalition that the PPP/C Administration does not hold consultations with the people.

The Attorney General said to date, no Government in Guyana’s history has been more inclusive than the President Dr Irfaan Ali Administration.

“I want to reject out of hand, this baseless allegation that the Irfaan Ali Administration is not consulting. Every day there is some form of consultation taking place in our Government; compare it with APNU/AFC over the past five years and it is chalk to cheese. I see Basil Williams talking foolishness about consultations. He held consultations in relation to the SARA Act where he consulted widely with civil society, he received 100 rec-

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

ommendations and never incorporated one in the bill,” the Attorney General is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying. Nandlall also noted that every day, Ministers are in the fields consulting with the people who elected them. Just last weekend, President Ali was on the East Coast meeting with the people on community projects and fostering unity.

“The Ministers of Housing recently had a big … consultation in relation to the Mandela Avenue to Eccles road, that is currently in the newspaper. I accompanied the Minister of Agriculture to Corentyne, Berbice, where we consulted with the farmers about the construction of two roads, one at 58 Village and one at 52 Village. The President consulted with the people on West Coast Demerara for the construction of a new highway from the bridge to Parika,” the AG said.

The Attorney General also noted that the Government consulted with several Opposition parties in preparation for Budget 2021. Added to that, he said, after only six months in Government, the Administration sent two bills to the Select Committee, the Hire Purchase Bill 2020 and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill 2021.

“Why you think we are sending it to the Select Committee? So that the Government will sit with the Opposition, civil society and stakeholders and go through the bills clause by clause, hear from them.”

Pointing to the recently amended Law Reform Commission Act, Attorney General said prior to the amendments, it provided for no form of consultation and allowed the Minister and President to elect the entire Law Reform Commission. The amended Act now calls for consultation with the Private Sector, the labour movement, the Rights Commissions, religious organisations, consumer representatives, and the National Toshaos Council before the Commission is appointed. Further, since taking office, President Ali has extended several invitations to the coalition to have discussions on the way forward for Guyana’s

President Dr Irfaan Ali

development, all of which were rejected. This includes the meeting with former Presidents, which former President David Granger declined, consultations on the preparation of Budget 2021 and the recent consultation on the Local Content Policy.

Miner stabbed to death during confrontation with Brazilian

A29-year-old miner of Third Avenue, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), was on Friday stabbed to death by a Brazilian national, whom he first attacked.

Dead is Randolph Semple.

Reports are at about 18:00h on Friday at Pedymachi Black Water Backdam, Cuyuni River, Semple was at a shop when he approached the suspect, who was at the time on the roadway on a motorcycle, and dealt him a stab to the back with a knife and ran into another nearby shop.

The injured suspect then armed himself with a knife and approached Semple and dealt him a stab to his upper chest and subsequently escaped.

It was reported that Semple walked about 400 feet away from the shop before falling to the ground, where he remained motionless.

The matter was reported to the Police, who, upon arrival at the scene, observed the shirtless body of the deceased on the roadway with what appeared to be a stab wound to the upper mid-area of his chest.

The body was taken to the Bartica Hospital mortuary. An investigation is ongoing. (G9)

Owners of motorbike, cow charged for Berbice fatal accident

Following the death of a Crabwood Creek, Berbice man in December 2020, the owner of the motorcycle he was riding at the time of the accident has been charged for permitting an unlicensed driver to use the vehicle and with breach of insurance.

The bike’s owner, Maneshwar Manniram, appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Friday before Magistrate Alex Moore and pleaded guilty to both charges. He was reprimanded and discharged.

Meanwhile, the owner of the cow which the rider rode into was also placed before the same Magistrate, charged with suffering cattle to stray.

Guradat Mahadeo, a Crabwood Creek cattle farmer, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $30,000 bail. The case will continue on April 13.

Dead: Akram Hack

died after crashing the motorbike he was riding into a cow along the Crabwood Creek Public Road.

Hack’s friends had said that they were all imbibing at a shop when the construction worker took the keys to the motorbike, stating that he was going home for an item. He crashed and died shortly after. (G4)

Co-op societies not serving people to be struck off

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton said that the Ministry intends to terminate co-operative societies in several communities if the findings of an integrity audit currently being conducted indicate they are not fulfilling their mandate.

The Minister made this statement on Wednesday during his guest appearance on NCN’s “Budget in Focus.”

He said while the Ministry can account for the existence of 512 co-ops, only half of those entities can be considered to be operating in the interest of their respective communities.

As such, the offending entities would be struck off to ensure the people are served, in keeping with the PPP/C Government’s overall goal to foster sustainable social and infrastructural development.

“Once you strike out all …the assets properly come under the supervision of

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

the Department of Co-ops. So, we can utilise this asset that people are utilising privately to help to develop the co-ops to give training to people because a lot of these co-ops fail not because they don’t have money, it is their management,” the Minister is quoted by a Department of Public Information report as saying.

Those societies are responsible for a massive asset base which Minister Hamilton believes could be used to develop initiatives that improve people’s lives.

“I believe co-ops should be doing scholarship programmes for people in their communities or bursaries and that is where we have to go because co-ops have a lot of latitudes to do things. But we have to retool these entities… We will help them to fashion and strengthen themselves,” he said.

Reflecting on a similar approach taken to strengthen the Public Service Credit Union, Hamilton noted it is time these entities demonstrate accountability and transparency.

RBC Eastern Caribbean sale approved

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has approved the sale of Royal Bank of Canada in the territories of the Eastern Caribbean.

On Friday, Governor Timothy Antoine of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank confirmed that RBC assets will be sold to a consortium of indigenous banks within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) jurisdiction, viz. 1st National Bank (St. Lucia), Antigua Commercial Bank, National Bank of Dominica, Bank of Montserrat, and Bank of Nevis. The sale includes operations in Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Governor Antoine made the announcement of the approval at a press briefing following the 98th Meeting of the ECCU Monetary Council on Friday at ECCB headquarters in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis.

He said, "On the question of RBC, the ECCB has approved the application for the sale of the RBC operations in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union to a consortium of indigenous or national banks. That process is now moving forward, and an announcement will be made in due course. But the idea is to conclude that transaction not too long from now. So that is moving forward. In fact, I can tell you only yesterday [on Thursday, 11 February 2021] we submitted to the finance ministers a vesting order or vesting orders, which is an important legal instrument to transfer assets from one bank or banking entity to another. So that process is moving forward."

The sale of RBC to Caribbean banks follows the similar acquisitions of Canadian based banks by Caribbean entities. In 2019, much of Bank of Nova Scotia's stake in the Eastern Caribbean was sold to Trinidad and Tobago's Republic Bank. In October last year, BNS declared that it had reached an arrangement for the sale of its services in Antigua and Barbuda to the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank Limited (ECAB). That settlement is subject to regulatory permissions and other conventional closing requirements.

The Governor also addressed the recent decision by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) that a majority stake in First Caribbean International Bank Limited (FCIB) would not be sold after a bid was rejected by Caribbean regulators.

“In terms of the sale of CIBC, I would simply confirm that regulators across the region considered it. Central Bank of Barbados is the lead regulator, based on the jurisdiction of CIBC FCIB. But all regulators, including the ECCB, were involved in that discussion, and came to that decision which has been conveyed and you are correct the application was denied.” (T&T Guardian)

Israel eases restrictions following vaccine success

Israel is easing lockdown restrictions as studies there reveal the Pfizer vaccine is 98.9% effective in preventing hospitalisations and death.

From Sunday, shops, libraries and museums can open but social distancing and masks are still required.

The health ministry says it is the first stage of returning to normal life.

Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world. More than 49% of people have received at least one dose.

The country entered its third lockdown on 27 December after a resurgence of the virus.

Under the easing measures, people are now able to enter shopping malls and tourist attractions such as zoos. A number of other facilities are now able to reopen including gyms, hotels and synagogues. However they require a "green passport", a certificate that can only be obtained once you have been vaccinated. A small number of people who have recovered from the virus and are not currently eligible for the vaccine are also able to obtain the certificate.

The passport, which is contained in an app, is issued by the health ministry and will be valid for six months, one week after the second dose.

Crowds are now allowed back at concerts and sporting events have reopened at 75% capacity but they have a cap of no more than 300 people inside and 500 outside.

Despite the easing of restrictions, Israel's airport will remain closed for another two weeks. On Saturday, the health ministry said studies revealed the risk of illness from the virus has dropped 95.8% among people who have had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

It also found that the vaccine was 98% effective in preventing fever or breathing problems. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he expects 95% of Israelis over 50 to be vaccinated over the next two weeks.

Earlier this week, the Gaza Strip received its first doses of the vaccine after Israel approved the transfer through its border. The shipment included 2,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine which will be used on patients who have had organ transplants and those with kidney failure, an official told Reuters news agency.

It comes as the Palestinian Health Ministry struck a deal with Israel's Health Ministry to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians who work in the country. (BBC)