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children among 5 air- dashed to city after Bartica accident
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM President Ali hands over 50 new vehicles to GPF
…must crack down on crime …says home invasions must be curbed …new vehicles not for “joyride”
The Guyana Police Force received a fleet of new vehicles, compliments of the Home Affairs Ministry
With the Guyana Police Force (GPF) receiving 50 new vehicles, President Dr Irfaan Ali has urged the Police to use the resources at their disposal to crack down on crime and ensure persons can walk the streets safely.
In his feature address at the handing over which was held at the GPF sports ground, Eve Leary, Georgetown, President Ali acknowledged that serious crime was a problem. According to him, the Government is cognisant of the crime faced by citizens and urged the Police to do more.
“I am aware of the existing concerns about the incidence of robberies and acts of violence against citizens. I want to urge the Guyana Police Force to take condign actions to bring an end to these criminal attacks and assaults. Citizens must be able to walk the streets unmolested and free from fear...similarly, home invasions must be curbed,” the President said.
President Ali also spoke of initiatives to foster more trust between the public and the Police, including body cameras. Body cameras were first introduced in local Police patrols in 2019 and their use has since grown. According to the President, the initiative will be expanded.
“The Force must be capable of withstanding public scrutiny. Of operating in a transparent and open manner. And doing things within the confines of the laws. We must destroy the real and perceived conception and misconception, of the Force out there.”
“Our Police ranks will be provided with additional body cameras to protect them against false and malicious allegations. And to promote greater professionalism on the job. It will also be a good check and balance for the way we conduct ourselves also,” President Ali said.
Vehicles
The 50 pick-ups the Guyana Police Force received on Monday were SsangYong Mussos. In his address, the President urged the Police to take care of the vehicles considering how previous vehicle handovers fared.
“My Government is honouring its pledge to improve your capabilities and conditions of service. We are providing the Guyana Police Force with the tools it needs to improve local policing. In our emergency budget for 2020, we allocated $1 billion for ongoing works at Police stations. In the 2021 budget, the Force has been allocated $15.3 billion, of which $300 million is to be utilised for expanding the Force, land and marine fleet.”
He warned that the Police have to do an “assessment of its capacity to manage these assets and “to find a way that is more reliable, efficiently and less costly that would deliver the results in managing these vehicles. The vehicles provided to the Force must not be used for joyrides, no. The assets being provided to the Force are to boost its capability, its responsiveness and people will judge us by the way in which we care for and use these assets.”
President Ali referenced a previous donation under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. According to him, those vehicles were not taken care of.
“Today I am pleased to be able to hand over to the Guyana Police Force, 50 new vehicles to help boost its crime fighting efforts. This is yet another tangible expression for my Government’s support for the work of the force. This will improve the Police Force’s mobility and response, which was severely handicapped by the lack of serviceable vehicles,” the President said.
“Four years ago, the People’s Republic of China handed over a fleet of 56 pick-up vehicles, five buses, 35 All-Terrain Vehicles and 48 motorcycles. When my Government assumed office, only 39 of the 140 vehicles were working. With 101 down for repairs, some of which were already unserviceable. This cannot continue.”
The President noted that while the Government is committed to equipping the Force with the resources they need, greater care must be taken of these assets. He noted that “the provision of resources must be accompanied with greater responsibility.” (G3)
President Irfaan Ali
Views
Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com The right path
September 5th was designated as International Day of Charity by the United Nations.
The date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace”.
In any society that we dwell or live in there will always be pockets of persons who are desirous of help in one form or the other. Poverty is not just limited to Third World or developing countries, it is a global phenomenon that exists in even the richest of countries. Pundits have articulated that once there is a disparity in the distribution of wealth, poverty will always be prevalent.
In so much as the causality may be open to debate and interpretation, the actuality of the condition remains and the onus on the rectification of same should not lie solely on the governing institutions in place.
All of the world’s religions prescribe to the need to render assistance in one way or another to those who are less fortunate. It was built into our cultural systems and that knowledge was passed down from generation to generation.
However, this traditional norm as we would describe it has somewhat been diluted with the passage of time and with the modernist take on cultural assimilation.
Invariably, the day-to-day existence of those persons in the middle-income bracket and the proverbial rat-race to pursue wealth generation as a medium to transcend class stratification has meant that the majority of families have focused more on building themselves over expending resources to help persons outside of their social ambit.
Nevertheless, according to the UN, “notions of volunteerism and philanthropy provide real social bonding and contribute to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged and spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations”.
There is no denying the benevolence of NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) and other non-profit organisations that have contributed tremendously towards the social upliftment of those in need.
But their help is contextualised on a more macro scale. Who, in Guyana’s case, is looking out for the neighbour who, while not poor, cannot afford to place their child in day care or provide that child with the necessary monetary resources to excel in school, because their income can only cover the basics such as food, rent, and utilities?
Beyond the support of the State, there is supposed to be the support of thy neighbour, the support of the village, the support from those who have enough that sharing would not have any effect on their economic footprint.
How do we ensure or bring about a resurgence in providing service to those in need? Well, fundamentally, it should start at the level of our education. Just as how we are taught togetherness and tolerance among all ethnicities in school, education catered towards inculcating formative values that enshrine the need for us to care for each other must also be incorporated into the teaching curriculum from an early age.
We cannot account for the behavioural change in persons who are already entrenched with a particular perspective of thinking, but we can inculcate within the malleable minds of our young ones the need for them to extend their social and economic responsibilities beyond the confines of the family structure.
The bigger picture is that we are all interconnected. Realisation of this fact through an “Edu-care”-based approach to learning will invariably set us on the right path.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand interacting with a student at Smyth Street Nursery School on Monday following the reopening
of schools (Education Ministry photo)
Stopping the Texas abortion law
By Laurence H TriBe
The Texas legislature and five Supreme Court justices have joined forces to eviscerate women’s abortion rights — the legislature by creating and the justices by leaving in place a system of private bounties designed to intimidate all who would help women exercise the right to choose. But the federal government has — and should use — its own powers, including criminal prosecution, to prevent the law from being enforced and to reduce its chilling effects.
Of course, the best approach would be for Congress to codify the right to abortion in federal law, although Democrats likely lack the votes to make that happen — and there is a risk that this conservative Supreme Court would find that such a statute exceeded Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause.
But as President Biden calls for a “whole of government” response to the fact that thousands of women in Texas — and no doubt soon elsewhere — are being denied their constitutional rights, there are other solutions that already exist in federal law.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has the power, under federal civil rights laws, to go after any vigilantes who employ the Texas law to seek bounties from abortion providers or others who help women obtain abortions.
The attorney general should announce, as swiftly as possible, that he will use federal law to the extent possible to deter and prevent bounty hunters from employing the Texas law. If Texas wants to empower private vigilantes to intimidate abortion providers from serving women, why not make bounty hunters think twice before engaging in that intimidation?
For example, Section 242 of the federal criminal code makes it a crime for those who, “under colour of law,” wilfully deprive individuals “of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.”
This statute — originally designed to go after the Ku Klux Klan — fits the Texas situation perfectly: The bounty seekers, entitled under the Texas law to collect penalties of at least $10,000, have been made, in effect, private attorneys general of Texas. They act “under colour of state law,” and unless and until Roe v. Wade is overruled, they unmistakably intend to prevent the exercise of a constitutional right.
In addition, Section 241 of the federal criminal code makes it an even more serious crime for “two or more persons” to agree to “oppress, threaten, or intimidate” anyone “in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same.” This crime may be committed even by individuals not found to be acting “under colour of law” but as purely private vigilantes, as long as they’re acting in concert with others. Again, the Texas scheme could hardly be more perfectly designed to match the language of that section. The whole point of the Texas law, after all, is to intimidate abortion providers and others by threatening them with penalties of at least $10,000, plus legal fees, in the form of bounties to be paid to the vigilante. Even jurists who believe the Constitution does not protect abortion rights might be given pause by this seizure of private property, with unlimited penalties not tied to any actual harm suffered by the bounty hunter.
It would be particularly fitting — in tune not just with the letter but the spirit of the law — to use the Ku Klux Klan Act in this way. After all, the statute was enacted in 1871, in the aftermath of the Civil War, precisely to prevent Klansmen from lynching and other attacks on formerly enslaved Black citizens, including to prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to vote. As the Klan rampaged in the former Confederacy, Southern states didn’t simply turn a blind eye to its vigilante justice but encouraged it.
In addition to these criminal provisions, there are civil actions available under federal law, including the ability to seek and obtain court orders to halt the illegal state scheme. The Justice Department can’t directly use the civil provisions of the Ku Klux Klan Act; only the injured party can. But the All Writs Act, which permits federal courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions” could allow the department to go to court to seek an order blocking the Texas law from being enforced.
The Justice Department is understandably reluctant to announce particular investigations or prosecutions before pinning down more details than are yet available. But, at some point, the need to disarm those who cynically undermine constitutional rights while ducking all normal avenues for challenging their assault on the rule of law becomes paramount.
We have arrived at that point. (Laurence H Tribe is the Carl M Loeb University Professor Emeritus and a professor of constitutional law emeritus at Harvard Law School.) (Washington Post)
You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com
Dear Editor,
On Sunday, September 5, 2021, I tuned in to the virtual meeting which was hosted by the APNU/AFC with residents of Region 10. The meeting was supposed to be a discussion on vaccination which is of concern to many Guyanese. To say that I was disappointed in some of the speakers is an understatement. I thought that as leaders and public figures some of the speakers would have been careful with their utterances especially since the discussion was on the pandemic and vaccination. That was not the case. Editor, I write to you to express my displeasure with a Member of Parliament, regarding some of the statements he made. From the beginning of the discussion, I could tell that the entire meeting was going to be riddled with misinformation. However, what I was taken aback by was the fact that the MP basically encouraged the use of herbal remedies as an alternative to vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. The coalition and their MPs are always quick to ask for evidence when they are called out for their wrongdoings. So, with that in mind, I ask that they provide us with the evidence of scientific research to prove this. In his exact words, “we have a number of Guyanese who have contracted COVID, they used other forms of remedies; local herbal remedies; and they’ve recovered.” He then went on to say that there are testimonies of such that cannot be disputed. I am not aware of any scientific study or research which proves the use of herbal remedies as a better alternative to vaccination in the fight against this pandemic. However, if the MP has the information, I think we would all like to know who conducted this research and when and what herbal remedies were used. After all, the MP is supposed to serve the people so if he knows of an alternative to deal with the spread of the COVID-19 virus which has been proven to work, he should tell the people of Guyana as it would be of great help. In the meanwhile, I ask that Guyanese continue to ignore this nonsense being spewed by the coalition ever so often to deter people from taking the vaccines.
But the MP’s utterances and Dr Karen Cummings’ expression of Opposition support for the vaccination effort made on the same day are examples of the sort of deception being employed by the Opposition - say one thing publicly and do the complete opposite behind the scenes.
Editor, I want to remind everyone reading this that the COVID-19 vaccines have been scientifically proven to be the most effective form of medicine used for combating the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It is for this very reason that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is recommending that everyone gets vaccinated. If there was indisputable evidence that another alternative to the vaccines is herbs then I am positive that the WHO would have recommended that people use them rather than source vaccines. The truth is that herbal remedies can only strengthen the body but cannot fight the COVID-19 virus on its own as is suggested by the Opposition MP. This just goes to show how barefacedly the entire APNU/AFC continues to spread misinformation, all for the sake of disrupting the Government’s vaccination campaign.
Sincerely, Thomas Cole
Driven by politics and not health concerns
Dear Editor,
I have no apologies to make when I say that those persons who are fuelling the vaccine hesitancy here should be brought before the courts, charged and locked up.
They are not fighting to protect the rights of the people who are joining the picket line. They are engaged in politics. This is not the politics of the people, as expected, according to all they have said. This is nasty, deliberate, and misleading anti-government politics. I mean, your readers, should listen to the Opposition politicians on Facebook using this vaccination issue to score cheap political points. They are milking the issue again for all that it is worth.
They cannot keep my attention because they do not have a programme of developmental goods to offer or talk about. They do not even have a strategy for winning the upcoming Local Government and General Elections here. The APNU/AFC politicians are always short on bright ideas but big on criticising. I remember reading Michael Young’s column in one of the dailies called Crossfire. He is right as it pertains to the strategy and nature of politics in Guyana. It is brutish and cold.
The Opposition is not concerned about the health and wellbeing of the workers. They probably want this surge in COVID-related deaths and hospitalisations to continue. They will get much to talk about to fuel the Opposition’s campaign of race hate and discrimination banter. For these irresponsible politicians, it is politics over people. They are not concerned about your health
Finally, I think the Government is doing its part to fight this COVID-19 virus on several fronts. Let us all do our part in the fight. Let us get vaccinated and encourage others to do the same. And finally, like the then Opposition Leader and now Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said if they come to our communities, with the anti-vaccine campaign telling you frivolous things about the vaccine, we must chase them out!
Yours faithfully, Suraj Singh
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Delays in Police, Fire Service promotions not affecting operations – Benn
…says promotions must be contingent on job performance
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn
In recent months there has been controversy when it comes to promotions at the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). According to Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, however, this has not affected the operations of the two entities.
In an interview with the media on Monday, Minister Benn noted that when it comes to the GPF, the promotions of persons above the rank of Sergeant rests on the appointment of the Police Service Commission (PSC).
According to Benn, only the PSC can resolve the issue of the promotion list that the GPF had approved and sent up. In the case of
File photo: Guyana Police Force ranks
the GFS, however, he noted that there is no final list and the service is justified in wanting to screen person’s job performance before promoting them.
“The Fire Service, by some sleight of hand, the list that was being considered and was under review, that information was passed out. There’s no final list at the Fire Service. And particularly, persons being considered for promotions have to be screened in relation to their job performance. Couldn’t be any other way,” he said.
The Minister noted that in both the GFS and the GPF, the operations have not been affected because promotions have been put on hold. As he put it, “if anyone is willing to default on his responsibilities because he is not getting a promotion, we’ll have to deal with that.”
The PSC was suspended by President Dr Irfaan Ali on June 16, 2021, after he had followed the constitutional process involving each member being asked to show cause why he should not be suspended. This decision of the President was communicated to each member of the PSC by a letter bearing that date which was dispatched and received.
Despite this suspension, however, the PSC went ahead on June 28 and released a list of officers it deemed worthy of promotion for 2020. The list was released not long after acting Chief Justice Roxanne George dismissed a case brought by Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Brutus, who was seeking to block the promotion list on the basis that he was being bypassed for promotion by the PSC.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government has, however, since rejected this list as unlawful and illegal, with Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, issuing a statement reminding the PSC that it is suspended and as such, cannot issue any list.
“The said decision of the President can only be rescinded, revoked, set-aside, or reversed by the President himself, or by a court of competent jurisdiction. No person, let alone, a constitutional commission, will be allowed to become judge, jury, and executioner in our constitutional democracy. The rule of law simply does not permit it,” Nandlall had said.
September 16, 2021, has meanwhile been set aside for High Court Judge Gino Persaud to rule on whether President Ali is immune
Ranks during Operation “Get Ready”, which tested the capacity of equipment and personnel of the GFS
from being named as a party to the case filed by the PSC challenging its June 16 suspension by the Head of State. The imminent ruling has its origin in an application filed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who is asking that the President be struck out as a respondent.
When it comes to the GFS, controversy erupted last month when several officers were removed from potentially being in line for promotion because of disciplinary infractions that were on their records.
In fact, it was reported last month that these disaffected officers had retained a lawyer, Eusi Anderson, to write to the acting Fire Chief Kalamadeen Edoo directing him to send the list of officers eligible for promotion to the Home Affairs Ministry. The Fire Chief has never confirmed receipt of any letter to this effect. (G3)
High turnout of students...
FROM PAGE 2
However, some 10 schools were unable to open because teachers tested positive for COVID-19.
Recently, the Education Ministry advised that the reopening of secondary schools for face-to-face teaching will be based on the national vaccination programme for adolescents across Guyana.
It said in a statement that the advice received from the Health Ministry was that it is better to allow students to be vaccinated and be fully inoculated before returning to the school’s physical environment.
For an adolescent to be deemed fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine they must receive two doses 2128 days apart with an additional seven to 14 days after the second dose to be fully protected. This would mean that the different secondary schools will return to faceto-face instruction on different dates.
The Ministry will be utilising the Guyana Diagnostics Assessment and consolidated curriculum to ensure that students are abreast in the given modalities and subject areas, given the impact brought on by the coronavirus disruptions. It will include content, teaching strategies and assessments for students. The consolidated curriculum is not a new tool, but the same in which teachers are exposed to. However, it is “tightening” the existing curriculum, bearing no compromises but simply seeking to effectively utilise time to meet grade level objectives up to Grade Nine.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Judge to rule next Monday on challenge to acting Town Clerk’s appointment
Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine
The decision by the Local Government Commission (LGC) to appoint Candace Nelson as the acting Town Clerk of the municipality of Georgetown is not unlawful, said Attorneyat-Law CV Satram.
He was at the time making oral arguments in a case seeking to nullify Nelson’s appoint which was filed by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown, who complained that the former is not qualified for the position and that the M&CC was excluded from consultations on her appointment.
On Monday, High Court Judge Jo-Ann Barlow entertained full arguments in the case and will render her ruling next Monday, September 13 at 13:30h.
During the virtual proceedings, Satram was specifically asked by Justice Barlow whether the LGC, as a constitutional body, did not have a right to exercise its independent mind to the question of eligibility and suitability when appointing someone to the post of Town Clerk.
“I’m not saying that at all your honour. There is no evidence that it did not do so. There appears to have been a full debate on the question of,” Satram replied.
Attorney-at-Law Teni Housty, who is representing the M&CC, relied on his written submissions that were laid over ahead of Monday’s hearing. He, however, expounded on pertinent points. According to counsel, ahead of the appointment of Nelson, the LGC held no consultations with relevant stakeholders.
“The context of consultation to which we refer is linked to Section 37 of the Local Government Commission Act. In so far as a decision is being made in relation to the staffing of thousands of local government organs, the impact of the decision makes the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown liable to be consulted,” Housty submitted.
The lawyer said that the minutes of previous meetings held by the LGC show that consultations were held in the past concerning the appointment of a Town Clerk. He said, “In the minutes, in their own (LGC) affidavits they have demonstrated a previous practice of consultations. They have highlighted the duty of cooperation that is enshrined in the statute.”
He contended that the M&CC should have an input in the process of identifying a person to serve as Town Clerk. Asked whether this takes away from the independence of the LGC in selecting and appointing a Town Clerk, Housty said, “No please your honour. What it does is adds further strength to their process.”
Last month, the M&CC instituted judicial review proceedings against the LGC challenging its “unilateral” appointment of Nelson. In a Fixed Date Application (FDA)
Acting Town Clerk Candace Nelson
filed at the Demerara High Court, the M&CC is contending that Nelson’s appointment is unlawful as she is not qualified for the position.
The M&CC submitted that it was not included in consultations on her appointment, and as such, she “is acting without lawful authority”, and continues to disrupt the smooth and efficient functioning of the Council. The M&CC cited Nelson for taking disruptive actions which pose serious ongoing and continuing breaches that compromise the sanctity of the Council’s operations.
She is being accused of influencing the records of the M&CC’s statutory meetings by deleting matters from minutes of meetings and seeking to dictate the contents of the agenda of later meetings.
Court documents state that she suspended a tendering process that began months before her appointment and has potentially compromised the ability of the M&CC to honour its contractual and other financial obligations. She is also being accused of failing to facilitate a proper handover of the M&CC’s assets. Unless Nelson is removed, the M&CC said she will further disrupt the Council’s business.
Nelson was appointed after the LGC wrote to then acting Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick and instructed her to return to her substantive position of Assistant Town Clerk effective from July 27. LGC Chairman, Julius Faerber had recently said the decision to remove Jerrick was a unanimous one.
“That decision was unanimously voted in favour of, and when I said unanimously, there were seven Commissioners who were present at that time, and all seven of them voted in favour of having Ms Jerrick return to her substantive position. That was the situation that occurred,” he had told a news conference.
According to Faerber, the decision to appoint Nelson is in keeping with the authority vested in the Local Government Commission under Sections 12 and 13 of the Local Government Commission Act.
Specifically, he pointed to Section 13 (2), which states: “The Commission shall have the power to deal with all matters relating to the staffing of Local Government organs, and in particular shall be responsible for employment, transfer, discipline, and dismissal of staff.”
Nelson had left the Council’s most recent statutory meeting after Mayor Ubraj Narine indicated that the Council would not recognise or include her in the proceedings. Meanwhile, an earlier meeting of the Council was aborted after the Mayor and Councillors protested her appointment and demanded that she leave. However, Nelson did not budge. (G1)
Murder of schoolteacher
State to call 43 witnesses as trial set to begin on September 15
State prosecutors will call some 43 witnesses to the stand when the trial of taxi driver Matthew Munroe, who is accused of the murder of schoolteacher Kescia Branche commences on September 15. A 12-member jury has already been empanelled to hear the case before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Demerara. Munroe has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He is accused of murdering the 23-year-old woman between November 5 and 7, 2017. The case for the prosecution is being led by State Counsel Seeta Bishundial, while Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd is appearing for the murder accused. Munroe was first charged with the schoolteacher’s murder in December 2017 and has been on remand ever since.
After a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) which ended on October 16, 2018, Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman had ruled that sufficient ev-
Murder accused: Matthew Munroe
idence was led by the prosecution against Munroe for him to stand trial in the High Court for the capital offence.
Munroe had allegedly departed Guyana for the United States of America some time in November 2017, but after spending some time overseas, had returned to Guyana and presented himself to the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
The Police have said that during interrogation, Munroe could not provide information on his whereabouts on the night that the schoolteacher was killed, as well as a reason for his car bumper missing.
Branche, 23, a mother of one of Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown, was discovered lying at the corner of Princes Street and Louisa Row in Georgetown on November 5, 2017.
She was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she died two days later. Her cause of death was given as haemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head. According to reports, the young mother had left home for a night of partying. Her son was left in the care of a friend, who revealed that Branche had told her she had intended to go to a city nightclub to meet a male friend.
The teacher had later returned home but had subsequently left again.
She had told her friend that she would be home by 02:00h, but never returned. She was last seen leaving a nightclub on Lamaha Street in the company of two Police ranks.
The father of Branche’s child was also arrested after the teacher’s mobile phone was found in his possession. He and four Policemen were questioned about her death, but they were later released.
Dead: Kescia Branche
Sharing...
…with Africa
Well, folks, that day is finally here!! Today’s the Africa-Caricom summit where, as the African Union – representing all 55 countries of the continent lumped in five groups – will be talking, as your Eyewitness said yesterday, with Caricom as their “sixth group”. It’s all happening virtually, but what else is new… nowadays everything is virtual, even marriages!! So you can tune in and listen about what’s going to be done to achieve the objectives: “greater economic trade and investment opportunities; and solidarity in actions to address global challenges, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
But in life, there are always contingencies to look out: sh*t happens!! And just when your Eyewitness thought everything was all clear on the agenda, up came news last night that there’s been a military coup in the West African nation of Guinea!! This followed bitterly-disputed elections in which the Government of the day rigged like crazy and was allowed to get away with it. In addition, rubbing salt into the wound, the President had diddled with the Constitution to allow him to run – and then give himself – a third term!!
It was all too much and for a lot of people and the country’s elite commando force -- along with elements of the presidential guard – seized the President and announced they’d be forming a new government in a few weeks. So, here we go again with coups and counter- coups in Africa! Because the same thing happened recently over in Ivory Coast and Mali So THIS should be the topic on the African Union-Caricom meeting. Otherwise, all the best-laid plans will “go awry”!!
And this is where our own Mia Mottley can take the initiative. She was involved right here in Caricom last year when she was the Chair and the PNC tried to rig the elections to stage a constructive coup – as they’d done for 28 years back in the day. She took the lead and in no uncertain terms asserted that the Caribbean would NOT be allowed to revert to the days of illegal and dictatorial governments.
In addition to the African Union, Guinea is one of the 15 members of the “Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)” – similar to Caricom but with heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. While France, the ex-colonial power, has indicated displeasure in the regression of governance structures, Africa has to take a lead in sorting out its challenges. For sure we know that the Lt Colonel who’s taken over in Guinea and promised a new constitution, etc, will soon ensconce himself as a new (illegal) leader who wasn’t elected by the people.
A line must be drawn by the Diaspora.
…the COVID-19 responsibilities
One of the idiosyncrasies of the modern age is the total focus on the RIGHTS of individuals…it’s foundational to the entire civilisation. And if one were to even suggest that rights aren’t the alpha and omega of human existence, you might be drawn and quartered for like you’re denying the sanctity of motherhood!! Your Eyewitness, however, is old school and was taught to accept that with every right comes an obligation!! They are two sides of the same coin and CANNOT be sundered!!
Take this emphasis of the Opposition on the RIGHT of their supporters to refuse the COVID-19 vaccines. Well….maybe so. But since this is a PUBLIC HEALTH emergency, don’t these same Opposition politicians and their supporters have an obligation to the PUBLIC – of which they’re a part?? But the most ironic turn of events is that the Government’s being pilloried for being “dictatorial” – simply for doing their DUTY to safeguard the health and welfare of the population!!
Shouldn’t science be the arbiter?
…technology
Your Eyewitness was pleased to learn that GuySuCo has asked the army to borrow the five drones – which Ramjattan bought for $30 million each – to spray pesticides, etc, on their sugar cane.
Guess the drug routes are being otherwise monitored?
