Guyana Blog Press

17/08/2023

Caller says Indians have no history in Guyana and they do "wicked things" wherever they are, and APNU+AFC MP Coretta McDonald agrees.

09/05/2023

A demand for free, fair and credible GPA elections.

15/08/2022

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬.

𝑩𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉. 𝑨𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒕 15, 2022

Sergeant Dion Bascom has made clear allegations of corruption in the Guyana Police Force that goes as far as attempting to frustrate/hamper an investigation of a murder. What is now clear is that the lower ranks of the GPF have significant evidence and the main suspect but believe that they (Bascom et al.) have been prevented from gathering enough critical evidence for charges to be laid before a court of law by at least two senior officers (Caesar and Blanhum).

There may be attempts to brush aside Bascom’s claims as ranting based on his arrest during a CANU raid but that would be foolish since Bascom’s claims of being threatened by the Main suspect (Mark Richmond) have appeared in the press since 6.2.2022. It is a common tactic of criminals to promote forgetting. If this fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence him/her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens. Richmond’s employer is prominent businessman Azruddin Mohammed.

Guyanese society is very small and stories of corruption within the police force are not new, but the level of officers and seriousness (murder) is without precedent; both of these officers should be sent on leave and two multi-national teams of investigators assembled and given charge and unfettered rein/access to investigate the murder of Ricardo Fagundes and allegations of corruption and compromise of the Deputy Head of the GPF Major Crimes Unit Mitchell Caesar and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum. In her seminal work Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, Judith Lewis Herman says “Folk wisdom is filled with ghosts who refuse to rest in their graves until their stories are told. Murder will out. Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims”. Much work has to be done for the Guyanese public to regain/retain confidence in the Police Force and never has there been such an urgent need for this as now.

07/07/2022

𝗖𝗖𝗝 𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗡 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦-𝗘𝗗𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗔𝗪𝗡 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗬

A recent ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in an election petition appeal out of Dominica that is strikingly similar to the PNC/APNU+AFC’s petition 99 has thrown the spotlight once again on the questionable rulings of Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory.
Among the many egregious decisions by this duo was their agreement with submissions by the PNC/APNU+AFC lawyers that 34 is the majority of 65. The CCJ later dismissed this as ludicrous and even refused to entertain arguments supporting it.

Recall also that the rulings of this same duo, along with Justice Brassington Reynolds (who fathered a child with Nicolette Henry) during the five-month PNC/APNU+AFC rigging attempt, were questioned by Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles, the senior lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Professor Barrow-Giles said last year that she believes that some of those judgments from the Appellate Court raise questions as to whether the Courts are as independent as they ought to be.

Now back to the CCJ ruling on the Dominican election petition.
In a judgment handed down by President of the CCJ Justice Adrian Saunders a few days ago, the court denied permission to hear an election petition appeal out of Dominica challenging the results of the 2019 general elections in the sister CARICOM territory.

The CCJ found that the appeal had no reasonable prospects of success because the trial judge’s judgment was interlocutory and not final and the Court of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Domica) was right to decline jurisdiction to hear an appeal against that judgment.
“In conclusion, these appeals have been dismissed on the basis of want of jurisdiction, because there was no final decision or order made by the judge,” the ruling noted.

In the case of the PNC/APNU+AFC’s petition 99 of 2020, it was struck out by Chief Justice Roxanne George on a preliminary ground: non-service or improper service. The PNC/APNU+AFC then appealed the decision of the Chief Justice. In response, the Respondent (in this case the Attorney General) sought to have the appeal struck out on the ground that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal in an election petition that was dismissed on preliminary grounds - that is, one in which the merits of the petition were not determined.
The Court of Appeal of Guyana, (unlike the Court of Appeal in Dominica) disagreed with the Attorney General. On December 21, 2021, Justices Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice Dawn Gregory in a majority decision ruled that the CoA had the jurisdiction, or power, to hear an appeal into petition 99.

However, Justice Rishi Persaud ruled not to allow the appeal, stating instead that the Chief Justice did not hear the “question” or merits of the petition but rather dismissed it on the basis of late submission, there was nothing to appeal.

23/03/2022

𝐎𝐏 𝐄𝐃: 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐇𝐄’𝐋𝐋 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒

𝐵𝑦 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝐴 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛

The Good News: Today PNC Leader Aubrey Norton praised the PPPC for having the foresight to set aside $5 Billion in the 2022 Budget to cushion cost-of-living adjustment and lent support to the decision to tap Natural Resource Fund after years of APNU indecision and inertia.
The Bad News: Norton wants the PNC to have a say in how the money is spent.
After five years of APNU+AFC profligacy including billions on take-out food for Ministers; Gold Bangles for Ministers paid for by taxpayers; Houses as drug bonds; Barber chairs for non-existent barbershops: Contracts for Cathy; Multiple house-lots for Annette and none for the people; Thousands of ghost employees in every nook and cranny; firing of 7000 sugar workers one can only hope that Norton’s delusions are not incurable.
The PPPC is working constantly to respond to the challenges facing the people of Guyana, to date solutions and relief measures include:

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐓𝐀𝐗 𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐒
• Over $50B was returned to the economy as a result of these tax breaks including the removal of value-added tax (VAT) on electricity, water, domestic air travel, cellular phones, and medical and educational supplies, and the zero-rated status applied to essential and household items.

𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐙𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐏𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐒
• February 2021: The excise tax on fuel reduced from 50% to 35%
• October 2021: The excise tax on fuel reduced from 35% to 20%
• Budget 2022: The excise tax on fuel reduced from 20% to 10%

𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐓
• Freight costs were restricted to the pre-COVID level, effectively saving consumers and businesses nearly $4B since being implemented in August 2021.

𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐒
• $25,000 COVID cash grant to every household amounting to $7.5B
• $1.73B to 220 Amerindian communities
• $250,000 to nearly 5,300 severed sugar workers amounting to $1.3B
• $25,000 to 90,000 people benefitting from old age pension and public assistance, and persons living with disabilities, amounting to $2.2B

𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓
• Over $200M in electricity credit was provided to vulnerable households
• Old-age pension: a total of 49,966 households, including pensioners benefited
• A total of 27,436 pensioners received water subsidies

𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄
• 2021: $4.5B supported the increase of old-age pension from $20,500 to $25,000 monthly and public assistance from $9,000 to $12,000.
• 2022: $2.3B catered for increase in old age pension from $25,000 to $28,000; while $432 million moved public assistance payment from $12,000 to $14,000

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒
• 2020: $1.1B in one-off payment for 19,000 health workers and members of the Disciplined Services
• 2020: $25,000 one-off payments to public servants, amounting to $2B
• 2021: 7% across the board increases for farmers servants
• 2021: $600M in two-week bonuses for 9,200 health workers
• 2021: $1.2B in one-month bonuses for disciplined services
• 2022: $1.3B for increase of income tax threshold from $65,000 to $75,000

𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃, 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒
• 2021: Over $3.2B in school cash grants were distributed to 172,000 public school children, and $320M to 17,000 private school students.
• 2022: An additional $2B to be distributed this year.

𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐖-𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐄
• 2020: from $8 million to $10 million;
• 2021: from $10 million to $12 million;
• 2022: from $12 million to $15 million.

𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒
• Over $7 billion in flood relief cash grants distributed;
• Thousands of bags of seed paddy provided to rice farmers;
• Over 150,000 in breeding stocks distributed to livestock farmers;
• Over 75,000 food hampers were provided to affected households.

𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐓
• Helping farmers sell their products while consumers benefit from lower prices.

While President Irfaan Ali has promised wide consultation on future relief measures it is highly unlikely that anything of value to the public will emerge from the bowels or mouths of the PNC; Aubrey Norton needs to take several seats until David Granger decides if he will get the one he covets on the Opposition benches in parliament and with it the office and budget to splurge bam-bam alley fare.

11/02/2022

Thank you GRA

07/02/2022

𝐎𝐈𝐋 & 𝐆𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

𝐵𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔ℎ

The title is impressive “The Oil & Gas Governance Network”; they boast of the quality of their membership, MBA’s! CPA’s! Engineers! Professors! And they are never short on advice on matter oil & gas. However, when faced with paying for a ticket to attend the International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana 2022, the OGGN suddenly become “minimum wage workers” and need a free pass.

The incongruity is not new nor confined to Guyana’s shores and there is certainly no surprise that OGGN is another empty vessel making oil and gas noises. This is not the first time Guyana has entertained financially embarrassed experts from the diaspora; one ‘wall street analyst’ returned to our shores and rode a moped for years and we still admired his esoteric writings which he parlayed into a job with the Granger administration. Guyanese have learned from that folly; an appearance on a Moray House panel no longer has the prestige since they continue to entertain men with gold bangle ethics and clear anti-Guyana agendas.

Guyana would welcome financial experts from the diaspora who have demonstrated financial success, not hustlers running one-man operations from basements. Dr. Jerry Jailall et al. should work on raising the USD 350 for a ticket to the event and gaining basic credibility before pontificating on how the Billions of USD Guyana will earn from Oil & Gas should be utilized.

29/01/2022

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 & 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐏𝐏/𝐂 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐈𝐋-𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐆𝐔𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐀

𝐵𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑒

There is a group that evolved out of the middle-class Creole folks and Christian westernized Indians who believed that they were the inheritors of the culture and values of the Anglo-phone Caribbean after Independence. It includes some dark-skinned Afro- Guyanese as well who have been accepted in this group since the fifties because of money, property, and the acceptance of their presence by the colonial state. This group has no constituency. They have no followers, only paper organizations such as the GHRA, Red Thread, Article 13, Guyana Oil and Gas Policy Forum, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc., and Civil Society Forum.

This grouping is known as “the usual suspects” and what binds them together is their hatred for the PPP and their belief that rural Indians should never hold the reins of government in Guyana. They believe that Indo-Guyanese should be relegated to farming, peasantry, and small-scale business ownership.

It is this belief of theirs that led to many of them remaining silent or supporting the APNU+AFC’s election rigging attempt. They were all dormant during the 5 years of APNU+AFC rule but the moment they realized the coalition could not succeed with their rigging attempt they resurfaced, formed several new paper organizations, and are given a platform by the Stabroek News to wage their anti-PPP campaign.

The usual suspects are particularly angered by the fact that the PPP/C government is in charge of oil-rich Guyana and this is behind their many fulminations and feigned concerns about the Natural Resources Fund and everything related to oil and gas. Today they will congregate for a Zoom confabulation facilitated by Isabelle De Caires, daughter of Stabroek News founder David De Caires, where they will vent their bilge.

We must call them out and reject them!

23/01/2022

𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐋 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝑩𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒆

Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes continues to put tremendous strain on the high ethics of the legal profession. The methods he uses to ‘defend’ his clients are highly unorthodox. Moreover, he appears to target cases that he knows are controversial and will result in sensational headlines in the Press, most time, going to the persons’ homes and offering his services free. This is solicitation, frowned upon in the legal profession. Some may argue that it is touting. The horrible killing of the Henry boys is a prime example. Members of the Guyana Police Force disclosed evidence that illustrated that Mr. Hughes acted far from ethical on many occasions in that case. These matters were widely reported in the Press. In that case, roadways were blocked, innocent people were beaten, robbed and their properties destroyed.

In 2012, one would recall the fiery blockade and the mayhem which ensued at Agricola Public Road and the role Hughes played in that whole saga. Around the same time, there was another incident involving his connection with the foreman of the Jury in the Lusignan massacre where he appeared as Defence Counsel.

Some years earlier one recalls the removal of the video tape from the Buxton gas station, believed to contain valuable evidence in respect to the killing of the owner of the property, whom Hughes claimed to represent. It is more than passing strange that evidence that would have helped the Police in investigating a crime committed against his client would be removed by him.
The latest incident is the regrettable killing of Orin Boston. This case had all the hallmarks of the cases profiled by Hughes. Not surprising, he made his way to the distant village of Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast to meet with the relatives. He capitalised and exploited the publicity which the tragedy provided.

The Director of Public Prosecutions advised the charge of Manslaughter. The DPP is an independent Constitutional Office, and one must presume that the holder of that office will act properly. Of course, one is free to challenge the actions of that office holder in the Courts of Law. The DPP would normally advise based upon statements and evidence provided. In this matter, the DPP advised institution of manslaughter. Mr. Hughes could not have seen the statements reviewed by the DPP which led to that advice. But in a letter to the DPP which he released to the press, he claims that he spoke with eyewitnesses, whom ‘’have confirmed that the circumstances in which Mr. Boston was killed was an act of murder.’’ He continues, ‘’the issue of weight and credibility of the various witnesses is a matter which is in the exclusive purview of a Jury.’’

Hughes has transformed himself into the Judge and the Jury and without a trial has conclusively determined that it is a case of murder. Interestingly, performing the functions of the Jury, he has already examined ‘weight and credibility’ of the various witnesses that he spoke with. He has obviously found them ‘credible’ and their conversations with him ‘weighty’ enough. Putting on his Judge cap, he then made a finding in law of murder. So, in one fell swoop, Hughes has usurped the functions of the entire criminal justice system in the country. Perhaps, valuable taxpayers’ money should not be wasted in doing criminal trials anymore. Just invite Mr. Hughes to make the pronouncement.

On a more serious note, when Hughes makes these public pronouncements in these sensitive matters, he prejudices these cases by contaminating the minds of members of the public who may have to sit as Jurors or play some part in the trial of these cases.
Who will forget the furore that Hughes created some years ago when he claimed that a Police rank sodomised his client Colwyn Harding while in Police custody? Hughes switched on all gears in this matter, activating all the ‘voices of conscience’ in this society and the press. The poor Police rank lost his job and was forced into hiding. He received threats and his family had to move out of their home. The medical report at the time was made public, it showed no evidence of so**my or anything of the sort. But sensationalism was the order of the day. In his usual style. Hughes exploited it to its hilt. He was in full flow, enjoying the publicity. Quite recently, it was reported in the press that when the case came up for trial, Hughes failed to show up with his client. The case was dismissed. The State and the Police suffered great injustices. It was another travesty by Hughes. Yet you will not hear a murmur from the Judiciary, nor the Bar Association nor organisations pretending to represent Human Rights. It is no wonder that successive governments, including his own, refused to appoint him Senior Counsel. It is indeed a hard sell.

22/01/2022

Litter bug caught and was taken to pick up back garage he dumped😂

21/01/2022

Litter bug caught

21/01/2022

😂

18/01/2022

03/12/2021

Girly Mark Benschop why ya after the man?

01/12/2021

Speak your mind brother

19/10/2021

This one want more people