October 18, 2016

Archives for August 10, 2016

Govt misled Nat’l Assembly on Pharma ware”house” rental

…pays owner 3 times NEW GPC’s charge

Government has opted to pay firearms dealer Larry Singh more than three times the amount asked by NEW GPC for use of its 70,000 square foot drug storage bond to instead rent a facility that is less than 10,000 square feet, which is still to be completed and fails to meet minimum standards for pharmaceutical storage.

The  Sussex Street bond

The Sussex Street bond

The Guyana Government in 2015 terminated its prequalification agreement with the NEW GPC and forked over a $25 million deposit to Linden Holding Inc – a company whose majority shareholder is listed as Larry Singh – for rental of a building in Sussex Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, to be used as a storage bond for drugs and medical supplies for the Public Health Ministry and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton, in defence of the course of action taken by Government, has suggested that the rental fee asked by NEW GPC was exorbitant and that the new facility was required on an emergency basis.IMG_20160809_151357 NEW IMG_20160809_151341 NEW DSC_0436 NEW
He said too that the facility now rented by the Public Health Ministry and GPHC is in fact certified as meeting PAHO/WHO standards by relevant Ministry departments, including the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Administration Department.

Misleading
Investigations by Guyana Times, however, indicate that Minister Norton was being less than truthful in his pronouncements on the matter regarding public funds.
Dr Norton was also found to be dishonest when he told the National Assembly that NEW GPC was asking an exorbitant fee.
This publication has learnt that NEW GPC has never received any rent from the Government of Guyana for use of its state-of-the-art storage facility for over a decade, but after the request for rental of the facility was made by the Health Ministry and Georgetown Public Hospital, an invoice was computed at $275 per square foot. The Government later decided to pay Linden Holding Inc more than $1000 per square foot for the Sussex Street property.
Revelations by Dr Norton have since shown that in addition to a $25 million deposit, Government has begun paying Linden Holding Inc, $12.5 million monthly, for a facility which is conservatively estimated to be around less than 10,000 square feet.
The building in Sussex Street – currently being refurbished – up until recently had been abandoned but was previously used as a residence.

No drugs delivered yet
The disparity in prices being paid to Singh and Linden Holding Inc is in addition to the fact that contrary to Dr Norton’s pronouncements the Sussex Street bond was never inspected by the Food and Drug Department, as is required under the laws of Guyana, and does not meet any of the international specifications required for storage of drugs and medical supplies.
Guyana Times visited the Sussex Street building, which sits between two residential homes, in breach of international standards for the location of such facilities given its proximity to external risks.
Dr Norton told the National Assembly that Government has begun storing drugs and medical supplies with Linden Holdings Inc – since rental payments would have commenced in March.
But this again has since been proven unfounded since the facility is still being prepared to be used as a storage facility.
Guyana Times was told there have been no deliveries made to the location and in fact, rehabilitation of the once dilapidated building only commenced recently.
Three persons were observed on site Monday laying wires in addition to a single security guard who informed a journalist from this publication that Larry Singh had instructed that no person be allowed inside to photograph the facility.
Checks at Linden Holding’s Middle Street office in the building which housed Sidewalk Café and is owned by Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes – also proved futile since Guyana Times was informed that no comments would be made to the media based on the instructions of Singh.

Linden Holding Inc
Guyana Times has learnt that Linden Holding Inc in March this year filed a Notice of Change of address listing 176 Middle Street, Cummingsburg as its registered office.
This coincidentally is the first month Linden Holding Inc began receiving payments in the form of a $25 million deposit.
Linden Holding Inc was in fact registered as a company in 2009 by Lawrence Singh as the sole director and a chauffeur, Julian George, of La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) was named the Company Secretary.
Lawrence listed 7041NW 41 St, Miami, Florida, 33166, USA as his address in addition to 4531 Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, Guyana.
George subsequently ceased being the Company Secretary and was replaced by Mohamed Samad of 185 Section C Enterprise, East Coast Demerara.
The company had also by way of an internal resolution changed its business address to 198 Camp Street, Georgetown. Singh’s Mandela Avenue address was the originally registered address for the business.
One year after Lawrence Singh incorporated the Company, he was also named the Company Secretary.
There was another change of Directors of the company in 2012 when Larry Singh –who is now the majority shareholder – came on board.
He listed the same Miami address in addition to 198 Camp Street. Other Directors that came on board at the time included Linda Singh and Lolita Samuels and both have also listed the Miami and Camp Streets addresses.
Businesswoman Theresa Foster of the same 198 Camp Street address subsequently became a Director in addition to Marine Surveyor Joseph Lewis.
Currently the Directors of the company are Lawrence Singh, Joseph Lewis, Larry N Singh, Linda Singh and Lolita Samuels.
Larry Singh owns 34 per cent of the shares, while Linda Singh and Lolita Samuels each own 33 per cent respectively.

WBD tractor operator stabbed to death

A wedding celebration turned deadly for a Sister’s Village, West Bank Demerara family when an alleged junkie stabbed the groom’s brother-in-law to death.
Dead is 48-year-old Arnold Rampersaud Rattan, a tractor operator at the Wales Sugar Estate.
Reports indicate that about 23:30h on Monday, during the “Kangan” (day after the wedding) celebration at Rattan’s home, the father of two asked the alleged junkie, known as “Soloman” to leave the premises since he began to misbehave.
However, when “Soloman” refused to leave, Rattan opted to push him out of the yard. It was at this point that “Soloman” stabbed him to the left side of his body with a sharp object.
Neighbours recalled seeing Rattan drop to his knees while “Soloman” fled the scene but he was subsequently caught by villagers who gave chase.
The injured man was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. However, according to relatives of the injured man, when they arrived at the medical facility, the security guard took almost 15 minutes before he allowed them entrance to the facility. Rattan was later pronounced dead.
According to relatives, the dead man’s brother, Deoanand Rattan, was murdered in 2012 and no one was arrested in the matter.
“Soloman” was taken into custody and is assisting Police with investigations.

14-year-old found dead in Hope canal

… after going missing on Monday

By Kizzy Coleman

The body of a 14-year-old girl was on Tuesday afternoon discovered floating in a canal at Hope, East Coast

Hamilton

Malika Hamilton

Demerara (ECD), one day after she went missing.
Malika Hamilton of Lot 11 Two Friends Village, ECD, a student of the Hope Secondary School, went missing on Monday.
Reports are the young woman was last seen in the company of two boys late Monday afternoon. However, she failed to return home and her family members launched a search.
The teen’s mother, Latisha Cambridge, told this publication that she last saw her daughter around 06:00h on Monday before she left for work.
Cambridge explained that when she returned home, her daughter was not there, which was not strange as she would usually visit her grandmother, who lived in Hope, a neighbouring community.
The bereaved mother explained that she received a call later that evening from her niece, who told her that the teen did not show up to get her hair done as was scheduled. Then, around 22:00h, her mother called and disclosed that Hamilton could not be found.
Guyana Times was told that relatives of the young woman gathered and a search was launched in the neighbouring communities, but they came up empty handed.
“I was really worried, because Malika don’t sleep out,” the distraught mother said.
She further explained that on Tuesday morning, she went to the Police Station and reported the matter.
The grieving mother told this newspaper that she was met by persons who told her that Hamilton was seen in the vicinity of the canal.
“So we then went over to Hope where the canal is located and we searched but we did not find no body or anything like that, but when I came over back here, that is when somebody call me and told me that they found a body.”
Cambridge said that after the ghastly discovery, she has received different versions as to what her daughter did before her death.
She said she was told that Hamilton reportedly left with friends to go swimming, but she noted that the young woman could not swim.
She also received reports from the boys in whose company Hamilton was seen that they took the young woman by the canal after she said that she was going to visit her grandmother.
According to the man who discovered the girl’s body, identified only as “Buck”, he was heading up to the Savannah area where the canal ended when he made the discovery.
He noted that earlier in the day, he traversed the very area, but Hamilton’s body was not there.
Wails and screams were heard as family members gathered and Hamilton’s bloated body was pulled from the canal by public-spirited persons. The circumstances surrounding the young woman’s demise are yet to be determined.
However, her family is adamant that her death was as a result of foul play.
Hamilton, one of five siblings, is described as a vibrant young girl who was rebellious at times. She was Queen of the 2015 Ann’s Grove Calabash and second runner-up at this year’s pageant.
An investigation has been launched into her death by the Police.

US-bound passengers from Guyana to now be screened at T&T airport

… recent MoU suspended

Passengers heading to the United States (US) from Guyana, and who will be transiting in Trinidad and Airport10Tobago (T&T), will now have to undergo security screening before boarding their flight to the US, the T&T Civil Aviation Authority has announced.
This new move blanks the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, which was established in 2015 to promote a “One-Stop” security arrangement to improve the processing of passengers transferring at Piarco International Airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Caribbean Airlines flights.
According to the T&T Aviation Authority, the direction comes directly from the United States Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which issued an Emergency Amendment, to the aviation security measures applied at the Last Point of Departure (LPD) for flights to the United States.

“This Emergency Amendment takes immediate effect. The US TSA Emergency Amendment directs aircraft operators to screen all transfer and transit passengers and their accessible property at the Piarco International Airport as the LPD when travelling to the United States, prior to boarding the aircraft,” the Aviation Authority said on Tuesday.
Consequently, passengers originating from Guyana and other destinations transferring at the Piarco International Airport to the United States must undergo security screening together with their accessible property. It said the Emergency Amendment issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration supersedes the Memorandum of Understanding established between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago for the Mutual Recognition of Aviation Security Measures, which allowed passengers originating from Guyana and transferring at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad, to continue their journey without undergoing screening.
“To ensure aircraft operators comply with the United States TSA Emergency Amendment to screen all transfer passengers and their accessible at the Piarco International Airport as the Last Point of Departure into the United States, the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority in collaboration with the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority has suspended the MOU between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago,” the Trinidad agency said.
The suspension is effective immediately. The Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) said it regrets any inconvenience to passengers travelling from Guyana and transferring at the Piarco International Airport, which may have been caused by the suspension of the MoU as a result of the TSA Emergency Amendment.
It assured that it will continue to collaborate with the United States Department of Homeland Security TSA and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority with a view to improving the security processing of passengers originating from Guyana and transferring at the Piarco International Airport to the United States.

GRA hunting businesses that cheat VAT system

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) tax agents will be hunting down businesses that have been dodging Value Added Tax (VAT), causing billions in losses for the Authority, Commissioner General Godfrey Statia said on Monday at a Finance Ministry press conference.

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia

He stated that the GRA was shifting gears to enforcement activities, and has decided to go after businesses to get compliance with VAT payments. He revealed that there were instances where VAT leakages occurred, costing millions.

“That is why you have to shift emphasis and do more post-clearance audit and more investigations and these things,” he said.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan stated that the GRA had “let the Government down” in the area of VAT refunds and collections.

“I feel this is an area that GRA has really let the Government down in many ways in aspects of refunds, not paying people their refunds on time, people benefiting from refunds they should not have received,” he bemoaned, stating that in many instances the VAT department of GRA acted like a “post office”.

Jordan said the VAT refunds were one of the heavy financial burdens that the coalition Government inherited. Statia said measures were in place to revamp the criteria for granting VAT exemptions that amount to as much as $20 billion for the first half of 2016.

“What we are trying to do is to tighten it whereby ourselves – the Ministry of Finance, GO-Invest and GRA – we sit down and by which we could grant exemptions rather than being granted on a willy-nilly basis as I have seen,” he said.

He also indicated that the Authority has started clearing off years of VAT refunds, beginning from 2013.

He stated that the tax collection agency has paid out $2 billion in refunds for the year and that figure was projected to climb to $5 billion by year-end.

 

M&CC is there to serve citizens, not bully them

Dear Editor,
There seems to be two predominant misconceptions prevailing at City Hall. Firstly, they seem to think that local democracy; something that the citizens of Georgetown have been clamouring about for decades now and for which they are entitled to and deserve; begins and ends with the holding of Local Government Elections. They clearly do not understand that this is just merely one pillar of democracy. Why else would they embark on numerous undesirable, unscrupulous and burdensome initiatives without even consulting with the citizens of Georgetown, whom are the ones to be affected and whom these municipal officials work for and are paid by? Have they never heard of Town Hall meetings that are held by cities all over the world, a forum that is used to canvas the support of and consult with the citizenry? Why else would they decide to arbitrarily and unilaterally increase property taxes beginning from the next financial year without consulting the taxpayers? Do property owners have to pursue legal redress in order to obtain justice the way the Private Sector Commission and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce did to get relief for the shipping companies and importers with the preposterous container fee? What is needed is a new valuation of properties in Georgetown, not an arbitrary across the board increase in property rates. This is a lazy man’s method of increasing revenue.
A valuation exercise would ensure that the owners of the new gigantic buildings that have sprung up all around the capital pay their fair share, whilst a capricious increase allows them to continue taking advantage of undervaluation whereas ingenuous taxpayers will be subjected to further financial hardships. Secondly, the Fantastic Four clearly believes that the Georgetown City Council is not a municipality but rather a privately held company for which they are the owners and directors. That could be the only explanation for why they have municipal workers operate daily in conditions akin to those that greedy private sweatshop owners provide for their workers for the purpose of saving costs to increase their profit margins.
Why else would they be flying around the world in luxury utilizing Council’s supposedly scarce fiscal resources, whilst withholding salaries and wages for weeks leaving workers to agonize? Why else would they abuse their municipal workers by deducting contributions for the National Insurance Scheme and the Guyana Revenue Authority without remitting them to these agencies? This type of criminal behaviour is normally perpetuated by greedy private business owners who convert employee contributions to their own unrelated uses. Why else would they remove City Constables from protecting municipal properties, including markets, and from patrolling the streets of Georgetown to make them safer, and convert them into drivers and bodyguards for themselves and private security for their residences?
The Minister of Communities has a duty to make the Mayor, the Town Clerk and other errant Councillors and senior officers who are the anchors that are dragging the city down, understand that they are not imperial overlords but rather public servants, that they are there to serve the citizens, business owners, and visitors to Georgetown, not to bully them, over tax and exploit them, that they are there to provide municipal services, not extravagantly spend on themselves.

Yours faithfully,
James McOnnell

Local basketball clubs set to resume practice at Sports Hall

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has given permission for local basketball clubs to resume practice at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) after the facility was recently renovated for the country to host the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) U-16 Championships.

The hosting of the Championships meant that the facility was upgraded to international standards; as such, allowing the local clubs to train at CASH is expected to aid in raising their level of play.

Only days ago, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and Youth Basketball

The renovated Sports Hall

The renovated Sports Hall

Guyana had training sessions for the selection of the team to participate in the male FIBA Centrobasket Under-15 Championship. The Championship will take place from August 24 to August 28 in Patillas, Puerto Rico.

 

Police continue to probe teen’s death, foul play not ruled out

Police are trying to reconstruct the scene in which 17-year-old Andel Daniel allegedly accidentally shot himself at Cathrinaburg, Canje Creek, last Thursday.

Divisional Commander Ian Amsterdam says the Police have not ruled out foul play.

According to Amsterdam, the Police were able to get vital information from the man who took the injured teen in a paddle boat to seek medical attention. The man is the only person who allegedly saw Daniel at the home after he was shot.

“That man said when he saw him, he had the gun in his hand: he was using it like a walking stick. So he was limping with that as a support heading towards the boat.”

It was reported that Daniel, of Caracasville, West Canje, was descending the stairs of a farmhouse at Cathrinaburg, armed with a loaded shotgun, when the stairs collapsed and a round was discharged from the weapon, hitting him in the abdomen. He was rushed to the Barakara Health Centre by a Neighbourhood Police Officer and was transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where a Doctor pronounced him dead on arrival. A post-mortem conducted on the body of Daniel showed that he died of shock and haemorrhage resulting from a gunshot wound.

Commander Amsterdam said several pellets were removed from the body. “What we now have to check is that if the gun itself had the spent shells, so we would now have to take all the pellets to check and see if they came from the spent shell and if that was actually the weapon used. Then we will have to put the pieces together to see how the firearm went off hitting him in the abdomen.”

The Police have so far been able to determine that the firearm, which was recovered, is unlicensed.

“We are talking to the relatives who have their own suspicion and they are all saying that it was as a result of an accident and that the gun belongs to him,” Amsterdam said. (Andrew Carmichael)

 

Brathwaithe to Captain WI against India in Florida

Allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, who has played only eight T20Is, has been appointed the new West Indies T20 captain for the twoCarlos Braithwaite matches against India later this month in Florida. Darren Sammy, who led them to two World T20 titles, was sacked and also left out of the 13-man squad. Sammy had recently posted a video on his Facebook page saying the chairman of selectors had called him about the exclusion from the squad. A WICB release said: “With regards to Sammy’s omission from the squad, the Chairman [of selectors Courtney Browne] noted that the named-squad was selected purely on players’ performances.” Sammy hardly made an impact during the World T20 in India: he faced 13 balls in his three innings, scoring eight runs, and bowled three overs, taking one wicket. “The selection panel has expressed its thanks to former captain, [Darren] Sammy for his leadership of that format of the game for the two World Championship titles in 2012 and earlier this year,” the release said. Brathwaite had struck four consecutive sixes to win West Indies their second World T20 final, in April this year, and has played seven ODIs, the CPL and a Test against India in Antigua since then. “Brathwaite is one of the most talented players in the T20 format of the game and his humble and committed approach to the game can inspire young and upcoming players,” Browne said. “We are looking forward to a competitive series against India in these matches.” Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard, who had both pulled out of the World T20 squad for different reasons, returned to the T20 squad. While Pollard had withdrawn because of “lack of sufficient progress in his rehabilitative work”, Narine’s reason was “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work on his bowling action”. They had both played in the tri-series against South Africa and Australia in the West Indies in June. Narine had finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series and Pollard scored 205 runs from seven matches at an average of 41. Denesh Ramdin, Sulieman Benn, Ashley Nurse and Jerome Taylor were left out of the T20 squad. Ramdin had recently been dropped from the Test squad too. He scored 135 runs in eight CPL matches recently after the 197 runs he scored during the tri-series at an average of 28.14. Benn took only three wickets in seven matches in the tri-series and had an unimpressive CPL with four wickets from seven matches with an economy rate of 9.19. Taylor played four tri-series matches for only two wickets but collected 13 wickets from eight CPL matches, but it wasn’t enough for him to retain his place in the national squad. Nurse played only three CPL matches without any wicket. (Cricinfo)

Kitty Market to be completed by November 1

By Ramona Luthi

The rehabilitation work on the Kitty Market will be completed by November 1, 2016, Town Clerk Royston King disclosed at Monday’s statutory meeting of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

Town Clerk Royston King

Town Clerk Royston King

The rehabilitation of the Kitty Market began earlier this year, and the announced deadline at the time was before Guyana’s Independence Jubilee on May 26. However, construction halted, causing many persons to speculate that the (M&CC had become cash-strapped and was unable to pay contractors for the restoration.  This was later confirmed by the Mayor, Patricia Chase Green.
During the latter part of June, Guyana Times was informed by City Engineer Colvern Venture that the reconstruction of the Market had already resumed but was delayed because of the rainy weather.

Kitty Market prior to rehabilitation

Kitty Market prior to rehabilitation

Kitty Market currently under rehabilitation

Kitty Market currently under rehabilitation

Additionally, upon visits to the Market after this claim was made, this publication was informed by City Hall officials that construction had indeed been halted but work was to resume in early July.
At the meeting on Monday, King expressed appreciation towards the stall owners who have patiently been awaiting the completion of the Market. “I wish to express my gratitude to all the cooperation and understanding of the stallholders who continue to wait to restart their businesses in that facility.”
The Town Clerk further highlighted that a total of 178 new applications for stalls at the Kitty Market have been received by the M&CC to date.
To this end, Mayor Chase Green asserted that until they were certain that there was enough space to accommodate the original stall owners, new applications for stalls would not be accepted.
According to King, he has been informed by the “engineer on site” that the development of just the ground floor of the Market would cost approximately $30 million to$ 35 million to complete.
It was disclosed last week that the Council had already spent an estimated $110 million on repairs.
Initially, restoration of the structure was to cost $240 million.
The Town Clerk further highlighted at the statutory meeting that the rehabilitated Kitty Market structure would accommodate a health centre on the upper floor, which would be focused on postnatal and prenatal child care.
He said under the previous Administration, the Kitty Market had once housed a health centre, but after the building began to deteriorate, the space allotted for health care was abandoned with promises of repairs.
King also voiced that the Council was contemplating the placement of a Council Office at the Kitty Market and other municipal buildings located in Agricola and East Ruimveldt among other areas.