October 18, 2016

Archives for October 2, 2016

Brothers die in EBD smash-up

Two brothers lost their lives after the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a truck along the Friendship, East Bank Demerara, Public Road on Saturday.

Dead: Jonnel Armstrong

Dead: Jonnel Armstrong

Dead: Phillip Armstrong

Dead: Phillip Armstrong

Dead are Jonnel Armstrong, 23 and Phillip Armstrong, 21, of Watooka, Mackenzie, Linden.
Reports are the two young men along with another male friend were heading to the mining town of Linden when the collision occurred.
Guyana Times understands that the RAV 4, driven by one of the brothers, was moving at a fast rate and might have collided with the truck while negotiating a turn.
The three young men were pulled from the wreckage and were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where the Armstrong brothers were pronounced dead on arrival. The name of the injured man was not immediately available but he is said to be in a critical state.
Dr Pansy Armstrong, mother of the two dead young men, who is the Regional Health Officer of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) when contacted was too distraught to speak but confirmed that her two sons were killed in the accident. Guyana Times understands that the older Armstrong was an aeronautical engineer while the other was a medical student. The men were reportedly heading to Linden to assist their mother in repainting her home.
They were described by many as quiet and quite intelligent young men who were well respected in their community. Close friends and family members took to social media expressing their shock as the news spread about the death of the two young men.
When contacted, Traffic Chief, Dion Moore told this newspaper that an investigation has been launched into the fatal accident. Upon the completion of the investigation, he will be in a better position to release the facts.
He noted, however, that initial reports indicate there was a collision between a truck and a 4-runner. The truck was heading to Georgetown while the 4-runner was heading in the opposite direction. The driver of the truck was arrested and is assisting the Police in their investigations. Their bodies are at the Lyken Funeral Home awaiting post-mortem examinations.

Mother, daughter commit suicide over financial troubles

A mother and daughter are now dead after ingesting a poison-laced soda on the Corentyne, Berbice.
Dead are Madojri Sawh, 55; and her 17-year-old daughter Diana Sawh, of Grant 1404 Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Dead: Diana Sawh

Dead: Diana Sawh

Dead: Madojri Sawh

Dead: Madojri Sawh

Reports are Diana Sawh had pawned a number of valuable items from their home for money to assist her boyfriend to pay for a new car. She had raised $500,000 which was given to her boyfriend.
It was agreed that the money would have been repaid by September 20 along with the interest it had accumulated to the pawn shop.
Guyana Times understands that at about 13:00h last Saturday, Madojri and Diana Sawh were alone at home when they mixed the lethal drink. After consuming the poisonous substance, they remained locked in the house for three hours before Diana called out to a bother who lives next door, indicating that their mother had ingested poison.
He arrived and found his mother lying on the floor vomiting and frothing.
Several neighbours rushed to the house. One neighbor told this publication that they found Madojri lying on the floor while Diana and her boyfriend were also in the house.
According to reports, Diana initially claimed that she had not consumed any of the toxic drink. However, when she accompanied her mother to the hospital, she started to vomit. After being questioned, she admitted that she also drank the poison-laced drink. She was then admitted as a patient.
Reports are that Police have since taken the boyfriend, who is married, into custody for questioning.
The Police have since urged anyone with feelings of depression and who may possibly be contemplating suicide, to please call the Guyana Inter-agency Suicide Helpline which operates 24 hours, and is organised by the Guyana Police Force, on telephone numbers 223-0001, 223-0009, 223-0818, 600-7896 and 623-4444.

Fire guts vendors arcade in Bartica

A fire of unknown origin completely destroyed three stalls in an unregulated vendors arcade next to Cool Breeze mall in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The fire as it raged through the stalls

The fire as it raged through the stalls

The incident occurred on Saturday at about 09:00h.
Bartica’s Deputy Mayor, Kamal Persaud, told Guyana Times that despite the shortage of water and strong winds, fire fighters managed to control the fire from destroying surrounding structures, including the KW Shopping Mall.
However, the fire destroyed three water tanks and the drainage pipes of the shopping centre. Some windows were also shattered as a result of the heat.
No one was injured in the ordeal.
Ironically, the fire did not originate from the cook-shop, but rather from one of the clothing stores.
Persaud explained that when the owner of the cook-shop realised that there was a fire, she immediately moved her gas bottles so as to avoid major explosions.
On the bright side, the Deputy Mayor noted that this disaster could serve as an impetus for the Bartica Town Council to bring some order to the area which is currently in a deplorable state and is a haven for criminal activities, including use of narcotics.
She noted too that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had visited the arcade and expressed grave concerns about the impractical solid waste management practices there.
In fact, she observed that the vendors are engaged in unethical practices within that commercial district, including sleeping in the stalls.
“Sometimes when you walk pass there you can see people brushing their teeth. Some people sleep in the stalls, they live there,” she reported.
Additionally, she noted that the land on which the vending takes place is a private-owned property currently involved in a court dispute.
The Deputy Mayor is hoping that some action can be taken to regularise vending in that location.

Ramson resigns as MP

…says to facilitate studies in oil and gas management

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarian Charles Ramson Jr on September 30 tendered his resignation as a Member of Parliament in order to pursue a Masters in Oil and Gas at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
In his letter to Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Barton Scotland, the young parliamentarian explained that he applied to pursue a Masters in Oil and Gas Enterprise Management given that Guyana was moving in the direction of becoming an oil and gas producing nation.

Charles Ramson Jr

Charles Ramson Jr

“It is absolutely critical for our national development that we have Guyanese who are technically trained in the oil and gas sector. This is particularly important for us as a nation in this preparatory phase as we frame the relevant policy, law and vision if we are to avoid the often cited ‘resource curs’ commonly associated with oil and gas producing nations,” he stated.
Notably, Ramson was also awarded a full scholarship from Chevening, a prestigious scholarship competitively awarded on a global scale funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The PPP/C has already been engaged in consultations to find a replacement MP.

Disappointments
Meanwhile, in his resignation letter, Ramson expressed disappointment over two pertinent issues which prevailed during his time in Parliament.
Firstly, he was deeply concerned over the lack of youth representation at the parliamentary and cabinet levels.
“This is particularly regrettable given the youth drive leading up to the election and now young people feel betrayed and voiceless,” he stated.

Secondly, he said there needs to be a stronger commitment for national unity:
“The current APNU/AFC Government has made it pellucid that it is not committed to the realisation of the most fundamental desire of the Guyanese people – national unity – by demonstrating its unflinching position of not sending bills to a Parliamentary Select Committee despite the pleading from us on the Opposition side. Sending bills to a Parliamentary select committee happened virtually as a matter of course especially in the last eight years under the PPP/C Government.
The squandered opportunity which cannot now be regained would have framed the success of politics by forging a working relationship among political leaders in a country plagued by divisions in politics and race or a combination of both. Admittedly, this may have slowed the process but being able to work together despite differences is the extolled virtues of a democracy. This is really what the Guyanese people would have wanted first and foremost from us Parliamentarians – lasting unity forged in struggle rather than notional unity spoken in the abstract.”

Suspended television licence reinstated

Some nine years after its television licence was suspended, the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has approved the application for a licence from Community Broadcasting Network Inc.
In a statement on Saturday, GBNA said its Board made the decision to grant the television licence to the company, headed by Vidya Narayan-Lewis, following consultations with the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU).
It was explained that Narayan-Lewis had applied for a licence in 1998 and was granted verbal approval to operate in 1999. However, her operations existed for only seven years after she was asked to cease transmission in 2007.
According to the GNBA, since then she has been persistent in her efforts to resume television transmission, but to no avail.
“Legal action was taken against the previous administration in November of 2014 following the issuance of licences in 2011 by then President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. The frequency she utilised for the seven years (Channel 27-Cable 78), was allocated to the Chinese (CCTV) during the 2011 allocations,” the broadcasting body stated.
During the legal proceedings, the High Court, after examining the case, had ordered and declared that the applicant is entitled to be issued a broadcasting licence under section 18 (1) of the 2011 Broadcasting Act.
On this note, the current Board of the GNBA had examined Narayan-Lewis’ application and have determined that it satisfies all the necessary requirements to obtain a television licence.
The NFMU, GNBA asserted, has also expressed no objection to a frequency being assigned to the Community Broadcasting Network Inc.
According to the State broadcasting agency, the Community Broadcasting Network Inc is currently in the process of obtaining its television licence.

Guyana’s unique “racism”

By Ryhaan Shah

Following up on last Sunday’s column on the rise of nativism, Guyana’s rather unique “racism” also bears some investigation.
Racism is an ideology of domination based on the idea of biological and cultural superiority of one or more groups which is used to justify the treatment of others as inferior. Whole societies can be structured along racial lines or there can be, as occurred during the Burnham era, institutionalised racism where African-Guyanese were favoured by the very structure of government and society.
But Guyana does not conform to all the sociological norms of racism. Here, the “racist” term is especially reserved for Indian-Guyanese who speak from their perspective as Indians despite constitutional and human rights guarantees to their identity.
While the Indian communities are the ones that suffer racial/political attacks, in a perverse twist, they are also the ones condemned as the country’s “racists”, and the violence against them is justified by a wide swathe of society including a number of Indian-Guyanese.
The twists and turns that have led to this unique “racism” has its roots in Guyana’s colonial past.
The Indians who were viewed as “acceptable” were the educated professionals like the Luckhoos and Ruhomons. They had converted to Christianity and, in the process, had subsumed their Indian identity. These were the Indians who “arrived” into colonial society.
At the other end of the colonial experience were men like JB Singh and Ayube Edun of the British Guiana East Indian Association. The majority of Indians subscribed to their view that our future lay in honouring the heritage of our foreparents.
When Dr Cheddi Jagan entered politics, he might have succeeded as a champion of the working class had the PPP remained whole. However, the split with Burnham refashioned him as an ethnic leader, a role he never relished or wanted for himself.
To the socialist Jagan, the Indian professional and business class was the despised bourgeoisie. He, too, needed to recast his supporters into another image to satisfy his ambition of being a true leader of all Guyanese. To this end, the PPP generally ignored the ethnicity of their followers and the specific issues that came with it. This while Burnham fully embraced being an African leader.
Adding to “racism” in Guyana is the ideology of “oneness” with its jingoism of “love and unity” which is simple-minded enough to enjoy popular support. Within this context, Indians who value their cultural identity are viewed as “racists” for rejecting the sameness required to be “one”. Because the “all awe is one” jingle sounds nice to the ear, no one stops to consider that the message speaks to a clear disrespect for cultural and ethnic diversity just as Brexit does in the UK and Trumpism is doing in America.
It promotes the dominance of “one” over every “other” – the textbook definition of racism.
For Indians to even speak of race makes us “racist” and when the stumbling block to Guyana’s progress and development is the race divide between Indians and Africans, this becomes problematic: how do you address the problem if simply stating it makes you racist?
Many, therefore, say nothing. They embrace the ideology of “love and unity” even when, as exemplified by the Coalition Government, it is nothing but empty rhetoric. But being accepted into the lie is more rewarding than addressing the truth. It leads some Indians to self-hatred and to justify their hate, they need to accuse culturally secure Indians of “racism”.
African Guyanese’s pride in being African is never viewed as racism and they are content with this inequality which shuts out Indians from engaging in the vital discourse on race and racism. Indians who persist endure the abuse of being called “racists”.
In his quest to be a Guyanese leader, Jagan helped to create this inequality. The PPP continually placates African Guyanese in order to win them back, and often at the expense of their loyal Indian supporters.
Independent Indian Guyanese who address Indian issues are seen as political threats to the PPP and the accusation always levelled at them is that they are “racists”, an accusation that is readily picked up by African Guyanese and Indians who continue to support the idea that the only acceptable Indian Guyanese is the colonised “mimic man” who subsumes or forgoes his Indian identity.
It is time to push the reset button and get everyone on the same page where to address the race issue does not make you racist and where the mindless jingoism of “oneness” is accepted for the disregard for diversity that it is.

Aircraft found at Yupukari brought to Timehri

…still no new leads

The illegal aircraft that was recently discovered camouflaged at an airstrip in Yupukari, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), has been repaired and flown to Timehri for investigations to be completed.

 The illegal twin-engine Cessna aircraft at CJIA

The illegal twin-engine Cessna aircraft at CJIA

According to a statement from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the twin-engine Cessna Aircraft was flown from Yupukari to Lethem initially on Friday, before arriving at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at 10:00h on Saturday.
The release outlined that aeronautical engineers from the GDF Air Corps, after inspecting the aircraft, had identified the problems which had rendered it inoperable. The necessary spares were sourced and the repairs conducted, thus resulting in the aircraft becoming operable.
As such, it was flown to Lethem where it overnighted. This allowed for the GDF engineers to conduct further repairs and functional checks which then allowed it to be flown to Timehri. It is currently secured at the GDF Air Corps Hangar, Air Station London, CJIA.
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing with regards to all aspects surrounding the discovery of the aircraft.
Outgoing Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, told Guyana Times on Saturday that no further leads have been found with regards to finding the persons connected with the aircraft. However, he explained that with the aircraft now at the CJIA, investigators will be able to better examine it with more resources being available.
On September 13, a Joint Service patrol discovered the illegal aircraft hidden just off of the Yupukari Airstrip, with United States registration N-767-Z.
Subsequently, a team of investigators from the GDF, Guyana Police Force (GPF), Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) was deployed from Georgetown to the area to conduct investigations and were able to determine that the registration number was bogus.
Moreover, investigators had discovered during interviews with nearby residents that the aircraft had been sighted circling the area on numerous occasions in the past.
Additionally, a number of residents shared information they deemed as “suspicious activity”, including the presence of motorcycles or ATVs frequenting the area at midnight.
Guyana Times was told by sources that a leak was discovered in the fuel tank. This, investigators believe, may have caused the aircraft to land in Guyana.
However, it has been reported that one of the local law enforcement agencies was aware of the aircraft at least three weeks before the disclosure was made. It was reported that the security officials were monitoring the aircraft to see if anyone would return to salvage it.
To this end, President David Granger has established a one-man Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to probe the discovery of the illegal aircraft and appointed retired Brigadier Edward Collins to investigate, examine, advise and report on all aspects under which the foreign aircraft had entered the country.

Where’s Harry?

Satiricus was stumped and his furrowed brow was a dead giveaway to his buddy Cappo, as they nursed their beers in the Back Street Bar. Things were “brown” for Cappo since the sugar factory had stopped grinding and he had to hang up his cutlass for three months. He needed Satiricus to be in a good mood to supply the elixir of life.
“Wha’ mek yuh face suh sa-wa, Budday?” he asked with forced jollity. “‘E might lef” suh, yuh know!”
“I just can’t figure out how they let Harry get away,” Satiricus confessed.
Cappo knew at once who Satiricus was talking about: they had been following the case for a year. “Me hear de law does wuk in mysteer-yas ways”, Cappo grinned. “An’ yuh know justice blind!”
“Cappo, this is no laughing matter, you know,” said Satiricus sternly. “Justice is being subverted.”
“Sato, a wha’ yuh a fret suh fa?” Cappo asked as he finished off his beer. “Wid t’ing suh bad, Harry a circulate nuff money now, yuh know!”
“What you mean?” demanded Satiricus.
“Budday w’en deh arres’ de man, a six pack a de coke bin missin’,” said Cappo knowingly. “Ah de Police tek da.”
“You right Cappo, but nobody talking about what happened to the missing 6 kilos,” admitted Satiricus.
“Well, since da a sell fuh US$10,000 a pack yuh talkin’ ’bout $12 million share out wid de Police,” smiled Cappo. “And dey does spend da right away!”
“That stimulates the local economy,” said Satiricus as he nodded his head. “And Harry did say the Police put in their thumb with $13 million cash and took out their thumb with only $10 million!”
“Mo’ money circulatin’ bai!” grinned Cappo. “An’ t’ink how much ‘e bin gat fuh pay aff dem Police who bin a wa’ch ‘e!!”
“But they said the Police wasn’t watching him!” protested Satiricus.
Cappo just smirked. “An’ na talk wha’ happen fuh ‘e an’ e gyaal crass to Suriname. De man alone a wan industry!”
“But what about justice?” complained Satiricus.
“Justice na only blind,” said Cappo softly, “‘E gat fuh be clean! Den ‘e guh wuk!”

Woodcutter killed after tree tumbles on him in Pomeroon

A wood cutter from La Union, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was killed after a tree crashed on him at Apiarco in the Upper Pomeroon River. Dead is Moses Gonsalves, 51, also known as “Squash”.
Reports are that he left his Essequibo Coast home weeks ago venturing into the Pomeroon River to harvest wood. He was accompanied by a worker Rayan Lloyd.

Dead: Moses Gonsalves

Dead: Moses Gonsalves

This newspaper was informed that on Thursday Gonsalves was left cutting wood while Lloyd went to fetch some materials from another location.
According to the now dead man’s daughter, Sherena Gonsalves, the family received the tragic news Friday morning. The saddened daughter said Lloyd, who works as a handyman with her father, informed the family of the incident.
“He told us that a tree fell on daddy and killed him. He said he heard the chain saw noise stop but he thought daddy was taking a rest (but) after some time he went and discovered him in a pool of blood.”
She related that her father was then transported by Police to the Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital where doctors confirmed him dead.
The chain saw operator’s body is at the Suddie Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
Police have since taken statements from Lloyd.
Gonsalves leaves to mourn his wife and three children.

Trotman must apologise for misleading Amerindians and the nation

Raphael Trotman’s recent declarations on the validity of land titles delivered to “many” Amerindian villages, translate his malign intentions to deceive Amerindians, as well as his recurrent dishonesty to the Guyanese public.
One would recall that earlier this year, this trait of character manifested itself in Parliament when he denied having knowledge of another Minister mining on Tasserene proposed title land. Strangely, he had been called upon by civil actors since January 2016, to rectify this anomaly.
It appears that Trotman is not only defending the mining interests of certain business magnates, but is also seeking to satisfy the claims of voters who settled in recent years on traditional Amerindian lands, subsequently stirring ethnic tensions in Amerindian communities.
Signs of Trotman’s peculiar position taken against Amerindian land titling first surfaced when he promised to have the claims of persons opposed to the Four Miles Absolute Grant, “resolved”. Unfortunately, either Trotman was trying to appease coalition supporters or he was completely ignorant, even in his capacity as a lawyer, of the fact that Absolute Grants convey irrevocable and inalienable ownership rights to Amerindian villages.
At the last NTC Conference however, he set a dangerous precedence in the war between miners and Amerindians, when he declared that “just before elections a set of documents (…) purporting to be titles were handed out”. More than just questioning the credibility of these titles, the Natural Resources Minister went one step further and deposited the documents for investigation by the Attorney General’s office. Perhaps “somebody should be charged for fooling the people…because it’s mischief…it is cruelty to come and lie to you and fool (you), to try to get the vote, I’m not sure,” the Minister said.
This even beats former Minister Robert Persaud’s reluctance to cooperate under the Amerindian Land Titling project and his disapproval for the titling of villages located in prime mining areas, such as Tasserene and Kangaruma.
What Trotman has done, is given carte blanche to people like the former GGDMA President Patrick Harding, and ACDA President Eric Phillips, to question the legitimacy of indigenous peoples’ land rights.
Patrick Harding in his recent address at the GGDMA’s annual general meeting, went so far as to dismiss indigenous land rights, stating that Amerindians “don’t want lands for culture or whatever”, and charging that the titles delivered to these “many” villages Trotman referred to were not valid. This is the commencement of a deluge of insults which will continue to stigmatise Amerindians under the full approbation of Trotman and this coalition.

The truth?
The titles Trotman referred to are those delivered to Tuseneng, Karisparu, Kambaru-Omanaik, Four Miles, Kariako and Batavia. Of these six villages, five have been under investigation since 2013 and after battling with the Natural Resources Ministry, were cleared of mining encumbrances. Four Miles has been the object of full consultative investigation involving all stakeholders and under UN observation, to ensure the respect for FPIC. After intensive field work and mapping, the GFC, GLSC and GGMC certified that encumbrances were cleared.
The six titles were issued with official seal and signature of the Head of the Permanent Secretariat, on behalf of the President of Guyana, as was done for villages prior to 2014. They were issued by the GLSC which has a responsibility for placing a copy of each document in its vault.
Consequently, it is the GLSC and not so much the Attorney General that is apt for determining the validity of these titles. Therefore, the Minister is deliberately misleading Guyanese, and the Indigenous Peoples Affaires Ministry must step up and hold him accountable for his irresponsible pronouncements.
Further, his scheme is a waste of time and resources as he provides false hopes to those who covet Amerindian lands.
The titles were issued by the GLSC as early as November 2015 for Tuseneng and not right before the 2015 elections as the Minister claimed. These dates are inscribed on the Grants themselves.
Trotman’s utterances depict the nature of Government policies aimed at reducing the importance of indigenous peoples to this country, while dismissing their constitutional rights which are actually embedded in Guyana’s fight for independence, for the benefit other interest groups, including those defending African land reparation and miners.
He owes Amerindians an apology and must be brought to respect his ministerial obligations to protect their rights, instead of insulting them and adding to the strain of a stagnating economy instigated by his Government.