30 NEWS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
No Govt has held more consultations than President Ali – AG …says APNU/AFC claims baseless
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ttorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, SC, on Saturday rejected claims by the coalition that the PPP/C Administration does not hold consultations with the people. The Attorney General said to date, no Government in Guyana’s history has been more inclusive than the President Dr Irfaan Ali Administration. “I want to reject out of hand, this baseless allegation that the Irfaan Ali Administration is not consulting. Every day there is some form of consultation taking place in our Government; compare it with APNU/AFC over the past five years and it is chalk to cheese. I see Basil Williams talking foolishness about consultations. He held consultations in relation to the SARA Act where he consulted widely with civil society, he received 100 rec-
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC
ommendations and never incorporated one in the bill,” the Attorney General is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying. Nandlall also noted that every day, Ministers are in the fields consulting with the people who elected them. Just last weekend, President Ali was on the East Coast meeting with the people on community projects and fostering unity. “The Ministers of
Housing recently had a big … consultation in relation to the Mandela Avenue to Eccles road, that is currently in the newspaper. I accompanied the Minister of Agriculture to Corentyne, Berbice, where we consulted with the farmers about the construction of two roads, one at 58 Village and one at 52 Village. The President consulted with the people on West Coast Demerara for the construction of a new highway from the bridge to Parika,” the AG said. The Attorney General also noted that the Government consulted with several Opposition parties in preparation for Budget 2021. Added to that, he said, after only six months in Government, the Administration sent two bills to the Select Committee, the Hire Purchase Bill 2020 and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill
2021. “Why you think we are sending it to the Select Committee? So that the Government will sit with the Opposition, civil society and stakeholders and go through the bills clause by clause, hear from them.” Pointing to the recently amended Law Reform Commission Act, Attorney General said prior to the amendments, it provided for no form of consultation and allowed the Minister and President to elect the entire Law Reform Commission. The amended Act now calls for consultation with the Private Sector, the labour movement, the Rights Commissions, religious organisations, consumer representatives, and the National Toshaos Council before the Commission is appointed. Further, since taking office, President Ali has extended several invitations to the coalition to have discussions on the way forward for Guyana’s
President Dr Irfaan Ali
development, all of which were rejected. This includes the meeting with former Presidents, which former President David Granger
declined, consultations on the preparation of Budget 2021 and the recent consultation on the Local Content Policy.
Miner stabbed to death during confrontation with Brazilian
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29-year-old miner of Third Avenue, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), was on Friday stabbed to death by a Brazilian national, whom he first attacked. Dead is Randolph Semple. Reports are at about 18:00h on Friday at Pedymachi Black Water Backdam, Cuyuni River, Semple was at a shop when he approached the suspect, who was at the time on the roadway on a motorcycle, and dealt him a stab to the back with a knife and ran into another nearby shop. The injured suspect then armed himself with a knife
and approached Semple and dealt him a stab to his upper chest and subsequently escaped. It was reported that Semple walked about 400 feet away from the shop before falling to the ground, where he remained motionless. The matter was reported to the Police, who, upon arrival at the scene, observed the shirtless body of the deceased on the roadway with what appeared to be a stab wound to the upper mid-area of his chest. The body was taken to the Bartica Hospital mortuary. An investigation is ongoing. (G9)
Owners of motorbike, cow charged for Berbice fatal accident
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ollowing the death of a Crabwood Creek, Berbice man in December 2020, the owner of the motorcycle he was riding at the time of the accident has been charged for permitting an unlicensed driver to use the vehicle and with breach of insurance. The bike’s owner, Maneshwar Manniram, appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Friday before Magistrate Alex Moore and pleaded guilty to both charges. He was reprimanded and discharged. Meanwhile, the owner of the cow which the rider rode into was also placed before the same Magistrate, charged with suffering cattle to stray. Guradat Mahadeo, a Crabwood Creek cattle farmer, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $30,000 bail. The case will continue on April 13. On December 19, 22-year-old Akram Hack
Dead: Akram Hack
died after crashing the motorbike he was riding into a cow along the Crabwood Creek Public Road. Hack’s friends had said that they were all imbibing at a shop when the construction worker took the keys to the motorbike, stating that he was going home for an item. He crashed and died shortly after. (G4)
