Guyana Focus
Aircraft found on illegal Rupununi airstrip possibly owned by
Brazilian bank
Georgetown – The Brazilian-registered Beechcraft King Air B300 (350) aircraft found in southern Guyana last Sunday is bearing the registration number of a plane belonging to Brazil’s third largest bank, Banco Bradesco, according to one report out of Guyana. The report states that the plane was delivered to Banco Bradesco on November 9, 2010.
Police on Sunday afternoon found the foreign aircraft in the Santa Fe area, North Rupununi, and its pilot was among three persons seen running away from a graded piece of land used as an airstrip.
This discovery was made just a week after soldiers found another illegal airstrip, a chain saw, aviation fuel, 12 abandoned camps and several dug out trenches in the same area.
Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Retired Col. Egbert Field said Brazilian authorities would be contacted to ascertain if that plane is in its registry. If not, he said the United States Federal Aviation Administration would be provided the serial number with a view to tracing the ownership of the plane.
“Now that we have a registration of the aircraft, we can contact the Brazilian authorities to check who is the owner and also if it’s a legitimate registration and we start from there,” he said.
He said it was possible that the Beechcraft could be a stolen plane bearing a legitimate registration number of another plane.
Field said the plane was damaged slightly and repairs would be conducted before it is flown to the city. “There is slight damage to one of the propellers but the engineers are in contact with Georgetown to ensure that it doesn’t affect the safety of the aircraft because they want to fly out,” the GCAA boss said.
On Monday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said that there was an ongoing exercise in the area after reports were made that an illegal aircraft was frequenting the area.
Ranks went to the area on Sunday and found over a dozen ten-gallon jars in the bushes. The party of policemen observed that a long strip of land had been cleared to make what looked like an airstrip.
As the ranks were leaving, they saw an aircraft circling the cleared area. When they returned, they saw three men running from the plane after it had landed.
The men managed to escape but the aircraft was secured.
Press reports state that when the aircraft was examined, a quantity of dry ration, medical supplies, gents clothing, footwear, two hand-held radios, flashlights, cellular phones and an identification card were found, amongst other items.
The cleared area where the aircraft landed is over one mile long and about fifty feet wide and appears to have been recently graded.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority has been notified and arrangements are being operationalized for a multi-agency team to be flown to that area to conduct further investigations.
Over the past few years several illegal aircrafts were seized by the state. The discoveries of these aircrafts entering Guyana airspace illegally and landing in the sequestered areas of the far off Rupununi region naturally raise concerns about drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
Police on Sunday afternoon found the foreign aircraft in the Santa Fe area, North Rupununi, and its pilot was among three persons seen running away from a graded piece of land used as an airstrip.
This discovery was made just a week after soldiers found another illegal airstrip, a chain saw, aviation fuel, 12 abandoned camps and several dug out trenches in the same area.
Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Retired Col. Egbert Field said Brazilian authorities would be contacted to ascertain if that plane is in its registry. If not, he said the United States Federal Aviation Administration would be provided the serial number with a view to tracing the ownership of the plane.
“Now that we have a registration of the aircraft, we can contact the Brazilian authorities to check who is the owner and also if it’s a legitimate registration and we start from there,” he said.
He said it was possible that the Beechcraft could be a stolen plane bearing a legitimate registration number of another plane.
Field said the plane was damaged slightly and repairs would be conducted before it is flown to the city. “There is slight damage to one of the propellers but the engineers are in contact with Georgetown to ensure that it doesn’t affect the safety of the aircraft because they want to fly out,” the GCAA boss said.
On Monday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said that there was an ongoing exercise in the area after reports were made that an illegal aircraft was frequenting the area.
Ranks went to the area on Sunday and found over a dozen ten-gallon jars in the bushes. The party of policemen observed that a long strip of land had been cleared to make what looked like an airstrip.
As the ranks were leaving, they saw an aircraft circling the cleared area. When they returned, they saw three men running from the plane after it had landed.
The men managed to escape but the aircraft was secured.
Press reports state that when the aircraft was examined, a quantity of dry ration, medical supplies, gents clothing, footwear, two hand-held radios, flashlights, cellular phones and an identification card were found, amongst other items.
The cleared area where the aircraft landed is over one mile long and about fifty feet wide and appears to have been recently graded.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority has been notified and arrangements are being operationalized for a multi-agency team to be flown to that area to conduct further investigations.
Over the past few years several illegal aircrafts were seized by the state. The discoveries of these aircrafts entering Guyana airspace illegally and landing in the sequestered areas of the far off Rupununi region naturally raise concerns about drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
Georgetown – Although President David Granger’s recent directive to the Police Service Commission to halt its consideration of promotions is unconstitutional, Chairman Omesh Satyanand Monday said that some members of the body have decided to comply.
“It was put on hold until further notice but it is unconstitutional,” Satyanand told Stabroek News, after he was asked whether the president has the authority to issue such a directive and the commission’s intended course of action. He explained that because of the letter containing the directive, “some of members have decided to put it on hold….”
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition last Tuesday highlighted the directive, which was issued through a letter, dated July 26, 2017, by State Minister Joseph Harmon to Marvalyn Stephens, the Secretary of the Police Service Commission. It stated, “His Excellency, President David Granger has directed that there be no consideration of promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force by the Police Service Commission until further notice.”
Opposition Member of Parliament and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall has since signaled his intention to file legal proceedings if the directive is not withdrawn.
Satyanand stated that based on the contents of Article 226 of the Constitution, the directive is unconstitutional but some members complied with it since it was the president who had made the request.
Article 226 (1) states, “save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, in the exercise of its functions under this Constitution, a Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”
“It was put on hold until further notice but it is unconstitutional,” Satyanand told Stabroek News, after he was asked whether the president has the authority to issue such a directive and the commission’s intended course of action. He explained that because of the letter containing the directive, “some of members have decided to put it on hold….”
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition last Tuesday highlighted the directive, which was issued through a letter, dated July 26, 2017, by State Minister Joseph Harmon to Marvalyn Stephens, the Secretary of the Police Service Commission. It stated, “His Excellency, President David Granger has directed that there be no consideration of promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force by the Police Service Commission until further notice.”
Opposition Member of Parliament and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall has since signaled his intention to file legal proceedings if the directive is not withdrawn.
Satyanand stated that based on the contents of Article 226 of the Constitution, the directive is unconstitutional but some members complied with it since it was the president who had made the request.
Article 226 (1) states, “save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, in the exercise of its functions under this Constitution, a Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”
He said his position would change only if there is anything in the constitution which states otherwise.
According to Article 226 (3), “Any question for decision by a Commission shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Commission present and voting at a meeting of the Commission at which a quorum is present, and if on any question the votes are equally divided, the Chairman or other member presiding shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote….”
The other members of the Commission are Lloyd Smith, Harold Martin, Keith John and acting Chairman of the Public Service Commission Patrick Yarde.
Many have questioned the timing of the president’s instruction, which coincides with an ongoing inquiry into the police force’s handling of an investigation into an alleged assassination plot against him. Testimony at public hearings for the inquiry has placed several senior ranks, including Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, under scrutiny for their handling of the case.
They are among officers who have been recommended for promotion by Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, who has also faced scrutiny for his intervention in the matter. In a list that has been circulated, Persaud recommended that Hicken be promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner and that Blanhum be elevated to the rank of Assistant Commissioner. Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, who is the most senior rank after Persaud, was not included on the list and this has raised eyebrows.
The law provides for the Commissioner to make recommendations to the Police Service Commission for the promotion of ranks from Inspector to Assistant Commissioner.
Satyanand made it clear that the list that is in circulation contains recommendations by Persaud and not the Commission. According to him, the list was received from the Commissioner last month and up until now has not been considered.
Meanwhile, Nandlall informed the media that he had written Harmon demanding the withdrawal of the directive.
In the letter, which was penned and delivered on Monday and shared with the media, Nandlall said that the directive to the commission’s secretary constituted “a most egregious violation of both the letter and spirit of Article 226(1) of the Constitution.”
Nandlall also reminded that in May, 2015, another minister, Simona Broomes, then Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, had purported to issue similar directions to the Secretary of the Public Service Commission, allegedly on behalf of the president.
“The offensive portion of that letter reads thus: ‘Please be advised that all interviews and meetings of the Commission are to cease forthwith until further as instructed by His Excellency, the President, David Arthur Granger’s notice,’” she wrote.
According to Nandlall, that matter had led to him initiating legal proceeding against the Attorney General in the following month and then Chief Justice Ian Chang delivered a judgment, in which he declared that the Public Service Commission shall not be subject to the direction and control of any other person or authority in the exercise of its functions and that Broomes’ letter was in violation of Article 226 and unlawful.
Nandlall stated that he had no doubt that the Police Service Commission and the Public Service Commission form part of the same constitutional genus and, therefore, Justice Chang’s order will apply with equal force to the recent letter sent to the Secretary of the Police Service Commission.
“Indeed, I express shock that you would author such a letter in the first place. In the circumstances, I respectfully demand that you withdraw, in writing, your letter …dated 2017-07-26, addressed to Marvalyn Stephens, Secretary, Police Service Commission, within two (2) days of the date hereof. If you fail to do so, I will have no alternative but to institute legal proceedings in relation thereto,” Nandlall wrote.
Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo, in a statement to the media that was accompanied by a copy of the letter sent by Harmon to Stephens, last week blasted the government over the directive.
He described the development as “yet another vulgar and authoritarian attempt by the president to trample upon the independence and functional autonomy of a Constitutional agency.” He said the “the President and his Government continue, on a daily basis, to violate the rule of law, assault important democratic institutions and breach, in the most egregious fashion, the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.”
Jagdeo used the opportunity to urge the Commission “not to succumb to these unconstitutional and unlawful directives but to continue to discharge its mandate in the manner provided for by the Constitution.” (Stabroek News)
According to Article 226 (3), “Any question for decision by a Commission shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Commission present and voting at a meeting of the Commission at which a quorum is present, and if on any question the votes are equally divided, the Chairman or other member presiding shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote….”
The other members of the Commission are Lloyd Smith, Harold Martin, Keith John and acting Chairman of the Public Service Commission Patrick Yarde.
Many have questioned the timing of the president’s instruction, which coincides with an ongoing inquiry into the police force’s handling of an investigation into an alleged assassination plot against him. Testimony at public hearings for the inquiry has placed several senior ranks, including Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, under scrutiny for their handling of the case.
They are among officers who have been recommended for promotion by Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, who has also faced scrutiny for his intervention in the matter. In a list that has been circulated, Persaud recommended that Hicken be promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner and that Blanhum be elevated to the rank of Assistant Commissioner. Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, who is the most senior rank after Persaud, was not included on the list and this has raised eyebrows.
The law provides for the Commissioner to make recommendations to the Police Service Commission for the promotion of ranks from Inspector to Assistant Commissioner.
Satyanand made it clear that the list that is in circulation contains recommendations by Persaud and not the Commission. According to him, the list was received from the Commissioner last month and up until now has not been considered.
Meanwhile, Nandlall informed the media that he had written Harmon demanding the withdrawal of the directive.
In the letter, which was penned and delivered on Monday and shared with the media, Nandlall said that the directive to the commission’s secretary constituted “a most egregious violation of both the letter and spirit of Article 226(1) of the Constitution.”
Nandlall also reminded that in May, 2015, another minister, Simona Broomes, then Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, had purported to issue similar directions to the Secretary of the Public Service Commission, allegedly on behalf of the president.
“The offensive portion of that letter reads thus: ‘Please be advised that all interviews and meetings of the Commission are to cease forthwith until further as instructed by His Excellency, the President, David Arthur Granger’s notice,’” she wrote.
According to Nandlall, that matter had led to him initiating legal proceeding against the Attorney General in the following month and then Chief Justice Ian Chang delivered a judgment, in which he declared that the Public Service Commission shall not be subject to the direction and control of any other person or authority in the exercise of its functions and that Broomes’ letter was in violation of Article 226 and unlawful.
Nandlall stated that he had no doubt that the Police Service Commission and the Public Service Commission form part of the same constitutional genus and, therefore, Justice Chang’s order will apply with equal force to the recent letter sent to the Secretary of the Police Service Commission.
“Indeed, I express shock that you would author such a letter in the first place. In the circumstances, I respectfully demand that you withdraw, in writing, your letter …dated 2017-07-26, addressed to Marvalyn Stephens, Secretary, Police Service Commission, within two (2) days of the date hereof. If you fail to do so, I will have no alternative but to institute legal proceedings in relation thereto,” Nandlall wrote.
Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo, in a statement to the media that was accompanied by a copy of the letter sent by Harmon to Stephens, last week blasted the government over the directive.
He described the development as “yet another vulgar and authoritarian attempt by the president to trample upon the independence and functional autonomy of a Constitutional agency.” He said the “the President and his Government continue, on a daily basis, to violate the rule of law, assault important democratic institutions and breach, in the most egregious fashion, the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.”
Jagdeo used the opportunity to urge the Commission “not to succumb to these unconstitutional and unlawful directives but to continue to discharge its mandate in the manner provided for by the Constitution.” (Stabroek News)
CEO of CH&PA
Georgetown – The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has begun legal action against owners of large swathes of land that have done nothing with those properties, Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Lelon Saul told a news briefing on Monday.
Asked by the news media what efforts were being made to repossess those lands, he said legal action has begun against Sunset Lakes whose directors have since changed hands, and that the court system is “slothful” but he was confident that government would regain possession of the lands.
The CEO said that Baishanlin and its associates have not lived up to the terms and conditions of the agreement of sale, which include development of the land. He said that the more than 100 acres of land was sold to Sunset Lakes. Sunset Lakes was owned by Brian Tiwarie.
Saul said that the company now has new directors as it was sold to Baishanlin. The land was not supposed to be sold. The CH&PA agreement is very specific about what a developer can and cannot do with it.
“The principals have changed because they sold the company.The fact is there are new directors of the company and it is the company that we are pursuing,” he added.
Earlier this year, CH&PA warned that it will soon repossess lands from those private developers and house lot beneficiaries who have breached their agreements. It said that that was a move to pave the way for the development of more low and middle-income housing solutions for Guyanese.
Saul said that the authority is set to go after those developers, who acquired vast tracts of lands under the previous administration, but have since failed to develop them.
He pointed out that many of these private developers still owe CH&PA money and this would make it easier for the authority to repossess the lands.
In the high-demand Demerara area, there are little lands available for building new housing schemes. There are more than 20,000 applications for turn-key homes and house lots currently on CH&PA’s database.
It was found that under the previous administration, a significant portion of the front part of the former cane fields, stretching from Eccles to Diamond, has ended up mainly in the hands of close friends of the national leaders and party officials.
Kaieteur News reported seeing documents in which 11 private developers have been given hundreds of acres of lands stretching from behind Peter’s Hall to Providence as early as 2011. Two more were allowed swaths of land in the Diamond and Golden Grove areas. The paper stated that still another 11 companies, as of July 2014, were set to receive lands from CH&PA for especially areas in the Little Diamond and Great Diamond areas but was unclear as to what had been allocated.
One company, Luxury Reality Inc., which has lands in Providence, has listed as its Director/Secretary, Roopnarine Ramcharitar, a right hand man for Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the owner of New GPC, a close friend of former president Bharrat Jagdeo. Two other companies that received lands were Hi Tech Construction Inc. and Sunset Lakes Inc. Both companies are under the control of the Chinese, according to Kaieteur News.
The paper lists other companies that were allocated lands between Eccles and Mocha as: Queensway Dax Contracting Service, Nabi Construction Incorporated, Buddy’s Housing Development, Cumberland Developers Inc., Vikab Engineering Consultants, Kishan Bacchus Construction, Caricom General Insurance, Navigant Builders and Windsor Gardens; and Queensway which has been allowed several acres in Golden Grove.
The CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, meanwhile, said government’s housing drive was continuing apace with the construction of numerous houses at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara; Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara; Hope-Experiment, West Berbice and Amelia’s Ward, Linden. The Authority hopes to engage private developers before year-end.
Saul could not immediately say what percentage of the Authority’s budget has been already spent on the actual construction of houses, but that the monies would be spent before the end of Guyana’s financial year. He said the contract for the construction of 40 duplexes at Perseverance was due to be opened on Monday at the CH&PA’s Tender Board.
Asked by the news media what efforts were being made to repossess those lands, he said legal action has begun against Sunset Lakes whose directors have since changed hands, and that the court system is “slothful” but he was confident that government would regain possession of the lands.
The CEO said that Baishanlin and its associates have not lived up to the terms and conditions of the agreement of sale, which include development of the land. He said that the more than 100 acres of land was sold to Sunset Lakes. Sunset Lakes was owned by Brian Tiwarie.
Saul said that the company now has new directors as it was sold to Baishanlin. The land was not supposed to be sold. The CH&PA agreement is very specific about what a developer can and cannot do with it.
“The principals have changed because they sold the company.The fact is there are new directors of the company and it is the company that we are pursuing,” he added.
Earlier this year, CH&PA warned that it will soon repossess lands from those private developers and house lot beneficiaries who have breached their agreements. It said that that was a move to pave the way for the development of more low and middle-income housing solutions for Guyanese.
Saul said that the authority is set to go after those developers, who acquired vast tracts of lands under the previous administration, but have since failed to develop them.
He pointed out that many of these private developers still owe CH&PA money and this would make it easier for the authority to repossess the lands.
In the high-demand Demerara area, there are little lands available for building new housing schemes. There are more than 20,000 applications for turn-key homes and house lots currently on CH&PA’s database.
It was found that under the previous administration, a significant portion of the front part of the former cane fields, stretching from Eccles to Diamond, has ended up mainly in the hands of close friends of the national leaders and party officials.
Kaieteur News reported seeing documents in which 11 private developers have been given hundreds of acres of lands stretching from behind Peter’s Hall to Providence as early as 2011. Two more were allowed swaths of land in the Diamond and Golden Grove areas. The paper stated that still another 11 companies, as of July 2014, were set to receive lands from CH&PA for especially areas in the Little Diamond and Great Diamond areas but was unclear as to what had been allocated.
One company, Luxury Reality Inc., which has lands in Providence, has listed as its Director/Secretary, Roopnarine Ramcharitar, a right hand man for Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the owner of New GPC, a close friend of former president Bharrat Jagdeo. Two other companies that received lands were Hi Tech Construction Inc. and Sunset Lakes Inc. Both companies are under the control of the Chinese, according to Kaieteur News.
The paper lists other companies that were allocated lands between Eccles and Mocha as: Queensway Dax Contracting Service, Nabi Construction Incorporated, Buddy’s Housing Development, Cumberland Developers Inc., Vikab Engineering Consultants, Kishan Bacchus Construction, Caricom General Insurance, Navigant Builders and Windsor Gardens; and Queensway which has been allowed several acres in Golden Grove.
The CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, meanwhile, said government’s housing drive was continuing apace with the construction of numerous houses at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara; Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara; Hope-Experiment, West Berbice and Amelia’s Ward, Linden. The Authority hopes to engage private developers before year-end.
Saul could not immediately say what percentage of the Authority’s budget has been already spent on the actual construction of houses, but that the monies would be spent before the end of Guyana’s financial year. He said the contract for the construction of 40 duplexes at Perseverance was due to be opened on Monday at the CH&PA’s Tender Board.
Georgetown – Three major utility companies have for the year so far racked up almost 400 customer complaints and have had to refund a total of GYD$30 million to customers, according to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
PUC Complaints Manager, Destra Bourne said Guyana Telephone and Telegraph has has had to refund GYD$635,000; Guyana Power and Light more than GYD$30 million and Guyana Water Inc. GYD$522,000.
Major reasons for the refunds include continuous payment for phone service that has not been provided, over-billing for electricity consumption, and “billing issues” with Guyana Water Inc. Most of the complaints against GTT, officials said, were made by customers in Berbice.
The PUC plans to open an office on the Essequibo Coast.
Briefing the media on its work, the utility regulator reported that of the 505 complaints received this year against the utility companies, 355 were against GTT; 124 against Guyana Power and Light; 23 against Guyana Water Inc, and 20 against Digicel
Bourne said 320 of the complaints against GTT were for technical issues that consumers had already reported to the phone company and given a reasonable time to resolve. “What we have noted is happening is when persons reported their issue here to the PUC, their matters are resolved within a very short period,” she said.
She said of the 303 pending matters, consumers have informed the PUC that about 150 have been resolved. PUC Chairman, Attorney-at-Law, Dela Britton said the utility companies have all assured the commission that they would make every effort to reduce the number of pending reports. “When we met with the stakeholders, the utilities have given us all assurances with respect to the matters that are still pending and that in the future that ‘we will try to resolve that in a speedy manner’ so that the next time you meet with us we don’t have large and daunting numbers to report on,” she said.
Of the 124 complaints against GPL, 46 were for allegations of tampering or meter bypass, 28 for application of service, 18 for technical issues, 11 for billing queries, 11 for disconnection of service, and five each for change of tenancy and request for compensation.
The PUC Chairman, meanwhile, said the regulator is not currently legally empowered to address poor land and mobile data services until the Telecommunications Act and regulations come into effect. She said the PUC is aware that Digicel to GTT text messaging has not been working for weeks but could do little unless the Commission receives a complaint.
PUC Complaints Manager, Destra Bourne said Guyana Telephone and Telegraph has has had to refund GYD$635,000; Guyana Power and Light more than GYD$30 million and Guyana Water Inc. GYD$522,000.
Major reasons for the refunds include continuous payment for phone service that has not been provided, over-billing for electricity consumption, and “billing issues” with Guyana Water Inc. Most of the complaints against GTT, officials said, were made by customers in Berbice.
The PUC plans to open an office on the Essequibo Coast.
Briefing the media on its work, the utility regulator reported that of the 505 complaints received this year against the utility companies, 355 were against GTT; 124 against Guyana Power and Light; 23 against Guyana Water Inc, and 20 against Digicel
Bourne said 320 of the complaints against GTT were for technical issues that consumers had already reported to the phone company and given a reasonable time to resolve. “What we have noted is happening is when persons reported their issue here to the PUC, their matters are resolved within a very short period,” she said.
She said of the 303 pending matters, consumers have informed the PUC that about 150 have been resolved. PUC Chairman, Attorney-at-Law, Dela Britton said the utility companies have all assured the commission that they would make every effort to reduce the number of pending reports. “When we met with the stakeholders, the utilities have given us all assurances with respect to the matters that are still pending and that in the future that ‘we will try to resolve that in a speedy manner’ so that the next time you meet with us we don’t have large and daunting numbers to report on,” she said.
Of the 124 complaints against GPL, 46 were for allegations of tampering or meter bypass, 28 for application of service, 18 for technical issues, 11 for billing queries, 11 for disconnection of service, and five each for change of tenancy and request for compensation.
The PUC Chairman, meanwhile, said the regulator is not currently legally empowered to address poor land and mobile data services until the Telecommunications Act and regulations come into effect. She said the PUC is aware that Digicel to GTT text messaging has not been working for weeks but could do little unless the Commission receives a complaint.
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