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Movement for Social Justice political leader David Abdulah.

MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah says Government could have avoided the mess created by the collapse of the corruption case against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, and former opposition senator Gerald Ramdeen, had it taken advice offered to use a special prosecutor to pursue corruption matters.

He said this during a virtual news conference on Sunday.

A purported agreement to indemnify Jamaica-born Vincent Nelson, KC, from civil and criminal prosecution in return for a notarised statement led to the case against Ramlogan and Ramdeen being dropped.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard announced the discontinuation of the matter against Ramlogan and Ramdeen on October 10.

But Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, on the same day, said the matter is not yet over.

Armour said Nelson has not recanted any admission of wrongdoing he made in the criminal proceedings.

He promised to take the advice of eminent local and foreign senior and King’s Counsel “to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of justice for the people of TT.”

Abdulah said he was not going to deal with the statements being made by the government and opposition on this matter. He also said he was not going to pronounce of the innocence or guilt of people involved in the Ramlogan/Ramdeen case.

But Abdulah recalled that shortly after the PNM won the September 7, 2015 general election, he met with the Prime Minister. That meeting with Dr Rowley involved a conversation about the PNM’s campaign promise to combat corruption and deal with a plethora of corruption allegations against the former UNC-led People’s Partnership government.

Given Dr Rowley and the PNM’s public stance for seven years about dealing with corruption, Abdulah said it was important that the PNM “ensure that the right steps were taken to bring anyone who may have been guilty of corruption to justice.”

He added, it is indisputable that successive PNM and UNC governments have failed to tackle the longstanding problem of corruption.

“No one in this country is being held accountable for corruption and white collar crime. Corruption and white collar crime have proceeded with impunity.”

Abdulah said the suggestion was made to Rowley seven years ago to establish an office of special prosecutor to deal with corruption matters. Such a prosecutor could be given a budget by the Cabinet that allowed him or her to hire the necessary forensic and other expertise to investigate alleged corruption and white collar crime.

Abdulah said this would have prevented the direct involvement of the attorney general or any other cabinet ministers in the prosecution of such matters.

He added that former AGs Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and John Jeremie, SC, had offered similar advice to Rowley.

But Abdulah lamented that Rowley and the PNM did not heed this advice.

“Let me remind people of the old saying, stick break in their ears.”

Abdulah said Maharaj, in his tenure as AG, had Karl Hudson-Phillip act as a special prosecutor with respect to the Piarco airport scandal, resulting in the gathering of evidence against people accused of wrongdoing in that matter.

While observing that locally no one has been found innocent or guilty in that case for the last 20 years, Abdulah said some people in the United States who were connected to that matter, were found guilty and either served time in prison or paid fines.

He also recalled that Desmond Allum served as a special prosecutor under the George Chambers government in 1985-1986 with respect to the Scott Drug Report.

“There was a template.”

Abdulah reiterated that had Government gone this route, it could have avoided the situation it is in now.

These kinds of situations, he continued, could lead to a lose-lose scenario where taxpayers’ money is lost to prosecute legal matters, and people who may actually be guilty of wrongdoing may get off scot free.

“We are losing both ways, and this is unacceptable.”

Abdulah reiterated that Rowley and the PNM must accept responsibility for this.

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With the housing and construction industry rapidly expanding, the PPP/C Government will be implementing a single window electronic processing system to improve the ease of doing business.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal said legislation for the system will be presented to the National Assembly by the end of the year.

“Today I am happy to report that legislation to introduce the Single Window System will conclude by December and implementation will begin immediately,” Minister Croal said during a recent house lot allocation exercise in Region Six.

The Housing Minister noted that the government has recognised that the increased demands for building permits and other services by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) require a more efficient solution.

Once the legislation is in place, it will significantly reduce the time it takes to complete a transaction as well as steps within the transaction, standardise application forms and checklists, among other things. It will also see the ministry transitioning from paper-based to electronic.

“The Ministry of Housing and Water through CHPA and GWI is facing greater demand for its services. As you are aware, not only do we provide subsidised housing, CHPA for example issues approvals and building permits for commercial and industrial purposes as well as executes town and country planning by way of zoning for residential, commercial and industrial areas,” he explained.

The Minister added, “As a result, there is a tremendous need for us to provide these services more efficiently, that is, we must reduce the time taken to conduct business with the Ministry.”

The Ministry has already created an online portal which allows house lot applicants to upload their applications or update their information from the comfort of their homes. The regional offices to ease the residents travelling to the central office in Georgetown.

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Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo today delivered on a promise of the PPP/C Administration, as he spearheaded the distribution of the $150,000 one-off cash grant to Region Two fisherfolk at the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) Bond, Anna Regina.

Grants were distributed to 706 fisherfolk and represents an approximate $105 million investment.

The Vice President, who has been spearheading the distribution across the country over the past weeks, explained that this is part of the government’s efforts to cushion the effect of the rising cost of living due to a number of external factors, including the Russia/Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have affected the global supply chain.

Reference was made to the part-time jobs initiative which enables persons to earn up to $40,000 per month for at least 10 days of work in government ministries and other agencies, the COVID-19 and farmers’ flood relief grants, which were also part of efforts to supplement household income.

He also urged the fisherfolk to take advantage of the many opportunities for self-improvement, while reiterating the government’s continued commitment to supporting their entrepreneurial efforts, for which small grants and other assistance through the Small Business Bureau are available.

Further, due to the changing nature of the fishing industry, the vice president advised the fisherfolk to ‘think outside the box’ and consider other training programmes, since enormous job opportunities exist in the growing oil and gas sector.

“I just want to urge all of you, if you see a training programme, even if you haven’t finished school, we have now on the scholarship programme through GOAL [Guyana Online Academy of Learning], you can do a remedial programme and then go on to the technical programme and those who have the qualification can do tertiary level, university type training, even in your homes,” the VP related.

Dr Jagdeo also spoke about the government’s co-investment programme, which will see the administration collaborating with private companies to establish call centres ad other businesses that will create employment in the region.

“So, there are going to be changes here and you have to be prepared for that. We are prepared to work with you…We don’t want people to be left behind if they put in the effort, but you have to put in the effort. I’ve seen people make the effort and they are making it,” the VP added.

The Vice President also addressed concerns raised by the fisherfolk. He was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and regional officials.

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door Wilfred Leeuwin PARAMARIBO – Accountant Ashween Angnoe, zakenpartner van ex-governor Robert van Trikt van de Centrale bank van Suriname

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