Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire has ruled that Prithima Kissoon, former Deputy Solicitor General must be paid her salary that had been withheld. Ms. Kissoon’s money had been withheld by the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General. In May, 2017, the Attorney General caused Ms. Kissoon to be sent on “administrative leave” by the ...
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OPINION: The prerogative of mercy: Examining the President’s grant of respite to his Minister of Finance
by Attorney-at-Law Vivian Williams If courts which are instituted to determine what justice is between man and man may not enforce the private rights to which they find the litigants before them entitled, the great purpose of government will be unattained and our republican system will prove to be a lamentable failure.” – (U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeal) As ...
Read More »President blocks imprisonment of Finance Minister; GRA claims GYD$527m in taxes from Dipcon
President David Granger on Monday blocked Finance Minister Winston Jordan from going to jail for 21 days for contempt of court for failing to pay Dipcon Engineering Services Limited US$2.2. million plus costs in keeping with a court order that dated back to 2009 under the previous administration. “Now, therefore, by virtue of the powers vested in me under Article ...
Read More »Finance Minister, worried about imprisonment, appeals High Court decision in favour of Dipcon
Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who admitted that he was worried that he could be locked up for 21 days for failing to pay Dipcon Engineering Services Limited US$2.2 million based on court orders, on Monday appealed the High Court’s decision. “I would be worried if I am to be locked up under any circumstance whether it is in my personal ...
Read More »Lands and Surveys to call in police for information leak to Opposition Leader Jagdeo
Chief Exeutive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Trevor Benn on Friday assured he was not personally involved in any corrupt land transactions, and said police would be called in to probe how unauthorised maps got into the hands of the “gentleman” who displayed them at a news conference a day earlier. In the presence of senior ...
Read More »Sharma being reassigned to Public Infrastructure Ministry
Minister Jaipaul Sharma has been shifted from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure as its Junior Minister, sources said. Asked for the reason, the source would only say the move was “to enhance public administration”. Sharma, as Junior Finance Minister, had been named as having met with representatives of the Princess Group that at the time ...
Read More »Minister Patterson cleared of allegations in new Demerara Bridge project
The Guyana Police Force on Friday indicated that Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has been cleared of corruption and other allegations concerning the hiring of a Netherlands-based company that conducted a feasibility study for a new Demerara River bridge. The police force’s Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) received legal advice that there was no misuse of funds, no evidence ...
Read More »Guyana, other Caribbean countries anti-corruption bodies want harmonised rules, legislation
Guyana’s Integrity Commission has joined other members of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies (CCAICACB) in identifying the need for a harmonised system of rules and legislation to tackle corruption. In a communiquĂ© at the end of its fifth annual meeting held from June 3 to 7 in the Cayman Islands, the CCAICACB said the time ...
Read More »‘No oil blocks investigator contacted me’; probe will prove deals above board – Former Natural Resources Minister
Former Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud on Sunday said no government investigator has questioned him concerning the issuance of oil concessions and he and members of the then People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration were not worried about an independent probe. Officials of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) less than one month ago caused quite a stir locally ...
Read More »Occupational safety visits to Guyana offshore drill-ships too costly for Labour Department to conduct
The Labour Department cannot afford the money to inspect oil exploration vessels offshore Guyana to ensure they are complying with the country’s occupational safety and health laws, Labour Department Consultant Francis Carryl said Friday. “When we can afford to go out there, we will go to see exactly what is happening and I doubt whether we can go more than ...
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