Issues in the News With Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC, MP May 19th

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[00:00:58]Good evening and welcome once again to another program of issues in the news where we discuss the important events that would have taken place in Guyana over the past week or so and as is the norm tonight is no different. I want to welcome all of our viewers who are joining us on television in region number five West Coast Berbice and all of our viewers who are joining us on television from region number six West East Berbice along the bank of the Berbice River Quarantine Canje Quarantine all the way up the Quarantine River to Orealla and Siparuta to all of our viewers who are joining us on Freedom Radio from Robb Street, Georgetown and of course the thousands of you who are joining us on Facebook live right across the length and breadth of Guyana, the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and across Asia and beyond. Welcome to another program of Issues in the News.

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[00:02:58]Welcome once again to another program of Issues in the News.

[00:03:03]So, we have not had a program for two Tuesdays now, for the past two Tuesdays.

[00:03:11]And that's because I was away and was privileged to be part of Guyana's legal team appearing at the International Court of Justice for Guyana, of course, in the case brought by Guyana against Venezuela at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

[00:03:42]As you all are aware, no doubt, the oral hearings in the matter were concluded.

[00:03:54]Arguments [snorts] were orally presented, first by Guyana as we are the claimant.

[00:04:04]And then Venezuela responded.

[00:04:09]And we had an opportunity to reply.

[00:04:12]And then Venezuela had an opportunity to reply to us.

[00:04:19]The oral hearings concluded on the 11th of May.

[00:04:25]And we now await a date for ruling.

[00:04:32]We anticipate that the ruling will be handed down by or before January 2027.

[00:04:47]From all indications, our legal team is very confident that we will succeed.

[00:04:57]Our arguments were far superior in law, well supported by legal authorities, as well as documentary evidence, and historical facts when compared to that of Venezuela.

[00:05:27]You heard the acting president of Venezuela addressing the court.

[00:05:36]And I don't need to rehash what was said.

[00:05:43]But what was said is most unfortunate.

[00:05:47]And I leave it there.

[00:05:51]The conclusion of the hearings brought to an end a crucial stage of the proceedings.

[00:06:06]And the efforts of numerous persons must be acknowledged, and I wish to do so.

[00:06:23]In assisting us to arrive at that very pivotal part of the case.

[00:06:36]As a litigant, we concluded our contribution in the matter.

[00:06:43]And all that is left now is for a decision from the court.

[00:06:52]And the oral hearings culminated years of work of many many dedicated Guyanese as well as non-Guyanese.

[00:07:10]You had decades of work being done in the Foreign Affairs Ministry and through the different diplomatic channels across the globe.

[00:07:26]Done through the agency of the Foreign Affairs Ministry by dozens of officers.

[00:07:34]And I want to take this opportunity to recognize and salute the effort the efforts of those officers.

[00:07:45]It laid the foundation for us to conclude the case, conduct and conclude the case in the manner in which it was done.

[00:08:02]It's not my intention to mention all the names, but on the local front, there are a few names that must be mentioned.

[00:08:14]I want to recognize the work of Sir Shridath Ramphal, who did not see us to the end.

[00:08:26]He made a tremendous contribution.

[00:08:29]Elizabeth Harper also made a tremendous contribution.

[00:08:34]She also did not see it to the end.

[00:08:39]And as I said, many other persons on the Guyana front and up at some point in time, perhaps, we'll have to properly record, recognize, and express our gratitude for the large number of persons who worked over the years.

[00:09:02]Then we have our legal team and the supporting team that worked along with the legal team, the researchers, the persons who are doing the study of the maps, the persons who did um translation of documents.

[00:09:25]It's a massive team. The The engine room staff, that's the persons who worked in the background whom you may not have seen in the court.

[00:09:37]And then you you had speech writers. You may not have seen them. It's a good big team.

[00:09:45]And of course, you had a lot lawyers, world-class lawyers who worked beyond the call of duty in my respectful view.

[00:10:05]Highly professional team.

[00:10:09]Highly decorated persons, academically and professionally drawn from different in their respective endeavors.

[00:10:28]They put their shoulders to the wheel.

[00:10:35]And it was an amazing grouping of persons. And it was a tremendous learning it was at work.

[00:10:44]I learned tremendously and I I was fortunate.

[00:10:50]Indeed, I was blessed to be part of that extraordinary team of professionals.

[00:11:10]Their efforts and to salute their solid contributions to our case.

[00:11:21]And last but not least, I want to salute and recognize and pay tribute to President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali whose stewardship of enlisting support for our cause.

[00:11:53]His leadership demonstrated a level of maturity that far belies his age.

[00:12:03]His leadership was punctuated with diplomacy, firmness, magnanimity when that was required, as well as a degree of calmness when situations were very tense that I think brought great assurance to this country.

[00:12:37]And I believe he was able to garner to our side most, if not the entire world.

[00:12:49]And he led from the front.

[00:12:51]And I wish to recognize the efforts of President Ali in that regard.

[00:13:00]You would recall that when we entered government in 2020, the case was filed in 2018, and not much was done other than the filing.

[00:13:13]And it is we had to travel that road.

[00:13:20]Had to deal with an the other side that was unprepared to submit to the jurisdiction of the court.

[00:13:31]We had to deal with acts of provocation and aggression throughout.

[00:13:40]We had to deal with legislation being passed to take over Essequibo.

[00:13:50]To to administer the affairs of Essequibo.

[00:13:54]We had to deal with a referendum to disengage from the court and to refuse to recognize the jurisdiction of the court.

[00:14:10]And many other We had to deal with physical in physical intrusion into our EEZ.

[00:14:25]And repeated injuries to Guyanese including our soldiers.

[00:14:36]These were not normal circumstances to overcome.

[00:14:44]To remain calm, to keep the international and regional community on your side while at the same time maintain a strong front.

[00:14:55]And not once did President Ali and the government of Guyana wavered from our position of principle.

[00:15:08]That is the validity of the 1899 arbitral award.

[00:15:17]Allegiance to international law.

[00:15:22]Submission to the processes of the United Nations and putting our feet in the international system designed to resolve disputes between and among nations, the International Court of Justice.

[00:15:43]We s- stuck to that path faithfully and fierce- fiercely.

[00:15:54]We now await the last leg of the relay.

[00:16:01]And hopefully we come out successfully.

[00:16:16]Guyana's biodiversity alliance received a tremendous boost earlier this week, I think yesterday, when the United Nations signed on.

[00:16:35]And this may not be appreciated, but it is a signal development and it continues to show the important role Guyana is playing both at the regional level and on the international plane on the fundamental platform of environmental protection.

[00:17:20]We have large countries across the globe that have signed on.

[00:17:28]Canada has signed on, the United Kingdom has signed on, many many countries, small countries have signed on.

[00:17:35]And Guyana, a small country, continues to make its mark on the global stage in the area of the environment and biodiversity.

[00:17:55]And we have a long list of credentials in that regard. We have Iwokrama that we have given to the world.

[00:18:05]We have our our position on deforestation, our position on carbon credit, our our our forest itself that we are offering to the world.

[00:18:23]Our rate of deforestation, we continue to build our resume. We continue to build our credentials as a responsible member of the international community, rather as a leader in the in on the international stage on the issue of the environment.

[00:18:52]And I am proud to be part of a government that continues to be a trailblazer on this extraordinarily important platform of the environment.

[00:19:17]Let me switch back to court matters.

[00:19:20]So, we have about a week ago, we had a ruling from the court of appeal in what you may recall and what has been described in the press as the unlimited guarantee case.

[00:19:48]And you would recall that that was a case when the ruling was given in the High Court evoked great publicity.

[00:20:00]It evoked great public debate and it evoked strong exchange of views.

[00:20:14]The case was put forward by those who brought it as some great way to save Guyana.

[00:20:28]And that is how it was packaged.

[00:20:32]And its cause was helped by certain sections in the media.

[00:20:40]And when the judgment came down, it was received in that light.

[00:20:50]And the Attorney General was not part of the case at the time.

[00:20:55]The case was filed against the Environmental Protection Agency.

[00:21:01]And I said respectfully that the judge erred.

[00:21:10]I said that what the judge is ordering the oil companies to produce is a an instrument that doesn't exist either in law or in the commercial world.

[00:21:30]I said that the judge has overreached.

[00:21:36]That the judge has usurped the function or functions of the Environmental Protection Agency.

[00:21:45]That the judge has also overreached between overreached into relationships between the oil company the EPA and the government of Guyana, the three parties to a contract.

[00:22:05]That the judge ought to have allowed those parties to conclude the business of determining what is adequate financial assurance as required by the law.

[00:22:19]And if the judge finds that that which was agreed to by the government, the EPA and the operator, the three players in the legal equation, if that was inadequate or insufficient or legally deficient, then a court can review and make pronouncements.

[00:22:51]Appropriate pronouncements.

[00:22:54]But the court can't order the parties to produce something that the law doesn't require or worse yet, something that doesn't exist.

[00:23:06]The case was appealed.

[00:23:09]The Attorney General joined the appeal.

[00:23:17]And all the arguments which we were putting forward were upheld by the Court of Appeal.

[00:23:28]Now, as usual, the naysayers, critics of the government, have rushed in.

[00:23:38]And have cried that we are in bed, the government is in bed with the oil company.

[00:23:48]Crass ignorance.

[00:23:53]Crass ignorance.

[00:23:58]The government, representing the people of Guyana, is an important stakeholder in this industry.

[00:24:08]The government represents the people of Guyana in this industry.

[00:24:15]The country's being transformed from proceeds in this industry.

[00:24:22]Every day, projects are being built, infrastructure being built.

[00:24:29]Social and other important facilities are being built for the people of this country.

[00:24:35]The economy is being bolstered by proceeds from this industry. The government plans and projects its budget based upon proceeds from this industry. The government must be heard.

[00:24:55]The government is a party to the A contract that we don't agree with, but a contract that we are bound by.

[00:25:07]If the government doesn't protect the public's interest, who will?

[00:25:12]And what is the public's interest?

[00:25:15]Is the public's interest to close the industry down? Because if you order the industry to produce an instrument that doesn't exist, then you're shutting the industry down.

[00:25:30]The judges of the Court of Appeal asked the lawyers who were appearing for the Collins and White, the two persons who brought the case, asked them to produce one example of where an unlimited guarantee has been issued.

[00:26:00]One example.

[00:26:02]Where there is an assurance to assure a risk that is limitless.

[00:26:08]Which Which country in the world has such an instrument?

[00:26:15]Where has it ever been done?

[00:26:20]The court gave them months.

[00:26:22]Months to produce just one.

[00:26:25]And they can't.

[00:26:26]Because it doesn't exist.

[00:26:34]And the law doesn't require it because the law can't require an impossibility.

[00:26:40]As the judges of the Court of Appeal pointed out, there's a difference between liability and insurance of liability.

[00:26:58]Whoever causes damage, they will pay.

[00:27:03]They are responsible for the loss occasioned by that damage.

[00:27:12]Nobody disputes that. That is in the law. That is in the contract. That's a part of the laws of Guyana.

[00:27:21]But every liability, every risk has to have a value before it is insured.

[00:27:31]No insurance company, no commercial entity will offer financial or any type of assurance in relation to a risk whose value is limitless.

[00:27:48]And I don't understand why people can't understand this simple concept. And they will continue to cuss me right now on the on the Facebook that I'm in bed with Exxon.

[00:28:02]They never studied law.

[00:28:04]None of them understand law.

[00:28:08]But they have legal opinions on complex legal matters.

[00:28:14]So, all the lawyers and all the judges wrong, but they know law.

[00:28:18]And they never went never read law yet in their life.

[00:28:22]But in their own head, they have a concept of what they think is right.

[00:28:28]And you ask one of them to go into an insurance company anywhere in the world or or in Guyana and ask if they can insure a house, but you don't want to put a value on it.

[00:28:43]See what insurance will tell you.

[00:28:46]Or any parent company or whoever it is.

[00:28:51]No, it doesn't exist. It doesn't happen.

[00:28:57]So, and I have not heard yet that Mr. Collins or Mr. White or both of them have indicated an intention to appeal.

[00:29:13]I've not heard them say that.

[00:29:16]And even there was a reason why.

[00:29:19]It's difficult to go and argue that before the Caribbean Court of Justice.

[00:29:28]So, let me say once and for all, the government's involvement in that case was to protect the public's interest, your interest.

[00:29:43]Or else we would have gone back to an economy, or we can possibly go back to an economy growing at 3% instead of 50%.

[00:29:51]And if you don't understand that that the government got to keep this industry going and protect it against wild and reckless people, then perhaps I'm wasting my time.

[00:30:07]So, I'll move on.

[00:30:11]As I am on cases, you will also recall the Crystal Fisher case against the Guyana Elections Commission and the Guyana and the Attorney General of Guyana.

[00:30:26]You'll recall that just days before the discipline forces went to vote at the September 1st general and regional elections, Crystal Fisher filed proceedings in the High Court trying to get the High Court to declare the elections as being unlawful.

[00:30:56]Principally on the ground that GECOM did not put on the ballot the name of Forward Movement of Guyana party in the regions that that party is not contesting the elections.

[00:31:20]And they wanted to stop the elections, and they wanted the whole elections to be declared as illegal, etc. etc. The High Court ruled against them.

[00:31:32]They went to the Court of Appeal.

[00:31:34]The Court of Appeal ruled against them.

[00:31:36]They are now at the Caribbean Court of Justice.

[00:31:41]The Caribbean Court of Justice handed down some directions, which I have.

[00:31:48]The appeal is coming up for hearing at the Caribbean Court of Justice at the seat of the court, that is in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on the 16th of July at 10:00 a.m.

[00:32:07]The appellant were was ordered to file their submissions on or before the 6th of May 2026. That's gone. We have already done that.

[00:32:20]The respondents, Guyana Elections Commission and the Attorney General, are to file their response on or before the 22nd of May. That's on or before Friday coming. And we will, well, at least speaking for the Attorney General, we will comply. No doubt GCOM will as well.

[00:32:44]And the appellant is to reply, if they wish, on or before the 1st of June.

[00:32:55]And the hearing will take place at the seat of the court on the 16th of July.

[00:33:02]So, let us see how this will unfold. I have every confidence that the arguments of the respondents, GCOM and the Attorney General, will prevail once again.

[00:33:23]Millions of dollars in costs have already been awarded both in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

[00:33:35]Crystal Fisher, I am told, lives in Paramakatoi.

[00:33:41]This is some ordinary Guyanese who is being used to front for what Movement for Guyana.

[00:33:53]She has incurred costs now totaling millions.

[00:33:59]And Forward Guyana Movement going one more step where, as I predict, they will lose and incur more costs.

[00:34:12]That is what they're doing to ordinary Guyanese.

[00:34:18]Amanda Desir, the putative leader of this party, is not fronting.

[00:34:28]She doesn't have to pay the costs.

[00:34:31]She's not even appearing here as a lawyer.

[00:34:34]Well, I don't know which case she has ever appeared in. I've never seen her in a courtroom, quite frankly.

[00:34:40]She's a lawyer.

[00:34:42]She's not appearing.

[00:34:46]But she has this poor lady, Crystal Fisher, who I'm told is a teacher somewhere in region eight.

[00:34:54]Or yes, region eight.

[00:34:57]Or region nine.

[00:34:59]She originates from region eight, but I believe she is a registered elector in region nine.

[00:35:06]Working for a teacher's salary, I'm told.

[00:35:09]And being used to front these worthless and abusive legal proceedings.

[00:35:20]Losing in two courts and still projecting.

[00:35:23]Still going higher.

[00:35:27]Incurring costs all the way.

[00:35:33]And you will hear when we go against her for costs that we are victimizing an ordinary person.

[00:35:42]The costs will be pursued.

[00:35:52]I read in the news that Carter Center released its final report on Guyana's 2025 general and regional elections on May the 14th.

[00:36:12]And I I believe it's a good report.

[00:36:18]It highlighted some very crucial issues.

[00:36:27]The report observes observed that election day voting in Guyana were generally well conducted, calm, and orderly with more most polling stations opening on time, adequate materials in place, and procedures properly followed throughout the opening, voting, closing, and counting.

[00:36:56]So, they They have ticked all the boxes.

[00:37:01]The entire voting process from beginning from the opening of polls to the close of polls, they said was properly done, orderly, calm, with sufficient materials, et cetera.

[00:37:20]In relation to the results, they said the tabulation of results in Guyana's 2025 elections took place against the backdrop of deeply contested 2020 tabulation process, which had eroded public trust and prompted legal and procedural reforms aimed at decentralization and greater transparency.

[00:37:49]So, they're reflecting back on the 2020 horrendous experience, and they have acknowledged new procedures, new legal reforms intended to decentralize that tabulation process, decentralize that which happened, that fiasco, that fraudulent fiasco that occurred at Splashman building, and to bring greater transparency to that process.

[00:38:23]The report continues overall the legislative changes made to the tabulation process following the 2020 elections were positive and contributed to a more efficient and transparent tabulation process that better ensures results announced reflect the will of the people as expressed on election day.

[00:38:51]These are highly commendable statements coming from the Carter Center. Carter Center observers reported that tabulation in 2025 was generally conducted in a reasonable or very good manner across all 17 tabulation centers >> [snorts] >> with improved transparency through the public posting of SOPs at polling stations and their timely upload to G-Com's website for public scrutiny.

[00:39:32]All of these are new measures that we incorporated into the law.

[00:39:39]While the new procedures, particularly requirement to upload all SOPs before beginning tabulation, contributed to delays, the system functioned efficiently with few technical issues and allowed observers and the public to follow the results closely.

[00:40:04]And then they go on to speak about the constitutional reform commission, etc. So, this is what the the amendments that we have done, the reforms that we have done.

[00:40:20]These are the fruits of the reform.

[00:40:23]And yet you're hearing that we have not done any reform.

[00:40:29]That we have slept on recommendations made in relation to prior elections.

[00:40:37]As we stated, we are committed to all to implementing most of these recommendations, but they have to be done in stages.

[00:40:51]Some require constitutional interventions.

[00:40:55]In relation to the constitutional matters, we have said that we have left that to a broad-based constitutional reform commission.

[00:41:11]Whose mandate it is to go out and engage in public consultations in relation to what reforms should be recommended.

[00:41:24]The constitutional reform constitutional um constitutional reform commission is extant up and running and is doing its business. Tomorrow afternoon, there is a scheduled meeting to take place.

[00:41:46]And one of the things that we are concluding discussions on in that commission is the planning of an outreach program through which we will begin public consultations across the lengths and breaths of Guyana.

[00:42:10]So, the process is an ongoing one.

[00:42:14]By by the time the next election next elections cycle come around, we would have accomplished most of the tasks which we have set ourselves.

[00:42:30]It's a process.

[00:42:45]So, as I said, I want to engage you.

[00:42:51]I want your comments. I want your views.

[00:42:54]I want your questions.

[00:42:56]So, that we can have an ongoing dialogue. I don't want to be speaking all the time.

[00:43:04]But, I'm not seeing any questions that you may have, any issue you want me to address.

[00:43:13]Um Someone is asking me what about the backlog of cases at the Court of Appeal.

[00:43:25]I do know that since [snorts] we have appointed I believe 10 judges to that court, we have one vacancy, I believe, left.

[00:43:41]The schedule of that court has become very rigorous.

[00:43:47]And lawyers and litigants will tell you that they have received a series of notifications of fixtures for cases, and appeals are being heard every day or at frequent intervals.

[00:44:07]You have many judges there. We have two courtrooms now, so the work load has increased.

[00:44:17]And I know because the Attorney General is possibly the most sued entity in this country.

[00:44:26]And we receive, we know of the work load and the work going on at the court of appeal.

[00:44:33]So, don't worry, the backlog is being addressed now.

[00:44:39]I also see I also see a comment here that there is delay in land court matters.

[00:44:51]Well, we have appointed more land court judges and we are to appoint even more because I believe two of the land court current land court judges will be elevated to sit as high court judges. So, we have to now appoint more land court judges which the Judicial Service Commission will soon do.

[00:45:16]But, as I said, these things take a process.

[00:45:21]Litigation by its very nature is a slow process.

[00:45:30]Look at the ICJ.

[00:45:33]Eight years now.

[00:45:37]Guyana filed that case against Venezuela.

[00:45:41]We concluded the arguments in May and we are unlikely to get a decision until after 6 months.

[00:45:52]And that's the International Court of Justice.

[00:45:56]I mean, they have many, many cases there. Every court has cases, but that's how the system works. Wherever you live, if you live in Canada, if you live in the United States, just follow any case and you will see how long cases take to conclude.

[00:46:16]That is the nature of litigation wherever you are.

[00:46:21]It's a slow process.

[00:46:23]It includes due process. It includes many, many facets before a case is concluded.

[00:46:35]I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the REOs who were recently appointed and to wish them well.

[00:46:52]I also want to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing REOs for the sterling service that they have rendered to the government and people of Guyana.

[00:47:09]And I wish them well in their future endeavors.

[00:47:17]An REO is a creation of the Local Democratic Organs Act of 1980.

[00:47:31]The legislation that birthed the 10 administrative region of this country.

[00:47:43]REO is an abbreviation for Regional Executive Officer.

[00:47:52]The REOs are appointed by the Minister holding responsibility for the local government.

[00:48:03]These are executive officers.

[00:48:07]They are agents of the executive.

[00:48:10]And they are to operate in an elect in an electoral an elected body called a local democratic organ.

[00:48:22]But they are the executive officer in that elected body. That's why they are called regional executive officer. They are a member They are appointed by the executive government.

[00:48:38]Namely the minister of local government.

[00:48:44]If that simple truth and fact is understood then 99% of the misinformation, disinformation and ignorance that I see coming from in particular the opposition political parties.

[00:49:07]If that simple truth is understood, that misinformation, disinformation, and ignorance will dissipate or or ought not to have come.

[00:49:17]They don't understand these processes, they don't understand these functions, they don't understand these institutions.

[00:49:27]So they put on their simplistic lens and they see only politics.

[00:49:33]And they spew foolishness.

[00:49:38]These regional executive officers are to carry out the mandate of the minister.

[00:49:48]They are also clerks to the council.

[00:49:55]Each one of them function in a council.

[00:49:59]The reason Democratic Council Region number four, they are the clerk. They have to carry out the decision of the council.

[00:50:07]And they are also to carry out the decision of the minister.

[00:50:11]That's why they are appointed by the minister.

[00:50:17]I see one political leader. Well, I don't know that he's a political leader, a member of the PNC speaking about security of tenure.

[00:50:29]These officers are not public servants.

[00:50:35]When you When you read the scheme of the legislation on the way they are appointed, their tenure really Well, first of all, it it is at the behest of the government as the first thing.

[00:50:52]But, each of these officers, the 10 that were appointed in 2020, Cuz the 10 that were removed were appointed in 2020.

[00:51:04]They were running an entire electoral cycle.

[00:51:08]They were running an an electoral tenure.

[00:51:15]Expectedly, they can be removed after running an entire term.

[00:51:26]Well, what is wrong with So, there's no security of tenure.

[00:51:32]That's the first thing.

[00:51:35]Some political commentators say that they were removed for corruption.

[00:51:45]And then another set of them are saying, somebody from the same party are saying that they were removed because they were not corrupt and because they were refusing to carry out corrupt instructions.

[00:52:02]These opposition politicians have nothing to say since they have nothing sensible to say.

[00:52:10]So, anything that come to their head they say it.

[00:52:16]There's no consistency.

[00:52:18]There is no logic. There is no principle.

[00:52:26]So, as I said and you look at the look at the look at the comments. I I I have so many comments here. I'm not going to mention their names who made the comments. You you read it read it in the newspapers.

[00:52:39]Some of them said that they were got gotten rid of because they were corrupt.

[00:52:46]And another set of them said the politicians I'm speaking about that the REOs were removed because they were not corrupt and because they were refusing to carry out corrupt instructions or instructions to do corrupt transactions.

[00:53:05]So, that is the state of the opposition.

[00:53:09]They're in complete shambles.

[00:53:11]And there's somebody from the same party.

[00:53:17]But not one of them and I've looked carefully to see if one of them cited one incidence of alleged corruption in relation to any of the 10 REOs.

[00:53:35]I looked and I I looked carefully to see if they will make one allegation of corruption.

[00:53:51]Give an example, give an incident of corruption in relation to the 10 are yours who function in this position for nearly 6 years.

[00:54:03]They were unable to do so, yet they label these people as corrupt.

[00:54:10]Well, some of them who who spoke out on this issue.

[00:54:17]And then, they were critical also of the incumbents.

[00:54:25]Not one of them shows Not one of them point pointed to an argument that to the effect that these people were unqualified.

[00:54:40]Not one of them.

[00:54:41]I didn't see I didn't see any any argument that any of these new appointees were unqualified for the posts.

[00:54:52]One comment one MP said that they are they were they are of questionable character.

[00:54:59]Some of them are of questionable characters, but he didn't say how.

[00:55:04]He didn't say why.

[00:55:06]He didn't give an example, not an empirical piece of evidence to support that bold statement that these people are of questionable characters.

[00:55:17]I can sit here and tell you that he is of questionable character, and I can give you reasons why he I am saying that he is of questionable characters.

[00:55:28]But that is how they assassinate the character, reputation, and good name of people.

[00:55:38]So, one of them said that somebody related to somebody.

[00:55:42]Well, I if the relationship doesn't impact the functions that the person has to perform, where is the disqualifying or disqualification element?

[00:55:57]You have to show a conflict that this person can't perform this function or ought not to be allowed to perform this function because he's related to and therefore can't be independent of some other person.

[00:56:17]No such argument is made out.

[00:56:20]But, somebody relative is in the government and therefore he can't be an REO.

[00:56:28]These are These are idiotic arguments.

[00:56:34]They don't make sense.

[00:56:36]And if the opposition politicians have nothing to say, then there's nothing wrong with being quiet.

[00:56:43]But, don't contaminate the public domain with this kind of rhetoric that is devoid of logic and common sense.

[00:56:58]And that's the quality of opposition that's the quality of leadership that we're getting.

[00:57:08]Yeah, that brings me to the last issue.

[00:57:10]First of all, let me say that I condemn strongly the treatment allegedly meted out to the workers in Region 7, the Indian workers were brought on contract to work at the quarry operations.

[00:57:40]If what they are alleging is the truth, I condemn that type of treatment to which they were subject.

[00:57:55]The Ministry of Labor, once it was informed of the issue dealt with it with dispatch and with professionalism.

[00:58:09]The passports of the persons that were alleged that were held being held by the employer were returned to them and an an investigation has been launched involving the Labor Department, the police, and I believe the trafficking trafficking in person unit, and those are the relevant agencies to conduct the investigation.

[00:58:40]Now, government can't expect to know every single transaction or activity that is taking place across the length and breadth of this country unless it is reported to one of the official channels that have responsibility for receiving such report.

[00:59:08]That's how government functions.

[00:59:12]If a report is not made, the government becomes the state apparatus is not activated. It can't it is not the state apparatus doesn't operate on autopilot.

[00:59:28]Reports have to be made.

[00:59:30]And then processes are activated.

[00:59:37]Reports came to the government after it was made public.

[00:59:44]But I find I found reprehensible the use of this tragedy as a political football being kicked about by one political leader.

[01:00:06]He He He used this opportunity exploited this opportunity for political gains.

[01:00:15]And it it was nakedly so.

[01:00:20]And why would you While he he did a good by bringing the people out and offering them a meal, everything was done live and photographed.

[01:00:34]This is a fellow who doesn't do anything without the public mustn't know.

[01:00:38]It It demonstrates the lack of genuineness.

[01:00:43]It demonstrates the lack of sensitivity and the lack of humanity.

[01:00:53]The thing looks as though it is staged.

[01:00:58]And it is just being done to gain political points.

[01:01:04]And somehow or the other the government is getting blamed.

[01:01:09]Though this has nothing to do with government.

[01:01:13]This is a private employer allegedly ill-treating his employees.

[01:01:19]When the government department gets to hear about it.

[01:01:24]A process is activated as the law requires. That's all the government can do.

[01:01:32]But the exploitation of the human tragedies for political gain and publicity is something that I find reprehensible.

[01:01:52]I have exceeded the program time. I want to thank you very much for spending the past hour with me. I think we have covered a number of important issues.

[01:02:02]Next week is going to be Independence. We are celebrating our 60th anniversary as a nation.

[01:02:12]It is a significant milestone.

[01:02:17]We will have no issues in the news.

[01:02:19]I want to take this opportunity to extend 60th anniversary greetings to every single one of you both in and out of Guyana, and I hope that you enjoy the activities that are associated with our Independence celebration. Thank you very much for your attention.