…of constitutional offices

PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has written to Carvil Duncan, requesting that he show cause why a tribunal should not be established, as provided for by Article 225 of the Constitution of Guyana, to address the question of his removal from several constitutional offices.The offices are as follows: Chairman, Public Service Commission; Member, Police Service Commission; and Member, Judicial Service Commission.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Nagamootoo wrote to Duncan in view of the offences for which he has been charged, which are presently engaging the attention of the court.
“Prime Minister Nagamootoo advised Duncan, in the letter, that the procedure has been invoked on the basis that the offences for which he has been charged place him in a position where it is necessary for him to defend the charges before the Court.

“And further, that there is concern that during this period he will be unable to perform the duties imposed upon him by the Constitution in relation to the aforementioned constitutional offices that he holds,” the statement read.

It added that the PM advised Duncan to regard the letter as his opportunity to inform the exercise of his (the Prime Minister’s) discretion to advise His Excellency, President David Granger, whether to establish the tribunal.
The letter was dispatched on March 29, 2016, and the Prime Minister requested a response within 14 days of receipt. To date, the Prime Minister has received no response.

On April 10, Duncan, a former director of the Guyana Power & Light (GPL) Inc, was allowed to plead to the charge which alleges that he had stolen $984,900 from the company on March 31, 2015 at Georgetown.

Duncan denied the charge when it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Duncan, also President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), was allowed to plead to the charge when Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers made an application for the Administration of Justice Act to be applied.

The Former Director was charged jointly with the company’s former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO), Aerswar Deonarine, for the unapproved transfer of approximately $27M from the PetroCaribe fund to their personal bank accounts.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Deonarine, since he has allegedly fled the jurisdiction.
The prosecutor has requested a short adjournment in relation to the joint charges, since further advice needs to be sought. The matter has since been adjourned for report on April 28.

On January 26, Duncan was placed on $1M bail by the Chief Magistrate in connection with three criminal offences he is accused of committing against the entity as a board member of GPL. The police alleged that Duncan stole the money from GPL on March 31, 2015 after conspiring with Deonarine to commit the act of simple larceny.

Duncan is also alleged to have conspired with Deonarine to commit a felony – that is to say, between May 7 and 8, at Georgetown, he conspired to steal Gy$27,757,500 from the GPL.
As a Director, Duncan signed off on Deonarine’s payments, while Deonarine reportedly signed off on Duncan’s back pay, which allegedly represented remuneration for the 48 months he would have been a Director.