In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the PPP, I write about a little known event that formed part of the circumstances that shaped Guyana’s entry into the democratic fold of nations.
Continue reading “JAGAN’S LETTER TO GORBACHEV”A TRANSFORMATIVE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT
With only minimal fanfare and little public notice, the National Assembly last week unanimously passed into law the Security Interests in Movable Property Bill 2024. The statutory protection of a credit system over immovable property has long been an aspiration of many who are and were involved in the financial industry. The need became evident as early as the late 1980s as Guyana’s economy began to look to external sources for economic development. By the early 1990s the Government invited a Canadian lawyer who was stationed in Guyana for several months, at intervals, who prepared draft legislation. It then silently vanished, never to be heard of again.
Continue reading “A TRANSFORMATIVE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT”A PROPOSAL TO RESTORE JONESTOWN
Jonestown is once again in the news and is attracting widespread and serious comment. This article, from the paragraph below, was written by Roger Arjoon, a Guyanese, who lives and works in the financial industry in New York. He attended Yale and Oxford Universities and is a Rhodes Scholar. He continues to take an active interest in Guyana. I had this article in my archives, took it out, dusted it off, reduced its size and obtained Roger’s permission to publish it. It was first published on July 25, 2013, and is still very much relevant having regard to the issues being publicly debated. The impact of the lack of democracy in Guyana at the time, and how it facilitated the tragedy in Jonestown, is still to be explored.
Continue reading “A PROPOSAL TO RESTORE JONESTOWN”THE SPEAKER WAS NOT WRONG! BUT WHAT ABOUT ASHA KISSOON?
The A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM), which contested the 2020 elections, utilized section 22 of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) for the first time in Guyana’s history and wrote to the Chief Election Officer informing him that they have “joined” their lists. The section provides that two or more lists of candidates can be “joined” for the distribution of seats, but not votes. The lists so joined are called a “combination of lists.” The media baptized them as “the joinder parties.”
Continue reading “THE SPEAKER WAS NOT WRONG! BUT WHAT ABOUT ASHA KISSOON?”THE LAW IS A JEALOUS MISTRESS – A NEW DIMENSION
“The law is a jealous mistress and requires long and constant courtship. It is not won by trifling favours, but by lavish homage.” So said US Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story in 1929. Much has been written about this statement, including its origins. One suggestion is that it was first used by James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, in a letter to a friend in 1789. The phrase reflects the demanding nature of the law which requires constant attention and devotion. Recognition of the aphorism is among the first lessons urged upon newly qualified lawyers when they are admitted to practice. The admission ceremony takes place in court before a Judge who, in admitting the newly qualified lawyer to practice, and congratulating him or her, admonishes him or her to adhere closely to the message contained in the statement. To one degree or another, most lawyers observe the adage to one degree or another. Those who do, give “lavish homage,” and those who don’t, giving only “trifling favours.” These groups are easily identifiable.
Continue reading “THE LAW IS A JEALOUS MISTRESS – A NEW DIMENSION”