An alleged, tiny tax-evader is dead; Mae’s School owner is self-bailed. Is it time to rumble?

Sep 02, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

On the same day, (Tuesday, August 31) the Stabroek News carried a news item of the owner of Mae’s School being charged with failing to pay employee benefits, the Kaieteur News frontpaged a tragedy with photographs of a small Guyanese businessman charged by the GRA with tax evasion. After he jumped from police custody into the Mahaicony River, the police shot at him. This unlucky human being has been found dead. The owner of Mae’s School, Mayfield French, was put on self-bail.
When I read about these injustices, I wished I was younger. I would have done enraged things to protest these uncivilized injustices. I guess it is the time of those like Mark Benschop. I cannot comment on the French court case; it is sub judice. But all readers of this page would know I am not an admirer of Mayfield French. I have written at least five times (doing an entire column in one case) of her school’s policy of peremptory expulsion of students for mere possession of a cell phone. That can’t happen in any other country.
I am not against Magistrate Melissa Robertson putting Mrs. French on self-bail. That was a perfect decision. But it highlights the absolute ridiculous forms the bail structure of this magistrate takes. Why put Mark Benschop on $10,000 bail? Like Mrs. French, he will attend his court dates. It looks like we have seen the last of Ms. Robertson. She is going to the Land Court in Berbice. I say good riddance!
There are a few left of course. There is Octive-Hamilton. There is Ms. Nagomootoo in Berbice. I still can’t figure out how some magistrates passed their degree in law. None of them, with few exceptions, understand the purpose of bail. Ms. Robertson remanded Balwant Persaud. He moved to the High Court. He got one million dollars in bail. That was excessive. The guy won his case last week. I will deal with the politics of Balwant Persaud’s arrest in another column.
Now to the tiny businessman who died after he jumped in the Mahaicony River and the police shot into the water. The post-mortem revealed no bullet wounds but the police had absolutely no reason to shoot. The rank in question should be charged with attempted murder. Let us see if the Guyanese people will accept the death of a poor citizen arising out of tax-evasion charges while billionaires openly flout the system and defy the GRA. The GRA charged this man over the holding of one yearly dance in Mahaicony going back to 1998. Can GRA tell me if the all the big time promoters, singers and dancers pay their taxes?
A tiny, obscure Mahaicony guy is dragged before the courts on ten charges. In Guyana, the display of untaxed wealth is so ostentatious and decadent that it sickens the mind. Can the GRA tell us how much money the dead man owed them?
Let us return to the rumble instinct of Dr. Roger Luncheon that we wrote about yesterday. Luncheon says he is going to rumble (is he in a position to; doesn’t look so to me) with any citizen that seeks to create ethnic divisions in the society. In my column yesterday I accused Luncheon and his Government of creating the divisions themselves. Let’s look at how divisions are created in a plural society like Guyana where ethnic underpinnings, even if they do not exist, are created in the minds of people.
Take Ingrid Griffith. She acted several times as Director of Trade Administration. Then she was bypassed for a retiree from the GDF. Wasn’t that bound to give rise to perceptions based on ethnic suspicions? Take the recently retired Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Genevieve Whyte-Nedd. She wasn’t confirmed as Chief Education Officer while others in the same Ministry had their substantive posts affirmed. Wasn’t this supposed to give rise to ethnic suspicion?
A majority (almost ninety five percent) of the students of Critchlow Labour College is from one ethnic community. Government’s subsidy withdrawal has virtually crippled the institution. Wasn’t this supposed to give rise to ethnic suspicion?
Now we have the death of a very small businessman charged with ten counts of tax-evasion in a country where the display of newly acquired wealth is nauseatingly morbid. Are we not to read some questions into this kind of uneven justice?
Time to rumble for sure. Time for the Guyanese people to rumble with those who are not only practicing racial discrimination, but destroying Guyana.

Latest News

An alleged, tiny tax-evader is dead; Mae’s School owner is self-bailed. Is it time to rumble?

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Mice and Jermaine $1.7M Linden Futsal tournament starts tonight with...

Slingerz FC hunt second win tonight

More sponsors on board ahead of Second Annual...

LGC to host STP Investments Inc. Golf Tourney...

𝐓𝐒𝐔, Region 2 book semi-final spots as...

World Athletics recognize AAG Elections

Features/Columnists

The PPP has started the intimidation

The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?

Elections: role of the polls

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

An alleged, tiny tax-evader is dead; Mae’s School owner is self-bailed. Is it time to rumble?

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]