The Guyana Revenue Authority officials are doing nonsense

Dec 16, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The management of the Eugene Correia Aiport at Ogle has issued a statement in relation to the killing of pet dogs at the airport. Through its spokesperson, Mr. “Kit” Nascimento, the management said it has no control over the actions of the GRA office at the airport.
“While the management of the airport is not involved in such actions, Nascimento said in recent times it would have received complaints from aircraft operators that the customs officers were seizing animals flown into the airport.
“’We passed that complaint onto the Aircraft Owners Association, which has sought a meeting with the Commissioner for Inland Revenue responsible for Customs on a number of matters including this complaint,’ the Public Relations Consultant said.” That was a report carried in the Guyana Chronicle.
Here is the part of Nascimento’s release that is shocking as it relates to the GRA officials at the airport and carried in the Chronicle. “However, following the report, the management of the airport enquired from the customs officers there about the reported cases. “They told the airport management that their protocol is that they take possession of any animal coming from the interior which may have come in from across the border,”
The press release of Nascimento continues, “No animal, according to the information given to us by customs, has been euthanized or in any way harmed at the airport,” But in the very news item, the Chronicle reasserted; “However, a passenger told this newspaper that several days ago the authorities operating out of the airport “cruelly killed and burnt three dogs…”
The GRA’s response to the inquiry of the airport’s management is disturbing because it is replete with misleading information. It does not square with what this newspaper reported in its edition of Monday, November 28, 2016, captioned, “Pit-bull pups narrowly missed being euthanized.”
Kaieteur News noted: According to Conrad Gomes, the owner of four pit-bull pups, he almost lost his dogs as they barely escaped being euthanized.”
He said the dogs were nearly killed? Is Mr. Gomes imagining things? If he is not then someone is lying because Customs as reported by Nascimento said no animal is ever harmed. So who is telling the truth- Gomes or Customs? Who do I believe? I am entitled to my opinion. I believe the dogs would have been killed if Gomes did not move swiftly.
Quote 2; “Patterson yesterday said that after arriving at the airport, the Customs department informed him that the pups needed to be cleared by a veterinarian.”
So Customs take possession of the pets. So why is Customs taking control of the pets of Guyanese citizens who are travelling within the territory of Guyana? Customs officials have an answer; they take possession of the dogs coming from the interior because they may have come from outside of Guyana. So how does the Customs Department at Ogle determine if a citizen from the interior, which from my knowledge is within Guyana, has a Guyana born dog or a foreign born animal?
Surely, at the airport, they have to have to do some kind of scientific testing to ascertain the country of origin. If they don’t then how in hell can you seize a dog out of the perception that it wasn’t born in Guyana and then kill it? This is the situation Gomes faced.
Quote 3; “The authorities were doubtful as to whether the animals were bred in Guyana since there were no documents to prove their origin. Gomes said that he was asked to bring the mother of the pups to the GLDA to prove that they were born in Guyana. He said that he was given an ultimatum to bring the mother by 13:00hrs on Thursday or the pups would have been put down.”
So, a Guyanese bringing his/her pet out of the interior has to prove it is a Guyanese dog. But what if/she she cannot? I have my pet dog and if Customs asked me to define its country of birth, I cannot. So if you cannot, the dog dies. Isn’t it fair to say that the authorities should prove that the dogs are foreign born?
We go to the final quote from that KN article; “Steve said that the camp is not located near a border area, so it is unlikely that the dogs could have been imported.” If you take your lovely pet from Regions One, Seven or Eight and arrive at Ogle to spend time in Region Four, your dogs can be officially executed if you cannot prove where it was born. Guyana is a cesspool of overflowing depravities.

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