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More than two years after he was hauled before the courts, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Kurt Smith was on Wednesday slapped with six additional charges of misconduct in public office.

This time, Smith is accused of signing contracts on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs for repairs of several police building while he was the officer-in-charge of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Finance Department.

Smith, who was interdicted from duty, appeared before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

He was not required to enter a plea and was placed on $100,000 bail for each count.

The charges were laid by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

According to SOCU, the charges stemmed from a report made by the GPF and an investigation was launched.

During the probe, SOCU said it discovered that during the month of December to February 2022, six contracts amounting to the sum of $9, 717, 525 were awarded to various contractors to do repair works on several police buildings.

The contracts, SOCU said, were prepared and sent to Smith for verification and for onward transmission to the Permanent Secretary to be signed.

However, according to SOCU, Smith allegedly signed for the Permanent Secretary in the slot allotted for the accounting officer.

“The PS (Permanent Secretary) of Home Affairs was contacted and she clearly stated she never delegated her responsibility to the Finance Officer of the Guyana Police Force,” SOCU noted.

Back in April 2021, Smith who was then a Superintendent of Police, was charged alongside another rank, Loraine Saul in connection with a multimillion-dollar fraud committed in the Police Finance Department.

They were accused of conspiring with others while being officers of the Guyana Police Force, to falsify a payment account to sum $1,350,000 to show that meals were supplied to ranks of the riot unit between December 18 and 28, 2020.

The two senior officers also denied that during the same period, they conspired with other persons to falsify another payment in the sum $465,000.

They were released on $200,000 each.

four romance scammers were charged by SOCU) after they defrauded eight women of $804,000.

another CEC meeting got heated and reportedly saw senior members of the political party threatening to resign over the selection of who will lead the councils for the areas the party won in the just concluded Local Government Elections.

PNC insiders told the News Room that the meeting was reportedly postponed by Party Chairman, Shurwayne Holder but members have complained that the postponement was only announced one day before the meeting and no reason was proffered; no date for a future meeting was given.

According to the source, CEC member and former Army Chief, Gary Best has expressed concern over the postponement of the meeting and reportedly said based on the developments “We are apparently entering murky waters.”

In a letter, seen by the News Room, and sent to the CEC, Best berated the party’s leadership for lack of accountability and transparency and complained that there were no minutes for meetings held in May, none for last Wednesday’s meeting and no financial statements since January 2021.

“We have a slew of festering and unfinished party matters, we have no update on repairing the party membership database and the CEC has been continuously bypassed by the officers of the party in decision making,” Best reportedly wrote in the email.

Best was keen to note, however, that the leader cannot, in keeping with the party’s constitution, proceed to conclude decisions related to the appointments of councillors and mayors without the intervention of the CEC.

Leader of the PNC/R, Aubrey Norton, has reportedly attempted to “single-handedly” select who he wants to take up the posts despite the strong objections of senior members who believe that it should be a collective decision.

Best reminded in the email that the pause between the two meetings was “an opportunity to do the right thing.”

The CEC is the highest decision-making body of the PNC/R. According to the source, there is a huge split within the PNC/R as support for Norton continues to dwindle and several high-raking party members have threatened to resign if Norton goes ahead with his route of single-handedly selecting the candidates.

The PPP/C picked up 11 seats on the Georgetown Council following the June 12 LGE; this is an increase from the seven picked up in 2018 while the PNC-led APNU Coalition picked up 19 seats, a decrease from 21.

A party insider told the News Room that Norton has expressed fears that the PPP will “buy out” some of the PNC councillors.

longstanding PNC/R Councillor, Heston Bostwick

Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, longstanding PNC/R Councillor, Heston Bostwick took to his Facebook page to complain of being forced out of the party.

He was a PR candidate for the APNU at the local polls in Georgetown.

“I was reliably informed that efforts are being made to put me out of the People’s National Congress/Reform.

“When I confirm that and I make my choice I hope no one gets annoyed,” Bostwick said.

He said he has been a member of the PNC/R since 1979 and “persons within the party are now making serious efforts to have me out of the party.”

As an alternative, Pompey emphasized her collaboration with the Ministry of Sport, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), and the Athletics Association of Guyana to organize a series of clinics and training sessions. These initiatives aim to benefit coaches, administrators, and athletes involved in the sport.

This year would have marked the fifth edition of the AP Invitational and the first since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.

“The cancellation of the event has been met with disappointment from numerous athletes, particularly those from Guyana who considered this the highlight of their season. With this in mind, we are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a stronger and better return next year,” Pompey expressed.

In February 2020, the AP Invitational was introduced as part of World Athletics’ structured World Athletics Continental Tour. The establishment of the Continental Tour was aimed at providing more opportunities for competition and earnings to athletes.

During the 2018 AP Invitational, Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, achieved a time of 44.99 seconds, not only winning the ‘AP’ Invitational 400m event but also setting a new Track Record.

The AP Invitational, which began in 2016, saw 11 overseas athletes qualify and compete at the Olympic Games in Rio.