Month: January 2011

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud has said the administration is confident that next year will be a landmark year for the sugar industry. He gave the National Assembly an update on the troubles of the Guyana Sugar Corporation on Thursday, December 23rd.  One day after President Bharrat Jagdeo met with sugar workers, Persaud revealed to the house government’s confidence in turning around the sugar industry and restoring it to its former glory. “We are very confident, and we look forward to next year, 2011, Mr Speaker, as being a very landmark…

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President Bharrat Jagdeo spent the early part of Christmas Day in the usual benevolent fashion, distributing toys to youths in the paediatric care unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).  On this occasion, however, the president was accompanied by West Indies star batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and by captain of the Guyana national cricket team, Lennox Cush.  The presentation of toys and the presence of the prominent figures were enough to bring smiles to the faces of the children, a few of whom were bedridden and able…

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Government is seeking to raise the age of entry into the Guyana Defence Force from 16 to 18 years. Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Charles Ramson Sr, on Thursday last, introduced the Defence Amendment Bill, No 23 of 2010, which also raises the minimum age for enlistment with the consent of a parent from 14 years to 16 years.  The bill, which seeks to amend section 18 of the principal act, substitutes the words ‘sixteen years’ with ‘eighteen years’ and ‘fourteen years’ with ‘sixteen years’ respectively. It is in…

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Some passengers who opt to use the Guyana-Suriname “backtrack” crossing at Berbice are growing increasingly concerned about the modus operandi there, stating that they may be forced to use the longer route. One passenger who claims to be a frequent user of the crossing explained that people are “being allowed to cross with anything”, and usually there are no officials present at the port. “You never know what these people got tucked away in their bags, and they are being allowed to cross just like that,” he said. However, he…

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A family gathering turned sour on Boxing Day when one relative stabbed another after the deceased slapped his reputed wife. Dead is Rabindra Sookhoo, 24, of Lot 152 Bellvue, West Bank Demerara. He succumbed at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre to a single stab wound to the left side of his chest delivered by his reputed wife’s brother-in-law. Wife of the dead man, Savitri Singh, 21, related to Guyana Times International that she, her two sons, and reputed husband of five years went to Diamond to visit her mother, Narainie Narine,…

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Thirty-nine-year-old Joylyn Benn of Lima Sea Dam, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, stabbed her reputed husband to death during an altercation in their kitchen on Christmas Night.    Dead is Dennis Braithwaite, formerly of Georgetown. According to a police report, Benn was imbibing with her friends on a street nearby when Braithwaite showed up and ordered her home. He also reportedly physically abused the woman on the street before he dragged her home. At around 21:30hrs, Benn was in her kitchen when Braithwaite attacked her again, but this time she picked up…

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Gail Perreira, the 29-year-old Agricola, East Bank Demerara shipping clerk who was allegedly kidnapped on December 23, 2010, was freed early on the morning of Monday, December 27th, police confirmed in a statement. The Evan Phillips Park resident was found at the home of relatives at South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. Perreira was reportedly abducted outside her home by three men, who subsequently demanded a ransom of Gy$20 million for her safe return. She was unharmed, and no ransom was reportedly paid, the police release said.  During investigations into the matter, the…

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The forestry sector, alongside rice, has performed outstandingly this year. Production of logs, wood and value-added wood products is expected to reach 390,000 cubic metres, representing a three per cent increase over 2009 figures. With the housing boom locally, the forestry authorities are now conducting an analysis to determine if there are sufficient wood supplies to meet the demands of the local and export markets, and what necessary mechanisms may have to be adopted to ensure this is done. This would also take into account that Guyana’s disforestation rate is…

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