Month: July 2011

Cholera increasing in Haiti and Dominican Republic

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Cases of cholera are on the rise in Haiti and neighbouring Dominican Republic, the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on June 24, saying more than 18,000 new cases in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, have been recorded recently. “This increase may be partly due to the beginning of the rainy season and the flooding that hit the capital,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva. “Data from the Ministry of Public Health of Haiti showed that since the beginning of the outbreak till June 12, there had been…

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IDB to support expansion of low-income microfinance programme

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Patrimonio Hoy, the housing microfinance programme of CEMEX, the world’s largest building materials supplier, will expand lending to low-income families in Mexico and four other Latin American countries. This was facilitated by a partial credit guarantee of up to US$10 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). As many as 750,000 families over the next five years are expected to benefit from this project. Patrimonio Hoy is one of Latin America’s most successful social enterprises, providing low-income families earning less than four times the minimum wage in Mexico with access…

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UG gets US$10M World Bank loan for low-carbon studies

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The World Bank’s executive board on Thursday approved a loan of US$10 million to finance the University of Guyana’s Science and Technology Support Project. An estimated 6,300 students and faculty will benefit from this project, which will strengthen science and technology tertiary education in order to advance Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). “By supporting the university’s faculty and students, this project will prepare today’s researchers and students to have the practical knowledge and skills to meet the needs of tomorrow’s low- carbon economic and social development,” said Education Minister…

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Protected Areas Bill introduced in National Assembly

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Government is seeking to protect and conserve Guyana’s natural heritage, as well as create a national system of protected areas. This will be made possible through the passage of the Protected Areas Act 2011, which had its first reading in the National Assembly on June 23. The bill, which will also provide for the maintenance of ecosystem services, including climate regulation, was introduced by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud. According to the explanatory memorandum, the bill establishes the Protected Areas Commission, which is to be governed by a board of directors…

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U. S. commits US$77M to security initiative

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United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on June 22 that her country was committing US$77 million to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) in the next fiscal year. Clinton was speaking at a high level meeting between foreign ministers of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Dominican Republic and the United States, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Clinton declared that it was important to look critically at the initiative in order to see what was or was not working; to improve information sharing; institutionalise formal measures to coordinate maritime…

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Consumer Affairs Bill passed

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The National Assembly in Guyana passed the Consumer Affairs Bill without amendments, on June 23, even as it passed through a special select committee. But the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is accusing the government of refusing to make any amendments to the bill. PNCR Member of Parliament Mervyn Williams said that in the interest of Guyanese who are made to use public transportation, his party sought to intervene on this issue, seeking that provisions be made in the newly-passed bill to protect citizens from exploitation. He expressed…

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Digicel partners with U. S. in fostering Caribbean business links

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Irish mobile phone company Digicel has announced its partnership with the U. S. Department of State to support the Caribbean IdEA Marketplace (CIM). Aimed at fostering collaboration between local and global Caribbean diaspora entrepreneurs, the business competition platform will encourage participants to develop and expand innovative projects that will generate employment and economic growth, Digicel said in a release. According to the phone company, initial focus countries include The Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The objectives of the initiative are: to bring about…

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Watooka House – A trip back to a bygone era

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The Watooka House in Linden is a wooden, colonial style guesthouse with scenic views of the Demerara River and lush grounds. The three-storey building is surrounded by huge palm trees and many fruit trees, to provide an exclusive feeling of getting away from it all and relaxing with nature. Watooka House was created after the demand for aluminium brought many foreign businessmen and officials to the booming mining town in the early 1900s. In the late 1920s, a bauxite laboratory was renovated as a home for the bauxite company’s manager.…

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Utilising Guyana’s beautiful woods for pyrography

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By Venessa Deosaran A pyrographic artist specialises in burning design onto wood or leather. And for more than a decade, Irene Bacchus-Holder has been perfecting this art form in creating functional pieces for the home using Guyana’s natural woods. Nominated as one of the ten finalists in the inaugural UNCTAD/EMPRETEC International Women in Business Award 2008, Irene began her business by doing pyrography on functional items such as jewellery boxes and kitchen wares. Her first efforts, given as gifts to personal friends and family members, were well received, and this…

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PPP/C expresses concerns about unregistered voters

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People’s Progressive Party presidential candidate Donald Ramotar, on June 24, said his party is seeking to have the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) open an avenue for unregistered persons to become registered. Ramotar joined his political opponents in highlighting the importance of registering citizens who were not registered because of lack of source documents. Speaking at a media briefing at the party’s headquarters, Freedom House, Ramotar said an examination of several hinterland communities has indicated that several persons were not registered because of the lack of source documents. The party has…

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