By Jainarine Deonauth Our country was relatively unknown years ago, and some persons often mistook Guyana for Ghana, an African country. The name “Guyana” would invoke memories of the mass killings that took place at Jonestown, as that incident, having been given wide publicity by the international media, was the only thing people could connect to our country’s name. In essence, more often than not, the name “Guyana” invoked some negative connotation whenever it was mentioned. However, all this has since changed, and our country is now recognised as a…
Read MoreYear: 2011
Achieving the MDGs
The 2011 report on how Guyana fared in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was recently released, and even though its findings did not come as a surprise, they provide a clearer picture for governments, policy makers and activists to take the kind of action that is necessary to achieve the targets set by world leaders. The aim of the MDGs is to encourage development by improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The goals derived from earlier international development targets, and were officially established following the…
Read MoreGuyana, China sign Gy$940M grant for projects
–Jagdeo urges Caribbean leaders to pursue partial scope agreement with China Guyana and China have inked a Gy$940 million (30 million yuan) grant agreement that would see funding for several projects which are yet to be decided on. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh signed the agreement on behalf of Guyana, while Minister of Commerce of China, Chen Deming, signed on behalf of his country. The signing took place at the Business Conference of the Third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on September 12…
Read MoreUS$7.5M laptop contract signed
China grant to buy another 21,000 units By Janelle Persaud The first set of 27,000 laptops under the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project is expected to be available for distribution in the last week of October. This announcement was made by President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday, September 14 as he witnessed the signing of the contract with the Chinese company Haier Electronic Group Co Ltd at his office. The US$7.5 million contract was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the President, Nanda Gopaul, and Haier’s Overseas…
Read MoreGuyana shines in U.S. religious liberty report
The Barack Obama administration has given Guyana high points for maintaining religious freedom here, but noted that the country’s military practice tended to favour Christians. In its 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, released by its State Department on Wednesday, September 14, the United States acknowledged that Guyana’s constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom; and, in practice, the government generally enforced these protections. “The government generally respected religious freedom in law and in practice. “There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the…
Read MoreGovt steadfastly focused on development, achieving MDGs – Finance Minister
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has said that government remains steadfastly focused on development, and is unwavering in its quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. (MDGs) In an overview on the 2011 MDG Progress Report, Dr Singh said the MDGs form the core values of the country’s wider national development agenda, and substantial progress has been made in achieving them. “Firstly, the nexus between social sector outcomes and macroeconomic performance is one which cannot be overlooked. Our government has placed the highest priority on implementing carefully crafted and disciplined…
Read MoreCaricom should harmonise approaches to environmental challenges – PM Hinds
The Caribbean Community’s (Caricom) collective interests would be best served if it continued to strive for harmonised regional positions on the environment, and on sustainable development, including climate change. This was the view of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at the opening of the 37th Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the Environment and Sustainable Development, at the headquarters of the Caricom Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana, the Caricom Secretariat reported. COTED ministers began meeting on Thursday, September 1, to inform the region’s preparations for United Nations’ (UN)…
Read MoreJagdeo to lead Guyana’s delegation to TT upcoming business forum
President Bharrat Jagdeo will lead a delegation of government ministers and business leaders to the third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, slated for Trinidad and Tobago next week. The event will be held September 12 and 13 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain under the theme: “Development Cooperation, Win for All”. Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon told reporters at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing that Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad, and…
Read MoreGuyana Times slams Press Association
The management of Guyana Times and TVG Channel 28 has condemned, in the strongest terms, assertions by senior members of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) that sought to discredit this media house by characterising it as a “state-like entity”. The comments made by GPA President Gordon Moseley and committee member Adam Harris, on a televised programme in July, apart from being biased, also seriously call into question the integrity of the GPA, its impartiality, and whether its current executives are capable of representing the interests of media workers in Guyana.…
Read MorePitbulls, Mike’s Wellwoman win Open categories
BY AVENASH RAMZAN The Pitbulls of Georgetown and Mike’s Wellwoman won the Male and Female Open categories respectively, while J. C. Chandisingh Secondary and L’Aventure Secondary were crowned champions of the Schools’ competition on Sunday evening when action in the inaugural Kares Engineering/Bushy Park Sawmill/ Guyana Softball League T10 Tapeball Cricket competition ended at the National Stadium, Providence. A fair sized crowd witnessed seven highly competitive matches as the teams battled for the lucrative prizes on offer during the final day of the tournament, which attracted 942 teams. In the…
Read More