Bureaucracy and progress

President Bharrat Jagdeo has by now become well known for his open criticisms of certain international organisations, recently going as far as labelling them “bureaucracies dedicated to creating jobs for people from northern countries.” While some may view such comments as inappropriate and uncalled for, it is obvious that the head of state is getting impatient and anxious to see become a reality the level of development that was promised to the citizens of the country. Citizens want to see results, and they hold accountable those that govern them when…

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President extols Guyana’s ‘mature’ democracy

-says leaving office undefeated BY ARIANA GORDON President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that in a few months’ time he would leave office, and this is the first time in the Caribbean that a sitting president will depart office not because of defeat, but by a constitutional amendment that he signed into law. He said this shows the maturity of Guyana’s democracy, though he acknowledged that some people have mixed feelings about the law. “Whether it is good or it is bad, it shows, in my view – and I fully…

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Elections most likely in November – Dr Surujbally

Guyana Elections Commission Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said general elections will be held sometime in November. His comments were made during the relaunch of the Media Monitoring Unit, at Hotel Tower on Friday, August 26. “My own feel on the matter is sometime in November. You know already, as we have so published, that we will be ready on the 14th of November. His Excellency, the president, will choose the most opportune time for the nation to go to the polls,” Surujbally told the gathering. Surujbally said that, after the…

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Opposition lacks vision for sugar industry – Persaud

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud has declared that the opposition parties, APNU and AFC, have no credibility to speak on the future of sugar, as their only preoccupation is to see the industry fail. And this, he says, will not happen under the PPP/C. In an invited comment to the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Friday, August 26, Persaud spoke of the opposition’s criticisms of government’s stewardship of the sugar industry. He said the joint opposition political parties lack vision for the future of Guyana’s sugar industry and its workers, and…

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Four-lane Highway from DHB to Parika being considered – Jagdeo

President Bharrat Jagdeo, on Saturday, August 27 at the Parika Expo, disclosed that government was in discussion with stakeholders to build, in the near future, a four-lane highway from the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) to Parika. The president noted that the four-lane highway will alleviate the traffic congestion for commuters traversing on a daily basis to various parts of Region Three and Georgetown. He said the country is financially better off and it is imperative to reinvest in areas such as Parika and others on the West Coast of Demerara.…

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Govt rubbishes KN land sale report

Kaieteur News headline of Sunday, August 28 titled “Government indulges in deceit to take private property – main beneficiary is close associate” represents yet again a biased and irresponsible report, the Guyana government said in a statement on Monday, August 29. According to the government, the article appears to be totally a publication of what Toolsie Persaud has stated in court papers and makes no attempt to ascertain the facts or to present a balanced view. “The article erroneously states that the land is owned by Toolsie Persaud Limited. The…

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No sign of missing fishermen

There has yet been no trace of the five missing fishermen of the No 66 Co-op Society up to late Tuesday afternoon, August 23, after a massive search launched on Monday. Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud has met with family members of the missing men on August 24, as well as with officials of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and the police. The missing men are Ouditnarine Ramnarine, Sumesh Martin, Khemraj Dhanpat, Narine Dhanpat, and Clifford Singh. Kumarchan Bisnauth, son of the owner of the vessel Reshma and nephew of…

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Manganese firm eyes mining operations in two years

BY ARIANA GORDON  Canadian mining firm Reunion Manganese Inc says that in another two years’ time it will know whether there is enough manganese for commercial operations at a Matthews Ridge, North West District site where it is currently conducting exploratory studies. A feasibility study is expected to commence just after the first quarter of 2012, which the company is hoping will guide its future operations. In September 2010, the company obtained four prospecting licences to conduct exploratory and developmental activities for manganese in the North West District of Guyana…

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Greenidge should desist from distorting history, says finance minister

On August 23, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh urged former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge to desist from distorting history, in reference to Greenidge’s recent forays into the letters’ columns of the daily newspapers. Greenidge held the finance portfolio under successive PNC administrations for nine years – from 1983 to 1992. Dr Singh, in a statement, said that Greenidge should account to the Guyanese people for the performance of the domestic economy for the full duration of his ministerial tenure, instead of trying to rewrite his own fantastic and abbreviated version…

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Log traders without concessions banned from exporting

– private and govt projects on hold – Persaud   Log traders who do not have concessions have been banned from exporting timber as Guyana takes steps to ensure there is adequate supply of timber on the local market.   This announcement was made by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud during a meeting with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Forest Products Association, the Guyana Manufacturers Association, and the Private Sector Commission to discuss a local shortage of building materials. That meeting was held at the ministry’s boardroom on Monday, August 22.…

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