Month: April 2012

Guyana makes oral presentation to UN – on continental shelf extension

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Guyana on Wednesday made an oral presentation in support of its submission for an extended continental shelf to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The presentation was made by Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett was accompanied by Foreign Ministry Director General Ambassador Elisabeth Harper; Guyana Permanent Ambassador to the United Kingdom George Talbot; Guyana Ambassador to Suriname Keith George; Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Petroleum Division Manger Newell Dennison;…

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Leaders must continue engagements in relation to reforming GECOM

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Dear Editor, The nation awaits the response from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in relation to the findings of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) verification of Statements of Polls for last year’s general and regional elections. In the first place, APNU should not have had the cause to engage in such an undertaking as this causes unnecessary distractions to the society. By now we should have been engaged in helping the authorities fix the problems in society, not dealing with the conduct of an election that went five…

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NGOs making

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Dear Editor, There are many organisations in Guyana which are making a positive difference in the lives of many citizens. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in particular have been at the forefront and are working alongside government on various projects, both at the community and the national levels, and what we see today are exceptional results in various fields, such as poverty reduction, HIV/ AIDS, literacy, and agriculture among others. I believe that it would be good to highlight such achievements from time to time to give publicity to these groups and…

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The story of Manohar Aich

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Dear Editor, The daily Guyana Times newspaper carried a very interesting story on Manohar Aich who won the 1952 Mr Universe Championship and became a very influential figure in India and beyond. I say this was a very interesting story because Mr Aich has just celebrated his 100th birthday, and from all indications, is living a very happy and healthy life. But how was he able to reach that mark and yet still remain as healthy? He credits his longevity to a healthy lifestyle in which he minimises stress and…

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More research needed to better guide policymakers and activists

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Dear Editor, Statistics show that Guyana was able to reduce the HIV/ AIDS figures. One could even go as far to say that we are winning the battle against the dreaded disease. But I believe that this progress has led to complacency at every level of dealing with the disease, and what is even worse is that even those who are infected do not seem to care much about taking the relevant treatment and to maintain a healthy lifestyle, etc. A few weeks ago we were told by no other…

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Motion to repeal Former President’s Act, grandstanding – Dr Luncheon

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Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr Roger Luncheon has dismissed moves by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Carl Greenidge to table a motion in the House to repeal the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act as grandstanding. “I can’t imagine a former minister, who served in some very difficult times, having lost the regard for due process,” he said. The HPS explained that there is nothing a parliamentary motion can do to amend or repeal extant legislation. The Former President’s (Benefits and Other…

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Playing with fire

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With the budget debate having commenced, we would like to highlight a clear and present danger that is being posed to the survival of our country because of inflammatory and opportunistic positions being taken on certain budgetary items. In most countries budgets are considered as dry and recondite matters. However, in our country because of our cleavages they can be literally incendiary because there are politicians willing to exacerbate those cleavages by claiming budgetary initiatives favour one group while sanctioning others. We will illustrate our concern with references to statements…

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Opposition proposals “unrealistic and overly ambitious” – Irfaan Ali

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Housing Minister Irfaan Ali has criticised some of the opposition proposals for this year’s budget, dubbing them unrealistic and overly ambitious. Speaking on the opening day of the budget debate, Ali warned that Guyana’s continued progress and development can easily be reversed by the proposed policies, poor economic vision and political ambitions of some members of the opposition who are seeking to score cheap political points, instead of “putting Guyana and the interest of its people first”. Ali, who led the government benches during the debate, said that Guyana can…

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Tremendous investment opportunities exist in Guyana – Nawbatt

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By Ron Cheong Recently appointed Guyana Consul General to Toronto Sattie Sawh has been accredited by the Canadian government, even as government has reduced its office space, and trimmed staff at its embassy in Ottawa. The news was delivered to Guyanese residing in Toronto by Guyana’s High Commissioner to Canada, Harrinarine Nawbatt during a trip to Canada last week. The wife of the late Satyadeow Sawh, a former agriculture minister, has extensive experience in the diplomatic arena, and was Guyana’s trade attaché in Toronto. The appointment has been well anticipated…

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Glitches in teachers’ multi-year

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President Donald Ramotar on Tuesday evening assured teachers that his government is committed to fulfilling the teachers’ multi-year package and to fixing the glitches that have dogged the process. Speaking in the presence of the re-elected Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) President Colin Bynoe and other stakeholders at the union’s third biennial delegates conference in Berbice on Tuesday, Ramotar said some of the unresolved issues experienced in the pact will be ironed out. “I know there are some concerns regarding the housing revolving fund and I am prepared to have the…

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