Just over a week after the April Demerara Assizes opened, the first trial commenced on Wednesday and after approximately one hour into the hearing, the matter was adjourned for sentencing. Wilson Chan, 62, appeared in Court Five of the Supreme Court for the commencement of the trial into the murder charge against him. The matter was called before Justice Franklyn Holder, who is one of the two judges presiding over the April Demerara Assizes. The indictable charge against Chan stated that between September 10 and October 17, 2007, he murdered…
Read MoreYear: 2012
Five Venezuelan youths jailed for robbery
Five Venezuelan young men were sentenced on Tuesday by Magistrate Allan Wilson after they pleaded guilty to the charges of robbery brought against them. Josua Medina, Jhosmel Eurealuces, Jhon Andeszo Munoz Marcano, Ramon Bermudez and Jonathan Beuitez all appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to five counts of robbery under arms. However Medina was additionally slapped with two charges; possession of a fire arm without being the holder of a licence and possession of ammunition without being the holder of a licence. Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield stated that on…
Read MoreGPHC corrects misleading KN hydroclave article
The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has responded to an article on the hydroclave project, saying that it was not involved in the procurement of the machine, and also corrected a number of inaccuracies in the newspaper’s report. In a statement on Wednesday referencing a Kaieteur News article on Sunday captioned “Huge difference in cost – quotation from the same company shows almost half the price”, the GPHC said that it was not involved in the procurement of the machine. “The procurement was in fact handled by the Health Sector…
Read MoreGuyana makes oral presentation to UN – on continental shelf extension
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;…
Read MoreLeaders must continue engagements in relation to reforming GECOM
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…
Read MoreNGOs making
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…
Read MoreThe story of Manohar Aich
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…
Read MoreMore research needed to better guide policymakers and activists
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…
Read MoreMotion to repeal Former President’s Act, grandstanding – Dr Luncheon
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…
Read MorePlaying with fire
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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