2012 – Page 21 – Guyana Times International

TT looking to establish dairy plants in Guyana

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

As Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago seek to develop projects that will assist in reducing the food import bill, both governments will continue talks to determine what initiatives will be best. In a recent visit by Trinidad Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj, and his delegation, the group identified specific plans that their country was hoping to implement in Guyana. Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International, said that Guyana is pleased that under the Jagdeo Initiative, the Trinidadian government has shown interest in establishing…

British national gets three years for trafficking cocaine in Marvex bottle

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Twenty-five-year-old British National Kwesi Headley was on Friday sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after he was found guilty of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. The penalty was handed down by Magistrate Leslie Sobers at the Providence Magistrates’ Court. Headley was slapped with the charge which stated that on October 7, 2010; he had 12.3 kilograms of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. During the trial, the prosecution maintained that on October 7, the convicted mule was about to board a Delta Airlines flight bound…

Rohee defends stewardship as minister

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Clement Rohee on Saturday defended his stewardship as home affairs minister, noting that there has been notable reforms as well as stability in the security sector since he assumed the portfolio in 2006. Rohee made the pronouncements while speaking during TVG’s Under the Microscope programme, which was aired on Saturday evening. His comments came in light of an ongoing battle in the National Assembly regarding a no-confidence motion the opposition used their one-seat majority to pass against him. The minister disclosed that when he took up the post of home…

U.S. professor outlines vision for University of Guyana

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat A well functioning and internationally respected University of Guyana can be built along the lines of the American system, but modified to suit Guyanese conditions, to attract scores of students from within the country and overseas, Professor Rory Fraser declared. He was at the time delivering a lecture on “University of Guyana: Transformed and Transcendent,” promoting his candidacy for vice chancellorship of the university. He said that recent exposure to the conditions at the university and interactions with staff members have provided him with the knowledge essential…

Gy$22.3M renovated Mibicuri Magistrate’s Court opens

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

The rehabilitated magistrate’s court at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder, Region Six was re-opened on Monday in the presence of President Donald Ramotar, who reiterated the call for expeditiousness in dealing with litigations. The Gy$22.3 million rehabilitated facility, which was in a derelict state before construction commenced in 2011, adds to the list of judicial facilities across the country earmarked for overhaul under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded justice sector modernisation programme. Government spent more than Gy$1.7 billion during 2011 for the continued development of the sector and this year,…

Guyana looking to tap into Canadian tourism market

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

A team from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has begun a series of meetings in Canada, as the government seeks to harness the tourism potential of the Canadian market. The first in a week-long series of engagements with businesses, travel agents, tour operators and media representatives was conducted recently at the Radisson Hotel, Toronto, and featured presentations from GTA’s Marketing Officer Nadine King and Communications Officer Chevon Singh. As efforts intensify to promote Destination Guyana, the focal point of the presentations was rooted in the importance of strategic marketing strategies,…

More overseas-based Guyanese returning home

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

A Guyanese diplomat says more Guyanese living in various countries in North America, the Caribbean and other parts of the world are now showing an interest in returning to their country of birth. Guyana’s Ambassador to Caricom and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Harper says an improvement in the economy has attracted more nationals to return home. “We are seeing a lot of our nationals coming back home who are not just retirees but people in their mid-thirties, forties who have lived abroad for some time…

Nobel Peace Prize winner salutes LCDS model

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Renowned climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was on Sunday installed as chairman of Guyana’s well-known international rainforest conservation, research and development centre, Iwokrama. The installation took place on the lawns of State House where a reception hosted by President Donald Ramotar was held for Dr Pachauri, who had earlier in the day travelled to the centre for a tour and meeting with the staff. The centre was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to…

New suitcase scanner to boost drug fight at Guyana’s main airport

November 30, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Amid a spike in drug seizures at the Cheddi Jagan Airport and evidence that several other shipments leave the country undetected, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Tuesday announced that it was installing a new suitcase scanner at the country’s main terminal in the new year. GRA Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur noted in a press release that the equipment has already been procured. Though different in nature, the x-ray scanner which targets imports will complement the existing scanner which targets the export of containerised cargo, particularly those destined for the…

Knock-off

November 29, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Satiricus was agog. He’d never seen anything like it before. He’d been sent to cover the goings on in Parliament by his editor. The regular hack had called in sick. Satiricus had more than a sneaking suspicion that the chap knew what was coming down and decided (wisely) – discretion was the better part of valour. But with all the screaming, yelling and finger pointing he’d been most shocked when, with an evil sneer on his face, Ram Jhaat Tan looked over his former colleagues’ benches and declared ‘we gon…