Dear Editor, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was recognised in a most worthy manner, receiving honorary membership for life, by the Everest Cricket Club (ECC). The president of the ECC conferred the membership during a simple ceremony on the pavilion of the club. The former world number one ranked Test batsman is the first person to be given ‘Honorary Membership for Life’ by the club. Chanderpaul is a veteran of 144 Test matches and is currently the region’s second highest Test runs-scorer (10,342 runs at an average of 50.20 with 25 centuries). In…
Read MoreYear: 2012
Guyanese in NY regard Yash Chopra as a true icon
Dear Editor, Bollywood movie producer and director Yash Chopra, 80, who gave us in Guyana so many popular movies, died on Sunday, October 21 and was cremated in Mumbai. Some of us, Guyanese in New York, were fortunate to meet him in NY a few years ago. Those of us who visited Bollywood also visited his film studio. I met him about 12 years ago in Manhattan at the release of a film. Shri Chopra is an icon in the movie industry in India having produced and or directed hundreds…
Read MorePoseur and Fake
One of the problems with the present crop of lawyers is their very cobbled and cribbed exposure to concepts outside a most narrowly definition of ‘law’. Take the resuscitated case where Freddie Kissoon accuses former President Jagdeo of ‘ideological racism’. From the onset the president’s lawyer (the attorney general) should have interrogated Kissoon’s usage of the term ‘ideological racism’. And he could have shown that the president – under Kissoon’s definition – could have absolutely no responsibility, even if any racist acts could have been shown. Finally it took Kissoon’s…
Read MoreDeodat Sharma confirmed as Auditor General
Deodat Tudeshwar Persaud Sharma was on Wednesday sworn in to the substantive position of Auditor General of Guyana by President Donald Ramotar at the Office of the President. Mr. Sharma had been acting in that position for the past seven years. Extending congratulations to the newly appointed Auditor General, President Ramotar stated that, “He has been acting in this position for a while and I have no doubt, he had already demonstrated that he’s been doing his work without fear or favour. I expect that he will continue in the…
Read More80 Berbicians trained in disaster risk management
Eighty representatives from both government and non-governmental organisations have completed training in shelter management, damage assessment, and emergency operations centre management, courtesy of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). The training for regional representatives was conducted recently in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region Six. The CDC has reported that 30 persons were trained as emergency shelter managers; 26 in damage assessment and 24 as emergency operations centre managers. The training concluded with evaluation and other exercises which were used as tools to measure the participants’ understanding of…
Read MoreIDB boosts whistleblower protection, unveils new ethics code
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a new code of ethics for its employees and further bolstered protection for whistleblowers, maintaining the bank’s alignment with international best practices. The new code of ethics and professional conduct uses more approachable and inclusive language and includes new subject areas, such as the use of social media, and provides better guidance on themes such as respect in the workplace and duties of supervisors. The code establishes the IDB’s core values and guiding principles for employees, including their obligations as international civil servants. All…
Read MoreForeign investors keen on investing in local housing market
A two-man investor team on Wednesday met with Housing Minister Irfaan Ali for preliminary discussions about their potential investment in the local low-cost housing market. The meeting stemmed from initial interest expressed by the Suriname based China Dalian Investment Corporation Holding (CDICH) Ltd Company following the Building Expo held earlier this year, according the minister. The investors are seeking to build low-cost, but stylish homes, particularly within the East bank Demerara area and Region 3. Minister Ali said that the aim is to expand housing in the afore-mentioned areas with…
Read MoreNew polls no solution to parliamentary uncertainties – HPS
Opposition machinations, the Speaker’s counter-machinations and the Administration’s resolute Parliamentary work have made the sittings of the National Assembly an exercise of great uncertainty and unbelievable spectacle, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said on Wednesday. He was at the time responding to a question regarding the extent to which Government would be willing to continue to entertain the situation; or whether the administration is getting closer to the point where going back to the polls would end the uncertainties. He explained that the two…
Read MoreA “solutions bank”
By Jainarine Deonauth On October 12, President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, was reported as telling shareholders he wants the institution to become a “solutions bank” that can work with partners and help “bend the arc of history” to eliminate extreme poverty. “Let me be clear, when I say we will be a solutions bank, I do not mean to suggest that we have ready-made solutions for every development problem. We do not, nor is this our goal,” said Kim. He said that through decades of development work…
Read MoreTwo Hurricanes
The Caribbean is probably as famous for its hurricanes as for its pirates. Both phenomena packed quite some punch, but while the latter has faded away, the former seems to be intensifying it impact both in destruction and spread. It has been suggested that Climate Change might have something to do with this. Fuelled by moist air rising off warm water, hurricanes rampage through the Caribbean starting in the middle of the year, with some of them hitting the Gulf states and Florida before proceeding slowing down north up the…
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