2012 – Page 71 – Guyana Times International

Works not stalled on Hope Canal Project – agriculture minister

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

International HIV/AIDS advocate and former Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Works are continuing on the Hope Canal project and if the contractor does not make the deadline, penalties will be applied; Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy told media operatives at a press conference held Tuesday at his Regent Street office. “Indeed, in terms of the construction of the canal which would include digging, earthen work construction of the firm… the shallow part you do not see continues… we have constructed the canal from the Crown Dam to the highway… that is as far as we can go right now from…

APNU protest police ‘harassment of youths’

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Tuesday hosted a peaceful picketing exercise at its Region Three office, in protest of police violence and harassment of youths in Pouderoyen, West Coast Demerara. APNU Member of Parliament Joseph Harmon said it has become a habit of police ranks to randomly pick up youths and harass them. Harmon said this has been happening over the past few months and youths in Pouderoyen continue to be arrested for loitering. “We are not against the police, but we are against police actions which are…

Ali demands apology from Caribbean Airlines for showing “controversial map”

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

A Caribbean Airlines flight operated by Omni Air International that showed Essequibo as a disputed territory on its flight monitor evoked angry protest from Guyanese passengers, including some government officials, forcing the crew to apologise mid-air on Saturday. The direct flight to Georgetown had originated in New York. Guyana Times International was told that the airline has been showing the controversial map on its monitor for some time now despite several objections. “This thing is very distasteful and smacks of disrespect to Guyanese and also the wider Caricom,” a passenger…

Police investigating double murder in St Lucia

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Police are investing two murders over the weekend even as the authorities said they had stepped up surveillance in hot spots across the island. Police said that taxi driver Victor Mortley, may have been killed during a botched robbery attempt at his home at Maynard Hill on Saturday, while 47-year old Fabien Joseph, an employee of a local security firm was shot at his workplace at Choc. A police report said that Joseph, who was off duty at the time of the incident, had entered the premises wearing a hooded…

Youth MPs debate use of social media

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Scores of schoolchildren turned up at the Princess International Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Wednesday afternoon to witness the opening of this year’s National Youth Parliament (NYP) debates. During the intense sessions, the government and the opposition sides of the House debated three motions, including one calling for legislation to stem the misuse and mischief associated with the use of social media given the sensitive socio-political nature of society. The latter was the main topic of the debates. Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira, who represented President Donald…

The Caribbean in Harlem

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

The discovery of a previously unknown novel by the Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay (1889-1890) brings to the fore, once again, the seminal role played by persons of Caribbean origin in shaping the Afro-America ethos – and the wider world. The manuscript, “Amiable With Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair Between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem,” written c1941, was dubbed “a major discovery,” by Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Harvard University scholar, “It dramatically expands the canon of novels written by Harlem Renaissance writers and,…

Teaching life skills

September 20, 2012December 28, 2012 TIMES INT'L

By Jainarine Deonauth It is a fact that youths today make up the larger part of the population of almost every country in the world. This presents certain challenges for policymakers to develop, implement, and maintain programmes and activities which must be economically and socially oriented to satisfy their (youths’) desires. It is also well known that the absence of well-thought-out programmes with respect to youth development impacts negatively on our young people, and sometimes even lead to them resigning themselves to lawlessness and other anti-social behaviours that are damaging…

Linden freak storm victims picking up the pieces

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

A number of residents at Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, are now trying to get back on their feet following a rain storm on Tuesday evening which damaged rooftops and caused one house to collapse. Speaking with Guyana Times International on Wednesday, one affected resident, Diana Plowell, who lives in a two-storey home with her family of six at Hopetown Square, Amelia’s Ward, said she is still trying to come to grips with the after effects of the storm, which was accompanied by heavy winds. The roof of the upper flat…

Guyana’s sugar industry on road to recovery

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

The sugar industry in Guyana is at present showing remarkable signs of revival as more estates are meeting their targets and workers are getting extra days’ pay. This was confirmed by President Donald Ramotar, who visited the Albion estate on Monday. Operations at the Skeldon factory, which has come in for flak in recent months, has improved considerably and the Head of State expressed the hope that by the end of the year, the problems that the factory suffered at the hands of Booker Tate (the firm that was initially…

Amaila Falls Project now set for due diligence

September 20, 2012 TIMES INT'L

Another crucial piece of documentation with regards to the financing of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFH) in Guyana, the Mandate Letter, has been signed and the Inter- American Development Bank is now expected to proceed with the final phase of due diligence, with financing arrangements expected to be completed within nine months. “The signing of the Mandate Letter between the IDB and AFH represents a critical piece of the project financing scheme. This significant step forward allows the lenders of the project (IDB and China Development Bank) to proceed…