Month: July 2013

Using our resources

TIMES INT'L

It’s the holidays: most of us are off having fun, trying to unwind after a tough year at school. None of us are really thinking about school work, textbooks, or assignments. Most of us wait to do our holiday assignments the week before school reopens anyway. Some of us may have already received our reports from last year while the rest of us are still waiting for ours. CSEC and CAPE students are expecting their results early next month. Based on our results we’ll either be allowed to move forward…

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Preliminary works on Rodney inquiry underway

TIMES INT'L

As preliminary work begins for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the assassination of political activist and historian Dr Walter Rodney, the Family Court has been identified as the headquarters. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who made the announcement at a post-Cabinet media briefing Wednesday, said funds will be appropriated for the resources the commission needs to carry out its mandate. “Such activities include the collection of data from the variety of sources that have historically been involved in review and judicial revises in some cases, parliamentary…

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PPP/C wants local gov’t elections – Ramotar

TIMES INT'L

President Donald Ramotar said it not the lack of political will on the part of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) administration that local government elections were not held in Guyana since 1994, as he expressed hope for the passage of the four bills that are currently pending in the National Assembly. On Monday, the president said in an interview that despite talks of transparency and compromise by the parliamentary opposition, they have been showing an extraordinary level of inflexibility and are now attempting to change many of the…

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Political opposition or obstruction? – a perspective by Harry Gill (Part 1)

TIMES INT'L

The former British prime minister, the great Sir Winston Churchill once said, “The duty of the opposition is to oppose.” There is no doubt that to oppose is part of keeping the administration accountable for its actions. Ensuring checks and balances is fundamental to democracy. The opposition’s main role is to expose weaknesses in government policies and remain a vigilant watchdog over the action and inaction of the government by playing the oversight role: ensuring that the actions of government are in the best interest of the people. The two…

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More tourist arrivals expected in Guyana during July-August season

TIMES INT'L

Guyana is anticipated to surpass tourists’ influx into the country for the July-August season compared to last year, despite the exit of Delta Airlines. During an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International, Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Indranauth Haralsingh said the highest number of tourists was recorded in July last year as the country received 24,000 visitors while in August that year, the number was 22,000 visitors. “This year, because of the Limacol CPL and other planned activities such as Jamzone and celebrity artistes coming to Guyana, we are looking…

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Disaster Risk Management – Early Detection

TIMES INT'L

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) natural disaster risk management specialist, Dr Cassandra Rogers said Caribbean governments have traditionally placed tremendous emphasis on disaster response, rather than early identification and risk detection. She explained that the IDB has developed a Risk Management Index (RMI), which measures the performance of countries in terms of their progress in disaster risk management. According to Dr Rogers, this was highlighted in data from a 2010 study on the RMI, which revealed the placement of 23 of 26 countries, which have a borrowing relationship with the bank,…

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Malala’s inspiring story

TIMES INT'L

The words of Malala Yousafzai at a recent United Nations (UN) meeting in New York continue to ring throughout the world: “I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights – their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, and their right to be educated.” Malala Yousafzai…

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USAID launches project to strengthen Parliament

TIMES INT'L

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded International Republican Institute (IRI) officially launched the Guyana Leadership and Democracy Programme (LEAD) project on Wednesday evening, which is expected to bolster the functioning of the National Assembly. The project, which was launched at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown, will focus on fortifying the National Assembly by encouraging consensus building; and working with civil society and the public to boost citizens’ engagement with the National Assembly and all parties to support the legislature’s role as an effective deliberative body. Speaking at the…

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Ogle Airport opens to regional flights

TIMES INT'L

By Sabatini Daniels – LIAT Airlines landed its inaugural official flight at the Ogle International Airport on Monday at 15: 30h which departed Grantley Adams International Airport at 12: 30h filled to capacity. Present to witness touchdown of the 50-seater Dash 8 aircraft was Transport Minister Robeson Benn, who stated that one of the barriers for the Caribbean has been regional connections. He noted that LIAT’s operation out of Ogle will help to address this issue. “So, not only are we resolving the problem with respect to Ogle and the…

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