In a recent press release, the Government of Guyana says it welcomes the statement made by CARICOM Heads of Government following their recent meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the Anti-Money Laundering Legislation before the Parliament. In the Statement, the regional body stressed the negative impact which the failure by Guyana to enact the Bill would have on its national economy and the consequential implications for the wider region. The CARICOM statement recognises the grave perils that loom before Guyana and the Caribbean should the CFATF recommendations not…
Read MoreYear: 2014
No VAT exemption for City Hall – Sattaur
Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur has lashed out at the request made by Mayor and City Council Finance Committee Chairman Junior Garrett seeking VAT exemption from the city’s expenses. Last week, during the council’s Gy$2.5 billion 2014 budget presentation, Garrett had claimed that the council was losing millions of dollars by having to remit all of its money in VAT to the GRA, and had called on government to excuse the entity from paying the required consumption fees. However, when contacted on Monday, the Commissioner General said…
Read MoreWoman detained for husband’s death released
– autopsy proves he bled to death The woman detained by police for the death of her common-law husband was on Monday evening released, after an autopsy on his body proved that he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to incised wounds caused by self-inflicted injury. Yonette Gumbs, of 1525 Onderneeming, Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, had been detained after her spouse, Dennis Harris died minutes after injuring himself on Thursday evening. The woman’s release came hours after the post-mortem examination performed by Dr Nehaul Singh at…
Read MoreU.S. bank sponsors women forum on mentorship
Guyanese women last Saturday joined together for the seventh annual Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk, part of a global movement to inspire a rising generation through mentorship. Held on International Women’s Day and sponsored globally by Bank of America, the mentoring walk convened established women leaders and emerging women leaders to walk together in their community. According to a U.S. embassy release, the event in Georgetown was one of more than 40 mentoring walks taking place around the world, as part of a global movement to highlight the importance of…
Read MoreGuyanese Simona Broomes leading the fight against TIP
“When we help countries to prosecute traffickers, we are strengthening the rule of law. When we bring victims out of exploitation, we are helping to create more stable and productive communities. When we stop this crime from happening in the first place, we are preventing the abuse of those who are victimised as well as the ripple effect that caused damage throughout communities into our broader environment and which corrupt global supply chains.” These were the words of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, minutes before he recognised Guyanese Simona…
Read MoreCaricom Chairman intervenes in Guyana law students’ debacle
Caricom Chairman, Dr Ralph Gonsalves is to write the University of the West Indies Council for Legal Education on the impasse over Guyanese law students being accepted at the Trinidad-based Hugh Wooding Law School. The move comes days after the Council for Legal Education stated that it will not be guaranteeing any of the 25 places usually offered to Guyanese students at the end of the degree programme at the Turkeyen Campus of the University of Guyana (UG). As part of an age-old agreement between the Council and UG, every…
Read More21-year-old man succumbs to gunshot injuries
A Good Hope, East Coast Demerara family was plunged into sadness and mourning on Monday when 21-year-old Inshan Ramlakhan succumbed to his gunshot injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Ramlakhan was shot last Thursday during a robbery in the vicinity of Conversation Tree, just outside Georgetown. He was shot to the left chest just above the heart; however, the bullet travelled through his body causing damage to his spine and lung. The perpetrator managed to relieve the injured man of his cellphone before making good his escape. Inshan’s brother, Ravi,…
Read MoreVenezuelan state-owned airline increasing flights to Guyana
The Venezuelan state-owned airline, Conviasa, will be increasing its flights to and from Guyana, Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira said. Speaking at a post-Cabinet briefing last Friday, at the Office of the President in Georgetown, Teixeira disclosed that Cabinet has approved the airline’s request to upgrade its non-scheduled air services on the Puerto Ordaz-Georgetown-Puerto Ordaz routes. The non-scheduled flights are to occur twice a week to Guyana, arrangements for which will be worked out by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Presidential Advisor said. The airline began flights…
Read MoreGuyanese die in St Vincent cargo vessel
A Guyanese crewman is dead and another critical after falling ill on a St Vincent-registered vessel which left Guyana for St Lucia last Thursday. In a statement, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) said the St Vincent and the Grenadines registered ship – MV LADY ZAI departed Georgetown on Thursday, March 6. On board were 10 Guyanese crew members and a consignment of cargo in bulk, with its destination being the island of St Lucia. According to MARAD, when the general cargo vessel, which reportedly belongs to KB Enterprise of Guyana,…
Read MoreLocal democracy is important
Dear Editor, The vast majority of the population want an early election. At present they are looking on from the outside, since no local government elections were held for the past 17 years. The existing Constitution says that local government elections must be held every three years for councillors, mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice-chairmen for the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), and every year there must be election for mayors, deputy, chairmen and vice-chairmen among the councillors. We feel, however, that no local government body is likely to be viable…
Read More