Year: 2014

Members of the legal fraternity in Guyana have weighed in on the Rabi Sukul controversy, describing the incident as unfortunate and a slap in the face of the country’s judicial integrity. Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall when asked whether the court matter involving Sukul was ongoing in the UK at the time he was appointed as a judge at the Court of Appeal in Guyana last July, Nandlall said “it appeared so”. The attorney general explained that the appointment of judges is done by the president, based…

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Times Notebook is concerned that opposition politicians have descended into blackmail politics in a treacherous political agenda designed to grab power through the backdoor. The opposition leader is blackmailing the president when he insists that he will not support the appointments of the acting chief justice and the acting chancellor of the judiciary. It is blackmail politics intended to intimidate the chief justice and the chancellor who have proven that they would make judgments in accordance with the law. Blackmail politics was used by the A Partnership for National Unity…

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The Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches (FGF), one of the leading Christian denominations in Guyana, is celebrating its 50th year of existence. The year-long activities planned to coincide with the fellowship’s Golden Jubilee anniversary were officially launched last Saturday with a prayer breakfast held at the Marian Academy located on Carifesta Avenue. Among the hundreds in attendance were Prime Minister Sam Hinds, Opposition Leader David Granger, Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman, other political leaders and heads of various Christian denominations in Guyana. Presenting the fellowship’s history was Professor…

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Caricom has appointed Surinamese national Manorma Soeknandan as its new deputy secretary general, the secretariat announced on Wednesday. Ambassador Soeknandan assumed duties at the Caricom Secretariat on February 1. She succeeds Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite. A familiar figure in the community, Ambassador Soeknandan served as resident ambassador of the Republic of Suriname to Guyana from 2001 to January 2013.  She was accredited as that nation’s ambassador to Caricom and to Jamaica in January 2002. During her tenure as resident ambassador in Guyana, she became the dean of the diplomatic corps. She…

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Acting tourism Minister Irfaan Ali has expressed the view that the tourism sector has the capacity to become the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as becoming the largest source of employment in Guyana. Speaking at the 11th meeting of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) held at the Office of the President on Thursday, the minister said tourism cross-cuts every other sector and all Guyanese need to embrace it as a source of national pride and patriotism. He added that government is fully supportive of the…

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Acting Local Government and Regional Development Minister Norman Whittaker said he will not approve the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) budget for 2014, which is currently at his office for review. Speaking with Guyana Times International on Tuesday, Whittaker said he will not approve the financial estimates for the cash-strapped council because of the heavy deficit and a number of other reasons. Whittaker told this publication that not only is the budget a deficit, but it also lacks the assent of Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene.…

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Former Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud, who was encouraged to resign and whose seat in Parliament now is in the balance, has landed himself a job with the Health Ministry, working with the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS). Persaud had resigned as a minister, citing personal reasons amid allegations of misconduct. At the time, however, he did not indicate whether he will also resign as a parliamentarian. Guyana Times International was told that for the next three months, Persaud will coordinate a survey on behavioural change for NAPS. Persaud’s new…

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– but stringent security measures still in place The threat level at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has been lowered, according to the entity’s Public Relations Officer Anneka Edwards. The CJIA in a release on Monday evening explained that despite the threat level being lowered, stringent security measures still remain in place to ensure the safety of passengers. Last week, a call was received at the Barbados office of Caribbean Airlines (CAL) where the threat was delivered against a specific Caribbean Airlines flight scheduled for departure from Guyana on…

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