President busy creating diversions to protect Ministers from public scrutiny –Rohee

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government is facing mounting criticisms over a number of contracts and other deals which many consider to be “shady” or “questionable” transactions, leading to fresh accusations that the 18-month-old Administration is mired in corruption. The most recent broadside came from People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Clement Rohee, who lambasted President David Granger who he said was busy trying to create diversions to protect his Ministers from public scrutiny. “When Mr Granger said there was corruption in the Private Sector, he…

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No shame..

…on warehouse graft It’s clear there are elements in this government who have no shame. None! But then you’ll always find such miscreants in any random collection of folks. And when that collection isn’t random, but those who seek “government wuk”, the “shameless quotient” jumps by a factor of at least 10! Anyhow, that was the reaction of your usually stolid Eyewitness when he heard the Junior Minister of Health declaring the Bottom House Warehouse hasn’t been nixed – it’s actually been receiving government drugs!! Shameless! At the final handing…

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Guyana publishes booklet on 117th anniversary of 1899 Arbitral Award

The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Guyana on Tuesday condemned a statement by the Venezuelan Government on 117th anniversary of the 1899 Arbitral Award handed down in Paris regarding the border controversy between Guyana and that country. A statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Guyana said Venezuela marked the occasion with an insulting statement unworthy of a law abiding member of the international community. “Its statement is a reaffirmation of Venezuela’s disrespect for the rule of law among nations. It is a frenzied display of ill temper from forces with…

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Carmen Jarvis launches autobiography ‘From Seedtime to Harvest’

President David Granger, last evening, attended the launch of an autobiography of 91-year-old Ms. Carmen Jarvis entitled “From Seedtime to Harvest”. The book’s title was adopted from the lyrics of The Bishop’s High School’s song where she was a student and later head teacher. The event was held at the Georgetown Club. Delivering brief remarks, President Granger shared fond recollections of a young Ms. Jarvis with whom he worked in the 1990s on two publications; the ‘Guyana Historical Journal’ and the ‘History Gazette’. He said that without her support these…

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Joe Singh to investigate corruption allegations against broadcast authority members

The Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the investigations into the allegations of corruption and misconduct madeby Kenwin Charles against members of the Guyana National Broadcasting Association (GNBA) Board were on Wednesday handed over to Major General (Retired) Joe Singh, MMS, by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at his office at the Ministry of the Presidency. Major General Singh will conduct an inquiry into the allegations, and is expected to submit his report to the Prime Minister of Guyana by October 31, 2016. Minister Harmon, in a brief statement, said that…

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Caribbean innovators urged to take advantage of World Bank funding project

CMC – Climate change innovators in the Caribbean can access funding to develop their projects through the World Bank’s Entrepreneurship Programme for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC). These innovations include clean technologies in energy, water, agriculture, transport, among other areas, that are designed to mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change. “There are many opportunities for Jamaicans and the rest of the Caribbean to utilise climate change to increase employment, economic development and sustainability,” said Karlene Francis, the Operations Officer at the World Bank. Francis said that beneficiaries…

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Exploring wild Guyana

Biologist reminisces of his work and discoveries in Guyana’s interior Uncovering new species of amphibians and reptiles in Guyana, some found nowhere else in the world, Philippe J. R. Kok, a “taxon-oriented scientist”, is certainly someone you would enjoy chatting with. The 45-year-old holds a PhD in Biology. He was born in the (Democratic Republic of Congo, where his father was a medical doctor for the Kilomoto mines. Philippe has been working for more than 20 years as a research associate at the Royal Belgian Institute of Naturals Sciences, and…

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Youth Development Initiative rolled out at Lusignan Primary School

First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, yesterday, said that she was optimistic about the impact that the Lusignan Youth Development Initiative will have on its beneficiaries, at a simple opening ceremony, held at the Lusignan Primary School. Mrs. Granger said that the initiative was birthed from an idea she had about involving parents in the delivery of education to their children. The first project under this initiative was introduced last year in Buxton at the Buxton/Friendship Primary School.  “I have to say, based on the results in Buxton, I have high…

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PLANTATION NAMES

Part I British historian James Rodway (1848 -1926) wrote regularly about the colony of British Guiana, from which today we are able to learn of many aspects of our early history. One such is the story behind the names of many of the plantations of the day that have now become our towns, villages and neighbourhoods. Here is an edited excerpt of his essay entitled, “The Names of our Plantations”, published in the Timehri: the journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana (1911). The estates that…

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Guyana’s UK greenheart market in jeopardy

The United Kingdom Government has made a decision to cease the importation of greenheart from Guyana on the grounds that the logs are not coming from sustainably managed forests, a move which has left both the local private sector and government contemplating their next move. The decision is costing Guyana millions in revenue, since greenheart accounts for 90 per cent of exports to the UK. The trade took a drastic nose-dive in 2014 all the way to August, 2016. It has been reported that in 2015 there was a 65…

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