June 2017 – Guyana Times International

Self-harm initiative to further reduce suicide prevalence – Mental Health Unit Director

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Mental Health Unit Director, Dr Util Richmond-Thomas said that owing to the alarming number of self-harm cases, the decision has been taken to launch “The National Self-Harm Surveillance” project come July. “If we can get the majority of self-harm and depression cases treated, we can drastically reduce the suicide rate,” the Director was quoted as saying in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA). Self-harming cases are also known as non-suicidal self-injury. Dr Richmond-Thomas explained that in Region Three (West Demerara-Essequibo Islands) alone, 93 self-harm cases have already been…

ExxonMobil contracts Dutch company to install, operate floating base

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

ExxonMobil, the US-based oil giant gearing for production offshore Guyana, has handed a major contract to a Dutch based company to install and operate its floating producing and storage base for its Liza oil field in Guyana. The company — SBM Offshore –made the official announcement on Monday saying under the contract it will construct, install, lease and operate a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel (FPSO). This follows completion of front-end engineering studies and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil, according to the company. The FPSO…

Man “accidentally” shoots wife in stomach

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

– while clearing firearm A housewife of Bougainvillea Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD) is nursing a single gunshot injury at the Georgetown Public Hospital after her husband’s gun “accidentally” went off. The incident occurred about 02:30h on Monday. This newspaper understands that the 50-year-old victim and her 60-year-old husband had just returned from a function and upon entering the house, the woman went to take a shower. As she was done, she went into the bedroom and upon doing so, she heard an explosion followed by a burning sensation in…

Citizens dissatisfied with Govt’s handling of oil

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, An opinion poll conducted earlier this month by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association to gauge public views on varied contemporary issues found a population very dissatisfied with Government’s handling of the oil contract, economy, sugar and rice industries, crime, corruption, race relations, and several other issues considered critical to national development. The composition of the respondents (430) reflected the general demographic diversity of the population (41 per cent Indians, 31 per cent Africans, 17 per cent Mixed, 10 per cent Amerindians, one per cent others). The poll…

Trotman should apologise for his despicable behaviour in Parliament

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, I watch the news often, but was shocked and flabbergasted when I saw the recent behaviour of Minister Raphael Trotman in Parliament. In that debate, Trotman’s behaviour towards former President Bharrat Jagdeo was very disrespectful. His tone of voice and his arrogance leaves much to be desired. He behaves as if his Coalition Government will rule forever, and he is some sort of a God, holding power forever. Though Mr Trotman was raving and ranting like a delirious man, the Speaker of the House failed to dispense his…

Should citizens not be worried about municipal officials wasting scarce resources?

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, There has quite recently been much rumpus about the Government of Guyana renting a five-bedroom house for G$500,000 per month for a junior minister, along with covering unlimited VAT, inclusive of electricity consumption. And one can understand why, as the Government is calling on the citizens to tighten their belts, to conserve and to reuse stationery, etc. But, quite frankly, this opulence pales in comparison to the overindulgence occurring at City Hall. How could one cry out for paying G$500,000 per month for a luxurious mansion in a…

One dead, 2 others being treated following bee attack at Imbaimadai

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Donald McIntosh is now dead, and Raymond Oselmo and Tyrone Charles are being treated for stings they received after being attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees at Imbaimadai, Region Seven, on Tuesday last. The three miners were reportedly driving an excavator along a trail in the Imbaimadai area when they encountered a tree that blocked their path. They used the excavator to push down the tree, but were attacked by swarms of Africanized bees that were inhabiting a hive in the tree. Panicking, McIntosh allegedly ran into the nest…

Guyana’s TIP rating jumps to Tier 1

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Guyana can now boast as a country that has made headway in the fight against Trafficking in Persons (TIP), according to the newly released US State Department Trafficking in Persons 2017 Report. The report bumps Guyana from Tier 2 to Tier 1 on the TIP Index. The upgrade means that the country has been able to implement the recommendations made in the 2016 report and satisfied the minimum requirements of the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected…

No solid grounds for dismissing James Singh

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Permit me to register my concern and disappointment on a matter in which I am of the view that it is deemed worrying, in respect to the future political directional dimension our country is heading. This reference is specific to the unjust and unfair egregious politically motivated act of the manner in which the now former head of CANU, James Singh, was relieved of his duties – a portfolio which he held for almost a decade. During his tenure, he executed his mandate in the highest degree of professionalism and…

Indigenous Lands

June 30, 2017 TIMES INT'L

Even as President David Granger attempted to defuse the outrage of the Indigenous Peoples to his arbitrary decision to link their land rights in Guyana to land titling issues faced by African Guyanese, the lawyer who was hired to play leading technical role in drafting the 2006 Amerindian Act has now thrown a monkey wrench into a possible consensus by declaring that “Indigenous Peoples” is a controversial and very divisive concept, and land claims made on that basis are somehow undermined. She claims the UN has debated the use of…