Year: 2017

…suspect arrested Nearly one month after the battered body of Richard Ishmael school teacher, Kescia Branche was found, the DNA samples taken from the now deceased 22-year-old are yet to be sent overseas for testing. “It has not been sent as yet. It will be sent soon,” acting Top Cop, David Ramnarine asserted on Wednesday during a side interview with the press at the Marriott Hotel. Further, he said that a suspect who had left the country the day that Branche’s body was found has returned to Guyana and is…

Seventy-two-year-old Desmond Hugh Trotman, a former Member of Parliament, took the oath of Office on Friday at State House as the new commissioner at the Guyana Elections Commission, following the demise of Sandra Jones. At the swearing-in ceremony, President David Granger said he had consulted all the parties in the coalition Administration, and had requested that they submit nominees for the position. The Working Peoples Alliance (WPA) submitted Trotman, while the Alliance For Change submitted former Member of Parliament Trevor Williams, and the People’s National Congress and the other coalition…

While women make up 30 per cent of the Guyanese workforce and make significant contributions to society, there is not a single policy initiative that has been included in Budget 2018 that caters for their needs, future development and advancement on a personal or professional level. This is the view expressed by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) and Shadow Social Protection Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud, who expressed grave disappointment in Government for totally “sidelining” women in its financial plans, something she said has happened before. But the MP told the…

…due to insufficient evidence Former Policeman Ravinand Bissessar, who was accused of causing the death of 10-year-old Davin Sealey by way of dangerous driving on May 15, 2016, was freed of the charge at the Wales Magistrate’s Court. The charge was dismissed by a West Demerara Magistrate on November 16 owing to insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution. Police, however, noted that Bissessar pleaded guilty to a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol charge. Police reports stated that on the day in question, Bissessar, who had been attached to…

…Police begin search As the blame game continues as to who is responsible for rescuing the 12-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted and taken to a “ganja” farm along the Berbice River, Police have been dispatched to the area. The story of the missing teen came to light after several sections of the media reported her mother’s plight in finding her. For months, the mother had been engaging the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) and the Police in a bid to find her daughter, but to no avail. On…

Weeks after acting Chief Justice Roxane George ruled against an application to quash Government’s move to close the East Demerara and Rose Hall Estates, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) are moving to challenge the ruling in the Appeal Court. This was confirmed by GAWU President Komal Chand, who told this publication on Tuesday that the unions were of the view that the acting Chief Justice “erred” in denying the application. This contention, according to Chand, will…