Year: 2017

While the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had made some general remarks regarding the work of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has clarified that the Party still has confidence in the body although it did not agree with all of the reports. During a recent press conference, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had expressed that she had ‘no confidence’ in the PPC, since she believed that a thorough probe would not be conducted into the award of a contract to Dutch company LievenseCSO for a feasibility…

Read More

…as Guyana’s public debt increases to Gy$330B As Guyana’s debt continues to rise, there have been some concerns in several quarters of society that the coalition Government’s spending is spiralling out of control and should be better managed, or the country could be faced with insurmountable challenges in years to come. Russia-trained economist and political commentator Ramon Gaskin is one of those persons who believe that the current Administration needs to do a better job at handling its financial affairs. Although debt has been an issue for many years, Gaskin…

Read More

Government has postponed closure of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate from end of 2017 to sometime in 2018, and the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) is urging the administration to make this position permanent, so as to allow workers to keep their jobs. GAWU President, Komal Chand, gave reasons for this proposal, stating that even during discussions with the Special Purposes Unit (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), consensus was arrived at that the best position was to keep the estates open. “We feel…

Read More

– selection to be completed by mid-December As Government moves ahead with plans to privatise and diversify the sugar industry, three firms who met the deadline for tender for International Financial Services Provider all made presentations to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) evaluation team. Head of the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) under NICIL, Colvin Heath-London said the second stage in the process of selecting an International Financial Services Provider was conducted on Monday at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. The SPU is expected to announce a selection…

Read More

Recommendations are being made for Guyana’s Judiciary to follow the lead of other jurisdictions, including the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which has crafted new strategies in line with international best practice. Making these recommendations was CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron, who was at the time addressing the Guyana Bar Association. According to Byron, several complaints are usually levelled against the performances of judiciaries, the most common of which are the inordinate delays for trials to start, low performance and efficiency, high costs of court operations, and the public’s lack…

Read More

– as first Children’s Forum hosted The prevalence of social issues in all regions of Guyana is likely to be addressed in a swift manner, as children representing schools and communities in various regions across the country took the opportunity to voice their concerns at the first Children’s Forum held on Monday. Held in observance of Universal Children’s Day, the event was hosted by the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), through the Ministry of Social Protection, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).…

Read More

Grief-stricken family members and friends of the late Kescia Branche tearfully bade her farewell last Saturday. The 22-year-old teacher of the Richard Ishmael Secondary School died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) two days after her battered body was discovered lying at the corner of Princess Street and Lousia Row in Georgetown on the morning of November 5. The cause of her demise has been determined as brain haemorrhaging and blunt trauma to the head. At her ‘home-going’ ceremony, those who knew Branche reflected on her life, while others made…

Read More

Following the launch of the Excise Tax Stamp programme recently, Customs Officers of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) have already placed the first set of Excise Tax Stamps on imported alcohol at local outlets. According to the GRA, this process has been implemented to ensure that all duties and taxes are paid on imported alcohol and tobacco and to verify that these products are legal and safe to consume. As such, all “importers and retailers of alcohol and tobacco products are required to stamp each bottle of alcohol (excluding beers)…

Read More

In its pursuit to promote research findings by doctors at the post-graduate level, the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) held its tenth Annual Medical-Scientific Conference at the Ramada Princess Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara last Sunday. This allowed doctors the opportunity to present their research findings to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) administration and those responsible for managerial changes. Director of the Institute of Health Sciences Education, Dr. Alexandra Harvey, said she was happy to be able to continue providing a forum for local healthcare practitioners to…

Read More

…Opposition says Agency being run by “political hacks” Although the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) has been accused of being politically biased, the Head of that agency has rejected those claims, stating that there was no evidence to prove that was true. Professor Dr Clive Thomas said he recognised that there have been some concerns raised regarding that very issue, but asserted: “We have not gone after any political person. There is no evidence of that.” While recognising that SARA has also been heavily criticised for its work, the Head…

Read More