Year: 2017

Foreign Service Officers benefit from orientation programme

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The Foreign Affairs Ministry concluded a five-day orientation programme for newly-recruited Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) last Friday at the Roraima Duke Lodge in Kingston, Georgetown. Each day senior officials from the Ministry as well as national diplomats, among others, delivered a series of presentations to enrich each FSO’s understanding of Guyana’s foreign policy, the Ministry’s mission and responsibilities, diplomatic protocol and etiquette, among other topics. Director of the Foreign Service Institute, Ambassador Ronald Austin, noted that “it was a very important exercise in that it was an opportunity for the…

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Youman Nabi to be observed on Dec 1

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The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) has on Monday advised that the Muslim festival of Youman Nabi will this year be observed on Friday, December 1. This is because the moon signalling the commencement of the third Islamic month of Rabi’ al-awwal has not yet been sighted, thereby confirming that date for the observation. Youman Nabi, also known as Mawlid al Nabi, is the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, the Founding Prophet of Islam. Although Islam claims earlier prophets all the way back to Adam, the…

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Region 9 communities receive Gy$2.6M in grants for development projects

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Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, on Friday last handed over the sum of Gy$2.6 million in community grants to the villages of Kwatamang, Rupertee, and Fair View in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), to facilitate the undertaking of green, sustainable projects under the Presidential Grant Fund. Kwatamang and Rupertree each received Gy$800,000, for construction of a community centre and a sanitary block respectively; while a sum of Gy$1,000,000 was presented to Fairview for the construction of a Village Office. Toshao and representative of the Fair View community, Lucy Marslow,…

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US$20M Exxon signing bonus: Jagdeo says Govt should resign if info provided proves true

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…Promises to place issue on front burner until truth revealed One week after making a commitment to inquire from ExxonMobil whether a multi-million-dollar signing bonus was indeed paid to the Government, Opposition Leader, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo says he has information that can reasonably confirm the allegation despite several Government Ministers having pleaded ignorance to this particular issue. Jagdeo noted that while he does not have any documents to support his claims, he has enough information to confirm that the Government received the money. “They received this money it seems almost…

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Bishops’ High School teacher accused of sexual grooming

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…denies allegations but admits to dating former students …protesters call for head teacher’s dismissal Several activists and members of civil society took to the streets on Tuesday, calling for the sacking of Winifred Ellis, Headmistress of The Bishops’ High School, following her alleged derogatory remarks aimed at female students. Her remarks came in light of the recent widely-publicised sexual assault allegations against a male teacher of the school, to which she allegedly turned a blind eye. The Education Ministry has launched a full-fledged investigation into the appalling allegations that Bishops’…

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9 women entrepreneurs to benefit from business coaching, mentoring

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Nine Guyanese women will be participating in the second Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean Acceleration Programme (WINC AP) for women entrepreneurs. The women were selected from a total of 250 applicants from across the Caribbean. First Lady Sandra Granger attended the opening session of the eight-month programme, which was hosted at the GeoTech Vision office on Brickdam. In an invited comment, the First Lady said she was proud of the women, and that she is confident they would capitalise on the opportunity to learn the skills that they need…

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First Haitian New York State Assembly Member, among other legislators outraged

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The Unites States Administration’s recent decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 60,000 undocumented Haitian nationals residing there has not resonated well with Democratic congressional leaders and Caribbean legislators. Immigrants from the Caribbean nation received protected status in 2010 after a devastating earthquake that left over 220,000 dead and 1.5 million people displaced. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme grants temporary visas to more than 435,000 people from 10 countries ravaged by natural disasters or war. But the Administration, led by President Donald Trump says conditions in…

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Trinidadian accused of faking his own kidnapping in Guyana granted Gy$1m bail

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The 33-year-old Trinidadian who came to Guyana and allegedly attempted to fake his own kidnapping was on Tuesday granted bail in the sum of Gy$1 million when he reappeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Sawak Maraj made his third appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he was previously arraigned for giving false information to the Police and for conspiring with others to commit a felony. Maraj, who was also ordered to lodge his passport at the Courts, is expected to reappear on December 4, 2017. The prosecution’s case is…

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State’s ignorance of pending litigation unacceptable- CCJ finds

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– as Dipcon awarded US$2.2M in appeal judgment The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has delivered a ruling on the matter involving the Attorney General (AG) of Guyana and Trinidad construction company Dipcon whereby the Government will now have to pay that company US$2.2 million, after losing its bid to appeal the judgment. But the CCJ in its ruling pointed out that there were various time-frame violations, on all of which detailed comments were given in the written judgment. It said these very factors highlight how unacceptable were the reasons…

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AFC calls on Govt for establishment of Integrity Commission

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As time marches on without a functioning Integrity Commission in place, even the governing coalition’s minority partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has grown impatient with the slow pace of change. At the conclusion of the National Executive Council (NEC) last weekend, the minority party demanded, in a statement, that the Integrity Commission be treated as a matter of national priority. Noting that it remained fully committed to its role in the advancement of constitutional reform in Guyana, the AFC called for the establishment of the Integrity Commission by the…

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