Dear Editor, I spent some two weeks this month in the United Kingdom, travelling around and interacting with Guyanese and other Caribbean and South Asian diaspora communities, and discussing varied issues relating to immigrants and minorities. Naturally, politics in Guyana was the focus of discussion among all Guyanese and most Caribbean nationals. Several of them raised issues, including the controversial appointment of retired Justice James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). The recent unilateral appointment of Patterson as GECOM Chair was the center of conversation of every…
Read MoreYear: 2017
Is there no stopping the madness at City Hall?
It is mind-boggling how the train wreck called the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown are being allowed to hurtle toward complete disaster at break neck speed taking all of the citizens of Georgetown with them into proverbial hell, while those in authority are pretending as though everything is honky dory at City Hall. Reading the recent letter appearing in the dailies, authored by the Chief Constable is very instructive. Why the Social Protection Ministry and the Police have not taken assertive action against the heads at City…
Read MoreImportance of child protection is personal
Dear Editor, As Guyana joined the rest of the world in celebrating the 28th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on November 20, 2017, it is important that we recognise the connection between child protection and our nation’s well-being. Protecting children from violence and abuse is critical to ensuring economic and social development in society, as well as achieving several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Developmental Goals (UN SDGs). More importantly, it is about doing the right things to keep children safe from…
Read MoreHaitians, other refugees deserve America’s help
The recent attack on immigrants and minorities in the United States by the Donald Trump Administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and send 60,000 Haitians back to suffering and pain in their country – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – is the latest in an alarming trend. Haiti cannot provide for them, and this decision is inhumane and unconscionable. This status was extended to Haitians, as America has done in the past with several other countries, after a destructive earthquake hit the island nation in 2010. With…
Read MoreGuyana Stock Feeds slated to become 100% privately owned
– as Govt seeking buyers for shares It seems that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is not the only commercial enterprise the Government intends to withdraw State involvement from. Next on the agenda for a complete private takeover is the Guyana Stock Feeds Incorporated (GSFI). In a notice originating from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), bids to purchase the Government’s shares in GSFI were invited from reputable organisations. It is understood that NICIL holds 6.68 per cent of the total shareholding of the company, with the other…
Read MoreCocaine cases increased by 44%, marijuana cases decreased
– as Crime chief reveals statistics for Jan-Oct 2017 As law enforcement officers ramp up the fight against the narco-trade, recent Police statistics have revealed that 421 persons were charged with trafficking in narcotics offences. These numbers, for the period January-October 2017, were revealed by acting Crime Chief Paul Williams. Of the 421, 310 persons were charged with marijuana offences while 111 individuals were charged for cocaine-related offences. The statistics showed that the 310 marijuana possession cases reflected a decrease of 171 cases as the corresponding figure during the same…
Read MoreGuyana’s classification of a middle-income country means fewer concessions on public external loans- Debt report
Many of Guyana’s developmental loans were negotiated on concessionary terms. But Guyana’s new status as a middle-income country is expected to bite, with the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Annual report signalling an impending end to these concessions. According to the report, most of Guyana’s public external debt was contracted on a fixed interest rate basis. A fixed interest arrangement ensures that the interest rate a borrower has to repay along with the principal sum does not exceed a set limit. At the end of December 2016, the fixed interest rate…
Read MoreClimate Change anyone?
The 2017 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23) — held in Bonn, but actually hosted by Fiji — was wrapped up last Friday on a more positive note than had been expected, after US President Donald Trump’s bellicose opposition to the COP 21 agreement crafted in Paris two years ago. That agreement had committed the countries gathered to collectively limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, the tipping point for irreversible climate change. The fly in the ointment being that individual national targets had not been made mandatory, the goal…
Read MoreEverest Masters beat Guyana-UK CC by 6 wickets
Everest Masters defeated the Guyana-UK Cricket Club from London in a friendly T20 game played at Everest Cricket Ground on Friday November 10, 2017. Batting first the visitors posted 109 for 8 off their 20 overs with Navin Persaud hitting an attractive 65 (2×6; 3×4) and Raj Nanan supporting with 16 (1×6; 1×4). Former Guyana First Class player, Rohan Sarjoo was the best bowler for the Everest Masters with 3 for 18 while the experienced Johnny Azeez bagged 2 for 21. In the run chase, Everest Masters got 37 from…
Read MoreNorton hails GKC for successful grading exercise
Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility also for Culture, Youth & Sport Dr George Norton praised the Guyana Karate College (GKC) for hosting a successful grading exercise for 2017 while continuing to promote the ancient arts. Students from its various Dojos assembled last Friday evening at its main impermanent Dojo located in Thomas Lands for the third of the yearly triennial rank examinations. Minister Norton was present for the entire examination which saw approximately 70 students participating. The Minister told the Karatekas that the competition in the international arena is…
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