Year: 2017

By Jarryl Bryan The upcoming Witness Protection Bill 2017 will contain a slew of new measures designed to deter the leaking of information that could compromise those the bill is intended to protect. New measures include stiff penalties, such as 10 years in jail for disclosures and bribery. Part VI of the long awaited bill binds anyone, including participants or former participants, from disclosing information in relation to the programme upon the paying of a million-dollar fine and 10 years in prison. According to Section 20 (1), this law applies…

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-US$46m deficit recorded in first half of 2017 The Parliamentary Opposition has noted, with deep concern, the increasing deficit in the country’s balance of payments, which it says will continue to have serious implications for the local economy. Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali has said these rising deficits are mainly due to lower export receipts, resulting from lower revenue from export earnings. As a result of this unprecedented increase, the Government still has to finance these deficits. As such, the Government has been tapping into the Gross International Reserves…

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The Chairperson of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Ms Genevieve Allen, has revealed that the Public Telecommunications Ministry, in collaboration with the technological entity Innovative Systems, will be launching an app to address the issues facing farmers within Guyana. Founder of Innovative Systems, Julius Simon, told the media that the app would be launched on November 24th, when the Region 4 Democratic Council opens the Regional Agriculture and Commercial Exhibition (RACE). “We’ve developed an agricultural trading platform which stemmed from an earlier initiative of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications to build a…

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During a Police outreach held in Queenstown village on the Essequibo Coast, Deputy Commander of ‘G’ Division, Marlon Taylor, was present and he reminded residents about their legal rights and explained the procedures in reporting and observing illegal activities within their area. Extending a hand of friendship to the residents, Taylor added that the Guyana Police Force is seeking to build partnerships in all communities throughout Guyana. Residents thus used the opportunity to request the establishment of a Police outpost in the community. Many persons declared at the outreach that…

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The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), in keeping with its mandate to carry out research into all sources of energy, has recently installed as part of a demonstration project, 20 integrated 80W solar-powered Light Emitting Diode (LED) street lights in Agatash Village, Bartica, along the left bank of the Essequibo River and about two miles from Bartica’s centre. The integrated solar-powered street lights use renewable energy from the sun to charge the batteries which provide lighting at nights using energy-efficient LED lights. The lights are controlled by a light sensitive circuit…

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“It is not a progressive step for Guyana, both with respect to democratic principles and accountability, and it has created a precedent that will be convenient when it is and inconvenient when it is not” – TIGI. Local transparency watchdog Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) has said that the time has come for a new formula to be crafted for the appointment of a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) chairperson, something it believes should have been done long before now. Speaking about the highly-contentious issue, the organisation said on Monday…

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The Region One community of Mabaruma will benefit from the erection of a mini wharf which will bring relief to residents and boat operators using the current wharf — expected to undergo rehabilitation shortly. Region One Regional Engineer Rawle Boyer has said the mini-wharf project is being implemented by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), and will be located at the Mabaruma Waterfront. A Gy$6.8million contract was awarded in August for construction of the wharf, which was slated to be completed by mid-November. The works are 40 per cent complete. “The…

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The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is reporting that operators of the recently re-launched 911 emergency system received more than 200 prank calls in just 48 hours. However, A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Marlon Chapman has since vowed to go after the pranksters and make an example out of them. Last Friday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan re-commissioned the system, and at the ceremony, he sounded a stern warning to pranksters revealing that the new system has the capability to trace calls and pinpoint locations so that the…

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The Regional Democratic Council of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and the Mayor and City Councillors (M&CC) of Georgetown, in collaboration with the Legal Affairs Ministry, hosted on Wednesday an anti-corruption sensitisation for local government officers in the region. The seminar was aimed at making local government functionaries aware of the laws and regulations surrounding Guyana’s anti-corruption regime, particularly on the recent State Asset Recovery Act 2017, the Protected Disclosures Bill and the Witness Protection Bill. Regional Chairman Genevieve Allen said the seminar is a timely one as the region’s administration is…

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