Dear Editor, Guyanese breathed a sigh of relief after the Minister of Social Cohesion made headlines, including in your publication, on the likely appointment of Commissioners for the Ethnic Relations Commission. But this headline lost its vigour in the same way the Minister lost his vigour to present the motion. To not present the motion was a shameful act. The motion appeared on the agenda of several sittings of the Parliament; unfortunately, it never made it through. Guyanese are unsure if it ever will, considering the pending matters Parliament has…
Read MoreYear: 2017
A mere change of minister is not the solution to the challenges facing Guyana’s education sector
Dear Editor, This year’s published results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), with their respective pass rates of 63.39, 92.57 and 48.4 %, demonstrate that students writing these examinations, particularly those who wrote CAPE and the NGSA, have shown improvements in a number of subject areas. The overall CSEC results for 2017, when compared with those for last year, were marginal, while those for NGSA were significant (pass rate of 32.28 % in 2016 to 48.4 %…
Read MoreJagdeo slams “visionless” Gov’t
Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday again lamented the fact that thousands of sugar workers stand to lose their jobs in the coming months as Government continues its scaling down on the sugar industry. Speaking at a public meeting organised by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Jagdeo surmised that the number of jobs slated to emanate from the emerging local oil industry will not suffice for, or outweigh the avenues of employment that existed in the once thriving sugar industry. He claimed that Government’s decisions on…
Read MoreThe present mayor of Georgetown has failed badly
Dear Editor, The international World Mayor Project which has been founded and run by the London-based City Mayors Foundation has, since 2004, had as its aim globally raising the profile of mayors who have made significant contributions to cities nationally and internationally. Municipal leaders are nominated because of their general qualities, such as honesty; management abilities; financial acumen; social, economic and environmental awareness etc. One wonders whether the Mayor of our capital city Georgetown could be nominated despite her dismal performance and low rate of achievements since ascending to that…
Read MoreGuyana’s aviation sector needs serious attention
Dear Editor, General aviation is in crisis, and the President David Granger needs to get the general aviation sector reviewed from top to bottom. This is no joke! My sympathy to the family, loved ones and friends of the perished pilots. The lives of the flying public are at stake, and the affordability of flying is as well. I shudder at the thought of flying and whether it is still safe within Guyana and the cost of insurance for the aircraft operators (due to frequent aircraft crashes resulting in many…
Read MoreRamotar roasts Gov’t for “irresponsible” management of economy
Former President Donald Ramotar has described Guyana’s economic growth for the first half of this year as ‘shameful,’ given that the economy was thriving under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government which he had managed for three years. The former Head of State has said that although the economy recorded real growth of 2.2 per cent in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the first half of 2017, this is not anything to boast about, and only reveals the incompetence of the coalition Government. Ramotar recalled that under his…
Read MoreNatural Resources Minister confirms Guyana will be paid royalties, profit % from first barrel
Responding to concerns about when profits will actually be split between ExxonMobil and Guyana, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has posited that Guyana will be paid its two per cent royalty and its percentage share of the profits from the time Exxon first starts extracting oil. “From the first barrel, Guyana will receive two per cent royalty. It will also receive a percentage of the profits. So 75 per cent of the profits will go towards (Exxon’s) cost recovery. So far, we’re looking at a G$5 billion investment,” he explained.…
Read MorePresident Granger says Gov’t committed to transparency and accountability
…in managing oil and gas industry President David Granger has said that Government will be working with ExxonMobil to develop a long-term relationship founded on transparency, accountability, openness, and aligned interests for the good of Guyana. During a State House meeting with a visiting delegation of ExxonMobil executives on Wednesday, President Granger said that, at the end of the process, Guyanese must be able to view the development of a petroleum industry as one that is beneficial to the national interest. “We are at the start of an oil and…
Read MoreReform of Police Force forging ahead – Top Cop
Under the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), efforts are underway to train police officers in a number of areas, including management and law. This is being done through partnerships with public and private tertiary institutions. Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine, who recently detailed some past, ongoing and forthcoming training initiatives for both officers and ranks of the Police Force, has said: “Currently, as we strive to build capacity and capability in the Force, some 30 ranks are attending the University of Guyana on a one-month programme in Guidance and Counselling.…
Read MoreLarge-scale production of onion cultivation in Guyana deemed feasible
Following several trials of onion cultivation by small farmers, large-scale production of the commodity in Guyana has been deemed feasible. This would result in a significant reduction of the import bill for onions into the country. This information was disclosed after partnering agencies, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and World University Service of Canada (WUSC), had conducted pilot projects in several parts of Guyana. The project was rolled out in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper…
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