Month: January 2018

…citizens warned about dangerous crime situation Despite the Guyana Police Force’s announcement that it achieved a 10 per cent reduction in serious crime by December, the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office has maintained an unflattering travel advisory to its citizens on Guyana as a tourism destination. In this advisory, British citizens are warned about the crime situation in Guyana, as well as the “tough” conditions of the prison system, drug trafficking, the “poor road sense” of (other) road users and dangerously driven minibuses. The advisory was issued by the Government Digital…

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On New Year’s Day, residents watched helplessly as a man allegedly set fire to the house he and his family lived in. The man’s three children ages nine, four and 18 months are now homeless. According to Shaneeza Persaud, her husband Shazam Silvanish had accused her of having an affair with one of his cousins. She explained that Silvanish was very abusive and had not been supporting the family as he should. The 27-year-old woman told this publication that during the Christmas holidays after the accusations were made, Silvanish called…

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The Opposition will be conducting background checks on the nominees for the positions of Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice, before it meets to consider these appointments again with President David Granger on February 7. A meeting held on Wednesday between the President, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and their teams took place at State House at 10:00h. The Leader of the Opposition was accompanied by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, and Attorney Priya Manickchand, while the President had Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, and Minister of…

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…until Cabinet decides otherwise Despite numerous calls for Government to transfer the controversial US$18 million signing bonus received from ExxonMobil and placed in a private bank account, to the Consolidated Fund, the Government remains firm on its position to keep the monies in that account for a bit longer. Minister of State Joseph Harmon told Guyana Times International on Wednesday that Cabinet has not deliberated on whether to have the monies transferred yet, reiterating that there was a purpose for which these monies were not placed into the Consolidated Fund…

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A Joshen Essequibo River resident was arrested and is being questioned in relation to the murder of a Brazilian national which occurred at Fish Creek, Cuyuni River, on Tuesday evening. The dead miner was identified as Naldinho De Costa Souza. A 25 year-old suspect was arrested after being on the run and would have confessed to the murder while implicating three others including a family member who is serving a sentence for robbery at the Mazaruni Prison. The police are on the hunt for the other suspects.

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…PPP lashes Govt over ‘another failed promise’ Back in 2017, President David Granger had assured that by year-end, the Police Service Commission would be reconstituted. This however, has not happened and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is expressing concerns over the commission being in limbo. During the PPP’s end of year press conference, the Opposition’s point man on security, Clement Rohee, took the Government to task for its unfulfilled promise. According to Rohee, the fact that no consultative process has commenced to identify persons for the Commission is significant. “The…

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As the year 2018 commences, former Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Ramesh Dookhoo is optimistic that Government will further reduce some of the tax measures implemented on key sectors during 2017. In a recent interview with Guyana Times International, he noted that investments have slowed owing to a lack of confidence in the economy. Government has, over the last two years, sought to broaden the tax base to capture wider sections of society, especially those in the manufacturing sector. However, industry members continue to decry challenges from high manufacturing costs…

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– President Granger President David Granger, in his New Year’s message to the nation, said “Guyana is changing for good”, and his Government is “promoting the good life for all”. “We are reducing divisions and maximising cohesion. We are protecting our patrimony, pursuing economic prosperity, promoting respect for national institutions, and providing better public services and improved human safety. We are building a country of which everyone can be proud,” the President said in his message. “We shall continue to work with all sectors and strata of society to improve…

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While examining the 2018 Budget estimates, the parliamentary Opposition had demanded information from the Government on several line items. As some of this information was not at hand, several Ministers promised to have it laid in the National Assembly at a later date. Fast forward to 2018 and while some Ministries have presented information to the National Assembly on their spending plans for the New Year, other Ministries were not so transparent. During the Party’s end-of-year press conference, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira identified the Ministries of…

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