Satiricus was quite upset: What right have these foreigners to meddle in Guyana’s affairs? “What we do in Guyana was our business, wasn’t it?” he fumed, as he made his way to the Back Street Bar. As he took his seat at the table, where the fellas had already created a decent forest of beer bottles, he blurted his concern aloud even before starting on his beer. “Calm down, calm down Sato,” said Cappo, as he shoved the bottle towards his friend. “A who yuh a talk ‘bout? De Indian…
Read MoreMonth: January 2018
2018 Soca Monarch launched
After a two-year hiatus, the 2018 Carib Soca Monarch was launched at the Department of Culture, Education Ministry. The competition, which is slated for February 10 and 17, will see 15 performers competing for the grand prize of G$1.5 million. At the press conference on Monday, Minister with responsibility for culture, Dr George Norton highlighted that the competition will now be under the purview of the Central Mash Committee. Minister Norton also stated that music is the bloodline of the Mashramani festival and urged local deejays and promoters to get…
Read MoreImbaimadai: Not just a missing town
Imbaimadai is a small mining town deep in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region of Region Seven founded by miners. It is not only well-known for its gold, diamond and other precious mineral deposits, but for its majestic mountains, being part of the Pakaraima range along the Guiana Highlands, its hundreds of miles of jungle, and its cold nights and steamy days. Possessing natural richness throughout, Imbaimadai offers exciting adventures to nature lovers. (Photos by Sam Rich on Flickr)
Read MoreEIA for Liza Phase 2 underway – Exxon
Starting next week, ExxonMobil will be engaging the general public for considerations into an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the second phase development of the Liza field. ExxonMobil’s Director of Public and Government Affairs, Kimberly Brasington told the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Wednesday that the company will begin “scoping meetings” with Regions Five and Six followed by Regions Two, Three and One and conclude with Region Four. Already, the company has engaged sector stakeholders. Exxon had submitted a project summary for the Liza Phase 2 development to the…
Read MoreA fair share…
…in oil profits Ever since the oil bonus fiasco was uncovered, even partisans of the Government have been looking closer at the contract which was finally revealed. And what a can of worms has been revealed! It all stems from Resource Minister Raphael Trotman’s “renegotiation” of the contract the PPP had signed back in 1999. Back then, Guyana had still been on its knees — brought there by the PNC in its 28 years of destructive rule. Guyanese were hoping and praying for a turnaround in their fate. When the…
Read MoreAn empowering forum
The Sonia Noel Foundation for Creative Arts (SNFCA), in collaboration with the Women’s Association for Sustainable Development (WASD), invites the public on an empowering journey at the third annual ‘Women in Business Expo’. The highly-anticipated event is scheduled for March 10-11, 2018 at the Pegasus Hotel to mark International World’s Women Day. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1908 when a group of 15,000 women marched on the streets of New York, demanding their rights. Since then, every year on March 8, the world joins hands together to…
Read MoreWedding Expo 2018 launched
The 10th Annual Wedding Expo, hosted by Roraima Airways, was launched on Wednesday at Duke Lodge, Georgetown. With great pomp and high expectations for a grand event this year, the Wedding Expo was officially opened. The Expo is said to provide yet another opportunity for a couple to win a million-dollar wedding. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Roraima Airways, Captain Gerry Gouveia said that the Expo would provide the selected couple with an all-expenses paid wedding and other opportunities such as an all-expenses paid honeymoon package with the couple…
Read MoreAuthor complies letters to younger self in though-provoking book
By Lakhram Bhagirat We quite often think if we could turn back the hands of time, we would do a lot of things differently. For Guyanese author, Soshinie Singh, it is no different. Her recent book, “The Phoenix Letters”, is a compilation of letters she has written to her younger self. These letters are from deep within, as she writes about love, life, laughter, sadness and time. What began as an Instagram project has now matured into two beautiful books, “The Phoenix Letters” and “The Phoenix Letters Return”. Reading the…
Read MorePromoting ‘wise management’ of Guyana’s ecosystem
The Guyana Society for Biodiversity and Ecosystems (GSBE) is a non-governmental, charitable, non-profit body established to promote conservation, research and wise management of biological diversity and ecosystems in Guyana and the wider Guiana Shield through its affiliation with partner associations in the region. About 16 years ago, the conceptualisation of the region-wide Guiana Shield biodiversity movement occurred at a Priority Setting Workshop in Paramaribo, Suriname. The meeting involved a dedicated group of scientists from the International Conservation Union of the Netherlands (IUCN), Conservation International Guyana (CI-Guyana) and the United Nations…
Read MoreOil contract: Govt swapped multiple fees for US$1M annually – Ram
While the 1999 oil agreement between ExxonMobil and Guyana contained a regime of fees that the company had to pay, the renegotiated agreement has thrown away many of these revenue streams. This observation was made by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who, in his recent writings, noted that in the place of these fees, the lump sum payment of US$1 million per year has been added to the agreement. The old agreement had included different rental fees for the initial period of the company’s prospecting or production licence. In similar vein,…
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