Month: April 2018

…Attorney Hughes tells Lindo Creek CoI Attorney Nigel Hughes told the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2008 Lindo Creek massacre that the victims’ families lost all confidence in the Police Force’s investigative capabilities after independent forensic services were denied. The CoI heard that following news of the Lindo Creek massacre, the mining camp’s owner, Leonard Arokium, retained the services of Attorney Nigel Hughes to ensure that a proper investigation was done since the families of the victims were suspicious of the Joint Services’ involvement in the incident. When Hughes…

Two New York City men were arrested on Wednesday at John F Kennedy International Airport and charged for illegally smuggling Finches from Guyana, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said, according to an ABC News report. The article published on Wednesday detailed that 26 of the birds were found stuffed in hair curlers and placed in the socks of the defendants, identified as Victor Benjamin, 72, of Brooklyn and Insaf Ali, 57, of the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. “My investigation has revealed…

Business Minister Dominic Gaskin conducted a site visit to the Lethem Industrial Estate while he was in the border town over the weekend. Construction of the facility, which is located on the outskirts of Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), is right on schedule and, once completed, will be a stimulus for many of the entrepreneurs within Lethem and the wider Region Nine area. Minister Gaskin, who also has the responsibility for tourism, pointed out that a business incubator is being established to give small businesses an outlet where…

…says agreement contradicts Minister, prohibits impromptu visits Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall is taking the Government to task for its utterances regarding its right to make impromptu visits to ExxonMobil’s operations, noting that the contract it signed with the oil giant prohibited this. Recently, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman was quoted in sections of the media saying that impromptu visits would still be carried out. Nandlall, in a statement on Monday, however, dismissed this as absurd. “How does Minister Trotman conceive the Government making impromptu visits to the oil operations…

…warns UG Vice Chancellor Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Professor Ivelaw Griffith has urged that Guyanese not lose sight of the important role agriculture continues to play, even as the oil and gas sector comes to the fore. According to a DPI release, he made the comment recently while indicating the university’s plan to inaugurate a pilot Institute of Food and Nutrition and Security. The University of Guyana has organised a feasibility team to seek out the possibility of establishing the institute and has already received a US$50,000…

…as divestment plans continue to take shape While it remains impossible for everyone to be re-employed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), there are immediate plans to rehire some 1200 workers in various categories at the remaining estates. This disclosure was made by Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL’s) Special Purpose Unit (SPU), Colvin Heath-London, who told this newspaper in an exclusive interview that this move is being made as the divestment plans continue to take shape. “The SPU operations, in conjunction with GuySuCo, will be…

The US$18 million signing bonus controversy has engaged the attention of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Guyana chapter, with the Chairperson of the body questioning the process Government used to keep the money outside the Consolidated Fund. In an interview with Guyana Times International on Tuesday, IIA-Guyana Board Chairman and Financial Consultant John Seeram noted that while the signing bonus could be held outside the Consolidated Fund, there were certain prerequisites. “What is important is that once money is received, it should be recorded in the Government’s statements of…