Year: 2018

Jordan admits Govt’s shares in Guyana Stockfeeds sold below market value

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On the heels of calls by former Attorney General Anil Nandlall to have Government’s sale of its shares in Guyana Stockfeeds Inc (GSI) to Robert Badal investigated by Police, Finance Minister Winston Jordan has confirmed the shares were sold below market value. The shares were sold at $25 each in a deal passed through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). Minister Jordan told a section of the media on Tuesday that his Government opted to sell off the shares since it was not receiving profits from GSI. The…

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Harmon assures businesses of Govt’s continued support

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Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Saturday evening assured the Private Sector that the Government would continue its efforts to create an enabling environment for businesses to grow and thrive. Speaking at Gaico Construction and General Services Incorporated’s Annual Christmas Dinner and Staff Award ceremony, held at the Pegasus Hotel, Minister Harmon said when businesses grow and thrive, the Guyanese citizenry benefits. “I have leaned on Gaico heavily to provide employment and they have risen to the challenge. Mr Komal Singh has big plans for his company and as a…

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Vision: A critical element

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The life of the 41st President of the United States of America (USA), George HW Bush, is being globally analysed following his death on November 30, 2018. Inevitably, it generally takes death for such discussions which often become outlets for platitudes. That aside, there are a number of things about former US President Bush that have been spoken about glowingly long before his death. Despite being a politician with its unfortunate stereotyping, the decency, as embodied by the character traits he exhibited publicly, has always been a high point that…

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298 persons granted citizenship status in Guyana

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– 979 foreigners allowed to stay on extensions, work permits – Felix By Shemuel Fanfair It was another afternoon of heckling as the 2019 Budget debates continued on Tuesday when Opposition Members of Parliament called on Citizenship Minister Winston Felix to provide numbers on the amount of foreign nationals allowed to remain legally in Guyana. In his presentation to the National Assembly, Felix told members that 298 foreign nationals were registered by the Citizenship Department and granted citizenship, which suggested that more non-nationals are securing the path to attain equal…

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Pause Scotiabank acquisition and do proper evaluation

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With the recent announcement that the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) plans to sell out its operations in Guyana and in eight other Caribbean countries, there have been several rigorous debates about what this could mean for the country’s local financial sector. Washington DC-based Financial Analyst Sasenarine Singh said there is a possibility that if Republic Bank does acquire Scotiabank, it could lead to staff at the latter becoming jobless, and it would indeed have negative implications for the local financial sector. Singh told Guyana Times International on Tuesday that…

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RBL’s takeover of Scotiabank should not be allowed – economist

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The sale of Scotiabank’s operations in Guyana to Republic Bank should not be allowed, according to former Presidential Advisor, economist Ramon Gaskin. Gaskin believes that the sale to Republic Bank would only allow that banking institution to dominate the local banking sector in Guyana, which could be unhealthy for the financial sector. The Trinidad-based Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) said it had entered into an agreement to acquire Scotiabank’s banking operations in nine Caribbean countries. It said banks being acquired were located in Guyana, St Maarten, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda,…

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Affected Fly Jamaica passengers being refunded— source

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As inconvenienced and frustrated passengers complain of not being refunded their tickets’ cost by Fly Jamaica Airways, a source has refuted those claims by saying that passengers are being refunded. A representative who spoke with Guyana Times International just recently said, “All the flights that were cancelled or (passengers who) were affected are having a total refund. If you want to cancel from us because you need to book another carrier, I am not sure how they are gonna go about doing that, but they are free to come into…

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Removing the mask…

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…of political deceit …of political deceit Well! Well! Well! Who says you can’t go back home?? Raphael Trotman, Leader of the AFC, certainly showed Tom Wolff he was wrong when he wrote his famous novel of that name. But then, unlike Wolff and his town folks, Trotman’s been very careful not to throw any brickbats at his old comrades in the PNC, hasn’t he?? And now that he’s offered absolution to the beleaguered Chairman of the PNC, Volda Lawrence, when not a single PNC leader would, he’s ensured he has…

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CARICOM’s Competition watchdog has close eye on Scotiabank transactions

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PARAMARIBO, Suriname – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Competition Commission says it’s closely monitoring the proposed controversial sale of Sociabank’s banking assets in nine Caribbean countries, as well as the financial institution’s plan to sell out its life insurance business in two other regional countries. In a statement yesterday, the Suriname-based Commission, which was established to promote and protect competition within CARICOM, said it had noted the concerns of bank customers and governments across the region regarding the proposed acquisition of Scotiabank by Trinidadian banking conglomerate Republic Financial Holdings Ltd. (RFHL).…

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Man found guilty of raping teen relative

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Esmond Slowe was on Tuesday afternoon found guilty 11-1 by a jury of sexual activity with a female relative who was 14 at the time. He pleaded not guilty to the unlawful acts which occurred on December 16, 2016 in an area in Georgetown. His trial commenced after he entered a not-guilty plea. Slowe was represented by Attorney Maxwell McKay. Justice Jo Ann Barlow, who presided over the matter, summed up the trial evidence before the jury was allowed to deliberate. After two hours of consideration in the deliberation room,…

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