January 2019 – Page 12 – Guyana Times International

Desperately seeking loopholes

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Ravi Dev Everyone has recourse in the courts to seek justice, but it does appear to me that the PNC-led coalition is losing sight of the bigger picture in our fledgling democracy, as they flail around for a reason to have the no-confidence decision reversed. First they tried – and succeeded to a large extent – to tie the country into knots over the claim that in a finite set of 65 discrete variables (meaning things that couldn’t be individually divided – like people, in this instance) a subset…

Study finds several sexually abused children contracted HIV, STDs

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

A recent study conducted by ChildLink has found that a number of children have suffered from ruptured uteruses, as well as the most dreaded sexually transmitted disease, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In this specific research, 338 victims were screened and at least four were discovered to have ruptured uteruses, among other health implications. The report said that many of the children had to be hospitalised as a result of the extent of the abuse, while some even required surgery for their injuries. On the other hand, some children became pregnant…

Greenidge says settling border controversy with Venezuela will address recent maritime transgressions

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Following Venezuela’s act of aggression by way of temporarily intercepting an ExxonMobil contracted oil exploration vessel offshore the Stabroek block area of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, during a symposium hosted by the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) on Thursday, said that the maritime matter cannot be solved without the land controversy being finally settled first. He affirmed that the land controls the sea coast and posited that Venezuela has several islands that prevented it from having clear access to the Atlantic as opposed to…

Preserving the tradition is important, says Earl Thomas

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

We live in a world where traditions are rapidly dying owing to a number of factors. Even in the most remote places, those long-held traditions are slowly being left behind as a result of the influences of modern-day developments, but, according to Earl Thomas, preserving those traditions is important to our existence as a people. Thomas is a 54-year-old Lokono musician from the Arawak tribe. He resides in Wakapao Village in the Pomeroon and has been doing everything possible to preserve the music and traditions of the Lokono people. He…

Who can be an MP?

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

After jumping on any number of limbs – bribery; the meaning of “majority” in an odd number assembly and evidently “moral turpitude” – gambling – the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led Government, via the proxy of a “private citizen”, filed a lawsuit in the High Court objecting to the validity of Charrandas Persaud’s’ vote in the No-confidence Motion on December 21, 2018, on the ground of his dual citizenship with Guyana and Canada. While it is acknowledged that Guyanese can hold dual citizenship, the Government’s proxy is contending that the Constitution…

Sir Ronald Sanders says court must act swiftly

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…to avoid increased political tension and anxiety Now that both Government and the Opposition through President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo have met to discuss the way forward on the no-confidence resolution, and have agreed to ask the court to expedite the court proceedings, Guyanese diplomat and academic, Sir Ronald Sanders says the Court must act quickly to approve the request of both parties. In an interview with Guyana Times International on Wednesday, Sir Sanders said there is nothing wrong with going to court to seek a solution…

Guyana taking steps to protect against swine flu

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Amid the upsurge of H1N1 cases in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, which has caused some worry to Guyanese, Chief Medical Officer of the Public Health Ministry, Dr Shamdeo Persaud has advised that the situation was under control, with provisions already in place at arrival ports to monitor passenger activities. Speaking with Guyana Times International on Monday, Dr Persaud enunciated that ferry docks and arrival terminals at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and Eugene F Correia International Airport are equipped with a framework which is expected to be implemented for all…

Man charged for killing father-in-law

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…after he intervened in domestic dispute Days after the brutal murder of an Indigenous village leader in the community of Kurutuku, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), his son-in-law, who is accused of committing the act, was on Wednesday slapped with a murder charge and arraigned before the courts for the capital offence of murder. Murder accused Addison Benjamin stood before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, who read the indictable charge which stated that on January 1, 2019 at Kurutuku, he killed Solomon Lewis. The 27-year-old man, of Lima, Essequibo Coast, was represented by Attorney…

Where angels fear to tread…

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…Jordan rushes in Your Eyewitness wouldn’t be so het up if Finance Minister Winston Jordan wanted to play Russian Roulette…Hey! Maybe he gets off with the adrenaline rush and all that! But he does have a big problem when Jordan decided to play Russian Roulette with our upcoming Oil Revenues that’re supposed to be intermediated by a “Natural Resource Fund” (NRF). After sitting on the draft that had been passed on to him by Trotman for two years, Jordan rushed through the Bill when the Speaker had been asked to…

YEAR IN REVIEW: JULY – Green State Strategy will put pressure on the treasury – Jagdeo

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…Says PPP will scrap policy if party returns to Gov’t in 2020 In reiterating his disapproval of the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) that was created to replace the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said it will only put pressure on the treasury, and if the PPP returns to office, it would be automatically scrapped. Jagdeo described the draft strategy which he has had a look at, as one that is a basic ‘cut and paste’ of best practices from around the world, which essentially lacks…