YEAR IN REVIEW: AUGUST – Traditional sectors suffer decline

…although economy grew by 4.5 % Despite the economy growing by 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2018, the traditional sectors, such as sugar and rice, have seen decline in their performances, with contractions of 30.6 and 3.8 per cent respectively. This was revealed in the Finance Ministry’s Mid-Year Report 2018, which was laid in Parliament on August 8, and which focuses on the state of the economy and performances of various sectors. Finance Minister Winston Jordan admitted that the gold sector also suffered a decline of 9.1…

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YEAR IN REVIEW: JUNE – Berbice man stabs wife, daughter to death

…commits suicide in abandoned house An East Bank Berbice man was found hanging from a rafter under an abandoned house at Glasgow Village, moments after he killed his wife and daughter. The double murder was witnessed by the couple’s 11-year-old son. Dead are Dindamattie Behari, 37, a housewife; her daughter Surujdai Khan, 20; and their killer, Jainarine Seetaram, 41, also called “Radoo” all of Lot 1078 Glasgow, New Housing Scheme, Greater New Amsterdam, Berbice. Behari’s body was found in a hammock, while her daughter died on her way to the…

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Making…

…the law an ass In 2011, the PPP garnered a plurality of the votes – that is, more than either the PNC or the AFC which ran separately – and won the presidency because that’s what our Constitution specifies. The PPP’s votes, however, translated into 32 seats while the PNC’s into 26 and the AFC’s into seven to fill the Assembly’s total of 65 seats. Over the next four years, the 33 PNC and AFC’s combined seats were deployed to humiliate and give the PPP hell. It wasn’t even contemplated…

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YEAR IN REVIEW: OCTOBER – Mother of two killed by mentally unstable boyfriend

A mother of two was stabbed several times by her mentally unstable boyfriend and left to die in a muddy drain at Crane Street Queenstown, Corriverton, Berbice. The dead woman identified as Iransa Frank, 38, was a waitress of Crimson Light Bar located on the Corentyne and formerly of South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. The woman was heading home from work when she was seen running up the street with the suspect in hot pursuit. He eventually caught up with the woman. The woman was trying to fight him off but her…

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Pensioner stabbed to death in WBD home

The community of Belle West, West Bank Demerara (WBD) was plunged into a state of shock after the body of 68-year-old pensioner, Ursilla Padarta called “Data” was found in her Lot 566 Belle West, Canal Number Two Polder, with a stab wound to her head and one to her neck. The discovery was made some time after 07:00h by a carpenter who had returned to discuss the construction of a septic tank that the woman planned on doing. According to the Police, the woman was murdered with an ice-pick which…

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Controversial US$18M singing bonus

Monies to remain in private account – Harmon Despite numerous calls for Government to transfer the controversial US$18M signing bonus received from Exxon Mobil 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. State Minister Joseph Harmon told Guyana Times on January 3 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…

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Fangs bared…

…by PNC Your Eyewitness is still mulling over what’s behind the PNC ripping off the mask it had so painstakingly created and donned to convince Guyanese – and more importantly, the diplomatic community – it had changed violent stripes. He understood the need for the makeover. The world had moved on from the Cold War days when the West routinely overlooked the excesses of tin-pot dictators. Theodore Roosevelt’s retort when a Latin American ally was criticised: “he’s a son of a bitch; but he’s our son of a bitch”, is…

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30 homeless as fire destroys 4 Pike street homes

Several families were rudely awakened from their early morning slumber when a fire raged through four houses in Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown, razing three to the ground and destroying another leaving some 30 persons homeless. According to the Police the fire had started at around 03:00h in the Lot 185 Pike Street apartment of Oswald Layne. The buildings destroyed were located at Lot 185 and 191 Pike Street. The Social Protection Ministry after assessing the situation had provided supplies for the victims as well as alternative living arrangements.

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YEAR IN REVIEW: DECEMBER – Ali innocent until proven guilty – Harmon

-says due process must be followed for MP, PAC Chair Even the government, by way of cabinet spokesperson and Minister of State Joseph Harmon, is of the view that due process must be followed for Opposition parliamentarian Irfaan Ali when it comes to the constitutional offices he holds. 19 Politically trumped up charges were instituted against Ali by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), in a move the parliamentary opposition and the International Centre for Democracy (ICD) have criticised and deemed “victimization of a political opponent”. However, Ali sits as…

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