In what was described as a ‘marathon’ meeting on Wednesday afternoon at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Commissioners would have left the discussions with inconclusive decisions on a number of discoursed topics – including that of the House-to-House Registration data. After exiting the five-hour-long deliberations at the Kingston, Georgetown headquarters, Opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj expressed that they could not reach a consensus on the usage of the House-to-House data – a process which was halted since August 31. This is even though Chairperson Retired Justice Claudette Singh had prophesied a…
Read MoreYear: 2019
Troy Resources sends almost 400 workers packing
After days of uncertainty on the way forward, Australian mining company Troy Resources has taken a decision to dismiss almost 400 workers, a month after it suspended major parts of its operations following the death of one of its employees. According to an internal memo that was circulated, workers who were initially sent off were told that they would be released by the company as of this week and paid their severance by Friday, November 22. “The Board has thus decided that all personnel currently stood down will be terminated…
Read More159 children placed into foster care homes in Guyana thus far in 2019
One hundred and fifty-nine (159) children were placed into foster care while 37 were adopted thus far for 2019. This was disclosed during an interview with Senior Probation and Social Services Officer Monique Meusa as the Social Protection Ministry and Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) observe foster care month under the theme “every child deserves a champion: become a mentor or foster parent today”. Every year, November is set aside for this celebration. With respect to foster care, the Social Protection Ministry has developed a national alternative care policy for…
Read MoreTough times for families of sacked sugar workers in Guyana
…children forced to find odd jobs to support schooling Ever since the Wales Sugar Estate closed – leaving thousands of workers without jobs, many of their children are now forced to find odd jobs around the community to offset expenses for their schooling. During a visit to the village last Saturday, parents who were sent home from the sugar industry indicated that it was very difficult to send their children to school, owing to transportation expenses and other supplementary spending for textbooks and studying materials. One parent, who gave her…
Read MoreMan gets life sentence for murdering uncle
After being found guilty for the brutal murder of his uncle back in 2017, 29-year-old Dwayne Tappin was on Monday handed a life sentence when he made his final appearance for the presentation of his probation report. The murder convict had initially pleaded not guilty to the capital offence of murder when his trial commenced last month. However, a 12-member jury unanimously found him guilty of the indictment on October 18, 2019, which had stated that on August 6, 2017, in the county of Demerara, he murdered 51-year-old Randolph Seenauth,…
Read MoreDenouncing dictatorial rule
The dictatorship that Burnham created did not creep up on the Guyanese people in the dead of the night but was constructed, brick by brick, in the brightness of day. It started when he decided in 1967 that he would rig the 1968 elections. His junior coalition partner, Peter D’Aguiar of the United Force, had protested Burnham’s unilateral actions, especially to subvert the Ministry of Finance, headed by himself. Deciding he would not become the PNC’s handmaiden to destroy democracy, D’Aguiar left the Government in late 1967 and denounced Burnham’s…
Read MoreHospitals in Guyana to use new device to reduce maternal, child deaths
More than 40 midwives from both the private and public sectors benefited from a training programme hosted by the Public Health Ministry and the Midwives Association. The programme, which brought together practitioners from the 10 administrative regions of Guyana, was aimed at preparing nurses and midwives for cases of postpartum haemorrhage (bleeding after childbirth). At the event, held at the Guyana Nurses Association (GNA), facilitator Dr Narine Singh explained that one-third of the country’s maternal deaths were a result of postpartum haemorrhaging, something that the public health sector has been…
Read MoreCARICOM reiterates position on Venezuela
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping has reiterated its commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, where opposition forces have renewed their call for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro from office. A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, said that a four-member CARICOM delegation, including Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, as well as the CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque met last weekend in Mexico to discuss the crisis in the South American country. “We reiterate our…
Read MoreMan found guilty of murdering pensioner appeals 100-year sentence
After being sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison for the murder of Danrasie Ganesh, a Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD) pensioner, in February of this year, 26-year-old Collin Allen is now asking the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision made by the High Court to impose the aforementioned sentence on him. In his appeal, Allen is maintaining that his trial was executed in a biased manner and as such, the number of years given is unreasonable. However, with the aid of video evidence, State Prosecutors Tuanna…
Read MoreCop among 4 charged with Matthews Ridge gold heist
Four persons were on Tuesday jointly charged for an armed robbery, where a businessman was relieved of several containers of fuel and a quantity of raw gold at Matthews Ridge Airstrip, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini). Baldeo Francis, 37; Ramesh Singh, 45; Leon Campbell, 26 and 27-year-old Kurt Nedd; a police officer appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and were not required to plead to the charges. It is alleged that the quartet on November 11, 2019, at Matthews Ridge, North West District, being…
Read More