Citing a declining population, a growing elderly group that imperils National Insurance Scheme funds, and a need for economic growth, Cabinet is to expand the categories of people who can become Barbadians, Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson has revealed. By January, a new bill to amend the Immigration Act will go before ministers that on passage in Parliament would bring into law the most sweeping changes in the pathway to citizenship since Independence in 1966. At a ceremony to formally induct new citizens in the Horatio Cooke Auditorium of the…
Read MoreYear: 2019
Killing them…
…not so softly The Stabroek News did yeoman service to the nation in publishing a list of 420 persons murdered as a result of the “troubles” after the Mash Day Jailbreak of Feb 23, 2002 and after Sept 2006. According to their analysis, which came out of their records, 151 of those persons had been murdered by bandits; 239 were killed during confrontations with Police and in unexplained circumstances, while 30 were security officers who lost their lives. These figures obviously didn’t include the garden variety murders which hover around…
Read MoreSugar workers have been left behind, and far behind for that matter
Dear Editor, The GAWU saw media reports regarding responses of officials from the PNC and the AFC in regard to questions posed by the media about the wage freeze imposed on sugar workers since the coalition took office in 2015. While the responses by the leading officials are not identical, they are very similar. If a person were reading about the state of the sugar industry for the first time, they would no doubt believe the caretaker Government was an angel and had ‘clean hands’. This, of course, we know…
Read MoreCompletion of national oil spill plan delayed
By Jarryl Bryan The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was supposed to be completed by early November but that has not materialised. According to a top official from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), a number of factors have caused the plan’s completion to be pushed back. In an interview with this publication, CDC Director Major Kester Craig explained that one major factor in the delay was the additional comments they got from various stakeholders. Another factor was the manpower and resources that were diverted by the CDC to combat…
Read MoreGECOM, broadcast authority meet to discuss media monitoring partnership
Executives from the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) met last Thursday to discuss collaboration for the upcoming March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections. Attending the meeting on behalf of the GNBA were Board Chairman Leslie Sobers, Board Member and Chair of the Monitoring and Compliance Committee Jocelyne Josiah, Board Secretary Violet Boyal, Head of the Monitoring and Compliance Department Christina Bianchini, and Public Relations Officer Joel Ally. On GECOM’s side were Chairman Justice Claudette Singh, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, and Public Relations…
Read MoreGranger must dissolve Parliament by proclamation on or before December 4, 2019
Dear Editor, I read with utter disgust the words of former Minister of State and now Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency that, “the President has not yet signalled when he plans to issue a proclamation in this regard” ie to dissolve Parliament. Well, Mr Director General, the time to dissolve Parliament was since December 2018 and your caretaker Government has the temerity to tell the Guyanese people after one year that the caretaker President would dissolve Parliament at his time of choosing, supposedly of eventualities and neither…
Read MoreMarine Ball marks 244th birthday of US Marine Corps
The US Marine Security Guards marked the occasion of the 244th anniversary of the forming of the United States Marine Corps at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was the guest of honour and the guest speaker was Retired Colonel Brian Chin. Ambassador Lynch hailed the Marine Security Guards for their dedication to protecting US Embassies around the world and their role in ensuring the safe and secure conduct of US diplomacy. Currently, 182 US Embassies are guarded by US Marines. The Ambassador read a greeting from…
Read MoreAt 100, Ruby Mingo is in Love with Whatsapp and Facebook
Ruby Maria Mingo is living proof that age should never be a barring factor on self-advancement. Mingo is an avid WhatsApp and Facebook user and keeps up with the latest social media trends as she goes about her daily life. Born November 8, 1919, Mingo celebrated her 100th birthday in fine style with a grandiose celebration at her Haslington North, East Coast Demerara home. She chose to celebrate her remarkable achievement with family and friends. The high spirited senior citizen is a mother of 11 children, of which eight are…
Read MoreJagdeo says PPP to hit the streets again if President delays dissolution of Parliament
The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has threatened to resume protest actions if President David Granger does not dissolve Parliament come next month. Having already set March 2, 2020 as the date for the much anticipated General and Regional Elections and issuing the election proclamation, pressure has been mounting on the caretaker President to also dissolve the 11th Parliament. But according to Article 61 of the Constitution, “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every…
Read More‘I’m now GT to the bone’
– Harmon says US citizenship officially relinquished Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon has confirmed that his United States citizenship has been officially relinquished by the United States Government and he is now ready to serve his country again as a member of the National Assembly post 2020 elections. During a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday, the former Minister of State said that he received a response from the US Embassy on October 8th that his application had been approved and the revocation took effect from July…
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