…small parties Your Eyewitness thinks one of the reasons there are all these small parties springing up is ironically because of our very small society of barely ¾ million persons. Here, everybody knows everybody so invariably they know somebody who was a president of Guyana or ran in elections to be president of Guyana. Don’t forget that – as was listed in excruciating detail yesterday- there have been dozens of small parties since independence. Each with a Prime Ministerial or Presidential candidate. The prevailing sentiment clearly is, “if ‘so and…
Read MoreYear: 2019
New entries into political scene good for democracy – PNCR
In light of the establishment of several new political parties, one of the two largest traditional parties, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is claiming that it is not threatened by these new entries into the political scene. The PNCR is the largest party in the five-member A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) alliance, which has managed to pull in the Alliance For Change (AFC), which it coalesced with in 2015 to get into office. “You have to look at the fact that we’re a mass-based party. Some of the emerging…
Read More‘Don’t worry with plantain chips, focus on manufacturing’
…President Granger tells Berbicians In what is considered a complete backpedalling of his previous advice to young Guyanese, President David Granger is now calling on Berbicians to stop selling plantain chips at the Berbice River Bridge and get into manufacturing instead. The Head of State made this statement last Friday in the country’s oldest town as he declared the 2019 New Amsterdam Town Week open. In October of last year at Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, the President, responding to a question from a young lady about the availability of job…
Read MoreA new world…
…in world finance? It’s a sign of the times that we’ve entered a new world order when the Breton Woods institutions – the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – are commemorating their 75th anniversary and none of the political parties – even the newbies – have uttered a squeak. Formed in 1944 when WWII wasn’t even over, the two institutions were meant to facilitate the new world order reflecting the ground reality: the US was now the most dominant nation on earth, with its economy exceeding…
Read MoreGuyana needs to vigorously implement National Drug Strategy Master Plan – Atherly
With Guyana considered a drug transhipment point in South America, only the strict implementation of the Drug Strategy Master Plan will suffice to eradicate the scourge of drug abuse and trafficking in Guyana. This was emphasised by Director of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (NANA), retired Major General Michael Atherly during the opening of Guyana’s first specialised drug rehabilitation court. According to Atherly, many factors, including those outside of Guyana, can help to explain Guyana’s drug problem. “National considerations also take into account several international deliberations, including treaties, strategies and best…
Read More“Rogue elements” in Police Force posing a challenge
…Ramjattan says Cops abusing sirens inspite of warnings In the wake of the horrific accident on East Bank Demerara (EBD) that claimed the lives of five persons, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has admitted that indeed, there are Police Officers who abuse the sirens on their vehicles and present a danger to other road users. Ramjattan made this admission during an interview on State radio. When asked what he was doing about these ranks, he noted that there are rogue personnel that they are making efforts to weed out. “To…
Read More‘Guyanese drug offenders now have a choice’
By Jarryl Bryan A specialised drug offences court, the first of its kind in Guyana, was commissioned with the backing of multiple stakeholders on Monday, with Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards explaining that drug offenders will now be given a choice to fix their lives. The new court will be housed in the lower flat of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, at the Brickdam entrance. It will feature a drug treatment team that includes Magistrates, State Counsels, a legal aid attorney and a probation officer. In explaining how it works,…
Read MoreGPHC boss says families continue to abandon elderly relatives at hospital
Cases of older persons being taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for medical treatment by their families and being abandoned at that institution continue, and according to statistics from the hospital, those numbers increase at the end of each year. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GPHC, Retired Brigadier George Lewis, recently told the media that such situations usually occur between the months of November and December annually. He noted that elderly persons are taken to the hospital to be treated for minor illnesses and when they are…
Read MorePPP claims APNU/AFC ‘setting the stage to rig’ upcoming polls
– says will resist attempts to remove names from voters’ list The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has expressed concern that the APNU/AFC coalition is preparing to either set aside or rig next year’s March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. This comes in light of a revelation following Tuesday’s statutory meeting that the Government-nominated Commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are attempting to ‘disenfranchise’ thousands of Guyanese. According to the PPP, one way in which they are seeking to do this is by removing more than 20,000 persons from…
Read MoreICE says NY authorities defied deportation request to release Guyanese child abuser
New York authorities released a convicted child abuser into the community, defying an ICE request that he be held for deportation, and he went on to be arrested for yet another case of abuse, federal officials said Tuesday, according to a Washington Times report. According to the Washington Times report, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers tracked Grachowe Harrichand down last week and plan to deport him to Guyana, his home country. He’d been ordered deported in 2004 but was in the U.S. as a fugitive earlier this year when…
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