Dear Editor, Concerning GECOM, I have some questions. Whatever happened to the fraud investigation of buying expensive pliers and non-functioning radios? Will there be any inquiry why the Chief Officer and Secretariat did not do any work on election preparation, although the PNC was defeated since December 2018, and they said they could be ready for election in 3 months. For the elections, follow the GPS principle of driving – do you want the fastest route, shortest route, and do you want to avoid toll routes. We have a constitutional…
Read MoreCategory: Letters
The GECOM Chair should do the right thing and save Guyana
Dear Editor, The Guyana Elections commission on Friday submitted a proposal that elections be held in March 2020. I do not wish to weigh in on this issue of national importance of the December 21st no confidence motion but I do believe the law is the law and no matter what is the situation at present, the constitution must be upheld. The Government was defeated by a vote of no confidence sponsored by the parliamentary opposition and according to the constitution, Article 106(6 and 7) requires the resignation of the…
Read MoreCoalition in last-minute ditch to win votes in Amerindian communities
Dear Editor, Having issued no Amerindian land titles nor extensions since coming to office in May 2015, the Department of Public Information’s announcement on September 6 that the “Cabinet has given the green light for absolute grants of land titles for eight Indigenous communities” must be met with a huge dose of cynicism. After all, this is a decision of a President and Cabinet that has “stood resigned” since December 21, 2018, according to Article 106 (6) and (7) of our Constitution and upheld by the Caribbean Court of Justice…
Read MoreAn angel has gone to heaven
Dear Editor, Heartbreaking best describes the death of seven-year-old fire victim, Shaniya Persaud. While the doctors tried their best, in the end, an angel soared into heaven. Shaniya fought bravely and valiantly and her spirit and courage will write the epitaph of a champion. Rest in peace little girl and my condolences to the grieving family and friends. Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed
Read MoreWith three wins the Warriors have captured the heart of all Guyanese
Dear Editor, The Guyana Amazon Warriors is on a real high. The team, well blended with youth and experience, won their first three matches convincingly and they are fully motivated and pumped up for the next five games. The Warriors won their first match against St Lucia Zouks by thirteen runs. The top-order batsmen struggled to score runs freely. However, the young “turks” flourished at the end of their batting as the team was able to get a challenging total. Winning by thirteen runs was tight but the team’s spirit…
Read MoreThe Natural Resources Fund is structurally flawed
Dear Editor, As ‘first oil’ rapidly approaches, Guyanese are without the comfort of an acceptable Sovereign Wealth Fund to manage our revenues from oil. I posed the question to President David Granger in 2016, asking that the President address the nation to inform us all of exactly what type of SWF his administration would be setting up; where it would be based; who would administer it; who would have oversight; what laws would govern it, and what type of investments it would be limited to making (S.N. July 5, 2016).…
Read MoreIrfaan Ali was right regarding the state of the economy
Dear Editor, Messrs Rennie Parris and Yonnick David in a missive in another paper (Aug 29) described PPP’s Presidential candidate Irfaan Ali as an “amateur” (?) for his mid-year review of the economy. I do not know the two gentlemen and their backgrounds and whether they study economics. I did doctoral studies in economics and other disciplines and taught economics and the social sciences for some 35 years. I also regularly conduct NACTA surveys in Guyana, most recently in early August to gather peoples’ views on the economy. Irfaan is…
Read MoreA Constitution is the cornerstone of every principled democracy
Dear Editor, The Constitution of our country, as in every other democracy, is a body of fundamental principles or established precedents by which we have all agreed to be governed. It is a body of laws that set the standard for every facet of our lives and it is not to be trifled with nor be picked apart piecemeal to accommodate partisan whims and fancies. A Constitution is the cornerstone of every principled democracy and allows for parliamentarians to vote their conscience. This ruling is fundamental to a democratic state…
Read MoreThe world is in crisis; don’t be a passive onlooker
Dear Editor, As I sit here and watch with dismay as the Amazon burns, and reflect on some of the other horrifying news of this time – Greenland lost 12.5 billion tons on ice in one day; Micro-plastics discovered in “extreme” concentrations in the North Atlantic; Nuclear monitoring stations went mysteriously quiet after Russian missile facility explosion, I wonder how did we get here, and where is the urgency of our response? There is little doubt that the news media have played a role in our diversion. No longer able…
Read MoreThis scaremongering by GECOM is patently and legally false and dangerous
Dear Editor, The Guyana Elections Commission continues to run daily and nightly advertisements calling on members to register in its current House-to-House Registration exercise, “even if they were previously registered”. The ad goes further: it threatens members of the public with criminal sanctions if they fail to register. This scaremongering is patently and legally false and dangerous. GECOM has no power to remove names of eligible voters by any device or subterfuge. The constitutional court has ruled that no person who was previously registered can be removed except on the…
Read More