In a bid to boost its technical and oversight capacity to hold elections, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will be taking on two advisors with experience in running elections in India and Ghana, courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat. This is according to Chairperson of GECOM, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, during a press briefing. She explained that the two men will serve as Senior Electoral Advisors to herself and the Secretariat. The advisors are Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and Dr Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi. Dr Afari-Gyan is a Ghanaian academic, political scientist…
Read MoreCategory: News
British firm paid US$300,000 to audit US$460M Exxon pre-contract costs
Having finally secured someone to audit ExxonMobil’s cost oil claims, Energy Department Director Dr Mark Bynoe has announced that the company, IHS Markit, has already begun its work. Bynoe made the announcement during a press conference at the Department of Energy’s new office in Brickdam, Georgetown on Monday. He explained that the contract, to the tune of over US$300,000, will be for a four-month duration. “The contract for the firm to complete the cost recovery audit, the historical cost, was signed. The contract was awarded to IHS Markit and the…
Read MoreMinibus driver, conductor in viral video face several charges
A minibus driver and conductor who were caught on video endangering the lives of their passengers on November 15, 2019 were slapped with several charges and appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court. Jermaine Waldron, 27, the conductor, of Haslington, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and Trevin Bobb-Semple, 28, the driver, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore. Bobb-Semple denied the charges of operating a tinted motor vehicle; untidiness; failure to control said motor vehicle; breaching the condition of his road service licence; and dangerous driving. He was placed on G$100,000 bail and his…
Read MoreExxon, BP & Shell among traders vying to sell Guyana’s oil
…Energy Dept defends secrecy The Energy Department has released the names of the traders it invited to vie for Guyana’s oil, though details of the negotiations are likely to be limited until they are concluded as the Department said the “commercial sensitivities” of the companies must be respected. This was explained by Energy Department Director, Dr Mark Bynoe and newly contracted Crude Marketing Specialist, Virginia Markouizos. The pair were asked why the Guyanese public only became aware of plans to sell Guyana’s crude using the on the spot method, through…
Read MoreGuyana ups preparations for ICJ’s oral hearings in border controversy
Oral Hearings on jurisdiction in the case of the long-running border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela are set for March 23, 2020, but Guyana will be the only country participating in this legal process. This is according to Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who recently told the media that both parties (Guyana and Venezuela) were required to submit a response signalling their participation in the proceedings but to date, only Guyana has done so. “Meaning that if they intend to be participating with the exercise,…
Read MoreLinden youth awaits sentencing after being found guilty of 2 rape counts
Twenty-five-year-old Keon Lawson of Wismar, Linden was found guilty on two counts of rape by a 12-member jury before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Sexual Offences Court of the Demerara High Court. As such, he is expected to return to court on January 6, 2020, for sentencing. The first charge read that between November 1 and 30, 2014, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual activity with a six-year-old girl. The second read that on October 6, 2017, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual activity…
Read More‘Interpersonal violence has now become a public security concern’ – Granger
Expressing concern over the prevalence of interpersonal violence in schools, homes and communities, President David Granger on Saturday declared the scourge a public security concern. The President was at the time addressing attendees at the Guyana Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, which was held at the Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Church Street. Saturday marked their centennial celebration and with the theme being the family, Granger noted that interpersonal violence was eroding family life. “Thirty or 40 years ago, we regarded domestic violence as a private matter. A man beating his…
Read MoreIntegrity Commission sends warning to defaulters
The Integrity Commission is committed to pursuing prosecution against officials in public offices – a significant portion of whom are still delinquent in declaring their assets to the Commission. This is according to Chairman of the Commission, Kumar Duraisami, who told Guyana Times International on Wednesday that the Commission is “definitely going ahead” with the prosecution of defaulters but noted that they first want to send reminders before doing so. He could not say how many defaulters there currently are, explaining that this number keeps changing every day whenever these…
Read MoreAny major agreement signed by Guyana’s caretaker Govt will be reviewed – Opposition Leader
Amid revelations that the Government invited various companies to come and pitch proposals to buy Guyana’s oil, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has warned that any attempts to tie the country into a long-term agreement now will be reversed if his party gets into Government. Jagdeo was at the time speaking at his weekly press conference and his comments came after a Bloomberg article revealed that companies from the United States, Switzerland and England would be paying Guyana a visit to vie for the opportunity to sell Guyana’s oil. “They are…
Read MoreIMF official says Barbados economy on right track but still work to be done
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission Chief for Barbados, Bert van Selm says the Barbados government is doing a good job of getting the economy back on track, but there remains a lot of work to be done. He gave that assessment while on the island recently for the IMF’s final mission for 2019. “The economy, in my view, is performing very well…Over the last 18 months, the Government has made an excellent start and done very good work in turning around the economy. Today, the international reserves are at…
Read More