Month: May 2011

EU commissioner urges urgent action on climate change

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By Jainarine Deonauth in Hong Kong Climate change is being featured on the agenda of the 19th Consumer International World Congress, currently being held in Hong Kong, where over seven hundred delegates from more than 60 countries are engaged in discussions and debates on important issues affecting consumers worldwide. Delegates at the 19th Consumer International World Congress, including Jainarine Deonauth, a representative of the Guyana Consumers Association In delivering the keynote address at the official opening ceremony, Connie Hedegaard, EU commissioner for climate action, called on consumers worldwide to take…

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CCTV cameras to be up in city by July

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Government is hoping to install the promised closed circuit television cameras around Georgetown by July/ August, Dr Roger Luncheon, said on Wednesday. He made the comment while addressing members of the media at his weekly post- Cabinet media briefing. Luncheon, who is also Cabinet secretary and head of the Presidential Secretariat, said the recent upsurge in criminal activities should not be used as an electoral issue during the upcoming general elections, like is the case in other Caribbean nations. Luncheon said that crime was an ongoing challenge for the administration.…

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Guyana will continue to support CDB – finance minister

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Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, on Wednesday, May 5th, formally welcomed to Guyana the newly- installed President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr William Warren Smith. This formality was performed at the Finance Ministry. Minister Singh took the opportunity to congratulate the new president on his assuming the highest office within the bank, and he reassured Dr Smith of Guyana’s continued support for the CDB. Minister Singh also used President Smith’s visit to highlight the progress made by Guyana over the years in strengthening the domestic economy and in investing…

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Guyanese woman in New York killed by ‘emotionally disturbed’ son

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An emotionally disturbed man was arrested on Thursday, May 5th, for stabbing to death his Guyanese mother in their Brooklyn, New York apartment. Ingham Scarder, 27, was taken into custody when police arrived at the apartment at about 23:00h on Wednesday and found Alfonette Scarder, 47, near death. She had been stabbed several times, and died after paramedics rushed her to Kings County Hospital, police said. Ingham Scarder, whom police sources said suffers from bipolar disorder, was charged with murder and weapons possession. He is yet to be arraigned. A…

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UN Good Officer holds first official meeting with Venezuela

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– foreign ministers to update UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon Professor Norman Girvan, the Good Officer in the Guyana/Venezuela border dispute, has met for the first time with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro, almost a year after a visit to Guyana. According to Venezuelan media, the foreign minister “held the first official meeting, on Wednesday, May 5th, with the UN Good Officer to identify options and advance the negotiation process to address a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela in the Essequibo territory.” The participants in the meeting agreed to hold…

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La Niña assistance to be completed by mid- May

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The La Niña season has passed, and as the Agriculture Ministry prepares for the upcoming May/ June rainy season, it is faced with the critical task of assessing the effects of La Niña and providing support to farmers who would have suffered losses. On Wednesday, May 4th, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has identified critical dams that were in need of grading to enable farmers to transport their paddy from the fields to the mills. Because of the flooding in some rice cultivation areas,…

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Guyana re-investing in groynes to bolster sea defence

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After more than two decades, sea defence engineers of the Public Works Ministry are now looking to reinvest in the repairs and construction of groynes to help strengthen the coastland’s defence against rising sea level and climate change. According to Works Minister Robeson Benn, the ministry has already started reconstruction of groynes in Essequibo at Leguan island, and has planned to start repairs to those along the Georgetown shore later this year, as funds have been allocated for these works in this year’s budget. The minister explained that, during the…

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Granger hopes to privatise GuySuCo, Guyoil, state media if elected

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Presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform, David Granger, said there would be less state intervention in the private sector under his presidency. He told participants at a business luncheon organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association at the Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday that his approach would be to create an atmosphere conducive to development. “I want to create a well regulated environment, a safe environment in which they could operate and do the things they know best,” Granger said in response to a question posed by a…

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U. S. consumer rights chief elected president of global consumer body

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By Jainarine Deonauth in Hong Kong United States Consumer Rights Head Jim Guest was elected president of Consumers International, an organisation that is involved in the fight for consumer rights around the world. Newly-elected president of CI, Jim Guest Guest used the opportunity, after being confirmed as president, to call on the global consumer movement “not to take ‘no’ for an answer”, as he outlined his campaigning vision as the new president of Consumers International (CI). Guest accepted the presidency after an uncontested election at the Consumers International World Congress…

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Guyanese agro-processors participating in Canada trade show

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Five local producers of indigenous processed foods are in Canada to participate in the annual SIAL-11 agricultural trade show in Toronto. The exhibition, which commenced on May 8, will last until the 14. The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Ltd said in a release that Jet’s Enterprises, Tandy’s Manufacturing Enterprises, Original Juice, Prestige Manufacturing and Bottling Enterprise, and the Kuru Kururu Farmers, Crops and Livestock Association are the businesses represented. The GMSA said these companies have been in the business of preserving, processing and bottling fruits, vegetables and other agricultural…

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