Dear Editor, President Bharrat Jagdeo has stated that when he demits office later this year, he would do so with the satisfaction of having achieved a lot for Guyanese. In actual fact, the president is being modest, quite modest. Those achievements are nothing short of staggering. Mr Jagdeo assumed office at a time of great turmoil in Guyana. That was the time when those who wanted “slow fiaah, mo fiaah” were rampant on the streets of Georgetown; when indeed a dangerous spectre was haunting the land. The young president came…
Read MoreYear: 2011
Guyana featured in National Geographic Traveler magazine
Guyana is once again in the international spotlight for its unique tourism product. The country has been featured in an article entitled “50 tours of a lifetime” in the National Geographic Traveler magazine. In the April edition, “Destination Guyana” was featured among the best tours in Central and South America, the Tourism Ministry said in a release. The focus of the piece on Guyana was the 16-day trip offered by Wilderness Explorers, which introduces visitors to “the rich culture and pristine environment of Guyana” in places like Surama, Rewa, Nappi,…
Read MoreAgri gains
In the last week, there was a confluence of three events that signalled a rise in the agricultural profile of our country. These were the commissioning of the GuySuCo Packaging Plant at Enmore; the signing of a third mega-contract for rice and paddy with Venezuela; and (with somewhat less fanfare, but no less significance) the harvesting of rice and beans in the Rupununi. These are important advances, particularly against the background of the rising food insecurity that is plaguing large swathes of the world. Sugar remains a linchpin of our…
Read MoreUS$ 5.12M teacher training project launched
Government has launched the Guyana Improving Teacher Education Project (GITEP), aimed at improving learning in the classrooms by advancing the quality and delivery of teacher education. The project is supported by the World Bank, which will provide US$ 4.2 million of the total cost. The GITEP will also look at improving the management of teacher education programmes offered both at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the University of Guyana. Education Minister Shaik Baksh, in addressing the gathering on Wednesday, said that the project will see greater developments…
Read MoreUS$12.5M Enmore packaging plant commissioned
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) on Monday, May 9, commissioned its US$12.5 million Enmore, East Coast Demerara packaging plant, which is intended to transform sugar production, moving from the traditional sole output of raw sugar to the export of an additional 40,000 tonnes of packaged sugar per year initially. In later years, the factory would see production of packaged sugar rising to 80,000 tonnes per annum, allowing GuySuCo to enjoy a premium price for the value- added product on the international market. Currently, GuySuCo produces and exports only about 8000…
Read MoreGuyana on course to attain MDGs – finance minister
Stakeholders on Monday met to discuss the draft United Nations Assistance Development Framework (UNDAF) and the Common Country Assessment (CCA) for Guyana 2012- 2016, with the aim of obtaining contributions and observations. UNDAF is the UN strategic plan to foster the administration’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy and to support government’s commitment in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Over the years Guyana has made enormous strides, and is well on its way towards achieving the MDGs, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said during his address at the meeting held at…
Read MoreGRA expands anti-smuggling network
Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) last week signed on to an agreement to share information among Latin American and Caribbean countries, as the region takes steps to stamp out smuggling and counterfeit goods. The pact was signed last Wednesday, May 4 at the conclusion of a two-day conference in Panama that brought together the Customs chiefs of a number of Caribbean and Latin American countries. Signing on behalf of the GRA was Commissioner- General Khurshid Sattaur. Sattaur told Guyana Times International that the agreement will enable GRA to expand its network…
Read MoreCommunity’s help a must in child protection efforts
– President Jagdeo calls on religious leaders to be more aggressive By Janelle Persaud The importance of community involvement in protecting the country’s children was reiterated when President Bharrat Jagdeo commissioned the Gy$25 million Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) Building, situated at Broad and Charles Streets, Charlestown, Georgetown, on Friday, May 6th. The building has been upgraded and furnished to provide a child-friendly environment, even to featuring a play park in the compound. Child Care and Protection Agency Director Ann Green described the event as a milestone, thanking President…
Read MoreJagdeo urges UNASUR member states to remove hindrances to free movement
President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday, May 9, urged officials of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to remove hindrances to free movement, and communication barriers which isolate member states. The president was speaking at the installation ceremony of newly- appointed UNASUR Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia Velez. President Jagdeo, in his capacity as chairman of UNASUR, presented Mejia with the instrument of appointment at a State House ceremony. Velez is a former foreign affairs minister of Colombia, and has served in several ministerial and ambassadorial postings in the Colombian…
Read MoreChanderpaul questions Hilaire’s comments
Former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has demanded an explanation from WICB Chief Executive Ernest Hilaire regarding the comments he made about the lack of discipline and application in the team, leading up to its massive post-World Cup overhaul. In a strongly-worded letter addressed to Hilaire, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Chanderpaul questioned whether the comments were directed at him. Chanderpaul, along with senior players Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, were axed from the side for the ongoing series against Pakistan. Hilaire’s interview with Line and Length network,…
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