Year: 2011

“I wasn’t elected as prime ministerial candidate,” – Granger

TIMES INT'L

Presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, says he is committed to his party’s stance on alliances with other opposition parties to contest the upcoming National and Regional elections. However, he said, those who elected him must decide whether he should cede his position for a consensus candidate in a joint opposition alliance. “The members of the party who elected a presidential candidate didn’t nominate a prime ministerial candidate… so they want answers. If they went through the process to elect somebody as a…

Read More

Authorities get tough on persons entering Barbados without visas

TIMES INT'L

The Barbados Immigration and Passport Department said an upsurge in the number of people seeking to enter the country without the necessary entry visa has forced it to implement a zero-tolerance approach to the problem. The department has written to airlines and other agencies advising them of its decision. In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), the chief immigration officer said that there has been a continuing effort at fostering harmonious relations with various agencies by the department’s facilitation of passengers who…

Read More

Dr Lynette Ali yearns to empower Guyanese

TIMES INT'L

By Natasha Waldron Anthony A staunch believer in the old adage “education is the key to one’s success,” Dr. Lynette Ali, an educator by profession and passion, wants to positively impact her community, South Ozone Park, New York, specifically Guyanese immigrants – both parents and children. Ali, a Guyanese who early determined to achieve the highest level of academic excellence, recently earned her doctoral degree at St. John’s University. She intends to very soon start a journey to appease Guyanese-American families through her writings – a two-fold method that includes…

Read More

Issues affecting youths to be addressed – Minister Anthony

TIMES INT'L

As Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing the International Year of the Youth, local authorities say they are working to ensure issues affecting this important population group are significantly addressed. Youth Minister Dr Frank Anthony has said that since this year has been so designated by the United Nations, several activities have been held, all aimed at engaging the country’s young people in a meaningful way. “We had several camps last year, and we also had training programmes … this is going to continue,” the minister pointed…

Read More

Sharief Khan – a short tribute

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Death has ruthlessly plucked my good friend, Sharief Khan, from this mortal world at the relatively young age of 59, but such divine intervention must visit us all at some point in time. Sharief was the epitome of journalistic competence and excellence in Guyana and the Caribbean, and he must be placed very high on any journalism hall of fame which we may establish. In fact, I think we ought to move very swiftly and establish the ‘Sharief Khan Hall of Fame’ for journalists who have excelled. I…

Read More

Guyana has been gradually rising from the ashes of its past

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, ‘Absolutely transformative’ must be the term describing the pivotally-visible changes that the entire nation has been experiencing, especially since the beginning of the current millennium. Just go back to, say, twenty years ago, the following can be said of the national social status quo: pot-holed roads throughout the capital city, for example, that gave the appearance of a crater-holed moon surface; houses that were generally in need of repair and general rehabilitative works; very few taps that allowed in-residence water flow; run-down schools; scarcity of residential phone lines;…

Read More

BBC team concludes shoot to retrace Sir Walter Raleigh’s steps

TIMES INT'L

– Minister Prashad says farewell The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) team has departed Guyana following completion of their five-week shoot for their ‘Serious Explorers Raleigh’ series that seeks to retrace the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado. The 10 half-hour-long programmes will be aired in October on the BBC 1 in the United Kingdom (UK). Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad bid farewell to the team last Friday at the Baganara Island Resort, a report from the Government Information Agency…

Read More

The fascists within

TIMES INT'L

Of recent, there has been a concerted effort from some quarters to designate the government of the day in provocatively extreme terms. Two terms – dictatorship and fascism – have been thrown about frequently and they bear some examination; especially in this period before the next general elections. The elections, we all know to our cost, have a tendency to become quite tense (to say the least) and we certainly owe it to ourselves to clarify these labels before the election season actually begins. As to “dictatorship”, events in North…

Read More

Developing nations yet to fully tap biomass energy – Guyana says ethanol production still on the cards

TIMES INT'L

Developing nations have an untapped resource – bio-mass fuels – that could enable them to fight poverty, gain energy independence, and adapt to climate change, says a new report from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Guyana says that the production of ethanol, a bio-fuel, is still very much high on the agenda. The report urges developing nations to take advantage of their dependence on biomass fuels — such as wood and charcoal — and move towards green economies in which the poor benefit from producing sustainable, clean…

Read More

Guyana’s economic outlook remains positive – IMF

TIMES INT'L

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Guyana’s economic outlook remains positive for 2011, an election year, and through the medium term; but the Fund has warned about fiscal pressures arising from lagging productivity in the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the need for the country to strengthen the finances of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), and a possible fall-off in aid commitments. Road projects, construction of a large hydropower plant at Amaila Falls (AFHP), and implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) should sustain growth levels above the long- run…

Read More