Dear Editor, Guyana is talking about nabbing people involved in trafficking in persons (TIP), but it seems as though people lack awareness of this problem. Trafficking in persons is a serious crime that has many human rights violations. It covers the very act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring, or receiving a person through the use of force, coercion or other means, for the express purpose of exploiting him/ her. News reports recently indicated that a 48- year- old man was granted bail at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court on a…
Read MoreYear: 2013
The true cause of road accidents
Dear Editor, How can someone estab¬lish that a sleeping driver was the cause of the accident where a truck struck a school teenager in Berbice? Eyewitnesses are claiming that the truck was speeding and this seems to contradict the suggestion that the driv¬er was actually asleep. More so, it was just before dark in the afternoon. The fact that an errant truck driver killed a child, and then ran off is enough to act swiftly and se¬verely. In Barbados, accidents are not as frequent as they are here, but the…
Read MoreRallying for a good cause
Dear Editor, Help for needy children must be encouraged. I take my hat off to Comfort Sleep for donating a number of beds to the St Ann’s Orphanage. Along with the beds, came a large quantity of food items, haberdasheries and miscellaneous necessities. My mind goes back to December 28 last year when some 12 orphanages benefitted from a Gy$20 million donation by the Guyana Goldfields Inc and, during the same period, Giftland OfficeMax launched its “12 Deals of Christmas”, donating to 12 orphanages. Historically, orphanages have been defined as…
Read MoreVisually impaired students progressing
Dear Editor, I am enthused by the attitude of public relations officer for the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, who seems enthused, as he is all about empowering members of the blind community. Notice that I am bold in using the word ‘blind’. He says that he does not care, since indeed the subject is about blindness, even if sometimes it is just partial blindness for the person. The good thing is that amidst the setback, some 17 students are preparing for the 2014 May/ June Caribbean…
Read MoreFreedom!
“The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one’s country deep enough to call her to a higher plain” – George McGovern On Saturday, Guyana celebrated its 43rd anniversary of being a Republic. We, the Guyanese people, celebrated our 43rd anniversary of being a Republic. Thousands of people celebrated one event. They celebrated one of the most momentous days in our country’s history. And sure, there was some excessive vulgarity and all, but at least people from all of our diverse cultures were…
Read MoreYouth ambassadors meet OAS assistant secretary general
Organisation of the American States (OAS) Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert Ramdin discussed issues of leadership, political participation, responsibility and courage with a delegation of “Caribbean Youth Ambassadors” which visited Washington DC this week. The Caribbean youth ambassadors came from several countries, including The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as part of the United States Department of State “Youth Ambassadors” and “Bold Leaders” programme. Many of the participants of the Youth Ambassadors Programme have expressed interest in pursuing political careers. Addressing this issue, Assistant Secretary General Ramdin…
Read MoreNew employment initiative to empower indigenous youths
Over 500 Amerindian youths are set to be benefit from a new employment initiative, which will also see them being given a stipend to assist in their respective village management and administration. Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai said the Amerindian Affairs Ministry will be heading this employment programme, whereby it will seek to recruit, at the least three each from the 169 Amerindian communities, and equip them with training to serve as a semi-Community Development Officer (CDO). Minister Sukhai said that youths, in addition to inspecting and monitoring development…
Read MoreAgriculture Disaster Risk Management Plan essential in Guyana – Dr Ramsammy
Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy acknowledged that since 1999 to present; Guyana has suffered over US$1 billion in losses due to natural disasters. He noted that the 2005 flood alone cost Guyana almost half a billion American dollars. The minister stated that adopting an Agriculture Disaster Risk Management Plan (ADRMP) was therefore essential to guaranteeing Guyana’s preparedness in cases of natural disasters. Dr Ramsammy stated that the ADRMP was not about waiting for the disaster to occur. “It is recognising the risk and ensuring that we reduce our risks or…
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The Caricom secretariat headquarters are located at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, Guyana.
Read MoreRodrigues-Birkett talks crime, human rights at OAS meeting
Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was last Thursday received at the Organisation of American States (OAS) where she discussed with top officials there human rights and fighting organised crime. OAS Permanent Council Chair and permanent representative of Nicaragua, Ambassador Denis Moncada, and OAS chief-of-staff of the secretary general, Ambassador Hugo de Zela, representing Secretary General Insulza, received Rodrigues-Birkett, at the organisation’s headquarters in Washington, DC. During the meeting, they discussed the importance of the OAS Electoral Observation Missions in the hemisphere and the report on the drug problem in…
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