Month: May 2017

Plot to assassinate President Granger was a hoax

TIMES INT'L

…complainant offered ‘witness’ money to confirm story As the probe into the alleged assassination plot against the Guyanese Head of State deepens, Police have discovered new information which may change the entire direction of the investigation. Guyana Times International understands that the complainant, who is a well-known barber of Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD), had offered a significant sum of money to someone to support his claim of being approached by two businessmen to kill President David Granger. The complainant, who up to Monday evening was being hunted by Police,…

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New pharmaceutical importation system will favour large foreign companies

TIMES INT'L

– Guyanese suppliers foresee adverse effect on business Following the introduction of the new measure whereby a regional hub will now recommend approval for pharmaceuticals to be imported into Guyana, local importers had mixed reactions to the new system with many of them decrying the move, saying that it will “adversely” affect their business. The new arrangement – which was signed on to by Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence since early March and announced by Head of the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) Marlan Cole on Tuesday at a…

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Is Guyana capable and ready for ecotourism?

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, The current ecological concerns in Mazaruni, Region Seven, the gold industry’s spill of the recent past, the high level of bauxite industry pollution in Linden, and the opening of the oil industry all beg the question: “Are we capable and ready for ecotourism?” Lack of consistency in the Government’s (current and past) ability to deal with the prevention of pollution and lasting disruption to the ecosystem of Guyana makes it difficult to give full confidence in the nation’s future oil industry’s ability to prevent a serious natural disaster,…

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Sunil Narine also has good batting skills

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, I am in India for almost two weeks now to attend the “Indian Diaspora Indentured Academic Conference” held over the weekend in New Delhi where I presented a paper on Indian Indentureship in Guyana and the Caribbean.  I used the occasion also to enjoy cricket in which several West Indians are participating in the Indian Professional League (IPL) cricket tournament. Wherever I travelled in India and at 20/20 IPL matches, because of my ‘English’ accent,  curious questions arise on my nationality as Indians would say “I look Indian”,…

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The working class facing tough times

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, We are approaching another May Day, the holiday of the working people. It is a time when workers celebrate their achievements and contemplate their future. This year, unfortunately, the toiling masses of Guyana have nothing to celebrate and a lot of concerns for the future. In just two years, the PNC-led APNU regime has done great damage to our economy. It is the working people who are feeling the brunt of the pressures as a result of the regime’s faulty economic policies. Indeed, the conditions of life for…

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What returns did the three-day State visit to The Bahamas by Granger and team garner for Guyana?

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, It was reported in the Tribune, a Bahamian newspaper, on March 2, 2017 that President David Granger and his select cohort arrived in The Bahamas for a three-day State visit in a private plane. Thinking that there was an error with the report, since there was no possible justifiable reason to use a private plane instead of a commercial flight (whether first class or otherwise), my further investigation revealed that not only was this report of the use of a private plane accurate, but it was further evidence…

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Granger pushes ‘green agenda’ during UK visit

TIMES INT'L

President David Granger on Wednesday met with the Queen of England, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England in a private meeting during which they discussed the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) – a network of forest conservation initiatives which involves all 52 countries of the Commonwealth. These discussions were held in the context of President Granger’s “green state” development agenda. The meeting marks the first time a Guyanese leader has met with Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom. Following the meeting, President Granger posited that relations…

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Govt’s new drug importation system will affect all Guyanese

TIMES INT'L

By Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Former Health Minister Something sinister is happening at the Food and Drug Analyst Department and it will affect ALL Guyanese. It will lead to massive increases in cost of medicines and supplies in the public health system, a cost that will be borne by taxpayers. Government will have to spend more on medicines, but will receive less, leading to sustained shortages in the public health system. But it will also lead to higher cost of medicines in the private health system. Without full access to medicines…

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Take the economy seriously

TIMES INT'L

A half-year ago, repeating the need for a governmental stimulus of the economy, we discussed in this space the latter’s evident choice between “guns and butter”. The phrase “guns or butter” entered the lexicon as a trope for signalling the tendency of some political leaders to focus their energies and their nation’s spending on the military (guns), rather than on the needs of the civilian population (butter). The Nazi-militarised Government was particularly fond of the phrase, as its officials scoffed at the production of “butter”. It entered economics as the…

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US-based Guyanese sending $$ back home may have to pay 2% tax

TIMES INT'L

…to help fund Trump’s border wall Guyanese and other Caribbean nationals residing in the United States of America who send remittances to family back in their home countries could soon find themselves contributing to the cost of the construction of the Mexican border wall — a key commitment of US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. According to a report in the Jamaican Observer, a United States congressman is proposing that an amendment be made to the US Electronic Fund Transfer Act to impose a fee for remittance transfers to certain…

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