Dear Editor, The Indian Action Committee (IAC) is shocked and horrified at the deliberate destruction of the Camp Street jail, which was destroyed by fire on Sunday, July 9, 2017; set simultaneously in several buildings in the compound by dangerous prisoners – many of whom are on death row or serving life sentences for murder. The IAC understands that the now destroyed prison was insanely overcrowded, with at least twice the safe capacity for housing both convicted criminals and those on remand prior to their trials. The IAC is calling…
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Prison Service staff and Joint Services must be commended for safely relocating over 1000 prisoners
Dear Editor, Safely relocating just over 1000 prisoners during the raging inferno that reduced the central prison on Camp Street, in Georgetown, to cinder borders on the miraculous. While a final accounting for all prisoners awaits a search of the cooling compound, the Prison Service staff and the Joint Services who worked with them along with inmates, deserve the highest commendation. This commendation is additionally merited, in light of the provocation of the prison officers club being set alight allegedly by some inmates while being held there as a temporary…
Read MoreJagdeo finalising 3rd GECOM list
The Opposition has commenced the process of preparing a third list of nominees for the post of Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be submitted to President David Granger. At least ten persons have been shortlisted so far, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has revealed. Jagdeo told media operatives on Wednesday that the list will be further reduced to six before it is submitted, but hinted that there might be some difficulty finalising that list. According to him, one of the ten persons shortlisted has already indicated a reluctance…
Read MoreWorkers as farmers can turn around Guyana’s sugar industry
By Vishnu Bisram In country after country, sugar production in the hands of private cane farmers has shown to be very profitable. It has been so demonstrated in India, Guyana, Trinidad, and in several African and Asian countries, etc. My father and other cane farmers had high productivity, though flooding and drought were serious challenges, on the land because they were motivated to work hard as all the produce belonged to them and not the state. The farmers moved out of cane and rice only after Burnham cheated them of…
Read MoreWhy not just prison reform
In the aftermath of the latest conflagration at the Camp Street Prison, there are once again calls for “prison reform” — this time, bound by the exigency of having to either replace the structures that were completely razed. However, these calls cannot be addressed in isolation and outside the need for broader criminal justice reform. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) advises, “It is of utmost importance that prison reform is not regarded in isolation from broader criminal justice reform. UNODC believes that effective prison reform is dependent…
Read MoreRebuilding assistance for flood affected Region 7 and 8 farmers ongoing
Farmers in Regions Seven and Eight continue to receive assistance, in the aftermath of the recent flooding in the two regions. Minister of the Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock told the media that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and his ministry “have been sending in chainsaws, tarpaulin, buckets, and agricultural tools.” The tools are to help in the rebuilding of the homes damaged during the floods. They are also to enable farmers to restart cultivation on the hundreds of acres of farmlands that went under, as a result of heavy…
Read MoreGovt moving to establish board of governance tasked with oversight of prison system
Based on recommendations made for the modernisation of the Guyana Prisons Service, the government will be moving to establish a board of governance to have oversight of the local prison system. The consultancy service for the modernisation of the prison system was awarded to Jamaican experts Trevor Hamilton and Associates, International Management Consultants and is an IDB-funded project. According to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, the firm recommended several options to the Guyana Government for better management of the local prison services. “The first question that was asked was in…
Read MoreYoung Author of Guyanese Heritage Featured on American TV Show
At the tender age of eight, Anaya Lee Willabus penned her first book. Now at 10 years old, she is an award-winning author, poet and visionary. Notably, she was recently featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – an American late-night talk show. Anaya was born and raised in Brooklyn, US, where she resides with her Guyanese parents and two siblings. Her first book, “The Day Mohan Found His Confidence”, was written after her inaugural trip to her parents’ homeland, Guyana, in April 2014. Anaya’s second book, “A Bully’s…
Read MoreJagdeo takes Jordan to task over recent comments
Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has taken Finance Minister, Winston Jordan to task over comments he made at a recent public event about the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity Project (AFHP), which he says lacks veracity and does not confirm logical reasons for halting the project. While Jagdeo admitted that the coalition Government’s intention not to pursue the AFHP has been made known before, he accused Jordan of providing insubstantial evidence and reasoning as to why the now Government has decided not to continue with the projects full implementation. The opposition leader…
Read MoreGuySuCo continues community outreaches
…Uitvlugt 40,000 tonnes target ‘achievable’ – Estate Manager By Lakeram Bhagirat Forty thousand tonnes of sugar by 2020 is achievable but lack of labour would severely hamper that target, according to Uitvlugt Estate Manager, Yudhisthira Mana. However, Mana identified that if that target is not met then the estate would incur a loss. Mana was at the time addressing a gathering of sugar workers, community leaders and residents of Uitvlugt Village, West Coast Demerara. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is conducting a series of community outreaches in sugar dependent communities…
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