Year: 2017

Exxon Mobil applies for Production License of Oil in Guyana

TIMES INT'L

American oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. has asked Guyana’s government for a production license to let it start pumping oil from the seabed by late 2019, though company officials have said operations are likely to start in 2020, according to an AP report. Guyana Geology and Mines Commissioner, Newell Dennison on Wednesday confirmed the application, saying it would be the first time the small South American country has issued an oil and gas license. Exxon Mobil said last year that exploratory wells off Guyana discovered a “world-class” reservoir that could…

Read More

NY Governor announces cashless tolling to begin on Rockaway Bridges from April 30

TIMES INT'L

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday announced cashless tolling will begin on the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial and Cross Bay Veterans Bridges in Queens on April 30, a statement from the Governor’s office said. The Governor’s Office explained that the transition to cashless tolling is a major component of the Governor’s plan to reimagine New York’s crossings for the 21st century and will reduce congestion and improve travel time at Rockaway’s major crossings ahead of the region’s summer travel season. The Rockaway resident rebate program is unaffected by the switch…

Read More

Toronto-based Guyanese doctor awarded Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal

TIMES INT'L

Toronto-based Guyanese Dr Narendra Singh, Humber River Hospital’s Chief of Staff, was on  March 9, awarded Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) by Governor General of Canada, David Johnston. According to a press release from Canada NewsWire, Hospital President & CEO Barb Collins congratulated Singh, noting “we are all proud of the amazing work Dr Singh, and many of his colleagues at Humber, do, not just in our hospital every day but beyond into the local and global communities. In Dr Singh’s case, his leadership has seen the neonatal and…

Read More

Cuban businessman freed of TIP charges

TIMES INT'L

A Cuban businessman was on Tuesday morning freed of Trafficking In Persons (TIP) charges, when Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan said there was insufficient evidence to convict him. Eladio Pereza, owner of Bollywood Club on the East Bank of Demerara, allegedly trafficked a Cuban female for sexual exploitation between March 1, 2016 and January 20, 2017 at the said nightclub. Magistrate McLennan in her decision on Tuesday stated that the prosecution failed to prove the necessary elements of trafficking in order to convict Pereza of the offence. She added that the…

Read More

No decision made for Suriname’s help with oil refinery – Trotman

TIMES INT'L

One day after Rudolf Elias, Suriname’s State oil company’s Managing Director announced that that country’s oil refinery is not built to handle the type of oil extracted from Guyana, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has said that no decision has been taken with respect to where Guyana’s oil would be refined. Trotman’s statement comes against the backdrop of an interview Elias had with Ware Tijd, an online newspaper in Suriname. Elias said, “the refinery is not built tohandle the type of oil that is extracted in Guyana. Their oil is…

Read More

Cabinet’s role should be removed completely from procurement process

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Once more, the situation with the setting up of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) and its functioning has come to the fore and is prominent in the news. Since the author had quite a bit to do with this, it is therefore important to once more set the record straight. When the PPP/C government placed the PPC Bill before the National Assembly, the ‘no objection’ role of Cabinet was part of that Bill. The then opposition railed against this, and suggested strongly that Cabinet’s role be removed. It…

Read More

Kumar’s fabrications have been exposed

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, The retirement of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the public announcement in this regard has occasioned another flurry about the Commission in the media. Joining that flurry was one Mr Neil Kumar, who made three assertions among others. He asserted that: (1) “the election results were by law supposed to be verified by the Information Technology tabulation and the corresponding manual tabulation. However, none of this was done”. (2) “Guyanese must now demand that GECOM tell us how many fake SOPs were discovered. This…

Read More

Hate speeches should have no place in Guyana

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Marking the centenary of the end of the Indian indentureship programme has become a most interesting exercise and more so for the Indian Guyanese community. Myself, Ravi Dev and Swami Aksharananda were the objects of the usual spewing of hate – originating from Freddie Kissoon’s pathology of self-hatred – in a column published on March 7, 2017. Whether Kissoon should be given a column to direct personal attacks in the name of responsible journalism is a consideration for his publishers, the Guyana Press Association, and for the Government,…

Read More

“Artificially created emergency”

TIMES INT'L

Former Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, has slammed the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) attempts to sole source drugs to the tune of G$605.9 million from private supplier ANSA McAL Trading Limited, due to an “emergency”. According to Ramsammy, the fact is that the Georgetown Public Hospital has actually been delaying, then publishing and finally cancelling tenders for the supply of crucial drugs for the past few months. He said that the emergency Georgetown Public Hospital is citing is therefore an artificially created one, in order to sole source. “The…

Read More

Economist blames ‘incompetent decision-makers’ for downfall of sugar industry

TIMES INT'L

The recent announcement by Government that more sugar estates will be closed has been described as a move which lacks transparency by economist Sasenarine Singh, who believes that the downfall of the sugar industry is as a result of the incompetence of decision-makers. Last week, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon admitted that more estates would be shut down as Government moved to finalise its options with regard to the future of the sugar industry. “Well, there are proposals with respect to diversification; and in the diversification plan, there is a…

Read More