2019 – Page 121 – Guyana Times International

Trinidad doctor ambushed, killed fighting off attackers

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Police have launched a manhunt for two suspects, who fatally shot a former member of the Medical Board of Trinidad & Tobago just meters away from his Wallerfield home yesterday. Dr Vin Sein Chiang was shot twice in the chest after he tried to defend himself from the two men who ambushed him while he was attempting to remove a wooden pallet from the roadway as he left home to make his way to his Port-of-Spain office. It is suspected that the men may have wanted to take Chiang’s silver…

Too many women dying in Guyana due to rising domestic violence

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, In response to the domestic violence crisis, The Caribbean Voice beseeches and implores the Government to urgently organise a stakeholders’ focus group to come up with a coherent and concerted action plan for immediate implementation. By stakeholders we mean organisations that are currently directly involved in gender-based activism – not those who say they are but do nothing, not those who talk, talk and talk but do nothing else and not those who engage in photo ops and pageantry but no concrete action. We also urge that politics…

Guyana elected to WHO Executive Board

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence was elected to the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation (WHO), giving Guyana a voice in helping to shape global health policies. The WHO’s Executive Board has oversight responsibility for implementing decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly (WHA), which is an advisory body to facilitate WHO’s work. Minister Lawrence will serve in the position for the next three years. The WHO’s Executive Board comprises 34 individuals and meets twice annually; in January and in May. The 145th session of the Executive Board…

Severe penalties for accountants, auditors if caught in money laundering – AG warns

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, SC, on Saturday highlighted penalties that accountants and auditors could face if they refuse to report or are found to be involved in money laundering and terrorism financing activities. The AG delivered brief remarks at a session hosted to sensitise the professionals on their roles and responsibilities as Guyana moves swiftly towards Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance. “The consequences that come with being involved in money laundering, whether willingly or not, are severe with penalties such as the…

President yet to declare assets to Integrity Commission

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

… 716 public officials also in default The Integrity Commission had flagged a number of public officials earlier this year for failing to make their declarations, and President David Granger is one of the defaulters, having breached the stipulated deadline of May 20, 2019. The agency recently informed that all public officials were required to make these submissions, in compliance with the Integrity Commission Act. On the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, the President explained that he has not yet submitted his declaration but has made contact with the…

“Water under the bridge”

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…Alexander says of legal advice which points to no need for house-to-house registration Discussions on the legal opinion offered by the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM’s) legal officer of the need to update the voters’ list are being pushed aside even as the possible need for early elections loom larger by the day. At the conclusion of GECOM’s statutory meeting on Tuesday, Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander informed the media that the legal opinion is, in fact, “water under the bridge”. “For all intents and purposes, we are not discussing the substance…

Independence and Armed Forces Indian Exclusion

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Ravi Dev As we approach another “celebration” of our Independence from Britain, crime once again threatens to overwhelm the country. This is even as President Granger sits on the last of a string of British-funded proposals to “professionalise” the Police Force, which appears to be permanently on its back foot. It is more than passing strange that none of these plans recommend that the Disciplined Forces in general, and the Police Force in particular, be made more ethnically representative of the country’s population – much as the British Police…

A tale of…

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…two communities Ever since sliding into office, the PNC-led government’s been working to relocate the squatters on a privately-owned piece of land in the prime real estate location at Broad and Lombard Streets. They were first told they’d be given house lots at Mocha on the East Bank, but they refused that offer after the NDC balked. Finally, a month ago, the government announced they’d be moving 20 of the families into houses built in collaboration with FFTP at Prospect on the East Bank. The remainder will be relocated…

Violence against women in Guyana has become a runaway train while Govt sleeps

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Even as we agonise over the gruesome murder of Zaila Sugrim by her intimate partner this past weekend, news came out of Essequibo of another woman cruelly stabbed to death by her husband. None of these incidents is the direct fault of the President or his Government. But Violence Against Women (VAW), including Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), has further escalated in Guyana and is getting worse every day. Intimate Partner Violence and deaths are a genuine national crisis, demanding urgent action by the Government. As early as 2006,…

Jaguar captured at Essequibo Coast

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 TIMES INT'L

A jaguar has been captured by a resident of Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Guyana Times International understands that the majestic animal was discovered wandering around the village about 03:00h on Tuesday. Marvin Calvan quickly went into action and captured the animal. The jaguar, a young female, is currently secured in a cage. Jaguars often roam the area at nights, and residents complain that the animals feed on their livestock. The Guyana Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Panthera Corporation, aimed at conserving the…