Year: 2019

Delay tactics!

TIMES INT'L

Stalemate at GECOM on timeline for E-Day Despite a meeting convened on Wednesday by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to discuss issues pertaining to the Commission’s readiness for the upcoming elections, there has not been any progress thus far, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Commissioner Robeson Benn. Speaking to the local press following the engagement, the former PPP Government Minister said a lot of time was wasted on Wednesday as he dubbed the meeting unproductive. According to him, the timelines for training of polling agents were discussed but no…

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Parents urged to ‘get involved’

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…as NY Mayor, Schools Chancellor kick off 2019 Education Council Elections New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza kicked off the 2019 Community and Citywide Education Council election on Thursday, urging parents to run as part of their effort to empower and elevate the voice of parent leaders, which includes their ongoing five-borough parent forum tour. According to the Mayor’s Office, Education Councils are a critical way for parents and families to get involved and help shape their school communities. Parents can go online to…

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Guyana Govt, IDB sign US$31.1M loan agreements

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Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Monday signed two loan agreements with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of US$31.1 million. The loans are earmarked for the establishment of an Electronic Single Window for Trade and the Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy. The projects will be executed by the Business Ministry; the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc respectively. The loans were signed on the sidelines of the eighth Annual Caribbean Governors’ Meeting of the IDB. The…

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Guyana Bar Association says GECOM, by law, required to be in a state of readiness

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The Bar Council of the Guyana Bar Association on Wednesday said it welcomes the recent ruling of acting Chief Justice Roxane George in the legal challenge arising out of the December 21, 2018 no-confidence resolution and called for the announcement of the date for constitutionally mandated General and Regional Elections. Chief Justice George, on January 31, issued rulings in three cases arising out of the no-confidence resolution that toppled the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. On Monday, the released written judgement prompted the statement from the…

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Probe into controversial D’Urban Park Project hits brick wall

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…Auditor General says more documents needed As the probe into the controversial D’Urban Park Project continues, Auditor General Deodat Sharma says he is dissatisfied with the information they have gathered thus far and would, therefore, need more documents. Last week, the Public Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement that it had already handed over documents requested by the Auditor General’s Office. But Sharma told Guyana Times International on Tuesday that while he was in receipt of those documents, more financial records are needed before the audit is completed into the…

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UG student remanded on bomb threat charge

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University of Guyana student Sheliza Dianne Jaferally was on Monday remanded to prison when she appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a charge of misuse of a telecommunications system. Jaferally is accused of issuing bomb threats against the tertiary institution. The 25-year-old denied that on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, by means of a public telecommunications system, she caused anxiety to the students and staff of the University of Guyana by transmitting a false message knowing same to be false. Defense Attorney Latchmie Rahamat in a bail application told the…

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New batch of teachers urged to display positive attitude, respect rules governing profession

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The Teaching Service Commission on Monday handed out 82 letters of introduction to individuals from Regions 2 and 3 who applied to become teachers. The simple ceremony for both regions was held in the auditorium of the West Demerara Secondary School where all potential teachers were present. Vice Chairperson of the Commission, Avril Crawford explained to the prospective teachers that the letters of introduction are not appointments. “The letters of introduction serve as an invitation for you to take to the school that you have been introduced to and after…

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Carter Center officials visit GECOM

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…seek answers on elections preparedness Officials from the Carter Center met with top officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), including Commissioners, to get a better understanding of their readiness for General and Regional Elections. GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward told Guyana Times International that the meeting, which took place on Monday morning, saw two representatives from the Center in attendance. “The visit was basically for information gathering. They have been following the developments in Guyana in relation to elections and so they requested to meet with the Commission,”…

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Race and racism

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With elections on the horizon, “race”, of course, has taken centre stage once again. In Guyana, we have been very generous with the use of the word “race”. This is another legacy of the British who defined us as “the land of six races”. Many Guyanese in the pre-independence era actually boasted about this classification. “Race” has been a very fluid, changing concept and it is not coincidental that the modern usage of the term is bound up with the history of the West Indies since “race” and “African slavery”…

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Tag team…

TIMES INT'L

…in GECOM Tag teams are a standard feature in professional wrestling. The trick is to have a “fresh” partner ready to enter the ring to wallop the other wrestler when he’s down. It’s not incidental that professional wrestling is pure theatre with the moves and even the results, totally fixed. Tag teams simply double the variations of the fix. Not endowed with professional wrestlers in Guyana, the PNC-led coalition has introduced the tag-team tactic in the operations of GECOM to pummel the PPP into oblivion, as they struggle for the…

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