TIMES INT'L

Road to first oil closer

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…as ‘Liza Destiny’ sets sail for Guyana Liza Destiny, the very first oil production vessel to be placed in Guyana, has departed Singapore for Guyanese waters, according to a release from ExxonMobil. Christened on June 22, 2019 by First Lady Sandra Granger, the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel is expected to arrive in Guyana in September, as the country readies for first oil in 2020. The Liza Destiny has a production capacity up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million…

Search continues for GECOM Chair

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…Opposition Leader finds President’s suggestions “unfavourable” Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo did not find favour with President David Granger’s suggestions of Attorney Kesaundra Alves and Justice Claudette La Bennett for the post of chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). This was revealed following a meeting with representatives from the President and Opposition on Wednesday to hammer out six names that are “not unacceptable” to the President. “The two names previously suggested by the President did not find favour with the Leader of the Opposition,” a joint statement from the two…

Jagdeo lobbies int’l community to ensure Govt complies with Constitution

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

With the caretaker Government being called out to honour the Constitution of Guyana and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rulings, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has begun engaging the diplomatic community in order to bring Guyana’s constitutional crisis to their attention. The Opposition Leader made this announcement during a press conference at his Church Street, Georgetown office on Monday. According to Jagdeo, he has already commenced discussions with representatives of the Caribbean Community. Jagdeo met with Secretary General of Caricom, Erwin LaRoque and noted that these discussions will continue with…

Rising star Hetmyer says ready for Hero CPL 2019

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

The 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) was a breakout season for Shimron Hetmyer, which he has used as a platform to further his international career and get picked up in other T20 tournaments such as the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having finished last season as the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ top scorer with 440 runs, including a maiden T20 hundred, Hetmyer says he will be trying hard to improve on those stellar returns when the 2019 CPL gets underway on 4 September. “Well, I’ll be looking to outdo it but…

Guyana can still have elections within 90 days; counting from June 18, 2019

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Over the past 24 hours, I have seen a lot of comments on social media after the decision was handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the NCM and the unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chairman. Whilst the decision of the CCJ did not specify a date for elections, President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, urged all political parties to honour the Constitution of Guyana. If we are to look carefully on this statement “honouring the Constitution” one can safely anticipate election on or…

Education Minister refers questions on audit of UG finances to Council

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

After requesting that the Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) conduct an audit into the University of Guyana (UG) finances, the Education Ministry mysteriously withdrew its request for the audit. Now, it is deferring to the UG council when asked for an explanation. In a brief interview with this publication on Monday, Education Minister Nicolette Henry was asked about the reasons behind the Ministry’s decision to withdraw its request for the audit and was now disinclined to pay the auditor that the AOG procured. But the Minister referred all questions to…

Abiding by the Constitution

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

The eagerly awaited consequential orders from the CCJ, flowing from the consolidated cases appealed from the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) of Dec 21, 2018 and David Granger’s unilateral selection of the GECOM Chair were delivered last Friday. Ultimately, the decisions and orders of the CCJ relate to the date for holding of elections in Guyana in accordance with the Constitution. Inter alia, the CCJ summarised: a) The provisions of Article 106(6) and (7) of the Constitution apply to a No-Confidence motion. b) Thirty-three votes constitute a majority of the 65-member National…

5 arraigned for murder of ECD businessman, daughter

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Almost two weeks after money changer Aaron Latchman, called “Star Boy”, and his teenage daughter, Arianna Latchman, were gunned down during a home invasion at their Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) residence, five men were on Monday afternoon arraigned for the heinous crime. Charged for the capital offence of murder are: 25-year-old Mark Rufino, a labourer of Parika Facade, East Bank Essequibo (EBE); 37-year-old Paul Chan, called “Long Hair” or “Anthony”, a conductor of Lot 10 Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown; 44-year-old Troy Abrams called “Rasta Man”, a vendor…

“Daddy, we wouldn’t have made it”

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…a father tells harrowing tale of son being stranded at sea By Lakhram Bhagirat Many times when your parents restrict you from doing something, it means that there is intuition and for some reason, we as children, always rebel. We accuse them of limiting our opportunities to explore the world, to learn and discover and in the end, we rebel. Sometimes the rebellion pays off and we are exposed to amazing opportunities and sometimes it all goes haywire and we think “I should have listened to mommy/daddy”. That may have…

Woman to spend 20 years behind bars for strangling 8-yr-old son to death

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Justice Navindra Singh on Tuesday imposed a sentence of 20 years, on the mother of eight year-old Emmanuel King, who died at the hands of the said woman that was expected to protect him. In a heartless act, Sonia King placed a bed sheet over her son’s head and strangled him to death while he was asleep. The mother formerly of Lot 565 Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), confessed to the lesser count of manslaughter at her first court appearance. During this matter, the convicted woman was represented by…