Author: TIMES INT'L

Three men were on the run after they reportedly barged into an Enterprise, East Coast Demerara house and set it alight. The two storey wooden and concrete house owned by 30-year-old, Vickram Sookraj was set alight at about 12:30h. It was reported that two of the men exited a silver car which they arrived in, entered the yard and asked for the whereabouts of a “pumpkin”. Rajputtie Sookraj, the sister of the owner who was at home alone at the time with a minor child said that the men approached…

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A major shake-up is looming on the financial landscape, as Canadian-based Scotia Bank will be pulling out its operations in Guyana and a number of other countries. The bank branches will in turn be bought over by Republic Bank. Guyana Times understands that the deal is worth US$123 million. According to Chairman of Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) Ronald Harford, who made the announcement, the move will benefit everyone in the long-run. This includes Scotiabank clients and employees and the group’s own stakeholders. But Scotia bank’s presence in Guyana is…

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has taken Government to task over comments made by one of its senior Cabinet and party officials at a recent political rally. Jagdeo has said he plans to file an official report with the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) and the international community, as the comments seek to divide Guyanese. He was making reference to an online news report wherein Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, remarked that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will target Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) supporters and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) that…

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-says 40-year contract period means no increases With just a week to go before toll increases are slated to go into effect, the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) has made a major offer to the Government. The Company has offered Government a chance to extend the life of the contract to spare commuters toll increases. In correspondence to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, BBCI Finance Controller Stephen Rambajan requested a meeting with the Minister on the Board’s behalf and in the public interest to discuss the terms of this offer.…

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…security ranks were clearly not alert –Director of Prisons A manhunt is underway for three prisoners, who escaped from the Lusignan Prison in the wee hours of Monday. The men reportedly scaled the perimeter fence at about 04:30h. The escapees are 23-year-old Travis Evans of ‘C’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown; Sudesh Dyal, 23, of Wales Backdam and Dexroy Pollard, 29, of Wales Village. Evans is a murder accused. Acting Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels has since confirmed that of the three who escaped, one was incarcerated for murder while the…

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The closure of the Skeldon Sugar Estate has taken a toll on the business community in the bordering town of Corriverton, Berbice, Region six. Nine months after the estate was closed, businesses are recording very low sales and many of them are operating at a lost. Following the closure of four sugar factories last year, and the displacing of almost 5000 workers several communities recognised a slowdown in commercial activity. Last year 1851 workers were sacked from the Skeldon Sugar Estate, 1181 from the Rose Hall Estate, 1480 from the…

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…husband slits wife’s throat, commits suicide …Police left victim alone with husband A Corentyne, Berbice man turned a knife on himself after killing his wife of 15 years on August 6. Dead are Subrina Lakhan, 29, a housewife, and her husband, Ramesh Ramdeen, 42, a labourer, at Rose Hall Estate. The couple lived at Lot 101 Chesney New Housing Scheme, Corentyne, and had three children ages six, eight and 13 during the 15-year relationship, which was marred by physical and verbal abuse. This newspaper was told that the couple on…

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– Say its Govt way or no way while denying personally instructing police One day after the Coalition Government was accused of blocking and sabotaging the annual flag-raising ceremony of the Corriverton Town Council, Minister Amna Ally has admitted that she was responsible for causing this event to be cancelled even while preparations were already made. The senior Government minister told Guyana Times on Sunday that flag raising ceremonies are national events organised by the Government. She noted that there are also committees set up in the various regions which…

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As part of the new agreement signed with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, the Natural Resources Minister will have to file for the company’s tax returns with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), something outspoken political analyst and economist, Ramon Gaskin has described as ‘foolish.’ According to Gaskin, this agreement which the Government signed onto makes them look silly in the eyes of many and only puts the Minister (Raphael Trotman) in a bad situation, where he now becomes the company’s ‘water boy,’ who has to provide a receipt of payment to…

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The future of an oil industry in Guyana seems even more promising with another announced oil discovery offshore Guyana by United States oil giant, ExxonMobil. The company’s 10th discovery was announced by Director for the Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe, who expressed satisfaction with the way things are going. He revealed that the discovery was made at the Pluma-1 well. It has increased the estimated recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block to more than 5 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The Pluma-1 is located some 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of…

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