Author: TIMES INT'L

Guyana monitoring developments in Venezuela

TIMES INT'L

…says military exercises do not constitute threats Four Russian military aircraft, including two Tu-160 (Blackjack) bombers, one An-124 (Condor) heavy-lift cargo airplane and an IL-62 (Classic) passenger aircraft are seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite image at Simon Bolivar Airport in Maiquetia, Vargas, located about 21 kilometres from downtown Caracas, Venezuela in this December 10, 2018 (Courtesy Satellite image ©2018DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company/Handout via Reuters) In an effort to quell the growing anxiety of some Guyanese after it was revealed that two state-of-the-art Russian bomber aircraft have been deployed to neighbouring…

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PM should take responsibility for delays in constitutional reform, says Ramkarran

TIMES INT'L

Although Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo has said that the blame should not be placed solely at the feet of the coalition Government but the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform, political analyst Ralph Ramkarran has a different view. He said in his weekly column, Conversation Tree, that no member has apparently requested the Chair, Attorney General Basil Williams, to convene a meeting of the Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform to discuss the Constitution Reform Commission Bill. “The failure of the Standing Committee to conclude its consideration of the Bill –…

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Back to the future…

TIMES INT'L

…on PNC “party paramountcy” Ever since the PNC-led coalition began to govern in 2015, it quickly became apparent to your Eyewitness that they seemed determined to prove the old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The original PNC “trick” was their insistence on practising “party paramountcy”. Party Chair Volda Lawrence’s statement that only her friends – all PNC, in any case – and PNC members could expect to get Government jobs is just another example of the “paramount party” mindset. Now young folks, who wouldn’t have…

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Guyana’s Maritime Safety Training Institute to boost local content training

TIMES INT'L

Guyana’ maritime training institute MatPal and TOTALTEC Academy have collaborated to form the Maritime Safety Training Institute (MSTI), to offer state-of-the-art maritime and safety related training programmes. At a simple ceremony on Thursday, to announce the formation of the institute, MatPal’s CEO Colleen Abrams said the partnership will bring world-class training to Guyana as efforts are being made to develop local content for the oil and gas sector. “Through this strategic collaboration we are committed to addressing the issue of local content through training as well as adopting and enforcing…

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Nagamootoo is prepared to do the ‘double role’ and violate the Constitution

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, The Opposition’s chief whip the Honourable Gail Teixieira filed a motion in the house asking that the acting President of the Republic of Guyana, Mr Moses Nagamootoo vacate his place in The National Assembly as Head of Government. It is a legally binding motion as stipulated in Article 178 (4) of the constitution which states; once a member (who must be an elected member of The National Assembly) of the cabinet is appointed to perform the functions of the office of President, then that Minister’s seat in The…

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All Skin teeth na laff

TIMES INT'L

Satiricus was quite upbeat as he ambled towards the Back Street Bar. Ever since he quit the KFC party, he’d noticed they’d practically disappeared from the public’s eye. He didn’t mind, since he didn’t want to be blamed for jumping a sinking ship. He’d cut ties much earlier, when Nagga Man boasted he’d whup the PPCEE in Whimsey. He’d concluded the man had become delusional. “Hey, Sato!” yelled Cappo, as Satiricus sidled into the seat next to him. “Wha’ yuh t’ink ‘bout de new May-ya?” “What’s to think?” answered Satiricus.…

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PNC ethnic politics

TIMES INT'L

Volda Lawrence, Chairwoman of the PNCR, has created quite a firestorm over her comments to her party faithful at a Region 4 conclave to conduct a post mortem on the LGE and to chart a way forward to 2020. Throwing the usual politically correct political platitudes we usually hear in the public pronouncements of politicians, Ms Lawrence bluntly told her audience that when it comes to jobs, “The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I gon give wuk to is PNC; and right now I looking…

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Blame game…

TIMES INT'L

…by Nagamootoo on sugar workers Just when you thought the drama over Volda Lawrence’s frank avowal of her government’s “PNC-only employment policy” would be dominating Moses Nagamootoo’s attention, he devoted his Chronic column to blaming sugar workers for the medical challenges that led to his triple by-pass last February. At the time, your Eyewitness thought it was the PNC’s shredding of the Feb 14, 2015 Cummingsburg Accord, which had promised a Prime Ministership on steroids, but had instead delivered Larwah! Lest your Eyewitness be accused of putting words into the…

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PrEP: A game changer in HIV prevention?

TIMES INT'L

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP as it is referred to, is a pill that can reduce the risk of contracting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in persons who are HIV negative. The daily pill, under the Truvada brand, can result in 90 to 98 per cent protection against the disease and caters mainly for those whose partners are HIV positive. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pre-exposure prophylaxis is when people at very high risk for HIV take HIV medicines daily to lower their chances of getting…

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“It is not the end of the road”

TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat “I remember it as though it was just yesterday when in fact it has been six years now. It was a Wednesday morning and I went to GRPA (Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association) for an HIV test and there my world shattered. I was nervous as hell and then they drew the blood and sent me upstairs to talk to the counsellor and await the results. I think I waited like about half hour for the results, but it seemed like it was days. When I was called…

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