TIMES INT'L

Home of USA-based Guyanese goes up in flames

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

An unoccupied house located in Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), went up in flames early Wednesday morning. The fire started about 05:00h at the Lot 34 Canal Dam, Ann’s Grove residence. According to reports, the house belonged to an 80-year-old pensioner, Elaine Pollard, who is currently in the United States of America (USA). Her two-storey wood and concrete home was left in the care of a fellow villager, Safraz Baksh. The 42-year-old vendor of Main Street, Ann’s Grove, said he was awakened about 05:30h, by a neigh-bour who in-formed…

Guarding against electoral fraud

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Elections are one of the crucial institutions to ensure the existence – not to mention the functioning — of democracy. Guyanese know this (or should know this) to their cost, since our country was actually birthed through electoral “fiddling” by the British when independence was in sight. The winner of the 1961 elections was supposed to lead an independent Guyana, but when the PPP fulfilled that condi-tion, with pressure from the then US administration of JF Kennedy, the British changed the electoral system to ensure a coalition between the PNC…

PPP takes GECOM to Court over ‘fraudulent’ LGE list

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) through one of its constituency candidates in Berbice has filed legal proceedings against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and another individual to have the names fraudulently affixed to the backer’s lists for Local Government Elections (LGE) in the An-cient County removed. The court document seen by this publication names Shafraz Beekham as the applicant, along with the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and Orlando Christopher Persaud as the respondents. The document outlines that the challenge is seeking to have the names of 49 other electors…

PPP Commissioners allege lack of transparency at GECOM

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are unhappy with the lack of accountability at that entity; and this is especially since there are just 43 days to go before Local Government Elections are held. Those commissioners, in an interview with this publication, made it clear that there are times when requests for information get them nowhere. One problem identified by Commissioner Sase Gunraj is the manner in which meetings are held. “You’ve heard in the media us complaining and saying things recently about the…

The Struggles of Guyana’s teachers

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

As cliché as it sounds, teaching is really the mother of all professions but our teachers are more than often given the short end of the proverbial straw. In most counties throughout the world, teachers are overworked and underpaid. We recently saw the power of teachers, in Guyana, when the 2018-2019 school year commenced. Schools had to be closed down and students sent away because the majority of the teachers decided to take to the streets demanding better working conditions, benefits as well as increased salaries. This move came about…

Guyana records another mining death

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Another miner died in Guyana’s interior after the mining pit in which he was working collapsed at Is-sano Backdam, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). Dead is Lennox Douglas, 33, of Canvas City Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). Speaking with Guyana Times International on Tuesday, the miner’s younger brother, Jermaine Doug-las, said his brother recently started working at the location and was self-employed. He said the family received sketchy information about what transpired from the Police. According to the young man, the Police said they are questioning other persons who were also…

Hundreds flock St Cuthbert’s Mission Heritage celebration

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

As the month-long Indigenous Heritage celebration culminated, hundreds of patrons from all walks of life were yesterday treated to the sights, tastes and sounds of the rich Indigenous culture at St Cuthbert’s Mission in the Mahaica river. According to the Department of Public Information, activities commenced at the village benab with poems, dances, songs and renditions from various cultural groups within the only Indigenous settlement in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); and all of those activities depicted the way of life of Guyana’s first peoples. There were also live demonstrations of the…

Teaching was my way out of poverty – Miss Rajkumarie Lall

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

As a young child, we all have dreams and we plan our lives around those dreams but as we grow older and reality kicks in, we are forced to accept that our dreams are sometimes too farfetched. That was the same dilemma Rajkumarie Lall found herself in when she was ready to enter into the world of work a few decades ago. The 48-year-old teacher has been attached to the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School for over two and a half decades but has been teaching for over 30 years.…

Opposition MP calls for audit of ‘wasteful spending’ at DPI

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Weeks after calls were made for a presidential probe into the operations and spending at the Department of Public Information (DPI), Opposition Member of Parliament and former Junior Finance Minis-ter, Juan Edghill, is calling for the Auditor General to investigate the entity’s spending. Concerns were raised by staff at the DPI about spending practices and the hiring of persons affiliated to political operatives. The staffers who requested anonymity told sections of the press that monies were being spent wastefully on regular retreats and other unnecessary things. In describing DPI as…

Revenue body gets tough on fuel smuggling

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 TIMES INT'L

…over 17,000 gallons of smuggled fuel seized A captain and members of his crew are currently in custody following the discovery of more than 80,000 litres (17, 597.5 gallons) of smuggled fuel in their vessel. The discovery was made by officers from the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). The officers recently intercepted MV Plumrose with a quantity of liquid that was later tested and confirmed to be hydrocarbons in the form of diesel fuel. During a search of the vessel, the officers discovered…