TIMES INT'L

Guyana records 481 cases of child sexual abuse for first half of 2018

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

As of June 2018, Guyana has recorded an increase in reported cases of sexual abuse against children. The eye widening figure was related by the Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CC&PA), Ann Greene on Friday during an interview with Guyana Times International. “By the end of June, we had 481 sexual abuse cases and that’s an increase,” she revealed. Greene went on to explain that she believes the high number exposed itself only due to intensive work by the department. According to her, “it’s not an increase to…

Asbestos discovered at secondary school in Linden– officials call for urgent attention

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

The rediscovery of asbestos at the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) in Linden Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) has led to urgent calls by regional officials and parents for immediate attention by the Education Ministry. Regional Chairman Renis Morian has indicated that officials recently received reports from parents while conducting checks on the school’s readiness for reopening, as the asbestos had been discovered in the ceiling of the school by contractors who were conducting repairs. “This is a great problem for us because school is reopening on Monday… I am calling…

Teachers’ strike: Uncertainties ahead

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

The new academic year is expected to commence on Monday, September 3. Come that day, thousands of Guyana children will be attending school for the first time, going to a new school or to a new level. It is always a moment of pride, expectation and a bit of apprehension as a next stage along the path of enlightenment and personal development is undertaken. There will be tremendous pride for those who were successful at the previous stage with the expectation of similar results as new challenges are confronted. However,…

Teenaged mother Viroshni Mithuram excels at CSEC

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat “Getting to go back to school was really tough because I had my son and I had to divide my time between him and studying for exams. So when I saw that I did so good I was happy because it was really hard and the hard work and sacrifices did pay off,” says Viroshni Mithuram. Viroshni is 18 years old and sat the 2018 CSEC examinations where she gained passes in 10 subjects (4 Grade 1s and 6 Grade 2s). But Viroshni’s situation is different from…

” I owe my success to my mother,” says Satram Mohamed

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat A mother always tries her best to let her children live the best life possible without revealing the struggles she goes through to give them that life, and that is exactly what Satram Mohamed’s mother did for him. For that, he says he owes every success in his life to her. Satram, a student of West Demerara Secondary School (WDSS), recently sat 15 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CSEC) exam and gained Grades One to Three passes in all. His performance was so exceptional that…

Guyanese Public Servants live on meager income while Ministers live large

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, With America and the United Kingdom having vested interests in Guyana, for strategic geopolitical reasons and as a former colony respectively, these countries, particularly the United Kingdom, must be shaking their heads at what continues to obtain in Guyana in our political and economic affairs. Not only they, but Guyanese can very probably attest for themselves that granting Guyana independence in 1966 was premature; because while there was no doubt a need to curtail the extraction of our wealth while we were a colony as a means of…

INDENTITY AND (LACK OF) COHESION

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Three years down the line, the PNC-led Government still insists “Social Cohesion” is its official goal, even as it has been most partisan in its actions– from unilaterally shutting down the sugar estates to blanking the Opposition from the US Congressional Delegation (CODEL). Unsurprisingly, there have been complaints by citizens, who are worried about the end game. Intuitively, they accept that “cohesion” cannot be a “bad thing”. The Jubilee Independence Commemoration poignantly brought to the fore rueful thoughts about “what could have been” if we had not been as divided…

Nursery school teacher dies after car slams into lorry

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Nursery school teacher Carlotta James, called Abigail, of Lot 27, Middle Walk, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, died after the car she was driving, PHH 67, slammed into the back of a lorry along the Good Hope Public Road, ECD at about 02:00h on Saturday. The driver of motor lorry GPP 143, a 31-year-old resident of Mahaicony, ECD, reportedly told investigators that he had slowed down the vehicle and had indicated he was about to turn south across the Good Hope public road when the car being driven by the 45-year-old…

Aspiring Journalist, Leah Hernandez gains 15 CSEC passes

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Leah Stephani Hernandez is a quiet 16-year-old from the village of Yarrowkabra located along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. She aspires to join the media fraternity where she plans to use her pen to highlight issues and tap into the power of the fourth estate to effect change and bring about awareness. Leah is currently a work study student with the Guyana Times. Leah recently sat the Caribbean Examination Council’s Secondary School Exams where she gained Grade One to Three passes in the 15 subjects she wrote. She explains to me that…

Ali urges Govt to cut back on ‘wasteful spending’

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 TIMES INT'L

In citing a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) Report that has highlighted the need for Government to cut back on its wasteful spending, former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Minister Irfaan Ali said the recommendations should be taken seriously. He was referring to the recently concluded 2018 staff report by the IMF on Guyana’s economy, where the international financial institution made two main policy recommendations, and where it underscored the importance of macroeconomic and financial stability. On the notion of preserving macroeconomic stability, a policy that prepares an economy for growth…