Dear Editor, I completely agree with Guyana’s distinguished economist Dr Clive Thomas that a significant part of the nation’s oil revenue should be given directly to each household in Guyana at set times. There is no question in my mind that such a move would have a lasting and positive impact on the people of Guyana. This will be a powerful incentive that will bring our people’s latent aptitude for thrift, creativity, ingenuity and business to full bloom, and enable them to expand their contributions to the country’s sustainable development.…
Read MoreAuthor: TIMES INT'L
Shiv Chanderpaul: Deserving appreciation for a true hero
Dear Editor, Guyanese cricket legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a former captain of the West Indies team, will be awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws later this year by my alma mater, the University of the West Indies (UWI). It is a deserving appreciation for an unsung hero, who was denied the chance to become the leading test scorer in West Indies cricket, and “forced to retire.” His career was unceremoniously derailed by Dave Cameron and the WICB’s whimsical and spiteful actions. The left-handed batsman scored 11,867 runs at an average of…
Read More“I am passionate about bridging the health-care gap,” says Dr Narash Torres
One of the things we keep hearing about is the gap between the hinterland and the coastland, and aiding to bridge that gap has resulted in Dr Narash Torres paying a hefty price. Dr Torres came into the limelight when reports surfaced in the media of him calling for help for the residents of Baramita, Region One (Barima-Waini). Baramita is a small village located in the Barima-Waini region some 20 miles west of Matthews Ridge. It is one of the most populated Amerindian settlements in Guyana, but it is being…
Read MoreLand identified for homestead to accommodateVenezuelan migrants
Citizenship Minister Winston Felix has announced that a plot of land in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini) has been identified for the establishment of a homestead settlement area or a humanitarian centre for registered Venezuelans who have fled to Guyana. According to the Minister, the land has been identified as a result of a collaborative effort of the Mayor and Town Council of Mabaruma and the Citizenship Ministry. The decision was taken during a multi-agency coordinating committee meeting on Tuesday. Felix said the resettlement area was currently privately owned and that…
Read MoreGuyana Govt must seek answers in death of young scholar
Dear Editor, A young, brilliant Guyanese scholar, Yogeeta Persaud, of the simple village of Zorg, on the Essequibo Coast, died suddenly last Sunday in Peru. Guyana lost a young lady, whose potential was unlimited. Guyana lost a young lady who, while still very young, already contributed more than most Guyanese to our national image and national psyche. When she topped the CSEC at the national level, she made all Guyana proud, but she also brought pride to Essequibo and particularly her school, the Anna Regina Multilateral School, and her village.…
Read MoreLawrence underscores important role health workers play in communities
…to push for better salaries on their behalf Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence said she would be lobbying for an improved salary scale for persons working for basic wages within the health sector. She was at the time speaking to staff members of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre last Friday, during the closing ceremony of a two-week capacity-building programme for orthotic and prosthetic technicians. The technicians, most of them hailing from the Centre, were very instrumental in providing prosthetic limbs and orthotic devices for some 25 persons. Minister Lawrence said…
Read MoreNational footballer slapped with 10 robbery charges
A member of Guyana’s national football team was on Tuesday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts slapped with 10 counts of armed robbery. Omalla Williams, 26, of Lot 83 Leopold and Breda Streets, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, was not required to plead to the indictable charges. It is alleged that on July 27, 2018 while in the vicinity of Breda Street and armed with a gun, he robbed Darlene Gaines, Joe Hughes, Christina Gaines-Sluss, Daisy Gaines-Sluss and Dennis Grant of one Samsung…
Read MoreSugar workers stage another protest for redundancy payments
Sugar workers of the Wales Estate staged a protest outside the estate on Wednesday, demanding their redundancy pay after they were asked to move their operations to the Uitvlugt Estate. These workers were retained by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to be engaged mainly in the paddy experiment, which the Corporation was pursuing in the former cane fields of Wales. However, according to their union, they were instructed on Monday morning without any warning to report for work at the Uitvlugt Estate, which is located some 22 miles from their…
Read MoreRemembering…
…our Indigenous Peoples Last Thursday was recognised by the UN as “International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples” and this year the theme is about their “migration and movement”. In Guyana, there’s been an ever increasing noticeable movement of Indigenous peoples from the hinterland to the coastland which hasn’t been commented on enough. For the past three centuries, after the Dutch decided the Indigenous peoples weren’t suitable for plantation labour, most don’t appreciate the implications of that singular act. While we were called the “Land of Six Peoples”, one of those…
Read MoreOpposition Leader not in favour of politicians having full control of Natural Resources Fund
Days after the Government laid the Green Paper in the National Assembly, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo raised concerns over the total control of the Natural Resources Fund by the Finance Ministry. The Green Paper sets out preliminary plans on how the Government hopes to manage the revenue from oil and other natural resources, with clear objectives of the Natural Resources Fund. Jagdeo reminded that he had initial objections to Government’s plans for the Fund but now that the Green Paper has been made public, he finds the plans to be…
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