Author: TIMES INT'L

Indian Indentured Labour and Emancipation

TIMES INT'L

By Ravi Dev It’s the run-up to Emancipation Day, and sure as the sun rises in the East, there will be the claim made by folks from the African Guyanese community that Indian indentured labourers “undercut” the bargaining power of the freed slaves after 1838, and that is what pushed them off the plantations. “It’s like déjà vu all over again,” as Yogi Berra was alleged to have quipped. In vain I’ve pointed out over the years that it’s futile to play the “blame game” when, in the development of…

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Using ministerial powers to bully ordinary citizens

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, I would like to dwell on a single statement of importance in a letter from Dr David Hinds: “Minister Broomes incident is a clear case of official bullying of powerless citizens.” Dr Hinds states, “I am very certain that had she been a private citizen, she would have handled the matter differently”. I disagree with Dr Hinds. Dr Hinds needs to know that Ms Broomes is simply a bully. I am pretty sure that she has bullied others as a private citizen, even when she was not decorated…

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‘A Passion for Fashion’

TIMES INT'L

….Designer Nelsion Nurse By Lakhram Bhagirat Nelsion Nurse, a name you must have heard while watching the live broadcasts of the annual Mashramani Costume and Float Parade since he is more than often responsible for the extravagant pieces on display. However, Nelsion is not only a costume designer rather he is involved in every aspect of the fashion industry. Nevertheless, according to Nelsion he never had his eyes set on being a part of the creative industry rather he has and still does have his eyes on a career in…

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‘He is squatting on the job’

TIMES INT'L

…Opposition Leader says of SARA’s Deputy Director Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday said the he was unclear whether he should refer to Aubrey Heath-Retemyer as the Deputy Director of the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) as he may very well be “squatting on the job”. Jagdeo made this remark during his weekly press briefing when he was posed with a question in relation to the comments Heath-Retemyer made about the Judiciary that saw him (Heath-Retemyer ) receiving considerable flack, most recently from the Guyana Bar Association. Asserting that…

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Hearing commences at Appeal Court

TIMES INT'L

The High Court decision which held that President David Granger has the legal power to unilaterally appoint retired Justice James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is being challenged in the Appeal Court, where the first of several hearings commenced on Wednesday. Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall appeared before the court on behalf of People’s Progressive Party Executive Secretary and Member of Parliament Zulfikar Mustapha, in whose name the challenge was mounted against a ruling handed down by Acting Chief Justice Roxanne George. On June 8, 2018, Justice George…

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Guyana’s foreign minister admits to loopholes in tracking immigrants

TIMES INT'L

By Jarryl Bryan In the wake of an influx of persons from neighbouring countries, the Guyana Government has admitted that while data is collected from immigrants crossing Guyana’s borders, authorities carry out only limited tracking of such immigrants afterwards. This was outlined by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, who noted during a press conference on Monday that there is a Cabinet-vetted policy guideline currently in place to establish how immigrants are to be treated. Immigrants, upon entry, must fill out an arrival card that details their country of origin and…

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More than 4 billion oil-equivalent barrels at Stabroek Block – Exxon

TIMES INT'L

The ExxonMobil-controlled Stabroek Block offshore Guyana has now been confirmed to have in excess of four billion oil-equivalent barrels. ExxonMobil announced on Monday that it has increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource from a previous estimate of 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels and has advanced its evaluation to support a third phase of development and consideration of two additional phases. In a statement, the oil giant said that the increase followed the completion of testing at the Liza-5 appraisal well; a discovery at Ranger; the eighth discovery, Longtail into…

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Baramita’s First Female Toshao

TIMES INT'L

Children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman famously said, “Education is for improving the lives of others and leaving your community and world better than you found it,” and it is on this foundation that Baramita’s first female Toshao intends to reshape the lives of villagers. The small village of Baramita is located in the Barima-Waini region some 20 miles west of Matthews Ridge, and it is one of the most populated Amerindian settlements in Guyana. The village is predominantly occupied by the Carib tribe and recently they broke away from…

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Sore points…

TIMES INT'L

…about NYT report That NYT reporter certainly seems to’ve struck a raw nerve in some folks in Guyana, with his story, “The $20 Billion question for Guyana”. As your Eyewitness commented yesterday, three columnists of the Muckraker got their buktas into such a knot you could just see their eyes bulging!! Today, they were joined by the PRO from the Ministry of Finance, and by a playwright who hadn’t been heard from for years, but suddenly surfaced to argue the Guyana Prize for Literature be kept. This monument to mediocrity…

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Toshao Loretta Fiedtkou: “Leadership is in my blood”

TIMES INT'L

There are certain traits of our parents we emulate without even trying and according to Loretta Fiedtkou, it is the leadership skills of her father that landed her in the Toshao’s chair. Fiedtkou is the Toshao of Muritaro Village located some 25 miles from the mining town of Linden in Region 10. She hails from a large family and explains that among her 12 siblings she always stood out as the one who would lead them into every task. It was a trait that her father took special notice of,…

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