Dear Editor, Paragraph 5 of the judgment of the Caribbean Court of Justice delivered on July 12, 2019, on consequential orders flowing from the passage of the No-Confidence Motion passed by the National Assembly on December 21, 2018, stated: “The Judiciary interprets the Constitution. But as we intimated in our earlier judgment, these particular provisions [Article 106 (6) and 106 (7)] require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of the constitutional…
Read MoreAuthor: TIMES INT'L
Protecting…
…small businesses Even without oil in sight, Chinese were starting to enter the supermarket business in Guyana. Early on, your Eyewitness had raised red flags about the phenomenon: he’d been in Suriname and seen that within a decade of their entry into that trade there, they’d displaced locals, and were running 90% of supermarkets by 2015!! There hasn’t been a survey done in Guyana on the control of supermarkets by Chinese immigrants, but from his (wide) travels across his homeland – including the interior, he’s willing to hazard a guess…
Read MoreGECOM awaiting approval of foreign observers
As preparations continue for the hosting of next year’s March 2 General and Regional Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is awaiting the accreditation of foreign observers before going ahead with approving local observers. This is according to GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh, who, at her first press conference last Friday, dismissed claims that the Commission does not want observers around leading up to next year’s polls and has been blocking foreign bodies from scrutinising its work. “That is not true. GECOM welcomes all elections observers,” she insisted. The…
Read MoreGender based violence increasing in Guyana, T&T and Jamaica – UN
A senior United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) official Wednesday said that there’s a growing problem of gender based violence in Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. According to a CMC report, UNFPA Caribbean Director, Alison Drayton, who is attending the Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25), said that there’s need for different strategies to counter this practice in the Caribbean region. Drayton said gender-based violence has harmful and lasting consequences for victims, families, communities and nations, adding “the realisation of this increase is…
Read MoreMore needs to be done with data from polling day – CEO
Chief Elections Officer Keith Lownfield said that the Elections Secretariat will be moving to obtain more analytical data from the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Lowenfield underscored the need to take elections management to a place where data from polling day is more than just who won and lost. He explained that post-elections, after obtaining the final result figures, the ballot boxes are locked away. But, he noted, this is something that will have to change. “We don’t…
Read MoreRising debt-to-GDP ratio a matter of concern – financial analyst
Guyana’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has been increasing under the current Administration and according to a financial analyst, Guyana’s rising debt should be cause for concern, when oil money may have to be diverted away from the people to paper the cracks. In an interview with this publication, analyst and Chartered Accountant Sase Singh noted that the projected increase of debt to 55.5 per cent of GDP, despite years of warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to settle this figure, does not bode well for the…
Read MoreGuyanese seeks to venture around the world by bicycle
A Guyanese man, who dreams of riding around the world, met with Region Two’s Regional Chairman, Davanand Ramdatt, at Charity, Essequibo Coast, Region 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Carlos Anthony Williams, who is popularly known as “Lucky B”, resides at Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara. According to Williams, his bicycle, which he named “Carlos Tall Cycle”, is his message to the world that “you can climb above your problems”. He added that his bicycle is a compilation of two and was designed to look difficult to ride. Further, he said that his…
Read MoreIwokrama encourages students to be guardians of Guyana’s environment
As part of its annual school outreach programme, a team from the Iwokrama International Centre visited students of the Kingston, Tutorial and Dolphin’s High Schools and the Ptolemy Reid Centre last week According to a release from the organisation, as it relates to the high schools, the Iwokrama team interacted with higher-level students who hail from the agriculture, science and arts streams. The aim of the initiative is to enlighten students across the country about Guyana’s rich biodiversity and how they can play a part in protecting it. The outreach…
Read More“The justice system failed us and I feel like I failed my son as a parent” – Malenie Pierre
By Lakhram Bhagirat Just over a week ago, on October 29, Malenie Pierre and her 15-year-old son were sitting in the Juvenile Court as Magistrate Dylon Bess delivered what they think is a proverbial slap in the face of justice. Magistrate Bess sentenced the two boys who punctured Pierre’s son’s lungs with a pair of scissors to two years for their crime, but instantaneously suspended that sentence and left his bench while the victim sobbed as he realised that justice was not served. “When I saw my son there in…
Read More16 Orange the world Generation Equality Stands against Rape
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women…
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