The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced its regional awards to students who would have performed exceptionally well at both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) for 2019. This year, both top spots were bestowed to Guyanese students. Michael Bhopaul of Queen’s College copped the CAPE top award while the CSEC top performer was listed as Riana Toney of the Anna Regina Multilateral School. While Bhopaul would have placed second in Guyana’s lineup this year, he won the Dennis Irvine Award for the top…
Read MoreAuthor: TIMES INT'L
APNU/AFC have failed miserably on crime
Dear Editor, When they were in the Opposition, the PNC and AFC were good back seat drivers. They had all the solutions to the crime problem and good governance. From the time they got into Government, they have been complete failures. One of their own, now National Hero, MP Mr Charrandas Persaud, who could not take it any longer, voted with the Opposition against his own coalition Government, and caused the PNC to be defeated. There was an expectation that the coalition would do better on crime given all the…
Read MoreConstitutional reform
Facing severe domestic and international censure over its failure to deliver on its Manifesto promise to initiate constitutional change to address our political logjam, PNCR Executive member Gary Best sought to shift the blame to the Opposition PPP. He claimed, “We had to get at least two-thirds of the members [of the National Assembly] to vote for the many clauses and articles that are now in the Constitution. So constitutional reform is not an activity for the party in power, it’s an activity for all the parties in power, and…
Read MoreJourneys of imagination a la Harris
Born in a small town in a far-away country, Wilson Harris would go on to haunt the imagination of people around the world. He gifted us infinitesimal dots on enormous canvases of the mind by listening to trees – ‘Tell me trees, what are you whispering’ – and writing back to Guyana and communicating with the world, by smashing down ‘Fences upon the earth’ and opening the ‘womb of space’ into which our imagination entered. He takes the reader to the precipice and dangles answers for the discerning; hard work…
Read MoreAppeal court order being sought to compel Cabinet, President to resign
A week after his order seeking Cabinet’s resignation was refused by the High Court, former Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall has filed a notice that he is appealing against the ruling on the grounds that Chief Justice (CJ) (acting) Roxane George made a mistake in her ruling. According to the Notice of Appeal seen by this publication, Nandlall is seeking an order from the Court of Appeal compelling Cabinet and the President to resign, as a consequence of them being defeated by a No-Confidence vote. Apart from asking for a…
Read MoreGuyana should use oil funds to invest in its education system
Dear Editor, Two favourite campaign promises are already being bandied about: free education and cash transfers. The former is borne of a desire to fundamentally change our society and future. The latter is an example of how to squander our oil wealth. This opinion is not influenced by any party affiliation – to me it seems pure and simple common sense. We all know that investing in our education system is an urgent and vital need. The IMF’s Article IV report found that while Guyanese children receive around 12 years…
Read MoreGaming Authority taken to court over failure to issue casino licence
The proprietor of Sleepin International Hotel and Casino Inc, Clifton Bacchus, has filed legal proceedings against the Gaming Authority after the company was not granted a Casino Operator’s Licence or a Casino Premises Licence by the agency even after the submission of all requisite documents and materials since 2016. Legal documents seen by this newspaper revealed that Bacchus is asking the court to grant an order or writ of mandamus directing the authority to process, consider and determine in accordance with law, the applicant’s applications for a Casino Premises Licence…
Read MoreThe lives of sugar workers have not improved
Dear Editor, The GAWU could not miss Mr Earl John’s letter appearing in the October 17 section of the media titled: “Loud silence on plans for the former sugar workers”. Indeed, we felt the title was most appropriate considering, it seems, the powers-that-be have all but forgotten about the some 7000 workers they put on the breadline following their decision to shutter sugar estates. Mr John begins his missive by recognising GAWU’s presence on the corporation’s Board of Directors. Our Union, for some time now, as he is no doubt…
Read MoreSophia man who set girlfriend on fire slapped with murder charge
A Sophia, Greater Georgetown resident, who was last month charged for the attempted murder of his girlfriend, was on Tuesday slapped with a murder charge, after the victim succumbed to her injuries. Wazim Pereira allegedly lit his girlfriend on fire on October 10 during a dispute. The 25-year-old man appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on the attempted murder charge; however, after the victim succumbed to her injuries, the file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for further advice and the murder charge was recommended. On Tuesday,…
Read MoreEU to mount observer mission for Guyana elections
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will be receiving help from the European Union (EU), which will be fielding an observer team for the General and Regional Elections scheduled for March 2, 2020. This was revealed by Government-nominated Commissioner Charles Corbin following a meeting at the secretariat on Tuesday. He noted that discussions have been held not only with the EU, but also Canada and the United States. “The EU team visited. They have engaged with the Government. And they have indicated they’re prepared to mount an observer mission. And basically…
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