TIMES INT'L

“It is not the end of the world, you just have to be prepared to fight” – Lalina Singh

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat One of the most beautiful and equally scariest things about life is its unpredictability. The unpredictability of life is such that we never know what is coming next so it behoves us to not get too comfortable. It behoves us to not take things for granted, so we can be ready for every curveball that unpredictability brings. Despite being told to be prepared always, Zalina Singh never thought that she would have been hearing the word “cancer” associated with her name in her lifetime. It all started…

“Cancer takes a part of you but there is a life after cancer” – Nicola Schultz

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat For many people, cancer means a death sentence. It means that if they don’t fight hard, then they would be conquered by this illness that rips millions of lives apart. However, for some, they have no other choice than to beat this parasite of an illness because they cannot leave their lives in the balance. For 48-year-old Nicola Schultz when she was diagnosed with cancer, she was sure about the fact that it meant she would have lost a battle. However, fate had another plan for her…

Maintaining healthy lifestyles

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Jainarine Deonauth Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation Dr Gillian Smith was quoted in the media as saying at a recent World Food Day event that over 40 per cent of Guyanese are either overweight or obese and of that number, the majority are women. While lauding Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean region for the immense progress made in reducing absolute hunger; Dr Smith underscored the point that overweightness and obesity is another dangerous problem which must be tackled by policy makers and other development…

Small fry…

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…small parties Your Eyewitness thinks one of the reasons there are all these small parties springing up is ironically because of our very small society of barely ¾ million persons. Here, everybody knows everybody so invariably they know somebody who was a president of Guyana or ran in elections to be president of Guyana. Don’t forget that – as was listed in excruciating detail yesterday- there have been dozens of small parties since independence. Each with a Prime Ministerial or Presidential candidate. The prevailing sentiment clearly is, “if ‘so and…

New entries into political scene good for democracy – PNCR

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

In light of the establishment of several new political parties, one of the two largest traditional parties, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is claiming that it is not threatened by these new entries into the political scene. The PNCR is the largest party in the five-member A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) alliance, which has managed to pull in the Alliance For Change (AFC), which it coalesced with in 2015 to get into office. “You have to look at the fact that we’re a mass-based party. Some of the emerging…

‘Don’t worry with plantain chips, focus on manufacturing’

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…President Granger tells Berbicians In what is considered a complete backpedalling of his previous advice to young Guyanese, President David Granger is now calling on Berbicians to stop selling plantain chips at the Berbice River Bridge and get into manufacturing instead. The Head of State made this statement last Friday in the country’s oldest town as he declared the 2019 New Amsterdam Town Week open. In October of last year at Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, the President, responding to a question from a young lady about the availability of job…

A new world…

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…in world finance? It’s a sign of the times that we’ve entered a new world order when the Breton Woods institutions – the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – are commemorating their 75th anniversary and none of the political parties – even the newbies – have uttered a squeak. Formed in 1944 when WWII wasn’t even over, the two institutions were meant to facilitate the new world order reflecting the ground reality: the US was now the most dominant nation on earth, with its economy exceeding…

Guyana needs to vigorously implement National Drug Strategy Master Plan – Atherly

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

With Guyana considered a drug transhipment point in South America, only the strict implementation of the Drug Strategy Master Plan will suffice to eradicate the scourge of drug abuse and trafficking in Guyana. This was emphasised by Director of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (NANA), retired Major General Michael Atherly during the opening of Guyana’s first specialised drug rehabilitation court. According to Atherly, many factors, including those outside of Guyana, can help to explain Guyana’s drug problem. “National considerations also take into account several international deliberations, including treaties, strategies and best…

“Rogue elements” in Police Force posing a challenge

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…Ramjattan says Cops abusing sirens inspite of warnings In the wake of the horrific accident on East Bank Demerara (EBD) that claimed the lives of five persons, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has admitted that indeed, there are Police Officers who abuse the sirens on their vehicles and present a danger to other road users. Ramjattan made this admission during an interview on State radio. When asked what he was doing about these ranks, he noted that there are rogue personnel that they are making efforts to weed out. “To…

‘Guyanese drug offenders now have a choice’

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Jarryl Bryan A specialised drug offences court, the first of its kind in Guyana, was commissioned with the backing of multiple stakeholders on Monday, with Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards explaining that drug offenders will now be given a choice to fix their lives. The new court will be housed in the lower flat of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, at the Brickdam entrance. It will feature a drug treatment team that includes Magistrates, State Counsels, a legal aid attorney and a probation officer. In explaining how it works,…