It may, or may not, have been coincidental, but at the same time the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government announced plans to mobilise and engage the “Guyanese Diaspora” to aid in the development of Guyana, India was hosting its 14th “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas” (PBD) – Overseas Indian Day. Launched in 2003, the 2017 iteration brought over 6000 delegates drawn from 64 countries to India’s IT capital, Bengaluru – which was so recently “Banglore”. The emblematic “Diaspora” had been formed out of their dispersal of the…
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The hope that unites us
The reaction to President David Granger’s attempt to seize Red House and evict the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre signals that there is still hope for Guyana. Criticisms about the highhanded manner in which the move was done have come from across party and ethnic lines and signify that there is still a body of decency among the common citizenry. The thuggery and hooliganism that accompanied the revocation of the lease agreement reminded too many of us who lived through the Burnham era of that dark past; and that many are…
Read MoreThe challenge ahead for the PPP
Bharrat Jagdeo has been elected as the new General Secretary (GS) of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to the surprise of not many. At the Party’s Congress in Essequibo last month, he received the largest number of votes to the Central Committee (CC) and was obviously the most highly regarded by the rank and file. At that highest forum of the PPP, the dominant expressed sentiment was that the Party’s top leadership needed to be consolidated to confront the challenges at this juncture of its history and the history of…
Read MoreGuyana-China relations
China is the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, which is also a major destination for outbound Chinese investment, second only to Asia. China’s direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean has exceeded US$150 billion. According to a draft Policy paper by the Chinese Government, China sees itself as brining development opportunities to the rest of the world. It is estimated that in the next five years, China will import US$8 trillion of goods, invest US$750 billion overseas, and Chinese tourists will make 700 million…
Read MoreFighting climate change
Guyana stands on the precipice of becoming an oil-producing economy and while the knowledge that oil-producing countries are at an advantage economically is comforting, there is an oxymoronic dynamic that is involved with this particular situation. On one hand, there is Guyana’s push for a “green economy”, which is premised on the reduction of our carbon footprint, while on the other hand, Guyana is advancing the proliferation of oil for economic gains. The end result of which will invariably add to the already colossal greenhouse gas emissions that come with…
Read MoreTrump’s victory – as we predicted
We repeat our editorial from September, not to gloat about our prediction but to emphasise why that prediction was correct – the effects of “American Exceptionalism” and “Nativism”. “Contrary to what most of the political pundits outside U.S. borders thought would be the case by now, Donald Trump is still setting the agenda for the U.S. presidential race against Hillary Clinton. With their elections less than two months away …Trump is well on his way to become the next president of the United States – as this paper proposed back…
Read MorePresidential sweepstakes: Homestretch
With less than one week to go for the US elections scheduled for November 8, that horse race is now in the homestretch. Even before the primaries were over, this newspaper went out on a limb and suggested that the rank outsider Donald Trump might go all the way. He went on to win the Republican nomination quite handily and then raised his poll ratings to almost equal those of his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, who has been the very definition of a “Washington insider” that was supposed to “play”…
Read MoreThe need for a more ‘consensual’ form of democracy
October 5 passed without much fanfare even though it was the 24th anniversary of “free and fair” elections being returned to Guyana. Starting in 1968, the PNC under Forbes Burnham had rigged elections to thwart the democratic will of the Guyanese people and keep his party in power. In the post-WWII period, there had been great expectations raised in the minds of the populace that independence from colonial Britain via democratic elections would augur a life of prosperity and dignity for all Guyanese. It was self-evident to the populace that…
Read MoreAgriculture in Guyana
If this is October, then it must be “Agriculture Month”. And so it is, with the Ministry of Agriculture taking out full page ads in all the dailies to announce the “theme” for this month – “Exploring new production frontiers: in pursuit of climate resilience”. There was also the obligatory month-long series of activities designed to “not only focus on the resuscitation of the agricultural sector to increase efficiency, but will target the advancement of small and medium scale farmers across the ten administrative regions.” But what does this really…
Read MoreBattling against child abuse
Child Protection Week in Guyana came to a close recently. During the Week, planned events, awareness programmes, exhibitions, lectures and fun activities were held across the country to sensitise the populace and to raise awareness about the causes and effects of child abuse, as well as preventative measures. A call was made for the public to assist in reducing child abuse and child sexual abuse which, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) said, are on the increase. Director of the Agency, Ann Greene reported that from January to July…
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