Category: Editorials

Last year, Guyana’s tourism industry undoubtedly made tremendous strides, capturing the attention of the world with its truly unique ecological nature and adventure tourism. The tourism sector holds great potential, and can contribute to Guyana’s development by helping to generate income, facilitate investments, earn foreign exchange, and create employment for the benefit of every Guyanese.  According to subject Minster Manniram Prashad, it is the industry of the future; and we must concede that the future of our tourism industry holds a lot of promise for our country as a whole.…

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In his New Year’s Message to the nation, President Bharrat Jagdeo said that a new wave of development has begun to sweep Guyana. He expressed confidence that, “over the next decade, we can create a new Guyana with high quality infrastructure, and catalyse new economic sectors while providing global leadership.” On the international scene, President Jagdeo said that Guyanese are no longer passive followers in big global issues. “Nowhere is this more obvious than in the leadership on climate change. Guyana is leading changes to the global multilateral institutions, where…

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We have just ushered in 2011 and it is important that we reflect on the significant achievements as well as challenges of the past year.   Guyana’s economy has performed well in 2010, experiencing positive economic growth despite the global financial meltdown, and can also boast a foreign exchange reserve of around US$800 million. But crime and the security situation have proven challenging in the last year, despite notable successes.  There have been numerous investment opportunities throughout the country; but, on the other hand, the sugar industry, one of our main…

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At an awards ceremony held at the Tactical Services Unit tarmac at Eve Leary last week, Police Commissioner Henry Greene disclosed that criminals’ access to high-powered weapons was “giving police a headache”. For this year, so far, the force has managed to seize 105 illegal firearms, as against more than 112 in 2008 and 96 in 2009. The commissioner remarked that, with the smuggling of guns from countries such as Venezuela, Brazil and the United States, through Guyana’s expansive waterways, more people were getting access to illegal firearms, which are…

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Rich and emerging market nations have agreed to put up US$49.3 billion to top-up a World Bank fund to aid the world’s poorest countries.  World Bank president Robert Zoellick said the commitments marked an 18 per cent increase from the last time the International Development Association (IDA) was replenished, in 2007. Furthermore, this increase in the fund was made possible in part because some major developing countries stepped up with pledges.  Although it was not stated how much the individual countries contributed, China was expected to contribute more, especially since…

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The potential of the Guyanese diaspora, and ways in which it can contribute to the country’s development have been subjects of much discussion in the past. More often than not, discussions have been centred on how we may encourage the hundreds of thousands of Guyanese living outside of Guyana to return and contribute to our country’s development. Guyana, no doubt, has a bright future ahead. Policies that are geared towards creating greater economic and social developmental opportunities for our citizens have already been implemented, and major ones are still in…

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It is a privilege for Guyana to host the UNASUR summit this year. This privilege was conferred on the country in September, in anticipation of the rotating chairmanship of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) being transferred from Ecuador to Guyana. Aside from hosting the summit, Guyana will preside over the group for the next year, and this is a terrific opportunity for the country to showcase its leadership skills and its ability to undertake a challenge despite its small size.   Cognisant of the fact that economic development lies…

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Last Saturday, approximately 1,400 students graduated from the University of Guyana. Although some of these are already in the workforce, the majority will be new to the world of work. As has been the case with previous batches of graduating students, employment is on their minds. They have a right to be troubled, because the global financial crisis, among other things, has limited the amount of opportunities available to them. In developed countries which have been hard-hit by the global financial crisis, employment is a major concern for many graduates.…

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Evidence abounds that Guyana is currently being transformedinto a modern nation with a people-centred approach tonational development. In the social sector, for example, therehas been an enormous amount of improvements in the areas ofeducation, healthcare delivery, and housing, among others.Further, there is relative peace and quietude in the country,which could be considered suitable for investment. A walk aroundthe commercial areas of the capital city, Georgetown, where hugebuildings are being erected and/or refurbished to accommodatenew and expanding businesses, shows evidence to support this.The country has re-established a market-led economy after yearsof…

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With each passing day, the situation in Haiti becomes even more precarious and desperate. Ten months have now passed, and Haitians, still displaced by the January 12 earthquake, cannot begin to resettle and restart their lives in abodes and communities that offer protection against rapists, criminals, diseases, and inclement weather. The earthquake is the most terrible disaster to have ravaged the country in its entire history, and it has been one of the worst earthquakes the world has ever witnessed. After the poverty-stricken Port-au-Prince had experienced major destruction, tent cities were erected to offer refuge to hundreds of thousands of…

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