Dear Editor, Crime is at an all-time high in Guyana. Since the Coalition Government took office last May this scourge has taken a meteoric rise reaching epidemic proportions. However the government is downplaying this epidemic with lots of talk that this is not the case; they have even provided us with statistics to support their point but all right thinking individuals – even if you have half a brain – can testify to the fact that Guyana is reeling from this crippling effect of crime. Hardly a day passes that…
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The Govt’s new policy and doctors’ dilemma
Dear Editor, When the PPP/C took Office in 1992, there were just over 150 doctors practicing in Guyana. Most of them were operating out of Georgetown and the other urban centres. An overwhelming number of them were in private practice, with some moonlighting in the public healthcare system. The cumulative result was a devastating paucity of medical personnel in the country as a whole, more particularly, in the public healthcare system and worst yet in the rural communities. By the time we left office in 2015, the situation was transformed.…
Read MoreThe Public Security Minister should come up with an effective crime-fighting strategy
Dear Editor, I was appalled to see the recent headlines that stated that the Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, was lobbying for more plastic and less cash transactions to stem crime. Editor, I dare say that this is one very revealing confession by our goodly Public Security Minister. He is basically throwing his hands up in the air and telling the citizens of our country not to carry so much cash, because there is nothing that can be done about the criminal elements that hound their lives on a daily…
Read MoreCaricom States to address “tax haven” label
Following what was deemed an “unfair and unfortunate” labelling of the Caribbean as a tax haven, a recent Conference of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has posited that such labelling is grounded more in perception than reality. Senior representatives of international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, regulatory bodies, the European Union Commission, the OECD Global Forum, commercial banks, central banks, governments, Caricom Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank met in Antigua and Barbuda last week under the Chairmanship of the country’s Prime Minister Gaston…
Read MoreGuyana’s unique “racism”
By Ryhaan Shah Following up on last Sunday’s column on the rise of nativism, Guyana’s rather unique “racism” also bears some investigation. Racism is an ideology of domination based on the idea of biological and cultural superiority of one or more groups which is used to justify the treatment of others as inferior. Whole societies can be structured along racial lines or there can be, as occurred during the Burnham era, institutionalised racism where African-Guyanese were favoured by the very structure of government and society. But Guyana does not conform…
Read MorePPP/C has a good track record of transparency and accountability
Dear Editor, Since the PPP/C demitted office, the present regime has conducted several forensic audits, using firms and individuals that have expressed political opposition to the PPP/C, even hostility. Despite the fact that these auditors have found no evidence of corruption, the media continues to spread disinformation. The Stabroek News’ editorial of September 26, 2016, in its first paragraph said that under the PPP/C government “…there was a heavy veil drawn across the huge procurement sector.” This statement is untrue and completely unfounded. We need to first reflect on what…
Read MoreDr Walter Rodney was very concerned about the development of African people
Dear Editor, I recently attended the screening of a documentary film titled W.A.R. Walter Anthony Rodney produced by Clairmont Chung. The film was screened as part of the Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture Series during the Emancipation Day celebrations in Port of Spain, in August this year. After viewing the film, I became more convinced that the academic and politician, Walter Rodney, was very concerned about African people in the Caribbean and Africa as well as in his own African culture and identity. He must be highly commended for embracing his…
Read MoreJagdeo’s lecture in Miami was well presented and received
Dear Editor, “We black people…” These words were uttered by someone whom countless Guyanese would be shocked that these words came from his mouth. But yes, Guyana’s former president and current leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday evening in delivering the 18th annual Eric Williams Memorial Lecture in Miami, did say “we black people” and “we are black people” as he spoke of the people of the Caribbean. He also identified one of the reasons for US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s popularity, the failure of the status quo…
Read MoreREAL ESTATE: BOUNDARY LINE DISPUTE
By Rakesh Rampertab, Esq. Imagine owning a house but not being able to sell it because of a boundary-line dispute with a neighbor? Or imagine paying property tax for your entire house lot, but not being able to use all of it, because of the placement of a neighbor’s fence causing a boundary-line dispute? Boundary-line dispute or issue is quite common among owners of properties. When a homeowner discovers that there is a boundary-line dispute or issue, it should be addressed immediately. As expected, some homeowners with boundary-line issues are…
Read MoreEthno-Global Indian Identity
By Lomarsh Roopnarine I have now arrived at the last of my multipartite analyses of Indian identity which is ethno-global. Before I proceed, I think it is worthwhile to provide a brief discussion on globalisation with regard to culture since this process has significantly shaped Indian ethno-global identity in Guyana. I see globalisation as a worldwide interconnectedness through the movement of resources, goods, services, capital, and information. The main driving force behind globalisation is technology and as far as culture is concerned technology has intensified global relations linking local communities…
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