Despite setbacks Guyana’s economy continues to perform well

Dear Editor, As our country makes rapid strides in its economic development, more overseas-based Guyanese and foreigners are also making visits to the “Land of Many Waters,” or to the “Land of the Mythical City of Manoa Del Dorado.” Foreigners are attracted by the good prospects of investment – our country is endowed with an abundance of natural resources – as well as with the awesome natural beauty, including the stupendous Kaieteur Falls. Despite the utterances of socialist rhetoric sometimes, Guyana hasn’t got a “control and command” economy any more.…

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Fishing and logging in Guyana

Dear Editor, I wish to state openly that I am a great respecter of the Chinese people and of China. I believe that China will be a great world super power and that this era belongs to the Chinese. I see India as the next, then Brazil. I believe and advise our Government to be careful in that the Chinese, due to their population, are extremely aggressive, and while humane, have enormous needs to satisfy. They have massive hunger for raw products and resources to satisfy their industries, diet and…

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No change of heart concerning Local Govt elections

Dear Editor, Let there be no confusion, the Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier David Granger never said that he has had a change of heart concerning the holding of Local Government Elections, as reported by one section of the media. The Leader of the Opposition and A Partnership for National Unity are resolute in our stand that after almost two decades the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration must set a date as soon as possible for Local Government Elections to be held. The PPP/C has prompted the motion of no-confidence…

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AFC continues to attack the Finance Minister

Dear Editor, The Alliance For Change (AFC) continues its personal attack on Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh with its recent unsubstantiated complaint to the acting Police Commissioner of illegal spending by the Minister and other senior Government officials of some Gy$4.5 billion claimed not to have been approved by the National Assembly. This is yet another nefarious approach by the AFC to gain cheap political points by misleading and misinforming the Guyanese populace. Embarrassing to note, the AFC has in its armoury a bench of lawyers; however, one will question…

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We are being bamboozled by no-confidence motion

Dear Editor, The whole sordid affair that took place over the weekend at the PNCR Congress serves as a reminder that our political leaders are failing the people and are afraid to embrace the tenets of what true democracy is all about. How else could one describe the internal jiggery-pokery and shenanigans to subvert a democratic process that took place at Congress Place or the ruling Government’s brazen unwillingness to call a date for crucial democratic local government elections? Now we are being bamboozled and distracted by a “No-Confidence” motion.…

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Urgent need to pass the AML bill

Dear Editor, Government must be commended for establishing the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). This unit it is reported, will be “dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of suspected financial transactions”. The initiative to establish this agency within the Guyana Police Force forms part of Guyana’s obligation to comply with non-parliamentary recommendations as advanced by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) through its Mutual Evaluation Report of 2011. A major criticism regarding the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is that it does not have the authority to arrest and prosecute…

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ANSA McAL is dodging the issue

Dear Editor, I would like to comment on the article “ANSA McAL questions exclusion from drug supply pre-qualification… says facilities not checked during evaluation process”. I am a Guyanese who spent some time in Trinidad and was employed in a pharmacy, as I am now, that I am back in Guyana. First, I would like to say that over in Trinidad, the bidding is controlled by the National Insurance Property Development Company Limited (NIPDEC), with which all prospective suppliers have to register. Their registration form asks for the “nationality” of…

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Fly-by-night airlines are fooling the people about cheap airfares

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with hopes for another result. Countless times we’ve seen air carriers come and go; but not before they flood the market with alarmingly cheap fares. Why do the consumers get carried away with the fly-by-night operations whose promises of cheap flights eventually cause us to lose our money? Those who run to the cheap airfares and false promises have basically done this before. We, the people, are the losers. We, the people, are the one who are getting…

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Policymakers must engage in constructive dialogue

Dear Editor, The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) urges our political policymakers to engage in constructive dialogue in order to arrive at agreement on the important issues facing our economy and social development. We do not subscribe to the notion that premature general elections are the solution to our current political impasse. General elections are costly, time-consuming exercises which should preferably be conducted at the time when they are constitutionally due. The parliamentary parties must, therefore, make every effort to find ways to discuss, negotiate and, reach some…

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Opposition parties running out of ideas

Dear Editor, The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is amused by statements made by the political Opposition that it is considering moving a no-confidence motion in National Assembly against the ruling PPP/Civic Government headed by President Donald Ramotar. It is clear that the Opposition parties are running out of any ideas of substance and have now taken recourse to ‘man bites dog’ type of politicking based on rabid sensationalism and hot air. The PPP is convinced that the only reason for such an enhanced level of absurdity by the Opposition is…

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