Category: News

…Opposition says Agency being run by “political hacks” Although the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) has been accused of being politically biased, the Head of that agency has rejected those claims, stating that there was no evidence to prove that was true. Professor Dr Clive Thomas said he recognised that there have been some concerns raised regarding that very issue, but asserted: “We have not gone after any political person. There is no evidence of that.” While recognising that SARA has also been heavily criticised for its work, the Head…

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The Foreign Affairs Ministry concluded a five-day orientation programme for newly-recruited Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) last Friday at the Roraima Duke Lodge in Kingston, Georgetown. Each day senior officials from the Ministry as well as national diplomats, among others, delivered a series of presentations to enrich each FSO’s understanding of Guyana’s foreign policy, the Ministry’s mission and responsibilities, diplomatic protocol and etiquette, among other topics. Director of the Foreign Service Institute, Ambassador Ronald Austin, noted that “it was a very important exercise in that it was an opportunity for the…

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Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, on Friday last handed over the sum of Gy$2.6 million in community grants to the villages of Kwatamang, Rupertee, and Fair View in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), to facilitate the undertaking of green, sustainable projects under the Presidential Grant Fund. Kwatamang and Rupertree each received Gy$800,000, for construction of a community centre and a sanitary block respectively; while a sum of Gy$1,000,000 was presented to Fairview for the construction of a Village Office. Toshao and representative of the Fair View community, Lucy Marslow,…

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Nine Guyanese women will be participating in the second Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean Acceleration Programme (WINC AP) for women entrepreneurs. The women were selected from a total of 250 applicants from across the Caribbean. First Lady Sandra Granger attended the opening session of the eight-month programme, which was hosted at the GeoTech Vision office on Brickdam. In an invited comment, the First Lady said she was proud of the women, and that she is confident they would capitalise on the opportunity to learn the skills that they need…

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The 33-year-old Trinidadian who came to Guyana and allegedly attempted to fake his own kidnapping was on Tuesday granted bail in the sum of Gy$1 million when he reappeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Sawak Maraj made his third appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he was previously arraigned for giving false information to the Police and for conspiring with others to commit a felony. Maraj, who was also ordered to lodge his passport at the Courts, is expected to reappear on December 4, 2017. The prosecution’s case is…

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As time marches on without a functioning Integrity Commission in place, even the governing coalition’s minority partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has grown impatient with the slow pace of change. At the conclusion of the National Executive Council (NEC) last weekend, the minority party demanded, in a statement, that the Integrity Commission be treated as a matter of national priority. Noting that it remained fully committed to its role in the advancement of constitutional reform in Guyana, the AFC called for the establishment of the Integrity Commission by the…

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– as Govt seeking buyers for shares It seems that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is not the only commercial enterprise the Government intends to withdraw State involvement from. Next on the agenda for a complete private takeover is the Guyana Stock Feeds Incorporated (GSFI). In a notice originating from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), bids to purchase the Government’s shares in GSFI were invited from reputable organisations. It is understood that NICIL holds 6.68 per cent of the total shareholding of the company, with the other…

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– as Crime chief reveals statistics for Jan-Oct 2017 As law enforcement officers ramp up the fight against the narco-trade, recent Police statistics have revealed that 421 persons were charged with trafficking in narcotics offences. These numbers, for the period January-October 2017, were revealed by acting Crime Chief Paul Williams. Of the 421, 310 persons were charged with marijuana offences while 111 individuals were charged for cocaine-related offences. The statistics showed that the 310 marijuana possession cases reflected a decrease of 171 cases as the corresponding figure during the same…

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Many of Guyana’s developmental loans were negotiated on concessionary terms. But Guyana’s new status as a middle-income country is expected to bite, with the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Annual report signalling an impending end to these concessions. According to the report, most of Guyana’s public external debt was contracted on a fixed interest rate basis. A fixed interest arrangement ensures that the interest rate a borrower has to repay along with the principal sum does not exceed a set limit. At the end of December 2016, the fixed interest rate…

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