Category: News

Guyana’s royalty percentage from oil revenue “low” – Ram

TIMES INT'L

By Samuel Sukhnandan Although it was recently announced that Guyana will now receive a two per cent royalty on gross earnings and 50 per cent of the profits of the oil proceeds when production starts in 2020, Chartered Accountant and Attorney Christopher Ram says that this percentage is relatively low when compared to royalties received by oil-producing countries in the world. However, Ram stressed that one needed to bear in mind that some countries do not receive any royalty at all. “Royalties in other countries do seem much higher, but…

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Activist bemoans poor implementation of Sexual Offenses Act

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Close to one decade after it was passed as law, the Sexual Offences Act is still to deliver justice to the hundreds of victims of sexual offences in Guyana. Woman rights activist, Karen DeSouza, says two Ministers later, there is still a lot of chat and no concrete moves have been made to fully implement the Act. “The lack of implementation of the Sexual Offences Act has been very disappointing to many of us who worked hard on all aspects of getting that act,” she stated. DeSouza told Guyana Times…

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2015 AG Report: Govt’s commitment to reform will be tested

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The coalition Government will have a stern test ahead of them when the consideration of the 2015 Auditor General’s (AG) report has been completed and they will have to submit, in writing, a commitment to either adopt or reject the AG’s many findings and recommendations. It will be the first time that the coalition Government will have to account for financial anarchy found by the Auditor General to have occurred since it took office in 2015 and documented in his report. These fiscal infractions include abuse of Guyana’s Contingency Fund…

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Speaker should be guided by Standing Orders of the National Assembly in rulings

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Page 234 of the Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice states “The chief characteristics attaching to the Office of Speaker in the House of Commons are authority and impartiality.” These principles also apply to the Guyana National Assembly and to its Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland. The National Assembly is governed by the rules laid out in the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, and the Speaker is expected to be guided by this document. At times I am convinced the Speaker unfairly targets members of the parliamentary Opposition, especially when…

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Must Guyana have its own oil refinery?

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, We trust that all is well. We write in relation to the recent assessment by the consultant Pedro Hass from the British-based international think-tank Chatham House, which concluded that building a 100,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Guyana could cost up to US$5 billion, and that such an enterprise would yield a net negative outcome of US$2-3 billion per annum. We note that many very thoughtful voices have argued that such an undertaking is essential to our national development project, citing a range of promising economic and financial outcomes…

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GuySuCo never fails to issue clumsy responses

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, I refer to GuySuCo’s letter of June 3, 2017, captioned “GuySuCo’s detractor is being outright irresponsible and reckless”. This letter is a response to my letter published on May 31. Editor, the corporation’s communication unit never fails to present clumsy responses or rebuttals, either knowingly or unknowingly. I shall address the core points raised in this last response to demonstrate how ignorance and incompetence pervades this organization from its apex down. It is an undisputed fact that the Corporation deliberately packed bulk raw sugar from Albion for 2-3…

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MTA must complete elevator at Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue subway stop

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Here in Little Guyana, or Region 11 – where the largest number of expatriate Guyanese abound in the largest region – the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) must be reminded about their public commitment, promise and obligation to complete the wheelchair-accessible elevator in the heart of the Richmond Hill community – the Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue subway stop. The ubiquitous presence of the New York editions of the Kaieteur, Guyana Chronicle, Guyana Times and Mirror newspapers, which are read more than the NY Times and NY Daily News…

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Legal tug of war continues

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…as Magistrate refuses to comply with DPP’s order  to commit Rodriguez for High Court trial Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack sent another letter on Wednesday to Magistrate Judy Latchman ordering her to commit Regan “Grey Boy” Rodriguez to stand trial in the High Court for the murder; however, Latchman refuses to be bullied and stood her ground. It was chaos at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts as Magistrate Latchman refused to commit Rodriguez to stand trial in the High Court for the alleged murder of Courtney Crum-Ewing. Through Special…

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U.S. Remittance Tax: Opposition Leader slams Govt’s ‘wait and see’ approach

TIMES INT'L

While Government has acknowledged that the United States tax on remittances to the Caribbean will have an effect on Guyanese, it has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the issue. But the fact that Guyana’s President, David Granger, is Chair of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) puts him in a position to do more advocacy for the Region’s benefit. This is according to former President Bharrat Jagdeo. “I’m arguing for a more proactive approach,” Jagdeo said, when asked to comment on the Government’s wait-and-see stance. “The President is now the Chairman of…

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Vetting of social media profiles begins for U.S. visa applicants

TIMES INT'L

The United Stated Government has implemented a new rule that allows officials to demand five years’ worth of social media profiles and 15 years of biographical information as part of a visa application, according to US media outlets. This recent change also applies to Caribbean nationals applying for US visas. According to ABC News, the rule, took effect May 25 even as the president’s so-called travel ban remains tied up in the courts — part of Trump’s push for “extreme vetting.” Consular officers processing visa applicants at embassies around the…

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