Rodney Commission hears Gregory Smith’s file missing from GDF

The Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) opened its fourth session on Tuesday with news that the personal file of the alleged assassin William Gregory Smith could not be found. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick West representing the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) told the tribunal investigating the death of the late academic and historian that Smith’s file could have been destroyed during the massive flood of 2005. The announcement by the GDF comes on the heels of the Guyana Police Force also declaring that a number of critical files from their investigation…

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Guyanese fishermen call for protection against piracy

By Andrew Carmichael Fishermen on the Corentyne Coast are calling on the authorities to provide more protection against the snares of armed pirates who recently attacked a vessel and reportedly killed all five crew members – the bodies of two of them were found on Monday. The crew of five were reported missing last week. They left on July 11 aboard the fishing boat Miss Seema and were expected to spend 12 days at sea before returning. Their vessel was found on the Whim Foreshore, Corentyne on July 25. Police…

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Food processing industry to boom in seven years

…as Guyana looks to capitalise on high food import bill Guyana’s food processing industry is expected to undergo major development in the next seven years, as Government looks to capitalise on the food import bill of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). The advancement of the industry would see Guyana being able to produce and export canned foods, such as sausages, corned beef, corn and a host of other food items used daily. In addition, it is expected that the milk processing industry would be clearly defined and subtract from the high…

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President Ramotar holds talks with Japan’s PM

President Donald Ramotar and other Caricom Heads of Government on Monday met with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe where a number of issues to strengthen relations were discussed. The meeting was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The forum, the first summit meeting of Caricom Heads of State and Government and their Japanese counterpart took place as the countries are celebrating in 2014 Caricom-Japan Friendship Year, to mark 20 years since their first formal engagement in 1993. The discussions centred on the vulnerabilities faced by Caricom member countries…

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Berbice teen killed in hit-and-run accident

Police are investigating a hit-and-run fatal accident that occurred on the Number 66 Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice early Tuesday morning. Dead is Haresh Roth of Number 69 Village, Corentyne, Berbice. According to Roth’s uncle, Annand, the 18-year-old was last seen on Monday evening when he left to purchase something in the village. The grieving uncle related to this publication that it was unusual for Roth to leave his Number 69 Village and venture to other villages. The uncle related that he was on his way to the Number 66 Fishery…

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PPP wants Speaker to send AFC MPs to Privileges Committee

– cites conflict of interest The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Monday said it was still awaiting a response from Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman about the conflict-of-interest claims involving Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan and member Cathy Hughes. General Secretary Clement Rohee said the PPP, through its Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, had written to Speaker Trotman, calling on him to refer both Hughes and Ramjattan to the Committee of Privileges over two matters of conflict of interest. According to Rohee, Hughes’ company was hired to…

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Guyana, US hold talks on human trafficking

The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) last Thursday met with US officials to discuss the situation in Guyana. The meeting was held in the boardroom of the Home Affairs Ministry. Two officials from the US State Department, along the US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt were present at the meeting. According to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, the Task Force had several meetings in the past with officials from the US State Department and was looking forward for a productive discussion this round. “We have had several…

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Ramsammy calls for establishment of Agri Bank

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy is calling for the establishment of an Agriculture Development Bank as a step toward alleviating some of the financial issues in the agricultural sector. The Minister, who was speaking at the launch of the Ministry’s 2013-2020 Strategic Plan for the agriculture sectors, said that within the strategy, there are provisions for the continued advocacy in the establishment of such a bank to meet the needs of the sector. The strategy also seeks to advocate for the establishment of a revolving fund to serve the needs…

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President Ramotar urges all Guyanese to unite and move country forward

President Donald Ramotar has again reiterated the call for Guyanese to unite so as to take the country forward, as it is only through unity that full benefits will be realised. “We can lift a country to the state of a developed country, but we need to be united and understand what is taking place and work together to overcome our challenges and allow Guyana to realise its full potential,” the President said. The President was at the time addressing those in attendance at the opening ceremony for the 10th…

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PNCR defends internal polls

While declaring polls at   its just-concluded 18th Biennial Congress to be free and fair, the PNCR on Wednesday accused Aubrey Norton and Sharma Solomon of deliberately setting out to cause “maximum disruption” to the proceedings. At a news conference at Congress Place, Sophia, on Wednesday, party General Secretary Oscar Clarke suggested that Norton should apologise to Solomon, who is the Regional Democratic Council Chairman for Region 10, for misleading him into believing there were efforts afoot to disenfranchise Lindeners. Clarke said the disruptive actions led by Norton and Solomon over…

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