Category: News

The Chinese donated mobile container scanner was on Monday commissioned during a ceremony at the National Park with traders being urged to ensure that they are well prepared for the scanning to minimise time and resources. The US$4.3 million scanner was given by the government of China through a grant. The certificate of acceptance was signed in December. This is the third scanner the country has acquired; however, it is the first mobile one, which will be used to boost the export and import surveillance capacity while at the same…

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A  Kaieteur News’ article published in its January 6 edition about inundation at Liverpool, Region Six, tells a totally different picture of the reality on the ground,  Region Six Chairman David Armogan said. The article, with accompanying pictures, shows parts of the Region Six community under heavy water. The article reports that this was due to that community’s pump being non-functional, and the sluice having the capacity to function only in periods of low tide. However, Armogan in a telephone interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported that he…

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After several months of searching, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is yet to make a substantive decision on the appointment of a new chief elections officer. GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally told Guyana Times International on Tuesday that commissioners are expected to resume work on January 21, where they will discuss in more detail the appointment of a new chief elections officer. Calvin Benn remains the acting chief elections officer until such time a decision is made to fill the substantive position. Dr Surujbally had said that the current team…

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An Accra High Court has sentenced a Ghanaian and a Guyanese to 15 and 20 years respectively in prison for unlawful possession and importation of cocaine into the country last year. The two are among five persons who were arrested at the Takoradi Port on board a Guyanese ship containing 414 bales of cocaine. They pleaded guilty upon interrogation. The captain of the ship, Miller Ronald O’Neil and the Ghanaian Seth Grant, were sentenced 20 and 15 years respectively on each count to run concurrently. The substance was tested positive…

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Vincentian Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said Monday that he would use his six-month term as chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to deal with the deleterious effects of climate change on the socio-economic future of the 15-member bloc. St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, and Dominica are now emerging from the effects of a weather system that left a trail of death and destruction over the Christmas holidays. Caribbean countries have also had to deal with the annual hurricane season and in many cases, like in Haiti, unseasonal…

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Two men have been arrested and questioned for the murder of cash crop farmer Dearoop Sieuchand, 72, of Lot 8 Zeeland, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara who was killed on Sunday morning during a robbery at his home. The two men are at the Mahaicony Police Station and are being grilled, but have not confessed to the murder.  As the police continue their investigation, they are also looking for a third suspect. Ambika Sieuchand, the 70-year-old wife of the murdered man, remains a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital with facial…

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Faced with the fluctuating prices for gold on the world market, a number of miners have been forced out of the industry while some who have not paid their bills have seen the banks repossessing more than 100 excavators that they had taken loans to purchase. Observers say that despite government’s lavish praises on the sector, not much has been done in terms of guiding some of the miners into reinvesting their earnings. Speaking at a miners’ forum on Monday, Guyana Gold and Diamond Mining Association (GGDMA) President Patrick Harding…

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E-government Unit Project Manager Alexei Ramotar said the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) inquiry into the US$32 million project is “no big deal”. The multimillion-dollar project is being placed under the microscope by APNU Member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Harmon, who on Monday submitted two questions to the National Assembly for response by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. The e-governance project has suffered from extensive delays. Two years after its scheduled deadline, the project is now up for modification, the APNU parliamentarian said, as he expressed disappointment at the way…

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Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai has refuted claims that Amerindians are often being silenced especially when they meet each year at the National Toshaos Council (NTC) conference. Sukhai said that village toshaos and other village leaders are usually given the chance to speak on various issues at forums organised by the ministry throughout the year. The minister stressed that reports that Amerindian village leaders are silenced, especially at the annual NTC meeting are not true. Sukhai explained that everyone is given an opportunity at the three full days of the…

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After two decades of failure in leading one of the largest trade union bodies in Guyana, long-standing Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) President Patrick Yarde said he is willing to step down if the union members feel so. He said too that despite the lack of support for recent protest actions, the GPSU is still capable of shutting down the country, but that this is a last resort. Frustrated over government’s yearly salary increases, several union members who spoke with this newspaper said that it was time for Yarde, who…

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