Vic Puran’s daughter claims he was murdered

Almost eight months after the death of prominent criminal lawyer, Vic Puran; his daughter Mikhaila Puran has finally broken her silence, alleging that her father was murdered and his body was placed in his vehicle and pushed into a canal at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The woman added that based on “forensic” evidence in her possession, she can only conclude that her father was murdered.  The daughter slammed the autopsy report which suggested that Puran died as a result of asphyxiation, as she is convinced that he was actually…

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Govt going hi-tech with corruption fight – launches ‘ipaidabribe’ website

By Umadevi Bux – The Home Affairs Ministry on Friday launched the website: ipaidabribe.gy, which will give citizens a chance to document cases of them being required to bribe public officials. The website will encourage the accountability of government officials, political leaders and every Guyanese citizens serving in private or public organisations. According to information technology specialist attached to the ministry, Floyd Levi, this is an initiative which will provide the public with clear and comprehensive corruption analysis, along with statistical details of corporate or political corruption in the country.…

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Guyana will seek extension of deadline – Nandlall to make petition at Nicaragua plenary

By Michael Younge – Guyana’s attorney general, Anil Nandlall is expected to travel to Nicaragua to make a special appeal for an extension of the deadline by which the country must comply with international recommendations which have been proposed to the extant laws. This is in a bid to avoid economic and financial sanctions, as well as blacklisting related to the legislature’s non-approval of the amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Act. This newspaper understands that Nandlall may end up leading Guyana’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)…

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Govt open to review of lie detector test policy at Energy Agency

Government said a possible review of the polygraph testing policy at the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) was welcome, following the recent dismissal of several employees who failed their tests. Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, however, stated that the polygraph testing policy is traditional and has been practised by many organisations, over the past five years. According to him, functionaries and officials in a number of agencies have been using the system. A few agencies have also been abiding with the interventions made on the basis of the…

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Guyana addressing legislation for oil and gas sectors

The government of Guyana is on the right path as it moves to address legislative, economic and fiscal issues within the imminent oil and gas sectors. This is the opinion expressed by a two-man team of Commonwealth advisors, which concluded its second one-week consultation visit to Guyana. Economic advisor Dr Epken J Omonbude and legal advisor Dr Ibibia Worika, both of the Special Advisory Services Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, said they were both impressed with the measures and policies that have been put in place by the Natural Resources and the…

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GPSU proposes hefty multi-year pay hike for public servants

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has proposed a total pay raise of 90 per cent for public servants over the next three years and has called for an immediate commencement of negotiations and a commitment to a businesslike process of discussion to avoid the yearly increase imposed by the government. The union made the proposal in a letter to Public Service Ministry Permanent Secretary, Hydar Ally last week.  The union said in a letter on November 20, 2012, it submitted to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, proposals for his…

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GRC, ‘New Thriving’ host annual luncheon

The Guyana Relief Council, in collaboration with ‘New Thriving Restaurant’, hosted its annual Chinese Food Festival on Sunday, raising funds to boost the council’s operations. The luncheon was held at the New Thriving Restaurant on Main Street, Georgetown, with approximately 200 persons attending the feast. This luncheon is the GRC’s biggest fundraising activity and was sponsored exclusively by New Thriving. According to GRC’s chairperson Yvonne Hinds, the agency has been hosting the event for more than 10 years, and over the past few years it has raised Gy$1 million annually.…

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Guyana examines Petrocaribe Economic Zone proposal – PM Hinds

Guyana is examining a proposal by Venezuela to set up a Petrocaribe Economic Zone (PEZ) which was tabled at the recently concluded ministerial meeting of Petrocaribe and the Summit of Heads of Government. Speaking to the Government Information Agency (GINA) after attending the summit in Venezuela, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said, “The PEZ is intended to deepen the progress made by the organisation, with a view to developing the production sectors of member states, based on the linkage of production chains which would generate economic surplus and would make cooperation…

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Air traffic in and out of Guyana to increase

With effect from May 27, for a period of one-month, Caribbean Airlines will fly an additional flight that is expected to add 900 seats to the country’s airlift capacity, acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali disclosed last Friday, while speaking to Guyanese media. Additionally, as the ministry continues to look at having more airlines ply the Guyana route, from June 27 to the end of September, there will be an increase in daily flights. “You will have daily flights to the US… in addition to that, once the…

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National paralympics games on the cards for Guyana

Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities Public Relations Officer Ganesh Singh said the local paralympics committee is preparing to pull off the 2013 national paralympics games. During an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International on Friday, Singh said the games will be staged while the committee continues to work to finalise its draft constitution in order to be recognised locally, which has been developed from consultations in all 10 administrative regions. Last year, the committee conducted consultations and the feedback was dispatched to the Labour Ministry’s Co-op Division…

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