News – Page 705 – Guyana Times International

NCN, GECOM meet on giving more airtime to opposition parties

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

The National Communications Network (NCN) and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Tuesday agreed to obtain approval for there to be an increase in the amount of airtime granted to political parties. At a meeting between senior officials of NCN and GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally, the issue of broadcasting political messages by the contesting parties was discussed. The parties discussed costs, free air time and paid broadcast. In a release to the media, NCN said: “The meeting with GECOM was an amicable one, and ended with both parties agreeing…

Guyana moves up Human Development Index

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

–now ranked as a medium development country Guyana has moved two points up on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index and has now been ranked as a medium human development country, a report issued on Wednesday said. Guyana is now ranked at 117 out of 187 countries having moved up two points. The UN human development report stated that Guyana’s life expectancy was now approximately 69.9 years, while its gross national income per capita on an international base of 2005 was US$ 3192. The three dimensions upon which…

Dr Cheddi Jagan Jr. vows to dispel Nagamootoo’s ‘outright fabrications’

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) newest high-profile Civic member, Dr Cheddi (Joey) Jagan Jr., son of former presidents Cheddi and Janet Jagan, said he will dispel the “dispersions and outright fabrications” of Moses Nagamootoo on the campaign trail. Nagamootoo, who recently resigned his membership in the PPP/C, has joined the Alliance for Change (AFC) camp. He has made several allegations against the leadership of the ruling party. “Moses whom I’ve known a long time talks as if he is the embodiment of Cheddi Jagan’s legacy, but what he fails to understand…

Fire destroys Lethem Hospital pharmacy

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

Fire believed to be of electrical origin destroyed a section of the Lethem Regional Hospital, Central Lethem, Region Nine, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo at approximately 4: 30h on Tuesday. The fire resulted in the main pharmacy of the hospital, which supplies drugs to all health centres, health posts and other district hospitals, being completely destroyed. Guyana Times International understands that there were several patients at the hospital at the time the incident occurred. Those patients were immediately transferred to the old Lethem Hospital, as police, soldiers, and residents attempted to put out…

Scrap metal dealers get clearance to ship containers

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

–but ban on trade remains President Bharrat Jagdeo has acquiesced to the request of scrap metal dealers that 132 containers loaded with scrap metals be released from wharves for export, even though the ban on the trade remains. The containers have been sitting on the wharves for the last six months after the government had instituted yet another ban on trade of non-ferrous scrap metal, including brass, copper and aluminium, following more reports of vandalism. In April, the Office of the Prime Minister had announced the suspension. On Friday, Guyana…

Caribbean women ‘still struggle to balance work, family life’

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

Although women in the Caribbean and Latin America have made unprecedented strides in joining the workforce and gaining access to education and health, they still struggle to balance work and family life, a new World Bank study has found. The study, “Work and Family: Latin American & Caribbean Women in Search of a New Balance,” called for a new raft of policies to make childcare services more readily available and allow for more flexibility in the workplace. But the report noted that the region’s women surpass men on many counts…

USAID has been a quiet force of progress in Guyana – Country Director

November 3, 2011 TIMES INT'L

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said it has been a quiet force of progress here, extolling its many achievements, one of them being the landmark Soesdyke-Linden Highway, which according to the agency remains one of the legacies of U. S. cooperation with the people and government of Guyana and stands as a testimony to the long relationship between two countries. Today marks the 50th anniversary of President John F Kennedy’s creation of USAID. In a message to mark the occasion, USAID Guyana Director Eric Kite said whether vaccinating…

We will fight relentlessly against those who want to divide our country

October 28, 2011 TIMES INT'L

– Ramotar tells thousands at massive Lusignan rally By Michael Younge Presidential candidate of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Donald Ramotar told a massive gathering of supporters on Sunday that he will work “tirelessly” towards forging national unity in Guyana once his party is re-elected to office. He was addressing a mammoth crowd of an estimated 30,000 persons at the Lusignan Tarmac. Ramotar said that he will not only fight to defend the progress and gains made with respect to unity but will condemn all attempts by…

APNU urges Berbicians to vote for a change

October 28, 2011 TIMES INT'L

By Michael Itwaru Partnership for National Unity (APNU) prime ministerial candidate Dr Rupert Roopnaraine has urged supporters of the coalition to vote the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) out of office, calling for an electoral revolt on polling day. Roopnaraine was at the time addressing hundreds of supporters at the party’s rally in Corriverton last Saturday night. He said November 28 — Election Day would be the first anniversary of the multiracial revolt against oppression. “One of the first things on our agenda has to be the complete reform of the…

Nagamootoo joins AFC

October 28, 2011 TIMES INT'L

– cites fallout with PPP’s leadership as main reason for resigning By Michael Younge Long-time member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Moses Nagamootoo has resigned, citing a fallout with the party’s leadership as the main cause. He has since joined the Alliance For Change party. Nagamootoo, a former information minister under the Cheddi Jagan-led administration, told media operatives at a press conference held at his law firm on Monday afternoon that the decision was “one of the most difficult decisions” he has ever had to make. He said…