News – Page 774 – Guyana Times International

Legendary theatre to feature Guyanese on Amateur Night

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

By Natasha Waldron Anthony The famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, a famous performing platform for many iconic names in the music industry, such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley and John Lennon, among a host of other celebrities, will on February 23 stage Guyanese Rudy ‘Boysie’ Bishop’s youth arm of the Chronicle Atlantic Symphony and Brass Orchestra (CASSBO). The 20-man steel orchestra, called the “Young Acolytes”, has advanced into the semi-finals at the Apollo Theater’s Legendary Amateur Night. Bishop, the group’s director, spoke on February 2nd with…

GAOG hosts Black History Month Literary Affair

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

By Natasha Waldron Anthony As part of the Black History Month celebrations in the United States, the Guyana Association Of Georgia (GAOG) hosted its first-ever literary affair at GAOG’s Decatur, Georgia secretariat last Saturday, February12th. The event saw the participation of several self-published Caribbean-American authors, poets and short story writers who live in the Metro Atlanta area. Among the authors at the event were three of four popular Guyanese authors: Charles Liverpool, Kim JonQuille Hodge and Austin Thompson. Absent was Mortimer George. Austin Thompson, who is also the association’s…

President says Hope canal to go ahead despite naysayers

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

By Reuben Stoby President Bharrat Jagdeo has again responded to criticisms of the construction of the multi-million-dollar Hope/Dochfour Canal, saying that the decision to go ahead with its construction was done only after adequate technical expertise was sought. Speaking at a media conference on Friday, February 11th, the president also said that a certain section of the media had predicted that government was making a ‘colossal’ mistake in deciding to go ahead with the project despite many criticisms from engineers, while ignoring the many explanations that government had given for…

Canada launches Gy$20M projects for Berbice farmers

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

The High Commission of Canada on February 14 launched two pilot projects aimed at addressing some of the effects of flooding on agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of farmers in Region Six. The projects were launched by Raymond Drouin, Charge d’affaires and head of the Development Cooperation unit of the Canadian High Commission. The beneficiaries are the Central Corentyne Farmers Group and the Bush Lot No 43 Village Development Group. The projects are designed to reduce the risk of damage caused to crops from floods and droughts, thereby increasing farm…

Jagdeo slams critics of laptop project – says 142 netbooks were gifts from Huawei

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

President Bharrat Jagdeo has confirmed that government has not yet bought any of the computers for distribution under the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative. He made clear that the administration has spent less than Gy$1 million to purchase five laptops for the administrative staff of the OLPF secretariat. In recent weeks, Kaieteur News and several politicians have criticised the manner in which the project was being executed, suggesting a lack of transparency and claiming the government had bought laptops without the necessary budgetary provisions. “The 142 computers that we…

Growing Amerindian population increases need for expanded infrastructure

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

The population explosion taking place in Amerindian villages is of some concern to local government authorities. This population growth phenomenon is especially noticeable in the Pakaraima mountain areas of Region Eight, where at least one village, Paramakatoi, is already facing a serious situation of overcrowding. While residents rush to occupy adequate land space, water supplies are running low, health care demand is rising, schools and dormitories are cramped, and there is little employment and economic activity to take care of the growing number of people in the village, Regional Chairman…

Govt to train more youth entrepreneurs

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

This year, the Ministry of Labour is hoping to train 20,400 persons, 2000 of whom will be youths who will fall under the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment, Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir has said. He disclosed that a larger target was not set because the ministry wanted to ensure that the trainees receive quality training, which will enable them to become eligible for employment. Nadir said that special emphasis will also be placed on the services provided by the ministry’s various agencies, including the Board of Industrial Training and…

Tourism Ministry launches Mash camp

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

– with “Our Flora, Fauna, Culture – Our Pride” theme Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad and Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony stand proudly at the launch of the Tourism Ministry’s Mash camp with persons displaying some of the costumes Joining the long list of organisations that have launched their Mash camps for Mashramani 2011, the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry launched theirs, last Tuesday under the theme: “Our Flora, Fauna, Culture – Our Pride” in the auditorium of the National Exhibition Site at…

Guyana not worried about food shortages, skyrocketing prices – aiming instead to capture opportunities

February 17, 2011 TIMES INT'L

Even as people the world over brace for a possible repeat of the 2008 food crisis, as warned by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Guyana is not too worried about possible food shortages, or exorbitant price increases that could affect access and affordability of local consumers. Although Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud admits that Guyanese authorities are carefully monitoring the situation, he highlighted opportunities which the Agriculture Ministry is positioning the country and its food producers to explore. He notes that, already, the rice industry has seen significant…

Mechanic killed in Farm smash-up

February 11, 2011 TIMES INT'L

A 65-year-old driver of a Bounty outlet was taken into police custody after a biker was killed and a 15-year-old girl was injured in a crash at Farm, East Bank Demerara on Monday. The accident reportedly occurred at around 12:15h. Dead is Errol Gonsalves, 50, of 79 Croal Street, Stabroek, Georgetown; while Harrissa Mohamed of Agricola, East Bank Demerara sustained injuries about her body, and has been admitted into the Georgetown public hospital. This newspaper understands that the girl was standing at the corner of the public road when she…