Category: Top Stories

President Bharrat Jagdeo said this year’s National Budget will feature an expansion of infrastructure, supporting economic activity, and continued and improved services to Guyanese.   “You’ll also see a dedicated effort to raise the quality of services that we bring to our people,” Jagdeo told a media conference on Monday, January 10th. “We can do this largely because we are doing better as a country, at least economic-wise.”  As such, the 2011 National Budget is expected to be bigger than last year’s, which was announced at Gy$142.8 billion. It focused mainly…

By Michael Younge  Several women’s rights activists are of the belief that Guyanese women need to break the barriers of tradition and start a process which will guarantee them more meaningful contributions to the country’s governance and decision-making processes.  Programme Officer and lecturer of the Women’s Studies Unit, International Development Studies, at the University of Guyana, Audrey Benn, explained that women and girls, in particular, need to understand that, in order to bring about gender balance, they must be more aggressive. While she acknowledged that women continue to play an…

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally, has said that members of that commission have risen above engaging in political mêlée, despite retaining their political persuasions. Dr Surujbally made these remarks several weeks after the political opposition called for that electoral body to be made up of persons without links to any political party, and for the commission to be in control of its own finances. But the GECOM chairman has said that, while he had always supported changing the set up of the commission, he is no…

– small business group The Small Business Development Finance Trust (SBDFT) believes that Guyana’s economy can flourish if the agriculture sector is industrialised, so that the country can become more export-oriented and generate more income.  Manjula Brijmohan, managing director of the trust, a microfinance association which focuses largely on agro-based businesses, put forth this theory during an interview with Guyana Times International. She stated that while there is much potential for growth of the economy through the agriculture sector, there are several obstacles that are barring farmers from moving from…

President Bharrat Jagdeo, in a New Year’s message to citizens, said a new wave of development has begun to sweep Guyana. He said that, over the next decade, “we can create a new Guyana with high quality infrastructure and catalyse new economic sectors, while providing global leadership.” The president said the outlines of this new Guyana are taking shape. “If the Berbice Bridge, better housing, education and health are examples of the transformational change from the last two decades, the first examples of the next wave of change are becoming…

By Radha  Motielall  Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr Steve Surujbally, has said that, barring a few statutory matters, the commission is ready for the keenly-anticipated national and regional elections which are due this year. Surujbally also predicted an election date in August, although he said the setting of the date is completely out of his hands, as this was a matter for the president.    Political parties expected to contest elections, which were last held in 2006, have begun identifying possible presidential candidates, and President Bharrat Jagdeo, in…

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has expressed hope that Guyanese will become more aware of the importance of preserving the environment, and the bank intends to promote this idea through its recently-launched Green Loans Plan.  In an interview, the bank’s head of credit, Shaleeza Shaw, who spearheaded the initiative, revealed that the idea was born out of the bank’s intent to fulfil its corporate responsibility in light of Guyana’s growing role in the fight against climate change.  “We are targeting individuals and businesses who want to engage…