US-based consortium upbeat on oil refinery
A US-based consortium is examining building Guyana’s first oil refinery in the next 18 months, to provide cheaper fuel in an initial investment estimated at US$75M. “It is expected that within 18 months, an estimated US$75M will be spent to establish the facilities which will also be providing over 100 jobs and ultimately see cheaper [...]
Ramotar ‘humbled’ by unanimous selection
PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar yesterday said that he was humbled by his unanimous selection as the party’s presidential candidate and said he will stand by the party’s record of achievement. “With hard work, I think we can have a big victory at the polls,” Ramotar told Stabroek News following his selection. During over four [...]
Stricter deforestation limits set in revised Norway deal
New terms for Guyana’s forests’ deal with Norway have been agreed, with payments from Oslo to decrease should the deforestation level here increase over last year’s level. “There is room for small fluctuations but if you go above last year’s results then you immediately start to reduce the amount [of money] due to Guyana. At [...]
Norway releases another US$40M into GRIF
Norway will deposit another US$40 million into the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) immediately as research shows that Guyana’s deforestation rate is lower than previously thought, Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim announced last evening. This is very positive and Oslo will immediately pay US$40 million into the GRIF, Solheim said [...]
Renaldo Parris finds refuge with kind stranger
For most of his young life Renaldo Parris has worked, fought hunger and slept on the streets with nowhere to turn. Abandoned at a very young age after his parents’ death, Renaldo had to fend for himself on his own. “He has nothing,” says Ivy Harris, 64. “He has no documents, no birth certificate. He [...]
‘Grow More’ farmers reap less at flooded Spillweir
Mohammed Rasheed returned to Guyana two years ago excited by the prospects of the Grow More Food campaign. On Tuesday, as he pumped water out of his flooded fields, battling to save the crops, he lamented that promises made have not kept. “Every time I follow up, they dragging, dragging (their feet),”
Prescriptive title to end for state lands
Persons living on state land can no longer apply for prescriptive title, with the passage of an amendment that the government stoutly defended as necessary to protect state property while opposition parties dubbed it unconstitutional. The Title to Land (Prescription and Limitation) (Amendment) Bill 2011 was yesterday denounced by opposition speakers as “overreaching” and in [...]
Bureau launched to support men facing societal pressures
Men face tremendous, varied pressures in society and require these to be dealt with in a masculine way was the message as the Men Affairs Bureau (MAB) was officially launched yesterday. “We need to ensure that men and boys are not left behind,” said Trevor Thomas, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Human [...]
AFC protests gov’t sloth on broadcast, FOI laws
Broken promises to pass broadcast and Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation shows the administration’s lack of credibility, said Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan as the party picketed outside Parliament yesterday over government’s failure to act on these issues. “We rather suspect that the government wants to maintain the control over information. It wants [...]
AFC to keep two Parliament seats for Diaspora -Ramjattan
Giving overseas-based Guy-anese parliamentary representation and ministerial positions is a big part of the Alliance For Change’s (AFC) policy, given the large contributions of the Diaspora to Guyana, the AFC’s Presiden-tial Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan has said. He said that in his legal opinion there is nothing blocking Guyanese residing overseas who continue to hold Guyanese [...]
$460M Demerara Bank branch opens at Diamond
Demerara Bank Limited opened its newest branch at Diamond on the East Bank Demerara yesterday, with its Chairman Dr Yesu Persaud calling for the creation of a business climate that would lead to more jobs. A beaming Persaud recalled the journey from when he conceived a dream of an indigenous bank back in 1991 to [...]
‘It’s not a one-man show’ – Granger
Declaring that it was not a one-man show, freshly minted PNCR presidential candidate David Granger says he will discuss elections strategy with party leader Robert Corbin and warned that corruptly conceived projects will be rolled back under any government led by him. Having been elevated to lead the PNCR into national elections later this year, [...]
Sharief Khan eulogised as hard worker, mentor
Veteran journalist Sharief Khan worked his way up from humble beginnings to leave a legacy of hard work and well trained-journalists. His colleagues and friends yesterday recounted the story of his life during a funeral service as he was laid to rest in the village of Philadelphia on the East Bank Essequibo. Mourners including President [...]
Swamped Laluni farmers blast gov’t for broken promises to clear creek
Heavy rainfall swamped sections of Laluni yesterday leaving anxious farmers fearful for their crops and renewing their plea to the authorities to clear the overgrowth that clogs the Laluni Creek. Government officials on visits to the community had repeatedly promised to clear the creek but it was never done, residents told this newspaper during a [...]
Better Region Eight roads may revive onions, potatoes plan
Improved road links could see the resuscitation of south-western Region Eight as a large producer of “environmentally adaptable crops” such as onions and Irish potatoes but for more perishable crops other constraints will have to be tackled if those are to be produced competitively. Over three decades ago, a massive agriculture enterprise in the mountainous [...]