Elections: The Value of the Vote
For a long time now, Guyana has been a nation ripe with civic displeasure as expressed in personal decisions to disengage from the electoral process and on a more crucial level, the decision to simply pack up and leave. Majority rule is the germ of a political system as indicated in a previous discussion and [...]
Majority rule and its perils in Guyana’s democracy
Democracy in Guyana is equated with voting and so after elections people go back to their lives without realising the vote was just the beginning. This culture of accepting electoral democracy as democracy has serious implications and its practice in Guyana has come to mean “Elite rule,” which requires us citizens to be relatively passive, [...]
Living and struggling in Guyana
In the lead-up to the general elections, former Stabroek News journalist Iana Seales is writing a series of articles on Guyana, focusing on life, democracy, and the responsibility to vote. We republish the first article with her permission: What defines life in Guyana? Life is about how we are living, our choices and our future, [...]
Forty hours at JFK
We were mostly strangers, checked in at different hours with a common aim; to get on the next flight out of New York to Guyana scheduled by Caribbean Airlines. The rush of bodies at JFK airport in the wake of tropical storm Irene was initially among our concerns. Would any of us get on a [...]
Remembering Amy Winehouse
I like Amy Winehouse. I’ve always liked her even on the days when she was the most talked about singer hooked on a crack pipe. Amy needed a hug. Amy needed prayers, Amy needed love but more importantly, she needed help, and the truth is, she never wanted it. I know some people are going [...]
When Classique does Classique it’s a treat
Classique brags about its contemporary strengths and has been criticized for failing to bring enough depth to a stage, but it is solid and if anything was worth seeing within the past few days, it was its interpretation of Lady Gaga’s hit “Born This Way”. Frankly, very few schools in the country if any, are [...]
More support needed to open new doors for women
Trade unionist Gillian Burton sits on the Women and General Equality Commission (WGEC) to “make right the wrongs” being perpetrated against women in the society, and this past year she has seen enough to say that too little is being done for women here. There seems to be a paucity of solid, focused policies and [...]
$300M severance for Diamond sugar workers
President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday announced a $300M severance package for Diamond sugar workers, saying that government decided to disburse the monies and end a court battle which could have dragged on for years. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh was briefed on the development at Cabinet and was asked to find the money. The severance pay, [...]
Tackling crime, revamping education would be priorities -Granger tells business leaders
PNCR presidential candidate David Granger faced the business community yesterday promising to tackle crime, overhaul the education system and revive the economy if he wins the presidency later this year, but he was also forced to address yet again questions about his involvement in the 1973 elections. Granger, confident but also reserved in his observations [...]
US$12.5M sugar packaging plant seen as industry lifeline
Sugar would be dead without the political commitment of the administration, President Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday at the opening of the new packaging plant at Enmore, where he predicted a brighter future for the industry under a Donald Ramotar-led government. Jagdeo talked up the PPP’s presidential candidate before a capacity crowd of mostly sugar workers, [...]
US$12.5M sugar packaging plant seen as industry lifeline
Sugar would be dead without the political commitment of the administration, President Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday at the opening of the new packaging plant at Enmore, where he predicted a brighter future for the industry under a Donald Ramotar-led government. Jagdeo talked up the PPP’s presidential candidate before a capacity crowd of mostly sugar workers, [...]
Granger’s candidacy has energized Afro-Guyanese but also resurrected win myth – Ogunseye
Political activist Tacuma Ogunseye says the candidacy of David Granger has energized the African-Guyanese community and could draw significant support for the PNCR, but he also feels Granger’s presidential bid has similarly resurrected the myth that African support alone could lead to victory. Granger has impacted on the African community in a way unseen “for [...]
Bynoe dismisses ‘trash talk’ over teachers wage deal
Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) President Colin Bynoe has labelled criticisms of the union’s recent five-year labour deal with the government “trash talk,” saying the full agreement not only reflects intense negotiations but was achieved without any support from within the labour movement. Referring to the labour movement as fractured and sinking in division, Bynoe said [...]
Sharma to go it alone at polls – plans TV-only campaign, rules out debates
‘Debate what? Debate what happened 28 years ago? What Burnham did? What Janet did? We know how people vote and we are going to go that way all the time until something major happens. It took the people of Egypt 30 years before they wake up’ CN Sharma has made no official announcement but he [...]
Ramotar’s resistance to constitutional change worrying -Trotman
PPP/C presidential candidate Donald Ramotar’s proclaimed satisfaction with the constitutional arrangements for the country’s political system is worrying, according to AFC leader Raphael Trotman, who believes that such a position shows disregard for those who currently feel excluded. “No political leader who truly cares about all of Guyana’s peoples can and should express confidence in [...]