Mark McGowan

– new mechanism to replace joint commission A meeting here yesterday between President Bharrat Jagdeo and his Surinamese counterpart Desi Bouterse saw an agreement to conduct a feasibility study into bridging the Corentyne River, as both countries pledged to pursue a closer working relationship.

Retirement does not look so good anymore for Allen James (not his real name). 

Synergy Holdings Inc. was awarded the contract for phase one of the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHEP) after presenting evidence to the technical evaluators that persons with the expertise to complete the work would be hired, a source familiar with the process has disclosed.

—Archaeologist Mark Plew Archaeologists have been making groundbreaking discoveries in Guyana in recent years, including unearthing the remains of a whale, a giant porpoise and a rock fish, all of which could be about 10,000 years old. 

Local politicians are against views expressed in a recent Jamaica Gleaner editorial which urged CARICOM Heads not to seat newly elected Suriname President Desi Bouterse because of his past crimes.

-Opposition concerned about some provisions The government last evening passed the   New Building Society (Amendment) Bill despite calls by the opposition for it to be deferred or sent to a select committee because of concerns over some of its provisions.

– long-term plan being discussed, Persaud says A long-term drainage plan for Grove/Diamond is currently being discussed, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday, as the community has outgrown the existing drainage facilities.

– residents lose poultry, crops In the wee hours of yesterday morning, several residents of the West Bank Demerara Village of Vive la Force were forced to abandon sleep and attempt to save their poultry, household appliances and other items, after heavy rain caused severe flooding in their yards and bottom flats of their houses.

After spending six years before a Special Parlia-mentary Select Committee, the review report of the recommendations made by the Disciplined Forces Commis-sion, was last evening unanimously passed by the National Assembly, prompting Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to predict the continued modernization of the country’s disciplined services.

Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir on Thursday defended his handling of the impasse between the GB&GWU and the RUSAL subsidiary, BCGI, telling the National Assembly that it was dealt with “rationally and impartially.”

West Indies begin their campaign in the ICC Twenty20 World Champion-ships tonight against the Irish team at the Providence Stadium, and the home fans will be hoping that the local boys can get their campaign off to a winning start. 

Opposition parties and some members of the religious community have expressed uneasiness at President Bharrat Jagdeo’s recent statement about the law governing the operation of casinos, calling it a complete turnaround from what he had promised the nation three years ago.

-Williams Should the government decide to legislate the supervision of credit unions by the Central Bank, a special department to deal with the peculiarities of regulation would have to be set up, Governor Lawrence Williams says.

The National Assembly last evening passed a motion giving the go-ahead for the long-awaited Standing Committee on Oversight of the Security Sector to be constituted and become operational.

-emphasises need for democratic process Long-serving PPP member Moses Nagamootoo says he is willing to serve as the party’s presidential candidate at next year’s general elections, if he is selected by party members through a democratic process.

-Prof Dabydeen The establishment of the Caribbean Publishing House has created a much needed opening for emerging Guyanese writers to have their work published, its editor Professor David Dabydeen says.

As  the 210 budget debates wound down last Monday evening, Opposition Leader Robert Corbin called on the government to pay heed to the advice of the parliamentary opposition, as he identified this as one of the keys to accelerated progress in the country.

Eleven titles of the Guyana Classic Series republished under the recently established Caribbean Publishing House, were last evening launched by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Umana Yana.

-AFC walks out after Minister Ali declines to answer question AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday apologized to the National Assembly for his unsubstantiated allegation that the Parliamentary Hansard had been tampered with, but later joined his party’s MPs in walking out after Housing Minister Irfaan Ali declined to respond to questions they raised on the $4 billion expenditure at the centre of the row.

–new phase of development, Rodrigues-Birkett counters Members of the opposition and government benches yesterday clashed over the $847 million allocated towards the installation of a new fibre optic cable exclusively for e-governance, with PNCR-1G MP Aubrey Norton describing the proposed expenditure as a “waste” of valuable resources.