Daily Archive: Friday, May 16, 2008

By Shabna Ullah Although there have been delays in the construction of the Berbice Bridge, officials are confident that the September deadline would be met.Yesterday,

The men who raked several vehicles on Middleton Street on Wednesday with bullets killing one man made a clean getaway despite mobile police patrols responding “quickly”, a statement from Eve Leary said yesterday.

-police to seek legal advice The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) took to the streets again yesterday, in a march that was not approved by the police and played a cat-and-mouse game with the lawmen, racing through various city streets to dodge them.

Opposition Leader Robert Corbin’s personal security guard was early yesterday morning arrested by police and is reportedly being held in a probe of murder and robbery under arms.

Within a matter of minutes, a two-storey house at 152 Half Mile Wismar was gutted by fire last evening.

The new owner of Buddy’s International Hotel has issued a statement confirming that freelance journalist Judy Fitzpatrick interviewed him for Stabroek News in St Maarten and said that there was no intention to mislead with regard to the purchase price.

It took just over two months to wrap up  negotiations so that the 17-year-old youth from Lusignan could get a much-needed kidney transplant which is set for July at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Guyana’s gold-mining industry is characterized by varying degrees of flagrant disregard for the law and operational practices that do serious damage to the environment and to the lives and livelihoods of the host communities, according to a well-informed mining sector source.

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says President Bharrat Jagdeo has misrepresented its concerns for fair treatment of its members in  the ongoing Customs probe, calling his comments “misdirected and ill-conceived.”

Dumping huge volumes of polluted tailings in Essequibo River Conditions of lawlessness and chaos are reportedly prevailing at a section of the former Omai Gold Mines Ltd (OMGL) mining site in the Essequibo river where ‘raiders’ have commandeered an area and are pursuing illegal gold mining activities with the knowledge of the authorities.

Dear Editor, Thank you very much for the piece in SN May, 13, 2008, ‘More questions than answers over ice factory construction.’

The police are investigating the murder of a 29-year-old Black Bush Polder man which occurred around 12.30 am yesterday.

– Traffic Chief Zone 42 (Georgetown/ Timehri) minibuses went on strike yesterday morning because traffic ranks were preventing them from going all the way to Timehri but the matter was resolved by mid-afternoon.

This newspaper continues to advocate that the investigation into the Customs/Fidelity fraud be allowed to run its course, guided unerringly by the commitment given by the President that the investigation will be thorough, that it will “dig deep,” that there will be no immunity for people who might wish to activate their political connections, that the architects of the fraud will get their just deserts and that the investigation will extend beyond the Fidelity fraud.

Dear Editor,Thanks for the news item, ‘State land leads to windfall for Shivraj,’ (SN, 14.5.08), that exposed some more of this unsettling arrangement between the government and Buddy’s hotel.

The Arts Forum yesterday expressed its sadness at news of the passing of Guyanese novelist Roy A.K.

Dear Editor,In December of 2007 (before the start of the first Primary) and in the letter column of your newspaper, I predicted that Barack Obama would be the Democratic Presidential nominee and that he would go on to become President of the United States.

Dear Editor, I must commend the Guyanese press for highlighting the anticipated change of ownership of Guyana’s leading international hotel at Providence, although I sensed a veiled grudge against Buddy Shivraj. 

Rawle Lucas is a Guyanese-born Certified Public Accountant and Assistant Vice President of the Lending Services Division. 

-says alcohol intake too high The health ministry officially launched its anti-drug sensitization programme on Wednesday and is set to air a radio and television series as the country battles substance abuse, particularly alcoholism.

In yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News on page 11 under the headline `Fifteen years for killing wife’ a statement was attributed to Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes to the effect that before passing sentence the judge told the accused that “she had to send a signal to men in the society since they cannot continue to kill women who break off relationships with them”.

The National Milling Company (NAMILCO) continues to press the Government of Guyana to bring an end to what the company’s Managing Director Bert Sukhai has described as the dumping of flour produced in Trinidad and Tobago in Guyana.

Asks Tony Cozier When Mark Waugh and Shane Warne were fined by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) for providing “routine pitch and weather details” to bookmakers during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1994 (an incident that took four years to come to light), both acknowledged that they had been “naïve and stupid.”

Dear Editor, I offer a suggestion.  I have no doubt that Mr Sharma would like to be of help to ordinary people, but if he is to work for justice for the people, he could perhaps do so in a responsible manner. 

Four final year students of the University of Guyana recently treated residents of Block ‘D’ North Sophia to a “Community on the Move Empowerment Project” as part of their course work for the degree in social work.

The presentation ceremony of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) which was held on May 2 at the Georgetown Cricket Club will  be broadcast tonight  on the National Communications Network (Channel 11) from 9.05pm.

 Voortman products challenge ‘junk’ label attached to snack foods …Top Brandz boss One of the country’s leading distributors of imported snack foods, beverages and condiments has announced that it has acquired the sole distributorship for a range of health-based bakery products manufactured under the well-known Canadian label Voortman.

Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton yesterday recused herself from the arms and ammunition matter involving Terrence Sugrim citing the fact that she had dealt with another matter involving the defendant which was taken to the High Court and been discharged and which matter might be prejudicial to him.

Dear Editor, I am thoroughly confused. A few weeks ago cane harvesters in Berbice protested the rise in the cost of living, and were advised by the Prime Minister (not the Minister of Agriculture) that nothing could be done specifically for cane harvesters.

Guyana is one of five Caribbean countries in which significant progress has been reported in the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Strategic HIV/AIDS Responses in Enterprises (SHARE) project.

Concern for the welfare of employees in a society that is vulnerable to outward migration by skilled and experienced members of the work force is not just a matter of corporate conscience but a practical pursuit of good business sense, according to Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Products Ltd, Ramsay Ally.

By Calvin Roberts Siblings Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani and Anissa Rodrigues came out champions in their respective divisions when action in the West Indian Sports Complex sponsored Guyana Badminton Association Junior badminton championships at the Queen’s College badminton courts continued on Wednesday.

Dear Editor,I was looking at the news tonight with Mr Karran purporting that Guyana Water Inc (GWI) supplies treated water to the citizens of Guyana and was prompted to write this letter.

A man who unlawfully had in his possession a quantity of ammunition was remanded to prison when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The assault and unlawful wounding cases against President of the Guyana Teachers Union, Colwyn King, were dismissed yesterday when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Dear Editor, With reference to the recent poll commissioned by your newspaper, I would like to take this opportunity to make a few comments.

Heavy rainfall in the mining town of Linden left the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground in an unplayable condition thus forcing the postponement of the Upper Demerara Football Association Banks DIH Coca Cola sponsored first division competition.

Many years ago, when Hugo Chávez was a rookie President, he was wont to say that the region’s leaders were going from summit to summit while their people went from abyss to abyss.

By Calvin Roberts Pint-sized, 11-year-old Jean Claude Jeffrey proved to all and sundry that he will be a force to reckon with in the boys’ under-15 division of the Woodpecker Products 2008 National Junior Squash competition when he pulled off a stunning upset  win  over his more illustrious opponent Nyron Joseph at the Georgetown Club, Wednesday night.

On protests and perceptions Organising “spontaneous” outrage  This short commentary was inspired by the street protests “mobilized” by the People’s National Congress (PNC) over two days of the last weekend.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation says the ex-factory cost of a 50kg bag of sugar is $3,800.

A 21-year-old man who allegedly abducted a girl under the age of 18 was placed on bail when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Dear Editor, I would like to ask Mr Edward Persaud who wrote a letter to your newspaper which was printed in your issue of Monday, April 28, 2008 under the caption ‘Some big contractors take advantage of the workers’ to contact me at the Ministry of Labour, 82 Brickdam, Georgetown, telephone no 225-7302.