Daily Archive: Friday, December 10, 2021

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) moments ago voted to appoint Vishnu Persaud as the new Chief Election Officer (CEO), effectively bringing an end to the three-months long process to fill the post.

Defending government’s decision to greenlight the restart of small scale mining at Marudi Mountain, in the Deep South Rupununi, Region Nine, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat last evening said it was based on pleadings from residents of the nearby communities in need of income generation given the severe constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has postponed its impending 21st Biennial Delegates Congress by one week following a report by its Chief Elections Officer Vincent Alexander, who advised that extra time was needed to prepare for the party’s internal elections.

Confirming that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would be unable to hold Local Government Elections (LGE) before the deadline, Chair-person Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh has officially informed Attorney General Anil Nandlall that she would communicate the new timeline when a Chief Election Officer is hired.

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Bar Association of Guyana yesterday signed an agreement to cater for the provision of free legal representation for 500 victims of gender-based violence.

By Dr Bertrand Ramcharan Today, 10 December, is Human Rights Day.

Five more unvaccinated persons are Guyana’s latest COVID-19 fatalities, the Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed.

Ahead of the impending presentation of Guyana’s local content bill to the National Assembly, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat on Thursday evening cautioned businesses against putting the brakes on building their capacity while urging that they form more partnerships so as to better compete in regional and international markets.

President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announced that government has started testing an electronic speed monitoring system that is likely to replace to use of speed guns by members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Rupununi stories by Pauline Stanford Rustling is just one of several challenges confronting Rupununi ranchers, says Don Melville, who served as the manager of the Waichi Ranch for ten years.

(ESPN Cricinfo) – Travis Head thumped a century in a session to rip the game away from England after they briefly clawed their way back into the contest following another morning of self-destruction.

The recently established local human resources, management consultancy, and training entity, Global People Services and Management Consultants Inc (GPSMC), has signed an agreement with the Barbadian-based company, Caribbean Catalyst Inc in order to offer specialised human resources training to local companies seeking to enhance their people development through training in soft skills.

Saying that prosperity has replaced equality as the country’s measure of success, the local human rights watchdog has lamented that warning signs are being resolutely ignored.

With the Christmas holiday season underway, Food For the Poor Guyana Inc (FFTP) is calling on kind-hearted Guyanese and businesses to support its Angel of Hope Programme, which provides support to vulnerable children in institutional care.

Dear Editor, Corruption undermines our development. It creates a society where economic and social growth is trampled by greed.

This year, Lana Melendez and her Colombian-born husband, Fernando, are offering Christmas shoppers a different option through Cata’s, their 17 Brickdam and Sendall Place, Georgetown shop that offers items uniquely associated with Christmas and other seasons.

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, plans to continue selling off its least profitable oil fields in 2022 and stick to market-friendly policies even as the country heads into an election year, with candidates debating its independence.

Concerned Region Two residents have called on the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to construct a safe home in the region for abuse victims.

Dear Editor, US Ambassador Lynch is to be applauded for her strong statement in observance of International Anti-Corruption Day, which is an annual opportunity to bring attention to the continued importance of combating corruption, ensuring accountability, and fostering transparency.

A Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD) man is suspected to have drowned on Wednesday afternoon while he was showing children how to swim.

(WASHINGTON Reuters) – A Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist accused three former U.S.

Fire Side Grill ‘N’ Chill Restaurant has joined the list of sponsors to support the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) Super 16 Cup, donating an undisclosed sum to towards the staging of the tournament.

Dear Editor, It’s indeed a shame and embarrassment to this secondary school.

By Brooke Glasford One of my favorite books is called The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.

(GENEVA Reuters) – The World Health Organization warned wealthy countries on Thursday against hoarding COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots as they try to fight off the new Omicron variant, threatening supplies to poorer countries where inoculation rates are low.

One of the more pleasing, relatively   recent developments in the local business community has been the emergence of ambitious Guyanese women businesswomen, mostly young and mostly owners of small businesses, who appear determined not just to make a mark in the world of business but to make an impact in disciplines that are not only competitive on the local market but can also, over time, get the attention of markets in the region and even further afield.

Dear Editor, The old and tired reason of electricity theft is again being proffered  by GPL as an excuse for its inability to offer a salary increase. 

Odingo Emmanuel, a mechanic who was on trial for the rape of a woman at Imbaimadai Landing, in Region Seven, was yesterday convicted by a jury.

(Trinidad Express) A fine of $5,000 instead of a prison sentence has been imposed on a Penal mason who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 2012 because it was a “one-off” offence and the accused had a clean criminal record, among other reasons.

(WASHINGTON Reuters) – U.S. and Israeli military leaders voiced strong concern at a Pentagon meeting about Iran’s nuclear advances on Thursday, with Israel expressing a goal of deepening dialogue on joint military readiness to be able to halt Iran’s regional aggression and nuclear aspirations.

Dear Editor, December 10th is celebrated as International Human Rights Day.

One of the important takeaways from the visit to Guyana by a Ghanaian delegation led by that country’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and which included members of the Ghanaian private sector was the overwhelming emphasis which the public side of the engagements placed on a strong private sector-driven investment regime between the two countries, particularly the public pronouncement made by President Irfaan Ali on the subject of the importance of creating a convivial investment climate here.

Guyanese national basketball players, Akeem Crandon and Israel Yaw, were once again pivotal in ASA College of New York securing their fifth consecutive victory, defeating home side, Hostos Community College 78-72 in a hard-fought affair on Tuesday evening.

A taxi-driver and his passenger, who were arrested at Weldaad Village, West Coast Berbice with almost 300 pounds of ganja, were yesterday charged with possession of narcotics for trafficking.

Just over a year after taking the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship, Indira Jaipersaud appears to have taken to business like an idiomatic duck to water.

(THE HAGUE Reuters) – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Thursday denied bowing to political pressure when he decided to focus an Afghan war crimes investigation on alleged crimes by the Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan rather than by U.S.

(Jamaica Observer) The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has suspended its councillor for the Montego Bay, South East Division, Arthur Lynch, with immediate effect after he was charged by the police with a gun-related offence and assault.

Due to the weight of expenses of the FESUPO Classic Power-lifting Championship, Guyana’s contingent is unable to participate at the 25th edition of the event which got underway recently in Ecuador.

A homeless labourer has been remanded to prison after a city court heard that he broke and entered a stall and stole cash and articles totalling over $1.8 million.

Dear Editor, I offer deserved kudos to the Environmental Protection Agency and its Head, Kemraj Parsram, for putting the organisation in a position to access satellite images of offshore flaring.

(FREETOWN Reuters) – The World Bank has withdrawn its support for a population and housing census in Sierra Leone just days before it was due to begin, according to a letter from the Bank addressed to Sierra Leone’s finance minister.

Bids were on Thursday opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for the preparation of a temporary waste site at East Canje, which is estimated to cost just over $47 million.

(Trinidad Express) Shadie Dassrath was beaten to death in an apartment in La Romaine last Friday morning.

Dear Editor, The Ministry of Education must be applauded for establishing a Resolution/ Complaints Desk through which complaints, queries and grievances from the citizens can be addressed smoothly and quickly.

Elections are always a divisive period in our local existence. Although often viewed as a beacon for national unification, sport, regrettably, is not immune from such a discordant reality in its attempts to elect an administration.

(Reuters) – Formula One drivers could face suspension or lose all their points for driving in an unsportsmanlike manner, race director Michael Masi has warned ahead of Sunday’s title-deciding battle at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Kitco Market Data Gold Prices for the three day period ending Thursday December 9, 2021

(Reuters) – Opener Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as India’s one-day captain on Wednesday, thus taking charge of both the white-ball squads ahead of their tour of South Africa later this month.

Observers of what, up to this time, have been largely fruitless efforts to forge a regional food security pact that can, among other things, reduce expenditure on extra-regional food imports whilst upgrading the nutritional quality of the region’s food intake, may well be wondering whether the contribution made by President Irfaan Ali at the recent Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) President’s Dinner and Award Ceremony will do anything to advance the process of regional food security or whether it will simply join the plethora of high-sounding pronouncements that have been made on the issue over the years.

(Reuters) – Four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles earned Time magazine’s “Athlete of the Year” honour, the publication said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Pele was hospitalised for a scheduled procedure as part of his treatment for a colon tumor and the Brazilian soccer great will be home in time to spend Christmas with his family, his daughter Kely Nascimento said.

Three days ago Prime Minister Mark Phillips issued a statement in which he spoke of his “profound disappointment” that Deputy Speaker Lenox Shuman had accused the government of not consulting the Indigenous Peoples on significant issues.

(Reuters) – There will be no World Tennis Tour events held in China in 2022, an International Tennis Federation (ITF) source confirmed to Reuters yesterday.

In the human rights arena, an area that usually does not get a lot of traction is that of disability rights.

(Reuters) – China is not worried about a “domino effect” of diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Winter Olympics, it said yesterday, after Australia, Britain and Canada joined the United States in deciding not to send officials to the Games.

South Turkeyen and Vryheid’s Lust sport committees have collaborated to stage a ‘Day of Sport’ on Saturday December 18 at the Vryheid’s Lust community ground.

(WASHINGTON Reuters) – It will take a few days to judge whether Iran is showing flexibility in talks about Tehran and Washington resuming compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, U.S.

The Georgetown Office Assistants Promotional Committee will stage an Inter-Ministries/Government Agencies eight-a-side Tape Ball Cricket Competition on Sunday December 12 at the National Cultural Centre tarmac from 9:00am.

– Those Palm Tree Philistines I was not that surprised that the Culture Minister’s remarks about “black role-models” for Afro-Guyanese youth would generate robust responses.

(iWitness News) Head of the Police Welfare Association in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Station Sergeant Brenton Smith was informed today that he was deemed to have resigned his job as a police officer.

Dear Editor, Sometimes I think that the PPP and PNC are happy with the state of affairs in Guyana.