Marcelle Thomas

Declaring 2023 a successful year of growth albeit the challenges, the Demerara Distillers Limited has reported after tax profits of nearly $6 billion; 12%higher than 2022.

Increased exports coupled with the current El Nino conditions that have turned the land arid in the Pomeroon and Mahaica have resulted in a shortage of coconuts in the country, with vendors lamenting that it is taking a toll on their ability to earn.

PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton believes he is the best qualified person to lead the party and be the presidential candidate for the 2025 General Elections and therefore should be re-elected on that basis when the Congress is held this year.

As it underscored the global tiers of safety mechanisms taken in the pipeline installation and delivery of gas for this country’s Gas to Energy (GTE) project, ExxonMobil says that the laying will be completed by the end of this year and the pipes will be filled with nitrogen until government’s completion of the integrated plant.

`This partnership between governments and businesses and NGOs, between the Dominican Republic, and Guyana, I hope is the tip of the iceberg.

After the successful growth of a number of crops including soya beans and watermelons, Guyana’s first privately-owned integrated mega-farm, the Santa Fe Farm in Region Nine, is rolling out a number of expansion plans for different crops this year but has highlighted that proper roads and transportation logistics continue to be a challenge.

Signed in a blaze of publicity two years ago followed by the dismantling of the Enmore Sugar Packaging plant which is still to be reassembled, a planned machining investment has only now secured start-up financing and work should get underway shortly.

Having gotten the clarity it sought on areas of concern, Guyana says that it will now sign on to the Samoa Agreement – successor to the Cotonou Agreement that the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) has with the European Union (EU) and which is the overarching framework for relations with the EU and its  member countries.

 With a number of financial institutions indicating their willingness to lend monies for the project, a decision on financing for the bridge linking Guyana and Suriname on the Corentyne River can be made as early as the end of this month, Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi says.

Guyana and Brazil have agreed to collaborate in a number of areas and key among them is sourcing funds for infrastructural projects that will link the two countries, Georgetown and Brasilia yesterday announced.

CARICOM is optimistic that planned humanitarian and stability efforts in Haiti would see democratic elections in that country by August 31 of next year, a timeframe that has the commitment of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, it yesterday said.

The West African state of Benin has pledged 2,000 troops to the planned multinational force to bring stability to Haiti and the United States will provide US$200m among other support but says its soldiers are not needed as Port au Prince requires peace, democracy and stability and not the spectre of an occupying power.

With data showing that some 57% percent of the region is affected by hunger or malnutrition, incoming Caricom Chairman President Irfaan Ali said that the regional bloc will add to its current goal of 25% reduction on food importation by 2025 to also focus on eliminating the scourges of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

The Qatari investor who plans to build a hotel on Carifesta Avenue which will have access to a boardwalk along the seawall from Camp Road to the Kitty roundabout and will do so on the Guyana National Service (GNS) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) grounds.

Guyana is yet to sign on to the Samoa Agreement – the successor to the Cotonou Agreement that the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) has with the European Union (EU) –  as it is addressing concerns  including the matter of refugees, sources say.

With over 300,000 persons visiting the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA’s) Camp Street HQ last year alone, staffers continue to lament the poor conditions they work under, even as Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh calls on the agency to implement reforms for world-class tax administration.

Government here does not believe that the United States will pause overseas funding on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects as it recently did internally, but nonetheless has alternative plans for financing if the US EXIM Bank funding isn’t approv-ed, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said.

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) yesterday announced that the Caribbean Investment Forum will be held in Guyana this year and its head, Deodat Maharaj, hopes that when CARICOM leaders meet here next month that plans for the intra-regional ferry service are finalised.

A meeting between the governments of Guyana and Suriname will be held soon to discuss the way forward regarding the financing of the proposed Corentyne River Bridge, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says.

Amid Opposition concerns about declining gold production, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, says government is confident that there will be an increase in production beginning this year, due to a number of measures taken which include a $400 million Budget 2024 allocation to start a mineral inventory programme which would aid in the efficient allocation of gold-bearing areas.