Thandeka Percival

While students continue to attempt to sit a larger number of subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, this year’s top performers would like those following them to think less about the number of subjects and more about having fun.

Today Aadilah Ali is ecstatic. Of the 923 candidates who wrote the Carib-bean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in Guyana, the 18-year-old Queen’s College student has come out on top. 

With government rejecting the majority of salary and non-salary measures in a multi-year agreement proposed by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), the new school year could begin with a strike by teachers.

With President David Granger facing criticism over his lack of meaningful engagement with the media, several veteran journalists say a continued lobby is needed to ensure there is accountability.

Three years into the 11th Parliament, the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) yesterday won its first vote in the House after two members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) abstained on a motion to grant two employees of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) duty-free concessions for vehicles at 2000-cylinder capacity (CC).

The National Assembly yesterday passed amendments to the anti-money laundering legislation, which included replacing the Anti-Money Laundering Authority with a coordinating committee that raised eyebrows and a lot of questions among opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).

The Bank of Guyana (BoG) will soon have the ability to grant temporary financial bailouts to commercial banks in order to protect depositors from losses similar to those incurred when the Globe Trust and Investment Company Limited (GTICL) collapsed in 2004.

If you were to meet Gopaul Etwaroo today, you might be forgiven for thinking he’s an exceptionally tall primary school student somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10, with the lust for life of someone that age.

Sixteen constituencies have been removed from 14 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in what Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has described as gerrymandering in a bid to reduce PPP/C wins at the upcoming local government elections.

Five months after the passing of city councillor Junior Garrett and four months after the Council announced the vacancy for his seat the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not directed that a by-election be called to fill the vacancy as required by law.

LGBT persons continue to face discrimination, stigmatisation and violence on an almost daily basis.

Hundreds of members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and allies took to the streets of Georgetown yesterday for the first local Pride Parade and they used the occasion to sound a call to government to stop talking and act on the decriminalisation of same sex relations.

Ahead of a planned pride parade today organised by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community, a section of the Christian community has voiced its objection and called on the David Granger administration to publicly declare its position on homosexuality and the decriminalisation of gay sex, including buggery.

Transparency Institute Guyana Incorporated (TIGI) has added its voice to calls for government to provide evidence that a US$450 million claim in pre-contract costs by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary and its two partners is accurate.

A 22-year-old man, said to be mentally-ill, was yesterday rescued from a pig pen at back of his father’s North Sophia, Greater Georgetown home, where he was reportedly kept for at least three years.

After more than five hours of intense debate the National Assembly yesterday approved $2.5 billion in supplementary spending for the 2018 fiscal year.

Faced with a mounting maintenance bill for its crumbling Camp Street Headquarters, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has once again appealed to Cabinet for its approval of the construction of a Campus at Liliendaal.

Trade union leaders yesterday called on Guyanese workers to “fight” to preserve hard-won rights and privileges, which they said are being eroded after being enshrined in law a generation ago.

With the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) close to mounting its first set of cases, its Director Professor Clive Thomas yesterday made an appeal for Guyanese to take ownership of the fight against corruption, while saying that there has been an over-reliance on foreign help.

The Mayor of Rose Hall Vijay Kumar Ramoo is incensed that President of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM) Carwyn Holland was bold enough to reprimand his council for its recent hiring of a Town Clerk at its statutory meeting on Wednesday.