Guyana News

The David Granger administration’s decision to raise the salaries of its ministers by as much as 50% continues to draw criticism with political commentator Ralph Ramkarran calling it an abuse of the electorate’s trust and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) calling it “questionable” and urging the government to let good sense prevail.

A family of six is now homeless after a speeding vehicle knocked a Non Pareil house off its stilts yesterday afternoon.

A parliamentary delegation from Guyana last week visited Suriname for talks with its counterparts and among the points agreed in tackling sea piracy was greater collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries with an emphasis on patrolling targeted areas.

Two men suspected to have committed piracy on the high seas last Friday are in police custody after being subdued by alert fishermen.

Government will urge the Public Accounts Commit-tee (PAC) of Parliament to start the process of identifying nominees for the Public Procurement Com-mission (PPC) and hopes that the body will be in place by December but in the meantime, Cabinet will continue to exercise its “no-objection” to contracts, Minister of Govern-ance Raphael Trotman says.

The Mayor and City Council is set to utilise the services of contractors, along with its regular drainage staff, to maintain its current effort of improving the drainage in Georgetown, GINA says.

The Board of the National Communica-tions Network (NCN) will be meeting this week to discuss reports that the state television outfit has unused equipment for satellite uplinking, a service which it had contracted out at significant expense.

Antigua on Saturday formed a “strategic alliance” with Venezuela that will see Caracas taking a 25% stake in the West Indies Oil Company, setting up a regional bank and constructing a resort among other ventures.

By Shabna Rahman   Three years after the launch of the Chinese roll on/roll off ferries, commuters are satisfied that they arrive at their destinations much faster while others say better systems are needed for a smoother flow.

The Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) Secondary School celebrated its 11th graduation ceremony with President David Granger as guest speaker two Sundays ago.

As the region celebrated Caribbean Statistics Day on October 15, 2015, the Caricom Secretariat in its address to mark the occasion urged member states to invest in the improvement of statistics as it is a vital tool.

In the framework of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of Guyana, Mexico and this country are cooperating on a project for the preservation of its documented heritage and development of its archives, a release from the Mexican Embassy said on Friday.

A toddler is dead and a 12 year old girl hospitalized after a man discharged rounds at an Eastville Housing Scheme, Lusignan house earlier this afternoon before later escaping.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress has written the government calling for the reinstatement of collective bargaining and it cautioned the administration to be judicious in the way it handles the public outcry over the 50% hike in salaries for Cabinet ministers.

Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan has gazetted November 10 as the official holiday for the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Guyana’s economy de-clined by 2.5% in the first half of 2015 when compared with the same period in 2014, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Mid-Year Report but Minister Winston Jordan is optimistic of a recovery by the end of the year.

Down in Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara sits a ‘little rose’ whose towering coconut trees can be spotted a distance away.

A family was harassed and robbed of about $6 million in cash and jewellery after two bandits invaded their house last night through a window by removing two louvre window panes.

There are no immediate plans to continue the just-concluded gun amnesty, according to Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, who says plans are underway for a major crackdown to get more illegal weapons off the streets.

Retired army chief-of-staff Gary Best yesterday confirmed that he is living on property located in the controversial Pradoville 2 Housing Scheme, where the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) has said lands were “grossly undervalued” and sold below market value to members and associates of the former government.