Guyana News

By Gaulbert Sutherland Photos by Arian Browne Between crumbling banks of yellow laterite, the Konawaruk River snakes its way downstream, the reddish-yellow waters glistening in the sun, a festering cut amid the towering greenery of the Region Eight jungle.

The Alliance for Change (AFC) has taken full responsibility for the lack of a timely disclosure of the roles played by party Chairman Nigel Hughes and MP Cathy Hughes in the operations of Amaila Falls hydropower project developer, Sithe Global and has apologised “for this critical lapse in duty.”

Police yesterday cleared a six-day-old blockade of the Ituni road and arrested fourteen protesters but the law enforcers’ action sparked condemnation from the region and this and other matters are to be discussed today at a meeting of the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice council.

There was evidence to support the assault allegation made against Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) president Simona Broomes, the Guyana Police Force stated yesterday, while urging the public to be patient while it investigates.

A Good Hope, East Coast Demerara mother of six was yesterday stabbed multiple times about her body  by her reputed husband of 17 years shortly after she called police on him.

Investigators questioned several persons and swabbed their hands for gunpowder residue before releasing them on station bail yesterday as police try to find the person responsible for Monday’s fatal shooting of teenager Ryan Persaud.

Relatives of murdered businesswoman Sirmattie Ramnaress have refuted claims by Sergeant Colin Bailey that he was in a relationship with the woman for 21 years and they say she was engaged to an overseas-based man.

Leader of the Opposition and A Partnership for National Unity, David Granger says the lack of funding to the University of Guyana (UG) has stifled its ambitions of producing individuals with the requisite skillset to bolster national sectors that depend heavily on engineering and science.

A police cadet officer was yesterday charged with stealing a diamond ring from a colleague.

APNU MP Carl Greenidge says the main opposition is not responsible for the IDB’s decision to discontinue its due diligence study of the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project or the resulting scuttling of a public review of the venture that it was never informed about.

Essequibo rice farmers are sceptical that the second harvest will bode better than the first in relation to unresolved compensation and the investigating of why farmers received low prices for paddy.

Kevin Charles, who allegedly assaulted four policemen after being arrested, was yesterday allowed to go free on his own recognisance until his next court date.

Students from Mahaicony Creek who attend school on the coast benefitted from an additional boat and engine last Saturday after the previous one was found to be inadequate.

Activist Mark Benschop yesterday staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Legal Affairs on Carmichael Street, over its handling of the four local government bills passed in the National Assembly last month.

A man was yesterday accused of having counterfeit $1,000 notes in his possession when police searched him.

The four local government bills passed by the National Assembly last month remain with the Chambers of the Attorney General (AG), where they have been sent for assent certification, National Assembly Clerk Sherlock Isaacs says.

Up to press time last evening, there had been no positive identification of the decomposing body which was found at Long Pond, West Bank Demerara on Monday.

Kelvin Washington, the bus conductor accused of trying to steal a woman’s bag, was yesterday further remanded by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

A Bourda Market stallholder lost more than $2 million dollars in cash and groceries after his stall was burgled sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday signed a MoU with six agencies for the establishment of 10 “Houses of Justice” in regions Two and Three aimed at improving access to public services.