Guyana News

As Georgetown and the rest of the coast grapple with the Value Added Tax (VAT), there have been few changes in prices of items sold in the border community of Lethem though businesses are warning consumers of increases in prices soon.

Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President Dr Nanda Gopaul has instructed the Government Information Agency (GINA) to withdraw advertisements from the Stabroek News, in an attack on the free press, this newspaper has said.

Members of the Joint Services yesterday managed to capture four of the nine prisoners who broke out of the Mazaruni Prison on Friday.

Guyana’s largest beverage company, Banks DIH Ltd yesterday launched the newest addition to its spirits line, the VXO Extra Old Demerara rum.

Police have arrested and held two persons for questioning in relation to the recovery of an unlicensed firearm and another 20 have been arrested in connection with various offences at the weekend.

A Friendship resident lost his life on Saturday after being stung by Africanised bees while clearing a patch of land on his farm in the Friendship Backlands, East Bank Demerara.

A three-day parliamentary training seminar for members of the National Assembly opened yesterday with the objective of making Parliament more responsive to the challenges it faces.

The Archer’s Home yesterday received just over $1.5 million from Esso to help with the building of a new sanitary block and rehabilitating the main building.

The ICC/CWC Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Police Traffic Department are to meet Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) in the vicinity of the stadium to hammer out the permit programme which would give access to vehicles moving in and out of nearby communities.

The Ministry of Health is spearheading a massive beautification exercise along Brickdam in time for the Cricket World Cup (CWC).

Far from being cornered, the nine men who overpowered guards at the Mazaruni prison on Friday remained on the loose up to press time yesterday as the joint services continued intensive operations in and around the area.

The perception of rampant corruption in the execution of local government contracts was highlighted as a major cause for concern on the first day of a two-day seminar for regional officials responsible for carrying out such projects.

Following new leads on the startling disappearance of 30 AK-47s from the army’s headquarters last year, a key decision is pending from the authorities relating to a senior GDF official.

Police have issued wanted bulletins for 13 persons, including a woman who is being sought for questioning in connection with four murders committed on the East Bank of Demerara last year and four men for murders.

Two new hotels currently under construction in the Kitty area are expected to be completed in time to help meet accommodation needs for Cricket World Cup 2007.

The Ministry of Health last Friday hosted a workshop to deliberate on the draft National Strategic Plan for Laboratories which is aimed at regulating the levels of service offered by public health laboratories within the public and private sectors.

Residents of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice are counting their lucky stars that an abandoned house which went up in flames early Friday morning did not spread to their homes.

Parliament has voted to set up a special committee to look at the steps that need to be taken to enable it to employ its own staff.

While there are no immediate plans to remove Lamaha Street embankment residents in the absence of an official policy on that issue, persons living on government reserves in Sophia and on the East Bank of Demerara are required to move by month end.

The President’s Youth Award: Republic of Guyana (PYARG) says it has a number of projects planned for the year that will involve more than 3000 participants.