Editorial

It will soon be six months since the PPP/C government has been in office, a period etched deeply by the unrelenting march of the COVID-19 pandemic and a country trying to come to terms with its oil future.

When major online platforms restricted trades in certain stocks earlier this week, apparently to ease the pain of hedge funds with costly “short” positions, thousands of investors concluded that the fix was in.

No one could accuse Minister Zulfikar Mustapha of being altogether clear in his mode of operating.

The data on child abuse recently released by the Childcare and Protection Agency revealed that for last year, 3,129 reports were made.

On 14th September 2020, Cricket West Indies (CWI) issued a press release stating that it had approved the timelines for consultation and the implementation of the Wehby Report (Wehby Report – SN editorial 12th August 2020), following the presentation of a paper titled “Governance Reform Report – Next Steps” by CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

The 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, (IYFV) the primary purpose being to raise awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption.

We unreservedly condemn the seizure of two fishing boats in Guyana’s waters on Thursday by the Venezuelan navy and call for their immediate release.

In the year since oil production began, Guyana has earned around US$185m and this sum has been parked in the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

The melodramatic, self-defeating end of the Trump presidency has energized Democrats and gifted them the power to lead the United States in a different direction.

There are some things which defy belief.  There is the former Minister of Public Works David Patterson initially denying that he received presents of jewellery from the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Asphalt plant during his period in office, although as we reported yesterday a preliminary review of other agencies falling under his ministry reveals numerous purchases both for him and then junior minister Annette Ferguson.

Between Sunday and Monday this week, Guatemalan authorities repelled some 7,000 Central American migrants, most of whom are said to be Honduran.

The storming of the Capitol in Washington DC, on January 6th, by a cult-like deranged mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, while the rest of the world looked on in utter shock and complete disbelief, no doubt caused all Guyanese to recall the extended spate of confusion following our March 2020 general elections.

There is a deeper significance to what the former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr.

Charges against three men on Friday for the murders of the Henry cousins, Joel and Isaiah mark an important milestone in the investigation into the heinous crime while at the same time underlining pervasive and longstanding weaknesses in the work of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Recently a new variant of the Covid-19 virus was discovered in Brazil.

In addition to its political and economic upheaval, 2020 was also tied for the hottest year on record.

If Minister Nigel Dharamlall is remembered for nothing else, his name will find a permanent home in the recollections of future generations for saving City Hall.

News this week that global carbon dioxide emissions possibly fell about 8% last year is but a drop of positivity in what has been a calamitous year for the planet.

As the West Indies continue their slide down the depths of the cricketing world, the subject of the status of the current Test Captain, Jason Holder, has started to be bandied about in discussion forums and amongst that fast-dwindling, endangered species, the West Indies cricket fan.

We learnt late last week through a Ministry of Health media release that a COVID-19 Vaccines Task Force had been established in preparation for the rollout of the inoculation campaign against the pandemic.