Editorial

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.

If it becomes a reality, the proposed gas-to-shore project will be the single largest publicly financed venture in the history of the country.

This country would have been naïve to believe that the December 18th ruling of the International Court of Justice last year would not produce a bellicose response from Venezuela.

In the Trump era, a single day can feel like an eternity.

Towards the end of last year, according to information made available by the US Department of Defense, the new Coast Guard cutter, the USCGC Stone departed from Pascagoula, Mississippi, in order to conduct its first deployment to the South Atlantic.

When the West Indies team for the 2021 Bangladesh Tour, which begins on Sunday, was announced on the 29th December, it was overshadowed by a list of ten players, who had opted to forgo the trip because of COVID concerns.

At 1 pm today (noon in Guyana) the United States Congress meets in a joint session to count the Electoral College votes, the penultimate step to the swearing in of Mr Joe Biden as US President.

A great many of us would have, these past few days, been part of the near universal ‘Happy New Year’ ritual knowing only too well that, at best, we would have been, this time around, hedging our bets, going through the motions, acutely aware of the fact that our hopes and our wishes are decidedly at variance with what appears to lie before us.

On the last day of 2020, former President David Granger in his capacity as Leader of the PNCR provided a lengthy account of his government’s stewardship between 2015 and 2020.

President Irfaan Ali didn’t have a great deal to say in his New Year message to Guyanese, but then that was probably the most prudent approach he could have adopted.

The One Laptop Per Family project has been revived after having been condemned to oblivion by the previous government. 

Today is the last day of 2020. Midnight marks the official end of the year the earth stood still.

Last Thursday, on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus made a pit stop in Georgetown and dropped off his gift for local, starved football fans; the revival of the Annual Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) Holiday Knockout Football Tournament.

Year 2020 will be remembered for, above all else, COVID-19 and more particularity for its global character.

When the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh presents the first full year budget of the new PPP/C administration there will be numerous areas of interest to the public.