Daily Archive: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Friday Feb 22 6 pm: The 2008 budget is titled, “Staying the course”.

A 37-year-old man who allegedly stole $3,865,000 worth of goods from a store was yesterday placed on $400,000 bail when he appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

A 32-year-old man was remanded by Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton when he appeared on a charge of possession of cocaine in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

A Kitty mechanic was placed on $50,000 bail by Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle in the Georgetown Magistrate’s court yesterday after he reportedly failed to return a generator he was expected to fix.

The disturbingly distinctive characteristic of criminal violence in this country over the past six years has been the high incidence of massacres, or mass murders.

The Banks DIH-sponsored Plus Energy lawn tennis tournament served off at Le Meridien Pegasus courts on Monday.

Michelle John turned back a determined challenge from Trenace Lowe to capture the women’s singles title as the national table tennis championships sponsored by the National Sports Commission continued at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Colin Alfred defeated past president Davteerth Anandjit to win the presidency of the Guyana Cricket Umpires Council (GCUC) when that body held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and election of office bearers recently at the Guyana National News-papers Limited (GNNL) Sports Club, Lama Avenue.

Cummings Lodge Secondary School wrapped up two victories last weekend to become the only team to finish the inaugural Guyana Secondary Schools Basketball Association’s (GSSBA) regular season with an outstanding 15-0 record.

Reports from the president and the treasurer, along with plans for Guyana’s participation at the upcoming Pan American Bench Press competition in Manaus, Brazil, are all on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Guyana Amateur Power Lifting Federation (GAPLF) on Saturday, March 1.

The Guyana Amateur Weight-lifting Association (GAWA) will hold its annual general meeting today at Olympic House, Peter Rose and Church Streets, Queenstown.

Dear Editor, I am a member of the Regional Democratic Council of Region 2 that is Pomeroon Supenaam.

Dear Editor, I think the representatives of civil society were right to accept the invitation from President Bharrat Jagdeo to meet with him on the crime situation following the Bartica massacre.

Dear Editor, I read in another newspaper that the Jamaican artiste Movado ( who is famous for his hit “Gangster for life”)will be headlining the Linden Town Day activities.

Dear Editor, It is pleasing to see that government has once again placed emphasis on the security sector in its annual budget through the allocation for the acquisition of much needed equipment to increase the police force’s efficiency to capture criminals.

Dear Editor, The recent response of the Trinidad and Tobago state and political directorate to the horrendous killings of peaceful, unarmed citizens at Bartica is what one would expect from a Caricom member state that is a signatory to COHSOD Agreements as well as the Regional Strategic Security Plan (RSSP).

Dear Editor, I read the recommendations of Dr David Singh of Conservation International in a recent lecture to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce .

Dear Editor, Like Guyanese all over the world, I was devastated by the recrudescence of violence in Guyana.

Dear Editor, A lot has been said about Afro Guyanese being marginalized by this present administration and one influential gentleman even spoke about economic genocide.

Dear Editor, I was dismayed at the headline in Sunday February 24 Kaieteur News “Police release photos of Buxton gang members”; here we go again, linking Buxton to any and every serious criminal activity.

Dear Editor, The news that a young man age nineteen was charged with the massacre of 11 innocent Guyanese in Lusignan on January 26, 2008 drew my interest.

Grief enveloped a North Nootenzuil home early yesterday morning when a 74-year-old pensioner was discovered murdered aboard his family’s fishing boat, with the engine missing, near the Nootenzuil foreshore.

Two parliamentary parties are urging the immediate revamping of the police force and a witness protection programme along with a series of governance measures to address the crime crisis.

An individual working on a mining camp at Enachu saw a man with a gun in his hand, panicked and created fear in the community leading police to act on reports that the camp was being attacked and robbed by a group of gunmen on Monday.

Buddy’s International Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara, which was built at an estimated cost of some US$12 million, is not for sale, its proprietor Omprakash Shivraj said on Monday.

Bartica has been experiencing repeated power outages since the beginning of the year and frustrated residents are complaining of damage to appliances and equipment and of difficulties in finding reliable storage for perishables.

Taxis plied their routes and more students turned out to school in Bartica as the residents continue to ‘pick up the pieces’ of their lives in the wake of the murders last Sunday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday extended warm congratulations to President Raul Castro who has just succeeded his brother in the leadership of the Cuban people, noting that his past experience gave every assurance that he was well suited to the task entrusted to him.

The ‘A’ Division Community Policing Group (CPG) recently elected officers at its 17th annual general meeting.

The Central Islamic Organi-sation of Guyana (CIOG) says it is dismayed at the slaughter of innocent persons at Bartica and at the continued disregard for the sanctity of life.

Caricom Deputy Secretary-General Lolita Applewhaite says “the objective of the Haiti CSME programme is to help Haiti strengthen its capacity to function effectively within the regional integration process” at the first meeting of the Tripartite Committee established to oversee the implementation of a Haiti CSME project.

The Pan Caribbean Partner-ship Against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (PANCAP) has been boosted by the signing yesterday of a financing agreement worth eight million euros between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Guyana Bar Association (GBA) says the brutal slayings at Lusignan and Bartica are disturbing as they suggest “an agenda to instil fear” in the society.

A fishing crew has not been heard from since venturing out to sea on January 23, leaving their families deeply worried about their fate.

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha says the heartless killings at Lusignan and Bartica show total contempt for life and would bring untold suffering and pain.

Fire at the Guyana Water Inc’s sewerage pump station at New Garden and Regent streets last Saturday brought a halt to operations at the facility, but the company is currently administering emergency repairs and the operation is expected to resume by tomorrow.

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) announced yesterday that the 6th Annual Pakaraima Mountain Safari originally scheduled to depart tomorrow from the Guyoil Gas Station on Regent Street has been postponed until March 28.

Residents of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara have expressed concerns that the large number of abandoned houses in the community could serve as hideouts for criminals and they want government to take action in the matter.

A pensioner, 81-year-old Latchmama Ramsammy, died after she was hit by a beverage truck yesterday at Cuthbert Street, Goed Fortuin Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara.

The verification process for some farmers affected by the clearing of the Buxton backlands will start today while a few should receive their cheques by Friday and up to Monday around 63 farmers had submitted claims.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) last evening said it was responsible for the issuing of photographs of six wanted men on Friday night.

Spent shells recovered at a crime scene cannot be used to successfully prosecute a case and the only way certain links could be made is if the firearm from which the bullets were fired is recovered, Assistant Police Commissioner-Opera-tions Paul Slowe told members of the media yesterday.

Chevron West Indies said the odour emanating from the Ramsburg Terminal poses no risk to health or the environment.