David Papannah

Inspectors from the Guyana Fire Service are conducting fire prevention and preparedness assessments at schools and dormitories countrywide which actually began a month before the May 21 blaze at a female dormitory at Mahdia that claimed 19 lives.

Mining operations and other livelihood practices in some sections of Middle Mazaruni, Region Seven have come to a standstill as flooding has returned.

The increasing presence of sargassum seaweed on Guyana’s coast has put fishermen in further turmoil.

Acres of mangroves protected by the Laws of Guyana have been ripped out  from the west bank of the Demerara River to pave the way for the development of a second oil and gas shore base  in the region.

Sources say grilled windows at the Mahdia Secondary School Dormitory were flagged by the fire service as a hazard in November of last year and February of this year – months before Sunday’s deadly blaze that claimed 19 lives.

As efforts are being made to upgrade the fire prevention systems at dormitories and schools across the country, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn yesterday stated that none of the doors at the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory were secured by grills.

-three days of mourning declared Deep sorrow and shock gripped the small Region Eight town of Mahdia and other hinterland communities after arson obliterated a girls secondary school dormitory on Sunday night claiming 19 lives with another nine hospitalised in Georgetown.

Eighteen female students of the Mahdia Secondary School and one boy were killed after a dormitory blaze started minutes before midnight last night.

Essequibo residents involved in the President’s Shade House Initiative, which is being piloted under the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme, said they have found it beneficial as well as an effective method in the cultivation of some traditional and non-traditional crops.

A US multimillion-dollar project to transform the East Bank of Demerara Public Road into a four-lane, fully-lit thoroughfare all the way to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri is expected to begin this year,  according to Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill.

Going forward, the Trafficking in Persons Bill 2023, will require the same energy and unanimous support it received during its passage in Parliament if it is to succeed, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud has said.

Using its majority in the National Assembly, the People’s Progressive Party-led government yesterday voted down a motion aimed at garnering faster responses to questions and motions.

Apart from millions still to be accounted for and a number of ghost entities receiving grants, two businesses that received funding through the Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme were found to be located in the PNCR’s Congress Place compound, the recently concluded financial audit into the programme found.

The entry into the mobile telecoms sector by a new provider has been stirring excitement among consumers, especially since more competition usually leads to enhanced service from both the new and old providers.

In what can be described as an about-turn, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai has said that the government lacks the power to grant “outsiders” permission to operate on Indigenous peoples’ lands.

FITUG Treasurer Seepaul Narine yesterday said that there should be an equalizing between the private sector and public sector minimum pay and he called on the National Tripartite Committee to initiate discussions on a livable wage for workers.

Land clearing is expected to commence soon, paving the way for the construction of the Ocean View Best Western Hotel along the Rupert Craig Highway, Liliendaal, the investor,  Chief Samsair told the Sunday Stabroek in a telephone interview.

American businessman and entrepreneur Ramy El-Batrawi, founder of investment group X, LLC yesterday tendered the highest bid for the Guyana Marriott Hotel of US$65m.

In response to two catastrophic floods in 18 years, Guyana is stepping up the protection of its vulnerable coastline, using funds from its recent carbon credits’ sale to finance the construction of multiple door sluices and other water management initiatives.

Linden football enthusiasts are strongly objecting to government’s plan to upgrade the famed Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground to meet the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) standard.