Marcelle Thomas

Fair treatment of all businesses and no taxes on start-ups until they begin to turn a profit is a key pledge of the soon-to-be-launched Change Guyana political party, whose presidential candidate Robert Badal is asking voters to trust his experience and leadership as a businessman.

In a historic move, 13 companies and persons have been debarred for varying periods by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) from getting government contracts, including the Chinese company presently executing the East Coast Demerara road expansion project.

Disputing that he is a supporter of any of the parties in the governing APNU+AFC coalition, Change Guyana presidential candidate Robert Badal said that his party will not coalesce with either APNU+AFC or the PPP/C but has not ruled out  joining with smaller parties.

Surprising the Alliance for Change (AFC), which he once supported, businessman Robert Badal plans to run for the presidency of Guyana with chartered accountant Nigel Hinds as his Prime Ministerial (PM) candidate in a soon-to-be-launched party called Change Guyana.

Going strong since pre-independence Guyana and famed for its cuisine, Shanta’s Puri Shop is facing its sternest test yet as the battle between two brothers for the building and their mother’s legacy has moved from the courts to the streets.

While assuring that that their votes would not be taken for granted, President David Granger last evening appealed to Lindeners and the nation to give his government a second term in office to continue the “sound” developmental policies his APNU+AFC coalition has initiated since its election in 2015.

Despite its two oil finds to date, the United Kingdom-headquartered Tullow Oil says it has not yet determined if the discoveries are in commercial quantities and wants Guyana’s expectations of it to be tempered until additional exploration and data analysis.

Republic Bank Limited’s (RBL) pursuit of Scotiabank was to increase its economies of scale and become more competitive but notwithstanding the unsuccessful takeover bid, the Trinidad-headquartered bank is gearing to ramp up services to the oil and gas sector.

The Bank of Guyana (BoG) has rejected Republic Bank’s application for the acquisition of ScotiaBank while citing a number of concerns.

Two Chinese nationals perished in a fire which early yesterday morning ravaged the Public Road, Vreed-en-Hoop home and supermarket they rented, along with three other buildings, all of which housed various businesses.

After serving 10 years in a United States prison for drug trafficking, Roger Khan returned to Guyana last night and was kept in custody by police pending investigations of his alleged involvement in the murders of political activist Ronald Waddell and boxing coach Donald Allison.

Even as he expressed confidence about returning to office for a second term, President David Granger yesterday said the APNU+AFC coalition will ensure a peaceful environment for the upcoming general elections and accept the results.

From June 1st to August 31st, Guyanese customers experienced power outages an alarming eight times per day on average, according to statistics produced by electricity utility, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) company, at a stakeholders’ forum yesterday.

SARA has interviewed several “major players” in its ongoing probe of the awards of oil blocks near to Exxon-Mobil’s Stabroek Block.

With oil production estimated to begin in approximately six months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to prepare an assessment that will identify the possible risks to Guyana should an oil spill occur and it is expected to take several months.

The third draft of Guyana’s Local Content Policy has received mixed reviews from the private sector, with some hailing the proposed measures to ensure that Guyanese benefit from the oil and gas sector, while others say more needs to be done.

Giving the  APNU+AFC a “mixed review” and apologising for its shortcomings while in office, APNU member the Working People’s Alliance(WPA) yesterday announced that it would remain in the governing coalition for the next elections and pledged to be active in ensuring that promises are kept.

Fat Boy Ventures Inc, the Pomeroon coconut factory fined $1 million for polluting and which subsequently decided to shutter operations, yesterday rejected a government report that suggested that it had reopened.

Diversification plans for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) have been delayed as the government seeks approval to reallocate funds from a $30 billion bond as some priorities have changed.  “We are not necessarily tweaking the terms but tweaking the purpose.

The Pomeroon coconut factory fined $1 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month for dumping husks and shells in the surrounding waterways has closed operations indefinitely and is blaming the EPA for not giving it enough time to get its operations in compliance with rules.