Guyana News

As members of the disciplined services across the country cast their ballots yesterday in early voting for the upcoming March 2nd general and regional elections, no major issues were reported.

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh has defended the decision to reduce the amount of private residences used as polling stations and to rely more on public buildings.

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) is mulling countrywide strike action if proposed increases in sugar workers’ wages and salaries are not retroactive to January 2019.

Almost nine months after he was tasked with inquiring into the circumstances surrounding the 2018 pirate attacks off the coast of Suriname, Dr Rishee Thakur yesterday presented Minister of State Dawn Hastings-Williams with the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report, which found that a turf war over fishing grounds was the motive.

The Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) on Friday announced that it will be offering a 50 per cent discount on house lots as part of the commemorative activities for the country’s 50th republic anniversary.

A month after being doused with a flammable substance and set alight by her husband, Wakenaam resident Sattie Looknauth has succumbed to her injuries.

Police in Region Two are investigating an alleged attack on an APNU+AFC youth activist, who said to be perpetuated by supporters of another political party.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is currently only issuing identification (ID) cards to first-time voters, according to its Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, who says plans are in train to upgrade cards after the upcoming March 2nd polls.

Following his release from prison after serving a two-year sentence for armed robbery, Royston Rowe will be serving another two years behind bars, this time for the unlawful possession of a gun.

Almost three years after being charged with trafficking over five pounds of cocaine, Joy Jacqueline Caines was yesterday found guilty of the crime by city magistrate Dylon Bess.

A programme that seeks to have issues involving children who come in conflict with the law resolved outside of the formal court system is expected to be operationalised soon.

Political commentator Ramon Gaskin has appealed the ruling of Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire that Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd (Hess) and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Ltd (Nexen) do not need separate environmental licences from co-venturer ExxonMobil to conduct oil production here.

The police are currently pursuing two suspects in connection with the murder of Cuban butcher Ofredis Duarte Campos, who was fatally shot during an attempted robbery on Thursday morning.

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) today announced that the company’s kiosk in the Giftland Mall has started solely cashless bill payments at the location following a gunpoint robbery.

The Ministry of the Presidency today said that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will, at midnight on Saturday, February 22, 2020, conduct a fireworks display in the vicinity of the Stabroek Square in observance of Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary.

The April 2018 piracy attack off of Suriname which claimed the lives of at least 12 Guyanese was a well-organised operation as a result of a turf war over fishing grounds.

As voting by the ranks of the disciplined services proceeds, all stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the process so far.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), President David Granger this morning commended the “smooth voting process” by the disciplined services who are casting their ballots for the upcoming General and Regional Elections today.

Guyana Industrial Minerals (GINMIN), a subsidiary of United States-based First Bauxite (FBX), yesterday commissioned its mine and processing plant at Bonasika, Demerara River, in Region Three, and pledged that the US$100 million investment would be a world-class operation.

The launch of a US$2m agro-processing centre and cold storage bond yesterday is only the beginning of the transformation of the shuttered Wales Sugar Estate into a 200-acre Agro-Industrial Park which will see residents from nearby villages benefiting from the investment.