Guyana News

Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of martial arts instructor and bodyguard, Garfield Newton who was shot during a robbery in Albouystown, Georgetown on Christmas Eve.

President Irfaan Ali yesterday afternoon assented to the controversial Natural Resource Fund Bill which was passed on Wednesday in the National Assembly.

A day after the controversial Natural Resource Fund Bill was passed in Parliament, the PPP/C government is still unable to say who will select the directors of the all-powerful board and what procedures will be followed.

A sixty-year-old fish vendor of Walton Hall, Region Two died yesterday around 1 pm as a result of a fire that completely gutted his home.

Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) yesterday charged that the ruling PPP/C has since August 2020 progressively closed off avenues for influencing decision-making in politics and it also condemned what it described as the “dismissive” parliamentary handling of its petition seeking a pause in deliberations on the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill which was passed in a stormy session on Wednesday.

One day after a wanted bulletin was issued for him in relation to the murder of La Penitence resident Deon Charles, nineteen-year-old Ezekiel Hawker was on Wednesday arrested in neighbouring Suriname and the police say that he has since confessed to the crime.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira yesterday accused APNU+AFC MPs of engaging in terror tactics during Wednesday’s failed bid to derail the second reading and passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill.

Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon yesterday voiced support for the raucous actions of APNU+AFC MPs in Parliament on Wednesday evening which included the seizing of the Mace.

On Wednesday, at approximately 10:48 am, the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) experienced a shutdown due to a trip on the L16 Transmission Line, which links the Company’s New Sophia to Good Hope Substations.

A 64-year-old pedal cyclist died after a collision with a motor lorry yesterday morning along the Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD) Public Road.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday reported that two Triumph, East Coast Demerara (ECD), men have been arrested over the discovery of counterfeit United States currency.

One more COVID-19 death was yesterday recorded even as 157 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported.

The barbecue hut outside of the St. Pius X Church on Cemetery Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, which has been marked for demolition is still in place with the Mayor and City Engineer at odds over the issue. 

Hours before an uproar gripped the National Assembly over the controversial Natural Resource Fund Bill, protesters outside of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) had been vocal in their calls for its scrapping.

Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir, this morning, said that last night’s attack on the ceremonial Mace cannot go unpunished and that he would be guided by the Standing Orders when exercising discipline against the errant MPs.

-ignores civil society concerns Ignoring mounting calls from civil society and an in-House protest from the Opposition to send the controversial Natural Resource Fund Bill to a Special Select Committee for debate and consultations, the PPP/C last night blazed ahead with the passage of the controversial legislation.

After seven hours of vigorous debate, the landmark Local Content Bill to ensure that businesses and workers here benefit from the burgeoning oil and gas sector was passed in the National Assembly last evening.

In what can only be described as an unprecedented move to derail the Parliamentary process, opposition APNU+AFC MPs attempted to seize  the Speaker’s Mace last night as part of their effort to stop the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) bill.

The New Building Society Limited (NBS)  yesterday announced a further cut in its interest rate for mortgages between $6m and $15m.

The Bar Council of the Guyana Bar Association yesterday upbraided the government over deficient consultations on the local content bill which was passed yesterday and insisted that 100% of legal services should be provided by attorneys here and not 90%.