Editorial

One might have thought that following their experience of 18th July 2012 the Linden police hierarchy would have learnt a few lessons about Standard Operating Procedures and crowd control in general, but as the events of last week demonstrated it seems they have not.

Over the last three Fridays, members of the public have gathered outside of the residence of the Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson SC on East Street to protest his bizarre and obstructive behaviour in this post which is pivotal in the good governance and transparency architecture.

Whether it is Chinese Landing, Jawalla, Paruima, Waramadong, Kako, Imbaimadai, Isseneru, Kangaruma or Tassarene, to name a few, mining permissions are being given by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) without following the due process of informing the Indigenous communities first.

Two recent incidents involving members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF)—one this month and another last month—have drawn sharp attention to what appears to be a troubling pattern rather than isolated events.

In December, 1998, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service was in receipt of a flood of letters from around the globe.

On March 29, after enduring months of hospitalization, surgeries and suffering, seven-year-old Jeremiah Gustave passed away.

The absence of policy frameworks across key sectors in our country has become a disturbing hallmark of governmental negligence.

“Liberation Day!” exulted President Trump in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, while he held up charts listing countries and the size of tariffs which would be imposed on their exports to the US.

On March 31st, another magistrate’s court was launched. This time it was at Friendship on the East Bank of Demerara at a cost of $449.6m. 

Anyone reading Stabroek News—whether online or in print—would notice that there is one sector that attracts no competition and no challenge: crime.

Last month, a Georgetown family experienced a terrifying few days when a loved one went missing.

On the 22 March, at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) made the historic announcement that it had secured a ground breaking multi–year sponsorship with the German athletic apparel and footwear corporation, Adidas AG, valued at US$800,000.

On March 28th, St Kitts and Nevis through its Ministry of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Green Economic Zone (GEZ) Special Economic Zone Management Company, based in Abuja, Nigeria. 

With little to no contemporaneous oversight of the extensive government spending, chances are that poorly thought out decisions are being made and that these will be costly misadventures.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio breezed in to Guyana last week on a brief visit before breezing out again to Suriname.

Guyanese from every descent have long been considered as long-suffering. We endure.

The recent controversy surrounding a Grade Three textbook used in our schools has laid bare some very uncomfortable truths about the state of our education system.

Guyanese of a certain age will remember the days when all textbooks, in every level of our school system, were published overseas.

Last Sunday evening, “60 Minutes”, the most successful American television broadcast in history, featured a segment with an interview of George Clooney.

The suspension by the state of the special mining permit to the Aranaputa Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is an unvarnished victory for the work done by the media and community activism.