Editorial

In their recent book “How Democracies Die”, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, cite a telling remark from the campaign that brought Hugo Chávez – a political outsider who promised to humble a corrupt elite and deliver a more “authentic” democracy – into office.

Recently, the issue of drug use in schools in Guyana has made the headlines with the announcement by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) that it had discovered a drug ring inside two Georgetown schools.

Not for the first time in Guyana, a large quantity of medical drugs has had to be discarded due to spoilage.

Last Friday, in the city of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, home of the largest sea port in Europe, another remarkable Swiss timekeeper, with the country’s worldwide accepted standard of clockwork precision excellence, once again docked at the number one ranking of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

It is still not too late for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to tender a dignified apology to those media operatives (and perhaps to the media fraternity as a whole) upon whom it visited some unacceptable discourtesies on Thursday January 25th after they had turned up at Ayanganna to cover President Granger’s address to the annual Army Officers’ Conference.

On February 14th, the third anniversary of the Cummingsburg Accord which masterminded the victory of the APNU+AFC coalition at the 2015 general elections, President Granger was asked whether the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between his government and ExxonMobil subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEGPL) would be renegotiated.

The phenomenon of power syndrome is somewhat puzzling, but it is too common a complaint to be denied.

In the wake of the latest mass shooting, what more can be said about the unconscionable lack of gun control in America?

Recently, the violent arrest, by members of the City Constabulary, of a man said to be of unsound mind shocked many who read about it in the formal news media, or viewed it on social media and television.

On Friday last, Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder visited farming areas on the East Coast Demerara and listened to complaints from rice farmers about how cattle damage their crops and how long it takes before they can use the fields to replant, as well as the adversity they face in the form of poor drainage and irrigation, including blocked canals.

Today, 14th February, is Valentine’s Day, the traditional day to commemorate romance and the enigma of love.

In everything but title, Jacob Zuma is no longer President of South Africa.

Without doubt this is a crucial juncture in the country’s history as it relates to securing a better future for each of its citizens and for succeeding generations.

As we reported in our edition yesterday, Brazilian Defence Minister Raul Jungman arrived here on an official visit and was told by President David Granger that Guyana, “would like to review the Joint Communiqué on defence to determine its applicability to present-day circumstances.”

In 1958, Aldous Huxley published a series of reflections on the themes of Brave New World, his classic dystopian novel.

In the affairs of every individual, corporation, or country, the two concepts of dialogue and negotiation play a key role in ensuring progress and betterment at various levels of their existence.

In 2016, more than 42,000 people died in the United States as a result of opioid overdoses, according to a study done last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit & Exhibition (GIPEX 2018) begins today at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, in Kingston, Georgetown.

Hardly a day passes without some kind of public reportage on the subject of oil.

After having pledged for several years while in opposition and in government to investigate the deaths in the crime spree period from 2002, President Granger has finally acted.