Editorial

The mills of democracy grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.

Who would have thought a decade ago that American democracy would have taken on some of the characteristics of its Guyanese counterpart. 

If all goes according to the plan outlined by Minister of Education Priya Manickchand last weekend, public schools will reopen their doors to students in grades 10, 11 and 12 on Monday for an adjusted Christmas term, which may also involve rotations in attendance.

On the 10th April 1971, a group of 15 American table tennis players, team officials and spouses entered the People’s Republic of China via a bridge from Hong Kong.

In August, the state of affairs in the education sector demanded that Education Minister Priya Manickchand, returning for her second tilt at the portfolio, hit the ground running.

It is just what the country doesn’t need now. A full-blown row between the two age-old adversaries over the local government elections (LGE) scheduled to be held next year.

On August 7 this year, less than a week after the government had assumed office, AG Anil Nandlall issued a statement indicating that all leases, licences and permissions to occupy public lands which had been granted since December 21, 2018, were to be reviewed.

Sheldin Wolin, a professor of political theory at Princeton University wisely observed that “The experience of democracy is not ultimately about winning but about deliberating and acting together.”

Yesterday we reported that the Guyana Police Force had received the results of DNA samples which had been sent to St Lucia for analysis in relation to the murder of cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry as well as Haresh Singh on the West Coast Berbice.

Last week, when Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton provided an update on the ongoing discussions about increasing the minimum wage in the private sector from $44,200 to $60,000 a month, he revealed that in order to be fair, he needed to take the impact of COVID-19 into consideration.

Once again, West Indies selectors have discovered much to their chagrin, that it is virtually impossible to please West Indies cricket fans en masse.

On Friday October 9, the faces of eight seemingly relatively young men and women (the gender balance in the ‘picks’ was also noticeable) adorned the front page of the Stabroek News.

It boggles the mind that after all the upheaval created by the dual citizenship of former MP Charrandass Persaud which forced the resignation from Parliament of the current Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, the current Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge that we are facing yet again a similar situation.

With the exception of the period between 2011 and 2015, the political space in this country has always been occupied by the PNC and PPP alone, no matter what letters have been tacked on to their party abbreviations at one time or another.

As Donald Trump – encouraged by a mute button –  did his best impression of an adult, he produced so much mis- and disinformation in the final presidential debate that it was hard not to share the dread so many Americans feel about the forthcoming elections.

Sometimes one has to wonder whether our politicians live in the same country as the rest of us. 

Last week, two significant days passed with not much notice on the local scene: World Food Day on October 16 and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, marking their 75th and 27th respective annual observances.

The World Series of Major League Baseball (MLB) began last night with the heavily favoured Los Angeles Dodgers opposing the underdog Tampa Bay Rays.

Some important issues that have to do with service delivery in the law and order sector arise out of Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn’s recent pronouncement regarding physical attacks on members of the Guyana Police Force by civilians including his entirely justifiable insistence that such attacks cease.

It is now nearly three weeks since the last sitting of Parliament which approved a variety of bills pertaining to the 2020 budget.