Editorial

So, if established, the state’s case is that  Ian Jacobis, 44, of Lot 749 Plantation Best, West Coast Demerara; Shameena Ahamad, 52, of Lot 38 Roraima Scheme, West Bank Demerara; and Ashiana Salamalay, 34, of Lot 38 Roraima Scheme, West Bank Demerara attempted to export gold without a licence in contravention of Sections 8 and 23 of the Guyana Gold Board Act.

The government habit of ratifying international covenants and then ignoring the commitments they have made is coming back to haunt them.

On Sunday, June 2 Mexicans elected scientist and left-wing politician Claudia Sheinbaum as their new president.

It is not possible to read a newspaper, listen to the news on the radio or watch a  televised newscast without being inundated on the latest conflict, or ensuing turmoil, for which there appears to be no form of resolution in the near future.

Try as one might, it is difficult for us in the Caribbean to ignore the still significantly unfinished business of creating a regional food security dome under which to house the broader developmental ambitions of a region constantly seeking to distance itself from the blanket of poverty that groups some other countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, particularly, though not exclusively, together.

The Rights of the Child Commission (RCC) is one of the suite of human rights bodies agreed under the last round of constitutional reforms 25 years ago and for which the overarching Commission is still to be appointed.

The bottom line of our demographic-style politics is that no one comes into office without the support of the Indigenous people.

On May 30th, the major artery Thomas Lands was closed for two weeks for the latest in several attempts to comprehensively repair defects on the road.

For those in the Linden area who awoke after 48 hours of non-stop rain to find their furniture and belongings under water and their electrical goods damaged, there can be little consolation in the accusations being traded between the government and the local authorities.

In its 2022-23 end of biennium report, released earlier this month ahead of the 77th World Health Assembly currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organisation (WHO) observed that there had been a decline in the use of tobacco.

Over the time of its lengthy existence, Main Street in Georgetown has served as the location of many iconic edifices, which have had, and in some instances still have, significant bearing on the course of our history.

Much has been written in recent weeks regarding the estimated US$300 million windfall which the 2024 Cricket World Cup is likely to bring to the Caribbean even though that amount, unequally divided among most of the CARICOM member countries, does not amount to anything even remotely resembling a King’s ransom. 

At his press conference at Freedom House on Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo spoke about corruption and procurement – an unlikely topic as this government has tried hard to embed the image that corruption is not a problem and that it has taken a hard line on it.

Today marks the fifty-eighth anniversary of Independence.  Those who witnessed release from colonialism all those years ago will have cause to reflect on the many changes which have taken place over the past decades.

The news that the government  will be training 3,000 Guyanese to weld through a new programme by the School of the Nations in collaboration with the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) is a positive development.

The Suriname fishing licences are back in the news again with President Irfaan Ali telling a public meeting in Crabwood Creek last week that he was “dissatisfied with the situation.”

Early this month, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched its 2022-2023 Results Report, it admitted that with less than six years to their 2030 target date, the Sustainable Development Goals related to health were basically out of reach.

Sunday was the final day of the season for the English Premier League (EPL), the most watched and followed football (and arguably sports) league in the world.

If there is any veracity in the media reports arising out of the electrocution of  nineteen-year-old Bryan Hardial on Friday, who reportedly came into contact with a live wiring on the roof of a house where he had been assigned to do a job – installing gutters – that had nothing to do with electrical wiring – then there is much reason for an immediate and scrupulous probe into the occurrence to determine whether or not safety protocols were afforded the deceased young man to do his job in a safe environment. 

In a letter in the May 12th edition of Stabroek News, Dr Jerry Jailall, a civil society advocate defended the invitation to, and presence of President Ali at an Assembly of God (AOG) Youth Group function.