In this country commonplace problems in need of practical solutions are frequently prone to metamorphose into political controversies. Never mind that they are in essence not political issues; the leaden hand of politics leaves its imprint on everything here. And so it is in the case of the situation in Mocha: on the one hand the allegations of discrimination reverberate around, and on the other the response echoes across the airways that progress is being stymied. And all this because a group of squatters refuses to remove from land earmarked for a new road between Eccles and New Diamond.
It would seem that they are not actually in the path of the road itself, but on land adjacent to it, and that the proposed highway will pass behind their structures. It may be that the position of the Ministry of Housing has shifted over the months, since in September of the year before last, according to residents of the area appropriately named Pepper Field, they had been told to reposition their houses so they would face the new road. While this would have recommended itself as an offer to be accepted, especially if some kind of compensation were to be paid, the residents did not take the Ministry up on this. As one resident explained, if people didn’t get permission to build there, then no one was going to do it. Continue reading →
By: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves =Saturday, 7 January 2023
The headquarters of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).
Just days after President Irfaan Ali fended off opposition accusations of racism against Afro-Guyanese such as the demolition of houses in Mocha, East Bank Demerara, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) insisted that the grant of titles to stronghold supporters raises concerns about apparent racial discrimination.
“ These actions are in stark contrast to the issuing of titles to “squatters” in communities deemed to be supportive of the government. The government cannot not know that the perception and reality of unequal treatment undermine its own stated mantra of One Guyana,” the WPA said. “The events in Mocha Arcadia, therefore, opens the government to charges of racial profiling and racial discrimination in the process of governance,” that party added. Continue reading →
Predictions of significant economic growth in Guyana due to the developing petroleum industry are being realized. Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021 was US$8.04 B., representing a 20 percent growth rate. GDP reached the US$4 B mark in 2012 and increased to US$5 B in 2019. From US$8.04B in 2021 the GDP is projected to grow in 2022 by 56 percent which will take its projected GDP to US$12+ B. Its per capita income grew from US$9,000+ to US$10,000+.
Increased spending projections for 2022 reflected the increased GDP for 2021. For example, spending by the Ministry of Works is due to increase from G$40 B in 2021 to G$96 B in 2022. It is due to increase from G$39 B to G$57 B for the Ministry of Health, G$25 B to G$33 B for the Ministry of Education and G$19 B to G$29 B for the Ministry of Agriculture. Total budget projects for 2022 are expected to be G$553 B. Continue reading →
On September 27, 1965, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) delivered a 1965-page report into Rac ial Problems in the Public Service of British Guiana. By letter dated April 6, 1965, Prime Minister Burnham, in his invitation, said to the ICJ that his Government had been “deeply concerned with the need to remove from our society sources of racial disharmony and to promote the right of each individual, whatever his ethnic origin, to have an equal opportunity to play a meaningful part in the community.”
He said that his Government’s concern had been to “determine whether such [racial] imbalance as may exist in any particular field can be corrected and, if so, what is the shortest practicable period for such correction.” Burnham may well have been pressured by the UK to invite the ICJ having regard to searing ethnic strife of the early 1960s and the perceived undermining of Indian political representation by the imposition of proportional representation to defeat the PPP. Continue reading →
As a Guyanese of the Diaspora living in Switzerland and Germany, I have been following Guyanese politics closely for the last few years. What has struck me most is the uncompromising nature of politics in my mother’s homeland.
There is the absence of a political culture of seeking solutions to the nation’s key problems by genuine consultation, assessing the positions of the key stakeholders, and finding compromises that tie in also the parties in the opposition. Continue reading →
Kaieteur News – Happy holidays to all Guyanese, no exceptions. Happy holidays also to those who have made Guyana their home, some temporarily due to commerce, others because of the necessity of circumstances. Having been there and lived with my own circumstances for an eternity, I know what it is like to be away from the land of one’s birth.
Every Guyanese should have plenty, enough to enjoy a hearty holiday season; enough leftover to share a little good cheer. This is the size of the endowment that has been given, the inheritance that is ours. The wish and prayer are that what is in mind is accurate. All have something, none is without. In a land as filled to overflowing as it is with riches, we are the ones that should be sharing joy to the world because we have such joy in our times, and also resonating in our hearts. Look at our numbers and how they gleam. Listen to how we feature in the conversations of countless others. When we were always on the move to elsewhere, others are tumbling over themselves to get here. Continue reading →
We are about to enter the New Year with one of the highest poverty rates in Latin America, according to a World Bank report in October. In an updated fact sheet on which we reported last month, the institution said that the share of the population living below US$5.5 a day stands at around 48%.
It went on to say: “Poverty rates are highest in the sparsely populated interior or hinterland, where communities have limited access to economic opportunities, healthcare and public services. The country experiences high emigration and brain drain, with 39% of all Guyanese citizens currently residing abroad and roughly half of all Guyanese with a tertiary education having emigrated to the United States.” Continue reading →
Will Desmond Sell Up And Move To Guyana? | Desmond’s
Desmond announces over dinner the plans for the house when he and Shirley move back to Guyana. However, Shirley wants to stay in England. When Desmond doesn’t discuss it with her, she stops speaking to him.
Buxton-Friendship Express Newsletter – October – December 2022
Season’s greeting to you and your loved ones! We hope that your holiday celebration is filled with lots to eat, drink and be merry.
As we reflect on the outgoing year, we realise that we were able to achieve an incredible lot despite ongoing fundraising constraints caused by the Pandemic. Thanks to our amazing team of volunteers, donors, sponsors, patrons and friends who stepped up their support! Continue reading →
For three decades I returned to Guyana at least once annually. Almost always it was in the month of December, and for three weeks, and once or twice a few days longer. It was a time of great excitements, keen observations, and usually time well spent. The latter was despite the usual hiccups that accompanied air travel to Guyana in the 80s and 90s, and even extending early into this millennium.
The interest started to intensify from the end of September, I felt that the year, however it was, had turned the corner, and the straightaway was clear to Georgetown. Yes, there were difficulties with baggage, and having to make reservations from as early as February (almost as soon as one returned to the US) for the end of the year. It was that tight in terms of seats, and airlines plying the NY-GT route. But it didn’t matter; I was going home, to my real home. Continue reading →
GUYANA: Mocha confrontation – Editorial by Stabroek News
Stabroek News
By Stabroek News- Editorial – January 6, 2023
In this country commonplace problems in need of practical solutions are frequently prone to metamorphose into political controversies. Never mind that they are in essence not political issues; the leaden hand of politics leaves its imprint on everything here. And so it is in the case of the situation in Mocha: on the one hand the allegations of discrimination reverberate around, and on the other the response echoes across the airways that progress is being stymied. And all this because a group of squatters refuses to remove from land earmarked for a new road between Eccles and New Diamond.
It would seem that they are not actually in the path of the road itself, but on land adjacent to it, and that the proposed highway will pass behind their structures. It may be that the position of the Ministry of Housing has shifted over the months, since in September of the year before last, according to residents of the area appropriately named Pepper Field, they had been told to reposition their houses so they would face the new road. While this would have recommended itself as an offer to be accepted, especially if some kind of compensation were to be paid, the residents did not take the Ministry up on this. As one resident explained, if people didn’t get permission to build there, then no one was going to do it. Continue reading →
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