Blog

The post New rapid-response task force to tackle ‘urgent’ issues in schools  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) found 14.8 kilogrammes (or about 32.7 pounds) of cocaine following an intelligence-led operation at Charity, Essequibo Coast, on Thursday.

A CANU release noted that 13 brick-like parcels suspected to be cocaine were found at the location. One person was arrested and taken to CANU headquarters with the suspected cocaine.

Subsequently, the cocaine was weighed in the presence of the suspect and CANU officers.

Investigations are said to be ongoing.

The post Over 30lbs of cocaine found at Charity  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Police Headquarters said cannabis plants and parcels of dried cannabis, worth $61.7 million, were destroyed on Thursday at Low Wood, Demerara River.

Additionally, an unlicensed 12-gauge shotgun was found in a clump of bushes nearby.

The camp was destroyed

“During the exercise, the Police team discovered a plot of land measuring about one (1) acre, which contained about 1500 cannabis plants ranging from two (2) to five (5) feet in height. A makeshift camp and drying area was also discovered a short distance away. The camp was about 20×20 feet in size and contained about 150 lbs of dried cannabis,” Police Headquarters said in a release.

The camp, the dried cannabis, and the plants were destroyed by fire. Police said the exercise was incident-free.

The shotgun found

The post Ganja worth almost $62 million destroyed at Low Wood  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

See below the full release from the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning: 

On September 25, 2025, following reports of strike action by workers of the BOSAI Bauxite Mining Company in Linden, the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning sought to engage the management of the company and the workers’ representatives of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE).

The Chief Labour Officer, Mr. Dhaneshwar Deonarine, chaired a meeting with the parties where several issues arose and several proposals were put forward in an effort to bring the strike action to an end.

A Terms of Resumption was executed on today’s date, the terms of which are as follows:
1. The Union shall call off the strike with immediate effect.
2. The Union undertakes to ensure that there is full resumption by all workers on September 26,
2025.
3. There shall be no victimisation by either party, and the status quo ante shall remain.
4. The parties shall meet at the Ministry of Labour to commence conciliation on Monday, the 29th day of September, 2025.

Monday’s conciliation meeting will set out to bring all issues that led to the strike action to the forefront with the aim of coming to an amicable and fair resolution for all parties.

The Ministry of Labour remains dedicated to fostering a harmonious industrial relations climate and welcomes the constructive step taken by both parties to end the strike and pursue conciliation in good faith.

The post BOSAI workers to end strike; conciliation starts on Monday appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Attorney Sanjeev Datadin has stepped forward to represent 19-year-old Naderia James free of charge, saying he believes the Baramita teen has a credible case of self-defense in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, 20-year-old miner Kevin Smith.

James, who appeared virtually before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Port Kaituma Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, is charged with murder and has been remanded to prison.

Her next court appearance is on October 14, 2025.

During an interview with the News Room on Thursday, Datadin said he agreed to take the case after speaking directly with James on Wednesday. According to him, the young woman is not familiar with the court system, and he decided to support her.

19-year-old woman charged with murder 

Datadin revealed that James has no support from her immediate family and had asked for his assistance.

“She asked if I would help her, that she really needed assistance and I agreed to do it.

“I agree to help her in every way I can,” Datadin told the News Room.

Police reported that investigations revealed that on September 18, James returned to the wooden and plastic camp she shared with 20-year-old miner Kevin Smith at Baramita, North West District, after consuming alcohol.

Smith allegedly armed himself with a cutlass and struck James on the left shoulder and right hand. James reportedly retaliated by drawing a handmade knife from her waist and stabbing Smith once in the chest.

Smith stumbled out of the camp and collapsed in nearby bushes, where he was later pronounced dead.

While Datadin stressed that the incident appeared to be self-defense, he noted that James must still go through the legal process.

Once the trial commences, witnesses will testify, and the magistrate will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to commit James to stand trial in the High Court.

“It’s a difficult one, but from what she told me, I think it’s a fair case.

“She needs to be represented carefully, properly. I hope the process won’t be lengthy and that she will have a speedy trial,” Datadin said.

If the magistrate finds there is insufficient evidence, James will be freed. If committed, she will face a High Court trial before a judge and jury.

The post Datadin to represent Baramita teen charged with murder appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Norvin Oneil, a 20-year-old fisherman of Westbury, Essequibo Coast, was granted $500,000 bail after being charged with rape of a child under the age of 16.

Oneil appeared before Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. He was not required to plead to the charge.
Police Headquarters, in a statement, noted that the prosecutor objected to bail.

Magistrate Mohabir granted bail on the condition that Oneil reports to Charity Police Station every other Friday of the month and has no contact with the victim pending the trial.

The case was adjourned to October 13, 2025.

The post Fisherman on $500,000 bail after charged with rape appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Nine people are now homeless following a fire, suspected to be electrical in nature, that destroyed their home at Lot 7B Grant 1804 Crabwood Creek, Corentyne Berbice, on Thursday.

Shenieza Yussuf, a housewife, was living in the three-bedroom wooden and concrete house with her husband, Farhaad Bacchus, and their seven children, aged 15, 14, 8, 7, 5, 3, and 2.

Shenieza told reporters that around 11:30 hrs, she and her children were on the lower floor when they noticed smoke on the upper flat of the building. Upon investigating, they discovered it was coming from one of the bedrooms where the fuse box is located.

The Skeldon fire station was contacted, and firefighters responded.

Shenieza stated that all their belongings, including important documents, were destroyed in the fire, making it difficult for her to estimate their losses.

The family is currently sheltering at a neighbour’s property until they can get back on their feet.

Anyone wishing to help the family can contact them on 603-5452 or 625-3609.

The post Nine homeless after Crabwood Creek fire appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Charles Ramson Jr., an attorney who was a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidate in the March 2020 elections, testified in the ongoing trial into attempts to derail the 2020 elections on Thursday.

He gave sworn testimony before Magistrate Faith McGusty who is presiding over the trial at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Ramson testified that on March 3, 2020 he was taken to Ashmins Building, which was the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Center, by another PPP/C representative Majeed Hussain. There, Ramson was introduced to the Returning Officer for District Four Clairmont Mingo.

During the interaction, he said they discussed the electoral process and Mingo indicated that a spreadsheet would be used during the verification of votes cast in District Four.

From March 2 to March 5, Ramson said he remained at the Ashmins Building, which also served as the office of the Returning Officer, to participate in the verification process. He said he only left the premises to take a short nap and shower on few occasions.

While there, he observed the presence of representatives of political parties, observers, and members of the diplomatic corps. He stated that the verification exercise, which commenced around 02:00hrs on March 3, was never completed.

On March 5, around 13:00hrs, Ramson testified that he saw Mingo standing on a platform on a stairway, surrounded by GECOM officers and police. Mingo was reportedly attempting to declare inaccurate results that were in favour of the APNU+AFC Coalition.

Election trial: Court shown police interviews with Lowenfield, Carol Smith-Joseph

“There were persons shouting, ‘No, stop it, you are trying to thief the elections,” Ramson recalled.

After about five minutes, he recalled, that Mingo went back upstairs into a room. Ramson did not see him again until much later. Shortly after, Ramson said a gentleman named Joseph Eastman entered the room and announced that a declaration had been made for District Four, forcing observers to leave.

“I, along with other persons, made our objections, but what I saw shortly thereafter was what purported to be a declaration for District Four circulating on social media.

“I know that the verification exercise was not completed. I also know what the law says…so if that had not been done, then a declaration cannot be made,” Ramson told the court.

To safeguard the electoral process, Ramson told the court that he prepared a letter requesting a recount.

“I am aware that the law requires that you should submit a letter requesting a recount as the counting agent. The noon of the following day is up to the time that you have,” he said. Ramson related that he signed the letter and attempted to deliver it to Mingo on the second floor of the Ashmins Building, but found the office locked and the handles removed. Despite repeatedly rapping and pushing on the doors over an hour, he said nobody responded.

He added that he also tried to deliver the letter to the GECOM Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh office but faced the same obstacle.

Ramson then told the court that medical personnel arrived at the second floor about two hours later, also unsuccessfully attempting to gain entry for about 20 minutes. He recalled several persons expressed concerns about the wellbeing of the GECOM Chair, banging on doors until eventually one was opened. Ramson said there were many Police Officers present, but they did not assist despite concerns being raised about the Chair’s safety.

Around 18:00hrs, Ramson said he saw Mingo being quickly escorted out of the building by police.

“Even though I was calling for him and moving in that direction, he was trying to get out of the building very quickly,” Ramson said.

Subsequently, he said Police allowed him to enter the building to deliver the letter. He was escorted to the back of the building where he met former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, who informed him that Mingo was not present but his clerk would receive the letter.

Ramson was then introduced to Michelle Miller, one of the defendants in the case. After he handed over the letter, she reportedly logged the information in a book with the time recorded as 11:53 hrs. Both Ramson and Miller signed the record before he was escorted out by Myers.

Ramson also recounted presenting these events to police at Eve Leary on August 28, 2020, in the presence of Mingo, who did not respond.

Nine individuals are currently before the court, charged with conspiring to manipulate the election results in favour of APNU+AFC in an attempt to deny victory to the PPP. Those charged include former government minister Volda Lawrence, Lowenfield, Mingo, and Myers, among others.

The trial continues on Friday.

The post Elections trial: Ramson Jr. details struggle to deliver recount letter to Mingo after false declaration made appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Dikimbie Gittens, a 30-year-old assistant accountant, has been charged with stealing over $5 million from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat in Kingston sometime between September 15 and 16.

Gittens, who resides at Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, was arrested on Monday, September 22 and subsequently charged for committing the offence of Larceny by Clerk or Servant.

He appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before  Magistrate Fabayo Azore, where the charge was read to him. He was not required to plead. Bail was refused, and the matter was adjourned to October 15, 2025 for report.

The post Employee charged after allegedly stealing over $5 million from GECOM appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Students in Region Two who want to study engineering at the University of Guyana (UG) will soon be able to do without leaving the Pomeroon-Supenaam district.

Minister of Education, Sonia Parag and Presidential Advisor on Education (Tertiary Education Reform), Dr Kofi Dalrymple on Thursday conducted a site visit to the Essequibo Technical Institute to examine classrooms and labs suitable for UG’s engineering curriculum.

The initiative, which is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and UG, aims to expand access to higher education for students who were not admitted to UG due to space constraints.

Parag said the team was satisfied with the Essequibo Technical Institute classrooms and labs, noting that the facility could accommodate at least 40 students.

Minister of Education, Sonia Parag (right) and Presidential Advisor on Education (Tertiary Education Reform), Dr Kofi Dalrymple (second from left) on Thursday conducted a site visit to the Essequibo Technical Institute (Photo: Ministry of Education/FB)

She expressed optimism that the programmes could be launched by mid-October, with some classes running in sync with the UG main campus and others scheduled by on-site lecturers in Region Two.

“We have this mandate to have those seats become available by the second week of October so that students can be able to be in a classroom… and pursue the particular programme in engineering and medical sciences.

“We are satisfied after having visited the classrooms and the labs here so we can have a space that can at least accommodate 40 students at the moment. So we are feeling very optimistic that we can be able to achieve this within the time frame,” Parag said.

Dr Dalrymple highlighted the dual goals of equity and access.

Minister of Education, Sonia Parag on Thursday conducted a site visit to the Essequibo Technical Institute to examine classrooms and labs suitable for UG’s engineering curriculum (Photo: Ministry of Education/FB)

“Equity, so that students in this region can get access to the same quality of education as those in Region Four, because the engineering programmes at UG are going towards accreditation which sets a standard. We want to ensure that the facility, the staff and what we set up can meet those standards,” he said.

He also acknowledge that many students discontinue programmes because of limited access in their hometowns. Instead, those students are forced to travel elsewhere, a costly, burdensome venture.

“There is a lot of great things going on in this region…that makes it a lot easier to be able to launch the engineering programme here because we have good human resources already here. Some things we will have to work on. We will need more space and people,” Dr Dalrymple added.

The initiative fulfills a commitment made by President Irfaan Ali to decentralise medical and engineering studies, starting with Regions Two, Three, and Five, where demand is high but campus capacity is limited.

The post Reg. Two students to access UG Engineering programme from October appeared first on News Room Guyana.