Blog

A new housing scheme- Hoff Van Aurich- has been developed in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and there are about 400 lots available for distribution to residents along the Essequibo Coast.

The Hoff Van Aurich Housing Scheme was developed on about 102 acres of land and is situated about 1.5 miles from the main access road. Already, plans are in place to expand the scheme.

The Ministry of Housing and Water on Friday hosted a ‘Dream Realised’ housing drive at Anna Region, Essequibo.

Addressing those gathered, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, said the demand for housing continues to grow across the country.

The Ministry of Housing and Water on Friday hosted a ‘Dream Realised’ housing drive at Anna Region, Essequibo. (Photo: Ministry of Housing & Water/July 11, 2025)

Despite this, he said the government has not increased the value of land. Rather, he said the cost of land is heavily subsidised.

“So it is very easy to say land is in abundance, but we also have to compete with interests for land use,” Croal said.

In Region Two, Croal said over 1,271 lots were allocated over the past five years. And from 2011 to date, he said over 226 lots were regularised.

Meanwhile, over $3.3 billion has been expended to conduct infrastructure work to develop housing in the region.

Several residents were allocated lots in the new Hoff Van Aurich housing scheme (Photo: Ministry of Housing & Water/July 11, 2025)

Croal acknowledged that there are areas where persons were allocated lands, but have not yet been able to see where their lands are situated. This, he said, is for various reasons. In Charity, for instance, he said there is an issue of flooding.

“Work has already started and we can easily show people their lot today, but…when we show you your lot, you must be able to start building tomorrow,” Croal said.

Over at Onderneeming, he said persons have been living on lots which do not belong to them. This issue, Croal said, is being “aggressively” addressed by the ministry.

The overall aim is to ensure that all eligible citizens have access to their land, Croal said.

The post Over 400 house lots available in new Reg. 2 housing scheme appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Jofra Archer took a wicket with the third delivery of his comeback on a memorable and fluctuating second day of the third Test between England and India.

After more than four years away with career-threatening injuries, Archer electrified Lord’s by having Yashasvi Jasiwal caught at second slip, wheeling away to celebrate with overflowing emotion.

Somehow, India suffered only one loss in Archer’s opening burst, but England plugged away in the extreme heat for two more crucial breakthroughs.

Joe Root’s magnificent catch at first slip not only ended Karun Nair’s resistance at 40, but also gave Root his 211^th grab in Tests, a record for an outfielder. The bowler was captain Ben Stokes, fit after a first-day injury scare.

Of more significance was the removal of prolific India captain Shuman Gill, caught behind off Chris Woakes for 16.

KL Rahul remains on 53, Rishabh Pant is fit to bat after a finger injury and has 19. India closed on 145-3, 242 behind England’s 387 all out.

For all of the excitement around Archer, his was not the most influential spell of fast bowling of the day: Jasprit Bumrah tore through England with 5-74.

Bumrah bowled Stokes for 44, had Root play on after he completed his 37th Test century and took an edge to condemn Woakes to a golden duck, all in a seven-ball period.

England slipped to 271-7, but India crucially dropped Jamie Smith on five. The wicketkeeper was fluent for 51, adding 84 with Brydon Carse, who was impressive for his maiden Test half-century.

Action-packed at red Lord’s

The first day of this Test was a grind, England battling their way to 251-4. The second day, as Lord’s turned red for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, was action-packed.

Whatever happens in Archer’s career from now on, the wicket of Jaiswal, his celebration and the reaction of the crowd will go down in English cricket folklore. An ‘I was there’ moment.

Even for the brilliance of Archer, who looked like he had never been away, England were struggling to make inroads under a burning sun and on an unresponsive pitch until the vital wicket of Gill.

That, along with the likely deterioration of the surface perhaps tips the balance towards the hosts. History is on their side: only once on this ground has a team made more than 387 batting first and lost, and that was a 1930 England team to an Australia side containing Sir Donald Bradman.

India might have been in a stronger position had they held Smith and not pushed to change the ball that gave Bumrah his first three wickets of the day.

The replacement did nothing and the tourists got it changed again eight overs later. The morning was, at times, a frustrating spectacle, with 15 overs fewer than scheduled bowled throughout the day.

That was forgotten as the shadows lengthened in an arm-wrestle of an evening. These two sides are evenly matched, this Test and the series are beautifully poised. (BBC)

The post Archer strikes on Test comeback; India trail by 242 appeared first on News Room Guyana.

A businessman was remanded on Friday following charges related to an incident that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Kimberley Jones from Bel Air Village.

Paul Mahabal, 33, from Montrose, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Magistrate Michelle Matthias at the Weldaad Magistrate’s Court.

Mahabal faces charges for not providing assistance and failing to stop after the accident, which took place on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Police Prosecutor Sergeant Garfield Edwards opposed bail, arguing that Paul, who collided with Kimberley, did not stop to assist after the incident.

Edwards informed the court that Paul passed both the Weldaad and Mahaicony Police Stations without reporting the accident and continued on his way until he was apprehended by police at a roadblock in Mahaicony.

Family wants justice for teen killed in Bel Air hit-and-run accident

Edwards also alerted the court that Paul poses a flight risk.

Following the Prosecutor’s statements, Magistrate Matthias ordered Paul to be taken into custody.

The case has been moved to the Fort Wellington Magistrates Court for disclosure on July 16th, 2025.

On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, around 9:20 PM, Kimberley was crossing the Bel Air Public Road from north to south. At that moment, a car, identified as PAF 2130 and driven by 32-year-old Paul Mahabal from Montrose, East Coast Demerara, was traveling west along the southern side of the road when its front right side struck Kimberley. The impact caused her to be thrown 74 feet before she came to a stop.

The post Businessman remanded after Bel Air hit-and-run accident  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

The PPP’s campaign launch for its re-election is not about “optics politics”, it’s General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday, but about real plans and positivity. And so, he chose to stay away from talk about any surprise faces at the campaign launch on Sunday at the Kitty Market Square in Georgetown.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Dr. Jagdeo said the party is attracting people from across the country.

“If you come there, you will see happy people.

“You’re not going to see people forced to come there because our message will be positive…we’re working for all Guyana, we are bringing people together across race, everyone is included,” he said.

He noted that leading up to the September 1, 2025 elections, more people are approaching the party officials to offer their assistance to erect party paraphernalia and transport items to the outlying regions.

“In the past, we never had enough people in South Georgetown to put up our flags [but] we don’t need to send people anymore from central to put up our flags, the groups and supporters in these areas go to put up our flags,” Jagdeo explained.

He credited this response to the PPP’s positive contributions to the various sectors and its unifying campaign which provides incentives for housewives, miners, rice farmers, public servants, children, persons living with disabilities and others.

“We can talk about what we did, the positive things, there are lots to talk about,” he noted.

Meanwhile, he noted that the APNU’s campaign launch had minimal supporters as they have failed to present concrete plans but rather focused on blaming the PPP and repeating promises which are impossible to fulfill.

The post Jagdeo says PPP’s campaign launch not about ‘optics politics’ but real plans appeared first on News Room Guyana.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Thursday finally came up with a definitive position on the allocation where more than one parties join their lists to contest elections.

Parties can join their lists, and the total amount of votes the parties receive determines whether they get a seat in the National Assembly. This decision came after major contention with the last three parties- ANUG, LJP and TNM- that joined their list to contest the 2020 elections.

See below the full release from the Guyana Elections Commission: 

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at its Statutory meeting  held on Thursday, 10th July, 2025 concluded extensive deliberations about Joinder of Lists, and Filling of  Vacancies in the National Assembly. The Commission’s determination of this matter was premised entirely on the legal framework. Accordingly, the Commission concluded that the following must be applied: 

1.Joinder of Lists 

Under Section 22(1) of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), two or more political party  candidate lists may be combined for the purpose of allocation of seats in parliament. This combination  is referred to as a “joinder of lists.” 

Important points to note: 

• Ballots are not cast for the combination; The Parties in the combination will be listed separately  on the ballot paper. 
• The combination is treated as one List for the purpose of seat allocation. 

2.Rules Governing Joinder Lists 

1. To calculate seat distribution among the Parties involved in joinder of lists the valid votes across for  all of the Lists in the combination are added together. 
2. Before ascertaining the allocation of seats within the combination, a determination needs to  be made whether the combination won seats in the National Assembly.
3. The allocation of seats in the National Assembly is determined by dividing the total number  of valid votes cast for all of the contesting Lists of Candidates by 65 to find the electoral quota  of votes per seat.
4. Providing the combination won seats in the National Assembly, an electoral quota needs to  be established within the combination to determine how seats would be distributed therein. The electoral quota is determined by dividing the total number of valid votes received by the combination by the number of seats allocated to the combination.
5. The total votes received by each party in the combination are divided by the quota to determine the  allocation of seats within the combination.
6. In the case of a seat within the combination, the party with the largest number of surplus  votes will get that unallocated seat.
7. In the case of only one seat having been won by the combination, that seat shall go to the  Party that received the largest number of votes among all of the parties in the combination. 

• Note: Each party in the joinder retains its own Representative and Deputy Representative for the  purpose of extraction of candidates to become Members of the National Assembly. Therefore, it is  ONLY the Representative or Deputy Representative of the Party(ies) that are allocated seats can  do such extraction.  

3. Filling of vacancies in Parliament (Section 99A) 

If a parliamentary seat becomes vacant (for reasons other than a full dissolution of Parliament), the  vacancy must be filled by: 

• A person not already an elected member, but qualified and willing to serve. 
• Someone whose name appears on the same list from which the original MP was elected. • The selection is done by further extraction from that list, by the Representative or Deputy Representative of the said List. 

The post If parties join lists, single seat won cannot be rotated – GECOM rules  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

The second ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) got underway at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, between Dubai Capitals and Central Stags of New Zealand with Dubai running out winners by a comfortable margin of 22 runs after posting 165-7.

Star Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan put in a Player-of-the-Match performance with bat and ball, his half-century and four wickets at a frugal economy of just 3.25 per over snuffed out the Stags’ hopes of a victorious chase, the latter eventually mustering 143-8 in response as Dubai claimed the win and made a strong start in this year’s GSL.

Stags captain Tom Bruce called the coin toss correctly and elected to bowl first only for Dubai Capitals to make a competitive total off their 20 overs.

The Dubai outfit got off to a decent start with opener Sediqullah Atal hitting 41 off 25 balls at the top of the order before Shakib’s powerfully struck half-century consisting of seven fours and one six- the first of the competition- provided a flourish to Dubai’s batting effort.

Shakib Al Hasan of Dubai Capitals bats during the Global Super League T20 match between Central Stags and Dubai Capitals at Providence Stadium on July 10, 2025 in Georgetown, Guyana. (Photo by Ashley Allen – GSLT20/Global Super League via Getty Images)

Shakib was unbeaten at the end with 58 off 37 balls, he then made an equally big impact with the ball in hand.

Angus Schaw was the pick of the bowlers for the Stags, his right-arm off-breaks scalping three wickets, including Dubai’s opener Niroshan Dickwella as well as middle order batters Kadeem Alleyne and Jordan Johnson- the latter niftily stumped by Dane Cleaver behind the sticks.

Dubai made steady progress in their reply, reaching 67-3 off 10 overs but left themselves too much heavy lifting to do in the second half of their innings with the run rate climbing steadily as a result of tight bowling from Dubai in the middle overs.

Bruce played a battling knock for 34 off 39 balls, but when he fell at the end of the 19th over to the medium pace of Gulbadin Naib it left the Stags requiring 29 off six balls and the jig was almost up.

25-year-old fast bowler Khuzaima Tanveer was tasked with bowling the final over of the match and found himself on a hat-trick after removing Doug Bracewell and Angus Schaw with consecutive deliveries.

Ajaz Patel hit the hat-trick delivery for four to spoil the party but a dot ball off the last saw Dubai complete the win and head to the top of the table. (GSL)

The post Star performer Shakib powers Dubai Capitals to victory in GSL opener appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Joe Root’s masterful unbeaten 99 held England together on an attritional first day of the third Test against India at Lord’s.

In lethargic conditions, Root showed supreme grit and determination to take the home side to 251-4.

On a slow, dry pitch that looks set to turn and grow uneven as the match progresses, England were forced to curb their attacking instincts in a crawl of barely three runs an over.

In the extreme heat of London, the home crowd cheered when Ben Stokes won the toss and finally chose to bat first. What followed was a battle to score runs because of the surface and collective relentlessness of India’s bowling.

Twice England found themselves up against it: first when Nitish Kumar Reddy removed both openers in the same over to leave the hosts 44-2, then when Ollie Pope and Harry Brook fell after tea in a slide to 172-4.

But the peerless Root added 109 with Pope, who took 104 balls over his 44, then an unbroken 79 with Stokes, the captain moving to 39 not out despite struggling with what looked like a groin injury.

India did little wrong, but captain Shubman Gill’s drop of Pope off his first ball could prove to be vital.

The tourists are also waiting on the fitness of explosive batter Rishabh Pant, who injured his finger keeping wicket and spent most of the day off the field. (BBC)

The post Root holds the fort with 99* as India put brakes on Bazball appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Three men have been remanded to prison after they were charged in connection with the recent seizure of more than 24 kilograms of foreign marijuana by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) on the West Coast Demerara.

Kenner Arjun, Antonio Bobb, and Pooran Seemangal appeared before Magistrate George at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 10th July, 2025. They all pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of 21.714 kilograms of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

Additionally, Kenner Arjun pleaded not guilty to a separate charge for possession of 3.128 kilograms of cannabis for trafficking.

Bail was denied for all three men, who were remanded to prison until August 20, 2025.

The charges stem from an operation on Monday, 7th July, when CANU officers intercepted a motor car in De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara, and found several parcels of marijuana known locally as “Creepy”. A follow-up search in Hauge led to the discovery of more foreign marijuana at a residence linked to Arjun.

Investigations into the matter remain ongoing.

The post Three remanded after CANU seizes over 24kg of foreign marijuana on West Coast Demerara appeared first on News Room Guyana.

A 77-year-old man has died following a tragic accident on the Friendship Public Road, East Bank Demerara, on Thursday morning.

Dead is Mike Dasrat of Lot 24 Brickery, East Bank Demerara. The accident occurred at around 09:42hrs and involved Dasrat’s motor jeep, PLL 8152, and a motor lorry, GAE 5317, driven by 37-year-old Aubrey Herman Lim of Timehri.

According to police reports, the lorry was travelling north along the western drive lane of the Friendship Public Road, while Dasrat’s jeep was heading south on the eastern drive lane. The lorry driver told investigators that he was near the Friendship Secondary School when he saw the jeep suddenly swerve into his lane and continue driving directly towards him.

In an attempt to avoid a collision, Lim said he applied brakes, swerved westward and stopped the lorry. Despite this, the short braking distance resulted in the jeep colliding head-on with the lorry.

The impact left Dasrat with severe injuries. Emergency Medical Technicians arrived promptly and transported him to the Diamond Public Hospital, where he was examined by a doctor but succumbed to his injuries at 10:34hrs, without regaining consciousness.

His body is currently at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Police have served a Notice of Intended Prosecution on the lorry driver, who was breathalysed at the scene and tested negative for alcohol.

Investigations into the fatal crash are ongoing.

The post 77-year-old man dies in Friendship crash appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Residents living along the B-Field Sophia Access Road can soon expect major improvements to their daily commute, following the award of a $1.5 billion contract for the reconstruction and widening of the carriageway.

On Thursday, Ministers Deodat Indar and Kwame McCoy met with residents in the area to provide details about the project and address any concerns.

The scope of works includes the full reconstruction of the existing roadway with an asphaltic concrete finish. Sections of the road will also be widened and resurfaced to ease traffic congestion. Additionally, a PVC sheet pile retaining wall will be constructed alongside the drainage canal, and bridges and culverts will be upgraded to boost structural capacity and resilience. Utilities will be relocated where necessary, and modern road safety features will be installed.

Minister Indar assured residents that the PPP/C Government remains committed to ongoing consultations to minimise disruptions as the works progress.

Once completed, the rehabilitated road is expected to significantly improve traffic flow for thousands of commuters travelling between South and East Georgetown daily.

The contract has been awarded to Erin Lall Civil Engineering Works, which has one year to complete the project.

The post $1.5B to reconstruct, widen B-Field Sophia Access Road appeared first on News Room Guyana.