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British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy is pushing for Guyana to embrace more firms from the United Kingdom (UK) and hinted that those businesses may be involved in airport expansion plans here.

Lammy, who is of Guyanese heritage, is visiting the country as part of his trip to the Caribbean as Foreign Secretary under the UK’s new Labour Government.

Moments after he toured the forthcoming Maternal and Child Health Hospital at Ogle on Friday, he told the News Room that this project and other ventures with British involvement demonstrate the UK’s value in Guyana.

“This is an exciting moment and it is fantastic to see UK companies bringing their expertise and contributing to the growth of Guyana and obviously, the growth back home,” Lammy said.

Pressed on the benefits UK firms bring, the Foreign Secretary said finance schemes backed by the British government, the country’s “huge experience” in the service economy, and trusted technical skills are among the benefits of partnering with those companies.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy engaged the News Room at the sidelines of a visit to the Maternal and Child Health Hospital at Ogle (Photo: News Room/ December 13, 2024)

“That’s the edge we bring, whether it’s building a road or building a hospital, (and) we’re in further discussion about the airport.

“All of those things are issues we are going to see going forward and they are all about the immense value I think that Guyanese businesses place in UK industry,” the Foreign Secretary told the News Room.

The UK’s interest in the further expansion of Guyana’s main airport, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, is serious.

In an official UK government release on Lammy’s travel to the Caribbean, the country’s interest in having British investors work on the expansion was noted.

“He (Lammy) will also seek to push forward a major infrastructure deal for British construction businesses to help in the expansion of Guyana’s main international airport. This highlights the government’s commitment to opening new overseas markets for UK firms, driving up prosperity and deliver national renewal,” the release stated.

As more regional and international flights expand to Guyana, there is a need to further expand the airport. And several government officials have stated this will be done.

Already, the government recently advertised a G$1.5 billion contract for the construction and rehabilitation of office buildings there, after a previously held contract with a Trinidadian company was terminated. Larger infrastructure works are expected.

Meanwhile, Lammy acknowledged that there are other countries serious about investing in Guyana. He, however, believed that “there is room for a lot of significant players.”

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See below full statement from the Ministry of Finance:

Government continues to manage Guyana’s debt in a prudent and sustainable manner while also ramping up efforts to improve and build the country’s resilience to climate change.

As efforts are made to proceed further in this direction, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh signed a Climate Resilient Debt Clause (CRDC) Agreement with the World Bank at the Ministry of Finance along with an agreement for the activation of the World Bank’s Rapid Response Option (RRO).

The CRDC is a debt management tool that allows for the deferral of debt payments for up to 2 years should Guyana experience a natural disaster such as flooding.

Guyana is the first country in the Region to sign the updated CRDC and this has now taken place following intense lobbying by Government for the bank to include appropriate climate change phenomena such as floods, droughts and public health emergencies unique to this country’s circumstances.

Should the country experience such a disaster and once the CRDC is activated, it will also reduce the burden on government resources to finance disaster response and recovery efforts.

The second agreement signed with the World Bank is the Rapid Response Option (RRO) which, if activated, would see existing resources quickly repurposed for emergency response should there be a crisis such as a natural disaster, health shock or conflict event.

Guyana, in such a situation, can repurpose up to ten percent of its undisbursed balances in its Investment Project Financing and Program for Results (PforR) operations per year for quick disbursement.

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh (left) and World Bank Group Representative to Guyana Ms. Diletta Doretti signed the agreements (Photo: Ministry of Finance/ December 13, 2024)

During the signing, Dr. Singh explained that ‘notwithstanding Guyana’s improved economic circumstances in recent years, we continue to be a country that is extremely vulnerable to climate and other potentially catastrophic events,’ as he recalled that the country has overtime experienced multiple episodes of flooding including in 2005, noting that the floods devastated Guyana’s economy and posed damages in excess of 60 percent of GDP.

The Senior Minister added, “the bank has been partnering with us on building our resilience to natural disasters and to catastrophic events and not least ofcourse is the support for the Flood Risk Management Project, amongst others. But increasingly too, the international community as well has recognised the importance of instruments that can respond more effectively to exogenous shocks, extreme climatic events or other natural disasters and catastrophes’.

Signing on behalf of the Bank was World Bank Group Representative to Guyana Ms. Diletta Doretti who underscored the significance of the signing as she lauded the finance minister for his intense lobbying efforts and for pointing out when he perused the agreement months before, that the CRDC needed to include natural disasters relevant to Guyana as it only catered for hurricanes and earthquakes.

It can be recalled that in July this year as well Dr. Singh presented to Parliament two amendatory loan agreements, including one which amended the Export Finance Facility Agreement dated June 14, 2022, between the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, represented by the Ministry of Finance as the Borrower and UK Export Finance as the Lender, and the UniCredit Bank Austria AG as the Agent and Arranger, for an amount of EUR 161,016,949.15 for the Guyana Paediatric and Maternal Hospital Project. This Amendatory Agreement facilitated the inclusion of a Climate Resilient Debt Clause into the original Agreement with Guyana being one of the first countries to adopt the CRDCs directly as part of its loan agreement with the UK Export Finance.

This Government’s effective debt management practices over the past years have contributed to a large decline in the country’s debt ratios over a sustained period. It can be recalled that Guyana’s debt-to-GDP ratio declined from over 600 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 2023 while in 1992, about 90 cents of every dollar of revenue earned was used to make debt service payments. Today, this has been significantly reduced to about 6 cents of every dollar.

Noteworthy for the country, has been the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2023 Article IV Report for Guyana which placed the country in a positive light, indicating that the risk of (overall and external) debt distress remains moderate, with debt dynamics improving significantly with incoming oil revenues. The IMF also commended the Government’s commitment to maintain debt sustainability and a balanced growth path through moderating fiscal impulses over the medium-term, while continuing to address development needs.

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The Guyana Taekwondo Association (GTA) is celebrating the success of 13 students who recently advanced to higher belt levels.

Among the notable promotions were Nathan Vanderhyden and Vivek Bassoo, who are on track to achieve significant milestones in the coming year.

Vanderhyden advanced from the Red Belt to the prestigious Red with Black Bar Belt, bringing him closer to achieving the National Black Belt by early 2025.

Meanwhile, Bassoo made strides from Blue Belt to Blue with Red Bar Belt, also aiming for the National Black Belt and the esteemed Kukkiwon International standard by mid-2025.

Kailan Wong’s relentless dedication was rewarded with her promotion from Yellow Belt to Full Green Belt, while Shaynne Sealey transitioned from White Belt with Second Bar Yellow to Full Green.

Sealey is rapidly establishing herself as a focused and determined athlete recognised for her commitment to excellence in taekwondo.

Azaria Profit and Rolex Alexander also showcased their progress, moving from White Belt with Second Yellow Bar to Yellow with Green Bar Belt.

Their consistent improvement over the past year is a testament to their dedication to training.

In a wave of emerging talent, Eva Thakurdin and Ameena Pereira progressed from White Belt straight to Yellow Belt, demonstrating that hard work and perseverance are paying off as they lay the groundwork for promising futures in taekwondo.

Additional promotions included Samaria Sealey and Obediah Batson, who advanced to White Belt with Second Bar Yellow.

At the same time, Ace Springer and sisters Pelaiah and Phileanah Erskine were promoted to White Belt with First Bar Yellow Belt, marking their initial foray into taekwondo with great promise.

The GTA congratulates all the students on their remarkable achievements and looks ahead to an exciting year, with plans for a host of taekwondo events as 2025 approaches.

The GTA also welcomes new students, with classes scheduled every Monday and Wednesday from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM at the Guyana Teachers Union Hall on Woolford Avenue.

New student intake begins on January 6, 2025. (Guyana Taekwondo Association)

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Statement from Mahendra Boodhoo and team

The current President of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC), Mahendra Boodhoo, along with his executive team, has officially announced their bid for re-election for the 2025 term.

With a proven track record of remarkable achievements, the team is committed to driving motorsport development in Guyana to even greater heights.

Under Boodhoo’s leadership, the GMR&SC has accomplished significant milestones, including expanding the South Dakota Circuit into a 1.6-mile international track, constructing spectator facilities to accommodate 2,500+ fans, and securing portable water access with government support.

The team restored credibility to scrutineering processes, ensuring transparency and fair competition, and rebuilt GMRSC’s relationship with the FIA, avoiding blacklisting due to previous administrative issues.

Partnerships with major sponsors such as Tropical Shipping, Guyoil, and ENet have strengthened motorsport in Guyana.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr. (centre) with the current executive of the GMR&SC

Achievements and Future Vision

The team’s accomplishments include introducing drag racing in Essequibo, planning to expand the sport to Berbice, promoting women in motorsport with female drag and circuit racing classes, and enhancing its social presence through the relaunch of Fast Lane Magazine.

Looking ahead, they aim to:

• Launch a Young Driver Programme under an FIA Grant
• Restart the Caribbean Championship Series and engage Latin American and U.S. competitors
• Obtain FIA Circuit Certification and international sustainability accreditation for GMRSC
• Construct a new drag strip, resurface the go-kart track, and build a modern pit facility
• Establish a Hall of Fame for drivers and riders
• Enhance safety with a lighting system for the circuit
• Promote accessibility through FIA Motorsport in a Box and invest in sim racing.

Boodhoo emphasised that these accomplishments result from a team effort, with the vision of making Guyana a regional and international leader in motorsport.

The team contesting the 2024 elections includes:

Mahendra Boodhoo- President

Mohamad Shairaz Roshandin- Vice President

Azim Jaffar- Secretary

Azaad Hassan- Treasurer

Ritesh Singh- Assistant Treasurer and Secretary

Alain Hopkinson- Executive Member

Malicia Lawrence- Executive Member

Luis Kumar- Executive Member

Mark Vieira- Executive Member

Joel Evans- Technical Advisor

John Chin- Club Captain

“Our vision for GMR&SC is ambitious but achievable. Together, we can make Guyana a leader in motorsport, both regionally and internationally,” said Boodhoo.

The GMR&SC elections will take place on December 19 at 18:00h at GT Motorsports, and the team invites all voting stakeholders to support the vision for the future.

Editor’s Note: Based on documents seen by this news outlet, former president Rameez Mohamed has also announced a bid for the top position

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Local medical healthcare provider, Oxford Medical Centre has been awarded the GYS 170:2021 standard certification by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), enhancing its laboratory capability to provide top-tier services.

Certification under the National Standard GYS 170:2021 outlines the general requirements for the laboratory operations.

GNBS Executive Director, Trevor Bassoo handed over the certificate to Chief Executive of the Oxford Medical Centre, Yukun Zhang Fiehu during a simple ceremony held at the facility’s Mandela Avenue location on Friday.

In his remarks, Bassoo said the certification reflected the centre’s commitment to delivering services to its clients while ensuring standards, quality and reliability.

“This certification offers guidance on administrative quality and technical aspects of your business, more specifically your laboratory.

“As you are aware, certification provides assurance. It assures the patients, first and foremost that they are receiving reliable, accurate results…This certification gives confidence…that you are meeting requirements and you can depend and detest to the results that you are presenting to the patients and the public,” Bassoo said.

Local medical healthcare provider, Oxford Medical Centre has been awarded the GYS 170:2021 standard certification by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) (Photo: News Room/ December 13, 2024)

The Oxford Medical Centre has been operational since 2023.

The centre consists of a clinical laboratory, urgent care, general and specialist consultations, x-rays, ultrasound services and a pharmacy.

Recently, the centre has expanded and now offers dental care as well as medical supplies.

Quality Consultant of the Oxford Medical Centre, Lendon Wilson said the certification is a testimony of the facility’s unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standard of quality on its services.

“It means that we are going to deliver the most accurate, reliable and timely results to our clients ensuring that their health and wellbeing are top priority,” Wilson said.

Oxford Medical Centre is the 40th local health care provider to be awarded with the GYS170:2021 standard certificate. The certificate is valid for two years.

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The Ministry of Education, through its Priority Areas Programme, in collaboration with the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), successfully hosted the highly anticipated Inter-School Chess Tournament on December 11-12, 2024, at Queen’s College.

This event reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to fostering well-rounded students by promoting extra-curricular activities that enhance critical thinking and creativity.

The tournament brought together 160 students from 15 schools, including eight schools under the Ministry’s Priority Areas Programme.

The competition was played in a Rapid format, with participants given 25 minutes to play and a 10-second increment added after each move.

Students competed in three categories: Individual, Female Team, and Open Team, showcasing their strategic and analytical skills.

Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical Information), Dr. Ritesh Tularam, highlighted the Ministry’s dedication to providing students with opportunities to develop holistically.

“This initiative is an excellent example of how extracurricular activities like chess can complement the academic curriculum, nurturing critical thinking, creativity, and strategic decision-making,” Dr. Tularam stated.

The results of the tournament are as follows:

Individual Tournament Winners

1. Alexander Zhang – Queen’s College
2. Nicholas Zhang – Queen’s College
3. Javier Davenand – Marian Academy

Female Team Tournament Winners

1. Queen’s College
2. New Guyana School
3. Marian Academy

Team Tournament Winners

1. Queen’s College
2. Marian Academy
3. New Guyana School 

   President of the Guyana Chess Federation, Anand Raghunauth, expressed his excitement over the tournament’s success, the first of its kind since 2019.

   He commended the Ministry’s Priority Areas Programme for integrating chess into the school curriculum and highlighted the work of GCF-certified FIDE School Instructors, who have introduced chess to over 1,000 students in Georgetown over the past year.

   The tournament, supported by TOPCO and Sunshine Snacks, was a resounding success, running from 9:00 hours to 15:00 hours each day.

   The Ministry of Education congratulates all participants and winners for their outstanding performances and looks forward to continued collaboration with the GCF to expand chess in schools across the country.

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GEORGETOWN, Dec 13 (SASOD) The Guyana Together campaign ended its 2024 year of activities with an amplified call for decriminalisation of same-sex intimacy between consenting adult men in private.

This call was made by Attorney-at-La and Partner at the law firm Cameron and Shepherd, Nikhil Ramkarran, on Wednesday as he addressed members of the Rotary Club of Georgetown at their Human Rights Initiative held at Palm Court on Main Street.

Addressing the need for law reform in the context of International Human Rights Day, Ramkarran pointed to the need for rights to be respected. “One of these absolutely fundamental rights, regardless of whichever irrational prejudice of entitlement may inform your beliefs, is that each person is entitled to life free from prejudice,” Ramkarran declared. The lawyer called on those gathered to recognise that all persons are “created equal and each entitled to certain rights without debate or dissent,” as he pointed out that “this is unequivocal and cannot be debated by any rational person.”

Ramkarran also called for the end to prejudice that not only denies citizens the recognition of their rights but also punishes them. “It is prejudice to punish a person for a characteristic that they do not choose for themselves,” Ramkarran pointed out, “which does not cause harm to another.” Ramkarran described these prejudices as unacceptable. “We must recognise our susceptibility to prejudices and eliminate them individually and collectively,” he demanded.

On December 10, 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Universal Declaration sets out a broad range of fundamental rights and freedoms to which all are entitled, and it guarantees these freedoms without distinction based on who you are, where you live, what you do for work – and who you love. For this reason, the Guyana Together remains committed to ensuring that our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender friends and neighbours in Guyana are treated with the respect and dignity we all deserve.

Reflecting on the campaign’s year of achievements, Managing Director of SASOD Guyana, Joel Simpson, highlighted the campaign’s three video stories to date which have collectively garnered more than three million views and have been aired on local television newscasts and stations. These videos feature allies who are family and friends of a lesbian, gay man and a transgender man, who all have benefited from their love and support.

SASOD Guyana’s Joel Simpson reporting on the campaign’s results to date (SASOD)

Simpson said too that the campaign has seen more than 100 endorsements from Guyanese businesses and local organisations and has seen scores of pledges from individuals, including members of the Rotary Club of Georgetown.

Launched in September 2023 by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Black Entrepreneurs Association, the Guyana Press Association and SASOD Guyana, the Guyana Together campaign is a grassroots, public education effort to increase respect and acceptance, and reduce stigma and prejudice against LGBTQ Guyanese.

SOURCE: Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Press Release

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Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday knocked concerns raised by Nigel Hughes about Guyana’s oil sector earnings, stressing that those funds are all accounted for with robust system of checks and balances.

The Vice President, during his weekly press conference, responded to comments about Guyana’s oil fund reportedly made by Hughes, who is the leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) political party.

Mr. Hughes reportedly said that some of Guyana’s oil funds- some US$5 billion- were unaccounted for. Jagdeo rejected this statement.

According to Dr. Jagdeo, the earnings are all accounted for and subject to levels of oversight before any spending is done, including parliamentary scrutiny.

The Vice President related that about US$5.4 billion has been accumulated by the country as oil funds. Of that amount, as of September 2024, the balance of the oil wealth fund was US$3.2 billion. This follows withdrawals made, as publicised by the Ministry of Finance.

This means that about 60% of the oil funds remain untouched while 40% were used but first approved in the National Assembly.

“I don’t know if this guy (Hughes) thinks before he talks or posts stuff,” Jagdeo said.

He later emphasised, “Every cent is audited by the Auditor General so the money can’t be missing.”

He also noted that amendments to the law that governs Guyana’s oil wealth fund have resulted in a more transparent management of the earnings.

The Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act, which was amended in 2021, dismantled the previous framework enacted by the last government, which entrusted sole authority to manage the NRF to the Finance Minister.

The current legislation allows for the fund to be managed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the fund and monitoring its performance, thereby completely separating the management of the fund from the minister responsible for finance.

Earnings and expenditures are to be reported. If not, the Finance Minister could face jail time. And withdrawals from the fund are subject to Parliamentary scrutiny and are guided by a fixed formula.

So Jagdeo criticised the statements from Hughes, noting that as a political leader, he has to be more responsible.

Like Dr. Jagdeo, local financial analyst Joel Bhagwandin pointed out these facts. Bhagwandin also noted that it was the opposition parties that mismanaged funds.

“On the contrary, the APNU+AFC hid the US$18 million bonus from Exxon in violation of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, they ran up an overdraft illegally of over $140 billion that was unaccounted for, the illegal spending on the capital budget after the no-confidence motion between 2019-2020 amounted to $142 billion, thereby bringing the grand total to about $286 billion that remained unaccounted for, illegally expended as well, by the APNU+AFC during their tenure in 2015-2020,” he said in a Facebook post.

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A 75-year-old woman and her bedridden daughter lost their lives on Friday after an early morning fire destroyed their house at Westminster, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Dead are Felis Smith and her 44-year-old daughter, Ventina Smith.

Reports are that the fire started at around 05:00 hrs at a one-storey wooden structure situated at Plantation #2 Westminster, WBD.

Two of Felis’ other children and her granddaughter also lived in the house. They managed to escape unharmed.

The News Room understands that the women who perished occupied a bedroom at the back of the house.

Felis’ daughter, Chandine Sookraj related to investigators that around 21:30 hrs Thursday, she retired to bed leaving everything intact.

The next morning, however,r Sookraj said she was awakened by the heat emanating from her mother’s bedroom.

Upon checking, she observed a section of the bedroom was already engulfed in flames.

As a result, she immediately grabbed her daughter and exited into the yard.

Sookraj alerted neighbours, who summoned the Guyana Fire Service.

Upon arrival, firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. However, the structure was destroyed.

The scene was processed and the two bodies, which were burnt beyond recognition, were found among the debris.

The bodies were escorted to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Their remains are presently at the Ezekiel Funeral Home awaiting post-mortem examinations.

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