NEWS
German woman in hospital after fall on Tobago hike
A German woman who fell and injured herself while hiking at Campbleton, Charlotteville, remains warded at the Scarborough General Hospital. According to the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), the injured woman, Carolin Adler, was stabilised by the Tobago Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) and taken to the hospital at Signal Hill, where health-care practitioners awaited her arrival. According to the Search and Rescue Team, the injured woman fell approximately 60 feet down the precipice in the Campbelton area. TEMA, in a press release on Wednesday, said it received an emergency call from 211 at around 3.20 pm about the woman, who had been exploring nature and the waterfall. She was able to share her location through WhatsApp and reported that she had injured her head, right arm, and legs when she fell in rugged terrain, roughly 250 metres south of the Suckhole Restaurant. Read more here
Maha Sabha: Religious boards, churches doing utmost to help fight crime
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has been accused of looking for a “scapegoat” to blame for the country’s increased crime rate which has seemingly taken on a youthful face. Defending local religious leaders and their efforts thus far to steer the youth away from crime—General Secretary, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), Vijay Maharaj, on Thursday said they were already doing their part, and more. Last Tuesday, Rowley called on religious bodies to assume greater responsibility when it came to taking care of the country’s children, as he said they had a clear responsibility and could contribute to changing the negative behaviours being witnessed today. Responding yesterday, Maharaj declared: “He is looking for a scapegoat because, as far as I am concerned, the religious arms of the country...the religious boards and the churches, we are doing the utmost we can at this possible time.” Read more here
POLITICS
Government gets 18 months to update data protection law
Despite the Opposition's push for a six-month extension, Government has succeeded in of getting 18 months to fully proclaim the Data Protection Act. The act was partially proclaimed in 2011. In the original motion in January, the Government had moved to proclaim the bill immediately but during a Senate sitting to amend the legislation to extend the time for its proclamation, on Tuesday, acting Leader of Government Business Paula Gopee-Scoon said more time is necessary to formulate more modern data-protection measures. Read more here
Kamla: Expect an appeal in Piarco airport civil case
Despite the Government claiming victory in the Piarco International Airport trial in the United States of America, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar expects there will be an appeal. “We would just have to await the outcome of any appeal. You know these matters never stay there. They always appeal, so we will await the outcome of the appeal before we say more,” Persad-Bissessar said. Speaking to Guardian Media at the Moruga/Tableland Constituency’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day celebrations in Moruga on Thursday, Persad-Bissessar said she did not have the benefit of reading the transcript of the judgement. Therefore, she limits her comments until she reads them. On Wednesday, Miami Dade Circuit Court Judge Reemberto Diaz awarded the State a US$100M judgment in the civil asset forfeiture trial stemming from the Piarco International Airport corruption probe. Read more here
BUSINESS
Ansa McAl sets sights on expansion, ESG
A confident Anthony N Sabga III sat at a head table at Tatil’s head office in Port of Spain on Monday, explaining to stakeholders that the Ansa McAl group's current financial position – having seen a significant dip in profits for its 2022 financial year – was not its final destination. Flanked by CFO Nicholas Jackman and executive chairman A Norman Sabga, the group CEO guided stakeholders through the financial statements, explaining that the decline in profits was a mere bump on an otherwise highly progressive and productive road. Sabga III expressed a positive outlook for the group with plans to double its profitability and overall portfolio to become a $2 billion company by 2027. Read more here
CSO: Food, drinks prices jump 17.33%
Amid ever-increasing concern over the rising cost of living, Government’s official data agency, the Central Statistical Office (CSO), this week reported that the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages were 17.33 per cent higher in January 2023 than in January 2022. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages were 17.32 per cent higher in December 2022 than in December 2021. The CSO report indicated that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in January 2023 were 25.04 per cent higher than in January 2021. In its latest report of the Retail Price Index (RPI), the CSO also noted that the cost of transportation in January 2023 was 14 per cent higher than a year earlier. Read more here
REGIONAL
Improving efficiency, eliminating bureaucracy
As the Government of Guyana continues to follow through with its commitment to bring the services of the government to each region, another outreach led by Dr. Irfaan Ali was held at the Leonora Track and Field Centre in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). At the Region Three outreach, which continues today, President Ali said that they are utilising technology to increase efficiency, and to help them move the system rapidly. A new system, he said, has been developed, whereby every person is given a case file, and in real time. It shows whether a case has been resolved, referred or marked non-actionable. “You’ll see, in real time, what is being resolved; what is being referred, like resolved, referred, not actionable. Some of them might be personal matters,” Dr. Ali said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Oscar Pistorius parole: Victim Reeva Steenkamp's mother against release
The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman who was murdered by Oscar Pistorius, says she does not feel the former Paralympics star is remorseful. June Steenkamp spoke as she arrived for a parole board hearing that is considering whether he be freed early. He has so far served half of his 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend a decade ago. If he is granted parole, Pistorius, now aged 36, could be released from jail within a matter of days. The six-time Paralympic gold medallist has expressed his deep remorse for killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day in 2013, but continues to maintain he shot her by mistake, believing she was a robber. Read more here
31st March 2023