Guyana

Zimbabwe GEORGETOWN, Guyana - When –as appears likely, at least at this juncture – general elections are held in Zimbabwe later this year under a new constitution Robert Mugabe will, in all likelihood, be running for office as President of the Southern African country again. The one-time freedom fighter turned 89 in February, a juncture in most political leaders’ lives when the trappings of office and the addiction to power tend to evaporate in thick mist of physical and mental deterioration. That, it seems, is not the case with Mr. Mugabe; at least not yet.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - A huge burden is presently placed on the private sector in the Caribbean.   In the midst of steady economic decline of many Caribbean countries, governments have turned to the private sector to continue to earn foreign exchange, to keep down prices for goods and services, to maintain and expand employment, and to pay taxes.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- Haiti President Michel Martelly has urged the United Nations to divert some of the billions of dollars it spends yearly on peacekeeping efforts to infrastructure projects, job creation and poverty alleviation.
Officials need to think about sustainable development instead of security in the impoverished country that is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2010, Martelly said late Thursday while visiting Caricom's headquarters in Guyana as the Caribbean trade bloc's current chairman.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The announcement of a changing of the guard in Havana – albeit not for another five years – has been somewhat overshadowed by all the fuss over the death of President Hugo Chávez and the election of Pope Francis. But the identification of a successor to Fidel and Raúl Castro in Cuba, although relatively lacking in drama, is still momentous news.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will be pressing for a successful conclusion to the final negotiation session of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on an Arms Trade Treaty which began at the United Nations on Monday, according to a statement issued by the CARICOM Secretariat.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - Haiti’s President and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman, Michel Martelly arrives here on Wednesday for a two-day visit to the Secretariat of the regional integration grouping.
A CARICOM Secretariat statement said that Martelly will hold discussions with CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque and his executive management team on Thursday.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – When high-level teams from the Caribbean Community and the United Nations Security Council visited Haiti in February last year to assess the post 2010 earthquake reconstruction efforts, one of the unanticipated issues that had to be taken account of was an outbreak of cholera which has resulted up to now in a total of about 8000 persons dead and over 600,000 suffering from the illness. The result has been a problem of dual priorities of almost equal importance to be faced by the UN itself, by Haiti, and by the wider Caribbean Community.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh will on Monday March 25 present the national budget to the National Assembly. Singh said that the focus of the Donald Ramotar government will be to continue with the acceleration of economic growth and social development, with emphasis on macroeconomic stability and preserving the conditions that are conducive to attracting investment, expanding and upgrading physical infrastructure, expanding access and improving the quality of social services, and strengthening the institutional and regulatory environment.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - For the sake of continuing warmth in the bilateral relationship between Guyana and Venezuela, the Government of Guyana has made all the right diplomatic moves. President Donald Ramotar led the delegation to Hugo Chávez’s state funeral last Friday, declaring a day of national mourning on the same day, and an evening of reflection to honour the late leader was held at Red House on Monday. Elsewhere, however, Mr Chávez’s death has, unsurprisingly, aroused heated debate and divided opinion about his record in office and his legacy.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Wednesday confirmed that four officers who sued Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best for allegedly refusing to pay them a one-month bonus, have been relieved of their duties with immediate effect.