Good morning, Guyana. The Hague gave us the headline this week, and it was a strong one.
Venezuela’s case in The Hague: short on evidence
Guyana’s legal team told reporters Saturday that Venezuela has submitted no evidence to support its claim to Essequibo during the opening week of oral hearings at the International Court of Justice. The hearings opened Monday and have proceeded through the week, with Guyana’s argument resting on the 1899 Arbitral Award. Caracas has spent the week relying on rhetoric. The court has spent the week unmoved. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, in remarks earlier in the week, said the case had moved into “legal focus.” Translation: the politics are over and the law has begun.
Tuschen Secondary stabbing: a 14-year-old in custody
A fourteen-year-old has been arrested after stabbing two of his schoolmates at Tuschen Secondary School on Friday. Both victims are in stable condition. The Ministry of Education has issued a statement; the police are conducting their investigation. This is the second school violence incident in as many weeks, and the Guyana Teachers’ Union is asking, again, what the plan is.
GPL signs US$27 million contract with PowerChina
The Guyana Power and Light Inc. has signed a US$27 million contract with PowerChina International Group Limited for grid upgrades, the company confirmed Friday. The contract is the latest in a string of energy infrastructure deals as the country tries to keep up with demand from an economy growing faster than its power supply. Whether this fully addresses the load-shedding that has plagued the East Coast remains to be seen.
Berbice fire: child blamed, two homes destroyed
Two homes in Berbice were destroyed after a child reportedly sparked a blaze on Friday. No injuries were reported. The Guyana Fire Service is investigating. The story underneath the story is the one that does not get written: how many of these incidents involve a child unsupervised because the parent is working, or because there is no parent home at all, or because the kerosene lamp was the only light in the house.
Mother’s Day in the markets
The Chronicle led Friday with a feature on market mothers at Bourda and Stabroek — women who, in some cases, have run the same stall for forty years. A Corentyne woman received land for Mother’s Day from Minister Mustapha. The Urban Renewal Authority hosted a luncheon. The day is Sunday. The work, as ever, is every other day of the year.
Bandit shot after robbing money changer
A motorbike bandit was shot Friday after allegedly robbing a money changer in Georgetown. The bandit was hospitalised; the money was recovered. Police are not commenting beyond the basics. This is the third money-changer robbery this month.
ICE veteran deported home
Godfrey Wade, the 65-year-old US Army veteran detained in an ICE facility for months, arrived in Guyana on Thursday. Wade’s attorney has been vocal about the conditions of his detention. The story is part of the broader pattern of US deportations the Caribbean has been absorbing under the agreements signed earlier in the year.
— Tradewinds Brief Newsroom