标签： Guyana

In a definitive stance announced Thursday evening, the Guyana government has officially declined to publicize the investigative report concerning the December 2023 helicopter crash that resulted in the deaths of five military personnel. Aviation Minister Deodat Indar addressed the National Assembly, clarifying that the Bell 412Epi helicopter was engaged in an active military mission when it catastrophically crashed in a remote, densely forested region of the country’s interior. Minister Indar emphasized the operation’s classified nature, stating, ‘The flight operation at the time when it happened was a military operation. I repeat. It was a military operation. It was not a civilian flight.’ This declaration came directly in response to calls from opposition leader Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement, who accused the government of violating Article 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Minister Indar countered this allegation by invoking the Chicago Convention, which categorizes aircraft utilized in military, customs, and police services as ‘State aircraft.’ He challenged critics to identify any nation that routinely discloses sensitive information pertaining to military operational incidents, framing the decision as a standard matter of national security protocol. This announcement marks the first explicit government position on the long-debated report, which had previously been under review by the Cabinet. The crash claimed the lives of highly decorated servicemen, including Lt. Col. Michael Charles, Retired Brigadier Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan. Two personnel, Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Wayne Jackson, survived the incident. Despite international aviation conventions urging transparency, the government maintains that its obligation to protect state and military secrets supersedes public disclosure demands in this specific context.

In a significant parliamentary address, Dr. David Hinds, Co-leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and APNU parliamentarian, has called for a major reallocation of Guyana’s educational budget. Speaking before the National Assembly on Wednesday, Dr. Hinds proposed diverting substantial portions of the GY$5.8 billion allocated to the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) program to instead bolster funding for the University of Guyana (UG).

The veteran politician and former Political Science Professor at Arizona State University expressed grave concerns about UG’s financial stability, noting that the institution’s GY$14.5 billion allocation falls significantly short of its requested GY$21 billion budget. This underfunding occurs despite a dramatic enrollment increase following the government’s reintroduction of free education policies last year.

Dr. Hinds drew historical parallels, recalling that UG was initially established in 1963 by PPP founder Dr. Cheddi Jagan with modest beginnings at Queen’s College. “Is Jagan’s party not running the risk of turning the University of Guyana into another night school?” he questioned, highlighting the irony that current policies might undermine the very institution his political opponents’ founder created.

The criticism of GOAL’s management follows similar concerns raised days earlier by WIN’s Shadow Education Minister Dr. Gordon Barker, who characterized the program as suffering from “poor planning, weak oversight, and unacceptable uncertainty.” Dr. Barker noted the absence of clear reporting on completion rates, accreditation standards, and employment outcomes for GOAL participants.

Education Minister Sonia Parag responded to earlier criticisms by highlighting what she characterized as hypocrisy, noting that Dr. Barker himself had pursued studies through the GOAL program he now criticizes.

The budgetary debate also extended to public sector compensation. APNU parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul highlighted the disparity between government ministers’ substantial salary increases and the modest wages of ordinary public servants. With minimum public sector wages at GY$102,000 and private sector minimums at GY$60,000, Mahipaul questioned whether the GY$1.558 trillion budget adequately addressed workforce dignity.

Public Service Minister Zulfikar Ally defended the administration’s record, noting a 46% increase in public servants’ minimum wage since the PPP returned to office in 2020. He emphasized that the public sector wage bill had nearly doubled from GY$127 billion in 2020 to GY$252 billion by the end of 2025, reflecting consistent annual increases.

Guyana’s compliance with international aviation standards has been called into question following allegations that the government has violated the Convention on International Civil Aviation by withholding the official investigation report of a deadly military helicopter crash that occurred over two years ago.

Amanza Walton-Desir, Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement and former General Counsel to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, raised the serious allegation during parliamentary debates on the 2026 national budget. She emphasized that Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Convention mandates states to publicly release accident investigation reports within twelve months, or provide annual interim statements if the full report cannot be completed within that timeframe.

The tragic incident involved a Bell 412 Epi helicopter belonging to the Guyana Defence Force that crashed on December 6, 2023, while transporting five servicemen to an interior location. The accident occurred during a period of heightened tensions between Guyana and Venezuela concerning Venezuela’s longstanding territorial claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region.

While acknowledging potential national security considerations that might justify redacting certain sections, Walton-Desir insisted that the families of the deceased servicemen deserve closure and that the aviation industry needs access to the report’s safety findings to prevent future accidents. She made an impassioned plea from the parliamentary floor for the immediate release of the long-overdue document.

The continued withholding of the crash investigation report represents both a regulatory violation and a significant transparency issue, raising questions about governmental accountability in matters of national security and aviation safety.

In a significant parliamentary address, Opposition APNU legislator Sharma Solomon has called for a radical restructuring of revenue distribution from Guyana’s extractive industries. The former Mayor of Linden advocated for mining districts to receive direct financial benefits from sector earnings to drive local human development initiatives.

Speaking during debates on the national GY$1.558 trillion budget, Solomon emphasized the urgent need for a new social contract between mining regions and the central government. His proposal specifically targets Regions 1 (Barima-Waini), 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), 9 (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) – areas rich in mineral resources but historically characterized by inadequate reinvestment and limited autonomy.

The parliamentarian pointed to successful Indigenous Amerindian communities already benefiting directly from gold mining revenues as evidence that such models can work effectively. He further cited international precedents from Canada and Australia where mining districts receive direct financial benefits from extraction activities.

Solomon’s comprehensive framework includes legal recognition of community engagement tied to mining permits, establishment of local employment quotas, specialized training programs, procurement targets, and dedicated community funds. “We must ensure that mining wealth returns to these communities in tangible, transformative ways,” he asserted, highlighting the principle of reciprocity between resource extraction and local investment.

In a surprising political reversal, Mahdia Mayor Eslyn Romascindo-Hussain and Deputy Mayor Akita John have formally withdrawn their resignations just days after submitting them, citing personal reasons. The unexpected turnaround occurred without public explanation, though sources indicate significant political considerations influenced the decisions.

According to informed sources, the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) faced potential complications if the resignations proceeded. Mayor Romascindo-Hussain, as a constituency-elected councilor, would have triggered a mandatory by-election, while Deputy Mayor John’s departure would have reduced the party’s council representation to three seats.

In her February 2 recission letter, Mayor Romascindo-Hussain stated she had made her decision ‘after careful consideration,’ pledging to ‘continue to serve the citizens of Mahdia to the best of my abilities.’ Her original resignation cited three years of council work that had caused her ‘physical and mental health to be unstable.’

Deputy Mayor John similarly revoked her resignation, which had been scheduled to take effect February 7. Her original resignation to Local Government Minister Priya Manickchand explained that the position’s demands had ‘become increasingly challenging’ and were significantly impacting her personal life.

The mayor has since addressed speculation about political motivations behind the reversal, issuing a statement denying any interference from Junior Minister Pauline Sukhai and reaffirming her commitment to the PPPC. She appealed to unknown persons to cease spreading false information regarding her decision-making process.

In a significant development for press freedom in Guyana, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) has publicly refuted claims by House Speaker Manzoor Nadir regarding an existing agreement on media access to parliamentary proceedings. The controversy emerged during the February 3-4, 2026 parliamentary sessions when Speaker Nadir asserted that current media arrangements were established in consultation with the GPA.

The GPA issued a comprehensive statement clarifying that any previous agreement with the Parliament Office was specifically limited to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020 and has been obsolete since national restrictions ended in March 2022. The association emphasized that Speaker Nadir’s continued reference to this expired agreement represents a fundamental misrepresentation of the current media landscape.

The dispute centers on the Speaker’s decision to limit parliamentary access to only seven journalists while banning all private television news cameras from the chamber, permitting only the state-affiliated Department of Public Information (DPI) to provide video coverage. The GPA maintains that these restrictions are unjustified, noting that the parliamentary chamber has historically accommodated up to twelve journalists and multiple camera operators simultaneously.

Speaker Nadir challenged opposition parliamentarian Sherod Duncan to formally propose changes to parliamentary rules through a motion while simultaneously expunging Duncan’s concerns from the official record. The Speaker maintained that no journalists are restricted from covering proceedings, despite implementing the seven-reporter cap.

The GPA has identified multiple concerns with the current arrangement, including the unreliable nature of the DPI-provided video feed, which frequently experiences audio breaks and interruptions. The association also rejected the Speaker’s suggestion that smartphone recordings could substitute for professional broadcast equipment.

This conflict represents the latest chapter in an ongoing struggle between Guyana’s media community and parliamentary authorities. The GPA characterizes these restrictions as an attack on media freedom that compromises transparent coverage of the nation’s legislative processes, particularly during critical events like budget presentations.

A contentious dispute over media access has erupted in Guyana’s National Assembly, with House Speaker Manzoor Nadir facing mounting criticism for implementing severe restrictions on journalistic coverage of parliamentary proceedings. The controversial measures, introduced at the start of Monday’s budget debates, have drawn forceful opposition from across Guyana’s media landscape.

The new regulations permit only five reporters within the parliamentary chamber at any given time—a dramatic reduction from the previous allowance of up to 17 journalists. Additionally, television news cameras from private media organizations have been completely banned from the Dome, with media houses instructed to rely exclusively on official feeds from the Department of Public Information (DPI).

Media professionals have universally condemned these restrictions as fundamentally anti-democratic. Fareeza Haniff, a prominent media practitioner, highlighted the practical deficiencies of the arrangement, noting that the official live feed suffers from persistent technical glitches and poor quality. She further accused the Parliament Office of disseminating misleading information through a late-night Facebook post that showed empty media seats after journalists had departed to file their stories.

The controversy deepened as journalists revealed that the Parliament Office attempted to justify the restrictions by referencing a COVID-19 era agreement from 2020 as if it were current policy. This characterization was widely dismissed as disingenuous by media representatives.

Former Guyana Press Association (GPA) President Nazima Raghubir questioned whether Parliament had reached the point of intentionally misleading the public, while journalist Vishani Ragobeer directly contradicted the official narrative, stating, “Those seats were filled by my colleagues and me yesterday. I sat there with colleagues from other private media outlets, and there was a rotation of reporters covering different speakers.”

Kurt Campbell, another newsroom journalist, described the measures as “profoundly regressive and democratically corrosive,” arguing that they veer “dangerously into authoritarian instinct.” He emphasized the unreliability of the DPI’s coverage, noting its failure to provide basic recordings of significant parliamentary events, including the national budget presentation delivered over a week earlier.

The Guyana Press Association issued an official statement expressing “deep concern” over the restrictions and condemning the Speaker’s edict as “a direct attack on freedom of the press.” The association called for an urgent review of the measures and the restoration of full press access in keeping with democratic norms and principles of open governance.

Veteran journalist Denis Chabrol challenged the rationale behind the restrictions, noting that journalists have historically covered parliamentary sessions according to newsworthiness without ever being obstructive. He argued that sufficient space exists to accommodate multiple privately-owned television cameras and that no logical justification exists for limiting media access to the National Assembly.