Editorials and Views

Good move by the government of Guyana to issue driver’s permits at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. It came last week when minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad unveiled a sign in the arrival hall indicating the service is now available to incoming visitors.
This is a welcome move by the government to provide the thousands of us who visit the homeland from the GTA, as well as tourists, with hassle-free accessibility to a driver’s permit. The news gets even better – the service is free of cost.
Present at the unveiling ceremony were Chief Executive Officer of the airport, Ramesh Ghir; the Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Indranauth Haralsingh; and Guyana Revenue Authority representatives.
Many of us here in the GTA travel often to Guyana. And as we know, up to now the procedure to get a driver’s permit before meant a tedious visit to the GRA. It was a visit that meant standing in long lines for at least half a day. A short visit to the homeland for a week, or even a weekend, ruled out the possibility of improved mobility through driving a rental vehicle.
Now all it will take is a simple procedure of presenting our Canadian driver’s licence at the airport and filling out an application form. A similar licence would then be issued based on the class of vehicle driven on the streets of Toronto. This permit would be valid for one month and is renewable for up to three months.
“We want to make sure that people come to our beautiful country and from the airport, they can rent a car and explore and enjoy our country,” Prashad said. “As a result of this initiative of issuing drivers’ permit free at the airport on arrival, we expect car rentals to mushroom in this area,” he added.
The service will also be available at the Ogle International Airport, and possibly at Moleson Creek and the Takutu bridge crossings.

February 2, 2011 issue
Editorial/s
Team Canada
We are supporting Team Canada all the way in the big leagues this month at the ICC World Cup in India and Bangladesh. The opening ceremony is on 17 February 2011, with the first match on February 19 between co-hosts India and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The last time we played in this prestigious tournament was 2003. Believe it or not, cricket was once the national game of Canada. It is growing again in stature, with the game now being played in schools here in Ontario. Our cricketing hope is in our youth, as the team shows that is headed to the World Cup. Team captain is wicket-keeper batsman Ashish Bagai, who will be getting critical support from the more experienced Henry Osinde and John Davison. We remember the excitement Davison brought in 2003 against the West Indies when he scored the fastest century in that game. It was a brilliant 111 off just 76 balls, a testimony to the talent and expertise that is driving our Canadian hopes at the games this month. There is also a tremendous opportunity ahead for opening batsmen Nitish Kumar and Hiral Patel. Both young men have played in the under-19 cricket league here in Canada. For our bowling attack, medium pacers Osinde, Harvir Baidwan, and vice-captain Rizwan Cheema are more than capable of delivering critical support, along with Umar Bhatti and Khurram Chouhan. On call for spin on the more spinner-friendly pitches are Parth Desai with his slow left-arm orthodox, and Balaji Rao with his challenging leg break googly. Cheema and Sunil Dhaniram are also talented all-rounders. The chemistry and communication in this team have been proven in its strong fielding ability. There is a lot of promise in this young team and we wish them well.
Driving in Guyana
Good move by the government of Guyana to issue driver’s permits at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. It came last week when minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad unveiled a sign in the arrival hall indicating the service is now available to incoming visitors. This is a welcome move by the government to provide the thousands of us who visit the homeland from the GTA, as well as tourists, with hassle-free accessibility to a driver’s permit. The news gets even better – the service is free of cost. Present at the unveiling ceremony were Chief Executive Officer of the airport, Ramesh Ghir; the Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Indranauth Haralsingh; and Guyana Revenue Authority representatives. Many of us here in the GTA travel often to Guyana. And as we know, up to now the procedure to get a driver’s permit before meant a tedious visit to the GRA. It was a visit that meant standing in long lines for at least half a day. A short visit to the homeland for a week, or even a weekend, ruled out the possibility of improved mobility through driving a rental vehicle. Now all it will take is a simple procedure of presenting our Canadian driver’s licence at the airport and filling out an application form. A similar licence would then be issued based on the class of vehicle driven on the streets of Toronto. This permit would be valid for one month and is renewable for up to three months. “We want to make sure that people come to our beautiful country and from the airport, they can rent a car and explore and enjoy our country,” Prashad said. “As a result of this initiative of issuing drivers’ permit free at the airport on arrival, we expect car rentals to mushroom in this area,” he added. The service will also be available at the Ogle International Airport, and possibly at Moleson Creek and the Takutu bridge crossings.
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