The Evening News for Friday, June 19th 2026

[00:00:16]Good evening and welcome to your Friday, June 19, 2026 edition of the evening news. I am Misha Henry. Let's take a look at some of the lead stories tonight. Government targets 11,000 house lots for region 3 by next year end. Jag view local banks alone cannot sustain Guyana's growth. We need foreign capital PSC head. Exxon Mobile assessing local workforce capacity as root ledge sites labor constraints. Government aims to modernize DNI infrastructure countrywide as national strategy launched. High Court throws out a news challenge to TSC appointments and parents weigh in as government moves to develop social media policy for children. Now for the news in detail. Vice President Dr. Bar Dragu has announced that some 11,000 house lots will be available by residents of region 3. He made the announcement during his public day outreach at the National Track and Field Center in Lenora West Coast Dearara today. Here is our lead story tonight. Nearly 11,000 people in region 3 awaiting house lots will be allocated land by the end of next year.

[00:01:33]Vice President Bar Draglio said as he addressed scores of residents gathered for his public day outreach at the National Track and Field Center in Lenora, West Coast Dearara on Friday. He noted that the administration remains committed to clearing the backlog everywhere except region 4 where the volume of applications are too high to clear within the same time frame. In region 4, allocations have only reached applications filed in 2020 and 2021, which means newer applicants still face a wait of 3 to four years. Region 3 alone has close to 11,000 people waiting for house lots, he said. And the main obstacle is the shortage of state land.

[00:02:16]Much of the new development is being concentrated in Wales where house blocks have already been handed out. Jack said it costs between $5 million and $7 million to develop a single house block because the land involved is a former cane field that has to be excavated, drained, and connected by roads. He said developing the outstanding 11,000 blocks before the end of next year will run into billions of dollars, but assured the money will be spent. In an interview with this newscast, Minister of Housing Colin Kroll expanded on this announcement.

[00:02:52]>> For region 3, we're working over the next two years to clear all the pending applicants from 2025 and prior. we have to start somewhere and so obviously the rest of this year we'll focus on the earlier years and then um next year to to to bring on par as we said over 11,000 plus spending applicants for region three >> so lastly sir >> we have to work with the availability of lands so a lot of persons the majority of the applicants are on the west coast of demar but we have competing interest for the west coast of deara most of our allocations have been within the west bank on the wales area and that's also because of the land become available to true gauu But here on the west coast we have still have um active farming um um sugarcane planting that is taking place.

[00:03:35]So we have not been able to get the amount of lands we would have wanted cuz all the other lands are privately owned.

[00:03:41]Um so most of the persons will have to be allocated that way and so some of the person who allocated that we wanted to know if they can come this way to switch etc. But we're developing we're developing wheels. Wales will be a massive area for employment opportunity, factories, um industries, etc., etc. That will create employment. Um we'll bearing out that area for the infrastructure work. We're building out the four lane to um to Peru and we're also creating a road network, another road network to the West Bank end to supplement the normal road that we have.

[00:04:11]So region three is is poised for a lot of major investment um that will benefit people who are living here because the population is growing in the sense well we're growing nationally and then people are buying car vehicles more vehicles are on the road um so there congestion even coming here you'll recognize this morning um the amount of persons um on the west coast so where the car you had a line uh so we addressing that to to also work on some interconnecting roads as we work out for the main um fourlane highways >> meanwhile during the outreach Each cabinet ministers were involved in addressing a number of issues raised by residents. The evening news caught up with Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manik Chan and Minister of Agriculture Zulfuga Mustapa who detailed some of the matters that were brought to their attention for resolution.

[00:04:58]>> There are a number of person here and various agencies are dealing with issues that people have. I think this is a very good way of getting people to deal directly interact directly with officials but more importantly with elected official although we are holding outreaches across the country and we have regular outreaches and regular community meetings sometime the one-on-one communication sometime they be locking and here I would have start talked to about over 100 person already individually people that raise issues people that have personal issues and most of those issues almost 95% of those issues were resolved right here this morning. People came with individual concerns, things like they need livestock help. They need drainage in their comm uh in their around their surrounding. They need um help in in going to cash crop farming. They need planting material. They need um shade houses. Those are individual requests and those are most of the thing we were able to help. So generally we haven't had any major concern in community project because in here we have a very robust program in doing farm to market road in doing DNI project in rehabilitating canal doing bridges doing slooes um fixing pumps pumps building pump station. So the more smaller issue, the individual issue, people came here to raise, but >> also people come with fantastic suggestions and proposals and um ideas for how their communities can be improved or how particular sectors can work better and we hear that we incorporate some of it. Um so that's how we govern. The vice president has always been a person on the ground. You know, people don't remember these things. But let's pause for a second. in around 2004, 2003, 2004, somewhere there. Um, in this usual walkabout, learn what people are facing on the ground, how people are doing, not just making policy out of an office. He was going around the country and people said, you know, you're building these schools and you're doing all this, but we're having trouble sending our kids to school. And that out of that was born the policy to give the uniform voucher. at the time that was because of direct involvement with people that has since grown into a cash grant for every single child. This year it it's going to be $85,000 cash grant to help with school supplies as well as transportation. So these are extremely important engagements that um give us feedback about what people how people feel we are serving. It's almost a poll as well as how we can better our services. And so I appreciate all of them. Misha Henry, the evening news. In an effort to alleviate the severe traffic congestion affecting residents of region 3 on a daily basis, the government will construct a bypass road as a temporary measure while work continues on the four-lane highway to Perka, which is expected to be completed within the next two year. This was announced by Vice President Dr. Bar Drag during his outreach to the region today.

[00:08:04]Let's have a look. We've already awarded the four lane road from the bridge to Puerto Rico.

[00:08:15]>> So within 2 years, by the time you built and stop like that, there'd be a four-lane road all the way at the back there from Puerto Rico to to the harbor bridge.

[00:08:28]And we're now doing a bypass road because of the congestion of the traffic from Windsor Forest all the way to TI. We can't even wait on the 48 road. We're going to try to do a bypass immediately starting soon so that we can improve the traffic situation until we complete the four-year road because so many vehicles now are on the road. every 3 months 10,000 vehicles coming to their country because a whole series is changed. Just imagine that 40,000 new vehicles per year coming into the country and so it's becoming a problem. Chairman of the Private Sector Commission in Guyana, Gerald Gvaya Junior, says Gy businesses now need access to foreign financing, having already exhausted significant lending capacity at local commercial banks. Vanu Manikan tells us more.

[00:09:29]>> We need more capital. The fact of the matter is is that local investors have already reinvested. We've taken the loans. In fact, our banking system is showing the highest level of liquidity and loans in our history. And does anyone have any idea what our non-performing load percentage is on average?

[00:09:48]When I tell you it's less than 2%, I think it's 1.4 or something percent. So, if we have the highest amount of loans that we're taking in our commercial banking system in our history and less than 1.5% in non-performing loans, that means our economy is booming. But what's happening now is that our banks, and you're going to hate me for saying this, our banks are not able to provide enough money fast enough to continue the pace of growth.

[00:10:14]>> That was chairman of the private sector commissioning Ayana Gerald Gavaya Jr.

[00:10:19]speaking at the global growth and commerce summit held on Thursday in Georgetown. According to the PSC head, while there are billions of dollars in foreign funding available, GY businesses need to prepare themselves to tap into these opportunities.

[00:10:36]>> So, we have all of this billions of dollars waiting, begging to come to Guyana. But what do we need to do? If you don't have a business plan, you're not ready to play. If you don't have a financial feasibility study, you're not ready to play. If you don't have audited financials, you're not ready to play. If you are not pursu uh pursuing some sort of international certification, ISO or one of those, you're not ready to play and you will never get access to this money. So start thinking that way. And if you need the help, I'm telling you right now that for free, the BSOS, the GCCI, GMSA, Women's Chamber, PSC, we will help you for free to do these things. You don't even need to be a member. So thank you. So don't do yourself a disservice. start preparing to become investable and you will get access to our first problem which is the amount of capital that we need to continue to grow this this this uh country.

[00:11:31]>> Similar sentiments were shared by head of the daspora affairs unit at the ministry of foreign affairs Rosalinda Rasul who usually engage daspora members looking to invest in Guyana. However, she explained that often times persons are fed information that do not clearly reflect the situation on the ground in Guyana. To this end, she encouraged potential investors to engage the right people in order to get the accurate information and be prepared when they come to invest here. You need to have the right authority in the room that will give you deeper information, accurate information about what you can do in Guyana. Understand the opportunities for growth and then of course that takes you know to the right concept, the right people, the right investors, the right financers basically. So have the right people that is right authority and of course the right investors in the room things and there's so many things that's going on in the world today. some of the things that's going on in Guyana. It's not just your traditional sectors basically that's that's growing. They're the non-traditional sectors. AI, blockchain, supply chain, all of these things. And you need people to have ideas. You need people to develop those ideas. Guyana needs new investments. It needs new people with new skill sets that will run with these hair and you need people with the credibility to fund it. You need to bring them into a room to have that conversation. Reporting for the evening news fan.

[00:13:02]>> Head of the private sector commission Gerald Gvaya Jr. is calling on foreign investors to bring technologydriven solutions to Guyana to augment ongoing efforts to enhance digitization across the country. Vanu Manachchan joins us again with the details.

[00:13:18]>> This call was made by chairman of the private sector commission Gerald Gavaya Jr. at a global growth and commerce summit held in Georgetown on Thursday.

[00:13:28]The event brought together international stakeholders with the aim of fostering connections, unlocking opportunities, and driving Ayana's rise as a thriving global economy. Delivering remarks at the summit, Gavaya Jr. underscored the need for more foreign investors in Guyana.

[00:13:48]>> Who's looking to invest in Guyana? Quick show of hands.

[00:13:53]It should be everyone because guess what? Every single one of us, whether you're foreign or domestic, are looking to invest in Guyana. The question is, how do we invest our money? Do we invest our time? Do we invest our expertise, our technology? How do we do that? Well, ladies and gentlemen, what I can tell you is that we need all of it. If I was to sum up what Guyana needs now to continue this pace of growth, the answer is more. More of everything. One specific area the PSC chairman pointed to is technology calling for more investors to bring digital solutions to the local market.

[00:14:31]>> Digitization AI and technology use in Guyana needs to increase. So if you are a business and I'm so happy to have MMG up here because they were one of the first real tech companies to implement ways of creating facilitation of business, start thinking along those lines. If you're looking for opportunities to invest in every single one of those industries that I mentioned earlier, if you bring a solution to any one of these three things, you have a contract. I almost guarantee it.

[00:14:59]>> Over the past few years, the Guyana government has been embarking on an aggressive digitization drive, rolling out a number of initiatives to deliver more efficient services to citizens.

[00:15:11]These include the introduction of e-gates at the airport to faster process passengers and more recently taking the processing of passport applications and author key documents online. This digital transformation is also being extended to other sectors including education with the introduction of free online scholarships and coding programs as well as the health sector with initiatives such as teley medicine robotic surgeries and an electronic health record system. Reporting for the evening news fan.

[00:15:48]Coming up, high court throws out APNU's challenge to TSC appointments and parents weigh in as government moves to develop social media policy for children.

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[00:17:55]Welcome back. You're watching the evening news. Amidst labor shortages across the country, Exxon Mobile Guyana has commissioned an industrial baseline study to assess the country's workforce capacity and the ability of educational institutions to help bridge existing gaps. Find out more in this Deina Samu report.

[00:18:14]>> President of Exxon Mobile Guyana Alistister Rutledge says the industrial baseline study will likely be completed later this year.

[00:18:23]>> It will help us with two things. an understanding of what is today's baseline on workforce capacity.

[00:18:30]What can the education institutions deliver by way of additional training of raising the capability of that capacity and then on the flip side is what is the demand that is coming for the workforce not just in the oil and gas sector but across other sectors of the economy and that's critical to understand if we're to avoid what many have called the Dutch disease that one industry doesn't rob the capacity from the rest of the economy and end without becoming a detriment to the long-term sustainability of the economy.

[00:19:03]>> In acknowledging the country's current labor challenges, Rutledge underscored the need to strengthen the education sector. But I think it's a common feeling that we are finding it harder and harder to find additional gy workers and especially the continued challenge of raising the education levels, the skill levels for an industry that is highly demanding on quality and expertise.

[00:19:32]>> Currently 68% of Exxon Mobile's workforce is gy, a major feat according to root ledge.

[00:19:38]>> 68% of an industry that had no footprint here just a few years ago and it's as I mentioned earlier highly technical demands high levels of experience and expertise to be able to get to 68% in a in a country that had no foundation is tremendous success and should be celebrated. Thank you.

[00:20:03]Guyana's rapidly expanding economy driven by the oil and gas sector has placed the labor market under strain.

[00:20:10]Reports indicate that the country will require a significantly larger workforce to sustain its projected growth. In fact, one study states that approximately 160,000 additional workers would be required in the medium term for the country to fully realize its economic potential. The government is in the process of developing a national labor migration policy to allow for the recruitment of foreign workers to meet the needs of the country's rapid growth without compromising the rights and interests of gy. Reporting for the evening news, Deina Samuru. The government has launched its first ever national drainage and irrigation strategy. A landmark framework designed to modernize the country's water management systems, strengthen climate resilience and support national development. Here is more from Deina Samu. During the launch of the national drainage and irrigation strategy on Thursday, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapa described this development as an important milestone in the country's journey towards becoming more resilient, productive, and prosperous. In underscoring the importance of the document, the minister highlighted that the traditional approaches to drainage and irrigation are no longer effective. Climate change continues to present serious challenges, extreme rainfall events. Many of us know that we are witnessing, we are in the midst of the rainy season almost on a daily basis. I normally calls Dr. Cummings and a number of times to find out the outlook of the weather.

[00:21:49]And with extreme rainfall events, prolonged dry period, rising sea level, and changing weather patterns, this reminds us of the traditional approaches are no longer sufficient for us. Gone are the days when we have two and three inches of rainfall in a month. Today we have five and 6 ines of rainfall in an hour. And we have to prepare our drainage system. And when you go through this strategy, when you go through this strategy and you see what we have here, you will see the comprehensive system that we'll implement in the near future.

[00:22:36]>> Moreover, the minister pointed out that drainage and irrigation affect more than just the agriculture sector.

[00:22:43]>> We are seeing more and more housing schemes are coming into being. We have to cater for those housing scheme. Our drainage system now is increasing and the NDIA has to respond to those improvement that we are having in our country.

[00:23:04]With development comes more responsibility.

[00:23:09]And as we cater to improve production productivity, increase agricultural output at the same time we are catering also to have effective drainage system in place so that the mo the modernization that is taking place in our country, the roads that are being built, the hospital that are being built, the schools that are being built and other infrastructure, we can have proper drainage system and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority has to have a plan and because of those responsibility we have developed this strategy. The first time in the history of our country we have a strategy.

[00:23:54]>> In fact the minister disclosed that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority NDIA is in the process of mapping out the entire drainage system across the country. This strategy will be part of the situation room that we will be launching later on this month early next month. This will help us to plan our activity to know where we have capacity where we can send advise farmers to go and start farming. For example, we will have we have hundreds of pumps and slooes across this country.

[00:24:30]When we are when we finish the data inputting the data that we are doing now into this strategy and this is inputed in our situation room in the data center that we'll be launching shortly.

[00:24:44]We can go to that and inform farmers that the capacity in this area the drainage capacities is in this area is so much so that that farmer can plan their activity or his or her activity in that area. That will be that will be the advancess of this strategy.

[00:25:02]>> Central to this strategy is the government's investments in improving drainage infrastructure and maintenance works >> across our country.

[00:25:12]We have rehabilitated and constructed drainage channels and irrigation canals.

[00:25:19]We have upgraded and expand pump stations.

[00:25:23]We have rehabilitated and constructed slooes and coers across our country. As I'm speaking now 93 slooes 93 slooes are there are earmar for rehabilitation or build new slooes across this country. We are in the process of building in three regions, regions three, five and six highlevel canals that will drain on a 24-hour basis.

[00:25:54]We have already procured more than 63 pumps that will be placed in various parts of the country. Those are the investment that we are talking about. We have invested also in additional machinery and equipment to improve maintenance and our emergency response capability.

[00:26:15]>> It also places strong emphasis on innovation technology, datadriven planning, digital tools and smarter water management practices to improve operational efficiency and long-term sustainability. Reporting for the evening news, Defina Samuru.

[00:26:34]The Ministry of Education has continued its stakeholder consultation to gather feedback for the development of a national social media policy for children. In this report, we hear that some parents have called for a complete ban on social media for young people.

[00:26:50]Meanwhile, others have advocated for restrictions on its use. The Ministry of Education on Wednesday hosted a consultation session with stakeholders within the education sector as part of a nationwide engagement on social media and its consequential effects on children. The consultations are being held under the theme protecting a safe and healthy digital environment for children. According to education minister Sonia Parag, the misuse of social media has increasingly contributed to mental health issues among young people affecting the overall well-being of children. The minister further emphasized the importance of allowing members of the public to provide input, suggestions, and recommendations so that authorities can better care for children in a manner that is necessary and responsive to challenges posed by the global influence of social media. The misuse of social media or the use of social media by children is resulting often times and more often than not in mental health issues and other issues that are related to the well-being of the child. And so we necessarily needed to take that or we wanted to take that kind of approach. Of course, this is a consultation that involves religious leaders, civil society and different sections of society because several things are happening.

[00:28:22]One is that they are being influenced mostly by the negatives that are coming from social media. Whether it's a Tik Tok platform, it's a YouTube platform, sometimes it is a Roblox platform and I myself had I myself have been following what has been happening in different jurisdictions. She added that one of the common trends being observed is a see and do culture where particular groups of young people imitate and practice what they see on social media.

[00:28:57]>> And we also should be in a position to frankly state that sometimes parents are contributing to it because guess why? Parents are so consumed too with their everyday lives and the amount of things that they have to do that sometimes it's easier to give the child the phone. Don't check on what's happening on that phone and the child is just quiet in a corner. But what is being absorbed and what is being taken in like a sponge is so damaging and so detrimental.

[00:29:35]So, but that's the mental health and the health part of it and the behavioral pattern. But we're also there's also another aspect.

[00:29:47]What is happening with their cognitive development, their cognitive development?

[00:29:55]We are losing children to an era where we are saying on a platform as in a stage or a forum that we need to have children who are comp we need to have adults who are competent. We need to have those who are critical thinkers, problem solvers. But we're not thinking about the fact that it that's being that very thing is being eroded by social media.

[00:30:26]>> During the consultations, parents shared a range of perspectives with some supporting a complete ban on social media while others advocated for limited screen time.

[00:30:37]>> We need to put this is where restriction like I said it stands out. So we need to have a limit time limit. So this afternoon, you're only going to have 20 minutes, half an hour, and that's your your break time at home before we go do homework together or read something together. Look some something as it relates to developing on vocabulary or somewhere along the learning channel. I think we need to take a multifaceted approach in dealing with the social media platform. So there must be a foolproof system. So for example, if we're going to implement the minimum social media age, how can I determine whether you're 14 or 13? Therefore, there should be mandatory age verification. So I firmly believe that it should be multifaceted and all of these things I've been listening to um other head teachers saying some of the things that the children are being involved in and I believe that if we have all of this implemented many of the in discipline that we face in schools will reduce but I do not want to say that we should totally ban social media platforms.

[00:32:03]>> Misha Al Henry the evening news. The high court today dismissed a challenge filed by a partnership for national unity member of parliament Terrence Campbell against the appointment of members of the teaching service commission. Campbell initiated the legal proceedings in January following the swearing in of the commission's members by President Dr. Uran Ali in December 2025.

[00:32:27]He argued that the points were unconstitutional because they were made without prior consultation with the leader of the opposition. However, in dismissing the application, Justice Demon Young ruled that the absence of an elected leader of the opposition at the time made meaningful consultation as required under article 272D of the Constitution impossible. As a result, the court found that there had been no breach of the constitutional provision. The members appointed to serve on the teaching service commission for the next three years are dud Mati Singh, Shyeran Bjan, Joan Davis Monk House, Lancelot Batis, Sati Jaiser Singh, Ma Prasad and Saddam Hussein.

[00:33:12]Singh, a veteran gy educator was appointed chairperson of the seven member commission. And now for a look at the bridge reports. The Burbese River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on June 20, 2026 at 7 hours 55 for a period of 1 and a half hours.

[00:33:30]McKenzie anchors West Indies select XI innings against Sri Lanka. And GCF National Road Race Championships set for Sunday. These stories and more coming up in this evening's sports cast.

[00:33:46]Heat.

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