Your Critical View of Guyanese News — Saturday, January 17, 2026
Good morning, Guyana! Grab your coffee and buckle up because today’s news is absolutely WILD. We’ve got security guards protecting your provisions with toy guns, the government commissioning another solar farm while GPL blackouts continue their reign of terror, a bank creating special services for rich people (finally, the wealthy were so underserved!), and our women cricketers looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss. Let’s dive in!
🔫 THE TOY GUN SCANDAL: “Armed” Security? More Like “Charmed” Security!
Sources: Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Demerara Waves
| The Facts | The Absurdity Level |
|---|---|
| Security guards caught with airsoft guns at supermarkets | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
| Businesses paying for “armed security” got toy protection | 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 |
| One REAL shotgun found - with serial number filed off | 😱😱😱😱😱 |
| Police called them “8 firearms” - only 1 was real | 📰💀💀💀 |
Here’s the situation: Police conducted “intelligence-led” raids in Sophia and Lusignan and discovered that private security companies have been handing guards AIRSOFT GUNS while charging clients for armed protection.
Let that marinate.
You’re paying premium rates for an armed guard, feeling safe while you shop for your split peas and tennis rolls, and the man at the door is packing a toy gun that couldn’t stop a determined mosquito.
🎯 THE BREAKDOWN:
What Police Found:
- 7 airsoft guns (basically fancy Nerf guns)
- 1 real 12-gauge shotgun with filed-off serial number
- 2 live rounds of ammunition
- 4 arrests including the security company owner
Demerara Waves had the best headline, calling the police “hoodwinked” for boasting about seizing “8 firearms” when experts confirmed seven were literally toy guns.
The Kaieteur editorial didn’t hold back either, calling it “a betrayal of public trust, a deception of clients, and a direct threat to national security.”
Meanwhile, TODAY police found ANOTHER security guard at a Plaisance supermarket with an unlicensed 9mm pistol. So we’ve gone from toy guns to illegal real guns in 48 hours. Progress?
☀️ SOLAR FARM COMMISSIONED AT CHARITY
Sources: Guyana Chronicle, Stabroek News, Kaieteur News
US$8.14M Charity Solar Farm Stats:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 3 MWp |
| Annual Generation | 4,600 MWh |
| CO₂ Offset | 3,500 tonnes/year |
| Fuel Cost Savings | GY$267 million/year |
| Households Served | ~3,500 |
| Battery Storage | 2.25 MW |
The government commissioned the fifth solar farm under the GUYSOL programme at Charity, Essequibo Coast. PM Mark Phillips was there cutting ribbons and talking about “major shifts toward solar-powered electricity.”
This is genuinely good news! Region Two residents will benefit from cleaner, more reliable power.
BUT WAIT — while the government celebrates solar farms, GPL blackouts remain a national sport. The irony of commissioning solar panels while half of Georgetown plays “guess when the current coming back” is not lost on us.
The programme is funded through the Guyana-Norway partnership (US$83.3 million total) and will eventually deliver 33 MWp of solar capacity across Regions 2, 5, 6, and 10.
🏦 GBTI LAUNCHES “PRIVATE BANKING” — Because Regular Banking Wasn’t Exclusive Enough
Source: Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle
GBTI launched its new “private banking” service yesterday, and President Ali was there to explain that it’s “not about stratifying customers or exclusion.”
Narrator: It is absolutely about stratifying customers.
Private banking offers personalized investment advice and “stronger relationships” with your bank. You know, for when you have so much money that regular banking just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Ali described it as “a quiet but significant marker on the road of progress.”
Translation: “We made a special bank service for rich people and we’re calling it progress.”
🏗️ $831 MILLION CAMPBELLVILLE POLYCLINIC TAKING SHAPE
Source: Guyana Chronicle
The new Campbellville Polyclinic, being built at a cost of $831 million, is coming along nicely. When completed, it will replace the old health centre.
No jokes here — this is genuinely needed infrastructure. Georgetown’s healthcare facilities have been crying out for modernization for decades.
One question though: Can we get an update on that $94 million Day and Night Care Facility at Anna Catherina that was commissioned in August 2025 and is STILL not operational? The one with vegetation growing over the fence? Asking for the parents who were promised childcare.
🏏 GUYANA WOMEN VS JAMAICA TONIGHT — Redemption Under The Lights!
Source: Kaieteur News, Windies Cricket
CWI Women’s T20 Blaze — Round 3 Preview
| Match | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Guyana Women vs Jamaica Women | 7:00 PM | Arnos Vale, St. Vincent |
Guyana’s Record So Far:
- Round 1: ✅ Beat Windward Islands by 7 runs
- Round 2: ❌ Lost to Leeward Islands by 7 runs
Our defending champions suffered a “horrific” 7-run loss on Thursday night and need to rebound against a struggling Jamaica side that has lost both their matches.
The Guyanese spinners — Ashmini Munisar and Plaffianna Millington — have been magnificent, while veteran seamer Sheneta Grimmond continues playing her role. Captain Shemaine Campbelle will be looking for more consistency from the middle order.
Jamaica is desperate for a win, but they’ve been dropping catches like they’re allergic to the ball. Stafanie Taylor and Chedean Nation are world-class, but they can’t do everything themselves.
Prediction: Guyana bounces back with a comfortable win. We’ve got too much talent to let the title slip away this early.
📰 QUICK HITS: Other Stories Making Noise
| Story | Source | Hot Take |
|---|---|---|
| Civic & Moral Education now in schools | Chronicle | Finally teaching children about values — maybe some adults should audit the class |
| 85 land titles issued at Onderneeming | Chronicle | Housing distribution continues, but utilities remain the eternal struggle |
| Mashramani 2026 kicks off | Kaieteur | Get ready for costumes, floats, and the annual debate about whether Mash has lost its spirit |
| Trump’s Venezuela moves | Stabroek | Maria Corina Machado still waiting while Trump focuses on oil instead of democracy |
| 13-year-old shot attempting robbery | Stabroek | A heartbreaking story that raises questions about parenting, poverty, and societal decay |
| US pausing immigrant visas for 75 countries | Kaieteur | The diaspora just got more complicated |
🎤 FINAL THOUGHTS
Today’s news reminds us that Guyana is a land of contradictions. We’re building solar farms while blackouts persist. We’re commissioning healthcare facilities while others sit abandoned. We’re paying for armed security and getting toy guns.
But amidst all this, our women cricketers are fighting for regional glory, and there’s something pure about that. Go Guyana! 🏏
The toy gun scandal is genuinely concerning though. If security companies are bold enough to pull this scam, what else is happening under our noses? The government needs to crack down hard, or criminals will start treating “armed” guards like traffic suggestions — completely ignorable.
Stay informed. Stay skeptical. Stay Guyanese.
The Daily Brief is your critical lens on Guyanese news. We read all four papers so you don’t have to — but you probably should anyway.