| Marketing logs cannot fulfil development plans
The letter by the Forest Products Association (FPA), captioned "Those who demand a total ban on log exports fail to understand the market" (07-06-24), fails to consider other market opportunities that new investors could pursue, namely the lucrative markets for hardwood and bamboo floors, prefabricated houses, wooden doors, furniture and kitchen cabinets, boats, bridges and parts, storage huts, gazebos, and so on. This is in addition to the benefits of restraining deforestation, degradation and other environmental costs that could impact adversely on Guyana's now emerging tourism industry. Guyana needs economic transformation to move it forward as an exporter of manufactured products from its limited stock of hardwood and softwood. Indeed, new directions in granting tax incentives must be charted soonest, with a focus on a network of domestic manufacturing and forestry management capacity development.
Her world of art
Jolly Sally Tun Ghafar Baba hardly looks 56, but this mother of Danial, 23 and Qistina, 17, attributes her zest for life to her happy, close-knit family. Married to insurance consultant Subri Abdullah, she comes from a family of 11 children, but three have passed away. .
Luxury RVs have nothing on Alaska grandeur
On a recent trip up the Parks Highway to Fairbanks, I encountered RVs of such length and girth, one would seemingly need a commercial driver's license to operate them. We're talking massive, tour-bus size RVs that have the turning radius of a battleship and block out almost as much scenery. And the folks inside aren't just packing the kitchen sink anymore. Some of the latest luxury rides feature a microwave/convection oven, a DVD player and flat-screen TVs (note the plural there), full home stereo system, refrigerator with brushed aluminum doors, washer and dryer, cherry wood cabinets, satellite TV dish and satellite internet, leather sofas, recliner, a master bedroom with a queen-sized bed and shower with skylight. I'm not kidding. Most of the above-mentioned amenities are included in a fully equipped 2006 Fleetwood American Tradition, a luxury RV that weighs 45,000 pounds and costs about $150,000 more than my mortgage.
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