Issue No: 16

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May 8, 2015

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INSIDE

Weekly Digest & Development DigestRead the Guyanese online @ theguyanese.gy

Pages 2, 5, 31 & 32

Page 4

See story on page 3

PPP/C Rallies

PPP/C 2015 Manifesto realistic, a pact with the people

President Ramotar promises minimum wage increase upon re-election- as hundreds of workers celebrate May Day Page 7

Texila University turns sod for US$20M campus - will complement Guyana’s human capital development thrust – President Ramotar Page 8

- President Ramotar New education institutions commissioned at Good Hope and Lancaster

The massive crowd at the PPPC rally at Bath, West Coast Berbice

2 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPP/C Rallies: Lethem and Bath

Residents of West Coast Berbice were reminded to make

their vote count in order to keep Guyana on it current positive growth path. The

incumbent president and presidential candidate of the PPP/C, Donald Ramo-tar made the call on May 3, as he addressed a massive crowd at the Bath Settle-

ment tarmac.“This May 11 election is

one of great significance”, he said and urged citizens to safeguard the country’s future by ensuring that they

go out on elections day and secure a bright future for Guyana.

“We have delivered in this country, we have been the party of change in this country,” he emphasised.

Speaking of some of his government’s achieve-ments, President Ramo-tar said the administration, over the past 23 years, has moved Guyana from being the poorest country in the western hemisphere to be-ing a middle-income devel-oping country.

According to the Head of State, when the ruling party took up leadership of this country, it was bank-rupt and in debts, but today all of that has changed.

“We are ready to make greater change in our coun-try, to take us forward, so that we can enjoy a high standard of living and none

of our people will want to leave this country again, be-cause they will have a good and happy life right here in Guyana.”

The president, however, acknowledged that in order to create that kind of life for all Guyanese, there is the need for the necessary in-frastructure in order to build a more modern Guyana, and a stronger economy.

“I have all the ameni-ties here and we can push Guyana forward, we will once more make Guyana the most developed country in the Caribbean.”

Already, the Head of State said, steps are be-ing made in that direction as his administration has been making significant investment in its human capital and the results are astonishing.

Having already achieved

Universal Primary Educa-tion, the president said that Guyana is also on the verge of achieving Universal Sec-ondary Education.

In addition, Guyana currently has the highest enrollment rate for nursery schools in the Caribbean and lowest school dropout rates, as well.

The investment in edu-cation, the president said is a deliberate ploy in order to create a highly educated and skilled workforce to at-tract investments locally.

“We will push ahead, and make Guyanese people the most educated people in the Caribbean, so that our country will attract invest-ment here (and) not because of cheap labour, but we will attract investment here be-cause we have a highly edu-cated workforce.”

Tremendous economic potential in Region Nine-President urges residents to prepare for benefits

There is great eco-nomic potential in Region Nine (Upper

Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and the People’s Progres-sive Party Civic (PPP/C), once re-elected will capital-ise on this to raise the stand-ard of living of the region, President Donald Ramotar assured, during a visit to the Rupununi on May 2.

The president was at the time addressing hundreds of people from more than 50 communities in the North, South and Central Rupununi at Rodeo Ground, Lethem, who gathered to meet and show support for a return of the incumbent government at the upcoming polls.

Outlining major devel-opment plans for Guyana and specifically Region Nine, the Head of State urged the people to prepare for the highly skilled jobs and opportunities for eco-nomic ventures that will be created through planned

investments. “The Rupununi and Re-

gion Nine are just micro-cosms of what have been taking place in our country, and over the next five years, we have more plans…Here can become a centre for cre-ating higher paying jobs for our country, and that is why the PPP/C government has focused on preparing people to capitalise, by providing free education from nursery to secondary, and technical education as well, for those who did not complete the formal system,” he said.

On this note, the presi-dent announced that the government will build a technical institute in Re-gion Nine, to equip persons with the necessary technical skills, to provide support services to the expanding and emerging industries.

High on the develop-ment agenda, once his gov-ernment is re-elected, Presi-dent Ramotar said, is the

construction of a Deep Wa-ter Harbour in the Berbice River, and a highway from Lethem to Linden to con-nect Brazil to the existing road network all the way to Berbice “so that Guy-ana can become a maritime

hub, where Brazil and other South American countries can do international trade via Guyana, and we would be able to integrate more with the South American neighbours. That gives us the opportunity to create an

economic free zone that will be able to create a lot of jobs for our people…So we have to prepare our people here in Region Nine, to take the jobs that are coming here,” he said.

He noted that many of

the plans government had for development and to cre-ate jobs for Guyanese were shot down by the political opposition in the National Assembly.

“The last three years continued on page 5

continued on page 5

A section of the large gathering at the PPPC rally at Lethem

We must keep Guyana along its current growth path – President Ramotar tells thousands at Bath rally

President Donald Ramotar, PPPC Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper, and First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar ‎among others on stage at

the PPPC rally at Bath, Region Five

3The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPP/C 2015 Manifesto realistic, a pact with the people - President Ramotar

The pro-people in-cumbent govern-ment has laid out its

platform for the future, out-lining plans to take Guyana forward in another term of governance with what President Donald Ramotar has described as a realistic people-oriented manifesto.

“This launch is not a public relations gimmick. We are not here to buy votes with grand promises or by conjuring illusions of unrealistic futures. We leave those gimmickries to those whose historical record have been one of

promising the Guyanese people the ‘moon and stars’ while their failed policies drove our economy into the ground… the PPP is a historic Party. We have never promised what is beyond our capacity. We have never cultivated false expectations. We have nev-er deceived the Guyanese people. We deliver on our promises. We will deliver what we have promised in this manifesto,” the incum-bent President and Presi-dential Candidate said.

The ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was the first of the six political parties con-testing the May 11 elec-tions to launch its Mani-festo on April 25 at a grand ceremony at the Marriott Guyana hotel. In attend-ance were the architects of the 64-page document en-

titled “Our Vision, Guyana Version 2.0”, dignitaries and supporters from near and far.

“This manifesto is our pact with the Guyanese people. It represents what we stand for and what we commit to doing and achieving for you the Guy-anese people. It details our policies, goals and objec-tives for the next five years, and more importantly, the means through which we are going to achieve these policies, goals and objec-tives,” the President said.

The manifesto propos-

es to propel Guyana’s de-velopment through “world class infrastructure that support our industries and businesses and from which revenues are derived to guarantee our people world class education, superior health care, reliable and af-fordable electricity, water, housing and other social services. It is a Guyana in which our people are unit-ed; in which there is greater social and religious toler-ance. It is a Guyana gov-erned by the rule of law, and in which every citizen can live secure and safely, free from both internal and external threats; a Guyana where everyone can aspire to be the best that they can be.”

The policies and plans contained therein, accord-ing to the President, build on Government’s accom-

plishments, which include “almost a decade of sus-tained and impressive eco-nomic growth rates” which is a remarkable feat given the often hostile and dis-advantageous international economic environment to which Guyana has been subjected, he added. “...be-cause of the PPP/C, Guya-nese can boast about living in a democratic country in which free and fair elec-tions are held on a periodic basis…we have restored this country to financial viability…we have rebuilt the infrastructure. We have

vastly improved its social services. Over the past 23 years, we have given Guy-ana a new lease on life. We have restored hope and dignity and particularly for the young people of Guy-ana, we have rekindled in them the belief that great things are possible for them in this country.”

Speaking to the strate-gies of the manifesto, Ra-motar noted that they are aimed at job creation, eco-nomic growth, income and wealth generation, mod-ernisation, boosting manu-facturing and services, cre-ating economic free zones, ensuring food and energy security and breaking new ground in the provision of environmental services and green growth.

These will be supported through several transform-ative projects, the Head of State explained, including the Amaila Falls Hydro-electric Project; the exten-sion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, con-struction of an all-weather road to Brazil, the build-ing of a bridge across the Corentyne River linking Guyana and Suriname, the construction of a deep wa-ter harbour in Berbice and a new bridge across the Demerara River.

Simultaneously, there

will be an enormous in-vestment in the human cap-ital of the country, as “we will pursue policies and plans aimed at making life materially better for all; paying special attention to children; single parents; our indigenous peoples and the elderly.”

These plans include the completion of specialty hospital within the next five years, a 100-bed ward at the East Bank Regional Hospital, a new hospital at Port Kaituma, comple-tion of the new maternity wing at the Georgetown Public Hospital, a new house visit system with doctors, ensuring every child completes secondary school and transforming the University of Guyana into a world class institu-tion. Also included is a new housing scheme for 10,000 people along the Soesdyke-Linden highway, an additional 5000 turn-key homes, and greater

crime fighting measures. “This will entail provid-ing greater resources, pro-viding emoluments to our lawmen, strengthening our laws to allow for better en-forcement and prosecution, employing technology in intelligence gathering and crime investigation, and reducing the response time by the Police.”

The President indicated that the manifesto also ech-oes his party’s commitment to maintaining internation-ally acceptable standards of governance, as “we are committed to governing justly and fairly, respecting human rights, deepening local democracy, improv-ing transparency and ac-countability and rooting out corruption.”

Describing the docu-ment as comprehensive, President Ramotar noted that it touches on every sector of the country and clearly outlines the ra-tionale behind the plans and polices, “as well as specifics as to how we will achieve our goals and objectives.”

The President observed that the political opposition is now promising people to establish computer labo-ratories in every second-ary and primary school but, “they are living in the past. We have already es-tablished computer labs in every secondary school, and we are well advanced towards doing the same in the primary schools,” as Government takes devel-opment seriously.

President Donald Ramotar, PPPC’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Mrs Elisabeth Harper and Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee

pose with the PPPC’s 2015 Manifesto

A young lady gives President Donald Ramotar a copy of the PPPC’s Manifesto

President Donald Ramotar addressing the gathering at the launch of the PPPC’s 2015 Manifesto

4 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

New education institutions commissioned at Good Hope and LancasterGovernment’s com-

mitment to ensure quality education

be delivered equitably to every child has again been manifested, as the Educa-tion Ministry officially commissioned a nursery and secondary education in-

stitution in Good Hope and Lancaster respectively.

The state-of-the-art nursery school at Good Hope on the East Coast of Demerara was constructed to the tune of $15 million and adds to 56 such facili-ties already existing in Re-gion Four.

The school, which is lo-

cated obliquely opposite the site earmarked for the con-struction of the Good Hope Secondary School, will ac-commodate 150 nursery students residing in the rela-tively new community. It is equipped with spacious class rooms, kitchens, an

administrative department, washroom facilities, and a playground.

Speaking at the com-missioning ceremony on April 29, at Good Hope, Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, emphasised the significance of the event, noting that it is a promise to the nation, to ensure educa-

tion is delivered equitably and in a very strategic man-ner to the nation’s children.

The Chief Education Officer spoke of the min-istry’s plan of action for early child hood education, which incorporates par-ents, who are the key play-ers, to prepare the child for the education system. The ministry has been prepar-ing materials and providing programmes through the Guyana Learning Channel in this regard.

A programme was rolled out throughout the regions, capturing the best pedagogical practices at the earliest level, and accord-ing to Sam, this provides an education foundation that will serve the children for the remainder of their lives and other educational experiences.

“We want to ensure that there is a direct nexus, a link between primary and nurs-ery education, so that there is a seamless transition, and we have thought that through quite extensively, and we are now working to ensure that the transition run smoother,” Sam explained.

He said that the minis-try’s strategic approach has enabled it to provide pri-mary education throughout the length and breadth of Guyana and it is proud of the fact that the percentage of teachers, trained at this level, has increased.

To the parents, he said that they must recognise their role in helping to mould the children into re-ceiving the quality of edu-cation that they deserve. He urged them to visit the school regularly and so de-velop a partnership with the teachers.

These students are in-deed the emerging future leaders, Sam highlighted.

In Guyana, 85% of nurs-ery school aged children are enrolled in schools, the highest enrolment figure in the entire Commonwealth Caribbean, thanks to the ad-ministration’s commitment to ensuring the relevant fa-cilities are accessible.

Meanwhile, as govern-ment continues in its quest to achieve Universal Sec-ondary Education, a new wing was commissioned at the Lancaster Secondary

School, Unity Mahaica, as well.

This extension facili-tates a computer lab outfit-ted with 17 computers and an Industrial Engineering department, to complement the already existing Home Economics and Industrial Technology departments.

At Lancaster, Sam noted that a number of pre-exist-ing schools have been amal-gamated in Region Four and all of the secondary age students from Mahaica to Enmore can access discrete secondary education.

Also, to ensure that the ministry’s mission of at-taining Universal Second-ary Education be achieved in the not so distant future, Sam announced that of the four new secondary schools

to be rolled out over the next three years, Region Four will receive two.

Region Four Chairman, Clement Corlette, lauded the regional officers for their efforts to ensure these two areas were outfitted with the facilities which were very much needed. He said that the nursery school will see the further development of Good Hope and will re-lieve parents from having to travel long distances to take their children to school. He urged the parents to assist in the maintenance of the facility.

Recently, a new $82.3M nursery school was com-missioned at Number 77 Village East Berbice Coren-tyne, built to CARICOM standards.

Lancaster Secondary School located at Unity, Mahaica

The state-of-the-art nursery school at Good Hope

Over 250 art pieces from around the Caribbean were

on displayed for five-days (April 27-May 2) as the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) held the CXC Visual Arts Exhibi-tion at Castellani House, Homestretch Avenue.

The exhibition show-cased art pieces such as paintings, craft, sculptures and journals, which were submitted by CXC candi-dates across the Caribbean and judged for their out-standing quality.

The CXC Visual Art Exhibition has become an annual feature on the cal-endar of CXC. In 2004 Guyana became the first country outside of the CXC home territories of Barba-

dos and Jamaica to host the CXC Visual Arts Exhibi-tion, which was held at the National Centre for Edu-cation Resource Develop-ment (NCERD).

Guyana also hosted the launch of Caribbean Ad-vanced Proficiency Exami-nation (CAPE) Agriculture Science at the Theatre Arts Guild in May 2014.

Assistant Registrar, Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Cleveland Sam noted that Guyana’s pivotal role in CXC can-not be overstated, but more importantly the hosting of these activities highlights the excellent working re-lationship Guyana shares with the CXC.

“Without such relation-ship, it would be impossi-ble for CXC to accomplish its goals, execute its work

programmes and serve the region the way it does,” he said.

Through the exhibition, the CXC administration is highlighting and publiciz-ing the creative works of Caribbean Secondary Edu-cation Certificate (CSEC) Visual Arts students from around the region. This is to expose students in the host country to what CXC examiners consider to be ‘Art’ of a high standard and to promote the visual arts as a feasible career choice while at the same time pro-moting CSEC Visual Arts as a subject.

Currently, Cleveland said, the Council offers Vis-ual Arts, Music and Thea-tre Arts at the CXC Level with Arts and Design at the CAPE Level. In September of 2014, the council fur-

ther introduced performing Arts with Option of Music, Cinematic Arts, Dance and Drama at the CAPE Level.

Cleveland said the Vis-ual Arts syllabus of CXC, like all other subjects en-compasses all three domin-ions of learning: Cognitive, Affective and Psychomo-tor. This subject covers the history of art, elements and principles of design and practical skills.

Chief Education Of-ficer, Olato Sam, expressed appreciation to the Council for giving Guyana the op-portunity to host the exhibi-tion at an opportune time in the country’s history.

He said that “despite the country’s dominance in other areas with regard to the regional assessment, it is our intention to be domi-nant in every single aspect

of education in this coun-try; visual arts certainly will be no exception.”

He said that this exhi-bition will be visualised as an aspiration for students in Guyana to attain an even greater level of achieve-ments in this area.

Sam noted that over the years, the number of stu-dents opting for visual arts at the CXC level has been increasing tremendously. However the ministry has recognised that there are a few challenges in the as-

sessment process, hence, with the exposure of this exhibition, he said that teachers and students will be able to better understand the quality of work done by students which are on display.

The exhibition he noted “goes just beyond the work of our students in rela-tion to visual arts, it really speaks of how we as a Car-ibbean people can actually improve in our offerings with regard to arts and its value for life.”

Guyana hosts CXC’s visual arts exhibition after 11 years

Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam and Technical Assistant to the Minister of Education and

Coordinator of the School Boards Secretariat Melcita Bovell viewing one of the displays

5The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPP/C Rallies: Lethem and Bathhas not been easy in our country. Every major plan we had, the opposition cut. Never one day did they use their majority of seats to help build schools, or roads or help develop our society. All they did was cut, cut, cut!” he said. He added that the cuts were deliberately aimed at stymieing progress and making the govern-

ment’s task difficult. Among the plans af-

fected was the hydro pow-er project, which would have accelerated Guyana’s

growth by providing cheap energy and, “that is why we had identified the Amaila Falls as one of the areas that we should generate electric-ity from. We are also look-ing at other hydro electric possibilities,” he said.

The president disclosed that government, in collabo-ration with Brazil, is explor-ing other possibilities for

hydro electricity in Guyana, and at present, feasibility studies are being conducted to locate other areas of op-portunities. He told the resi-

dents that the power lines for the hydro project will “pass through here and you will get power and we will be able to sell excess power to Brazil. That will allow us to develop our country to become a manufacturing country, and that will give us thousands of new jobs so that our people would have greater opportunities to earn a decent salary and make a living.”

He noted that in spite of the anti-developmental thrust of the political op-position, the government managed to have an average growth of five per cent year-ly. He also noted that gov-ernment is trying to build the capacity of the work force, so that the country could attract high end in-vestments based on its high-ly skilled people, and not on the basis of cheap labour as is common in many devel-oping countries. Important to the Region and coun-try’s development as well, the president indicated, are value added products and hence, he assured Region Nine that the administra-tion is working to put the infrastructure in place, so that “we can turn our agri-

cultural products into more industrial produce. We can transform cassava from the staple you eat, and also use it to make fuel…We want to produce new crops to broad-en the base of the economy and increase our yield per acre, thereby increasing production. The savannah could capitalise on crops such as soya beans and corn and support stock feed for the livestock industry…The infrastructure we are putting in could allow us in a very short time to develop.”

Speaking about local development, the president said that government plans to bridge the Kurupukari crossing and connect the entire Rupununi via roads, as well as to Region Eight. This will not only make travel easier and less time consuming, but cheaper.

Residents were told of his optimism that Guyana will find oil from the cur-rent exploration activities, which will make the task of development less challeng-ing, and earn Guyana more money to spend on its peo-ple and “a lot of resources we need to accelerate de-velopment across these villages.”

Seeking their support at the May 11 polls, the presi-dent said, “The votes are in your hands,” and urged that they reflect of the progress under the incumbent gov-ernment and use their votes to continue this trend.

Minister of Foreign Af-fairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett also noted that there has been much progress for Amerindians under this government, including the allocation of the entire month of September to pro-mote their culture. She said there are now numerous schools in Region Nine, es-pecially secondary schools, since in the past there was a single secondary school at St. Ignatius.

“This shows we are se-rious about Amerindian de-velopment and that includes culture, preserving and pro-moting it,” she said. The PPP/C has a proud record in office, while the opposition shies away from the past be-cause of its 28-year record that left Guyana beaten and wounded, she said.

Prime Ministerial Can-didate for the PPP/C Elisa-beth Harper also pointed to the progress and strong leadership under this party

for Amerindians, noting that once re-elected, the gov-ernment would ensure all activities aimed at Amerin-dian development and pre-serving and promoting their culture will receive support.

She also promised to ensure that the legal frame-work will be in place and enforced to ensure the protection of the rights of women, the elderly, chil-dren and persons living with disabilities.

Speaking to young peo-ple, she noted that Guyana is growing, and there will be many opportunities for them to stay here and capi-talise, as government is working to put measures in place to create more jobs. These include further fa-cilitating micro enterprise developments and amend-ing the Small Business Act to encourage such ventures and give greater protection to small entrepreneurs.

Other speakers spoke of the many achievements for the region under the cur-rent government, especially improvements in the social services and increased focus on training for professionals such as teachers and medi-cal staff.

President Donald Ramotar holds aloft the cup, specially made by a Region Nine resident

All these and more are necessary for a fully mod-ernised state, as he pointed out that his administration will be looking at new in-dustries, including oil and gas, and Guyana’s becom-ing a maritime hub for the Caribbean and South America.

Mention was also made of the deep-water harbour in the Berbice River, the paved Linden to Lethem Road and the bridge across the Corentyne River, which will all create endless pos-sibilities for trade and job creation for all Guyanese, when these come on stream.

“But more than that, we will create right here in this area, an economic zone, where jobs will be created, more and more jobs will be

created for people of our country, and in particular, people of Regions Five and Six.”

Speaking to agriculture, the president stated that his government has committed over the next five years, to support the sugar industry, with some $20B, to ensure its viability.

At the same time, he said that emphasis would be placed on finding new rev-enue streams for the sugar industry, which has been experiencing difficulties in recent years.

There are also plans in place to aid the rice indus-try, and farmers of other non-traditional crops.

“We are also working with the Surinamese so that we can drive all the

way to Paramaribo. There again that bridge (across the Corentyne River to which both Guyana and Suriname have committed to build-

ing) will create new oppor-tunities for our people.”

However, going for-ward, in order to make these plans come to fruition, the

president noted that come May 11, citizens must make their vote count.

President Ramotar ex-plained that over the past

three years, Guyana’s progress was held back, because of the one seat majority in the National Assembly, but in order for Guyana to go forward, the situation must be changed.

The president spoke at length of the cuts to the national budgets over the past three years, totalling $89 B and which saw some major developmental plans, including the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Power pro-ject, the Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport expansion, and the Specialty Hospital being affected.

“Stand by us and let us take our country forward, and let us realise the full potential and opportunities that we know of,” the presi-dent urged the huge crowd.

Tremendous economic potential in Region Nine... from page 2

We must keep Guyana along its current growth path... from page 2

President Donald Ramotar addressing the huge gathering at Bath tarmac, Region Five

6 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

EDITORIAL

Editor-In-Chief: Shanta GobardhanEditor: Henry Singh

Editorial: 592 227 0773Web: www.gina.gov.gy

Facebook: GINAEmail: ginagovgy@gmail.com

Area ‘B’ Homestretch Avenue, Durban Backlands, Georgetown,Guyana

“Change !” What for?

“GUYANA 2.0” poises government for great take off;

offers more to Guyanese

Letter to the Editor

Email letters to: ginagovgy@gmail.com

As would be expected, the launching of the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) Manifesto, “Guyana 2.0” has elicited the expected comments and criti-cisms from chiefly the political coalition, and up to the time of writing, a few of

the usual critics. There was also a private media that sub-captioned “seeks to keep old promises in new manifesto.”

As a reminder, a manifesto, in plain simple language, is a declarative list of intentions as pertaining to programmes, policies, which a government, or political party intends to pursue for country and people.

For an opposition party, seeking office, it is an attempt to highlight programmes which it discerns are relative to perceived problems, while hoping for voter appeal to the body politic.

For an incumbent government, though, it is often a continuation of what it has initi-ated either from its previous term or those prior, advancing those programmes to a higher level. But, there are also new facets of those very programmes, and new ones, that are added for greater development. And this is what the PPP/C MANIFESTO is about. It is about continuing Guyana’s socio-economic progress.

Any Guyanese, residing in Guyana since 1992, and having followed Guyana’s socio-economic pattern since, would agree that the PPP/C government’s development strategy has centred on programmes for alleviating poverty, advancing these to the level where persons would gradually be removed from that stratum to one of individual self-sus-tainability; restoration and building of vital social infrastructure for delivery of quality services to citizens; creating conditions for both domestic and foreign investments, to invest in Guyana’s socio-economic development, while introducing and encouraging the growth and development of new and emerging sectors.

Examine our annual budgets, and one will observe, for example, the exponential sums invested in vital areas such as education, health, housing, roads and bridges. Trace the yearly steps of improvement in each of these sectors as they impacted positively on national development. Each year’s investment not only advanced development, but also deepened the process.

And so it is with the programmes outlined in GUYANA 2.0 – Guyana is set for the great take off!

Of course, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project is a priority, because of the very significant, impacting influences that it will have on alternative sources of energy, the expansion of the manufacturing sector, and the industrialization of Guyana. Surely, which constituent, regardless of political affiliation, that would not support such a process, especially since he/she will be the beneficiary of greatly reduced charges for monthly energy usage?

These have been the cornerstone of Guyana’s development process, since 1992, that has resulted in the astounding transformation process that has propelled Guyana into the category of middle income economies. Not even those erstwhile critics can dare deny that Guyana has not changed for the better!

So here we are on the threshold of another national electoral poll, and another PPP/C MANIFESO, which outlined programme speaks of great things in store for Guyana – such as eliminating poverty; a country that will boast modern industries, and competi-tiveness of goods; becoming linked to the rest of the world because of our markets; improving the lives of our elderly and retired, an area that indeed needs more attention; providing first world health care and educational services to Guyanese, and advancing technical education for the benefit of the skills oriented; and of course, remedying ter-tiary education. Coupled those with Guyana becoming a model for cultural and religious intolerance; and an international leader for a green economy, in a country where there is unity, regardless of gender, race, or religious affiliation.

This is just a microcosm of the main policies/programmes that are in store for a bet-ter Guyana, and a better people.

Every Guyanese, who loves his/her country, and has experienced the benefits of what our country has offered since 1992, under the PPP/C government, should support such a grand plan of making Guyana GREAT.

Dear Editor,What an election cam-

paign this has been, thus far, as it heads into the homestretch of what has already been labelled as the “Mother” of all national elections.

I am of a matured age, where I can attest to having recall polls as way back as 1957. That of 1961, was as similar to that of 1957, except that the hand of the Western powers had been plain enough with their heavy saturation of the communist hysteria that was aimed at the Peoples Progressive Party led by the working class giant, Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Recalling the poll of 1964, it was one in which the system of Proportional Representation was con-trived to facilitate a coali-tion between the Forbes Burnham – led People’s Na-tional Congress (PNC) par-ty and the Peter D’Aguiar – led United Force party. But even though this new electoral procedure had been employed, the PPP still secured the highest number of seats, followed by the PNC, and the UF.

Thereafter, Guyana sank into the nightmare of a dictatorship that extirpat-ed all of our human rights

as Guyanese, with rigged elections, becoming the ugly face of a government that was soon to face a civil rebellion.

Now, for objectivity, one cannot describe elec-tions that were rigged, and which did not reflect the will of the people, as a con-stitutional exercise in the true spirit and letter of the process. Those polls were mockeries of citizens’ right to their free choice of elec-toral representatives and trampling underfoot of the democratic process.

Absolutely, those from 1992 onwards have indeed, reflected the choice of the Guyanese nation, thus it is in this same vein that the most important national polls since those of the mentioned year in this par-agraph, is being held.

Surely, all of us will have to decide whether we want to progress further with the national transfor-mation now underway; or, to have such a programme that has benefitted so many tens of thousands, come to a halt, and return to ground zero. Let us think seriously, beginning from the homes many of us would have

required; the purchase of a motor vehicle that was once the privilege of the well to do, and the acqui-sition of material worth that so many can now af-ford. There is a reality that should be accepted by some sections of our na-tion, even if grudgingly, and it is - Guyana has made tremendous strides since 1992, and in a pro-cess of renewal that would amaze even those who have been domiciled con-tinuously, here.

Anyone, who says otherwise, can only be described as grudging. Thus, amidst, the call for “change”, echoed by the other side of the political aisle, those listening had better be careful. For they must understand clearly, that such calls, are just plain rhetoric. Their first question, ought to be, in re-sponse – Change to what?

Are they prepared to fritter away all the gains garnered over these years, for the unknown? Un-known! Not really, for those of a matured age can recall what it used to be, before 1992.

Karen Afshar

A resounding victory for the PPP/C

Dear Editor,It is evident that the

Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has done its groundwork very well, in terms of seeking to remedy the reversals it suffered at the 2011 polls. And if the opposition coalition believes that such will be repeated, then it has a very rude awakening, come May 11.

The mammoth crowds at Albion and at Essequibo

signal that the party sup-porters have returned to the fold, and are prepared to give their party a re-sounding victory on Elec-tions Day.

I am sure that the po-litical opposition parties, particularly the A Partner-ship for National Unity (APNU), are having sec-ond thoughts, maybe re-grets, that they allowed the Alliance for Change (AFC) to lead them into

supporting the now infa-mous plan to remove the PPP/C from government, by way of a no-confidence vote. It was as stupid, as it was asinine.

But, the die is already cast; May 11 is fast ap-proaching, and with that a resounding defeat for a coalition that believes its mere coming together is enough to defeat the PPP/C government.

Ali Jones

7The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

“As long as the econo-my increases, as long as our country contin-

ues to grow, I can promise you that we will increase the minimum wage.”

This is the assurance of Head of State, Don-ald Ramotar to workers on May Day (May1), as many of them gathered at

the National Park for the Labour Day Rally 2015 after marching in solidar-ity under the theme, “Unite for continued Progress and Development.”

At present, Guyana’s minimum wage is $202 per hour, $1616 per day, $8080 per week and $35,000 per month. This minimum wage came into effect in July 2013, and applies to workers across the board in both the public and pri-vate sectors. Thousands of workers, including domes-tic workers and security guards, benefitted from this minimum wage. Govern-ment has moved Guyana’s economic status from a highly indebted poor coun-try to a low middle income country and, “we are work-ing towards developed sta-tus and taking the leading position in the Caribbean…now is the time for you [workers] to give us your solidarity so that we can take our country forward and make it one of the best countries in the world.”

The President noted that his Government has always been pro-people and consistent increases in wages and salaries and sev-eral non-salaried benefits are some of the ways in which they have addressed workers’ welfare.

“The PPP/C Govern-ment is a working class Government, and from the very inception we have worked to improve the conditions of the working people of our country. We have brought more legis-lation that have served to strengthen workers’ rights and offer protection to our

working people,” he said.Guyana is signatory to

more International Labour Organisation (ILO) Con-ventions than any other Caribbean country.

Expressing Govern-ment’s concerns about workers’ quality of life, the Head of State said, “every year the minimum increase Cabinet gave was five percent even when our economy grew by four and a half percent so that as our economy grows you too can benefit from the development, and we have managed to keep down the inflation rate. In 2013 our inflation rate was the lowest in post-independent Guy-ana.” This he said ensures that the value of wages and salary remains real.

“We have also expand-ed the tax threshold to allow you to keep more money in your pockets. When we came to office, it was only $6000 a month, $72,000 a year. Today it’s $50,000 a month. That will allow you to have a far greater amount of money or as the economists say disposable income .”

Other initiatives to re-lieve workers of hardships include highly subsidised social services. “We have delivered heavily on non-wage benefits,” the presi-

dent said. He added that Government provides chil-dren in the public school system with free text and exercise books, school uniform, transportation, meals and accommodation in some cases and more re-cently a $10,000 cash grant for each child.

“We are now able to

provide better health ser-vices free of cost to people of our country. We have been able to take that ex-pense from you, as well so that you will have more money in your pocket,” he said.

Each houselot given to people is also heav-ily subsidised, and govern-ment has given persons a chance to own their homes and stop squatting. This he said, “allows people to live in dignity. We also improve your old age pensions which is non-contributory, which was $300 per month and you had to go through a means test. Today it’s $13,200 a month, and your only qualification is if you meet the age of 65.”

He said government will continue this path in the interest of workers, but it is necessary to build the economy to create more jobs and support social services. In this context, the President noted that cheaper electricity is es-sential and government is pursuing this through the Amaila Falls Hydro elec-tric project, which “will not only provide cheap energy, but many jobs. When we win the elections, I want to promise you, we will bring the Amaila Falls project to fruition.” He noted that

this project could see Guy-ana becoming an indus-trial manufacturing country “and we will be able to cre-ate thousands more jobs.”

The President also as-sured rice and sugar work-ers of Government’s com-mitment to ensure the viability and profitability of the industries to secure their jobs. “Sugar needs to re-organise and govern-ment must transform the industry…We have already committed ourselves that we will spend a minimum of $20 billion,” the Presi-dent said. He added that his Government has no in-tention of privatising the industry, but it is depend-ing on workers to produce more effectively. He dis-closed that Government is “working to have new rev-enue streams for the indus-try” including producing ethanol.

He also told workers that the prospects for jobs in the mining industry are high as “very soon two new gold mines will start oper-ating that will employ hun-dreds of persons.”

According to President Ramotar, “we are very op-timistic that very soon our country will join that elite group of countries to be an oil and gas producer,” adding that currently Gov-

ernment is looking at new areas with the potential for job creation, including new ventures in tourism.

The rally hosted under the umbrella union, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), saw participa-

tion from workers attached to NAACIE, GAWU and GLU.

Former President of the GTUC, Ms. Gillian Burton called on all the Unions to unite and urged women to speak up and call for unity.

“The time has come to put aside differences and be united,” she said.

According to President of GAWU and the first Vice President of FITUG, Komal Chand, “most re-grettably, another May Day is here and despite the con-tributions of two prominent Caribbean Trade Unionists, we have still not achieved Trade Union unity. We in the FITUG see the need for a strong militant trade union movement,” he said, adding that FITUG is looking at a model from Trinidad to pursue a unit-ed course. He said it was unity that resulted in the observance of Labour Day, which was started in 1889, even though the high point of workers’ struggle was in 1886 in Chicago where striking workers were met with lawmen’s violence. They were convicted dur-ing trials and eight of them later executed. He also noted that this Labour Day offers an opportunity to reflect on workers’ strug-gles throughout history

and to be vigilant against forces and governments of today that do not esteem workers’ welfare and who neglect the provision of social services for work-ing class people. Speaking about Guyana, he noted that following the 2011

elections, the “smooth flow of governance was clearly affected,” as development projects were either stalled or stopped in the National Assembly and “hundreds of jobs denied” because of budget cuts. As the pending elections near, Chand said the union is “looking for-ward to pro -working and people’s policies from the elected Government.”

Addressing the work-ers, President of FITUG and Guyana’s first Trade Union, the Guyana Labour Union, Carvil Duncan said that this is a crucial May Day, that offers an oppor-tunity to examine the past, plan for the future and rem-inisce on mistakes. Speak-ing to the issue of trade un-ion leaders being involved in politics, he noted that it was Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, the founding father of trade unions in Guyana who in 1905 made the point that whatever has to be achieved has to be done through the legislative assembly.

He noted that the divi-sion was caused by leaders and not workers, but “We need unity, but unity could only be achieved if we all are together,” he said, add-ing that much more could be achieved for workers in unity rather that division.

Labour Day is an an-nual observance on May 1 in Guyana and features workers of various unions marching along city streets in solidarity before culmi-nating to hear from their leaders. FITUG’s rally was held at the National Park.

President Ramotar promises minimum wage increase upon re-election - as hundreds of workers celebrate May Day

Singing ‘Solidarity Forever’ at the May Day Rally. From left Minister Clem-ent Rohee, PPPC's Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper, Prime

Minister Samuel Hinds and President Donald Ramotar

A section of the gathering at the May Day 2015 rally at the National Park

8 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Texila University turns sod for US$20M campus Investors continue to

show their confidence in Guyana’s grow-

ing economy with the lat-est being Texila Ameri-can University, which on April 27 broke ground at the construction site for its new US$20M campus at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

President Donald Ra-motar turned the sod at the site and unveiled a bill-board of the architect’s de-sign for the new campus, in the company of Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, Founder and Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of Texila, Mr. S.P Saju Bhaskar; Vice President of International Operations, Mr Ashok Ku-mar, Director of Planning and Development, Neil Prashad, and Dr. Maria Declaro.

The President noted that there are two perspectives to this latest development project, as “We can see it as a new type of tourism; education tourism that is important for the economy and an investment in our country which once again demonstrates the confi-dence that investors have reposed in our country over the past years, and we have attracted quite a lot of lo-cal and foreign investors so that our country can move forward.”

Texila University start-

ed in Guyana four years ago with seven students, and today has about 435 from several countries, including Guyanese. It has an aca-demic staff of about 100.

The President said that the project, which is ex-pected to be completed within a year’s time, will complement Guyana’s hu-man capital development thrust, which is critical to taking the country from a developing to developed country status.

“This project itself is particularly pleasing to me since we in the PPP/C, we strongly believe that the important factor for de-velopment is the quality of people we have, and in that regard education plays a very important role, and Texila University will not only be brining students from abroad, they have also local students that are here and will come to study in the future and that is ex-tremely important for us because it will help us to lift our standard and make more accessible, possibili-ties of education for our young people and our peo-ple at large.”

The President said that universities such as Texila’s would further sup-port Government’s drive to deliver highly specialised and higher quality of health services, such as those that

will be provided by the Speciality Hospital that a new PPPC Government plans to build.

“That would be another investment that the gov-ernment would be putting in that will create another form of tourism, health tourism,” the President. Health tourism plays a big role in India’s development and would augur well for Guyana, he added.

“We believe that it will offer us a possibly to deliver world class services to our people to give them access to services that they could not afford or cannot afford now and to help them to live even longer. Over the years we have extended life expectancy in the period of the PPP/C Government

from about 58 years to now close to 70 years, and as we go forward, I expect that age will rise and the need for such a university will become even greater and this campus will play im-portant role in helping us to train our own Guyanese to man many of these areas,” the Head of State said.

He committed his Government’s support to guarantee the project’s successful completion, “to ensure rapid development so that we can be known right across the world as a country that is very very strong in producing quality students that can be trusted with their work…”

Minister Ali also noted that the project will have tremendous benefits for

Guyana, as educational tourism has shown to be successful in many coun-tries, such as Grenada with the St. George’s Medical University. He explained that there are economic benefits to gain, as well for Guyana because of the spending power of foreign students. He noted that Government is negotiat-ing with three other simi-lar institutions to establish a presence in Guyana.

“In a small population like ours we have to find

innovative ways of creat-ing the avenues to attract higher demand for what we produce, and that is why I think this university will bring tremendous benefits to us”.

He also noted that the new facility is being situ-ated in a well thought out plan of urban spread along the East Bank corridor that will be linked to the East Coast corridor.

“Where this facility is located you will see on the left hand side the Qualfon campus that will employ 6000 Guyanese when in full operation, on the right hand side nursing homes to international standards being constructed, you would see a modern mall on the entrance to this road. You will see communities structured among middle income homes, low income

homes and lower middle in-come home and why is this important? It is important so that the lower middle income family can benefit from the equity value that the higher earning family and the gated community bring to the development spread in the area. This means that the asset value of a low income family im-mediately moves up from $100,000- the cost of the land, to $4-5 million. So we are empowering people and improving their asset base and this gives them greater access to liquidity.”

The minister noted that this is in addition to the ICT Park that will make Guyana the most important player in this area in this part of the world. “I believe strongly that educational tourism will play an integral part in our tourism product,” he said. There is need to pre-pare for this global change in the legislative arena, he added.

Established in Guyana in 2010, Texila American University (TAU) offers programmes in its campus for pre-medicine, Doc-tor of Medicine, Doctor of Dentistry and Bachelors in Nursing. It offers clinical rotation for its medical stu-dents in the United States, Philippines and Guyana.

President Donald Ramotar, Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce Irfaan Ali, and Texila

University’s Officials turn the sod for the univer-sity’s new campus at Providence

- will complement Guyana’s human capital development thrust – President Ramotar

Proof that “Guyana – South America Undiscovered” is fast becoming the des-

tination of choice for visitors the world over, the Ministry of Tour-ism and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) have reported a record high of 46,369 arrivals in the first quarter, or a13.9 per-cent increase over last year’s first quarter arrivals.

“It is clear that the country’s interest in tourism is very ag-gressive at this moment. This steady increase is testimony to the continued investment in the country’s tourism sector and the

aggressive marketing strategies used,” Tourism Industry and Commerce Minister (ag), Irfaan Ali explained.

The United States (US) re-mained at the top market for a share of 39 % of the total tour-ist arrivals during first quarter of this year, while visitors from the Caribbean accounted for 24 % of the total arrivals.

Director of the GTA, Mr. In-dranauth Haralsingh attributed the increase in arrivals from Cen-tral and South America, account-ing for 15% of total market share, to the boost in air lift from Con-

viasa, Copa Airlines and Insel Air, and the marketing initiatives of the GTA, THAG and the Pri-vate Sector.

He explained, “Conviasa continues flying to Guyana from Venezuela, Insel Air has also commenced flights direct from the Dutch Caribbean. In addition, with the introduction of direct flights by COPA we have seen an increase in airlift to Guyana.”

The third and fourth biggest generating markets were Canada and Europe with 13% and 6% respectively.

The current year-to-date

(January to March 2015) sum-mary indicates that visitor arriv-als increased by 26.1% with a total of 18,464 visitors compared with 14,648 for the same period in 2014.

According to the GTA Direc-tor, these figures can be attributed to the fact that Guyana continues to attract more international rec-ognition through films and docu-mentaries; the country has main-tained attendance at key travel and trade shows and the fact that the Guyana Tourism Author-ity has intensified its marketing strategies; Haralsingh noted too

that Guyana is also in talks with more reputable airlines.

“This is a tangible return on our investments,” he pronounced.

It is evident from the figures and the overall trends that visi-tor arrivals keep climbing, and according to Minister Ali, it is expected to continue along this trajectory; he noted too that the growth in the sector will be sup-ported by several major invest-ments including the recently opened Marriott Hotel, and the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport among many others.

Tourist arrivals up by 13.9% in first quarter

9The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Cheaper electricity, more commercial banks, less red tape - President promises business community The prospects of do-

ing business in Guy-ana are likely to get

better with the return of the Donald Ramotar led government after the May 11, 2015 elections, as the incumbent Head of State told members of the busi-ness community of sev-eral planned initiatives that will increase the ease with which business is done here.

President Ramotar was at the time addressing members of the Guyana Manufacturing and Ser-vices Association (GSMA) at a luncheon hosted for the PPP/C Presidential Candi-date and President Incum-bent to interact with GSMA members at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston on April 22.

He said once re-elected his administration will en-sure the red tape be cut out and bureaucracy is mini-mised so that business de-cisions could be finalised with greater speed.

In this modern environ-ment, Information, Com-munication and Technolo-gy (ICT) has “a tremendous role to play. We will liber-alise the ICT sector, he said adding that “Government has no intention of going into competition with com-panies in the business, but we have to create social bandwidth.” The President said the enabling legisla-tion was presented to the National Assembly, but it “is lying in parliament. That’s another bill I ap-pealed to the opposition to talk about when I pro-rogued the parliament.”

More banking licences President Ramotar sig-nalled his government’s in-tention to facilitate further competition in the banking sector with the issuance of additional licences for the operation of commercial banks in Guyana.

“Since 1990s we have not given any commer-cial bank licence because economy was small…But my intention is to issue more commercial banking licences in the future once I’m re-elected. I think that

is important because even though the banking sector has done really well, and they work very closely with us on many projects, I still detect some form of con-servatism. We will search for reputable banks, to try to bring them to Guyana and I hope this will help the private sector greatly be-cause by stimulating more competition in this area I expect that the interest rate spread will come down considerably in the inter-est of the private sector,” he said.

The President noted that government has not ruled out the creation of devel-opment banks, but at this time in the economy it’s not

affordable and hence, gov-ernment is looking at alter-natives to provide greater financing for entrepreneurs, particularly those invest-ing in micro and medium enterprises. He said Gov-ernment will relook at the experience of micro credit through the Women of Worth (WoW) programme and the mechanism in place to have affordable housing loans, which are partner-ship initiatives with com-mercial banks because “we want to extend that experience to other sec-tors to stimulate small and medium size enterprises to grow…We will be using more fiscal measures that we believe can serve the same purpose until we are able to set up the specialise type institution, such as de-velopment bank,” he said.

Cheaper electricity

Critical to this modern business environment and stimulating the economy, the president noted is cheaper electricity. “The need to have cheap energy in our society is extremely important,” he noted, add-ing that the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project was a very well thought out pro-ject that would have saved Guyana about $3 billion from the Treasury over 20 years “…so to say that they (opposition) opposed it be-cause of debt is a total mis-representation…we would have been buying power from them at half of what we are generating power at this point in time and that is why I want to assure you

that when elected again on May 11, I will pursue the Amaila Falls hydro project, and hopefully I will work very hard to start building it before the end of this year,” he said.

The president also noted that there is need to modernise the country’s in-frastructure to prepare for the future and this is one of the reasons why Govern-ment is expanding the air-port, supporting first-class facilities like the Marriott hotel, pursuing cheaper freight cost, an impressive road network to enhance transportation access and speed, and hoping to build a deep water harbour in Ber-bice. This harbour will not be at the expense of the ex-isting harbour in Demerara.

“(The) Demerara har-bour will always be im-portant. Demerara harbour cannot and would not be

de-emphasised in any way, but clearly we need a new deep water harbour to deal with the new type of mari-time trade taking place,” he said. This is especially per-tinent in light of the expan-sion of Panama Canal and the possibility of a new ca-nal being dug in Nicaragua. He added that the Caribbe-an is already preparing for these developments with Jamaica now building a new deep water facility and Cuba already owning one.

“We have a distinct ad-vantage in the sense that we are both a Caribbean and South American country,” he said which is ripe for Guyana to become a mari-time hub.

“When you think of the spin off benefits that could accrue you would see how…it could be to the private sector, government and country as a whole, we could export and import in larger volumes.”

Skilled workforceThe country’s success, both in the private and public sectors is heavily depend-ent, the president noted, on the development of a highly skilled workforce and that is the reason be-hind the “human capital in-vestment we are making.” He noted that over the next five years, his government would review and re-align the education system to better equip people with the skills needed for Guyana’s development.

The president noted that government will pur-sue means to ensure that

secondary education is the minimum level of educa-tion, and those who are so inclined will be continu-ously trained through the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT), which provides tech-nical training and certifica-tion for thousands of youths and single parents annually in various technical skills.

Security The president acknowl-edged that security is a burning issue for the pri-vate sector and pointed to the 15-point plan he recent-ly outlined to curb crime and boost security. Among the issues is the need to re-duce the length of time it takes the police to respond to an emergency call. The president shared the find-ings of a study from the University of Vanderbilt on security in Latin America and the Caribbean, which found that Guyana has the second lowest experience of crimes in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nev-ertheless, the president agreed there is need to deal with security fears and his government is continuously addressing this concern.

Taxes Speaking about economic challenges the president urged the gathering to be weary of promises from the opposition of “freeness” and cutting taxes because “it will take us back to an experience we already had in this country. It will create a bigger deficit, it will cre-ate higher inflation rate and it will create exchange rate instability,” the president said.

The government’s re-sponse would have to be to raise the interest rates. He cautioned that this will af-fect macroeconomic stabil-ity and “our worst critics will agree with us that we have been very responsible with the macro stability of our country. We want to maintain our macroeco-nomic policy to have stabil-ity in our country,” he said.

Government has al-ready cut several taxes and will continuously review

the tax system to further re-duce them in a responsible way.

He noted that should the current oil exploration activities reap positive re-sults, then this will be good news for tax reductions.

Guyana is appreciative of the private sector’s con-tribution to development inspite of local and inter-national challenges and in turn the government is committed to facilitating maximum returns and en-suring the environment is more conducive to growth and prosperity, he said.

Private sector “I would like to acknowl-edge the tremendous role that the private sector has played and is playing in Guyana development and the achievements economi-cally that we have made in spite at times very unfa-vourable international eco-nomic situation and an op-position that seem intent on holding our country back. Thank you for the optimism and confidence that you have shown and the hun-dreds of entrepreneurs who took risks, raised financing and invested in projects to create jobs and today are earning deserved returns on their investment,” he said.

The president noted that government and the private sector have worked on sev-eral documents that outline a framework for growth and development, includ-ing the National Develop-ment Strategy (1997), the National Competitiveness Strategy and collaborative-ly worked on events such as the business summit and the National Economic Forum and these have “helped to craft policies that we have pursued and have helped us to successfully navigate the situation we have faced internationally”.

Members of the GMSA raised several concerns with the president including questions about his gov-ernment’s plan to address perceived corruption, con-cessions for the business community, taxation, and plans for tourism and gov-ernment’s policy on energy.

President Donald Ramotar addressing members of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GSMA) at a luncheon at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston

10 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Guyana‘s ability to respond to emergencies boosted

- as US$1.2M Emergency Operations Centre commissioned The Emergency Oper-

ations Centre (EOC) located at Timehri

was officially handed over to Secretary of the Defence Board and National Disas-ter Coordinator, Dr. Roger Luncheon who along with Lieutenant Commander Robert Novotny, Com-mander U.S. Military Li-aison Office unveiled the plaque to commission the facility.

The US$1.2 state-of-the-art facility is intended to serve as the Alternate National Emergency Op-erations Centre for emer-gency management. It was constructed within the confines of the Guyana Defence Force Base Camp Stephenson at Timehri, ad-jacent to the Disaster Re-sponse Warehouse which provides storage and distri-bution of relief supplies.

Guyana is in the pro-cess of developing a sys-tem of regional EOC, and has recently completed the development of regional standard operating proce-dures for emergency man-agement throughout the country.

The US Southern Com-mand Civil Military Assis-tance Division, Humanitar-ian Assistance Programme collaborates with National Disaster Response Agen-cies to improve the capa-

bilities and capacities of partner nations to respond to disasters. Through this programme, the country re-ceived support to construct the facility.

Dr. Luncheon, who delivered the featured ad-dress, acknowledged that the country’s engagement with its bilateral develop-mental partners has grown significantly, and com-mended all those who were a part of this project.

He prefaced his remarks by recognising the role of the military, noting that is no coincidence that both the original EOC and this alternate centre has a phys-ical nexus with military bases, Camp Ayanganna and Camp Stephenson. He recognised the significant role that the joint services

play in staffing and more importantly in responding to emergencies in Guyana.

“So indeed my friends what we are witnessing to-day can perhaps be seen and accepted as a culmination of efforts and culmination of ambitions of responses to a realm of recognised national objectives, and a culmination that reflects the collaboration, integra-tion and coordination of these many players that I recognised,” Dr. Luncheon pointed out.

He reflected on the 2005 and 2006 floods, noting that persons must recognise that Guyana is not isolated and that all over the world, nat-ural disasters and manmade disasters afflict humanity. He said that Guyana is part of the groundswell of this

issue.He highlighted that the

EOC must be seen as Guy-ana’s contribution to the to-tality of responses to disas-ters. “The fact that in 2015, we have arrived at this sig-nal moment, in collabora-tion with the internal and external stakeholders for Guyana to be a member and to have developed those in-struments to make it more resilient to the ravages of disaster is noteworthy,” Dr Luncheon explained.

The building will also be used for training and Dr Luncheon said that it is hoped that the facility and what it offers to build ca-pacity not only for Guyana, can play a greater role in the inter-regional coordination and integration of disaster relief and management.

“…we have forged over the years, a deep ap-preciation of the commit-ment of the administration to address disaster and disaster risk in Guyana and the CDC has been so empowered. That is one of the most important an-tecedences. And like all of our colleague CARICOM countries and institutions comparable to the CDC, exists with perhaps similar, maybe less or more, but ul-timately responsibilities for disaster responsive and risk management…it wasn’t

always so,” Dr Luncheon stressed.

Equally important, has been the Government’s pol-icy that sees Guyana apply-ing its utmost energy in de-veloping relationships with its development partners in achieving mutual goals, not only in disasters, but many other areas.

Meanwhile, Command-er Novotny stated that the US and the Guyana Gov-ernments share a common interest in increasing capa-

bility to respond to natural disasters and emergencies.

Guyana also ben-efited from response train-ing that included persons from the joint services, the Red Cross and the Ministry of Health, and seminars and workshops were also held to enhance capability for a more effective response to disasters. A total of 51 students received training in this regard over the past

two weeks.The design of the build-

ing was prepared by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the contract for the construction was awarded to Studies Edification Inter-vention and Engineering, South America.

Construction of the concrete masonry unit commenced in 2012, and was completed on Septem-ber 09, 2014. The facility is equipped with an office for the EOC Director, op-

erations conference, public information room and Press rooms, a communication room inclusive of server room and technical officer room, mechanical and elec-trical room, storage and dining room, kitchen, and a small dormitory. The build-ing is fully air conditioned and its design includes a stand-by generator, water pump and an elevated wa-ter storage facility.

Lieutenant Commander Robert Novotny, Com-mander U.S. Military Liaison Office handing over the keys to the building to Dr. Roger Luncheon, Defence Board Secretary and National Disaster Coordinator

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the Guyana Defence Force Base Camp

Stephenson at Timehri

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, continues

to call on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to reveal information on four issues.

The issue of joint service members voting remains a bug-bear for the government, accord-ing to Dr Luncheon, noting that “specifically the preparations and the approaches that have yet to publicly air and worse, specifi-cally provided to stakeholders.”

The second area of concern for Cabinet is the public vetting of Elections Day staff, Dr. Lunch-

eon said. He stated that calls have been made by the government to GECOM, for the public disclo-sure of the commission’s staffer to be employed at its 2,294 poll-ing places.

Government is also calling for the public disclosure of prox-ies, “who applied and particularly who have gained the right to be voted for, by proxy.”

The selection of polling plac-es continues to be a matter of con-cern at Cabinet, he added, “par-ticularly because of what have been illustrated, the difficulties in some electoral divisions and dis-

tricts, identifying precisely where the private residences are, and in some instances, the actual choice of suitability of these private

residences. We heard about rum shops being identified as polling places, not exactly comparable to what was proposed to be used as

places of poll, and only in una-voidable circumstances, to resort to private residences.”

Dr. Luncheon explained that in his opinion, confidence build-ing needs to be “more thoroughly and more aggressively embraced” by GECOM and particularly be-cause election observers, should continue to write and document that the upcoming elections sub-scribed to standards of interna-tional repute, “more can be done, to emphasise, particularly on those four aspects that were of concern to Cabinet”.

Gov’t’s concerns about some details of GECOM’s Elections Day operations still to be addressed – HPS

President Donald Ramotar on April 29 signing the Guyana Elections Commission’s Code of Conduct for Political Par-ties in the presence of Chairman of Elections Commission,

Dr. Steve Surujbally at the Office of the President (OP)

11The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

President concludes Regions Seven, Eight and Nine outreach

– heartened by residents’ support for PPP/C

Head of State, Don-ald Ramotar, who visited several Re-

gion Eight communities on April 20 and 21, Phillipai, Jawalla and Kamarang in Region Seven on April 23 and Karasabai and Annai, Region Nine on April 24 was warmly greeted when he met with hundreds of residents in meetings.

In Region Eight, the presidents meet with resi-dents of Kopinang, Ku-rukubaru, Kato, Paramaka-toi and Monkey Mountain.

The improvements to the residents’ quality of life through government’s inter-ventions over the years were among issues highlighted by the president. These includ-

ed the availability of better healthcare, access to educa-tion through establishment of new schools and dormi-tories, guaranteed rights via the Amerindian Act, more employment opportunities, provision of education, and solar panels for electricity and more.

Older residents were reminded of their circum-stances which obtained during the previous admin-istration of the People’s National Congress (PNC), now APNU/AFC by Presi-dent Ramotar. “Remember what your school was like. You had to build your own school and had no resourc-es. You had mud floors; you had no proper facilities to

develop your communities. You really had no chance as you were living on subsist-ence agriculture”.

The residents were re-minded of the fact that it not only they who suffered but the entire country virtually collapsed due the then gov-ernment’s poor leadership.

The president was per-sonally thanked for many of the improvements made such the extension of the nursery and primary schools, solar panels for electricity, and the building of the new secondary school catering to students of Kopi-nang and Kato. It was noted that All Terrain Vehicles and 4x4 pickups for transporta-tion have also benefitted res-idents, along with radio sets to boost communication.

Government is building the $780M Kato secondary School that will cater for 400 students from that vil-lage and surrounding com-munities. Its accompanying dormitory can accommo-date about 250 students. The modern institution is nearing completion. Late in 2014, the Paramakatoi Pri-mary School was commis-sioned, providing a condu-cive learning environment for its students.

All students in both re-gions are benefitting from the government’s school uniform and school feed-ing programmes, leading to more children accessing education. They were also beneficiaries of the $10,000 education grant.

Meanwhile senior lead-ers of the communities spoke of the overall im-

provements to the lives of residents and pledged their support, in order to con-tinue the path of progress and positive change that the various communities are undergoing.

Asked about his views on his visit across the region, the president said he was very pleased with the re-sponse from residents of the far flung communities. “The response was tremendous. I really did enjoy the meet-ings because I had the op-portunity to be much more intimate with the people, and I am very pleased with the response I had. Our sup-port in the interior has been growing considerably.”

The handing over of grants to the various com-munities such as Monkey Mountain were acknowl-edged, with residents in-forming the president of their plans to use the mon-ey for various sustainable projects.

Some of the communi-ties were also able to show-case the various projects be-ing undertaken with funds provided under the grant package to their communi-ties. With regards to this, President Ramotar said in-dicated that he was pleased that the money allocated via the grants, were being used effectively.

“Many of them (grants) have been used very well. In one case, a ranch was built. It is a thriving ranch now with a lot of cattle there. Some of them had asked for tractors and other equipment. Many of those that I have seen, I am extremely happy with,

to see that it is helping to increase the capacity of the village economy.”

Some residents took the opportunity to high-light issues facing their communities and the presi-dent promised to offer as-sistance to what was need-ed to address the concerns

raised. Many of the resi-dents also expressed their appreciation to the Head of State for his visit to their communities and pledged their support, especially at the upcoming elections, so as to continue the progress and development of their region.

Kamarang residents paying keen attention to the messages relayed by President Donald Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar and Amerindian Af-fairs Minister Pauline Sukhai being welcomed by

residents of Kurukabaru, Region Eight

President Donald Ramotar at a meeting at Paramakatoi, Region Eight

President Donald Ramotar speaking to residents of Phillipai, Region Seven

Karasabai residents gathered at the meeting with President Donald Ramotar

The large gathering at Annai

12 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Rehabilitation of fibre optic cable beginsRehabilitation of the

government’s fibre optic cable, from

Lethem to Georgetown, has begun. The Office of the President (OP) has stated that Dax Contracting Ser-vices started rehabilita-tion work on the cable on April 19, and has estimated about six months for its completion.

OP said that in Septem-ber 2014, it was in receipt of correspondence, propos-ing the rehabilitation of the fibre optic cable, running from Lethem to George-town. The proposed Mem-orandum of Understanding

(MoU) outlined ‘at no cost’ to offer the Government of Guyana to have the fibre optic cable rehabilitated.

The cable was report-edly 20% damaged, and the cost of rehabilitation was acquired from techni-cal sources and estimated at US $28M by one source.

In 2015, OP approached Dax Contracting Services on its submission for its consideration of the MoU. It said that Dax Contracting Services represented a con-sortium and urged expedi-tion with the negotiations of the MoU and that OP discuss the content of the

MoU with Dax Contracting Services and that both par-ties agreed to further meet-ings, including those to provide technical and legal advice.

Dax Contracting Ser-vices later met with the E-Governance project team to share information on the details of the original fibre optic cable construction, and also with the Attorney General’s Chambers to ex-amine issues surrounding the consideration of the MoU, it said.

By March 2015, OP, Dax Contracting Services and E-Governance Project

Head met and finalised as-pects of the MoU, with the contracting services and OP agreed on the follow-ing: that there would be 100% rehabilitation of the cable, according to inter-national standards; mainte-nance would be provided for the life of the contracted period; maintenance works would be shared; and that Dax Contracting Services would be provided with an agreed upon number of pairs of fibres in the cable, which has twelve pairs.

The MoU was signed on March 18, 2015.

The E-Government

project will comprise a data centre, a transmission network and data network. The data or control centre, is to be housed in the com-pound of Castellani House.

Government had an-nounced that the connection would eventually allow for, in addition to connectivity, a range of services such as “E-Health” allowing for video consultation, and

movement of information to and from health centres.

Security will also ben-efit, as the project would allow quick transmission of information, including video and data among po-lice stations. The project intends to enable the setting up of an “E-library” which would allow for access to textbooks and other teach-ing aids, via the internet.

Head of the Presi-dential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Lunch-

eon, at his weekly-post Cabinet media on April 29, staunchly defended gov-ernment’s decision to have a private contractor take over the maintenance of the E- governance cable.

Slamming recent re-ports by the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News newspapers, as “scandal-ous”, the HPS said that government is concerned at the depths to which the two media houses have descended to discredit the administration.

Government’s agenda with regards to Informa-tion Communication Tech-nology (ICT), locally, he noted, is no secret. “The administration has made it plain, since ICT was a lit-tle boy that our interest was the development of ICT because we recognise its potential for developing the economy of Guyana”.

The initiatives of gov-ernment, he said, which also include the “One Lap-top Per Family project, the contract for the backbone cable from Moleson Creek to Charity, and its data cent-er have all been in the pub-lic domain and pronounced

upon ad nauseum. To be regaled by Stabroek News with these incredible scan-dalous statements…and Kaieteur News about this cable is minimally discon-certing, and for many of us, it is conformity of Kaieteur News and Stabroek News’ intent of discrediting this administration, particularly at this time of campaigning for General and Regional Elections.”

Disposing of what he described as the more “scandalous statements” made by the two dailies, Dr. Luncheon also highlighted what entities such as the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), a discredited and defunct organisation, have been producing on this mat-ter. He dismissed the claim that some US$ 40 million was spent when the Kaiet-eur News conducted an ex-clusive interview with pro-ject head Alexi Ramotar in which he indicated that no more than US$4.5 million was spent to procure and lay the cable from Lethem to Georgetown. He posited, “what on Earth could have possessed Kaieteur News and Stabroek News to dis-pense with information that they carried earlier about the value of this project and

assault Guyanese with this US$ 40 million cost?”

The two newspapers have sunken to the “low-est of the lowest” in their attempt to discredit the ruling administration, he reiterated.

He added that in deal-ing with the agreement be-tween Dax Contracting Ser-vices and the government, via Office of the President, of which he was “the au-thority”, the information was shared. He explained the agreement, saying that government did not have to pay for the rehabilitation of the cable; the second part of the agreement says Dax will be maintaining the rehabilitated cable for the life of the agreement. It explained that the cable which has 12 pairs of fiber, “was, has and forever will be”, government owned. A few pairs of the cables will be used by the Dax Com-pany hence it made sense for the contracted company to maintain the cable, as it was in its own interest to do so.

A series of full page advertisements explaining the details of the deal will be published to clarify the issue, Dr. Luncheon said in closing.

Kaieteur News and Stabroek News’ reports on E-Link fibre optic cable completely false and baseless – HPS

Flash back: Contractors from Dax Engineering laying the fibre optic cable at the Wisroc

Junction, Linden, Region 10 in 2012

A new batch of nurs-es, numbering 51, 21 Nursing Assis-

tants and 30 Professional Nurses have been inducted for training at the Kingston Nursing School Annex. They are currently under-going orientation and are set to begin training before the end of May.

This is the 126th batch of Professional Nurses and the 69th batch of Nursing Assistants to have been en-listed for training.

Speaking to the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA), Tiffany Scott one in the batch of Professional Nurses, stated that it was a great opportunity for her. She noted that whilst she is getting the opportunity to learn, she said, “I am very young, and I think I should learn more instead of just

staying home and doing nothing. I plan to get a de-gree in nursing may be at the University of Guyana.”

Adrian Kemo Canjis noted that the environment, that is the teachers and classmates are all friendly, “I am not planning to stick at just a professional nurse; I plan to go on, the sister advised me, midwifery, then maybe a diploma and then a degree.”

Dionne Pompei noted that while it was a lovely experience for her, meeting other persons and nursing in general, “it’s a lovely profession for anyone to pick up and afterward I hopefully will have to serve back my country.” She add-ed that she will also further her education, perhaps get a diploma then continue to climb higher.

Jermaine Levi who was chosen to study Profes-sional Nursing felt hon-oured. “It’s an honour to be selected by the govern-ment and my country to do something so important and I think my fellow batch mates would agree. After training I would like to up-grade and study medicine.”

Latisha Bailey is yet another student who felt happy for the opportunity to become a nurse and would continue in the mid-wifery programme and then go on to the University of Guyana to obtain a degree in nursing.

Naomi Singh was hap-py and thanked the Minis-try of Health and the gov-ernment for allowing her the opportunity at the Nurs-ing School. She plans to pursue studies for a PHD.

New batch of nurses inducted

The new batch of nurses inducted for training at the Kingston Nursing School Annex

13The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Guyana has started an elaborate and comprehensive process in preparing for

the oil and gas economy - Minister Persaud Representatives from

the Guyana Ge-ology and Mines

Commission (GGMC), the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) and the Natural Resources Minis-try conducted in a one-day workshop on deep water exploration and energy governance

The event, a collabora-tive venture of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Unit-ed States (US) Embassy in Georgetown, and the De-partment of State and De-partment of the Interior was held at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown on April 22.

It was aimed at provid-ing participants with an overview of issues for reg-ulators to address in deep water exploration. These include regulatory respon-sibilities and functions, and monitoring operations to prevent unforeseen in-cidents and for regulatory

compliance. Minister of Natural Re-

sources and the Environ-ment, Robert Persaud noted that Guyana has started a very elaborate and com-prehensive process in pre-paring for the oil and gas economy. He commended the US Government for its continued technical and other forms of assistance in this regard.

“I want to commend the US Government and the staff for their abiding sup-port over the years in facili-tating workshops in build-ing capacity as we prepare our oil and gas sector in all of its aspects in terms of how do we manage rev-enues and ensure transpar-ency, and also how do we look at safety and technol-ogy and very critically how do we reach out for invest-ment,” the minister pointed out.

He emphasised that the US has been an important

ally in ensuring that Guy-ana mobilise the investment and undertake the efforts to develop the country’s natu-ral resources even in the face of some unjustified and unwarranted attempts by some external forces, who seek to push back gov-ernment’s efforts in devel-oping the natural recourses bout off and on shore.

Minister Persaud fur-ther noted that the work-shop was a clear demonstra-

tion of this commitment.“We have started the

process already of look-ing at putting legislations in place, in terms of what we need to do in develop-ing the right regulations in terms of the policy and we have already developed a national upstream oil and gas policy which will be taken to parliament. We have already started to en-gage a number of experts in reviewing our legislation

and developing appropri-ate legislation to look at all aspects including the issue of revenue manage-ment,” Minister Persaud explained.

He added that Guyana will soon be submitting its formal application to the Extractive Industries Trans-parency Initiative (EITI) a global standard aimed at improving revenues, trans-parency, and accountability in the extractive sector.

In expressing a word of caution, the minister said that, “We are still in the ex-ploration phase so we have to temper expectation as we know we have Exxon currently carrying out drill-ing and they are well on schedule. All of us have our fingers crossed hop-ing that in a few weeks we will be able to have some good news. We are prepar-ing for this sector and the government is firmly fixed in ensuring that even as we

move through the phase of exploration that we are well advanced and well prepared and we also learn from other countries that have gone through similar process and similar journey in this regard.”

Charge d’ Affaires of the US Embassy, in Georgetown, Bryan Hunt, noted that developing natu-ral resources such as oil and gas can have tremendous benefits for countries, how-ever it carries tremendous risk.

Hunt highlighted that because of the technical and economic aspects of this sector, it is prone to mis-management and corrup-tion, which will ultimately lead to under development. It is therefore important for countries entering into the oil and gas production busi-ness to ‎put systems in place to avoid these problems be-fore production starts and money begins to flow.

Investors’ confidence continues to be re-flected in Guyana’s

economy as yet another multi-billion dollar compa-ny opens shop on the coun-try’s soil. The Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) based com-pany, New India Assurance Company Limited, Guyana branch officially opened its door on April 30, with a grand ceremony at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.

The insurance compa-ny’s vision is “to be an in-dustry leader that provides world-class general insur-ance services.”

Among the classes of business offered by the company are motor (pri-vate and commercial), fire and special perils, business interruption, homeown-ers/householders compre-hensive, contractors' all risk, plate/glass, all risk (valuables and equipment), burglary, public liabil-

ity, product liability, travel insurance and personal accident.

Speaking at the cer-emony, Company Manag-ing Director, Jyoti Kumar Garg pointed out that it is of utmost pleasure for the company to re-enter Guy-ana. He said, “it is indeed a great pleasure to be in Guy-ana on this very auspicious occasion, which marks the re-entry of the New India Assurance Company Lim-ited in this beautiful land.”

Further, he recognised the significant develop-ments that have taken place over the years. “We must admit that significant eco-nomic developments have taken place over the years, and we are happy to be-come part of that growth trajectory in the years ahead,” he added.

In lauding the pro-gress of the country, Garg reiterated that, “business

growth appears to have been stimulated as we wit-ness what appears to be an increased number of vehi-cles, both new and foreign used, entering the market. We are also seeing quite a number of new buildings and housing communi-ties in urban districts and along the city boundaries of Georgetown.”

Turning his attention to the company’s office which will be located at 58 B Brickdam, Georgetown, the director pointed out that since the company believes in providing “world-class general insurance servic-es,” it is working on the implementation of new in-formation technology soft-ware that will provide real time benefits to the clients.

In addition, he pleaded the company’s commitment to and confi-dence in the local market, and to make contributions

to the economic growth and development of Guyana.

Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh welcomed the company back to Guyana. He said that “it is a pleasure to welcome back the New India Assurance Company given that New India is by no means new to Guyana … having been in Guyana for a number of years, until the Guyanese economy en-countered some of its most difficult years.”

He added that if the growth that the country has seen over the past decade continues the same way, then it is only natural that the company will see its de-cision to re-enter the econ-omy as a most appropriate and worthwhile one. The minister further assured the company on behalf his government, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration, they will all continue to

work to maintain and fur-ther enhance the conditions that they have created, to build and further enhance the conditions that are ap-propriate to businesses. He also pointed out that his administration has worked to move the country from a state where almost all the state financial institu-tions were state owned, to a place where they are all privatised.

Minister Singh also spoke of the strength of the economy due to the hard

work of the PPP/C adminis-tration. He pointed out that the growth in the country’s economy has accelerated significantly, irrespective of the effects of the recent global financial crisis.

While most economies in the region contracted during the 2008-2009 cri-ses, the Guyanese economy recorded an average growth rate of four percent.

The company is hoping to have its first set of cli-ents before the end of the month.

Stakeholders who participated in the deep water exploration and energy governance

and capacity initiative workshop at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston

New India Assurance Guyana Office inaugurated - as it re-enters local market

A section of the gathering at the New India Assurance Company’s Inauguration ceremony

14 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Ninth and Tenth grade female stu-dents from sev-

eral secondary schools in Georgetown were on April 23 provided with the op-portunity to become in-spired about the Informa-tion and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, by getting a first-hand look into the ICT institutions and listening to women role models speak on the issue.

The girls were partici-pants of the National Fre-quency Management Unit (NFMU) held International Girls in ICT Day sympo-sium. The event held un-der the theme “Expanding Horizons, Changing At-titudes” was aimed at em-powering and encouraging girls and young women to consider careers in the field of Information and Com-munication Technology

(ICT). Traditionally, employ-

ment in the ICT sector, worldwide, is dominated by males. In this regard, each year, the NFMU has been planning and execut-ing several activities in an effort to ensure that Guya-nese women are well edu-cated and sensitised on ICT and its advantages.

Lance Hinds of the Brain Street Group, who delivered the feature ad-dress, acknowledged the fact that ICT sector has been vastly improved over the past years, and if the country is to develop fur-ther, girls must participate in the sector.

“This is the reason we want to encourage ICT, girl and boys as well, to partici-pate further in this activity. We sometimes are so stuck in terms of the things we

want to do as careers…In 2015, when you ask a child what he/she wants to become, you still hear doc-tor, lawyer and engineer. Nothing is wrong with those fields, but let me tell you I don’t know of any ca-reer that is as varied as the ICT ones,” Hinds told the students.

Hinds reiterated that there are not many jobs that can compete with ICT; in fact the sector continues to provide the most jobs for young people, even as young as 15 years old. He referred to the founder of Facebook, Mark Zucker-berg, and Microsoft, Bill Gates, all of whom did not even complete university education.

ICT is a cross cutting component, he said, wheth-er it is finance, accounts or construction, hence there

is a need for everyone to become technologically inclined.

Hinds urged the stu-dents to pursue a field in ICT. Hard work, dedication and the ability to think criti-cally are just a few qualities that are needed for them to excel in this field.

International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative backed by ITU Member States to create a global en-vironment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and com-munication technologies (ICTs).

ICT is one of the pri-mary sectors to catalyse economic growth and sustainable development. Recognising this fact, the Government of Guyana, through initiatives such as

the as E-Government, One Laptop Per Family and computer labs for schools, as well as the private sec-tor, has been making sig-nificant investments in

ICT, thereby availing tech-nology to every Guyanese, and building the founda-tion upon which female citizens can expand their boundaries.

City school girls encouraged to consider careers in ICT - at ICT Day Symposium

A section of the girls gathered at the North Ruim-veldt Secondary School during the symposium

Six children successfully complete heart surgeries at GPHCSix of the 18 children

who were set to bene-fit from heart surgery

at the Georgetown Pub-lic Hospital Corporation (GPHC), through support from International Chil-dren’s Heart Foundation (Baby Heart) have success-fully completed their sur-geries and are recovering.

Two of the six chil-dren have already been sent home. Eight are expected to undergo surgeries in the new week.

The Baby Heart Foun-

dation is a non-profit or-ganisation that travels around the world to assist in paediatric cardiac sur-geries and at the same time train local health practition-ers in this regard.

During an interview with the Government In-formation Agency (GINA) today, Dr. Rodrigo Soto, Chief Executive Officer of Baby Heart Foundation said that the experience has been fantastic thus far, and expressed gratitude to the Government of Guyana for

allowing the organisation to develop its programme here.

“Certainly a lot of work has been done… conse-quence of all the work that has been done for the past four years from the cardiol-ogy point of view, now be-ing able to come here and operate on the patients here in Guyana and the most im-portant is to train the doc-tors in order to do this,” Dr Soto explained.

A special Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was also

refurbished at the GPHC to facilitate post-surgery care for the children, and Baby Heart Foundation donated some equipment for the unit.

Meanwhile, Director of the Echocardiography Edu-cation Programme at the GPHC, Dr. Debra Isaac said that when the programme first started it was realised that children accounted for almost 40% of the heart ul-trasounds that were done, and many required surgery. Unfortunately, only a few

had access to surgical in-terventions, and a few were sent to other countries.

Dr Isaac noted that those children who were sent abroad for surgeries did not benefit from proper follow-up care. However, with the help of the Health Ministry and Dr Marissa Seepersaud, paediatric sur-geon at the GPHC, a Guy-ana Paediatric Steering Committee was established with the aim of indentifying children that need surgery and those that were already

operated upon, and institute screening for others.

Through this pro-gramme, Dr Isaac noted that the Baby Heart team came in and those children were looked at.

The Foundation has been around for over 20 years and has successfully completed 7,500 surgeries in 32 countries.

The team will be visit-ing Guyana in July for an-other few weeks to conduct more surgeries.

Director of the Echocardiography Education Programme at the GPHC, Dr. Debra Isaac doing a screening on one of the patients through the Echocar-diography (ECG) machine in the presence of her mother and other doctors

A patient recovering and being comforted by his mother and a doctor

15The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Hundreds turn out at public meetings to hear from President RamotarHead of State, Donald Ramotar,

pledged to continue guiding Guy-ana along its developmental path

as he addressed large crowd of residents at public meetings across the country.

During the meetings, the president stat-ed the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic’s (PPP/C’s) proud history of development and, that “it will run on this record”.

He also highlighted his administration’s focus of spending on the social sector, with specific regard to education, explaining that it is only via this means that “we have the possibility of taking this country to a higher level.”

Mention was made of the sugar indus-try and government’s plans to invest and diversify it with the production of more

value-added products such as ethanol, and refined sugars to expand its revenue base.

Resident were also told about the focus that will be on the rice sector, whereby the industry will benefit from the production of additional products such as cereals, and the institution of a price support mechanism, to offset the fluctuation in prices being offered to farmers, even as government

continues to source additional markets, overseas.

The Head of State called out the po-litical opposition, noting that they not only lacking developmental plans to take Guyana forward, but also being are anti-developmental. He cited their action, in cutting the National Budget, over the last three years.

President Donald Ramotar addressing residents of Novar, Mahaicony

A section of the crowd that came out at Adelphi, Canje to listen to President Donald Ramotar’s message

Residents escorting President Donald Ramotar and his entourage into Moruca, Region One

A section of the crowd that turned out at Canefield Settlement, East Canje, Berbice to hear from PPPC Presidential Candidate

and incumbent President Donald Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar interacting with residents of Industry, East Coast Demerara

Residents of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, at-tending a community meeting that was

addressed by President Donald Ramotar

Residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, attending a meeting hosted

by President Donald Ramotar

16 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPPC Rallies attract mammoth crowds

Another section of the the massive crowd at the PPPC rally at Bath, West Coast Berbice

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo addressing the PPPC rally at Bath

Eager Region Five residents reach out to President Donald Ramotar

Region Nine residents at the PPPC rally in Lethem

PPPC Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper addressing the large crowd at Lethem, Region Nine

President Donald Ramotar, PPPC Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett being es-

corted to the meeting site at the Rodeo ground, LethemA group performing a traditional Amerindian dance for President Donald

Ramotar and team at the Lethem Rally

17The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

President Donald Ramotar greets the Mabaruma rally attendees

PPPC Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper addressing the PPPC Mabaruma rally

A group of school children from Port Kaituma being greeted by President Donald Ramotar

Residents of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara

President Donald Ramotar addressing residents of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara

Members of the PPPC party at the Stewartville rally

An exuberant Mabaruma resident escorts President Donald Ramotar to the meeting site

18 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

19The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

President describes advancement in Essequibo transportation system as ‘a quiet revolution’Government has

done much to im-prove transporta-

tion in Essequibo, so much so that travelling time has been greatly reduced. With the varying developments

that have seen residents of Region Two living bet-ter lives, President Donald Ramotar has described the transformation as a ‘quiet revolution’.

The Head of State, in a recent interview with the National Communications Network highlighted the fact that the addition of the two roll-on, roll-off fer-ries plying the route from Parika to the main Essequi-bo islands of Wakenaam, Leguan, Hogg Island and Supenaam, have vastly improved the comfort and safety of passengers. He

said that it is due to the un-reliability of the previously used ferries that the speed boat services came about.

“...now with the ferry, the traffic is much heavier as the capacity of the ferry

is much more than before. The comfort is much better now, and the time (travel) has been dramatically reduced”.

The use of aircraft has also improved over the years, with many, espe-cially business operators, utilising this mode of trans-portation, more frequently. This, President Ramotar noted, has been as a direct result of the expansion and upgrading of the Ogle Air-port, along with growth of the local aviation sector.

Government has also invested much towards im-

proving roads in the region, the president pointed out. He recalled travelling from Parika to Adventure on the Essequibo coast, then to the village of Cotton Field and, “It took you more than two hours, particularly, in rainy weather it was worse to get there.”

But now travelling from Supenaam to Charity is just about an hour the most. “It has been a quiet revolu-tion”, the president said.

This has facilitated business in a fairly big way, and more people now want to come on the Essequibo Coast, and “contribute very much into improving the quality of life of people, in the country”.

President Ramotar not-ed, in reference to the up-coming elections, that this activity is about records, thus he is proud of the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/C). “In fact, I think our record is good...they (opposition) are try-ing to disown a record that they have had before so that shows you that there is re-ally now competition when it comes to records, how we moved things forward”.

Elections are also about plans and programmes and the PPP/C’s manifesto is set to be made public soon, the president reminded. “We have a planned pro-gramme to how we will deliver on all our promises that we have made”.

Government has always strived to do what it has set out to accomplish even if it exceeded the initial time-frame, he acknowledged. The Berbice River Bridge was cited as an example, which he noted the PPP/C had listed in its 1992 mani-festo. “We were not able to do it in the first term. The second term was a trun-cated one that we had, but we managed to do it in the third term”.

All of government’s plans have materialised for the most part, the Head of State noted. “In contrast, everything they (opposi-tion) touched was just run down. The whole country was in bankruptcy”. The present administration has a proud record of achieve-ments, he reiterated.

Many of government’s

proposals such as those for Amaila Falls Hydro Power and the restructuring of the sugar sector, have apparent-ly now found favour with the political opposition, a turnaround which the presi-dent said was an indication the PPP/C’s plans were be-ing copied.

Elections are also about integrity, President Ramo-tar said, and the fact the op-position is willing to make what he viewed as any promise in the world to get votes, he questioned how can they be trusted.

“I think we have always been close to our words. We try our best to deliver. We try our best to deliver on all our promises. They have been flip-flopping on several issues including their own past.”

The Government of Guy-ana has taken solid steps to ensure that there will

be a legislation that underpins In-digenous rights and these rights are also carved in the National Constitution. This is according to Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, who spoke at the fourteenth session of the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNFPII), held at the UN headquarters in New York on April 29.

Minister Sukhai was at the time making a contribution to the forum discussion on the “Future work of the Permanent Forum-In-digenous Peoples and their partici-pation in democratic societies and electoral processes. The minister took the opportunity to present Guyana’s position regarding its Indigenous Peoples and their par-ticipation in democratic societies and electoral processes.

She pointed out that Guyana

has in place an Amerindian Act (No. 6 of 2006), that is the legisla-tion that seeks to ensure that every facet of life of the nation’s Indig-enous People (political, social and economic), in addition to being fulfilled, will be also practically executed, via the many established structures of governance.

She also noted that Indigenous People comprise 10 percent of the country's population and are actively involved in all levels of political structures and local gov-ernment systems which include Regional, Neighbourhood and the Amerindian Village Councils. And further, Guyana’s Indigenous People are represented at the par-liamentary level, representing both sides of the House.

“I must emphasise that two government Indigenous female ministers serve at the Cabinet lev-el, in the capacities of Foreign Af-fairs and Amerindian Affairs. This fact demonstrates the commitment

of the Government of Guyana to ensure inclusion of Guyana’s In-digenous People at the highest po-litical decision making level of the nation,” the minister said.

She also noted that the Nation-al Assembly approved the estab-lishment of the Indigenous Peo-ples Commission, in September, 2015, and that 10 commissioners were appointed to steer this body towards its constitutional man-date "to establish mechanisms to enhance the status of Guyana’s Indigenous People and to respond to their legitimate demands and needs". Five of the commission-ers are indigenous, with the chair being an indigenous woman, she explained.

Another laudable step is that the goals of equity, inclusion and non-discrimination of indigenous peoples are well entrenched in the country's constitution and laws, the minister said. She explained that the Amerindian Act of 2006

underscores the autonomy of the indigenous villages, by setting up a political system that empowers Guyana’s Indigenous People to elect their own leaders.

The participants of the UN forum learned that Guyana has a National Toshaos’ Council, a leg-islative body comprising all the democratically elected village leaders, with functions, among others, to nominate persons to represent their cause in the In-digenous Peoples Commission and other Human Rights Based Constitutional Commissions and that indigenous village leaders are mandated to create their own vil-lage rules in consonance with law, and in consultation with their re-spective villagers.

Other achievements highlight-ed by the minister are that Amer-indian people are taking centre stage in national development as the government has built an en-gaging partnership with the Amer-

indian Village Councils, Commu-nity Based Organisations, and the inclusion of international agencies to further improve the situation of Amerindians. “These partnerships complement the government’s long- term plans in infrastructure, education, health, and secure live-lihoods, etc., geared towards bet-ter access to social services, and enhancement of economic inde-pendence and national develop-ment,” she said.

She also noted that the “Indig-enous People of Guyana are free to choose and support the political party of their choice without in-terference or influence,” and that Indigenous People are integrally involved in all facets of the elec-tion machinery and the political parties’ lists of candidates for the upcoming General and Regional Elections on May 11, 2015. This she noted reflects the inclusion and participation of indigenous political candidates.

Guyana’s Indigenous people are involved at highest level of decision-making - Minister Sukhai tells UNFPII forum

A section of the Aurora road

Road at Henrietta, Essequibo

The MV Kanawan at the Supenaam Stelling

20 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

President commissions new fishing complex at De Edward Village It is the policy of Peo-

ple’s Progressive Party/Civic Administration to

ensure that the quality of life for all citizens is im-proved and on April 30, three initiatives, which are aimed at improving lives, were endorsed by Head of State, Donald Ramotar, in West Coast Berbice, Re-gion Five.

The president joined with the fisher folk of De Edward/Rosignol Village for the commissioning of a new fishermen’s complex in that community.

Just a stone’s throw away from the facility, the president also commis-sioned the De Edward Vil-lage volley ball court.

Further, residents of two areas, which were once squatter settlements in Blairmont and De Edward Villages, too, on that day received titles for the lands they occupy.

Noting his pleasure in being a part of the three-fold ceremony, President Ramotar stated that the fishing complex will cer-tainly lift the quality of work and life of the fisher-men, as he made another commitment to aid them in their trade. “We will find the money to build the shed here, so that you can have

better facilities to carry on your work. This is our way of showing our apprecia-tion to fishermen, and the essential work that they do in providing for us.”

He added that even as the country’s economy con-tinues to grow there would be more trickle down ben-efits for all citizens. “It is the management of the economy that has us as a middle income develop-ing country, and with that, we can expect standards to rise, (as) when we were living in poverty, it was reflective in the squatting, now that we have gone up

the ladder, the demand for quality is more.”

Acknowledging that the demands for a better quality of life should be more, the president stated that his administration, over the years, has been meeting some of these de-mands, with new and im-proved infrastructure. “We see the improvement in the attitude of people, as they are calling for more qual-ity, and what we are having here today, is recognising that we are moving to this quality of life that we want for our people to carry out their work, and carry out

their living.” Speaking of plans for

the fishing industry, the president said it is his hope that as the economy con-tinues to grow, the fishing industry can move into processing fish for export, which in turn would add value to product, generate more revenue and provide jobs.

Also delivering re-marks at the event was Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who said the event was a special one, as people’s lives were being advanced. “Three different areas of progress

under the PPP/C Govern-ment and Guyanese, ulti-mately what we are doing here today is bringing to our people a vision of a dif-ferent Guyana.”

Speaking to the land titles, which were distrib-uted, Minister Ramsammy pointed out that gone are the days when citizens were forced to live in shacks, as now dignity and pride have been restored to thousands of Guyanese under the na-tional housing initiative.

Stating the significance of the fishing industry, the minister said while it con-tinues to face many chal-lenges, the government is putting systems in place to aid the industry.

With climate change and piracy being two of the biggest setbacks, the minis-ter said thus far the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been working well.

He further urged fisher folk to comply with the stipulated regulations when plying their trade. The minister also reaffirmed the government’s commit-ment to the development of youths in the area, as he noted that the volleyball court is a clear indication of their commitment.

He added that the gov-ernment would continue to assist De Edward Village and other surrounding vil-lages with their youth and sport initiatives.

Drawn from com-munities involved in forest activities

around Guyana, 63 youths have graduated from a training programe offered by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and the Forestry Training Centre Incorporated. The students who hail from Kwakwani, Orealla, Siparuta, Rock Stone, Linden, Caria Caria, 72 Miles and St. Cuthbert’s Mission commenced their studies in September 2014.

This is the second batch of students to complete this programme. Eight of them particpated in the for-est inventory course, 22 in surveying and mapping, 11 in tree identification and

22 did the timber grading course. The first batch of students did their studies in 2013.

While at the gradua-tion ceremony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony encour-aged the students to pursue higher education. He noted that there are many educa-tional opportunities in Guy-ana, but there are still some who do not access what is available.

Minister Anthony rec-ognised that everyone learns differently and in this regard attention is be-ing placed on accrediting the teachnical and voca-tional programmes offered through various institu-

tions. He recalled the repu-tation set by the students at the Port Mourant Train-

ing Centre internationally. It is hoped that the good performance of those who

complete the BIT will set a similar trend.

The minister also en-

couraged the young men to continue their studies as it has been found that the fe-males are doing better than the males while in school. This is not a problem in Guyana alone, but globally.

In 2014 the Board of In-dustrial Training graduated 2736 youths in a number of skill training programmes. These courses are intended to give youths a second chance at getting an educa-tion that guides them into a specific skill area. For the beneficiaries this means that they are empowered to not only provide for themselves and families by securing a job, but they can also pursue higher education.

63 youths graduate from forestry training programe

Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy handing over a title to a couple whose

land has now been regularised

The batch that completed training in forestry under the Board of Industrial Training, along with officials of BIT

President Donald Ramotar, speaking at the commissioning of the new Rosignol Fishing Complex

21The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

National Trust launches ‘New Amsterdam Heritage Trail’ - records 39 sites in the town

The Ministry of Natu-ral Resources and the Environment, along

with the Food and Agricul-ture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) and the European Union, on April 29 launched a project with the Forestry Training Centre for the development of a pilot timber harvesting and forest monitoring model for small loggers associa-tions. This model is aimed at improving compliance with the forests laws and ‘agreed-to’ forest management pre-scriptions in Guyana.

The agreement was signed by Manager of the Forestry Training Center Inc. Quacy Bremner and the FAO representative in Guy-ana, Reuben Robertson at the Guyana Forestry Com-mission (GFC) building in Kingston.

Minister of Natural Resources and the Envi-ronment (MNRE) Robert Persaud observed that it was always the desire of government to manage and utilise the forests to provide economic opportunities for all Guyanese. The project targets six small loggers’ as-sociations in Region Ten.

The minister also noted that involving all communi-ties within the Upper Dem-erara-Upper Berbice region would see them working together, as he reminded that with the downturn of the bauxite industry, forestry ac-tivities were introduced.

He pointed out too, that there are no special conces-sions given to anyone, add-ing that if there is a prefer-ence, it would be for a local company or organisation. He was referring to recent articles appearing in some sections of the media that the government was giving special treatment to foreign investors.

He stated that, “I want to refute any perception that there is preferential access

to non-Guyanese,” noting that if there is any discrimi-nation then it is in favour of Guyanese as, “we don’t want Guyanese operators within the community to be left behind…”

The minister also noted that with 260 forestry opera-tors being trained in 2014, the target is 1300 in 2015. He pointed out that working with timber and non-timber in forests, value added tim-ber products would provide the country with environ-mental services.

The EU Ambassador to Guyana Robert Kopecky speaking of the EU’s sat-isfactory partnership with Guyana said that, “… The EU and Guyana (have been) working together on various

levels to preserve its herit-age in the climate change negotiations aiming to con-clude the voluntary partner-ship agreement for timber exports and through capac-ity building projects like the one today is a noble cause.” He added that forestry has to play a major role for sus-tainable development in cli-mate change adaptation and mitigation.

It was for this reason he stated that the EU adapted the FLEGT (Forest Law, Enforcement, Government and Trade) programme in 2003 as a response to illegal logging which covers both supply and demand meas-ures. The action plan’s core procedures are the FLEGT measures which are the EU

regulations, Kopecky point-ed out.

He explained that the agreement between EU and Guyana in 2012 involved an agreement which has shown decent progress when it end-ed this month.

The EU Ambassador observed that the FLEGT process in Guyana has also provided the opportunity to further strengthen and maintain its consolidation towards maintenance of forest government, improv-ing legal compliance and building capacity for com-munity engagement for for-est policy engagement and implementation.

Ambassador Kopecky also said that the EU shared the initiative that forest laws could be further im-proved. He noted that the EU/FLEGT US$10M pro-gramme would ensure that countries follow the plans. He welcomed the six asso-ciations working together to follow the law.

Bremner meanwhile stated that Region 10 is gain-ing funding from the FAO to carry out projects and to ensure sustainable overview and increase the capacity of

the small loggers’ associa-tion and others. He also add-ed that communities would also be enabled to monitor online and would also re-duce the laws being broken, and would ensure sustain-able forestry management.

Ruben Robertson of the FAO observed that partner-ship is the best way to go in order to produce the great-est results. He pointed out that with the US$122,000 given by the EU; the MNRE would be the custodian of the funds to be disbursed. Robertson added too, that the FAO’s focus would be among global objectives which are to improve liveli-hoods across the world. He expects the Forestry Train-ing Centre to achieve two objectives; to help ensure small loggers comply with the laws, and assist all log-gers in their capacity for compliance with the model.

The agreement is aimed at a number of realisations; the first is to have a devel-oped model, the second, ca-pacity built to better manage concessions; the third is to have a system of data collec-tion and the fourth, transpar-ency and accountability.

Natural Resources Ministry launches pilot project to promote small loggers’ compliance with forestry laws

The National Trust of Guyana, an agency under the auspices

of the Culture Ministry which is responsible for the preservation and promotion of the nation’s heritage, has launched the “New Am-sterdam Heritage Trail,” a booklet which features 39 historical sites in New Am-sterdam, Berbice.

The 45-page booklet consists of historical de-scriptions of past and pre-sent sites with accompa-nying images, and a guide map which is laid out in a trail like format offering an easy route for anyone wishing to tour the coun-try’s oldest town, New Amsterdam.

The National Trust’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nirvana Persaud

said that the launch was a major achievement is keeping with the agency’s mandate in documenting the country’s vast heritage resources and making them available to the public.

She said that the ori-gin of the publication goes back more than three years, and is somewhat similar to an existing publication titled ‘Georgetown Herit-age Trail’ but is different in design.

It is an appropriate, timely and necessary pub-lication for the strengthen-ing of the heritage sector, and raising awareness of Guyana’s unique heritage among the people of Guy-ana and in this instance, the people of New Amsterdam and Berbice.

The aim of the publica-

tion is to guide visitors, re-searchers, children and the general public about the history and development of the historic town of New Amsterdam and the vari-ous heritage sites that have formed its townscape.

Further, Persaud said that the publication is ex-pected to awaken and re-awaken interest in safeguarding and promot-ing the sites and historic properties.

She said that it is a great

disappointment that four of the sites were erased, in particular the old New Am-sterdam Hospital. “While we certainly acknowl-edge that these services have been replaced as in the case of having a new hospital, we are certainly sad over the outstanding wooden heritage buildings we have lost due to poor maintenance, inadequate reuse plan to save the struc-tures and subsequent acts of vandalism,” Persaud explained.

The pocket book, 2000 copies of which were print-ed, is easy for users to carry and offers space for person-al notes and observation.

The town of New Am-sterdam first developed as a settlement beside Fort Nas-sau, former seat of govern-

ment of the Dutch colony of Berbice, 55 miles up the Berbice River. This small fort consisted of private homes, warehouse, shop, a repair dock, two smithies, a brick church, a court of policy building and an inn. Around 1784, the Dutch relocated the settlement of New Amsterdam and by 1891 it was incorporated into a municipality.

Today, New Amster-dam is one of the most developed towns, with a number of business places, schools, churches, a hospi-tal and health centres and other government offices among other amenities. It also has a bridge which is said to be the sixth long-est floating bridge in the world with a length of 1.5 kilometers.

Region Six Chairman, David Armogan and National Trust’s, Chief Executive Officer

Nirvana Persaud during the launch of the New Amsterdam Heritage Trail

From left) Manager of the Forestry Training Center Inc. Quacy Bremner, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud, Euro-pean Union Ambassador to Guyana Robert Kopecky, FAO representative in Guyana Reuben Robertson and representatives of the Guyana Forestry

Association

22 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Science and Technology’s importance for sustainable development underscored – at UNESCO’s sub-regional workshopGuyana is ranked 55

among 143 coun-tries in the area of

Science and Technology and from 1 to 7, the country is ranked 4.3, in the World Economic Forum Report for 2015.

This was revealed, during a two-day (April 27-28) sub-regional work-shop on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Micro-science Experiments Project. The workshop, hosted, at the Grand Coastal Hotel was the brain-child of Guyana’s Secretary-General of UNE-SCO Inge Nathoo, who felt that it should be shared by all Caribbean countries.

Robert Paruna of the UNESCO office for the Caribbean observed that with 2015 as the most im-portant year for the United Nations, and with the Mil-lennium Development Goals deadline imminent, a new set of goals must be es-tablished, and these should be the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs would see Science and Technology becoming a key part to be adopted by governments. This would be crucial, he noted, since the SDGs

would be emphasising sci-ence and technology as the social pillar. The future of the plan depends on the ability to handle science and technology.

Paruna recognised the necessity of science and the move to put science towards building socio economic development. He noted that one of the key recommen-dations made by UNESCO was towards science for sustainable development, bio diversity and climate change. The workshop was organised after the meeting of eminent scientists of the Caribbean in collaboration with the Prime Minister of Grenada who currently chairs the Science Commit-tee of CARICOM.

Paruna observed that a key recommendation of the committee was to prioritise science education at the primary and secondary lev-els. He noted that the PM of Grenada would become the key spokesperson on strengthening and support-ing science and technol-ogy within the region. The other recommendation of the meeting, he noted, was to find funding for the study of science, and it empha-sised that Caribbean coun-tries use 1% of their GDP

(Gross Domestic Product) to support the funding of science, technology and innovation. The Grenadian PM hopes to carry forward the recommendations at the CARICOM Heads of Gov-ernment Meeting.

The UNESCO Global Science Report of 2010 called for major science policy mobilisation at the national and international levels. A report released on technology this week, Pa-runa stated, identified ten pillars for the Caribbean, and included Trinidad, Bar-bados, Guyana and Jamai-ca. Of these ten pillars, the fifth, he pointed out talks about skills and technology which can be found in sec-ondary education.

Paruna also noted that micro science kits which have been piloted and tested over a 30- year pe-riod are cost effective. He explained that they are be-ing used for experiments in over 80 countries. The kits were originally designed for poor African countries and many developed coun-tries are now asking for them, Paruna stated. He ex-pressed pleasure that Carib-bean countries are now ask-ing for them.

University students are using them, and have now adopted micro science, and in the Caribbean, it is the key to ensuring the suc-cessful implementation of micro science. It will also help to improve science

curricula for a better under-standing and increase the number of young people to promote capacity building and promote best practices.

The two pilot countries are Guyana and Jamaica. Whilst Jamaica has not, Guyana has fully embraced it and government’s com-mitment has led to success. The key points were the dedication and commit-ment from the Ministry of Education. Paruna com-mended Guyana for being the first country having a national policy which em-phasises the importance of science education.

Caroline Aguste of St. Lucia expressed her ap-preciation that Guyana had invited St. Lucia to partici-

pate in the workshop. She noted too that the Ministry of Education would need the results of the workshop in order to teach students micro-science.

Dr. Rudolph Anthony, Belize’s Secretary Gen-eral for UNESCO pushed for the exposure of young people to science to ensure that it will be maintained. He noted that with Guyana chosen in 2011 to be a pi-lot country, he urged that all should work together in unity.

Dr. Arnoldo Ventura in commending UNECSO for uniting with Guyana urged that more be contributed to this country to enable it to move forward.

Participants of the workshop came from Guy-ana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Ne-vis, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize.

The workshop covered several topics including the challenges and roles of sci-ence and education in the Caribbean. It also focused on science at the primary and secondary levels. To-morrow’s topics will in-clude experiments at the secondary level and a visit to St. Stanislaus College.

The participants of the Sub-regional workshop on United Nations Education-al, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at the Grand Coastal Hotel

Several observer missions confirmed for May 11 elections – HPS At least seven Ob-

server Missions have confirmed

their presence for the May 11 General and Regional Elections, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, and Cabi-net Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon.

Addressing the media at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, the Cabi-net Secretary indicated that the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Common-wealth, the United Na-tions (UN), Carter Center,

Organisation of American States (OAS), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and neigh-bouring Suriname have all responded positively to invitations dispatched on government’s behalf by President Donald Ramotar to observe the elections.

Two objectives ex-plored by government, Dr. Luncheon said have been, “One, to get the observer missions here early enough to observe the conduct of the campaigns, and two to get the observer missions

to confirm that they would remain in place after the polling date. Some of the missions are in Guyana and are observing the campaign activities and some others will remain in place after the May 11 elections con-clude,” he noted.

The present govern-ment has always invited in-ternational observers to ob-serve and rate the elections in Guyana since it returned to office in 1992.

President Donald Ramotar meets part of the OAS electoral observer mission in Guyana

23The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

The religious com-munity has a criti-cal role to play in

ensuring peace and unity among Guyanese even as elections loom and ten-sions run high. This charge was issued on Wednesday, April 22 by Head of State Donald Ramotar when he declared open the Guyana Conference of Seventh Day Adventists’ (SDA) opening ceremony of the Fourth Quadrennial Session under the theme, “Revived by his word; United in His Mis-sion,” at the Central SDA Church, Queenstown.

The President noted that the conference is tak-ing place at a very impor-tant juncture in Guyana’s history, and as politicians compete for people’s votes, emotions sometimes run high.

“As Christians, I know that you all feel a sense of duty to promote peace and equality for all mankind and this is an important

value to cherish to see eve-ryone as equal,” the Presi-dent told the church.

Quoting Galatians 3:28, the President said there should be no discrimina-tion, as the scriptures state that “you are all one. This is a very important princi-ple that I hope you would hold onto because I believe that Christianity must not only be practiced in the four walls of the church. It must become a guiding principle that guide our life and that is what I hope that

we can depend on as we move forward to preserve the integrity and peace in our country,” he said.

Recognising the work of the SDA community in Guyana, President Ra-motar noted that many of their values are familiar to him and identify with his personal philosophy, such as helping the vul-nerable, sick and poor. He commended the church for their consistent and tireless efforts to improve the qual-ity of people’s life, noting

that this principle is akin to those of his government.

“We are the only coun-try in the Caribbean where 30 percent of the money from the budget goes to the social sector, the larg-est portion going to edu-cation.” He added that his administration views edu-cation as the tool to elimi-nate poverty and raise peo-ple’s standard of living. He noted that there is a clear correlation between pover-ty and education as “where education is low, poverty is

high and where education is high, poverty is low” and commended the church for its work to reduce poverty and the work they have done to help, especially in the interior.

He urged the church members to therefore in-vest their time in their children’s education and to encourage their children to stay in school and maxim-ise on available opportuni-ties provided by the state, such as free provision of text books and other sup-port through the school system and the Guyana Learning Channel. “…we are providing all the exercise and text books and uniforms for children in school so that no child coming from an economi-cally under privileged fam-ily will feel inferior to a child coming from a rich home, and I believe be-cause of that which we are doing, we have the lowest dropout rate of our children

in school life in the whole of the Caribbean.”

The opening ceremony was also attended by Presi-dential Candidate for the APNU+AFC coalition Da-vid Granger.

Participants included delegates from congrega-tions across Guyana com-ing together to review the operations of the church for the last four years, and to elect administrators and other officers to serve the local church body and wid-er community for the next four years.

The SDA comprises 216 congregations with a membership of about 60,000. It has been in exist-ence for almost 130 years and has worked in numer-ous areas of development and welfare of the people including in the areas of health and wellness, sen-ior citizens, education and biblical teachings on or-ganisational and financial structures.

His Excellency Presi-dent Donald Ramotar has relieved Dr. Bheri

Ramsaran of his duties as Health Minister.

A statement from the Of-fice of the President, on April 29, said that the decision was made after a meeting between the president and Dr. Ramsa-ran, where the Guyanese Head of State reiterated his outrage at the verbal outbursts and in-sults uttered by the health min-ister recently.

President Ramotar has named Dr. Jennifer Westford to act as Minister of Health.

The action follows a com-mitment from President Ra-motar to address the widely criticised action of Ramsaran’s comments, made during and after a confrontation with lo-cal social activist, Sherlina Nageer.

The health minister re-portedly talked about hav-ing Nageer being “slapped” and “stripped” when she ap-proached him on the issues of maternal and child deaths.

Subsequently, he apolo-gised for his comments, at-tributing his outburst to the

fact that he was provoked to anger. “It was unfortunate that I was provoked into anger and uttered harsh words at her for which I now regret,” the min-ister said in his apology.

In a statement issued, fol-lowing the incident, President Ramotar had strongly repri-manded Ramsaran , noting that the following “statements and behaviour of the minister do not reflect the high stand-ards I have set for ministerial conduct nor the public’s ex-pectations of an office holder. It is outright disrespectful and improper.”

“I intend to have further discussions with the minister on this matter,” President Ra-motar has promised.

Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj is a reli-gious leader wor-

thy of emulation as his lessons have promoted peace and humility, while shunning discrimination and racial divide.

This is according to President Donald Ra-motar, who joined well-wishers as a biography of Swami Vidyanandaji written by Richard Ma-hase was launched at the Cove and John Ashram, East Coast Demerara.

Drawing from teach-ings of the Swami and his colleagues who have

graced Guyana over the years, President Ramo-tar said that these have sought to create a Guya-nese consciousness that embraces diversity and difference. He noted that in this period, especially leading up to elections, these are valuable lessons and urged all Guyanese to be proud of who they are not shun their ethnic-ity and to be respectful of themselves and others.

He said that it is only then that Guyana “can build something that we are all proud of”. He urged all; especially

young people to follow this and similar teachings that promote a fusion of

the various cultures and races in the country so that unity could be pro-moted at all times.

Also attending the launch was former Presi-dent Bharrat Jagdeo, who once taught at the Cove and John Second-ary School. He noted that the Swami is greatly respected and admired and thanked him for his service to Guyana, espe-cially since he has never been partisan in his work in Guyana.

President lauds Seventh Day Adventist Church - for its tireless efforts to improve people’s quality of life

President Donald Ramotar and Leader of the APNU+AFC Coalition David Granger among the congregation

President relieves Health Minister of his duties

President urges greater unity among Guyanese - at launch of Biography of Swami Vidyanandaji

Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj presents a copy of his Bibliography to President

Donald Ramotar as Former President Bharrat Jagdeo looks on

The gathering at the Cove and John Ashram for the launch of the Bibliography of Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj

Dr. Bheri Ramsaran

24 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPP/C 2015 manifesto... What’s catered for

Expanding education access and accessibility

The People’s Progres-sive Party/Civic (PPP/C), with its

“Our Vision-Guyana Ver-sion 2.0” manifesto, aims at emphasising the ‘well-be-ing’ of all Guyanese, but not in any empty or ‘quick-fix’ manner. The manifesto ad-vocates “building a country in which no one should feel left-out from development.” The document declares that the PPP/C “wants to give a good life to all citizens, so that they can live with dig-nity and security.

In this regard, the mani-festo is very clear on the PPP/C’s position in terms of “Equal Access to Edu-cation,” as this is not just a fundamental right, but a foundational pillar, when it comes to long-term plan-ning for nation building.

“We believe strongly that educating the popula-tion is the one sure way to bring about and sustain positive changes. We be-lieve that a good education system should be dedicated to ensuring that all citizens of Guyana, regardless of age, race or creed, physi-cal or mental disability, or socio-economic status, be

given equal opportunities to achieve their full poten-tial through equal access to quality education as defined by international standards and norms.”

According to the mani-festo, good quality edu-cation helps the nation’s citizens to develop the nec-essary knowledge, skills and values to lead happy and productive lives, learning formally to love their coun-try and the diversity of the

people who live therein, and at the same time, adhering to the ideals and practices of democracy, justice, peace, diversity, accountability.

Guyana, the document recaps, has already attained Universal Primary Educa-tion and has also significant-ly increased the percentage of trained teachers; thus making the teaching-learn-ing encounters more con-ducive. Statistically, there are the huge increase in the number of children passing at the Grade Six level, and more than the doubling of children enrolling in sec-ondary schools and writing the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams.

Building on this massive success, the PPP/C intends,

over the next five years, to implement a five-year strategic plan/plan of ac-tion for the Education Sec-tor. This well-thought out plan is focused on increas-ing the learning outcomes between sub-groups, and decreasing the differences in learning outcomes be-tween sub groups. The idea in this Education Strategic Plan (ESP) is to achieve six intermediate outcomes. The overall progress on

these outcomes is expected to translate into improved learning outcomes for all sub groups.

Detailing this blueprint, the manifesto projects a number of positive results in the next five years: sig-nificant improvements in the performance of govern-ment departments respon-sible for implementing the ESP; establishment and effective functioning of an accountability system that creates incentives to im-prove student learning out-comes; improvements in the quality of school facilities; improvements in the quality of teaching; qualitative im-provements of the curricula, the availability of teaching and learning materials and

the alignment of materials and the curricula of training programmes with the re-vised curricula; increasing of instructional time.

This kind of futuristic outlook necessitates a cer-tain level of commitment, and “Our Vision-Guyana Version 2.0” speaks of a commitment from the PPP/C; one that is com-prehensive and long-term. It posits a number of im-mediate pursuits: ensuring

Universal Access across all levels (having already at-tained Universal Primary Education), the immediate areas are Universal Nursery and Universal Secondary Education; increasing the number of trained teachers; and implementing the first ever professional standards for teachers, defining the roles and responsibilities of professional teachers.

An early screening and diagnostic programme will be implemented that will provide greater training for teachers in the area of Special Education Needs (SEN), while the Ac-creditation Council will be revamped.

The old Education Act will be repealed and re-placed by a new one while SMART classrooms will be implemented in all second-ary schools, and efforts will be made to equip all prima-ry schools with computers.

Opportunities in tech-nical and vocational edu-cation will be enhanced and centres of Excellence will be set up for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and the arts and modern languages.

The PPP?C also plans to expand the School Guid-ance and Counsellors Pro-gramme, and implement programmes to lessen the number of dropouts and enhance retention at senior levels of secondary schools.

These goals are very attainable, as it should be noted that it has become the norm for the PPP/C to allo-cate it biggest slice of recent national budgets to the Edu-cation Sector. This move has paid great dividends in the recent past, as Guyanese have been quite dominant regionally, at both the Car-ibbean Secondary Educa-tion Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

St. Ignatius Secondary School, Lethem, Region 9

Kato secondary school

With more than 112,000 house lots distributed,

the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Government plans to build on its suc-cessful housing programme across the country. It will further advance the gains in the housing sector and sub-sector for the 2015 – 2020 period through im-plementation of a National Housing Policy that pro-motes sustainable housing development.

With a renewed man-date to govern, the PPPC government aims to create new settlement areas while accelerating the granting of certificates of ‘Title to Land’ to address excess de-mand for housing.

The outfitting new and existing schemes outside of the urban centers, with modern social infrastruc-ture to hasten the achieve-ment of the national pri-orities in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be un-dertaken. Implementing community development plans in existing communi-ties that would contribute to environmental sustain-ability will continue.

The construction of Turn Key (1000 homes) for persons of low affordabil-ity and persons with special needs to improve accessing housing along with expand-

ing the “Young Profession-al Scheme” to encourage skilled Guyanese to remain and invest at home will continue.

Development of the successful Re-migrant scheme to attract the ‘Brain Bank’ in the Diaspora will be accelerated. Upgrading roads, water distribution and drainage and electric-ity networks in all exist-ing housing areas, which are already underway, will continue.

Regularisation of squat-ter settlements and the upgrade of infrastructure in those settlements will be completed, to ensure residents have a better quality of life. Expanding partnerships with the pri-vate, financial and com-mercial sub-sectors to sta-bilise the housing market, and improve efficiency of the housing delivery pro-cess through institutional strengthening, will also persist.

The establishment of a “Revolving Fund” to al-low low-income groups to access concessional funds more readily and expand-ing housing in the hinter-land is also planned.

The PPP/C Govern-ment’s housing initiative has been deemed a success, with many persons being able to own their homes at an earlier age.

Innovative housing programme to

expand

Housing Ministry staff facilitate beneficiaries to complete their paper work at a One Stop Shop

25The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

A more transformed electricity sector

Utilising ICT to fuel more social and economic development

According to the in-cumbent govern-ment’s manifesto

for the upcoming May 11, General and Regional Elec-tions, the country’s Na-tional Energy Policy will continue to be guided by principles and strategies, aimed at ensuring that sta-ble, reliable and affordable energy be provided to all persons.

The same would be made available to indus-tries in an economically viable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable framework. In its recently released manifesto, “Our Vision: Guyana Version 2.0,” the Party states that according to United States Geological Survey esti-mates, the Guyana basin reserves have a potential of 15.2 billion barrels of un-tapped oil.

As such, on-shore and off-shore oil prospecting and exploration activities have intensified in recent years, and the government says it will continue to work with all stakeholders to develop Guyana’s hy-drocarbons potential. In so doing, the government says it will actively pursue Guy-ana’s development of its hydropower resources as a priority of the country’s en-ergy policy.

The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the develop-

ment of the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electric Project will be components towards en-suring the sustainability of Guyana’s energy supply.

This will be established within the next five years, as the government seeks to transform Guyana into a country that meets of all its national demands for elec-tric energy, utilising renew-able sources by completing the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

Other initiatives to aid transformation of the country’s electricity sector will be to build additional hydro-electric capacity and export of energy to neigh-bouring countries.

In addition, there will be moves to promote the use of solar technologies, as well as to make them more affordable and ac-cessible. At the same time government will be encour-aging the importation and installation of solar panels for both residential and commercial use, as well as supporting the implementa-tion of wind farms to sup-ply energy to the national grid, and at the residential and commercial levels for off-grid applications.

Efforts will also be made to aggressively pur-sue opportunities for in-creased biofuel production (biodiesel and ethanol) for export and local consump-tion and incentivising the

use of energy-efficient and renewable appliances.

There will also be con-tinued efforts in ensur-ing that all remaining un-served areas be provided with electricity, including some hinterland communi-ties that have not yet ben-efitted from the solar panel project.

Meanwhile, in hinter-land communities, where there are electricity sys-tems but there is a growing demand, expansion works will be carried out. The existing network in Port Kaituma will see some ex-pansion work to better meet the needs of that growing community.

Further, there will be continuation of on-the-job training for linemen, employed by hinterland communities, and the com-mencement of similar train-ing for diesel generator op-erators and mechanics.

Over in Kato, Region Eight, a PV-Diesel genera-tion hybrid electricity sys-tem will be installed, while extension of electricity sys-tems at Orealla, Siparuta, Moraikobai and St. Cuth-bert's Mission will be car-ried out.

Further, there will be the procurement and instal-lation of additional genera-tors for Matthews Ridge, Moraikobai and Siparuta, to improve the reliability of their electricity supply.

New US $ 26M power plant at Vreed-en-Hoop, Region Three

The People's Progres-sive Party Civic (PPP/C) commits to

ensuring in the next five years, a digital Guyana, where every household and individual will be digitally empowered.

The PPP/C in its newly released manifesto said that, “We recognise that ICT (Information Com-munication Technology) is a genuine vehicle for the transformation of our so-ciety that can fuel social and economic growth.” In this regard, the document stated that the PPPC will further liberalise the ICT sector to promote develop-ment for more reliable ser-vices by private and gov-ernment investments.

Towards this end, the

manifesto outlines the fol-lowing commitment; in-creasing the penetration and usage of broadband across the country, with broadband access in every administrative region; pro-moting E-Governance and utilising social media for participatory governance and effective public griev-ance redress mechanism and expanding opportuni-ties for ICT based jobs in rural and semi-urban areas.

There are also pledges to make technology ena-bled products affordable for students, ensuring the use of e-books within the school system and to make all educational institutions and schools Wi-Fi enabled

in a phased manner. Digital learning and training must be used extensively, the manifesto stated.

The manifesto also committed to deliver on promises previously stated such as the establishment of an Information Technol-ogy (IT) Centre of Excel-lence in partnership with the Government of India.

It plans also to under-take the establishment of mini ICT parks across the country, to work with CARICOM partners to im-prove the ICT curriculum in CXC in order to make our youths competitive in the international arena and to implement teleconfer-encing facilities between the University of Guyana Turkeyen and Tain cam-

puses; and allow for re-mote access to lectures by students in Berbice, as well as Georgetown.

ICT will also be uti-lised to better distribute ed-ucational materials directly to students communities and homes and to allow for Computer Aided Learn-ing (CAL), the manifesto states. Like educational materials, the CAL will be available after hours and accessible in students' homes, it clarified.

In the next five years, the goal is as well to intro-duce telecom legislation to allow for e-commerce and data protection, in-crease collaboration with the telecom industry to

spur growth, and move from analog to digital broadcasting for television transmission.

Meanwhile, under its E-Governance programme, government commits to providing information and services to reach all citi-zens, even in remote areas and to implement a nation-al E-Health system, allow-ing doctors to have quick access to patients' medical records which will play a significant part in improv-ing the quality of health care. As explained by the manifesto, tele-health, re-mote assistance, among others will all be part of this new system.

The E-governance sys-tem will also be utilised in traffic control and reduc-ing road accidents, with the increasing number of CCTV cameras monitoring the roadways. Speed traps will be setup; allowing the systems to immediately identify speeding vehicles, dangerous driving and ac-cidents. It will also allow the police to more effec-tively manage traffic flow and will play a significant part in reducing traffic ac-cidents in Guyana, accord-ing to the manifesto.

The use of remote sensing to monitor pos-sible dangerous situa-tions caused by inclement weather patterns that exist due to global warming will also be a feature of the e-governance services that will be rolled-out over the next five years. So too will be the utilization of ICT to improve communica-tion among government agencies, thereby lowering transaction times. This will significantly improve re-sponsiveness to the needs of the citizens, the mani-festo promises.

The Manifesto tiled “Our Vision-Guyana Ver-sion 2.0" was launched on April 25 at the Marriott Hotel by President Donald Ramotar.

Computer labs, a feature in almost all the secondary schools in Guyana

PPP/C 2015 manifesto... What’s catered for

26 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Once re-elected, the current admin-istration intends

to continue its on-going programme of enhancing the nation’s road and wa-ter transport sectors. This agenda, laid out in the Peo-ple’s Progressive Party/Civic manifesto, will see the upgrading of the East Bank Demerara Road cor-ridor to effectively address severe traffic congestion and road safety issues.

The strategy will in-volve the completion of the following complemen-

tary project over the next five years: construction of a new roadway between Ogle and Mocha, which will connect the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara while bypassing George-town. This roadway will help to offset the transfor-mation difficulties faced by residents of several new housing schemes currently under development which are adjoining the aforemen-tioned areas. Completion of the four-lane expansion of the East Bank Public Road between Providence and Diamond, which is cur-rently under construction, is also planned, along with the repaving of the road-way and improving road safety between Grove and Timehri.

The East Coast Dem-erara Road corridor will be improved through the construction of a four-lane

highway from Better Hope to Annandale, upgrading of the two-lane roadway from Buxton to Belfield, and reconstruction of the prob-lematic steel bridges along the Railway Embankment.

The PPP/C Govern-ment plans to complete the transformation of pub-lic transportation for safe, comfortable, affordable and efficient travel throughout Guyana. This will be done by training of all bus driv-ers and conductors in de-fensive driving, customer service and how to be tour-

ism ambassadors. Regular and rigorous inspections of buses for road worthiness will also help to ensure the safety of vehicles and passengers who use their services.

Controlling traffic con-gestion within Georgetown through a multi-dimen-sional Sustainable Urban Transport Plan includes: rehabilitating roads in poor condition to offer more route options and better driving conditions; con-structing sidewalks and overpasses throughout the city to protect pedestrians and reduce conflicts with drivers; introducing round-abouts and 'smarter' traffic lights to remove gridlock at intersections and expand-ing parking facilities.

Overall accessibility throughout Guyana's main road network will continue to be improved through re-

habilitating of the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and the West Coast Demerara pub-lic road, which is already under contract. The reha-bilitation of the West Bank Demerara public road, and the Canals Number One and Number Two roads, for which the feasibility and design studies are close to completion; and the East Bank Berbice public road, for which the feasibility and design study is close to completion and funding has been secured.

An extensive main-tenance programme for the road network will be treated as a high prior-ity issue so that roads are not allowed to deteriorate until considerably more expensive reconstruction is required. The life of roadways will be extended significantly though the following three activities: routine maintenance - fix-ing minor problems in the road surface before they become significant; recy-cling - using a deteriorated surface to create a new one, before layers below are ex-posed and weight control - ensuring that trucks are not overloaded.

Routine maintenance will be administered by awarding multi-year con-tracts for fairly large zones, which will create an incen-tive for repairs to be carried out correctly the first time. It will also encourage the purchase of efficient equip-ment, allowing staff to be-come specialised and de-velop localised knowledge of maintenance issues.

There are plans to im-prove maritime services for passenger and cargo ferry services to Bartica, Esse-quibo Islands and the North West District. A new ferry service from Georgetown to the Northwest District to reduce the travel dis-tance/time by half, will be introduced, and the devel-opment of river taxis, will also be encouraged.

Further improvement to Guyana’s road, river transport infrastructure

More sustainable development of mining sector

A section of the West Coast road. The WCD road stretching from Vreed-en-Hoop to as far west

as Hydronie is set to benefit from a major road improvment project

The People’s Progres-sive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government

in its newly released mani-festo for the 2015 General and Regional Elections provides for more sustain-able development of the mining sector, as it con-tinues to protect the forest and wildlife and the rights of the Amerindian com-munities. Simultaneously, this is aimed at encourag-ing wider economic growth and creating employment opportunities.

Over the next five years, three new large modern gold mines will be op-erational which will create hundreds of new jobs, as well as new investments in oil and gas exploration and possible development.

There will also be the establishment of a formal mechanism under the aus-pices of the Office of the President for the implemen-tation of the National Land Use Policy and Plan and the coordination of National Land Use Management. This will include mining, forestry, settlements, agri-culture and infrastructure and to address critical is-sues regarding multiple land uses and co-existence.

Forestry Local forest producers will be provided with incentives to retool their enterprises and to increase efficiency, while there will a review of the performance of forest concessionaires to ensure compliance with forest laws and to prevent land-lording.

The government will also be aggressively push-

ing for value-added prod-ucts in the sector with a tariff system used progres-sively to reduce the expor-tation of logs and promo-tion of the production and utilisation of lesser used species. The Forest Prod-ucts and Marketing and De-velopment Council, to offer support to producers, will also be promoted and the Forestry Training Centre range of courses and ser-vices will be expanded.

MiningThe current incentives port-folio for the mining sector will be undertaken with emphasis on small and me-dium scale mining for gold and diamond mining, while bauxite development will be expanded.

The government prom-ises to work with all in-vestors (current and new) to ensure that the bauxite industry grow and remain sustainable. New areas for exploration will be opened for more investment, with attractive incentives and valued-added initiatives, for the mineral sector to be developed.

The current system of allocation of mining blocks will be reviewed and gov-ernment will be looking at enhancing transparency and accountability, through increased monitoring and enforcement of the sub-sec-tors and alignment with the Extractive Industries Trans-parency Initiative (EITI).

There will also be the re-vision of the Codes of Prac-tice and Guidelines for min-ing, with emphasis on better environmental management

and adopting mercury-free technology, for small and medium scale mining. The reform of the Guyana Geol-ogy and Mines Commission to improve efficiency and transparency in the regula-tions of the mining sectors will also continue.

Oil and Gas The National Upstream Oil and Gas Policy will be implemented, with the aim of attracting and securing investment in upstream exploration activities, and effectively regulating an upstream oil and gas sec-tor that will contribute to the sustainable economic development of the country.

The government will also be facilitating the ex-ploration for and production of petroleum for associ-ated industry development, regulating and monitoring petroleum operations to en-sure legislative compliance, encouraging the application of best practices in petro-leum and associated indus-tries operations, managing the transfer of technology for maximum benefit to the sector and providing the sector with timely and per-tinent information so as to contribute to its efficiency and competitiveness.

There will also be the sustainability of the herit-age of humankind, gener-ally, and Guyanese, in par-ticular, a safe environment around petroleum opera-tions and establishment of a world-class system for the management of pe-troleum revenue through the passage of appropriate legislations.

A section of Rusal's Kurubuka bauxite plant

PPP/C 2015 manifesto... What’s catered for

27The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

More programmes and initiatives for Indigenous peoples

Diversifying the non-traditional agriculture

sectors The Peoples’ Progres-sive Party/Civic in-tends to demonstrate

its continued commitment to the development of the Amerindian people for the improvement of their well-being and prosperity.

In its just released 2015 manifesto, the party said once returned to office, over the next five years, it will continue to enhance the quality of life of the Amerindians by ensuring that economic transforma-tion is supported so as to advance village economies into sustainable economic systems. This will be done via full implementation of the GRIF-Amerindian Development Fund Com-munity Development Plans and creation of value added through agricultural, eco-tourism, processing and support for community sustainable projects in the extractive sectors.

Government intends to support the upgrading and improvement in eco-

nomic infrastructure such as energy and water facili-ties, air transportation and roads, and mobile banking and credit systems with full emphasis on processing and marketing. Through interventions by the Agri-culture Ministry and other stakeholders, it will build capacity in agriculture ex-tension and introduction of newer techniques. It intends to expand process-ing facilities to increase the production of cashew nuts, peanut butter, farine and cassava by- products,

mango and citrus juice, ground coffee, ginger and cocoa processing. Initia-tives for aquaculture, cat-tle and livestock rearing and the provision of mod-ern production equipment to support processing of meat products will also be undertaken.

In terms of transporta-

tion, the construction and, or reopening of airstrips at Parabara, Karisparu, Kaibarupai, Wayaleng and Arau, Paramakatoi (exten-sion), and Nappi are high

on a new PPPC govern-ment agenda. Works for extending and improving the road network in Re-gions One, Seven, Eight and Nine are also planned.

Road improvement works in Matarkai, Ma-baruma, Moruca, and in North, Central and South Rupununi, will also con-tinue. These include the following road networks: Moraikobai – Linden, Waramadong to Kama-rang, Chenapau to Para-makatoi (PK), Maikwak to PK, Waipa to PK, Kai-

barupai to PK, Kamana to Kanapang, Karisparu to PK and, Chenapau to Meri-wau/Madhia, Parabara to Konashen, and Tiger Pond to Paipang /Taushida, and Maikwak to Paramakatoi.

The innovative Land Titling and Demarcation Project to provide land tenure security for Am-

erindians and process land extension requests will be continued. The process of regularising and securing homestead leases for Am-erindians settled in areas other than titled villages along the coastal areas, will also take place.

Culture and diversity of the Indigenous peoples will be promoted through the establishment of language development programmes, cultural expositions, lit-erature preservation and strengthening village/re-gional cultural groups in the hinterland regions. The sustaining of special pro-jects that seek to revive indigenous languages, sup-porting the promotion and marketing of indigenous art and craft , along with constructing sports facili-ties at several villages to enable recreational activi-ties will continue.

Under a specifically designed education pro-grammes, the PPPC plans to ensure increased ac-cess to higher institutions of learning by increasing the number of secondary schools and dormitories,

upgrading primary and secondary educational fa-cilities and delivering and facilitating access to ter-tiary education with em-phasis on agriculture and ICT Education and Techni-cal and skills training. This renewed focus will see the establishing of support sys-tems for technical and ter-tiary level Amerindian and hinterland students’ access to higher learning institu-tions by providing cheaper urban accommodation fa-cilities and expanded op-portunities for online uni-versity education.

Expanding technical training programmes to hinterland regions will be undertaken and this will include the construction of technical institutes in Re-gions 1 & 9, the introduc-tion of scholarship support for online university educa-tion for indigenous students and increasing scholarships for hinterland students pur-suing agriculture, forest and mining studies.

Under the successful Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Pro-gramme, the opportunity gaps among hinterland youths and gender dispari-ties, will continue to be addressed. Supporting and strengthening of sports and youth groups, while pro-viding sports scholarships for talented hinterland and Amerindian athletes, build-ing capacities of vulner-able groups of Amerindian women through leadership and management work-shops to allow for enhanced empowerment and fuller participation in the social, economic, cultural and po-litical development of their villages and the country will be executed.

Providing special credit support for indigenous women and youth entrepre-neurs will also be initiated with support from local fi-nancial institutions.

In its recently released manifesto for the up-coming May 11 Gener-

al and Regional Elections, the incumbent government plans to diversify and de-velop some non-traditional sectors under agriculture. Some of these include the livestock and fisheries sec-tors and other non-tradi-tional crops.

As it relates to the live-stock sector, it is the PPP/C’s plan to promote the production of local feeds, by encouraging the use of domestic inputs such as corn, soya, and other inputs.

Strides will be made to establish feed stand-ards and develop capacity to test feed, while abat-toirs will be established in various strategic re-gions, which will meet international best-practice standards.

Further managing pas-tures will be set up in se-lected regions, to increase local production of hatch-ing eggs, as well as to in-crease the yield of milk and beef per animal in order to reduce cost of production

The 2.0 vision mani-festo also speak of plans to increase production and diversification of crops, with priority on new crops and varieties while at the same time acquiring and field test improved/higher yielding varieties of corn, soya bean and cassava, and other crops.

Consolidating pilot

projects for corn, soya, and chick peas and promoting these as commercial crops for farmers is also some-thing that will be explored with additional plans to develop a new variety of sweet potato to target the export market.

Efforts will also be made to develop carrots, garlic, onion and white po-tato in large-scale farms, while combining the pro-duction of spices – ginger, black pepper and turmeric to meet local demands and to increase the cultivation and export of sweet pepper.

Cassava production is another area that will be examined with the aim of producing more than 20 tonnes per acre. Value-added cassava products, including cassava as a sub-strate for ethanol produc-tion will be promoted.

Further, much support will be given to coconut and plantain farmers to aid in increasing their output.

In terms of the fishing industry, there are plans to enhance support for the fisheries co-op societies, intensify anti-piracy ef-forts while continuing to engage Suriname on con-cerns of fisher folk.

Further there will be the expansion of sustain-able inland fishing and the promotion of fishing tour-ism, expanding sustainable aquaculture and the devel-opment of management plans for shark, prawns and red snapper.

Cultivation of tumeric at Linden Soesdyke Highway

continued on page 28

A beneficiary of the Hinterland Housing Programme at Manawarin

The tractor and trailer which residents of Nappi acquired under the Presidential grant programme

PPP/C 2015 manifesto... What’s catered for

28 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Job creation Job creation is an essen-

tial component for sus-tainable economic and

social development with un-employment and underem-ployment lying at the core of poverty. For the poor, labour is often the only as-set they can use to improve their well-being. Hence, the creation of productive em-ployment opportunities is essential for achieving pov-erty reduction and sustain-able economic and social development.

The People’s Progres-sive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) 2015 manifesto offers the

creation of productive em-ployment opportunities, es-sential for achieving pover-ty reduction and sustainable economic and social devel-opment. With government’s creation of more jobs for citizens, over the years, new avenues of employment for all Guyanese are now being provided.

The ruling administra-tion holds as its highest priority the creation of a Guyana where every person of working age is able to obtain gainful and fulfilling employment and/or become self-employed. For this to be realised, it has promised to ensure that educational opportunities expand, plac-ing special emphasis on bet-ter alignment with the skill requirements of the new productive sectors.

The job creation agenda would be further supported by several issues. This in-cludes the strengthening of the efficient and transparent delivery of targeted poverty alleviation programmes to end poverty in Guyana. Government would also empower all its levels, in-cluding civil society, aca-demic and financial institu-tions in the mission to end poverty.

There are also plans to focus on job intensive growth with special em-phasis on sectors that create meaningful employment,

and ensuring that the edu-cation system equip young people for the requirements of the new economy.

The PPP/C will also work within every sector, particularly in less populat-ed areas, to provide oppor-tunities for job creation and the establishment of small and medium business for our young people in all re-gions, by creating the right incentives for investment and business- promotion.

There would also be the identifying of the most vulnerable villages of the country for special devel-opmental programmes. This would include budgetary allocations to hinterland vil-lages, whilst additionally, gainfully employing rural poor in agriculture and al-lied industrial activities.

Additionally, simplify-ing the tax system and im-proving access to financing would allow the reviewing of the impact of taxes and other factors on cost of liv-ing. A periodic review of the regime business taxes would also encourage greater in-vestment by large, medium and small scale businesses.

The implementing measures to improve fi-nancial intermediation and expand opportunities for “development type” finance would also benefit job crea-tion. This would include the expansion of the housing,

tourism and mining sec-tors, which would add to the country’s GDP.

Raising the quality and relevance in the educa-tion and training system would further allow the implementing of national apprenticeship and special youth employment pro-grammes. This would also see the increase of students for the Board on Industrial Training (BIT) programme among others.

With the opening up of more technical institutes, more persons are getting jobs as educators. Students who have completed train-ing in various disciplines would then be qualified to enter the workforce and en-joy highly paid jobs. They attend the Leonora, Mahai-cony, Corentyne and the Es-

sequibo Technical institutes along with the Govern-ment Technical Institute in Georgetown.

Cognizant of all the facts the administration has been providing new av-enues of employment for all Guyanese while making way for skills training. In ensuring the provision of quality training to vulnera-ble groups, especially youth and women, the number of trainees has been increased annually.

The revitalisation of existing industrial sites, es-tablishing regional ones and providing incentives for job creation opportunities would see new manufactur-ers moving to employ more persons. This has been seen through the product manu-facturer, UNICOMER, the parent company of Courts. The furniture giant opened a new state of the art distribu-tion centre at Eccles Indus-trial Site, East Bank Dem-erara providing another window for persons seeking employment.

There would also be focus on downstream, value-added industries in agriculture, forestry, and mining sectors. The agro-processors would move to-wards employing persons to help them, whilst new min-ing companies would need more employees.

Incentivising foreign investment, specific to em-ployment creation, would also allow foreign investors to employ locals in their companies. This has already

been seen with Qualfon and other companies. Addition-ally with the Omai Min-ing Company and Guyana Goldfields Inc. entering the market, more than 800 Guyanese have secured jobs, after training under the expatriates. The same could be said for Troy Mining Re-sources Limited and RUS-AL Kurubuka mines which have provided close to 500 Guyanese with high paying technical jobs.

Additionally, the grow-ing banking sector through-out the country, including Republic Bank, Guyana Bank of Industry and Com-merce and Citizens Bank, all had more employment opportunities for Guya-nese. At each facility, more than 12 employment op-portunities were presented and filled, giving persons in communities a chance to earn and provide service.

In the line of telecom-munication and with Tel-eperformance coming to Guyana, there will be job openings for another 1500 persons. Also coming on stream in the near future will be two more ICT hubs, one to be located at Tuschen on the East Bank of Deme-rara, and another Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara.

Further, a staggering 6,000 job opportunities have been opened with the commissioning of a new US$12 multi-building, the Qualfon contact cen-tre campus, in Eccles, East Bank Demerara. Already Qualfon, with its two cam-

puses at Beterverwagting and Sparendaam on the East Coast of Demerara, is providing more than 5000 Guyanese with job opportunities.

Another job creation initiative is the Marriott Hotel project, under which 230 Guyanese have already been selected for employ-ment, and several other new hotels opening their doors for business in Guyana’s growing economy.

Additionally, the new rice cereal factory for which the sod was turned at Anna Regina, on the Essequibo Coast, is expected to pro-vide training and employ-ment opportunities for some 200 persons in that area.

Whilst providing incen-tives and opportunities for employers to hire youths would allow more young people a better chance to move upwards, similarly the development of entre-preneurship and apprentice-ship programmes would boost employment.

The establishment of business development ser-vices, the promotion of ap-propriate micro-finance and innovative forms of credit and the setting up of job intermediation, counseling and mentoring centres would all go towards the is-sue of job creation.

Further the promotion of skill-training for the urban poor to take advan-tage of the emerging op-portunities would also help within hinterland and urban communities.

Qualfon’s new US$12 M multi-building contact centre campus in Providence that will result in some 6000 jobs being created over the next few years

The new $700M Popeyes Camp Street branchhas created 44 new jobs

As the PPPC govern-ment continues with its policy of improving prima-ry health care at the village level, it intends to ensure there are better equipped health facilities and in-creased capacities among

village health care work-ers to deliver basic primary health care to residents.

The Medical Evacua-tion Programme for the hin-terland communities will be also expanded, along with the establishment of sub-

regional diagnostic centers in the hinterland Regions of 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (Berbice River).

A programme aimed at increasing awareness and public education at the vil-lage level and improving

the access of social wel-fare services within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to address social is-sues and concerns of indig-enous people will be also continue.

Through the use of re-

newable energy, the PPPC intends to support econom-ic advancement and social opportunities, fostering an increase in livelihood op-tions and opportunities to youths and households, in hinterland communities.

The Solar Household Units distribution to hinterland will be completed and the development of Solar Pow-er ICT Hubs to support the access to computers and related training in villages will also continue.

More programmes and initiatives for Indigenous... from page 27

PPP/C 2015 manifesto... What’s catered for

29The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Guyana set to host 4 matches in this year’s CPLArrangement has

been finalised for Guyana to host

four matches of the 2015 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament.

The Ministry of Cul-ture, Youth and Sport and the CPL organizers have signed the agreement for the hosting of the matches at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence from July 15-21.

The agreement docu-ment was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Min-istry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Alfred King and CPL Manager, Omar Khan in the presence of the Stadium Manager, Anthony Xavier and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank

Anthony.Importantly, the agree-

ment also provides for two important additions to the long term development of the stadium. These are the installation of permanent replay screens and internet access which will be avail-able throughout the venue via Wi-Fi.

Aside from those, work and inspections have al-ready commenced for the matches, with are just a few minor tasks to be com-pleted to make the stadium completely ready for the games.

During the signing, Minister Anthony empha-sized that the significant of having matches in Guyana that will be broadcast by

ESPN and viewed by an es-timated 60 billion people in 65 countries.

This allows for tremen-dous exposure of Guyana’s potential, hospitality, assets and economic possibili-ties, the minister pointed out. The minister also re-called the large turn out by the Guyanese for the 2014 matches and anticipated a similar turn this year.

He also disclosed that the ministry will be part-nering with the CPL organ-isers to host another ‘Cap-tains Seminar’ for young cricketers. The seminar that was held in 2014 was well received by the cricketers that attended as they were able to interact with a few members of the Guyana

Amazon Warriors team. This year cricketers in-

cluding Shiv Chanderpaul, Brad Hodge, Tillakaratne Dilchan, Christopher Barn-well and Dinesh Ramdin will be engaged in the sem-inar, the Minister said.

Khan said that the CPL organizers are pleased that Guyana will be hosting the four scheduled matches. He too recalled the support by the Guyanese which saw the national stadium being filled to capacity on each match date.

The 2015 Caribbean Premier League will of-ficially start on June 20 in Barbados where the Guy-ana Amazon Warriors will be challenging the Barba-dos Tridents in the opening

match.Guyana itself will

play host to intense T20 matches between the Guy-ana Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawaha on July 15; Guyana Amazon Warriors and the St Lucia Zouks on July 17; Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Barbados Tridents on July 18 and Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Trinidad

and Tobago Red Steel on July 21.

The Caribbean Premier League is the region’s pre-mier T20 tournament, at-tracting sold-out crowds and being viewed by mil-lions across the globe. It has been a massive contrib-utor to the economies of the host countries, surpassing its financial gains last year in comparison to 2013.

CPL Manager, Omar Khan and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony.

pose with a copy of the document. Also in the photo is PS, Alfred King

President describes IAC’s celebration of Indian Arrival as a recognition of their sacrifices, contributions - lauds organisers

President Donald Ramotar congratu-lated the organisers of the celebra-tion of the Indian Arrival Commit-

tee’s (IAC) “Hamara Guyana Concerts” the first of which was held at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, and de-scribed the event as recognition of the sac-rifices, suffering and contribution of those who came close to 200 years ago. Those who were brought to Guyana’s shores made a major contribution to the lo-cal society, President Ramotar said. “From the time they arrived here in 1838, they were engaged in tremendous struggles both to enhance their own living and working conditions, and at the same time coincided for the betterment of all Guyana”.

He recalled incidents at communities such as Leonora, Enmore and Uitvlugt which saw indentured labourers being shot and killed, and the eventual struggle for Guyana’s independence.

The aforementioned struggles with others in the local population, according to

the Head of State produced “giants of men and women, forged in the anvil of struggle for freedom, for liberation and for a better life”. Standing head and shoulders above all was the late President and Founder of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, “a man who gave all of himself, all

of his fantastic intellect, and his strength devoted to the struggle for Guyana. That is why all recognise him as the father of this nation,” the President stated.

Today, Guyanese are heading to a ma-jor junction that will decide whether their country goes forward, “as we work towards forging the national unity that we all dream of and work so hard to build and to work to develop the unique Guyanese culture that we want. We would love to recognise the contribution of every ethnic group in this regard, and on this occasion we recognise the great contribution by our ancestors, the Indians who came here to add a very im-portant ancient culture, to bring it here, to contribute to develop the unique Guyanese culture that we have all been striving and working for.”

The Head of State called on those gath-ered to work with government to ensure the country does regress, but continue the upward climb which it began in 1992 and

ensure it achieves its full potential. Also addressing the gathering of thousands of people was former President Dr. Bhar-rat Jagdeo who described the journey of their ancestors as a “long one”. He said that it important not to lose perspective of the struggles made along that journey. The hard fought for dignity that Indians achieved is constantly under threat, accord-ing to Dr. Jagdeo, “through bullyism and the unwillingness to accept that times have changed and the old methods of repression cannot work in this era”. Those who are the purveyors of this past, now “come in new guises”, he added, “If we allow our-selves to have this freedom snatched away from us then it would be long dark days for our country again and our ancestors would never be proud of us”.

He noted that while all are equal re-gardless of race or religion, the Indian group that came to Guyana brought a rich culture and tradition, philosophy and mu-sic “….rest assured that no-one should tell you that you are second class in your own country. You have to stand up to forces that try to make you that way.”

A similar event was staged at the Anna Regina (Essequibo) Community Centre Ground and another at the Albion Sports Complex.

The artistes’ for these concerts included KI Persaud, Artie Butkoon, Marissa Deo-dat, Satnarine Ragoo and Terry Gajraj.

Included also was a Choka Fest with Seven Curry Food Booths, special deli-cacies out of India, and a wide range of sweetmeats and non-alcoholic beverages.

President Donald Ramotar and Natural Resources and Environment Min-ister Robert Persaud at the IAC concert at the Guyana National Stadium

A section of the crowd at the IAC’s Hamara Guyana Concert in Essequibo

30 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PPP/C Rallies: Stewartville, Mabaruma & Port Kaituma

We don’t need the army...single seat.

The economy “…this election is about our future…we plan to build our economy to make it stronger. We want to make our economy more resilient, we want to build a modern economy," the President told those gathered there.

“In the next five years of PPP/C government we will lay the foundation to make Guyana one of the developed countries of this world. To do that we will have to work hard to create

more wealth in our country so that we can provide more jobs for the people not just low paying jobs, but highly paid technical jobs to suit the growing educational standards that our people are achieving at this time,” he said.

The idea, the President said, is to minimise the ef-fects of the vagaries of the international economic situ-ation “and we want to build an economy so strong that even the destructive char-acter of the PNC will not prevent this country from

going forward…One of the most important things we will do is bring cheap energy to the people. The opposition seek to cut, but they only succeed in delay. When we win the elections we will work tirelessly to bring cheap energy to the Guyanese people that will save you money, put more money in your pocket,” he said. He added that cheap energy will aid in convert-ing Guyana to an indus-trial country that will focus heavily on manufacturing and increasing exports.

from page 31

from page 31

President Donald Ramotar interacting with residents of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara

President tells Region...

we have been trying to im-prove the economy of the villages and that’s why we have been buying tractors, ploughs, engines and boats, and ATVs (All Terrain Ve-hicles) to improve transpor-tation services; build guest houses for them to host peo-ple and promote tourism in their communities; fund cattle rearing and other pro-jects through Presidential Grants and other govern-ment support,” he said.

“Before the PPP, op-portunities even to primary schools were limited. Only 30 percent of the children leaving primary schools could have gone to second-ary schools. Today more than 90 percent of children are attending schools…and if they did not behave the way they behaved by the end of the year, we would have had universal second-

ary education.” The president noted

that government is work-ing to ensure that secondary education is the minimum level of education, and “we are not far away from ac-complishing that.”

Hence, the president urged parents to ensure their children complete school, as government has been providing free education, uniforms, textbooks, exer-cise books, food, accommo-dation and a cash grant un-der the ‘Because we Care’ initiative to ensure parents are not burdened with the expenses of sending chil-dren to school. “No one should keep their children home, because we believe that the future development of this country will depend on the quality of people we have in this country, and we want to ensure we have

the most educated people in the Caribbean right here in Guyana. We have been spending much money on the interior areas of this country because we want to ensure they are not left behind,” the president said. He explained that such a situation (neglect) occurred both under colonial rule and the People’s National Con-gress (PNC) government.

“Never before in our history did we have so many Amerindians studying at the University of Guyana, the CPCE (Cyril Potter Col-lege of Education) and the Guyana School of Agricul-ture,” he said.

The government went further by building hostels in various places and pro-viding food, accommoda-tion, uniforms, text books and cash grants for second-ary age-students to attend

school on the Coast. In this context, the president ex-plained that the government made a decision sometime ago to accommodate hin-terland school children in secondary schools in the city and only President’s College had dorm facilities. However, this was met with objection from the political opposition, which accused the government of deplet-ing the standards of Presi-dent’s College.

The president said gov-ernment stood its ground and persisted “and a few years ago it was an Amer-indian student that topped President’s College. This shows our investment paid off and we were vindicat-ed. That is why you need to keep your children in school, so that they can be prepared to benefit from new opportunities that are coming…I am very hap-py today that Guyana has the lowest drop rate from schools in the Caribbean, and the highest enrolment rate of kindergarten chil-dren. That is why we place so much emphasis on edu-cation because no one can take that from you, and education develops your capacity…We are moving our country forward. We are building a dynamic econo-

my. Over the years we have invested in you to do that…there’s a link between edu-cation and poverty.”

The president said the opposition that are now making election promises. He noted that even during the last three years in the National Assembly, the op-position failed to use their one seat majority for the benefit of the people, espe-cially Amerindians.

“Never one day did they use their majority to say Ramotar build a new steamer for North West, new hospital, all they did was tried to cut, and they tried to cut $89 billion from the budget.” He noted that even their pre-collation discussions did not focus on policies and plans, but the discussion was about “who would be president, prime minister, home af-fairs minister and so. But I believe that political power is not an end in itself, if that were the case I would not have called elections now because constitutionally elections are due until end of next year, early 2017, but I don’t want to be presi-dent or we don’t want to be in government if we cannot deliver a better life for our people. That is why I called elections.”

The president noted that the opposition has a lot to apologise to Guyanese for as they have continuously blocked progressive meas-ures aimed at raising the standard of living.

“In a short period of time we can make Guyana a developed country, the only impediment we have is an opposition that is not interested in development,” he noted, as he explained that its members blocked the airport expansion pro-ject and the speciality hos-pital, as well as failed to support the environmental tax on imported plastic bottled drinks, which has resulted in government having to pay billions to an importer following a court case. Similar non- support was directed at the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, and cheaper electricity through the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity project.

“They cannot be trust-ed. Now elections are com-ing, they voted against the hydro power, now (David) Granger says he wants to build hydro. Can you trust him with your future? With your children’s future?” queried the Head of State. A resounding ‘no’ was the loud response from the crowd.

President Donald Ramotar addressing Port Kaituma residents

31The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

Hinterland communi-ties in Guyana have been transformed

and the dignity of Amer-

indians restored under the current administration, and in return, residents of the North West District on reaf-

firmed their support for the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s return to Of-fice. This took place April

28 when they met President Donald Ramotar at Maba-ruma and Port Kaituma.

With much fanfare and motorcades, the residents turned out in large numbers to meet and greet the Head of State, expressing their support to ensure all the Region One seats are taken by the PPP/C to help safe-guard its return to govern-ment. Among the highlights of the visit were renditions of “Donald calls elections and vote out Granger” and “Donald the winner man” by a Kaituma youth, Pame-la Calistro.

In turn the president committed to a modern economy and greater op-portunities and equality for

Guyanese once re-elected. President Ramotar ex-

pressed astonishment at the political opposition’s cam-paign slogan ‘It is time to respect Amerindians’, not-ing that Amerindian devel-opment has been prioritised under this government and this is evident with the sig-nificant physical and social development, particularly education and health care.

“You know how much we have done in the inte-rior areas. I was shocked to see a campaign billboard saying “It’s time to respect Amerindians.” Really? The same people who got now on a big sign board are the same ones in parliament last year who cut the Amerin-

dian Development Fund…They are the same people who say they love you, and cut one of the funds we have to lend fees to students at the University of Guyana and now it’s elections time they (are) telling us about respect. I cannot find a sin-gle reason for any interior person to want to vote for the opposition…They did nothing in the past,” the president said.

Outlining some of the key achievements for Am-erindians and hinterland residents under this Admin-istration, President Ramotar said “We have been able to deliver quality education and better health services;

PPP/C Rallies: Stewartville, Mabaruma & Port Kaituma

We don’t need the army to fight our political battles - Commander-in-Chief assures it of highest professionalism, support

Commander-in-Chief, President Donald Ramotar has assured

the armed forces that his government nor political party will ever ask them to subvert their professional-ism and engage in activities outside of their Constitu-tional mandate.

This assurance came from President Ramotar on April 26 as he addressed a huge gathering of support-ers at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara where his party conducted one of its largest campaign rallies leading up to the May 11 elections.

“The Army and Police have a vital role to play in our social and economic de-velopment because we need to operate in a secure envi-ronment so that we can take our production level higher and higher, and therefore those servicemen and wom-en in the army and police can count on us to defend

their professionalism... the PPP/C is strong enough to fight its own political bat-tles. We don’t have to in-volve them in our political battles. They will forever serve in the interest of all Guyana,” the President said.

Speaking to the armed forces, the Commander- in- Chief said he takes seri-ously his oath and responsi-bility and assured them that he will ask nothing illegal of those under his command.

“We in the PPP/Civic and me as Commander-in-Chief will never give them [armed forces] an illegal instruction. I will never, never want them to do any political work for me. I will always uphold the Constitu-tion of Guyana. I swore to that and I will stick to that. Let them also be aware that the PPP/C has always been looking at the interest of the armed forces of our country.

Over the last five years we invested more than $2.

5 billion to improve the ser-vices improve the capital aspect of the Army. Com-pare that to the $300,000 the PNC was spending on them. That was shameful. They had our soldiers starv-ing…our record has shown

that we are the only genu-ine friends of the armed forces in Guyana and we re-commit ourselves to build-ing the armed forces to be professional people of the highest level of profession-alism,” he said.

Thousands turned up at the Stewartville, Region Three rally to express sup-port for another term for the PPPC. Region Three has the second largest block of votes, the supporters were told, and at the last elec-

tions there was compla-cency, which turned out to be costly for the party. The PPP/C won the Presidency the last time around, but lost their majority hold in the National Assembly by a

continued on page 30

continued on page 30

Residents of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, attending a rally headlined by President Donald Ramotar

President tells Region One residents Granger is only historian hiding from history – receives warm welcome

Mabaruma, Region One residents at the community meeting with Presi-dent Donald Ramotar

Issue No: 16

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May 8, 2015

Guyana Postcard

This is one of two new water treatment facilities in Linden that was executed through funds from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB.) This facility which is now in the trouble shooting phase, along with the

other will work to provide over 30,000 Linden residents with access to treated water .

The Linden Water Treatment Plant