the guyanese newspaper issue #9 - january 30, 2015

Issue No: 9

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January 30, 2015

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INSIDE

Weekly Digest & Development Digest

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President concludes successful trip to India

President speaks out on UK High Commissioner’s prorogation statements

Page 2

Elections date:

President Ramotar is

a man of his word

Elections Day is May 11

The newly commissioned GuyOil facility, Regent Street

GUYOIL commissions $250M Regent St. facility-adds to Guyana’s commercial landscape

-several delegations expected in Guyana

for discussions

Gov’t slashes fuel prices by 30 percent

2 The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar, in reporting on discussions he held with Indian sugar companies, while in India recently, and other companies that are research oriented, said these entities are very interested in Guyana.

The Head of State said several delegations are expected to visit Guyana very soon, to explore pos-sibilities of working with the Guyana Sugar Corpora-

President concludes successful trip to India

-several delegations expected in Guyana for discussions tion (GuySuco), and what investments, with regards sugar, can be made.

Speaking on one of the highlights of his recent visit to the Indian sub-continent, he described his tour to a sugar factory in Gujarat, as a revealing experience. He said that the factory is man-aged as a cooperative, with farmers and workers vested with ownership.

According to President Ramotar, the factory pro-

duces all the needed power for its daily operations, as well as it sells its excess bagasse to other industries in its home state, including companies that manufac-ture paper and cardboard.

Apart from producing several kinds of sugar, this factory also deals with the crop’s by-products.

He said he was in-formed that the factory had half of an hour’s down time over the last six months,

with all tools and Informa-tion Communication Tech-nology being employed in its continuing efficiency.

President Ramotar opined that the method of ownership and other as-pects of the factory’s oper-ations are instances which can inform on Guyana’s situation.

Accompanied by First Lady Deolatchmee Ramo-tar, the president also vis-ited the TATA Company, where he was updated on

PRESIDENT Donald Ra-motar declared that he was very surprised at the position taken by the out-going British High Com-missioner to Guyana, Mr. Andrew Ayre, over his last November 10 decision to prorogate Guyana’s par-liament. He declared that the diplomat had over-stepped his mark, and is “totally out of place.”

The High Commissioner recently stated that, “The United Kingdom is increas-ingly concerned as to what is the basis for the suspension of the parliament, and how long it is going to last for.”

Answering questions during an interview on Jan-uary 17, the president said that the High Commissioner is aware that prorogation is within the Guyana Consti-tution, and is also part of the practice of parliamentary democracy, derived from

President speaks out on UK High Commissioner’s prorogation statementsthe United Kingdom.

The president said that he noted that there was no response from the British Government when the Ca-nadian Government had taken similar constitutional action on more than one oc-casion, with the country’s national parliament. He opined that it is a clear case of one standard of judg-ment for some countries, as against another for others.

He described as very un-fortunate, that Ayre should use his position to mislead persons, since whatever had been done in Guyana’s instance had been within its legal and constitutional confines.

President Ramotar also said that he welcomed CARICOM’S recognition that the British envoy’s statements amounted to in-terference in Guyana’s in-ternal affairs. This is a vio-

lation of one of the cardinal principles of international relations.

The opposition had ta-bled a no confidence motion against the government, and had intended to debate it at the first post-recess sitting slated for November 10. Because the opposition has the one-seat majority, this would have meant that the government was outnum-bered; hence the president’s option was to prorogue the parliament.

Head of the Presiden-tial Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, also condemned the soon-to-depart UK High Commissioner’s statements, noting that there seems to be something about West-ern foreign envoys, who are about to depart this coun-try, that encourages them to comment on the govern-ment’s affairs.

The Cabinet Secretary

noted that the official, who has served for three years, took the opportunity to be “unusually remembered” by the government, further describing him as “terri-bly dishonourable” for at-tempting to depict Presi-dent Ramotar’s actions as a constitutional crime. He added that the High Com-missioner also attempted to portray the prorogation ac-tion, as one worthy of Com-monwealth’s sanctions, and one that could result in the withdrawal of developmen-tal aid.

It was further noted by Dr. Luncheon that the UK High Commissioner, “sin-isterly and conspiratorially” revealed the European Un-ion’s and the UK’s handi-work in the recent EU’s dis-honouring of its agreement with the Guyana govern-ment on budgetary support. “His attempts to damage

Guyana’s credibility and its economic prospects are considered by Cabinet to be unpardonable”.

It was pointed out by the Cabinet Secretary, that since such concerns are usually shared bi-laterally, the High Commissioner’s actions needed to be condemned, as they are “unacceptable in the realm of international diplomacy, as any concerns of the UK government can, and ought to be continued to be shared conventionally.”

Government has not been utterly silent about concerns expressed by the UK, but it noted that the re-sort to the media to air these are “unacceptable in the modern world.” Dr. Lunch-eon said it was “irksome” for western diplomats to be running around the world with the “S word” or sanc-tions, which seem to have assumed a very notable

role in the diplomacy, in the “soft or even the hard pow-er” of these states.

The threat to withhold developmental aid was viewed by Dr. Luncheon as “most dastardly,” as “…it hurts … as not only have they been instrumental in or-ganising … in contributing to developmental …I think the people would say that is really taking this matter to-tally out of proportion.”

The fact that proro-gation is contained in the Guyana Constitu-tion was reiterated by Dr. Luncheon, who said that the claims are “totally absurd” that the govern-ment wanted to hijack po-litical and parliamentary democracy. Government’s sentiment is that the out-going official be accorded the status of a “pariah” whose departure was ea-gerly anticipated.

the company’s varied inter-ests. The First Couple also visited a Mahatma Gandhi ashram, and the First Lady added a visit to a centre for differently- abled children.

The Guyana Leader, early in his six-day visit, met with that country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several govern-ment officials. President Ramotar was able to secure a US$50M line of credit, for the construction of the East Bank-East Coast road

link, and US$8M for an ocean going ferry. Prime Minister Modi announced too that India will construct an IT centre of excellence in Guyana.

President Ramotar was bestowed with the Pravasi Bharatiya Sam-man Award by the In-dian Government, for his contribution to the field of public service, and his role in fostering ties be-tween Guyana and India.First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar with two students, during a visit to a

school for the differently abled in India

President Donald Ramotar and an official, discussing the finer points of production, during his tour of the Valsad sugar factory

3The Guyanese - “Keeping the Diaspora informed”

THE eager anticipation is now over, as Head of State, Donald Ramotar has declared that General and Regional Elections will be held on Monday, May 11, 2015. The Presi-dent made the announce-ment, during an address to the nation, on January 20, in which he recalled the circumstances that led to this eventuality.

He recalled that he pro-rogued Parliament on No-vember 10, 2014 with good intentions, as he was opting to preserve rather than end the life of the 10th Parlia-ment. “I was also attempt-ing to avoid further political conflict and was seeking avenues of political accom-modation, between my gov-ernment and the Parliamen-tary Opposition parties.”

He explained that he had hoped that the period of prorogation would have allowed for ‘extant ten-sions’ to ease and for all of the parliamentary parties to constructively engage the government.

Elections Day is May 11

Another important fac-tor weighing in on the No-vember 10 prorogation was “…to enfranchise those persons, through no fault of their own, who could not get on the voters’ roll at the last election…” the Presi-dent explained. This lapse resulted from the lack of source documents, mainly for residents living in the hinterland.

President Ramotar also lamented the wasted op-

portunities that the proroga-tion provided for, that is for continued dialogue and en-gagements with the Parlia-mentary Opposition parties. He intoned that “The Parlia-mentary Opposition adopt-ed an inflexible position that they would not engage with me until parliament would have been reconvened.”

His hope was that “…they (opposition parties) would have reconsidered this unproductive posture and (so

would have) met with me, so that we could have discussed our differences and find so-lutions to advance the devel-opment of Guyana.”

The President prudently explained that he was at all times quite constitutional, as during the period, “(his) government paid strict ad-herence to the Constitu-tion, in administering the welfare of (the) nation. He also showed the humane side of the government by recalling how “… there were regular interactions with national and interna-tional stakeholders, to keep them abreast with devel-opments and my efforts to reach some level of politi-cal consensus.”

Ramotar detailed that meetings were also held with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), “… so as to emphasise the need for the readiness for holding free, fair, transpar-ent and efficient elections.” He explained that, “This was consistent with the in-tention to call general elec-

tions, should there be failure to find accommodation with the Parliamentary Opposi-tion parties.”

He went back to De-cember 2014, when he had alerted international observers to the possibility of elections in 2015. Also, there was a special Press Conference, where he as-sured the nation that he was going to announce a date for General and Regional Elections early in the new year, the reason being that he did not want to dis-rupt the Christmas holiday season.

President Ramotar also said that his commitment to “preserving and strengthen-ing” Guyana’s democracy is unquestionable. “I made it clear then that I remained open to dialogue with the opposition parties … and it is a door that I did not nor do not intend to shut, (not) now or ever.”

However, he explained that the inevitable must unfold since the opposi-tion took a posture of “sus-tained refusal” to engage the dialogue that the Ra-motar administration was

anticipating.“In the circumstances,

I hereby announce that General and Regional Elec-tions will be held on Mon-day, 11th May, 2015.” The accompanying readiness for elections was also ad-dressed, as President Ramo-tar told his audience that he was “advised that GECOM would be in a state of readi-ness for these polls on that date.”

The President con-cluded by explaining what will obtain on the day. He said that he will do the expected, as he will invite international observers to be part of the elections process, and “I will ex-pect the political parties, the security services and the people of Guyana to conduct themselves in a manner that would ensure continued peace and sta-bility before, during and after the elections.” This he said is because, “We have a collective obliga-tion (every Guyanese) to ensure the protection of the democratic gains we have made and for which we have endured so much as a nation to secure.

Flash black: Elections Day November 28, 2011 Voters line up at the Houston Secondary School

President Donald Ramotar addressing the Nation on January 20, 2015

DR. ERNESTO Samper Pizano, Secretary Gen-eral of the Union of South American Nations (UN-ASUR) and former Presi-dent of Colombia says that among his list of priorities for UNASUR, two are for Guyana. These are aimed at promoting integration among countries in South America; the Brazil/Suri-name/Guyana link which would include the Coren-tyne River Bridge, and the Venezuela/ Guyana link.

Dr. Samper, who was appointed to the post in Au-gust of 2014, on January 20,

UNASUR will help Guyana with infrastructural projects linking its neighbours

-Secretary General co-hosted a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.

Minister Rodrigues-Birkett pointed out that some of the projects have already been discussed with Guyana’s neighbours. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the region in June 2013, he had announced that money would be avail-able for countries of the Community of Latin Ameri-can and Caribbean States (CELAC) for infrastructure development.

The SG is proposing that focal points from each country indicate who would be responsible for a particu-lar project. The minister in-dicated that meetings would be held to discuss the best ways forward. This means that the UNASUR Sec-retariat and the Secretary General in particular, would have a coordinating role in that aspect. It is felt that this would be the best direction to take in advancing the UNASUR infrastructure agenda.

Suriname has ap-proached the Chinese for as-

sistance on constructing the Corentyne River Bridge.

“The council of infra-structure for UNASUR has identified a long list of projects and the Secretary General has identified seven on that list,” she indicated. The minister added that while “we will be working on those seven,” it was be-cause the Heads of States have agreed that these are the priorities in terms of infrastructure.

It was noted that UN-ASUR is an area integrated in working on three agendas; based on improving compet-itiveness on topics such as economic ones, infrastruc-tural technology and educa-tion was the first part of the agenda. The second agenda focuses on exclusiveness as one of the main problems the region is facing, while the third is to improve democra-tisation. These agendas were discussed with President Ra-motar, Samper said.

He added that what is

also of concern to him as a former president is what is happening in Colombia. With the peace process as one of the main concerns of the UNASUR agenda, he be-lieves it is linked to human rights and democracy.

He also pointed out that health is one of the social concerns of UNASUR and work is ongoing in an insti-tute located in Rio de Gana-do. He said the organisation is also working on one main problem, drugs in the region. These drugs are used com-monly and work is ongoing to negotiate a medium price and to produce generics in the region.

With regard to the prorogation of Guyana’s Parliament, he noted that UNASUR is also aware of the situation and that Pres-ident Donald Ramotar has officially requested from UNASUR a Commission of Observers to monitor the elections that will be held soon.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR),

and Guyana’s Ambassador to UNASUR, Audrey Waddle


PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has exercised a constitutional preroga-tive, which he exclusively enjoys, under Article 60 of the Constitution and so has declared the date for general elections- May 11.

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Af-fairs Anil Nandlall appear-ing with Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill recently on a live National Communications Network television inter-view stated that it is impor-tant to note that Article 111 of the constitution provides that “… this power, residing in the President means that he is exempted from pres-sure, or any form of compul-sion, in the discharge of that particular function or the ex-ercise of that power.”

This explanation rebuffs the claims that the Presi-dent had been acting in total disregard for the constitu-tion, as he recapped that the Prorogation of the 10th Parliament led to the now soon-to-be-held General and Regional Elections.

The Proclamation Minister Nandlall restat-

ed that “… there was noth-ing unlawful, undemocratic and nothing wrong with the Prorogation of the 10th Par-liament, nor in the manner in which it was done.” He carefully detailed that “the President exercised a consti-tutional power; he acted in accordance with the ‘spirit and letter’ of the Guyana Constitution…”

AG Nandlall went fur-ther and stated that “An act cannot be unlawful, when it is provided for by a constitu-tion (the Guyana Constitu-tion) … and which is the su-preme law of Guyana … and it is not a new power in this Constitution; it is a power which has been there since independence.”

In this regard, Nand-lall cogently put to rest the recent ramblings from the soon-to-depart UK High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre, who sought to castigate the PPP/C gov-ernment, even to the point of threatening the UK’s sanctioning. The minister explained that the ‘power

Elections date: President Ramotar is a man of his word

to prorogue’ is one that was inherited by Guyana at Her Majesty’s government.

He elaborated that in recent times that “Canada exercised this very power twice in a seven year period. He detailed that the Head of State of Canada is Her Maj-esty, the Queen of England, and that the power to pro-rogue always resides with the Head of State, so the Queen of England, because she is the Head of State of the Dominion of Canada still retains that power, and it was the Queen of England who prorogued the Canadian Par-liament, acting upon the ad-vice of the Prime Minister.”

AG Nandlall, however, lamented that “We (here in Guyana) did not hear any hue or cry over the (very) power, when it was exercised by Her Majesty herself, but when it was done in Guyana, a cry of foul went up, and many wrongfully deemed the act as inimical and antithetical to the spirit of democracy. Nandlall woefully admitted in his interview, that he does not know “… if there are dif-ferent treatments meted out to different people … and if there are different standards of democracy…”

Opposition’s otiose AG Nandlall also ex-

posed the abysmal failure of the opposition from 2011 December all the way the Prorogation of Parliament. He explained that its mem-bers and supporters never put the welfare of the coun-try as the paramount princi-ple, guiding their actions and positions in Parliament.

He intoned that the ex-pectation was that “… an opposition which has an ad-vantage in the National As-sembly would have used that

advantage to advance the welfare, if not of all Guya-nese, at a minimum that of their supporters.”

Nandlall declared that “… the opposition could have attempted to ‘extract (from) and exact’ out of the government more … so rather than have a budget of $200 B, champion, converse and struggle for a budget of more than $200 B, so that there is more money to pro-vide more goods and servic-es for the people of Guyana, to do more in terms of job creation, poverty alleviation, improvement of the health care of our country, educa-tional status for our young people…”

However, he noted that the opposition used this ad-vantage to force the govern-ment to do less, and that was and still is being manifested in a number of ways: a cut-ting of a budget rather than an agitation for an increase of the budget; and the chop-ping of the national projects, Amerindian hinterland de-velopment plans, and stu-dents’ loan at the University of Guyana.

The minister explained that the motif one sees is a “… thread running through the government’s activities by the opposition … a con-certed effort by the opposi-tion to get the government to do less for the people…”

This for the AG is an opposition’s policy be-ing pursued so as to get the government to look bad, to make out that it is not doing enough, and it matters not to those who are the architects of that policy, that the people of Guyana are the ultimate sufferers from that type of policy.

The AG carefully noted that this insidious and invidi-

ous philosophy of the oppo-sition continued with greater intensity as time went by and which culminated in their coming up with this ‘brilliant idea’ of a No-Con-fidence motion.

He recalled that it was really Moses Nagamootoo who came up with this ‘bright’ idea to remove the government by way of a No-Confidence motion and then someone in the press took advantage of it and made it very prominent. He believed that “… it excited people’s

ego because they saw this grand vision of removing a government from power and they can get the credit for that type of monumental accomplishment and they committed themselves to a course of conduct, getting others to join with them…” This he concluded is what precipitated the Prorogation of the Parliament.

Dirty tacticsAG Nandlall explained

that in recent times there has been a high degree of intoler-ance by the opposition lead-ers in their public statements and sentiments. He pointed out that “… there has de-veloped in recent times …

over the last few months, a belief, a feeling, an atmos-phere, an attitude, a procliv-ity seeming to suggest that only one set of people can express their views and that the government’s people are not among the ‘chosen few’ who can speak on matters of national and international importance…”

He recalled recently that APNU’s General Secretary, Basil Williams, issued a blis-tering condemnation about the private sector, about the prorogation, deeming it is an unconstitutional power. He pointed back to the picketing at CARICOM headquarters and which was most disre-spectful. He also reminded the audience about many de-generating and disparaging statements being made.

The minister explained that it seems as though no one has freedom of speech in Guyana except the oppo-sition, and that is something that must stop as the “… thirst for power in the Na-tional Assembly is having an

intoxicating effect from the positions being taken by the opposition.”

Buttressing the exhorta-tions of the AG was Minister Edghill, who declared that “… both the President’s ad-mirers and critics can only come to one conclusion, President Ramotar can be trusted … he is an honour-able man and he keeps his word and delivers on his promises. Both his admirers and critics are forced to have that conclusion.”

Minister Edghill also recalled how the President only prorogued the parlia-ment because he wanted to preserve its life, and to en-

courage dialogue and con-sensus building. Minister Edghill made it clear that “… the President did not close the door, (and) will never close the door and that his door is always open.”

According to the Minis-ter, the President had clearly stated that he will not use that power, even though it is available to him as an option, even though it is a constitutional endowment. Minister Edghill said all Guyanese are aware that “… the President has fulfilled his word … he had acted honourably, and upheld his word that was given to the nation…”

ClarificationsMinister Edghill admon-

ished Parliamentarians that government ministers and ministries must continue to carry out their function, as “All the roads that are being built have to continue, the schools that are being built have to continue, they have to be managed, the project

execution unit must be able to manage them, people must get paid their sala-ries, hospital must function, school must go on, children must be able to write their exams.”

The summation is that the country must remain normal, as “… an elec-tion was never meant to collapse a country, an election is an event that allows the people of the country to give a review on the performance of the government and deter-mine if they would like to have a change and it must

Flash black: Elections Day November 28, 2011. A polling clerk peruses the Official List of Electors at Timehri Primary School, as voters await

their turn to cast their ballots

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall appearing with Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill, on an

NCN television interview

See page 8


COMPANIES both local and foreign, continue to take advantage of Guy-ana’s stable economy and conducive environment for investments. Mere weeks after it commis-sioned an aviation fuel facility, the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) has opened yet another, the $250M Regent Street re-tail facility.

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh joined offi-cials of the oil company to commission the facility. In lauding the company for its achievement, the Minister

FOR several years, the opposition has revelled in spreading lies and dis-tortions about Guyana’s development initiatives. The sole objective has been to destroy the re-sults of hard work, un-dertaken by Guyanese, over the many years to advance the country.

In its desperate at-tempts to destroy de-velopment projects, the opposition frequently resorts to false accusa-tions of corruption, but is yet to provide evidence, in order to create a fog of mis-information that sows doubts and fears in the minds of the people.

In one of its latest forays, it has surpassed itself by suggesting that

GUYOIL commissions $250M Regent St. facility-adds to Guyana’s commercial landscape

highlighted the importance of creating a stable envi-ronment for the expand-ing commercial landscape of Guyana. Expressing his pleasure at being able to share in this milestone for GuyOil, Minister Singh noted the continued growth of the company over recent years.

In December of 2014 the Company commis-sioned its Aviation Fuel facility at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, while another facility was com-missioned in Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara,

just over two years ago. “I would like to compli-

ment you on behalf of the Government, the Cabinet, on making this important investment, that sees our making of an important ad-dition to the commercial landscape of down-town Georgetown.”

With these and other in-vestments, Minister Singh said the company has de-fied the stereotype of public sector companies, showing that it can be competitive and provide leadership in the market place. The com-pany and its Board were also lauded for their excel-

lent corporate governance, efficiency, outstanding re-sults and continued excel-lence in service.

“I view this occasion within a broader context too because often time we see changes that are hap-pening before our eyes and perhaps we take them for granted.”

Speaking of other sig-nificant investments and transformation, Minister Singh thanked GuyOil for being a part of Guyana’s transformation.

The company was urged to continue in its effort to deliver quality service and the Finance Minister un-derscored the importance of world-class quality ser-vice, which he says goes hand-in- hand with modern technology.

Meanwhile, the Minis-ter also noted that Govern-ment remains committed to ensuring that Guyana remain a place safe for in-vestments and that a con-ducive environment be maintained.

“We need constantly to ensure that we remain an attractive place for doing business where investors are confident in putting their money, expanding

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh delivering the feature address at the commissioning

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, Managing Director, GuyOil Badrie Per-saud and other officials during the symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony to

commission the GuyOil station, Regent St.

their operation because it doesn’t redound to the ben-efit of one political party; (investments) it create jobs, (and) generate income for all Guyanese.”

The company’s Man-aging Director, Badrie Persaud, thanked the Government for its con-tinuous support in the company’s effort to ex-pand its retail facilities throughout the country. Giving a brief history of the origin of the Regent

Gov’t calls on opposition to immediately apologise to Norway and IDBthe Government of Norway and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are “colluding with the Government of Guyana to violate the Constitution of Guyana”.

The government does not intend to lower itself to engaging with such a pre-posterous assertion as has been made, but calls on the opposition to immediately apologise to Norway and the IDB. Both have long been supporters of Guyana in the global fight against poverty and the interna-tional community’s efforts to combat climate change. Their motivation in assist-ing the people of Guyana is purely honourable. Moreo-ver, the idea that such a conspiracy could be con-

cocted among the Govern-ment of Guyana, the IIDB the Government of Norway is simply ridiculous.

The government instead would like to repeat the fol-lowing points:

On October 24, 2014, His Excellency, Donald Ramotar gave an address to the nation, concerning Guyana’s Low Carbon De-velopment Strategy, with a specific focus on Amaila Falls. The address is at-tached to this press release. In this address, President Ramotar pointed out that of the US$150 million, re-ceived by Guyana to date, in payments for forest car-bon, US$80 million would be invested as Guyana’s equity in the Amaila Falls project. This is the same

position that has been re-peated for years, and which the opposition previously supported.

The President pointed out that in August 2013, “self-serving political games attempted to destroy the project that was about to benefit all Guyanese, by providing them with affordable, reliable, clean energy.”

His Excellency then proceeded to give the strong commitment that he would not give up in the face of such baseless attacks and that his government would remain steadfast in pur-suing this transformative project.

The opposition refuses to acknowledge that gov-ernment made more than

four presentations to its members, on the Amaila Falls project, starting in March 2012 through Au-gust 2013. In addition, the government shared the principal confidential agreements in the project and requested comments/questions on these docu-ments. No questions were received.

Instead of constructive dialogue and engagement, its members are now fo-cusing on disparaging the government’s reputable in-ternational partners such as the IDB and Government of Norway-an ill-advised strategy, that assumes that the Guyanese people and the world will choose to be-lieve the picture painted by the opposition versus the

rigorous standards that these institutions abide by.

The simple fact is the people of Guyana are paying too much for power that is too unreli-able. The Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHP) offers the op-portunity to address this critical need. It seems that since the govern-ment is committed to bringing the benefits of this project to the peo-ple, the opposition’s intent is to prevent its development. The gov-ernment will persevere despite these narrow-minded attacks and will continue to do what is in the best interest of all Guyanese.

Street expansion facility, Persaud noted that the business had outgrown the capacity it had in pre-vious years. Hence, there was the need for a new design and larger facil-ity. It now has a storage capacity doubling what it was in the past, with a 20,000-gallon under-ground gasoline storage, a 10,000-gallon under-ground storage for diesel, and a 5,000 gallons one for kerosene.


THE naysayers and prophets of doom abound in Guy-ana, with their particular line being that Guyana’s development is still stagnant, and its citizens still in a daily state of dire poverty. It is a refrain that has been as constant, as it has become worn and hollowed, for the simple reason that it emanates from a particu-lar clique that never expected the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to be so successful in its herculean task, of resurrecting Guyana, from its abject state of socio-economic collapse, and its offspring poverty, and utter hopelessness among the Guyanese people.

The credible fact is that there are evidential results of Guyana’s continuous advancement moving on to the transformative phase of national development, where numerous of the old and dissipated infrastructure have since been replaced, such as roads, bridges, water treat-ment plants that facilitate potable water to communities, schools, hospitals, health clinics, and community centres. There are even new sporting facilities such as an aquatic swimming pool, a national stadium, and the nation’s first national athletic track.

Then there are the huge investments that signal unde-niable confidence in the national economy, such as the construction of new hotels, new corporate entities, new business and commerce enterprises, inclusive of mining shops and hardware stores, restaurants and drinking bars, and ice cream and pastry bars.

Guyana’s success has been noted and lauded by all of the multilateral financial institutions, inclusive of the Car-ibbean Development Bank (CDB) President Dr. William Warren Smith. Not only did Smith commended the man-agement of the country’s fiscal affairs, but also opined that Guyana can serve as a development model for other countries; for the emphasis, that declaration was an inde-pendent and candid judgment.

Our magnificent housing project, incomparable to any such, anywhere else, is a shining beacon of a model that is a tribute to the government, in bettering lives throughout Guyana. Owning a home was just a dream and a distant hope for so many of our low income and working class Guyanese. But twenty two years, since the PPP/C admin-istration, tens of thousands of Guyanese have acquired one of life’s great necessities-a home of their own.

So impressed was the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, when taken on a tour of some of the country’s new housing areas, that he was moved to conclude: “I do not know of any pro-

EDITORIAL

Editor-In-Chief: Shanta GobardhanEditor: Henry Singh

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

Facebook: GINAEmail: [email protected]

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

Dear Editor,What a wonderful dif-

ference it was, after so many years, travelling to the Corentyne. The crossing, of course, went like clock-work, compliments of the new Berbice River Bridge.

I last travelled over the Berbice divide, in the very early years of this new mil-lennium; and, as I recalled then, it was a very slow and uncomfortable journey, be-cause of the ferry system that was in operation at the

daily economics of both Region Five and Region Six.

Indeed, it was a night-mare before the reality of the bridge, when many seri-ously ill persons died at the New Amsterdam Ferry Stel-ling, because of not being able to cross, for accessing further medical treatment elsewhere; and persons made to lose international flights, because of either technical problems with the ferry, or simply not sailing

as per schedule. Then there were the many farm pro-ducers, whose lorries, laden with perishables, were often stranded at both sides of the Berbice River crossing, be-cause of a then chronic un-reliable ferry service.

So for those who have been criticizing the toll costs for usage of the bridge ought to take into consideration the benefits being enjoyed.

Suraj Persaud

Letter to the Editor

Berbice River Bridge-a wise investment

Email letters to: [email protected]

Improved lives are witnesses

to Guyana’s socio-economic

development

gramme of this magnitude anywhere else in the Carib-bean, in the Eastern Caribbean and in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).”

Now similar sentiments have been expressed by a recent, visiting high-profiled Surinamese delegation, during visits to housing, tourism and business places in Guyana.

Surely, these are visitors who are giving their hon-estly held views on what they have seen. So, can all these people be blinkered/blind? Certainly not! Except that their observations are no comfort to the daily Jer-emiahs who lament and predict on Guyana!

There is a certain columnist, well known, whose criticisms, highly erroneous and harmfully prejudicial, seeks to convey the impression that Guyana has not even moved into the twenty first century, much less to being on the path to improved socio-economic life. But such a person and others of his ilk are grudging because of what this government has achieved and the qualita-tive changes that those socio-economic landmarks have effected on the lives of Guyanese. It has defeated their jaundiced expectations, envisaged for their country.

For in those advancements, lie the rebuttals to the columnist’s unceasing falsehoods and attempts to sub-vert the truth. It is only a mind, poisoned with unceasing fanaticism, dedicated to hate that will continue such a campaign against a government that has continued to do the best for the country.

Finally, the comforting significant, among citi-zens, is that there are beneficiaries numbering in the thousands, who know better, because of what the country’s development has done for them and their families. These are the credible witnesses to Guy-ana’s development.

time. This common experi-ence was shared by Guya-nese through the decades, prior to the bridge.

Not this time around, for the journey from point of commencement to enter-ing the grand county proper took a mere 8-10 minutes; and from conversations shared with fellow travel-lers, the bridge has brought about great changes in the social lives of residents, from both sides of the Ber-bice River, as well as to the

Dear Editor,As a die-hard of West

Indies cricket fan, my de-spair continues; particularly in the light of the South Af-rican world record 50-0ver total that saw us, offering a half-hearted and disorgan-ized resistance. And for the first time, I must admit questioning whether or not there is any hope for our regional cricket. The fact that the world record for the fastest One Day century had been had been established twice in one year against the West Indies cricket team, underlines how badly in the doldrums our team has sunk.

The same must be said for the team’s supporters whose emotions have been on a see saw journey since our regional team was de-throned by Australia when the cricket team toured in 1995.

There is always the talk of how much talent there is; but, the trouble is that those responsible for managing our cricket have failed to hone such a pivotal element into a potent weapon, as

our former teams had been. It is almost twenty years, and our succeeding teams have all become lost on the come-back journey trail.

There are many trou-bling aspects of West Indies cricket that can be identi-fied; such as failure by the senior team members to bat responsibly. For as destruc-tive as is opening batsman Chris Gale’s known repu-tation is, he needs to be re-sponsible in ensuring that he will not self-destruct while at the wicket. He is our main anchor, as senior opening batsman. The same must be said for Samuels, whose tal-ent is so much that it seems to help him to get out!

It is stressful as it relates to our regional side’s per-formance at the moment. I still believe that our team, with a better mental effort and strong leadership, can do much better than at the moment.

Nevertheless, we must continue to rally round our regional team.

William Meade

West Indies cricket steeped in problems

at all levels

Dear Editor, I never doubted that

President Donald Ramo-tar would have announced the date for the holding of national elections, despite all of the vituperations etc. that flowed from well-known detractors.

In fact, the very early election date may have surprised those who were accusing the Executive of being afraid; but afraid of what! After all, the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s suc-

cesses stand out as a shin-ing defence and reason, why it is not reluctant to seek another mandate from the people.

In fact, its numerous programmes of socio-eco-nomic successes that have given so much to so many, speak for themselves. Such achievements explain why governments such as the PPP/C are often re-elected, because citizens would be absolutely clear as to where their best interests lie.

All right minded Guya-nese, when thinking about their children’s future, es-pecially, will endeavour to see a continuation of the development that have im-

proved their lives.I would be thinking

along similar lines, on Election Day.

Jason Fields

PPP/C’s track record augurs well for success at polls


AS Guyana prepares for the tabling of the 2015 National Budget, many are not unmindful of the stance taken by the Parliamentary Opposi-tion as regards their vot-ing to disapprove criti-cally needed allocations. Government is prepared for any eventuality, and will be guided in its ac-tions according to law. This point was reinforced when Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh was re-cently interviewed on the National Communica-tions Network’s “Political Scope.”

Referring to the oppo-sition’s decision to cut the National Budget over the last three years, Minister Singh stated that the consti-tution is “clear” on this is-sue. “The chief justice has ruled on this matter, aris-ing out of the 2012 budget cuts … that matter ended up before the court, and the Chief Magistrate handed down the ruling with us in 2013. It was quite clear that the National Assembly act-ed outside its institutional remits in imposing cuts to the national budget”.

Constitution-the guide Government will con-

tinue to be guided by the constitution, the relevant legislation and the chief justice’s ruling. He shared the view that has been ex-pressed publicly by the At-torney General on the cur-rent action brought before the court, by the opposition leader as “frivolous and without merit” because the issue has been ventilated in the court already, and the court has pronounced.

The minister added that he is optimistic that the court will rule consist-ent to its previous decision, which stated that “govern-ment acted entirely with the constitutional and leg-islative mandate and remit, in managing the operations of government” as it re-stored the finances disap-proved by the opposition led National Assembly.

As regards to the up-coming 2015 National

Gov’t will continue to invest in physical infrastructure, social sector

-Finance Minister

Budget, it was noted by the Finance Minister, that the constitution prescribes the tabling of the National Budget within the first quarter of the year under “normal circumstances, and of course, the constitu-tion is also clear about what happens, in relation to the presentation of the budget, and in the event the parlia-ment is dissolved before, in the expiration of the first quarter of the year.”

Government, he said, will be guided by the con-stitution as, “once the Parliamentary provisions exist, we will be ready to table a budget, in keep-ing with the constitutional prescriptions”.

Familiar cry Responding to claims

that the Parliamentary Op-position was not considered during pre-budget consul-tations, Minister Dr. Singh said that the cry about “no consultations” is a familiar one, noting that this year, as in previous ones, “they, the Parliamentary Opposition, refuse to make themselves available.” The opposition has historically shown a striking unwillingness to engage with government, despite extended invita-tions, he added, saying that he was not surprised by the current posture.

Other stakeholders from the private sector, la-bour and other sectoral in-terest groups have offered their inputs, he revealed, and these have been of ben-efit. “We have policies for each sector, all have ben-efited from stakeholders’ input with the highest level

of integrity, feedback and input from nongovernmen-tal stakeholders with policy making functions. We re-main positive … to con-tinue receiving feedback to inform the policy making functions”.

The actual budget will

contain measures, which the finance minister said will continue to maintain the focus on preserving favourable economic con-ditions and crafted within a framework that will see continued growth.

“Without pre-empting what is actually contained in the budget, whenever it is presented in Parliament, I would say that there are a few things that Guyanese can certainly look forward to. Our government will continue to invest in our country’s infrastructure, as we continue to believe that physical infrastructure is important to growth and prosperity. We will con-tinue to place emphasis on things like ‘hard to reach’ areas, and the social sec-

tor, particularly in improv-ing quality, and these are some things that one can look forward to in going forward”.

UnderminingCommenting on the

Parliamentary Opposition’s actions in recent years, the Finance Minister said, there should be no doubt in the minds of Guyanese, that they, the opposition, have indeed set about to un-dermine the strength of the economy. “They haven’t offered an apology for it … they have said openly that they have been taking ac-tions designed to intimidate investors, to discourage

persons coming into Guy-ana … to delay and derail all projects…this has been their behaviour since the commencement of the 10th Parliament”, he noted, and described it as a challenge and very unpatriotic.

Notwithstanding the opposition’s behaviour, the minister said that government has still been maintaining a significant degree of investors’ con-fidence and optimism in Guyana, “We will contin-ue to do this, but it will be a challenge from an oppo-sition intent in undermin-ing the economic gains of the country.”

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh


IN keeping with the dramatic drop in the world prices for crude oil, the Gov-ernment of Guyana has moved to drop local fuel prices by 30 percent.

With effect from midnight, on Janu-ary 20, fuel prices at GuyOil was reduced to $695 per gallon for gasoline compared with $995 previous-ly, a 30% reduction. Meanwhile, diesel was reduced to $694 per gallon, compared with the $985 previ-ously, a 30% reduction as well, and kerosene to $496 per gallon as compared with $850 per gallon previously, a 42% reduction.

Speaking at a press conference on Janu-ary 19, at the National Communications Net-work studio, Minister

Gov’t slashes fuel prices by 30 percent

of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh said the prices are the lowest locally since May 2009, a period of almost six years. The excise tax has been increased to 50%, diesel to 45% and 0% for kerosene.

The providers of public transportation were also urged to consider immediately passing on the reduc-

tion in prices to their customers. Since gov-ernment does not con-trol the prices charge by transportation pro-viders, that is, mini bus or speedboat op-erators, the minister noted that despite de-bates from some quar-ters, about regulating these prices, govern-ment is content to let the market function

as it should, and on occasion use “moral suasion” to persuade stakeholders to keep or reduce prices to an affordable level.

Asked about the delay in reducing fuel prices, the minister said that while there has been “tremendous volatility” in recent months and years, hence moving to ad-just prices upwards or downwards at the first sight of an adjustment in the world market prices would be, in his opinion, irresponsible, and result in tremen-dous volatility in local prices. He explained that one has to see a sustained movement in that price before any response is made. He alluded to wheat prices which fluctu-ate, but yet the price of bread, for example

remains steady for the most part.

The Finance Minis-ter stated that govern-ment has had a mecha-nism for adjusting fuel prices. The tax rate is adjusted in an inverse relation to the move-ment of world mar-ket crude oil prices, and rates are adjusted downwards when in-ternational prices in-crease, and upwards when the afore-men-tioned prices decrease. This has been used to cushion prices to lo-cal consumers from international market volatility, he added. “For example during the period from De-cember 2008 to March 2012, the world mar-ket price increased by 184% and the price for a gallon of gasoline in Guyana only increased by 77%. This was

achieved by govern-ment’s lowering the tax rate during that pe-riod from 50% to 15%. Conversely as prices started to subside on the world market, the tax rate was adjusted back up. This has been done automatically and without any con-tention, for the past several years”.

Prices are de-termined by the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) cost of landing in Guyana, the world market prices for refined fuel products and world market prices for crude oil, he further explained. Excise taxes in landed fuel and profit margins charged by local oil companies and re-tailers also influence prices, the minister added.

Minister of Finance Ashni Singh, during the press conference at the National

Communications Network

GUYANA’S role in the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) was the topic of discussion, when President Donald Ramotar and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon met with the Agency Ex-ecutive Director Ronald Jackson, at the Presiden-tial Complex on January 14.

In an invited comment, Jackson said it was his first opportunity to meet with Guyana’s president, and he used the occasion to discuss the comprehensive Carib-bean Disaster Management Strategy. This is a 10 - year plan to achieve disaster risk resilience in the region, he explained. “I also shared with the president the main priorities of Caribbean Dis-aster Emergency Manage-ment Agency, for the next three years, and how those priorities are likely to sup-port the people of Guyana

CDEMA Head meets President

-discusses Region’s Disaster Management Strategy even as he lauds Guyana’s CDC

and their programme for disaster risk management.”

The two also spoke about CDEMA’s manage-ment, and he said, that given that it is an instru-ment of the 18 members of CARICOM, there were also discussions on some of the global issues, such as the post-2015 develop-ment agenda. He added that “the global frame-work of action, which is a global blueprint for disaster risk management and how those are likely to impact on Guyana.”

Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC) was described by Jackson as a one of the region’s “bright performers,” particularly over the last three years. The CDC has done a lot of work, which he noted was a credit to its leadership, “in looking at its context in a very strategic way … and there have been vari-ous strides on both sides of the coin, looking at the

prevention side and setting the fundamental ground-work, to achieve that … but also strengthening the response coordination,” the CARICOM official further added.

Jackson also said the CARICOM region has to accept the fact, that es-pecially in the areas of climate variability and climate change that “the region is still going to have to be responding to adverse effects of disaster events, not here in Guyana, but supporting the regional re-sponse.” CDEMA draws on capacity across its member states and to respond to their needs, and since the CDC is building its capac-ity, he explained this is go-ing towards supporting a regional response.

The CDEMA head also met with CARICOM and CDC officials, dur-ing his two-day visit to Guyana.

President Donald Ramotar is greeted by Ronald Jackson, Executive Director, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)

be done in a particular environment.”

He went further and stated that, “Development does not stop because elec-tion date has been made; we have to continue to de-velop goods and services. There must be a difference between a government function and political party campaigning.”

The Minister closed by reminding those concerned that the officials who are part of the government will be carrying out government functions and at the same

Elections date: ...time, they will have to be campaigning. The min-ister said that after all, it is the PPP/C which brought development, dignity and prosperity to the people of Guyana and this is what it intends to keep doing.

In wrapping up he ex-plained that the manifesta-tion and conduct of the op-position, at the level of the National Assembly is not winning them the admira-tion of the people. He stat-ed that “… it is reasonable for Guyanese to have some fear, that if at the level of politics, the opposition par-

ties practice bullying, then what might they want to do during the run up to elec-tion?” He pointed out that the PPP/C has rejected that politics is about war, and that the PPP/C sees the opposition forces not as enemy, as “… they are our political opponents, and they share different politi-cal views … I believe that if there is anything that we can do over these next four months, it is to display to the Guyanese elector-ate that we are mature in conducting a campaign … that when we win the admiration of people, we will cause them to vote for us.”

From page 4


PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has welcomed the high-level Suriname Trade Mission to Guyana, describing it as an im-portant step, not only for business, but for the inte-gration of the two nations.

Addressing members of the local and Surinamese private sectors, at a welcom-ing reception at the Princess Hotel on January 15, the president said that some have often expressed disap-pointment with the pace of integration, but stated that it not just the job of gov-ernments, rather it will be achieved when real links are forged in the economy.

The development of the two CARICOM neighbours who share a border, he added is important to “de-veloping the quality of life for our people.” The private sectors of both nations can build not only partnerships, but also new links and ex-pand their businesses and strengthen them.

The president expressed the hope that more initia-tives such as the trade mis-sion could occur across the region. The fact that both countries have large expans-es of lands and natural re-sources, and have achieved a measure of food security, could be used to their ad-vantage, he explained.

It was noted that CARI-COM’s annual bill estimat-ed food import bill of US$4 billion is one area that could see mutual cooperation. He said that during his recent trip to Cuba for the CAR-ICOM-Cuba Summit, this estimate was mentioned to President Raul Castro. “I mentioned that if you add Cuba it would be US$5 billion and President Raul Castro said “No, put two” and thus making it US$6 billion that we import in food”.

This is but one area where Guyana and Suri-name could pool their re-sources to impact on the region as a whole.

A suggestion was also made by President Ramo-tar for some of the trade regimes to be unified; for example to cut down on smuggling and maximise the benefits for the people of both countries. This, he

Guyana-Suriname Trade Mission is an important step … President

said, could be done for re-sources such as gold, which is non- renewable.

In closing, he indicated that the initiative was indeed welcomed by government, and expressed the hope that it would grow from strength to strength.

The two-day meeting, at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal on January 16, also witnessed the input of Minister of Tourism, In-dustry and Commerce (ag) Irfaan Ali. He highlighted the steady growth in busi-nesses between Guyana and Suriname, pointing out that both countries depend on its natural resources, while also noting that a lot of invest-ments in Guyana are cen-tered on rising fuel and gold prices, but due to the current global situation, the country has to now move towards an efficient equilibrium of production. This means to minimise wastage and inef-ficiency, and instead max-imise productivity, to create the capacity to produce at a highly competitive price.

“For the past five years, there has been a tremen-dous increase in business between Guyana and Suri-name” said the minister. In 2008, Guyana exported approximately 7000kg of goods to Suriname. In 2012, this figure was almost tri-pled, seeing close to 26,000 kgs being exported. This saw a trade value of ap-proximately US$3.6M in 2008-$13.9M in 2012, rep-

resenting a growth of almost 300%.

He added that the two countries share a good re-lationship, which can be reflected in the growing number of tourists arriv-ing in Guyana, through the crossing at Moleson Creek. In 2013, more than 28, 000 people visited Guyana through this port of en-try, and close to 26,000 by the end of October 2014. Minister Ali expressed his disappointment over the fact that this information is not being highlighted in any documentation that has been used to promote trade between the two countries.

Further, emphasising the significance of this fact in the tourism industry, the minister said that, “At a mere minimum of each of those persons spending a minimum of US $300, you are talking about US $8.3M in 2013… it is equivalent to 63% of the total export of goods and services.” He added, that as regards the benefits for Suriname “whatever is coming here is greater in Suriname,” noting that almost 65% of Guya-nese living in the Diaspora who return home, do visit Suriname.

This market is important for tourism in Guyana, as most of the small hotels are filled up by persons trave-ling from the country. It is also important for access to markets such as Holland, and for Suriname, northern Brazil.

He added that the part-nership should be based on cooperation, rather than competition between the two countries, given that the markets are “so small.” This would create the com-petitive edge against many others.

Also, highlighting the fact that Guyana is moving towards a knowledge-based

economy, one that is innova-tive, proactive, preemptive, preventative and positive, there has been a lot of inter-est in the country’s educa-tion sector. He pointed out over the next three years, three new medical universi-ties will be established. Also there has been a growing in-terest in biodiversity.

He added that the size of country’s economy has increased by over 25% to $650B, attracting more than US$629 in foreign direct in-vestment. He also said that credit must be given to the private sector, as it has also grown, increasing by 41.5% to 190.5B. Total deposits in the commercial banks have grown by 22.1% to $334.6B.

Contributing factors to investments include ad-equate and expanding in-frastructure, cost and avail-ability of finance and stable macroeconomic fundamen-tals. General incentives for investors include zero rates on customs duties and con-sumption tax on most plant, machinery and equipment,

Surinamese Minister of Trade, Don Tosendjojo, President Donald Ramotar and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, at the

welcoming reception held at the Princess Hotel

as well as raw materials and packaging materials, un-limited carryover of losses from previous years among several others.

Despite all these suc-cesses, the minister added that there are challenges which include Guyanese minibus operators taking passengers all the way and vice-versa. He emphasised that this must be corrected and the markets be re-spected and any agreement that has been made must be honoured, in order to have a successful partnership.

Another problem is the fact that a lot of tour-ists from Holland visit Guyana through Moleson Creek without re-entry visas. This is very critical because there is no selling of re-entry visas and Guy-ana’s Suriname Embassy closes before 4:00 pm on Fridays. To curb this is-sue, the minister proposed that the embassy extend its hours on Fridays, to facilitate these visas or es-tablish the selling of them at Moleson Creek.

PRESIDENT Donald Ra-motar was on January 20 invited to become a spe-cial representative of the Union of South Ameri-can Nations (UNASUR). The invitation came from the organisation’s Secre-tary General, Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, who was on a visit to Guyana.

During a session at the Office of the President, Dr. Samper stated that his dis-cussions with the Guyana President included topics that are currently on UN-ASUR’s agenda. He added that with Guyana’s being an important country in a strategic part of the region, they also discussed social inclusion. This, Dr. Samper explained, is a topic in which the president is very interested.

The UNASUR Secre-tary General also observed that the discussions focused on international projects

President invited to become a Special UNASUR Representative

and how to deal with those of interest at the multi-lat-eral level.

H.E. Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, a former President of Colombia, was appointed for a two-year term in August, 2014,

as Secretary General of UNASUR.

He also met with Minister of Foreign Af-fairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett on important is-sues related to Guyana and the larger world.

President Donald Ramotar greets Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, Secretary General of the Union

of South American Nations (UNASUR), at the Office of the President


THE government will continue to pursue pru-dent fiscal measures to ensure economic growth in 2015 and beyond, Fi-nance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh stated on January 10, as he explained that the development that the country has experienced over the last nine years was achieved against the background, not only of the complicated, domestic, political reality, but severe world economic troubles.

The minister, during an interview on the National Communications Net-work’s “Political Scope” programme said that along with the complications of the domestic, political situ-ation, it was a most com-mendable achievement that growth over nine years was sustained.

The minister pointed out that the PPP/C govern-ment has worked hard to “create the conditions that are necessary for achieving and sustaining growth, and for improving the quality of life.” This was due in part

Economic growth achieved despite serious challenges-Finance Minister

to the diversified nature of the local economy.

“The economy is more diversified now than it was, or has ever been in history. Today our people have more access to social services than they ever had … physical infrastructure is more expansive than it has ever been, and I would say that certainly, at the start of the 10th Parliament, inves-tors’ confidence in Guyana was at the highest point that it has ever been in our country’s history.”

Commenting on the strong investors’ interest displayed in Guyana, Min-ister Singh said there have been very significant in-flows in the capital, through foreign direct investment, in addition to very signifi-cant volumes of domestic investments, “both by the corporate sector and house-hold sector.”

Guyana’s strong eco-nomic performance needs to be applauded by all Guy-anese entrepreneurs, who have worked hard to make

the economy grow, he em-phasised, “and hundreds of thousands of Guyanese workers, who have con-tributed to this economic growth, being achieved … their contributions are to be recognised.”

The continuous eco-nomic growth has inevita-bly resulted in the lives of Guyanese being improved, the finance minister added, as he cited the fact that thousands now own their own homes, have more access to social services,

and more young people are completing secondary edu-cation, achieving university education, and working and earning an income. He ac-knowledged that the gov-ernment has to continue working for more improve-ments, but individually, Guyanese also have to con-tinue to work to improve their own circumstances. “Government will do what it has to do, but significant efforts have to be expend-ed to continue to achieve prosperity.”

Referring to the Par-liamentary Political Op-position’s decision, over the last three years, to cut the National Budget, Min-ister Singh stated that the constitution is “clear” on this issue. “The chief jus-tice has ruled on this mat-ter, that arising out of the 2012 budget cuts … that matter ended up before the court, and Chief Mag-istrate handed down the ruling in 2013. It was quite clear that the National As-

sembly acted outside its institutional remit, in im-posing cuts to the National Budget”.

Government will con-tinue to be guided by the constitution, the minister added, and shared the view that has been ex-pressed publicly by the Attorney General on the current action brought before the court by the op-position leader as “frivo-lous and without merit” because the issue has been ventilated in the court al-ready, and the court has pronounced. The minister added that he is optimis-tic that the court will be consistent with its previ-ous ruling, which stated that “Government acted entirely within the con-stitutional and legisla-tive mandate and remit, in managing the opera-tions of Government” as it restored some finances disapproved by the op-position led National Assembly.

Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh with Host, Indira Badal on “Political Scope”

CABINET Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon has stat-ed that because of work done by the People’s Pro-gressive Party/Civic ad-ministration, in stabilising and sustaining a growing economy, Guyanese have been able to enjoy several welfare interventions.

During an interview with the Director of the Government Information Agency, Neaz Subhan, on the National Communica-tions Network (NCN), Dr. Luncheon said that many of the interventions have been taken for granted, but these are different elements of welfare practices, that occupy much of the gov-ernment’s attention.

“It is actually a re-sponse to social reality, and in many developing coun-tries, and Guyana is no different, the social reality harkens on the past.”

The Cabinet Secretary stated that Guyana’s cur-rent day social reality has changed from what it was before 1992. “(In) 2015 Guyana’s social reality is quite different from what it was at the time of eman-cipation … or even at the time of independence, but still they are lasting …”

Economy’s growth determines social welfare interventions -Cabinet Secretary He said poverty and the

kind of social ills warrant and legitimise the inter-ventions that are captured in the rubric of welfare interventions.

While noting that in today’s society there is the reality, which he blames on the past, he did not shy away from the fact that there may still be current factors contributing. “I’m not saying that contribu-tions are not currently be-ing made, but fundamental-ly it is a persistence of what we inherited, what we have not yet adequately built with, but is our social real-ity today and that is what legitimises.”

Dr Luncheon added that “… any caring government would have great difficulty if it does not embark on pro-grammes … aggressive pro-grammes to deal with those aspects of the social reality.”

Speaking of some of the social realities which face the society, Dr. Luncheon said that one simply needs to examine poverty and its origin, its perpetuations, and the culture of poverty and what it breeds. The Cabi-net Secretary said Guyana’s economy caters more for the interests that have been

preserved in the economy than those that deal with the modern demands of the peo-ple and the society.

Notwithstanding all this, Dr. Luncheon said that there is no question that when it comes to welfare, the state of the country’s economy therefore matters.

“If your economy has grown at a good clip, there exists lesser chance that you will not have enough money to make aggressive interventions in implement-ing welfare interventions, if economic growth is anemic or in the reversal and the growth of the economy is constrained like what hap-pened in the financial crisis in 2008.”

Noting the importance of a stable economy in roll-ing out welfare interven-tions Dr. Luncheon said a

country’s social policy also depends on tax revenue col-lection, the wealth that a growing economy creates.

He added that it would then be fair to say that it is not common practice for any government to of-fer welfare interventions that are not supported by a buoyant economy.

“In other words, were I to be a government that is fundamentally attracted to economic principles and development along sustain-able levels, I would have a difficulty in offering wel-fare interventions that I can’t sustain.”

To this end, he added that while the needs may very well exist, and may be carefully and authentically demonstrated, the ques-tion that should be asked is whether the interventions can be sustained.

Citing an example of one such intervention, which the PPP/C admin-istration has been able to sustain over the years, Dr. Luncheon pointed to the non-contributory old age pension.

“Now if you go back to where we were in 1992 and go back to today and look at the difference at what

was offered then and what is being offered now, this is because the economy today could sustain the payment of over $13,000 a month non-contributory to Guya-nese over 65 (years).”

While acknowledging that after assuming office in 1992 it was no easy task to recreate wealth and the country’s social fabric at large, there is still more to be done, “But 1992 we had the zeal and the conviction and the ideological clarity of what needed to be done, and I must say that with the support of external and internal stakeholders, we were able to turn the situa-tion around.”

He noted that from the inception, social policies were high on the agenda of the PPP/C administration.

“The economy had to be attended to … it had to grow … one had to collect revenue and from the wealth that was being recreated and properly redistributed, and that is why, the modicum of successes that we have had in addressing welfare and welfare interventions.”

Further the Cabinet Secretary said that many of

the interventions were also made possible by constitu-tional provisions that speak to the welfare orientation of the society.

“…The government im-poses on the administration, the executive, certain norms that address welfare, so yes we have been better at in-stituting that constitutional provision.”

He said when it comes to the law, there have been crafted in almost every sec-tor, more particular in the social sector, legislative provisions that secure the state’s commitment to these welfare interventions.

“So what we have brought together is an amal-gam; you have constitution, the law and the executive, all collaborating in ensuring that what is done in terms of intervention is indeed ap-propriate and is suitable, re-sponsive to the situation that actually existed at the time an intervention is made.”

Even more evident that the country’s social welfare is being catered to is the yearly budgetary al-locations of which the so-cial sector takes the larg-est chunk.

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon on

the NCN programme


MINISTER of Hous-ing and Water Irfaan Ali has questioned whether or not the Alliance For Change (AFC) Executive member Moses Naga-mootoo is so caught up in political negativism, that he ignores facts, available information, and truth in a spineless effort to deni-grate the invaluable con-tributions public officials make in propelling Guy-ana’s development.

Responding to Naga-mootoo’s statements in relation to the construction of a new road, linking the East Bank and East Coast Demerara, through an In-dian Government line of credit, Minister Ali said Nagamootoo seems di-vorced from the realities, from national priorities and ongoing developmen-tal debates.

Minister Ali in an is-sued statement, said, “In his anti-developmental antics, Mr. Nagamootoo said that the project was a “fly by night’ idea and that proper consultations and feasibility study are needed. Sometime ago I spoke of political maturity and leadership, (and) it is this type of immaturity that will not take our country forward.”

The Housing Minister, in his statement reminded Nagamootoo that this sub-ject formed the discussion of many debate presenta-tions in the 2014 National Budget, and in the debate that ensued after that pres-entation. Many members on both sides of the House spoke on this subject mat-ter and all of them support-ed the idea.

“So, Mr. Naga-mootoo’s sly comment of a “fly by night’ idea is baseless and was only aimed at discrediting the enormous contributions of President Ramotar, in fi-nalising this line of credit from the Government of India during his recent vis-it.” The President secured US$50M for the road pro-ject, as well as other forms of assistance, during his

Nagamootoo’s ‘fly by night’ statement seeks to discredit President Ramotar’s contributions

-Minister Ali six-day state visit to India recently.

The Minister said, (as was outlined in debate pres-entations in Parliament, and answering questions of the Opposition) that in ad-dition to the countless arti-cles in the national media on this subject, it was made clear that a detailed feasi-bility study was completed and submitted to the Indian Government for approval.

“It is very naïve for Mr. Nagamootoo to believe that a project of this nature can just be approved without a detailed feasibility study.”

Minister Ali said he was bothered that the details of this project, through constant updates in the National Assem-bly and the media, seem to have avoided the no-tice of the AFC Member, and “In an effort to throw cold water on this tremen-dous accomplishment, Mr. Nagamootoo side-stepped the courtesies of acknowl-edging the hard work of employees in the public sector.”

Also the minister took the time to congratulate the team from the Ministry of Housing and Water, the Central Housing and Plan-ning Authority (CHPA), independent stakeholders, community planners, and community leaders who assisted tremendously in the finalisation of the pro-ject document and feasi-bility study, that led to the approved financing for this project.

Knowing the vital im-portance it has for not only linking the East Bank and East Coast Demerara, but also the opening up of many opportunities, new land, and linking the Ogle International Airport with major population zones, Minister Ali said President Ramotar has constantly pressed the technical team to work assiduously in se-curing the approval of this project.

“There is an exciting future ahead for Guyana,

but it requires maturity, vi-sion and commitment to be realised. It is these charac-teristics that saw this ma-jor accomplishment be-tween the Government of India and the Government of Guyana.”

Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn also lambasted Nagamootoo for statements about In-dia’s recent aid package to Guyana. “Disappointing, confusing and tragicom-ic” is the description that the Public Works Minis-ter gave to the statements attributed to AFC Vice Chairman.

Also, responding via

letter, Minister Benn said that any “balanced read of the very article which con-tains Mr. Nagamootoo’s statements, along with the experience of the traffic situation which the Ogle-Eccles project will address speaks volumes as to the urgent necessity for the project’s intervention. It is, therefore, disappoint-ing and confusing that Mr. Nagamootoo, an experi-ence and ‘veteran’ politi-cian would condescend to describe, as quoted directly” … fly by night ideas that are being float-ed,” the very idea that he too deemed as necessary in paragraph 6 in the said article.”

In the letter, the min-

ister explained that Naga-mootoo continues to delib-erately mislead the public as to the reasons the Gov-ernment of Guyana ac-cessed (China Exim Bank) Bank Loan funds for the CJIA project. The reason was (and still remain so) that it was sorely needed and that the China-CAR-ICOM Summit in Port of Spain Trinidad presented a final time bound opportu-nity, to fund it on advanta-geous soft loan terms.

Minister Benn recalled the AFC’s own ideas on an airport expansion project came from its lead person on finance and infrastruc-

ture, Gerhard Ramsaroop, who suggested that the CJIA be abandoned and a new airport be constructed on the West Bank of Dem-erara, at Sandhills. It was noted that this would result in the loss of investment funds sunk into CJIA, and the replication and exten-sion of the airport’s infra-structure. This would also see a new road and a new upstream Demerara River Bridge, which would also have to accommodate oceangoing river traffic. All of this would likely result, Minister Benn not-ed, in a project that is five more expensive than the current US$150 authorised project.

The opposition’s ob-

jection to the acquisition of a new ferry to complete the current fleet was also criticised. He emphasised that no one should argue with the need to secure a new Northwest ferry. “Be-sides the fact of the current fleet assets, being quite old, the accommodations and enroute times are very unsuitable and tedious, re-spectively, for this service. This discussion has been oft repeated, both in the media and in the Nation-al Assembly, where Mr. Nagamootoo was an active participant.”

Minister Benn ex-pressed his hope that the AFC is not now again set-ting its sights on “shooting down another vital project, which provides the life line transport link to Am-erindian communities, as occurred with the opposi-tion’s refusal for Budget 2014, where Hinterland Aerodromes and the Amer-indian Development Fund amongst others fell victim to the Combined Opposi-tion’s hatchets.”

Minister Benn reiter-ated that funding obtained from the BRICS group-ing (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has very advantageous and concessional terms, and that “these projects by their very nature in transit-ing the funding and project cycles, require feasibil-ity and engineering design studies all of which in-volve consultation.”

He also reminded of the fact that the AFC had initially voiced support for the same CJIA expansion project. “Mr. Nagamootoo may wish to intimate, that why after having been consulted and provided with all the feasibility and engineering studies for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project and having benefitted from the debates and interven-tions in the National As-sembly, the Combined Opposition, of which the

AFC is a very vocal mem-ber, refused further fund-ing for the project in 2014, after having approved the project… What discovery propelled the attempt to hold up or kill a vital na-tional project that would see cheaper airfares, ef-ficient travel and an op-portunity to enhance our tourism and transport net-working attractiveness?”

Minister Benn also re-called what he said was the “visceral negative criticisms from sections of the media and opposition circles, when Guyana un-dertook with Indian Gov-ernment funding, to build a new cricket stadium, at Providence, to Internation-al Cricket Council Stand-ards.” He further noted that the stadium fulfilled its in-tended mission for Cricket World Cup, “combined with the reality of an exem-plary facility that is enjoyed by all, for a variety of cul-tural and social events, is a testimony to the fact that what Nagamootoo deems as “fly by night” PPP/C government projects result in solid, viable, enduring projects, on solid ground, benefitting all Guyanese”.

In closing, the min-ister said that as regards to the seeming uptake of additional public debt, Nagamootoo should recall when, as a minister of the first PPP/C government in 1992, he was amongst those at the Cheddi Jagan Cabinet, who wrestled with the seemingly hope-less problem of having to spend 93 percent plus of all revenues to service debts.

He stated emphati-cally that the initiatives of the kind being un-dertaken are “designed to energise the national economy,” and urged Nagamootoo not to turn his back on the “only certifiable success he has had in politics, that is, the period when he was a PPP/C stalwart”.

Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali


THE argument that the Cheddi Jagan Interna-tional Airport (CJIA) expansion project is not really needed in Guyana is an untenable one, as no society can move towards modernisation, unless cer-tain things are in place. Thus stated Presidential Advisor on Community Development, Odinga Lu-mumba, during the pro-gramme “Political Scope” aired on January 19 on the National Communications Network Inc.

He noted that proper roads and health care are among these elements for modernisation, and added that if Guyana were to be a tourism hub, the airport would have to be expanded.

The moving of persons from the airport is what the opposition is against, Lu-mumba pointed out. He not-ed that in Trinidad, when the issue arose to move persons from the airport, it was done with their being given al-ternative places to live; and the same obtains here. He intoned that “… no sound opposition would be against this; they are anti-growth and anti-development, and they want people to squat.”

Lumumba observed that Guyana is moving to-wards the development of the airport, because of the necessity.

The distributing of state resources across the country is another issue on which Lumumba ex-pounded. He stated that “… it is not electioneering that is being done when notions of empowerment come up here in Guyana,” as “… many others have spoken about empowerment, but only in the philosophical approach … and in Guyana the thoughts and ideas are implemented.”

He further elaborated that, “In Guyana, a com-mittee looked at various aspects of empowerment. However, at first there was nothing to distribute at any level, in any sector (as), everything was disabled and out of ‘whack’, so it had to begin from scratch.” The special advisor high-lighted that “... three things had to be looked at: water, housing and roads. With X amount of state resources, whatever was distributed was done fairly.”

The first distribution of

Opposition is anti-growth and anti-development- Presidential Adviser Lumumba house lots, under the former

Housing Minister Henry Jeffery, was done, looking at the needs, as opposed to race and geography. Moth-ers alone with children were the first to qualify for house lots in the course of the dis-tribution, and they were the first to benefit.

Lumumba remembered the distribution in Non Pariel and his earlier under-standing that it was poor and leant towards East Indians. However, when he checked, it was equally balanced and did not slant towards a par-ticular race.

Eventually, he became the Ministerial Advisor on Housing to Minister Jeffery, and there was a big push in the Diamond area. He noted that many afro Guya-nese approached him and he told them to go to Dia-mond, but were reluctant, since they wanted houses in Georgetown. His response then, was that there were no house lots in Georgetown and they eventually went to Diamond. The process has always been based on need, followed by the mid-dle and upper class and the rich, where the cost is a little higher, he said.

Lumumba said that the other aspect was develop-ment for housing areas, and that in the 15 to 18 years of the Desmond Hoyte admin-istration, there was no dis-tribution of house lots. Only about 20 lots were given to Afro-Guyanese.

After the 1992 elections, when the new distribution began, it was essential that persons received lots. As time went by, the admin-istration found contrac-tors and resources to put up lights and build roads in those communities. As such, there were roads, wa-ter, lights and other things for the housing areas, in-cluding schools and health centres. Even those areas, which started out without infrastructure, now have these things, so “Empower-ment is making people feel human, living with these things, moving from one level to another,” he stated.

Citing Linden as an ex-ample, Lumumba noted the political differences, but stated that “… even so, bil-lions of dollars was put in towards development. (For example), in Amelia’s Ward, there is housing with water.”

He invited the viewers to go back 30 years and examine those areas, as “Where they were desolate, there are now hundreds of houses with clear water running … bet-ter potable water with new schools, and the one which was burnt is being rebuilt.”

He noted too that the Linden Hospital was rebuilt and the administration is supplying it with nurses and doctors. The only complaint he noted is that there needs to be more efficiency. This, he pointed out, is natural for small countries where these flaws exist.

In Buxton where he grew up, he pointed out that

the roads were terrible. To-day, he noted, that 90% of the community roads were done and that there was no racial priority given to this.

Nobody fetches wa-ter today, he noted too. Through empowerment, the government has resolved all those issues. In the struggle for the working class, even in the communities where the PPP/C has the largest support base, he does not detect any race bias. How-ever, far more is being done in Amerindian communi-ties, where government is building dozens of schools and dormitories. This would see livelihoods being

brought up to standard, so that all can be “One people, One nation, One destiny,” he emphasised.

With new projects, the argument is that the re-sources should benefit peo-ple who are in need of help. With the Amaila Falls Hy-dropower project, Lumum-ba pointed out that this will reduce the electricity price for all. Regardless of race, colour or creed, this will also increase the potential for manufacturing to ex-pand, and will thus create employment opportunities, when the economic upscale will slant in that direction. This would mean that with cheaper power, new manu-facturers coming on board will employ local staff.

With the Specialty Hos-pital, he stated that all sur-geries will be done in Guy-ana. “These things can only be done by the rich now … who can pay to go abroad and have these surgeries done on their heart, lungs, kidneys etc.” The reason for the Specialty Hospital is to cater for poor people to have health services.

Improving the lives of

Guyanese, from 1992 to now, the new Guyana today can been seen in communi-ties. Changes in housing, roads, and services in de-velopment can be seen, Lu-mumba observed. “In the most backward part of the world, this can be seen dif-ferently. There are no hos-pital services, but maybe a health centre and a Volun-tary Service Officer (VSO) visiting from America or somewhere else. In Guyana in each village today, there are health centres avail-able or persons can go to a hospital. There is proper housing with transports provided, proper schools with roofs, teachers, books, and furniture and school uniforms. Teachers don’t have to sell whilst working anymore. Each community also has sports facilities, where the sports minister helps.”

In terms of moving forward, Lumumba sug-gested that “…the opposi-tion members need to stop being so meddlesome … (they must) come up with sensible positions and be more mature.”

Presidential Advisor on Community Development, Odinga Lumumba

IN an effort to further enhance the delivery of health care services, and to develop a stronger rela-tionship between Guyana and China, the George-town Public Hospital Cor-poration (GPHC), and Yang Zhou-Subei Peo-ple’s Hospital, located in Jiangsu Province, signed a friendship agreement, which will see the two hospitals, benefiting from each other’s services.

The agreement was signed on January 15, by the hospital’s Chief Execu-tive Officer (CEO), Michael Khan, and Secretary of the Party Committee, Yang Zhou-Subei People’s Hospi-tal, Sun Jie, at the GPHC’s Resource Centre. Present at the signing also were a six- member delegation from Jiangsu Province and other local health officials.

During brief remarks, Khan said that this agree-ment was established, fol-lowing a visit by a team of Guyanese medical officials, to the Yang Zhou-Subei People’s Hospital. He said

GPHC, Subei People’s Hospital sign friendship agreement

that the agreement is in the process of being developed and will soon be finalized.

However, he anticipates that the GPHC will benefit from additional equipment from the hospital, and will eventually be able to facili-tate more surgeries. Moreo-ver, Khan revealed that the agreement will see Guy-ana’s expanding its surgical capacity, as it relates to spi-nal surgery, which is already being done at GPHC.

He said this agreement will also pave the way for a stronger relationship with the Yang Zhou-Subei Peo-

ple’s Hospital in the future, since it is more equipped with up to date technology.

Meanwhile, Jie under-scored the importance of such a relationship, not-ing that it will see a more enhanced health service delivery.

She expressed grati-tude to the Government of Guyana and the Ministry of Health for the support they have given to the six-member delegate and the Chinese medical brigade.

“We want to invite your side to share with us your views on how the medical

team’s work can improve. Eventually we will be look-ing at improving the friend-ship between Guyana and China, so that we can better serve the people,” Jie noted.

Jie further stated that the friendship between the two hospitals is a good start to future cooperation, adding that, “with our sound foun-dation of cooperation, we can look at ways in which we can establish other fields of cooperation.”

Prior to the signing, Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran also met with the Chinese delegation, after which he unveiled a plaque to commemorate the part-nership between the two hospitals. He said that Chi-nese medical brigades have brought new skills in Guy-ana, over the years they have been coming. “For example, this team has brought spinal surgical skills, something we did not have in the past.”

The Health Minister expressed the hope that more aspiring Guyanese doctors will be trained in China.

CEO of GPHC, Michael Khan and Secretary of the Party Committee, Subei People’s Hospital of Jiang-su Province, Ms. Sun Jie exchanging agreements


IT is something any gov-ernment should be proud of-economic growth! So the government of Guy-ana and its people have every reason to be proud and optimistic. Guyana has been witnessing eco-nomic growth for almost a decade now, with al-most every sector show-ing significant and steady increases.

Dr. Ashni Singh, Min-ister of Finance, in a re-cent interview, maintained that “this government will continue to implement measures to ensure eco-nomic growth well into the future.” The economic poli-cies and practices of this government have attracted regional and international recognition. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gon-salves, during a visit here, lauded Guyana’s housing programme. He emphati-cally stated that he did “… not know of any pro-gramme, of this magnitude, anywhere else in the Carib-bean, in the Eastern Carib-bean nor in the OECS.”

During his address, at the 32nd meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Gov-ernment conference in St Kitts and Nevis two years ago, Gonsalves said that Guyana “… appears to be a bright growth prospect even amidst the global economic meltdown from Septem-ber 2008 … (Guyana) has agricultural commodities to sell, in which the coun-try still has some competi-tive advantage… marine resources and gold… also Guyana has abundant hy-droelectricity (potential).”

So Guyana has every reason to be proud and optimistic. Dr. Singh ex-plained that notwithstand-ing the challenges encoun-tered in the parliamentary process, and the inevitable consequences that these challenges have posed for the political and by exten-sion the economic environ-ment, Guyana still contin-ues to experience economic growth.

The Finance Minister said recently that sustain-ing nine years of consecu-

Guyanese can be proud and optimistic of national economic performance

tive economic growth is not easy work, and that extending it remains high on the agenda of the PPP/C administration. Why? “We (the PPP/C) take very seri-ously our responsibility for ensuring that the economic environment in Guyana continue to be attractive,” he explained.

According to Dr. Singh, the local economy con-tinues to be one which is conducive to attracting investors, both local and foreign. “We have pursued relentlessly the objective of ensuring that the conditions exist for steady improve-ment in the quality of life for all Guyanese.”

The minister pointed out that the government’s policy is to provide the same incentives to local and foreign investors, who are interested in investing in Guyana. “If you look across the spectrum, you’ll see a very strong track re-cord of investors from every jurisdiction, respond-ing to the environment that we have created. We have today, companies (local and foreign) in the natural resources sector, in gold, in manganese, in bauxite and in new and emerging indus-tries. In others words, ir-respective of the investors’ being local or foreign, this government will support them.”

Executive Director of the National Industrial Commercial Investments

Ltd., (NICIL), Winston Brassington, attested to the minister’s sentiments. “We have been witnessing a lot of foreign investment and this itself is an indica-tor that the fundamentals to attract investment are in the right place.”

NICIL, a government holding company, that manages, monitors and de-velops government assets and investments, works directly with local and for-eign investors.

Examples of foreign direct investments are evi-dent in the international companies that have chosen Guyana as their respective investment destination. Ex-amples of such companies include Guyana Goldfields (Canada), Troy Resources (Australia), Exxon Mobil and CGX (internation-ally recognised oil compa-nies), Qualfon (Mexican call service provider), and Massy Group of companies (one of the region’s largest conglomerates).

Proud accomplishmentThe Finance Minister

noted that the nine years of consecutive growth was achieved despite non- sup-port from the Parliamen-tary Opposition, which can only be deemed as a concerted effort to stymie development.

He noted that Guyana could have achieved much more, if many of its pivotal projects (such as the Amaila

Falls Hydroelectric and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion) had not been obstructed by the Par-liamentary Opposition.

In addition, the min-ister noted that the global economic environment has also been faced with its own problems and has im-pacted many of Guyana’s trading partners negatively. Given these internal and external challenges, Minis-ter Singh said that Guyana’s economic performance is worthy of applauding. “It is most commendable not just to government, but indeed to the investors, the entrepreneurs, and the workers, all of whom have contributed to this growth.” The Finance Minister not-ed that the economy was able to perform as well as it did, because of investor friendly policies and pru-dent fiscal management by government.

It was also noted that in recent years, the banking sector has been able to pro-vide more loans for a high-er number of Guyanese, and now there are more banking locations. This re-dounded directly from the country’s economic solid-ity and growth.

FoundationStressing that “econom-

ic growth is essential for improving the wellbeing of the people of Guyana,” Minister Singh empha-sised that the government will therefore continue to maintain policies, aimed at securing the country’s economic growth, notwith-standing the present and emerging challenges.

“There was a time when the economy was de-pendent on one or two key sectors, but the country is now at a point where it is sufficiently diversified to be resilient to shocks expe-rienced by any individual sector,” the Finance Min-ister noted. Even though this is what now obtains, the minister charged that the government will not become complacent, and will continue to work as-siduously to ensure that the main sectors remain com-

petitive and continue to expand.

DetractorsExpressing his belief

that the Parliamentary Po-litical Opposition is all about injuring the econo-my, Dr. Singh said that the political challenges can-not be ignored, “The Joint Opposition, the AFC and APNU, have not been shy of flaunting their tactics for all and sundry to see, and these tactics have been aimed at scaring investors away, intimidating inves-tors, (and even) threatening (them).”

He recalled when the opposition members went so far as to threaten that they would not honour contracts entered into with investors.

Minister Singh then stressed that in a demo-cratic environment, these ‘opposition actions’ are not deemed as acceptable be-haviour, “since all leaders are supposed to act in the country’s best interest, re-gardless of which side they represent.”

Referring to the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, the minister expounded that

President Donald Ramotar being briefed on Guyana Goldfields Operations

CEO of the Massy Holdings Ltd., Gervase Warn-er greeting Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh at the opening of the US$10M Massy distribution

center at Montrose, East Coast Demerara in November 2014

this was “the starkest exam-ple … that the opposition parties have made it quite clear, that they have no in-terest in the consequences of an adverse review by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the other external bodies that are responsible for re-viewing Guyana’s financial actions.”

Resolve Dr. Singh stated that

the PPP/C government will continue to place strong focus on the building of key infrastructural projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project, as “… these have the potential to cement the nation’s long prospects for economic growth.”

He further empha-sised that, “We (PPP/C) are persevering with Amaila … we continue to work with interna-tional partners … not-withstanding the opposi-tion’s attempts to stymie and stultify these pro-jects (other transforma-tional projects mentioned above), it is (still) very much our intention to en-sure that these projects be realised.”


EDUCATION Minister Priya Manickchand clari-fied several issues facing the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), regarding the Brickdam Secondary School and duty-free con-cessions for teachers.

However, before she addressed the questions, she observed that the Min-istry of Education (MoE), has over time, enjoyed a very good relationship with the GTU, in relation to the welfare of its members. Pointing out that the use of the media is extremely un-healthy to raise issues, the minister cautioned against this strategy. Minister Man-ickchand also observed that the MoE’s doors are always open to the GTU, and ex-pressed surprise that the topics raised were not tak-en to the MoE first.

Duty-free concessionsRegarding duty-free

concessions, she noted that if the report was cor-rect as published, it must

Education Minister clarifies issues raised by GTU

be disputed. In 2009, be-cause of miscommunica-tion between both the min-istry and the union, there were some teachers who had become eligible for this, but did not get their concessions.

While accepting re-sponsibility for the minis-try, Minister Manickchand noted that it was not the ministry’s fault alone, but also the union’s and its ex-ecutive body’s. To say that it was the ministry’s fault is highly misleading, she

observed. There were about a doz-

en teachers who were eligi-ble in 2009, and they have all received their conces-sions. She added that at the time they made the appli-cations, they did have the required eligibility condi-tions, with five years on the job and having served for three years. Given the fact that the teachers were not at fault, she saw it as unfair and took the decision to Cabinet, which agreed and passed all the procedures.

Salaries The placing of the is-

sue of salaries at the door of the ministry, the Edu-cation Minister stated that this was wrong. In 2010, a joint committee was set up to deal with it, and on the ministry’s side were Jacqueline Simon and Reginald Brotherson, with Lancelot Baptiste and Ge-nevieve Allen on the side of the GTU.

A memorandum was sent to all head teacher members of the GTU, and after one year, only 10% response was received. In 2011, another memoran-dum was sent to the mem-bership of the union, and by mid-2012 about 90% response was received.

As a result of this, a salary structure was cre-ated for the de-bunting ex-ercise, with a costing done, based on revised salaries for 2011. In 2013, a copy of the proposal was given by the Committee to Bap-

tiste, for discussion with the union executives. In February of 2014, Baptiste was advised that the union was satisfied with the plan.

Government then sat and entered into a Memo-randum of Understanding with the union. To lay the blame at the ministry’s door is less than honest, the minister stated.

Brickdam Secondary School

It is really unfortu-nate that this issue was raised by the GTU as the MoE has identified two schools, Central High and Brickdam Secondary, to be moved. However, there is the need to find space and to ensure that they be state of the art. This is some-thing which has been ad-dressed, during a meeting in December at the Minis-try of Finance.

Violence in schoolsAddressing the issue of

violence in schools, Chief

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

Education Officer Olato Sam said that it is an area which is of great concern and it should have a wider discussion. Parents should be engaged to formalise ar-rangements, on who could or should monitor the be-haviour of students. This would mean that with an early indication, the issue of student behaviour could be addressed. He added that this would soon be ad-dressed nationally.

Teacher and conflict resolution

Sam also stated that while all teachers are qualified, they may not be for the issues with which they are confront-ed. He noted that in their training, they may not have been prepared for them. To do this well, there is going to be the need for a more broad-based approach, which would make teachers responsible.

MINISTER of Local Gov-ernment and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker, on January 21, cut the ribbon to in-augurate the Friendship Swine Development Pro-ject at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, un-der the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) initiative.

According to CARILED’s country co-ordinator, Dhanraj Singh, the project has four compo-nents, namely the construc-tion of the facility, training, start-up assistance for farm-ers, and assistance from both local and Canadian experts, who will be aiding with the maintenance.

The project which was established at a cost of US$42,000 saw consul-tations commencing 13 months ago. Singh noted that after meeting with the farmers, it was realised that the area is well positioned for livestock development, and it could mould swine development.

The country coordina-tor also pointed out that Guyana once exported pork and beef and still has the potential to do so. It was on

Friendship swine development project commissioned

this basis that the project was conceptualised.

The project is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), and will see community members’ benefiting from 15% of the new born stock for approximately three years.

Also the waste from the pen will be used in a bio-digester to create energy, while its nutrients will be used to make duck weed to feed the pigs. This will re-sult in low production cost.

Singh noted that these

communities have a lot of potential and the project was completed in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, Minister Whittaker in his remarks, pointed out that the country depends a lot on its agri-culture sector, not only for putting food on the table, but also to provide job op-portunities, thus creating revenue for the country and income for citizens.

He pointed out that this is the kind of investment that government wants to

see, as it has been continu-ously speaking of diversi-fying and investing in vari-ous types of agriculture. He also lauded the private partners (farmers) for their confidence in themselves and the government.

He added that develop-ment takes place with its people, adding that citizens cannot depend on govern-ment solely and that is why such partnerships are important.

He said he was very happy and challenged the

farmers to ensure that the project will not fail.

Parsaram Persaud, ben-eficiary of the project, said that he was very happy to be a part of the initiative. He also pointed out the facility has a capacity to house approximately 240 pigs.

Also present at the cer-emony was Local Govern-ment Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary Abena Moore, the Region 4 Chair-man, Clement Corlette; and Chairman of Caledonia/Good Success Neighbour-hood Council, Dwarka Nauth.

In May 2012, the Min-istry implemented the CARILED programme, which is being funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and De-velopment, with in-kind contributions, from Carib-bean and Commonwealth countries.

The six-year pro-gramme targets the de-velopment of business-friendly environments in which micro-small and medium-sized enterprises can prosper.

Other projects that have been successfully

Minister of Local Government & Regional Development, Norman Whittaker along with beneficiaries, and officials cutting

the ribbon to commission the Friendship swine facility

completed under this ini-tiative include the Tapa-kuma Women’s Project, the Canal Polders Green Initiative and the Mara Agricultural Enhancement Project.

Also under this pro-gramme, 29 Local Gov-ernment personnel were trained in Local Economic Development, while 61 participants benefited from local exchange of knowl-edge and local economic development practices, as well as two studies, which were completed in iden-tifying improvement on women in business and ac-cess to micro financing.

Further, 50 Neigh-bourhood Democratic Councils across Regions 2, 3, 4 and 6 received training and completed funding packages, with the necessary tools and materials for increased access to finance, while 34 Local Government personnel, from these regions benefited from training in basic internet application, by means of electronic communica-tion, in order to locate and source funding for CARILED.


GUYANA- South Ameri-ca, Undiscovered- EVEN as revellers anxiously prepare for Mashram-ani 2015 celebrations, ‘Mash’ Bands across the country are wooing visitors to our shores to experience the country’s premier , annual cultural festival, under the theme, “One People, One Voice, One Celebration”

Guyana’s “Mashrama-ni,” with its name rooted

in the culture of its indig-enous Amerindians, draws to a climax with Republic anniversary celebrations on February 23; trans-forming Mashramani, into a genuine national cultural event, has evolved as an outstanding success story of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Celebrating a Proud History-Mashramani and Guyana Homecoming 2015

The meaning of the cel-ebrations is etched into the consciousness of all Guya-nese, irrespective of race or creed, as over the last 45 years, the general creative imagination and skills of the people have combined to help in the democrati-sation and popularity of Mashramani’s coming of age, as Guyana’s premier month-long celebration of “unity in diversity” by the six peoples of one nation.

Rousing steel pan con-tests, calypso and soca concerts, parades and in-tellectual competitions, art exhibitions at Castellani House and a lecture series dubbed, “The Republic of Guyana,” are among the myriad of activities during this period; some 45 ‘Mash’ bands are also

expected to take to the streets, to showcase Guya-nese diversity in their cos-tumes and displays.

There isn’t a more fes-tive time to be in Guyana, and for those visiting, the lure extends beyond the frolicking and festivities ...blessed with thousands of fauna species, Guyana is an exciting destination for wildlife spotting. We boast the largest and most unique species of snakes,

rodents, monkeys, cats, frogs, lizards, mammals and many more.

Take a journey by boat, foot or vehicle, in the day, or better at night, and get a glimpse of several giants of the rainforest, such as the Giant River Otter, Em-erald Boa, Boa Constric-tor, Black Caiman, Capy-

bara, the fearless Jaguar, or the world’s largest fresh water fish, the Arapaima.

Guyana’s rich cultural fusion is truly unique and full of energy, life and di-versity. In an era poised by explorations, voyages, slavery and Indenture-ship, many nations came to Guyana, bringing with them their ethnic val-ues and their own unique cultures.

Over hundreds of years, their diverse cultures found a way to interrelate, form-

ing a never-broken fusion, that now stimulates Guy-ana’s cultural dimension, through festivals and other diverse cultural events, like Mashramani.

With the diverse comes a wide array of finger-lick-ing foods. There can be found many influences in the Guyanese cuisine, due to our rich history and our various backgrounds. The most important cooking styles have been adopted from the East Indian, Car-ibbean, African and Chi-

nese cuisines, but there are also many European influences, as Guyana is basically a harmonic blend of these all. This is yet another reason to come to Guyana in 2015.

Travel to Guyana this February and experience this public holiday, cele-brated by all Guyanese at home and abroad, which truly reflects our motto ‘One people, One nation, One destiny’...HAPPY MASHRAMANI

A scene from Mashramani 2014

Revellers at Mashramani 2014

Mashramani attracts tourists to Guyana A typical mash float Parade scene


Region Four The East Bank Corridor-A Modern Hub

Guyana National Stadium at ProvidenceEccles Water Treatment Plant

Taking shape, a completed section of the East bank four-lane road expansion in the vicinity of Diamond

Diamond Secondary School

Unicomer (Courts) new storage bond at Farm

Princess International Hotel at Providence

Diamond food court

Park Vue hotel at Farm


East Bank Demerara morning traffic congestion

Branches of three commercial banks located at Diamond

Diamond Fire station

Turnkey homes, Providence

Diamond, East Bank Demerara Hospital

The Diamond/Grove Police Station

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport which is currently being upgraded to a modern international facility


HEAD of the Presiden-tial Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon has justified the existence of the National Intelligence Centre (NIC) by explaining that it is an unavoidable compromise in the protection of na-tional interest in a modern society.

Speaking on the ‘Politi-cal Scope’ programme on the National Communica-tions Network on January 18, Dr. Luncheon said, “I do believe it is an element of trust, between the citizens and its government that is put on the table here.”

He said that, “One has to concede that in protect-ing national interest, in the pursuit of national secu-rity, indeed there will be instances where issues like safeguarding rights, protect-ing rights, (and) invasion of privacy, these issues will be

Circumstances in a modern society justify use of National Intelligence Centre

-Dr. Luncheoncompromised.”Dr. Luncheon, who is

also Secretary of the De-fence Board, noted that if done as prescribed, and if there are checks and bal-ances that the citizenry re-spect and rely on, then like in most modern societies, agencies such as the NIC are recognised as “a neces-sary accompaniment of the enjoyment of the trappings of a modern society”.

“You cannot get the benefits of a secure state and national interest being protected indeed, in lock-ing ourselves up in a cocoon of constitutional rights and guarantees,” he opined.

He noted that the issue therefore begs the question about the common good, of the pursuit of matters from a national interest perspective.

He noted that the admin-istration is cognisant of the

new threats that have to be responded to, which were not within the mandate of the other disciplined ser-vices, and recognises that it would have been inappro-priate to thrust them in the existing structures, hence the movement to establish the NIC, he said.

Dr. Luncheon pointed out that if the Government of Guyana wanted to be rec-ognised and be treated as a state party whose national interest must be respected, it means that the Government has the responsibility of so doing and ensuring its pro-tection. “You have to be out there 24 hours a day, and all over the world the conven-tion of agencies dedicated to the acquisition of informa-tion, the programming anal-ysis and recommendation on interventions based on those recommendations, all over the world such agen-

cies exist,” he noted.Dr. Luncheon noted that

over the years, the PPPC Administration has estab-lished a government that has presented itself as the basis for enduring trust between the citizens and its govern-ment. He thinks that it is in that context that citizens, where ever, should keep ex-amining the question of an invasion of their privacy. He said that it is probably inap-propriate to select isolate concerns about trust when dealing with national secu-rity issues, when there is a bigger picture.

“As your administra-tion addresses issues in a trustworthy way, not only national interest but the en-tirety of engagement with the people and leaders … that should be the picture that is taken into context.”

He added that this is where the administration

stands in the context of its ‘comprehensive address of this issue of trust’.

“I want to believe that this administration, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has earned over the years the trust of the Guyanese people to adhere to the constitution, the rule of law and indeed to have made a primary re-sponsibility of retaining the confidence of the Guyanese people that we are doing the right thing, and making available the information on the right things.”

The Cabinet Secretary noted that even if it comes to examining the issue of national security, it is on the background of an ena-bling environment, one that clearly establishes this as a trustworthy administration and encourages the citizens to concede that which is ev-

idenced in the other realms is more than likely to be ap-plied in this particular one.

The NIC was set up by Government intended not to replicate, displace or un-dermine the existing disci-plined sources involved in similar national security, but in a comprehensive way, and particularly in a con-sistent way, garner national security information, in a changing modern world.

The Cabinet Secretary also explained that na-tional security is a never ending cycle that has to be attended to, at every sec-ond of every hour, of every day. “We have to respond to national security inter-est, equally important we have also to acquire infor-mation to help us to identi-fy what those interests are, what the threat is to those interests, and what would

THE Ministry of Cul-ture, Youth and Sport has announced that it has a packed calendar of ac-tivities, to commemorate Guyana’s 45th Republic Anniversary. Mashrama-ni 2015 is being celebrated under the theme “One People One Culture One Celebration.”

The children’s activities are being streamed, through the Ministry of Education for all schools to be fully involved. This year’s activi-ties commence on January 19, in schools across the regions.

The final Mashramani competition for the children is scheduled for February 12 to the 14. The Dance and Masquerade competition will be held on February 12, Calypso and Dramatic Po-etry on February 13, and the Costume parade is slated for February 14. The rehears-als for the competitions are well underway among the participating schools.

Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Frank Anthony noted that Mash festivities will feature the traditional calypso, soca and chutney competitions.

The Calypso competi-tion comprises two cat-egories; junior and adult

Culture Ministry well geared for Mashramani activities-Minister Anthony

competitions. The junior ca-lypso competition is expect-ing to field 11 contestants, while the adult competition will feature 20 participants. The semi-finals will be held at Bartica, while the final competition is slated for Thirst Park. The National Music School band will per-form for the junior calypso contestants, while the Min-gles Sound Machine band will accompany the adult performers.

In addition, the Mash-ramani Chutney Competi-tion will feature 19 contest-ants, who will be guided by the Shakti Strings band. The competition has been slated for Anna Regina Centre Ground on January 31.

The Mashramani Soca Monarch competition is expected to be the high-light for Mashramani cel-ebrations. The competition comprises two categories; the semi-finals will be held at Berbice, while the final competition has been slated for the National Park. The competition will feature performances from the Heat Wave band.

The minister said that over the years, the min-istry has been working to resuscitate steel pan music in schools. This has been evident through part-time music teachers, who were placed at various schools, to teach students to play the steel pan.

The Mashramani 2015 steel band competition has been divided into two cat-egories; school band, which has been divided into a small and large group, and the customary category. These competitions will be held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

In addition, this year’s competition will feature an open contest of solo and duets, comprising six bands and a number of solo artistes will be performing.

The Ministry of Cul-ture, Youth and Sport has been working with persons to develop masquerade bands over the years. Dance steps recorded on discs and manuals have been pro-cured to educate persons on

masquerade.In addition, Minister

Anthony said that the minis-try will continue to work to encourage masquerade per-formers, so as to ensure that this art form be carefully preserved.

A masquerade compe-tition will be held in Esse-quibo, due to the increased number of masquerade bands present there. Bands from Regions Three, Four, Five and Ten are expected to participate in the mas-querade competition.

Meanwhile, a new activ-ity has been added to this year’s calendar of activities; this includes a literary street fair. This fair will feature an exhibition of books on Guyana’s history and the reason for Mashramani cel-ebrations. This event will be held in front of the Ministry of Culture on Main Street on February 20, and it aims to encourage reading among the populace.

A flag raising ceremony will also be held at Parlia-ment Building, to commem-orate Guyana’s Republic Anniversary.

A national art exhibition will be held at the Castellani House that will depict infor-

mation on Guyana’s history, as well as Mashramani sou-venirs, while the National Museum will also portray an exhibition to showcase Guyana’s history.

Further, a lecture will be held on the Republic of Guyana; it will be hosted by prominent professors and writers.

An elderly concert will be held for senior citizens at the Promenade Gardens, and this will feature a cul-tural programme.

The annual Mashramani Costume Float parade is slated for February 23, and it promises to be bigger and better. The parade will trav-erse from Camp and Church Streets to the National Park. A safety committee will be implemented on the day of the Costume Float parade to ensure that the safety of patrons.

In addition, the ten ad-ministrative regions will also be hosting their annual Mashramani activities, par-allel to the central Mash-ramani programmes.

Minister Anthony lauded the private sec-tor, for coming onboard to support Mashramani celebrations.

A scene from Mash 2014


ATTORNEY General (AG) and Minister of Le-gal Affairs Anil Nandlall met with the Principal of the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) Miriam Samaru on January 16, and several issues were discussed, in particu-lar those affecting the Guyanese students at the institution.

It was a very fruitful meeting, and many of the issues raised were success-fully addressed, according to the AG.

The AG then met with the Guyanese contingent of students on January 17, and briefed them on the discussions he had with the HWLS Principal, and the decisions which were made.

The AG had before met with students from the UG’s Law Society (UGLS) to hear their concerns and abate their fears, as to whether or not the current batch of top 25 graduat-ing law students, from the University of Guyana (UG) would be given automatic entry, into the HWLS.

The students’ concerns stemmed from the fact that last year some difficulties were encountered, in se-curing the established au-tomatic entry of 25 Guya-nese, from the faculty of Law at the UG, into the HWLS. Those difficulties were however resolved,

AG reports successful meeting with Hugh Wooding Principal

due to the intervention of the Guyana Government.

The Attorney General reminded the students that a decision was taken at the level of the CARICOM Heads of Government, to write to the Council of Le-gal Education (CLE), and address the issue of contin-uing admission of UG law students, to the Council’s law school, as well as to undertake a comprehensive review of legal education in the region, with specific emphasis on revising the syllabus, revising the role the Council is playing, whether or not the Council should continue to be the provider of legal education in the region, or if it should reassess its role, as simply administering a system, that will deliver legal education in the region. In addition to ascertaining whether there

is adequate accommoda-tion at the law schools in the region to house the continuous increase in the numbers of students show-ing an inclination to pursue studies in the area of law.

The next decision to be made, Minister Nandlall explained, is the source of funding. “To undertake what the Heads of Govern-ment were recommending, which is a review of the system, is a very costly ex-ercise, and an estimation of the cost was submitted to the Heads of Government, with discussions on rais-ing the money.” Guyana, he said, signalled its com-mitment to contribute fairly and equitably to meeting this expenditure, and that a common cost would be borne by the entire region.

According to the minis-ter, at the level of the CLE,

of which he is an executive member, they are currently addressing this issue, as a fundamental matter. He told the students that he will be attending a meeting of the Council in Grenada, on February 6, 2015, and this matter will be on the agenda again.

The minister articulated that there is currently an impasse between the UWI and UG, in relation to a continuation of a collabo-rative arrangement, which has been in place for the last two decades. He said that UG has put forward some proposals, which are being considered by UWI, and it is expected that the two universities will arrive at a solution of mutual ac-ceptance. That collabora-tive arrangement, the AG is hoping, would crystalise into an agreement, which

would be brought to the CLE for its approval. “We are hoping that this would be done within the shortest possible time,” expressed the minister.

He admitted though, that the review process would be a long and pro-tracted one, which is more suited as a long-term goal, to rectifying the issue at hand. However, he did in-dicate, from a short term perspective, that the 25 law students will continue to gain entry at the HWLS, on the basis of automatic en-try, while those outside of the 25 limit, will continue to have to write the en-trance examinations if they want to attend the HWLS.

The AG noted that as a representative of Guyana, on the CLE, his preference is and has always been a continuation of an arrange-ment, which will continue to associate UG’s LLB programme with that of the UWI’s, “because I believe that it is important for the integrity of the degree pro-gramme … and it is impor-tant for the quality control mechanism to continue to be in place, to ensure that there be no dilution of standards at the University of Guyana.”

Issue of Space According to the AG,

there continue to be space

problems at the current configuration of the CLE, because of the prolifera-tion of new institutions, which are doing LLB pro-grammes within the region. Those new facilities, cou-pled with the existing in-stitutions providing those programmes are producing many law students, who are expected to be accom-modated at the HWLS. “It simply cannot continue like that,” said the AG.

He also mentioned that there is a Law School in the Bahamas that has the space to offset the growing num-ber of graduates, wanting to acquire their LLB and practise at the Bar, but the cost of travel, living, and the tuition fees, at the in-stitution are very high, and these are significant detri-ments to persons wanting to go there.

According to the Nandlall, an offer was extended a while back, from the AG of Bahamas, for students to go there, should the need arise. He said that there was an in-dication that an arrange-ment can be worked out, which would result in a reduction of the tuition fees, dependent however, on the number of stu-dents, who would have first indicated a willing-ness to attend that law school.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall with Guyanese students, at the Hugh Wooding Law school, St Augustine, Trinidad

THE perception that contract workers are re-ceiving ‘super salaries’ was recently debunked by Minister of Public Service, Dr. Jennifer Westford, during a re-cent interview on “Po-litical Scope” on the Na-tional Communications Network (NCN) Inc.

The minister was at the time highlighting some of the functions of the Public Service Ministry. These include the running of a competent management of key public institutions,

Minister Westford debunks claims that contracted workers earn super salaries developing the human cap-ital, and ensuring a peace-ful industrial climate.

The Political Opposi-tion and some sections of the media are of the view that contract workers are earning ‘super salaries,’ but Minister Westford ex-plained that the difference between a contract worker and one on the pension-able establishment is that the latter will work until age 55 or 60 years and re-ceive a pension, while the contract worker receives a contract gratuity every Minister of Public Service, Dr. Jennifer Westford

six months. This payment is based on the same pen-sion scheme’s calculation of 22.5 % of the contracted worker’s salary.

Minister Westford said that according to the pub-lic service law, “any pub-lic service staff can decide whether he/she wants to be a ‘pension worker’ or a contracted one.”

However, there is a category of workers em-ployed, based on foreign funded projects and these are paid based on what the projects provide.

“You have a category of contracted employees, working in the public sec-tor, and who do not hold a position in the public service. Those people are on foreign-funded projects and the projects determine the salaries of those persons…some of those projects are com-ing to an end; so the sala-ries are adjusted because they would now be on the public service pay-roll,” Minister Westford stressed.


EDUCATION in Guyana is provided largely by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education and its arms in the 10 different ad-ministrative regions of the country, and it is also subsidised from nursery all the way to the second-ary level. The local edu-cation system is a legacy from British Guiana, and is similar to that of the other member states of the Caribbean Commu-nity, affiliated with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

It has been recognised that the provision of free education, and constant interventions would en-able the raising of the bar, where education is con-cerned, and the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been doing just that.

LiteracyThe knowledge that a

child’s ability to read is positively related to op-portunities for academic and vocational success and has resulted in a revised literacy plan, targeting children’s reading skills. The ultimate aim is to have all children be able to read and fully learn by the end of the fourth grade.

Learning to read by that grade is a key force in determining whether a stu-dent will go on to graduate from high school, attend and graduate from col-

Several initiatives assist in Keeping children in school

lege, and achieve future success in the work force. It is important to note that not only does grade level reading have a significant impact on students’ educa-tional career; it has broad-er ramifications for their economic livelihood, in an increasingly competitive economic environment.

NutritionNutrition is a major

influence on physical and mental growth and is a main factor in promot-ing lifelong healthy eat-ing; hence the government commenced its National School Feeding pro-gramme in 2010, which targeted all the nursery and primary schools in most of the regions. The programme consists of bis-cuits and juices, which are both locally made.

Schools such as those in Annai, Karasabai, Aran-aputa and St. Ignatius, receive a daily nutritious snack of cassava bread, peanut butter and fruit juice. After its success, the hot meal project was later implemented in Re-gions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine. It was devel-oped since it was recog-nised that students travel long distances to attend school, which in some cas-es was costly and resulted in low attendance rates and ever increasing school dropouts.

Billions of dollars has been expended on the Na-

tional School Feeding pro-gramme, in an effort to en-sure improved attendance and attentiveness in the classroom.

Providing uniforms nationally

The provision of school uniform vouchers to children, residing on the coastland and in riv-erain communities, along with the provision of uni-form materials to hinter-land communities, is also another means by govern-ment, to provide assistance to parents, to ensure that children attend school and complete their education. The School Uniform pro-gramme ensures that one school uniform be given to every child, attending a school in the public educa-tion system, from nursery to Grade 11.

The Ministry of Am-erindian Affairs is respon-sible for the programme in the hinterland and it procures school uniform for communities in Re-gions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. This programme has positively influenced school attendance and per-formance in the hinterland, and has created job oppor-tunities for residents, as the women are given the task of sewing the uniforms for the various schools, and for which they are paid.

Free text booksText books are essen-

tial to students’ developing

of their knowledge base, and this is another avenue whereby the administra-tion has been providing students of all stages with assistance. This precludes the need for parents to pur-chase the expensive books.

In an effort to make all children literate by the end of Grade 4, and because of the prohibitive price of books, two new series have been written: the Roraima series for nursery aged children; and the Atlantic Readers for primary aged

children. The Roraima Readers include readers, work books, writing skills workbooks, flash cards, charts, and assessments. This series is currently be-ing used; the Atlantic series is currently being worked on and will be introduced this year. These books were written by local experts and they may even be used in-ternationally, even though they were written with the Guyanese/Caribbean chil-dren in mind.

Students and parents reading

A parent signing for a uniform voucher

Nursery level children in a hinterland location decked out in their uni-forms. The material was provided by the Education Ministry

Core text books for Mathematics, English, So-cial Studies and Science have been procured for every child in all public primary schools. Addition-ally, relevant Mathemat-ics and English texts were procured for each student from Grades 7 to 11.

Because We CareThe recent “Because

We Care” cash grant ini-tiative is meant to provide more support to parents with school aged children

and so increase their dis-posable income. This is in fact the first programme of its kind in the Caribbean and indeed anywhere else in this part of the world, where every public school child is entitled to this benefit.

The Ministry of Edu-cation has distributed 135,969 vouchers, each valued $10,000, since the launch of this programme October 2014. The initia-tive is meant to provide ad-

ditional support to parents with children, attending a nursery, primary, or sec-ondary school, in the pub-lic education system. This programme targets 188,406 families. This grant can be used to meet such costs as transportation, and will provide added impetus to raising enrolment and at-tendance rates, in addition to having the effect of in-creasing the disposable income of the parents of school aged children.

HEIPThe launch of the

Hinterland Education Improvement Project (HEIP) has seen the min-istry’s seeking ways in which to improve the re-sults of education in the identified regions. This is being done through con-sultations, which would enable residents to tell of their needs and give sug-gestions to improve edu-cation results in students in hinterland regions.


THE North Ruimveldt Multilateral School in Georgetown will be com-missioned as an A-list school, early this year, even as work will contin-ue towards achieving Uni-versal Secondary Educa-tion in Guyana. This was among announcements by Minister of Education Priya Manickchand on January 16, when she re-vealed plans for the first quarter of 2015.

North Ruimveldt upgrade

Evidencing Guyana’ s progress as a country and particularly in the educa-tion sector, the education ministry will be declaring the North Ruimveldt Mul-tilateral School an A-List school early this year.

The school which be-gan as a B grade has been achieving excellent perfor-mances from its students, at the Caribbean Second-ary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations, over a period of three consecu-tive years. This solid his-tory has now qualified it to be an A-List school.

2014-2018 Education plan

The Ministry of Edu-cation is dedicated to en-suring that all citizens be given the best possible op-portunity, to achieve their full potential. This is pos-sible via equal access to quality education. This is defined by the standards and norms outlined by the ministry and the commit-ment to quality and equity in education, with no barri-ers in access to anyone.

The 2014-2018 National Education Sector Plan covers all levels of ed-ucation, except university. It consists of the detailed action plans of each unit or department that must be taken in order to meet the targets of the strategy. This plan continues the focus on improving the quality of education that was outlined in previous ones. However, it places much more em-phasis on accountability, by continuously monitor-ing results throughout the plan’s period.

Professional Standard

for Teachers

The ministry had un-dertaken to establish a draft professional standard for teachers, and consequently it conducted countrywide consultations with all key stakeholders. More than 55 consultations were held, where teachers, parents, students and other stake-holders provided their views on the contents of the document.

The report is that the consultations were ex-tremely useful, in bring-ing personnel to the point where they are preparing to officially publish, sensitise users and potential users, and implement the Profes-sional Standards for Teach-ers, within a matter of a few weeks.

Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam noted that the pro-fessional standard docu-ment was revised, to indi-cate the attitudes teachers should exhibit, adding that the appraisal system will now measure the overall structure.

Text Books The ministry contin-

ues to place emphasis on the equitable provision of learning resources to stu-dents. Much effort has gone into creating and develop-ing its own learning kits and packages and quite im-portantly, its own text and work books.

In 2013 and 2014, the Roraima Readers Series and Atlantic Readers series were developed and writ-ten. During this quarter, it is anticipated that these books would be published with their accompanying work-books, and that students would begin using them on

a national scale, in Septem-ber 2015. It is important to note too that these books were developed by a group of dedicated Guyanese educators.

Secondary level improve-

ment project The objectives of this

project are to strengthen the capacity of secondary school mathematics teach-ers, and to increase enroll-ment in general secondary schools in targeted regions. This is a US$10M project that is expected to be im-plemented over the next three years.

Approximately 800 secondary level mathemat-ics teachers would benefit from in-service training. The direct project’s benefi-ciaries would be 2,600 stu-dents profiting each year, as long as the schools are built, from new second-ary school facilities in Re-gions Three and Four. The project would also benefit students at eight schools, with “Technology-assisted Learning in Mathematics” pilot programmes.

In addition, the min-istry would benefit from improved capacity in Edu-cation Management and In-formation System (EMIS). This project will help to get the ministry closer to its goals, and this will be in keeping with the PPP/C manifesto’s promise, of ob-taining Universal Second-ary Education. It will be of-ficially launched in the first quarter of this year.

PortugueseThe Caribbean Exami-

nations Council (CXC) will be offering Portuguese at the Caribbean Certificate

of Secondary Level Com-petence (CCSLC), which will be written in nine ter-ritories for the first time in 2016. Portuguese will be eventually offered in all the territories.

Additionally, CXC will offer Portuguese as a

subject at the Caribbean Secondary Education Cer-tificate (CSEC) in 2017. It was the ministry which pi-loted Portuguese, formally in the secondary school’s curriculum, and its staff who developed Curriculum Guides, and resource mate-rials to deliver this new, but increasingly useful and im-portant language.

National Report Card Day and Parent Day In an effort to increase

the information available to stakeholders, especially Parent Teachers Associa-tions (PTAs) and parents, about the status of their schools and the progress of individual children’s progress, and in order to increase the lines of com-munication and collabora-tion between parent stake-holders and the schools, the

ministry will be instituting a National Report Card Day and a monthly Parent Day.

Report cards offer in-sight into a child’s learning progress and also help par-ents ensure that their chil-dren are being challenged and assessed. Report cards also help parents to iden-tify those areas, where a child may need additional support.

This year, the minis-try is designating the last Thursday or second-to-last day of every school term as National Report Card Day. Across the country, parents will be able to go into the schools and receive their chil-dren’s report cards, or children could receive them and take them home.

North Ruimveldt Multilateral to become an A-list school-as first quarter plans unveiled for education sector

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and Chief Education Officer Olato Sam at the press conference

North Ruimveldt Multilateral School

THE Central Recruit-ment and Manpower Agency (CRMA) has embarked on a project aimed at providing infor-mation upgrade, software development and techni-cal support services to en-hance the responsiveness and productivity in the department.

Visits to Regions Three, Five, Eight, Nine and 10 have seen mechanisms put in place to extend the ser-vices of the agency in these administrative regions. This has helped to collect and store relevant data with available positions to be filled, as well as matching of potential employees to available jobs.

In 2014, there were 2,911 persons registered with notifications at 3,400, while requests from em-ployers and submissions aggregated 3,857. Of that

CRMA secured employment for 2,385 job seekers in 2014

number, the CRMA was able to place 2,385 in jobs.

The CRMA and the Board of Industrial Train-ing (BIT), which also falls under the Ministry of La-bour, hold annual job fairs and registration exercises for persons between the ages of 18 and 25 years, who are seeking employ-ment and for those who are seeking skills training.

Government has been making it easier for unem-ployed persons and those seeking jobs to be provided with job placements, facili-tated through the agency.

This office was estab-lished by the government, through the Employment Exchange Act of 1944, which defines employment exchange as “any office or place, established under this Act and used for the purpose of collecting and furnishing information, ei-

ther by keeping of register or otherwise, respecting employers who desire to engage workplace and peo-ple who seek engagement or employment.”

CRMA’s mission is to contribute to the social and economic development of the country, by providing effective and efficient em-ployment services to job seekers and employers. The objective of the CRMA is to place individuals, seeking jobs, in suitable employ-ment and to provide career counselling and guidance.

The agency registers applications for employ-ment, taking specific note of applicants’ occupation-al qualifications, experi-ences and desires, and then interviews them for employment and evalu-ates, if necessary, their physical and vocational abilities.


THERE is a need for greater empathy amongst the general public, to rec-ognise the importance of local sea and river defence systems, Public Works Minister Robeson Benn said.

During an interview on the National Commu-nications Network “Politi-cal Scope” programme on Friday, the minister, who has responsibility for the defence of nation’s sea and river, said that the issue of garbage disposal is one that needs to be addressed, as it has serious ramifications, in addition to the now rou-tine clogging of drains, ca-nals and outfalls. He point-ed out that in some areas, garbage has accumulated into rafts of debris, which, due to wave action, scour the banks of embankments and sea defences, wearing away and weakening them. Stakeholders will have to come up with an approach to remove squatters and at-tendant garbage, especially in poorer parts of the capi-

Sea defence is critical to coastal protection but greater public awareness and empathy needed

-Public Works Ministertal, he said. “A plan will have to be

worked out and it will have to come about in a change in spirit and will, at the level of the City Council, to deal with this problem which is now intractable and which will only get worse as we go forward.”

Government eventually may have to address these issues, since City Hall is not performing as expect-ed, it was further noted.

Minister Benn recalled that when the PPP/C gov-ernment took office, most of the sea defence structures along the coast were in a state of disrepair. Govern-ment has, over the years, he said, embarked on a programme to first rebuild these structures, then reha-bilitate and maintain them as needed. It was noted that miles of coastland has al-ready been lost to the sea, as evidenced by the presence of kokers. The challenge has been further compound-ed by the loss of mangroves along critical sections of the

coastline. Launched under the Public Works Ministry and now under the Agricul-ture Ministry, a project is underway to mitigate this.

The last two decades of work undertaken by government has resulted in the coastline now be-ing secured, the minister explained.

The impact of global warming is being felt and this has necessitated a move towards the construction of higher stretches of sea de-fence. These are between half of a meter to one meter higher in many places; this

to offset rising sea levels. Minister Benn stated that flooding, along the coastal belt is often as a result of overtopping, or heavy rain-fall and not breaches within sea defences. He explained that once rainfall exceeds the drainage system’s ca-pacity, flooding will oc-cur. This, he indicated is between 35 to 40 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period, and once this is surpassed, flooding would result. The filling in of several main drainage canals in George-town has further reduced drainage capacity and there is now a greater reliability on pumps, to effect faster drainage.

Guyana has been, and continues to be assisted in its sea and river defence ef-forts by the European Un-ion (EU) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). These agencies were de-scribed by the Minister Benn as “reliable” partners. He revealed that the 9th EU Development Fund has re-sulted in the spending of 18

million Euros to boost the local sea defence.

The 10th phase of the fund will see the expendi-ture of 14 million Euros within the sector. It was important to note, Minis-ter Benn said, that the fi-nancial agencies are now funding the programmes and projects, by allocat-ing monies to government, directly, rather than stand-alone projects, which were overseen by the EU. This move signals confidence in government’s ability to manage and execute these works, in a transparent and fair manner.

The CDB’s US$24 mil-lion loan and contract being worked out at present will encompass the Sea Defence Resilience Project.

All these interventions are part of efforts to ensure that Guyana continue to be an export driven economy, particularly for agricultural products such as sugar and rice, Minister Benn said. The region’s food security

is assured by the local ex-port of rice, sugar and other produce to regional mar-kets and further afield, he added.

Lessons have and are being garnered by local engineers, by visiting over-seas locales such as the Louisiana and Mississippi Delta, in the United States, Holland’s sea defence and even further afield to Bang-ladesh. As a result of these visits, it is understood that the current sea and river defence structures can be built much higher even-tually, Minister Benn ex-plained. He referred to the notion that Guyana’s coast should be abandoned and residents move to higher ground such as Soesdyke, Timehri and Linden.

“The investment that is already in place on the coast is an enormous one, and it will take a very long time to replicate the fertil-ity or the investment to be able to move people to that area… we don’t think that it is necessary, we know that at the engineering level we can build higher, incre-mentally, as we have been doing as we go forward.” Some 6 mm of annual sea level rise is being catered for by the ministry, with re-spect to sea defence works, he added, and if building is done continuously at those levels, and better engineer-ing methods be employed, this will reduce cost per lin-ear meter for the infrastruc-ture put in place. It would be critical to work with other interventions such as using cheaper, but still ef-fective methods, he stated.

As the ministry goes forward, Minister Benn said that local engineers are more confident and capable in their abilities; hence they will be do-ing “greater things with respect to this area, out of our own efforts, not necessarily by importing efforts.”

Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn

THE Government of Guyana’s “Clean-Up My Country” programme, which commenced in July 2014 and which is be-ing implemented by the Ministry of Local Gov-ernment and Regional Development (MLGRD) is nearing completion. Four communities that are currently undergoing cleaning in Georgetown and Linden will com-mence general commu-nity clean-up, by the end of January.

Initially, this Clean-Up-My Country campaign was scheduled to be wrapped up by December 31, 2014. However, the month of De-cember saw a peak in the number of communities be-ing attended to, and some of these are still ongoing. There were also some late submissions of propos-als for communities to be cleaned.

“Clean-Up My Country” programme in its final lap

Under the Georgetown aspect of the Clean-Up My Country programme, 63 communities from Agricola to Atlantic Ville were en-gaged in community clean-up activities. In fact, a total of 75 groups signed on to the “Capital City Clean-up” project, which saw 2,239 Community Enhancement Workers’ gaining employ-ment for the massive drive.

According to Mr. Collin Croal, Permanent

Secretary MLGRD, “due to the size of communi-ties such as Albouystown, Meadow Brook Gardens, Alberttown, North East La Penitence, Kitty, Tucville, (Phase 1 & 2), South and North Cummingsburg, those areas were divided into phases, which resulted in multiple contracts be-ing signed for their clean-up. On the other hand, for the majority of the com-munities, which submitted

proposals for community clean-up, only one was signed for each.

To wrap up the Clean-Up My Country pro-gramme, communities in Georgetown will be pro-vided with residential gar-bage receptacles and bags, with the aim of encourag-ing persons to dispose their garbage in a more responsi-ble manner. This is because there are critical issues of residents, dumping garbage in public spaces and in wa-ter ways. In addition, metal skip bins will be distributed to the Georgetown Munici-pal Markets to assist with the maintenance of healthy sanitation and to encourage proper garbage disposal.

Under the regional as-pect, Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Nine already benefited from the regional programme, which gave residents the

opportunity to get rid of their bulk waste. Region 10 (Linden) will experience similar benefits from the community clean-up and sanitation improvement programme, by the end of January, 2014. Community clean-up activities for Re-gions One (Mabaruma Port Kaituma, Mathews Ridge) and Eight (Mahdia) are be-ing finalised.

To assist in the minis-try’s Regional Solid Waste programme, Regions One, Two and Six benefited from constructions of access roads, while Region Nine will benefit from construc-tion of a fence, around the landfill site, which is now being awarded through the Regional Tender Board.

Moreover, 45 tractors and trailers will be hand-ed over to various NDCs to aid in community

Workers loading debris in a truck

See page 28


LIKE any other commu-nity, Masakenari has re-ceived tremendous sup-port from government, and over the past five years, this very remote village has seen $37M be-ing expended in various support areas to further develop the community and its people.

Masakenari, a Wai Wai community, located in the Deep South Rupununi, has a population of about 280, and is equipped with a school which houses over 56 nursery, primary and secondary students, a health centre, benab, women’s centre and water systems, and an airstrip lo-cated nine kilometers from the village.

During a recent visit, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, lauded the residents for the successful completion and excellent management of their community projects.

“ In a very short num-

ber of years, more than $37M has been expended in various support areas to Masakenari, and that is more than any other vil-lage and that is not because you are special, but in the past this village has not had much support and we have to bridge that gap,” Minister Sukhai noted.

She said that while government would like to do more, over the last three years it was faced with tre-mendous challenges at the level of Parliament, and all Guyanese, more so Amer-indians, their livelihood, development and support interventions by govern-ment have been greatly threatened.

She acknowledged that it has been a struggle where Amerindian devel-opment is concerned, since the Combined Opposition slashed monies, earmarked for the Amerindian Devel-opment Fund (ADF). “This government has taken a

bold step to ensure that all the legal requirements will be in place and even though we have been told that we ought not to take monies from the treasury to invest and spend on Amerindian communities for the better-ment of Amerindians, this government has said that we will continue to develop Amerindian villages,” Min-ister Sukhai stressed.

Masakenari is also one of the villages that are cur-rently in the process of be-ing demarcated under the ministry’s Land Titling and Demarcation project.

Minister Sukhai men-tioned the importance of demarcating Amerindian lands which will conclude the titling process, thereby granting ownership to the area that Amerindians oc-cupy. This will also allow for better management, to deal with encroachment, and assign lands to resi-dents and for investments.

“Therefore demarca-

tion is an important aspect of titling and this govern-ment has over the years provided the funding to complete demarcation in many communities. The demarcation has begun; there are some procedures that have to be followed….the villagers will accompa-ny the surveyors with re-spect to the demarcation,” the Minister noted.

While there will be challenges, Minister Sukhai urged the commu-nity to collaborate with the surveyors in this regard. There will be about 16 vil-lages benefiting in this re-gard, during the first quar-ter of this year.

“I am happy that there was no objection by Ma-sakenari because there are groups of people who claim to represent Amerin-

dians and who continue to try to influence Amerindi-ans that demarcation is not a good thing, and that is because they do not want Amerindians to be true owners of their lands,” the Minister added.

Minister Sukhai pre-sented financial assistance to the Village Toshao Paul Chekema towards the de-velopment of the trail that leads to the village.

The community has also applied to the En-vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a por-tion of its land to be a pro-tected area.

Masakenari can be classified as having a sub-sistence economy; the pri-mary economic activities in the community being farming, hunting, and fish-ing. Through funds pro-

vided by the government, this community benefited from a tractor and trailer along with an all-terrain vehicle, to assist in trans-porting goods and servic-es. Residents now receive electricity via solar panels provided by government.

The hot meal kitchen was completed and the ministry provided uten-sils, while the computer hub is currently under construction.

This community is one of many in Region Nine, maintaining its rich culture. The community will be embarking on the establishment of a mu-seum as the earmarked Community Develop-ment Plan, to further preserve the culture of the people.

Over $37M invested in Masakenari over past five years-Minister Sukhai pledges Gov’t’s continued support

MASAKENARI has re-ceived $10M from Gov-ernment, through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, to further devel-op the trail that leads to the remote community, in the Deep South, Rupu-nunni, Region Nine.

The cheque was handed over to Toshao Paul Chek-ema by Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, during a recent visit, where she met and interacted with the residents.

Masakenari gets $10M from Gov’t to develop trail

This project, which came as a result of a request by the community, is part of government’s continued effort to improve road net-works within Amerindian communities, hence allow-ing for better connectivity.

Minister Sukhai re-minded the residents of gvernment’s commitment to their development. Roads, she said are impor-tant communication links, for any community, noting that government will con-

tinue to provide the neces-sary funds to further devel-op Masakenari’s trail.

“The government con-tinues to support you to ensure the trail be pushed further. While many may ask why the government doesn’t build the road, the position of the ad-ministration is that the residents benefit directly from this investment, because if you tender out the project, the vil-lage council may not win

and others will come and benefit instead,” Minister Sukhai stressed.

She emphasised that this project will create em-ployment in the commu-nity, and the works will be done to the standard of the community, since its peo-ple will have a direct hand in it.

She also pledged the ministry’s support as re-gards the construction of a road, to link Masake-nari and Parabara.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai handing over a cheque to Masakenari Toshao, Paul Chekema for the development of the trail

to the village

The Masakenari community, Region Nine.

Happy youths of Masakenari


FOR the thousands of youths across the coun-try, who for whatever cir-cumstance did not get the opportunity to complete their secondary educa-tion, the Youth Entrepre-neurial Skills Training (YEST) programme, has become a critical com-ponent, to their realising their full potential, and living a meaningful life.

For youths like Sharon Joseph, who hails from Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven, this programme will enable her to acquire much needed skills, that her village is at present without.

Joseph is among the current batch of 215 stu-dents completing the 2014-2015 programme, at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre.

“I am here doing Busi-ness Studies, because in my village there are hard-ly any business people around, so that is the main reason why I had to choose the area, (and) right now I am studying and trying my best, so when I finish, I can be a successful business woman,” Joseph told the Government Information Agency (GINA) during a recent interview at the centre.

The Government of Guyana has focused on moving the country to a developed state, as over the years, much emphasis has been placed on edu-cation, as a tool to build

Youth and opportunities for their advancementthe workforce, to take the country there. Skills training was long recog-nised and rolled out, to ensure that every Guya-nese is able to contribute to the future development of the country, including the youths who did not complete or maybe did not excel at the secondary school level.

YEST became a unit under the Ministry of Cul-ture, Youth and Sport in the year 2000. The unit emerged from what was formerly the Guyana Na-tional Service, utilising the resources available

to combine skills train-ing and entrepreneurship, as one way of enhancing the employment poten-tial of young people, who had left the school system and needed to be gainfully occupied.

This programme of-fers remedial Mathematics and English for the youths, technical skills training, apprenticeship attachment for a period of four weeks, and a stipend of $ 4000 per month. Over 3000 youths were trained since the birth of YEST.

The programme is offered at the Kuru Kuru Trainig Centre (KKTC), Sophia Training Centre (STC), Smythfield Drop-in Centre/Vryman’s Erven and the New Opportu-nity Corps (NOC). KKTC and the Sophia centre are the two main training

institutions.

KKTC and STCThe programme is of-

fered as residential at KKTC for a period of 10 months and non-residential at the STC for six months.

Students between the ages 16 to 25 years must apply and complete an entry lev-el test for admission to this programme, which caters for 250 students at KKTC and over 100 students at STC.

Students at KKTC learn a variety of technical skills including in the areas of Business Management and Information Technology, Welding and Fabrication, Carpentry, Motor Mechan-ics, Plumbing, Electrical Installation, Garment Con-struction, Furniture Mak-ing, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and Masonry, while additionally Handi-craft, Home Management and Catering are offered at the STC. The students have the benefit of drama classes, and the opportunity to visit places of interest at the STC, while they partici-pate in a number of cultural and sporting activities at the KKTC.

One 18-year-old, Re-gion Three youth, Zeikel Hinds expressed his views on receiving this opportu-nity to fulfill his dreams. “I have been here for four months, studying busi-ness, because it was my dream to design software. From KKTC, I will go to the Government Technical Institute (GTI) and then attend the University of Guyana (UG), to get a de-gree/diploma in Computer Science,” he said.

A Plumbing and Sheet Metal Student, Stephanie

Jeffery, shared her experi-ence at the KKTC. “I have been here since October 2014, and the experience is great, because com-ing here, I am learning to be a plumber, and it has changed my life pertain-ing to classroom … it is wonderful… at least I have something to remem-ber about the KKTC and something to take back home, to teach and share with my community. Also I would encourage anyone to come here, because it makes you a better person for tomorrow; my future plan, when I finish here, is to go back home and get a good job,” she said.

A new course has also been added to the KKTC which is driving. Students can now acquire their Driver’s Licence, as two police officers are attached to the school, to instruct in the driving class. In 2014, 28 students received their Driver’s Licence in 2014 from the KKTC.

Additionally, a CUSO-VSO volunteer from Can-ada is also working along with the staff and students, to create a strategic plan, in order to improve the qual-ity and standards of the centre. CUSO-VSO is one of North America’s largest development agencies that work through volunteers.

Assistant Director of Youth (ag) Brian King said the children are being trained in entrepreneur-ship. Representatives from

Students in the Welding/Fabricating class doing practical work at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre

the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) are lecturing them on how this will help them to lead a more successful life.

At the Smythfied Drop-in Centre/Vryman’s Erven Centre, New Amsterdam, youths participate in short programmes, done in col-laboration with NGOs and other social organisations. The nature of these pro-grammes requires no en-try level test, since they are primarily practical courses. Also here, a six month course is offered in Information Tecnology, for out-of-school youths, and a monthly stipend is also paid to these students.

At the NOC on the Es-sequibo Coast which is a full time training centre for juvenile offenders, vocational skills-training is available in Electrical Installation, Handicraft, Tailoring, Information Technology, Welding and Fabrication, Carpentry, Masonry and Joinery. Ac-ademic classes are held here too, and selected stu-dents attend school in the community.

Certificates are awarded at the conclu-sion of training courses. The objective of all train-ing is to primarily pre-pare participants for en-try into other institutions of learning; employment in private or public sec-tor; and self-employment in their communities.

YEST students in classroom working

A Police Officer teaching students about driving at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre


Public Works sector performed creditably in 2014, despite challenges-Minister Benn

THE hard and diligent work of staffers of the Ministry of Public Works and other sister agen-cies were lauded by sub-ject Minister, Robeson Benn, who stated that the achievements in 2014 were creditable amidst challenges.

During a press confer-ence at the Ministry’s Work Services Group, Kingston, to review the Ministry’s 2014 performance, Minis-ter Benn said in spite of the many challenges faced, the ministry and its other agen-cies were able to execute their work at a satisfactory level.

“On balance, we have had a creditable and sat-isfactory performance in spite of certain great chal-lenges we had in 2014.”

Speaking of some of the challenges, Minster Benn noted that there were discussions on shortage of materials including stone, steel and many of the as-pects associated with works carried out by the ministry and contractors.

“The rise in prices of those materials, the impact of weather and all those issues, but I would say at the overall level, I have to thank the President and the Cabinet in terms of work-ing with us.”

Noting that there were criticisms from every sec-tion of society including some sections of the me-dia, consideration must be given to what was achieved even in the face of the budget cuts.

“There was a period when there was an all per-vading sense of indecision, doubts and lack of asser-tiveness with respect to the work that the ministry and it agencies do, and I be-lieve that right across the government and the coun-try too.”

Minister Benn added that the fact that the min-istry and its agencies were able to carry out most of the work speaks volumes for the workers.

He noted that there were additions during the year in terms of the works

carried out by the min-istry as its portfolio was increased in terms of the money to be spent.

“In spite of the cuts, in spite of the increase of the work load, and in an envi-ronment, where there was an imposition of doubt and lack of willingness to ex-ecute, and a sense of maybe not proceeding, arising out of the issues in the National Assembly, which occurred, I think our performance has been creditable and satisfactory.”

In 2014, at the policy level, particular attention was paid to the issue of de-veloping national capabil-ity in all the things that are undertaken by the ministry and its agencies.

“This is a policy posi-tion that we have taken. It has resulted in our training and encouraging and tak-ing on as staffers. At all agencies, we have trained in all sectors, but critically with respect to creating, developing and facilitating a thorough going, safe, ef-ficient sustainable national heavy construction con-tracting capability.”

He added that there were some difficulties with respect to national contrac-tors, those who are involved with sea defence and major road projects including, the East Coast and East Bank road projects.

“We have been wres-tling, giving all the other issues with respect to de-veloping our contractors and having Guyanese con-tracting firms do the work which otherwise would have been put out there in the international market for foreigners to do.”

The minister noted that when Guyanese firms de-velop the capabilities and are facilitated, it redounds to the benefit of the nation, as the money is spent local-ly and provides a stronger stimulant and energises the economy.

“So the policy position we have taken with respect to fostering, facilitating, and developing our na-tional contracting capabil-ity is a significant one, and one which we have been pursuing.”

Along with that, Min-ister Benn said the Min-

istry had the challenges of working along with the national contractors with respect to executing in the way the Ministry wants projects to be done in an internationally recognised way, with respect to safe-ty, quality, efficiency, and timely delivery.

“We will continue to work in relation to improv-ing the learning curve of

Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and heads of the various departments under the Ministry’s purview at the press conference

to review the progress of the sector in 2014those contracting firms, with respect to undertaking these projects because we have taken the leap of faith and we intend to make sure that Guyanese contracting firms at the level of major projects, will continue to do most of the work with respect to developing our national infrastructure for public works.”

Meanwhile according

to the Ministry’s Perma-nent Secretary, Balraj Bal-ram, the Ministry received a budgetary allocation of $17.483 B and incurred an expenditure of $15.041B.

This figure he said represents an 86.3% of overall expenditure with capital expenditure at 83.745 % and current at 99.78%.

TECHNICAL Adviser to the Amaila Falls Ac-cess Road project, Walter Willis, has reported that at the end of 2014, the road works to the hydro project site was 95 per-cent completed, and if all goes well, the road will be handed over by March of this year.

During the Ministry of Public Works’ 2014 year-in-review press confer-ence, Willis said a total of US $28.9 million has been spent thus far, since the project’s inception in 2010, this out of an overall cost of US $43.5 million.

According to Willis, since the project started, there were some chal-lenges, including having to change contractors, and in some instances, the con-tract for some contractors had to be terminated.

Nevertheless, the pro-ject, which was divided

Amaila Falls access road 95% completed

into seven sections, went on with section one being dropped. This part, Willis explained included works to a stretch of road from Linden to a turn off, head-ing to the Essequibo River. He said that this section was taken off as it came under the routine mainte-

nance work of the ministry, under the hinterland road projects.

Section 2 caters for 19.6 kilometres (km) of road from Mabura to the Esse-quibo River; section 3, for a stretch measuring 37.5 km; section four, 20.3 km; and section 5, which in-

cludes a bypass of Kaburi Village, is13 km. Sections 6 and 7 catered for 18.5 km and 50 km respectively

Willis explained that the by-pass had to be built, after stakeholders and do-nor agencies for the project were against construction traffic going through the village for safety reasons.

This project also saw the construction of several timber bridges in the vari-ous sections, as well steel bridges in some instances.

However, there are some delays in the projects with Ivor Allen and Toolsie Persaud Quarries, still to complete works in sections 6 and 4.

Other contractors, who have worked on this pro-ject, include Mekdeci Ma-chinery and Construction, and China Railway First Group.

Meanwhile, works are currently ongoing at two

Technical Adviser to the Amaila Falls Access Road, Walter Willis giving an update on the Road project which he announced was 95% completed

pontoon crossings at Bu-tukari and Kuribrong, but the sections of roads which have been completed are being used.

The Amaila project in-volves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of west-central Guy-ana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong rivers meet.

Electricity produced at the plant will be delivered to Georgetown and Lin-den, through a high-voltage 230-KV transmission line that will be built along with electric substations in Lin-den and Georgetown.

A new road approxi-mately 65 km long will be built, connecting the project site to the exist-ing Bartica-Potaro Road. Another new road, ap-proximately 20 km long, will be constructed from the existing Mabura Hills Highway to the Essequibo River.


THE Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport (CJIA), for the third consecutive year, has collected reve-nues in excess of $1B. The CJIA’s income for the year 2014 was $1,017B. In 2013, the airport record-ed an income of $1,077B, and it was $1,120B for 2012.

Presenting the CJIA’s 2014 performance, during the recent Ministry of Pub-lic Works’ press briefing, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramesh Ghir noted that the airport’s income collected in 2014 was al-most double that for the last six years. In 2009, the air-port collected $599M com-pared with the $1,017B in 2014. The airport collected $633M in 2010 and $748M in 2011.

Ghir said that expens-es for 2014 amounted to $678M as compared with the $588M spent for the same period in 2013. He explained that this was mainly due to the increase in staffing during 2014, from 146 to 171, and this pertained to recruitment in the Aviation Security Department.

He said that Internation-al Passenger Arrivals for

CJIA collected in excess of $1B in revenues for third consecutive year

2014 was 236,851 or 1 per-cent higher than the 235,967 in 2013. The total number of passengers flown in 2014 counted 478,092.

Imported Cargo for the period under review amounted to 3,296,000 kg; this represents a 44 percent increase over the previ-ous year, Ghir said. He ex-plained that 25 percent of the cargo was industrial sup-plies, while 21 percent was personal effects; another 21 percent for hatching eggs and 33 percent consolidated cargo.

Meanwhile, exports amounted to 2,852,000 kg or a 16 percent increase from that of the correspond-ing period in 2013. Accord-ing to Ghir, 88 percent of the cargo was agro-indus-trial products and livestock, while 12 percent was con-solidated cargo.

International Aircraft Landing was 3,696, and this was lower than what obtained in 2013. Ghir said. He noted, however, that Jet Aircraft Landings increased from 2,523 to 2,933, due mainly to the introduction of additional flights from COPA, CON-VIASA, FLY Jamaica, IN-SEL AIR and DYNAMIC

Airways. Turbo Prop and Smaller type aircraft land-ing reduced due mainly to the reduction in LIAT’s flight.

According to Ghir, the following training sessions were undertaken to build

staff capacity and capability in 2014: Health and Safety Training; Food Handlers Training; Fire Extinguisher Training; Basic Conver-sational Spanish Training; NIS Seminar; Customer Service training; HIV/AIDs seminar; and Financial Management for non-finan-cial managers.

Meanwhile focus in safety saw a partial ex-ercise held in December 2014, where the airport

tested two components of its ‘communications and response’ equipment from various other agen-cies, as was directed in the Airport Emergency Plan, Type of Exercise, 7.3, ii, Partial Emergency

Exercises. Further, a massive pro-

gramme was also undertak-en by the CJIA in collabo-ration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Works, in the setting up of facilities to administer health care to any passen-ger with Ebola. The CJIA also donated a number of items to the Port Health personnel at their office, at-tached to the airport.

An Airside Vehicles

Operator’s Permit (AVOP) training programme was also conducted by CJIA Operations Superinten-dent Manmohan Balram. It focused on a number of important aerodrome tech-niques that should be ad-hered, to when operating on the aerodrome.

Other training pro-grammes, conducted dur-ing the period under re-view was a Driver’s Safety Training and a Refresher Instructor Training, which reinforced the basic skills and competencies required by CJIA’s experienced in-structors and exposed new personnel to the demands of instruction preparation, delivery and assessment. Other training focused on quality assurance, airport risk mitigation, self de-fence, airport risk assess-ment, narcotic recognition and traffic warden.

Ghir noted that focus, on Security in 2014, saw the installation of 51 new cameras within and around the terminal building, and Vito De Palma from Naan and Sergio Gonzalez, Man-ager for the South America Region (On-Net Surveil-lance System Inc.

On SSI), conduct a four

day software training, with selected staff from CJIA and the Criminal Investi-gation Department. The training was conducted in the recently acquired I.P C.C.T.V room at the airport.

The beginning of the year also saw the Aviation Security Department staff of 56 ranks being increased to 80.

Projects for 2015Ghir listed some of

the projects for 2015: the completing of Emer-gency Operational Centre (EOC); conducting a full scale emergency exercise to test the Emergency pro-cedures, upgrading of the executive lounge, crack sealing on the surface of Runway 11-29, resurfac-ing of the airport’s public car park, modifying and upgrading the water sys-tem and constructing a new pump house, procur-ing and installing lighted aerodrome signs, install-ing of additional perim-eter fence lighting, and the establishing of a modern training room, equipped with computers, to be used for internal training/online training.

Demerara Harbour Bridge

THE Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) recorded a 5.1% increase in vehicu-lar traffic in 2014; in fact, during December, a to-tal of 11, 555 transited in one direction, this being the highest number ever recorded.

According to DHB’s General Manager Rawlston Adams, marine traffic saw a decline from 1,279 in 2013 to 1,191 in 2014, which is a 6.6% decrease. Adams was at the time updating the media, on the agency’s ac-complishments, which he described as outstanding for 2014.

Marine toll for 2014 amounted to $20,266,000 as compared with $20,532,000 in 2013, a 1.30 percent de-crease, while vehicular toll went up to $462,446,099 in 2014, as against

Image captured from a CCTV camera at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport

Demerara Harbour Bridge recorded increased vehicular traffic in 2014$412,270,181 in 2013. In the case of other revenues, the DHB saw a total of $50,517,283 being gener-ated in 2014, as against $29,331,724 in 2013, which brings the overall total amount of income generat-ed to $71,095,477 for 2014.

The total expenditure for the DHB was $437,070,603 in 2014, as compared with $369,468,166 in 2013, an 18.3 percent difference, ac-cording to Adams. He said that the DHB was contract-ed by the Works Ministry to conduct maintenance works on bridges on the railway embankment, Moleson Creek and the Essequibo coast. These contractual works resulted in a 95.17% increase in the DHB’s income.

The harbour bridge expended a total of

$337,324,874 on its capi-tal works for 2014. These works include the fabrica-tion of three pontoons and 10 transoms, servicing of 18 pontoons, fabrication of connecting posts ( 30 pairs ), supplying of sheaves and shackles (120 snatch block), fabrication of 60

buoys, and the rehabilita-tion of one tug.

The bridge has expand-ed to incorporate the asphalt plant, which ran a total rev-enue of $1,776,868,981.

Works executed at the asphalt plant, during the year 2014, include the re-furbishing of the main of-

fice, guard hut, workers’ section and scale room; also the acquiring of a new backhoe and the repair-ing of a front end loader, installing a new generator, installing new totaliser and probe sensors on plant, the relocation of transformer, installation of communica-

tion tower, replacing as-phalt plant trunnion tyre and roller, mixer fan, ex-haust fan, flights and gear boxes and the servicing of all AC and DC motors

There were also ma-jor components replaced for 2014; these include ropes to anchorage- 153; sheave-55; connecting posts-59; buoys, 68; piv-ots, 6; deck plates- 478; A frames-2; and transoms-7.

A total of 48,408.88 tons of asphalt concrete was produced for the year 2014, a 4,034.07 tons aver-age monthly.

For 2015, the min-istry is hoping to reha-bilitate cluster piles (high span north), supply wire rope; fabricate connect-ing posts; and supply chord bolts servicing of pontoons.


AIR Services Limited and Trans Guyana Air-ways are the leading op-erators in the domestic market, accounting for 89% of the industry’s passenger traffic, with market shares of 49.89% and 39.14% respectively. There were similar per-centages for cargo (88.06 %) with 60.54 % and 27.52 % market shares respectively.

The overall total of domestic passengers num-bered 144, 842 for 2014, with 16, 576, 429 pounds of cargo and 100% market share.

This was revealed at the Public Works Minis-try’s Kingston office, by Director of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Zulficar Moham-ed, who updated the media of the agency’s perfor-mance for 2014.

Mohamed said that the GCCA recorded a fairly good year, as it was able to carry out its regula-tory oversight functions through safety, security and economic oversight and provision of air navigation services.

Mohamed revealed that there was a reduction in passengers and cargo movement through the Ogle International Air-port. Domestic passen-gers and cargo movements declined by 2.60% and

ASL and Trans Guyana accounted for 89% of domestic passenger traffic in 2014

-17 domestic operators granted licences to expand 2.48% respectively. A total of 144,842 domestic pas-sengers and 1,582,005 lbs of cargo were transported as of November last year, as compared with 148,707 passengers and 16,997,675 lbs during the same period in 2013.

New international operators

Economic Licences were issued to several op-erators for scheduled ser-vices: these include, Insel Air Aruba N.V between Guyana and Aruba, Insel Air International B.V be-tween Guyana and Curcao, Copa Airlines between Guyana and Panama and Suriname Airways for all-cargo services on the Paramaribo /Georgetown/ Miami route.

Meanwhile, economic permits were issued to La-ser Airlines to operate 10 charterd flights between Guyana and Venezuela, and Dynamic Airways to oper-ate charter flights between Georgetown and New York.

During 2014, seventeen domestic operators were granted permission to ex-pand their capacity with additional aircraft: these include Air Services Ltd, Trans Guyana Airways, Jags Aviation Inc. and Do-mestic Airways Inc.

Mohamed also noted that several Air Services Agreements were negoti-

ated between Guyana and other countries. Guyana also participated at the International Civil Avia-tion Organization (ICAO)/International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN) event in Bali, Indonesia and commenced Air Services Agreements with China, Kenya, Curaçao, Singa-pore, Ghana, United King-dom, Norway, Netherlands, Iceland, Qatar, Canada and Nigeria. With the exception of Norway, all of the above Air Services Agreements are provisionally applied until signing at the ministe-rial level, where they will take full effect.

Negotiations have com-menced with Chile, El Sal-vador and Brazil with the expectation of concluding these in the first quarter of 2015.

SecurityDuring 2014, Moham-

ed said that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) continued its rou-tine regulatory oversight activities, which saw avia-tion Security Audits being conducted by the GCAA on Suriname Airways Ltd., COPA, Insel Air, Dynamic Airways, Secure Innova-tion and Concepts, Timehri Handling Services, Ro-raima Airways, CJIA and Travel Span. Inspections were also done on Carib-bean Airlines Ltd. (CAL), Laparkan Cargo, Amerijet and Vision Airlines.

During the first quarter of 2014, Caribbean Air-

lines (CAL) flight BW-484, which operated from Guy-ana during February was monitored, after CAL’s of-fice in Barbados received a call, which suggested that the flight will be sabotaged. Appropriate security agen-cies in Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados were alerted and monitoring of CAL BW-484 flight was con-ducted until its departure.

Additionally, a team from the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, along with rep-resentatives from Piarco International Airport and CAL visited Guyana to discuss measures for in-transiting passengers at Trinidad Airport. Recom-mendations were made and a Memorandum of Un-derstanding will be signed by Guyana and Trinidad, once security measures are deemed to be acceptable at CJIA. Air Navigation Services

Despite challenges, the Air Navigation Services Directorate was able to ac-complish many of its goals. Intense coordination was done to facilitate the flight inspection service with COCESNA (Central Amer-ican Corporation for Air Navigation Services) along with extensive coordination with aircraft operators to continue uninterrupted ser-vices, while the new VOR/DME (refers to combined radio navigation station for aircraft) was commissioned for use.

Routine flight inspec-

tion of the Instrument Landing System was suc-cessfully completed while the PAPI at Ogle Interna-tional Airport existing in-strument approach charts were revised and new charts designed for the new VOR/DME.

An Aeronautical Tele-communication Network of the South American Region (REDDIG II) node was installed. The equipment will be commissioned on completion of installation in all the South American countries.

There were 71,009 air-craft movements in the Na-tional Airspace up to De-cember 15 of last year, as compared to 70,903 at the end of 2013.

There were also some challenges with respect to the suspension of three licenses.

Air Safety RegulationsThe directorate contin-

ued its routine task during the year with respect to the Renewal of Certificate of Airworthiness, Aircraft Spot Inspection, approved Training Organisation Audit, ATO Training Pro-gramme Audit, Approved Maintenance Organisation Audit, Air Operator Certifi-cate Holder Organisation Audit, Aircraft Records Inspection, and Aircraft Ramp Inspection.

The GCAA was assist-ed with its flight operations functions by CASSOS, and to Foreign Operations Specifications was issued

maintenance work and to assist in maintaining the aesthetics of public spaces across the regions, while mini excavators will be handed over to the RDCs of Regions One, Seven Eight, Nine and 10, with the expectation that they will be deployed within the regions, wherever and whenever the need arises, with a priority being their respective NDCs.

Metal bins will be dis-tributed to specific loca-tions within the NDCs,

“Clean-Up My Country” ....in an effort to address the issue of indiscriminate dumping of waste. In 2014, 11 standard fogging ma-chines were handed over to each Regional Democratic Council, along with the Georgetown Municipality, to aid in fogging campaigns to help eradicate mosquito borne diseases.

According to Mr. Croal, “the tender and procurement process is completed and full deliv-ery of all items is expected in January.

From page 23

to Copa Airlines, Insel Air Aruba N.V and Insel Air International B.V.

Two new aerodromes were licensed, and li-cences for six private do-mestic aerodromes were renewed, while licences for 57 government owned aerodromes were renewed. Three operators were is-sued with Air Operator’s Certificate: Hinterland Aviation Inc., Domestic Airways and Golden Ar-row Airways, while six aircraft were imported and placed on the Guyana register with certificates of airworthiness issued to them. These included a new Cessna 208 Grand Caravan, which was added to JAGS Aviation.

Meanwhile, the CJIA and Ogle International Air-port were inspected, and their licences renewed, while the Caribbean Air-lines Accident Report was completed and released during 2014.

The project to achieve compliance with the re-quirements of ICAO Uni-versal Safety Oversight Au-dit Programme (USOAP) has commenced and the target is the achievement of an acceptable level of effective implementation (70%) by December 2015.

Projections for 2015The GCAA will con-

tinue to improve and de-velop aeronautical surveil-lance, using the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast System (ADS-B), which will increase the efficiency and capacity of Guyana’s airspace, to ac-commodate a larger volume of traffic/aircraft operations in the airspace, and also to track aircraft movements in real time.

The agency will also seek to review the organi-sation’s structure and to increase staffing to en-hance the oversight func-tions of the Authority, and acquire new Air Traf-fic Control Simulator, for training of air traffic con-trollers in Guyana.

Jags aviation’s new sky truck


MANY mem-oirs have been

penned from journeys, and many more will be. Most, if not all, have generally and authenti-cally chronicled vari-ous aspects of authentic recollection of the au-thor. These aspects may have included, personal encounters, pleasant or unpleasant; advance-ments or lack thereof; human endeavours wit-nessed; transformation both humanistic and environmental; nature; cuisine probably, and a host of others. Whatev-er their premise, all by and large interestingly capture various facets of life.

I endeavoured some-time back through the column, “Dis time nah lang time”, to share as-pects of personal expe-riences from growing up on the East Bank of Demerara. Remaining steadfast to that princi-ple, I feel a sense of stim-ulation to continue that journey, but not neces-

sarily confined to my own familiarities. In this new undertaking, or any such for that matter, it would not be unusual to naturally harbour optimism regard-ing interest it may gener-ate. One can only hope that it would. Of course, that doesn’t constitute the pri-mary aspect of this particu-lar journey, but if it does, it would be heartening.

Interest aside, this jour-ney in many ways, is the journey of the land over a period of time. Like any journey over a specific time frame and area, the related memoirs construct-ed would generally reflect one of two scenarios; ei-ther an impacting positive transformation; or the op-posite, an impacting nega-tive regression. Therefore, the time frame becomes an important variable among what constitutes the jour-ney’s formula. Specifi-cally, the timeframe for this journey encompasses the advent of the PPPC Administration in 1992 to current, with reference when needed, to the time

prior.Every journey obvi-

ously begins at a point. In constructing the mem-oirs, cognisance of what obtained at the point of departure, in this case the realities of 1992, must be foremost. While vast amounts of literature have accurately chronicled this

point of departure, it would be useful to briefly remind in the interest of contextu-alisation; more so, to better appreciate current compar-isons. While many are im-bued with the knowledge of the point of boarding, some conveniently try to divorce themselves from such awareness; some may

be victims of poor recol-lection, while others basi-cally have no idea, as in the case of the most recent generation.

That’s the realistic composition of the reser-voir, or lack thereof, of the specific and localised knowledge for a particular period. History therefore becomes the vindicator. In that context, any assess-ment of the situation in 1992 would reveal a bank-rupt Guyana, classified internationally as a heav-ily indebted poor coun-try, denigrating it to the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, behind Haiti. That con-sciousness was an amal-gamation of the country’s harsh realities at that point; embarrassing, but undis-puted. That discomforting classification was a mani-festation of the pressures that oppression and abject poverty brought to bear on the masses.

The oppression was rooted in the engrained characteristic of that re-gime to muzzle any form

of dissent. In some cases, fatalities resulted among those who sought to break the shackles of authoritarianism. The endemic abject poverty was precipitated by fi-nancial mismanagement and its related dire con-sequences. A casual ex-amination of those two conditions, oppression and poverty in the cur-rent port of 2015, would unmask the immeasur-able distance travelled since the departure from such in 1992, dissipating any related semblance in the process.

The evidence now of freedom, self suf-ficiency in food and advancement to a mid-dle-income develop-ing country, are over-whelming and further reiterate that much distance has indeed been covered. Unfor-tunately, it may have been taken for granted by some even to the point of denial!

Director of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Neaz Subhan

THE Evaluation Report for the selection of a con-tractor, for the Sheriff-Mandela Roadway expan-sion has been completed, and forwarded to the In-ter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) for its no-objection for the award of contract. This is accord-ing to Coordinator of the Works Services Group, Geoffrey Vaughn, who has listed the road project amongst major ones set to commence in 2015.

Speaking at the minis-try’s 2014 performance re-view at the Work Services Group building, Kingston,

Sheriff-Mandela Roadway expansion among several critical road projects for 2015

Vaughn explained that the road projects are expected to commence in the first quarter. They will see resi-dents benefit from the up-grading of two traffic lanes, from Sherriff Street to the National Cultural Centre, and from two to four traf-fic lanes, from the Cultural Centre, to the junction of Banks DIH, Thirst Park, The overall length is ap-proximately seven kilome-tres and the contract is val-ued US$24M.

Contracts are also set to be awarded in 2015, for a number of other road pro-jects: East Bank Berbice

Road Expansion project; Canal #1; Canal #2; West Bank Demerara; and East Bank Demerara (Grove to Timheri).

The East Bank Berbice Road Expansion project has two components. Un-der Phase One, which falls under the Government of Guyana (GOG), works have commenced already in terms of the contract’s mobilising. This contract is from the Everton to Mara area, according to Vaughn.

Phase Two is from Stanleytown to Everton,

See page 30 Sheriff Street at night

Director of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Neaz Subhan explores his inner being and creative self in “Journey with Neaz.” The GINA Head uses the column (the first of a series) to revisit people and places, but with an interpretive and poetic flair. His goal transcends the biographic, as his desire is to shed light on what ‘used to be’ versus ‘what now obtains.’

His reflective style does not impose on the readers, but allows them their own ‘room for interpretation.’ Why? He remains consistent with actualities; then and now.


SEVERAL players and supporters were recog-nised for their splendid performances in 2014, when the Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) held its annual award cere-mony, at the Georgetown Club on January 9.

In the Junior Category, Jordan Beaton and Nicola Ramdyhan were rewarded for outstanding perfor-mances; and in the senior category, Anthony Downes and Nicola Ramdyhan were recognized. While the senior category criterion is based on tennis perfor-mance, in the junior cat-egory, points are rewarded for academics, attendance, discipline and local and in-ternational competitions.

One of the high-points for the GTA in 2014 was the Tennis 10s Primary School programme. The GTA, in 2014, continued to promote mini-tennis in primary schools in Georgetown, un-der the International Tennis Federation (ITF) School Tennis Initiative. This pro-gram is ongoing and forms a core part of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association’s

(GLTA’s) five year plan, to develop tennis in Guyana. While the intent is for this programme to accommo-date schools outside of the city, the association is ham-pered by the limited num-ber of coaches and Physical Education (PE) resources.

This peculiar pro-gramme has been ongo-ing since 2006, and is be-ing supported by the ITF, through equipment dona-tion and subsidies for the National Junior Develop-ment Coordinator, Ms. Shelly Daly, and her assis-

Guyana Tennis Association records impressive yeartant. Importantly, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago are reported as the only two countries in the region, that have fully embraced such a programme and that have been submitting regular re-ports to ITF.

Another high point was the junior clinics and training programmes, held during 2014. These pro-grammes were the P&P sponsored Tennis Camp, which attracted 81 children in 2014. This Camp has been a huge success over the last ten years with con-tinued sponsorship from Mr. Bish Panday and the P&P Insurance Brokers. Many of the top juniors have initiated their tennis through this camp.

Other training camps were hosted by the Dia-mond Tennis Club (spon-sored by GBTI), the Park Players Tennis Club (the largest junior program), the New Guyana School, Georgetown International Academy, Marian Acade-my, and Non-Pariel Tennis Club.

Additionally, Shawn

Cummings, College Coach of the USA, visited Guyana to do clinics during De-cember. Mr. Cummings is impressed with the talent here, and having Guyanese roots, he intends to partner with the GTA for the devel-opment of the sport.

As regards to coaches’ education, Coach Leyland Leacock attended the 2014 Guyana Olympic Associa-tion Sports Administrators Course. The National Jun-ior Coach Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan, and Coaches Carol Humphrey and Ley-

land Leacock also attend-ed the ITF’s 1st Regional Coaches Conference in Grenada, during October. All coaches were financed mainly by sponsors. Members of the Executive attended the Sports Man-agement Course conduct-ed by former Olympians of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados at the Research Centre.

In his remarks, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank An-thony, commended the as-sociation for the strides it has made over the years, towards the development of tennis in Guyana. He noted that while there would always be chal-lenges, what makes an association/organization stand out is how those challenges are faced. The minister emphasised that the GTA has found a way to do just that.

Minister Anthony posited that unless there is a strategic vision there will be challenges, and it is easy to see those asso-ciations that are progress-ing. The GTA has a good model that can be shared with the other sports associations.

While highlighting some of the key areas that need to be looked at, Min-ister Anthony explained that the master-plan for the racquet center is not yet complete. There ex-ists space for table-tennis, badminton and the con-struction of four addition-al tennis courts. He noted that discussions will be held with the stakeholders to complete the facility.

The minister expressed the hope that flood-lights similar to those at the syn-thetic track and the Albion Cricket Ground in Region 6 can be installed at the racquet center. Other an-ticipated improvements to

the facility include the re-surfacing of the courts.

Besides the structural improvements, Minister Anthony recognised the need for a body to accredit coaches in Guyana. He added that while the ap-proach to tennis has been recreational, this should be relooked, so as to foster better management.

Minister Anthony noted the need for a massive edu-cation drive and hence re-alising the purpose of the resource center. This year the ministry is scheduling several seminars, including another one anti-doping.

Several Guyanese ten-nis players have secured scholarships overseas to advance their skills; the most recent being Gavin Williams. He is set to leave Guyana shortly. In recog-nition of his achievement, the GTA presented him with a token, to help with his expenses. Also receiv-ing mention at the award

ceremony was Mr. Bish Panday, who has given un-wavering support over the years to the association.

President of the GTA, Grace McCalmon, in her remarks, recalled that “… in 2003, after a few years of being defunct, there were several articles in the paper such as “Action needed to save tennis from sudden death.” Being an avid player at the time, I remember developing an interest and collaborating with Colin Sawh, Rawle Sue-Ho and Jolyon Wil-liams, to prepare accounts for 4 years, to help spear-head activities for an inter-im committee to set up for an AGM. I remember go-ing ‘door to door’ with 100 letters. The interim com-mittee eventually com-prised Dr. Joseph Haynes, Roy Rampersaud, Fritz McLean, Suresh Singh and myself.”

Ten years later the GTA has stood its ground and

maintained a professional approach and commitment towards steady progress, for the development of ten-nis in Guyana, despite the apparent chronic limitation with facilities.

Despite its modest track record in winning tennis on the international scene, the GTA has relished a healthy local tennis environment, where several children are able to start their tennis experience, through their primary school PE and at tennis camps each year.

He explained that once sustained, this medium cre-ates the pathway for young players with talent, to enter the sport, through compe-tition rather than afford-ability, a feature that makes Guyana stand out in the region.

The GTA’s plan for the New Year includes primarily its persistent effort to have better fa-cilities. “We will seek new avenues for erecting a proper tennis facility, with at least four courts in one compound. Another critical area is enhanced coaching, in quality, such as comprehensive revi-sion of techniques, and in quantity, such as giving support to new or strug-gling club programs,” McAlmon said. To this end, we will be assist-ing the National Tennis Coaches Association to become more effective.

Sports Minister Dr. Frank Anthony presents an award to the Junior Female Tennis player for

2014, Nicola Ramdyhan

Sports Minister Dr. Frank Anthony and members of the GTA Executive

and this upgrade is be-ing done under the Inter- American Development (IDB) part of the contract. Vaughn explained that the ministry has submit-ted the documentation in terms of the feasibil-ity study for that area, to the IDB and that it is cur-rently awaiting the bank’s no-objection for tendering and awarding. According to Vaughn, there is also another area from Stan-leytown, going back to the New Amsterdam area that is being studied right now.

Vaughn explained that at present, the ministry is focusing on the New Am-sterdam to Stanleytown area in terms of road works, but later works will progress in terms of other areas.

Sheriff-Mandela Roadway... try is hoping for full mobili-sation on this project to take place this year.

He also disclosed that with regards the Linden-Lethem road, nothing has been worked out for this project. He explained that the government is still look-ing at a way forward, in terms of moving that pro-ject, and that the ministry is hoping that this year it will be finalised.

The ministry will also place focus on an urban transport study. Vaughn explained that this study will develop a specific diagnostic of the ur-ban transport situation, problems and trends, and provide recommen-dations on matters of public transport infra-structure, operations, fi-nancing and institutional organisation.

Meanwhile, the feasibil-ity studies are on-going and are expected to be complet-ed by February 2015, for the rehabilitation of the West Bank Demerara and Canal Polders 1 and 2 roads. The feasibility study is complet-ed and the ministry is await-ing final submission by Consultant CEMCO/EXP. Once this document has been submitted, the ministry will go out to tender for this road, Vaughn said.

Meanwhile, the Caribbe-an Development Bank-fund-ed West Coast Demerara (WCD) road project from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie has been awarded to BK In-ternational, in collaboration with Surrey Contracting of Jamaica. This contract was awarded in late November, 2014. Vaughn said the minis-

From page 28


THE Ministry of Natural Resources and the En-vironment continues to work towards creating a viable oil and gas sector, but to have a feasible sec-tor, there must be a policy that caters for its devel-opment. On January 21, the ministry launched its upstream oil and gas policy at a national stake-holders’ forum, held at the Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown.

Giving a comprehen-sive overview of the poli-cy, Dr. Epken Omonbude, Economic Adviser, Com-monwealth Secretariat, pointed out that the draft of this policy was discussed on October 2013 and ac-cepted by Cabinet around the same time in 2014.

He noted that it is to ensure a transparent and ef-fective upstream of oil and

Out of an allocation of $1.802B for sea and river defence, the Ministry of Public Works’ Sea and River Defence Division ex-pended a total of $1.502B; $1.3B on capital pro-grammes and $202.83M on maintenance. This is according to information provided by Coordina-tor, Work Services Group (WSG,) Geoffrey Vaughn, at the recent Ministry of Public Works’ press brief-ing on the sector’s 2014 performance.

Vaughn explained that the unspent money, $300M was provided under donor funded projects. In 2014, this sum was budgeted for project activities under the Caribbean Develop-ment Bank/Government of Guyana (CDB/GOG) Sea and River Defence Resil-ience project. It covered, estimates for payments on consultancy services and works. Though major ad-vancements were made with the procurement process, no contracts were initiated in 2014 due to delays in the fi-nalisation of administrative arrangements and official

Mosquito Hall, Mahaica and Rotterdam, West Coast Demerara benefitted from critical sea

defence interventions in 2014

burn. Work to this effect commenced on September 15, and thus far, 150m has been completed.

Meanwhile, in George-town, the rehabilitation of the Fort Groyne at King-ston continued in 2014, as part of the Sea and River Defence Division’s fea-tured sea defence rehabili-tation project. Contractor M&B Construction com-menced work in this regard on August 22, 2014, and to date 117m of work was achieved. The contract sum on this job is $11.65M.

The Sea and River De-fence Force Action Unit

also carried out installation of geotextile tubes along the Georgetown Sea Defence.

In 2014, the main con-straints to the effort of the division was ready availa-bility of rock materials for sea defence construction, limited number of expe-rienced contractors with the capacity to implement major contracts and lim-ited technical staff and resources within the Sea Defence Districts. There were also staff deficiencies in specific skill areas, ac-cording to Vaughn.

approvals from the CDB and the GOG. However, contracts for planned activi-ties are expected to be final-ised during the first quarter of 2015, Vaughn said.

Of the $1.3B expended in the area of sea defence construction in 2014, the Sea and River Defence Division was able to ex-ceed all its 2014 projects targeted. The division achieved 3.195kilometres (km) of new sea defence construction (3.06km was programmed,) rehabilitated 10.29 km (2.805km was programmed,) and provided for the maintenance of an-other 45.4km (20.7km was programmed.)

The year saw recon-struction of critical sea defence in areas such as Onderneeming, Essequibo, Region Two; Cane Gar-den, Leguan, Rotterdam and Greenwich, East Bank Essequibo, Region Three; Mosquito Hall, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara and Glasgow/Heatburn, East Bank Berbice.

The intervention at Onderneeming, Essequi-bo was an intervention of

$107.88M. It catered for the provision of 584 metres (m) of slope protection worked carried out from January 15, 2014 to August 15, 2014 by contractor, Deowdat Singh.

For the contract sum of $43.8M, contractor Roop-chand Maraj, completed 420m of rip rap river de-fence at Cane Garden. During the period January to June 2014, contractor, Eman Reasat, completed 90m of rip rap sea defence at Greenwich Park to the tune of $42.3M.

The work at Rotterdam was provided for under a contract sum of $61.1M. B.K International Inc., com-

pleted 250m of emergency work in this area.

Mosquito Hall, Ma-haica saw the biggest inter-vention for the year. A con-tract sum of $275.5M was expended towards the con-struction of river defence; this project, which is cur-rently in Phase One, com-menced on June 2014 and is scheduled to be complet-ed in February of this year. Thus far, 540m of work has been completed by con-tractor, M&B construction.

The contracted sum of $116.66M was also award-ed to M&B Construction to construct rip rap sea defence at Glasgow/Heat-

gas legislations and imple-mentation in Guyana.

The strategy focuses on the broader picture of the upcoming sector, as this is the framework that provides the answers to what will and can be done, when and if oil is found in Guyana.

According to Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, this is to prepare the country for the eventual-ity of a significant amount of oil being found, more so, for commercial purposes.

He said that “in 2011, when the ministry was es-tablished, (it) had a review of how … we oversight, manage and plan for the eventual development of an oil and gas sector. We recog-nised that we needed to be prepared for the eventuality, and I want to be an optimist, not a blind optimist … not

an unreasonable optimist … but (I see) the eventuality of a significant commercial oil and gas discovery in our country.” This strategy is a step in preparing the coun-try for this eventuality.

The minister added that when they reviewed the ex-isting framework and leg-islation, they tend to focus primarily on exploration and promotion of oil and did

not efficiently deal with the issue of upstream.

He further noted that the reason for this is to prevent any consequenc-es when this discovery is made, as a result of the country’s not being pre-pared for such a sector. He also pointed out that the ministry is working with a number of bilateral partners in order to improve other areas of this sector in “look-ing at how we can have the right environment, the right framework, the system, the right arrangement, that will do justice to the people of Guyana in terms of how do we manage the sector going forward.”

A lot of emphasis is also being place on human re-sources; the mining school has offered and will con-tinue to offer some training programmes in gearing and

preparing Guyanese to work in the oil and gas sector.

The minister also ac-knowledged the fact that numerous employees are currently overseas, pursu-ing advanced training, some with support from oil com-panies themselves. A lot of work has also been done on transparency.

Further, there are still some areas to be addressed, such as managing resources, in terms of what would ac-crue, from the eventual de-velopment of such a sector, and ensuring its contribu-tion to lasting prosperity, the minister pointed out.

This is to ensure that the sector be not only a viable one, but sustainable finan-cially and that it will take into account environmental, as well as social obligations in this regard. This is the reason for developing a ro-

bust and forward-looking framework, such as this.

The minister also ex-pressed gratitude to the Commonwealth Secre-tariat for aiding in this process.

Country Manager of Exploration and Produc-tion Guyana Ltd, Jeff Simon, was also given the opportunity to share some comments and sug-gestions on the policy, as the company ExxonMo-bil will begin drilling for oil in March.

Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Samuel Hinds, who was also present at the cer-emony, said that he was “very pleased that this day has come…. and by the end of this quar-ter to have some deep drilling.”

Mosquito Hall, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara after Phase 1 construction

Essequibo Coast, Region 2 after construction

Guyana’s upstream oil and gas policy launched

Dr. Epken Omonbude, Economic Adviser,

Commonwealth Secretariat

Issue No: 9

FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION

January 30, 2015

Guyana PostcardThe East Bank Corridor-A Modern HubFrom a geographical space that was once a farming area, the East Bank Corridor now boasts such features as modern housing areas, a system of interlocking roads, several commercial banks, businesses and branches of city businesses. This transformation, in which, Government has invested heavily, has enjoyed much support from the private and public sectors.See pictures on Page 16-17

the guyanese newspaper issue #9 - january 30, 2015

Documents

president ramotar

guyana sugar corporapresident

sugar factory

president donald ramotar

indian sugar companies

guyana constitution

kinds of sugar

regards sugar