Guyana Post Newspapers

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ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER

Tuesday Nov. 23, 2021

PRESIDENT ALI ADVOCATES FOR QUALITY, EXPEDIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM CONTRACTORS

PM RECEIVES 1000 INTERNET BOXES FROM HUAWEI

INDIA-DONATED OXYGEN MACHINE SHIPMENT TO GUYANA DELAYED

REMOTE SCHOOLING LED TO CATASTROPHIC LEARNING LOSS, NEW STUDY FINDS

TuesdayNov. 23, 2021

PRESIDENT ALI ADVOCATES FOR QUALITY, EXPEDIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM CONTRACTORS

President Dr Irfaan Ali ,

President Dr Irfaan Ali has charged contractors to expedite their work but to ensure that quality is maintained as Guyana continues to go through a revolutionary period of growth and development.

The Head of State was adamant that structure was needed at all levels

and by all stakeholders since the end result would need to be a quality product for the Guyanese people.

The lengthy but passionate address was made at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in the presence of the heads of the relevant ministries

and government agencies today.

The President reminded that his duty is to ensure that Guyana develops at all levels and that its people are happy with the quality of work and the transparent ways they are executed.

He said that at the end of his first term,

his Government will have to go back to the citizens and that they will “judge us based on our performance”.

He explained that his Government’s performance involves not only the government agencies but also many other factors, including all of the contractors executing projects.

President Ali noted that he and his cabinet have committed to fulfilling the very elaborate and comprehensive mandate of development and that there is “absolutely no way we are not going to achieve that mandate”.

The President said there is always room for growth and that contractors must learn to take constructive criticism. He underscored that a contractor who is bidding for and being awarded large projects

that fall over $100M should not be bidding for small regional projects.

“Absolute nonsense for you and for us because there is something called economies of scale, and allocation of resources, allocation of material, human financial and material resources.

And if you are a tierone contractor, and you want to spend the time to allocate resources on a $5M project, you will bust. You will not be able to efficiently implement or achieve your outcome.”

He added that when contractors who operate at a large scale go after small contracts, they take away from the small contractors and damage their own business model.

A M E N D E D CONTRACTS

The President told the contractors that they have to increase their capacity, both human resources and machinery. He noted that some contractors have been working without an engineer onsite despite having them listed as personnel on bid documents.

This, the President said, will be addressed with a new contract and with a clause that will now recognise the qualification of someone who can sign off on their work.

He also told the contractors that they have to adapt to the culture of investing in night work.

QUALITY OF WORK He also said that the quality of the project will be comprehensively spelled out in the bid

company’s COVID-19 support measures, since the pandemic has accelerated the need for technological advancement.

“The digital economy contributes more and more to national development. Digital ICT infrastructure and talent with digital skills are the two driving wheels for this transformation. Huawei is committed and will continue with our efforts in supporting Guyana’s digital development with leading technology.”

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Guyana, Guo Haiyan, was also present at the simple handingover ceremony. She spoke highly of bilateral ties between China and Guyana, noting that the two countries will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties in 2022.

The ambassador also said that she is pleased to see the importance with

which the government has been treating the ICT sector.

“I’ve noticed that the Guyanese government has attached great importance to ICT. Since taking government, it has pushed forward with the formulation of a national ICT development plan aimed at improving connectivity bandwidth and enhancing connectivity in the hinterland”.

She said that China will continue to work with Guyana to deepen coordination with regard to the belt and road initiative, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, the expansion of pragmatic cooperation, and peopleto-people exchanges.

Permanent Secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister, Derrick Cummings, and senior managers within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for ICT, were also

PM receives 1000 internet boxes from Huawei

Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips (third from left) flanked by representatives of Chinese multinational technology corporation, Huawei and National Broadband Project-by- Project Manager, Rosco Greene (extreme right) (Office of the Prime Minister photo)

– Says donation will aid in bridging the digital divide Prime Minister, the Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, has received 1000 internet boxes (LTE/Wifi CPE) from several representatives of a Chinese multinational technology corporation, Huawei.

The boxes are capable of transferring 4G networks outdoors at over 300 metres and just below 100 metres indoors to more than 100 users at a time.

The Prime Minister said that the donation will assist his government in its aim to bridge the digital divide by providing

access to ICT throughout the country.

“I can assure you that this equipment will go a far way in helping us to achieve an important part of our plan for the people of Guyana—that is to bridge the digital divide in the area of ICT connectivity.”

The senior government

official noted that the donation from Huawei is an excellent show of corporate social responsibility, while he called China an important development partner for Guyana.

CEO of Huawei’s Caribbean Office, Jin Zhefeng, said that the gesture is a part of the

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TuesdayNov. 23, 2021

INDIA-DONATED OXYGEN MACHINE SHIPMENT TO GUYANA DELAYED

The arrival of $31M Oxygen Plant that was donated by non-governmental organisations, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and the Sewa International will be delayed yet again due to worldwide logistics

shipping issues.

This is according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony during his daily COVID-19 Update.

It was noted that Guyana has been caught in the trade issues that have plagued the world due to the pandemic.

The donation was made back in early October. The plant is aimed at cutting the overhead cost of oxygen. The plant will be making oxygen on site.

“While it’s a donation that we are expecting, it’s coming from India.

Unfortunately, they

are having logistical difficulties in shipping it.

So, the plant is procured and it is basically just to ship; the challenge you have, is a global problem of shipping,” Minister Anthony explained.

The Oxygen plant is a donation that is expected to aid in the national Covid-19 fight. It is expected to be placed at the Infectious Disease Hospital (Ocean View Facility) and greatly reduces the costs of treating infected patients.

Oxygen is a critical component in fighting COVID-19 for patients having trouble breathing.

When the announcement was made back in October, it was noted then that the plant

was already procured but officials are awaiting logistical arrangements to have it airlifted. On arrival, an engineer from India will commission the plant.

However, since then no plant has arrived in Guyana.

Knowing how critical the plant is to the fight against COVID-19, Minister Anthony said that while he does not know the exact date of arrival, the persons who have donated the machine are working hard to ensure it does make it to Guyana soon.

“We don’t have an expected date of arrival yet but I know they have been working on it, the people who have donated

it have been working to get that plant to us. When it comes we will install it.”

He also said that despite the setback, the Health Ministry has an adequate supply of oxygen that is available to patients.

“We manufacture oxygen. One of the private companies here manufactures oxygen and we have been using that at the Ocean View facility.

Right now we have built the facility in such a way that almost every bed can access oxygen” Minister Anthony further noted.

This new equipment will occupy 512sq ft. It is capable of supplying 800 litres of oxygen per minute, adding to the capacity of which the hospital can supply.

Remote schooling led to catastrophic learning loss, new study finds

WASHINGTON — Remote schooling during the 2020-21 academic year contributed to “highly significant” learning loss, according to a new study published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

The findings are based on scores from standardized tests administered to American students last spring and come as some school districts revert to

closures once more, for reasons including student maladjustment, teacher burnout or concerns about rising infection rates.

Students who continued to attend school also saw some decrease in scores, but those drops were much less pronounced than they were for students whose classroom consisted of a computer screen.

“In-person school is crucial to effective teaching and learning,” says Natalia Mehlman

Petrzela, a historian of education who was not involved in the study.

“This is more than a retrospective ‘lesson learned’ from the pandemic, but essential information to consider as some districts continue to reduce in-person days as a way to deal with staffing shortages and mental health strain, or institutionalize remote learning in other ways, such as canceling snow days and holding online

sessions instead.”

The study strongly bolsters the argument that closing schools may have been necessary in the short run but proved devastating as those closures continued. Other studies have found that students also experienced emotional and social harm from a homebound school year, which has been evident in classrooms this fall.

To arrive at their conclusions, the

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researchers compared standardized test results from 12 states last spring.

By that time, some districts — for the most part, in states led by Republicans — had been back in school for many months. But in blue cities and states, remote learning continued well into the spring, with students in many metropolitan districts returning only intermittently in so-called hybrid arrangements.

Test scores fell across the board, with pass rates declining by an average 14.2 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels in mathematics and an average of 6.2 percentage points for English.

However, whether a student learned in school or at home dictated in large part how pronounced the drop in scores would be.

“The decline in students’ 2021 test scores as compared to prior years was significantly larger in districts which offered less access to in-person schooling,” the NBER researchers wrote.

When it comes to math scores, for example, students who remained in person for the 202021 school year saw an average test score decline of only 4.1 percentage points, a drop that is still concerning but 70 percent less than the one experienced by children who learned via computer for much or all of the previous academic year.

The drop in English test scores was smaller, and the gap between the scores in remote and in-person districts was not quite as pronounced as in math, though still significant.

Students who went to school in person lost only 3.1 percentage points, giving them a 50 percent edge over their Zoomschooled counterparts.

Testing is “an imperfect measure of learning,” says Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University who is one of four authors on the new learning loss study. “But it is one measure of learning.”

She and her co-authors continued on pg 4

n. Col.

TuesdayNov. 23, 2021

Remote schooling led to catastrophic learning loss,....... continued from pg 3

(Clare Halloran, also of Brown; James Okun of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Rebecca Jack of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln) pointed out that districts that pushed for continued remote learning were also more likely to ask for waivers from standardized testing.

“This would suggest our estimates understate test score losses,” the authors wrote.

The researchers also found that districts with high populations of African American and Hispanic students offered less in-person instruction than did districts where the majority of students were white. English scores dropped particularly sharply in those districts,

though the drop in math scores was in keeping with that in white districts.

“Continuing to spend resources on schools is going to be important,” says Oster, who has emerged as a closely followed observer of pandemic schooling.

Her data-informed, nuanced approach is distant from the bluster of many politicians for whom reopening schools appeared to be more of a political priority than an education or health policy one. Still, she believes that policymakers may have underestimated the impact of closing schools.

In fact, some educators have defended closing schools while downplaying the effects of learning loss. “Our kids

didn’t lose anything,” combative Los Angeles teachers’ union leader Cecily Myart-Cruz told Los Angeles magazine in August.

“It’s OK that our babies may not have learned all their times tables. They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills. They know the difference between a riot and a protest.”

The interviewer describes her as charging “darkly,” in his words, “that ‘learning loss’ is a fake crisis marketed by shadowy purveyors of clinical and classroom assessments.”

Not so, the new research suggests. “This is actually really, really costly,” Oster says of school

closures. She describes herself as “optimistic,” in broad terms, about the rest of the 2021-22 school year, but also “a little bit anxious” about recent developments like virus-driven closures in Detroit, as well as a return to schooling via Zoom in districts where teachers have experienced burnout.

Causing death driver on $1M bail he driver of the Canter which collided head-on with a Linden Couple has been granted one $1M bail.

He was charged on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

The defendant, 50-year-old Carl Craig, of 150 Public Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD) appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts, on Tuesday.

It is alleged that Craig, on November 18, at Caledonia Public Road, EBD, drove motor lorry GWW 4922 in a manner dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of 42-year-old Lloyd Valcin and his wife, 31-year-old Olisa Valcin.

Craig denied both allegations and was granted bail in the sum of $500,000 each for both charges He was later ordered to return to court on December 15.

It was back on the day in question, just about

14:45 hours, Craig was the time driving motor lorry GWW 4922 while motorcar PXX 8815 was driven by Lloyd Valcin when tragedy struck.

Craig was at the time proceeding north along the western side of Caledonia Public Road, EBD whilst the motorcar was proceeding south along the eastern side of the said road.

As both vehicles were approaching a landfill site situated on the western side of the road, an unknown motor lorry which was transporting sand was reversing from east to west on the road

into the landfilling site.

As a result, motor lorry GWW 4922 pulled in a northeasterly direction to pass the reversing lorry.

In so doing, the motor lorry ended up in the path of motorcar PXX 8815 and collided headon.

As a result of the collision, the driver of the motorcar, his wife who was in the left side front seat, and Williams who was in the rear seat received injuries to their heads and about their bodies. The woman was pregnant.

They were all taken out of the car in an

unconscious condition by the police and publicspirited citizens and escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

Valcin and his wife died while receiving treatment.

Williams was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he has been admitted as a patient suffering from body trauma. A breathalyzer test which was conducted on the driver of the motor lorry found that he had no trace of alcohol in his system.

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“I do worry that we’ve now opened the door for less in-person schooling,” she says.

Although schools received $130 billion in President Biden’s coronavirus bill, money alone has not been able to compensate for the depredations of online schooling.

A year away from school has also left many children poorly equipped to return to a setting where a laptop’s mute button no longer has the power to ameliorate uncomfortable situations. In Oregon, for example, a middle school is closing for three weeks to address a spate of student fights. (Yahoo News)

MondayNov. 22, 2021

GOVERNMENT’S ANNOUNCEMENT ON MINIMUM WAGE IS A VIOLATION OF DOMESTIC LAW AND INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION–SAY RAMON GASKIN, YOG MAHADEO AND JONATHAN YEARWOOD Budget process so that and accountability

Ramon Gaskin

Yog Mahadeo

Jonathan Yearwood

Article 13 notes the announcement by senior Minister in the Ministry of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, of a seven percent salary increase for public servants and government pensioners for 2021.

Once again, we witness the spectacle of the imposition of wage increase by unilateral action, as has happened every year since 1999!

This is a clear breach

of the Constitution, the Trade Union Recognition Act, the Agreement for collective bargaining between the Government and the workers’ unions, and ILO Conventions.

Tellingly, the imposition also violates Article 13 of the Constitution which was elevated to a fundamental right under Article 149 C. To make matters worse, the Minister of the

Public Service insults the intelligence of the nation with the fatuous excuse for non-consultation with the Union that the government was “pressed for time”. As a lawyer by profession, the Minister ought to be aware of section 23 of the Trade Union Recognition Act which imposes on employers a duty to bargain in good faith and enter into negotiations with [the trade unions] for

the purpose of collective bargaining.”

It seems that no one in this Government understands that collective bargaining extends beyond wages and salaries. It includes other terms and conditions of work as well.

Our Group submits that collective bargaining for the year 2021 should have commenced and coincided with the 2021

it could be included in the 2021 Appropriations Act. And even if belated negotiations had taken place as part of the midyear review, the two sides could have considered the fact that the growth in Guyana’s economy outstripped that of any other country in the world.

Further, increases in the cost of living of basic items have been running at anywhere between 10% and 30%; and that consumer prices at the end of the first half of 2021 grew by 5.6 percent.

Accordingly, the seven per cent does not represent any real increase for public sector employees or their standard of living.

In addressing the issue of representation, we note the poor quality of representation of our public sector workers by incompetent and even absentee leadership. Our Group’s call for democracy

Gail Teixeira, were at the scene.

The Prime Minister said, “We have been able to save the DPP part of the building.”

He added, “The investigation will help us to determine whether it is coincidental (with the Brickdam Police Station

fire) or if there is some other motive or reason behind this fire.

“We need to allow the fire service and the police and law enforcement agencies to do their work…”

Minister Benn said that the fire has placed the operations of the OPR and DPP in disarray.

The minister said he believes that Guyana is experiencing a “trial by fire.”

“It appears that a subliminal message is being put around the areas starting from some firetechnic minded person in the United States and

maybe, perhaps much more than likely that the incidents we see and the timings at which they occur are related to those more than subliminal messages about Georgetown burning if the PPP does not do whatever.”

“We will stand firm here; we will make sure that the work of our government and the development of our country proceeds,” he stated.

Commissioner of Police (ag), Nigel Hoppie said that despite the loss of documents in the OPR, the force has always had a backup in place.

“We always have contingency systems in place but of course, any fire initially would affect us going forward.

extends not only to the Government of the day but also to the Opposition and to the trade unions.

We cannot help but note with surprise that the political Opposition is now rejecting the imposition of wage increases in the public sector when it did the same while it was in Government between 2015 and 2020.

Finally, we remind the Government that it is beyond time for it to review the minimum wage in the private and the public sector, particularly with respect to our nurses, teachers, the Police, and the Army who are in the frontline protecting our people and our territory.

This Government, like its predecessor, appears utterly oblivious to the question of the minimum wage in the private sector which stands at $44,500 which is a complete disgrace in an oil economy.

“Together as a team, we will put systems in place to ensure that it does not hamper our progress in addressing the issues at hand…Most, if not all the cases, have connections to several divisions also because we have decentralised Office of Professional Responsibility, that is in every region throughout our country,” he stated.

Chief Fire Officer, Kalamadeen Edoo, said the fire service received the call about the fire at 13:50hrs.

Fire tenders from the Central, Campbellville, Alberttown, and West Ruimveldt fire stations responded. The building which was under fire housed OPR, the Office of the DPP, Police Headquarters Barracks, and the construction secti

DPP office saved but OPR section destroyed by fire

Police Compound, Eve Leary

Major losses were avoided on Saturday after quick response from the Guyana Fire Service resulted in the fire at the Guyana Police Force’s Office for Professional Responsibility (OPR) being brought under control.

The work of the fire

service saved the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which is housed in the same building in Eve Leary.

Prime Minister (Ret’d) Brigadier Mark Phillips; Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance,

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SMALL MINERS CALL ON PRESIDENT IRFAAN ALI FOR HELP

can count on. We pay ROYALTY AND TAXES upfront on ALL GOLD and Diamonds produced, unlike other businesses who only pay taxes on profits declared (if any).

Even with our hard work and paying taxes we still do not enjoy the benefits, since we have to be tax compliant before we can enjoy any perks but we never give up. This is our livelihood; we have to survive since families depend on it.

So, it hurts to see there is no: A. Security.

Police and Mining Officers are not visiting and patrolling Mining locations.

Illegal shops, drugs, guns, and trafficking in persons are prevalent. The illegal/ non-gazetted shops are operating with the knowledge/ consent of the Mines Officer (GGMC).

B. Terrible Roads.

Major Mining roads, and bridges are not being repaired and maintained.

C. Covid Pandemic.

Illegal shops and landings with no COVID restrictions, masks, etc. are putting Miners’ lives at risk.

D. Malaria Outbreak.

With the continuous rainfall and flooding, there is a serious outbreak of Malaria in the Mining camps. Treated mosquito nets, along with other Malaria treatments are not being given to Miners.

Health staff/ personnel are not visiting Mining camps in the backdam.

As soon as the farmers cry, help is available.

As soon as the loggers

cry even though they are the ones damaging what little is left of the mining roads… they are demanding that the contractors work overtime to get their logging roads fixed.

We as Miners? Our cries hardly ever get heard.

To reach the worksite, one has to travel over roads that are in deplorable conditions, at times risking one’s life to get to one’s work destination.

The Government has attempted to “repair” some of these roads over the years. They have paid millions of dollars to “Contractors”, whose contract repair works last for a few months.

The roads return to the deplorable state and the same contractor is given another contract to fix the same roads.

How long will this continue?

Come on Dr. Irfaan Ali, president, of all the people of Guyana, something must be done for us, small miners.

Frustrated Small Miners.

until they are vaccinated or had a PRC test done, the Unions together filed the matter against the Government.

They contended that the actions were unconstitutional on many levels.

As such, the Union moved to the court along with their Attorneys Darren Wade and Dane Elliott-Hamilton to seek clarification and declaration on several fronts.

One such front includes a declaration by the court that the health emergency made by the former President David Granger and continues under the current President, Irfaan Ali, and later published in the official gazette falls out of the jurisdiction of the President under Section 21 of the Public Health Ordinance.

The Unions want the court, also, to declare that even with the fact that given a Central Board of Health meeting, the President and the Minister

of Health, simply ignored any recommendation by the Board as required by law.

The Unions are also arguing that the President in his capacity has acted unconstitutionally by the delegation of the President’s powers and as such infringes on the Constitution.

The result is that the emergency measures issued are deemed to be invalid.

The Unions are asking that the court deem it invalid and of no effect since the Central Board of Health has no authority to delegate its powers to a third party.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall is set as a respondent on behalf of the Guyana Government.

Dr. Irfaan Ali, president, of all the people of Guyana,

All across Guyana, the heavy rainfall has affected everyone in some kind of way. At the same time, we are dealing with the COVID pandemic over which we have no control.

As a miner, and I speak for all miners, just like the farmers and others, we are working people and we are affected.

We are already facing serious challenges in this industry, like poor infrastructure but we are still going out there every

day because we have a task at hand, a duty to complete, bills to pay, and mouths to feed, because our families are depending on us.

Meetings are being called with farmers, loggers, etc. I can’t remember the last time a meeting was called with Miners to hear our cries.

It’s Oil, Oil, and more Oil. The Mining Industry over the past 25 and more years has been carrying this country, built foundations,

developed hinterland locations, found jobs for Guyanese especially the ones who don’t have the PRIVILEGE of formal education and also people from around the world.

It was also the largest earner of foreign exchange.

Over 200,000 Guyanese are dependent on this Mining Industry. The Mining Industry is one of the most stable industries that the Government and Guyanese people

Trades unions move to court to challenge vaccination policy

The Guyana Trades Union Congress, the Guyana Public Service Union, and the Guyana Teachers Union have joined forces and have filed a civil proceeding against the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

Chief Justice, Roxane George, is set to hear oral arguments in the New Year.

When the matter was called this morning before Chief Justice George, the dates were handed out for exchange of submissions.

The judge has also set January 20, 2022, for oral arguments.

It was back in August following protest actions by workers against the vaccination policy that prevented workers from entering their workplaces

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Foreign pilots jailed for illegal landing

two, David Caicedo Villa, a 32-year-old pilot of Villavicencio, Colombia, and Gustavo Adolfo Riascos Gomez, a 48-year-old pilot/

Two foreign pilots, who were arrested after they landed at the Mahdia airstrip, were slapped with four more charges. They have also been jailed.

The two, David Caicedo Villa, a 32-yearold pilot of Villavicencio, Colombia, and Gustavo Adolfo Riascos Gomez,

a 48-year-old pilot/ businessman of Tachira San Cristobal, Venezuela, were charged and remanded to prison last week for unauthorized entry into Guyana and illegal possession of two grams of cannabis.

The two appeared before Chief Magistrate,

Ann McLennan were slapped with the charges of interfering with an aircraft, operating a civil aircraft without a certificate and insurance, operating an aircraft in a reckless manner, and operating without a licence.

The duo pleaded guilty

to the charges which alleged that on November 4, 2021, at Mahdia Airstrip, they interfered with an aircraft, operated a civil aircraft without a certificate and insurance, and also operated the said aircraft in a reckless manner.

The men were

sentenced to two years imprisonment for operating the aircraft without a certificate.

For the latter charges, the men were fined a total of $11M or served in default, three years’ imprisonment.

On November 4, last, Police received reports of the airstrip landing incident. A party of policemen was dispatched to the area.

The plane was found in front of the Trans Guyana’s hanger, and the men were standing at the head of the aircraft talking to the security guard and ramp attendant.

When confronted by the police, one of the men explained that they were lost and had come from Venezuela and were “going to look for gold”.

Investigators said that a subsequent search of the men and the plane found

nothing illegal.

However, the aircraft contained three 15-gallon drums two of which contained fuel– suspected to be smuggled – one hammock with netting, one bag containing clothing, and personal effects.

Also found was a black bag with identification cards documents, one Garmin GPS, one Iridium Phone, one Icom radio set, one spot trace device, one earpiece, one lighter, one torchlight, one Motorola phone, one Samsung phone, one wallet, one knife, two wristwatches, two phone chargers, two grams of suspected cannabis, and some bamboo wrap.

Finance Minister Ashni Singh hosts follow-up agriculture investment meeting

Government continues to push and implement strategies for Guyana’s non-oil sector to be expanded. On Monday, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh

hosted another follow-up meeting with Chandra Pratap Singh, Business Development Director; and Emil Moukarzel, Chief Operating Officer of Elite Agro LLC of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Accompanying the Finance Minister at the meeting were Ministers of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, and Tourism Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond.

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Paul

Cheong, and other private sector representatives including David Fernandes, Head of a consortium dealing with the expansion of corn and soya-bean production in Guyana, and Sachin Singh who heads another private

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sector consortium dealing with the expansion of the seafood sector, were also present.

The meeting was a follow-up to earlier meetings held between President Irfaan Ali and officials of Elite Agro LLC (one of the UAE’s leading agriculture companies having largescale integrated farming operations and currently engaged in growing, sourcing, importing, and marketing of agricultural products).

During the meeting, Minister Singh explained to the officials of Elite Agro LLC that traditionally agriculture has been an extremely important anchor in Guyana’s economy.

It is still an important anchor in the non-oil economy.

He added that with Guyana looking to

expand the agricultural sector currently, two big streams of opportunities are available to Elite Agro LLC either to be a direct investor or to facilitate trade in agricultural commodities to other export destinations.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said that with the emergence of oil and gas, it is expected that the oil and gas sector will complement the non-oil sector and the Government will invest in infrastructure to support the development and expansion of the agricultural sector.

The private sector representatives provided extensive and detailed presentations to Elite Agro LLC on agriculture (including corn and soya bean) and seafood along with the available opportunities for inv

Tuesday Nov. 16, 2021

LINDEN’S BLUE LAKE DEEMED A TOURIST DESTINATION

Despite the concerns over the safety of the Blue Lake in Linden, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry & Commerce, and the Guyana Tourism Authority, has joined the Region 10 Regional administration, Region 10 Tourism Committee, and the Linden Town Council with another official launch making Kara Kara Blue Lake a tourist destination.

As Guyana continues to celebrate Tourism Month 2021, Blue Lake in Region 10 has been

now been listed as a tourism destination.

According to the Minister of Tourism, Oneidge WalrondAllicock, giving the area the title is “no brainer” as the lake was cleared for ‘leisure activates’ only.

“Getting into that kayak is a bit of adventure. People love the little adrenaline and the sites are so beautiful.

It’s pristine out here; this is a no-brainer for a tourist attraction. You could come here to the beautiful white sand, the

safe water, swimming, adventure kayaking, jet skiing. There is so much to do here in just one spot,” Minister, Waldron noted.

At the time, the Minister was making several stops around Region 10, where she met several stalk holders in the tourism industry in the region, where concerns and plans for development were shared.

The minister named the Kara Kara Blue Lake a tourist destination

as Guyana celebrates Tourism Month 2021.

Kara Kara Blue Lake is an old mining area, where over many decades’ chemicals were used in the area. After the mining stopped the manmade lake was formed.

As such over the years, there were several concerns raised overacidity in the water and the risk it poses to the health of those venturing off into the waters.

This pushed the authorities in the area to halt swimming in the waters but that decision was later reversed.

According to the Minister, this is because of independent studies done on the water that showed that the water is safe for leisure activities.

“We have had an independent study done of the water, as well as a study conducted by GWI, Guyana Water Authority. They have certified that the lake is safe for recreational activates. So, we would not have been reckless enough to say that it is safe when it’s not. We do have studies to back it up.”

The Minister also emphasized that the next step is to develop the area by having a proposal from the people of Region Ten to develop the area with resorts etc.

“Already, we have given the support the tourism committee in terms of developing, and also to Mr (Deon) Anderson, a Chemical Engineer by profession and the proprietor of Elite Kayaking and Nature Tours) as a stakeholder in this particular venture.

“I could see with the proposals, and encourage the tourism committee that if they can come together with proposals to put up and beautiful resorts.

To have sporting activities done here in this beautiful lake, all of these things we can help partner and help to sell these destinations for people, who are coming from outside of Guyana with monies to invest in tourism.

“They really want to partner and when we present this as a project I believe it would not be in terms of selling for it

to be a major resort tourist destination,” Minister Walrond also disclosed.

The town of Linden has been known as the mining town for over 100 years. Since then several areas in the town show the history of that mining.

The Blue Lake area was once a flat piece of land but just but over time heavy excavation for bauxite eventually formed mining pits.

The pits filled water from springs beneath the earth’s surface and surrounding hills.

However, as people started to use the area for swimming and other activities, several times heavy metals and other toxins were found.

In the end, according to officials, they were tested and it was shown that the water was not safe for consumption but for recreation.

The area is set to be developed with various resorts and added security. The dumpsite nearby is to be removed soon.

MORE THAN 50 PER CENT ADULT POPULATION FULLY VACCINATED —DR. ANTHONY Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, on Monday, announced that Guyana has surpassed a major milestone in its vaccination campaign. It has fully inoculated more than half of the adult population.

During the COVID-19 update, Dr. Anthony said 51 percent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated against the deadly virus.

“So, this is not the entire Guyanese population.

Of the adult population, we have achieved the 51 percent.”

He said while the milestone can be applauded, some regions are still lagging in their

vaccination. He said 51 percent overall was reached because of the high vaccination rate in Region Four.

“So we are 43.2 percent in Region One; Region Two, 41.6 percent, for Region Three, 48.9 percent; Region Four, 58.5 percent; Region Five, 51.9 percent; Region Six 49.8 percent; Region Seven, 46.9 percent; Region Eight, 34.8 percent; Region Nine at 53.4 percent, and Region Ten at 22.3 percent.

“These are persons 18 years and over who would have received both doses of the vaccines.”

As of Monday, the Ministry of Health

recorded 391,521 adults, 18 years and older taking the first dose of a COVID vaccine, representing 76.3 percent of that population.

A total of 261,811 adults, or 51 percent of that population have already returned for the second dose of the vaccine.

For persons 12 to 17 years, 28,345 or 38.9 percent were vaccinated with the first dose, while 19,536 or 26.8 percent received the second shot.

Meanwhile, despite vaccination numbers progressively increasing, persons are still flouting the COVID-19 guidelines, Dr. Frank Anthony adding to the number Just over the past 24 cases, raising the currently of positive cases, Dr. hours, the Ministry of active cases to 2,412.

Anthony stated.

Health detected 55 new Of that number, 50

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persons are currently hospitalised, Minister Anthony noted.

“Thirty-two persons are now at the Ocean View Hospital with 15 of them in the ICU. The others are indifferent regional hospitals: four at Suddie Hospital, three at West Demerara, two at the Region Five facility, one at Skeldon, one at Bartica, two at Mahdia and we have four persons in the Wismar Hospital.”

Region Three is still topping the chart with 1,014 active cases.

Minister Anthony is urging the population to come forward and be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Frank Denbow gifts DCC substantial financial donation

More than five decades after his family moved to Church and Oronoque Streets, Georgetown, Queenstown, and he soon gravitated to the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), renowned health professional, Dr. Frank Denbow, returned to

Queenstown to pay homage to where his early infatuation with the sport of cricket began.

On Wednesday evening, Dr. Denbow, who was not a member of the club, until that moment handed over a cheque for $2 million to

aid in the club’s upkeep.

In return, he was made an Honorary Life Member at the ‘Home of the Legends’.

The former Queen’s College student reflected on watching West Indies play Australia at the iconic Georgetown

Cricket Club, Bourda, in 1965 and highlighted that prior to such, his imagery of cricket came through reading books.

Dr. Denbow said DCC has a rich history of talent and it was important to help the club maintain its facilities to keep

November 11, last, at of #11 Village West Coast Berbice brutally murdered Evans.

The five were not required to enter a plea to the charge and were remanded to prison until December.

Bheem Evans was allegedly beaten with a cutlass, rope, and chain, placed in a rice bag and dragged 300 feet to his death by several men over an accusation of stealing a silver chain, gold chain and eight silver rings

from one of his alleged attackers’ home.

Reports are that the incident occurred just after about 20;00 hours. It was explained by the victim’s son, Tishan Persaud, that he was on his way home on a street in Block “D” Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, when he was attacked by two suspects, armed with a cutlass, rope, and chain, He said that he was told that his father went into one of the suspect’s home and stole his silver chain, gold chain and eight silver rings.

The suspects subsequently started to deal with Tishan Persaud several lashes about his head, face and back.

Subsequently, the suspects then went on to find Evans and dealt him lashes about his face and body asking him for the supposed stolen articles.

Evans denied the allegations and the suspects then wrapped him in a one-ton rice sack and dragged him about 300 feet into another street

churning out that talent.

DCC President, Roger Harper, charged the young members at the small gathering to look at what the club means to someone who was not even a member.

He urged them to take great care of the historic institution and to play a more significant role in its enhancement.

Harper, who attended

DCC has produced famous West Indies Test players, such as the Christiani brothers, Robert and Cyril, Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Roy Fredericks, Roger Harper, Travis Dowlin, and the first West Indies cricket captain to win a test match, Marius Fernandes.

Shivnarine Chaderpaul also began his cricketing

Queen’s College with Dr. Denbow said that the monies will be spent on upgrades and they will be accounted for.

Established in 1912,

career at the club.

In 2011, DCC was voted the Club-of-theYear by the Guyana Cricket Board.

in the said village and threw him on the grass parapet and told his son to take him home.

Being injured as well, the son went to the police at Fort Wellington Police Station and reported the matter. Evans was picked up by police in an

unconscious condition and taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment.

The body is presently lying at Fort Wellington Hospital Mortuary.

Five remanded for Bheem Evans’s murder

Following the beating of 54-year-old Berbician, Bheem Evans, last Friday five men were today charged and remanded to prison for his murder.

They made their first court appearance in the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate, Peter Hugh.

Those charged are 22-year-old unemployed Youth, Brian Evans, called Black Boy of #11 Village West Coast Berbice; 27yearold also unemployed

info@guyanapostonline.com

Ryan Dhanraj of Block D Waterloo, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice; 18-year-old labourer James David of # 12 Village, West Coast Berbice; 22-yearold, unemployed Youth, Samuel Vanbrook, called Chucky of Waterloo, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, and Leeward Chung called Boysie, 22, and unemployed of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.

According to the police, all five of the men on

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Guyana Post Saturday January 30, 2021

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