12 News
friday, october 25, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com
Road safety body wants tougher UG Berbice campus actions taken against drunk drivers launches social work degree programme ture along the roadways is in place, including pedestrian crossings and signs that help to reduce congestion. “We have communities that come to us and say we need a few speed humps and we want to know how we can get the help to do so and we make arrangements with the Ministry of Public Works to do things like that,” she highlighted. The road safety council coordinator added, “So other than driver seminars and educational programmes, otherwise, we work with the other agencies and communities to see how we can assist with anything that is needed on the roadways.”
The latest accident in which four persons died was allegedly caused by speeding and driving under the influence
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he Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) has urged the Guyana Police Force’s Traffic Department to implement other mechanisms in addition to the breathalyser test, to detect the use of harder illegal substances by drivers. With drunk driving and speeding being the primary causes of accidents on Guyana’s roadways, the GNRSC is working to ensure stricter measures are put in place to curb this problem. As such, with Road Safety Month slated to kick off on November 1, GNRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen said it will be held under the theme “Alcohol, speed and inattentiveness cause accidents. Drive wise and save lives”. “We would like more testing other than for alcohol, we went to a conference in Barbados and we brought back a whole research on testing of marijuana so we’ll be seeing the testing of marijuana also, because the National Road Safety Council
will be pushing for the government to pass legislation for that… there is an equipment to test for marijuana,” Doorgen said.
More breathalyser tests
GNRSC Executive Secretary Earl Lambert said the breathalyser test has been proven to decrease the number of alcohol-related road accidents. However, he stressed that the test should be used with greater frequency. “While the police would be using it, you would not find the police all the time out there testing drivers and then there are times when drivers see police, they divert – so while it would have been effective in reducing accidents, I think more enforcement is needed along that line,” Lambert noted. As it relates to speed as a cause of accidents, Doorgen said the council has been collaborating with the traffic department and other bodies to ensure the requisite infrastruc-
Road Safety Month
Road Safety Month will get underway with a major launching activity in front of Parliament Square to guarantee wide public viewership. “We want to put a coffin with a mirror inside so that when you look in, you see yourself because there are times that you put the message, but people don’t get the message, because they feel it’s for someone else… so we want to let them realise that it concerns them also,” the GNRSC executive secretary explained. Other activities during the month include church services, first aid training, fundraisers, an awareness walk, and a rally at the Guyana National Stadium on November 29, which is the culmination of the month of observances. Eighty-three deaths caused by 77 road accidents have been recorded thus far for 2013, compared to 89 in 2012. The accidents, are said to have been the result of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Impact of budget cuts still being felt – Amerindian leaders
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fter experiencing major setbacks in plans to implement development projects last year, Amerindian communities experienced similar difficulties this year when opposition parties again rejected budgetary funding for the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The indigenous people were saddened by the developments, even as they reflect on their achievements at the seventh National Toshaos Council (NTC) meeting, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. Waramuri (Region One) Toshao Bernard Laud believes that the opposition’s actions in the Parliament were unconscionable and inconsiderate. “We want to know if the persons responsible for cutting the budgets, are they having we, the Amerindians, at heart or are they not interested in our development… if they had the Amerindians at heart they would have given us the kind of support to enhance our development,” Toshao Laud said.
Land titling on hold
As leader of a community that has plans to promote sustainable development, the Waramuri toshao said it was important for approval to be given. He explained that the cuts affected several projects already underway, like small-scale logging and farming which require significant funding. Land titling and demarcation, and community development plans that foster the economic transfor-
mation of Amerindian village economies were all put on hold last year after the combined political opposition slashed $18.4 billion of the funds allocated for the LCDS. Land titling, in particular, is necessary in a village like Wikki Calcuni in Region 10. Its toshao, Anil Wilson said the village can engage in logging, infrastructural development, and other initiatives without worry. He had words of encouragement for politicians who are at odds in Parliament. “What we need to do as Guyanese is to get together and support each other in whatever way it seems right, so that our country could develop and we could live as brothers and sisters. This, I think, will bring us together,” Toshao Wilson said. The funds for Amerindian community development allocated in the 2013 budget were slashed from $20 billion to $1 billion. As a result, among the programmes stalled were the Amerindian Development Fund, and the Micro and Small Enterprise Development and Building Alternative Livelihoods project.
Fewer solar panels
The distribution of solar panels under the hinterland electrification project also decelerated. Solar panels are the only means through which some villages can gain access to electricity. The arrival of solar panels was highly anticipated in Baitoon, Region Nine, but after the process was halted, Senior Councillor Keith Taruma
said villagers became discouraged. “We need solar, mostly for the students at nights… residents, particularly women, were depending on it for weaving and crafting at nights,” Taruma said. The majority of village leaders said their people are demanding answers on the current political situation, and hoping that toshaos will find solutions to its consequent ramifications.
Disappointed villagers
Quarrie (Region Nine) Senior Councillor Kevin John said it was tough explaining to disappointed villagers why important development projects were cut. Toka (North Rupununi) Toshao Jeff Singh said although information was not readily available in his village, he had been made aware of the situation in the Parliament and had strongly objected to actions that interfere with Amerindian development. “I don’t feel that anybody should cut projects intended to develop the hinterland communities, because we have been lacking those things for a long time now,” Toshao Singh said. Wowetta (Region Nine) Senior Councillor Bertie Xavier said the cuts have stymied major developments. He referred to the well-intentioned community development projects that Amerindians were optimistic about, but which were unfortunately delayed – a casualty of the disagreement in Parliament.
Students of the UG Berbice Campus at the launching of the programme
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erbice residents now have the opportunity to obtain a degree in social work without being burdened by the financial and other costs of travelling to the University of Guyana Turkeyen campus to attend classes. This follows the launching of the programme at the Tain campus in Berbice on Tuesday. The move to offer the degree programme at the University of Guyana’s Berbice Campus (UGBC) has been lauded by students, many of whom were unable to pursue the degree after completing the diploma in social work. Some students have waited for as many as six years for the opportunity to further their studies.
Higher education
Speaking at the launch of the programme on Tuesday, Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster noted that the government remained committed to ensuring persons continue to have the opportunity to lift their standard of living. “I know President Donald Ramotar is committed towards providing the requisite support to ensure that we improve the quality of higher education delivered in this institution.” She said social work was critical to Guyana’s development. “It is these social workers that will play a critical role in transforming this country as the social issues that confront and affect us daily keeps changing.” However, she warned that there was need for the social work programme to be accepted in other Caribbean countries and to have Caribbean students enrol in the programme. She said when the students obtained their degrees, it would not be the end of their training. “With the attainment of a social work degree, your training will now start as you will be tested each day as you confront the most vulnerable and seek to assist them.” Noting that sexual abuse, human trafficking and gender violence make headlines daily, the minister called on the Faculty of Social Sciences to consider the issue of suicide in Region Six. UG Sociology Department head Dionne Frank noted that offering the degree programme in Berbice is part of the department’s plans to reposition social work education and training in Guyana as tools to enhance economic development. The diploma programme was introduced at the university in 1971 and 18 years later, the bachelor’s degree
programme was added. “This is attributed to the fact that we say a growing number of graduants expressing a desire to continue their studies.” The diploma programme was a part of the UGBC course offerings from the inception. From an initial intake of 10, the social work class has been growing steadily since and this year’s freshman class has 75 students. “Those students from Berbice who were privileged to attend the Turkeyen campus constantly kept reminding us of the constraints that they face in attending that campus. Today, the university is excited to be responding to the needs of the growing number of graduates of the diploma programme in Region Five and Six who waited to have their legitimate expectation for opportunities for higher education in their field met,” the departmental head said. Frank explained that this will not only enhance the educational opportunities of social work students, but, in the long term, be an asset to social and other agencies as they seek to address critical social issues in Berbice. “The social work unit recognises trends and new and emerging social issues, and is, therefore, cognisant that it becomes imperative for graduants of the programme to be adequately prepared to combat the social problems that confront the nation and to design and implement programmes that would respond in a positive way to societal needs,” she said.
Postgraduate programme
Frank added that the postgraduate programme will be offered at the UGBC next year. Also speaking at the launch was UG Vice Chancellor Professor Jacob Opadeyi, who said two other programmes are soon to be introduced at the Tain campus. Noting that the social work degree is the third degree programme being offered at the UGBC, he said shortly a degree in biology will be offered, while a degree in banking will come on stream soon after. “We have to improve the educational capacity of the region.” The vice chancellor said the Berbice campus must be able to stand on its own and produce graduates who will be able to run some of the programmes that are needed in Berbice. “I am trying to reduce the amount of lecturers that come from Georgetown. The cost is exorbitant to bring lecturers from Turkeyen to Tain.”