Weekend Mirror 27-28 August 2022

27-28 August, 2022 / Vol. 12 No. 37 / Price: $100 Email: mirror2018.gy@gmail.com SEE INSIDE PAGE 11 PPP ‘in mode’readinessforLGE PPP/C will not fall into ‘trap’ of untrustworthy APNU+AFC Silica City to be built in agendadevelopmentGovt’sAliPresidentKururuKuruoutlinesROPA amendments to be taken to Parliament after recess Work ongoing to finalise ToR for Elections CoI – Nandlall PAGE 9 PAGE 11 PAGE 24 PAGE 7 PAGE 10 says expenditure will be managed to avoid overheating of economy Jagdeo says... Gov’t Septemberendvaccinemonkeypoxsecuretobyof PAGE 22

“This is something that we are managing, we are very cautious about, and we are ensuring that whatever we do, we are not over extend ing ourselves, the financial system, and we are keeping to the transformative invest ment. That’s where the bal ance of management comes in. you could get carried away very easily when you have resources coming your way, and go on a massive expansion plan or expendi ture plan that could cause hyper-inflation,” he said.

2 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022MIRROR

Dr. Ali explained that even if the current invest ments have temporary supply issues, it will be the bedrock on which the future transfor mation will take place. He said the local econo my is creating a lot of oppor tunities for jobs in both the public and private sectors, to the extent that there are issues with labour supply. In Guyana, the govern ment has already been able to create thousands of jobs. With the booming housing programme, a host of per sons were employed in the sector.The cost of energy is expected to reduce by 50 per cent, creating a new wave of jobs in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The administration has also recently launched its part-time jobs initiative, add ed to the major economic spur is the construction of six new hotels, where at least 6,000 Guyanese will have to be trained to work in the hospitalityImportantlysector. too, gov ernment is pursuing a path that will deliver world class healthcare service.

“We have a private sec tor that is booming, a private sector that is seeing tremen dous transformation. We have an investment portfolio that must be implemented if we are to deliver the housing programme… open up new lands for agriculture, new highways so that we can build the industrial parks and development that we want to do,” President Ali stressed.

[SEE RELATED RE PORTING ON PAGE 10] No hyperinflation, overheating of the economy – President Ali

The PPP/C Government has a handle on Guy ana’s growing economy and will continue to strength en its masterplan to guard against any wasteful or ex cess spending of funds. The International Mone tary Fund (IMF) revealed in April that Guyana will see positive growth, although the global economy entered 2022 in a weaker position than previously expected. It was also revealed that Guyana is on track to seeing some 47.2 per cent growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of this year.While Guyanese contin ue to witness a number of heavy investments in several areas to enhance their liveli hoods, the administration has systems in place to prevent overheating of the economy. An economy is over heated when its productive capacity is unable to keep pace with growing aggregate demand. It is generally char acterised by a below-average rate of economic growth, where growth is occurring at an unsustainable rate. Boom periods are often character ised by overheating in the economy.Speaking to the Trinida dian press last week, Pres ident Dr Irfaan Ali assured that his government is taking all necessary measures to secure Guyana’s economy.

Nandlall quipped that the Guyana Elections Com mission may have to address the issue of removing names from the voters’ list so that Norton can be educated. “I am using this platform to call upon GECOM to speak about the list, and to inform Mr Norton and the public that there is a ruling from the Chief Justice [Roxane George] while Mr Norton’s party was in Government, when GECOM, under an il legal Chairman appointed by President [at the time David] Granger, was attempting to remove persons from the list who are already regis tered…we took proceedings to the court, and the Chief Justice pronounced that it is unlawful and unconstitution al to remove persons who are registered on that list, unless they are disqualified on grounds laid down in the law,” he charged. Nandlall further main tained that these changes to the list can only be made by GECOM, and not by any political party or politician. In August 2019, Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, in a ruling, made it clear that GECOM cannot deregister persons from the Nation al Register of Registrants (NRR) – from which the Voters’ List is compiled – unless they are dead or otherwise disqualified under Article 159 (2), (3) and (4) of theAccordingConstitution.tothe Guy ana Constitution, a person’s name can only be removed from the voters’ list through death, or if they become disqualified under Article 159 (2), (3) and (4). [SEE

T he “not so veiled threats” by the increasingly em battled Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, must be condemned according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.Ata recent news confer ence he called out Norton for his attempt to “bully” the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, to tender her resig nation.Norton on August 9, 2022, the PNCR-led AP NU+AFC Coalition does not “see elections being held” with Singh as the GECOM Chairperson. He said, “There are many things we can do to put the pressure on the Elections Commission and Claudette Singh, but we at first give her the op portunity to tender her res ignation as a decent judge who would have served and to recognize that you cannot claim to be independent and on every issue you are voting with the PPP and you seem to have no interest in finding consensus on these issues. And so we have left the door open, we hope we don’t have to close it and Claudette Singh will do the decent thing and resign.” Jagdeo made clear that the Government would be writing to every internation al organisation to expose the Opposition Leader’s threats to the GECOM Chair. He said, “I’ve seen him on several occasions say some of the most disparaging things about the Chair of GECOM. But what bothered me the most is that on two occasions, he has issued a not so veiled threat to the Chairman of GECOM and I’m shocked that civil so ciety and the international community has not respond ed to“…thatthis. Norton has threatened on more than one occasions, the Chairwoman of GECOM, the head of an independent statutory body because he’s not happy with her. He’s threatening that if she’s not removed, she’d have to face some conse quences and not a single member of civil society, the conscience of the country, nor anyone from the interna tional community has called him out on this threat.

Norton needs to be ‘educated’ on Voters’ List – AG

Opposition Leader’s threats against GECOM Chair condemned T he PNCR and the AP NU+AFC Coalition, as well as its leader, Aubrey Norton, seems unaware of how changes are made to the Voters’ List, given his continued rants on the issue, according to Attorney Gen eral, Anil Nandlall. He noted that the Guy ana Elections Commission (GECOM) may have to thor oughly clarify to the public that it cannot remove the names of persons from the voters’ list at the whims of the APNU+AFC Coalition. Nandlall said, “This gen tleman, up to now, seems not to be able to grasp that the Government of Guyana has nothing to do with a List of Electors, [and] that the Constitution of Guy ana establishes an agency called the Guyana Elections Commission, and it vests in that agency the exclusive powers and responsibili ties to [hold elections for] which preparation includes the compilation of the list of electors in accordance with the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana. The Government has nothing to do with “…[Norton]that. seems to want unconstitutionality to take place in relation to that list, and whenever he makes those wild, reckless and unfounded allegations about unlawfulness of the list, then the Government, being a stakeholder, is entitled to speak.”

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 327-28 2022 3

RELATED RE PORTING ON PAGE 11]

Singh was appointed the post by Norton’s predeces sor and former president, David Granger.

Jagdeo added, “Al though he (Norton) doesn’t generate issues of much weight and consequence, we must see condemnation across the country on this.” Notably, the GECOM Chairperson on August 16, 2022 has clapped back at Norton, over his calls for her to resign. In response, Singh said, “There will be criticisms. If you sit on the bench and you make an adverse decision, the party who loses would say you are biased, you take a bribe, whatever…so there is always a way you can criti cise a decision. That’s up to them…when the time comes I would leave.” Address ing specifically, Norton’s claims that her decisions are flawed, the GECOM Chair said, “I’m not aware that I do something like that. Anything I do, I do in accordance with the law and I try, as a former judge, I always try to uphold the rule of law.”

Any ‘fit and proper’ legally appoint ed GECOM Chair cannot be removed from office except by choosing to resign or death; it is much the same as a Supreme Court Justice in the United States and in my opinion, a threat to Chairman Singh should be treated with the same seriousness as one to a US Supreme Court Judge. In a world’s first and much to the surprise of many, Policy Forum has self-anointed itself an ‘umbrella body’ for NGOs in Guyana; this clears up the sharing of address and phone numbers with that body and McCormack’s GHRA and The Ursuline Sisters and maybe the collective/selec tive silence of these organisations on Norton’s threat to GECOM’s Chair and by extension, Democracy in Guyana. Many are quick to take offence at criticism of ‘Civil Society’ organisa tions and label this as attacking the messenger, or in a case like this the lack of message, but bias must be called out and silence often speaks volumes.

Inherent in Claims and Objections process is a counterchecking mechanism

For example, appearing on Trinidad and Tobago’s TV6’s Morning Edition with host, Fazeer Mohammed, Norton claimed: “…you cannot have a list of 660,000 people in a pop ulation of 750,000. But the government has just completed registration and that figure goes up to about 682,000 people. What that means is that 68,000 people only are off of the list. The very government is saying, in distributing cash to the children, that the country has more than 200 children. How is it you can have 200 children in a school – 200,000 children, sorry – 200,000 children in a school, but your Voters’ List is manifesting that only 68,000 people are off of the Voters’ List. And since we know we haven’t registered children under 14, we know it is clearly a case of the dead, those who have migrated.”

Dear Editor, By his admission, Aubrey Norton has spent a lifetime in politics and should surely know that the leadership of the People’s National Congress is an important office in our country; it is therefore bewildering to witness the level of ignorance Norton demonstrates with his threats to the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh (R’td). “And there are many things we can do to put the pressure on the elections commission and Claudette Singh. But we had first given her the opportunity to tender her resignation as a decent judge.”

First, by his own admission, Norton explains the reasons for the high numbers on the list: • One, people have migrated, but he fails to say that it is un constitutional to remove them; and • Two, persons who have died are still to be removed from the list by GECOM and this is an issue for which a resolution has been proposed. In fact, since April 20, 2022, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, shared a proposal by government to remove the names of dead persons from the National Register of Registrants. He had said, “…GECOM [Guyana Elections Commission] has the right now to remove people from the list based on maybe a death certificate. So we want to make the process transpar ent so GECOM should do that on a large scale and then by law they must share the list with all the political parties and publicise the list of dead people in the newspapers. We want to put that into the law so every time they remove dead people, they must share this with all the parties in Guyana and publish it in the newspaper. It’s not just GECOM [doing it] on their own.”

Dear Editor, The Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) has announced the com mencement of a twenty-eight day’s Claims and Objection period which started on Monday, August 22, 2022, and inherent in this process is a coun terchecking mechanism all concerned stakeholders should use to further cleanse the list of any observed anom alies while providing the necessary evidence of proof. After this exercise, GECOM will be able to produce an Official List of electors to hold the long overdue Local Government Elections later this year. This positive decision is instructive to the institution’s mandate, and will likely ignite a vigorous activation of some political parties. Political interest in this respect seeks to ensure control of the various Local Authority Areas (LAAs), thereby strengthening citizens’ confidence and recognition for ensuring the advancement of developmental and service delivery at the community lev els. No doubt, the parties will be seeking to ensure their fortification of individual support bases using messages of convic tion to ensure all qualified are registered andOurincluded.registered citizens as key stake holders are encouraged to check the list to ensure their inclusion, while some political parties will be readying themselves to command the maximum support in each LAA. Activities are, therefore, expected to be amplified to wards ensuring all citizens peruse the Preliminary Voters List. This Claims and Objections exercise entails the opportunity to conduct several critical activities in addition to the registration of persons who will be eighteen years old and over by October 31, 2022. GECOM has already posted the Pre liminary List of Electors (PLE) at two prominent locations in every Division/ Sub-Division across Guyana. Specifical ly, persons included in the PLE with the relevant proof will be able to apply for the Change of name(s) and correction(s) to registration data, if they have changed their names or if their listed information is not correct. These claims can be made at the Registration Office for his/her area of residence. Applications for transfers will also be processed if persons have changed their addresses since they were last registered. Significantly, it must be noted that persons who will be 18 years old and over by October 31, 2022, can claim to be placed on the OLE if their names are not on the List. Importantly, the update of persons’ particulars on the list as well as the removal of the names of deceased per sons will have to be evidence-driven. Further, all Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, or naturalisation or a Com monwealth citizen satisfying the age criterion and living in Guyana for one year or more could still be registered. In the case of transfers, changes of address are very important and criti cal given the massive housing drive advanced by the PPP/C Government that has realised a dynamic movement of citizens to new areas. These efforts would certainly aid access to nearby polling stations in the constituency where they currently reside, and allow citizens to contribute to the decisions impacting the development of their new communities.

Consider what the response from these ‘impartial’ organisations would be if the PPP/C responded to Norton’s threats with a strong statement of defence such as “touch one hair on the Chair’s head” … need I say more? Editor, every election cycle sees the emergence of new and/or dormant political parties, all eager to contest for various reasons, it is odd that none of these groups of concerned citizens has seen fit to condemn the PNC’s Norton; wither the party of doctors or hotel proprietors? Wither Ralph and Timmy?

Why are the vocal NGOs silent on Norton’s threat to the GECOM Chair?

EDITORIAL

Secondly, Aubrey Norton talks about the “government” completing “registration” knowing full well that the govern ment has no role in this process; rather it is the Guyana Elec tions Commission (GECOM). Instead, he opts to mislead, on a regional platform. A factual review of these issues exposes a single com monality – the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition seems intent on fabricating a façade (a clean Voters’ List) to avoid facing Guyanese electors at the expected upcoming Local Govern ment Elections, while simultaneously working to mislead Guyanese on ‘imagined’ problems (unfounded claims of cor ruption, discrimination, and extra-judicial killings) in Guyana. At every turn, when called on to back up their claims with facts, the Parliamentary Opposition has waivered and failed. Reasonable people can only conclude that the Norton-led PNCR/APNU/AFC is scared of going to Local Government Elections. As Leader of the embattled grouping, all his talk will be tested in how well they do at the polls.

Aubrey misinformationobsessionNorton’swith

Claudette Singh’s response to Norton was succinct but the silence of ‘civil society organisa tions begs for explanation’.

The GECOM official would also con duct updates concerning corrections of the wrong spelling of one’s name, wrong date of birth, and defaced pic tures. Further, lost ID cards could be replaced by the citizens who make an application for this using the statutory form from the GECOM Office, after it is signed by a commissioner of oath. This claims and objection exercise must be done thoroughly and GECOM’s forward movement in this way will certainly realise the overdue Local Gov ernment Elections.

(Turn to page 5) The difference in the approach by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) in recent years, compared to prior to 2015, is the effort being made to respond to misinforma tion – misinformation that although wildly bizarre has to be rubbished least it be allowed to morph into a misguided perception.Inthemonths since Aubrey Norton became leader of the PNCR, Chairman of the APNU and leader of the APNU+AFC Parliamentary Opposition, one this that has been made clear is his obsession with misinformation and blatant disrespect for the intelligence of Guyanese. Fact checking Aubrey Norton does not seem to deter him, but it is done, not for him, but for the benefit of the people he seeks to mislead.

4 4

YoursNeilsincerely,Kumar

Our citizens need to know that when making claims and objections, they must have the relevant source documents. Original birth certificate or a valid pass port in the case for registration. Original naturalisation certificate issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and original birth certificate or a valid passport in the case of naturalisation. The original marriage certificate and original birth certificate should be presented in the case of a request for a name change by marriage. Further, it must be noted that citizens must also present to the officials at the GECOM Registration Office, original deed poll, and original birth certificate in the case of a name change by deed poll. It is important for anyone making an objection to any name on the OLE to be accredited by the scrutineers or by an elector who is listed in the same division list as the person, he or she is objecting to. Citizens must also be aware that they can and must use this exercise to make sure that their ID cards are appropriate.

AnilSincerely,Nandlall Delusions

relevance Why are the vocal NGOs... There may be no glamorous self-serving photo ops in standing up for/with

Guyana’s Constitution establishes a broad-based Ethnic Relations Commission to which the citizenry can complain against racial, ethnic, and other forms of discrimina tion. That Commission has a wide plenitude of powers to investigate those complaints and to take remedial actions. No other Ca ribbean constitution boasts such a Commis sion. It is for these reasons that the Guyana Constitution was hailed, recently, as one of the most advanced Constitutions in the Caribbean by the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

No doubt the sponsors of this event will invoke their Constitutional right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 146 of the Constitution. But I hasten to remind them of the crucial exclusionary appendage expressed in Article 146 (3) of that very constitutional provision which guarantees freedom of expression. It reads thus: “146 (3) Freedom of expression in this article does not relate to hate speeches or other expressions, in whatever forms, capable of exciting hos tility or ill-will against any person or class of persons.”

To this matrix one must add that Guy ana is one of the few territories in the English-speaking Caribbean that has estab lished a Constitutional Court. This Court allows for the speedy hearing and determina tion of constitutional and public law matters.

One of the listed ‘distinguished speakers’ served in four successive PPP/C Govern ments, from 1992 to 2008, holding various significant ministerial portfolios, including, Health, Education, Labour, Housing and Foreign Trade and International Cooper ation. Was he part of a government that practiced apartheid? I suppose he will say no and may argue that the PPP only begun to practice apartheid after his protracted ministerial sojourn ended! I recognized the photograph of a young Attorney-at-law conferred with the revered title of ‘Esquire’, as a speaker. He is a grad uate of the University of Guyana and a prod uct of the Hugh Wooding Law School. He may or may not know the history of the ed ucational opportunity that he enjoyed. It was under a PPP/C Government that the Bachelor of Laws programme was brought for the first time to the University of Guyana in the early 90’s. Subsequent PPP/C Government’s had to fight tooth and nail with the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies not only to get that programme recognized by the Council for admission to its Regional Law Schools but also to guarantee automat ic entry to twenty-five graduands annually.

Chair on this occasion but the value of this vital autonomous agency to democratic free dom in Guyana should not be judged by such frivolousPoliticalyardsticks.activism is

The truth is that this young man is incapable of appreciating that in an apartheid system based upon race, where Afro Guyanese are victims, he could not have benefitted from such a programme from which he graduated in 2015. For that matter, he would also not have been the beneficiary of a GOAL schol arship programme of which he is a recipient for the year 2022, to study law in the UK. There is yet another person slated to speak who was part of the last Government but who will be unable to point to a singular thing that he did for Afro Guyanese while in Government. On the contrary, he would not disclose that he secured for himself huge swathes of river front lands in various areas of the country, while his Government not only repossessed rice lands from Afro Guy anese farmers in West Coast Berbice granted to them by a PPP/C Government but reduced a PPP/C Government created Ministry of Housing to a department within the Ministry of Communities. He will not disclose to his audience that it was the PPP/C, out of Gov ernment (2015-2920) that fought and won back those lands for the Afro Guyanese rice farmers in the courts while his government in office, stoutly defended the cases and even appealed when they lost. He will also omit to disclose that the PPP/C Government dis tributed more house lots in 2021 in Region 10 than his Government did for five (5) years (2015-2020).Irecognize two leaders of the now de funct Working People’s Alliance (WPA) scheduled to speak. Neither had any qualms sitting in Government with a political party whose founder leader was held responsible by a Commission of Inquiry for the assassi nation of the most respected and iconic Afro Guyanese scholar, Dr. Walter Rodney. One of them anointed himself as a representative of Buxton and Afro Guyanese, generally. But again, he will be unable to point to a single initiative with which he can associate that the APNU/AFC did to empower the people of Buxton or Afro Guyanese, generally. The leader of the PNC and another long-standing leader of the PNC are listed as distinguished speakers. However, they will never disclose to their audience that after twenty-eight years of political dictatorship and mismanagement of government by the PNC, they pauperized over 95% of Afro Guyanese. Though they were not leading lights in the 2015-2020 APNU/AFC Gov ernment, they cannot distance themselves from the track record of that Government of imposing over two hundred (200) new taxes and charges on the backs of Afro Guyanese, taking away cash grants from Afro Guyanese children, denying Afro Guyanese children laptops from a One Laptop per Family pro gram which they inherited and scrapped, taking away from Afro Guyanese pensioners, subsidies for water and electricity, imposing VAT on medical, educational and agricul tural supplies on Afro Guyanese, taxing to the hilt, Afro Guyanese miners, imposing 1500 percent increase on land rents and rates for State lands occupied by Afro Guyanese farmers, and I can continue but space will not permit me. The truth is that many of those scheduled to speak rely on the racial mantra for their sustenance.Tosurvive therefore, they are willed to perpetuate this mythical message of racial segregation.However, with greater opportunities being created and resultant advances being progressively made by Afro Guyanese, this racist brew is correspondingly losing its potency, emancipating thousands from the mental servitude to which they were once shackled.Itisa recognition of this reality that has driven an irreverent few to the extremity ex pressed in the thematic title of the proposed discussion. In the years to come and with it, the definite continued upliftment of every Guyanese, including Afro Guyanese, history will footnote them in ignominy. of an few clamoring for GECOM’s not only about elections and aspiring to office, it should be about making Guyana a better place for all to live, without threats from Aubrey Norton or anyone else.

I feel compelled to add to this configuration, the Racial Hostilities Act, which long title reads: “An Act to make provision for pre venting conduct tending to excite hostility or ill will against persons by reason of their race.” There are many other pieces of legis lation on the statute books of Guyana which outlaw racial and ethnic discrimination of every form and manner. It is not without significance that almost all of the international treaties referred to above were executed under successive PPP/C Governments; it was a PPP/C Government under whose stewardship the 1980 Constitu tion was amended to insert every one of the references to the Constitution made above; it was under a PPP/C Government that the Constitutional Court was established, and the Racial Hostilities Act enacted. No doubt, there is no system to which these speakers will be able to point within the constitutional and legal architecture of the State, or Government that will be sup portive of their fallacious theme. Neither is there a singular policy of State or Govern ment to which they can advert to aid their perfidious hypothesis. For indeed if they were, rather than rant on a social media platform, why not take decisive actions by challenging those racially odious systems or policies before the Courts or international tribunals? Notwithstanding however, that will not restrain them from propagating, without any verifiable empirical data, out pourings of alleged racism in an attempt to imbue their audience with a misplaced sense of victimhood and to toxify minds with racist vitriol so as to appeal to basial instincts and excite raw hostilities.

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 5 Dear Editor, M y attention was drawn to an invitation to the public by an organization de scribing itself as ‘The Cuffy 250 Commit tee’, via many social media platforms. The invitation informs that it is the ‘9th annual forum on the state of African Guyanese’. Invitees are requested to discuss ‘Resisting the Emerging Apartheid State’. The invitation publishes the photographs of several persons under the adjectival label of ‘distinguished speakers’. One of those persons has publicly proclaimed that his photograph was used unauthorisedly and requested that his name be removed from the invitation. In a letter to the Chairman of this organization, he made these very seminal observations: “I completely reject the phrase ‘resisting the emerging apartheid state’ to describe conditions in Guyana. In my view, this statement is a disservice to all Guyanese, as such I wish to categorically dissociate myself from it. More importantly, I am a firm supporter of His Excellency, the President of Guyana and I am absolutely convinced that it is not part of the President’s agenda to create any disparity based on race.” This gentleman rejects the hypothesis upon which this engagement invites dis cussion as flawed and falsified. With those sentiments, I am in complete agreement. Apart from the patent falsehood inherent in the theme, I am of the considered view that the entire discussion likely to ensue would be proscribed not only by the ordinary laws of Guyana but by the supreme law, the Con stitution. ‘Apartheid’ is defined by the New Ox ford Dictionary of English as, “A policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.” Historically, this phrase is used to describe a one-time government policy in South Africa. To even insinuate that such a policy or system is emerging in Guyana is absolutely outrageous. The State of Guyana by Article 149 of the Constitution, guarantees protection to every citizen against discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, religion etc. The State of Guyana has signed and ratified every major international treaty in this hemisphere which outlaws racial and ethnic discrimina tion. Many of these treaties form part of the Fourth Schedule of the Guyana Constitution.

irreverent

YoursRobinsincerely,Singh (From page 4)

Article 154 of that Constitution binds the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and all organs and agencies of Government to respect and uphold those rights. Further, Article 160 A (1) states: “All persons, insti tutions and political parties are prohibited from taking any action or advancing, dissem inating or communicating any idea which may result in racial or ethnic division among the people.”

School children in Guyana will soon benefit from free health screening as the ministries of Education and Health refine screening pro tocols for implementation soon.This was disclosed by Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony who said the screen ing will be done at various intervals in the child’s school life, to ensure a clean bill of health.“We have a package of services that we are develop ing where we want to screen this child and that would include making sure that they get an eye test, making sure that they get an oral examina tion to see if they have a bad tooth, check their hearing and some other basic things”, Dr Anthony said. The aim of the pro gramme is to ensure that the nation’s children are offered preventative care and oppor tunities for a healthy lifestyle through early detection of any health-related issues. “If we detect children with these kinds of challeng es, we will be able to fix it, sometimes children are in the classroom and they are not learning properly because they have some form of dis ability, whether hearing, not seeing well, and so forth and once these things are correct ed and corrected early, we can prevent a lot of learning loss,” Dr Anthony said.

“I want to re-confirm our president’s pledge, our government’s pledge that we will continue to build the non-oil economy of which mining is one of such sectors that we will continue to work with because a lot of Guya nese are employed directly in mining and many more indirectly,”,Minister Bharrat toldSinceminers.August 2020, min ers have enjoyed significant support from government. This includes the removal of Value Added Tax on All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and lubrication oils which are in tegral to the daily operations in theMinerssector.are also now en joying the removal of exer cise tax on fuel, the reduc tion of the sliding scale final tax to 2.5 per cent and the removal of the 10 per cent Tributors Tax.

“Once we have the wa ter flowing, we can then take it to your homes and in order for us to do that, the design of the distribution network and the laying of the pipes to every house hold. This will be done in collaboration with the village council and the res idents of Swan”, Minister Rodrigues noted. This new well will be complemented by the ex isting one that is 60 metres deep.Currently, only 20 per cent of villagers have ac cess to potable water in theirTwohomes.ofthe village’s 10 Community Service Offi cers will be trained to main tain the water distribution lines.

O ver 600 residents of Swan on the Soes dyke-Linden Highway will soon have access to potable water in their homes with a new well which is nearing completion.Minister within the Min istry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues recently visited the construction site to have a first-hand view of the Withinproject.a week, the well will be completed, having already reached the con tracted 300 metres depth, following which, the design of the distribution network will be created by the Guy ana Water Incorporated (GWI), together with the villagers, who will be given employment to lay the pipes for every household.

Phillips said, “I encour age you to continue to inno vate; continue to be curious and to find novel ways to solve problems through the use of ICTs. This curiosity will foster growth; it will foster knowledge and it will foster originality. These are valuable skills that will serve you throughout your life time.”

The ministry will also be working with several partners on a programme to reduce teenage“Whenpregnancy.ayoung girl gets pregnant it can be very dis ruptive to their education and their further development and so forth,” he explained. Also, among the Ministry of Health’s plan for young people is the introduction of a programme to foster healthy lifestyles which includes pro moting healthy eating habits andDrexercise.Anthony added that “part of the things that were doing is to ensure we start getting young people to un derstand, they have to be active, they have to eat prop erly, not just a balanced meal but a nutritious meal and a whole host of other essential things that we feel are essen tial to prevent these diseases from happening.”

In the event of any leak ages, persons within the village will have the com petency to conduct the nec essaryToshaorepairs.of Swan, Fin ton Ragonauth said he is pleased with the develop ment in the area, adding that the Government’s presence is being felt in the village.

Over 600 villagers of Swan to get potable water new well near completion

ICT workshops create a foundation for technological development – PM Miners will benefit sig nificantly from some $3 billion which will be uti lised to further develop roads and other infrastructure in mining communities this year.Natural Resources Min ister, Vickram Bharrat said the investment forms part of government’s commitment to develop the non-oil sectors. “In 2022, we are expending close to $3 billion on hinter land infrastructure. That is mining and logging roads and we will continue to ensure that these roads are in good condition so that you can ac cess properties,” the minister said at the opening of the two-day Quarrying, Mining and Exploration Conference, at the Arthur Chung Confer ence Centre recently. He noted that government is working to make more land available to small and medium scale miners. The minister said that it is one of the major challenges in the industry. The Minister said, “This is something that we are looking at. A few weeks back President [Dr Irfaan Ali] met with a group that is representing small miners in Guyana and two of the major concerns were access to land, that is the availability of land and also gaining access to the lands wherever they are located.” Bharrat reiterated gov ernment’s commitment to supporting the mining sector, noting that the production of gold, diamond, bauxite and other minerals was the highest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) prior to the oil and gas sector. In 2021, the gold mining subsector represented 8.8 per cent of the country’s GDP, representing the third largest non-oil sector of the economy and more than 60 per cent of Guyana’s total non-oil export earnings. In February, President Dr Irfaan Ali disclosed that the nation’s gold reserve stood at US$35 billion.

The ministry is hoping that the initiative, will pre vent chronic non-communi cable diseases later in their life.

$3B to develop roads, other infrastructure in mining communities

The initiative is one of three ICT summer camp training programmes con ducted countrywide by the Office of the Prime Minister, through the Industry and In novation Unit.

School Children to receive free health screening

“Our community has been blessed by this Govern ment. From the year 2020, after this new Government had taken over this country, we have gained a lot of de velopment”, he expressed. When the well is com pleted, Government will shift its focus to five other wells on the Soesdyke-Lin den Highway at Moblis sa, Kairuni, Long Creek, Waiakabra and Kuru Kuru.

6 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

Furthermore, he stated that the skills acquired during the learning sessions will not only provide critical thinking skills in ICT-related matters but also foster long-term skills.

Information and Communi cations Technology (ICT) Summer Camps in Guyana play a pivotal role in the foundation of technological development, according to Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips. The Senior Government Official, who is currently ful filling the role of President, noted that camps are testa ment to the Government’s commitment to embracing the ICT revolution in Guy ana.He told the 72 gradu ates and their relatives at the graduation ceremony of the Berbice leg of the ICT Summer Camp 2022, today, at the Albion Community Centre, that the initiative will grow. Phillips said, “We are excited about this initiative because these workshops cre ate a foundation and provide young people with a glimpse of the opportunities that are available to them and how they can access them.”

Kuru Kururu Farmers benefit from Smart Agro-Processing Facility

F armers of Kuru Kururu and surrounding areas will now benefit from Smart Agro-Processing Facility, which will aid economic development in the area. The Kuru Kururu Farm ers Crops and Livestock Association, and the Smart Agro-Processing facility are being housed at the old Kuru Kururu workshop building which was pro vided by the Agriculture Ministry.Funding came from the United Nations De velopment Programme, GEF Small Grants Pro gramme which provided USD$35,223.Supportfor the project came from the Basic Needs Trust Fund, the Inter-Amer ican Institute for Cooper ation on Agriculture. The Guyana Energy Agency provided consultation and the labour for the project. The agencies got on board with helping the Kuru Kururu farmers in October of 2021, before that they faced several hardships in producing and sustaining the facility.

Minister Bishop Juan Edghill during the launch said government is committed to bringing improvement to the lives and livelihood of every Guy anese. However, he noted that this particular project has more benefits than what meets the eye. He said, “We are not here to displace any body even though people will have to move. We are here to bring value to your neigh bourhood… Albouystown, East Middle Road must move from being Shanty Town into being part of the development of the Georgetown City as this country modernises. We are making this community attractive so your property value must go up.”

$800M awarded in road projects for Region 10

S afety in the community, Vive La Force, Region Three will improve follow ing the delivery of 10 street lights by the Ministry of PublicMinisterWorks.within the Min istry, Deodat Indar during the recent presentation at the Vive La Force Primary School, said the allocation of the street lights is in keeping with a commitment made following a request by the residents. He informed that over 450 street lights have been distributed to communities across the country. “A lot of communities in the coun try are asking for lights, so we don’t have much of it, but what we have we are spreading out, because everybody has issues with darkness in the night, with kids coming home. Every where, every community you go is that problem,” the Minister pointed out. Residents were also giv en the opportunity to raise a number of concerns, which Minister Indar addressed. He assured the residents that other issues will be forwarded to the relevant agencies and ministries for follow up. He also reassured that the Government is putting systems in place to ad dress concerns related to the roads in Patentia, hous ing development and other infrastructural works.

Rehabilitation•Street,Rehabilitation•2,MainRehabilitation•MainRehabilitationConstruction/ofMoblissaRoad,MoblissaLot201:Construction/ofBlock22AccessRoad,PhaseWisrocLot202:Construction/ofBonusAmelia’sWardLot203:Construction/ofCanvas City Back Road, Canvas •CityLot 204: Amelia’snerRehabilitation•Road,Rehabilitation•Lane,Rehabilitation•CircleRehabilitation•KaraRehabilitation•WisrocTreatmentRehabilitation•hillRehabilitation•SideRehabilitation•ley,Rehabilitation•ley,Rehabilitation•marStreet,Rehabilitation•LilyRehabilitation•ner,Rehabilitation•RoadRehabilitation•Street,Rehabilitation•WardGatesRehabilitationConstruction/ofCityStreet,Amelia’sLot205:Construction/ofPompeyChristiansburgLot206:Construction/ofRasvilleNetwork,WismarLot207:Construction/of4thCorAmelia’sWardLot208:Construction/ofWaterRoad,WismarLot209:Construction/of1stCrossSilverTown,WisLot210:Construction/of2ndAlWismarLot211:Construction/of3rdAlWismarLot212:Construction/ofBuckhillRoad,WismarLot213:Construction/ofWismarAccessRoad,WismarLot214:Construction/ofWaterPlantRoad,Lot215:Construction/ofOldKaraRoadLot216:Construction/ofSchoolRoad,KaraKaraLot217:Construction/ofMathewChristiansburgLot218:Construction/ofSelf-HelpAmelia’sWardLot219:Construction/of4thCorLover’sLane,CentralWard • Lot 220: Amelia’slandConstruction•RoadRehabilitation•KaralandRehabilitation•driveRehabilitation•alRehabilitationConstruction/ofIndustriAreaRoad,MackenzieLot221:Construction/ofToucanLot222:Construction/ofSpykeMainRoad,LowerKaraLot223:Construction/ofInternalKwakwaniLot248:Rehabilitation/ofSpeightBackRoad,LowerWard,Linden

The PPP/C Government on Monday honoured its commitment to improve the livelihood of residents of Albouystown, who will soon benefit from $1.4 bil lion worth of community enhancement works. The works will be con ducted through the Ministry of Public Works Urban En hancement Projects for South Georgetown.PublicWorks

Multi-billion-dollar facelift for Albouystown, East Middle Road - Edghill

Vive La Force, Region Three gets street lights to improve safety

Minister Edghill high lighted that an unpriced bill of quantities will be delivered to the commu nity by Monday. So that residents can inspect and ensure works are being done to specification. The bill of quantities will provide information on the scope of works, length and dimen sions.Further, the Minister im plored residents to cooperate with the contractors as the works commence. “You got to suffer some inconvenienc es for a couple of days and the contractors are all aware that we have to be able to get in, get this work done quickly and get out. So, we want full cooperation from the residents,” he stated. Some $15.2 billion was approved in the 2022 Na tional Budget for the minis try’s Miscellaneous Roads Programme. Some $3 billion in supplementary funding was also recently approved in the National Assembly for the programme. This will see Guyanese from the 70 local authorities benefitting from accelerated infrastruc tural development.

T he construction of Silica City in Kuru- Kururu on the 17,toRodriguesandMinistersoon.HighwaySoesdyke-LindenwillcommenceThiswasdisclosedbywithintheHousingWaterMinistry,SusanfollowingavisitthelocationonAugust2022.Constructionworkswillseephaseoneofthecitybeingdevelopedona3,000-acreplotofland.“Wearestartingtodo

Minister Indar told res idents to be prepared for the inflow of job and other opportunities that will be available in the region due to oil and gas sector. The residents were urged to take advantage of the Guyana Online Acad emy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship programme and other training programmes being offered through the Board of Industrial Train ing to upskill themselves. Some $10 billion will be exhausted this year to advance the transformative agenda of the region. This major investment will see improvements in the living standards of residents in the areas of health, education, and agriculture. Govern ment has committed that the economic transforma tion of the region will be parallel to that of Region Four.

mencewhereareasrecently,spearheadedter,grammeanmunityimprovemanifestothegionnumberprojectsmillionapproximatelyawarded$800ininfrastructuraltorehabilitateaofroadsacrossRe10.ThisisinkeepingwithPPP/CAdministration’scommitmenttothequalityofcomroadsandimplementUrbanImprovementprocountrywide.PublicWorksMinisBishopJuanEdghillanoutreach,andvisitedseveralthroughouttheregion,worksaresettocomovertheweekend.Hehighlightedthatthe

Silica City to be built in Kuru Kururu 185 acres being cleared for Innovation Village, Young Professional homes G overnment has

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 7 PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

The Public Works Minis ter said the works are expect ed to be completed by the end of theEnhancementyear. works will be undertaken along Inde pendence Boulevard which is 1.8 kilometres in length from Saffon Street to Ceme tery Road. The work entails construction of a three-lane carriageway with concrete drains and culverts. It will also have a three metres wide promenade with elevated lights, garden and seats. The works were divided into three lots between three contractors. They are RIM Construction, IB Contracting and Machinery Rental and C&L Construction Inc. Major upgrade will also be done to 1.2 kilometres of Vlissengen Road (Cemetery Road) from Princess Street to Mandela Avenue. Avinash Contracting and Scrap Metal Inc will be executing the works.The scope of work for this contract includes an up grade of the existing car riageway to allow four lanes, construction of drains along the eastern and western car riageways, construction of a central avenue and a fence to both sides of the cemetery. Residents of the commu nity were also assured that in addition to their community being beautified, they will also gain employment when work

•

the land clearing for the first 185 acres, which will feature the Innovation Village and the first 400 Young Pro fessional homes,” Minister RodriguesMeanwhile,said. the Cen tral Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has already begun shortlist ing persons to have them pre-qualified for the Young Professional houses to be builtWhilethere.some persons are residing on the lands or have farms there, through legal leases from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Com mission, the process of re location is currently being addressed.“Wewill have some peo ple that have to be relocated, but of course we will engage them and ensure that they are properly compensated so we can clear this first phase area for Silica City,” Minis ter Rodrigues noted. The new city is the brain child of President Dr Irfaan Ali when he was the Hous ing and Water Minister. It will be the first modern smart city. The idea was based on the need for Guy ana to have an urban centre that is complementary to the existing capital city of Georgetown.Thenew city aims to tackle the issue of non-coast al urban settlement develop ment and the challenges of climate change and sea-level rise. It will be a vibrant, sus tainable, resilient, and mod ern city, in keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

nature of works is the first of its kind to be carried out in the region. “What we are doing in Linden now has never been done in Linden before. We are spending $800 million just in this phase. This is just a start, the Government isn’t running and going nowhere…. Our commitment is to bring de velopment to all the people. We didn’t look to see how people vote; we look to see where people living,” the MinisterMinistersaid. of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill interacting with resident Infrastructural works to be carried out: Lot 200:

“Allcommences.thecontractors they have already been told while we are developing and en hancing the environment people from the area must get work. So, while we are bringing development, we are also creating jobs”, the MinisterResidentssaid. of the commu nity will also have access to the bill of quantities so that they can be aware of the scope of works to be under taken by each contractor.

The fabrication of “socalled evidence” is serious, according to him, and must be investigated.

On the issue of biomet rics, Norton, at a news con ference on Tuesday (Au gust 23, 2022) said, “We remain steadfast in our call for GECOM to implement the necessary improvements (whether statutory, consti tutional, technological, or administrative) to ensure elections of the highest stan dard. In this regard, we stand by our positions on the need for a clean voters list and biometric identification at polling places.” Jagdeo said, “We will not support the use of biometrics as a restriction on people’s right to vote.” He made clear that the PPP/C does not oppose to measures to strengthen poll ing day scrutiny activities.

VOTERS’ LIST Norton also continues to call for the removal of Guy anese who are not resident in Guyana from the Voters’ List.Notably, in August 2019, Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, in a ruling, made it clear that GECOM cannot deregister persons from the National Register of Regis trants (NRR) – from which the Voters’ List is compiled – unless they are dead or otherwise disqualified under Article 159 (2), (3) and (4) of the JagdeoConstitution.said,“…the ques tion of the new [voters] list has been addressed sever al times…the Chief Justice [Roxane George] ruled that it’s unconstitutional to re move people’s name based on residency. This is precise ly what Norton wants us to do, to act in an unconstitu tional manner. If we were to do so, just imagine what will happen. All you need is one person who is not resident in Guyana to go to the court and challenge, and immediately that will be overthrown [and] that will be declared uncon stitutional.“…sowe are not going to act in an unconstitutional manner. We’re not going to be complicit with the Peo ple’s National Congress in this issue… Norton doesn’t understand that it will be unconstitutional to remove people’s names from the vot ers’ list… We’re not going to support any process that is unconstitutional. Now, Norton comes from a party that has a history of acting unconstitutionally in several instances.”

Executive, also the APNU+AFC nomi nated GECOM Commission er, Vincent Alexander, by his own admission, on Monday (August 22, 2022) said, “ID PADA-G is better referred to as a country coordinating mechanism for the Inter national Decade for People of African descent. As the country coordinating mech anism IDPADA-G brought together, or brings together at this time, over 60 African Guyanese organizations… our focus is organizing ac tivities to benefit the entire African Guyanese communi ty and our organizations are used to mobilize people to access those activities.”

MORE QUESTIONS

IDPADA-G must say how almost half a billion benefitted Afro-Guyanese

The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will not be complicit with the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Co alition which making calls that are “unconstitutional” as they relate electoral processes in Guyana.Thedeclaration was made by PPP General Sec retary and Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who during his new conference on Friday (August 19, 2022), said, “We are not going to act in an un constitutional manner.”

THAN ANSWERS

Fabricated evidence produced during 2020 Elections must be investigated

BIOMETRICS

CANNOT BE TRUSTED “We are not going to fall into that trap again,” the Vice President said stressed. He referred to the suc cessful court challenge to an amendment that saw the use of identification cards for voting – an amendment that the PNCR agreed to, but later challenged in court after it lost the 1997 General and RegionalPNC/RElections.supporter, Esther Perreira, in 1998, brought an elections petition challeng ing the outcome of the 1997 elections.Inaruling on the matter in 2001, Justice Singh de clared that the elections law amendment act No. 22 of 1997 is ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Guyana Constitution and as a con sequence the said act was null and void. Hence, the judge ruled that the 1997 elections were not conducted in accordance with the pro visions of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) and articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution of Guyana. New elections were held that year, which the PPP/C once again won. With the 1997 Elections vitiated, the PPP/C lost over a year of its term and had to move to new General and RegionalJagdeoElections.said,“I think this is precisely the trap that they are hoping to set once again—that should we go into the parliament, we pass a law on biometrics to pre vent people from voting and only on the basis of these biometrics and then they lose the elections, they go back to court again, using the same challenge that they had in 1997 that the use of biomet rics was unconstitutional.”

ATTEMPT JUSTIFICATIONAT An attempt was made to justify the expenses by IDPADA-G during a news conference on Monday (Au gust 22, IDPADA-G2022).

– Jagdeo says Party will not be complicit in push for unconstitutional actions

However, Jagdeo later noted that their attempt at a justification has given rise to more questions than answers. On Monday (August 22, 2022) evening, he said, “First off let me state that I have absolutely no intention of apologizing to Vincent Alexander and he is free to take whatever course of ac tion he “Secondly,wishes. his poor at tempt at deflecting from the misuse of close to half a billion dollars in government funding, collected under the guise of furthering the cause of Afro-Guyanese, has left even more questions than answers.“Even more shocking is

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Referring to claims of voter impersonation, Jagdeo added, “I don’t know of a single allegation of voter impersonation until they tried to sabotage the recount. APNU [A Party for National Unity] had polling agents in almost every one of the over 2,000 polling places in this country…they all signed the SOP, and never a claim of voters’ impersonation until they attempted to create confusion at the recount. So, that statement is false; absolutely false.”

And he charged that the Coalition’s calls made for removal of the names of Guy anese who migrated from the Voters List, as well as calls for amendments to introduce biometrics as a requirement for voting will not be sup ported by the PPP/C.

[A review of Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo’s recent engagements]

Referring to the support by IDPADA-G Executives for a forum themed ‘Resist ing the emerging apartheid State’, the Vice President said, “This is doing a dis service to apartheid and the struggles of the South Afri can people. They don’t know what apartheid is. This apart heid Government is giving them over $200 million since we got into office.”

From 2018 to 2022, the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly– Guyana (IDPA DA-G) received almost half a billion dollars and Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has made clear that it must say how the monies were used to benefit Afro-Guy anese.His comment came in de fense of the PPP/C Govern ment’s record on upliftment of Afro-Guyanese.“Iwouldlikethem [ID PADA-G] to have a press conference so they can tell the people of this country what they have done with the nearly half a billion in money they’ve received and how much was utilised in the interest of ordinary Af ro-Guyanese in this country. Who receive all of this mon ey? Nearly half a billion dol lars,” Jagdeo said on August 19, He2022.added, “This is their financial statement for 2020… salaries and allow ances $42 million, confer ence expenses, $4.5 million, travelling and transportation $2.8 million, advertisement $2 million, office material and expenses $9 million, building rental and utilities $5 million, disbursement of grant fund, how much they give out in grants to Afro Guyanese, $343,000 disbursement of grant of the $100 million for 2020.”

POSITIONS FROM VICE PRESIDENT BHARRAT JAGDEO

One of the expenses, ac cording to Alexander, was the spending of $5M to con duct a survey on how many farmers were affected by flooding recently.

PPP/C will not fall into ‘trap’ of untrustworthy APNU+AFC

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 927-28 2022 9

A call has been issued by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo for an investiga tion into the documents that were given to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Immigration authorities during the March 2020 as evidence of “elections rig ging”. He said, “You recall the GRA producing a fictitious list, and Immigration pro ducing another list of who was in the country and who was not, and we found peo ple there whom they said were abroad, who never had travelled out of the country. “….launch an investiga tion as to how they were put together, because there was false information…if false information is provided by statutory agencies with the purpose of corrupting an election, then the people who provided that informa tion should face the conse quences. So, I am going to urge that that happens.”

Jagdeo has since made clear that groups like ID PADA-G are used as a plat form to raise unfounded criticisms, when it fails to respond to the cause it claims to represent. He said, “All they are interested in is cre ating trouble in the country and for their personal finan cial benefit. They don’t care about any cause.”

10 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022MIRROR POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dr. Ali has been visit ing communities across the length and breadth of Guy ana with a single message of ‘One Guyana.’ This mantra is also reflected in the plethora of policies being rolled out. Government has made COVID-19 vaccines avail able to all eligible persons in Guyana, even in the most remote parts of the country. Many persons have heeded the call to be vaccinated with 345,481 adults being fully vaccinated against the deadly disease so far. In addition, over $7 bil lion in COVID relief cash grants were distributed to every household across Guy ana, at a critical juncture when families were having a difficult time, due to the restrictions brought on by the pandemic.Similarly, government has been distributing flood relief hampers and cash grants to farmers who lost livestock and produce. To ensure children are well-equipped to return to school, the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant initiative has been increased to $25,000, together with the $5,000 school uniform allowance, every child registered in a nursery, primary and sec ondary school, is entitled to $30,000. Recognising the difficul ties in the various sectors, many initiatives have been launched to offset challeng es such as the distribution of a one-off cash grant of $150,000, to fisherfolk and the cash grant to retrenched sugarWhenworkers.tragedy struck for farmers, government pledged $1 billion in fertiliser to be distributed free of cost to farmers to assist them in re turning to the lands. Equally, those in the mining sector were given relief with the removal of the 10 per cent TributorsChildrenTax.living with dis abilities have not been left out of development. They are being provided with a $100,000 ‘Special Needs Fund’ to meet their needs. These are just a few of the programmes that demon strate the ‘One Guyana’ vi sion of Dr. Ali.

President Ali outlines Govt’s development agenda says expenditure will be managed to avoid overheating of economy

P resident Dr. Irfaan Ali says Guyana’s transfor mational agenda makes pro vision for increased govern ment expenditure in areas such as housing, healthcare, education, agriculture and other critical sectors, and therefore, there needs to be a balance in the manage ment of the However,resources.President Ali noted that while the robust economic development will continue, expenditure will be managed to prevent an overheating of the economy.

Further, he stated, “We must position ourselves to be leaders and not followers… we have a great opportunity and great commitment, a lot of time and resources invest ed. Let us not fail the next generation by allowing this opportunity to evade us.”

Efforts aimed at building a united Guyana continue − Ali

President Ali had stated that Guyana has the potential to become the regional agri cultural giant, though being one of the smallest states in SouthTheAmerica.PPP/CAdministration has made significant invest ments which will enhance the nation’s competitiveness, en suring that there is a resilient and diversified economy, to withstand shocks and chal lenges.Government’s holis tic plan is to transform the sub-sectors within the food industry – aquaculture, live stock, fisheries, drainage and irrigation – to a standard that ensures food security and Guyana being a dominant player in the CARICOM mar ket.In Guyana, millions of dollars have already been pumped into constructing thoroughfares to give agri culturists easy access to their farms.Among other things, thou sands of acres of prime farm land were made available to agriculturists.President Ali, on numer ous occasions, stressed the importance of Guyana acquir ing international food stan dards, in its quest to perform effectively in the international market.Additionally, he empha sised the importance of hav ing certified and adequate laboratory facilities, even as government seeks to improve its agricultural health and food safety, and traceability services.

The President assert ed that while the emerg ing economy is newprogrammescalandthethroughcome.preparationofcapacityisgard,skilledthereenoughopportunitycreatingforjobs,comestheissueoflabour.InthisretheAdministrationworkingonbuildingtheandknowledgethelocalworkforceinforthejobstoThisisbeingdonetheexpansionofscholarshipprogrammetheexpansionofthelotechnicalandvocationaltocaterforandemergingsectors.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has restated the PPP/C Gov ernment’s relentless efforts aimed at building a future of equal opportunities for growth for all Guyanese re gardless of location. Ali said the work of his government to unite Guy ana continues in the face of strong opposition. He under scored that the wealth of the nation is for all Guyanese to enjoy. “My message is the same message I will give every single community and I’ll walk the ground and touch the hands and embrace every single Guyanese in pursuit of what this govern ment has always worked for, a unified and strong Guyana built together by our people. We will push forward, march forward, break barriers and bring the development to every single home of this country.”

All sectors essential to cut CARICOM’s food import bill − Ali

The Caribbean Commu nity’s (CARICOM) pas sionate efforts towards re ducing its US$5 billion food import bill by 2025 must see the full involvement of every sector across member states. The overarching strategy, which was developed to cut the region’s huge food ex pense, must also incorporate all the stakeholders, including farmers, the private sector, women and the youth within the region.President, Dr Irfaan Ali said the aim is to reshape the way the future generation thinks about food in the re gion.He was speaking during the recent opening of the re cent Agri-Investment Forum and Expo II in Port- of -Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Guyanese Leader said the approach used to promote the production system must be taken within a global context. “We cannot position our Agri food system in a regional system. We have to position it in a global system, and build that system to withstand the global challenges that will come. And there will be a lot of global challenges,” Dr Ali Thesaid. strategy, he noted, outlines specific actions re quired by each state in achiev ing the 25 by 2025 goal. “We have to let them know that a sweet potato chip is better than the Irish potato chip, more nu tritional and everything. So, it is an integrated approach that involves every sector in terms of resolving this issue of food security,” he emphasised.

The Head of State was speaking on Friday during an interview with Trini dad and Tobago’s CNC3 Television while on a State Visit to the Twin Island Republic. “Overheating is when there is over expen diture in the system, and there is no mopping up from the monetary side. So, this is something that we are managing, that we are very cautious about,” President Ali Heexplained.addedthat, “You can get carried away very easily when you have resources coming your way and go on a massive expansion plan or expenditure plan, that can cause weoverextendingwhatevered.dituresaidhavenow,thatoperatingoverheatinghyperinflation,andespeciallyintheconditionsweareoperatingunderwheregloballyyourisingcostoffood.TheGuyaneseLeadertherearesomeexpenthatcannotbeavoid“Weareensuringthatwedo,wearenotourselves,arenotoverextending the financial system, and we are keeping to the transfor mative investment,” he said. With these essential in vestments in the nation al transformative agenda, comes the responsibility to put more money into the pockets of ordinary Guya nese through job creation or other measures, Dr. Ali posited.Hesaid that the PPP/C Government has been able to create thousands of jobs in various sectors, since it assumed office in August 2020, in keeping with its manifesto promise. In fact, the booming housing programme current ly underway has seen thou sands of Guyanese gaining employment, as well as the Government’s part-time jobs. “Our cost for energy will come down by 50 per cent, that will create a new wave of jobs in the indus trial and plehavehotelssectors…wemanufacturinghavesixnewcomingonstream,wethescreen6,000peoatleasttoworkinthe hospitality sector,” he said.

Some 3,500 residents of Wakenaam Island, Re gion Three (Essequibo Is land-West Demerara) now have access to 24-hour water service, as a $50 million wa ter distribution system was commissioned in the Noit gedacht village, on Monday (August 22, 2022).

The Noitgedacht Well, the first of its kind to be drilled by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), was of ficially commissioned by His Excellency, Dr Irfaan Ali. During his address, the head of state said the con struction of the well by the staff of GWI has resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in cost, with a design life cycle of 30Notyears.only will there be improved access to water on the Island, but the president announced that a US$6.3 million water treatment plant will also be constructed in Noitgedacht that will provide 100 per cent treated water to residents.Theproject falls under GWI’s coastal water treat ment infrastructure pro gramme for which the gov ernment intends to spend $25 billion over the next few years.Describing Wakenaam as an ‘important island’, President Ali said the area will play a critical role in the development of the food pro duction system for the Carib bean, and therefore, billions of dollars will be invested to transform the water, roads, drainage and other critical infrastructure. “We cannot look at the infrastructure in vestment and development in isolation of the macro plan. So, this water facility here, this new well must be linked to something bigger,” the presidentPresidentsaid. Ali, while outlining the massive in vestments expected on the Island, announced that the government will also be in vesting in a 750-kilowatt solar power system at a cost US$2.3 million to provide clean and reliable energy to the residents. “This system will start within two months hopefully,” he said. Further, President Ali said in the next three years, the entire road network on the Island will be done in phases. Already, $500 mil lion has been expended in drainage and irrigation, and sea defence. “What does this mean? That perhaps with investment in river defense that we must make, would be another $1 billion of in vestment that’s $2 billion,” he explained.Housingand Water Min ister, Collin Croal explained that the well was designed by GWI utilising new tech nology which saved time and reduced cost. It replaced a deteriorated well causing residents to receive water ac cess on a scheduled basis. He 3,500 to get 24-hour water service with new Wakenaam well

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WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 11 11 ELECTION WATCH: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

he Parliament of Guy ana is currently in re cess, but after October 10, 2022, the PPP/C Govern ment will be moving to the House with amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA). This is according to Vice President, Bharrat Jag deo, who noted that both Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, have assured that public consultations have been completed.Jagdeo explained that the amendments will ad dress several things, in cluding reducing the discre tionary powers of the Chief Elections Officer. Also, to addressed is the need for all manuals and training materials used by the Guyana Elections Com mission (GECOM) to be made public three months before any elections to en sure that they are accessed by civil society, the inter national community and the media, etc. He explained that this will ensure that stakeholders are clear on the role of GECOM staffers, as well as the procedure and rules to be followed. “This way, there is no room for doubt on how the elections are to be conducted,” he said.

“We’re already gone on an election footing. We’d be ready whether elections are held this year or next year. We don’t control when that happens, GECOM does but we’d be ready at any time,” he said.The PPP General Sec retary added, “GECOM would have to write indi cating when they are ready. But [in] the People’s Pro gressive Party, I speak as General Secretary, I’ve already convened a meeting and we’ve already started working on our organiza tional structures around the country. We’ve put our par ty in a readiness mode…. we don’t know the timing because we don’t control that [but] the PPP will par ticipate.”

The other amendments address the identification of polling places long before Election Day; the identifi cation of all materials to be retained by Polling Agents and which documents are to be included in the Ballot Boxes; the posting of all Statements of Polls (SOPs) on GECOM’s website; the publication of the procedure for tabulation of election results; and mechanisms to ensure that the tabulation process is a public one. The formal administra tive division of Region Four into four districts - East Bank and East Coast De merara and North and South

(Turn to page 19) Jagdeo says...

Guyana has 80 Local Authority Areas - 10 Mu nicipalities or towns; and 70 Neighbourhood Demo cratic Councils (NDCs). The 10 Municipalities/ Towns are: Mabaruma, Region 1; Anna Regina, Region 2; Georgetown, Region 4; New Amsterdam, Region 6; Rose Hall, Re gion 6; Corriverton, Region 6; Bartica; Mahdia, Region 8; Lethem, Region 9; and Linden, Region 10.

PPP General Secretary and other party leaders engage activists in preparation for the anticipated Local Government Elections

PPP ‘in readiness mode’ for LGE

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2018 LGE Notably, the former AP NU+AFC Coalition gov ernment in 2018, created 10 new Local Authority Areas and made changes to the boundaries of 14 other areas, ahead of the Novem ber 2018 Local Government Elections. Additionally, existing Local Authori ties were tampered with and in total seats in over a dozen constituencies were reduced.Regardless, the 2018 Local Government Elec tions having been held in 80 Local Authority Areas – 10 towns and 70 Neighbour hood Democratic Councils – saw the People’s Progres sive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), securing wins in 52 of the LAAs.Nationally, results showed that the PPP/C al most doubled the margin of votes between the Party and APNU and AFC com bined – moving from about 24,000 at the 2016 Local Government Elections to over 45,000 at this year’s Local Government Elec tions. The difference of votes between the PPP/C and the AFC was a whop ping 113,000 votes. Be tween the PPP/C and the APNU, the difference of votes was over 50,000.

Chief Election Officer, Vishnu Persaud, having been tasked with preparing a work plan for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) proposed date of De cember 12, 2022. And has since been asked to review the timeline so that the Local Government Elections, which were due in 2021 would be held earlier.

Each Local Authority Area (LAA) is divided into Constituencies for the pur pose of electing members of the Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.AConstituency in the context of Local Govern ment Elections is a specif ically demarcated part of a Municipality or Neighbour hood Democratic Council as defined and identified by its given boundaries. For the purpose of elect ing individual Candidates to represent the respective Constituencies, each Local Authority Area is divided into a given number of Con stituencies, equal to half of the number of seats on a Municipality or Neighbour hood Democratic Council.

GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, explained the Chief Elections Officer’s task would involve addressing tweaks to the work plan that were recommended by the Commission - after which the work plan and the date for the upcoming polls will be finalized. GECOM is currently en gaged in a Claims and Objec tions process, which started on August 22, 2022 and will end on September 18, 2022. More than $750 million has been set aside in Budget 2022 for the preparations to be undertaken by GECOM for the hosting of LGE this year. This money is part of an overall $4.1 billion allocation to GECOM’s in Budget 2022 and was ex amined and approved by the National Assembly during its consideration of the 2022 Budget Estimates. Included in the $783 million for LGE is a more-than-$300 million increase in “other goods and services purchased”, which jumped from $250.8 million in 2021 to $575.9 million in the 2022 budget.

LGE are constitution ally due every two years in Guyana and were last held in 2018.Local Government Elec tions were deferred, among other challenges, because of the absence of key senior GECOM staffers, including a Chief Elections Officer, given that the former CEO, Keith Lowenfield, was fired and placed before the courts on changes related to public misconduct and electoral fraud.

ROPA amendments to be taken to Parliament after recess

CEO tasked with finalizing work plan for LGE 2021

A meeting of party ac tivists and other stake holders was recently con vened at Freedom House, Robb Street, by General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo, to discuss Local Government Elec tions (LGE) and other is sues.Local Government Elec tions are likely to be held before the end of the year. At a recent news con ference, Jagdeo made clear that the PPP is ready to stand at the upcoming polls.

FOCUS ON GUYANA’S

Smith Creek to benefit from hinterland housing programme in October

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wenty-two Grade Six students of the Sebai Pri mary School in the Matarkai sub-district of Barima-Waini (Region One) each received an electronic tablet to boost their virtual learning ca pacity.The tablets were pre sented by the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal to the students during a meeting at the school on Augsut 18, 2022. In atten dance were also the Region al Chairman, Mr. Brentnol Ashley; Deputy Region al Executive Officer, Mr. Shem Cuffy; Chairman of the Matarkai Neighborhood Democratic Council, Mr. Or lando Thorne; Headmistress of Sebai Primary School, Ms. Karen Benjamin and other local representatives.

Administration,MohamedsisedemonyentguardiansSomeequipment.oftheparents,andstudentspresatthehandingovercerMinisterCroalemphathatunderthePresidentIrfaanAli-ledhinterland students will be afforded the same opportunities as those residing on the coastland. In this regard, a num ber of government initia tives that have advanced Sebai’s education delivery over the past two years were highlighted, including the commissioning of a new nursery school, upgrades to the primary school and the $30,000 ‘Because We Care’ Cash Grant.

The presentation of the items is in keeping with a commitment made by the Minister during a previous visit. With the growing use of technology and distance learning in the education sector since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister stated that such devices are important for the success of students.

Sebai primary school students receive tablets to aid virtual learning

The Ministry of Housing and Water is expected to commence the housing pro gramme at Smith Creek in October 2022. The Hinterland Hous ing Programme will see the construction of some one hundred (100) housing units in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. In June, the Minister also announced the construction of the first ten homes at Kokerite, Region One, as part of efforts to per manently relocate residents from flood-prone areas.

Development…

R esidents of Smith Creek, Region One are set to benefit from government’s Hinterland Housing Pro gramme.Theprogramme, which is executed through the Min istry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Plan ning Authority, will see the construction of a number of elevated wooden homes in the riverine community. During a recent com munity engagement, Min ister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, told residents that the project is aimed at providing safer shelter for families and ensuring that Amerindian communi ties equitably benefit from sustainable housing pro grammes.

12 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022MIRROR

Minister Croal was at the time accompa nied by Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley and other regional representatives. “All of our people must benefit from the wealth of our country and all of our people must grow and devel op,” asserted the Minister. Some one hundred (100) acres of land have been identified and empoldered through the Regional Dem ocratic Council (RDC) that will be utilised for the community’s housing and agricultural development.

The devices were ac quired through collabora tions with Mr. Romesh Kis soon of R. Kissoon Contract ing InServices.addition to the tablets the school also benefited from a new printer with a scanner and copier, a lap top, ink and paper supplies through the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Arya Ali. Students and teachers of the school were urged to make the best use of and to care the

Amerindian

REGION 1 - KAMWATTA REGION 2 - KABAKABURI REGION 7 - ITABALI REGION 9 - ANNAI CENTRAL REGION 9 - QUATATA REGION 2 - KARAWAB REGION 10 - ROCKSTONE REGION 8 - CAMPBELLTOWN

Prime Minister, Briga dier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, who has responsibility for energy and Information and Communications Tech nology (ICT), has assured hinterland communities of government’s commitment to bridging the energy and digital divide. “We have earmarked and expended huge amounts of money between the period August 2, 2020 to present, to bridge the energy divide and bridge the digital divide. We have committed, we will remain committed towards seeing all the projects and pro grammes to its conclusion so that collectively all of Guy ana, including you, and your communities will benefit from these programmes and projects,” the Prime Minister recently said. continues

Development… FIRST PEOPLE

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 13 13

The PPP/C, on the cam paign trail, committed to bridging the digital divide between hinterland and the coast, including the resus citation of the ICT hub pro gramme started by a previ ous PPP/C asinternetmunitiesterlandwouldBridgingGovernment.thedivideseesome215hinandriverinecombenefittingfromconnectivity,aswellreliableenergy.

R esidents across more hinterland communities will soon have expanded access, as the PPP/C Gov ernment is sparing no effort to complete the construction and operationalisation of In formation toto,200TechnologyCommunications(ICT)hubsincommunities.InthePPP/C’smanifesgovernmentcommitteddevelopingtheinfrastruc ture, and providing the en abling environment to pro mote the use of ICT across Guyana. Since returning to office, Government allocated mil lions of dollars to revive the programme and to date, has several Hubs that are fully functional. By the end of August, almost 100 are ex pected to be Trainingfunctional.isalsobeing provided for persons in the various communities in ICT so that they can render as sistance should there be any issues arising at the various hubs. That training is expect ed to commence in August. Additionally, efforts are also being made to improve the quality and strength of the internet bandwidth hin terland residents receive.

GUYANA’S

Efforts to expand ICT access

COMMENTARY

NOTICE

Cheddi Jagan and the PPP had to deal with Forbes Burnham and the PNC for years with this kind of trust deficit. Bharat Jagdeo even talked about building trust between the parties as a prerequisite for shared gov ernance. The PNC’s DNA is rich in this trust deficit. Instead of building values and principles, instead of concrete developmental pol icies, the PNC has from its birth lived and fall on its dependency on obfuscation, obstruction, propensity to violate agreements and their word, they live on a total deficit of trust. The AFC and the several one-man parties in the APNU/AFC coalition have been consistently be trayed. But this betrayal is nothing new; this betrayal is a constant. What they are doing to the PNC, they did to the UF between 1964 and 1968. The history of betrayal by the PNC is like the stripes on a tiger; it is their DNA. Now, trouble is again brewing in the APNU/AFC camp. The leader of the PNC continues to not honour agreements, continues to not honour commitments, con tinues to breach his words. Even as he continues to vi olate his constitutional re sponsibilities, he obfuscates and misinform his supporters as to the why he has chosen a path of deliberately violating his constitutional responsi bilities, something that he owes his supporters for “big time” and something he is paid for. Every and each day, Norton further reveals he is steep, very steep in the DNA and footprints of dictators and bullies. His latest assault on Guyana’s democracy is his threat to obstruct local government elections (LGE). Adding to the long list of reasons to not trust the PNC and its leaders, Aubrey Norton himself is leading the charge to betray trust with their coalition partner, the AFC. The AFC, of course, is behaving like a trapped coyote, running “helter, skel ter”, with no clear direction. As Norton directs his people to ensure that the VC of Region 10 is someone who the PNC wants, Ramjattan and the AFC are huffing and puffing and threatening serious consequences if the PNC does not honor their words and commitments to the AFC. A new Vice Chair for the Region 10 RDC has to be named because the pre vious Vice Chair died a few months ago. The understand ing was that the new VC would have been a candidate named from among the AFC councilors. The AFC leader was supposed to name the nominee. Khemraj Ramjat tan, the leader of the AFC, named his party’s nominee. But now the leader of the PNC has publicly dismissed the nomination, insisting that while his party is willing to accept an AFC candidate, that person cannot be a nom inee that the AFC selects. Aubrey Norton, in his best dictatorial form, insists that unless he gets to nomi nate who the AFC candidate for the Vice Chair position is, his party will not honor the commitment to allow an AFC member to be the Vice Chair. Of course, this is a violation of a commit ment. But it is also a further revelation that Norton and the PNC are not people and organizations that anyone can trust. His own supporters have reasons not to trust him and the WhenPNC.Norton opposes the because We Care cash grants to children, he betrays his own supporters, tens of thousands of whom benefit from the program. More than 90% of those family that received the grants in Region 10 are families from whom the PNC derived its votes from. When you ob struct house lot preparation and distribution in Linden who exactly are you fighting against? When the PNC re scinded leases to West Ber bice farmers when they were in government, those farmers were not just loyal support ers, they were persons who solidly voted for the PNC every single time there was an election. These are just a sampling of how the PNC has consistently betrayed its own supporters. There can be no trust when it comes to transacting agreements with the PNC and Aubrey Norton is determined to maintain this DNA and these foot prints of betrayal. The AFC’s Region 10 experience is not a unique incident with the PNC. The PNC has had this abusive relationship with the AFC and other parties since the beginning of their relation ship. After the declaration of the 2020 election results, five months late, the AFC was promised the Vice-Chair for Region 4. They had their nominee; to their great cha grin on the day of the RDC voting for Chair and VC, lo and behold, the PNC totally ignored the AFC and nom inated its own person for the position. The history of betrayal and the trust deficit in the PNC is a long one. It has happened before and will continue to happen to those who continue to also ignore history. Just as the AFC is threatening serious consequences, they also did in 2020 after the declaration of results for the March 2020 elections.Remember when they decided that the PNC will select who the MPs from other parties in the coalition will be? They had selected Tabitha Sarabo-Hailey as the MP to represent the WPA. The WPA objected, but the PNC simply ignored them and Sarabo-Hailey redes ignated herself as the PNC. The WPA threatened, like the AFC has done myriad of times, and the PNC simply told them to go peel coconut. The WPA, to save face, pre tended they left the coalition.

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Norton constantly fails trust test – he misleads, misinforms, does not honour promises

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre wishes to inform that the drawing of its Raffle has been postponed to next week Friday 2nd September, 2022 at 2:00pm. CJRC regrets any inconvenience caused.

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 15

The PPP, eager to call elections within the con stitutional deadline readily agreed with the PNC and took a bill to amend the Rep resentation of the People’s Act (ROPA) to permit the use of Voters’ ID Cards in the 1997 elections. Soon after the PNC was roundly and resoundingly defeated in the 1997 elec tions and President Janet Jagan was sworn in, there was mayhem on the streets, with arson and violence for weeks. The PNC advanced court action, via one of its supporters, Ms. Esther Per reria, challenging the Voters’ ID Card as a requirement for voting.Ms. Claudette Singh, the judge in the case, vitiated the elections and the PPP lost more than a year of its five-term. This example of bullyism and mistrust must not be lost on usBecause,today. like deja vu, the PNC is back on that trick. Their call for biometrics to be the basis for voting in Guyana is another trick to provide them with a constitu tional challenge. Just as they used Voters’ ID Cards to challenge the constitutionali ty of the 1997 elections, they are now injecting a minefield to challenge future elections in Guyana.Wemust not fall for the trick.I believe it was either the 7th or 8th Parliament, I cannot recall the exact time. The Standing Order Select Committee was appointed to review the Standing Orders of Parliament to address a particular issue. There were times when a bill would have been read for the first time on Thursday, for example, and then the second reading would have taken place the next Thursday. This would mean that from the day the first reading took place, sev en days would have elapsed before the second reading took place. A majority of the members could suspend the standing orders and allow an earlier reading. The PPP had agreed that in general suspension of the standing order would be restricted to emergencies and that, as far as possible, we would hon our the agreement to wait for seven days to elapse before proceeding with a second reading of any bill, other than those emergency ones. At one sitting, the PNC, objected to the second read ing, insisting that the days of presentation of the first reading and the second read ing cannot count and that the seven days must be days in between those two days. The speaker ruled in their fa vour, even though those days were counted throughout the history of parliament in Guyana. The then PNC, with Robert Corbin as their lead er, insisted they did not mind the withwhichandbeclearedtoOrderperiod,Thursday-to-ThursdaybutthattheStandingwhichwasinterpretedmeansevendayswereinthepastmustnowcorrected.ThePPPagreedaselectcommitteeIchairedproceededthecorrectiontocount the day of the first reading as one day. This meant that if the first reading took place on a Thursday, the second reading could occur the next Thursday because it would have meant 7 days would have been cleared. It worked for a while and then, boom, suddenly one day, they ob jected to the second reading of an important bill claiming that seven clear days did not occur. They now claimed that Saturdays and Sundays could not be counted. But this was never a contention during the consideration in the select committee. This is the history of the PNC. They will always ensure they think ahead and will agree with partners to things that they ensured con tain provisions they will use in the future to betray you, to frustrate you, to obstruct seamless progress. They have a serious trust deficit.

By Dr. Leslie Ramsammy A s the increasingly em battled Aubrey Norton tries to bully GECOM and its Chair, let us not for a mo ment forget the most famous of the betrayals and deficit of trust for which the PNC is infamous for. Recall when they insisted that Voters’ ID Cards must be a pre-requisite for elec tions in 1997?

Remember in 2015 when the AFC was entitled to a number of ministerial po sitions and then the PNC simply named the cabinet, including naming Dominick Gaskin even though he was not in the list of the persons named by the AFC? This trust deficit is real and has existed for a very long time, even from the birth of the PNC.

CHARGES FILED Electoral fraud charges were filed against several former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of ficials and political activists over their involvement in attempts to undermine the will fo the Guyanese people at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. Some 32 electoral fraud cases have been filed in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts against several po litical activists including: the APNU+AFC Coalition’s Volda Lawrence; Coalition activist, Carol Joseph; for mer Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; sacked Deputy Roxanne Myers; embattled Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo; GECOM Registration Clerk, Shefern February; GECOM Reg istration Clerk, Michelle Miller; GECOM Registra tion Clerk, Denise Babb–Cummings; and GECOM Information Technology Officer, Enrique Livan. Already several boxes containing certified cop ies of Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) from the March 2020 elections have been handed over to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The documents will be used as evidence against those before the court. The SOPs and SORS were ac companied by statements and video evidence, which included copies of video-re corded interviews the ac cused had with the Police. The Director of Public Pros ecutions (DPP) DPP and Acting Police Commission er had initiated legal pro ceedings in the High Court, seeking orders to obtain certified copies of the SOPs and SORs from the March 2, 2020 General and Re gional Elections, which are currently lodged with the Registrar of the High Court. The decision to move to the High Court came after the Police Commissioner wrote the Registrar of the High Court, Sueanna Lovell, to obtain the certified copies of the documents, but was informed, by way of a letter, this could not be done with out an order from the Court.

16 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 C oncerns have been ex pressed about the slow pace in the prosecution of the elections fraud cases by Attorney General Anil Nandlall.Disclosing that he has made strong representation to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shali mar Ali-Hack, he said, “I have expressed my concern about the pace at which these cases are being dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court, or the lack of pace…I have requested of the DPP most respectfully to ensure that the appropriate repre sentations are made to en sure that greater alacrity is brought to these matters and that they are treated with the type of seriousness that they deserve.”

Recalling the DPP’s feedback, he added, “I’ve had conversations with the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar AliHack) and the report is that Magistrates within the system are not proceeding with the matter with the se riousness and the expedien cy with which they should, having regard to the im portance of the matter and having regard to the length of time that the matters are pending before them.”

According to him, in some instances Magistrates have made applications to recuse themselves– while others are “simply not de termining whether the cases should be tried summarily meaning in the Magistrates Court or should be taken indictable before the judge and jury.” He underscored the point that while one Magistrate have made the decision for the matters to be tried before a judge and jury, that decision is being appealed. Nandlall said, “Magistrates have made applications to re cuse themselves and some are simply not determining whether the case should be tried summarily, meaning in the Magistrate’s Court, or should be taken indictably before a Judge and a jury. That’s a decision that Mag istrates have to make. It’s a procedural decision that has to be made to determine how the cases will move forward [but] Magistrates have not been making that decision. One Magistrate has made the decision that the matter be taken indict ably and that particular matter is being appealed. But that is only one charge out of 32.” Nandlall stressed that when such alleged acts are committed, then it is the State of Guyana that is un der attack and therefore, the State has a responsibility to ensure, in this case par ticularly, that the charges brought are heard and de termined within reasonable time and in accordance with evidence and the applicable law. He said, “I hope that what I say here is not twist ed and misinterpreted to mean that I’m being unduly critical to any Magistrate or that I’m ascribing improper motive to any Magistrate or that I’m bringing the ad ministration of justice into disrepute or that I’m trying to in any form or fashion influence the outcome of any case because I am doing no such thing. And I want to make that abundantly clear. I’m expressing views that I’m duty bound to express as the Minister positioned where I am.”

Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, and Konyo Sandiford are representing Mingo, Joseph, and Lawrence; while Senior Counsel John Jeremie, and Attorneys-at-Law Eusi An derson and Latoya Roberts are appearing for the other fourThedefendants.Director of Public Prosecutions has hired a team of lawyers to pros ecute these cases on the State’s behalf. The election fraud cases were called up last month and have been adjourned until October 6, 2022.

Elections fraud cases not being treated seriously – Attorney General

Auction of oil blocks delayed to ensure

W orking out the right fiscal terms that will ensure Guyana gets the best deal in the sale of the re maining oil blocks, is one of a number of factors that has influenced the Govern ment to delay the oil block auction, which is now slated to happen before the end of the Theyear.auction of Guyana’s remaining oil blocks had initially been slated to take place in the third quarter of 2022; however, the Govern ment has since pushed back thisAttimeline.arecent press con ference, Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo, explained to the media some of the dy namics that led to the delay. Other factors still being worked out include deci sions on whether the Gov ernment will keep some of the oil blocks for a nation al oil company, how the Government will divide-up the blocks and a decision on whether or not existing companies in Guyana, par ticularly Exxon Mobil, will be allowed to participate in the auction and if they do participate whether or not there will be a limit to the number of blocks any one entity would be allowed to have.“That is what is currently ongoing within the Govern ment circles. The technical work is being done, we’re getting some external help to do all of this preparation so that when we go to auc tion we can maximise the benefit to the country,” he explained.TheGovernment is also looking at the legislation to ensure that all procedures will be in keeping with Guy ana’s existing laws. “We are looking at the 1960 Petroleum Act to see that it allows us to pursue an auction in a manner that we wish. In the past, all the contracts were given out on a first come first serve basis. Now we’ve decided to go to auction so we have to ensure our legislation regime supports this process to secure future blocks,” the Vice-President said. According to Dr. Jag deo, the Government has set August month end as a deadline to reach a decision on several of the issues; however, working out the fiscal arrangement remains the biggest factor that will determine the timeline for the Heauction.said, “It’s about put ting all of this together in a framework that is fair to the investors, so that they get a decent return on their capi tal, that will promote accel erated exploration, and will allow the country to enjoy a greater share of future ben efits should they [investors] proceed with theissueagreements…thisproductionisamajorthatcouldslowdownauctionabit.Thatisthe biggest issue, the fiscal terms of the petroleum prospecting licence that would have to be issued to a successful bidder. That is the most contentious and what we are working through at this stage.” It is the fiscal terms that will set out the profit sharing and taxation arrangement with the companies. “The prospecting licences that will have to be issued to the successful bidders will have to say whether we will retain the 50/50 model where after clearing cost profit oil divid ed equally between investor, what the royalty rate will be and other fiscal terms in the contract,” Jagdeo said. Guyana currently has a Production Sharing Agree ment (PSA) with Exxon Mo bil, currently the country’s only oil producing company, which sees the country get ting 50 per cent of profit oil and a two per cent royalty. However, there have been longstanding calls for Guyana to get better terms in any contracts with future exploration. Due to the ac celerated development of the Stabroek Block, which is owned by Exxon, Guyana has gained massive attention for its oil finds. Guyana currently has an estimated recoverable resource of 11 billion oil equivalent barrels in the Sta broek Block, which is cur rently the country’s only oil producing block. The block is owned by ExxonMobil, which has 45 per cent stake, in partnership with Hess (30 per cent) and China’s CNOOC (25 per cent).

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 17

Guyana gets best possible deal

AFC’s Trotman resigns, career marked by signing of ‘lopsided’ ExxonMobil deal (Turn to

Former Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and Member of Parlia ment to the 12th Parliament of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Raphael Trotman, has resigned as a Parliamen tarian. The AFC has said that Trotman will remain a mem ber of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the AFC. Trotman has been dogged by criticisms of this role in lopsided 2016 agreement he signed with ExxonMobil. Conflict of interest con cerns, initially publicized in 2020 with the publication of a Global Witness Report titled ‘Signed Away’. The renegotiated deal with ExxonMobil was done “quickly” and “apparently without a competitive bid ding process” in 2016, ac cording to the recently re leased report, ‘Signed Away’, by the itrevelations,organization,non-governmentalGlobalWitness.InoneofmanydamningitwasnotedthatwastheAPNU+AFCCo

APNU, AFC fighting over appointment of RDC 10 Vice Chair

18 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022

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The infighting between the PNCR-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and Alliance For Change (AFC) continues, more re cently over the appointment of the Vice Chairperson to the Region 10 Regional Demo cratic Council (RDC). Leader of the PNCR and Chairman of the APNU, Au brey Norton, on Tuesday (August 23, 2022), made it clear that his party will not allow the AFC to “dictate” the picking of the candidate for the Vice-Chairmanship of Region“The10.issue was not wheth er it’s an AFC Vice-Chair man. As far as I know the APNU has been disposed to an AFC Vice-Chair but it must not be somebody who is dictated by the AFC who doesn’t have the confidence of the APNU,” Norton said. His comments are in direct contradiction to comments by AFC’s Cathy Hughes, who said, “The AFC is an indepen dent political party. We have our own systems. We have our own mechanisms for arriving at representatives that serve in our parliamentary system and serve as councillors that serve in the RDCs and NDCs. We went through our process and selected Coretta Braithwaite to hold that position…the AFC absolutely has always respected APNU’s right to select the persons they see fit to represent them in any position any official position. Similarly, we expect that the same right lies with our party and therefore only the AFC can select who it considers the best candidate to serve in a position that is deemed to be filled by a member or a rep resentative from the Alliance For Change…they’re [APNU] not part of that decision-mak ing process. Similarly, we have not been part of any kind of choosing on the part of APNU of any of their rep resentatives.”

APNU and AFC have been fighting over a candidate for the position, which has been vacant since June 2021, when the then Vice-Chair, Douglas Gittens, died. Further, the two fractions of the APNU+AFC Coalition have been at loggerheads about the sharing of seats and picking of key appointments in their majority RDCs since 2020 when the APNU mem bers of the Region Four failed to support an AFC candidate for the Vice-Chairman post of thatInregion.the past two years, several parties have left the Coalition, citing dictatorial behaviour by PNCR. One such group was the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). The WPA had said that the violation of the principles of Coalition politics has threat ened to dismantle the APNU on several occasions, but very little have been done to ad dress it. “In other words, we have had to live with PNC’s decisions being imposed on the rest of the APNU. Un fortunately, although the Co alition is now out of power, nothing has changed for the better within the APNU,” the letter stated.

The APNU+AFC Co alition, in addition to its GECOM Commissioners, have maintained a position of calling for a review of the March 2020 Elections, before any legislative changed are advanced.Inastatement, on May 10, 2022, the Coalition-nom inated GECOM Commission ers said, “We further reiterat ed our previous position that GECOM should conduct a review of its conduct of the 2020 elections as the precur sor to making any submission on electoral reform.”

Notably, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in response stated that the call from the Coalition camp for a comprehensive review of what took place in March 2020 before electoral reforms are addressed is nothing but a delay tactic. “Recall that every report from the interna tional Election Observer Mis sions, including the CAR ICOM team, detailed what took place at the March 2020 Elections – every Guyanese is aware of what took place during the March 2020 elec toral process, civil society is aware, the international com munity is aware. It would seem that the only ignorant party, by their own claim, is the PNCR/APNU/AFC,” the party said in a statement issued on May 18, 2022. The PPP made clear that the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition is the only party with an interest in keeping our electoral laws vague and ambiguous, hence the delay tactics.

ROPA amendments to be taken to... (From page 11)

On May 17, 2022, during a news conference, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, called for a com prehensive review of what took place in March 2020. Opposition Parliamentarian and General Secretary of the PNCR, Geeta Chandan-Ed mond, who was with Norton for the press conference, said, “A thorough review by GECOM of its performance in managing recent elec tions. The plethora of faults and irregularities (intended and unintended) in the 2020 elections alone must not be brushed under the carpet to resurface again. They must be swept out for good. To achieve this, a thorough and honest review must be con ducted as a necessary first step. Here, we agree with GECOM Commissioner Vin cent Alexander that GECOM itself must not conduct such a review but should commis sion it.”

REVIEW

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 19

Georgetown - to allow for better management is also addressed by the proposed amendments. “It will be for malised now so that you can have more people now man aging those areas because they have large numbers of voters. We are not dividing Region Four. It’s just for admin purposes so that it can be better managed,” he said.“These are all issues that would be addressed to strengthen the electoral processes of the future,” JagdeoJagdeoadded.stated that he is confident that the proposed amendments to ROPA will be passed before the host ing of Local Government Elections, which are ex pected before the end of the year. “As soon as Parlia ment comes out of recess and hopefully before Local Government Elections,” he said.Amendments to the Rep resentation of the People Act, both the substantive act and the regulations, have been in public circulation since November 2021, after being released by the Minis try of Parliamentary Affairs andDuringGovernance.thepublic con sultations, the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition was notably absent. AMENDMENTSBEFORE

further stated that, in keeping with the massive housing drive underway in Region Three, a number of wells are being rehabilitated at Fel lowship and Vergenoegen on the West Coast of Demerara and in Free and Easy, Wake naam. “We [the government] have committed to providing improved water distribution and access to all citizens and the past two years have seen us harness all the resources given to the sector to ensure that citizens benefited,” Croal told the Meanwhile,residents.Chief Exec utive Officer of GWI, Sheik Baksh explained that the water quality analysis from GWI’s laboratory confirmed that the water is consistent with the ground water qual ity from the aquifer on the island. He noted that the current production of the well is more than 200 per cent of the total daily water demand of theAlsoIsland.inattendance were Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, and Member of Parliament, Dharamkumar Seeraj and other regional.

3,500 to get 24-hour water service with...

20 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022

(From page 10)

IDPADA-G must say how almost... (From page 9)

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 21 the revelation at the press conference today that IP ADA-G spent $5M on a "survey" which in reality amounted to another ex ample of misuse, in this instance, undertaking of op position political work.” According to him, de spite Alexander’s ramblings, Afro-Guyanese still remain in the dark as it relates to the benefits of the close to half a billion dollars utilized. Jagdeo said, “He should therefore provide details on the “1.following:How much of the $100M allocated annually since 2019 and $68M in 2018 was spent on paying salaries, who are individuals that were paid, what amounts were they being paid and how were they selected? “2. How much of that sum was spent on rental, who owns the buildings rented, and what process was used for the selection of the build ings?“3. How many persons benefitted from capacity training, the types of training offered, who conducted the training, and what process was used to select both the trainers and beneficiaries of the “4.training?Why was IPADA-G registered as a private limit ed liability company where a number of persons (inclusive of yourself) are listed as the beneficial owners instead of a not-for-profit organiza tion?” In 2018, IDPADA-G re ceived $68.4M. Alexander, by his own admission, noted that an additional $10M was received that year. He said, “In late 2018, a sum of $10M was specifically provided by the Ministry of Finance for grants to the African Guyanese community.”

ID PADA-G received $100M in 2019, 2021 and 2022. In 2020, it received $74.9M.

Asked about the possi bility of persons contract ing both Monkeypox and COVID-19, the minister said likelihood is rare; but physicians responsible for diagnosing these conditions would be on the lookout for such combinations, and treat them as necessary. “We have developed clinical guidelines on how to manage these patients…we had an expert group that came up with the guidelines of management, so I don’t think the physi cians would [face difficulty] if they had a complicated case,” Dr Anthony said. To date, over 42,000 cas es of Monkeypox have been confirmed worldwide. control spread of Monkeypox in Guyana –

With the first Monkeypox case being confirmed in Guyana over the last 24 hours, protocols previously established by the Ministry of Health have now fallen intoThisplace.assurance was given by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony who reiterated that there is no need for panic, explaining that the health ministry is prepared to ef fectively contain the virus. “Generally, when you had outbreaks, of Monkeypox, it’s more confined to West and Central Africa, where it’s endemic. But it’s quite unusual that you had this big spread across the globe. [However], having seen… the WHO declaring that it’s a public health emergency, we immediately took a number of steps here in Guyana,” he said.Government begun preparation by ensuring health officials, including laboratory technicians re ceive specialised training, as well as sourcing the equip ment for diagnosis, contain ment, and treatment of the virus. “So… if you’re going to have a disease, you’re go ing to have to have a means of diagnosing that disease. We do so by building our laboratory capacity to be able to diagnose,” he said. He made reference to the recent Monkeypox train ing conducted by the Pan American Health Organ isation-World Health Or ganisation (PAHO/WHO) in Jamaica, which engaged persons around the Caribbean on the detection and laborato ry diagnosis of Monkeypox. During the training, par ticipants received handson instruction in molecular detection –real-time poly merase chain reaction (PCR) – of the virus that causes Monkeypox, and reviewed detection and diagnosis in the context of preparedness and response to potential outbreaks.National laboratories in the Caribbean were set to receive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers and probes for the testing of the MonkeypoxGuyanesevirus.specialists who received training also trained others upon their return. “So, we have capacity to be able to detect the virus. We also made sure that we bought the relevant laboratory equip ment, so if we have to run the tests, we have that capability of running the tests,” Minis ter Anthony said. He assured that diagnos ing Monkeypox is effective and thorough, as it includes medical background checks of the patient, and prelimi nary diagnosis of the virus. “Of course, we have to take samples from the patient, and once we take those samples, we send it to the lab. The lab would run the tests, and once the test confirms that this person is infected, there is a protocol that we implement,” the minister noted. The protocol includes proper isolation of the in fected person, and reaching out to other persons they may have been in contact with.

Gov’t to secure monkeypox vaccine by end of September

22 WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022

Minister Anthony stressed the need for Guy anese to take the necessary precautions to avoid con tracting the virus. Currently, the spread of the monkeypox is diverse.

Trotman’s main political partner – Nigel Hughes – had served as one of Exxon’s lawyers on other matters, and Hughes’ firm periodically represents Exxon as a client.”

Protocols in place to

Notably, when the rene gotiated ExxonMobil con tract was finally released, on page 4, the address of Hughes’ law office is listed as the registered office – 62 Hadfield and Cross Streets, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown – of the oil Globalcompany.Witness has called for the relationship between Trotman, Hughes, and Exxon to be investigated to determine the existence or extent of any conflict of interest.InJuly 2019, the Trot man, finally admitted that there were problems with the renegotiated contract between ExxonMobil and Guyana, which was signed off on by the former AP NU+AFC Coalition Govern ment. However, he absolved himself of any responsibility, blaming the technical staff ers of the Guyana Geolo gy and Mines Commission (GGMC). Trotman had said, “My only comment is that as a non-technical person, I was not the one to negotiate the contract, and that, at all material times, I acted on the advice and direction of the GGMC…how could I see something as an indictment on myself if I didn’t draft it? I relied on the officers at GGMC at all times and was advised when the agreement was ready for signature.”

AFC’s Trotman resigns, career... (From page 18)

Dr Anthony Government has placed an order with the Pan American Health Organisa tion (PAHO) to ensure Guy ana receives a portion of the monkeypox vaccine by the end of MinisterSeptember.ofHealth, Dr Frank Anthony said the gov ernment is making significant efforts, although the supply of the vaccine is limited worldwide.“Thesupply of these vac cines is very limited and it’s a very scarce commodity right now in the world but nevertheless, we are trying to get some doses into Guyana for persons who might be exposed,” the minister said. Monkeypox is a rare dis ease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, which is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the same that causes smallpox. Symptoms of the viral infection are similar to small pox symptoms, but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fa tal. It is not related to chick enpox.There are no treatments specifically for monkeypox infections. However, mon keypox and smallpox viruses are genetically similar, which means that antiviral drugs and vaccines developed to protect against smallpox may be used to prevent and treat monkeypoxMinisterinfections.Anthony ex plained how persons could become infected and how they could stay clear of the virus. “In terms of the hu man-to-human contact, that can be done in two ways, what we might call a direct contact, meaning that if you are in close proximity with someone who has been in fected then you can get the virus. And then you have indirect contact, they found that monkeypox can be on surfaces so if someone who has monkeypox, in a ward for example, they’re infected and you go without having on gloves, and you touch those surfaces, the chances are you can come in contact with the virus,” Dr Anthony noted.Studies have shown that with most persons who are infected, the effects start to wear off within 14-21 days. Persons can still develop complications because of secondary bacterial infec tions.While having monkeypox the persons may have other bacterial invasions of the already infected areas, result ing in an additional disease.

OTHER CONCERNS Further, while the AP NU+AFC Coalition’s Trot man was legally responsible for the oil and gas sector in 2016, during which period the ExxonMobil agreement was renegotiated, concerns about the role of his then partner in the AFC, Nigel Hughes, were been spotlight ed in a damning report. The report, on page 14 said, “Trotman was legally responsible for assessing and approving or rejecting Guy ana’s oil licenses. However, during the 2016 Stabroek negotiations Trotman had a possible conflict of interest.

alition’s Raphael Trotman, who recommended US$18 million as the signing bonus to be paid to Guyana by Exx onMobil.While the monies were received in 2016, the Guya nese people were not made aware of it until 2017. On December 8, 2017, a leaked letter addressed the receipt of a signing bonus. The letter, which was leaked to the media, and exposed AP NU+AFC Coalition’s denial that a signing bonus was paid was written by Finance Secretary, Hector Butts and sent to Bank of Guyana Governor, Go bin Ganga. The letter was copied to the Trotman, who had refused to admit that a signing bonus was paid by ExxonMobil.TheGlobal Witness re port noted that, in addition to the US$18 million as a sign ing bonus, Trotman recom mended that Guyana should get a two percent royalty on all of the oil produced and that Guyana should receive US$2.1 million in annual fees, including US$800,000 for environmental and so cial protections. “Trotman’s terms do not include a sec tion on the government’s share of oil production…. it appears – at least in late June – that Trotman was not negotiating for an increase in the 50 percent production share contained in the 1999 license,” the report said. The report made clear that the rushed signing of a re-negotiated deal with Exx onMobil was also due in part to the company’s “seemingly aggressive tactics” that suc ceeded with the engagement of Trotman. “Trotman had reason to know that his Sta broek negotiation terms were weak…. Exxon needed a new deal, and it aggressively pur sued one. In early April 2016, the company opened negotia tions in Texas by confronting two inexperienced Guyanese officials,” the report said. The renegotiated deal was signed on June 27, 2016.

For parents who are hes itant about vaccinating their young children, Minister An thony recommended that they consult with their doctors and also do their

he first case of mon keypox was confirmed in Guyana on Monday (Au gust 22, 2022), according to Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony.Heinformed that the per son underwent a series of tests over the weekend. He disclosed that the male resi dent of Region Four, had all the signs and symptoms of monkeypox. “We have been able to confirm that by using PCR to do the confirmatory diagnosis, so we now have our first case of monkeypox in Guyana, and we have since isolated the patient, so right now the patient is in an isolated area at the ocean view hospital and that patient is stable and is doing very well,” Dr Anthony said. Dr Anthony added that persons who were in close contact with the individu al are in quarantine, while assuring the public that the country has been preparing for this eventuality and is equipped to handle the sit uation. “We have our labs that are prepared, we have a lot of people who have been trained, over the last couple of months we have trained a number of physicians we have trained, we have trained a number of laboratory staff, just in case we have cases what to do,” he noted. The health minister is urging persons to take all precautions and follow all guidelines. He said, “I don’t want people to panic be cause monkey pox is not something that is readily transmissible, you have to be in very, very close contact with those persons and with the lesions on their skin and the liquids that comes out of those lesions before you can actually get sick, so this is something, once we keep managing it as we are doing right now, that people would be quite safe.”

vaccinate

He is urging anyone showing the typical clinical symptoms of monkeypox to report same to the health au thorities so that the response team can be put in place to evaluate the suspected case.

First case of monkeypox confirmed in Guyana

President says ‘no need for restrictions, urges responsibility’

Commenting on the sit uation, President, Dr Irfaan Ali said there is no need for restrictions, however, he noted that people need to be responsible. “We don’t need any restrictions for this, what we need is responsibility, so for example the family there that the gentle man was around, they will be tested they will have some isola tions around them and there will be contact tracing and tracking,” President Ali said. He noted too that Guyana is in the process of securing a limited supply of vaccines for the disease, however vaccinating the entire pop ulation is not feasible nor is it required. “So, it will be based on what we see, what we see how the monitoring and the contact tracing goes nothing to be too alarmed about, it’s a public health crisis we have to deal with it and I am very confident that the ministry of health is prepared to deal with it, very, very confident,” the president said. The transmission for monkeypox is through close contact with an infected person. Once infected, the incubation period can last from seven to 21 days. Prior to the appearance of lesions, infected persons can experi ence symptoms like myal gia, swollen lymph nodes, swelling in the neck and headaches.Sofar, out of a total of 42,666 infected with mon keypox in 95 countries worldwide, 13 deaths have been reported.

T

Parents advised to their COVID-19 schools reopening in two weeks

WEEKEND MIRROR 27-28 AUGUST, 2022 23 23

With schools set to be re opened in two weeks, parents are once again being urged to ensure their chil dren are vaccinated against COVID-19.HealthMinister, Dr Frank Anthony, explained that vac cines for adults and children are being administered at the fixed vaccination sites countrywide. “My advice to parents is for them to take their children to these sites and get them vaccinated. So that in preparation for school when they go back to school, they are fully vaccinated,” Dr Anthony.Sofar, over 7,680 or 7.5 per cent of children between ages five and 11 have been vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, while over 2,800 or 2.8 per cent of the age cohort received the second dose. For children between ages 12 to 17, over 35,000 or 48.7 per cent received the first dose. Also, over 26,000 or 35.7 per cent of that pop ulation has received the sec ond dose of the vaccine. Earlier this month, Guy ana received another 52,800 doses of the Pfizer vaccine which will be used to protect children between the ages of five to 11. The Ministries of Edu cation and Health have been preparing schools to adminis ter vaccines to students upon reopening.“Theministry has been sending out letters to say that we are going to be doing a vaccination drive. And the parents would have to send back a consent form au thorising that their child will take the vaccine,” he further noted.The schools will inform the health ministry about the status of the consent forms, after which, a team will visit the schools to administer the vaccines. “So, that is some thing that is going to continue when children return from school. And, in that way, once they are up to date with their vaccines, they would be protected from COVID,” Anthony said.

yougoinggetandhadHefullytheboostermunised,numberlamentedMeanwhile,research.theministerthedeclineintheofadultsbeingimespeciallywiththeshot.Hereiteratedneedforeveryonetobevaccinatedandboosted.stated,“Now,ifyou’veavaccineoneyearago,youdidn’tcomebacktoabooster.Then,it’snottobeveryhelpful.So,havetobeboosted,at least, every six months.” People who have signs and symptoms of the dis ease should be tested, while persons who are self-testing are advised to report positive results immediately.

children against

The members are Justice Stanley John, Retired Justice of Appeal in Turks and Cai cos (Chairman); Justice God frey P. Smith, SC, former At torney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal, Eastern Caribbean Court; Justice Carl Singh, former Chancellor, Guyana; and Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, former Chair and Chief Elections Commissioner of India. Dr. Afari Gyan and Dr. Nasim Zaidi will serve as resource personnel.Alistressed that the Elec tions CoI is a promise made by the PPP/C Administration and his Administration is pleased to be able to deliver. “I promised a CoI. So that is why there is a lot of work going on now on how that Terms of Reference is devel oped,” he said. In October 2020, Ali dis closed that the Government of Guyana was in talks with the international community regarding a Commission of Inquiry into the events of the March 2020 Elections, which saw a five-month delay in the declaration of final election results. He had said, “We’ve already started conversation with various international stakeholders on the subject matter and the international community is also very much interested…the international community was a key part in ensuring that democracy was protected…so the inter national community is going to play a key part in this and they are very keen and they are very interested…in rela tion to a timeframe in having the CoI, I would say that it is in the, not the medium-term, but the immediate-term plan for the Government as we proceed towards the end of the year.”

The Terms of Reference will govern the work of the Commissioners who were named by President Dr. Ir faanAliAli.announced an In ternational Commission of Inquiry into the debacle that was Guyana’s March 2020 General and Regional Elec tions on June 16, 2022. He had said, “We, and particu larly your President, prom ised an international CoI, so I say to all those who struggled and sacrificed, all those who worked in protecting the democracy, that we have, in your honour, before dawn on next Tuesday, your President will name the members of that international CoI…those who subverted democracy, those who cannot present their SOPs, and those who struggled against the will of the people, the CoI will set the truth free from the untruth and the CoI will set those who dwell in the house of democracy and those who dwell in the fire of undem ocratic rule and norms…in honour of the these martyrs too and in honour of all the Guyanese who fought for freedom and democracy, who fought relentlessly in those five months to en sure our country never ever was allowed to go down as an undemocratic nation, in honour of your sacrifices, I committed that we will have an international CoI into the last elections.”

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Prior to that the President had stated that the panel for the CoI could be drawn from the Caribbean Com munity (CARICOM), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and The Com monwealth.

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The Head of State had said too that all necessary reforms will be pursued to make democracy stronger, and the electoral process more transparent.

“Between the OAS, Commonwealth and CARICOM, I think we will have a great opportunity to determine a good panel to look at the CoI,” he had said. The first mention of an in vestigation into the elections was made by Ali, during his inauguration speech on Au gust 8, 2020. “All of us have an obligation to the nation and to ourselves to ensure that, never again, should any generation of our people be subjected to such unlawful behaviour. Therefore, a re view of events related to the electoral process over the last five months will begin shortly to determine forensi cally exactly what transpired and to hold accountable any person who sought to pervert and corrupt the system.”

Work ongoing to finalise ToR for Elections CoI – Nandlall

fforts are moving apace to finalise the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the in ternational Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, according to Attor ney General, Anil Nandlall. Nandlall said, “The for mulation of the Terms of Reference of the CoI, the negotiations in relation to the terms and conditions of the members of the CoI, are all work in progress. Hopefully, we are able to resolve those preparatory, but fundamen tal matters early, so that the business of the commission can begin to proceed. “…we are dealing with persons who are at different locations. And the terms of reference have some techni calities attached to it. And care has to be exercised in ensuring that the terms of reference are what is required and at the same time, it does not infringe on other process es currently ongoing. What I can tell you, is every effort is being made to have the process move with alacrity.”