Weekend Mirror 8-9 October 2022

Draft of National Registration amendments released for public perusal

The Ministry of Parliamen tary Affairs has released, for public perusal, the draft of the National Registration (Amendment) Bill.

The National Registration (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the National Registra tion Act to address offences,

clearer processes and more.

Also, released were the updated version of the Rep resentation of the People (Amendment) Bill and the Representation of the Peo ple (Elections) Regulations.

Changes to these were circu lated since November 5, 2021.

In a comment to the Weekend Mirror, she said, “As promised by the President at his last press conference, the draft amendment to the Repre sentation of the People’s Act, including the regulations, will be posted from Friday. Hard copies of the draft amend

ments will be sent to all polit ical parties as well.”

According to her, once the draft amendments are made public, all stakeholders will have about six weeks to re spond, after will work will be done to finalise the documents before they are taken to the

National Assembly.

Teixeira added that the next step in strengthening Guyana’s electoral laws will include amendments to the National Registration Act.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali last Friday (October 29, 2021) noted that the long-awaited legislation to improve Guy ana’s electoral system is a priority for the PPP/C admin istration. He also assured that there be an efficient timeframe for the processing of the leg islation. Ali had committed, since his first day of assuming office that the five-month-long elections process that Guya nese painfully endured, will never again occur.

NON-PARTICIPATION

The Parliamentary Oppo sition has not participated in the public consultation process on proposed electoral reform.

The APNU+AFC Coali tion, in addition to its GECOM Commissioners, have main tained a position of calling for a review of the March 2020 Elections, before any legis lative changed are advanced.

In a statement, on May 10, 2022, the Coalition-nominated GECOM Commissioners said, “We further reiterated our pre vious position that GECOM should conduct a review of its conduct of the 2020 elections as the precursor to making any submission on electoral reform.”

On May 17, 2022, during a news conference, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Nor ton, called for a comprehen sive review of what took place in March 2020. Opposition Parliamentarian and General Secretary of the PNCR, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, who was with Norton for the press conference, said, “A thor ough review by GECOM of its performance in managing recent elections. The plethora of faults and irregularities (in tended 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 conducted as a necessary first step. Here, we agree with GECOM Com missioner Vincent Alexander that GECOM itself must not conduct such a review but should commission it.”

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 international Election Observer Missions,

including the CARICOM team, detailed what took place at the March 2020 Elections – every Guyanese is aware of what took place during the March 2020 electoral process, civil society is aware, the international community 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.

FOCUS ON REFORM

People’s Progressive Par ty (PPP) General Secretary and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at a news conference recently, had said, “The idea is to make more transparent and to define re sponsibilities in the Act that are unambiguous and… to put in place a set of pen alties for people who may try to steal the elections… any right-thinking person will support that. That’s the objective...we will look at issues right from registration to declaration of the results, so everything that is not un ambiguous, not transparent etcetera.”

In prior comments, Jagdeo had said that the electoral re form process is necessary to ensure Local Government and other elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.

Referencing proposed changes to the ROPA, he had said, “In that Act, which requires a simple majority to pass, there will be some key reforms, so there is no ambi guity in how things are con ducted. So, the areas which we have issues in are recruitment of staff… We have to build into the legislation a clear process for recruitment and placement of staff that is fair, open, transparent, random placement, so it favours none of the parties.” Jagdeo added this should include substantial penalties, a clear definition of how recounts are to be conducted and publication of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) before tabulation begins. “A lot of changes along these lines will have to take place,” he said.

Guyanese were subject to a five-month wait for the final results from the March 2020 General and Regional Elec tions because of the actions of several persons involved in the process at the GECOM Secretariat and other elements.

Guyana remains committed to peaceful processes for resolution border controversy

Guyana commemorated the 123rd anniversary of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which settled a land boundary dispute which had existed between British Guiana (now Guyana) and Venezuela, on Tuesday (October 4, 2022).

A statement from the Gov ernment of Guyana said, “123 years ago today an Arbitral Tribunal comprising some of the most eminent judges of their time, presided over by the venerable Russian jurist Frédéric Frommhold de Mar tens, and appointed by Britain, Venezuela and the United States -Venezuela’s patron, delivered an Award which defined the land boundary between Venezuela and the then British Guiana.

“The Tribunal was created by the Treaty of Washington of 1897 under which the par ties – both Britain and Vene zuela – agreed to accept the Tribunal’s Award as ‘a full, perfect and final settlement’ of the boundary issue. 123 years later, Guyana still accepts and celebrates the Award as such.

“Venezuela had applauded the Award. In the words of the law firm handling Venezue la’s case, written in the Amer ican Journal of International Law as late as 1949: “The Award secured to Venezuela the mouth of the Orinoco and control of the Orinoco basin, these being the most import ant questions at issue.”

“On 7th May 1905, an official boundary map was drawn up by Commissioners of Britain and Venezuela delineating the boundary as awarded by the Tribunal. For almost sixty years, Venezuela recognised, respected – and even protected – that bound ary.

“In 1962 however, as Guyana’s independence drew closer and the neighbour would no longer be Britain but a fledgling State, Venezuela abandoned the path of pro priety and with it the rule of law and cast eyes on Guiana’s Essequibo territory.

“As Guyana celebrates this anniversary date of the Arbitral Award of Paris of 3rd October 1899, we celebrate the rule of international law and the sanctity of Treaties. We celebrate that our quest for justice has led us to the hallowed halls of the Interna tional Court of Justice.

“Guyana brought the mat ter to the Court in an Applica tion submitted on 29 March 2018. The Court confirmed its jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, rejecting Venezuela’s objections, in a Judgment issued on 18 December 2020. This assures that it will be the Court which decides, with

final and binding effect on the parties – Guyana and Venezuela – whether the 1899 Arbitral Award establishing the international boundary between the two States was lawfully issued and remains legally valid and permanently binding as a matter of interna tional law. Guyana is optimis tic that the Court will decide the case in its favour, and that the validity of the Arbitral Award and the boundary will be upheld. In the meantime, it is dedicating all of its efforts to the achievement of this outcome.”

VENEZUELA’S COMMUNIQUE

A Communique issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Friday, Septem ber 30, 2022, received a firm response from the Govern ment of Guyana.

In that communique, Ven ezuela rejected what it called Guyana’s misrepresentations and manipulations regarding the border controversy in President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Venezuela also claimed that the speech “dis respects the historical and fair position” of Venezuela on the controversy while accusing Guyana of making “false accusations” since 2015 on the issue.

Notably, Guyana’s Com mander-in-Chief, at the UN, stressed that Guyana will continue to champion the peaceful resolution of the territorial controversy with neighbouring Venezuela. He had said, “Guyana does not condone or support the threat of, or use of force in relations between states or in the reso lution of disputes. Consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, Guyana subscribes to the use of peaceful means to settle disputes.”

Since, the Ministry of For eign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Coopera tive Republic of Guyana said, “The Government of Guyana stands by the statement made by His Excellency Dr Mo hamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana before the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2022. In the words of His Excellency President Ali: ‘In the matter of Guyana’s sovereignty and ter ritorial integrity – challenged and threatened by Venezuela as it is, we remain – to quote the Secretary General at the opening of the General De bate yesterday – committed to make the most of every diplomatic tool for the pacific settlement of disputes, as set

out in the Charter of the Unit ed Nations’.”

“In this case, ‘judicial settlement’ as determined by the Secretary General him self. The world’s nations can be assured that Guyana shall remain true to those peaceful processes and deny every ef fort to depart from them. The International Court of Justice has already affirmed its juris diction in the matter.”

US SUPPORT

Meanwhile, on Tuesday (October 4, 2022), United States of America’s Assistant Secretary for Western Hemi sphere Affairs at the State Department, Ambassador Brian A. Nichols reaffirmed the United States support for a peaceful resolution to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

Ambassador Nichols in a tweet, stated that the 1899 arbitral award must be re spected.

He said, “The 1899 arbi tral award determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela and should be respected unless or until otherwise determined by a competent legal body. The U.S. supports a peaceful res olution to this issue.”

CARICOM SUPPORT

Guyana has the support of the Caribbean Commu nity (CARICOM) on this issue, which, on July 6, 2022, stressed its “full support” for Guyana in the ongoing judi cial process addressing the

Guyana/ Venezuela border controversy.

The communiqué at the conclusion of the forty third regular meeting of the Con ference of CARICOM Heads of government, said, “With respect to the case before the International Court of Justice concerning the Ar bitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela), Heads noted that Guyana had submitted its Memorial on 8 March 2022, in accordance with the schedule set by the ICJ to hear the case, concern ing the validity of the Arbitral Award of 1899 and the related question of the definitive set tlement of the land boundary between the two countries. Heads reiterated their full support for the ongoing judi cial process that is intended to bring a peaceful and defin itive end to the long-standing controversy between the two countries. Heads reaffirmed their firm and unwavering support for the maintenance and preservation of the sover eignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.”

The Forty-Third Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held from 3-5 July 2022. Chair of the Conference, the President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi presided over the proceedings.

IN COURT

In June 2022, the Registrar of the International Court of

Justice (ICJ) has advised that the Government of Venezuela has submitted a Preliminary Objections to the admissibility of the case before the Court regarding the Arbitral award of 3 October, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela).

And the Ministry of For eign Affairs has noted that the Venezuelan Government is engaged in an effort to delay the Court’s final judgement on the merits of the case.

In a statement on June 8, 2022, the Ministry said, “Ven ezuela had previously not rec ognised the jurisdiction of the Court to consider the case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also notes that, by submitting an objection at this advanced stage of the proceedings be fore the ICJ, the Venezuelan Government is patently en gaging in an effort to delay the Court’s final judgement on the merits of the case.

“Nonetheless, by its ac tion, the Venezuelan govern ment now joins the judicial process which Guyana had al ways urged it to do, a step that Guyana welcomes, confident of the validity of its position on the merits of the case.”

The Rules of Procedure of the ICJ allow for such an objection to be lodged and considered by the Court, and that, as a consequence, the proceedings on the merits of the case are suspended until the Court rules on the Prelim inary Objections.

“The Guyana Government will submit its observations,

with dispatch, as soon as the Court advises of the time by which it expects to receive them. The Ministry empha sises that, at all times, Guyana has steadfastly adhered to the rule of international law, and the rules and procedures of the ICJ, with regard to this matter, and we will continue to do so,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

JURISDICTION

The ICJ on December 18, 2020 delivered its Judgment in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezue la) – relative to the question of the Court’s jurisdiction.

The court ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s case seeking the validation of the 1899 arbitral award es tablishing the boundary with Venezuela. Venezuela did not take part in the proceedings.

The judgment found that both Guyana and Venezuela had conferred authority on the UN Secretary General under Article 4, paragraph two of the February 17th 1966 Geneva Agreement. That agreement allowed the Secretary General to choose a means of settle ment under Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations which included judicial set tlement.

A press statement from the ICJ said, “In its Judgment, which is final, without appeal and binding on the Parties, the Court, by twelve votes to four, finds that it has jurisdiction to

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Significance of October 5th now more poignant

Guyana evolving to higher forms of participatory and inclusive democracy

October

5th took on greater meaning this year, coming just over one year after the blatant and shameless attempt to undermine the will of the Guyanese people in 2020.

The March 2020 General and Regional Elections debacle and the five-month fight for the preservation of our democracy made clear that there are still elements in society that threaten the gains we have made since October 5, 1992 – the return of free and fair elections to Guyana after 28 years of rigged elections and dictatorial rule.

On Election Day, when all the votes are counted at each polling place, Statements of Poll are prepared on carbon paper – meaning there are multiple copies of the same document that is given to all political parties at the polling places. The March 2020 Elections was observed by the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the CARICOM and the Carter Centre – all of whom concluded that March 2nd Elections Day had been conduct ed in a free, transparent and fair manner. Also, during the five months following these elections, 100 countries – in cluding the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European nations and Canada, representatives from the United National, Commonwealth of Nations, Organization of American States, European Union and the CARICOM –supported efforts to ensure the will of the Guyanese people was not thwarted.

Further, it was the Chief of the OAS Electoral Observa tion Mission (EOM), Bruce Golding, who, in addressing the Permanent Council of the OAS on May 13, 2020, had said: “I have never seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an Election. More than a dozen copies of the Statements of Poll are prepared at each polling station after the ballots are counted on election night. One copy is posted on the wall outside the polling station and each party representative – and there were nine in all – each party representative is entitled to receive a copy. It takes an extraordinarily courageous mind to present documents with fictitious numbers when there is such a sturdy paper trail exists.”

Nonetheless, the test of our democracy and our strength as a nation, to struggle to ensure that the gains made in our democracy over the past two decades are not lost, saw the will of the Guyanese people prevailing.

The contribution of all stakeholders in the electoral pro cess, including the smaller opposition political parties, as well as the members of the local diplomatic community, the elec tion observer missions and the Caribbean Community (CAR ICOM) in the defense of our democracy, cannot be ignored.

The demonstration of the fortitude of our nascent democ racy, bolstered by pro-democracy forces, was reminiscent of the 1970’s and 80’s – before the free and fair elections of 1992.

The struggle was one for all of Guyana and this victory, as well as the assurances it engenders, belongs to each Guy anese – regardless of their race, regardless of their politics or any other differentiating factor. And the return to democracy, as well as political and economic stability, has turned up tangible results.

The return to democracy and political and economic sta bility will, undoubtedly, continue to result in transformations in the lives of all Guyanese across the country.

Dear Editor,

October 5th marks thirty years since the restoration of democra cy to Guyana after twenty-eight years of PNC dictatorial rule.

During that period, Guyana was reduced to one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. The return of democracy was therefore a defining moment in the political, economic and social life of Guyana and by extension the Guyanese people.

Our democracy still remains frag ile as was demonstrated by attempts by some ‘rogue’ elements of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)

to rig the March 2, 2020 General and Regional elections in favour of APNU+AFC . It took the combined efforts of the local and international community including the Caribbean Court of Justice before such attempts were thwarted.

Democracy is an important ingre dient for development as the expe riences of Guyana and several other countries have shown. It is therefore imperative that all possible measures be taken to further strengthen our de mocracy. In this regard, the decision by the PPP/C to advance the work of the Constitutional Reform Committee with a view to deepening our democ

racy along more representative lines is most welcome.

Our democracy may not be perfect especially in the context of our po litical pluralism and ethnic diversity but it is still the preferred model of governance. Indeed, there can be no substitute for a majoritarian system of governance where the will of the majority is the basis of rule.

Guyana is evolving to higher forms of participatory and inclusive democ racy, a critical element in our quest for a prosperous and cohesive society.

Yours faithfully, Hydar Ally

Indefatigable freedom lovers ensured that our democracy prevailed

Dear Editor,

M

onday, October 5, 1992 is a day to remember in Guyana, and by Guyanese wherever they live. It marked the return to democracy after nearly three decades of dictatorial rule by the People’s National Congress. It marked the first free and fair elections since 1964. It marked the return of the People’s Progressive Party to Govern ment. It marked the return of progress and prosperity to a land defined by acute sufferings, hardships, poverty and hunger for 28 years. And, above all, it marked the return of dignity and self-respect to Guyanese, who were tired of escaping to all parts of the globe in an effort to earn three square meals.

On that day, the PPP ended 28 years of PNC dictatorship. It was the first free and fair elections since 1964. The People’s Progressive Party ended the People’s National Congress’s 28year rule, winning 28 of the 53 seats in the National Assembly, and 53.5% of the votes cast. The PNC managed just 42.31%.

I will give just one example of the shameless and blatant rigging which took place in the past. When the results of the 1985 Elections were announced, the PNC, under the late Hugh Desmond Hoyte, gave the PNC a landslide victo ry with 228,718 votes, or 77.6 percent of the votes cast. The PPP was given

45,926 votes or 15.6%. Thus, the PNC rigged itself to 42 seats, gave the PPP 8 seats, the UF 2 seats, and the WPA 1 seat in the National Assembly.

This was the worst rigged Election in Guyana. Similar riggings took place in 1968, 1973, and 1980, but what was crystal clear was that the rigging be came increasingly worse. In 1968, the PNC had 55.8%; in 1973, it was 70.1%; in 1980, it was 77.6%; and in 1985, it was 78.5% of the total votes cast.

It defies logic and imagination that, having ‘won’ 78.5% in 1985, the PNC’s votes fell to 42.3% in 1992. It’s quite remarkable that its support fell by 36.2% a mere 6 years later.

What more proof is needed to prove PNC’s massive rigging?

However, the PPP wasted no time in rebuilding the country, and, in 23 years, Guyana moved rapidly from a low income and highly indebted coun try to a middle-income developing country.

Unfortunately, in 2015, when the Coalition deceived some Guyanese with false promises and managed a one-seat majority, Guyana once again rapidly descended into bankruptcy, and a budding dictatorship began to emerge, not unlike the old PNC.

However, the PPP never balked in its fight against the PNC, but this time Dr Jagdeo, as the new Leader of the Opposition, managed to do the im possible in just 5 years, after 5 months

of intense struggle against the most blatant attempted rigging by the PNC and its ally, the AFC. Ironically it was the same leaders of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, who fought against the PNC riggings from 1968 to 1985.

March 2nd, 2020 and the 5-month aftermath will also go down in Guya nese history as a period when it was power at all and any cost, with no consideration that the entire world was looking on.

Guyanese owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the leaders of the PPP, past and present, and the indefatigable free dom lovers who relentlessly fought the PNC behemoth and its later hybrid (the Coalition) and ensured that our democ racy prevailed. It was a long and hard battle, which began with Dr Cheddi Jagan in British Guiana fighting against the colonial masters, then the PNC dictatorship, and then the PNC hybrid.

In closing, I must pay tribute to an Iron Lady who fought for and helped win our democracy and freedom.

Mrs Philomena Sahoye-Shury, aptly nicknamed ‘the Fireball’, has earned her place in the annals alongside the freedom fighters of the world. What we are enjoying and what the future generations will enjoy is as a result of unselfish people like her.

APNU+AFC must accept that ‘only court of law’ can determine alleged election illegalities

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is being needlessly badgered by the Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). It is almost ludicrous to think that they are ‘not getting it.’

By now, it is common knowledge that GECOM has no jurisdiction to investigate these ‘supposed’ unlawful acts, as only a court of law can determine alleged election illegalities. So, why the incessant pettifogging from APNU/AFC?

As painfully pointed out on so many occa sions, and again iterated by GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, “… Article 163 (1bi) of the Constitution unambig uously states that only the High Court has this jurisdiction.” My suggestion is that APNU/ AFC and their ‘few supporters’ take note that “… the Constitution of Guyana stipulates that subject to the provisions of this article, the High Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine any question whether, either generally or in any particular place, an elec tion has been lawfully conducted or the result thereof has been or might have been, affected by any unlawful act or omission.” So, here is my take.

First, I did mention ‘few supporters’ in my opening paragraph. This is a fact. I invite any and everyone, to visit the protest scene. It seems the farthest of things from a protest. I counted the number of persons when I passed the last time and it did not number ten. I am serious. I am honest. I think by now the pro test has petered out, as more and more people are accepting that APNU/AFC are engaging in lies and dissimulation; they seem destined to futility

Secondly, APNU+AFC were forced to seek cover for their duplicity and subterfuge, when the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, called their bluff. The details herein make for ‘good fun.’ What happened is that this ‘incriminating’ and ‘sacrosanct’ list (theirs of course) was requested, and this punctured the fluff of APNU/AFC. Their ‘trump card’ became their ‘ticket to hell.’ And hence, the claim from them is that “that some persons were “mistakenly” included in their evidence which they (originally) claimed provided proof of voter impersonation at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.”

Think on this Readers. This is their ace, and they are claiming, after fighting for it to be kept secret, that it was accidentally compromised. This kind of ‘dodging around’

is quite typical of APNU/AFC. I recall that it was there with their Statements of Polls (SoPs). They were so bent on making this esoteric, that the law had to take effect to get them to lodge their SoPs, as they were not going to make them public, even though their claim was that therein lies proof of their victory at the 2020 elections.

So, what should the public now make of Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde, who had firmly stated that the APNU+AFC, during the National Recount 2020, had objected to GECOM, about the names of people who were reportedly marked as voting on Elec tion Day but were out of the country? His claim was that APNU+AFC had submitted over 1,000 cases of “voter impersonation.”

Yet the same Forde, in an almost recanting mode, sought to foist on all Guyana that persons were “mistakenly” included in their submissions to GECOM, and will be exhib ited publicly, a situation APNU/AFC do not desire. It gets even juicier!

Editor, Forde had stated that the Oppo sition wanted the ‘evidence’ they submitted to be turned over to the Guyana Police Force and General Register Office for verification. So, ‘having no fear’ of the truth, the Attor ney-General stated that those very documents will be investigated by the relevant agen cies “… with requests that investigations be launched to verify the accuracy of the information contained in the documents.”

But what? The Opposition-nominated Com missioners at GECOM opposed the request for these documents to be turned over to the government and police. This is beyond con tradiction on their behalf; it is beyond lying too, as I think this has to be insanity.

I can feel the trepidation increasing, as GECOM has already decided to hand over the documents (that purportedly provided ‘proof’ of voter fraud at the 2020 General and Regional Elections) for verification. This is what APNU/AFC wanted. This is what they are getting. Yet this is what is having them ‘shake in their boots.’

Editor, all Guyana are awaiting the work of the members of the Commission of In quiry, into the attempted rigging of the 2020 elections. Whether this will be concurrent with the legal issues on hand or not, is irrel evant, as all of the findings will be used to hold persons accountable, especially if they are found to have been involved in illegal activities.

Robustness of GECOM’s electoral system prevents attempts at cheating or multiple voting on E-Day

Dear Editor,

value to remove any name or names from the list, the name or names will remain in the list.

I

refer to S/N editorial ‘A One Woman Commission’ of 24:9/‘22 concerning ‘the elephant in the room’ as it relates to the num ber of registered electors on the Preliminary Voters’ List (PLE). The editorial stated that; ‘it is only few more years before the number of registered electors exceeds the entire pop ulation as such becoming an embarrassment and rendering the data base as serving no pur pose.’ The editorial then proceeds to rhetor ically ask; ‘will the PPP/C at this point keep defending its (the lists’) retention keeping in mind it has itself called for a clean list when it lost office in 2015.’

First of all, the contention that the PLE is ‘bloated’ is false and implies that persons who should not be on the list are on the list. But the point is that whoever is on the PLE/OLE, are constitutionally there and in accordance with the laws of Guyana. There is nothing illegal about the nature of the list as some are trying to make out. In respect to the call for a clean voters list, for the avoidance of doubt, in or out of government, the PPP/C has always advocated in favour of a clean, credible and reliable voters list. But there is something we must not lose sight of.

While the APNU+AFC is free to call for a clean voters’ list, for them to attach conditions to their demand such as improved and enhanced biometrics, a fresh house- tohouse registration exercise and the removal of deceased persons from the list, nothing must be done to deprive any registered elector of their right to exercise the franchise. The legally driven process of a period of Claims and Objections provides for representation to be made for the removal of deceased persons from the Preliminary Voters’ List (PLE) and this is done through the collaborative efforts between GECOM and the General Register Office (GRO) where deaths are officially recorded.

So long as there is nothing of evidential

If this is where the concern is with respect to the so-called ‘bloated list’ then there is pretty little that can be done about that. Any attempt otherwise to delete a registered elector’s name from the PLE/OLE would be illegal and tan tamount to disenfranchising such a person. So long as a person’s name appears on the OLE, and they present themselves physically at an assigned Polling Station, they must be allowed to vote at an election, be it Local Government and/or General and Regional Elections.

The large number of voters to population on a PLE/OLE is a common feature of con tinuous registration conducted legally. More over, in countries where continuous registra tion takes place the occurrence is the same. If this is what is meant by a bloated list then it cannot be true because all the names on that list are there as a result of a constitutional and legally driven process. Furthermore, in spite of the large number of persons on the OLE, it should be borne in mind that GECOM’s polling day arrangements are robust enough to allow all who are entitled to vote to do so after ‘running the gauntlet’ characterized by utilizing folios provided by GECOM to staff members and party polling agents at polling stations; the presentation by every registered elector of the prescribed means of identifying oneself such as an ID card or passport, and, with the signing of the Statement of Poll (SOP) by presiding officers and party polling agents following the close of poll.

The robustness of GECOM’s electoral system prevents attempts at cheating or mul tiple voting on Election Day. From the fore going, it is clear that the concerns/ question raised by SN in its editorial are issues that can be addressed but only within the meaning of the Constitution and laws of Guyana.

Sincerely, Clement J. Rohee

FITUG welcomes fuel price reduction

Dear Editor,

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) was heart ened to learn of the decision regarding the reduction in fuel prices by the Guyana Oil Company Limited (Guyoil). The announce ment which came over the weekend was greeted by many workers who expressed elation at the decision.

The FITUG recognizes that the escala tion of fuel prices over the last few months was primarily influenced by external events of which we were an unwitting victim. We recognized the efforts of the Administration to reduce taxes on fuel to zero in an effort to mitigate the impact of the sudden price rises. This policy had it not been pursued would have made the bad situation even worse.

In recent weeks, we have observed, a gradual reduction in oil prices and had anticipated that such reductions would have reached our shores. Undoubtedly,

the announcement by Minister Dr Ashni Singh demonstrates the active attention the Government is giving to address the costof-living of Guyanese. This is noteworthy and is an undoubted demonstration to the ordinary people. The Federation, at this time, anticipates that other fuel providers will follow suit and provide similar reduc tions to their customers. Similarly, we also expect that savings accruing to businesses, public transport operators and others will also be passed on to ordinary Guyanese. Our workers and their families are in need of such respite.

The Federation notes other measures to address the cost-of-living in Guyana. The collective policies are aimed clearly at pro viding a cushion for the Guyanese people at this time of global upheaval and uncertainty.

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG)

Norton says gathering evidence to support claim of ‘bloated’ Voters’ List was not ‘tactical’ for Coalition

Amid confirmation from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that a mere nine objections being upheld during the recently completed Claims and Ob jections process.

And amid exposure of the Coalition’s inaction to address its claims of a “bloat ed” Voters’ List, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, is now saying the PNCR-led

group did not see the need to take any action during the Claims and Objections pro cess – failing in the process to back up claims of a bloated Voters’ List.

In a confused rant, Nor ton, on Tuesday (October 4, 202) said, “I didn’t see, we didn’t see the need [to make objections]…we didn’t have to do claims and objections. It wasn’t tactical.

“Secondly, we have long said that this list can not be cleaned by claims and objections [and] that we need a clean voters’ list. It would appear illogical for us to be saying on the one hand that this list cannot be cleaned by claims and ob jections and then proceed to do claims and objections… the claims and objections for us is a non-starter. They

are non-starters [because] you cannot clean this list by claims and objections. We need a clean voters list. A well sanitized list and claims and objections with all the limitations cannot do it.”

Despite Norton’s com ments, he did not address what the limitations of the Claims and Objections pro cess were, nor did he propose solutions. Further, he did not proffer an explanation for his claim that Claims and Objections cannot be used to ensure persons who are deceased, etc. to be removed from the list.

When pressed on why the PNCR-led Coalition did not participate in the Claims and Objections process, even if only to be able to secure doc umentary evidence to support their claims of a bloated Voters’ List, Norton said, “You will have to go and get birth certificates, death certif icates, people and a number of other things [to support the objection]. It is virtually impossible to clean unless like this through claims and objection…we have said regularly that claims and objections cannot clean a Voters’ List as bloated as

this one. Therefore, we saw little or no value though we collect that information to go through a process of claims and objection.”

Notably, the GECOM Chair, retired Justice Clau dette Singh, had posited that the list is not bloated. In fact, she had said in a recent in terview with the media that, even if it were bloated, this process would allow for ob jections to those persons who should not be on the said list.

“Everyone on the list, the people were there. They weren’t bloated. They were

(Turn

page 7)

Wanted bulletin issued for Coalition-aligned

Burke

Claims by the PNCRled APNU+AFC Co alition of discrimination against the controversial Coalition-aligned Rickford Burke, resulted in a stinging rebuke by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Recently, the Guyana Police Force stated that it has unearthed damning ev idence implicating Burke and two reporters in a con spiratorial scheme to extort money from businessmen in Guyana. The two reporters have both implicated Burke as part of this criminal enter prise. As a result, a wanted bulletin has been issued for Burke.

Gov’t will use all ‘lawful powers, facilities’ to address crime and criminality

The Ministry, in a state ment, said, “The Govern ment of Guyana is not sur prised by a recent state ment of the APNU/AFC in support of Rickford Burke. Burke is well known for his racist rantings and race hate writings using social media and other platforms, in his persistent attempts to incite racial and ethnic hostilities among the citizens of Guy ana.

“…recently, the Guyana Police Force stated that it has unearthed damning ev idence implicating Burke and two reporters in a con spiratorial scheme to extort money from businessmen in

Guyana. The two reporters have both implicated Burke as part of this criminal enter prise. As a result, a wanted bulletin has been issued for Burke.

“Rather than stand on the side of law and order and with the victims of this criminal extortionist plot, the APNU/AFC, true to form, chose the side of criminality. This posture is consistent with their long relation ship with criminals, criminal conduct, and violence. One would recall the draping of the national flag across the coffin of notorious criminal Linden ‘Blackie’ London, their connections with the

infamous five (5) escapees from the 2001 jailbreak and their relationship with that marauding gang of crimi nals hiding out in Buxton backlands and holding that village at ransom – just to mention a few.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs noted that while the

APNU+AFC Coalition claims they have reviewed the ev idence, the statement raises other questions. “It is difficult to even understand what ‘’ev idence’’ they have reviewed and how they became privy to the evidence in the possession of the Guyana Police Force,” the Ministry said.

It was made clear that the Government of Guyana is committed to using “all the lawful powers and facilities available to the State to ad dress crime and criminality” both within and beyond its borders. “Burke is no excep tion,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Norton says gathering evidence

legally there on the list. And if the list is bloated, well, we’re moving now to Claims and Objections. People will have a chance to object to who shouldn’t be there,” the Chairperson said.

The Claims and Objec tions process allows persons to, among other things, object

to any dead persons that may be on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

GECOM on September 27, 2022 confirmed that a total of 18 objections were recorded, of which nine were upheld and the other 9 were denied.

The objections included:

one each in Anna Regina, Region 2; Nouvelle Flan ders; Diamond and Coldigen, Region 4; Corriverton and New Amsterdam, Region 6; and Annai, Region 9. Three objections were recorded in Mackenzie, Region 10 and eight were recorded in Soes dyke, Region 4.

Comrade ‘Philo’ leaves behind ‘rich legacy of service to Guyanese’

Hailed as a dedicate member of the Peo ple’s Progressive Party (PPP), comrade Philome na Sahoye-Shury has left behind a “rich legacy of service” to the Guyanese people, according to PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo.

The longstanding trade unionist, at 91-years-old, passed away on Sunday (October 2, 2022).

Jagdeo said, “On behalf of myself and the People’s Progressive Party, I extend deepest condolences to the relatives and friends of Cde Philomena Sahoye-Shury following her passing. A longstanding and dedicated member of the party, Cde Phil also contributed im mensely during the struggle against PNC dictatorship.

She touched many lives in a positive way and has left a rich legacy of service to the people of Guyana. Once again, I extend heart felt condolences to the

family and friends of Mrs. Philomena Sahoye-Shury. May her soul rest in peace.”

Meanwhile, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, added his voice to the tributes pour ing in and said, “It is with inexpressible sorrow that I learnt of the passing of Mrs Philomena Sahoye-Shury. Her death has robbed me, the People’s Progress Par ty, and Guyana of an ex ceptional human being who touched every life with which she came into con tact.

“I have enjoyed a long relationship with Cde Phil, as she was affectionately called. I considered her as family, friend, colleague, and comrade. She, along with my late grandmother, was in the vanguard of Guyana’s struggle for In dependence. She was also involved in the struggle for the restoration of democra cy and helped build a free and democratic Guyana.

“Our country owes an

eternal debt of gratitude to this outstanding daughter of our soil who was a fear less and formidable fighter in the struggle for freedom.

“We were close asso ciates within the People’s Progressive Party. I re spect her and learnt from her. Cde Phil was always willing to share her vast ex perience and wisdom with younger members of the party. She never shirked from leading by example when it came to political legwork. I also worked with her on the Depressed Communities Committee, of which she was a CoChair. Later, she would work within the Ministry of Housing when I was the subject minister. I always relied on her. I respected her candidness. Her work has helped to transform communities across Guy ana.

“Guyana has lost an amazing human being. Our country is poorer for her

passing. Her death dimin ishes us all. The poor and powerless have lost a true champion. But she will live on in our hearts as someone whose service was selfless and beyond reproach. I extend my heartfelt con dolences to the family and friends of Mrs Philomena Sahoye-Shury - one of Guyana’s foremost war riors of freedom.”

Former President Don ald Ramotar, in comments, said, “She was fifteen years old when Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Ashton Chase and Jocelyn Hubbard began the Political Affairs Commit tee (PAC) and took the first steps in the fight for free dom. Philo was one of the

young people who became highly motivated by the vision that the PAC com rades had expressed and embraced the ideals that they were fighting for. Her sense of justice and strong feelings for the working people, the oppressed and downtrodden masses pro pelled her into the ranks of the PPP. She rose to prom inence in the late 1950s and early 1960s when the PPP was encouraging and or ganizing the sugar workers to form a union. The union which had made a powerful impact on the workers, the Guiana Industrial Workers Union (GIWU) became de funct after the split of the PPP in 1955. When the new

union was formed, Philo mena became the General Secretary, while Harry Lall occupied the position as President of the union. It was first called the Guiana Sugar Workers Union, that name came as a request of Philomena’s. It was later changed to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU). It was here that she was tested. She was forged in the fire of struggle and became a woman of steel.”

A statement from the PPP said, “Comrade Phil served in many capacities, including as a Member of Parliament and in the Central Committee of the party. She also contribut ed immensely during the struggle against PNC dicta torship. She touched many lives in a positive way and left behind a rich legacy of service to the people of Guyana.”

Apart from being a trade unionist, Sahoye-Shury was a political activist and member of the People’s Progressive Party. She also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Mayor of Georgetown. She worked in government up to 2015 when she served as the National Director of Community Development Councils.

ELECTION WATCH: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Date for LGE narrowed to possibility of March 6th

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at its weekly statutory meet ing on Tuesday (October 3, 2022), addressed a date for Local Government Elec tions.

And is likely to advise the Minister of Local Gov

ernment and Regional De velopment, Nigel Dharam lall, that the earliest possi ble date on which it could host LGE is March 6, 2023.

Discussions on the hold ing of Local Government Elections have been ongo ing for a few weeks, ac

cording to GECOM Com missioner, Sase Gunraj. He noted that the workplan for the holding of Local Gov ernment Elections was a major area of focus.

GECOM Chief Elec tions Officer’s Office, Vish nu Persaud, is tasked with

completing the workplan.

First, Persaud had pro posed a date of Decem ber 12, 2022, for the polls. However, this date was out side of the statutory dead line of the Commission and the Chief Elections Officer was asked to review it.

In the second proposal, on August 30, 2022, Per saud said the earliest date on which the GECOM can hold Local Government Elections (LGE) February 13, 2023.

He was then tasked with fine turning the work plan to reflect a date before the end of January 2023.

Once the Commission approves its work plan, it would then indicate its readiness to the Minister of Local Government and Re gional Development and the proposed date. The Minister would then, on the advice of GECOM, announce the date for Local Government Elections.

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.

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.

LGE, which are usually due every two years, was last held in 2018. At the last LGE in November 2018, the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Oppo sition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This followed the holding of the LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs.

CLAIMS AND OBJEC TIONS COMPLETED

GECOM, last week, completed Claims and Ob jections, which commenced on August 22, 2022, ended September 25, 2022.

As of September 27, 2022:

• 1,032 requested changes and corrections;

• 1,862 requested trans fers; and

• 3,009 persons used the opportunity to make a claim that they were not registered.

Region Four record ed the highest numbers of transactions, with 1,819 transactions, followed by

Region Three with 1,282 transactions and Region Six with 805 transactions.

Region 8 recorded the least number of transactions, a total of 101.

Replacement of national identification cards and re takes of photographs were also addressed.

A total of 5,903 transac tions were recorded in the Claims process altogether.

Meanwhile, as at Tues day (September 27, 2022), a mere 18 objections were recorded, of which nine were upheld and the other 9 were denied.

The objections included: one each in Anna Regina, Region 2; Nouvelle Flan ders; Diamond and Coldi gen, Region 4; Corriverton and New Amsterdam, Re gion 6; and Annai, Region 9. Three objections were recorded in Mackenzie, Region 10 and eight were recorded in Soesdyke, Re gion 4.

This is despite the fact that the Parliamentary Op position, the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition has been claiming that the Vot ers’ List is bloated.

The Claims and Objec tions process allows persons to, among other things, ob ject to any dead persons that may be on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

This exercise, according to a GECOM press release, was conducted at all of GECOM’s permanent Reg istration Offices in the ten Administrative Regions.

BHARRAT JAGDEO

$1.8B road improvement project part of govt’s infrastructural master plan – VP Jagdeo

The PPP/C Administration through the Ministry of Public Works has launched its $1.8 billion road improve ment project set to widen the corridors from Conversa tion Tree to Dennis Street, Georgetown.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo said the project is part of government’s master plan for the infrastructural devel opment of the city, while improving traffic flow. He said, “We have to work with what we have now and if we had a different option that is to lay out a planned city, we probably would’ve done many things differently. But the reality is that the country is growing fast….and so, we have to find solutions to meet the needs of our community, that respect the nuances of some communities. So, that we don’t change them totally, yet at the same time, fulfill this responsibility of provid ing more access to people and to avoid the congestion. The

master plan for the develop ment of the city.”

The Vice President was speaking at a consultation spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Works, on Mon day night at Delhi Street. The event aimed to ensure residents are aware of the details surrounding the proj ect, while addressing their concerns.

Works on the project is divided into two lots and was awarded in August. Lot 8 A of the project is being executed by S. Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc., to the tune of $$1,066, 358,738.

Lot 8 B was awarded to Trinidad company, Kallco Guyana Inc., to the tune of $830,293,458.

The project which begins at Conversation Tree corridor is approximately 1.9 kilo metres from the East Coast Demerara Highway and will connect to Dennis Street. It will also be linked to Sheriff

Street from the Dennis Street corridor.

Works on the project will entail the construction of a four-lane carriageway from the East Coast Highway to Delhi Street. A double lane carriageway on the reserve west of Delhi Street for north bound traffic.

Additionally, works will see the implementation of concrete revetments between the East Coast Demerara Highway and Railway Em bankment, and concrete drains on both sides of the proposed roadway between railway embankment and Delhi Street. Construction of two large concrete bridges to establish connection to Dennis Street is also part of the works.

Further, culverts will be constructed in the area to mitigate flooding.

In this regard, VP Jagdeo said plans are in the pipeline to construct concrete drains throughout Georgetown. He

further highlighted that once the road is completed traffic volume will increase. How ever, residents were urged not to be alarmed, since the project has been thoroughly assessed with the benefit and safety of the citizens in mind.

To this end, VP Jagdeo said the project was designed specifically for traffic control which will see a different speed limit from the highway being implemented in the targeted communities.

Meanwhile, the Vice President said major thrust has been to reduce traffic congestion through the many infrastructural programmes, over the last two years. This includes the construction of a four-lane highway from Mandela to Diamond bring ing major relief to 80 per cent of Guyanese, while cutting travel time in half.

In addition, the govern ment has awarded another project for a four-lane road

from Sheriff Street to Maha ica that will be completed in 28 months. Another contract was awarded to do a bypass from Ogle to Eccles, which the VP said will provide Guyanese 12 lanes or alter nate routes into the city.

“We need to utilise the existing space that we have so we build infrastructure that will bring greater comfort to the commuting public and we have to do this in a manner that does change communi ties radically… We are con vinced that this is a necessity, it has to move the country forward,” Jagdeo said.

Public Works Ministers, Bishop Juan Edghill and Deodat Indar, Senior Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister, Charles Ramson, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud among other officials, were also in attendance.

$44M relief grants distributed to 294 private cane farmers in Region Three

Atotal of $44 million in relief cash grants were distributed to 294 private cane farmers across the Esse quibo Islands-West Demer ara (Region Three).

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo spearheaded the ex ercise which saw the pri vate sugar workers receiv ing $150,000 each at the Windsor Forest Community Centre Ground, on Monday (October 3, 2022).

Jagdeo’s timely gesture is a promise delivered fol

lowing a previous meeting with the farming group. He said while in opposition the PPP/C was vocal in pointing out the previous APNU+AFC government’s blatant neglect of the sugar industry.

According to him, it was the same administration which had promised that it will ensure the industry would grow, but did other wise by shutting the facto ries putting over 7,000 out of jobs. “In fact, they had promised the workers a 20

per cent increase. Well, we saw how history unfolded, we saw what actually hap pened and it hadn’t been a year before the coalition was in office, the first casualty was Wales. And with shut ting down Wales, without any study whatsoever about its viability, without any regard to what people will do when they lose their jobs there,” the VP stated.

At Wales estate alone, nearly 3,000 jobs were lost; about 2,000 workers from government and another 1,000 private works were severed.

Unlike the previous ad ministration, the VP under scored that the PPP/C has always been concerned about generating new jobs.

Additionally, he empha sised the administration’s willingness to train a large number of Guyanese to match the nation’s rapidly growing economy.

“As soon as we got into office, we studied the lo cations, and we said we’re going to target the Wales area… for the gas to energy project, because that’s where we lost a lot of employment,” Jagdeo added.

To this end, he stated that government is in the process of finalising the route for the project, and plans to award a contract by the end of the year to build a power plant at Wales and a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) facility. He said, “We are hoping that within two and a half years, we would stop importing all the fuel to generate electric ity, and we use our own gas to generate power in Guy ana. That facility that we’re building there with supply twice as much, two times the power that GPL supplies to the whole country.”

Meanwhile, The Vice President urged those pres ent to take advantage of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) pro grammes being offered by the administration to develop their academic capacity.

Following a survey con ducted by the agriculture ministry, President, Dr Mo hamed Irfaan Ali, along with the vice president plan to engage the private cane har vesters next week to address other matters.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha was also present at the exercise.

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

Agriculture Month 2022

Message by the Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, M.P. Minister of Agriculture

In observance of Agriculture Month 2022

We are living in exceptional times. The confluence of the health, energy and climate crises, and the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe, has disrupted food production and food supply chains and led to a steep increase in food prices.

The Caribbean has not been insulated from food supply constraints and food inflation. At the 32nd Inter-Sessional Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, regional leaders acknowledged food security as a major challenge. Guyana, recognising the gravity of the threat facing the Region, tabled a strategy entitled, Advancing the CARICOM Food Systems Agenda; Prioritising Regional Food and Nutrition Security. The Heads agreed to the establishment of a Special Ministerial Task Force to work along with the regional private sector to develop an Action Plan to follow up and monitor the implementation of the strategy. The Region also adopted a proposal to slash food imports by 25% by 2025, Following a Regional Agri-Investment Forum in Guyana, four areas were identified for priority action: food insecurity, transportation, trade barriers and women and youth in agriculture.

The theme of this year’s Agriculture Month: “Championing food security through innovation, investment and resilience”, reflects, in part, the alignment of Guyana’s food security goals with that of the Region. Indeed, since August 2020, Guyana has been revitalising and repositioning its agriculture sector to respond to the global food crisis; to boost agricultural investment; to build resilience, including through diversification, modernisation and climatesmart agriculture; foster greater innovation and competitiveness; and protect livelihoods now and in the future.

Agriculture is and will remain a mainstay of our economy. Indeed, the sector already accounts for almost a quarter of the country’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product. One in every eight members of our employed workforce is to be found in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors, and agriculture is the principal source of livelihood for thousands of Guyanese households.

My government is unfazed by the existing food security challenges. It is committed to and confident in its ability to address the vulnerabilities in the country’s agri-food system, such as to the adverse impact of climate change, exogenous market shocks and higher input costs. The government has made interventions to support our farmers and fishers and moderate food inflation.

The other elements of our national agricultural strategy include:

• boosting critical agricultural infrastructure such as drainage and irrigation structures and farm-to-market roads;

• expanding non-traditional agriculture, including aquaculture;

• pressing for greater export market access for local agricultural production;

• investing in greater use of technology and innovation in the agricultural sector such as new and higher-yielding, more climate and pest resilient crop varieties, and introducing new livestock breeds;

• catalyzing large-, medium- and small small-scale agriculture; and

• incentivizing the involvement of more young people and women in the sector so as to enhance inclusion and sustainability.

Guyana’s agricultural potential is without question. We have the physical and human resources necessary to drive agricultural development and improve food and nutrition security. But such an enterprise requires coordination and cooperation across all sectors. Let us, therefore, all work together for the development of the local agriculture sector, which for generations was one of the bedrocks of our economy!

A thriving and robust agriculture sector is not just critical to Guyana’s future but also to the CARICOM region and the international community. For this reason, our government has initiated a wide range of transformative initiatives and projects in the agriculture sector to ensure its resilience and sustainability. These initiatives and projects will benefit farmers directly and enhance our agricultural diversification programme.

Agriculture Month 2022 is being observed under the theme “Championing Food Security through Innovation, Investment, and Resilience”.

This government will continue to invest in every facet of the agriculture sector while seeking to implement innovative measures to drive sustainable production. Since assuming office in August 2020, our government has invested approximately G$95 billion in the sector and we are committed to significantly increasing both public and private investment in the coming years.

Our efforts have been directed by our unwavering commitment to secure an expanded, diversified, modernized, resilient, and competitive sector in Guyana and CARICOM. We commenced the expansion of this critical sector through the commercialization of several priority commodities in the crops, livestock, and aquaculture industries. Our efforts are also directed at derisking the sector, the removal of trade barriers, promoting women and youth involvement, utilizing advanced technology, facilitating access to financing, and increasing partnership. All of this will also contribute to achieving food security and ‘Vision 25% by 2025’.

Being food secure requires the adoption of an all-encompassing food system approach which will help us to become more productive, inclusive of the poor, environmentally sustainable, and resilient, all while being better equipped to deliver healthy and nutritious diets to all Guyanese.

The Ministry of Agriculture remains committed to ensuring agriculture has a place in the development of the President, H.E. Dr. Irfaan Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ Initiative, as all our efforts and undertakings, remain deeply rooted in inclusivity and the aspiration of together; we can achieve more if we work towards a common goal. Moreso, our programmes and projects embrace the empowerment of women, youth, and vulnerable groups.

The activities planned for Agriculture Month 2022 will build a greater sense of awareness among stakeholders about the many projects currently being undertaken within the agricultural sector and the role that every actor along the food value chain plays in the development process. We look forward to the usual participation of the Private Sector, Civil Society, NGOs, International Organizations, and our farmers as we roll out our many activities. We are building a ‘One Guyana’ stronger than ever together, and the agriculture sector will be a pillar of its success.

Happy Agriculture Month 2022!

Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha, M.P Minister of Agriculture

Message of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, for Agriculture Month 2022.

Main Events for the Month of October

Saturday 1st

• Launch of Snap n’ Share Competition

• Launch of Enmore Crystals Brand Sugar Monday 3rd

• Inter-Faith Service at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main office, Regent Street Wednesday 5th

• Hydromet 57th Anniversary & Career Fair at the Hydromet Office, Brickdam Friday 7th

• Open Day and Commissioning of the GRDB’s Germplasm Facility and Value-Added Laboratory at GRDB’s Rice Research Station, Burma, Mahaicony Tuesday 11th

• Plant Distribution at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main office, Regent Street Wednesday 12th

• Launching of Hosororo Coconut Nursery at Hope Estate, ECD

• PTCCB Public Day in New Amsterdam, Region Six Thursday 13th

• Health Fair at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main office, Regent Street, Georgetown Friday 14th

• Women & Youth in Agriculture Symposium, Region Six Sunday 16th

• World Food Day – Agriculture Village and Farmer’s Market Day at Berbice Expo, Region Six

• Ethanol Display at Albion Tuesday 18th

• Commissioning of Agro-Processing Facilities in Region Nine (Deep South and St. Ignatius) Wednesday 19th

• MOA Inter-Agency Cook Out at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main office, Regent Street, Georgetown Thursday 20th

• MoA Open Day (GLDA, NAREI, Fisheries, and GSA) – Agriculture Road, Mon Repos, ECD Friday 21st

• Mahaica Mahaicony Abary / Agriculture Development Authority Open Day, Region Five

• Commissioning of an Agro-Processing Facility at Fort Wellington

• Commissioning of the new Extension Office for MARDS, Mahaicony, Region Five

Saturday 22nd

• Agro-processors’ Market Day and Launch of Guyana Shop Corner at Massy Supermarket, MovieTowne

• Food Safety Training - General Hygienic Practices for Food Handlers

Tuesday 25th

• PTCCB Graduation & Ministry of Agriculture Long Service Award Ceremony at the National Culture Center

Friday 28th

• Launching of new Brazilian Green Dwarf Coconut at Hope Estate

• Empty Pesticides Container Management Scheme Launch and Open Day at the PTCCB’s Office, Mon Repos

Saturday 29th

• Farmer’s Market Day at Leonora, Region Three

• Mon Repos Market Outreach

Monday 31st

• Prize giving for “Snap & Share” Competition Friday 4th (November)

• Day of Sports

Other activities scheduled for October

Oct. 2nd

• Poultry seminar (GLDA) Oct. 3rd

• GLDA Fitness Walk (GLDA)

• Poultry seminar (GLDA) Oct. 4th

• Public Day at Stabroek Market (GLDA) Oct. 6th

• Small ruminants’ farmers’ exchange visit to Region Three (GLDA)

• Farmers Outreach (GLDA) Oct. 7th

• Farmers’ exchange visit to East Bank Demerara (GLDA)

Oct. 9th

• Animal Auction (GLDA) Oct. 10th

• Pesticides Vendors Education and Training Exercise, Region Five (PTCCB)

• St. Cuthbert’s Mission farmers’ exchange visit to GSA farm (GSA) Oct. 11th

• Pesticides Vendors’ Education and Training Exercise, Regions Four and Ten (PTCCB)

• Ambulatory Services Regions Two and Five (GLDA)

Oct. 12th

• Public Day at New Amsterdam Market

• Swine Seminar in Region Four Oct. 13th

• Pesticides Vendors Education & Retraining Exercise, Region Six (PTCCB)

• Dairy Seminar, Region Three (GLDA) Oct. 14th

• Pesticides Awareness Training & Cabinet Distribution (PTCCB)

• Mini-Exhibition Oct. 18th

• Pesticides Vendor Education & Retraining Exercise, Region 3 Oct. 19th

• Enhancing the sound management of chemicals – Industry Dialogue (HHPs & GHS)

• Lecture at the Guyana School of Agriculture on rice agronomy Oct. 20th

• Farmers’ Outreach Oct. 23rd

• Launch of Pesticides Awareness Week – TV, Newspaper & Radio

• Launch of Lead in Paint Awareness Oct. 24th

• Pesticides Awareness Training & Cabinet Distribution Oct. 25th

• Pesticides Awareness for Schools using Learning Channel Newsprint & Radio (both PAW & Lead in Paint)

• National Implementation Plan Validation Workshop under Stockholm Convention (BCRC & PTCCB) Oct. 26th

• Cattle Seminar in Region Nine

• Farmers’ Outreach Oct. 28th

• Empty Pesticides Container Management Scheme Launch, Region Three

• Sensitization sessions on improved agronomic practice for rice cultivation Oct. 29th

• Pesticides Awareness Trivia Programme –TV & Radio (PTCCB) Oct. 31st

• National Implementation Plan Validation Workshop under Stockholm Convention (BCRC & PTCCB)

• Poultry Production Seminar, Region Ten

POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Guyana well positioned to attract new investors – Ali T

A s Guyana moves swift ly towards becoming a highly favourable destina tion for entertainment and relaxation, the country’s investment stage is set and ready to add more investors to its burgeoning list.

The country will soon witness a host of new Ex pressions of Interest (EoIs) in several major investment opportunities, which the PPP/C Administration is aggressively undertaking.

“And we are asking investors from across the world to participate fully,” President, Dr Mohamed Ir faan Ali asserted, on Tues day (October 4, 2022).

As part of the massive development, President Ali pointed out that the government is looking to launch an EoI for the 30,000-barrel refinery.

The government is also looking at the auctioning of new oil blocks.

Dr Ali emphasised that the country continues to see a tremendous response in the establishment of ho tels, with six of them cur rently under construction, while designs for others are being finalised before building works commence. “The stage is set. At the

same time, we are advanc ing the training of our hu man resource capacity to meet the needs that the new investments are going to require from a human resource perspective,” the Head of State explained.

The PPP/C Government wants to design an annual programme that will posi tion Guyana as a premier destination for entertain ment, specifically in the sports and tourism arena in the Caribbean. “We are working on modifying our horse racing to make it a premier regional event, attracting international par ticipation… working in the motor racing industry,” the President added.

The administration is also in the process of reaching out to the World Boxing Council (WBC) to discuss how Guyana can become a recognised ven ue for the highly energetic sport.

President Ali remains adamant that his admin istration’s vision can po sition Guyana beyond oil and gas, notwithstanding the challenges it may en counter during the journey.

“As I said before what oil and gas does is give us the

revenue to build the infra structure to support the ad vancement and broadening of the economy and that is what we are targeting.”

Meanwhile, President Ali thanked the team who orchestrated the recently concluded cricket carnival, noting that without a doubt the event will ensure Guy ana gains an extra push to wards greatness. Already, the carnival season has brought several overseas investors to the nation’s shores, who have signaled their interest to set up op erations here.

Meanwhile, Chief Ex ecutive Officer of the Guy ana Office for Investment, Dr Peter Ramsaroop told the media that the lot in cludes about 40 Brazilians and 25 Jamaican stake holders seeking to partner with local entrepreneurs.

“So, one of our goals in our office is to ensure we match them up with local investors to ensure that they can meet what they are looking for. So yes, cricket carnival produced not only just entertainment but it has a rippling signif icant impact on investment opportunities in Guyana,” the CEO stated.

Govt aims to create the best environment for teachers – President Ali

Announces plans for clerical support and daycare centres

he PPP/C Government

will continue to put sys tems in place to create the best working environment for teachers in Guyana, ac cording to President Dr. Irfaan Ali.

He said that since his Government took office two years ago, they have worked on enhancing the lives of both teachers and students, and will continue to do so with new progressive ini tiatives.

The Head of State made this statement on Wednesday (October 5, 2022) as part of his message on World Teachers’ Day 2022. The theme for this year’s celebra tion worldwide is ‘Transfor mation of Education: Start ing with Teachers’.

“On this very important day—World Teachers’ Day, I want to assure our teachers that your time will come, that we’re working hard to give you the best environ ment that you can work in; more importantly, as the years progress that you will be in a profession that you will be very proud of,” he said.

President Ali, whose par ents are retired teachers, said that he understands the commitment of teachers, as well as their challenges, es pecially the number of hours spent on clerical duties. As a result, a policy decision has been taken to provide every school with clerical support to remove the burden of record keeping from the teachers and to give them more time in the classroom.

Additionally, the Presi dent said that in the coming year, the Government is working on supporting both teachers and young moth ers by establishing daycare centres across the country. He also added that while 86 guidance counsellors have been deployed, the Govern ment will work on providing every school with one to support teachers.

HUMAN RESOURCE IMPROVEMENT

The President also high lighted that an important part of development is the im provement of opportunities for teachers to advance their

professional careers. He not ed that thousands of teach ers have benefited from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) and other scholarship opportunities in pursuit of higher education.

“More than 5,000 teach ers are now in training over the last two years. We’ve removed the quota system, and the removal of the quota system is because of the application of technology. The University of Guyana Education Programme has now migrated online. We have many online education al programmes for teachers, whether it’s degree pro grammes and diploma pro grammes,” he said.

The removal of this sys tem, the President explained, now gives the opportunity to all teachers to further their education in a format of their choice.

To complement this, President Ali said that the Government is working on establishing a platform to ensure there is 100% access to training for all teachers across the country. This will be done by way of making online training modules and manuals and “transforming the Teachers Training Insti tute into a more nimble and flexible organisation”.

Ali said, “We are build ing out the infrastructure to ensure that schools are connected, that they have data connectivity, teachers could have that connectivity also to use that technology available, deploy the tech nology to ensure that they’re delivering in a modern envi ronment.”

President Ali also noted that the system of trainee teachers receiving a stipend of $11,000 has been re vamped into a system where they are now placed on the payroll and given a salary of $80,000. This is one of a number of other progressive systems being implemented. He said, “In the last Gov ernment, what occurred is that the salaries of teachers, new teachers were based on the previous year’s salary and not the current year’s salary. I’ve instructed that this situation be corrected. As a result, more than 1,300 teachers across the country

will benefit when this cor rection is made.”

This, he said, is another major achievement in sup porting teachers, their trans formation, their personal welfare and well-being and giving them a good working environment so that they can deliver a more comprehen sive and modern learning environment.

The President also noted that while there is a back log in teachers receiving their permanent training certificate from 2016, he has instructed for it to be cleared by the end of the year.

REVAMPING OF SPORT PROGRAMME

President Ali explained that the Government does not only want to nurture students who are strong aca demically, but wants to cre ate “rounded students who can participate in all aspects of national life”.

To accomplish this, he said that he has asked the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Education to collaborate with the country’s former athletes from all sporting disciplines to create an accel erated training programme. They will then be “deployed to schools so that we can revamp, reorganise, restruc ture and reignite sports as an important component in our school curriculum and in the education transformation”.

Overall, he said that his Government intends to con tinue working closely with all teachers to ensure their growth and that of the coun try’s students.

“I want to take this op portunity to congratulate all teachers across our coun try for their continued hard work, their commitment and dedication, and their own personal upliftment as we as a Government work closely with them and with the sector to ensure we give them the right environment, to ensure that we give them the tools that can help them, that can aid their transfor mation so they can be in a better position, to be nimble, to be flexible, to adapt to this new environment in which teachers must operate,” Ali stressed.

FOCUS ON GUYANA’S FIRST PEOPLE

100 persons in Mahdia benefitting from BIT programme

Minister of Labour, Jo seph Hamilton this week conduced a three-day outreach in Mahdia, Region Eight, to assess and review ongoing training under the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programme.

The minister, on Monday (October 3, 2022), first paid a visit to the Mahdia fire station, where he met and in teracted with trainees of the heavy-duty equipment pro gramme. The batch consists of about 22 persons, almost half of which are females.

The participants lauded the programme, and stated

that it has helped them to get one step closer to building their careers in the industrial field.

Minister Hamilton also paid a visit to R & J Ram phall Workshop and Tyre Repair shop, where 10 per sons are being trained in welding. The minister over saw the distribution of Per sonal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the trainees. He commended all participants for capitalising on the oppor tunity, especially the female participants for choosing traditionally male-dominated sectors.

The minister also met with a license and certifying officer at the Guyana Police Force Divisional Headquar ters in the region, to discuss supplying the trainees with licences at the end of their training. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that these persons are licensed to operate machinery, so that they may be able to ply the trade. “We have had instances where we have several persons in different hinterland villages have the skill to drive heavy duty equipment but cannot get a job because they are un

licensed. So that is why we are ensuring that all the graduates are licensed,” the minister explained.

Additionally, Minister Hamilton stated that the

BIT programmes are being expanded to far-flung areas where they were not pre viously accessible. “In the two years of us being in gov ernment, we have already

trained 7,500 persons across the country,” he noted.

This forms part of the administration’s efforts to upskill Guyanese regardless of their location.

Paruima to get resident doctor, $14M doctors’ quarters completed

Residents in Paruima

Village, Region Seven, will no longer have to travel long hours to Kamarang Village or Georgetown to seek medical services, fol lowing the construction of a doctors’ quarters.

Member of Parliament, Lee Williams, on Wednes day (October 5, 2022), re vealed that final touches are being done to the building. “The government allocated $14 million for a doctor’s quarter in Paruima […] the project commenced in May and now it is completed at this point in time,” he said.

$6M bus to transport Princeville children to school

Children in Princeville, Region Eight, will no longer have to walk to Mah dia for school, as a new bus was handed over to residents on Sunday.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai de livered the $6 million vehicle to Senior Councillor, Zelda David, who was delighted to receive the vehicle on behalf of the children living in the satellite of Campbelltown village. “We must appre ciate what she [Minister Sukhai] is doing for us. I must say I am very appre ciative to see this bus here for children to go to Mahdia. Only a few days ago children could not go to school be cause of no transportation.”

The bus is expected to transport some 40 children. Parents are equally elated with the delivery of the au tomobile.

Minister Sukhai said

government will continue to ensure equitable access to education. As promised by government, children must have access to education re gardless of their geography.

“I am very pleased on behalf of my government, the Peo ple’s Progressive Party Civic Government, to be the agent that is handing over this bus. Education is important always and the indigenous communities, I want to en courage you to look at edu cation as your gateway out of the other developments that your villages are experienc ing,” she said.

Minister Sukhai said though the primary func tion of the bus is for school children, the village commit tee must make it available for the elderly and persons needing to be transported to the hospital. She said, “We would want to ask whoever is going to be the driver of

this bus that you must take utmost care of this bus. We would like to make sure that the bus serves the purpose and lasts the intended life time.”

From budget 2022, $121 million was earmarked for the provision of health fa cilities and living quarters for doctors to be stationed in the hinterland commu nities, and Paruima was identified.

MP Williams who is also from the village, ex plained that there was never a doctor stationed there.

Williams noted, “It will mean a lot to the village es pecially to the residents of Paruima because the travel ling distance from Paruima to the nearest health centre, Kamarang, it takes about 8 hours by boat and yeah, we do have airstrip but its not guaranteed that the aircraft would come at any time. So, the doctor’s quarter will really cut down on the cost not only travelling and also travelling to Kamarang

hospital.”

Paruima is a small vil lage situated in Region Sev en, Upper Mazaruni with a population of 800.

The construction of doc tors’ quarters and health facilities is also ongoing in Issano and Kaikan, com munities also located in Upper Mazaruni. These interventions all tie in to the government’s overall effort to enhance primary health services across Guyana.

The $14M doctors’ quarters at Paruima

DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

Over 100 Guyanese employed under Linden-Mabura Hill Road project

More than 100 Guyanese have found employ ment through the US $190 million Linden to Mabura Hill Road construction proj ect currently underway by a Brazilian company, Constru tora Queiroz Galvao S.A.

Conducting his first in spection of the multi-bil lion-dollar project, recently, Public Works Minister, Bish op Juan Edghill expressed satisfaction with the progress the team has made so far, noting that more employ ment opportunities will be created for Guyanese. “We have more than 100 locals employed on the project. They have done the grub bing and the clearance up to 40 kilometres along the road. There is also some excavation work being done, and more than 80 pieces of equipment have been import ed,” he explained.

The government has been investing heavily in the Up per Demerara-Berbice re gion, providing thousands of jobs for residents.

Job opportunities have been made available in the housing and telecommuni cations sectors, as over 150 gained employment under the housing ministry’s home construction drive in the mining town.

Hundreds more have been employed by through the call centre initiative, with almost a thousand more taking advantage of the gov ernment’s part-time jobs initiative.

The Linden to Mabura Road project is another av enue for economic advance ment for residents, as well as the region. Guyana signed the groundbreaking contract for the project in May this year, a venture which has been in the pipeline for de cades.

Minister Edghill said the road will generate econom ic activity and is only one aspect of the larger plan to secure transformation across the country. “We will have the proper reinforcement and we will be able to get every

vehicle through the corridor from Linden through to Le them on a consistent basis.”

Minister Edghill stated.

The project is expected to last for three years and will boost trade and open massive avenues for business ventures between Guyana and Brazil.

The first phase of the project will see a two-lane highway being constructed from sand and dirt to an as phaltic concrete surface. The road will be approximately 121 kilometres long and 7.2 metres wide.

It will also include a cy cle and pedestrian lane mea suring 2 metres wide, along with 10 bus stops equipped with ramps for persons with disabilities.

Minister Edghill was ac companied by Senior Engi neer at the Ministry of Public Works, Sherod Parkinson, Hinterland Engineer, Jeffrey Walcott, Chief Engineer, Ron Rahaman, and other rep resentatives from the Minis try of Public Works.

Den Amstel farmers’ group receives tillers to boost production – works ongoing to clear critical drainage structures

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, on Thursday (September 29, 2022) handed over two tillers to the Den Amstel Progres sive Fellowship Farmers’ Group. The donation came following a commitment made by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo during a recent outreach in Re gion Three. During the out reach, the farmers requested assistance to increase and improve production in the village.

During the handing-over exercise, Minister Mustapha said that the government re mains committed to ensuring farmers from every village benefit from the country’s resources. He also said that the ministry will continue to work with the farmers to increase their production as part of CARICOM’s over arching goal of lowering the regional food import bill by 25% by 2025.

committed to having the requested works done as well as donating some equip ment. These tools will help them to enhance their land preparation and improve and increase their production,” he said.

More than 1,000 jobs have been created in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector from 2020 to date.

This was disclosed by Se nior Minister in the Office of the President with responsi bility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who speaking at the official launch of another loca tion of BPO company Express International Inc, recently, in Henrietta village, Region Two. “That’s 1,000 families who now have an additional income than before in their homes. That’s 1,000 young Guya nese persons getting perhaps their first job, exposed to a high technology environment, working on computers, com municating with clients across the other side of the world, developing a whole range of skills,” Dr Singh noted.

He said the PPP/C Gov ernment’s vision is to see as many Guyanese, of working age employed and improving themselves. “Our vision is that every single Guyanese family and every single Guy anese person must experi ence improvement in their lives, whether that means a job where you previously did

not have a job, a skill where you did not previously have a skill or a wider range of skills, an opportunity to earn higher incomes for your families, an opportunity to become a homeowner, an opportunity to get higher education, an op portunity for upliftment,” the senior minister emphasised.

He noted that the opening of the centre in Region Two is an example of the unfolding of the government’s vision as it represents the first BPO operation in the region. The minister also commended the company’s projection of em ploying close to 150 persons by next year, as it continues to expand. “We want to see that growth materialise. We have always said that economic growth must not be confined to one city or one region in Guyana,” he added.

While a lot of econom ic activities are taking place along the East and West Coast of Demerara and the East Bank corridor, owing to the oil and gas industry, Dr Singh assured that the government’s commit ment is to ensure that new jobs are created across the country.

The minister also noted the administration’s investment

in facilities that can house call centres in Anna Regina and Onderneeming, Region Two, and Palmyra and Number 75 Village, Region Six.

He said each location can accommodate 150 seats and if each location institutes a three-shift system, some 450 jobs can be created per lo cation. This will translate to some 900 jobs in each region and a total of 1,800 new jobs through the investment. “We see this as very important from the point of view of job creation and skills accumula tion,” Minister Singh pointed out.

BPO firm, Midas BPO, which was launched in Sep tember 2021, in partnership with the government is also seeking to employ 1,000 peo ple in the coming year, in Region 10.

Further, these efforts will complement the government’s part-time jobs initiative launched across the country by Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

All these efforts are in keeping with the PPP/C Administration’s unyield ing commitment to creating 50,000 jobs.

“During an outreach in Region Three, this group met with the Vice President and requested the government’s assistance because they are interested in agriculture and took note of what the gov ernment is doing for the sector in terms of support and investment. We had a follow-up meeting with the Vice President and he

Lloyd Harvey, a member of the farmers’ group said since the group was formed just over six years ago this was the first time it has re ceived assistance from the government to push agricul ture. “We met with the Vice President about two months back during an outreach in Region Three. He invited us to meet with him again at the Arthur Chung Conference Center to discuss in detail what were some of the things we needed to get agriculture going. Accepting this dona tion on behalf of the group, I must say it is really timely and I want to assure the Vice President along with the Minister and his team that our farmers’ group will make a difference. In relation to the excavation works that are being done, I want to say a heartfelt thank you also,” Mr. Harvey said.

The farmers’ group consists of approximately 35 members who cultivate mostly cash crops with ap proximately 400 acres of farmland. Mr. Harvey ex

plained that not all 400 acres are currently under cultiva tion. However, he noted with the donated equipment and other interventions to im prove drainage in the farm ing areas, the farmers will be able to move towards increasing their cultivation and output.

Minister Mustapha also explained that in addition to tillers, the ministry is currently executing infra structural works to comple ment drainage in the farming areas. “In addition to this, we are also doing massive drain age and irrigation works in DenAmstel. Approximately $13 million has been bud geted to clear clogged canals. This shows our commitment to improving agriculture across the country. This is how our government works. We have to ensure the avail able resources are stretched and divided across this entire country so that every citizen benefits,” he added.

Given CARICOM’s food security efforts, Minister Mustapha said that the gov ernment is invested heavily in agriculture and remains committed to not only re ducing the regional food im port bill but to diversifying, improving, and increasing production in all areas within the agriculture sector.

$6.8M online ticket booking system for ferry service launched

The Ministry of Pub lic Works -Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD), in collaboration with Mobile Money Guyana (MMG+) launched Guyana’s first online ticket booking system for water transport, ‘Ferry Pass’ on Saturday.

The platform, which costs some $6.8 million was developed by local tech nology company, V75 Inc, and aims to mitigate issues encountered by ferry passen gers as it relates to securing places on the vessels.

Delivering his remarks at the launch, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill stated that the launch of the revolutionary new ser vice is in alignment with the PPP/C’s manifesto promise of making life better for all Guyanese.

This includes introduc

ing new and innovative methods of eliminating is sues that are faced by citi zens. “At the centre of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic manifesto and work, it is not only about delivering the new roads and bridges, and new four-lane highways, and building better Stellings and hard infrastructure, but at the centre of what we do, it’s people. And whenever we do something that will improve the lives of people, we are achieving what we set out to do,” the Minister said.

He outlined the benefits of the service, highlighting that not only does it save time for passengers travel ling by ferry, but utilising the online service ensures that persons will be able to secure a place on the ferry; especially those who are

travelling with vehicles. “So, this afternoon as we launch Ferry Pass, it is making a difference in the lives of tens of thousands who use this ferry service,” Bishop Edghill said.

The launch of the service is a culmination of Minister Edghill’s initiative to im prove the level of service delivered by the Transport and Harbours Department.

It will be used concur rent to the existing ferry system. However, persons who book online would take precedence over those who register in person.

Persons utilising the on line booking platform can pay primarily via MMG+. However, CEO of V75 Inc has assured that other pay ment options, inclusive of credit and debit cards, will be added in the future.

More than 1,000 jobs created in BPO sector so far – Dr Singh – call centres in Regions Two, Six to create 1,800 jobs

Gasoline and Diesel prices slashed at the pump

Senior Minister in the Of fice of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, announced on behalf of the Government a reduction of gasoline and diesel prices at the pump to be charged by the Guyana Oil Company Ltd (GUY OIL).

The prices at the pump charged by GUYOIL will be reduced as follows: gasoline prices reduced by 20 percent from $269 per litre to $215 per litre, and diesel prices reduced by 15 percent from $265 per litre to $225 per litre. These changes are ex pected to start taking effect as early as October 2, 2022.

During the first half of 2022, global oil prices surged more than 50 percent, increasing from US$77 per barrel at the end December 2021 to US$120 in June of this year; having risen as

high as US$137 per barrel primarily as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The impact of the dramatic increases in oil prices were significant and given the interconnected nature of the global economy, translated into higher cost of landing fuel in Guyana.

In order to mitigate the impact of rising global fuel prices on domestic con sumers and the productive sectors to which fuel is a key input, the Government lowered the Excise Tax rate on both gasoline and diesel from 10 percent to 0 percent in March of this year. It would be recalled that, pre viously, during the Budget 2022 presentation, the Gov ernment lowered the Excise Tax on both gasoline and diesel from 20 percent to 10 percent so as to minimise the impact of rising global oil

prices. The Government has been progressive lowering the Excise Tax rate on both gasoline and diesel, from 50 percent to 35 percent in February 2021, 35 percent to 20 percent in October 2021, in keeping with Government policy to adjust the taxes on fuel, to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on the world market.

Since resuming office in August 2020, the PPP/C Government has implement ed a suite of measures to ease cost of living pressures and to improve disposable incomes, in an ongoing effort to address these issues headon and to mitigate the effects of rising prices globally on all Guyanese citizens. The reduction in excise taxes is one such measure within the wide menu of measures implemented by Government since assuming office.

Process to begin soon to meet CLE law school requirements

74 firefighters, EMTs graduate following nine-week training

Some 44 firefighting re cruits and 30 emergency technicians graduated on September 30, 2022 fol lowing a nine-week techni cal training at the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) training Centre at Leonora, Region Three.

The training programme provided basic recruitment knowledge to the new GFS recruits and EMT officers, who are now equipped to carry out firefighting and rescue duties.

Speaking at the grad uation ceremony, Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, said the Fire Service

is making the necessary strides in positioning young people for the future. “I want to applaud the efforts of the Guyana Fire Service in con tinuing the efforts to train young people to take over the roles, the positions, the activities which are pivotal to Guyana’s development,” he said.

While acknowledging the important role the GFS plays in protecting lives and property, Minister Benn added, “the Guyana Fire Ser vice is at a pivotal point in terms of its development, the Guyana Fire Service has to rise to meet the expectations

in terms of our country’s development, in terms of this historical point in our country’s history.”

The aim of the pro gramme is to produce fire fighters and EMTs capable of upholding the values and services of the GFS.

The prospective firefight ers were drawn from differ ent parts of the country.

All the candidates were required to be academically and physically functional individuals between the ages of 18 and 35. They were interviewed and assessed by the members of the training and recruitment board.

National Forensic Lab to receive new equipment, trained personnel − AG

The Guyana Forensic Sci ence Laboratory (GFSL) will soon be re-equipped both with equipment, and the highest trained forensic personnel in the country, to enhance the capabilities of the judiciary in their efforts to fight crime.

month international training course.

trained prosecutors placed at every magistrate’s court.

W

orks to fulfill the re quirements set out by the Council of Legal Edu cation (CLE) to establish a law school in Guyana are expected to begin as early as next week.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, made the announcement on recently during the recommissioning ceremony of the Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court, Black Bush Polder, East-Berbice Corentyne.

For nearly three decades, Guyana has been trying to establish a law school within its jurisdiction.

In 2017, the then APNU/ AFC Attorney General, Ba sil Williams, SC, signed a Memorandum of Under standing (MOU) with the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and Law College of the Americas (LCA) for the establishment of a law school in Guyana.

However, this motion was outrightly rejected, since the CLE is the only lawful authority for the ad ministering of legal pro fessional education in the Caribbean region.

The MOU was not reflec tive of CLE’s permission.

“You would have heard

me also mention last week that Guyana was able to persuade the council of legal education to consider the es tablishment of a council law school within the jurisdic tion of Guyana. And as I in dicated in a press statement, I was ably supported by the Honourable Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Guy ana Barr as I presented the case for Guyana,” Minister Nandlall said.

He said the initiative is important due to the high demand for legal services not only in Guyana, but across the Caribbean. As such, he emphasised the significance of the proposed law school having a region al reach, rather than one intended only for Guyanese law students. “Students will come here from across the Caribbean. It will be an addition to the existing re gional law schools existing in three different jurisdic tions across the Caribbean. Guyana hopefully will be come a fourth destination,” he stated.

An approval for the law school in Guyana would make it the fourth institu tion to be operated by the Council of Legal Education within CARICOM.

While the law school would be a council’s in stitution, managed and ad ministered by the CLE, the Government of Guyana, as the host country, will pro vide the land and buildings as set out in the decision established by the council.

The CLE operates three other law schools within the region: the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad – both established in 1973 – and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas which was established in 1998.

The law school initiative merges into the govern ment’s commitment to pro mote Guyana as an attractive offshore education destina tion and fulfil the PPP/C’s manifesto promise of train ing Guyanese at every level.

This policy will create a skilled workforce repository that will chart the direction of the country’s develop ment trajectory.

Guyana’s proposed law school is expected to attract students from across the region and further afield and will ease the overcapacity which currently exists at the Hugh Wooding and Normal Manley Law Schools.

This disclosure was made by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, during a recent event. The attor ney general said crime is a serious issue that must be recognised against the backdrop of the major-scale development taking place in Guyana.

He assured that the PPP/C Government is un folding a number of initia tives and investing in re sources to tackle the pressing issue. “[Crime] will not dis appear momentarily, but we are putting in place institutes to ensure that the issue is tackled fundamentally, fo rensically, and scientifically. So, we are going to re-equip our forensic lab both with equipment, and the highest qualified forensic personnel. Every day we are working with the police force in en suring that their investigative capabilities are improved,” he stated.

Recently, some 29 pros ecutors of the Guyana Police Force participated in a six-

Another revolutionary programme to train 71 per sons with a Bachelor’s De gree in Law (LLB) from the University of Guyana (UG), who did not further their legal education at any of the law schools across the Caribbean was also recently conducted.

The programme, dubbed ‘Certificate in Advocacy and Evidence for Summary Courts Prosecutors’, saw the Ministry of Legal Af fairs and Attorney General’s Chambers partnering with UG to ensure its successful execution. Participants of the programme were trained in Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law and Evidence Finding, and will operate as part of the prosecutorial arm of the state under the constitutional supervision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Thirty-five of the par ticipants could be awarded a scholarship to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School or any regional law school, based on their performance during the training. The course was funded by the Inter-American Develop ment Bank (IDB) through the Support for Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme to the tune of some US$8 mil lion, with the aim of having

“We have inducted them into the police force, and they are going through a training process because they are members of the force. That is the only way, without legal qualifications, and without any change of the law, that they can appear and have a right of audience before the court without the requisite legal qualifications,” AG Nandlall stated.

He asserted that the pros ecutors will play an import ant role in revamping Guy ana’s justice system, and provide citizens with better legal representation. “We are putting these measures in place to ensure that your interest, the victims of crime, the state’s interest, both at the investigative level as well as at the level of the criminal justice system is protected, because your interest is im portant.”

The Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory was com missioned in July 2014 by then Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, and for mer Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee at its location in Turkeyen, behind the UG campus.

The re-equipment of the lab will play a tremendous role in bolstering Guyana’s judicial sector.

DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

500 homes project launched in Bartica

– first 100 three-bedroom units set to be constructed

The Housing and Wa ter Ministry on Tuesday (October 4, 2022) launched its 500 homes project in Bar tica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), where the first 100 three-bedroom housing units will be constructed at Five Miles.

The 864-square-foot units are pegged at $9 million each.

Each unit will be equipped with a washroom, living room and a kitchen with cupboards, among other amenities.

The initiative is deliver ing on a commitment made by His Excellency, Dr Irfaan Ali when he led an outreach in the region in June this year.

Delivering remarks at the launching at the Bartica Community Centre, Hous ing and Water Minister, Collin Croal said the initial phase of the project will tar

get young professionals in the region, including teach ers and healthcare workers.

“If we are targeting 500 houses, we are basically speaking on house con struction, not infrastructure, about $4 billion investment on housing,” Minister Croal said while highlighting the spin-off effects of the proj ects, which include job cre ation and overall better quality of life for Bartica residents.

Minister Croal mentioned the government’s collabo rations with the commer cial banks which will allow persons to benefit from low mortgage rates. He explained, “on a 30-year lending peri od with a $9 million house means a monthly installment of $42,000…at 25 years, it’s about four thousand and something more, still below $50,000.”

The Minister noted that

the construction of the houses forms part of the govern ment’s developmental agen da for Region Seven. The ministry has already acquired 100 acres of land as part of its initial programme to reduce the backlog of more than 900 applicants in the area.

Several persons regis tered for the programme and the banks are pre-qualifying prospective beneficiaries for loans to purchase homes. Technical officers of the Cen tral Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) were also available to update persons’ applications, accepted new applications and addressed processing of titles/trans ports, among other services.

Permanent Secretary, An dre Ally, Chief Executive Officer of the CHPA, Sher wyn Greaves and Regional Executive Officer, Kerwin Ward were also present at the event.

Guyana gets US$12M for skills development, employability project

‘We intend to make Guyana an arbitration capital’ – Attorney General

The PPP/C government will continue to pursue a transformative legislative agenda designed to give the nation a cutting-edge legal system to support its devel opment, according to Attor ney General, Anil Nandlall.

“To be taken to the par liament is the most modern Arbitration Bill in the Carib bean. In fact, it is described as a CARICOM model, be cause we intend to make Guyana an arbitration capital of not only the Caribbean but possibly Central America,” he said on Wednesday (Oc tober 5, 2022).

Arbitration is the ideal method of dispute resolution for the oil and gas sector and a modern legislation would instill confidence in international investors that

Guyana can be a competent arbitration hub.

The Attorney General as serted that the government is confident in its ability to pro vide the necessary infrastruc ture, educate the necessary employees, and prepare the system to deal with conflicts that may arise in the indus try. In support of the Arbitra tion Bill, he highlighted that a series of training exercises commenced last year for professionals, the judiciary, and the private sector.

He explained, “Sensi tising the population of the concept of arbitration, the importance of arbitration, and the benefits we can de rive from making Guyana an arbitration destination. Many of the huge contracts that are being entered, both at the

level of infrastructure as well as in the oil and gas sector have arbitration clauses that require this arbitration to be taken to different parts of the world if the contracts require arbitration.”

AG Nandlall also not ed that Guyana does not currently have a modern arbitration infrastructure to meet international standards. He said,

“We intend to change that. The arbitration industry alone is a multi-billion-dollar industry.”

The PPP/C Government remains committed by re pealing outdated laws and creating a contemporary legal framework. The gov ernment has set out on a rig orous mission to modernise Guyana’s legal system.

Agri. Ministry and FAO partner to better equip small fishers – some 150 artisanal fishers to benefit from safety gear

he Government of Guy ana has received financ ing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) totalling US$12, 252,000 to roll out the Guyana Skills Development and Employ ability project.

T

fixing, motor vehicle repairs, plumbing, welding and fab rication, commercial food preparation, graphic design, garment making and furni ture making.

The initiative will see practical instruction centres across the country being boosted to deliver Techni cal Vocational Education and Training (TVET) pro grammes.

The Ministry of Educa tion has tendered the supply of tools and equipment for six (6) practical instruction centres in 10 lots.

These include: home keeping, masonry and steel

According to the bid doc ument, consideration will be limited to firms or joint ventures of firms which are legally incorporated or other wise organised in, and have their principal place of busi ness in an eligible country.

The firm must be more than 50 per cent beneficial ly owned by a citizen or citizens and/or bona fide resident or residents of an eligible country, or by a body corporate, owned or controlled by the govern

ment of an eligible country, provided that it is legally and financially autonomous and operated under the com mercial law of an eligible country and otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of the CDB Guidelines for Procurement (2006).

Eligible countries are member countries of CDB.

The bidding document is obtainable at no cost to the prospective bidders. Hard copies of bids must be sub mitted in sealed envelopes no later than Tuesday, Octo ber 11, 2022, to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Main and Urquhart Streets, Kings ton, Georgetown.

Rehabilitation of roads in Belle West nearing completion

esidents of Belle West, Region Three will soon traverse on newly rehabili tated roadways, as upgrades to some of the 10 previ ously dilapidated roads in the community are nearing completion.

This was disclosed by

Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat In dar. He explained that the projects that have a two to three- month deadline are nearing completion and will soon be opened to residents for use

Projects with a five to six-

month deadline are expected to be delivered within the stipulated time frame.

The minister had pre viously met with residents on August 27 concerning the projects that were to be undertaken. There, he urged

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations handed over a quantity of safety equipment to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department, on Wednesday (October 5, 2022), as part of its Emergency Response and Early Recovery Support to Smallholder Farmers Af fected by the 2021 Floods in Guyana and Suriname programme.

The donation, which saw some 150 pieces of safety gear, comprising fuel con tainers, life jackets, firstaid kits, rain jackets, and whistles, were procured for approximately $9.6 million.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha while offering remarks said the fisheries sub-sector was one of the most important and second-highest income earn ing sub-sector within the agriculture sector. “Approxi mately 9,000 people directly depend on this sector while thousands indirectly depend on it to earn a livelihood. The government will there fore continue to make the necessary interventions and

give the necessary support to our fisherfolk. They are important stakeholders to help achieve a food-secure CARICOM as they contin ue to brave the elements so that we are able to consume protein at a cheap cost,” the minister said.

He also said that the gov ernment had taken note of the challenges faced by fish ermen due to low catches over the past year which saw H.E. President Dr. Irfaan Ali announcing a $150,000 oneoff grant for fishers. “The significance of this year be ing the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture is emphasized in the theme, ‘’small in scale, big in value.’’. Our President, H.E. Dr. Irfaan Ali earlier this year recognized the chal lenges our fishers are facing with low catches stemming from key global issues, such as climate change, and ocean acidification, and in response announced a one-off relief grant to all fishers to the tune of $150,000 to help ease the burdens they face. We are currently in the process of distributing these grants to

those who earn a living at sea,” he added.

Minister Mustapha also said that the report done by the FAO to determine the factors behind the low catch es will be released soon.

Meanwhile, FAO’s Country Representative, Dr. Gillian Smith while offering remarks said the ability of small fishers to stay safe at sea remains a great concern to policymakers and pledged FAO’s continued support to the government in this regard. “This is part of an emergency response proj ect that we started in which we’ve done some work with livestock and crop farmers. Today, we are very grateful to be working with the min istry for fishers, in particular small fishers. We know that there is a great concern for small fishers and their ability to stay safe at sea while they are making their livelihood so we are very pleased to provide some support,” Dr. Smith said.

Some 150 fishers from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six are expected to benefit from the project.

─ bids open for supply of tools for six practical centres

R

Sahoye-Shurry stood tall...

completely bought out the recognized union, the MPCA, which was led by Richard Ishmael. After the PPP was thrown out of office in 1964, the Burnham-led PNC gov ernment sought to consoli date the MPCA as the trade union representing the work ers and the work of Philo and her colleagues intensified in the sugar belt. In Berbice, where a police team was al ways on hand to arrest Philo, she was a fixture in Berbice, with people eagerly awaiting to hear the person they called the “Fireball”. Harry Lall was a good speaker on the plat form, as was Victor Downer from Canje. People adored and hanged on every word that Cheddi spoke. But Philo generated a special kind of oratory that excited people. Once it was announced that the “Fireball” was scheduled to speak, people flocked. Our home was where the GAWU team gathered

before all public meetings, where the leaders would have their private meetings.

She engaged us in long dis cussions about social justice and why there was a dire need for the MPCA to be replaced. She lit up as she spoke about the inhumane working conditions that the then-MPCA colluded with Bookers to continue in the sugar industry. The down trodden always had a special place in her heart.

After studying and work ing in America, when I re turned to Guyana, we met again at Freedom House in 1991. It was the first time I would have seen her af ter more than twenty years. She was the same dignified, stately woman, and the same “Fireball” I had known in my boyhood days. There was no reason for her to remember me. But once I reminded her who I was, she began a long journey of reminiscing, re

minding me about my mom’s roti and stewed fish.

Philo had not lost her pas sion for the struggle; she had not lost sight of those she had dedicated her life’s journey to, the vulnerable, the poor, the women and children.

Between 1997 and up to the 2011 elections, we shared the public platform many times. Each time she spoke I was awed by the continued passion and vigour that she brought to the public plat form. After 1992, she had become an MP and we served also in Parliament for many years together. In Parlia ment, her speeches were the same oratory that she had on the public platform, always well-prepared, almost as if choreographed. She had also become the National Director of Community Development, a role she used to promote women in small enterprises and building vocational ca pacity among women groups

across Guyana.

The PPP, her home, con tinues to build support among the masses. No political party has the diversity that the PPP enjoys today. When we look at Freedom House today, when we look at the youth leadership of the party, when

we look at the crowd that gathered to pay tribute to a phenomenal lady. The crowd looked and felt like Guyana.

In part the success of the PPP to become the only national party in Guyana, with support from every ethnic group, with support from every re

gion of Guyana has to do with the hard work and ded ication of Lady Philomena Sahoye-Shury. I am honored that I got an opportunity to be by her side for so many years.

Rest in peace Philo. Your time on earth made a differ ence.

Rehabilitation of roads in Belle

the contractors to complete the works within the deadline specified and to the minis try’s specifications.

“When you open up the road, make sure you have the

material, get the thing done quickly. Don’t leave it open and then you’re waiting on some compacting test, taking two, three weeks,” the Min ister had said at the meeting

in August.

A total of $334.6 million was allocated by the gov ernment to rehabilitate the roadways that were identi fied as priority roads by the

residents.

The construction and re habilitation works are being undertaken by Construction & Establishment, MK Han if Construction Service, P.

Hariram & Son Contracting, Expert General Contracting Service, Hoosein Logistics & Supplies Inc., Amic General Contracting Service, Naran Construction, Deodat Sew

kumarcharran Construction, VR Construction Inc., and T. Mohan Weeding, Cleaning & General Supply.

Guyana Prepares for Competitive Oil and Gas Bidding Round 2022

The Government of Guy ana (GoG) is preparing to launch its first bidding round for offshore

exploration and produc tion of hydrocarbon blocks. Cabinet is finalising the new fiscal terms and conditions which will allow for the coun try to gain the maximum economic benefits as we ad vance the exploration and development of the Guyana offshore blocks.

The 2022 bidding round, which is expected to be offi cially launched soon, and will be opened for several months which will give interested companies sufficient time to prepare their competitive packages and bid to win the available acreages offshore; which will be done in an open and transparent manner.

Since the discovery of Liza in 2015 the Guyana

offshore basin has seen un precedented development, with Guy ana setting a new paradigm for expeditious development of oil and gas resources. Ac cording to S&P Global, “the four- and-a-half-year time frame from discovery to first production places Guyana first among global deepwater jurisdictions in terms of the average time to bring major discoveries on stream.”

With the upcoming bid ding round the Government of Guyana expects to chart a new path as the Guyana offshore areas emerge as a potential super basin with over 11 billion boe (barrels of oil equivalent) discovered to date and with substantial exploration activities ongo ing this figure is expected to increase significantly. To this end, Cabinet is concluding a

definitive terms of reference for the competitive licensing round which will foster a con ducive investment environ ment while maximizing value for the people of Guyana. In this process the government seeks to:

1. Obtain a fair share: Ensure the country gets a fairer share of revenues from oil and gas resources through improved fiscal arrangements to benefit the people of Guyana.

2. Manage risk: Safeguard the safety of people and the environment by following international best practices in offshore oil and gas devel opment.

3. Remain competitive: Main tain a competitive position in the region and globally as key to continued success.

4. Encourage investor con fidence: Assure investors of stability, predictability, and

Guyana remains committed...

entertain the Application filed by the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on 29 March 2018 in so far as it concerns the validity of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 and the related question of the defin itive settlement of the land boundary dispute between the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela… (the Court) unanimously, Finds that it does not have jurisdiction to entertain the claims of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana arising from events that occurred af ter the signature of the Geneva Agreement.”

ICJ CASE

The Hague-based Interna tional Court of Justice (ICJ) held public hearings on the question of the Court’s juris diction in the case concern ing the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) on June 30, 2020. The ICJ had postponed the long-anticipated hearing of the Guyana/Venezuela border dispute case that was sched uled to begin on March 23, 2020, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

Guyana is seeking to ob tain from the Court a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then-British Guiana and Ven ezuela, remains valid and binding, and that Guyana’s Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.

Guyana took its case to the Court following the deci sion by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in Jan uary 2018, that the contro versy between Guyana and Venezuela should be decided by the International Court of Justice. In taking his decision, the Secretary-General was exercising the power vested in him in the 1966 Geneva Agreement between Guyana, Venezuela and the United Kingdom to decide how the controversy should be settled.

Venezuela has claimed, in a letter to the Court, that the Secretary-General ex ceeded his authority under the Geneva Agreement, and that the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Guy ana’s lawsuit. On this basis, Venezuela has indicated that it will not participate in the proceedings. On November 19, 2018, Guyana submitted its Memorial to the Court re futing Venezuela’s arguments and demonstrating that the Court has jurisdiction. How ever, under well-established judicial precedent, the Court will proceed to decide if it has jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, irrespective of wheth er or not Venezuela partici pates in the proceedings.

MOVE TO COURT

Under the United Nations Charter and the Court’s own rules, its final judgments both on jurisdiction and the mer its will be legally binding on Guyana and Venezuela, whether or not Venezuela

participates in the proceed ings.

Efforts over more than half-a-century, including a four-year Mixed Commission (1966-1970), a twelve-year moratorium (1970-1982), a seven-year process of con sultations on a means of set tlement (1983-1990), and a twenty-seven-year Good Offices Process under the UN Secretary-General’s authority (1990-2017), all failed to end the border controversy.

The move to the ICJ was advanced there was no suc cess with a further attempt, using the United Nations’ Good Offices process, to resolve the matter of Ven ezuela’s renewed claim to Guyana’s territory, the Esse quibo County. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in 2015, charged that the signing of the 1966 Geneva Agreement rendered the 1899 Arbitral Award null and void.

On 30 January 2018, United Nations Secre tary-General António Gu terres, acting under the au thority bestowed upon him by the Geneva Agreement, chose adjudication by the Court as the means for resolving the controversy with finality. Guyana commenced proceed ings before the Court on 29 March 2018 in accordance with the Secretary-General’s decision.

Guyana’s legal repre sentatives before the Court includes the efforts of Sir Shridath Ramphal.

security on investment.

5. Maintain the pace of de velopment: Continue with efficient and sustainable de velopment of oil and gas resources whilst balancing the nation’s developmental agen da with its climate change goals. Guyana stands out as the most successful of the frontiers now having moved into early-stage production, and it is among the countries that have the best prospects of succeeding, given the cur rent pace of development.

Major oil and gas deepwater expertise has been key to un locking the offshore basin’s potential and enabling the development of discovered resources. Given that Guyana has adopted an open-door policy for acreage allocation, which, coupled with rea sonably attractive fiscal and contractual terms has proven successful. This has allowed our oil and gas sector to set a new paradigm for accelerated deepwater development. The Government of Guyana will

be embarking on an intensive promoting campaign with all necessary technical data and requirements which will ensure that the competitive bidding round is successful for the future development of the offshore exploration and production of hydrocarbons for Guyana’s economy. Fur ther, this process will be done in keeping with international best practices for transpar ency and accountability for competitive oil and gas bid ding processes.

Op-Ed: Philomena dedicated her life to uplift workers

By Clement Rohee

I

f there is a Guyanese wom an who dedicated her life to the struggle to uplift the living and working condi tions of sugar workers in par ticular and workers in gen eral in Guyana, that woman is Philomena Sahoye-Shury

Growing up in the Pro gressive Youth Organization (PYO) youth arm of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), I saw Comrade Phi lomena at work in the field and at meetings with her trade union colleagues in cluding Ram Karran, Harry Lall, Maccie Hamid, Albert Bodhoo, Ramprashad, Guy Fedricks, Komal Chand, James Dastigir and other outstanding trade unionists associated with the Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU), later named, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union.

It was from her feisty political activism as a lead ing member of the PPP and her fiery speeches at public meetings at sugar estates

with the workers as a trade unionist, that Philomena was popularly branded ‘The Fireball’.

Philomena had a distinct and unique voice that she could express with a certain pitch or highness. She spoke in a way her audience could understand, and the ideas and messages she sought to con vey. Philomena was neither a dull nor monotonous speak er, she was a natural speaker, never artificial nor disin genuous. She had her own distinct style never speaking as if at a funeral dirge.

I have had the privilege of listening to Philomena and sometimes joining with her at GAWU-sponsored May Day rallies in the countryside, on numerous and memorable election campaign trails, at bottom house meetings to fight off attacks by politi cally sponsored poachers who sought to undermine GAWU’s vanguard role in the sugar industry, and at the same time, attacking GAWU because of its affiliation with the PPP.

The thin line that demar cates fear from respect was the way she was viewed by the labour aristocracy and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie who controlled the sugar industry before and after nationalisation.

Philomena loved going on House-to House cam paigns. She would ‘load’ a group of young boys and girls into an open-back ve hicle and take them along with her on such campaigns encouraging those we visited to join the PPP, to buy the Mirror newspaper or ‘Thun der’, the official organ of the PPP or simply to distribute handbills about a topic po litical or economic issue in Guyana

Philomena was a power ful speaker, she had a knack for communicating or just rapping with sugar workers, she was well versed in their lingo and knew the vagaries of the industry ‘like the back of her hand.’

‘Philo’ as we called her, knew quite well the woes and distresses of the workers

at every sugar estate. She knew how to ‘fire them up’ to encouraging them to con tinue and never give up their struggle for better wages and working conditions; to be confident with the de mand for recognition of their Union and to imbue in them, hope and inspire them with optimism in the future.

It was with a sense of great anticipation that when ever she rose to speak as a member of the National Assembly, the entire House would be silent knowing they would be treated with real life experiences conveyed with energy and aliveness that compelled members on both sides of the House to listen and learn about the Guyanese people’s struggle for independence, social justice and why economic development must be for the benefit of the working people.

What many people do not know is that Philomena understood well the impor tance of popular or grass roots culture as a means of

communication and what it meant for families of sugar workers who hungered for progressive and healthy en tertainment.

In the absence in those days of television and social media when cinema-going was the only entertainment outlet available to the few at the estates who could afford to take the entire family to the cinema, grassroots cultur al entertainment was greatly appreciated by people at the sugar estates.

It was under those condi tions and in the face of that reality, Philomena organised groups of young girls and boys who would perform skits and recite poems re flecting life on sugar estates.

Philomena and her close Comrade and friend, Shirley Edwards helped form choirs of five or six of ‘old and young YO’s’ who would be taught to sing revolution ary, patriotic or individual ly composed folk songs at ‘Penny Concerts’ held either at community centres or school halls in the villages

and wider communities in the rural areas.

Talk about defending women’s rights? Philomena must be placed in the pan theon of outstanding Guya nese women who, from the time she entered politics and trade unionism, weathered the storm in defense of the rights of women in general but of women sugar workers in particular. Whatever the level or forum, Philomena was there speaking out in her unique fireball style, champi oning the rights of working women of Guyana and the world at large.

Learning of her passing, her comrades and friends would know that her ener getic voice and passionate speeches will no longer be heard. It is that characteristic feature of our ‘Fireball’ we will miss most of all.

And while we bestow garlands upon her, we re call Richard Strauss’ words; “The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play.”

COMMENTARY

‘Fireball’ Philomena Sahoye-Shurry stood tall, unbowed and untamed in fight for working class

By Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

T

hey fired her from her job as the National Director of Community Development in 2015, in a purely political act.

In 2011, they firebombed her home, a failed political assassination attempt.

In 1995, she was sup posed to be mayor of George town, but they conspired to prevent her from being sworn in as Mayor. The PNC, the GGG and the PPP had a compromise agreement to rotate the mayorship since no party had the majority in the Georgetown City Council. Hamilton Green was going to be the mayor in 1994 and Philo was to become the mayor in 1995. But Hamilton Green and the PNC conspired to deny Philo the opportunity to become Mayor. It was another of the myriad exam ples of PNC betrayal in our country and another assault on democracy and the oppor tunity to work together.

In the 1960s and 1970s, they jailed her many times. The list of charges constitutes a big book.

na Sahoye-Shury stood tall, unbowed and untamed. She was a warrior for the work ing-class people for almost 80 years of her life.

The story of the women’s rights movement, the strug gle for and the victories for equal rights for women, the struggle for political inde pendence, the struggle of the workers through their unions, organizing sugar workers to force the colonial masters and then the PNC dictators to recognize GAWU, a union that has grown to be the most powerful trades union in Guyana and the Caribbean, cannot be told without the plethora of roles Philomena Sahoye-Shury played.

On October 5 night at the Arthur Chung Convention Center, a large crowd gath ered to pay tribute to Philo mena Sahoye-Shury. It was fitting that the tribute took place on October 5 which has become a significant day of celebration and reflection because on October 5, 1992, democracy and freedom were restored in Guyana, a strug gle Pilo played an import ant role in. The foyer of the Convention Center was

filled and a crowd spilling upwards in the upper floor and outside of the center took time, coming from far-off places like Crabwood Creek, Kwakwani and Linden, as far away from the Pomeroon River, to pay tribute to a phe nomenal woman, a woman of incredible worth, a genuine Guyanese heroine. Philome na had joined the struggle as a youth, inspired by leaders like Cheddi and Janet Jagan, C.V Nunes, Ashton Chase, Brinley Benn, EMG “CoCo” Wilson, Joycelyn Hubbard and others.

She came out of a family that organized for Burnham and the PNC in the Agricola/ McDoom area. Her family was part of the Viera family, a wealthy family, but hers was the poor part of that family. Yet, even as a youth, inspired by the struggles of the poor, inspired by the independence movement, she took a political path very different from her family.

President Irfan Ali, for mer presidents, Bharat Jag deo and Donald Ramotar, present and past ministers, present and past General Secretaries of the PPP, ordi

nary citizens paid tribute to a woman who served the PPP, the trade union movement, women rights, and our coun try with distinction. Even Hamilton Green who was part of an organized, cen trally directed assault against Philo for decades found it necessary to participate and speak glowingly of Philo. For all the harassment and discrimination against Philo, she never lost her dignity and remained on cordial terms with her enemies. Guyana earned the right to mourn the loss of Philo. The PPP knows that Philo was of a vintage that we pray would see oth ers come along. Her family earned their right to grieve and mourn. But overall, the gatherings to ensure we send Philo on a journey for her soul to rest in peace is one that celebrate a heroic life.

On October 2, just a few days before her 92nd birthday, Philomena Sa hoye-Shury passed away qui etly at her home. Although, Philo was ailing sometime now, it was an unwelcome news for many of us who knew her. While some of us lost a cherished comrade,

our country lost a woman of genuine worth, a genuine Guyanese heroine. For those of us who in the last six months had an opportunity to speak to her – she had not lost her vitality and her abid ing interest in the vulnerable and working-class people of Guyana. She lived for and died with the working class on her mind. Calling her in recent times to discuss her health was always an exercise in futility, as she inevitably diverted the discourse to those whose welfare she championed all her life.

Philo could not be intimi dated, the reason many called her a woman of steel. When I was a boy, while she and her colleagues were in our backyard, a group of police officers approached to arrest her. She insisted that they first must eat something and then she would go with them. She showed no fear, she smiled through it all. Eventu ally the police took her away, but they did not take her to the Albion Police Station which was about a half-mile away, rather they took her to Reliance Police Station in Canje. Being locked-up and

whisked away to mystery police stations were regular things for Philo. Not long after that, she was arrested and sent to Sibley Hall.

For women, other than Janet Jagan, Philo was jailed the most times for her politi cal struggles in Guyana.

We shared a long-stand ing relationship, dating back to my boyhood days. Philo was a young trade unionist in those days, gorgeous and dig nified. She worked alongside Harry Lall, Victor Downer, Pandit Ramlall and Pandit Mahadeo and with several of my uncles and older cousins, moving from one sugar estate to another, organizing the sugar workers, in the days when GAWU was agitating for recognition. In those ear ly years in the early 1960s, Bookers, the sugar lords, con tinued to treat sugar workers as peasants and indentured laborers. On many occasions, as Harry Lall, Philomena and Victor Downer came into the Albion area to hold meetings.

Cheddi and Janet Jagan and Ashton Chase spoke at many of these meetings.

At the time, Bookers had

Newer strains of COVID-19 can still pose a challenge − Dr Anthony

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over and Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony is not ruling out the possibili ty that newer strains of the vi rus may still pose a challenge to the health system.

The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has had several subvariants that affected the globe. Subvari ants like the BA 1, BA 2, BA 3, BA 4, BA 5, BA2.75 and others that are continuously evolving, making the future of the pandemic uncertain.

He said, “If these strains become dominant and they have a totally different clin ical picture, then we might have trouble all over again and that is why we have to be prepared, because we don’t know what these fu ture variants are going to be like and whether they will cause more hospitalisation, some of the researchers are predicting that as winter is coming, in some of the tem perate countries, you will start seeing a new surge of cases and if that is the case

then we have to be prepared. During this pandemic one of the interesting things that we were doing, when we saw something in the US in two to three weeks’ time, we will see it here in Guyana because of the connections and so forth so if we start seeing a surge in the US, I think we ought to be prepared.”

The health minister not ed that even the current low numbers do not accurately reflect the rate of infection, since most people are mis taking it for the flu and not visiting health facilities. “While we are not seeing a lot of cases here, we must not be lull into a false sense that there aren’t cases, the big challenge that we have I think there is a lot of covid fatigue, if there is such a term, meaning that people just fed up, nobody wants to wear a mask, no body wants to come and get vaccinated so we have this challenge, but we are going to see people getting sick anyhow,” Dr. Anthony

said.

Health workers from across the country are cur rently engaged in a two-day workshop on Intensive Care Units Management as part of a COVID-19 response programme.

The programme is a col laboration between the Min istry of Health and the Clin ton Health Access Initiative.

Dr Anthony noted that preparedness is important, since at the start of the pan demic, the health system was not prepared to deal with this and a lot of adjustments had to be made.

This is just one aspect of the collaboration; anti gen tests were also donated to Guyana, and training in COVID-19 protocols for di agnosis and treatment among others.

“I think that the prepared ness that we are working on now will help us to be better prepared for any future pan demic and that’s why these trainings are very important,” the Health Minister said.

With Climate Change diseases like COVID-19 and monkeypox will become more common, experts say

(NPR) Cases of monkey pox are on the rise around the world Simultaneously, the world is still facing a COVID-19 pandemic, despite the number of cases tapering off.

Researchers say these types of viruses, known as zoonotic diseases, or ones that spread between humans and animals, will become increasingly commonplace as factors such as the destruction of animal habitats and human expansion into previously uninhabited areas intensify.

Monkeypox was first found in monkeys in 1958 and in humans in 1970, ac cording to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven tion.

Elements such as defor estation, population growth and animal breeding have removed the boundaries be tween where humans and wild animals live, bringing them into closer contact.

Since 1990, about 1 bil lion acres of forest have been cut own to make room for other uses. Deforestation rates have been decreasing, with an average of 25 million acres being cleared each year from 2015 to 2020, down from about 40 million per year in the 1990s, according to a United Nations report.

Besides the impact on the climate, deforestation means a loss of habitat that often ends up driving wildlife near

er to people.

"You're just seeing the effects of the change in the environment, the change in animal behavior, the change in human behavior, bringing wild animals and humans more into contact where they can have more contam ination," said Lanre Wil liams-Ayedun, the senior vice president of international programs at World Relief, a sustainability nonprofit orga nization.

Those changing patterns in animal migration and re production can influence how pathogens behave in their natural host, possibly becom ing more contagious in the process, said Dr. Carl Ficht enbaum, the vice chairperson for clinical research for inter nal medicine at the University of Cincinnati. "Depending on the particular germ, when it has an opportunity to do this multiple times, the germ adapts to the new species," he said.

A United Nations study found an estimated 60% of known infectious diseases found in humans and 75% of all emerging infectious dis eases are zoonotic, or trans mitted between species, from animals to humans. Some of those include Ebola, Zika and COVID-19, which scientists hypothesize started in bats.

Luis Escobar, an assistant professor in Virginia Tech's fish and wildlife department,

said that in looking to the future, researchers have ne glected past data in their work to combat disease spread. "The research I do is a bit to anticipate the future," he said. "But we're putting a lot of effort to try to reconstruct the past. We're analyzing data from the last century – in terms of wildlife diseases, climate, forest laws in the last 100 years – and with that, we are understanding what is happening now."

He and his colleagues have used that data in simu lations to predict patterns in the next 50 to 100 years. But zoonotic diseases may not need that long.

Escobar's research sug gests in the next 12 to 20 years, there could be a sig nificant increase in diseases spread to humans from bats. Diseases endemic to Latin America's bat population could begin making their way to the American South as Lat in America gets warmer, he said, which affects the distri bution of and quantity of bats.

Additionally, diseases that are only exclusive to animals could tell us a lot about what society might look like down the line.

For example, as global warming continues to inten sify, a virus common among fish could decimate aquacul ture, causing blows to food production and the economy, Escobar said.

Coalition’s recourse to the ethnic bogeyman exposes absence of sensible responses – Finance Minister

The Parliamentary Oppo sition, the APNU+AFC Coalition, has no sensible response to the PPP/C Gov ernment’s comprehensive agenda, according to Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.

During a recent inter view, Singh put Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, on blast for his “baseless” discrimination talks. “The recourse to the ethnic bogey

administrative regions.

Minister Singh noted that the swift move to undertake such a massive outreach stemmed from the PPP/C observing several house holds in financial distress during the devastating peri od. “Where is the discrim ination here?” the minister asked, as he reeled out a host of other measures, which he said, were implemented by the previous government to cause destruction to Guy

prior August 2, 2020.

Additionally, the housing ministry’s programme was stagnant, with little to no applications being processed for citizens to own their own homes, the minister asserted. He said, “We came into of fice, we immediately revamp and strengthen the housing ministry and we started an aggressive programme to distribute house lots… since we are in office, we have probably distributed more

“The recourse to the ethnic bogeyman, the baseless statement being made about discrimination are reflective of the fact that the APNU+AFC has no sensible response to the comprehensive agenda that is being implemented by President Ali’s PPP/C Government.” – Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.

man, the baseless statement being made about discrim ination are reflective of the fact that the APNU+AFC has no sensible response to the comprehensive agenda that is being implemented by President Ali’s PPP/C Gov ernment,” Dr Singh posited.

The senior minister said government’s developmental agenda is evident in the con sistent pattern of the annual budgetary allocations, and policy position that creat ed an environment for job opportunities and income generation.

He said if one should look at almost everything the administration has achieved and is pursuing, they will ob serve a systematic approach designed for the growth of Guyanese.

The minister pointed to a number of social support programmes, especially the COVID-19 cash grant relief initiative which benefitted every household in the ten

anese families. If you look at for example introducing VAT on electricity, wa ter, education, medical and school supplies, construction materials and heavy-duty equipment, taking away the cash grants from parents… the interventions by the AP NU+AFC harmed every single Guyanese family,” he stated.

The restoration of the ‘Because We Care’ initiative alone has injected almost $6 billion into the pockets of parents/guardians of ap proximately 194,000 school children. He said, “Irre spective of where you live, irrespective of where your ancestors came from, irre spective of which area you subscribe to… it’s distribut ed to parents of all Guyanese children.”

Further, Minister Singh said every household that pays an electricity or water bill now enjoys a VAT-free process, when compared to

than 10, 000 house lots.”

Dr Singh said the AP NU+AFC political group continues to demonstrate its “intellectual bankruptcy,” incompetence and inability to formulate policies for Guyana.

He reiterated that during the coalition reign, Guya nese witnessed no diversi fication nor growth in the economy. “Instead, it ap peared that the strategy was simply, to sit [and] wait for oil to come,” the Finance Minister contended.

To this end, he main tained that the opposition can in no way provide cred ible criticism of the PPP/C’s inclusive policies as well as an alternative policy position on any issue.

The International Mon etary Fund (IMF) has re cently commended the Guy ana government’s efforts to maintain financial stability and promote financial inclu sion throughout the nation.