Weekend Mirror 16-17 October, 2021 by Weekend Mirror

Coalition’s Winston Jordan implicated in ‘nefarious’ transactions ‒ to face criminal probe 16-17 October, 2021 / Vol. 11 ‒ No. 94 / Price: $100

Email: mirror2018.gy@gmail.com

PAGE 2

Volda Lawrence, Mingo, others to return to court on December 17 PAGE 9

APNU+AFC reps put on blast for disrupting national consultation on NDCs ‒ Ahead of major global climate conference PAGE 3

Almost $500M in tax dollars spent on laptops by APNU+AFC goes down the drain PAGE 16

SEE INSIDE

World must fix current developmental pathway instead of making new ones PAGE 15 Three new schools PAGE 9 commissioned in Region Nine

Public, private entities being assessed for compliance with COVID-19 measures PAGE 23

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Coalition’s Winston Jordan implicated in ‘nefarious’ transactions ‒ to face criminal probe A

ttorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, announced that an investigation into the dealings of the former APNU+AFC government is actively being pursued. During a press briefing at the Office of the President on Thursday (October 14, 2021), Nandlall said, “When we (the PPP/C) were in Opposition, we promised that there were a number of transactions that

were done under the previous government that will be subjected to investigations and charges may flow if those investigations yield those charges based on the advice, of course, of the Director of Public Prosecutions. That is an ongoing process. “…many people believe that we may not have been pursuing this with the desired speed. That is not so. There are so many other things that

have happened since that have diverted the attention of the Police Force in other directors. But we remain committed to that promise to investigate these transactions.” According to the Attorney General, Jordan has been implicated in a number of nefarious transactions. “The former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has been implicated in a number of

nefarious and questionable transactions, which we intend to send to the Police Force and to other authorities for investigations.” These include: • Hiding receipt of the US$18 million signing paid by ExxonMobil for over a year; • The alleged sale of a number of prime pieces of land, many “far below market value” and “without the requisite public procurement

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process”, after the December 2018 No-Confidence Motion, as well as after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections; and • The alleged sale of several vehicles from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to close associates of the then administration with observing proper procedures. Investigating these matters, Nandlall stressed, is the duty of the government. “This is what we owe, as a government, to the people of this country. After all, we have a duty, a fiduciary duty, to the people of Guyana to protect public property and public funds – public funds that are owned by the people, public property that are owned by the people. We have a duty to protect them and to call in the State’s investigative

apparatus, where the circumstances require investigations to take place. We have certainly identified certain areas.” The file into the conduct of Jordan, according to Nandlall, will, very shortly, be sent the relevant authorities soon for the commencement of a criminal investigation.

Evidence of land ‘giveaways’ to be handed to State’s investigative agencies – Nandlall

he PPP/C Government has not wavered from its commitment to investigate suspicious land giveaways by the former APNU+AFC Coalition, according to Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. In a statement on Thursday (October 14, 2021), Nandlall said, “We would have spoken, at length, about land giveaways. Some of them we have settled already. Others are still to be handed over to the Guyana Police Force and the other investigative agencies.” RUSH There was a rush in the giveaways after the December 2018 No Confidence motion. Dozens of land transfers were signed off on. Some of these also took place after the former Coalition government lost the 2020 Elections on March 2, 2020. Among the most prominent giveaways were those that took place in June 2019. These included: 1. Marlon Bristol, Head of the Project Management Office within the Ministry of the Presidency received: • 1 acre in Mocha, Region 4 - February 2019 • 12 acres in Linden (at Dallawalla, the proposed site for Deep Water Harbour), Region 10 - June 2019 • 80 acres in Bohemia,

Region 6 (the proposed site for Deep Water Harbour) – February 2019 2. Great Wall Inc. – of which Saratu Phillips is a Director, received: • 20 acres at Schoonard Foreshore, Region 3 (in the Demerara River – proposed site for shore-based facility) – File Number 332242/3 • 20 acres at Good Fortuin, Region 3 (in the Demerara River – proposed site for shore-based facility) – File number 3322421/3 • 50 acres at Best Foreshore, Region 3 – File Number 332231/38 3. Aubrey Heath-Retemeyer, Deputy Head of SARA, which falls under the Ministry of the Presidency received: • 10 acres on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, Region 4, in 2019 – File number 411412/522b • 1 acre Mocha, Region 4, in 2019 4. Eric Phillips, SARA Special Assistant, within the Ministry of the Presidency - received: • 1000 acres in the Essequibo River - April 2019 – File Number 321132/1604 • 1000 acres in the Demer(Turn to page 3)

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

APNU+AFC reps put on blast for disrupting national consultation on NDCs ‒ Ahead of major global climate conference

he Office of the President on Monday (October 11, 2021) convened a stakeholder engagement session to discuss the revision of Guyana’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, countries are required to prepare and submit NDCs outlining their commitments to take action to address climate change. NDCs are required to be updated every five years. Since Guyana’s first submission was made in 2016, a revision is now due. Monday’s forum was attended by a wide range of stakeholders from civil

society, Amerindian organisations, conservation organisations, the private sector, and Government Ministries and agencies who provided perspectives on climate change, Guyana’s efforts, and the NDC. DISRUPTED The political opposition was also invited and attended, but instead of participating in the discussions, proceeded to deliver a written submission attacking Government’s efforts on climate change, low carbon development and the NDC, after which a walkout was staged. Coalition Parliamentarian, Amanza Walton-Desir led the charge in this regard. She claimed that the

PPP/C was not consulting as it should – a claim that has been criticized as shallow, since Walton-Desir, instead of maximizing on the invitation to consult, opted for political grandstanding and then walked out. The Coalition Member of Parliament also claimed that the updated NDCs would condemn Guyana to a carbonised future. However, she did not identify any specific issues with the NDCs. Walton-Desir also claimed that the PPP/C was not respecting the Constitution of Guyana. POLITICAL GIMMICKRY Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo attended and

Evidence of land ‘giveaways’... (From page 2) ara River in 2019 – File Number 331231/7 Another official who recently received land was the now sacked former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) at the Guyana Elections Commission, Keith Lowenfield. Lowenfield received: 216 acres at Millie’s Hideout, Region 10 – June 2019; and 2 acres at Mocha, Region 4. In addition to these transactions, handled by National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Comission (GLSC), lands were also given away in the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) scheme. Then Chairman, Kelvin Saul, had received over 10,000 acres of

land located aback the Mahaica River. Thousands of acres were also given out to others. RESTORATION Notably, in March 2021, in the National Assembly, Nandlall underscored that the lands under review are those which were gifted away to the Coalition’s ‘friends and cronies’ without any known public process. “Where possible we will take the requisite steps to restore those lands to the ownership of the people of this country,” the Attorney General said. He had cited instances where thousands of acres of prime State lands in Georgetown and in other areas, including ocean front and river front parcels of land, were illegally given to the friends and

cronies of the Coalition. He had said, “The Honourable members gifted BK Marine a wharf valued $40 billion for only $20 million, passing Title to him which expressly says that it is free from all liabilities, meaning that he does not have to pay a cent more and passing this Title after they lost the March 2nd 2020 elections. Point to any Afro-Guyanese or better yet any Afro-Guyanese village that the Honourable members have spent $40 billion in over the last five years.” The Attorney General had said that audits would be conducted by the Office of the Auditor General, following which the Guyana Police Force and the Special Organised Crime Unit would be invited to investigate.

participated in the interactive engagement. He rapped the APNU+AFC Coalition reps for their political gimmickry, nothing that the Coalition has no moral standing to speak about constitutional compliance when its record on the matter is abysmal – from failing to hold elections within the constitutional timeframe after a no-confidence motion to illegally appointed a Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission. “This newfound love for the constitution is hypocritical and convenient,” Jagdeo charged. Further, the Vice Presi-

dent rapped the Coalition for the hypocrisy demonstrated, given that Indigenous communities’ concerns on matters including Land Titling were never addressed by the former APNU+AFC government. He underscored the fact that it was the PPP/C government that earned money from Norway, through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), to advance the Amerindian Land Titling programme. On representation for women and youths, he pointed out that the track record of the Coalition is appalling. REALISTIC GOALS

Jagdeo also derided, as a pipe dream, the former President David Granger’s promise to the international community that Guyana will achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. In 2016, the then APNU+AFC Government submitted Guyana’s first NDC, committing Guyana to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. No other country at that time and up to now has overextended itself to such a commitment; a situation that caused Guyana much embarrassment internationally and nationally then and up to now. Coupled (Turn to page 16)

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

EDITORIAL On the Parliamentary Opposition’s dedication to obfuscation

he phrase ‘walk the talk’ became term synonymous with criticisms of the APNU+AFC Coalition and still is; that is to say that the Coalition’s ‘erudite’ sounding ‘talk’ was never matched with action – ‘the walk’. In the past few weeks, the Parliamentary Opposition has demonstrated a dedication to the obfuscation of facts. This week, the Coalition, yet again, came to blows for being unable to ‘walk the talk’ when it came to Guyana’s position and the climate change fight. In 2016, at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, then President, David Granger, took to the international stage to promise that Guyana will move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. Granger had said: “Guyana, through the pursuit of a Green Economy, will spare no effort to contribute to both a sustainable future and to an effective global response to climate change. Guyana is a net carbon sink. Its forests sequester more carbon than the country’s human activities generate. Guyana, with the world’s second highest percentage of rainforest cover (85%), commands important carbon stocks. Guyana, nevertheless, is fully committed to contributing to limiting the rise in global temperature to below 1.5 degrees Celsius… we will move closer towards a 100% renewable power supply by 2025.” While developing countries, like Germany, gave themselves 30 years to attempt such a feat, Granger promised to do it in less than nine years. In two years, on August 3, 2018 – with seven years on Granger’s clock – the embattled former President’s then Head of Climate Change, Janelle Christian, appeared before the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations and made admissions that were not surprising. There she said clearly that the target of 100 percent renewable energy use by 2025 will have to be revisited. And she made clear that a target of 100 per cent renewable energy use would require lots of financial resources, infrastructure, capacity building, legislative changes and development of specific policies. She had said: “It is clear that we cannot reach to the goal of 100 percent by 2025.” Since taking office, the PPP/C Government has made steps to repair Guyana’s green credentials and having been forced to walk back on the pledge of 100 per cent renewables on stage, set itself achievable and realistic targets. Among the tools to get there, is the expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The LCDS is being broadened to incorporate wider environmental services, water resources management, climate resilience, biodiversity and the marine economy. Before the end of the year, there are expected to be consultations to finalise this. The Coalition’s Amanza Walton-Desir led the charge in disrupting a national consultation where Amerindian representative groups, as well as stakeholders from civil society organisations and government and private entities were present. Having been invited to the consultation, the Opposition opted for political grandstanding, after which a walkout was staged, thereby missing a real opportunity to contribute meaningfully. Ignoring the facts and reality of Guyana’s situation, the Coalition always seems to choose obfuscation for the sake of political points. Secondly, the Coalition’s Sherod Duncan, nightly, insults the intelligence of Guyanese. This week, there were instances where he dubbed a viral video of a woman being assaulted as “real” violence against women. This comes after he was blasted for actions that targeted female leaders like Minsters Gail Teixeira and Priya Manickchand. This Coalition rep choose to obfuscate the seriousness of his own actions by branding another incident as ‘real’ violence/abuse. Thirdly, on October 14th Guyanese saw the resurgence of Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, who addressed several issues, including government spending. Obfuscating his own government’s mismanagement of taxpayers’ money, he painted the direct support to Guyanese in the form of “cash grants” as ad hoc measures – failing to recognise the impact that direct grants to families across the country is one way of supporting many who are struggling with the economic fallout of COVID-19. These are only a few of several instances where the APNU+AFC Coalition continue to miss real opportunities to not only hold government accountable, but also to contribute meaningfully to the development of Guyana and the prosperity of our people – as parliamentary oppositions ought to do.

Guyana will see rapid growth and expansion Dear Editor,

arlier this year, Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had indicated that Guyana would be one of the fastest-growing economies in terms of real GDP, and would see rapid transformation in a number of sectors, especially since Government would make efforts to boost the non-oil economy as well. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the unprecedented devastating floods experienced in May-June, which impacted particularly the agriculture, forestry and mining sectors, Guyana was able to recorded real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 14.5 percent, while non-oil GDP grew by 4.8 percent. While the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic spilled over into the latter part of the year and even beyond, the revised full-year forecast for real GDP growth in 2021 is now 19.5 percent overall, and 3.7 percent for the non-oil economy. However, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries, for the first half of 2021, were estimated to have contracted by 2.4 percent, compared with a decline of 4.1 percent for the corresponding period last year, and it has been noted that this was as a result of lower output from the other crops, sugar growing, forestry and fishing industries. The rice industry grew by an estimated 7.8 percent in the first half of the year, marginally lower than the target set for the period. ‘Other crops’ declined by 7.3 percent due to the floods, and the livestock industry was estimated to have

grown by 10.6 percent when compared to the same period in 2020. However, for that same period, the fishing industry contracted by an estimated 6.6 percent, and the forestry industry by 7.1 percent. The mining and quarrying industries were estimated to have grown by 23.1 percent, with higher output from the petroleum and other mining industries, despite contractions in gold and bauxite. It has also been noted that total output from the petroleum sector increased by 65.4 percent when compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the services industries were estimated to have expanded in the first half of 2021 by 9.4 percent when compared to the same period in 2020, as it has been noted that the measures implemented to curtail the impact of COVID-19 have severely impacted such activities last year. Notably, the Report indicates that the gradual relaxation of these measures had contributed to some growth in the sector. The Report also noted the strong performance of the construction sector, which grew by 25.5 percent in the first half of 2021, reflecting increased emphasis on implementing the Public Sector Investment Programme, as well as increased Private Sector construction, reflecting improved Private Sector confidence and optimism regarding the economic outlook. At the end of the first half of 2021, consumer prices grew by 5.6 percent. This was largely driven by increased food prices, as a result of the inclement weather and shortages experienced fol-

lowing the flood. Further, the Report indicated that the bottlenecks in the global supply chain add some measure of imported inflationary pressures. However, the Report underscores that the price increases are ‘transitory’, and are unlikely to have lasting long-term impact on inflation. Inflation is now projected to be in the order of 3.8 percent for the full year. Despite the negative impact from the effects of the present inflation, our country will see rapid expansion in the services sector, including transport and logistics; construction of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, office buildings in the Private Sector, etc, along with expansion in other services such as financial services, all of which will contribute to rapid expansion in real output. And we are going to see Guyana being one of the fastest-growing economies in real GDP terms. Globally, in the hemisphere, and certainly in the Caribbean, a lot of the real GDP growth in the region will be driven by Guyana. Guyana’s favourable economic performance in the non-oil economy at the end of the first half of 2021 bodes well for the upcoming second half of 2021 and beyond. It is expected that advances in key investments in both the Public and the Private Sectors will buttress the second-half performance of the economy. Sincerely, David Adams

APNU+AFC Coalition has consistently lied to its supporters Dear Editor,

ver the last year under the PPP/C government, we have seen massive development throughout the country despite the pandemic and other forces being at play. The government has been working assiduously to fulfill their manifesto promises and thus far, they have done just what they promised to do. Such is an indication of great things that are yet to come under the PPP/Cled administration. However, despite the government working towards developing the nation and bettering the lives of the people, we see the opposition APNU+AFC trying very hard to derail progress almost every day. One thing is made clear through their behavior; the coalition will do anything for political mileage even if it means stooping to the lowest point possible. I cannot say that better is expected from them because that’s just in their nature and it has been that way from the inception. However, I

write today to express how badly I feel for the APNU+AFC supporters who continue to be lied to and abused by the so-called “opposition” on a daily basis. Mr. Editor, the coalition has a history of lying to their supporters. They have lied so many times that it would be impossible to keep track of all the lies. I wish to point out that prior to the 2020 elections the APNU+AFC started what I would call their “campaign of lies” beginning with the appointment of Justice Patterson as the Chairman of GECOM. They lied to their supporters saying that his appointment was constitutional when in actuality, it was not. They lied saying that the no-confidence motion brought before them would not succeed but in actuality, it did. They then lied saying that 33 is not a majority of 65 when even a school dropout would be able to tell you that it is indeed a majority. They also managed to come up with some very creative lies during the elections period like

saying that the Russians were trying to rig the paper-based election. That just showed the level of stupidity that was emanating from their camp. Lies upon lies they fabricated during that very period to say that they won the elections. In fact, they told so many lies that they couldn’t keep their story straight. First, they said that they won the elections, but as we all know, they were trying to alter the results in their favor using their destructive elements. When their rigging attempts were brought to light, they then lied to their supporters to say that the recount would prove that they have more votes. The recount debunked that lie in front of the international community. They then went on to lie saying that they would be back in office within three months of winning the election petition. Did they? No, because they just continue to embarrass themselves as if they were clutching to straws at that point. They (Turn to page 19)

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

PPP/C government’s developmental thrust is one all Guyanese can get behind Dear Editor,

here have been incessant cries of doom from a certain media house and other oil and gas ‘experts’, and they have been churning out ill-conceived and outrageous statements about lack of transparency, unaccountability and corruption in our fledgling oil sector. The manner in which this is peddled would make the gullible believe that we are on par with Nigeria when it comes to corruption. This example is now abused. These ‘comparisons’ are being made to Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and other African States, but this is where the inherent error in the analysis lies. Guyana cannot, and should not, be compared to these countries. Let us look at Nigeria, for instance. The Nigerian Government has earned over US$400 billion since 1970, but the population faces harsh living conditions. It is worthwhile to note that oil earnings comprised 85 percent of government revenues and 99 percent of export earnings. It is also important to note that, according to reports, “oil wealth fuels the instability, corruption, and patronage-driven politics which characterise governance in the country”. Matthew

John wrote that, “Corruption runs through every level of Nigerian Government. From massive contract fraud at the top, through petty bribery, money-laundering schemes, embezzlement, and seizing salaries from fake workers, it is estimated that corruption within the state apparatus costs the country billions of dollars every year’. (Campbell, Page, John, Matthew (2018). Nigeria: What Everyone Needs To Know. New York. pp. 89–103.) The reason why this high level of corruption exists in Nigeria is because, “these gas industries are under the control of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), and many politicians own or have shares in these industries, tax revenues from the energy sector are diminished, and the benefits of Nigeria’s energy wealth is not evenly distributed throughout the country, with Lagos State benefiting disproportionately”. This avenue does not exist here, does not pertain to Guyana. We collect our share of profit oil, which is subject to audit, and this Government has made it clear that our oil wealth will ensure that the socio-economic development takes precedence; in other words, the other sectors will not be allowed to retrogress, and infrastructural

development will continue to be a priority. In Nigeria there is a vast gap between the rich and the poor, whilst, in Guyana, the Government is ensuring that every community is evenly developed. It must be noted that Guyana receives 50% of the profits from EXXON, and this revenue is not unaccounted for and available for corrupt practices. The receipt of oil revenues began in February 2020. Moreover, the Local Content Policy ensures that Guyanese receive a fair share of the oil industry. The primary aim and objective of the Policy is ensuring the education, inclusion, and advancement of as many as possible in the value chain of the oil and gas industry. On Monday last, Vice President Jagdeo explained to his packed meetings in Berbice how Regions 5 and 6 would benefit from this Policy. He also made it known concerning the various developmental plans which the Government would roll out shortly to develop the agriculture sector as well. This Government is spending our monies wisely and with great prudence, unlike the Coalition, which spent close to 2 trillion dollars with nothing to show. It was Farmer Nappy and Buju Banton galore, but with this Government, it is COVID Cash Relief, Flood Relief, and now Cash Relief for severed sugar workers. What a difference! We should recall that the US$18 million bonus was a mystery, and it was nearly siphoned off by the Coalition after many denials and excuses. This is not the case with this Government. There was no Sovereign Wealth Fund in Nigeria until 2012, and hence the revenues earned were available to be squandered at will. This would account for the high level of corruption in that country. In addition, there was a series of highly corrupt governments in Nigeria from 1964 onwards. I would agree that if the Coalition were still in Government, then there would have been a similar scenario to Nigeria. The corruption of the Coalition started since the signing of the PSA, and that would have continued to grow and fester with each receipt of oil revenue. The PPP/C Government rescued Guyana from being

somersaulted down this corruption abyss. No wonder the Coalition fought relentlessly to stay in power. Guyana is different. There is such a Natural Resources Fund, which was set up in 2019 by the Natural Resources Act, in accordance with the Santiago Principles. It must be noted that, to date, not a dollar from the oil revenues has been spent, which would have amounted to nearly US$500 million. The naysayers need to come to reality that this Government has so far been implementing both short- and long-term policies which would ensure that Guyana would never suffer from the Dutch Curse or Disease. This can be seen with the myriads of development taking place in the agriculture sector. We have an industrious and knowledgeable Minister of Agriculture, who does not sleep. Even during the devastating flood and its aftermath, he ensured that the sector kept going and improving. In this Agriculture Month, we are indeed in the process of ‘Transforming Our Food Systems’, and will achieve food and nutrition security. Our President, at the virtual meeting of the Caricom Regional Food Systems dialogue earlier this year, spoke at length about food security of the Region, and this was again reiterated at the recent UNCTAD meeting, which also addressed the importance of the other sectors; namely, oil and gas, mining, forestry, tourism, the hospitality industry, transportation, housing and water resources. Oil and gas, as well as the other sectors, are vitally important, and this Government has been ensuring that that emphasis is fostered. Our real GDP is growing, as is evidence by the Mid-Year Report, which showed 14.5% growth despite the vicious pandemic and the catastrophic floods. It is time for all Guyanese to support the developmental thrust of this Government, and stop making unsubstantiated and misconceived assumptions. Our country will make significant strides ahead. Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

The PNC leadership does not care about ordinary Afro-Guyanese Dear Editor,

or some time now, particularly since March 2, 2020, a group of persons sympathetic to the PNC/APNU have been frequent contributors of letters to the press. This group, along with members of the PNC, has been doing its damnest to further contaminate the minds of ordinary African-Guyanese with their racist propaganda. The intention is to incite this section of our population to attack the government, up to and including, instigating them to violence. Since its inception the PNC, working hand-in-hand, with the colonial masters, set out to divide the working people of our country by using race as the main instrument. At that time their objective was to stop independence and to remove the PPP government of 1957 to 1964 from office. Over and over again in our recent history they have succeeded in fomenting racial strife in Guyana. These attempts are now being intensified.

Only two weeks ago we saw on Facebook some PNC and WPA elements, including David Hinds, talking about undermining the government by any means. Those persons feel confident that they can succeed because time and time again they organised racial violence up to as recent as last year. Immediately after the election, former President Granger and his right hand, Harmon instigated many African Guyanese to take the street in West Berbice. In the process, many innocent Indian Guyanese, who were going about their business, were attacked. The pretext for that attack was the brutal murder of two young African Guyanese, the Henry cousins. Without any evidence they made African-Guyanese feel that the boys’ murder was racially instigated. Since then the matter was dealt with by the police and persons charged, but the racists continue to try and use it to inflame racial sentiments. These persons, like those in the PNC

leadership, really don’t care about the Henry boys nor any other ordinary Afro-Guyanese. Their sole intention is to use, or better to misuse them to increase the bargaining power of the PNC at the least and finally to put that elite into power, so that they could again use the state apparatus to enrich themselves through massive pay increases and other perks for themselves, coupled with unbridled corruption as happened between 1964 and 1962 and recently between 2015 and 2020. If they had any genuine feelings for justice they would have wanted to see justice for Haresh Singh, the 17-year-old who was brutally murdered in what appears to have been a murder of reprisal. It took the police months to charge someone and then the matter seems to have been lost, forgotten, as if his life did not matter. That racist clique probably welcomed that murder. Their silence has also been defending on the shooting by police of another teenager, Sewdat Hansraj, during a spontaneous protest to prevent the PNC/AFC rigging of the

2020 elections. This incident took place on March 6, 2020 at Cotton Tree. Residents of the village have deemed this a murder. The young man was shot by police across a canal. He was unarmed and posed no danger to the officer or anyone for that matter. Our “knight in shining armour” has not been calling for justice for the Hansraj family, nor have they uttered a word of sympathy. Clearly, the PNC leadership together with the racist elements outside that party are at their old game again to create mayhem to promote their own selfish interest which is mainly to pillage the country and to lord it over our working people and live like kings and queens. It’s time that all these matters be dealt with openly, without fear or favour and let justice prevail in our country. Donald Ramotar Former President

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

P P P /C D E L I V E R I N G O N ‘ P L A N F O R P R O S P E R I T Y ’

Restorative justice Mahdia communities to addressed by Nandlall get improved water supply at engagement with S Police Force ranks A

lternative sentencing aside, restorative justice goes deeper than just a lighter punishment for the person convicted, according to Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. The matter was raised when he addressed ranks of the Guyana Police Force, (GPF) engaged in a ‘pre-trial detention, custodial sentencing and non-custodial alternative workshop’. Nandlall explained that “it examines the root cause of why the persons went into the criminal justice system in the first place. Because if those underlying factors are still there, and he goes into prison and he goes back to that environment and those underlying factors that precipitated his conflict with the law is still there,

there is a likelihood that he will return.” According to him, if Guyana is to have an effective justice system, restorative justice must be applied. The Attorney General said in Guyana, the justice system is accustomed to the brutal aspects of punishment as prescribed by law. However, he said experts in the field have concluded that such an approach has proven ineffective and are now suggesting a different method. He said, “Now they are recommending a different approach, a softer approach. An approach that requires a little more engagement and pursuing alternative method of punishment, alternative to imprisonment. Pre-trail detention

or alternative to pre-trial detention are all concepts that emerge from the precept from what restorative justice embraces.” The workshop, according to him, is a manifestation and demonstration of Government’s commitment to the rule of law, constitutionalism and the criminal justice system. Also present were Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, and Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Clifton Hicken who is performing the duties of Police Commissioner. The workshop, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) saw ranks of the GPF benefitting and falls under the ‘Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme.

everal communities in the town of Mahdia, Region Eight are expected to receive enhanced water services, following the completion of a well, which is currently being dug by the Ministry of Housing and Water. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, MP updated residents of Campbelltown during a recent visit there. Residents of Campbelltown, Micobie, and other communities had raised concerns about the water supply. “The government’s position is that everyone must get water….so we have to fix that problem as people need water since it is an essential element, and we cannot exist without it so it is something that we have to sort out as

quickly as possible,” the Local Government Minister noted. Minister Dharamlall said while he understands their frustration, he hopes they exercise patience as the issue is being rectified. Currently, 200 of the 250 households within the community receive water directly to their homes. The Minister promised to provide the necessary support through the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to ensure other residents receive water directly to their homes. This will be done once a comprehensive feasibility study is carried out. He said, “The only condition I have to this commitment is that the elderly are the first to benefit from this, and then, everyone else who needs this

assistance.” The initiative is in keeping with the government’s commitment of bridging the gap between coastland and hinterland. The community is currently experiencing a dry season which makes it difficult to provide them with the amount needed to serve all residents. The situation has led to the company providing Campbelltown with gravity fed water from Sambora creek. Poole explained that the community had once benefitted from a 24-hour water supply, however, this changed about two years ago, after the well began experiencing problems. GWI’s technical team will visit the region by mid-October to assess the water system.

Road link from Orealla/ 45 Non Pariel residents receive Siparuta to Kwakwani to open land titles after years of waiting up opportunities for residents, A sustain economic activities

esidents of Orealla and Siparuta in Region Six are in high anticipation of the road that would link their communities to Kwakwani in Region 10. The construction of the road is a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Public Works and Natural Resources. On Tuesday, Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat and a technical team visited the two communities to interact with residents and make an assessment of works needed to be undertaken on the road. Minister Edghill addressing residents, said one of the main issues the road will address is accessibility. He said the road is about 80 kilometres and will be undertaken in a phased manner. The minister described

the road as an important link that will foster greater economic activity. He said, “We have to be able, while we work with the Natural Resources sector, to develop your capacity for logging, sawmilling and other value -added coming out of the forestry sector, your products must be able to get to the market with ease in a cost-effective manner. Your government by just the intervention of the partnership between the partnership between the Geology and Mines and Ministry of Public Works in getting the road, pushed through from Orealla to Kwakwani is ensuring economic activity in your community is sustained, expanded and diversified to other things that you can do. So, it is an important thing.” However, Minister Edghill noted that a critical

element to the construction of the road is the involvement of the community. “What I appeal today for is a healthy partnership, government and people for the development of community and the development of country… wherever people are, government and community seeing a vision for development and working through, and navigating difficult path to ensure that communities are developed which would mean ultimately, the country is developing.” The first phase of the road link will be undertaken by Romel Jagroop General Construction Services. On Tuesday, the contractor was also on site to get a first-hand look at the work that needs to be undertaken and also to get input from residents of the two communities.

t a simple but significant event, 45 residents of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara received their Certificate of Titles, which now stand as evidence that they own the lands they occupy. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, and representatives of the Land Registry and the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund, on Wednesday handed over these titles. The Attorney General pointed out that many of these residents, who are either sugar workers of descendants of, have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, to receive their land titles. He recalled that it was under a former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government when this land titling process had begun but was discontinued under the

APNU+AFC Administration. He said, “The allotees came and they occupied the land; they built their houses. They would have liked their titles to access loans, but that was not the case. They lived, some of them may have died and they never got the title. Some may have migrated and they never got the title.” The Attorney General reminded those at the event that this “sad situation” was brought to the attention of the PPP/C, and since taking office, the Government prioritised distributing land titles to citizens. He said, “This Certificate of Title is a document of great legal and commercial value. Legal because it certifies you in law as the owner of that property and nobody can take it away from you unless you have acquired it by fraud. It is that protection that you pass on to generations. It is this title that you can take to commercial banks and lodge as a

collateral to borrow money to build or to send your children to acquire higher education or whatever endeavours you wish to pursue.” Meanwhile, Minister Rodrigues said the housing sector has always been an important pillar of the PPP/C Government and the economy. She also highlighted the importance of regularisation and titling of lands, which she says is just as critical as home ownership. “Sometimes we only look at the bigger picture, the macro picture. But sometimes it is these little community issues that only needed someone to take a moment to look at, to see the importance of delivering this to 45 families that would make the world of difference to them, and that would significantly improve their lives.” The land titling exercises are being conducted across Regions Five and Six.

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

P P P /C D E L I V E R I N G O N ‘ P L A N F O R P R O S P E R I T Y ’

Government launches More reliable power for B generation plant soon National Sports Academy consumers –to$10 be commissioned T G he Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport recently launched the National Sports Academy during the National Sports Conference held at the National Cultural Centre. Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips noted the importance of this initiative and said it is one that will contribute to the development of the citizens. He said, “I believe that this is an important one in contributing to the social development of our citizens… Our government has held as a main priority, the creation of more opportunities or culture, youth and sport activities because of the critical role these assets play in our lives.” The conference focused on three main areas; the design of Guyana’s first Sports Academy and how the Government can increase inter-association collaboration and ways in which systems related to sports administration and governance can be improved. He said, “These critical areas are important elements in our sports sector and will further aid us to contribute to social development through sport,” the prime

minister said. Prime Minister Phillips also highlighted key developments in the sector. He said, “Facilities have been a priority; the Racquet Centre, for example, has been transformed into a modern day-night facility with transformative maintenance work, including works on parameters and ceilings, security, lighting structure, maintenance of the washroom and the upgrading of the squash court… The gymnasium, outdoor space is being transformed into a safe and modern multi-sport, day and night facility with improvements to the basketball court, lighting and other structural upgrades.” The Prime Minister noted too that an additional three multi-purpose sport stadiums will be constructed at three locations, Albion, Linden and Anna Regina. Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., MP said the Sports Academy will be run by the National Sports commission and other Sports Associations. He said, “These are the ones that we’ve iden-

tified as being the core sports for the moment. There will be opportunities for expansion but the core sports are: cricket, football, basketball, squash, swimming, track and field, hockey, table tennis, volleyball, badminton and Rugby… The Core sports we’ve really identified based on the number of persons who are engaged, the facilities that the Ministry has that would be able to assist and you’ll see in the next slide why that is important. The Sports Academy is built on three pillars, the first pillar is the nursery, the second pillar is tournaments and the third pillar is the Elite Academy or Elite training. The nursery, the target range, is twelve to twenty-five, the NSC is going to provide the sports organisers and the coaches. The Ministry and the NSC are going to provide the facilities as well, meaning the venues, the gear, all of the equipment needed.” Facilities, alone, has been recognised as insufficient in the overall development of sports in Guyana; rather skills building is also important.

uyanese will soon begin enjoying more reliable energy as a new 46.5-megawatt power generation plant will be commissioned, according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar. “It is actually on the grid right now, but we are going to have the commissioning very shortly, they are doing the reliability test. So, they are actually putting power on to the grid but on a test basis,” Minister Indar stated. The $10 billion power plant is located at Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL), Garden of Eden Power Station. The state-of-the-art power plant constructed by Wartsila is dual fuel energy, meaning it can utilise heavy fuel oil and natural gas si-

he distribution of the $25,000 one-off cash grant vouchers and pension books will be completed in Regions Five and Six by October 15, 2021, except for a few remote locations which will be wrapped up over the weekend. As far as Georgetown is concerned, 75 percent of the distribution has been completed, and an extra week will be provided at the end of this month for those who would have missed the distribution exercise last week. As for residents on the East Coast and East Bank Demerara who missed collection, they are being urged to visit the regular distribution sites in their respective areas. Subject Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud has visited many of the distribution sites in Regions Four, Five and Six so far, and is

gearing up to visit Regions Two and Ten next week, and then Region Three the following week. She reminded that while the 2022 pension book will be available throughout the year, the voucher is time bound, as it has to be cashed by November 30. Providing an update on the exercise, Minister Persaud said: “There have been hiccups in a few locations, but we have quickly dealt with those. No system is perfect but every time we find an issue, we try to fix it so that by the next day, we don’t have that happening. We are trying our best to facilitate the shut-in patients as early as possible, so once the general distribution is completed, those shut-in persons will be dealt with. We are also doing the direct delivery system. That has commenced already and

will continue in all of the regions. “…what makes it all worthwhile is to see persons leaving with happy smiles and pensioners extremely delighted to receive their 2022 booklets this early. It is a wonderful initiative and I think what makes us want to do these things is that we understand that people are struggling and the support is needed.” The Ministry has also been doing complementary programmes like hamper distributions and similar support initiatives. In fact, last Tuesday, Dr. Persaud and team distributed approximately 500 hampers to villages across Region Five, especially as many residents have been affected by heavy rains and flooding recently. Residents were happy for the support and interest shown by the Ministry, some of which have been visited and helped in this way for the first time.

energy. The RPF outlines two options. The first is to Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT). This means that all costs of the project up to the commissioning date would be borne by the developer, who would operate the project for a 20-year BOOT period. At the end of the period, the project would revert to the government at no cost. The second option is for a Design-Build-Finance (D-B-F) where the developer finances the development of the project up to commissioning date. The government would later take over the project and fulfil the financing repayment obligations, only upon the satisfactory completion and commissioning.

Newly constructed Westminster Secondary officially opens its doors

Extra week at the end of October for those who M missed distribution exercise ‒ Voucher must be cashed by November 30

multaneously. Additionally, Minister Indar noted that government is working quickly on providing Guyanese with cheap and reliable energy. An Expression of Interest was advertised for the gas to shore project, which will generate about 300 megawatts of power. Of that amount, about 250 megawatts will go towards the national grid and is projected to be completed by 2024. Further, he explained that government is working to fulfil its manifesto promise with the construction of the Amaila Falls hydropower project. He noted that a Request for Proposals (RFP) is also out for that project, which will produce 165 megawatts of renewable

inister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Monday (October 11, 2021) visited the newly built West Minster Secondary School located in La Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara, for its first official opening day for the new school year. While addressing the students the Minister urged them to take full advantage of the opportunities and the resources presented to them. She told the students that they all have the ability to succeed and have a bright future. She said, “If you were doing bad at school before and all your friends took off and left you behind, and you were coming last in the class…Today is your day to wipe the slate clean, say to yourselves ‘that, was my past, it will not be my future and when you get home work, sit down and do it…Today is the day you get to decide what the future of your life will look like.” The Minister noted that

the school serves an important role in providing educational support to the people of Region Three. She said, “Parents no longer have to take out a bus fare and a boat fare and send their children far away and worry about how far away they are. The school is opened to anyone in the community who wishes to attend high school…a primary top is where the student goes to a primary school and there’s no space in any secondary school in the region for them, so they continue on in Primary and call themselves Secondary students. That is not, as I’m sure you would agree, the proper or optimum way to be educating children… There are three primary tops closed here…that have been closed completely and those children are now coming to this school. A proper, discrete Secondary school with all the facilities and I guarantee you, you’re going to see them doing better.”

The Minister expressed her satisfaction with the facilities at the school, noting that they have the potential to deliver remarkable results. She said, “The facilities are beautiful; the school is well poised to deliver top students in this region and therefore children who would be well rounded to take over Guyana.” The newly-constructed $1 billion school is the first state-of the art facility to be completed under the Government’s Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP). The school has 32 classrooms, a language lab, dance studio, library, Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories, an Information Technology Laboratory, a theatre room, a Mathematics laboratory, Home Economics Laboratory and an Agriculture Science Laboratory, among other facilities built to provide the best education to the nation’s children.

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Amerindian Development…

FOCUS ON GUYANA’ S FIRST PEOPLE must not distress Three new schools Mining environment, indigenous commissioned in communities ‒ Minister Bharrat M Region Nine S

tudents of Fly Hill, Rupertee and Pai Pang villages in Region Nine will now be able to easily access primary education, following the commissioning of three schools in the villages. The new schools are in keeping with the government’s commitment to enhance the education sector in hinterland communities. Some $18 million was expended to construct the Pai Pang Primary and $16 million for Rupertee and Fly Hill primary schools respectively. Each school was also furnished at the cost of $3 million. Pai Pang and Tiger Pond also saw the commissioning of teachers’ quarters for $14 million and $9 million respectively. The schools were commissioned by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, who was joined by Regional officials, including Regional Education Officer (REDO) Kateri Joseph, among others on Tuesday (October 12, 2021). Minister Dharamlall told residents that education is an essential tool in the country’s development. He said

education in Amerindian villages have for too long been neglected. He said, “Today is a manifestation of your prayers. Your prayers have been answered. .. over the last two days we have commissioned two additional schools at Rupertee so those children from Rupertee had to walk to Annai everyday so they now have their own primary school.” Residents of Pai Pang also requested the same for similar reasons, which the Local Government Minister said needed to be addressed for the betterment of the children. Dharamlall siad, “For so many years, Pai Pang have been asking too for their own school because their children had to go Tiger Pond and sometimes these children have to stay at night in Tiger Pond with nobody to take care of them and now this is a reality.” It was revealed that nursery school pupils will also be housed in the new schools. To this end, Minister Dharamlall urged residents, teachers and children to maintain the facilities as there are more resources to come.

The Minister said, “These communities will benefit from massive transformation in every sector and so next year, you will see this come to fruition. These transformations are the commitment of the government and so we are willing to work with everyone to boost these efforts.” The Regional Education Officer said teachers have already been selected to manage the schools. She also encouraged residents to apply to become teachers to serve in their respective communities. Regional Chairman Allicock said the communities had been lobbying for the educational facilities for some time. While it was promised by the previous administration, they failed to keep that promise. “Every year they have been asking for a school and we tried with the last administration to get this done, but it did not take flight, but it is our government now that made it possible for you to have this brand-new building here,” he said. Minister Dharamlall and his team also distributed school bags to the children.

More than 500 Orealla, Siparuta residents benefit from two-day medical outreach

undreds of residents of the indigenous communities of Orealla and Siparuta, Region Six, recently, benefitted from a medical Outreach led by Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo and a team of 13 medical personnel. The team included Dental Surgeons, Optometrist, Dermatologist, General Practitioner and an ultrasound Technician, who is a member of the Cuban Medical Brigade and a nurse specialising in Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) screening. “It is the mandate of His Excellency, President Ir-

faan Ali that we take health care to the people. He spoke about equal and equitable access to health care and we know that FOR persons in these areas it’s more difficult. The highest level of care in

this area is a health centre. Of course, we have a doctor who is based here,” Dr. Mahadeo said. The dental team conducted more than 250 dental (Turn to page 19)

ining officers have been urged to push for the use of more sustainable mining practices so as to prevent any disruption of people’s lives or livelihoods by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. The minister made the call during the opening of a three-day drilling and blasting course for officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) at the Regency Hotel, Tuesday (October 12, 2021). He said, “We must ensure that we do it in a manner that we don’t cause any distress or destruction to the environment, to our indigenous communities, to the lives and livelihood of our people. We would like to see the mining sector being accident free. We would like to see, as a matter of fact, a year without any fatalities in the mining sector. That is a

challenge I think GGMC is taking very seriously.” To assist in this regard, the minister said continuous training is important as the world is changing and adopting new methods every day. GGMC Commissioner, Newell Dennison said he expects participants would be responsive and contribute to the efforts being made by GGMC and the Ministry of Natural Resources to ensure blasting in mining is properly carried out. The training programme is being executed by Orica Mining Services, which has been training local mining officers over the years. Orica’s representative, Devindra Kissoon said the company is working to provide a pathway to certify blasters who already have field experience, so Guyana could have more qualified persons

to meet the growing demand for quarrying and mining products. Meanwhile, the PPP/C Administration is making every effort to increase production for the construction industry. Minister Bharrat said, “Only recently, we would have issued a number of new quarry licenses and there are quite a few more applications in the system. Because our demand is way, way higher than what we are supplying right now.” Guyana was forced to import over 200,000 tonnes of construction aggregate last year to meet the demand of 900,000 tonnes, as only about 650,000 tonnes were produced in country. Minister Bharrat said that demand could reach 1.5 million tonnes in the next 2 years.

Kaicumbay advancing prep for ICT hub

he satellite village of Kaicumbay, located in Central Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) is making progress with the preparation process of the villages' Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Hub project.

The hub is expected to be 100 per cent completed before the end of the year and will feature internet services, computer systems, and other electronic devices to support the continuous development of Amerindians in the community.

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Volda Lawrence, Mingo, others to return to court on December 17 T

he case against the seven person charged for electoral fraud continued on Monday (October 11, 2021) and several boxes containing certified copies of Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) from the March 2020 elections was handed over to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The documents will be used as evidence against those before the court. The SOPs and SORS were accompanied by statements and video evidence, which included copies of video-recorded interviews the accused had with the Police. At the last court session in the case, the Prosecution was granted more time to complete compilation of the copies of Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) for disclosure to the court. The seven facing court are: 1. Sacked Region Four Re-

turning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; 2. Chairperson for the People’s National Congress, Volda Lawrence; 3. APNU+AFC activist, Carol Smith-Joseph; 4. GECOM Registration Clerk, Shefern February; 5. GECOM Registration Clerk, Michelle Miller; 6. GECOM Registration Clerk, Denise Babb– Cummings; and 7. GECOM Information Technology Officer, Enrique Livan.

Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, and Konyo Sandiford are representing Mingo, Joseph, and Lawrence; while Senior Counsel John Jeremie, and Attorneys-at-Law Eusi Anderson and Latoya Roberts are appearing for the other four defendants. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan is presiding over the matter. Mingo, Lawrence and Joseph are facing several electoral fraud charges. The signatures of Law-

rence and Joseph were on manipulated declarations for Region 4– issued on March 5, 2020 and March 13, 2020 – that were prepared by Mingo. In both cases, the manipulated declarations increased votes for the APNU+AFC and decreased the votes for the PPP/C. By the end of the recount for Region 4, the declarations were exposed as having been manipulated. Mingo and Lawrence are facing a joint charge, which alleges that on March 5, 2020, in Georgetown, with

High Court clears way for Preliminary Inquiry into charges against Roxanne Myers to proceed H

igh Court Judge Franklin Holder cleared the way for Senior Magistrate Leron Daly to proceed with a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the two counts of misconduct in public office against sacked former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers. The ruling on the appeal filed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, in the case involving sacked Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, was handed down on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. The DPP had moved to the High Court and appealed the decision of Senior Magistrate Leron Daly’s to have Myers’ matters be tried indictably instead of summarily. The DPP was seeking: • A declaration that the decision made by Magistrate, Daly to hold a preliminary inquiry into the misconduct allegations, engages the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution

with the likely result that the case may not be tried within a reasonable time; • An order of certiorari to quash Daly’s decision to hold a preliminary inquiry into Myers case on the grounds that it is irrational, ultra vires, illegal, without legal foundation, without legal authority and contrary to natural justice; • A declaration in accordance with the Judicial Review Act that in the circumstances of the charges, and in compliance with the constitution, that the two charges against Myers proceeds by way of summary trial; and • That Magistrate Daly reconsider her discretion afresh under Section 61 of the Summary Jurisdiction Procedure Act Cap 10:02. Magistrate Daly, on February 11, 2021, ruled that the two charges for misconduct in public office against Myers will remain indictable which would require her to conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether

there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial in the High Court. The charges against Myers allege that between March 4 and March 14, 2020, in Georgetown, while being a public officer, she willfully misconducted herself together with Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, and others, to declare a fraudulent account of votes for the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, which

amounted to a breach of the public’s trust in the office of the DCEO of GECOM. Myers is currently on $300,000 bail for the two cases.

intent to defraud the public, they uttered a certain forged document, that is to say, a report purporting to be a true declaration of all votes cast in District Four for the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections, knowing said report to be forged. Mingo and Joseph are facing a charge alleges that on March 13, 2020, they uttered a forged document purporting to be a true report of all votes cast in the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections, while knowing that

the report was forged. Joseph faces two individual charges, which state that on March 13, 2020, at High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, she conspired with Mingo and others to declare a fraudulent count of votes for District Four for both the general and regional elections. Lawrence, Mingo, and Joseph have all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trio is represented by Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes. Having appeared in court the trio was granted bail. Mingo was placed on $60,000 bail for the two charges he faced. Lawrence was placed on $30,000 bail for the joint charge. Joseph was placed on a total of $90,000 bail for the three charges she faces. The case is set to be called again on December 17, 2020 for report, after which another date will be set for a case management conference (CMC).

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

In Focus : Adv ances in t he Agr icult ur e Sect or

POSITIONING THE SECTOR FOR EXPANSION P P P / C g o v ’ t a d v a n c in g e ff o r t s t o m a k e a g r o -p r o c e s s in g v ia b le

overnment, through the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) has expended $158.5 million of the budgeted $293 million, to improve the viability of the local agro-processing industry. One year in office, the PPP/C Administration has already accomplished most of the initiatives earmarked to successfully advance and expand the agro-processing sector. Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mus-

high value and innovative local products that are internationally competitive. The Ministry of Finance’s Mid-Year Report for 2021 highlighted the competition of the one-stop agri-business incubator at the GMC. Already, agro-processors, especially small operators, are now having access to the required tools to generate product information for their produce to be placed on shelves in supermarkets. The report pointed out that the processing facility at NAREI is expected to be completed and available for use by agro-processors by October 2021. By the third quarter, a seven-ton freezer truck and one 40-foot refrigerated container are expected to be available for use. Additionally, almost 300 agro-processors and potential agro-processors benefitted from training in the fundamentals of agro-processing. The training exercise was faciliMinister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, during tated through the partnership his visit to the Parika Agro-processing facility of the GMC and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA). tapha, remains optimistic that the agro-proAccordingly, the Government is craftcessing facilities will function, both for ing strategies which will facilitate insticommercial production, and product de- tutional buying by linking farmers and velopment for small and medium agro-pro- agro-processors with public and private cessors. He explained that this will allow institutions such as the hospitals, oil compaconsumers to have access to high quality, nies, hotels, restaurants and schools.

A g r i m in is t r y in k s $ 2 . 7 B in c o n t r a c t s to boost food sector

he Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday awarded a total of 15 contracts valued $2.7 billion to several qualified bidders for the completion of critical projects to boost the sector nationwide. The simple signing ceremony which was held in the ministry’s boardroom, saw 12 suppliers receiving the green light to begin works with specified guidelines. Access to the farmlands and markets are important for the supply of any agricultural scheme, and the Agriculture Ministry plans to upgrade the deteriorated sections of the road between the rear of Bath and Blairmont, Region Five. When completed, the project will benefit 1,100 farmers and 22,000 acres of land. Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said the proj-

ects are significant to the development of the nation’s food industry. He noted that it is important for the contractors to complete works to a standard pleasing to farmers and residents. He said, “We will continue to monitor these projects very closely because we want value for the money spent. We want projects that when they are completed the people out there must be satisfied. We are putting this infrastructure in place so we can mitigate future flooding and that is very important to us. We are also trying to recapitulate and rebuild GuySuCo and they are a number of projects there that we want to complete to ensure the agency strive again.” The Minister is optimistic that the PPP/C Government would take the agriculture sector to a standard no other country could match.

$ 5 . 4 B s p e n t in f ir s t s ix m o n t h s o f 2 0 2 1 f o r d r a in a g e a n d ir r ig a t io n u p g r a d e

overnment has injected $5.4 billion in the first six months of 2021 to ensure farmers nationwide receive improved and adequate drainage and irrigation services. Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, said without proper drainage and irrigation, agriculture productivity would be affected significantly, as most farming is done on the low coastal plain which lies below sea level. According to him, his ministry’s determination towards developing the lives of farmers cannot be over emphasised,

as the projects undertaken will address the effects of climatic conditions. The 2021 Mid-Year Report shows that the sum spent for half of the year reflects 44 per cent of the budgetary allocation. The sum was expended to improve structures and infrastructure to communities and farms countrywide. According to the report, the design of the new pump station at Cottage has been completed and stations at Adventure and Black Bush Polder are expected to be completed in the second half of the year.

A g r ic u lt u r e M o n t h : M a in A c t iv it ie s October 1 – MOA -Launch of Agriculture Month (Virtual) streamed live on the Ministry’s Facebook page from 10:00hrs October 4-8 – CARICOM - Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA)

workshop with media houses: to address the issue of publishing unauthorized weather forecasts and to promote a better understanding of forecasting terminology.

Facebook page from 15:00hrs and other local channels.

October 4 – CARICOM - Opening Ceremony of CWA

October 12 - CARDI - Handing over of Hot pepper seeds (Virtual) October 13- Hope Industries - Opening of Wakenaam and Leguan Coconut Nursery

October 19 – NAREI - Opening of the NAREI’s Office and Living quarters and commissioning of mini orchard Parmakatoi and Handing over ATV (Kato)

October 13 – GRDB - Commission of Drying Floor at Wakenaam

October 20 – GLDA - Commissioning of Smart Classroom Building and Relaunching of the Artificial Insemination Programme in small ruminants

October 4 – CRFM/Fisheries - 11th Special CRFM Ministerial Council Meeting (CRFM) October 4- PTCCB - Launch of Pesticides Storage Cabinet Distribution for Farmers, PTCCB October 5 – Caribbean AgTech Investment Summit October 6 – GFSA - Tambique Tuma Launch on October 4th, at 09:00hrs October 8 –CARICOM - COTED Ministerial (Virtual) October 11- GRDB/IICA -Discussion on Bio Fortified Rice Trial. October 12 - Hydromet - Sensitization

October 13- GRDB - Commission of Extension of Region 3 Sub Office Building, Crane October 15 – NAREI – Launch of Fruits and Vegetables Booklet and Distribution of Planting Materials at Mon Repos Nursery @10:30hrs October 15- MOA/FAO - Launch of Food Security Bill October 16 – FAO/MOA - World Food Day (VIRTUAL) Streamed live on the Ministry’s

October 18 – GRDB- Commission of Drying Floor at Riverstown, Essequibo Coast

October 22 – GSA – Virtual Graduation Exercise October 22 – GRDB - Commissioning of Value--Added Laboratory and Extension of Administrative Building at the Burma Rice Research Station October 22 – MMA -Signing and hand over of lease @ 14:00hrs October 25 - Distribution of Cassava Mills

in Region Nine October 26 – PTCCB - Pest Control Operators Certification Programme Graduation October 27- GMC - Launch of Showcase at the Presidential Lounge and Unveil the signage/billboard at CJIA October 27- NDIA – Delivery of Mini Excavator to Mabaruma, Region One October 29 – IICA- Webinar - AGRI-TOURISM –Road map Sensitization October 29 – Tour of Satyadeow Saw Aquaculture Station Other important events scheduled for the Month of October 1. Harvesting of Corn at Dubalay (Private Sector) 1. Launch of Agriculture Development Strategy – MOA/FAO 2. Commissioning of Agro-processing facility – GMC 3. Commission of a Pump Station/Road – NDIA

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Protection of Amazon’s rainforest vital to future of the planet

– Guyana’s commitment to Leticia Pact reaffirmed at third Summit

rotecting the Amazon’s rainforest is vital to the future of the planet and reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the Leticia Pact and its goals and objectives, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during the third annual summit today from his Office on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive. He said, “The protection of our rainforest is vital to our future and that of the planet. We have an obligation to support regional environmental cooperation aimed at protecting our precious natural capital and in responding collectively to natural disasters which have regional impact.” The Guyanese Head of State urged the summit to continue acting collectively in the face of threats that can harm their countries and the development of their citizens. He said that each country has an obligation to protect its respective rainforests for its citizens and

for the global population due to Amazon countries’ oxygen-generating capabilities. The Amazon is the largest rainforest block and carbon sink. It is home to 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater supply and 10% of its biodiversity. President Ali, who said that he was honoured to participate in the Summit, pledged Guyana’s commitment to the objectives of the pact and the country’s cooperation in implementing its action plan. He said that the summit is being held at a critical time since the region is still facing the dire consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, while attempting to recover from its effects. “Our region has been making efforts to intensify regional cooperation so that never again will we find ourselves in a situation in which overdependence on the developed world for solutions to major global crises leave us vulnerable and exposed,”

Ali said. The President noted that he is heartened by the level of regional cooperation that has been triggered by the global health crisis, and said he believes that equally, the participating countries can ensure greater regional environmental cooperation to help protect against the adverse effects of the global climate crisis. He said, “We, the countries of the Amazon, must play our part in averting environmental disasters and in arresting the climate crisis.” ENHANCED DEVELOPMENT President Ali lauded the Pact and its plan of action and said that they are instruments of regional environmental cooperation for combating deforestation, land degradation and for accelerating restoration, rehabilitation and reforestation initiatives. He also praised the Pact’s

commitment to the empowerment of women and indigenous peoples and their communities, which he said is vital to the conservation and protection of the rainforests and biodiversity. However, he noted that the Pact is still in its infancy since it was signed only two years ago and must be given time to achieve its ambitions and become an effective mechanism of environmental collaboration. “Regional environmental cooperation is no quick-fix solution. Regional cooperation takes time and requires sustained and painstaking efforts, especially in respect to ensuring consensus, coordination and common action,” he said. The President said that while the region’s current priority is to combat the effects of Covid-19, it should not deflect attention from the Pact’s objectives and the implementation of its action plan. Ali said, “The process of recovery from the

pandemic should be used as an opportunity to align our economies along a sustainable development path and to ensure that preservation and protection is a foremost development priority.” ALIGNING THE PACT WITH NATIONAL OBJECTIVES The Head of State explained that environmental cooperation envisioned by the Pact might be short-lived or placed on a backburner unless the region’s development trajectories are aligned with the Pact’s objectives. He said, “Regional cooperation will enjoy greater success if its ambitions find increased traction in national development policies.” As such, the President said, Guyana believes that it is necessary for all the countries to support the objectives of the Leticia Pact for the Amazon by mainstreaming its objectives in their national development strate-

gies, especially in relation to maintaining sustainable levels of deforestation, protecting biodiversity, enhancing value-added production of forest products, increasing the decarbonisation of each economy and empowering women and indigenous peoples and communities.” President Ali also reminded the Summit of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy that will be broadened to incorporate wider environmental services, water resources management, climate resilience, biodiversity and the marine economy. The event, which attracted several heads of government, including the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez, was held to reaffirm the principles and values of the treaty, which was signed by seven Amazon nations, including Guyana, in 2019 in the Amazonia city of Leticia, Colombia.

World must fix current developmental pathway instead of making new ones – Head of State tells UNCTAD that developing nations asking for fair treatment and not hand-outs T

here is no need to create a new developmental pathway since the focus should be placed on fixing weaknesses and strengthening the existing system, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali. President Ali also said that developing nations are not asking for hand-outs or preferential treatment but fairness, especially as it relates to COVID-19 vaccination and vaccines. The Head of State was at the time responding to a question at the 15th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Leaders Summit Dialogue III, where he was asked: “The current crisis has highlighted the need to change our development path. In your view, how willing or able are we to do so?” In his response, the President noted that modifying the current approach might

be more beneficial in the long run. He said, “It is not about the new pathway. It is how do we fix this path? How do we ensure that this path does not lead to greater isolation? That’s the first question that we must answer. Then let us take the whole issue of where this leads us.” He emphasised that the “difficult questions” must be asked and that the world cannot speak about a new pathway or finding new means when the existing framework has structural and institutional problems. He said, “We all speak glowingly about the importance of multilateralism in advancing the world, but we should introspect a bit, and ask ourselves, are the institutions that would allow multilateralism to work and to deliver, are they delivering? Are they geared towards the achievement of what we want to achieve, or is there

manipulation in the system?” VACCINE POLARISATION The Head of State added that in its current state, the world is not recovering from the pandemic since developed countries have achieved a vaccination rate of more than 80% while developing countries are below 3%. He noted that this recovery is being impeded by vaccine polarisation and discrimination. It was further explained that the lessons of the world being interconnected that were taught by the pandemic have been forgotten as nations are beginning to isolate themselves by restricting travel from persons who took a specific type of vaccine. He said, “We’re seeing policies now that will expand that isolation, and I want to make this very clear; it is not that

developing countries did not try to get the vaccines. Africa, for example, coordinated through the private sector, a single individual, to negotiate the purchase of vaccines from all the suppliers. In CARICOM, we did the same. Many countries did the same, but the vaccines were just not available to us in the developing world.” SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEM President Ali said that the problem extends beyond vaccination and has morphed into social and economic issues, more so since the Caribbean region has lost 70% of its revenue gained from tourism. The implications are not just financial, since, according to President Ali, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will be difficult. He said that developing coun-

tries are forced to rewrite expenditure with decreased revenues. Compounding this is the fact that the region spends US$500M to US$1B annually to repair damages to infrastructure caused by natural disasters with a development package for the Region that stands at $US4B. He said, “So there is a mismatch, and unless we’re willing to correct the mismatch, unless we’re willing to address the issue of fairness and how we’re treated, then this will be a prolonged problem for us.” The Head of State noted that this is also compounded by the medium and longterm impacts of COVID-19, which are still to be assessed. STRONG SOUTHSOUTH COOPERATION President Ali also spoke about the hindrance to mul-

tilateralism. He said that those hindrances must be identified and fixed, and as a result, he feels that a stronger bond between Africa and the Caribbean and more “south-south cooperation” is critical. He explained that it is important for the two regions to come together with common objectives and goals to “apply enough pressure on the system for us to understand that for multilateralism to work, the framework that supports it must work, and must work independently”. The President added that the issue of inequality is also a big problem that must be addressed. “We have to address inequality from a developed and developing perspective. We have to address it from an inter-country perspective and a regional perspective,” Ali declared.

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Almost $500M in tax dollars spent on laptops by APNU+AFC goes down the drain S

pending of almost half a billion on laptops by the former APNU+AFC Coalition government is now under the spotlight. The Coalition racked up $495 million in losses due to laptops procured ending up damaged. Questions about the state the items were received in from the supplier and whether they were even covered by a warranty re-

main unanswered. The former Coalition Government had reconfigured the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project, an initiative under the then PPP/C government, into a One Laptop Per Teacher project. It was under this project that 2,959 laptops, costing $495 million, were purchased. However, after the items were received in

2016, they ended up damaged. This issue came up before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday (October 11, 2021). The then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, Derrick Cummings, when grilled, explained that the laptops ended up damaged because of the con-

ditions under which they were stored. When asked whether these laptops were covered by a warranty, and what steps were being taken to recoup the money from the supplier, Huawei, Cummings could not provide any satisfactory answer. Cummings, who became Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications in 2016,

was asked directly what he has done as the accounting officer to address the issue of the damaged laptops. By his own admission, however, he had done nothing. “I would say to this committee that I did not take any action regarding the damaged laptops, because I think, being a technical aspect of the work of the Ministry under the National Data Manage-

ment Authority, I was looking to them, or they should have been the persons I was monitoring to ask about it. Based on how you put (the question) to me, I would say I didn’t take any action,” Cummings said. The 2015 Audit Report states that 9,609 laptops were paid for in 2015 and received in February 2016, of which 2,959 were damaged.

Rule of law the foundation of economic and social progress – AG

uyana recorded progress from 2019 to 2021 in the US Chamber of Commerce rule of law global dashboard.

The report shows Guyana improving its overall rule of law dashboard score from 44.32 in 2019 to 48.73 in 2021, an improvement

of 4.41 Attorney General Anil Nandlall, commenting on the improvement, said, “This has brought with it

public confidence and an avalanche of interest from investors across the globe, in a manner never seen before. Once these investments begin to manifest themselves, the rule of law will continue to play a dominant role in our society. He charged that in the absence of law, anarchy and

tyranny will prevail, thereby stymying economic development and social progress. “I hope that I have been able to establish that there is a deep correlation and indeed nexus not only between the rule of law and a competitive business environment, but the rule of law being the foundation of economic and

social progress in any given society,” he said. The Attorney General highlighted the subrules of the modern concept of the rule of law. These include accessibility; limiting of discretion; universal application; protection of fundamental rights; right of (Turn to page 17)

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Rule of law the foundation of economic... (From page 16) access to courts; the need for reasonableness and good faith in the power by public officials; fairness of procedure in adjudicative procedures; compliance with international obligations; an independent judiciary; and free and fair elections at periodic intervals. Minister Nandlall related that in the third world, these concepts should not be taken for granted. “It must be excruciatingly clear that in the absence

of the rule of law anarchy and tyranny shall prevail. I do not think that anyone would dispute that in a society where there is anarchy or tyranny, economic development stagnates and social progress perishes. Such a society becomes moribund on its journey to becoming a failed state,” the Attorney General explained. He added that those “are realities to which Guyanese can relate, having endured nearly three decades of po-

litical dictatorship, rigged national elections, authoritarian rule…the impact upon business is devastating. They become bankrupt, insolvent or are forced to close doors. The people of that nation either remain in that pauperised society or they find ways and means of exiting that nation. There is breakdown of the rule of law.” The legal affairs minister reminded that no serious investor will pump money

into a country where property rights are not respected, not accorded strong protection, and where there is no independent, fair and competent judiciary. As a consequence of an unstable investor climate, he said the atmosphere would not be conducive for competitive business. In pointing to how the rule of law impedes investment or a competitive business environment, the Attorney General referred to

the three decades of political dictatorship and absence of law, and how Guyana went from the “prized jewel of the British Empire in the Caribbean” to one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. Further, the country’s Attorney General referred to the attempt by the former APNU+AFC Administration to rig the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. He said, “Despite 100 countries of the world standing

APNU+AFC reps put on blast for disrupting... with this, during the period up to 2020, there were no initiatives by the former APNU+AFC Coalition Government to achieve this overly ambitious target. Key energy projects inherited, which were initiated by the PPP/C Government, such as the Amaila Hydropower Project, were scuttled. Notably too, in 2018, Granger’s Head of the Office of Climate Change (OCC), Janelle Christian, had admitted that Granger’s target was not achievable and would have to be reviewed. Jagdeo said, “How do you raise ambition from 100 per cent pledge? In fact, this proposal that we have here would be lowering ambition. And that is what we wanted to avoid. We did not want to say to the rest of the world that it’s impossible, the last

Government made a mess of everything and it’s impossible to achieve what they had pledged by 2025...for a very long time, we debated whether we should submit new NDCs. Because globally, it would be seen as lowering ambition while everyone else is talking about increasing ambition (to lowering carbon emissions). Eventually we said, we can’t continue to mislead the world. That has to change.” He explained that unlike the former Government, the PPP/C Government has a detailed road map for achieving the NDCs. The Vice President said, “The gas-to-energy project will, hopefully, by 2024, 2025, cut our emissions by 50 per cent. And then with solar, we hope to do between 30

to 50 megawatts of solar. And with the hydro, we’ve just opened the tender for hydro, we’re hoping that by 2027, we will probably achieve a 70 per cent cut in emissions…that’s realistic. We have projects to achieve that. We don’t just talk. And that is the major change. Nothing has changed on the adaptation side. We have to prevent our sea from coming in and flooding us. We have to manage water, so we don’t get flooded out… we have to tackle drought in maybe the hinterland areas.” Monday’s engagement is one step in the process being undertaken by the Office of the President to revise the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), taking into consideration current realities and

the Government’s commitments to climate change and low carbon development. The focus will remain on key actions on adaptation to climate change and mitigation efforts, with particular em-

on the side of democracy and the rule of law in Guyana, the fraudsters persevered for five long months. It was the rule of law and an independent judiciary, more particularly the Caribbean Court of Justice, that rescued Guyana from the precipice of destruction.” The comments were made during a webinar hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce’s on Wednesday (October 13, 2021).

(From page 3)

phasis on Guyana’s energy sector and forests. The engagement was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Liliendaal. A draft revised NDC will be put forward in the public

domain for stakeholder review and inputs ahead of the UNFCCC, Climate Change Conference (COP26) scheduled from October 31 to November 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sugar estate leaders have a turnaround strategy Dear Editor,

s Managers directly responsible for the three (3) sugar-producing Estates of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) we wish to clarify several grave inaccuracies about the operations at Albion/Port Mourant, Blairmont and Uitvlugt, that were put forward in a letter dated October 11, 2021 (published in the Stabroek News) and penned by one Rajendra Bissessar. It is vital that accuracy in the public space is preserved on every occasion, especially at this delicate juncture where the sugar industry is recovering from the worst flood in our recorded history for the Berbice area.

In December 2020, each of us was asked by the Chief Executive Officer to join a process under his leadership, where we collectively built a 5-year Strategic Plan for the industry. That process then migrated into a collaborative effort within a sub-committee of the Board of Directors. The end product was a Board submission of a 5-year Strategic Plan and this was approved in March 2021 along with the Annual Procurement Plan for the industry. So as sugar estate leaders, we have a Strategy and we are working on the Strategy. Unfortunately, the 2021 floods came and have caused the entire industry to re-look at itself intimately especially around the need for greater mechanization on the fields. This

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021 is a work in progress today. Collectively, we have 87 years of service to the sugar industry and we support the direction of the industry under the current Chief Executive Officer. We remain convinced if it was not for these floods of 2021 and our inability to renew our tillage fleet periodically, this industry would have been in a much stronger position on the road to cash neutrality under his leadership. Unfortunately, as we currently review this plan within, for a further presentation to the Board of Directors, to accommodate the damage from the flood, the evidence is clear that the industry has lost as much as 18 months from the original timelines. As the active operational leaders on the grinding estates, we witnessed major periods of under-investment in the industry especially over the last 5 years, save and except for the last 12 months, when some G$4.3 billion in capital equipment was financed by the current Government of Guyana. As sugar professionals, we are grateful for these investments since September 2020 and will continue to use these investments to advance the prospects in the industry. When we were part of the process that prepared the Draft Strategic Plan in December 2020, we found that 70% of the fleet of tillage tractors in the industry had an average age greater than 8 years. This situation highlights that these tillage tractors are at the end of their useful economic life considering the arduous conditions on the sugar fields of Guyana. However, because of a lack of finance, these aged tillage tractors could not have been renewed in a timely manner (both in 2020 and 2021) leaving the industry with no choice but to keep them operational; albeit with increasing inefficiency. The longer it takes to assemble the resources to renew these tillage tractors, the greater the inability to redevelop the fields to make a tangible impact on the Tonnes of Cane/Tonnes of sugar (TC/TS). In the same vein, anyone who is aware of the sugar cultivation process will know that it all starts with land preparation. The records will illustrate that the entire land preparation process has been halted since early March 2021 because of the unseasonal and extended rainfall which every Guyanese experienced. The extended rainfall was so brutal to the sugar industry that on some Estates, the standing canes found themselves under water for more than 65 days even though some 4.5 million tonnes of water was removed from the land daily. This situation has resulted in a mortality rate of 31% of the standing canes at

the largest estate – Albion /Port Mourant that produces some 50% of the annual production in 2020. The arithmetic speaks for itself, unless you are a stranger to the truth. In accordance with the Study of Drainage Outfalls, it is recognised that “the depth of submergence, within the range arising from rainstorms, does not affect the crop yield, but the period of submergence affects the weight of cane/sucrose yield (TC/TS) ratio and reduces the value of the crop”. It should also be noted that the percentage reductions in yield on the field (TCH) are also directly influenced by the time of submergence and it was determined that the losses became very steep after six (6) days of submergence. The empirical evidence shows that there is a 25% reduction in the value of the crop after six (6) days of submergence (Halcrow & Ministry of Works, Hydraulics & Supply, 1973). Further, the Sugar Research Institute of Australia, in a publication called “Managing flood-damaged cane” stated that the “cane may suffer around 15-20% yield loss after 5 days of submergence, between 30% and 60% yield loss after 10 days and between 37% and 100% yield loss after 15 days.” Therefore, the science is clear as to what should have been the expected outcome (greater levels of mortality of the standing cane and a greater deterioration in cane yield and quality, which directly affects the TC/TS). For the record, the year to date TC/TS for 2021 was 13.44 across the industry. For the reading public, this means it takes an average of thirteen and a half metric tonnes of sugar cane to make one metric tonne of sugar. TC/ TS have a direct correlation with the sucrose content of the sugar cane. What has been observed is that as a result of the excessive rainfalls, the high saturation in the soil and the flood conditions on most of the fields between March 2021 and mid-August 2021; the outcome was a situation where the sugar cane plant was not allowed to sufficiently ripen or store sucrose. Rather, the sugar cane plant survived at the expense of the sucrose from within the stalk because it could not access food from the soil due to the heavy saturation. We trust that our written intervention has cleared the air on some of the issues raised. Yours faithfully, Threbhowan Shiwprasad – Estate Manager – Albion Hutton Griffith – Estate Manager – Blairmont Yudhister Mana – Estate Manager – Uitvlugt

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

More than 500 Orealla, Siparuta residents benefit... (From page 8) procedures on more than 150 persons. Dr. Mahadeo noted that these procedures include things that were never done before in the communities. He said, “Things like the root canal and doing other interventions that were never done before here. The head of the Cheddi Jagan Dental Centre, himself, is here, Dr. Sullivan, and he has been leading this team, so we had literally three chairs working at the same time and this is why we would have achieved this much in the two days.” Almost 50 ultrasounds were done on persons includ-

ing the elderly and pregnant, while 55 persons saw the dermatologist, 31 persons did VIA Screening, with others accessing general services. Mahadeo said, “In all the cases like in the case of Optometry, we are making a list of those cases that would need intervention so we are talking about the pterygiums, talking about the cataracts, we are talking about the glaucoma that might need surgical intervention or other interventions and this list we will be working on so we are hopefully going to be able to

take these persons out to get it done if it cannot be done here.” Patients who accessed the medical services are grateful for the opportunity. Head of the Cuban Medical Brigade, Dr. Ruiz Arcia Ineldo was also part of the visiting team and expressed his gratitude for being afforded the opportunity to provide specialised care to the Guyanese population. Dr. Mahadeo also visited bedridden and elderly people in the communities to ensure that they too benefitted from the medical outreach.

APNU+AFC Coalition has consistently... (From page 4)

continue to lie simply because they have to keep their supporters believing in something even if that something is a big fat lie. That just shows how low the coalition will stoop to serve their own interest at the expense of their supporters who they continue to use as pawns. I can go on and on about the lies that they have been telling from last year to now but there is no need for that since we all can clearly distinguish truth from lies.

Mr. Editor, at this rate, I have no doubt that the APNU+AFC coalition would remain in opposition for years to come. It is time for their supporters to wake up and say enough is enough. It is time that they stand up and reject the lies being peddled to them by the very people that claim to represent them. The time is now. Yours very truly, Anson Paul

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

Guyana to Develop a National Forest Certification Scheme ‒ in keeping with sustainable forest management policies G

uyana’s forests cover approximately 87 percent of the country’s total surface area with low de-

forestation rates. As part of the Government’s policy of maintaining sustainable forest management; a di-

verse group of stakeholders from government agencies, forest sector operators, indigenous non-governmental

organisations, environmental non-governmental organisations, civil society, including women, youths, and for-

est workers representatives, have agreed to develop a national forest standard and certification system for endorsement by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Council (PEFC). The PEFC is a leading global alliance promoting sustainable forest management through forest certification and labelling of forest-based products. The PEFC is one of the two globally recognised forest management and wood products certification systems. While the other is the Forest Steward Certification system. Currently, there are 750,000 forests owners, covering a total of 330 million hectares of forests, who are certified globally under PEFC. It must be noted that many tropical timber-producing countries including, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Ghana (who have signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU) similar to Guyana), have developed and implemented PEFC-endorsed national certification systems, or are in the process of developing their national systems for PEFC endorsement. Similar to Guyana, these countries are also members of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO). The Guyana Forestry Commission is both the governing and the standardising body with the responsibility to represent Guyana in the PEFC Council, as well as oversee the development of the standard and the certification. The GFC is currently establishing a PEFC secretariat within the Commission to manage the standard development process. The decision to develop this standard and certification system was endorsed at a broad stakeholder meeting held in March this year. Consultations on developing the standards for the national certification system included participants from civil society bodies: the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, Forest Products Association, National Steering Committee for Community Forest Organisation, Guyana Organisation of Indigenous People; private sectors: concessionaires, exporters, sawmillers, lumberyard dealers; academia: Guyana School of Agriculture; and government Ministries and agencies: Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Environmental

Protection Agency, Forest Products Development & Marketing Council and Forestry Training Centre. At the stakeholder meeting, the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, delivered the keynote address in which he explained to the stakeholders the benefits of creating a PEFC-endorsed national forest certification system for Guyana. At the conclusion of his address, Minister Bharrat asked the stakeholders to consider whether they supported creating the standard and certification system. As such, stakeholders have agreed to seek PEFC endorsement of Guyana’s national forest certification system because the PEFC-endorsed system: • Uses a “bottom-up” approach that focuses on meeting the expectations of affected and interested local stakeholders on the ground, as well as stakeholders able to influence the implementation of the Standard; • Takes into account local conditions; and • Are consistent with national laws and regulations, all within a framework of key internationally recognised sustainability benchmarks. The standard development process will draw largely on the work already completed as part of the Guyana/EU VPA process, under the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programme, which Guyana successfully initialled in 2018. Given both the VPA and PEFC processes emphasise a “bottom-up” approach with significant involvement of forest stakeholders, the national system will complement as well as synergise with the FLEGT programme in Guyana. The intended PEFC-endorsed national standard and certification system will be available voluntarily to a forest sector operator who chooses to take advantage of it. It will not replace or compete with FLEGT licencing scheme under the VPA FLEGT programme when completed and implemented. The PEFC approach will also present an opportunity to develop a globally recognised certification system that is genuinely reflective of Guyana’s forest management situation’s uniqueness, and the needs and expectations of the Guyanese people. In opting for the PEFC approach, stakeholders have agreed to develop Guyana’s (Turn to page 22)

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

COM M ENTARY

The PNCR continues to demonstrate that it cannot be trusted

trilogy of stories in the news today serve to remind people that the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) from birth to today is a party that could never be trusted. Older people will know some of the most famous betrayals by the PNCR, some of the ways they function with deceit and trickery. Young people must learn from these experiences. Political parties, by nature, makes promises. They historically have not kept all their promises. But some of these parties can legitimately claim they made those un-kept promises with good intention and that circumstances changed or forced them into not keeping their promises. But parties like the PNCR make promises and agreements knowingly with the intention of never keeping those promises. Let us look this trilogy of stories that remind us of the PNCR’s deceit and trickery. This week, a veteran PPP comrade, Philomena Sahoye-Shurry, celebrated her 90th birthday. Donald Ramotar paid a fitting tribute to Comrade Philo on her 90th birthday. When I was a child and Philo was a trade union activist in the then Guyana Industrial Workers Union (GIWU) which later became the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the most workers-active union in Guyana for decades now, Philo travelled the sugar estates standing with the sugar workers. While in

Berbice one of the consistent stops was at my parents’ home at Albion. That home was at one time called Freedom House, Corentyne. That was where virtually all the strike relief for that area were conducted. She was then called “Fireball”. Philo was young and energetic. But as a teenager, my friends and I did not fail to see one of the most beautiful ladies around. Philo was one of my early “CRUSH”. I used to stop playing cricket and come home every single time Philo came by. Her hug was the thing of dreams. What, then, is the relevance of this story to the PNCR’s trickery and deceit? After the 1994 local government elections, neither the PPP nor the PNCR had enough seats in the Municipality of Georgetown to claim the mayor position. Hamilton Greene’s party had taken away enough seats from the PNCR to deny them that right. In the negotiations that followed with three parties garnering meaningful number of seats, but none in a position to get the position of mayor, the PPP and the PNCR worked out an arrangement where they would rotate the mayor and the deputy mayor’s position on an annual basis. The PNCR took the first turn as Mayor. At the end of the first year, it was the PPP’s turn. The PPP’s candidate that served as the deputy mayor was Philo. The PPP endorsed her to take over the position of mayor. But

the PNCR reneged on the agreement, refusing to allow Philomena Sahoye-Shurry to become the mayor. The betrayal became permanent, as the agreement was violated and breached on a permanent basis, until the PNCR and Greene’s party made their own arrangement and permanently left Greene to be the mayor until he was replaced by another PNCR candidate. The breaching of that agreement was not the first time, not the last time, the PNCR had used trickery and deceit to get their way. The second story in the news is the announcement by the “dead meat” party, the AFC, that they have established a high-level executive committee to examine where the AFC stands in the coalition and in the political arena. Every ordinary Guyanese know the answer. The AFC’s standing in either the APNU/AFC or in the political arena in Guyana was aptly described by its leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, a long time ago – it is a “dead meat” party. It has no support anywhere in Guyana, its members in the executive for all intents and purposes are back in the fold of or have become totally immersed into the PNCR. The PNCR itself looks at all of them as either nothing or as a member of the PNCR. The PNCR is not interested in what they say or what position they adopt, the PNCR tells them what to say and do. Did they not know they lost the elections? Did they not see the SOPs?

Dominick Gaskin, Granger’s son-in-law and executive member of the AFC at the time, told them they lost. But this story serves as a stark reminder of how the PNCR cannot ever be trusted. They promised the AFC plenty things. They gave them nothing unless it was on the PNCR’s terms. The PNCR promised in the 2018 local government elections that the Region 4 deputy chair will go to the AFC. To their utter consternation, shock, total disbelieve, the PNCR rejected the AFC candidate and named their own deputy chair for the Region 4 RDC. For the AFC, that betrayal was another of a long trail of domestic abuse. No political partnership is so reminiscent of a man and woman in an abusive domestic relationship. Remember that the Cummingsburg Accord promised Moses Nagamootoo the chair Cabinet meetings? It happened zero time. Remember oil and gas would be the AFC’s portfolio? Trotman became Natural Resources Minister, but oil and gas was taken away. Who selected the MPs for the AFC? It was the PNCR. Who selected the ministerial candidates when they were in government? It was the PNCR. It is simple, the PNCR cannot from its birth to now be trusted. It is a long-standing reputation that does not need forensic scrutiny to verify. The United Force (TUF) can attest to this. They brought the UF into a coalition after the 1964 elections and made many promises and agreements with that party to secure the government,

denying the winner of that election the right to govern Guyana and take Guyana into independence. The PNCR conspired with the USA and the UK to keep Cheddi Jagan’s PPP out of government. But the PNCR hooked the UF into a coalition agreement, they never had any intention to keep. By 1968, keeping government through rigged elections, by hook or crook, Burnham’s PPP dumped the UF. The PNCR bought out by bribery and other means some of the senior UF members and threw the rest overboard. The UF exists in name still, but the UF was the first “dead meat” party because it trusted the PNCR. The British and Americans trusted the PNCR that they will not be an ally of Cuba and Russia, that they would be an antidote against Cheddi Jagan and the PPP whose non-aligned philosophy would permit them to develop and maintain strong relationships with Cuba and Russia. To the PPP’s credit, for more than 70 years it has remained a non-aligned party and remains friendly with countries of all kinds of political and economic ideologies. Once the PNCR used the British and the American to secure political power, they then aligned themselves with those who would give silent support for their rigged elections. When the British conspired to keep the PPP out of office and grant independence to Guyana, they made an agreement with Burnham and his PNCR government. In fact, they enshrined it in the independence declara-

tion – Amerindians are entitled to their land. Burnham and the PNCR singed that agreement. They took ten years to finally legislate the Amerindian Act which was enacted in 1976 to enshrine the rights of Amerindians to their land. It was another 20 years before the PPP under Bharat Jagdeo enacted another version of the Amerindian Act and proceeded to keep Guyana’s promise of titling Amerindian land. The PPP assigned funding from the Norway Agreement to ensure comprehensive treatment of Amerindian Land Titling. In 2015, the PNCR came back in power and abruptly abandoned the land titling that was already in place. They betrayed the Amerindian people. Deceit and trickery are part of the DNA of the PNCR. They lie, they trick and for them getting what they want by hook or crook is part of their DNA. The part was founded on the principles and values of deceit and trickery. Having failed to secure the PPP’s leadership between 1953 and 1957, Burnham proceeded to form the PNCR. This year that party, with Granger as its leader and Volda Lawrence as its Chair, celebrated its 64th anniversary. It is the third story in the trilogy of stories that remind us that among us is a political party that could not be trusted at its birth, could not be trusted throughout its 64 years and it never fail to remind citizens and the world that it can never be trusted. It reminds everyone that trusting the PNCR is you’re your dire peril.

Guyana to Develop a National Forest... (From page 20)

national forest certification system using an open, transparent, consultative, and consensus-based process that includes a broad range of stakeholders, similar to the VPA negotiation process. The Guyana National Forest Management Standard will cover: • Forest management on all land tenures where forest management for commercial purposes is permitted by law

in Guyana; • Both individual forest management organisations and potential group schemes involving multiple forest management entities (in accordance with group certification procedures to be developed as part of the System); and • Timber products as well as non-timber forest products. An independent third-party certification like

the PEFC will support Guyanese forest operators to demonstrate their legality and sustainability credentials credibly against internationally recognised benchmarks efficiently and cost-effectively to the global markets. For more information about Guyana’s national standard and forest certification system, please visit the website of the GFC: https:// forestry.gov.gy.

WEEKEND MIRROR 16-17 OCTOBER, 2021

COVID-19 vaccines stimulate immune system ─ Health Minister addresses vaccination concerns

n light of concerns related to the COVID-19 vaccines, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has clarified that the vaccines help the body to recognise the Coronavirus and stimulates the immune system to respond quickly. The Minister has debunked claims that the vaccines are weakening the immune system. He said, “You have what is called an innate immune system, and an adaptive immune response. The innate response takes about seven days so if an unknown virus comes to your body and presents itself to your immune system that innate response takes at least seven days to be properly activated. “…and after seven days, then the adaptive immunity kicks in. But in seven days, if you were infected with COVID, a lot of damage can be done. So that is why when you get a vaccine, it would prime your body so that instead of the innate system taking that long, it kicks

in faster, and your adaptive immunity is almost immediate so that your body is better able to respond to presenting virus and therefore, you know you will stop the multiplication of this virus in their system.” Information from Medline Plus describes innate or non-specific immunity as a defence system that protects against antigens, providing the body with a barrier that prevents harmful materials from entering, working as the first line of defence. On the other hand, adaptive or acquired immunity occurs after exposure to an antigen from a vaccine or pathogen. Adaptive immunity responds when the innate immune response is insufficient to control an infection. Vaccination triggers the immune response by injecting small doses of antigens such as dead or weakened live viruses. This gives adaptive immunity its memory, which allows the body to

react quickly and efficiently to future exposures. The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Health has been taking significant steps to protect the population. When vaccines became available, every effort was made and continues to be made to encourage persons to get inoculated against the deadly disease. Despite procuring a variety of vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a substantial number of persons are still hesitant to be immunised, increasing their risk of experiencing severe forms of the Coronavirus. In its pursuit to inform the public and quell concerns surrounding the administration of vaccines, Dr. Anthony regularly engages the media to clarify myths and provide scientifically proven answers to allay fears and increase public awareness. Guyanese are urged to get immunised at any of the 100 vaccination sites across the country.

Public, private entities being assessed for compliance with COVID-19 measures A s part of government’s strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Health Emergency Operating Centre (HEOC) is carrying out visits to public and private sector entities to ensure they are in compliance with the gazetted measures. Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, MP stated that over 50 agencies have been visited since the exercise commenced last week. He said many of them are not in compliance with the measures. He said, “They have noted this and they spoke to the business owners pointing out the deficiencies, and this week we’ll be writing those

businesses official letters, pointing out that they are not in compliance and giving them a time period in which to get themselves in order.” Businesses that fail to acknowledge the letters and to comply within the stipulated time period will face penalties. The Minister explained that the persons visiting the entities are equipped with a checklist to ensure all the measures are being followed. He said, “We look at whether or not there are measures in place to limit the amount of people entering the business, sanitisation measures, and of

course vaccination and asking for the vaccination card. So, all the measures, we’re looking at so when they visit, they have a checklist that they go through to see whether these businesses are complying.” Dr. Anthony said the exercise last week was a success and it will continue this week. He is hopeful that it will help to improve adherence to the measures so that the country could combat the disease. Similar exercises are being conducted in other parts of the country by members of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

Coalition’s use of ‘race card’ will only lead to dead-end ‒ Jagdeo says re-prioritizing spending creates fiscal space to deliver more to Guyanese

he PPP/C has reduced billions in administrative costs – costs that skyrocketed under the former PPP/C Administration – and this allows the fiscal space to deliver on its manifesto promises, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo. “That allows us to fulfill more of our promises,” he said during a recent inter-

view, where he explained that prioritizing spending of taxpayer dollars allows for greater services to Guyanese people. Taking aim at the APNU+AFC Coalition for its criticisms of support offered to Guyanese, including the most recent announcement of support to sugar workers who were fired by the former APNU+AFC Coalition. He said, “It is not just what we

promised. It is more because it is about delivering for our people….there are not only the things we promised, but it is about deliver for all our people…the difference is that we cost things…we don’t speak glibly about it…a lot of thought has gone into it… we know where the resources will come from. “…the only racist party in this country in the PNC… we promised to help the sug-

ar workers, like we promised all the pensioners and the school children…we are helping Guyanese across the country…we are doing an employment programme now and about 8,000 people will be hired in every single region on a temporary basis, while they access training… we are clearly focused on doing the things we promised. “Listen to the vile nonsense that a (Aubrey) Norton

or a Sherod Duncan is saying…we are very different from APNU. I resent the fact that me and my Party are being compared to APNU… we are very different…you should never make the mistake of equating us. What does APNU have to its record after five years…we are not the same. A party that has thrived on racism is different from my Party, which has worked to bring people together.” According to him, the PPP/C has demonstrated each time it is elected into office that it is committed to all Guyanese and their prosperity and will continue along this path. ATTEMPTS TO UNDERMINE The PNC-led APNU+AFC Coalition’s expressed intentions to “undermine” the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Administration, according to Jagdeo, has not gone unnoticed. He referenced recent comments from the controversial David Hinds. Hinds, while addressing a small group of protestors at Victoria, East Coast Demerara, said: “In whatever way you can undermine this (PPP/C) government. Undermine this government in whatever way you can. I can’t tell you how to do it, but ‘hint to Baniba mek Quashiba tek notice’ (Old African-Guyanese proverb meaning actions to hint something will result in awareness). Undermine this government!” Jagdeo said, “People like David Hinds, who for decades misled people into thinking they represent Afro-Guyanese, had no interest in development for Guyana, much less development in the interest of Afro-Guyanese…they are parasitic… when they came into office, they had no intention of supporting Afro-Guyanese…he is smarting from the person loss of privileges that he and his family enjoyed…the bitterness stems from there.” The Vice President noted that while acknowledging this, the PPP/C will not be distracted by it. “We have to be vigilant. We have to analyze the situation…the path of aggression will have devastating consequences for

them because they will face the full force of the law,” he said. FUTURE Moving forward, Jagdeo noted that the APNU+AFC Coalition must drop racism as a tool and get on board with a national development agenda – all in the interest of all Guyanese across the entire country. He said, “It is a dead end if they don’t drop the racism…there is room for inclusion, providing that you work for the people…you can’t bully people and you can’t lie to people….currently, we have an ineffective Opposition Leader…more often than not, he has a shallow understanding of crucial sectors.” Notably, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, has said that the Parliamentary Opposition’s continued refusal to recognise or acknowledge the legitimacy of the PPP/C Administration remains a sticking point when it comes to engagement. The APNU+AFC Coalition’s Joseph Harmon, Ali charged, should recognise the PPP/C Government as duly elected before talks can commence on the appointment of constitutional commissions. In recent comments on the issue, the Head of State said, “All the gentleman has to do is to recognise that he would be having consultations with the duly elected government and the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.” Ali also rubbished the APNU+AFC Coalition’s engagement in semantics, claiming that a condition for engagement with the PPP/C Administration has been set. He made clear that recognition of the incumbent Administration as duly elected is not a condition, but a fact the Coalition must accept. Using a member of the media corps as an example, he said, “If I want to talk to this gentleman, and I don’t recognise him as someone in the media, then who am I talking to, if I want to talk to him as a media personnel?” Since August 2, 2020, APNU+AFC Coalition members, including Harmon, have referred to the Ali-led PPP/C Administration as an “installed” and “illegitimate” government.

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