APNU+AFC Coalition condemned again for reckless statements 4-5 Septembr, 2021 / Vol. 11 ‒ No. 88 / Price: $100
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PAGE 15
Seven accused of electoral fraud back in court on October 11 PAGE 7
Over $1B in flood-relief grants disbursed to date PAGE 9
SEE INSIDE Jagdeo to lead PAGE 2 delegation to Suriname, COP26 COVID-19 hotspots countrywide being PAGE 23 monitored
Virtual activities, engagements for Amerindian Heritage Month PAGE 7
A virtual concert on September 1, 2021 kicked off the activities for Amerindian Heritage month [Related reporting on pages 10-13]
‒ Mini heritage celebrations to be non-contact, alcohol free
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Jagdeo to lead delegation to Suriname, COP26
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ice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, is expected to lead a delegation to Suriname. President Dr. Irfaan Ali made the disclosure during a joint press conference last week with Suriname’s Head of State, Chandrikapersad Santokhi. President Ali spoke of Dr. Jagdeo’s expertise in the environment field. He said, “[Guyana and Suriname] have agreed that the VP would lead a delegation to Suriname before COP26 to look at the coordination of our strategies, and also to work with our counterparts in Suriname in coming up with a common strategy in dealing with climate change and the environment.” Ali also noted that the preservation of the environ-
ment remains a critical issue. He added that both Guyana and Suriname recognise that in the two countries’ development pathway, there must to be a balance with the environment. Further, it was indicated that both Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states share similar conditions, opportunities and challenges as it relates to the environment and climate change. He pointed out that Suriname and Guyana will be jointly marketing their forests, as carbon credit. A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that allows the holder of the credit the right to emit a ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas. “We have agreed that we’re going to jointly approach
the area of environment and climate change, to come up with a common strategy for both Guyana and Suriname especially in preparation for COP26 and also in exploring the possibility of merging our forest asset in the carbon credit market,” President Ali explained. COP 26 The Suriname engagement is expected to take place before the 26th United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in October 2021. Guyana will be among hundreds of countries attending the landmark event. Jagdeo will also be leading a high-level delegation to Glasgow, Scotland, the host country of COP26. Notably, Minister of
Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, had said Guyana has been doing its part to counter climate change and will be making its representation at the conference. He said, “We can definitely see the effects of climate change taking place today from the effects of emissions. We know that we are a small country but we have been contributing towards keeping down emissions. A high-level delegation that will be headed by the Vice President will be attending COP26.” COP (Conference of the Parties) are the 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU) that are signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed to in 1994. UN climate change con-
ferences are among the largest international meetings in the world. The negotiations between governments are complex and involve officials from every country in the world, as well as representatives from civil society and the global news media. Activity at a COP takes place in two different zones – the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. The Blue Zone is for people registered with the UN body tasked with coordinating the global response to the threat of climate change. In the Blue Zone, delegates from countries meet for both formal negotiations and informal consultations. Participants may also take part in meetings with other delegations to clarify their positions and interests
with the aim of reaching agreement or overcoming a negotiating deadlock. The UNFCCC will also host a range of events, including technical briefings, to support the negotiations. The Green Zone is for the general public. There will be a wide range of events, including workshops, art exhibitions and installations, as well as presentations, demonstrations of technology and musical performances for participants to attend. The COP26, hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy, will be held from October 31 to November 12 in the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, UK. The conference was rescheduled from the initial November 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Guyana gets US$248M in ‒ Another avenue of support for Guyanese IMF Special T Drawing Rights
PPP/C gov’t policies provide US69M in COVID-19 banking relief
‒ allocation to fight pandemic, aid infrastructural development
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uyana has benefited from a whopping US$248 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) that will be used in its fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as for the country’s infrastructural development. The IMF has earmarked a total of US$650 billion – the largest allocation of SDRs in its history – for distribution to Member States. SDRs are an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserves of its member countries. It is not a currency; it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members and as such, can provide a country with liquidity. The allocation to Guyana is approximately SDR174.2 million. This US$248 million is not a loan and therefore does not carry any conditionality of the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Programmes. In a statement, Bank of Guyana Governor General,
Dr Gobind Ganga welcomed the allocation, which he explained is in proportion to Guyana’s quota with the IMF. He said, “The allocation is expected to aid in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as well boost productivity and growth of the Guyanese economy through its capital spending that focuses on the infrastructural transformation of the country.” Further, Ganga noted that the allocation has buffered the country’s net international reserves to reach well over US$800 million, from US$601 million at end-July 2021. He added that this external position of the Central Bank was also supported by the commercial banks’ net international reserves of US$477 million and the Natural Resource Fund balance of US$436 million. The Caribbean region is expected to receive a total of approximately SDR2 billion or US$3 billion from the total SDR set aside. It was noted that over the past 16 months, some mem-
bers have already pledged to lend US$24 billion, including US$15 billion from their existing SDRs, to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides concessional loans to low-income countries. This is just a start, and the IMF will continue to work with members to build on this effort. The US$650 billion in SDR allocation is a critical component of the IMF’s broader effort to support countries through the pandemic, which includes: US$117 billion in new financing for 85 countries; debt service relief for 29 low-income countries; and policy advice and capacity development support to over 175 countries to help secure a strong and more sustainable recovery. This is the second time the Fund has made such an allocation in the recent past. In 2009, the IMF made allocations with the aim of ameliorating the adverse impact of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
he Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has revealed that persons with loans that were at risk of being defaulted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have benefitted from a whopping US$69M through polices implemented by current PPP/C administration. The IDB’s quarterly report stated that one of the main policy tools from the Bank of Guyana was extending debt payment schedules and reducing interest rates. This relief period allowed
beneficiaries to avoid having their loans classified as non-performing. The report said, “Commercial banks agreed to provide short-term loans at concessional rates between 5-6 per cent, lower than the prime lending rate of 10.3 per cent. Commercial banks agreed to offer general concessional reductions of interest rates of 1 per cent and up to 2 per cent on consumer loans below G$10 million (US$48,000). The total loan portfolio of
deposit-taking institutions was approximately US$1.5 billion in December 2020. Of that total, approximately US$69 million benefitted from relief measures, accounting for 4.6 per cent of total loans.” In August 2020, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced a series of measures agreed with the local banking sector to ease the burden on citizens. These included lowered interest rates and an extension of the moratorium on loan payments.
Jagdeo engages new British diplomat
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ice President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, met with the recently accredited British High Commissioner to the Republic of Guyana, Her Excellency, Ms Jane Miller (OBE), on Wednesday (September
1, 2021), during a courtesy call. During the engagement, several issues of mutual interest were discussed. Deputy High Commissioner, Ray Davidson, was also present at the meeting.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
EDITORIAL
Intellectual ‘Race Card’ has been consistently dishonesty from PNCR-led used by APNU+AFC Coalition Coalition Dear Editor,
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he APNU+AFC Coalition, led by its majority partner, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), is showing no signs of extricating itself from the anti-national rhetoric – littered with falsehoods – that it pursues. Firstly, the APNU+AFC Coalition position is that it won the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. The Coalition’s repeated claims include that: 1. Internal and external forces were involved in a concerted effort to rob Guyanese of the right to self-determination. This claim and use of words like ‘self-determination’ are clearly intended to stir up sentiments that harken back to the fight against colonization. Further, the use of the race card is subtle, but hard to miss since it was persons of African descent who were among the most affected by colonization. Further, right-thinking Guyanese, undoubtedly, see past the claim of a so called ‘plot’ to get the APNU+AFC Coalition out of power. The March 2020 Elections was observed by the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the CARICOM and the Carter Centre – all of whom concluded that March 2nd Elections Day had been conducted in a free, transparent and fair manner. Also, during the five months following these elections, 100 countries – including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European nations and Canada, representatives from the United National, Commonwealth of Nations, Organization of American States, European Union and the CARICOM – supported efforts to ensure the will of the Guyanese people was not thwarted. All these nations and international and regional bodies could not have been wrong. Even the APNU+AFC Coalition said the voting process was free and fair. They embraced this position and on March 3, 2020 they claimed the Coalition had won the 2020 Elections. On March 5, 2020, former President David Granger, at a rally, went as far as saying: “We are here to serve you for the next five years…I thank you from the bottom of my heart. When the sun rises ... the president is sworn in again." Granger, March 15, 2020, said: “The General and Regional Elections of 2nd March 2020 were conducted peacefully and in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Guyana.” The APNU+AFC Coalition’s own dossier, which was circulated to the international community, on page 11, said: “The various comments from the observer missions convey that the voting process in the elections was well managed, peaceful, proceeded largely without incident and was free, fair and transparent. It is therefore, reasonable to conclude then that the voting process was not fraudulent.” This position changed when the national recount commenced and it was clear that there was manipulation of the votes in Region Four – for which sacked Region 4 Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo declared results on March 5, 2020 and March 13, 2020. The recount showed that Mingo, not using the numbers on the Statements of Poll, increased votes for the APNU+AFC and decreased votes for the PPP/C. 2. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) stole the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. Despite the absurdity of this claim, it is made. Recall, it was the PPP/C that released the GECOM-issued Statements of Poll to the public. The APNU+AFC Coalition has the same Statements of Poll, so why do they continue to hide it? On Election Day, when all the votes are counted at each polling place, Statements of Poll are prepared on carbon paper – meaning there are multiple copies of the same document that is given to all political parties at the polling places. Further, it was the Chief of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), Bruce Golding, who, in addressing the Permanent Council of the OAS on May 13, 2020, had said: “I have never
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acial discrimination! This has been the mantra of the APNU+AFC from the day they were placed on the opposition benches by the people of Guyana. It must be noted that no ethnic faction enjoys a majority in Guyana, and no political party enjoys 100 per cent support of any one race; the PPP/C is far more aware of this fact than the APNU+AFC were when they assumed office. An examination of the endless claims of racial discrimination being made as a political strategy exposes the mental laziness of the opposition political leadership; there are real issues of national importance that should be carefully monitored, examined, raised by the opposition, and debated intelligently for our democracy to function optimally. David Granger’s
administration (2015-2018) promised to trim the Public Service on the campaign trail, but instead hired 14, 325 new persons, most permanently. The ethnic breakdown shows that 13,786 (or 96.2 per cent) were of ‘Afro’ descent, and that 8,492 applications for jobs by other ethnicities went unacknowledged by the APNU+AFC. The strategy of ethnic and political hiring in the Public Service did not lead to an improvement in efficiency, and many of Granger’s ministers complained of being saddled with ‘weights’; one new employee was famous for arriving at work with a briefcase filled with the daily newspapers, which he would proceed to read minutely for the duration of the workday. There have been shifts in the Public Service. Some persons left after refusing to work with the new admin-
seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an Election. More than a dozen copies of the Statements of Poll are prepared at each polling station after the ballots are counted on election night. One copy is posted on the wall outside the polling station and each party representative – and there were nine in all – each party representative is entitled to receive a copy. It takes an extraordinarily courageous mind to present documents with fictitious numbers when there is such a sturdy paper trail exists.” The Coalition should also be reminded that the Statements of Poll, as well as the Statements of Recount, were ordered to be handed over to the High Court in July 2021, so the public record cannot be destroyed or wished away. On Friday, August 27, 2021, the trial against seven persons accused of colluding to rig the March 2020 Elections, was deferred to October 2021 to allow the Prosecution more time to properly sort the copies of Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) for disclosure to the court. Disclosure! Secondly, the PNCR-led Coalition has been pushing a familiar narrative about the PPP/C and how it functions in government. It is a narrative that before 2015 was largely ignored by the PPP/C public relations machinery for the simple reason that the statements being made were ludicrous. PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, after the May 2015 General and Regional Election noted that the PPP/C did not respond to many of the falsehoods that were peddled by the PNC/APNU/ AFC, while they were in Opposition, and this allowed certain negative and false impressions to be formed in the minds of Guyanese. Moving forward, this would be different, the PPP General Secretary had assured. The Coalition claims that since the PPP/C Administration assumed office on August 2, 2021, among other things, that: 1. YOUNG AFRO-GUYANESE MEN ARE LOSING THEIR LIVES. The most repeated lie by the PNC/APNU/AFC is that 400 young Afro-Guyanese men having died as a result of extra-judicial killings under the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government prior to May 2015. In November 2019, a Stabroek News investigative report was published and said: “For more than 15 years, the number of persons who died in the violence that followed the February 23, 2002 Camp Street jailbreak and the circumstances of their deaths have been the sources of heated disputation…. according to Stabroek News’ record some 420 persons were killed between February 2002 and September 2006 – 30 security officers, 151 persons murdered by bandits and another 239 persons killed during confrontations with members of the joint services.” These facts have been ignored. Curiously, however, for-
istration; political appointees resigned (some were retained). 84 of the 44,738 Public Servants were fired for incompetence, insubordination, or outright refusal to work. The APNU+AFC’s claim that there is racial discrimination in the Human Resource Management of the Public Service is completely false. ‘Newspaper man’ is still on the job. Ask any political activist what people ask them for, and the answer will most likely be “a house lot”; I would beg any/all persons or organisations to examine President Irfaan Ali administration’s distribution of house lots throughout Guyana for any indication of racial discrimination; when persons are allocated a house lot in any area, they are required to attend a public meeting, where all the available lot numbers are placed (Turn to page 6)
mer President David Granger, in an interview on August 13, 2021, seems to walk tread lightly on this matter. Addressing 2002-2006 period, Granger said: “As we know a lot of people were killed, a lot of policemen were killed. Over 21 policemen, I think, were killed by the bandits.” Further, while the PNC/APNU/AFC persist with the line about deaths of young Afro-Guyanese men, from 2015 to now, they have ignored the PPP General Secretary’s repeated his call for a comprehensive Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the crime wave of the 2000’s Jagdeo had offered to work with the APNU+AFC Coalition Government to craft the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for a comprehensive CoI and to select credible commissioners. He charged that in this way, no political party can claim that the other is trying to secure “political mileage” from the findings of the CoI. He had said that the comprehensive Commission of Inquiry into the crime wave should start with the escape of prisoners in 2002 and also seek to inquire about the political players in incidents subsequent to the jailbreak, as well as seek to ascertain how army weapons ended up in the hands of criminals. Importantly, while the Coalition insists that it remains committed to the truth, it would do well to behave as a responsible political entity and allow the judicial process to be completed – not threaten to ‘make the country ungovernable’, among other anti-national rhetoric that is mouthed. Finally, Guyanese have multiple analyses of the poor performance of the APNU+AFC, during their time. Their years in government define, more clearly for Guyanese, the track record of the Coalition. It was: • A track record of self-interest, not delivering for Guyanese; • A track record of excessive spending on things that did not create value for our people or country, but was wasteful; and • A track record of being prepared to undermine the institutions that maintain our country’s standing as a democratic nation. As a people, we must remain informed, we have an obligation to do so. We must also speak up where we are able and hold to account, not just the Coalition, but all our leaders. The PPP/C has set itself the task of delivering on its ‘Plan for Prosperity’ and Guyanese must hold them to account for this. In the same way, the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition will be held accountable for its failure as a Parliamentary Opposition – rather than function as an effective Opposition, it has said that its agenda is to “make the country un-governable” under a PPP/C Administration led by President Dr. Irfaan Ali. Such behaviour is nothing but anti-national and serves the interest of a few in the Coalition. In no way, does such actions advance the cause of average Guyanese citizens. Guyanese deserve better and it is only we who can insist that our leaders do better. We must reject the intellectual dishonesty from the PNCR-led Coalition.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Stop using COVID-19 as political football Dear Editor,
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t the end of 2019 the Chinese authorities announced to the world that they detected a virus that was attacking the respiratory system of people and had killed quite a few in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. The need to alert the world was because of the fact that the virus was being spread in the air and therefore, in the highly interconnected world we live in today, was likely to spread the world over. In order to battle the spread of the disease China immediately locked down Wuhan City. That proved to have been a very effective way of fighting the virus. Inevitably the disease began spreading. South Korea was attacked early and shortly after the Europe began to be affected. People began dying. The World Health Organisation (WHO) sprang into action and sought to give leadership in the world. At first the question was how this condition should be treated. Many drugs were tried and many were also discarded. Fear and frustration stalked all lands. A big effort began in many countries to develop a vaccine to protect the masses. In the meantime two views emerged in the United States. On the one hand the scientists were urging that the situation be taken seriously. They urged that immediate preparations he made to deal with the outbreak. They warned of serious consequence of not taking immediate steps. On the other hand the Executive, led by Donald Trump felt that the issue was being over-exaggerated. Moreover, the Trump administration and President Trump in par-
ticular expressed some overconfidence. After all the US was the most powerful country in the world and it would be able to wipe out the virus in no time should it reach the US. This was the sentiment up to early March 2020 in the US. Apart from some display of arrogance on the part of the President Trump and some in his administration that behaviour became a defence to the government due to its earlier actions in preparing or not preparing the US for such eventualities. US experts, like experts in other developed countries, had long been talking about an event such as the COVID-19 attack. This was their summing up of the world experience and the many pandemics that had visited us throughout history. Only a hundred years ago the “Spanish Flu” had killed millions in the world. Scientists warned that another such event was almost inevitable. Based on that conclusion, scientists have been warning and urging governments to take precaution and to prepare for such an eventuality. After all mankind’s actions were rapidly changing the world’s environment which was making a pandemic a most likely outcome. The George Bush administration had taken this issue very seriously. The US government under President Bush established a task force/think tank of scientists to advise government and guide the government’s preparatory actions. The President Obama, who replaced President Bush, maintained the organisation and ensured that it was well equipped and funded. Those Presidents took the warnings seriously and had put an organisation in place to deal with such an eventuality. They quite rightly
took guidance from the scientists. On the assumption that he wanted to cut out unnecessary expenditure, Trump disbanded the group that was preparing for any type of pandemic. America became one of the most ill-prepared developed countries for a pandemic. This was an extremely short sighted decision. Therefore, when COVID-19 first made its appearance President Trump began to play down and even trivialise the real dangers that it posed. He himself is on record as saying that it would just disappear, nothing to really be over-concerned about. He was even insultive to the WHO and the efforts it was making. He developed great hostility to that organisation and pulled the USA out of that UN body and removed America’s financial contribution to it. That was a very serious blow to the world’s response to COVID-19. He began to show much impatience with his own scientists who were urging that this matter be taken seriously. They recommended wearing masks and even lockdown. Many of the technical personnel were removed from their posts because they showed disagreement with Trump. He was often insultive to many of the leading scientists in that field like Dr. Fauci whose position became very uncomfortable. It was only Dr. Fauci’s high sense of responsibility that kept him from resigning. Trump himself refused to wear a mask and even organised many public meetings. Most people at those meetings were not wearing masks and social distancing proposed by the experts were disregarded. This situation, led to political consequences. Trump began to lose popularity at the time when the US was going towards a Presidential Election. He therefore had to find another scape goat to blame. He began pointing accusing fingers at China. In this exercise he had the full support of the US media. The media in the US seems to be programmed against some countries, China being the foremost. The chorus was that China was to be blamed. To use the situation to politically attack China they began to accuse China of manufacturing the virus. All of this was to divert the public’s attention from the great folly of disbanding the organisation that was established to deal with the issue.
In the meantime the WHO organised a high-level team to investigate the origin of the virus. This group, made up of highly respected scientists, spent twenty eight days in China working intensely on the matter. Their conclusion was that it was very unlikely that the virus could have been created in a lab. The technical challenges for that appears to have been too great a challenge. The very strong evidence was that it was transmitted from animal to human. Most likely from bats which are known to be carriers of COVID virus. With the change of government in the United States one would have thought that the matter would have come to an end. After all Joe Biden advocated taking the advice of the scientists during the elections campaign. He strongly attacked Trump handling of the COVID crisis and his blatant disregard for science. He did make considerable political mileage on Trump’s anti-science stance and that was probably the main reason that Mr. Biden got elected. On taking power, President Biden did a great job in getting the vaccines, which appearance coincided with the victory of the Democratic Party, into the arms of its citizens. His aggressive actions helped to slow down the spread of the virus considerably. He rightly listened to the experts and was guided by them. However, President Biden has also shown his anti-China attitude on assuming office. The need for global co-operation has never been stronger than now. The US have shown that it has great possibilities in defeating the pandemic as we see since the new administration took power. At the same time China’s contribution to this cause has been second to none. Its approach has helped it to recover quickly from the effects of COVID-19 and is having positive economic growth. Instead of making the COVID-19 an international political football, we should seek total co-operation to end this deadly disease. If China and America work together and take the lead in fighting COVID-19 together the whole world would be better for it and the sooner we would be free of the pandemic. Yours sincerely, Donald Ramotar, Former President of Guyana
Time for GTU to support vaccination of teachers, students Dear Editor,
“B
ecause We Care” takes on a whole new meaning as over two hundred students received their vaccines at the St Stanislaus College. This is a timely humanitarian gesture from the United States Government which donated 146,250 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as our Minister of Education is placing emphasis on the re-opening of our schools. This is the same vaccine which is now being administered to students in the USA and has a 95 per cent efficacy rate. The current protests by anti-vaxxers must be seen for what it is: it is simply a political ploy which is supported by the Opposition due to lack of any concrete issues to tackle. This was substantiated by a survey done by Dr Vishnu Bisram. The Opposition just needed an excuse and anything is something. At this juncture in Guyana, the Opposition is simply splitting hairs to find issues which can be used and commandeered to their ad-
vantage. Imagine the New York Schools (148,000) has made it mandatory for teachers to become vaccinated by September 27th, a mandate which already applies to City employees and health workers. This mandate will not allow school personnel to even submit a negative COVID-19 test result in place of getting vaccinated. Yet, in Guyana, the government’s guidelines are not so stringent. A teacher can still submit a negative test report and gain entry. We have now seen that the anti-vaxxers have now triggered another wave of infections in the USA. Currently, there is a dramatic surge in the infections among children, especially older teens in the 16 and 17 age range and this is now happening in Guyana as well. We must not for one moment feel that the surge of infections in the US is not happening in Guyana. The daily infection rate in the US is now over 150,000 with a population of approximately 330 million and for a small
population like ours with less than 800,000 persons our daily infection rate of approximately 150 is actually the same (.001%). But whilst this rate of infection causes great alarm in the US, the Opposition and its anti-vaxxers see this as an opportunity to gain political mileage at the expense of our peoples’ lives. COVID-19 vaccination is a critical strategy to ensure that our children are back in school and the GTU must not be swayed by political considerations. I have noted with interest that the FDA has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine and that the GTU has signaled that some teachers may be inclined to take the US-made Pfizer Vaccines. I do feel that the GTU should advise its members to do so immediately and not to be involved in wasteful obfuscation. Our children’s health and education are of paramount importance. GTU needs to be reminded that the right to work as guaranteed by our Constitution should not be overlooked by Articles 25 and 40 which state as follows: ‘Every citizen has
a duty to participate in activities designed to improve the environment and protect the health of the nation and ‘every person in Guyana is entitled to the basic right to a happy, creative and productive life, free from hunger, disease, ignorance and want.’ These Article spoke about ‘protect(ing) the health of the nation’ and every Guyanese is entitled ‘to a happy, creative and productive life free from disease’. These are fundamental rights which must be secured and protected at all cost. How can these articles be achieved when the teachers union is frustrating the efforts of the government? It is time that the GTU sees the benefits of our teachers and our students [being] vaccinated. If the Leader of the Opposition is honest then he should convene a meeting with the GTU and advise them to act in this nation’s interests. Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Investment in youths lays foundation for prosperous future Dear Editor,
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ecently, 47 youths from across the country graduated from the Youth in Natural Resources Apprenticeship Programme (YNR), which is aimed at providing opportunities for young people to experience and learn about this critical sector, and capitalise on job opportunities. As our PPP/C Government seeks to involve young people and young adults that would have finished CXC, and introduce them into the natural resources’ lifestyle and workplace environment, The younger generation is full of bright and innovative ideas that are vital to the
long-term success and sustainability of any industry. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to encourage young people and allow them to learn a wide range of skills, in many different environments, pertaining to their interests and career choices. In the coming years, apprentices would be more critical than ever, thanks to COVID-19. With the disruption that the pandemic has caused to so many industries, including manufacturing, it’s crucial that people be trained and given the opportunity to enter an industry as everything opens up again. And with the rampant unemployment hitting young people the hardest, it’s one of
the best ways to help get people into work. Apprenticeships offer not only training, but improved job prospects; there are many benefits for companies to invest in them. Companies today should strive for innovation and excellence by helping to shape young people’s learning experiences. As our young people take full advantage of our Government’s 20,000 online scholarship programme, our Government should now encourage businesses to take on apprentices and start apprenticeship programmes. Not only do these programmes provide value to businesses and the economy overall, but they help to reduce the number of young people who are out of work, which is a serious concern at the moment in Guyana. Apprentices can help give your company the boost you didn’t even know it needed. With an apprentice on hand to take on some of the smaller tasks, it frees up your more experienced staff to concentrate on key areas of work, and spend time on other tasks, making your overall business practices more productive. Apprentices can also bring fresh approaches to the workplace, and this could have a knock-on effect on existing staff. Their willingness to learn can bring to the company new ideas and a fresh insight that you may not have considered before, allowing your business to benefit from potentially great ideas. In addition to contributing to the econ-
omy with a boost of money and getting Government incentives, apprenticeships are essential to providing an extremely skilled workforce. By involving young people in a company environment and providing handson learning from experienced engineers, apprentices would gain skills and experience that would help them succeed in their chosen career paths. As a former apprentice myself, I realise the importance of offering apprenticeships. Apprentices are truly the future of our companies and businesses, and will make a real difference in our industries. Apprentices not only help to reduce the skills shortage within our engineering, manufacturing and industrial sectors, as a company, we also benefit from apprentices, as most tend to be loyal, hard-working and motivated. We need young people to come into our companies; industry and apprenticeships are a great way for them to begin a career. Our Government’s reward to youths for the future is to mandate companies to establish apprenticeship programmes. I strongly believe that the time and effort spent on investing in apprenticeships reap rewards for the future. I have known of many valued staff who have come through the apprenticeship route I offer, and I wholeheartedly encourage more companies to do the same! Sincerely, David Adams
‘Race Card’ has been consistently Opposition continues to rant used by... and make baseless claims (From page 4)
in a bag, and each allotted person has to pull their own. This policy, implemented under the Presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo, eliminated the creation of ethnic enclaves. There will be areas where the preponderance of applications will be of one ethnicity, but those are fast disappearing as our population mixes, and the dynamics change. The willful ignorance that characterised the Granger/APNU+AFC administration has evolved into a machinery that fabricates outright fictions and bald-faced lies, the sheer volume and intensity of which is difficult to comprehend, and it is increasingly difficult to respond to all; whenever one goes unanswered, it is immediately treated as ‘fact’ and doubled-down upon. Today, for example, a post on social media makes a ludicrous claim of intervention in the marking of NGSA exam papers by the Minister of Education; the patently false claim is then shared by none other than Coretta McDonald who disingenuously says, “I hope this isn’t true”. McDonald
epitomises the new APNU+AFC political leader: Expedient, callous, and dangerously uncaring of the consequences of her actions. The APNU+AFC’s conflation of vaccines and discrimination remains the most callous political act in a country that has experienced rigging of elections, mathematical gymnastics to avoid going to polls after failing a No-Confidence Motion, and refusal to leave office after losing an election. The straw-man of ‘mandatory vaccination’ is beaten to death; that it will inevitably cause some misguided soul to succumb to COVID-19 and depart this earth seems to leave the APNU+AFC leadership unbothered. President Irfaan Ali has made it simple for anyone to avail themselves of medical advice and exemption where medically prudent; no effort is being spared to protect the lives of all Guyanese. Yours sincerely, Robin Singh
Dear Editor,
I
have taken note of a letter penned by Annette Ferguson to which I feel compelled to respond. The letter which was titled “Coalition gov’t was instrumental in having adequate housing programme approved” holds no merit as it is very clear that Ferguson continues to be disingenuous as she seeks to take credit for initiatives being undertaken in the housing sector by the current Administration. The former Minister speaks of another illusory plan that was never implemented by the APNU/AFC coalition, quite like their promised good life and decade of development. Editor, there were a lot of diatribes stated by Ferguson but perhaps she can state how many new housing schemes were created, the number of homes constructed and occupied, the basic infrastructure for the housing schemes, the geographical spread, and the diverse selection of potential homeowners. I believe that providing this information will give merit to her claims which should be dismissed until such time as she does so. Ferguson stated, “Every home, in turn,
should belong to a community in which our citizens can enjoy good health, fresh air and clean water; where they walk the streets free from molestation, benefit from good roads, streetlights and pavements and where their children have access to a sound education and facilities for play and recreation.” But the facts are that the APNU/ AFC just completed five years in Government. It would be good if Ferguson can therefore identify one such community that they developed along those lines during their time in office. Additionally, it is important to note that Ferguson sits in the PNC’s leadership. The PNC/APNU/AFC has been in control of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council for decades. Therefore, relative to her contention as quoted above, I’m forced to question how come their stewardship of the capital city has not resulted in this? Editor, I end by saying that the former Minister, like her colleagues who now occupy the Opposition, continues to rant and make baseless claims. Her latest offering is another puerile attempt at fraud, as the APNU/AFC is noted for. Sincerely, Thomas Cole
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Seven accused of electoral fraud back in court on October 11 T
he trial against seven persons accused of colluding to rig the March 2020 General and Regional Elections was set to commence on Friday, August 27, 2021. However, the matter has been deferred to October 11, 2021. 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 SOPs and SORS are expected to be accompanied by statements and video evidence. After those disclosures are complete, a decision will be made on the mode of trial – either calling the witnesses to the stand or via the paper committal process The seven facing court are: 1. Sacked Region Four Returning 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. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan is presiding over the matter. Mingo, Lawrence and Joseph are facing several electoral charges. The signatures of Lawrence 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 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. INVESTIGATION Earlier this year, the Statements of Poll (SOPs) were handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), as per a High Court ruling. The ruling, handed down on May 27, 2021 by acting Chief Justice Roxane
George-Wiltshire, followed an application made to the High Court by prevent the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar AliHack, SC, and Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie. The DPP and Acting Police Commissioner had initiated legal proceedings in the High Court, seeking orders to obtain certified copies of the SOPs and SORs from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, which are currently lodged with the Registrar of the High Court. The decision to move to the High Court came after the Police Commissioner wrote the Registrar of the High Court, Sueanna Lovell, to obtain the certified copies of the documents, but was informed, by way of a letter, this could not be done without an order from the Court. The Acting Chief Justice on January 18, 2021 had ordered that the SORS and SOPS be lodged with the High Court for “safekeeping”, after she struck out one of the elections petitions – Petition 99 – which sought to overturn the results of the polls. The request for the documents to be lodged at the court was made by Attorneys-at-law Douglas Mendes, S.C., and Kashir Khan, who brought to the court’s attention that the Representation of the People Act allows for the Chief Elections Officer to destroy all elections documents after a 12-month period would have elapsed. Accordingly, the now former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield on January 27, 2021 delivered the SOPS and SORS to the Registrar of the Supreme Court. According to Ali-Hack, the SOPS and SORS are necessary for the fair hearing of the charges as they constitute relevant evidence for the prosecution to prove the commission of the of-
Efforts moving apace to fill GECOM vacancies
T
he Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is working to fill the now vacant posts of Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) and Returning Officer for Region 4.
Commissioner Sase Gunraj, in an invited comment noted that the Commission in working on finalizing the terms for advertisements to be published for the vacancies. “Information has been requested from the Human
Resources Department so we can finalised the placement of ads and we will move forward from there,” he said. On August 12, 2021, Keith Lowenfield; Roxanne Myers, Clairmont Mingo were all dismissed.
fences related to the March 2020 Election debacle. The DPP, in her application to the court, had said, “If the prosecution does not have these documents, the hearing of the charges instituted will be inordinately delayed, because hundreds of witnesses will have to testify, in their stead, in the charges instituted, causing the case not to be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time.” Further, pursuant to the Representation of the People Act, the DPP pointed out that the documents are public records for which there is no restriction such as privacy, privilege, or secrecy. As such, the DPP submitted that: “There is no restriction to the Police obtaining them…by the common law and statute,
namely Section 50 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, the Commissioner of Police and any member of the Police Force have the lawful right to collect and recover all documents and property which are relevant to the investigation and prosecution of any criminal offence.” OTHERS CHAGRED In February 2021, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly ruled that a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) will be conducted into the two counts of misconduct in public office against sacked Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers. This was after she upheld submissions by Hughes for the charges to remain indictable. Myers was not required to plead to the indictable charges which
stated that, during the period March 4 and 14, 2020, she willfully misconducted herself in declaring fraudulent results for the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. She has been placed on $300,000 bail in relation to both charges. Meanwhile Lowenfield is already facing three counts of forgery and three counts of misconduct in public office. He has been placed on $300,000 bail. The Director of Public Prosecutions has hired a team of lawyers to prosecute these cases on the State’s behalf. The prosecutorial team is headed by attorney Darshan Ramdhani, QC. Others on the team include: Glenn Hanoman, Mark Conway, Ganesh Hira, Arudranauth Gossai and George Thomas.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 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 ’ Gov’t, UNODC kick off 1,000 House Lots for Low, three-day workshop Moderate Income Earners to build institutional on East Coast Demerara capacity, fight corruption T T he Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), on Monday (August 30, 2021), commenced a three-day workshop, aimed at building institutional capacity for reporting and fighting corruption. During the opening ceremony at the Police Training Centre in Georgetown, subject Minister, Gail Teixeira, said the strengthening of local institutions remains critical to fighting corruption in Guyana. She said, “We need as a country, as a small country in terms of population, in terms of our skills base, to be able to work in an organised structured manner and to be able to develop the capacities of each of the agencies involved as well as at the national level and that is what this workshop is about. I think that this morning, for me it is all about developing a national mechanism for the treaty reporting on the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Inter-America Convention against corruption.” Meanwhile, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at the UNODC, Jason
Reichelt said the fight against corruption is a global one. He noted, however that eliminating corruption has become even more critical and urgent now during the pandemic. “In the time of the pandemic and the time of COVID-19, we know that corruption has had particularly challenging effects on governments’ ability to respond to the crisis, to respond to the pandemic through corruption in public procurement and the acquisition of necessary medical supplies and equipment and the distribution and the manufacturing of vaccines and treatments for recovery,” Reichelt noted. The workshop is also aimed at providing a high-level review of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism, focusing particularly on the procedures and various steps in a review, along with an in-depth article-by-article discussion on the chapters under review. This will allow experts and members of the National Coordinating Committee to engage in discussions to exchange information and clarify key concepts to get an understanding of information that might be relevant for the
review of each article. The agencies participating in the three-day workshop include the Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission; the Ombudsman; Integrity Commission; Department of Public Information; Special Organised Crime Unit; Public Procurement Commission; departments under the Guyana Police Force; Office of the Auditor General; Financial Intelligence Unit; Judicial Service Commission; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Ministry of Legal Affairs; the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board; the Bankers’ Association of Guyana, as well as the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Over the next three days, the participants will familiarise themselves and receive knowledge on the codes of the UN Convention; public procurement and management of public finances, public reporting and participation of society preventative anti-corruption policies and practices; measures relating to the judiciary and prosecution services, among other key areas.
Common security masterplan the focus on engagement with Guiana Shield forum
A
high-level delegation from Guyana participated in the first edition of the Guiana Shield Strategic Dialogue held from August 25-27, 2021 in Cayenne, French Guiana. The Guyana delegation, led by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, included Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Godfrey Bess; National Security Advisor to the President, Captain Gerry Gouveia; Director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, Colonel Omar Khan; Director of Customs Anti-Narcotic Agency, Mr James Singh; Staff Officer of the Guyana Defence Force Lieutenant Colonel Andy Pompey; Aide to the Chief of Staff, Captain Rondell Doug-
las and Aide to the Prime Minister Captain Godwin Cameron. At the trilateral engagement, which also involved Suriname and France, the discussion centred on joint security threats and challenges facing the countries. The dialogue also underscored the importance of shared respective understanding of the regional strategic defence and security environment and about how the countries can collaborate and structure their operational and technical cooperation in the fight against the security threats and other challenges facing the populations, territories, maritime space and interests. Within the framework of the Guiana Shield Strategic Dialogue on security and defence and to develop a
common security masterplan, the dialogue agreed on: • Exchanging views and working closely on technical and operational areas, including increased joined land, and sea patrol missions; • Striving for a global and coordinated approach against illicit trafficking and serious crimes, including drugs trafficking, illegal gold mining, environmental crimes and irregular immigration with a focus on anticipation, threat assessment, prevention and; • Response and increasing joint attention to the environment and climate change, including security and defence impact on climate change and to help safeguard essential conditions for peace and sustainable development. In addition to Guyana, Suriname also fielded a delegation.
he Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority, hosted its fifth ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive, which saw approximately 1,000 low and moderate-income persons on the East Coast of Demerara, Region Four receiving house lots. The event was hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Liliendaal, Georgetown, under strict COVID-19 measures. Minister of Housing and Water, Hon. Collin Croal stated that the house lots allocated fall within the La Reconnaisance community. He noted that with the distribution of the house lots the Ministry has plans in place that will see the
holistic development of the housing area. He said, “We do not just allocate house lots in an area but also perhaps more importantly, strive to create communities where our citizens can thrive. La Reconnaisance will boast of educational, social, health, safety and recreational facilities.” The areas will also be outfitted with the infrastructure developments including access roads and bridges, as well as, basic utilities such as electricity and water. On the East Coast of Demerara, the Minister Croal further noted approximately $3.7 million in infrastructure works are ongoing in Cummings Lodge, La Bonne Intention (LBI), Mon Repos, Annandale,
Vigilance, Bladen Hall and Strathspey for housing development. Construction to the tune of $4.3 billion is also scheduled for the end of the year in LBI and Annandale and is expected to form a part of Budget 2022, to develop house lots allocated in 2021. In the area of water, a number of new wells are being drilled and transmission mains installed. In addition to the house lots, the Ministry is also expected to distribute some 403 Certificates of Titles and Transports through the exercise. Both Ministers were also on ground, addressing housing and water concerns of members of the public, through one-on-one interactions.
Over 1000 persons countrywide benefit from ‘Human Services’ community eye care outreach
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he Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has spearheaded a countrywide outreach that saw the distribution of over 1,000 pairs of spectacles. The new initiative complements that which is offered at the Ministry’s Difficult Circumstances Unit where persons show up to benefit from a facility that allows them to pay a minimal amount or nothing at all towards the cost of their new spectacles. “With the community outreaches, though, you get to help so many more than the few that would come to the ministry because we are actually taking the spectacles to them in their communities,” subject Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud said. She added, “…“When an elderly person tells me that they are seeing clearly for the first time, or people say they have never been able to afford spectacles and it prevents them from functioning optimally and now they can actually par-
ticipate more fulsomely – it really warms my heart and the entire team feels very humbled to be able to provide this service. I am looking at expansion of this in the future,” In December 2020, the Ministry found that persons who benefitted from services under the ministry’s Difficult Circumstances Unit – under which the spectacles programme falls – were mainly from Regions
Three, Four and Ten. As such, the programme was expanded. The programme has since been taken to all the regions, except for Region Five, which will be covered in September. The Ministry helps to purchase spectacles for persons who are over 65 years old, for children, those who are unemployed, are single parents or are vulnerable members of society.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 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 ’
Over $1B in flood-relief grants disbursed to date T
he PPP/C Government of Guyana has already disbursed in excess of $1 billion in flood-relief cash grants across multiple communities in Regions Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper-Demerara-Berbice), according to Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha.
In a comment on the ongoing activity, he said, “The programme started in Region Five, then we continued in Region 10. We went in Kwakwani, we went in the Berbice River, places like Hururu, Kimbia; we went into the Demerara River at Malali and Muritaro.” The subject Minister assured that efforts
will be made to ensure that every household that has suffered losses as a result of the floods, benefit from the relief efforts which total $7.8B. On August 1, 2021, that President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, announced his government’s intention to provide financial assistance to
various categories of persons who had been affected by the ongoing floods, which started more than three months ago, and persists in some areas. The President had said then that the assistance will cover various categories of households and farmers, and that it will not exceed a ceiling of $10 million per individual.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Amerindian Development…
FOCUS ON GUYANA’ S FIRST PEOPLE PPP/C committed to updating Amerindian Act A
n updated Amerindian Act will be the principal legal instruction of protecting the rights of Am-
erindians in Guyana and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is committed to ensuring this becomes a
reality. This is according to President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, who earlier this week, said, “My
administration is wholeheartedly committed to improving the lives of our Amerindian brothers and sisters over the
We Fry it, You Try it!
next five years and beyond. We will build on our past record of promoting and supporting Amerindian rights and development. “An updated Amerindian Act will become the principal legal instrument for the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights, including guarantees of their entitlement to their lands and rights over those lands. The updated ‘Act’ will entrench provisions that will promote greater Amerindian inclusion in decision-making and greater integration in national development. It will outline an enhanced role for Amerindians in the management of their communities and control over their resources, including measures aimed at protecting the environment and ensuring sustainable development. “As promised, my Government has begun to adopt measures to improve access to the delivery of education, health services, housing, and infrastructure within Amerindian communities.” Notably, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo,
prior to August 20202, in addressing the issue of changes to the Amerindian Act, made clear that any amendment to the Act, which will give more benefits to the Amerindian people and more autonomy in the management of their villages will be supposed. Under the former APNU+AFC Coalition government, discussions were held on the review of the Amerindian Act (2006). Among the people involved is Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes, the husband of a sitting Government Minister at the time. However, no move was ever made on this matter.
Another 23 hinterland CSOs complete ICT training
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wenty-three Community Support Officers (CSOs) from several hinterland communities on Tuesday (August 31, 2021) graduated from a three-week Information and Communications Technology (ICT) course at Global Technology, Georgetown. The new graduates were selected through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’, Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) to ensure computer literacy in every hinterland community. Addressing the graduation ceremony at the hinterland scholarship student’s dormitory, Minister, Pauline Sukhai, said, “I want to congratulate you for doing well, and I do hope that as you go back to your villages and your communities that you will be able to share your knowledge. So, you are also going to be the agent of change and I am very proud of you.” This is the second batch of officers graduating since 2015. The Amerindian Affairs Ministry is hoping to train some 200 students in
ICT, 220 in solar panel installation and 220 licensed drivers by the end of the year. She said, “This investment is an investment in our young people. Our Government has rolled out a number of initiatives that are making positive waves of impact on young people’s lives of our country. And this is a demonstration that the PPP/ Civic Government does not only support the training for coastal students, but equally so the hinterland students are all part and parcel of the agenda.” Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, were also present at the event. The ICT training included several components; computer fundamentals, Microsoft Word Processing, Microsoft Excel 2016 and Internet and Email. Upon completion, graduates received Samsung tablets along with their certificates. Among the 23 graduates, eight attained straight A’s and were presented with trophies.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Amerindian Development…
FOCUS ON GUYANA’ S FIRST PEOPLE
Virtual activities, engagements for Amerindian Heritage Month ‒ Mini heritage celebrations to be non-contact, alcohol free
D
ue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will be hosting a number of activities and engagements virtually this year, in observance of Amerindian Heritage Month. Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, in comments on plans for Amerindian Heritage Month said, “This year we’re still in the pandemic and from my understanding, our country is confirmed as having one of the variants that is referred to as the Delta variant and therefore, we are still in a position where we will not be able to hold the level of celebrations that we are accustomed to.” The month of activities commenced with a virtual concert on September 1, which featured artistes
from the coastal areas. It was broadcast live on HJTV, ENetworks, NCN TV, MTV 65, NTN 69 and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ Facebook page. Another activity will be hosted on September 10, and will showcase art and craft in honour of the first Indigenous parliamentarian, Stephen Campbell. There will also be a series of sampling of Amerindian cuisine at the Ministry’s Thomas Street, Georgetown location, as well as a day of games, cultural display, talent, marathons and Cricket. However, these events will be spectator free and non-contact. Minister Sukhai said there will also be mini heritage celebrations in several
hinterland villages, which will be mainly non-contact and alcohol free. She said, “We are going to ask also the location where the heritage activities are going to take place that it will be alcoholic free and observe all the protocols. We will be providing masks, sanitisers…we will have at each location, medical teams that will encourage anyone who may come to the activity to take a test or to be vaccinated. These will be spectator free activities, but we may very well have a few onlookers that’s why we will encourage the Ministry of Health to participate in these events too.” Sukhai said, “We believe that Amerindians should be proud of their background and continue to work to sus-
500 hampers prepared for flood-affected Amerindian villages
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ith the objective of supporting Amerindian villages severely affected by the nationwide flooding, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), in collaboration with the British High Commission through the European Union Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT) Programme, prepared some 500 food and sanitation hampers for distribution. Some 70 per cent of hinterland and Amerindian villages have been severely affected by the unprecedented nationwide flooding. Logging and mining activities, the main stimulators of the economies in the Amerindian villages have slowed down
as a result of the flooding. At a handing over ceremony at GFC’s office in Georgetown, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said, “I am sure that these hampers will go a long way in bringing relief to our brothers in the hinterland regions, in the logging areas especially. This is added to the efforts the Government of Guyana and the private sector have been making over the last couple of months, since we were not only braced with the flooding situation but also the global pandemic.” Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, noted the longstanding cooperation
between the GFC and the High Commission and the support that is being given. She said, “I think the devastating floods this year have been seen by many of us; we have seen the photographs and many of us have been to the communities and we have seen the impacts that those floods have had on those communities. And in line with our commitment to our work on the forestry sector it is only right that we support those communities and we are proud of the support we’re giving today.” These 500 hampers will be distributed to Amerindian villages in Regions Two, Three, Nine and Ten in the coming week.
tain their traditional practices by various means, they should be able to uphold their culture so that they will be able to pass it on to the current and future generation.” REGIONAL LEADERS During September there will be engagements with the village leaders at the regional level. As a result of the large number of villages in Region One, there will be two meetings in the Moruca and Mabaruma sub-districts. The meeting for Re-
gion Seven will be in the Lower Mazaruni, while Region Eight leaders will meet in the Mahdia Sub-District and Region Nine leaders in Lethem. Leaders of regions two to six and 10, will meet at Mainstay, Region Two. On the second day of the meetings, the Indigenous leaders will meet with Ministers of Government and will elect executive members of the National Toshaos Council. All COVID-19 protocols will be observed and locations will have the
adequate spacing. Sukhai said, “At the regional leaders meeting we expect to discuss their concerns, of course we cannot not discuss their concerns, their development challenges and of course their priority, with respect to including their developmental priorities in the upcoming budget for next year, 2022 budget.” The theme for this year’s observance is ‘Maintaining our traditional integrity, celebrating our cultural identity’.
COVID vaccination campaign continues to reach hinterland communities T he Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign reached Yarakita and White Water Villages, Region 1, this week. The Ministry of Health
and the Government of Guyana is encouraging everyone to get vaccinated, to protect against the severe form of the COVID-19 disease. To date, over 313, 000
persons or 60 per cent of the country’s adult population has taken the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while over 161,000 or 31 per cent are fully inoculated.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Heritage Greetings to all my Amerindian brothers and sisters and all Guyanese. When Amerindian Heritage month - September comes around, there is an atmosphere of excitement, eagerness and enhanced pride in Guyana. Heritage Month is associated with the unique opportunity to come together as Guyanese to celebrate the rich culture that defines our First Peoples. Unfortunately, this is our second year fighting a pandemic. COVID-19 has grabbed the world in an unimaginable way, and we must each be responsible to protect ourselves, families and Nation. We must adjust our everyday lives to the new normal. We can do this through vaccinations and observing the COVID-19 protocols. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has made an informed decision that while we must celebrate, we will do so safely and responsibly. The result is the first ever Virtual Amerindian Heritage Cultural Extravaganza to be showcased this evening. Everyone will get to enjoy the celebrations in the confines of their environment and safe space with families and friends. This year’s heritage theme “Maintaining our Traditional Integrity, Celebrating our cultural identity” aptly captures the sentiments of the preservation and promotion of our heritage. Our culture, our languages, our way of life identifies us as Amerindians and we must be proud of who we are. We have the responsibility to ensure we proactively take steps to maintain our rich cultural identity. Heritage Month is the depiction of the realization of our constitutional rights as Amerindians. It evidences the dismantling of stereotyping our People while providing an opportunity for us to advance. The wisdom of the late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan to officially declare September as Heritage Month has provided the recognition of our forefathers including Stephen Campbell, the First Amerindian Parliamentarian who was instrumental in advocacy for rights and land tenure security for Amerindians. Today, a number of positives continue to emerge under a PPP/Civic Government with respect to Amerindian Rights, Development and Land Tenure Security. Villages and communities incrementally continue to receive resources and development support which promotes their economic development to enhance their sustained livelihood. The policy of the Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali administration on a united pathway to prosperity commits to “the practical steps we can take to cement our society encompassing and respecting the diversity from which our oneness springs”. This fits precisely into the International Day of World Indigenous peoples theme for this year: 'Leaving no one behind: Indigenous Peoples and the call for a new social contract.' The PPP/C Government last year, immediately recommenced a committed social contract with our Amerindian Peoples and all of Guyana. During this month, the Government will engage with Amerindian Leaders to discuss their development priorities including our investments to support social and economic priorities for village transformation and secure livelihoods for our People. In just one year in Office, my Government through the implementation of our Manifesto promises to the Nation; has funded and implemented significant developmental programmes for the hinterland; no longer will Amerindians be left behind. Particularly, our women, the elderly, youths including students, farmers, and others will positively benefit from the various programmes initiated by the Government through the various sectors. As we celebrate heritage month, let us challenge ourselves to maintain our sustainable livelihood in unison with the environment. Let us reaffirm to retain our languages. Let us continue to contribute to Nation Building; Let us ‘maintain our traditional integrity’; let us ‘celebrate our cultural identity’. During this time, I wish to pellucidly reaffirm my Government’s commitment to supporting the Amerindian peoples of Guyana in a manner that is inclusive, respectful, and equal while promoting and protecting your rights as one Guyana. I wish you a most joyous, safe, and productive Heritage 2021.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT
COVID-19 measures are to create a safe work environment
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resident Dr. Irfaan Ali says the COVID-19 measures the Government has implemented aim to create a safe work environment. President Ali was responding to reports that several workers’ unions have
approached the High Court to challenge the measures in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Guyana. “We have not made vaccination mandatory. What we have done is to say that in order to secure people
who are vaccinated and have a safe work environment – and part of the labour relations is to have a safe work environment – if unvaccinated persons have a greater possibility of creating an unsafe environment, then you
have to make decisions,” the President said on the sidelines of an event at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Wednesday. He said people should try to understand the public health issue. Ali said, “Look
at what is happening in many countries in the region with Delta. Many of the countries are running out of oxygen, and if we understand this and the public health implications of this, I’m sure we’ll all make the right decision
that we have to support vaccination.” Government continues to execute an aggressive vaccination campaign, maintaining that vaccination is the surest way out of the pandemic.
Guyanese must see each other as the same to achieve national unity
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resident Dr Irfaan Ali said that all Guyanese must respect and treat each other as part of the same collective family in order for the country to achieve national unity. He expressed the hope that Guyanese would see similarities over differences and would band together out of appreciation for our uniqueness and our oneness. According to him, achieving national unity would not be a smooth road given that there are numerous challenges. However, he charged that it should be the only road, especially since fundamentally we are stronger together. Ali said, “How often do we see each other first and
foremost as human beings? And fundamentally that is what all of us are—human beings. We are the same human beings, made up the same way; and that is the first fundamental pillar we have to change in our thought process—seeing each other not as orange, pink, white, blue [and] green, but seeing each other fundamentally as part of the same family of humanity. And that is a fundamental principle that we would have to establish on this journey of achieving national unity.” The Head of State made these comments during his feature remarks at the 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swa-
mi Srila Prabhupada at the Hare Krishna Study Centre in Cummings Lodge today. The late Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. Hailing the contribution of the late Prabhupada, Ali said, “A political leader is guided by principles, values, a system of governance, ethics, morals that should go into shaping the lives of those that he is or she is leading, and also contribute positively to changes in society. So then what is the difference.” He explained that the difference between the two comes because in politics there is competition
internally and at a national level. This competition, he said, drives people to try to stay ahead of each other. However, President Ali noted that in normalising the relationship and in achieving national unity, every Guyanese should fundamentally understand that “we must govern ourselves by certain principles and values that make up society”. He added that there can be the “fiercest competition” but values must be established; which already exist in the country’s constitution. Ali said, “We must all subscribe to freedom, we must subscribe to fundamental rights, we must all subscribe to democracy, we must all subscribe to the rule of law,
we must all subscribe to equitable treatment and we must all subscribe to a fair opportunity in our country.” The President added that the same efforts that Guyanese use to preserve their spiritual beliefs should be used to enhance the unity of our country. He said, “We each play a role in safeguarding, just like this movement will safeguard the values and principles that guide your philosophy, your belief system, you will safeguard that. We also have an equal responsibility to safeguard the same values and principles that cements us as a society. So, let us be better humans to each other. Let us be a bit kinder to each other. Let us care for each other a
bit more. Let us understand that a better neighbour, a strong neighbour, is better for us. A weaker neighbour creates greater vulnerability for us.” Also attending the celebration were former President, Donald Ramotar; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, the Honourable Anil Nandlall; Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Honourable Hugh Todd; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Honourable Charles Ramson Jr; Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, the Honourable Kwame McCoy and the High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa, among other representatives.
New AmCham Chair urged to accelerate US/Guyana trade relations
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resident Dr. Irfaan Ali on Wednesday (September 1, 2021) charged newly elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana, Attorney Devindra Kissoon to be fervent in the promotion of partnerships, particularly between Guyana and the United States. The President made the call during the 3rd Annual General Meeting of AmCham at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. He congratulated Kissoon on his appointment. Ali said, “He assumes the post at an important juncture in the relationship between Guyana and the United States. Our two states are keen to intensify business contacts. AmCham Guyana has a pivotal role to play in accelerating trade ties and in fostering joint partnerships between local and United States companies.” The President said he is pleased that over the past three years, the Chamber
has integrated well into society, building good relationships with the Government and other stakeholders. The organisation has also had countless opportunities to share its views on matters affecting the private sector. Dr. Ali said as AmCham works to foster partnerships, Government will do its part to create a more attractive business environment. He said, “We are already working to create a single window where investors will only need to submit one set of documents and every regulator can then access it through the internet, and the development of a special platform to facilitate granting of licenses and the many other necessary instruments that are required in doing business here. This will eliminate tedious processes frustrating investors in Guyana. There are several other initiatives on the way to look at the overall competitiveness of our investment climate.”
TRADE BARRIERS The President noted too that although the organisation has done very well in promoting opportunities for United States businesses in Guyana, more can be done for local businesses with investments in the US. He said, “Whilst I’ve seen great aggression in you championing the cause of American businesses here, which we appreciate, we need the same aggression in championing our cause. You should be in the forefront
of ensuring that our catfish and our gilbaka (gillbacker) get back on the American Market. “…you should be in the forefront of the struggle to ensure that we have at least…in your first year, one FDA-certified agro-processing facility. You should also be in the forefront of having seminars with our local farmers in telling them what opportunities exist in food supply and what they need to do to be part of those opportunities.”
He told the new executive that the time is right to take the non-profit organisation to the next level and to create varying opportunities for people from both countries. He noted that this would enhance the organisation’s image and bridge the gap between them and ordinary Guyanese. Ali said, “When we do these things; then the ordinary people out there would see the necessity of what they term ‘sophisticated people’ in this room sitting; otherwise, we mean nothing to those people, none of us. Because when they look in this room, they will see a talk shop. But when they can see you out there fighting for something they know that can improve their lives, or give them an opportunity, then they feel a part of this.” The President said that catering to the needs of ordinary Guyanese is essential in improving credibility, opening up new opportunities, and enhancing our roles in the development of our
country. Notably, Government has appointed its incumbent Chair, Zulfikar Ally, to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States in Washington. US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch pointed to the need for improvement in the ease of doing business in Guyana, and acknowledged that the current administration is on a path to achieving this. Meanwhile, Mr. Kissoon noted that in just under a year of the new Government’s term, Guyana is enjoying heightened relations with the US, and lauded the chamber for maintaining strong values of integrity. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, MP; and Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Robert Persaud also attended the event.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
APNU+AFC Coalition condemned again for reckless statements
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he Ministry of Education categorically and vehemently denies the careless and spurious statement issued by the Office of the Leader of the Opposition which attempts to bring the administration of the 2021 National Grade Six Assessment into disrepute. The mischievous statement alleges that the Minister of Education and or persons acting on her behalf breached the examination protocols in several instances. It is clear that Mr. Harmon is either unaware of the processes associated with the administration of this national examination or intends to mislead and deceive the Guyanese populace with baseless accusations. The facts are: The visit of Minister Manickchand to the marking center was done in a fully transparent manner and with the clear intention to show support and appreciation for the Markers who were willing to work during the pandemic (many refused to do so) and to encourage the Markers to be extra vigilant during the marking because of the excessive errors alleged to have been made during the 2020 marking exercise. To assign an ulterior motive for routine work by Minister Manickchand, who visited many times in her previous iteration as did APNU/AFC’s
first Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnarine is pure political mischief; such visits are routine for subject Ministers https://dpi.gov.gy/ education-minister-visits-ngsa-marking-centre/ Former Minister of Education Rupert Roopnaraine visiting an NGSA marking centre in 2016. As of 2016, the NGSA has been administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council. The premier regional examination body whose examinations most Guyanese have written to start their careers and further studies locally and internationally. To bring this reputable examination body into disrepute of being unable to run an examination without interference is a slap in the face of this entity, CARICOM, and hard-working Guyanese. It also brings into question the foundation of many people’s lives. Each examination question paper, grouped by subject for each school, comes pre-packed and sealed from Barbados. It is then opened by the supervisor of each center in the presence of invigilators and students at the time of the respective exams. Each package for each subject is sealed separately with exam papers amounting to the number of students registered to sit the exam along with an
additional amount rounded up to the closest five which caters to walk-in candidates which usually happens from time to time. This is no secret to anyone familiar with these examinations. The Ministry of Education is NOT in receipt of a single report of anyone accessing the exam papers to date. The examination papers cannot be viewed before the examination date. It is practically impossible for any person to take a photograph of the examination paper before the commencement of the examination. Secondly, the statement says that examination papers in Region Nine were sent off without the Education Officer or appropriate officer being present. The system used to transport and distribute examination papers to and within the region mirrored exactly what took place over the last six years. Therefore, this allegation like all the others is baseless. With this heightened interest by some divisive elements, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition should say to Guyanese why is it that in previous years under the last administration that some national secondary schools were awarded a total of 10 to 20 students less than they can accommodate and why students who did not attain those top schools ended
up on benches therein and why all of them happened to be related to friends of the APNU/AFC. Mr. Harmon should say why is it that candidates who were 12 years and 7 months had their raw scores reduced simply because of their age even after the matter was brought to their attention. Thirdly, answers should be given as to why after reviews were submitted for previous NGSA examinations in the last fives years that 30% to 40% of students’ grades had to be changed in favor of the student and when an understandably concerned CXC asked and indicated that they would like to or should be a part of that review process this was denied. Why is that? Lastly, Harmon should say why APNU/AFC \’s Henry instructed that scripts of NGSA exams be burned
almost immediately upon marking thereby breaching all established international examination protocols. The CXC mechanism does not allow for any form of irregularity, and we reject all attempts to besmirch the image of the Ministry of Education and the CXC as well as those markers who have made the sacrifice despite the pandemic to mark our candidates’ papers. Mr. Harmon attempts to indict, not the Minister of Education, but the officers of the Ministry of Education. These accusations suggest implicitly that the officers of the Ministry of Education allowed these ‘so-called’ malpractices to happen. It suggests that we were aware of these transgressions and allowed them. We refute these allegations and must express
grave disappointment in the carelessness with which these allegations are made. In Harmon’s haste to embroil this examination in a political scandal, Harmon has made statements that have far-reaching consequences such as affecting the morale of students and their expectations of the results of the examination and the education system. Harmon has no care that his expedient use of baseless allegations could result in a vitiation of the entire exam affecting 14, 300 children and 28,600 parents, 56,000 grandparents, numerous siblings, teachers, and the country at large. Mr. Harmon is urged to be more responsible in his utterings and to fully inform himself before mounting the soapbox afforded him as Leader of the Opposition.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Harmon confirms Granger on ‘leave of absence from PNCR’
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he leader of the People’s National Congress (PNCR), David Granger, has left his party is what is evolving into a leadership crisis. PNCR’s Central Committee member, Joseph Harmon, on Thursday (September 2, 2021), was quoted in sections of the media as confirming that Granger has gone on a leave of absence, during which time a decision will have to be made on who is responsible for the PNCR. Harmon said, “The Leader will basically make that announcement….thSe party has mechanisms…it’s not automatic.” Notably, the PNCR Chairperson is the embattled Volda
Lawrence, currently before the courts on electoral fraud charges, while its General Secretary is Amna Ally, who has been out of the limelight since the PNCR-led Coalition demitted office last year. Granger’s move comes as he is being challenged for the post of PNCR leader. The PNCR’s Richard Van West-Charles, son-in-law of the Party’s founder Forbes Burnham, is the latest PNRC Executive to challenge David Granger for leadership of the Party. On a recently broadcast programme, he said, “Let me answer this way. Am I prepared? Yes. Am I willing? Yes. The only thing I would
say to you in accordance with the constitution of the PNC. It is in the hands of the membership of the PNC, in terms of the nominations….as we prepare for a congress, once there are nominations in my favor, I am prepared and I am willing to play a significant role in the leadership of the party.” He joins PNCR Executive, Aubrey Norton, in challenging Granger. Last month, Norton had said, “I believe I have the requisite skills to give leadership. I have said to people I believe that even while we served in Government I cannot be accused of corruption or anything of that kind, and I believe that I am one among the viable
candidates. The direct answer to that is once the congress of the People’s National Congress reform is called, I intend to run for the leadership of the party.” Granger has also been under fire for the current state of the PNCR. Only recently, Congress Place was picketed by members of Granger’s own party, who demanded that he hold the Congress so that the party could choose a leader. One placard, aimed at Granger and Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, read ‘David and Joe, stop denying democracy in the PNC. Time for congress’. Also, Granger has also been denounced by individual
members of the party, like former PNCR Parliamentarian, James Bond. Bond had labelled Granger’s leadership as “ineffective” and “mediocre”. Meanwhile, a PNCR diaspora group on May 16, 2021 had called for Granger to step down from leading the party. The letter, published by the local press, signed by Connie McGuire, Michael Bramford, George E Lewis and the PNCR New York Diaspora group. They appealed to all PNC Executives, members and supporters to demand the resignations of Granger and other party leaders. They noted that after working tirelessly to get Granger elected in 2015, the party made a series
of missteps, failed to connect to supporters, and sidelined young and dynamic leadership like that offered by former Region 10 Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon. “It will be a colossal mistake for (us) the members of the PNCR groups in the New York Diaspora and the executive members of the PNCR to allow them to remain at the helm of the PNCR. This will no doubt do irreparable damage to the party…it is time for them to pass the baton on to the younger leadership of the likes of Sharma Solomon, Vanessa Kissoon, Thandi McAllister and others,” the NYC group said. The PNCR’s last biennial congress was in 2018.
WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
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Parliamentary Opposition needs to accept reality Dear Editor,
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orman K. Browne, UK based PNC/ APNU Political Activist, makes a few inquiries, in his letter, “Angry and anguished questions generated by a one-year-old dictatorship.” Well, I think I need to put things in perspective for this writer, even though I will not answer all of his questions, as most are seemingly based on a lack of information
on his part. First, he speaks to a ‘one year old dictatorship.’ Norman K. Browne was in oblivion during the post March 02, 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana. So, I ask him now, to name the people/parties who were opposing ‘fair and free’ elections and transparent counting/recounting. I also want him to answer on the issue of the present stand on Covid-19 issues, as against that of what
WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021 obtained under the previous regime. Let me point him to the March 18, 2020, Edict of erstwhile president, David granger. On that day, the President actually directed Former Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, to remove, disinfect and destroy the personal effects, goods, buildings and any other article, material or thing exposed to infection from the disease. The Minister was also ordered to prevent the spread of the disease on the seas, rivers and waters of Guyana, and on the high seas within twelve miles from the baseline, as well as on land. He stated that the Minister to “Diagnose, prevent or check the disease, including the prohibition or restriction of movement of persons and public and private conveyances of any kind whatsoever within and to and from an infected area.” The language herein suggests an operation that defies democracy and promotes bullyism. Imagine if this kind of talk had come from, or was coming now from the present Head of State! Now, concerning “What sort of government turns on its public servants?”, which I surmise is about the Covid-19 situation, I
hope that you ‘get the drift’ shortly. You see, anti-vaccination drives are met with a number of choices here in Guyana, as is the case worldwide. The ultimatum kicks in when nothing works, not even a proliferation of scientific evidence that almost compels people to ‘take the jab.’ What happens? Boundaries have to be set. All over the world that is the case. Governments have a duty to protect their nations. That is why, beginning at the end of July 2021, US Federal workers were required to sign forms attesting they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus, or else comply with new rules on mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and more. Just a few days ago, CNN news network started allowing only vaccinated employees to return to its U.S. offices, and in fact, fired three of its employees earlier for violating its policy. Do I need to go on? I think not. I suggest to Mr. Browne and all who have issues, to take the time and examine issues before commenting. Yours truly, Baldeo Mathura
Repulsive court action against gov’t vaccination programme Dear Editor,
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hrough media reports, the public was made aware that three trade unions came together to file legal proceedings against the Attorney General of Guyana in which they are seeking to quash the entirety of the Government’s vaccination program. These three unions; the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), and the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC); have taken a stance against the Government’s vaccination policy where they are now trying to get rid of all the government’s recommended guidelines and established protocols in relation to the opening of buildings, etc. I write to you today because it is important for all Guyanese to understand what these court proceedings actually mean
for the country in the context of Covid-19. The proceedings filed by the GTU, GPSU, and GTUC seek to stop the Government from going forward with its vaccination program. This basically means that the unions want the Government to stop vaccinating citizens. Have these unions even considered what that would mean for the people of Guyana and the level of death and disaster it can cause? I don’t think that they have given any consideration to such because the reality is that without the vaccines and the existing policy, hundreds of Guyanese would die every day. In this regard, I am repulsed by the fact that these unions would file proceedings knowing fully well the seriousness of Covid-19 and the need for countrywide vaccination. It has been stated time and time again by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the only way out of this pandemic is for people to get vaccinated. The Government of Guyana has rolled out a robust vaccination program and has established a vaccination policy geared at protecting the lives of all citizens. Against that backdrop, why would the GTU, GPSU, and GTUC want to steer away from that? The actions of these three unions over the last couple of months in particular have proven that they are nothing more than fronts for the APNU+AFC coalition. They can argue that they are independent unions representing the people but it is very clear where they stand. In fact, the very lawyer, Darren Wade who filed the proceedings for the unions was on the APNU+AFC’s list of candidates at the last election. This just proves yet again that these people are biased and will do everything to attack the Government even if it means gambling with the lives of Guyanese. Yours very truly, Anson Paul
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Hinterland students most affected by school closure – Education Minister
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inister of Education, Priya Manickchand has said students in the hinterland regions have been most affected by the closure of schools during the pandemic, as they were unable to access the interventions put in place for education delivery. She made the statement on Wednesday (September 1, 2021), during the launch of Education Month 2021 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
“The children who are most impacted by school closure are the children from the Amerindian villages and the hinterland communities because the fancy interventions simply cannot reach them because of various infrastructure deficits in the country,” she said. According to her, the ministry will be addressing the issues in its 20212025 sectoral strategic plan, adding that it will require “humane leadership and an
innate desire to see better for the people of this country. She said, “We can’t deliver education as we need to with school doors closed…that the seventeen months we’ve been out of school equates to about one year of quality learning for all the children who stayed out of school,” she stated. Education month was launched under the theme “Education for all: innovative teaching and learning during a global pandemic.”
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
Record 5,240 persons vaccinated Multidisciplinary team to provide care for against COVID-19 in one day long COVID patients H ‒ highest since start of campaign
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he Ministry of Health is setting up a multidisciplinary team to provide care for long COVID patients. This announcement was made by Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, on Thursday (September 2, 2021). He also said, “We are now in the process of organising a multidisciplinary team to provide care for long Covid patients, so this is not just one speciality it’s not just like cardiac… this is going to be a multidisciplinary team.” Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection or long COVID, as it is commonly called, describes the effects of COVID-19 which persist for weeks or sometimes months after a person was initially infected with the
disease. Lasting symptoms of the disease include fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog (lack of focus), chest pains, joint or muscle pains, palpitations, anxiety or depression. The minister said the Health Ministry has been observing patients who have recovered from COVID but are now experiencing prolonged symptoms. According to him, the multidisciplinary team is important as the Coronavirus in many cases, attacks multiple organs at a time. “Therefore, you need this multidisciplinary team to assist in the management of some of these patients. So, we’re in the process of setting up that unit to be based
at the Georgetown Public Hospital and we will then be able to replicate that to some of our other hospitals depending on the patient load that we’ll see,” Minister Anthony added. A report by Britain’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) showed ongoing illness after infection with COVID-19. Similarly, a study by Oxford University showed that two to three months after the onset of COVID-19, 64 per cent of patients suffered persistent breathlessness and 55 per cent suffered from significant fatigue. MRI scans also showed abnormalities in the lungs, kidneys, heart and liver.
ealth Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, MP, has disclosed that a record 5,240 adults and children received their COVID-19 jabs on Wednesday, the highest number to be vaccinated in any one day since the countrywide campaign began. He said, “Yesterday [Wednesday, September 1, 2021] we’ve had record numbers of vaccinations. So yesterday we recorded 5,240 persons receiving their vaccinations, so I would say that’s a record high for us and I do hope that this trend continues…this has been one of the highest vaccination rates by schools that we’ve completed so far.” Wednesday’s vaccination drive at Queens College saw some 951 adolescents taking the Pfizer jab; 1,691 adults took their first dose and 2, 595 adults took their second dose. The Health minister commended teachers for assisting with the registration process,
which allowed more vaccines to be administered. He said, “So, the staff of the ministry focused more on doing the vaccination. So, I think the collaboration was a good one, and which allowed us to really be able to provide more vaccination for the people who turn up.” The adolescents’ vaccination drive has been taken to schools in Region Three, where scores of children will be immunised. Anthony said, “In Region Three as of today we will be at the West Demerara Secondary School and we would also be at the Leonora Secondary school and at Greenwich Park Primary. So, I do hope that persons in Region three would bring their children out to these facilities.” The Health Minister continues to urge persons to take the COVID-19 vaccine and protect themselves from the deadly disease. He is also reminding parents to walk with a form of identification and parental consent forms when taking their children for the vaccine.
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WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
COVID-19 cases top 25,500, 622 deaths recorded at end of August
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ith local Health authorities cautioning against complacency, daily cases are still being recoded in high numbers. Guyana has now surpassed 25,500 confirmed cases of COVID and has recorded some 622 deaths. Further, over 266,000 tests have been done at testing sites across the country. These were the statistics at the end of August 2021 – 18 months into the pandemic. As at July 31, 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 22, 523. The number
of deaths was 541 and 14 persons were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). By the August 31, 2021, that number increase to 25,548 cases; 622 deaths and 33 persons in the ICU. This means that in August alone, Guyana recorded 3,025 new COVID-19 cases and over 81 deaths. Further, August 2021 saw the highest number of daily cases being recorded – a whopping 207 confirmed cases in a 24-hour period, August 24, 2021. Notably, the Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, has
warned that Guyana is experiencing a “Delta surge” and is urging Guyanese to take all precautions necessary. “The numbers are climbing, we are seeing more people getting infected and it is also very worrying because if we don’t manage this carefully, our hospitals can easily be overwhelmed,” he said. Guyanese are being encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and follow all the health guidelines for staying safe, including wearing a mask and washing your hands.
COVID-19 hotspots countrywide being monitored
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everal communities across the country are being monitored as COVID-19 hotspots, according to Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony. He added that over 100 persons are hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, with over 25 of those being in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit. “You can see within a very short period of time, our ICU numbers have moved from about 12 right up to over 20…this is showing that there are cases,
people are getting infected where they are getting a more severe form of the infection,” Anthony said. Regions Three and Four continue to record high numbers of COVID-19 infections in some communities. Georgetown has also recorded a high number with 409 active cases. Dr. Anthony said the spike in cases can be attributed to persons’ failure to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols such as mask wearing, social distancing and sanitis-
ing. He further urged persons to take “all necessary precautions” to protect against contracting COVID-19, especially with the emergence of the Delta variant. “One of the best ways that you can protect yourself is really getting by getting vaccinated,” he encouraged. To date, over 313, 000 persons or 60 per cent of the country’s adult population has taken the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while over 161,000 or 31 per cent are fully inoculated.
WEEKEND MIRROR 4-5 SEPTEMBER, 2021
COM M ENTARY
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Bringing relief to the people, everywhere, every day By Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
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here is a stark contrast between the two main political parties, both of which have served as governments. The PNC formed Guyana’s government in 1964 and governed under a dictatorship until 1992 and again between 2015 and 2020, culminating with a fierce battle to prevent them from rigging the March 2020elections. Like it did between 1968 and 1992, the PNC’s 2015 to 2020 tenure was mainly characterized by an attempt to rig the March 2020 elections. The PPP served as Guyana’s democratic government between 1992 and 2015 and has now resumed its role in government since August 2020. On both occasions that the PPP assumed office, in 1992 and in 2020, the PPP had to lead a robust fight to stop dictatorship. The leaders of the two parties have clearly different vision for governance, the PPP preferring a strong democracy and the PNC always falling back on authoritarianism and dictatorship with rigged elections. But this is not the only difference between the two main political parties. One major other difference is the PPP’s ideological support for direct cash transfers to families across Guyana to help them ameliorate difficult circumstances. An example that was often seen between 1992 and 2015 and that has been very visible in the first year of the PPP government in office since August 2020 is the direct cash transfers to families affected by weather conditions, such as floods and droughts. For several months between April and July 2021, heavy rainfall has affected people in many Regions of Guyana. Households, farmers, miners, small businesses have been severely affected. Many farmers lost entire crops. President Irfaan Ali several weeks ago announced a special cash transfer program to assist persons who suffered losses due to excessive flooding in their communities. Almost $8B (amounting to $US40M) have been allocated by the Irfaan Ali-led PPP government to help families in all the regions of Guyana. The support is for families affected no matter where they live or who they voted for. Already more than $1B
have been distributed in several regions of Guyana, including in Regions 6 and 10. In general, people are pleased that the government has responded to their needs. But as would happen anywhere such cash transfers are implemented, there are persons who have lodged complaints that persons affected were not listed to receive cash grants. There are also complains that persons who received cash grants did not actually suffer any losses. No government can avoid these fallouts. But the PPP government has had experience in distributing such cash transfers before, since the PPP government has done so many times. There is always a mechanism to resolve these grievances. Teams have been established through various ministries to assess and evaluate these complaints. Those who genuinely suffered losses and whose names were omitted from the list would be included after a new round of assessments and verifications. Those who falsely claimed losses would have to face the consequences. The relief package being rolled out across Guyana includes cash transfers for different groups of persons. For example, homestead farmers are entitled to $100,000 per family homestead, families with kitchen gardens are getting $50,000 per family and households with losses are receiving $50,000 each. This category of families will receive a total of approximately $3.5B. More than 2,000 rice farmers were affected by these floods, with more than 50,000 acres of rice being affected. Rice farmers are benefitting from the cash transfers being rolled out presently to the tune of $3.2B. For these farmers with paddy that were ready for harvesting, they will receive $80,000 per acre. For those who sowed and lost their crop, they will receive $65,000 per acre. For those farmers who had prepared their land and now must start over, they are receiving $45,000 per acre. In addition, these farmers are benefitting from free paddy seed distribution. More than $1B are directed to miners who suffered losses. Almost on an annual basis some farmers are affected by floods. It happened before 2015 and between 1992 and
2015, every farmer knew there was a good chance that farmers would receive support from the PPP government. Thus, when the rains came in 2021, farmers, miners and households knew that their president and their government would be by their side, helping them navigate through difficult circumstances. But older persons know that such support did not exist before 1992. The then PNC dictatorship, under Forbes Burnham and under Desmond Hoyte never once saw the need for direct cash transfers to people, no matter what the circumstances. In fact, the rice industry almost totally collapsed during that time. The present generation know full-well that between 2015 and 2020, farmers suffered on several occasions from floods and never once received any support from government. Not all floods between 2015 and 2020 were caused by heavy rain. Some, as in Mahaicony, in the Danzig area, were caused because of government’s negligence with sea defense. The breached sea defense flooded farmers’ land with salt water, not simply destroying crops, but also decommissioning the land for several crops each time. Not once did the PNC saw the need to support farmers. In fact, the then Minister of Agriculture responded to
farmers’ plea by reiterating a PNC mantra – farming is a private sector activity and losses due to floods represent the risk in such private sector activities. This mantra was often invoked by the then President, David Granger himself. Farmers and citizens in general never found a supporting government when they endured difficult circumstances when the PNC was in power, whether it was the 1964 to 1992 dictatorial era or the 2015-2020 era when the PNC obsessed on trying to reestablish the 1964 to 1992 dictatorship. Indeed, the PNC’s ideological premise for governance involved two planks – first, use rigged elections to keep power and, second, unconscionable taxation and wasteful spending. People saw this ideological approach almost immediately on the PNC, in the form of APNU/AFC, assumption to the government in May 2015. One of the first things they did was spend more than $1.6B on constructing a monstrosity at the old Durban Park site. That monstrosity is now a crumbling relic, representing a danger to anyone that might lurk in the area. To call it a “White Elephant” would be insulting Guyanese intelligence. It is a wreck that was only done as a “cash-cow” for certain persons. To this day, the Auditor General is unable to
verify expenditure because documents are missing. The PNC during 2015 and 2020 did what they were experienced in – mercilessly taxing people. More than 200 taxes were introduced or increased during the 2015 and 2020 period of PNC governance. This included VAT on electricity, water, education, data, medicines, food, building materials. Always $100B annually by 2020 in new taxes were moved from people’s pockets into the black hole of the government’s consolidated account. These new taxes made people fearful of budget time. People, families and businesses, became anxious, reminiscent of the times before 1992 when budget time was traumatic. In those days, budgets were given names, such as “Pick-Pocket” budget, “Voodoo” budget, “Murderer” budget, etc. In contrast, people are usually excited when it comes to PPP budget. The PPP is reluctant to introduce or to increase taxes. Thus, most of the increases and all the new taxes introduced between 2015 and 2020 by the PNC-led government have been retracted by the PPP government in just two budgets – the 2020 truncated budget and the full 2021 budget. In addition, people know that each PPP government include either indirect
or direct cash transfers for people. Thus, outside of the DNA of dictatorship and rigged elections that separate the PPP and the PNC, with the PPP relentlessly pursuing democracy and freedom, with free and fair elections and the PNC opting always for rigged elections and authoritarianism, the PPP also objects to a policy of taxation and spending, preferring to always move resources from the consolidated account into the pockets of ordinary families. The almost $8B being distributed presently as a climate-related relief package is just one of the several examples in just a single year of the new PPP government. More recently, President Ali announced a cash transfer grant of $25,000 per pensioner and per disabled and other vulnerable persons, amounting to $2.6B. Even as these programs are rolling out, the PPP government is finishing off a cash transfer education grant of $19,000 per child in school, a program to the tune of $3.5B. Prior to that the PPP Government had a COVID-19 cash-relief grant of $25,000 per family and there have been several other grants for public servants. There is a real, tangible, difference between the two parties.
APNU+AFC Coalition must be held accountable for anti-national actions M
ajority of the times Guyana has been of “international notoriety” has been as a result of actions of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) led APNU+AFC Coalition, according to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira. And she charged that the anti-national actions have hurt the progressive advance-
ment of Guyana and Guyanese people. “Every time we take a step forward, someone is taking us two steps back,” she lamented in a recent interview. However, Teixeira underscored the fact that there is potential in bolstering and encouraging a sense of national pride. This, the Minister said, must be fostered. “That is the glue that can
hold and has held us together as a people. No matter what we go through, what turmoil, what difficulties, what challenges, that sense of pride in who we are – founded in great passion and love – will help us. So whatever transformation comes, we won’t be dissecting it into pieces – which is for this ethnic group and which is for this ethnic group. That destroys it (na-
tional pride). When we build hotels, it is ours. When we build highways, it is ours.” The Minister noted that the APNU+AFC Coalition leaders must be held to account for its anti-national rhetoric. Notably, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, during an interview in July 2021, said, “I guess, as we
have come to know now, that no behaviour by APNU and its senior leadership could be considered shocking. They have descended into anti-national rhetoric on more than one occasion. They use, constantly, racism to try to divide our people. Now, even when this initiative can benefit every Guyanese, particularly their supporters, they are now trying to get them not to benefit. We saw the same behaviour with the GOAL scholarship programme….we also saw the selfish behaviour with the (COVID-19) vac-
cine, when Harmon and the others themselves had taken the vaccine….this behaviour is typical APNU behaviour… the only way they can succeed is if we, in Guyana, suffer collectively from amnesia or short-term memory. If every Guyanese looks at the history of this grant, then they will see the duplicity of the APNU regime and its leaders.” The PPP General Secretary urged Guyanese to not be distracted by the APNU+AFC Coalition’s rhetoric.
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