Weekend Mirror 10-11 September 2022 by Weekend Mirror

10-11 September, 2022 / Vol. 12 No. 39 / Price: $100 Email: mirror2018.gy@gmail.com SEE INSIDE Coalition’s land giveaways to cronies still under review – Jagdeo PAGE 3 Norton-led cabal continues to play race card programmevaccinationCOVID-19beginsHealthresultspositiveyieldingdiversificationeconomicGovt’strainingcontinuousbenefityouthsAmerindiantofromministrymobileAppeal Court sets October 3rd as date for hearing Elections Petition 88 motion GECOM votes to release ‘questionable’ data supplied by Coalition during recount PAGEPAGE2 8 PAGE 6 PAGE 15 PAGE 23 PAGE 18 – 2022 Mid-Year Report persons living with disabilities among those eligible

Justice Jacob Witt, speaking on behalf of the five-member panel of the CCJ that heard the submis sions, said “we will have to consider them of course and as soon as we are ready to give the decision, we will do so…you will be notified when that is the case.”

3, 2020, filed an appeal in the case of Petition 88, ar guing that the ruling judge erred in the decision that was handed Petitiondown.88was dis missed in the High Court by Acting Chief Justice, Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire.

Petition 99 of 2020 was filed on September 15, 2020, by APNU+AFC Coalition agents Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse. Thomas and Nurse named Chief Elec tions Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; David Granger – APNU+AFC Coalition; Horatio Edmonson – Fed eral United Party; Bharrat

oth of the

Appeal Court sets October 3rd as date for hearing Elections Petition 88 motion

2 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11

2022, has been named as the date on which the Coalition will be heard on the motion it has filed requesting the swift hearing of that out standing appeal.

GECOM, on August 2, 2020, finalised results of the March 2020 Gen eral and Regional Elec tions process. Those results showed that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) won the Election with 233,336 votes, while the APNU+AFC secured 217,920 votes.

Jagdeo – People’s Pro gressive Party/Civic; John Flores – Liberty and Justice Party; Asha Kissoon – The New Movement; Vishnu Bandhu – United Republi can Party; Adebin Kindi Ali – Change Guyana; Patrick Bourne – People’s Republic Party, Jonathan Yearwood –A New and United Guyana; Shazam Ally – The Citizen ship Initiative; and Gerald Perreira of Organisation for the Victory of the People as respondents. The Attor ney General Chambers also joined the proceedings.

Petition No.99, which challenged the final elec tion results, was nullified by the Acting Chief Justice on the grounds of non-com pliance of service on the second named respondent, former President Mr. David Granger.Petition 99, argued that fraud was committed in the March 2020 Elections and over 115,000 votes were affected, benefiting the PPP/C. So far, Petition 99 has been thrown out and the other will move forward.

ofbeforethethrownPetitionpetitionsCoalition’sAPNU+AFCelections–Petition88and99–havebeenoutatthelevelofHighCourt.Andwhile,Petition99istheCaribbeanCourtJustice(CCJ),October3,

PETITION 88

Delivering her almost twohour long virtual ruling, she underscored the fact that the petitioners had pre sented not a single piece of evidence to substantiate purported irregularities they sought to Petitionadvance.88argued that

The Coalition, on June

the Recount Order was ille gal and unconstitutional and therefore the declaration of results based on the recount is illegal and unconstitu tional.The petitioners, Ms. Claudette Throne and Mr. Heston Bostwick were ask ing the Court to declare the election results null and void. In further seeking to do so, the petitioners are challenging the national vote recount process, Sec tion 22 of the Elections Laws Act and Order 60 of 2020, which governed the recount.Thorne and Bostwick are represented by Attor ney-at-law and Coalition Parliamentarian, Roysdale Forde.

The appeal was filed by the APNU+AFC Coali tion, challenging the Act ing Chief Justice Roxane George’s dismissal of Pe tition 99 on June 14, 2021.

PETITION 99

On July 19, 2022, the CCJ reserved its ruling on whether Guyana’s Court of Appeal can hear and deter mine an appeal surrounding the dismissal of the Election Petition 99 of 2020.

The Appeal Court on December 21, 2021, ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the appeal of Elections Petition 99, which was dis missed by the High Court. While the matter was at the Appeal Court, Jagdeo’s lawyers argued that there can only be an appeal after a determination is made in manner and this was not done in the case of Election Petition 99.

• Percolator - Ronetle Lute (1822)

• Clock - Bibi Seeraj (4651)

The PPP/C government is still addressing the mas sive land giveaways under the former APNU+AFC Co alition government, including transactions that took place after the passage of the 2018 no confidence motion, during which period the Coalition was a ‘caretaker’ govern ment.

Coalition’s land giveaways to cronies still under review – Jagdeo

the Coalition’s ‘friends and cronies’ without any known public process. “Where pos sible we will take the req uisite steps to restore those lands to the ownership of the people of this country,” the Attorney General said. He had cited instances where thousands of acres of prime State lands in Georgetown and in other areas, including ocean front and river front parcels of land, were illegal ly given to the friends and cronies of the Coalition. He had said, “The Honourable members gifted BK Marine a wharf valued $40 billion for only $20 million, passing Title to him which expressly says that it is free from all liabilities, meaning that he does not have to pay a cent more and passing this Title after they lost the March 2nd 2020 elections. Point to any Afro-Guyanese or better yet any Afro-Guyanese village that the Honourable members have spent $40 billion in over the last five years.”

CHARGED

The Attorney General had said that audits would be conducted by the Office of the Auditor General, fol lowing which the Guyana Police Force and the Special Organised Crime Unit would be invited to investigate.

Jordan issued a vesting order, which passes Title to the purchaser, for prime waterfront properties in Kingston to BK Marine Inc. without full pay ment. The company is owned by Brian Tiwari. The property is reportedly worth a whopping $8B. The purchase price, however, was set at $400M. In a strange turn of events, Tiwari only paid $20M – not the full price for the land. The Transport was subsequently issued for this property. No tably, the agreement of sale stated that Title must only pass upon full payment of purchase price. The vesting order stat ed that the property is being sold free from encumbrance and liabilities and no further sum of money is owed by the purchaser.Jordan was arrested by ranks of the Special Organ ised Crime Unit (SOCU) on December 2, 2021 for alleged misconduct in public office. The embattled former Coali tion minister was released on his own recognizance. When

3.332231/38Aubrey

MASSIVE GIVEAWAYS

This is according to Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who on September 2, 2022, said, “You recall the land policy. Up to now we can’t figure (out) how much land they sold, to whom, we’re trying to recover this. After the elections, (they) put out a gazette signed order to trans fer (land) to over 100 persons, plots of land in Linden, to cronies.“…now, those people are going to get 1000 houses being built, because the Pres ident promised that in Linden. And they just got another 400 lots at Amelia’s ward. But you check. In five years, (a lot of the) persons who got plots of land were all political connected.”

1. Marlon Bristol, Head of the Project Management Office within the Ministry of the Presidency received:

• 12 acres in Linden (at Dal lawalla, the proposed site for Deep Water Harbour), Region 10 - June 2019

• Fan - Litecha Constantine (0825)

Among the most prom inent giveaways were those that took place in June 2019. These included:

• 1 acre in Mocha, Region 4 - February 2019

• 20 acres at Good Fortuin, Region 3 (in the Demerara River – proposed site for shore-based facility) – File number 3322421/3

Meanwhile, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, charged that the PPP/C Gov ernment has not wavered from its commitment to in vestigate suspicious land giveaways by the former APNU+AFC Coalition.

• 80 acres in Bohemia, Re gion 6 (the proposed site for Deep Water Harbour) – Feb ruary 2019

• Blender - Latchmi Mukhlall (3712)

1st prize smart TV - Vickram Bharrat (2810)

• 20 acres at Schoonard Fore shore, Region 3 (in the De merara River – proposed site for shore-based facility)

• 1000 acres in the Essequibo River - April 2019 – File Number 321132/1604

The case to which the charge is related is the sale and vesting of the state’s largest wharf facilities locat ed at Kingston, Georgetown. The charge stated that the property, Mudlots 1 & 2, F of Mudlot 3, A, B & D, situ ated at North undervaluedbillions,Georgetown,Cummingsburg,wasvaluedatbutwassoldatansum.

4.2019Eric

Already, former finance Minister, Winston Jordan, has been charged for public misconduct in office and is currently before the court.

Weeks after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, a 180-page docu ment - extraordinary edition of the Official Gazette on March 23, 2020 – showed that the APNU+AFC Coa lition’s Jermaine Figueira, alone, secured two plots of land in Linden, Region 10, which totals over two acres. Also while the gazette was dated March 21, 2020, all the land transfer orders were signed by the Coalition’s Winston Jordan on February 28, 2020 – raising concerns that the documents may have beenTherebackdated.wasalso a rush in the giveaways after the De cember 2018 No Confidence motion. Dozens of land trans fers were signed off on. Some of these also took place after the former Coalition govern ment lost the 2020 Elections on March 2, 2020.

• Microwave - Tishonna Grant (3549)

– File Number 332242/3

• 50 acres at Best Foreshore, Region 3 – File Number

Phillips, SARA Spe cial Assistant, within the Ministry of the Presidency - received:

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 3 3

charged, he was not required to plead to the charge, was re leased on $3M bail. Jordan’s lawyers are APNU+AFC Coalition Parliamentarian,

•411412/522b1acreMocha, Region 4, in

In addition to these trans actions, handled by Nation al Industrial and Commer cial Investments Limited (NICIL), and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Comis sion (GLSC), lands were also given away in the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/ Agricul tural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) scheme. Then Chairman, Kelvin Saul, had received over 10,000 acres of land located aback the Maha ica River. Thousands of acres were also given out to others.

EFFORT TO RECOVER LANDS

Heath-Retemey er, Deputy Head of SARA, which falls under the Ministry of the Presidency received:

3rd prize Samsung Cellular phoneNatasha Howard CONSOLATION(1852)PRIZES

Cheddi Jagan

• 10 acres on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, Region 4, in 2019 – File number

• 1000 acres in the Demerara River in 2019 – File Number 331231/7

Another official who re cently received land was the now sacked former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) at the Guyana Elections Com mission, Keith Lowenfield. Lowenfield received: 216 acres at Millie’s Hideout, Region 10 – June 2019; and 2 acres at Mocha, Region 4.

2. Great Wall Inc. – of which Saratu Phillips is a Director, received:

In October 2021, Nand lall said, “We would have spoken, at length, about land giveaways. Some of them we have settled already. Others are still to be handed over to the Guyana Police Force and the other investigative agencies.”Notably, in March 2021, in the National Assembly, Nandlall underscored that the lands under review are those which were gifted away to

2nd prize Refrigerator - Azim Singh (0233)

Roysdale Forde and Khemraj Ramjattan, as well as Attor neys-at-law, Dawn Cush, Joseph Harmon, and Darren Wade.

Research Centre Raffle Prize Winners

In July 2020, an unofficial petition calling for Singh to re sign first surfaced on Facebook and was signed by supporters of theAlsoAPNU+AFC.inJuly2020, the GECOM Chair was the target of private criminal charges filed by APNU+AFC supporters over her decision to support a national recount of votes from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

As such, it is worth underscoring the pattern of behaviour that the PNCR-led Coalition has, and continues to, exhibits when it makes its frantic grasps for power.

This list does not account for all the number of calls made by the agents of PNCR/APNU/AFC on social media plat forms such as Facebook and Instagram, nor on private shows hosted on television or via online platforms such a YouTube, Facebook Live, etc.

Coalition’s track record shows priority always given to power not people

It is public knowledge that PNCR and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton led the cries about the list being bloated based on the inclusion of dead persons, and the current exercise presents the opportunity for them to ensure the ap propriate screening at this time. Many of their questions will be answered at the end of this exercise, which allows the naysayers to object to the names on the List that should be removed. Based on the list put up by GECOM around the country, it is observed that the names of many persons who died are already removed, presumably due to the coordination between the General Registration Office and GECOM.

Norton is in the news making threats and exhibiting other forms of idiocy as he extols his emptiness to the world. This leader, who happens to be educated, is otherwise of limited capacity when it comes to his reasoning ability as well as conducting himself with any semblance of decency and decorum. So, he continues to ramble and be disorderly, with no end in sight.

in the PNC has ever referred to him since he entered Parliament is a testament to the fact of his unpopularity within his party.

It is of note that the Norton-led cabal attempts to convey that the House-to-House approach would be a panacea to their claims regarding the current list. It is also widely known that the approach hypocritically targets the removal of the names of thousands of overseas or otherwise engaged Guya nese, who may not find it convenient to be at their last noted address at the time of a possible House-to-House visit. They do so contrary to the ruling of the High Court, for want of conve nience and excuses, also knowing that

I am correct, can be placed into two parts.

must also be aware that they can and must use this exercise to make sure that their ID cards are appro priate. The GECOM official would also conduct updates concerning corrections of the wrong spelling of one’s name, wrong date of birth, and defaced pic tures. Further, lost ID Cards could be replaced by the citizens, who make an application for this using the statutory form from the GECOM office, after it is signed by a Commissioner of Oaths.

By September 2020, the former Opposition Leader, Jo seph Harmon, added fuel to the call for her resignation.

On Aubrey Norton’s obnoxious behaviour to page 5)

In December 2021, APNU+AFC Coalition aligned Rickford Burke called for resignation of all the members of GECOM. Peppering his call with race baiting, Burke had said: “I think the members of the Guyana Elections Commission from the Coalition should resign because of the shenanigans going on there. They are doing their level best to get a racist East Indian from the PPP to be installed as Chief Elections Officer. That’s what they’re doing and Claudette Singh is in bed with them. I think we should break up the Elections Commission.”AlsoinDecember 2021, the former Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon suggested that the incumbent GECOM Chair man could not be trusted. “

GECOM must be complimented for their genuine effort to produce the best possible List of Electors in preparation for the overdue LGEs.

There is a logical conclusion to Au brey Norton’s obtuse behaviour, which, if

In keeping with customary practice, the GECOM-led Claims and Objections exercise which commenced on August 22 will allow qualifying parties further update opportunities to the final List. It is aimed at providing all stakeholders the opportunity to object to the names of any deceased persons that may re main on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE), from which the Official List of Electors (OLE) is gleaned. According to reports, approximately one thousand

(Turn

What is clear is that the PNCR-led Coalition has to be called for its actions. Democratic, right-minded Guyanese are not interested in being drawn backwards, but are focused on the progressive, prosperous future ahead. And self-interested leaders in the Coalition must not be allowed to endanger our collective prosperity.

4 4 EDITORIAL

With Local Government Elections expected to be held soon, the focus of this power play has been to target the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is currently running off the Claims and Objections exercise across the country, following a recent robust and well-scrutinised Continu ous Registration Cycle. The responses so far have been slow, but the process for both activities involved the pur poseful keenness of party verification scrutineers from various divides. This approach supports an acceptable level of transparency, and lends to the suc cess of establishing a final represen tative Voters’ List for the holding of Local Government Elections as early as possible.GECOM must be complimented for facilitating the recent very successful process of Continuous Registration, which realised over 70,000 transac tions, thereby producing a very good Register of ConcerningRegistrants.thelatter, the GECOM Public Relations Officer reported that 28,149 were new registrants between the ages of 14 and 17, while 21,130 were new registrants above the age of 18. Also, 4,629 persons applied for transfers; 6,526 persons changed or corrected their information; 7,667 applied for replacement identification cards, and 1,940 registrants retook their ID photos.Itisrational for one to accept that the slow pace of transactions during this Claims and Objection Exercise is strongly linked to the thorough work that was done during the former Cycle.

Firstly, he is not a leader who com mands the respect and authority of his party; in simple terms, he is not liked by a great number of persons in his party. The big wigs in the PNC abhor him, so we can safely say he is a loner and a wanderer in the party that he leads. So, from time to time, he must muster up that big bad wolf approach to gain recognition. He must speak as a dragon, with fire breathing through his nostrils, to command some attention from the faithful few that he leads. The fact that none of the top brass

Dear Editor, Aubrey

Power, not people, has always been the proven focus of the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition. And this endeavour has been plagued by racist rhetoric, bullyism and intimidation.

Dear Editor,

new registrations of persons eighteen years and older, along with five hun dred transfers and one hundred retaken photographs, were completed.

their representatives are in the polling station on polling day to identify any so-called “Dead Voters”. Of significant interest, it is the representatives of the same PNCR and APNU who run the diaspora before each election, to request qualifying Guyanese to return to vote and make Editor,donations.permitme to remind our qualifying citizens that when making Claims and Objections, they must have the relevant source documents. Original birth certificate or a valid passport in the case of new registration. Original Naturalisation Certificate issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and original birth certificate or a valid passport in the case of naturalisation. The original marriage certificate and original birth certificate should be presented in the case of a request for a name change by marriage.Further,

Further, it is interesting that the total transactions have not been raised by the Norton clan as matters of concern. Notwithstanding the beginning of the Exercise was smooth, and it is now very slow, with the closing date coming up, there may be a little more response. However, the nation is looking to see if the PNC would come up with some other ‘big-blocking objections at the last moment. Guyanese are weary of the usual ridiculous claims that the PNC is famous for making.

GECOM must be complimented for genuine effort to produce the best possible List

Incumbent Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, has more recently, joined the chorus, also with race baiting rhetoric. In December 2021, he said: “The infamous Claudette Singh vot ed to make Vishnu Persaud Chief Election Officer. We do not believe that the best person got the job. We believe that the appointment was collusion between the Chairman of the Elec tion Commission and the PPP Commissioners to put a PPP hack as Chief Election Officer.” He reiterated this comment, adding, recently that: “She (Justice Singh) must go to ensure that we have elections that are free and fair. Her presence will not facilitate that. It is our intention to ensure a united Guyana. We do not want elections to divide us again.” By August 2022, he had moved to threaten ‘pressure’. Norton had said: “….there are many things we can do to put the pressure on the elections commission and Claudette Singh. But we had first given her the opportunity to tender her resignation as a decent judge who would have served and to recognise that you cannot claim to be independent and, on every issue, you are voting with the People’s Progressive Party and you seem to have no interest in finding consensus on these issues. And so, we have left the door open. We hope we don’t have to close it and Claudette Singh will do the decent thing and resign.”

it must be noted that citi zens must present to the officials at the GECOM Registration Office original deed poll and original birth certificate in the case of a name change by deed poll.

All political stakeholders are in this process, and it will be interesting if there are any unreasonable complaints at the end of the exercise.

If you start at the beginning, you would find that Granger never approved of this guy, and the elder leaders of the PNC would not countenance him leading the party in Opposition. There was great rancour and acrimony involving Norton’s ascension to the post of Opposition Lead er. There was much back-and-forth, which finally ended when someone attested to the idea of giving a relatively younger

In April 2020, the GECOM Chair had her life threatened. These were reported to the Guyana Police Force and the Cyber Crime Unit. One APNU supporter was charged under the Cybercrime Act.

It is important for anyone making an objection to any name on the OLE to be accredited by the scrutineers or by an elector who is listed in the same Division List as the person he or she is objectingCitizensto.

NeilSincerely,Kumar

he Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Natural Resources, is not surprised at the recent misinformation con tained in a press statement from the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), in which poor attempts were made to deliber ately mislead members of the public.

Ironically, this kind of behaviour is a high point in all PNC circles. That is, to play the big bad bully game and blaze your way through.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 5

GHRA continues misinformation campaign

But how and when did Amerindian Heri tage Month observation begin? What is it all about? The late President Cheddi Jagan first designated September 10, 1995 as Amerindi an Heritage Day in memory of Mr. Stephen Campbell, the first Amerindian to enter the Parliament of then British Guiana (September 10, 1957). In fact, Dr. Jagan’s government de termined that the entire month of September would be celebrated annually thereafter by all Guyana. The celebration has expanded over the post-1995 years to highlight the special achievements of our indigenous people and in this regard, it does provide opportunity for all Guyanese and non-Guyanese to be able to view, experience and be reminded of the culture of Amerindians in the various villages and communities across our country. It’s a unique culture that most have grown to respect, cherish and helped to preserve. Institutions which have helped to protect

However,(CCJ).in the minds of those at the GHRA, like their political handlers, the decisions of the CCJ can be ignored for their convenience, much like the APNU/ AFC portrayed during the March 02, 2020 elections fiasco.

So, this is the sordid picture of the Opposi tion Leader of our country; a very dismal and pathetic one, to say the least.

Dear Editor,

Most notably, it is no secret that the PPP/C Government is committed to work ing towards the interest of all Guyanese, ir respective of political affiliation, race, gen der, or disability, to safeguard and secure a prosperous, progressive, and peaceful One Guyana. As such, Government, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and its regulatory agencies, remains committed to implementing policies in keeping with the laws of Guyana, to ensure the country’s resources are sustainably managed for the economic and social benefits of all Guya nese. This will be guaranteed under the new Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 for an environmentally rich and economi cally prosperous Guyana.

person the position of leadership. So, my dear readers, you can now get the real reason behind Norton’sSecondly,rantings.thecause of his ranting and rav ing and mouthing these ignorant (Caribbean meaning) statements in the media. Reason num ber two is: having been caught between a rock and a very hard place, Norton must now prove his mettle as a “strong leader”. That is, he must play brave and obnoxious ad infinitum, at least someone will take notice of him.

Respectfully,NeilAdams

Further, it was the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission that supported and joined the legal challenge with the Chinese Landing community against the miner.

The PPP/C Government firmly respects the courts of law, and, most importantly,

This belligerence has high marks in the PNC; however, I must caution him that the more he behaves foolishly, the more he sinks his party into a repulsive mode, way past an acceptable level, so that even the most trusted party faithful

I see that Guyana is ready, as it is clear that planning has been ongoing. The news has it that “Monkeypox vaccines (are) due by September month end.” The Health Min ister, Dr Frank Anthony, explained that “… the vaccines that protect against Monkeypox are in limited quantity globally. However, through an agreement with the Pan Amer ican Health Organization (PAHO), Guyana should receive some of these vaccines by the end of September.”

would turn away.

Stigma may also discourage people from coming forward. “Please be honest and compliant!”

They do have much to celebrate. Con gratulations!

Dear Editor,

The wisdom in the adage “Prevention is better than cure” is most timely to em brace at this time. I am saying this in regard to the Monkeypox disease that has now come upon Guyana. As was the levity of the popu lace when the COVID-19 struck, so may be the case with the Monkeypox, I fear.

(From page 4)

I posit here again the need to take all pre cautions, as, “Basically, monkeypox is trans mitted from animals to humans. So, if there is an infected animal and a person comes in contact with them, it can get infected. So, that’s the first form of transmission.”

States is working on three different antiret rovirals that are in limited supply, and they are being used under emergency-use authori sation.”However, what is good to note is that patients with Monkeypox are being treated based on their symptoms; that is, “The treat ment for these persons when they get infect ed would be symptomatic; therefore, if they have fever, we’ll treat fever; if they have an enlarged lymph node, we’ll treat that,” the Minister detailed, and in all likelihood, patients’ recovery after treatment is realised within 14-21 days.

The Ministry of Natural Resources wishes to acknowledge and reiterate that it was this current administration that implemented the policy to recognise In digenous-titled lands, and this still obtains to date.Asit relates to the Chinese Landing issue, the Ministry would like to restate and remind the GHRA, which suffers from selective amnesia, and all interested stake holders that the mining permit received favourable judgment from Guyana’s final court for redress, the Caribbean Court of Justice

Guyana’s First People have much to celebrate

Sincerely, Norman Whittaker

Monkeypox containment calls for Guyanese to comply with the Government

As I said, Guyana must not take any chance whatsoever. The mere fact that Gov ernment is putting in extra work to inoculate the vulnerable and infected people is enough reason for citizens to be cautious and coop erative.Let us bear in mind, as the Minister pointed out, that indeed “There are very few medications that are currently available to treat the virus… (and currently) the United

the rights of all its people; and, as such, during the recent National Toshaos Con ference, discussions were held with the Chinese Landing leaders and other stake holders. This is ongoing, and efforts will be continued for an amicable solution for all stakeholders within the confines of the law.

However, it is not surprising that the one-man Executive Committee, self-ap pointed Head of the GHRA Mike McCor mack, is once again temporarily awakened to continue his misinformation agenda to justify collecting funding from his politi cally blindsided handlers.

On Aubrey Norton’s...

Dear Editor,

and to preserve Amerindian artifacts include the National Museum, the Walter Roth Mu seum, the Benab at the Sophia Exhibition Site and the Umana Yana… to name but a few. They all display an array of artefacts unique to the Amerindian way of life: the Amerindi an architecture and traditional knowledge of the people. Since 1995 and every September thereafter, an Amerindian Village is designat ed Heritage Village. Rotation of the Heritage Village provides opportunity for all Guyana to experience and to learn more of the culture and way of life of our Amerindian people. It is celebrated under a theme. Activities and events revolve around the theme. It allows them to market their villages, its people and what they have to offer in terms of goods and services. In short, Amerindian Heritage Month is also a medium for promoting Hin terland Tourism. It provides opportunity to showcase improvements in the lives of the people in the Villages and Communities. Amerindian Heritage month 2022 is being celebrated under the Theme:” Maintaining our Traditional Integrity; celebrating our CulturalAmerindianIdentity”.Heritage Month celebrations provides opportunities for all Guyanese to participate and to share in the culture of our Indigenous people by bringing Amerindian people and their Communities into the main stream of National Development. For me, it has been a pleasure/a productive period of my life – 1976 to 2015 – living and working among our Amerindian brothers and sisters in their villages and communities. I have learnt a lot from them, and with much humility I have no doubt, they from me also. To our Amerindian comrades I commend your con tribution to the development of Guyana; more significantly, for keeping this dear and great land of ours intact so that we could all benefit. It’s all about Amerindian development with culture and identity.

AJourney with the Amerindians – the original inhabitants of Guyana. They have much to celebrate. Their villages are spread across the ten (10) Administrative Regions or 83 000 sq. mls of Guyana and are homes to seventy seven, five thousand Amerindians. They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of our country. In these villages reside the nine Amerindian Peoples or Tribes, viz: The Arawaks, Caribs, Warraus, Patamonas, Akawaios, Arecunas, Macushi, Wai-Wai and Wapishana, the earliest of whom came here over 5000 years BC and lived, according to Guyanese Anthropologist Denis Williams “along Guyana’s North West Coast and in the Orinoco Delta area of neigh bouring Venezuela.”

Yours truly, H Singh

Mr. Norton must realise that he is putting his party in a very bad light. This 30% Leader of the PNC will soon realise that his party’s standing in the polls would be greatly diminished by his actions.Incidentally, there is an upcoming LGE, in which, from the last compromised election, the PNC only got 39% of the constituency’s votes; and with the present poor performance of its leader, I am inclined to believe that there will be a further downward spiral. The latest tirade will further harm that party’s chances.

“Simple…stay put in your corner if and when infected.”

I admonish all to be alert, as Monkey pox can become a national scourge that our healthcare providers and public health sys tems can very well be challenged with. So, with an aggressive, well-coordinated pub lic-health campaign, we can be on top of the situation. As we learned from COVID-19, access to testing can mean the difference be tween a growing outbreak and a disease that can be promptly diagnosed, treated, and con tained through isolation and contact tracing.

Sincerely, Office of the Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources

Former Advisor, Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Former Minister of Local Government and Regional Development

Each tribe came with their own distinctive identities and cultural heritage. These distinc tions are found in their language, economic activities, and the nature and extent of their system of governance and more. And so, on the occasion of the 22th Anniversary of Am erindian Heritage Day (September 10, 2022) and, more extensively, Amerindian Heritage Month September 2022, I am confident you would agree with me when I say they did have much to celebrate. Furthermore, Amerindian Heritage month has annually provided, since September 10, 1995, an occasion to celebrate.

Many in Guyana are taking a laid-back attitude. They even posit that Monkeypox is unlikely to cause a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19. However, we need to exercise medical sense, as the Monkeypox virus is still a force to be reckoned with, even though it is far more forgiving than that of the COVID-19, is less transmissible, and can be readily subdued by existing vaccines.

Coalition put on blast for campaign of lies and deception

In addition, those affected by the storm will be provided with more building materials and infrastructural support from the housing ministry to restore their homes.

Minister Hamilton said the intention to implement measures so that the com munity can benefit from eco nomic development.

For example, he said his ministry will soon bring tech nical and vocational train ing to the two communities. “Coming out of all of these, other things are happening, I have been engaged by people who think it might be a useful thing to bring training pro grammes into the community and so I will have the techni cal officer for the East Coast follow up on that.”

Meanwhile, Health min ister, Dr Frank Anthony said following the assessment, the government was able to in tervene promptly to address the needs of the affected persons, but is committed to providing further support as need.Theminister has commit ted to providing medical aid to those who suffered injuries during the incident. “After that assessment, we were able to get building materials for these residents. We are going to see how else we can assist; I have been able to see a few persons who would’ve sustained medical injuries, so we are going to help those persons as well, and this is what the government does, we try to respond to people in need,” Anthony Unsubstantiatedsaid. and wildly irresponsible claims – all worded along lines to stir tensions among Guya nese continue to be peddled by leaders of the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition. In recent weeks the Coalition’s use of racist rhetoric has been heightened.

“It is evident that the APNU+AFC is bent on cre ating mischief as part of a failed attempt to deflect from the misuse of almost $500M in government fund ing provided to the Interna tional Decade for People of African Descent AssemblyGuyana (IDPADA-G). ID PADA-G, a private limited liability company, has been using taxpayer monies to benefit a few top-tier leaders in the APNU+AFC under the guise of furthering the cause of Afro-Guyanese. The Government will not be deterred by the APNU+AFC shenanigans as IDPADA-G must account for the use of state resources” the PPP Central Committee member said.

The Aubrey Norton-led APNU+AFC Coalition has since used the windstorm as a platform for playing the race card, insinuating that the communities have not been supported. This is despite the fact that the PPP/C gov ernment Ministers and CDC reps were on the ground sup porting those affected.

Housing Minister, Susan Rodrigues;

On the ground, engaging residents were Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Antho ny; Labour Minister, Jo seph Hamilton; an dJunior

Rodrigues reiterated the PPP/C Administration’s com mitment to providing support to all Guyanese despite the narrative being peddled by the “Weopposition.arealways on the ground and the opposition tries as much as possible to deflect and play the race card because this is a predomi nantly Afro-Guyanese com munity, but that won’t stop us from coming into these communities. The assistance that we give are across the board and I believe our ac tions properly demonstrate that and we will go into any community and assist any family because that is how we operate and execute ini tiatives.”

yet been Presidentestablished.Dr.Irfaan Ali announced the first phase of the Council on Friday, Au gust 12, 2022. None of the monies allocated for 2022 have been used.

Norton-led cabal continues to play race card

“Undoubtedly,inaccurate. this rep resents a bout of ‘fuzzy maths’, a condition that has plagued the APNU+AFC since the passage of the no-confidence motion in 2018 and which appears incurable.”Hestressed that the work of First Lady, Mrs. Arya Ali

is beyond reproach and is well known across Guyana.

Already, CDC officials have delivered building ma terials including zinc sheets, nails and hampers contain ing essential food items and cleaning supplies to the af fected families.

RACE CARD

FURTHER SUPPORT

COALITION HAS APPROACHBACKWARD

“In furtherance of their false narrative, fice$58MpreposterouslyAPNU+AFCclaimsthatwasspentbytheOfoftheFirstLadyand

As per the assessment, families were in need of building materials since some houses were completely dam aged, while the roofs of sev eral homes were removed.

Following the incident on

Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton, responded to the allegations made by the op position stating that a respon sible government assesses first, so that it can effectively assist its citizens.

6 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

$70M by the Office of the Commissioner of Informa tion. These claims are also wholly

Monday (September 5, 2022), the CDC immediately dispatched officers into the communities to conduct an assessment of the damages, to effectively provide relief.

Residents of Bare Root and and Dazzell Hous ing Scheme, East Coast De merara, who were severely affected by a windstorm, benefited from immediate assistance from the PPP/C government.Theassistance was co ordinated through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

solated and losing po litical ground, the AP NU+AFC Coalition has been put on blast for continuing to peddle “blatant lies and deception” to Guyanese.

He said, “You can only do something after you assess it so doing is based on as sessment because you might bring the wrong thing for the people and therefore the CDC has a role in this. You know what an opposition that is re sponsible do? While they are saying the government is not doing anything they should be in here doing something, but the people know differ ently.”Further, Minister Ham ilton noted that the PPP/C’s programmes and support ini tiatives have been extended all across the country.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Central Com mittee member, Kwame McKoy, in recent com ments, noted that the latest ruse surrounds another man ufactured lie – specifically that funds amounting to $145M were being misused by the Office of the First Lady, the President’s Youth Advisory Council, and the Office of the Commissioner of Information.Hesaid,“This claim is absurd and illogical as mon ies allocated to the Council were returned to the Consol idated Fund in 2020 & 2021 because the Council had not

lic statements have provided the basis for the Ministry to have grave concerns, which require closer examination by the Ministry,” the letter said.Against this background, the Ministry requested cop ies of all financial records from IDPADA-G, including, but not limited to, payment vouchers, payroll, contracts, and receipts for all monies spent for the fiscal years from 2018 to the present date.

submit the relevant records to an independent auditor…. we are ready to engage the appropriate government agency to mutually agree on such an independent auditor and the necessary terms of reference for the period Jan uary 1, 2022 to the present.”

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 7

From 2018 to 2022, the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly– Guyana (IDPA DA-G) received almost half a billionConcernsdollars.about the use of the funds were raised by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who made clear that it must say how the monies were used to benefit Af ro-Guyanese.Hiscomment came in de fense of the PPP/C Govern ment’s record on upliftment of Afro-Guyanese. “I would like them [IDPADA-G] to have a press conference so they can tell the people of this country what they have done with the nearly half a billion in money they’ve received and how much was utilised in the interest of ordinary Af ro-Guyanese in this country.

A letter to this effect was addressed to Olive Sampson, and dispatched from the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport on August 31, 2022.According to the cor respondence, the Ministry pointed out that it has an overarching public respon sibility to ensure that public funds received by any entity are spent according to the intended objective. “The firm position of the Ministry is that the intended objective of the public funds allocated to IDPADA-G is for the benefit and empowerment of as many Afro-Guyanese as possible. The recent disclo sures, publications and pub

Who receive all of this mon ey? Nearly half a billion dol lars,” Jagdeo said on August 19, 2022….this is their fi nancial statement for 2020… salaries and allowances $42 million, conference expenses, $4.5 million, travelling and transportation $2.8 million, advertisement $2 million, office material and expenses $9 million, building rental and utilities $5 million, dis bursement of grant fund, how much they give out in grants to Afro Guyanese, $343,000 disbursement of grant of the $100 million for 2020.”

The International Decade for People of African De scent Assembly – Guyana was asked to submit all fi

An attempt was made to justify the expenses by IDPADA-G during a news conference on August 22, 2022. However, Jagdeo later noted that their attempt at a justification has given rise to more questions than answers.

And has insisted that any audit to verify the financials of IDPADA-G and address concerns out to be done by an external auditor, not the Min istry of Finance – despite the fact that the money in ques tion are taxpayers’ dollars.

REFUSAL TO COMPLY

IPADA-G does not want State Auditors to verify financials

Given a deadline of Sep tember 5, 2022, to sub mit all financial documents for verification to the Min istry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Chief Executive Of ficer (CEO) of the Interna tional Decade for People of African Descent Assembly –Guyana (IDPADA-G), Olive Sampson, failed to do so.

REQUESTEDDOCUMENTS

nancial records detailing how it spent almost $500 million in taxpayers’ money it had received since 2018.

In Sampson’s response, said an audit was already done. The letter said, “We are aware of the legal provi sions for financial exposures and audits of entities such as IDPADA-G Inc….we are prepared, in this instance, to

According to IDPA DA-G, prior audits have already investigated the con cerns raised by the Minister of Culture Youth and Sport. “The findings of the audit from 2018 to 2021 provided guidance on minor changes to internal processes that have since been implement ed,” Simpson said in her letter.Notably, receipts and dis bursements by IDPADA-G have not been audited is Jan uary 1, 2022 to present – a period of eight months.

While acknowledging that,

It can be easily discerned from the writings of those who oppose change at GECOM that they have a mindset problem. Experts say there are two type of mindset;

documents to initiate this process.”GECOM Commissioner Manoj Narayan, noted that the releasetransparency,thesideeventodocumentsdidTheytheybyerstrue.totionaremationclaimedobjectedGECOMCoalition-nominatedCommissionerstothemoveandthattheinforinthedocumentscontainedintheelecpetition.AccordingNarayan,thiswasnot“TheCommissionwhowereappointedthenowOpposition,wereallagainstit.votedagainstit.TheynotwantanyofthosetobereleasedtheAttorneyGeneral,thoughontheother(we)arguedthatininterestoffairnessandweneedtothosedocumentsas requested,” Narayan said.

any unnecessary biases and/or discriminatory practices inherent in its operations and its relation ship with the public as well as the public’s perception of the organization.Thisbrings us to the issue of workplace diversity which refers to demographic variation of the staff within an organization, and above all, at the level of its senior management.Byproactively hiring diverse staff and leadership across attri butes including – race, gender, sexual orientation and personality type, increased levels of profes sionalism, esprit de corps, peer assessment, innovation and effec tive problem solving can result. It would not be unreasonable to expect GECOM’s staff to possess these attributes.

8 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

historically, recruitment at GECOM may have barred access to a wider representation of our country’s demographic makeup, workplace diversity practice does not necessarily mean ransacking the organization root and branch. However, whenever individual acts of prejudice or discrimina tion in any shape or form against others are uncovered and found to be evidence-based and grounded in fact, they should be addressed condignly and in accordance with established SOP’s and codes of conduct.Since the voters’ list is gen erally accepted as a reflection of the ethnic makeup of Guyanese society, it follows that GECOM’s staff should mirror the country’s ethnic diversity but more impor tantly, must defend the voters’ list it produces as credible, reliable andWithaccurate.achange in the face of our democracy following the sordid events of March- Au gust 2020, there ought to be no mismatch nor faulty alignment between the new democratic

In addition, GECOM stands to benefit enormously from diversity were its general staff and senior management to reflect the demo graphic makeup of the Guyanese electorate who, constitutionally, it is mandated to serve.

GECOM votes to release ‘questionable’ data supplied by Coalition during recount

‘growth and fixed mindsets.’

Op-Ed: GECOM stands to benefit enormously from diversity in staffing

elections day, March 02, 2020.Also, several persons had come forward who were on the list, to state that they were alive and did vote at the March 2, 2020 elections. Persons were even upset that they were being used in the AP NU+AFC alleged plot to delay the results when they were not winning anymore.

We must, by all necessary means, ensure that GECOM re mains steadfast to its constitution al and legal obligations. GECOM must strive continuously to ensure that its performance is in align ment with the legitimate expecta tions of the electorate, which is, to have free and fair elections, a social and political phenomenon that appears to be anathema to some in our midst.

Claims by the AP NU+AFC Coalition that it has evidence to support the contention that dead persons voted at the March 2, 2020 Elections remain unsubstantiated.TheCoalition’s Amna Ally had said, “We have quite a lot more [death certificates] in our posses sion, [but] I can’t give you a count right now [of] how much.At the time, in re sponse, GECOM Commis sioner, Sase Gunraj, made clear that no evidence has been presented to the Com mission. He said, “I sat through a meeting [with the APNU+AFC] that was almost two hours long. It started just after 2pm and it ended just before 4pm and absolutely no evidence was presented at that meeting… what the delegation sought to do was to raise the same bare allegations about elec

Lot Nursery School [Di vision 52213C (ii)]and the number of registered voters whose ballots would have been placed in Ballot Box number 5083 is 257 – not the 199 that Norton claimed.

The Caribbean Com munity trousthepubliccallyMarchlarationstituteacceptablethatthewarrants“…nothingtions,fromnationalteam,three-person(CARICOM)observerwhichwitnessedtherecountofvotestheMarch2020Elecsaidclearlythat:wewitnessedachallengetoinescapableconclusiontherecountresultsareandshouldconthebasisofthedecoftheresultsofthe2,2020elections.“….theteamcategorirejectstheconcertedeffortstodiscreditpollsuptothedisasRegion4tabulation…

the numerous requests for information on several serial numbers were so bizarre that on one ob served occasion, an APNU/ AFC agent was prepared to query serial numbers on the OLE (Official List of Electors) in a work station where no one had noted. These challenges were of ten made on the ground of death and migration…the team viewed much of the exercise as a fishing expe dition designed to gather data for a possible election petition and which resulted in considerable time being wasted during the recount. Furthermore, the net was cast extremely wide in the hope of at least making a small catch and at times the anticipated harvest ended in slim pickings.”

Attempts to undermine the democratic opening through cyn ical calls for electoral reforms, the removal of its sitting Chair man, targeting the CEO and unfounded claims about staff being intimidated must be roundly condemned while principled posi tions, grounded in the struggle for democracy be upheld.

Persons with a ‘fixed mindset’ tend to have mindsets that are fixed and unchangeable, while persons with a ‘growth mind set’ possess abilities that can be developed and strengthened by reading widely and a predisposi tion to new ideas. Based on what the experts say, those who oppose changes fall into the category of persons with a fixed mindset.

H aving been written to, the Chair of the Guy ana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh, voted in support of the release of documents presented to her by the APNU+AFC during the recount process for the March 2020 polls.

here are some who see Guy ana’s demographic makeup one way. That perhaps, explains why they see no need for any changes at GECOM. Moreover, they refuse to recognize that GECOM’s senior management staff, at various levels, should be a microcosm of what Guyana looks like. Thankfully, our own experi ence has taught us why they do not want any changes at GECOM.

By Clement J. Rohee, GECOM Commissioner

The GECOMC Chair had confirmed that the im migration authorities had confirmed that 172 of the persons she enquired about were not in the country on

In May 2020, current leader of the PNCR and the Coalition, Aubrey Norton, had made wild claims that at a polling station in Bush Lot, Region 5, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) secured 199 votes and the Coalition secured four votes – but there were only 199 registered voters for that polling station.

It is in this context, that a dis figured demographic composition of GECOM’s senior management is frowned upon by a significant portion of the Guyanese elector ate. It is therefore not mystifying to understand why amongst the populace there is discomfort with GECOM’s past electoral practic es, and underlying skepticism for its conduct of future elections.

Notably, it had been pointed out that each po litical party had polling agents would could have objected to any suspect voter, given that they had access to information of every voter listed to vote at a particular polling sta tion – in the form of voter folios.Also, the almost fourweek long process of Claims and Objections, which preceded the March 2, 2022 General and Re gional Elections, provid ed an opportunity for the names of persons who died to be removed from the Official Voters List and the Coalition has not been able to say why it did not make objections during this pe riod, as opposed to making them now, after the voting process.Importantly, the report from the Caribbean Com munity (CARICOM) team on the national recount of votes cast on March 2, 2022 concluded that the Coalition had embarked on a “fishing expedition” with its claims.

He had said: “I want to point out that in Box number 5083 at Bush Lot, Region Five, the official list of electors had 199 persons.”Thepolling station in reference was at the Bush

CLAIMS PERSONSTHATNOT IN GUYANA VOTED

toral irregularities without proof. As I indicated to you, not a single allega tion or document has been brought to the Commission level in support of any alle gation; and I keep stressing on this word allegation because it is a Commission decision as well that any insertion into the Observa tion Report at the instance of a stakeholder must be out of necessity termed an allegation, because no proof is being provided from the person….I’ve been here every day. I walk around every day and noth ing as far as I’m aware has been presented. Nothing has been presented to the Commission level, abso lutely nothing.”

During the March 2020 election debacle, the AP NU+AFC Coalition had written to the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh and produced the false data to back up their unfounded claims.

opening and GECOM, an integral part of that opening.

CLAIMS THAT DEAD PERSONS VOTED

The matter was ad dressed at GECOM’s weekly statutory meeting on Tuesday (September 6, 2022).Singh was written to by Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, last week, on the matter. In his letter, he said, “These allegations continue to be peddled in the public domain by leaders and representatives of the aforesaid political entity. At the time and until now, the impression conveyed is that these doc uments and/or data were generated by and obtained from the official lawful re pository of the specific in formation, for example, the immigration department, the Guyana Police Force and the General Registrar’s Office…it is important that the relevant State agency enquires into the source of this information, upon whose directions they were sourced and, perhaps, most importantly, to officially reconfirm their inaccuracy, for public record. In the circumstances, I hereby request a copy of these

How GECOM looks is only part of the equation, what matters most of all is its performance and output that should not in any shape or form facilitate a dis figured democratic process nor backsliding of that process.

OTHER CLAIMS

But there is yet another di mension to the obstructionists’ perspective. They fail to recog nize what is defined as “systems thinking” that is, an appreciation of how systems work indepen dent of individual acts of bias or benevolence.Lookedat in a wider context, systems thinking demands a more rigorous but flexible approach to staff recruitment. It requires an organization to scrutinize its sys tem for any bias that is endemic within the organization. Further, systems thinking calls upon the organization to examine its own workplace culture, policies and practices to identify and uproot

FISHING EXPEDITION

citizen by birth, descent, or naturalisation, or is a citi zen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can make a Claim on or be fore September 11, 2022 to be included on the OLE, providing that he/she was never previously registered.

Replacement of national identification cards and re takes of photographs were alsoNoaddressed.objections were re corded as being filed.

Once(PLE).theprocess is com pleted the Preliminary List of Electors will be used to generate the Official List of Electors (OLE).

The relevant original documents such as an orig inal Death Certificate must be presented at the time of the hearing to support the basis upon which the objec tion is Themade.Commission is urg ing all eligible persons to ensure that they use this opportunity to be registered

Persons who are re

Objections against the inclusion of names in the PLE can be tendered to the Registration Officer of the RegistrationObjectionsArea.can be made

GECOM records 3,789 transactions as Claims and Objections continues

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 9 9

The Claims and Objec tions process allows persons to, among other things, object to any dead persons that may be on the Preliminary List of Electors

Of these, as of Wednes day (September 7, 2022): • 694 requested changes and corrections; • 1,136 requested transfers; •and1,959 persons used the op portunity to make a claim that they were not regis tered.

for inclusion in the Revised List of Electors (RLE) and ultimately the Official List of Electors (OLE) to be eligible to vote. “Persons are also encouraged to ob ject to the inclusion of the name of any person whom they believe should not be on the list, based on the legal provisions. Persons who were registered in the recently concluded Cycle of Continuous Registration need not reapply to be reg istered,” the Commission said.This exercise, according to a GECOM press release, will be conducted at all of GECOM’s permanent Reg istration Offices in the ten Administrative Regions. The process ends on Sep tember 15, 2022.

CLAIMS OBJECTIONSAND PROCESS

ELECTION WATCH: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Region Four recorded the highest numbers of trans actions, with 1,121 transac tions, followed by Region Three with 891 transactions and Region Six with 477 transactions.

During the Claims and Objections period, any per son who will be 18 years and older by the October 31, 2022, and is a Guyanese

Persons desirous of making a Claim to be in cluded in the OLE are re quired to visit the GECOM Registration Office respon sible for their area of resi dence with the applicable source document such as original Birth Certificate, valid Passport, Adoption Certificate, or Naturalisa tion Certificate or Certif icate of Registration to be registered for inclusion.

by an Elector who is listed in the same Division list or Sub Division list in which the person being objected to isObjectionslisted. can also be made by approved Scruti neers of Political Parties provided that any such Scrutineer has monitor ing responsibilities for the Division or Sub Division in which the person being objected to is listed.

quired to update their registration records such as changes or corrections to their names and occu pation, or to apply for a transfer concerning their addresses are advised that those transactions would also be facilitated during thisTheexercise.relevant source documents such as an orig inal Marriage Certificate, Deed Poll with Birth Cer tificate, or a new Birth Certificate reflecting the changes must be presented in the case of an application for a change or correction.

The Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) Claims and Objections, which commenced on August 22, 2022, continues and has recorded over 3,700 transac tions to date.

The areas of the East Coast of Demerara from Industry to Mahaica River (Western Portion) including St. Cuthbert's Mission Part of the Registration District for Region No. 4.

South RegistrationGeorgetownOffice, Croal & Smyth Streets Georgetown.

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

Sparman)OfficerRegistration(Andrea

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

Registration Officer (Dwayne Marco)

Alleyne)OfficerRegistration(Rensford

REGISTRATION OFFICES AND SUB-OFFICES FOR CLAIMS AND OBJECTIONS

Mahdia Registration Office, Mahdia.

Mabaruma Registration Office, Mabaruma Compound, North West District, Region No. 1

Clarke)OfficerRegistration(Gordon Stewartville on the West Coast of Demerara to Pouderoyen on the West Bank of Demerara (Parts of Sub Regions II & III) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 3.

South Georgetown (Sub) MandelaChurchOffice,RegistrationTransfiguration(Annex)Avenue.

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

Bartica Registration Office, First Street and Sixth Avenue, Bartica

Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

Whim Registration Office, Station Street, Whim, Corentyne, Berbice.

Mariaba/Dehalibana RegionofWismarHill,touliMakouria/DadawarinDallawalla/KataptotoWisrocParkDorabisi/WaimibisiCanisterFallsincludingBlueberrySilvertown,OneMile,HalfMile,andsurroundingareasParttheRegistrationDistrictforNo.10.

Monkey Mountain to Echerek/Arnik including Kato, Paramakatoi and surrounding areas (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration District Regionfor No. 8.

Mahaicony Registration Office, Blenheim, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara

Mackenzie Registration Office, Lower Flat, 49 Republic Mackenzie,Avenue,Linden.

10 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022944

Singh)(DoodnauthOfficerRegistration

Mackenzie Registration Office, Lower Flat, 49 Republic Mackenzie,Avenue,Linden.

Dated this 15th day of August, 2022 OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022948

The Registration District for Region No. 1 or the Barima/Waini Region OfficerRegistration(AndreThomas)

Moblissa on the Linden Soesdyke Highway including the areas from Timehri to Eccles on the East DemeraraBank

Public Road, Nouvelle Flanders Registration Office, WD 23 Public Road Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara

Industry Chateau Margot Better Hope Registration Sub Office, 144 Sukhai Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara

Muruwawe/Ohnopi to Marupa/ Dukwarri Jawalla to Philipai including Kamarang and the surrounding areas (Sub Region 11) Part of the Registration District Regionfor No. 7.

Mackenzie Registration Office, Upper Flat, 49 Republic Mackenzie,Avenue,Linden.

Moblissa Garden of Eden

Kurutuku to Packase/Tiger Eping to Takatu/Tipara including Bartica (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 7.

Barima Head Matakai, Masowah, Matthews Ridge, Arakaka, Sebai Kaituma, Barima Head Whanamparu, Sebai, Little Anabise Part of the Registration Area

Registration Officer (Augustus Outar) Brandwagt Sari to Gibraltar/Fyrish, Corentyne including New Amsterdam and surrounding areas Part of the Registration district for Region No. 6.

The EssequiboTakutu/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion9ortheUpperUpperRegion.

The RegionBerbice/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion6ortheEastCorentyne

Assistant Registration Officer Duncan)(Carolyn

Parika Registration Office, Hydronie East Bank Essequibo

Industry Chateau Margot Better Hope Registration Sub Office, 144 Sukhai Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara

Registration District

The RegionMahaica/BerbiceNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion5orthe

Ewang/Ekuraparu to Siparuni/Kuratoka including Tumatumari/ Mahdia and surrounding areas (Sub Region 11) Part of the registration District for Region No. 8.

North RegistrationGeorgetownSubOffice, 49 William and Sheriff Streets, Campbellville.

Malgre Tout on the West Bank of Demerara to The Belle/Charters Demerara River and surrounding areas (Part of Sub Region III) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 3.

Harris)OfficerRegistration(Trevor Moruca, Kumaka, Santa Rosa and surrounding areas (Sub Region 11) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 1

Mabaruma, Kumaka, Hosororo, Port Kaituma, Matthews Ridge, Arakaka and surrounding areas (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration district for Region No. 1.

The DistrictRegistrationforRegion No. 9 or the Upper Takutu/ Upper Region.Essequibo

THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022946

Dipchand)GrenionOfficerRegistration(Natasha

The areas of the East Coast of Demerara from Industry to Mahaica River (Western Portion) including St. Cuthbert's Mission Part of the Registration District for Region No. 4.

Singh)(DoodnauthOfficerRegistration

Charity Registration Office, PomeroonCharity,River

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

The Region.Cuyuni/MazaruniNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion7orthe

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

RegistrationAssistant Officer (Catherine Adams)

Vishnu Persaud Commissioner of Registration THE

Bel Air,Bel Air Springs, Campbellville, Prashad Nagar, Sophia, Liliendaal, Pattersen, Cummings Lodge, and their surrounding areas

The RegionDemeraraNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4orthe/Mahaica

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

Dipchand)GrenionOfficerRegistration(Natasha

Paramakatoi Registration Office, Paramakatoi North Pakaraimas

Registration Officer (Shefern February)

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

Pomeroon River Right Bank Manawarin and surrounding areas including Charity and all the areas to Paradise on the Essequibo Coast (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 2

Registration Officer (Sunil Ramdial) Kilcoy to Tarlogie, including Black Bush Polder Settlement Part of the Registration District for Region No. 6.

Tucville,SouthRuimveldt Gardens, East/North East La Penitence, East / West Ruimveldt.

The Region.Cuyuni/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion7ortheMazaruni

The BerbiceUpperNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion10ortheDemerara/Region.

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

Part of the Registration District for Region No. 10.

The DistrictRegistrationforRegion No. 2 or the SupenaamPomeroon/Region

Vishnu

THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022948

Mackenzie Registration Office, Upper Flat, 49 Republic Mackenzie,Avenue,Linden.

Charity Registration Office, PomeroonCharity,River

Walton Hall including Anna Regina and the surrounding areas to Supenaam River and its tributaries (Sub Region 11) Part of Registrationthe District for Region No. 2

Registration Officer (Shefern February)

Kamarang Registration Office, Kamarang upper Mazaruni

Persaud Commissioner of Registration

Walton Hall including Anna Regina and the surrounding areas to Supenaam River and its tributaries (Sub Region 11) Part of Registrationthe District for Region No. 2

North ChurchRegistrationGeorgetownOffice,Street.

Officer

First Savannah/Cook Tom, (Right Bank Mahaicony River) to Bank Creek/Yakata Basin including Abary to Berbice River and all the areas to Blairmont and the surrounding areas Part of the Registration district for Region No. 5.

The Region.Potaro/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion8ortheSiparuni

Part of the Registration District for Region No. 4

The DemeraraIslands/WestEssequiboNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion3ortheRegion.

RegistrationAssistant Officer Bowman(Alexandra)

The Registration Registration St. Cuthbert Mission (Eastern Mahaicony Registration

Abraham)OfficerRegistration(John Karasabai to DistrictareasincludingPakani/SmsyhsRupununiYupukai/MapariAranaputa,(RightBankRiver)toKoneshenEssequiboRiverAnnaiandsurroundingPartoftheRegistrationforRegionNo.9.

RegistrationAssistant Officer (Simone Jervis)

Public Road, Nouvelle Flanders Registration Office, WD 23 Public Road Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara

Melville)OfficerRegistration(Carlos Arawananau Powua/Baicwau to Kwaimatta/Karanabo, Upper Awarikuru/Moruiwau, Left Bank (Rupununi River) Katiwau (Right Bank Rupununi River) to Achiwuib including Moco, Aishalton and surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 9.

The BerbiceUpperNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion10ortheDemerara/Region.

Essequibo Islands and surrounding areas including Kariti, Lower Makouria (Right Bank) Bonasika, East Bank Essequibo and the surrounding areas to Uitvlugt on the West Coast of Demerara (Sub Region I & Part of Sub Region II) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 3

The RegionDemeraraNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4orthe/Mahaica

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

Alleyne)OfficerRegistration(Rensford

RegistrationAssistant Officer (Salema Ghanie)

The RegionBerbice/CorentyneNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion6ortheEast

Harris)OfficerRegistration(Trevor Moruca, Kumaka, Santa Rosa and surrounding areas (Sub Region 11) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 1

THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022 945

Lethem Registration Office, Lot 2 Park Avenue, Lethem Rupununi.

Mabaruma Registration Office, Mabaruma Compound, North West District, Region No. 1

Bamia/Kara Kara (North) to Watooka Square, Shirabaru Right Bank Karaduni River to Torani including Mc Kenzie, Retrieve, Washer Pond, Kwakwani and surrounding areas

Pomeroon River Right Bank Manawarin and surrounding areas including Charity and all the areas to Paradise on the Essequibo Coast (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration District for Region No. 2

Pancham)OfficerRegistration(Laikharam

The Region.Potaro/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion8ortheSiparuni

Bamia/Kara Kara (North) to Watooka Square, Shirabaru Right Bank Karaduni River to Torani including Mc Kenzie, Retrieve, Washer Pond, Kwakwani and surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 10.

(OfficerRegistrationPamarysaBobb)

St. Cuthbert Mission (Eastern Portion) to Fortitude /Chance Mahaicony including Mahaica to Abary and their surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 5.

BabbOfficerRegistration(DeniseCummings)

Anna Regina Registration Office, Takuba Lodge Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast

RegistrationAssistant Officer (Salema Ghanie)

Fort RegistrationWellingtonOffice, Fort Wellington, WCB

Port RegistrationKaitumaSub Office, Port Kaituma Water Front, Port Kaituma

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

The RegionDemeraraNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4ortheMahaica

Corriverton Registration Office, C 230 Stelling Road Government Compound, Springlands, Corriverton, Berbice.

Moruca Registration Office, Multi Purpose Building, Kumaka Road

The DistrictRegistrationforRegion No. 2 or the SupenaamPomeroon/Region

Coldingen Registration Office, Former GUYSUCO Office, Coldingen, East Coast Demerara.

The RegionBerbice/CorentyneNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion6ortheEast

THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022 947

Registration Officer (Ganesh Persaud)

Stephens)OfficerRegistration(Lynette

Diamond Registration Office, Area 'M' Diamond, East. Bank. Demerara.

The RegionDemeraraNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4ortheMahaica

The BerbiceUpperNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion10ortheDemerara/Region.

Elliott)OfficerRegistration(Krishana

(RoxanneOfficerRegistrationSmith)

The RegionDemeraraNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4orthe/Mahaica

RegionDemerara/No.DistrictRegistrationforRegion4ortheMahaica

The DemeraraIslands/WestEssequiboNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion3ortheRegion.

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

Assistant Registration Officer Duncan)(Carolyn

Annai Registration Office, Annai North Savannahs Rupununi

La Grange Registration Office, Lot 38 Section E, La Grange, West Bank Demerara

Registration Officer (Delon Clarke)

The RegionMahaica/BerbiceNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion5orthe

New Amsterdam Registration Office, Kaitano Building, Princess Elizabeth Road, New Amsterdam Berbice.

Parika Registration Office, Hydronie East Bank Essequibo

Registration Officer (Glendon Fredericks)

Dated this 15th day of August, 2022

Macedonia to Corentyne River including Corriverton, Crabwood Creek/Molesen, Canje Creek and their surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 6.

Port RegistrationKaitumaSub Office, Port Kaituma Water Front, Port Kaituma

Anna Regina Registration Office, Takuba Lodge Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast

The Registration District for Region No. 1 or the Barima/Waini Region OfficerRegistration(AndreThomas)

Soesdyke Registration Sub Office, Soesdyke, East DemeraraBank

Coldingen Registration Office, Former GUYSUCO Office, Coldingen, East Coast Demerara.

Moruca Registration Office, Multi Purpose Building, Kumaka Road

The BerbiceUpperNo.DistrictRegistrationforRegion10ortheDemerara/Region.

Mabaruma, Kumaka, Hosororo, Port Kaituma, Matthews Ridge, Arakaka and surrounding areas (Sub Region 1) Part of the Registration district for Region No. 1.

Barima Head Matakai, Masowah, Matthews Ridge, Arakaka, Sebai Kaituma, Barima Head Whanamparu, Sebai, Little Anabise Part of the Registration Area

(RoxanneOfficerRegistrationSmith)

MillerOfficerRegistration(Michelle)

Registration District Officer/AssistantRegistrationRegistrationOfficer

North Georgetown including the areas of Kingston, Cummingsburg, Queenstown, Campbellville, Prashad Nagar, Kitty, Sophia, Liliendaal, Pattersen, Cummings Lodge, and their surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 4.

South Georgetown including the areas of Agricola, Ruimveldt, La Penitence, Tucville, Albouystown, Lodge, Stabroek and their surrounding areas Part of the Registration District for Region No. 4.

THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE [LEGAL SUPPLEMENT] ─ B 15TH AUGUST, 2022944

Registration Area or Part Thereof Registration Office /Sub Office

Gossai)(BridhnauthOfficerRegistration

Elliott)OfficerRegistration(Krishana

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 11 11SUNDAY CHRONICLE, August 21, 2022 23

The foundation of our investment framework, is investing in an education where our children become our today not just our future. President Ali has renewed Guyana’s purpose in expanding wealth into prosperity in a healthy economy. The government’s massive transformative projects are building towards a Robust Infrastructure. Guyana’s geographical location puts it in a competitive environment serving Northern Brazil and CARICOM. Government is on an aggressive agenda modernizing our health care system and promoting a healthier community. In addition, the vision of our government is to eradicate poverty by expanding the economy as a whole and creating new jobs, broader access to credit and opportunities to fulfil dreams. Through a focused approach to renewing the dream of Housing and land ownership for all with public and private initiatives to build housing and communities throughout Guyana including the hinterlands. With all of the transformation, the Government continues to lead efforts in building conservation partnerships in protecting and defending the environment

ENERGY: Gas to Shore Pipeline 300 MWs | Amalia Falls Hydro 165 MWs | Hope Wind Project 20 MWs | Solar Farms 33 MWs - Berbice, Essequibo and Linden

ICT: Expanded Call Centres | Data Centres | Expansion of Telecom to different

Opportunities for investment in: Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO); Call Centers; Technology Parks; Medical Records Transcription; Telecommunication Services; Network Management and Security; Software Development; Data Processing Centers

Taking the Side of Innovation – Technology - Expanding our ICT Foot Print

Opportunitiesconstruction.

Where to Invest: Our National Projects: Budget 2022 has outlined an aggressive infrastructure development program totaling seventy-seven billion for roads and bridges Of the G$76.7 billion, G$49.2 billion is allocated towards roads, while the remaining G$27.5 billion is allocated towards bridges. Hence through the timely placement of these critical transport infrastructure, we have significantly more opportunities for trade and the movement of goods through Guyana.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11

new homes and land ownership by 2025, new bridge across the Demerara River, Guyana/ Suriname bridge across the Corentyne River, Guyana/Brazil road linkage, etc.

Since assuming office in 2020, the PPP/C Government has administered three national budgets; and notably–the collective allocation towards capital projects / public investment in infrastructure development projects amounted to a whopping G$398.3 billion (2020 –2022), representing 72% of the 2022 budget and 22.3% of GDP (2021).

Guyanese representation at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2022 in Texas. (1st photo: L-R) Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Vickram Bharrat, a Representative of GKB and Dr. Peter Ramsaroop. (2nd photo) Minister Bharrat and Dr. Ramsaroop engaging potential investors.

he implementation of our President’s Vision for One Guyana includes a maturing democratic state, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, free enterprise and significant movement to a technologically advanced society. He has challenged the status quo and renewed the vision of good governance and economic advancement. President Ali’s One Guyana platform has renewed the citizens national pride, unity, sense of duty and patriotism.

into the future, Guyana is increasing competitiveness in the field of technology. President Ali stated: “With rapid change in technology, we recognize that investing in our people is pivotal.” 3 large international BPO companies are already here and operating – Teleperformance, Itel and Qualfon. The Government is committed to boosting this sector and making it the most competitive in the region. Go-Invest and Nearshore Americas have undertaken a study of the BPO market to assess the strategic advantages of Guyana as a premier BPO investment destination. The goal is to develop a competitive profile which will attract more Fortune 500 Companies to Guyana. E-Networks is advancing further throughout Guyana, having erected infrastructure and now providing high-speed wireless internet services in the Essequibo islands, Regions 2, 3 and 10. Guyana is a premiere destination for the BPO industry for several critical reasons: Fluent English speaking population; Within close proximity to North America; Young motivated workforce

MovingRegions



Guyana is the only English-speaking country located on the Northern coast of South America and is classified as a lower-middle-income country, with US$9,000 per capita income (2021), GDP of US$8.3 billion and a population of approximately 786,552 (2021 est.). Ultimately, with the projected levels of growth over the next decade, GDP is expected to increase six-fold to reach US$22.5 billion, and per capita income is expected to move from current level of US$9,000 to US$30,000 by the end of the decade – thus translating to greater prosperity for all.

The structure of Guyana’s economy is relatively diverse. It comprises several productive economic sectors namely: the extractive industry which includes gold, diamond, and bauxite mining–while the other productive industries constitute the agriculture, fishing and livestock, forestry, rice, sugar, gold, manufacturing and the services sector, engineering, and

Dr. Peter Ramsaroop Chief Investment Officer and CEO of GO-Invest

Energy is the driving force behind future large scale development projects in manufacturing and agro-processing and will create many more investment opportunities in Guyana. President Ali is adamant to reduce the cost of electricity in order to further increase Guyana’s competitiveness. Investments are being made in Budget 2022 to achieve the reduction in our energy costs and electricity by 50% by the time we get to 2025. The Gas to Shore Project is projected to generate 300 MW of power, in addition to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project when operational will contribute an estimated 165 MW to the national grid. During the period 2020 – 2022, the Government invested some G$52 billion in the energy sector, representing 9% of the 2022 national budget and 3% of GDP (2021).

Guyana - The Gateway to Opportunities Investments for a Secured Future

Guyana’s Investment Platform is based on a democratic government, transparency and accountability and the belief in family, faith and freedom as demonstrated by our multi ethnic, multi religious society. Our free-enterprise economic framework promotes rapid and sustainable economic and social growth. Our public and private sector leaders work together in an extended vision that assures measurable objectives are successful.

for investors with a vision and a capacity to deliver are immense. Guyana is open for investments with its vast natural resources: a young, educated, and Englishspeaking population; stable and open financial markets; investment protection under the law; unrestricted repatriation of profits; duty-free access, equal treatment for local and foreign investors.

The Government is advancing a massive infrastructure development program which includes the building of several new four-lane highways, new housing developments targeting 50,000



President Dr Irfaan Ali and Dr Peter Ramsaroop promoting investments in the UK

Guyana is an excellent jurisdiction for investors. Guyana is well known outside of its territories as a business-friendly destination as there is a wide range of incentives and protections for foreign investors. In a microcosm, these incentives can range from exemption from Custom Duty on most plant, machinery and equipment, zero-rate of Value-Added-Tax on imports, and most importantly, full and unrestricted repatriation of capital, profits, and dividends. Corporate taxes were also removed completely from private education and the private health sector, thereby promoting private investment in these sectors – to complement the public health and education sectors.

(L-R) Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Hon. Oneidge Walrond, President of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop and a British Business Executive in talks during the President’s visit to the UK in May 2022

Opportunities for investment in: Meat Processing Operation; Corn and Soya Bean Production for Stock feed; Agriculture Technology; Aquaculture; Large Scale Cattle Ranching, Pig Rearing; Large Scale Integrated Farms; Value Added Coconut; Dairy Plants

Local companies are answering the call for the increased demand of the burgeoning oil and gas industry and have commenced the manufacturing of rigging equipment and development of fabrication yards. A consortium of local companies have signed a US$300 million contract in April to construct a shore base and port facility to be Exxon’s local service provider. Baker Hughes has built a Supercenter on the East Bank of Demerara to support the Oil and Gas sector and is constructing Guyana’s first mud plant at Kingston, to optimize and counter the pressure of gas and oil. Saipem has developed a fabrication yard in order to support the execution of offshore construction pits. Schlumberger has commissioned a US$75 million facility at Houston employing 150 Guyanese.



WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 13 13

President Dr. Irfaan Ali, accompanied by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha visiting the $45M soya bean and corn trial farm located along the Berbice River

Manufacturing and Oil and Gas Services

The Government is investing in our people to create a highly skilled workforce for the tourism industry as referenced in Budget 2022, with the development of our Hospitality Training Institute. Around 6,000 persons will be trained through a Guyana - Barbados joint tourism initiative, in preparation for four internationallybranded hotels that are set to complete construction in Guyana by 2024.

Dr Peter Ramsaroop visiting Aiden by Best Western Hotel construction site with the developers

For further information: T: (592) 225-0658; 227-0653 | E: goinvest@goinvest.gov.gy | www.goinvest.gov.gy

Tourism represents a sleeping giant in Guyana as one of its most propitious industries. Guyana’s pristine rainforest, dozens of breathtaking waterfalls, majestic mountains and spectacular biodiversity make for an ideal destination for investments in eco-lodges and eco-resorts.

Agriculture – Modernizing our Known Industries while expanding Exports – The Heart of Our Economy

Conclusion

Agriculture, Food Security and Logistics

Guyana is led by bold leaders from all walks of life, qualified and optimistic men and women with the courage of their convictions and the vision to lead our nation to greatness. Working together with both local and foreign investors to attain these goals and make them into measurable realities. Guyana is more than an investment, it’s a journey.

President Ali’s administration continues to modernize an already diversified economy. In this respect, there is a tremendous amount of emphasis on the agriculture sector and building out the agriculture value chain to maximize efficiencies for getting goods to markets. To this end, Guyana is leading a regional food security agenda to reduce the region’s US$7 billion food import bill by 25% by 2025. To achieve this, Guyana is collaborating with regional counterparts and charting the way forward. The Government’s policies are also geared towards incentivizing the sector to promote new investments in the sector. With vast lands exceeding 20 million hectares, Guyana is ideal and poised for mega investments in large scale agriculture ranging from: Aquaculture and seafood processing to Hydroponic Farming for Niche markets and Mega Farms. Guyana is in close proximity to the US & the Caribbean making it a strategic location for large scale agriculture.

President Ali commends top CSEC, CAPE performers

CARON CREDITS

(Turn to page 19)

The Government of Guy ana has been carefully weighing global events and developments, and how these may influence the sale of Guyana’s carbon credits, when it decides to go out on the market, according to President Dr Irfaan Ali.

Chief Statistician and Census Officer, Errol La

The president said the house-to-house survey will also allow the administration to develop an important pro grammatic impact analysis.

Another important issue, Dr Ali highlighted, is poli cy formulation, noting that strategies cannot be imple mented without data.

“This is only right and just, given that the world pays nearly US$90 per ton for carbon in another part of the world. And they’re unwilling now, to even guar antee a price of US$10 for forest carbon. And a ton of carbon from whatever its source, or wherever in the world it’s emitted, has

For those who may not be satisfied with their final results, the president pointed out that Guyana is filled with numerous opportunities.

The PPP/C Government has been reviewing plans to put at least eight million carbon credits on the market

deal that could earn the coun try millions of US dollars.

“I am delighted at the tre mendous achievement of our top students. I want to con gratulate all those students, who no doubt, exceeded their personal limitations. I want to congratulate the par ents, teachers, community and all those who helped in shaping them, and allowing them to achieve this mile stone,” Dr. Ali said in his virtualPresidentmessage.Ali noted that this is just the beginning of the prosperous road ahead, one in which continued ded ication and commitment would bring joy and rewards.

“So, data driven decision making is important so that we could arrive at the best decision in the interest of people,” he said.

Guyana has the sec ond-highest percentage of forest cover on earth. Guy ana’s government is work ing with partners to sustain 99% of that forest while building the foundation for a new low-carbon ecosys tem-based economy. The expected opportunity to ac cess a market mechanism for forest climate services, and other ecosystem services, will enable Guyana to store 19.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (the mea sure used for greenhouse gas

A carbon credit is a trad able permit or certificate that allows the holder of the credit the right to emit a stated tonnage of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas. Countries and companies that exceed their permitted limits can purchase carbon credits from other nations that have low emissions such as Guyana.

The Government’s approach to the issue, he said, would be multi-dimensional. Ali said, “There’s great interest. I can tell you there’s great interest in Guyana’s carbon. They went out for an expression of interest. So, there’s that analysis that is going on right now, to develop the best. It must be a multi-dimensional approach, from all that I’ve analysed from what we have. So, it has to be a multi-di mensional approach. And that is where a lot of critical thinking would occur. Be cause whether you have the direct approach to the market in some instances, or only an integrated approach through the facilitation process. So these are some of the things that we have to address.”

emissions – the world emits about 50 billion tons a year).

With government im plementing new policies and programmes to better the lives of citizens, the president disclosed that the census allows the adminis tration to measure how well its commitments are being fulfilled.

President Ali said land information system, land administration and devel opment, as well as climate vulnerability, are among the areas that are essential to in formation gathering during futureSeniorcensuses.Minister in the

National Census 2022 links development with the people – Ali

He pointed to the many options that are available through Technical and Voca tional Education and Train ing (TVET) programmes and the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT). “Look for opportu nities, seek out what you are most comfortable with and work towards ensuring that you too fulfil you desires and ambition. This is just a brief

He encouraged them to press on until the final goal is achieved. “You have other chances, do not be discour aged, do not loose focus, do not be disheartened, but find strength in understanding that you are still very young, you can rewrite your ex ams,” the president stressed.

POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has congratulated the over 11,000 students who sat the Caribbean Secondary Educa tion Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Profi ciency Examination (CAPE) for this Guyanayear. recorded im proved performance at both examinations this year.

EARNING POTENTIAL

Cruez said the exercise has profound significance and is one of the most import ant events on the statistical calendar of any country. La Cruez stated that the census allows data analysts and statisticians to be able to establish statistical levels of confidence.

He explained that the PPP/C Government is keep ing a close eye on global events and how they will sway the carbon credit mar ket. He said, “There’s a lot of development globally, in the carbon market. And I think that the unit, led by the Vice President, they’re taking into account all that is happening globally. There’s a lot of changes in the carbon market. There’s now different narrative on fossil fuel as a transition (energy source).”

He assured, however, that there was still great interest in Guyana’s carbon credits, which are a tradable permit that countries can purchase.

responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, said the census comes at a time when Guyana is experiencing un precedented growth. “The face of our country is chang ing before our eyes. New housing areas are going up as we speak. New major industrial and commercial centres are going up as we speak, and we are doing the census 2022 in the midst of all of this incredibly exciting development,”the minister said. The finance minister emphasised that the exten sive survey will serve as the baseline for policymakers. He urged those who will be involved in the “monu mental task” to diligently conduct the exercise and ensure that every household is counted. The minister also called on citizens to fully co operate with census takers.

At the same time, Guyana can grow its economy five-fold over 20 years and keep en ergy emissions flat; invest in Amerindian, Hinterland and sustainability planning; pro tect the coast and Hinterland from climate change; create jobs, and integrate Guyana’s economy with its neighbours

the same impact on global warming. So, our argument is that the developed world has to start creating incentives and markets for products supplied by the developing world. They can’t want to treat developing world mit igation solutions as though it could be solved through philanthropy or goodwill, as they did in COP26 when there was just a declaration without allocation of resourc es, to say deforestation must end by 2030,” Jagdeo had explained. Jagdeo had noted that deforestation and land use change contribute 16 per cent of total greenhouse gas es. As such, he further noted that the world would never achieve net zero if these pri mary sources of emissions are not addressed.

The LCDS 2030 was launched by President, Dr.

Sale of carbon credits being considered against global factors – Ali (Turn to page 22)

for sale by July of this year.

Guyana’s last Census was conducted in 2012, and since then, there have been many changes across the country, including popu lation size, composition, economic activities, access to social services, mater nal health, food security, agricultural activity and education attainment, among others.The declaration of cen sus day allows the Bureau of Statistics, an agency which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, to count the population at a specified point in time and marks the commencement of a three-month long enu meration period for the 2022 National Population and Housing Census.

Last year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that Emergent would soon be commencing work towards marketing Guyana’s carbon credits on the world stage. And indeed, the process of seeking proposals has at tracted interest on the world market. Jagdeo has been vocal about the need for the developed world to create the incentives for carbon credit products from the developing world, as the fate of the world and carbon emission targets hang in the balance.

students to stay the course

14 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11

Office of the President with

The Public Education and Information Campaign for this census cycle is being conducted under the theme, ‘We countin’ We’.

he National Population and Housing Census 2022 which is set to com mence on September 15, will ensure the country’s future development match es the expectations of all Guyanese.Giventhe importance of quantitative data, especial ly in a rapidly burgeoning economy, a population and housing census also serves as an essential tool for logi cal President,undertakings.Dr Irfaan Ali made the statement while delivering the feature ad dress at the launch of the census at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Wednesday (September 7, 2022).Heemphasised that the census is far more than the collection of data. “I can tell you that one of the great difficulties researchers find, especially those doing aca demic work, is the absence of data in the region. Quan titative data is very import ant in making qualitative analysis.”

– tremendous opportunities available for educational –advancementencouragesother

Guyana’s ability to store about 19.5 billion tonnes of carbon in its forests is esti mated to be valued between US$40 billion and US$54 billion annually. The PPP/C Government is targeting US$300 million annually in carbon credit sales.

Back in April 2021, Pres ident Ali had announced that Guyana had signed a letter of intent with USbased non-profit organisation (NGO), Emergent Finance Accelerated Inc, to market the country’s carbon credits through a credit contract – a

Soesdyke am(SeptemberfestivitiesbratingthenouncementIrfaanPresident,highway.DrMohamedAlimadetheanashejoinedcommunityinceleHeritageMonthonSaturday3,2022).“Ipleasedtoannounceto

Amerindian youths to benefit from continuous training

contractor to finish this road

panded to include 500 CSOs.

The head of state re ceived the request while en gaging scores of residents in St Ignatius village, during his outreach to the region over the last weekend. “Because of what we are building… the new need will be trans portation link and that is a result also of the investment we are making in the road,” President Ali related.

This was announced by Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, at the Amer indian Heritage Month 2022 cultural extravaganza.

villages for the best interest of the villagers,” the minister stated. She said the govern ment remains committed to bridging the divide between the hinterland and coastal ar eas and has injected massive revenue into villages across the Thehinterland.CSOprogramme was reinstated when the Govern ment took office in August 2020, after almost 2,000 CSOs were fired by the AP NU+AFC Coalition. The CSO engagement is part of the PPP/C Government’s commitment to youth devel opment and advancement, and investment in the Amer indian Peoples’ lives.

a villager’s plea for transportation aid, specifically for persons who need emergency medical attention at the health centre, Dr Ali made no hesitation in finding a solution.

─ President Ali says action plan to be established soon

us those communities will experience an increase in electricity hours,” Ashley said.This is a direct result of a commitment made to the residents of White Water. Meanwhile, in the com munity of Kamwata a genset (an engine and alternator that converts chemical energy of fuel to mechanical energy), has already been set up to power the community’s elec tricalGovernmentgrid. is awaiting residents to complete the wiring of their homes to continue the electrification process.The chairman further stated that since the PPP/C Administration took office two years ago, the lives of the people in the region have been improving with the development of electricity, infrastructure and water sup ply systems. The PPP/C Ad ministration remains commit ted to providing affordable, stable and reliable energy to all Guyanese including hin terland communities.

New grids, generators to be installed in Region 1 communities

Administration’s com mitment to improving the livelihood of all Guyanese. “Whenever we are bringing infrastructural development to a community, we want people in the community as well to get jobs,” said Min isterMeanwhile,Edghill. the gov ernment will be expending approximately $700 million on infrastructural works in the Theregion.minister said this is part of a wider programme of ensuring development in every region. This will, in turn, have a ripple effect of improving the lives of Guyanese, which the gov ernment has been actively working to achieve since returning to office in August 2020.

(Turnanticipatedtopage19)

The Dr Irfaan Ali -led ad ministration is seeking to build a robust Transportation Action Plan (TAP) for Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).

Electrical poles are cur rently being erected in Wau na and Tobago, in an effort to boost the delivery of electric ity there.Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley said res idents will have a bright Christmas. He said, “By the ending of September, early

Accordingly, he said res idents in the respective com munities must be integrally involved in the process. In essence, if the new upgrades mean building or expanding a facility, then the labourers and materials must not be sourced outside of the area.

A special team along with representatives from the Min istries of Public Works, Am erindian Affairs and Local Government and Regional Development, are expected to return to commence an assessment, to resolve the transportation trouble there.

FOCUS ON GUYANA’S FIRST PEOPLE

The new multi-modal strategy will consider the transportation challenges and opportunities facing residents in theFollowingarea.

“Leaders will benefit from continued support to build leadership capacity and we remain committed to supporting transparency and accountability within

October this community and the community of Tobago would start benefitting from 24 hours electricity coming from the Mabaruma grid. The utility poles are already being dropped as to where they will be erected and so by Christmas, we are going to have a bright Christmas it won’t be a blue Christmas when it comes to electricity.”

you that only this weekend, we awarded three contracts to the value of $50 million to start phase one of this road,” President Ali stated.

$60.5M Danjah Hill road to be completed before Christmas

$50M to commence phased upgrade to Laluni road network – major agricultural boost, job creation

Region Nine’s transportation issues to be addressed

He also announced his government’s plans to inject funds to upgrade the living accommodation of teach ers and healthcare workers across Region Nine. “Start ing from next month we are working on a comprehensive programme all across the region to ensure that we re habilitated and build where there is none, proper facilities for teachers and healthcare in every single community,” he noted.

“We must use the local ma terials and the local labour,” Ali Earlieremphasised.inhis outreach, Dr Ali announced that some 600 persons who have been allocated low-income house lots in Lethem, Region Nine, will get $1 million each, to commence constructing their homes. The Guyana Bank for Trade and Indus try (GBTI) and the New Building Society (NBS) have already signaled their interest in financing the remaining $2 million for the prospective homeowners at a rate of 3.5 per cent. The collateral-free gesture from the two finan cial institutions will see the 600 allottees repaying just about $14,000 per month.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 15 Amerindian Development…

The PPP/C Administra tion continues to show unwavering support for the youths of indigenous com munities, as Community Ser vice Officers stand (CSOs) to benefit from more capacity training in October.

To date, approximately 466 CSOs have been trained in the theoretical and prac tical areas of computer lit eracy, introduction to solar installation and maintenance, garment construction, tour ism and hospitality, and field operation and tractor main tenance, among others. The training has amassed some $1.85Somebillion.650 CSOs are set to be trained by the end of 2022.

The government has re instated the Youth Entrepre neurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) and rehired the 2,000 CSOs who were fired by the former AP NU+AFC Government. The programme has also been ex

Villagers were encour aged to begin wiring their homes to prevent any hiccups withTheconnection.chairman noted that government, through the Regional Democratic Coun cil (RDC), is working to in crease the hours of electric ity in the village of White Water and Arakuru. “In the community of White water, we are right now looking to see if we have savings in this year’s budget, if not in 2023. We are seeking to have the extension of elec tricity to Arakuru. Our plan as a region is to increase those hours in the coming year so that through our 2023 budget once given to

esidents of Danjah Hill, Region Eight (Pota ro-Siparuni) were guar anteed that rehabilitation works on the road will be completed before Christmas.

The road which is lo cated in the township of Mahdia will span approxi mately 350 metres in rigid pavement concrete to the tune of road…Imonths,“WithingoodterresidentsandatheBishopPublic$60,527,468.WorksMinister,JuanEdghillsaidinfrastructuralworksareresultofthemanycriesdifficultiesfacedbytotraversethehill.Tothisend,theminisreturnedtodeliverthenewstotheresidents.thenextcoupleofyouwillhavethatamaskingforthe

before Christmas,” he said. The announcement was made during an outreach spearheaded by the minister on Friday last at the S&N GasWorksstation.are being carried out by United Contracting and are currently in the sur veyFurther,stage. Minister Edghill highlighted that by next Wednesday, an engineer will deliver the unpriced bill of quantities. This will en able residents to partake in the monitoring of the project to ensure it is being done according to specifications.

R esidents of Laluni will soon benefit from a major upgrade to their road network.Theupgrade will be done in phases and will significantly improve ac cessibility to the farming community located on the

Phase one of the road involves grading and shap ing to pave the way for

Communities in Region One (Barima-Waini) will have a bright Christmas this year, as the Public Works Ministry has announced plans to install a number of electrical poles, grids and generators.Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, this week, announced that a 900 KVA generator will be de livered to Mabaruma to en sure adequate distribution of electricity to the community. “There is the acquisition of another generator that is coming into your region. 900 KVA to add to capacity that is already here, so Mabaru ma is looking up,” Minister Edghill said during a recent community outreach at the Wauna Primary School.

“They will list all of the transportation issues so we can have a Transportation Action Plan that takes all of the demands into consider ation,” Dr Ali opined.

Additionally, the gov ernment is urging contrac tors to employ persons from communities they are awarded work. This is being done as part of the PPP/C

16 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

He made the remarks while attending the official launch of the US$20m 3T EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence and graduation ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Lusignan, East Coast De merara.The launch of the petro leum training facility, the Prime Minister noted, would enhance Guyana’s human resource development. He said, “A crucial factor to the success of our nation lies in our people. We must ensure that we utilise the benefits of the oil and gas sector to build a bright future for this, the next generation of Guyanese

The Senior Government Official added that the “ben efit of strong partnerships can never be understated, for these are the binds that allow goals that may other wise seem unattainable to be achieved”.Heunderscored the fact that the Government would collaborate with 3t EnerMech to offer a blended techni cal and vocational training programme for Guyanese interested in careers in the

The training facility, Guyana’s premier in-coun try, state-of-the-art facility is a collaborative venture between 3t EnerMech, Orin duik Development Incorpo rated and Windsor Technol ogies.Persons will be taught through blended learning software and technology, and via fully immersive simula tors for high-hazard activity learning.Prime Minister Phillips, during his address, lauded the drive and innovation of the facility and those responsible for its establishment. “As the first entity with approval to deliver OPITO (Offshore Petroleum Industry Train ing Organisation)-accredited

S ome 269 households in five squatter settlements in Region Three will soon receive land ownership doc uments for lands they have been occupying for more than 15 Housingyears. and Water Minister Collin Croal said the initiative forms part of efforts by his ministry to fast-track squatters’ regu larisation on the West Coast Demerara and East Bank

Over 260 households in Region Three to receive titles from CH&PA

In conjunction with the launch, the graduation cer emony, for the first group of students, was also held. To this end, the Prime Minister charged the graduates to put their skills to use. He said, “I congratulate the first cohort of participants who underwent training at this facility. May you take your skills and put them to their fullest use as you proceed in your daily tasks of helping to build a better Guyana.”

training to the oil and gas sector in Guyana, our human resources are now strength ened at a global standard to actively and competently participate in the building of this new and abundant area of the country. With an industry that requires high skills and knowledge, it is reassuring to know that these capacities can be imparted to our people without having to leave their home soil,” he said.

He noted too that as a people, Guyana’s success

Even as the ministry advances its housing pro gramme in Region Three, it is faced with issues of squatting and irregular land occupancy. Minister Croal said the ministry has a pro gramme that addresses the regularisation of lands and warned that “squatting is illegal and the ministry will not tolerate such acts.”

and beyond. To do that, we must undertake a culture of ownership, a culture where our local content – our people – can thrive and that includes within the workforce itself.”

(Turn to page 20)

$3.4B in infrastructural works ongoing in Region Three

depends on proper resource management, transparency andTheaccountability.trainingprogramme provides a level one quali fication from the Engineer ing Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and is divided into three phases: pre-learning as sessment and safe passport, which are completed online, and the technical pathway, which is the practical jour ney, which is completed at the 3T EnerMech head quarters.

Currently, Region Three has approximately 14,000 pending land appli cations within the Central Housing and Planning Au thority’s (CHPA) database.

To meet this demand, the minister said new lands are being sought and the ministry is expanding its turnkey housing initiative across the region. Already, plans for the construction of some 500 low-income homes are progressing, with the first 100 units approved for con

Prior to the outreach, Minister Croal along with Regional Chairman, Mr. Sheik Ayube and Vice Chair man, Omesh Satyanand visit ed and inspected the ongoing works at Edinburgh and Me ten-Meer-Zorg.

On Friday last, he met with the residents of the areas at the Greenwich Park Primary School, to update them on the status of their regularisation process. He explained that the block and occupation survey, as well as the cadastral survey, were completed for Green wich Park North, and those households will be able to sign their Agreement of

Another ‘Dream realised’ house lot allocation exercise is slated for the first week of October which will see hun dreds of applicants receiving their house lots.

Essequibo.

Approximately $3.4 bil lion in infrastructural works are underway in five new housing developments in Region Three (Essequi bo Islands-West Demerara) to cater for serviced house lots for approximately 2,800 allottees.Works are ongoing in Cornelia Ida, Anna Catheri na, Edinburgh, Meten-MeerZorg and Stewartville. The works include the installa tion of water and electricity supply networks and the construction of access roads, bridges, culverts and drain age Housingnetworks.and Water Min ister, Collin Croal made the disclosure during an out reach at the West Demerara Secondary School recent ly. He explained that the works are being done in lots and are at various stages of completion. So far, allottees can now access their lots in Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina andInStewartville.Edinburgh, howev er, Lot One was completed paving the way for the com mencement of works at Lots Two and Three which are expected to be completed within two months. Works are also ongoing in Meten-

struction at Leonora.

Minister Croal also men tioned the other mega infra structure projects including the $11 billion Schoonord to Crane four-lane highway, which will create avenues for housing and commercial development. The proposed highway is expected to run 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometres). The region will also benefit from a new Demerara River Crossing and the establish ment of the Wales Devel opment Authority which is expected to bolster the manufacturing and services sectors within the region.

oil and gas industry through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL). “Our Government has continually engaged in the training of our workforce to be able to occu py positions in the oil and gas sector and contribute to the building of this sector, which extends to the development of Guyana. In the past, much of this training was conduct ed away from home, but today, and from hereon, our people will be able to access such training right here in Guyana,” Phillips assured.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, said the Government intends to continuously bolster in vestments in human capital to build local content capacity and foster a sustainable fu ture for all Guyanese.

US$20m petroleum training facility launched

The minister explained that a total of 58 households have been documented by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) in Greenwich Park North, 39 in Greenwich Park Rail way Lands, 64 in Plantation Vergenoegen (Acme Hous ing Scheme), 32 in Vergen oegen (Railway Lands), and 18 in Plantation Barnwell (Railway Lands).

Meer-Zorg and are expect ed to be completed by the end of the year. “So, what we have done is that as the works on the virtuous lots are completed, we are call ing those persons to identify their lord to commence the construction of their homes. So, we are not waiting for work in the entire area to be completed,” the minister said.Over the past two years, the government had allocat ed some 2,800 houselots to residents in Region Three.

Residents were afforded the opportunity to lodge new applications, update existing allocations and register for a housing option of their choice.At the end of the ex ercise the CEO stated that over 200 persons expressed interest in lands outside of the island (Region Three and Four). Additionally, 50 new applications from residents were processed; and another 120 persons purchased forms to initiate the application process.

In January 2021, the agreement of supply was signed between the Ministry of Public Works-Transport and Harbours Department and Garden Reach Ship

Minister Edghill visited Kolkata, India in April to inspect and test the new vessel to ensure it functions effectively before coming to Guyana.

tion, and information tech nology, among others.

BIT promotes Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to satisfy the needs of the labour force in a number of sectors, specifically in dustrial.Programmes offered through BIT include plumbing, carpentry, elec trician, mechanics, food preparation, cake decora

The announcement was made by Public Works Min ister, Bishop Juan Edghill during a recent community engagement held at the Port Kaituma community centre.

– existing applicants to receive house lots in coming weeks

This is a commitment of the PPP/C Administration of delivering infrastructural development to every region to improve the livelihoods of citizens.Further, the minister not ed that the bid for the con struction of the new stelling has already gone out for tender.The watercraft with a frontage length of 200 me tres is being constructed through a line of credit from

Port Kaituma to get new stelling to accommodate Indian vessel

Construction of the stelling will ease the trans portation burden of residents and ensure the prompt deliv ery of goods there.

In addition, the minister said the stelling at Mar awaina will only undergo some basic adjustments.

$187.9M invested to train 2,166 in first quarter through BIT

Between January to June this year, some 61 males and 910 females underwent training in areas of general cosmetology, in terior decoration, and com mercial food preparation among others through the Carnegie School of Home Economics.Another 285 persons graduated under the Wom en Innovation and Invest ment Network (WIIN) ini tiative in the first half of the year, while 2,715 wom en and girls are expected to

In remarks, Greaves not ed CHPA’s commitment to engaging citizens from ev ery geographical area, as a way of meeting the housing demand. He further stated that irrespective of location, the agency will explore all options possible to cater to the unique needs of the

the Government of India and is expected to sail Guyana’s waters before year-end.

Croal spoke of the Ministry’s plan to allo cate lands to persons who are interested. He noted that in the coming weeks the ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive – Region Three ex ercise will cater to persons who are interested in lands outside of the island. Re sponding to questions about residential lots on the island, the Minister also stated that the Ministry will explore the possibility of acquiring lands at Wakenaam.

PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

A sum of $187.9 million was expended to train 2,166 persons in 34 skills in the first half of 2022, through the Ministry of La bour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

builders & Engineers Lim ited (GRESL), a renowned shipyard company contract ed to construct the vessel in Kolkata, India.

The activity is in keep ing with a commitment of President Dr. Irfaan Ali. It was led by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Hous ing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Sherwyn Greaves at the Neighborhood Dem ocratic Council (NDC) in SanMinisterSouci.

island.

The new vessel can trans port 274 passengers, 10 cars, four trucks, and 10 (10ft) size containers of cargo at 14 knots per hour, cutting the usual travel time by half.

“We are proud as a govern ment that we are able to do the big things and we are

able to do the small things. In a very short while we will have to build a stelling here in Port Kaituma to facilitate the MV MA LISHA,” said Minister Edghill.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 17

he village of Port Kaitu ma, Region One (Bari ma-Waini) will get a new stelling to accommodate the US$ 12.7 million Indian Ocean-going vessel dubbed ‘MV MA LISHA’.

The 70-metre-long and 14.5-metre-wide vessel is twice the size of the MV Kimbia, and MV Barima, which currently ply the North-West route.

A team from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) was also at the outreach engaging residents.

Meanwhile, the Trans port and Harbours Depart ment has contracted Ca ribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO) to rehabilitate Mabaruma, Marawaina and Port Kaituma wharves in the region to the tune of $700 million.Minister Edghill said

(Turn to page 21)

start courses in the second half.Moreover, 1,175 per sons under the age of 25 will be trained under the National Youth Programme in areas of carpentry, ma sonry, plumbing, electrical installation, welding, and fabrication works at the Kuru Kuru, Sophia, and Vryman’s Erven Training centres.Additionally, 70 per sons will be trained in block-making under the Ministry of Housing and Water’s community-based

the designs are ready for Mabaruma and the bids that were received were over $1 billion.Asimilar cost is expect ed for the construction of the Port Kaituma stelling.

Hundreds turn out for first housing outreach at Wakenaam

R esidents of Wakenaam, Region Three turned out in their numbers for the first-ever housing outreach at the island on Monday (September 5, 2022).

These include risks as sociated with economic phenomena such as Dutch Disease, an economic sit uation that arises when the rapid development of one sector of the econo my leads to the decline of others.Government has always maintained that the oil and gas sector will not be de pended upon solely to drive

Govt’s economic diversification yielding positive results – 2022 Mid-Year Report(Turnto

The service industries are estimated to have expanded by 7.6 percent, driven largely by increases in wholesale and retail trade, and transport and storage. The overall 2022 growth rate for the services sector is now forecasted to be 6.3 percent. While the manu facturing sector is estimated to have contracted by 11.4 percent in the first half of the year, it is now projected to grow by 7.5 percent for 2022

Consistent with the ex pansion in the non-oil pro ductive sector, credit to the private sector rose by 7.5 percent to $308.3 billion.

T he PPP/C Government is dedicated to ensuring a strengthened and diverse economy for all Guyanese through investments in the non-oil sectors.

Extractive Industries

DEVELOPMENTSMONETARY

This primarily reflects expanding credit to the ser vices sector, manufacturing sector, for real estate mort gage loans, and to house holds. These increased by 8.2 percent, 26.7 percent, 3.2 percent, and 5.1 percent, to $110.3 billion, $34.2 billion, $98.6 billion, and $38.5 bil lion, respectively.

BALANCE PAYMENTSOF

export receipts expanded by US$2,330.2 million, outweighing the US$506.6 million increase in imports. Notably, these receipts grew largely as a result of higher export earnings from oil, while, at the same time, nonoil export earnings increased marginally by 2 percent.

non-oil growth of 8.3% – according to the Mid-Year Report 2022

PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’

the economy. In fact, the administration has outlined economic plans in the var ious sectors that will build the country and people as a whole.Aided by Government’s supportive policy stance, the economic performance at the end of the first half of 2022 was positive, and the outlook for the second half continues to be favour able, the report states.

In the

18 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

fueled by the rapid economic growth, we have embarked on a period of rapid transfor mation, and our Government has laid out a masterplan for the rapid development and transformation of Guyana. More importantly, we have demonstrated the capacity and commitment to working assiduously to make this vi sion a reality so that benefits can redound to citizens in the shortest possible time,” Dr. Singh had indicated.

activity.Theagriculture and ex tractive industries have seen favourable perfor mances, despite challenges in the respective areas. In the first half of the year, the mining and quar rying sector is estimated to have expanded by 64.6 per cent, as a result of increased output from the petroleum, bauxite and other mining industries. The agriculture sector has made significant strides despite the terrors of the 2021 flood caused by the May/June rain. The im portance of the develop ment of the agriculture sector remains high on government’s agenda to proactively strengthen the non-oil sectors. services and

According to the Ministry of Finance’s recently released Mid-Year Report 2022, Guyana recorded an overall real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 36.4 percent in the first half of the year, with the non-oil economy growing by 8.3 per cent, reflecting Government’s supportive policy stance.

Recognisingprices.

The overall balance of payments recorded a US$100 million deficit at the end of the first half of 2022, reflect ing primarily higher cost of fuel and capital imports.

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector is esti mated to have expanded by 10.9 percent in the first six months of 2022, driven by higher output from the other crops, forestry and livestock, notwithstanding weaker per formances in the sugar, rice and fishing industries. The sector is now expected to grow by 11.9 percent,

The construction sector is estimated to have grown by a strong 20.4 percent in the first half of 2022, reflecting intensified activity in both the public and private sector.

Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh had noted

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated supply disruptions to com modity markets, resulting in surging commodity prices, the effects of which are being felt globally. Guyana has not been spared. Consumer pric es were 4.9 percent higher than levels recorded at the end of 2021 and this was due largely to higher food and energy

The Ministry of Fi nance’s 2022 Mid-Year Report states that while government is aware that a country’s oil-producing status yields significant benefits, it is not without inherent systemic risks.

Given the unique vul nerabilities of Guyana’s economy, government has strongly supported the nonoil productive sectors as well as critical social sec tor Theimprovements.reportshows the non-oil economy grow ing by an estimated 8.3 per cent, with supportive measures in place to con tinue increasing economic

page 22) (Turn to page 22)

The mining and quarrying sector is estimated to have grown by 64.6 percent in the first half of the year, with a revised 2022 forecast of 99.9 percent driven by growth in the petroleum and other min ing industries.

With respect to trade,

Guyana’s overall real GDP grew by 36.4% as of June 2022

The key macroeconomic highlights are as follows: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

the conse quences of these inflationary pressures, Government im plemented a suite of mea

PRICES

The petroleum sector ex panded by an estimated 73.5 percent, with 34.6 million barrels of oil produced in the first half of the year. This was the result of the com mencement of oil production at the Liza Unity FPSO in February. Also on the up side, the bauxite industry is estimated to have grown by 31.9 percent, and the other mining and quarrying (sand, stone, diamonds, manganese) industries by 36.3 percent, in the first half of 2022.

The outlook for the sec ond half continues to be fa vourable. For the full year, real GDP growth in 2022 is now projected at 56 percent overall, and non-oil GDP growth at 9.6 percent, main taining Guyana’s position of global leader in economic growth.“Led by President Ali and

that upon the assumption to office by the President Irfaan Ali-led Government, the ad ministration recognised the importance of a strong, diver sified economic base and, as such, even in the early days of oil production, placed the highest level of importance on a resilient non-oil econo my. The aim, therefore, was to modernise the economy’s traditional pillars and cata lyze ‘a rapidly growing and highly competitive non-oil economy. This is evident in the nation’s non-oil eco nomic growth at the end of the first half. The continued growth projected for 2022 builds on the 4.6 percent growth recorded last year.

Manufacturing, Services and Construction

for this Guyanayear. saw an in crease of 93.22 per cent in 2022, from 90.86 per cent in 2021.There was 100 per cent pass rate in 35 units while in another 28 units, there was a 75 per cent or higher passSimilarrate. increases were recorded for CSEC with 68.5 per cent pass rate in 2022 from 66.36 per cent last year. A total of 10,368 candidates wrote this year with 62,990 sub jectSignificantentries. improve

President Ali commends top... (From page 14) phaseThetwo.head of state relat ed that personnel from the Ministry of Public Works will visit the community to find the skill set needed to work on phase two of the project.This will create em ployment in the community while ensuring residents are involved in the devel opment of the place they call home.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 19

stop in a long life ahead,” the president further encouraged.

“In phase two of this road, we will be examin ing ways in which we can involve the community because one of the quick est ways in which we can have the road completed is to have concrete paved roads,” the president fur therThedisclosed.upgrade of the road was welcomed by residents who said the road has been in a deplorable state for a

Some 671 students from 17 institutions, 12 public secondary schools and four private centres wrote CAPE

He emphasised that every Guyanese is travelling the same path and will arrive at the one destination. “That destination is one in which we empower, develop, edu cation, advance ourselves, so that we can participate fully in the development of our country, the advancement of our own lives and the contri bution to the community and society,” Dr. Ali added.

(From page 15)

$50M to commence phased...

ments were recorded for Mathematics of 34.26 per cent in 2022 from 31.6 per cent in 2021. As it relates to English A, there was an increase to 70.84 per cent in 2022 from 67.72 per cent in Improvements2021. were also recorded in English B, 72.47 per cent; Agricultur al Science -double award 99.14 per cent; Agricultur al Science – single award, 95.56 per cent; Music 100 per cent; Industrial Tech 98.68 per cent; Added Maths 53.88 per cent; and EDPM 90.90 per cent.

number of years. They are also grateful because it will play a major role in boost ing food production in the community.ThePPP/C Government has placed heavy emphasis on improving the country’s infrastructure. In budget 2022, a whopping $76.7 billion was earmarked for the construction of roads and bridges throughout the country.

He has therefore com mitted that once that phase is completed by the end of October, CHPA will proceed with the allocation and pro cessing of titles for the 39 households in that area.

“The next phase is that we will have to submit to GLSC what is called the ‘sketch plan’ with that per mission letter that we re ceive and prepare the final plan. So, in essence, by the end of September, for those who are in Greenwich Park Railway Lands, we are ex pecting to have the final plan approved in conjunction with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission,” the minister further explained.

Just last month, 10 fam ilies who are squatting on lands at the Zeelugt Sideline Dam were allocated house lots in the new Stewartville Housing Scheme.

The ministry is now awaiting permission to mutate the area from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) and embark on the developmen tal plans for the areas.

building in an area or take up an open space and think that we will get a service that will require you getting ownership,” he cautioned.

(From page 16)

Croal added that “there will be no new squatting allowed”, noting that the PPP/C Government has an aggressive national housing programme that provided an opportunity for every citizen to access whoMeanwhile,homeownership.46familieswereillegallyoccupy

20 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

gen, the land was previously owned by a cooperative society in the 1990s and the ministry is currently going through the process of transferring the ownership of theMinisterland. Croal took the opportunity to warn the res idents against erecting new structures on government reserves with the hope of being regularised. “We can not and we will not continue believing that we can start

Sales for the processing of titles, within two weeks.

Minister Croal reported that the block and occupa tional surveys were com pleted in Greenwich Park Railway Lands, and the block titles were obtained.

In Plantation Vergenoe

ing lands on Cameron Dam, Region Three were allocated house lots in the Lust-enRustMinistercommunity.Croal explained that those residents had to be relocated since those areas were earmarked for infra structural development.

The block and occupa tional surveys were also completed in Plantation Barnwell and Vergenoegen (Railway Lands) and the transfer of ownership of the land is in process.

Over 260 households in Region Three to...

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 21 (From page 17)

from September 2022. The report noted too that the design of the Guyana Technical Training Col lege has commenced, and will include the GuySuCo Training School at Port Mourant, that will provide

additional facilities for training programmes in collaboration with the pri vate sector. The location for the college has been identified and construction will commence in the sec ond half of the year.

that the industrial sector develops a highly trained and competent workforce, which led BIT to expand its training programme to meet the requirement of the pres ent-day job market in all ten administrative regions. The training arm of government plans to con tinue coordinating, regulat ing and certifying training at the artisan or craft level that responds to the techni

cal and manpower needs of the society by ensuring that occupational competencies are Accordingattained. to the Min istry of Finance’s Midyear Report, a total of 119 students from nine second ary schools were identified to complete four Level One Caribbean Vocational Qualification programmes in the third quarter of this year. The focus will be

in areas of commercial food preparation, crops and soils, fabric decora tion, and furniture making. The report disclosed that the programmes will be extended to additional stu dents in secondary schools

Employment Stimulation Project in the second half of theEstablishedyear. in 1910 un der the Industrial Act Chap ter 39:04 of the Laws of Guyana, BIT carries out the regulatory functions for all apprenticeship schemes as well as issues certificates of competency to apprentices upon successful completion of their training. Among the key objectives, is to ensure

$187.9M invested to train 2,166 in...

During the first six

months of the year, Gov ernment had five lifts of profit oil from the two producing FPSOs. Further, Government re ceived US$307 million in revenue from their share of profit oil, along with royalties to the tune of US$37.1 million, in the first half. The cumula tive balance on the NRF, inclusive of interest in come, was US$753.3 mil lion, after withdrawing US$200 million in May.

Irfaan Ali, in October 2021 and details mechanism to earn revenues. Ali had in dicated that the ambitious initiatives set out in Guyana’s recently launched expanded LCDS 2030, will be funded from money earned from the sale of carbon credits.

construction sector, it is estimated that services ex panded by 7.6 per cent in the first half of the year. The services industry com menced its recovery in 2021 and continue to re ceive support by ramped up public and private sector activity this Expansionyear.inthe sector was mainly driven by the wholesale and retail trade, and transport and storage industries, which grew by 17.2 per cent and 13.6 per cent, respectively, during the first half of the year.

page 18)

FINAL-compressed.pdfMid-Year-Report-2022-tent/uploads/2022/09/nance.gov.gy/wp-conhttps://fi

Guyana’s overall real GDP grew...

At the end of June, 203,220 cubic metres of timber products were produced, compared with 137,040 cubic metres at the end of June last year, driven productionhigher-than-anticipatedbyoflogs.SeniorMinisterinthe

government outlined how the development of forest climate services in Guy ana could proceed in three phases:

• Phase 1 – payments for forest climate services through a bilateral agree ment with another gov ernment up to 2020. This turned out to be the Gov ernment of Norway, and Guyana received payments for forest climate services amounting to 220 million dollars for national per formance in the period

page

According to the LCDS 2030, this remains the overall vision of the Government.

The bauxite industry is estimated to have expanded by 31.9 per cent in the first half of the year. At the end of June, production stood at 343,922 tonnes, com pared to 291,560 tonnes in the first half of last year.

Sale of carbon credits being considered...

Office of the President with responsibility for Fi nance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had highlighted that gov ernment has recognised the importance of a strong, diversified economic base.

The 152-page document, said, “Earning payments as Guyana moves towards a market mechanism will in volve: (i) integrating with the market standard; (ii) generat ing credits in accordance with that standard; (iii) marketing

Guyana’s credits to potential buyers.” It is anticipated that Guyana will receive credits for (i) any reductions in deforestation against the previous five-year average (starting with 2016-2020 as the reference period); (ii) restoration of deforested or degraded forest; (iii) the long-term storage of carbon in Guyana’s standing for est, providing that Guyana’s deforestation rate does not increase significantly above historic averages.

The aim was to mod ernise the economy’s tra ditional pillars and catalyse ‘a rapidly growing and highly competitive non-oil economy’.Thisis evident in Guy ana’s non-oil economic growth at the end of the first half of the year. The continued growth projected for 2022 builds on the 4.6 per cent growth recorded last year. economic diversification...

Govt’s

RESOURCENATURAL FUND

•2009-2015.Phase2– a market-based mechanism for forest cli mate services from 2020 •onwardsPhase3 – a mechanism for forest climate services to be aligned with the United Nations Framework Con

(From(From 18)

In 2009, the then PPP/C

In the forestry sector, growth stands at an esti mated 47.1 per cent in the first half of the year, large ly on account of significant growth in log production.

sures to ease the burden on the population. The excise tax on petroleum was re duced from 20 percent to 10 percent at the time of Bud get 2022 presentation, and reduced even further from 10 percent to zero in March. Additionally, Government also utilised $1 billion for the purchase and distribution of fertilizer to farmers across the country, $800 million to provide cash grants to households in hinterland and riverain communities, among a number of other interventions.Giventhe existing geo political tensions globally, inflation is now projected to be 5.8 percent for 2022.

To this end it had placed the highest level of importance on a resilient non-oil economy in the ear ly days of oil production.

In just over 24 months of this Government’s cur rent term in office, im plemented policies and programmes have already laid a solid foundation for realising the commit ments made in the 2020 Manifesto, on the basis of which this Govern ment was elected to of fice. Government remains steadfast in its efforts to continue to grow the economy and improve the wellbeing of all Guy anese, thereby building a modern and prosperous One

vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Government antici pates 13 lifts of profit oil for 2022, and subject to the evolution of world market oil prices, now projects US$1.1 billion from the sale of the coun try’s share of profit oil, and US$147.7 million in royalties.

Given this first half performance, and notwith standing existing technical challenges facing opera tors, output is expected to continue to surpass 2021 levels in the second half of the year. As such, the pro jected growth rate for the industry has been upgraded to 37.5 per cent this year.

ToGuyana.view the entire Mid-Year Report 2022, click here:

(From page 14)

22 WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022

Further, as communi cated through the national consultation on the LCDS 2030 October 2021 to June 2022), the Government has been assessing opportunities for moving to Phase 2 and a market-based mechanism op portunities to retrospectively receive recognition for forest climate services provided by Guyana in the period 20162020.

The Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal is seeing an 80 per cent recov ery rate of patients infected with COVID-19.

This was revealed by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who noted that over the last two years, some 4,183 patients were treated at the Infectious Diseases Hos pital. Approximately 3,786 of these were COVID-19 patients. “The 80 per cent recovery is comparable with what we have seen globally. Because, as you can imagine, the patients who were very sick would come to us, and

The facility currently has eight COVID-19 patients, with three in the ICU.

Following a request from Member States during a spe cial session of the PAHO Directing Council in August, PAHO secured a deal with the manufacturer of the mon keypox vaccine to make this available to countries in the region.However, with vaccines in short supply and no ef fective treatment for mon keypox, Dr. Etienne urged countries to “intensify efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.”This includes effective communication campaigns, using pragmatic, honest, tar geted messages “so that ev eryone knows how monkey pox is spread, how to identify specific symptoms and when

Theload.”facility can house approximately 198 patients. A new area was also set up to facilitate patients with mon keypox for clinical treatment or isolation.TheHealth Minister not ed that over the last two years, a host of infrastructur al improvements were made to the facility to provide ade quate care to persons.

to seek medical attention.”

have been low vaccination rates.The exercise will be on going from Monday to Fri day from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.The available vaccines are Pfizer for children (ages 5-11), adolescents and adults; Sinopharm, Johnson & John son, and Moderna including booster doses, for adults.

unprotected, including chil dren who return to school thisTurningmonth. to the monkey pox outbreak, the PAHO Director highlighted that over 30,000 cases have been reported in the region – mak ing the Americas the global epicenter of the pandemic.

The PAHO Director also called for increasing and decentralizing testing capac ity, particularly for high-risk populations, and ensuring that healthcare workers are trained to identify symptoms and provide high-quality, respectful care.

WEEKEND MIRROR 10-11 SEPTEMBER, 2022 23 23

patients, there are 26 doctors, and 53 nurses working differ ent shifts. Some of these doc tors and nurses are part-time workers. Currently, there is adequate staff to cover the patient

The ministry embarked on this initiative to allow easy access to vaccines for thoseAppointmentseligible. can be booked by contacting the ministry on telephone num bers: 226-3110 or 632-1385.

With the Americas now accounting for highest numbers of monkeypox cases in the world, and COVID-19 remaining a “significant threat” to the region, preven tion is key to avoiding infec tion and protecting peoples’ health, according to the Pan American Health Organiza tion (PAHO) Director, Dr. Carissa F. DespiteEtienne.adecrease in COVID-19 cases, hospital izations and deaths in the Americas, “hundreds of peo ple are still dying every day from COVID-19 across our region,” Dr Etienne said during a media briefing on Wednesday (September 7, 2022).“Yet countries have scaled back their public health measures while mil lions remain unvaccinated,” EtienneWhilesaid.most vaccines de livered in the Americas are for boosters, 10 countries and territories have yet to fully vaccinate even 40% of their populations and some people have yet to receive a single vaccine dose.

The PAHO Director also called on countries to ad dress stigma surrounding the disease as this prevents those at risk from accessing information, getting tested, or seeking medical atten tion. “Stigma has no place in public health,” she said. “If we aren’t proactive in overcoming these barriers, monkeypox will spread in silence.”PAHO is currently work ing with countries to prior itize limited vaccine doses for high-risk groups and to strengthen testing. It has also developed guidance and workshops to support country efforts to engage affected communities.“Aswesaw with the global COVID-19 response, access to resources and sus tained collaboration are key to stopping a virus. An effec tive public health response requires us to be decisive, to act fast and prioritize support for the most vulnerable in our region,” Dr. Etienne said.

80 per cent recovery rate at DiseasesInfectiousHospital

The Ministry of Health has commenced home visits around Region Four to administer COVID-19 vaccines, as the government seeks to bolster efforts to eradicate the spread of the deadlyThedisease.Ministry’s mobile unit will be in and around Georgetown, and other areas in Region Four targeting the communities where there

“We must not and cannot be complacent, because this virus is still circulating, still evolving, and new variants can still emerge,” Dr. Etienne said, calling on countries to prioritize those who remain

medical or mental health conditions, injuries or dis abilities who are unable to leave their homes are eligible for home visits.

especially during the delta wave, they had lots of com plications…It was challeng ing to manage some of these patients but I think we are within that global norm when it comes to COVID,” he said.

Health ministry begins mobile COVID-19 vaccination programme

Most cases are concen trated in the United States, Brazil, Peru and Canada, and primarily among men who have sex with men, although at least 145 cases have been reported in women and 54 among people under the age of 18.

Prevention is key to tackling monkeypox outbreaks – PAHO Director

Children and adults with

Minister Anthony also expressed that the facility has the capacity for some 64 doctors and 107 nurses. He noted that “…at the peak of the pandemic, we had 64 doctors working there with 107 nurses. Currently, be cause of the small number of

persons living with disabilities among those eligible

This is not the first time Hinds has made such com ments. On November 22, 2021, Hinds had said: “I think the time has come to defend ourselves…it is time for ac tion…I am also repeating my call to undermine the

Nandlall said, “It is a con stitutional wrong. It is a crime under the Racial Hostilities Act for this type of language to be published at this type of narrative to be disseminated and as Attorney General, I consider it my duty to speak out against these sordid but serious constitutional atroci ties and human rights travesty. This is a human rights traves

appointed Directors under the Natural Resources Fund Act and the directors include one Amerindian, two Indo-Guya nese and two Afro-Guyanese.

Moving forward, Jagdeo noted that the APNU+AFC Coalition must drop racism as a tool and get on board with a national development agenda – all in the interest of all Guya nese across the entire country. “It is a dead end if they don’t drop the racism…there is room for inclusion, providing that you work for the people… you can’t bully people and you can’t lie to people….cur rently, we have an ineffective Opposition Leader…more often than not, he has a shal low understanding of crucial sectors,” he stressed.

government. I said that in August and I am saying it again. A leader does not have to tell you how to undermine the government. There are many ways…undermine the government and continue to do so.” At the same forum, Hinds went further to call for Indian-owned businesses to be boycotted. He said, “They were enablers and they are en ablers….it is your money that is spending on Regent Street that they does take and give to the PPP as contributions for elections so they can get into government…undermine the economic partners of the PPP.”Prior to that, while ad dressing a small group of protestors at Victoria, East Coast Demerara in August 2021, Hinds said: “In what ever way you can undermine this (PPP/C) government. Undermine this government in whatever way you can. I can’t tell you how to do it, but ‘hint to Baniba mek Quashiba tek notice’ (Old African-Guy anese proverb meaning actions to hint something will result in awareness). Undermine this government!”Leaderof the PNCR and the Parliamentary Opposition, Aubrey Norton, on June 4, 2022, made irresponsible al legations. “I wouldn’t rule out that they (the PPP/C) gave the instruction to kill this young man so they get something to distract people with…I’ve been in politics long enough to know that when they bring these things to side-track us, we will stay focused…this struggle has to continue,” Norton said, without any ev idence, referring to the matter where three Guyana Police Officers were charged over the death of Quindon Bacchus on June 5, 2022. Norton also mounted comments about not trusting the PPP. “We do not trust them…we will continue the political pressure,” he charged.OnJune 4, 2022, Coalition Parliamentarian, Christopher Jones, speaking to a handful of protestors at Buxton, said, “Black youngsters go to a commercial bank for a loan and they are denied. An East Indian person, the same age, got the same thing like the young black man, go to the same commercial bank, but he getting the loan….that is the reality of this country…. you go to predominantly East Indian villages in this country and you would see rapid de velopment, nice roads, nice street lights…but you go pre dominantly the African villag es – bad roads, poor drainage, no street lights, no recreational facilities for them… that is the reality of this country.”

He added that to suggest Guyana is becoming an apart heid state is evil, destructive and most of all, unlawful and unconstitutional. “The laws and legal system of Guyana outlaws’ racism and racial segregation of every type. The Supreme Law of the country says that no law shall discrim inate. No action of the state shall discriminate. How can you have apartheid as a system emerging anywhere?”, the le

No apartheid system emerging in Guyana, unfounded claim intended to stir tensions – Nandlall

The attempt has also been described by the Attorney General as “bizarre” on the ba sis that many Afro-Guyanese hold prominent positions in all sectors. He said in government alone, many of the ministries are led by not only Afro-Guy anese ministers, but also Per manent Secretaries. He further pointed out that the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force and the Judicial System are all led by persons of African descent. More re cently, the PPP/C government

Jagdeo said, “People like David Hinds, who for decades misled people into thinking they represent Afro-Guyanese, had no interest in develop ment for Guyana, much less development in the interest of Afro-Guyanese…they are par asitic…when they came into office, they had no intention of supporting Afro-Guyanese… he is smarting from the per son loss of privileges that he and his family enjoyed…the bitterness stems from there.”

The PNC-led APNU+AFC Coalition’s expressed inten tions to “undermine” the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Admin istration, according to PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, in prior comments, has not gone unnoticed.

STIRRINGDELIBERATELYTENSIONS

gal affairs minister questioned.

SELF-INTEREST

Unsubstantiated and wild ly irresponsible claims – all worded along lines to stir ten sions among Guyanese con tinue to be peddled by leaders of the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition.OnJuly 8, 2022, David Hind claimed that the PPP/C government “wants to use East Indian people, in order to put their knees on the rest of Guyana and we must not al low them” among other reck less statements. Hinds used this claim to call for “action” from Afro-Guyanese. Hinds said, “We have to organise ourselves into a big move ment…a movement to clean this country….it is our time and we are beginning to push back….the fight has begun.”

The idea of Guyana be coming an apartheid state is being peddled by groups and elements aligned to the APNU+AFC Coalition, as well as Coalition members and Andleaders.People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive and At torney General, Anil Nandlall, underscored the fact that while the term apartheid is used to define a policy of system of segregation and discrimina tion based on race, Guyana’s Constitution and laws outlaws racism and racial segregation.

PUBLISHED BY NEW GUYANA Co. Ltd., Freedom House, Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown, Guyana. Tel: [592] 226-2042 / 227-2095 / 655-0459 / 627-7432 Committed to Excellence Triskits Crackers & Cookies are now available PRE-PACKED for your convenience. (Each packet contains three individually wrapped packs.)

Therefore, to suggest that Guyana is becoming an apart heid state is unfounded.

ty. They are pitting one human being against the other based upon race and appealing to people’s basal instincts. They want to make Indo -Guyanese the enemy of Afro- Guya nese.”