Weekend Mirror 5-6 March 2022

Coalition must move away from racism, commit to democracy for ‘serious engagement’ to take place – Jagdeo 5-6 March, 2022 / Vol. 12 ‒ No. 12 / Price: $100

Email: mirror2018.gy@gmail.com

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Attempts being made to undermine transformation trajectory with misinformation campaign – Singh

Efforts made to deflect, obfuscate questions at PAC about Coalition’s financial breaches - Edghill

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GECOM set to start Continuous Registration on March 7th

SEE INSIDE

Gov’t operationalises Local Content Registry PAGE 7

CARICOM restates support for Guyana’s territorial integrity ‒ country’s memorial for submission to ICJ on Tuesday PAGE 11

Guyana supports UN resolution on Ukraine PAGE 16 ‒ calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to diplomacy

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

GECOM set to start Continuous Registration on March 7th T he Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has set March 7, 2022, to kick off Continuous Registration, which is needed for updating the List of Electors for the holding of Local Government Elections (LGE).

GECOM made the announcement on Tuesday, indicating that the cycle of Continuous Registration will start on March 7, 2022 at all

of GECOM’s Permanent Offices across the country.

GECOM has 28 permanent Registration Offices located in all of the ten administrative regions.

This registration exercise is of crucial importance to those persons who would have been first time applicants, in the fourteen (14) years to eighteen (18) years age range, that were captured

during the 2019 House-toHouse Registration. “All such persons are required to note that their application for registration has been cancelled. Therefore, those persons are required to reapply for registration during this registration exercise,” GECOM said in a statement.

During this registration exercise, any person who will be 14 years and older

by the 31st October, 2022, and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, naturalization, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can apply for registration, providing he/she was never registered before.

Persons desirous of conducting any registration are required to visit GECOM Registration Office responsi-

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ble for their area of residence with the relevant source documents which are: • Original Birth Certificate, valid Passport, Adoption Certificate or Naturalization Certificate in the case of making applications for new registration.

• Original Marriage Certificate or Deed Poll with Birth Certificate in the case of application for change of name.

• Existing registrants who are desirous of updating their records such as a request to correct or change their names, date of birth, occupation and update their addresses are

advised that those transactions would also be facilitated during this exercise.

Further, GECOM said, “Persons desirous of conducting any registration transaction are advised that they must provide proof of having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to gain entry to the respective GECOM Registration Offices. In cases where applicants are not vaccinated, a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours would be acceptable.”

This Continuous Registration exercise will conclude on May 29, 2022.

GECOM appoints Kurt Da Silva as Legal Officer

‒ Five key positions remaining to be filled

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he Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at its weekly statutory meeting on Tuesday (March 1, 2022) appointed Attorney-at-Law Mr. Kurt Anthony Da Silva as the Legal Officer.

Mr. Da Silva holds a Master of Laws Degree in Public Law from the University of the West Indies.

Shortly after being called to the Bar in Guyana in 2017, he served the Chief Justice (ag) and other Judges of the High Court as a Judicial Research Assistant. He then moved onto the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2019 where he currently serves the President and Judges at the CCJ as a Judicial Counsel.

A statement from GECOM said, “In this regard, based on his experience in both the Caribbean Court of Justice and Guyana’s High Court of researching legal issues, analyzing submissions in cases from Attorneys-at-Law, writing legal opinions for Judges and his knowledge of the new rules of procedure and the electoral laws, the Commission appointed Mr. Da Silva as the Legal Officer. The Commission extends best wishes to Mr. Da Silva on his appointment and for a successful tenure.”

The Commission is working to fill other key vacancies.

The vacant positions include Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Assistant Chief Elections Officer, Chief Accountant, Logistics Manager, and Civic and Voter Education Manager. These positions were advertised in October 2021.

To date, four persons have been shortlisted for the post of Deputy Chief Elections Officer: Deodat Persaud, Neil Bacchus, Melanie Marshall and Mohammed Arjoon, while applications for the five other critical posts are being considered.

GECOM’s new legal officer Kurt Da Silva

For the post of Assistant Chief Elections Officer those shortlisted include: Delon Clarke, Noland Jervis, Melanie Marshall, Paul Jaisingh, Mohamed Arjoon, Neil Bacchus, Deolall Ramlall, Natasha Grenion Dipchand, Andrea Sparman, Duarte Hetsberger and Colin April.

Shortlisted for Chief Accountant are: Jaiwattie Singh, Abeossa Simon, Orlando Small, Victor Arjune and Roland Charles.

For Logistics Manager, those shortlisted include: Paul Sookdeo, Colin April, Duarte Hetsberger, Lawrence Duncan, Terrence Stuart, Preston Paul, Alborn Carbon, Avinash Bookmohan, Shivnand Ramnanand, Dwarka Bhadur, Kenneth White, Nandran Persaud, David Cole, Bodhan Nipan, Winston Harlequin, Adrian Gangaram, Sharon Harry-Munroe, Noland Jervis, Quintyn Patrick, Mohamed Arjoon, Mellone Frank, Neil Bacchus, Anil Roberts and Yuvindra Rampersaud.

Those shortlisted for Civic and Voter Education Manager are: Nardeo Persaud, Tyrone Singh, Marcey Parker, Imran Mohamed Ally, Natoya De Santos, Paul Jaisingh, Yolanda Ward, Ronelle Arokium, Thalisa Grant-Moore, Abiva Cort, Prem Khanhai, Andre Sparman, Gordon Baker, Lauretta Smith-Gray, Telitta Franklin, Pamela Nauth and Jacob Corbin.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

POSITIONS FROM FREEDOM HOUSE

No stone will remain unturned in the building a free, equitable, prosperous, socially just and globally competitive society

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wo years on, since the March 2nd, 2020 regional and general elections returned the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) to office through a free and fair democratic process, the party remains grateful and humbled by the overwhelming expression of confidence from the Guyanese electorate.

The entire country is aware of the attempt by the APNU+AFC Coalition to rig the March 2nd, 2020 elections. It was only as a result of the intense struggle by the PPP/C and other forces, including other political parties, NGOs, international and regional observers with the support of the international community, that democracy

prevailed.

Since taking up its mandate, the PPP/C has been working tirelessly to incrementally fulfill its manifesto promises in the execution of a transformational agenda that will build a multidimensional economy and elevate the country onto a rapid development path and create opportunities for the empowerment of all Guyanese.

The party embraces the government’s transformational agenda, its efforts to diversify the economy and reinvigorate the health, education and private sectors and support for the vulnerable. These initiatives are keeping with our campaign slogan of ‘One Country, One People, One Future’

and will undoubtedly lead to the realization of our vision of an economically and socially empowered ‘One Guyana’.

The party takes this opportunity on the second anniversary of the March 2nd, elections to thank those who have given us the mandate to govern through their votes; our loyal members and supporters at home and abroad, and those who fought alongside us during the five-month struggle to uphold democracy. We also thank those who are working now tirelessly in the government and elsewhere in our country to strengthen democracy and support our transformational agenda.

All Guyanese are assured of the PPP/C Government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the sanctity of the Guyanese constitution and the

enshrined provisions of democratic processes for governance and rule of law.

Guyanese are further assured on this anniversary that the government

and the party will leave no stone unturned in the building a free, equitable, prosperous, socially just, and globally competitive society. March 2, 2022

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

EDITORIAL

An ideological confrontation Op-Ed: Might does not make right,

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he marked ideological differences between the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) led APNU+AFC Coalition is back in the public consciousness, given recent comments by PNCR Leader, Aubrey Norton.

Norton claims that the PNCR has a people-centered economic philosophy – an apparent response to the criticisms voiced by PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, about the fiscal irresponsibility that the PNCR-led Coalition has demonstrated.

Guyanese had almost three decades of undemocratic rule and in that period and was considered one of the poorest countries the Latin America and the Caribbean Region. The trauma of 28 years of undemocratic rule, made clear the importance between democracy and development. In 1992, Guyana’s debt was over 900% of Gross Domestic Product and the country was using 153% of revenue for scheduled debt serving.

Today, Guyana’s external debt is about 17% of GDP, down from 900%, and we are using about 6% of revenue to service the debt. Further, Guyana has a thriving private sector, compared to a time when more than 80 per cent of the economy was dominated by the State. Guiding the approach to Guyana’s sustainable developed are four principles: Rigid fiscal discipline; A focus on what is good for people and their welfare – education, health; Ensuring that oil revenues are not wasted, and that it goes toward stimulating the non-oil sectors; and Enhancing our democratic institutions to aggressively to ensure that the prevailing condition in Guyana is democracy.

The rigid fiscal discipline seen between 1992 and 2015 is being witnessed again – where the Government is working to carve a conducive macro-economic environment for private capital and also for development and invest in capital expenditures that would further the interest of Guyanese. Wasteful spending on food, travel, vehicles – current expenses – as seen under the former APNU+AFC Coalition is not the focus of the PPP/C administration. These principles are crucial to Guyana’s ability to advance sustainable development for the benefit of all Guyanese, regardless of race, religion or any other differentiating factor.

In contrast, under PNCR-led Coalition, as was the case prior to 1992, the period between 2015 and 2020 saw Guyanese shouldering the burden of 200 new tax measures, including Value Added Tax (VAT) on water, electricity, healthcare and education. Spending, via national budgets, was wasteful and \ focused on recurrent expenditures – vehicles, food, travel, etc.; and not on capital investments, which support growth and development. For example, the 2016 budget – the first full year budget of the APNU+AFC Coalition showed that: there was a 67 per cent increase in recurrent expenditures from $138B to $177B, while there was a massive decrease in capital expenditure from $81.1B to $52.1B. Each year after that, up to 2020, the recurrent expenditures increased from 2014 levels: $193.3B in 2017; $207.3B in 2018; $231.4B in 2019; and $257.4B in 2020. At the same time, there was a decrease in capital expenditure from the 2014 levels of $81.1B: $56.7B in 2017; $59.7B in 2018; $69.2B in 2019; and $72B in 2020.

The Coalition itself, while in government, did nothing to support ordinary Guyanese and their welfare.

The PPP on the other hand has focused on balancing development for the future with responding to the need of the Guyanese people. Pensioners in 2022 have $72B more in their pocket compared to the Coalition’s last year in office; while the ‘We Care’ programme puts $5B in the pockets of Guyanese; the uniform allowance adds another $600M; and public assistance adds some $840M to Guyanese. The Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships will see over 10,000 Guyanese receiving scholarships by the end of 2022 – half of the 20,000 promised in the PPP/C five year term. Also, the 2000 Community Service Officers (CSO) who were rehired after the Coalition fired them and took away $700M from the Amerindian village economies will now see another 500 added to their numbers and a total of $900M going back to the village economies. Further, with over 10,000 house lots distributed in 2021, another 30,000 is set for 2022 – 80 per cent of the 50,000 house lot that were promised in the PPP/C first five years. Meanwhile, the PPP/C government has responded to unforeseen challenges, such as COVID-19 and flooding with direct cash support.

The numbers tell the story that the PNCR’s rhetoric seeks to rewrite and obfuscate. Guyanese remember the hardship measures imposed by the Coalition and recognise that the PPP/C government is focused on building a One Guyana for all our people. Narrow political interests will not be allowed to derail our nation’s transformation.

unjust wars are doomed to be lost

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t this dark hour, when we see Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and massive disinformation campaigns and information manipulation, it is essential to separate lies — invented to justify what cannot be justified — from facts. The facts are that Russia, a major nuclear power, has attacked and invaded a peaceful and democratic neighbouring country, which posed no threat to it, nor provoked it.

Moreover, President Putin is threatening reprisals on any other state that may come to the rescue of the people of Ukraine. Such use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century.

What President Putin is doing is not only a grave violation of international law, it is a violation of the basic principles of human co-existence. With his choice to bring war back to Europe, we see the return of the “law of the jungle” where might makes right. The target is not only Ukraine, but the security of Europe and the whole international rules-based order, based on the UN system and international law.

His aggression is taking innocent lives, crushing people’s wish to live in peace. Civilian targets are being struck, clearly violating international humanitarian law, forcing people to flee. We see a humanitarian catastrophe developing. For months, we pursued unparalleled efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution. But Putin lied to the faces of all who met him, pretending to be interested in a peaceful solution. Instead, he opted for a full-scale invasion, a full fledged war.

Russia must cease its military operations immediately, and to unconditionally withdraw from the entire territory of Ukraine. The same goes for Belarus, which has to immediately stop its involvement in this aggression and respect its international obligations. The European Union is united in offering its strong support to Ukraine and its people.

This is a matter of life and death. I am preparing an emergency package to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight.

The international community will now in response opt for a full-scale isolation of Russia, to hold President Putin accountable for this aggression. We are sanctioning those who finance the war, crippling the Russian banking system and its access to international reserves.

The EU and its partners have already imposed massive sanctions on Russia that target its leaders and elites and strategic sectors of the Kremlin-run economy. The aim is not to harm the Russian people, but to weaken the Kremlin’s ability to finance this unjust war. In doing this, we are closely aligned with our partners and allies – the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Australia. We also see many countries from around the world rallying to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including our friends in Guyana. We value Guyana’s principled position as expressed in its strong statement condemning the invasion last week. Working together we are stronger, and our efforts will be more successful.

We stand together on the right side of history in the face of Russia’s horrifying attack on a free and sovereign country.

To justify its crimes, the Kremlin and its supporters have engaged in a massive disinformation campaign, which started already weeks ago. We have seen Russian state media and their ecosystem peddling untruths in social media networks with the aim to deceive and manipulate. The Western Balkans as well have been targeted by the Kremlin’s disinformation operations for far too long and know how to detect when being exposed to information manipulation.

The Kremlin propagandists call the invasion “a special operation”, but this cynical euphemism cannot hide the fact that we witness a full fledged invasion of Ukraine, with the aim to crush its freedom, legitimate government and democratic structures. Calling the Kyiv government “neo-nazi” and “Russophobic” is nonsense: all manifestations

of Nazism are banned in Ukraine. In modern Ukraine, extreme right-wing candidates are a fringe phenomenon with minimal support, without passing the barrier to enter the Parliament. The Ukrainian Government did not cut the Donbass off and it has not prohibited the use of Russian language and culture.

Donetsk and Luhansk are no republics, they are Ukrainian regions controlled

by Russia-backed and armed separatist groupings.

We know this – and many Russians know this. There have been courageous protests in cities across Russia since the invasion started, demanding the end of the aggression against a peaceful neighbouring nation. We hear their voices and recognise their courage in speaking out, and we also see many prominent public figures in Russia protesting this senseless invasion.

I continue to work with our partners around the world to ensure the joint action of the international community against the Kremlin’s behaviour. On 25 February, only Russia vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. From all over the world, countries condemn Russia’s attacks and at the General Assembly, the entire international community needs to join forces and help to end Russia’s military aggression by adopting the related UN Resolution. We particularly thank Albania as co-penholder of the resolution.

With this war on Ukraine, the world will never be the same again. It is now, more than ever, the time for societies and alliances to come together to build our future on trust, justice and freedom.

It is the moment to stand up and to speak out. Might does not make right. Never did. Never will.

Josep Borrell High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission [SEE RELATED REPORTING ON PAGE 16]

GECOM must adopt measures to ensure employment of credible persons Dear Editor,

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he Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), has publicised vacant positions after the firing and conundrum regarding fraudulent elections activities and charges involving key employed officials in its Secretariat. The necessary employment of new staff members to replace the wicked and highly questionable characters must be undertaken in a manner that reflects transparency and realizes the most efficient results.

Certainly, we cannot re-create the

wheel by allowing impropriety, and the absolute due diligence approach must be exercised.

The Commission’s decision to undertake measures of cross-matching is appreciated. That is, to look at the applications against the required qualifications and experience while considering the trust and integrity of the applicants.

Notwithstanding, there are concerns regarding the shortlisting of some persons whose records in previous elections leave much to be desired.

Some of the positions published in

the preliminaary shortlist of applicants, however, are quite alarming Given the absence of an elections report from the CEO, the commission and new CEO should carefully review the activities that took place over the five months after the Elections including the massive spending and illegal activities that went on during the five months after March 02, 2020.

It is essential for GECOM to swiftly ensure it has onboard, a cadre of transparently selected professionals to (Turn to page 5)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

No evidence to support the Opposition’s claims of race discrimination Dear Editor,

“A

llocation of house lots and housing are based on the principles of fairness and equity,” says Minister of Housing Susan Rodrigues. These twin principles are equally applicable to service delivery in other sectors of the economy such as GOAL scholarships and “Because we Care” school grants. Despite this approach to equity, opposition forces still criticize the PPP/C government for race discrimination in these and other areas, like in employment. They have been drawing heavily from a narrow range of observations on political and contract employment to support their allegation, although they know that these are temporary appointments and are at the pleasure of the existing government. Any new government has the right to employ political and contract employees at strategic levels that will execute its policies and programs in accordance with their ideology and vision, and not to be detracted by hostile forces within.

Anti-PPP/C groups that have an enduring pre-occupation with racism and are perched to descend upon the government with venom, are likely to have their rationality smothered in this approach. Polemics and platitudes have driven them into that condition, while they discard or ignore statistical evidence to validate their claim. There are mechanisms, like the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), which could investigate allegations of race discrimination.

For example, the ERC commissioned a study in 2007 on the distribution of academic scholarships during the PPP/C’s term in office covering the period 1997 and 2006. The consultant Lyris Alicia Primo noted: “there is considerable equality of opportunity in the award of academic scholarships.” The PPP/C has continued to build upon this foundation. The equity spoken about by another PPP/C government official, Minister Sonia Parag, regarding GOAL scholarships is supported by Adron Pires’ analysis which shows that 39% Afro-Guyanese, 40% Indo-Guyanese, 21% Mixed and Amerindians, were granted scholarships.

The existing job situation in the government service is interesting. Despite Afro-Guyanese account for only 29% of the country’s total population, they comprise 95% of the army, 75% of the police force, 95% of the prison service, 65% of the public service, 60% in teaching and 70% in nursing. Even some quasi-government institutions, like the University of Guyana, are equitably represented in employment. The University of Guyana, for example, has an Afro-Guyanese staff complement of over 75%. Notwithstanding these disparities, the PPP/C government does not believe in reverse discrimination.

Another trenchant critique is leveled against the government when opposition forces assert that the oil wealth is being “given away to one ethnic group (Indo-Guyanese).” This assertion is preposterous. First, no amount of the oil rev-

enues [($US) 607.65 million] has been spent as of February 2022. The money still sits in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and could only be withdrawn under specified rules. The NRF Act (2021) requires that any withdrawal from the fund must first be recommended by the Board of Directors to the Minister of Finance, who in turn must seek Parliamentary approval.

Oversight function is also exercised by the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee.

All NR funds are paid into the Consolidated Fund and are managed (operationally) by the Bank of Guyana which is required to submit regular reports to the government and to Parliament. There is also a stringent audit regime.

These are tough requirements that have been imposed to safeguard the integrity of the NRF. Withdrawals from the NRF (which is limited by law and by the operation of a funding formula) go towards budget support to fund physical and social infrastructure transformational projects. Critics have expressed the misguided claim that the government would

deplete the NRF and leave nothing for inter-generational equity. This is an irresponsible position as the facts point to the contrary. Based on the Ministry of Finance’s calculation for the period 2020 to 2025, total projected oil revenues are $(US) 7.099 billion, while withdrawal is projected at $(US) 3.451 billion which is 48.6% of revenues. Thus 51.4% (or $(US) 3.65 billion) of the NRF remains for intergenerational equity and emergencies.

Notwithstanding, watchdog groups and Parliament must continue to exercise vigilance and ensure that rules and protocols connected to the NRF are faithfully followed. Guyanese are smart enough not to be sidetracked with misinformation and distortion. And those who revel in political polemics and platitudes must know that these have no staying power, and that this quality (staying power) could be found in the facts/evidence.

Sincerely, Dr. Tara Singh

GECOM must adopt... (From page 4) advance its mandate. The advertising process for filling vacancies created by the recent firings of the Chief Elections Officers (CEO) and others facing fraudulent electoral charges, commenced in October 2021. Publications of those shortlisted for final interviews and potential selection present the opportunity for exposure if there are known issues. Notably, some rogue elements have been able to get past the initial screening process.

GECOM facilitation of the next LGEs is way overdue, and this is not for want of the PPP/C’s urging and support. The Government ensured that sufficient funding was placed in the 2021 budget for the holding of these Elections. The Elections were not held as a

consequence of GECOM’s inability to hold the same. Now, all systems must be put in place to fill all existing vacancies, but this must be defined by the presence of appropriate counterchecks and balances.

The way forward for GECOM must be to win the trust and confidence of the nation by holding free and fair elections. This can only be achieved with a process to select the staff from unstained men and women of integrity.

The organization must therefore not buy batteries and torches to avoid footholds that can be avoided upfront.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

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

Construction of Leonora Victory Valley youths benefit from market road to begin soon $2.5M basketball court T

he Parika and Leonora markets in Region Three are carded for major upgrades, according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who visited the markets over the weekend to meet with vendors and discuss challenges they are facing.

During an invited comment, the minister reiterated that the Government will continue to be on the ground to ensure citizens’ concerns are heard and addressed. Minister Indar’s first stop was at the Parika market. “It is our view that we have to continuously be in contact with our people, to hear their concerns, and that’s why we’re around walking, meeting people… we’ve collected a number of issues there that we have to address following today’s

visit,” he said.

As he walked-through the shopping area, the minister also scheduled an upcoming meeting with the vendors to follow – up on their issues and challenges.

Meanwhile, at the Leonora market, among the most pressing issues raised was the market road, which vendors said have been in a deplorable condition for a number of years. In response to the concerns raised, Minister Indar assured the vendors that construction works on the road will begin within the next six weeks. He said, “This road here, everyone said they need this road paved because it’s muddy, slushy and people have to ply their trade through this and we have to intervene to fix this road. So, we’ll be doing that shortly because it

will bring great relief.”

Minister Indar assured those gathered that money has already been allocated for the construction of the road. “We’ve picked up the bill of quantity and the design of the road already, a few months ago, so now budget has passed so we will have that being implemented as quickly as possible,” he said.

Accompanying Minister Indar was Member of Parliament, Dr. Tandika Smith, who noted the direction given by President Dr. Irfaan Ali to frequently meet with citizens in all communities.

While Minister Indar was meeting residents of Region Three, other Government ministers were dispatched to communities around the country for similar exercises.

Y

ouths of Victory Valley, Linden, Region 10 gained access to a stateof-the-art basketball court, which was commissioned by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd.

The $2.5 million court came as a result of a request made by the Valley Royals basketball club during a community engagement spearheaded by subject minister in August 2021.

Minister Todd echoed the importance that sport plays in any country and lauded President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s efforts in creating opportunities to upskill the nation. “This is testimony to the President’s commitment to development, not only from the top down, but from the bottom up. We are so keen on being able to meet your needs, we are able to

identify projects that will be able to enhance your lives and make you better citizens.

Sports all over the world is a valuable, valuable asset to any country and we have to as a government, provide facilities for you.”

The court which was constructed to harness and amplify the skills of aspiring youths was made possible through the sponsored partnership of Aranco Services as part of the organisation’s corporate social responsibility.

The Minister said partnership between key stakeholders like the private sector is one way to improve the lives of citizens as well as enhance the country’s development. Players were urged to care the new court following the ribbon cutting ceremony. “This is for you. It is about you; it is your proj-

ect you will benefit from it; you will have to care it and you will have to ensure that you protect it because it’s not for you guys who are going to play now but it is for my little friends here will also be able to benefit from this facility,” said Minister Todd Victory Valley Royals is 0ne of the most dominant clubs in the country producing a number of star athletes such as Kobe Tappin. On behalf of the Valley Royals, young Clavel Thomas extended gratitude to the government and sponsor for the court. “Victory Valley royals would like to thank everyone who participated a hand in building this court. We thank you all,” he said.

Aranco Services will be spending an additional $500,000 to install solar lights to render further support to the youths.

MV Barima to resume operations shortly ‒ after $90M repairs

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he MV Barima, which provides service to residents of Region One (Barima-Waini), is expected to recommence operations soon as repairs costing $90million have been completed.

The 88-year-old watercraft was docked for emergency repairs following an assessment by the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD).

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, examined the finished work on Tuesday (March 1, 2022).

He noted that the safety of citizens is important to the government. He explained that a thorough repair was necessary, as theboat was badly deteriorated. “The systems were heavily compromised and taking into consideration which is our

number one priority, safety, we had to make a quality decision of getting this boat fully rehabilitated,” he said.

The vessel which underwent two weeks’ intense rehabilitation at the Pritipaul’s dock yard in Supply, East Bank Demerara, will be returned to the T&HD within 24 hours. The vessel’s engine will then be inspected

by Macorp to address any further issues.

“For those of us who live on the coastland, this might just be another boat that they are fixing but for the people of Region One, this is their life. This affects the price they pay for food; this affects getting their produce to the market; this affects them getting to Georgetown for important appointments, this affects children getting out to secondary school or institutions of higher learning and getting back home to their families. This affects everyday living in Region One, so we did not treat this lightly,” Edghill said.

Meanwhile, work is also ongoing on the Parika/Supenaam ferry to resolve some generator issues.

The MV Barima traverses the Georgetown to Port Kaituma route and has the capacity to transport some 150 passengers twice daily.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

P P P /C D E L I V E R I N G O N ‘ P L A N F O R P R O S P E R I T Y ’ Take advantage of govt’s training EMTs being targeted for more training Emergency this disclosure during the has the most calls daily in programmes ─ Min Teixeira urges Region Seven residents Guyana’s Medical Technicians Fire Advisory Board out- respect to call-outs about 18

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esidents of Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) have been urged to upskill themselves and be prepared for the massive ongoing transformation in the country.

They were further advised to take advantage of the many free training programmes being offered by government.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, was in the region at the weekend, where she held meetings with several communities including Bartica, Itabali, Two Miles, River’s View, Agatash, Batavia, and other surrounding villages.

The minister said government recently passed a national budget that will project Guyana’s transformative agenda. She noted that the oil and gas industry, will require jobs from qualified persons.

“We need to train our people and the government is offering those training pro-

grammes. When it comes to the GOAL programme, we came, we talked to people in Region Seven, we had over 300 applications, 276 got awarded GOAL scholarships. We have the WIIN scholarship for women in business and getting into business and training, we had representatives from this region, I think about 30,” Minister Teixeira stated.

The minister said the WIIN scholarships will be advertised in March, but registration for the GOAL scholarship is ongoing. She noted too, that the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) through the Ministry of Labour, is offering training in a number of areas in technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Persons who dropped out of school and are skilled were encouraged to become certified. “You are not being

judged, what we encourage you to do is to put yourself in order, go back and study.

Go back and look for programmes that offer you English and Mathematics. I am not saying go back to school but there are programmes you can do that will give you English and Maths so that you can apply to do other programmes. “We must not see this as, for persons who dropped out of school, as that is it, do whatever comes your way.

There are possibilities to improve yourselves and to improve your families. And so, we want to make sure that everybody in Guyana has access to these training programmes,” Minister Teixeira said.

In the recently approved 2022 budget, a whopping $74.4 billion will be invested in the country’s educational system.

(EMTs) are expected to undergo more training to provide effective medical services on-site, be it at traffic accidents or home calls.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, made

reach, recently. He explained that the operations of the emergency medical services (EMS) since its launch in 2016, have been quite successful, hence the need to expand the service.

“The ambulance service

or 20 or more calls for their related ambulance service and we are expanding that service. So, we have to upgrade their training to the point where they can provide more services, more (Turn to page 17)

Gov’t operationalises Local Content Registry

T

he Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Natural Resources, has operationalised its Local Content Registry as stipulated by the Local Content Act. This Act, which was made into law in December 2021, mandates the Local Content Secretariat to develop and maintain Local Content Registers of Guyanese nationals for employment; and Guyanese nationals and companies from which goods and services may be procured.

In keeping with this, two

registration options are available, namely, supplier registration and employment registration. Using the Supplier Registration Portal, a Guyanese national or Guyanese company can apply for and be issued with a Certificate of Registration from the Secretariat for the supply of goods and or the provision of services for petroleum operations in Guyana.

There are five steps for applicants to take in other to register. There are as follows: 1. Registration applications

can be electronic or hardcopy.

Importantly, as per section eight of the Local Content Act, a Guyanese National or Guyanese Company which is not registered on the Local Content Register shall not be measured for purpose of compliance with the minimum local content levels.

2. Once an application is submitted and received, the Secretariat will issue an Acknowledgement of Receipt along with a Reference Number for the Application and the review (Turn to page 17)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

P P P /C D E L I V E R I N G O N ‘ P L A N F O R P R O S P E R I T Y ’ Vehicle handed over to improve maternal Haimaracabra students to benefit from health services in Region Seven new $10M school

H

ealth care delivery at the Bartica Regional Hospital, Region Seven, has been boosted after the institution received a vehicle dedicated to the maternal child health programme.

The $7.8 million vehicle was handed by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, to the Regional Health Officer Dr. Edward Sagala in the hospital’s compound. The vehicle will be stationed at the recently completed maternal child health building in the township.

Minister Teixeira said the investment forms part of the Regional Democratic Council’s programme to improve health care delivery in the region. “The Bartica Hospital compound is where the new hospital is going to go with the Government of Guyana

– Indian loan, so we will go through the next two years having a new hospital, new facilities, new functions and greater service to Bartica people and sub-region so that less people are sent medevac and sent down to Georgetown. So this is a clear indication that we want to ensure that Bartica and surrounding areas have access to high quality health services,” the Minister stated.

The RHO said the investment by government is timely and will play a critical role for pregnant women and their children and will serve Bartica and surrounding communities.

Speaking on the importance of the vehicle, Dr. Sagala said, “we only had one vehicle… and that used to do everything from malaria, environmental health and anything else related to health. But this vehicle is going to be dedicat-

ed purely to maternal child health.” He said the reason for the vehicle being dedicated to the maternal child health programme is due to the number of cases the township and surrounding communities face.

A mammoth sum of $73.3 billion has been budgeted to modernise the country’s health sector through the Ministry of Health. The sum is $19.7 billion more than what was allocated to the sector in 2021.

Of the sum budgeted, $12.4 billion will go towards the design and construction of a state-of-the-art paediatric and maternal hospital.

The West Demerara and Bartica regional hospitals will be upgraded along with the construction of six modern regional hospitals at Anna Regina, Tuschen, Diamond, Enmore, Bath and No. 75 Village, Corentyne.

P

rimary and nursery aged students of Haimaracabra village, Region One, will now be housed in a more comfortable space following the commissioning of a newly constructed primary school.

The school was recon-

structed by the regional administration to the tune of over $10 million and is equipped with a ramp for persons with disabilities.

It has tiled floors, an office and washroom facilities.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal,

attended the commissioning ceremony on Monday (February 28, 2022). He was joined by Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley and Vice Chairperson, Anansha Peters.

During brief remarks, (Turn to page 18)

Over 500 women-headed businesses registered on WIIN app

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ome 525 businesswomen countrywide are now advertising their businesses on the Human Services Ministry, Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) app.

The free platform is an extension of the WIIN programme, which was conceptualised to upskill Guyanese women, providing them with the tools for financial stability and

empowerment.

The WIIN app, is simple and easy to use by both vendors and consumers. It can be downloaded on both android and apple devices, locally and internationally, displaying a wide array of local services and products.

Some products provided include ecommerce, automotive/repairs, entertainment, consultations,

food, clothing, crafts and more.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, M.P, has said that the app will enable persons to view local products digitally. She said, “We would like people to have the products for women in their hand because when we held ‘We Lift’ last year there were (Turn to page 18)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

Amerindian Development…

FOCUS ON GUYANA’ S FIRST PEOPLE Lower Mazaruni Toshaos Residents’ request for equipment responded to and other community T leaders engaged T

oshaos and other community leaders from the titled villages in the lower Mazaruni areas, Region 7, were engaged by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira.

The meeting provides an opportunity for the lead-

ers to raise concerns, share opinions, and get information about government projects.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance has also prepared packages which include GOAL and GSA scholarship registration forms, WIIN

information sheets, births, marriage and death registration forms, copies of the ROPA amendments, and other useful information for the villages.

Teixeira is the geographical Parliamentarian representing Region 7.

he Mora Camp community was supported with a brushcutter, following residents' requests for the equipment to aid in the maintenance and beautification of the village.

The presentation was made after a community meeting at the St. John the Baptist Primary School in Bartica.

The equipment was handed over by Minister of Parlia-

mentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, during an outreach to Region 7.

Government ministers were dispatched to communities around the country for similar exercises.

Sakarara Bay gets boat and engine

– Teixeira says support will increase access to education

S $13.7 M nursery school commissioned in Sebai

S

ome 40 students of Sebai, Matarkai sub-district, Region One (Barima Waini), will benefit from a $13.7 million nursery school, which was commissioned recently.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, attended the commissioning ceremony of the school, which was constructed by the regional administration last year. He was accompanied by Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, Regional Executive Officer (REO), Tikeram Bissessar, Chairman of the Matarkai Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Orlando Thorne and newly appointed Regional Education Officer, Chiveon Bovell-Success.

Minister Croal said the construction of the new school in the riverine community is testimony to the government’s commitment to provide equal educational opportunities for the nation’s

children. “We will continue to invest in the education sector because we understand the importance of educating the nation’s children.

With our new status as an oil producing country, it is important that we invest in our future leaders,” the minister told the gathering.

He said the vision the government has for education is to ensure all teachers are trained to deliver quality education at all institutions.

This is not different for Sebai, as efforts will be made to ensure trained teachers are placed at the new school.

Further, Regional Chairman, Ashley outlined a number of transformational projects being undertaken in the Barima Waini Region, aimed at advancing the living standards of the residents. He reminded the residents of the teachers’ quarter which was destroyed by fire many years ago and which the former administration failed

to reconstruct. Today, the community has a new building to house its teachers. As it relates to the school, he noted that furniture will be installed shortly and efforts will be made to ensure the children have all the additional tools to advance their learning. “Our government does not only believe in talking the talk in education, but walking the walk. We are going to transform the educational landscape of the region. We are going to ensure that a well-rounded education is provided to every child,” Ashley said.

Headmistress, Karen Benjamin, explained that the school will be a significant boost, since the children are currently being housed in a cramped space at the primary school, which also houses secondary aged students.

The school’s construction is part of serval infrastructure projects in hinterland locations.

tudents residing in Sakarara Bay, Region Seven, have been afforded improved access to education after the community received a boat and engine.

The investment by government is the fulfilment of its manifesto promise of ensuring every child has access to an education.

The $1.1 million investment was handed over to the community by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teix-

eira. She said the boat and engine are a fulfillment of a commitment made by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall to the community, after residents brought the issue to his attention mid last year.

Since taking office, government has placed special emphasis on education and ensuring every child has equal access. It reinstated the ‘Because we care’ cash grant, in-

creased it significantly and even extended it to private schools.

Added to that, government began last year giving out online scholarships.

Over 6,000 citizens have since benefited from across the country with the next batch already in the process of being streamlined.

The budgetary allocation for 2022 is $74.4 billion, an increase from the $60.7 billion allocated in 2021.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Action-oriented, solution-based proposal to reduce food import bill by 2025 presented to CARICOM leaders P resident Dr. Irfaan Ali, this week, led a high-level delegation to the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, currently being held in Belize (March 1-2).

This biannual meeting brought together the leaders of CARICOM, to discuss major issues affecting the

region, and to agree on appropriate policy actions.

Among the issues addressed were: • Advancing the CARICOM Agri-food Systems Agenda; • COVID 19 and its impact on the region; • Advancement of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and nec-

essary actions to support its implementation; and • Questions of security In particular, President Ali, in the capacity of Lead Head on Agriculture, Agricultural Diversification and Food Security, presented on Tuesday (March 1, 2022) an action-oriented and solution-based proposal, aiming at the 25% reduction of the

food import bill by 2025 as was mandated by the CARICOM Heads of Government.

He outlined the significant contributions made over the one-year lifespan of the Special Ministerial Taskforce (MTF), with specifically developed investment projects in poultry, corn and soya, and mutton (black belly sheep).

In the area of de-risking

the agriculture sector, the MTF received a proposal from the GraceKennedy Insurance Company Limited Jamaica and has started the first stage of implementation.

They have also commenced exploring public-private partnership models for transportation and logistics.

The Head of State of Guyana made a detailed presentation on each country’s report of current and target commodities to achieve 25% reduction by 2025, outlining both constraints and actions needed. At the same time, he highlighted that coffee, cocoa, coconut, spices, hemp (industrial) and palm oil are high-value imported into CARICOM with potential for development in the region.

Production is expected to increase between 25% and 700% to be able to significantly reduce food imports by 2025. To achieve this, national expenditure on agriculture must be increased. On average CARICOM member states expended an estimated 2.1% of national expenditure on agriculture. However, President Ali implored that a significant increase is required of about 5% expenditure in agriculture by 2025 by each member state. Guyana is committed to expending 10% of the national budget to agriculture by 2025.

The Lead Head for Agriculture reported that there has been concrete progress in access to financing for agriculture investment, financing

through a facility called the CARICOM Sustainability Agriculture Credit Facility (the “Credit Facility”), using Republic Bank Limited as a lender. This is a special facility designed for agriculture activities including, but not limited to, development of priority crops, capital equipment for farming, feeder roads to provide access to arable lands, bulk storage for crops, processing plants, shade house farming.

This provides funding for up to five years for repaying up to G$2b to Guyana and US$100m to all CARICOM member states, with interest rates as low as 2.5%.

President Ali also highlighted the global developments and its implication in the agricultural implications in the region.

Given the critical need for improved connectivity to foster the easy movement of cargo, President Ali also spoke to the issue of ‘Improving CARICOM Food Security through Enhanced Maritime Transport’.

The Guyanese President was commended by Heads of State and governments for driving the transformational agriculture agenda. The Heads hailed the President’s passion and leadership in addressing this most critical issue of food security facing the region. In addition to adopting the recommendations, Heads pledged their full commitment to the plan as presented by President Ali.

President Ali touts production of vaccines

by Caribbean Region

P

resident Irfaan Ali on Tuesday (March 1, 2022) proposed that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) should develop its capacity to produce vaccines for Covid-19 and other illnesses.

In an invited comment, he recalled the difficulties faced by the Region in acquiring Covid-19 vaccines and underscored the importance of putting systems in place to ensure a different outcome in the future.

President Ali is attending the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Ambergris Caye, Belize.

The Guyanese President

said that CARICOM should follow the direction of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), whose membership decided to examine the prospect of building capacity to manufacture its own vaccines.

He said, “I think as a Region, as CARICOM, we must send a signal to the private sector and development agencies through a collective discussion that we are also going to pursue this path of building the capacity.”

He added that Covid-19 vaccines are one of many that can be produced in the region and that Guyana is ready to play its part. Ali said, “I want (Turn to page 19)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

CARICOM restates support for Guyana’s territorial integrity ‒ country’s memorial for submission to ICJ on Tuesday

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he Guyana/Venezuela border controversy came up for discussion during the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government’s 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, which opened on Tuesday (March 1, 2022).

CARICOM’S Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett, during a press briefing, on Monday (February 28, 2022), said, “There are two border issues in the region that are on the agenda for every meeting. One is the Guyana-Venezuela, and the other, of course, is the Belize-Guatemala. Those are issues that the heads follow very closely. Those are the issues which make the region stand strong on the matter of self-determination and territorial integrity.”

According to her, given the severity of border controversy and potential fallout, CARICOM has a structure for raising and addressing issues of this nature.

CARICOM’s most recent position on the Guyana Venezuela border controversy saw an expression of “firm and unwavering” support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.

Notably, Budget 2022 includes an allocation of $660 million for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to pay for legal fees in the Guyana- Venezuela border case which is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

MARCH 8TH SUBMISSION Meanwhile, next Tuesday, March 8, 2022, will see the submission of Guyana’s Memorial on the merits of the country’s case to the International Court of Justice.

Guyana was granted one year by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), until 8 March, 2022, to file written pleadings in its case against Venezuela. This is according to an Order issued by the Court on March 8, 2021.

Venezuela then has until March 8, 2023 to file a Counter-Memorial of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela The ICJ on December 18, 2020 delivered its Judgment in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v.

Venezuela) – relative to the question of the Court’s jurisdiction. The court ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s case seeking the validation of the 1899 arbitral award establishing the boundary with Venezuela. Venezuela did not take part in the proceedings.

The judgment found that both Guyana and Venezuela had conferred authority on the UN Secretary General under Article 4, paragraph two of the February 17th 1966 Geneva Agreement.

That agreement allowed the Secretary General to choose a means of settlement under Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations which included judicial settlement.

A press statement from the ICJ said, “In its Judgment, which is final, without appeal and binding on the Parties, the Court, by twelve votes to four, finds that it has jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on 29 March 2018 in so far as it concerns the validity of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela…(the Court) unanimously, Finds that it

does not have jurisdiction to entertain the claims of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana arising from events that occurred after the signature of the Geneva Agreement.”

PRIORITY In September 2020, President Dr. Irfaan Ali made clear that a resolution of the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case, which is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is a priority of the PPP/C government He reminded that it was the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in 2014 that had put an end to the interminable ‘good offices’ dialogue with Venezuela, after “it had become, for them, a strategy of prolonging contention rather than of seeking solution.”

The Guyanese Head of State contended that there is no policy more sacred than those relating to the country’s border for his Administration. “As Guyanese, all of us stood with the previous Administration in defence of Guyana’s patrimony. For us, Guyana’s territorial integrity is never a matter for domestic division; it is always a matter for national cohesion,” he said.

Ali added that Guyana must be loyal to the enduring vision of the country being truly “One Nation” and indivisible. “Therefore, the PPP/C gave full support to the former Administration when, as initiated by us, they submitted the Venezuela contention to the International Court of Justice. We shall not descend. The sovereignty of our State, the integrity of our territory – both land and sea – is a sacred trust. We must defend, and we will do so in collaboration with our partners and allies,” he

The shaded area of Guyana’s map is the territory being claimed by Venezuela, land that is west of the Essequibo River

noted.

ICJ CASE The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) held public hearings on the question of the Court’s jurisdiction in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) on June 30, 2020. The ICJ had postponed the long-anticipated hearing of the Guyana/Venezuela border dispute case that was scheduled to begin on March 23, 2020, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

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

Guyana took its case to the Court following the decision by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in January 2018, that the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela should be decided by the International Court of Justice. In taking his decision, the Secretary-General was exercising the power vested in him in the 1966

Geneva Agreement between Guyana, Venezuela and the United Kingdom to decide how the controversy should be settled.

Venezuela has claimed, in a letter to the Court, that the Secretary-General exceeded his authority under the Geneva Agreement, and that the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Guyana’s lawsuit. On this basis, Venezuela has indicated that it will not participate in the proceedings.

On November 19, 2018, Guyana submitted its Memorial to the Court refuting Venezuela’s arguments and demonstrating that the Court has jurisdiction.

However, under well-established judicial precedent, the Court will proceed to decide if it has jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, irrespective of whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings.

MOVE TO COURT Under the United Nations Charter and the Court’s own rules, its final judgments both on jurisdiction and the merits will be legally binding on Guyana and Venezuela, whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings.

Efforts over more than half-a-century, including a four-year Mixed Commis-

sion (1966-1970), a twelveyear moratorium (19701982), a seven-year process of consultations on a means of settlement (1983-1990), and a twenty-seven-year Good Offices Process under the UN Secretary-General’s authority (1990-2017), all failed to end the border controversy.

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

On 30 January 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, acting under the authority bestowed upon him by the Geneva Agreement, chose adjudication by the Court as the means for resolving the controversy with finality. Guyana commenced proceedings before the Court on 29 March 2018 in accordance with the Secretary-General’s decision.

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

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

Attempts being made to undermine transformation trajectory with misinformation campaign – Singh A

select few are engaged in “an attempt to frustrate development” in Guyana, according to Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh.

He said, “The resumption of this campaign of misinformation has one objective in mind-the same objective as the misinformation campaign during the pre-2015 period and that is to frustrate development-to deny the people development as long as the PPP/C is in office,” he charged, adding that narrow political motives are fueling this misguided effort.

The misinformation campaign has targeted major projects, including the new Demerara River bridge project, the gas to energy project and the Amaila Falls

Hydropower project.

AMAILA FALLS HYDROPOWER PROJECT Recently, Singh condemned the misinformation campaign targeting the Amaila Falls Hydropower project. “I want to express in the strongest possible terms my grave disappointment and indeed our government’s grave disappointment at the campaign of misinformation that is being waged in relation to major developmental projects and in particular, most recently, in relation to the Amaila Falls Hydropower project,” the Minister said reminding that the project was subject to extremely detailed studies and analysis by international technical experts and it was examined by international development agencies

and bilateral partners such as Norway.

He added that it was also examined by international investors. “In fact, if we were to cast our minds back to the pre-2015 period, we had brought (the then PPP/C Government) the project to a point where we had a major, large, credible international investor who was ready and willing to invest in this project. It would be recalled that the then APNU/AFC used their one-seat majority while in opposition to derail and ultimately to frustrate the project. Had the then APNU/AFC not done so… not only would construction have commenced but construction by now would have been completed and Amaila would have been providing electricity to the National Grid,” The Senior Finance Minister explained.

He noted that what was particularly significant was that the then Government upon assuming office in 2015 commissioned a study to be done by an international consultancy entity (Norwegian Consultancy Agency) Norconsult to complete a study on the project.

“Norconsult did an extensive study and concluded in very favorable terms that the Amaila Falls project was the best option for Guyana to transition to clean renewable energy. That report is publicly available Minister Singh further emphasized while reminding that despite all that, the APNU/AFC government did not proceed with the project, nor did they produce an alternative project. He posited that the PPP/C Government committed to resuming work on the project and completing it

“The resumption of this campaign of misinformation has one objective in mind-the same objective as the misinformation campaign during the pre-2015 period and that is to frustrate development-to deny the people development as long as the PPP/C is in office,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh once it assumed office once more.

The Ministry of Finance has stressed that the Amaila Falls project has been extensively studied and reviewed.

Many of the current project risks were exposed to the public since 2012 and were properly reviewed by all partners (including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and due diligence was conducted by expert firms on behalf of the

IDB. As recently as 2016, the project was reviewed at the request of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)

by Norway via an independent firm Norconsult. The current project, taken as a whole, based on independent reviews and analysis, manages risks prudently.

The project also represents a clean, renewable means of electricity with significant financial savings for Guyana.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW THE PPP/C’ S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, MORE

Efforts made to deflect, obfuscate questions at PAC about Coalition’s financial breaches – Edghill T

he Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met on Monday (February 28, 2022) to continue its review of the Auditor General’s 2017 report – a report that exposed major financial breaches committed by the former APNU+AFC Coalition government.

And during the meeting, the Coalition’s Jermaine Figueira, who chairs the PAC, moved to instruct parliamentary staff to silence Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, who was leading the questioning on the sale of three government-owned vehicles in 2017 in the care of the then-Indigenous Peoples Affairs Ministry in breach of due process.

The questioning led to a heated exchange in the PAC, which resulted in Figueira’s instruction.

In comments to the Weekend Mirror, Edghill said, “The Chairman and members of the Opposition benches are using spurious arguments which are inconsistent with practices

to protect individuals and companies when it comes to questioning on corrupt transactions…when it is something that embarrasses them, some rule is being invoked about not calling names. “...it is clear that even though the Opposition is chairing the PAC, they are examining a period when they were in government and there is an undue haste to complete the review. Also, there are interruptions when certain questions are raised to deflect and obfuscate the issues.”

SALE OF VEHICLES On the matter that led to Edghill being silenced, Government Parliamentarian and PAC member, Dharamkumar Seeraj, pointed out to the PAC that the vehicles included a Toyota pickup truck valued at $50,000, which was sold at the same price; a Nissan Frontier valued at $100,000 which was sold at $50,000, although the highest bid for the vehicle was $500,000; and a

Coalition’s spending of millions without approval questioned at PAC

I

n 2017, the Auditor General had found that 13 contracts valued at $27.2 million had been entered into by the then Indigenous Peoples Affairs Ministry. Further, works had started before these contracts were even approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

Additionally, Auditor General also highlighted another 29 contracts valued at $18.9 million, which were signed before approval from the Ministerial Tender Board.

These financial breached were chalked up to system errors.

Member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Dharamkumar Seeraj, questioned how this could have happened and what disciplinary action was taken. Acting Permanent Secretary, Ryan Tulsieram explained that the issue has since been addressed and those officers

responsible had their tasks reassigned. “There were errors where procedures were concerned. These errors were subsequently addressed. And the Ministry did not err in this area again. The reviews, honourable member Mr Seeraj, on their performance appraisals were noted. And there was a separation of duties in some cases,” the Permanent Secretary.

Seeraj charged that there was also 11 instances where $3.7 million in invoices were dated before contract approval – meaning that work started before contract approval was given. The Acting Permanent Secretary explained that a written response on the questions in this regard will be provided.

The exchange took place when PAC met on Monday (February 28, 2022) to continue its review of the Auditor General’s 2017 report – a report that exposed major financial breaches committed by the former APNU+AFC Coalition government.

Toyota Coaster bus valued at $950,000, which was sold at $301,000 although the highest bid was $1,010,000.

He queried why these vehicles were not sold to the highest bidder, and questioned how the accounting officer could reconcile the response that proper guidelines were followed when two of the vehicles were not sold to their closest value, and to the highest bidder.

The PAC was told that efforts were also made to have the vehicles donated to training institutions across Guyana, however, these proved futile as they were rejected because of their condition.

Eventually, based on guidance from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, as then called, the vehicles were sold.

INFORMATION SUPPRESSED Edghill questioned, “Was the buyer of these vehicles any way related to a member of staff of the ministry or was it a member of the ministry?”

He was denied access to

the information. Edghill returned, “Then we can’t name any other contractor anything here. We have asked for the name of a defaulting contractor; we have asked for the name of an engineer…I am simply asking who were the buyers? I want to establish that the buyers were not somebody from the ministry…why are we trying to hide it?”

Figueira ruled that Edghill was “out of order” and instructed that the minister’s microphone be muted.

“I am chairing this meeting,”

Figueira said.

Edghill persisted sand said, “I am making a point and you are interrupting… you and your members have an interest in this matter… was the buyers members of staff and/or related to members of the ministry? Or was [it] a government official?”

The Public Works Minister expressed concern that the name of the buyer will not be provided. “They are suppressing that information… this is inconsistent with practices that have taken place at the PAC before and I want it

to be noted,” he said.

Notably, as a regular practice, an advertisement or solicitation of bids is widely published to invite relevant stakeholders to take part in the bidding process. Once this is done, bidders will attend specific meetings, and thereafter submit their sealed bids. A bid is usually won based on the lowest responsible sum. In a case of selling, an item is expected to be sold to the highest bidder for maximum profit to be gained by the government, while still being reasonable to bidders.

Public invited to make submissions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill

T

he general public has been invited to offer their comments on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2020 – Bill No. 2 of 2021, which is currently before a Special Select Committee for the consideration of custodial sentences.

In a statement issued on the Parliament Office’s website, the committee said that it is inviting the public, both as individuals and organizations, to render their views on the issue of punishments or sentences offered for the possession and use of narcotics captured under the Act. The statement said, “The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill

2020- Bill No. 2 of 2021 has been committed to a Special Select Committee of the National Assembly.

This Bill seeks to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. The Committee has begun its work and wishes to receive from members of the public, individuals, and organisations their views on the said Bill. The Committee is, therefore, extending an invitation to members of the public and organisations to forward written submissions of their views on the Bill no later than March 21, 2022.

The submission should address those segments of the Bill that are of interest to you or your organization and should consist of no more than 1000 words.”

The amendment, which seeks to offer alternative means of addressing the use of small amounts of cannabis, provides for mandatory counselling or a period of community service.

As it stands, someone in possession of fewer than 16 grams of cannabis can be charged with trafficking, which holds a prison sentence between 3 to 5 years, and a fine of no less than $30,000.

The amendment bill increases the quantity of cannabis that would automatically attract a trafficking charge from 15 grams to more than 30 grams. Once passed, the amendment will make the possession of 15 grams or less an offence of simple possession. “…a per-

son who has been convicted [for simple possession] … [must] undergo mandatory counselling by a certified counsellor specified by the court,” the amendment bill reads.

The proposal also removes the fine and jail time attached to smoking, inhaling, sniffing or otherwise using cannabis or even being found in a place used for that purpose.

This proposed amendment is in line with the PPP/C administration’s aim to continue its work in ensuring the reformation of the criminal justice system.

The committee is asking for the public to forward written submissions of their views on the Bill no later than March 12, 2022.

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PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW

THE PPP/C’ S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, MORE Parliamentary Committee of PAC finally accepts nominees for Public Appointment selects Dunstan Procurement Commission T Barrow for NRF Board A majority vote at the level of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments, on Wednesday (March 2, 2022), saw the selection of former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Parliamentarian, Dunstan Barrow, as the nominee for the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Board.

The APNU+AFC Coalition members on the Committee walked out after the

vote, insisting that their candidate, chartered accountant Christopher Ram, should have been selected.

The PPP/C Parliamentarians and Coalition Parliamentarians each named three nominees. The PPP/C nominees included Barrow; Guyana’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Hamley Case; and former Deputy Commissioner General of the Guyana

Revenue Authority (GRA), Clement Sealey. The Opposition proposed: Christopher Ram; and former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Adams and others.

The list of was narrowed down to three, from which Barrow was supported.

Barrow’s name will now be presented to the National Assembly for approval. A (Turn to page 19)

he Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has finally agreed to the names of five nominees to sit on the Public Procurement Commission (PPC).

The PAC, under the stewardship of the APNU+AFC Coalition’s Jermaine Figueira, as chair of PAC, saw a delay in agreeing on the names. Sources close the issue had disclosed that the delay stemmed from a fallout between the APNU and AFC Coalition partners on the nominees for the Public Procurement Commission.

The names are expected to

be addressed by the full House when the National Assembly meets again; at which time a two-third majority vote is needed before the PPC Commissioners can be sworn in.

Out of 25 names, the Government and the Parliamentary Opposition had agreed on the five suitable candidates to constitute the Public Procurement Commission. The PPP/C government’s nominees were: Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase; Financial Analyst Joel Bhagwandin; and Rajnarine Singh.

The APNU+AFC Coalition’s nominees were: economist

Rawle Lucas; and Berkeley Wickham, former Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The PAC had formed a sub-committee to expedite the process to finalise the members of the commission. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, acted on behalf of President Dr Irfaan Ali, and Chairman Figueira, acted on behalf of the Parliamentary Opposition.

The life of the last commission expired in October 2020.

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Guyana supports UN resolution on Ukraine ‒ calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to diplomacy

G

uyana has once again called for the cessation of attacks by Russia on Ukraine, urging instead for the peaceful resolution of conflict and a return to diplomacy.

Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett made the call Tuesday (March 1, 2022), as the United Nations’

(UN) General Assembly re-convened for day two of an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as a Russian convoy of tanks and other armoured vehicles move on the capital city of Kyiv.

The General Assembly will vote this week on a draft resolution to isolate Russia by deploring its “aggression against Ukraine” and

demanding Russian troops stop fighting and withdraw on Friday.

The session is being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Ambassador Birkette said Guyana fully aligns itself with the statements issued by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and with the declaration of Organization of American States

(OAS) on the situation in Ukraine.

She noted the deep concern of the government, over the recent military intervention by Russia in violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and called for an immediate cessation of hostility and a return to diplomacy. “Guyana deplores the threat of use of force in the conduct of international relation and urges a peaceful resolution of the differences that currently exist in consonance (Turn to page 21)

WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

EMTs being targeted for... (From page 7) efficacious service on-site when they arrive, either at a traffic accident or at the home where somebody is in medical distress,” he said.

Since 2016, the national EMS has responded to over 15,630 medical emergencies reported through the Guyana Fire Service’s (GFS) ‘912’ emergency hotline.

Some 100 EMTs, nine e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l r esponders; 32 emergency medical dispatchers; 618 police officers; 48 ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU); and 21 surveyors from the Guy-

ana Lands and Surveys Commission have received training so far.

Some 115 firefighters; 165 staffers of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI); and 24 workers from the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) were also trained.

Minister Benn noted that the unit’s progress will also complement the fire stations’ efforts, including the Eccles and Central Fire Stations currently being constructed. “The foundation (for Central Fire Sta-

tion) is being laid already and it is important, because we say that the Stabroek area is too congested. It has to be improved, of course, but it has to have the adequate space for the new appliances we are bringing in…we need to have a new layout, new buildings, modern architecture and the ability to respond as quickly as possible to the question of fires.” Some $614 million will be used to build the GFS’ new headquarter.

To ensure the country’s EMS operates smoothly, legislations are being drafted to govern its functions.

Gov’t operationalises Local... process will be initiated.

3. After conducting the necessary checks and balances, the Secretariat will either approve the application and issue a Certificate of Registration or refuse the application and notify the applicant.

4. The holder of a Certificate of Registration from the Local Content Secretariat has satisfied the requirements stipulated in the Local Content Act No.18 of 2021 as a Guyanese National and/or Company for the Provision of goods and services or employment within the Petroleum Sector.

5. Once an application is approved and a Certificate of Registration granted, the applicant will be issued with login credentials to gain access to

either the Supplier Registration Portal or the Employment Portal.

Through the respective portals, the Secretariat will communicate available procurement opportunities to registered Guyanese suppliers and available employment opportunities to registered Guyanese seeking employment.

The Certificate of Registration becomes renewable on the anniversary of its issuance.

The option to renew the Certificate is available in the Supplier and Employment Portals.

The Local Content Bill lays out 40 different services that oil and gas companies and their subcontractors must procure from Guyanese companies by the end of 2022.

(From page 7) For instance, these companies must procure from Guyanese companies, 90% of office space rental and accommodation services; 90% janitorial services, laundry and catering services; 95% pest control services; 100% local insurance services; 75% local supply of food; and 90% local accounting services. These are just a few of the services highlighted in the first schedule in the Local Content Act. The Local Content Act penalties for oil and gas companies and their sub-contractors who fail to meet the minimum targets of the legislation, as well as those who are in breach of the Act. These fines range from as low as $5 million to as high as $50 million.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

Over 500 women-headed... (From page 8)

Haimaracabra students to...

so many fabulous products created and produced by women of such high quality and they were just waiting to be marketed. I am a big believer that we need to support and encourage this. When you are buying your presents or when you want to give a gift, support what is produced locally.”

The Ministry also dispenses a sum of $50,000 to women who graduate from the WIIN programme providing them the opportunity to launch or enhance

Minister Croal outlined the government’s vision for the education sector, particularly in the hinterland regions. The aim, he said, is to create an enabling environment where the nation’s children could access quality education regardless of their location or background. It is for this reason, he noted that the PPP/C Administration, since taking office in 2020, has been investing huge sums in the education sector. This has led to new and modernised schools

their own businesses.

To further ensure women are on the path to financial stability, the Ministry has collaborated with the Women’s Chambers of Commerce to offer guidance and expertise on what is needed to grow their business and the Centre for Local Business Development to offer technical assistance, expertise and mentorship. “A lot of the women who were trained they were looking for funding to get their pro-

grammes, their businesses and so on started and to buy equipment and different things depending on what they were doing. So, a lot of them were really appreciative of this grant,” said Minister Persaud.

Additionally, WIIN will be offering business literacy courses to further empower women.

Persons interested in utilising the ministry’s platform can do so online at https://wiin.gov.gy/#/ or by downloading the app.

across the country, learning materials provided to students, more trained teachers and support to parents. “All the investment we can make as a government, as a region, none of it is more important than ensuring that we invest in the education sector…All we aspire to as parents, as teachers and as leaders is to ensure we produce in this country, persons who will take up various positions across our country, elevated by their studies so that we can

(From page 8)

have a wealthier nation,” he noted.

In the Moruca sub-district, for the first time, the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) is being offered at the Santa Rosa Secondary School, he added.

Upgrades will be done to a number of other institutions in the area this year.

This year, the sum of $4.4 billion was allocated to the Regional Administration of which $2.2 billion will be directed towards education delivery.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

Parliamentary Committee... (From page 15) President Ali touts production majority vote will be re- ural Resource Fund’s (NRF) sector’. of vaccines... (From page 10) quired before he can be Board of Directors, as stipuThe inclusion in the new appointed.

In addition to Barrow, President Dr. Irfaan Ali is expected to name three persons and the Private Sector is expected to name one.

The five persons will make up the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Board.

The National Assembly on January 24, 2022 approved a Motion by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh for the Appointment Committee to recommend a Parliamentary nominee to serve on the new 2021 Nat-

lated in Part III of the Act, as well as for another Parliamentary Nominee to serve on the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee (PAOC) in pursuant of Section VI of the new Act. According to Part III of the new Act, Governance and Management of the Fund ‘shall be selected from among persons who have wide experience and ability in legal, financial business or administrative matters, one of whom shall be nominated by the National Assembly and one of whom shall be a representative of the private

Act (Board of Directors) was made by government as part of groundbreaking amendments to the old 2019 NRF Act as it removed the excessive powers of the Minister which were contained in the old Act. It also allows for management of the Fund by the Board of Directors, a Board which will be responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund and monitoring its performance, thereby completely separating the management of the Fund from the Minister responsible for Finance.

to really put on the table, the idea of us sending a stern signal that we are willing as a region to work towards this direction. Guyana is willing to support and willing to provide the foundation.”

President Ali also noted that vaccine manufacturers India and China have already expressed their interest in being a part of the process. He said, “It is for us to send the

signal and we must make that decision.”

The President said that since the Caribbean Development Bank was present at the Heads of Government meeting, they should be asked to examine the financial and social viability of developing the Region’s capacity. The Region, he added, must be proactive about the future of its people.

President Ali said he endorsed the development of a regional strategy to deal with the pandemic. He noted that such a strategy would help to mitigate the financial and social risks of nations.

Guyana had its first Covid-19 case on March 11, 2020, and since then has recorded over 62,700 cases (8.2% of the population) with a recent decrease in infection.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

COM M ENTARY

Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Govt has brought new energy and vision to agriculture in the Caribbean Region Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

F

ollowing the impressive first ever oil and gas

Conference held in Guyana and CARICOM this past month, now the first ever Agriculture Investment Con-

ference for the Region will be held in Guyana in May 2022, according to Prime Minister Motley.

For more than a century, the mantra has been that Guyana is the food basket of the Caribbean. Finally,

President Irfaan Ali has succeeded in getting CARICOM to recognize that Guyana is the genuine thing, that Guyana is its bread basket. This time CARICOM is acting as if they believe, finally. Never has agriculture dominated a Head of Government meeting, anywhere in the world like it did during this past week in Belize. Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s People’s President, is fast enshrining his mark as Guyana’s and CARICOM Agriculture President.

During his twelve years as President of Guyana, Bharat Jagdeo was undoubtedly one of the leaders among the CARICOM Heads of Government. At a time when towering leaders like Owen Arthur, PJ Patterson, Ralph Gonsalves dominated among CARICOM heads of government, Bharat Jagdeo emerged as an undisputed champion. A decade after Bharat Jagdeo ended his run as President of Guyana, one of protégé is following closely in his footsteps. There can be no doubt that Irfaan Ali is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Bharat Jagdeo. Like Bharat Jagdeo did in his two-anda-half Presidential terms, Irfaan Ali is truly becoming a leader among the Heads of State in CARICOM. Truly, together with Prime Minister Mia Motley, Irfaan Ali has become a clear leader among CARICOM’s Heads of State.

In less than two years at the helm of the Guyana government, President Irfaan Ali walks among his colleagues at Heads meetings as a champion. I am proud of my President. Guyanese are proud of their President.

For twelve years, Bharat Jagdeo carried the title of Agriculture Lead for CARICOM with distinction. Under David Granger, between 2015 and 2020, Guyana was still given the honor to lead agriculture. But David Granger never once took on the role and Guyana lost ground in agriculture within CARICOM. He had no interest and appeared as if he was ashamed to speak of agriculture in CARICOM. In fact, while CARICOM might

not have given enough attention to the Jagdeo Initiative, it was David Granger that single-handedly killed the Jagdeo Initiative. President Bharat Jagdeo, followed

by President Donald Ramotar, had gotten CARICOM to begin the process of identifying and removing non-tariff trade barriers that stymied growth of agriculture in Guyana. It is true that CARICOM moved very slowly in removing the trade barriers by 2015. But David Granger killed the process with his non-interest and his disinterest.

Today, President Irfaan Ali has brought new energy and vision to agriculture, not only in Guyana, but is leading a revolution in agriculture in CARICOM. Never before has CARICOM Heads of Government been so enthused about agriculture as they are at this moment. Never has agriculture been so prominent at CARICOM’s Heads of Government meetings. At a time when Guyana’s Oil and Gas resources have awed the world, President Irfaan Ali has succeeded in transforming how CARICOM Heads view agriculture. It is a signal achievement. Guyana and the Guyanese people will benefit enormously because CARICOM is paying attention, finally, to Guyana’s rich agriculture potential.

Guyana under President Bharat Jagdeo presented an opportunity for CARICOM to tangibly reduce food imports. President Bharat Jagdeo had proposed the Jagdeo Initiative that had nine key priorities for the Region which would have led to a significant reduction in food imports in the Region. CARICOM, at the time, did not give the initiative the kind of support it needed. The Jagdeo Initiative is still of significance and still very relevant. Building on the Jagdeo Initiative, President Irfaan Ali has been the champion of a new initiative simply dubbed the 25 X 25 Food Security Initiative. Simply put, this initiative is intended to (Turn to page 22)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 5-6 MARCH, 2022

Guyana supports UN resolution... (From page 16) with the rule of international law and the provisions of the United Nations charter,” Rodrigues-Birkett told the UN. She said the current military action of Ukraine is contrary to the principles of respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and none-interference of the affairs of another sovereign state. “The aggression against Ukraine is a threat to the region and

countries everywhere. The Government of Guyana therefore supports the efforts of the UN Secretary General to bring a speedy resolution to the situation in Ukraine and cease the threats to international peace and security.”

In this regard, Ambassador Birkette relayed that the Guyana Government fully supports the resolution brought before the UN Gen-

eral Assembly.

Guyana on Wednesday (March 2, 2022) voted ‘Yes’ at the United Nations in New York to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Notably, Guyana was a co-sponsor of the UN Resolution which seeks to isolate Russia.

The vote on Wednesday saw 141 states vote in favour of the motion, 35 abstentions,

including Cuba, and five votes against the resolution.

Voting against the resolution were: Syria, Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Russia. The remaining 12 countries of the 193 UN member countries, including Venezuela, did

not have a position recorded.

A two-thirds majority was needed for the resolution to pass, meaning at least 129 votes, which the resolution received.

The resolution demanded that Russia stops its offensive

in Ukraine and withdraw all troops, with nations from world powers to tiny island states condemning Moscow’s actions. To achieve this, the 193-member assembly had convened its first emergency session since 1997.

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Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Govt has brought new... reduce CARICOM’S $US5B food import bill by 25% by 2025. This is one of the most important development initiatives coming out of the region for decades.

Dr. Irfaan Ali has earned the title the People’s President. His leadership style of being among the people, leading from the front, follows and builds on the tradition established by previous PPP Presidents, such as Cheddi Jagan and Bharat Jagdeo. Taking the cabinet and leading his government, while participating in community activities with the

people, Irfaan Ali affirms the PPP’s style of the President being a servant leader. But leading activities such as the national clean-up campaign, taking up shovels and rakes to work alongside the citizens to clean-up our country, is also building on the cabinet outreach program established by President Bharat Jagdeo during his terms in office. Between 1999 and 2011, Bharat Jagdeo frequently took cabinet meetings to all the Regions of Guyana and each of those cabinet meetings was followed by extensive cabinet

outreaches. Just as President Jagdeo did between 1999 and 2011, so is President Irfaan Ali living and working among the ordinary citizens of Guyana.

Today, President Irfaan Ali has also become the Agriculture President. Under his leadership agriculture is being transformed.

With $22B in Budget 2022, agriculture has one of the largest budget allocations that agriculture has ever had in Guyana, accounting for about 5% of the total budget.

CARICOM countries spend an average of only about 2% of their annual budgets on agriculture. President Ali has committed to further increasing budget allocations for this critical sector, promising that annual allocations will reach 10% of the budget by 2025 and he urged CARICOM countries to lift the average in their countries from a weak 2% to, at least, 5% by 2025. Budget 2022 in Guyana has allocated more than $13B to improve drainage and irrigation, $6B for GUYSUCO, $888M to transform corn and soya into exportable products, $66M to bring coconut into

competing as the top producer in CARICOM, $977M for livestock development, $744M to support fisheries and aquaculture, $97M to enhance agro-processing and packaging, and $100M to support agriculture innovation and entrepreneurship.

President Irfaan Ali has now added to this impressive support for agriculture in Guyana and in CARICOM. He announced at the 33rd Intersessional Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting this past week in Belize the establishment of the CARICOM Sustainability Agriculture Credit Facility with the Republic Bank as the lender agency. The loan facility is opened to Guyanese citizens and to CARICOM citizens at an interest rate of 2.5%, far, far below the lending rates of banks in CARICOM. Guyanese citizens will have access to $2B in loan program for investments in agriculture development.

But he also made another announcement – the availability of $20B in loan for CARICOM citizens to invest in agriculture. President Ali was able to broker this loan program as one of the many strategies to revolutionize agriculture in CARICOM so that the food import bill can be reduced by 25% by 2025.

The agriculture loan fa-

(From page 20)

cility is intended to support development of priority crops, such as potato, corn and soya, capital equipment for farming, feeder roads to provide access to arable lands, bulk storage for crops, processing plants and shade hose farming. Beside identifying crops such as potato, corn and soya which represent huge importation cost for CARICOM countries, President Ali identified coffee, cocoa, coconut, spices, industrial hemp, and palm oil as crops that can significantly reduce the food import bill. In pushing the agriculture revolution for a 25% reduction in food importation by 2025, President Ali has provided a tangible instrument to make the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME) a reality, rather than just talk.

President Ali particularly highlighted the sad situation with poultry meat for which CARICOM has the capacity to be self-sufficient. Yet more than 98% of poultry meat are presently imported from outside CARICOM. For the small amount produced in CARICOM, most (83%) are produced by Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Belize and Suriname.

CARICOM, for example imported virtually all of its meats from duck, geese, tur-

key and guinea fowls, worth more than $US242M. Overall, poultry meat account for more than $US746M. In addition, President Ali bemoaned the imports of rice worth more than $US980M and dairy products worth more than $US1B. Agriculture provides an opportunity for CARICOM. This is a sustainable development opportunity. For Guyana, agriculture has the potential to bring in more financial earnings than Oil and Gas. Agriculture has been a backbone of Guyana’s economy for more than 300 years.

While David Granger and APNU/AFC tried to abandon agriculture and transform Guyana into an Oil and Gas economy. President Ali and the PPP Government are determined that Oil and Gas will be just a single pillar on the economic platform of our country. Capturing only a small share of CARICOM’s annual food import bill will ensure that Guyana’s agriculture remains the backbone of Guyana’s economy, not just for decades to come, but for centuries to come.

President Ali, Vice President Bharat Jagdeo, the PPP Government are championing agriculture at the center of our vision for finally realizing the dream of Guyana, the Bread Basket of the Caribbean.

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CARPHA confirms presence of Omicron variant in Guyana T

he presence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in Guyana was recently confirmed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.

Providing an update on the 20 samples that were sent for testing, he revealed that 19 were positive for Omicron. The samples were sent for genetic sequencing in order to

determine what COVID-19 variant was circulating in the country.

The health minister stated that authorities were expecting the samples to be positive for Omicron.

He said that one sample was listed as undetermined as it reportedly did not have enough genetic material to be sequenced.

These results come almost two months after local health officials had ex-

pressed suspicion that the Omicron variant was present here due to the surge in cases being reported along with the clinical presentation of those COVID-19 patients.

In January, the health minister had said that just around 50 samples were selected to be shipped to CARPHA for sequencing.

The samples were selected from tests done subsequent to December 28, 2021.

Health workers to be trained for vaccination of children 5 to11 years old -Health Minister

W

CHWs targeted in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy workshop

W

ith over 84 per cent of the adult population having taken the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and over 63 per cent fully vaccinated, there are still many persons hesitant to take the jab because of misinformation.

As the Ministry of Health seeks to address this issue, a number of Community Health Workers (CHWs) are participating in a threeday workshop to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, especially in the remote communities.

At the event held at the Regency Suites, Georgetown, on Monday (February 28, 2022), Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said it is important for citizens to understand that vaccines can protect against the

severe form of the virus and even prevent deaths. “It is a very important thing for us to get people to understand this very, very basic concept that with vaccination it is going to help to protect you and, in many instances, if you’re older and you have comorbidities it can actually save your life,” he said.

He said, Guyana has faced many challenges in the roll-out of its robust vaccination campaigns. These challenges include vaccine storage, adequate PPEs for health workers, space to carry out vaccination and even the procurement of vaccines, among others.

Also, Dr. Anthony said the workshop will help CHWs interact with community and religious leaders, and other influential

persons in the communities, about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.

He is again urging more persons to get vaccinated.

“A lot of our successes came because we have very good partners who really stepped up and assisted us in many ways. So, when we celebrate this success that we’ve achieved here in Guyana of having relatively high vaccination rates in some communities, it is because of not just our local partners who have worked very hard, but our international partners as well,” Minister Anthony said.

There are approximately 80, 959 people still to take the first dose vaccine with about 185, 208 people eligible for a second dose, still to take the jab.

ith the World Health Organisation (WHO) approving the reformulation of the US-made Pfizer vaccine for children five to 11 years old, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, has said the ministry will be training healthcare workers to administer the vaccine to this population.

He said as soon as Guyana receives vaccines for the age cohort, training will be provided to healthcare workers “to make sure they understand the dosing, the mixing and finally how to administer it and then post vaccination, how to observe.”

Dr. Anthony said coun-

tries will now be more confident in administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the younger age group. “It’s good that we’re now seeing that the WHO has decided to go this route. What this would allow is for countries who are interested in giving this vaccine to the children within this age group 11 to 5, will now be able to do it with more confidence,” he said.

Meanwhile, in an effort to provide adequate vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, the WHO and the Pfizer Inc. have developed labs to enable the manufacturing of the Pfizer vaccine in other parts of the World.

“The WHO along with Pfizer company would have developed and sent a mini lab to the African Union in this particular instance to South Africa, where they would now be able to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine in South Africa…I think similar initiatives are on the way in other areas of the world and so we’ll see more capacity being built to be able to manufacture these vaccines over the next year or so,” Dr. Anthony said.

In terms of the 12 to 17 age group, over 33,500 or over 46 per cent took the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and over 24,200 or over 33 per cent took both doses.

WHO establishes negotiating body to prepare for future pandemics

T

he World Health Organisation (WHO) has established an Inter-governmental Negotiating Body (INB) that will help prepare countries for any pandemic in the future.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, M.P, said the initiative will be carried out by a representative from each of the six WHO regions.

Guyana, a country of the

Americas, was tasked with coordinating a meeting with other similar countries to select a representative of the secretariat.During that meeting, Brazil was nominated.

“That body is going to continue to have a series of meetings as we develop and craft a new instrument to make us better prepared for future pandemics, so Guyana will be an integral part of those discussions,” he said.

Further, with the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, the minister said “all the countries of the world should participate in negotiating a new instrument dealing with pandemic preparedness.”

The first meeting of the Inter-governmental Negotiating Body was held on February 24, 2022, with Dr. Anthony speaking on behalf of countries in the Americas.

Coalition must move away from racism, commit to democracy for ‘serious engagement’ to take place – Jagdeo T he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is committed, as it has demonstrated in the past, to a free, inclusive, country where development benefits all Guyanese, according to PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo.

His comments were made during a recent interview, where he addressed comments included in a 2021 report by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was released recently, under the title ‘De-

mocracy, Human Rights, and Governance Assessment: Guyana’.

The report said: “The ruling party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the opposition Coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), need to find a way to form a functioning democracy based on power-sharing rather than a ‘winner takes all’ mentality. This would ensure that the unprecedented wealth in oil reserves can be

transparently and equitably managed for the benefit of all Guyanese.”

Jagdeo said, “The USAD report is not saying anything that we have not said publicly about inclusive governance.

We in the People’s Progressive Party have been talking about this. We’ve lived this.

“We passed a Constitution that promotes inclusive governance; through its features.

When the Parliament was structured very differently, at the level of the legislature, we

changed that. You’d recall we put in place the five Rights Commissions and how you get to sit on one of those Commissions – you have to have two thirds support in the National Assembly, no single party can decide unilaterally who will sit on the five Rights Commissions. We passed a Procurement Commission that again the two parties in parties, or the government and opposition, have to agree to its membership. We have four standing Committees of the

Parliament, two chaired by the Government and two chaired by the Opposition, and it (the chairmanship) is rotated; that was not there before.

“These efforts include the Opposition in the management of the country…I can go through a long list of other measures we addressed to promote inclusive government.”

According to him, the fact remains that efforts to bolster inclusive governance is not a task for one group or one political party; rather it demands the collective effort of stakeholders. “I am sure if USAID read our manifesto they would just repeat what we had – constitutional reform to look at our governance model. So I don’t see anything strange with the report and what it said…the US government is not instructing us or offending us by addressing something we have already called for.

“We have made it clear long before the USAID report, or any other report, and said if APNU (the APNU+AFC Coalition) wants to engage seriously, they have to move away from racism and they have to commit to democracy because that party has a major problem with democracy.

It was built on a history of stealing election and then they tried to do that again in March 2020. And they are still not, I believe, committed to a democratic country. They would speak the rhetoric of democracy. “…when you talk about inclusivity and inclusive governance, you can’t include people in government who are not committed to a national movement for all of our people, which we are working toward and our policies reflect that, and, secondly, who do not believe in democracy.”

The PPP General Secretary made clear that major changes moving forward will be guided by the will of the Guyanese people. “In our last manifesto, in 2020, there are two things we said, including

that we would have national consultations on Constitutional Reform. If the people of this country want power sharing then we are prepared to discuss this because we said we want a model for greater inclusive governance and that is part of our Manifesto,” he said.

In the past, Jagdeo has addressed this issue. In prior comment, he noted that the PPP/C Administration still is unable to find an “honest interlocutor” in the Parliamentary Opposition. He had said, “We still have to, notwithstanding the fact that all efforts made have failed, we still have to reach out to have that done. The problem now is that we do not have an honest interlocutor on the other side.”

To have an “honest interlocutor”, according to him, means having someone across the table who will agree to go through “bumpy times with you,” but would still give a commitment and keep that promise. “So, the question remains. Who do we speak with on the other side? At this point in time, I cannot see a single individual who can stand up and say I speak for the collective and we are going to make some commitments here about working together and that person has the ability to defend, and have the party defend those commitments,” the PPP General Secretary said.

Importantly, the issue of inclusive governance has been a continuous area of focus of successive PPP/C governments, between 1992 and 2015. A Paper titled ‘Towards greater inclusive governance in Guyana – Building Trust To Achieve Genuine Political Cooperation’, was made public in 2003 and the measures detailed in the Paper were cited as “vital” for political development and the “emergence of a new political culture” characterized by greater trust, civility and commitment to the national interest.

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