Weekend Mirror 21-22 May 2022

21-22 May, 2022 / Vol. 12 ‒ No. 23 / Price: $100

Email: mirror2018.gy@gmail.com

Norton says…

Being honest with Guyanese not ‘advantageous’ for the Coalition PAGE 3

Opposition must substantiate its claims if it hopes to regain any public trust – Jagdeo PAGE 24

PNCR-led Coalition’s wild, unsubstantiated and duplicitous claims exposed PAGE 11

GECOM records over 58,000 transactions to date during Continuous Registration PAGE 2

SEE INSIDE $800M in cash grants, $1B in fertiliser for farmers, among new relief PAGE 12 measures 350 women trained at WIIN’s PAGE 6 business workshop Second chance at Tertiary PAGE 21 education for persons who did not complete

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

GECOM records over 58,000 transactions to date during Continuous Registration A

total of 58,712 transactions have been completed since the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) commenced its continuous registration exercise as of May 18, 2022.

These transactions range from new registrations, replacement identification cards, changes and corrections and transfers.

GECOM has indicated

that, as of May 18, 2022: • 18,445 persons, who are 18 years and older and are therefore eligible to vote, have been registered; • 23,563 persons between the ages of 14 and 17 years

have been registered and will be issued national identification cards; • 3,532 persons have applied for transfers to new addresses; • 5,387 persons made

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changes and/or corrections to their particulars; • 6,276 persons sought to have replacements for their national identification cards; and • 1,509 persons sought to have their photographs retaken.

GECOM has 29 offices across the country. Each registration office operates from Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00 am

to 6:00 pm. On the weekend, persons can visit the offices between 10:00 am to 2: 00 pm.

Some $4.1 billion has been approved for GECOM this year, to carry out its work programme. From this amount, over $700 million has been earmarked to host this year’s LGE. The continuous registration exercise is expected to conclude on May 29, 2022.

GECOM formalizes submissions on electoral reform ‒ national consultations ongoing

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n the ongoing national consultation on electoral reform, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has engaged made submissions to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.

And these include recommendations on: consolidating the electoral laws for easy reference and compliance; recommendations on the absence of statutory provision for the GECOM Chair or Commission to receive copies of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) to aid it in the declaration and publication of election results; and the authentic identification of Election Day staffers.

The GECOM Chair also recommended that the changes address the need for voting by members of the Disciplined Services, specifically for balloting to be done no more than 14 days earlier or later than 10 days before Election Day. GECOM’s submissions are expected to be taken together with those made by other civil society stakeholders to take proposed changes of Guyana’s electoral laws to the National Assembly.

ONGOING CONSULTATION Last week, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, engaged with local stakeholders who responded to the call for submissions on the proposed reforms, including the Private Sector Commission and the Electoral Reform Group.

Nandlall met with also GECOM on Thursday (May 19, 2022).

Notably, President Dr. Irfaan Ali on October 2021 made clear that the long-awaited legislation to improve Guyana’s electoral system is a priority for the PPP/C administration. He also assured that there be an efficient timeframe for the

processing of the legislation.

Ali had committed, since his first day of assuming office that the five-month-long elections process that Guyanese painfully endured, will never again occur. Guyanese were subject to a five-month wait for the final results from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections because of the actions of several persons involved in the process at the GECOM Secretariat and other elements.

PPP POSITION In a statement on Wednesday (May 18, 2022), the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said, “The PNCRled APNU+AFC Coalition has failed, over the past six months, to participate in the national process to amend Guyana’s electoral laws to strengthen our electoral system and reduce the scope for the mischief that played out at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections – mischief orchestrated by the PNCR-led Coalition and its elements with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM); mischief that included the signature of the Volda Lawrence on the March 5th manipulated declaration by sacked Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.”

According to the PPP, the call from the Coalition camp for a comprehensive review of what took place in March 2020 before electoral reforms are addressed is nothing but a delay tactic.

“Recall that every report from the international Election Observer Missions, including the CARICOM team, detailed what took place at the March 2020 Elections – every Guyanese is aware of what took place during the March 2020 electoral process, civil society is aware, (Turn to page 20)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Norton says…

Being honest with Guyanese not ‘advantageous’ for the Coalition O

pposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, has admitted that there is no advantage for him and his political party in releasing evidence to back up claims that have been made relating to the ongoing cycle of continuous registration.

The admission came during a news conference on Tuesday (May 17, 2022).

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) General Secretary, during the news conference,

claimed that persons not eligible to register as voters are being registered.

She said, “We have identified a Chief Scrutineer; that person has several deputies, scrutineers who work with her, they sort of form a subset and they're all across the regions. And they are present at every district office, where this sort of business is being done.

“We are in receipt daily of reports of what is happening. Last Sunday, some

of these, the contents of these reports were raised at our meeting, and we are in the process of formulating how we are going to move forward.”

When asked for evidence of this claim, Chandan-Edmond said: “I'm not sure if leadership at this time would want to highlight the specifics of these discrepancies. But we are in possession of a very detailed report.”

Norton, at this point, jumped in to add to the

“…even if we had actual numbers, I don't know to what advantage to me for us to disclose it at this stage.” PNCR leader, Aubrey Norton claims. He claimed that Nigerians and Haitians who are eligible to register to vote in Guyana’s elections are being barred from doing so, while Venezuelans are being allowed to do so.

When repeatedly asked for evidence, Mr. Norton

said, “I would not say we have actual numbers, because in these things you never know. And even if we had actual numbers, I don't know to what advantage to me for us to disclose it at this stage.”

Notably, the Guyana Elections Commission

(GECOM) has not reported any irregularities in the ongoing continuous registration process, which ends on May 29, 2022. Further, none of the APNU+AFC Coalition-nominated GECOM Commissioners have voiced any similar concerns publicly.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

EDITORIAL PNCR demonstrates dangerous commitment to influencing perilous division

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ive years in office, between 2015 and 2022, saw the APNU+AFC Coalition being characterised as unresponsive to the concerns of Guyanese across our nation. Consequently, the reality of the PNCR-led Coalition is that it has no track record of progress and no track record of delivering for Guyanese, on which to stand.

What Guyanese have been exposed to in since August 2020, when the Coalition was relegated to the Opposition benches, is the politics a manipulative populist political party – a political party that engages in the construction of false emotions, the engineering of false emotive perceptions on major issues. For example, when the Coalition screams that there is racial discrimination without any to substantiate the fact, this engineers emotive perceptions. Admittedly, much work still has to be done to ensure that the historic wound that created divisions among our people are healed and addressed.

However, the politics of a manipulative populist political party does nothing to support this; rather positive efforts are undermined.

A stunning admission from Leader of the PNCR and the Parliamentary Opposition, the APNU+AFC Coalition, Aubrey Norton, exposed his political party’s commitment to remaining a manipulative populist political party – a commitment to a task that has and will continue to influence perilous divisions. On May 17, 2022, during an Opposition Leader press conference, Norton made claims about irregularities with the ongoing continuous registration cycle and when pressed by the local media corps to substantiate this, Norton said: ““I would not say we have actual numbers, because in these things you never know. And even if we had actual numbers, I don't know to what advantage to me for us to disclose it at this stage.” Imagine, the leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, who preaches, but does not practice, transparency and accountability, tells the nation clearly that it is not to his party’s “advantage” to substantiate wild claims he has been making.

This preposterous position speaks volume of the type of political leadership that guides the Parliamentary Opposition.

It must be pointed out that this cynical form of lying to the Guyanese people does not only impact negatively on the people on this country, but represents a worrying form of self-deception. For example, the Coalition continues to insist that it won the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, based on the Statements of Poll in its possession. Recall, SOPs are prepared in carbon copied form – the original belonging to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and copies of the same document given to the political parties contesting the election. To date, GECOM’s copies have been handed over to the High Court, as ordered; the PPP/C copies were posted online since March 4, 2020; and the Coalition’s copies remain secret. Based on all the evidence, it is clear that the Coalition did not win the March 2020 Elections, so why does the self-deception and attempt to deceive the Guyanese people continue? To borrow Norton’s words, it is clearly in the Coalition’s advantage to do so.

And that there is the danger. While, facts inform belief, the Coalition is engaged in an effort to influence misguided belief with the hope that this misguided prism will be what is used to view facts. For example, the fact is that the Guyana Water Inc. was overstaffed due to the irresponsible actions of the former Coalition government and had to downsize to remain financially viable. This fact ought to inform belief.

However, the Coalition insists that racial discrimination is happening and that this belief is what should be used to view the downsizing at GWI. Interestingly, the PPP/C government has been open and transparent with what has taken place.

The only reason the Coalition has material to manipulate is because the information was provided to the Guyanese people.

Social media, undoubtedly, adds a new dimension to this manipulation because it is used to misinformation effectively, across larger numbers of people.

Despite this, the PNCR-Coalition is not interested in reality or facts. The misguided political party is intent on warping facts, sowing division and creating mistrust, clearly, with the hope that they can weaponise that mistrust for political gain.

And this is something that happens over time – one lie at a time.

As such, Guyanese must be wary of what is taking place and we, collectively, must call out each lie. Political leaders must never escape the reality that warping facts through misinformation, sowing of division and creating mistrust is something that will not be allowed to stand. Political leaders must be held accountable and must face the electoral consequences of such actions, otherwise it will continue.

If it continues, what is there to discuss? How do our political leaders engage? How do they meet for a discussion that is based on reality?

Coalition continues to lose themselves in their own contradictions Dear Editor,

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s a citizen, I am very glad that President Irfaan Ali has taken the lead in engaging Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton in consultations on the matter of constitutional and statutory appointments.

I am pleased because it seems as though our country is moving politically, just as we have moved socio-economically in just under two years.

The President deserves our admiration for showing the statesmanship to his political adversary and being cordial throughout the proceedings, despite knowing the false things that Norton has

said about him and the PPP altogether in the recent past.

But for the opposition to be crying foul and saying that the meeting was held in bad faith just goes to show up their real intentions concerning meeting the head of state.

Unfortunately, the opposition feels that way about the consultations. One would have thought that they would be open about the entire invitation to meet and discuss the appointments with the president even if they were going to request more information and time to come up with adequate positions.

Politicizing the meeting at his maiden opposition leader press conference is

nasty, a breach of protocol, and trying to score cheap political points. It must never be confused with what is needed for constitutional compliance to occur. It also is repulsive to the civilized political mind as well as the intelligent mind as there appears to be no confidentiality and respect for information and dialogue.

If the opposition wants to just oppose and criticize, it can go right ahead, but having good faith requires patience and being honest. The opposition seems to be lacking in this area.

Yours sincerely, Alvin Hamilton

Peace and decency must take precedent and prevail in defining the livelihood of Guyanese, our democracy Dear Editor,

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he die-hard and convenient followers of Aubrey Norton as Opposition and PNCR Leader, must in retrospect, question their commitments given the divorced strategies from reality being publicly rolled out under his leadership.

Certainly, the ‘blind-following’ is a thing of the past in Guyana’s Political environment and his public rants are tantamount to failed diplomacy from the onset. One, therefore, must be curious about the voluminous silence of the partners in the APNU/AFC. Aubrey Norton seemingly, sadly holds on to a foolhardy belief in the Keith Lowenfield infamously concocted numbers which disenfranchised thousands of Guyanese voters at the March 2020 elections; that he could use ransom threats of civil unrest through blind followers to challenge rulings of the Judiciary (including the CCJ); that there are desired image and attention gains by challenging Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo to a public debate on related issues in the heart of an auspicious European Union (EU) - Guyana recognition event. Otherwise, he could not rationally use these numbers as a basis for Challenging Dr. Jagdeo. In essence, Norton is defiantly demonstrating that the PNCR under his leadership will boldly hold on to the use of un-contextual clauses meanings in language, and irrational hypotheses in Math.

As the European Union (EU) celebrates 70 plus years of “Peace’ and unity” in Europe “along with the 50 years of peaceful Guyana EU relations, it was indeed a timely and opportune occasion for the Opposition Leader to advance a Guyanese sense of oneness on at least one front. The recent call for an endorsement by His Excellency, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, for apologies and reparations regarding the sordid history of slavery that largely impacted particularly, our

afro and other Guyanese citizens for decades.

Rather, the occasion of the high-profile prestigious Cocktail Reception which was attended by an audience of eminent personalities and diplomatic representatives was missed by the Opposition leader for want of the right reasons. This is perhaps because the timely hosting of the event by Mr. Fernando Ponz Canto EU Ambassador to Guyana, and all the other Diplomats in Guyana who stood with this nation during those unforgettable five months in 2020, stood out as a witness to the democratic demagoguery acted out by the PNCR as the main party in the APNU/AFC coalition.

Mr. Norton must not forget that he made a passionate defense of the skullduggery in various media and when interviewed by Trinidadian Journalist Fazeer Mohammed. He must also contextually understand and remember that the activity was premised on ‘Peace among mutual recognition of States’, so let us cherish our success and forever live in unity.

On the contrary, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo delivered an impressive speech, highlighting our country's high appreciation of the EU and other States' significant contribution to our country during the five months when the PNCR had their knees on the necks of our people. VP Jagdeo said “The struggle for free and fair elections must be a must.”

Further, he noted and pointed out that the European Union team after the debacle at GECOM, and the blatant attempt to steal the Elections, stayed on in a very industrious way. Vice President Jagdeo surmised that ‘they were there every single day trying to ferret out information about what was happening,’ and it was through their unflinching support among others, which enabled Guyana to survive peacefully as a democracy prevailed.

The message from the EU through Ambassador Fernando Ponz Canto was

indeed heartening as he lauded President Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ initiative and pledged Europe's continuous support for our country. Disappointingly, the activity’s tone and meaning were somewhat marred by the opposition leader’s abhorrent behavior and lack of suave. Mr. Norton obviously, was unable to respect and appreciate the environment that he was in and while being exposed to what he truly represents, resorted to the usually unacceptable street outbursts.

Norton’s challenge to the Vice President for a public debate is impotent and indecent. Equally laughable is his statement that he has the winning SoPs for the 2nd March 2020 National and Regional Elections. Even though many people accepted that he had the privilege to consume as much alcohol as he wanted, perhaps he should not have overconsumed as his behavior was uncalled for. One must, therefore, ask the question as to why take the evidence to the public when the court matter is already tried, appealed, and ruled on.

The legal authorities and luminaries (if any) on the APNU/AFC side, must plea for the so-called ‘fifth amendment’ in the out-of-character situation.

In this civilized environment, Mr. Norton is advised to change his Lifestyle and not take this ‘Rum-Shop’ drinking habits and temperament to prestigious Cocktail Reception. If this continues, Guyana will certainly need a better Opposition leader as the world is looking at Guyana and we are expected to up the ante to a position of respectability as a Nation.

The Statements of Poll are a testimony of the Elections results, and although observably under the influence, Norton should let peace and decency prevail, not open his mouth and talk about winning SoPs. He should bring it on.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Vaccination against COVID-19 vitally important Dear Editor,

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uyanese people are being warned against complacency regarding the still very deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The word from the Ministry of Health is that the COVID-19 vaccination rate is not where it should be, and this is at a time when the country is currently seeing a new wave of infections. The recent figures show that the Ministry of Health reported that a total of 32 new COVID-19 cases were recorded from 1530 tests, taking the overall number of confirmed cases to 63,804.

In fact, over the past week or so, the active cases were more than 265, and on Saturday, the new numbers recorded in the following regions were: three – Region Three; 20 – Region Four; four – Region Five; two – Region Six; and three – Region Nine. These returns suggest not just complacency, but a level of carelessness that can result in many innocent and careful people becoming infected to the point of reaching fatality.

Let me first state that the World Health Organisation is still advocating for extra-care even though many mandatory restrictions have now been eased. The latest plea is that all citizens must protect themselves and those in close proximity. The word is still intact; people must: Get vaccinated as soon as it’s your turn and follow local guidance on vaccination; Keep physical distance of at least 1 metre from others, even if they don’t appear to be sick; Avoid crowds and close contact; Wear a properly fitted mask when physical distancing is not possible and in poorly ventilated settings; Clean your hands frequently with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water; Cover your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze; Dispose

of used tissues immediately and clean hands regularly; and they develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, they are to self-isolate until they recover.

So, he has a right to be concerned, that is, our Health Minister, who stated that “… the rise in cases is a worrying trend …” He explained that “The Sars-Cov2 is a very tricky virus…there are different variants and sub-variants … some are very contagious. In January of this year, we saw a spike in cases, close to 30,000 cases in that month before we saw a significant decline… But the sub-variant is highly transmissible, so we have seen over the last few days a rise in cases.” This kind of reality should ‘hit home,’ but it is not, and the sad thing is that many who are taking all the necessary steps in terms of getting vaccinated and exercising due caution may become victims of the ‘brave and foolish.’

Let me remind our citizens, like the Minister did, that “…After that, the immunity begins to wane, (we) need to take the booster shot … but a lot of people have stopped coming for the vaccines because they believe COVID is over.” It is not over, and from what I have read, in our land, many Guyanese are at risk given that a sizeable portion of the population has co-morbidities.

Secondly, I need to call attention to the medical and scientific fact that getting vaccinated is nothing new and chancy. It is a well-established universal phenomenon in medicine. In this day, credible information is so readily available, but I will still point out some things.

We need to know that vaccines differ from other medical drugs in that they are designed to prevent disease, rather than treat it. They do this by priming a person’s immune system to

recognise a specific disease-causing bacteria, virus or other pathogen. This “memory” can last years, or in some cases for life, which is why vaccination can be so effective, stopping people from getting sick rather than waiting until disease occurs.

Further, vaccines prime the immune system to detect a particular virus or bacteria by showing it a harmless version of the pathogen, or part of it – much like giving a bloodhound a rag to sniff – so that it can remember it and is able to mount a defence if the person ever becomes infected. They typically do this by stimulating the production of antibodies, which are proteins made by our bodies to fight disease. This can also help stimulate other parts of our immune defences, such as T cells. This is the basic premise for how all vaccines work So, I am with Dr Anthony, who detailed that “We also must remind ourselves that we are in a pandemic, and in this pandemic one of

the most effective tools that we have is to use vaccination to immunise people so that even if they get infected, they would not get the most severe form of the infection.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a country should strive to get 70 per cent of its population vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of June 2022. Therefore, with the requisite personnel, facility and vaccines, Guyana can very well achieve this important goal. Guyana is now hovering quite close to this target. The Minister pointed out that “We are not very far from achieving that target of 70 per cent, we are in our 60s, and so if we make an additional effort, we will be able to get to that 70 per cent mark before June of this year.”

I hope we do – it is vital indeed.

Yours truly, H. Singh

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 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 ’

350 women trained at WIIN’s business workshop

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he Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) on Tuesday launched its first ever business workshop, targeting 350 women countrywide.

The women will benefit from a three-day comprehensive training in practical skills needed to create and sustain their own businesses.

Human Services Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, noted at the launch that WIIN was conceptualised to foster empowerment and financial stability among women through free skills training in a number of areas. She said the workshop is the next step for women to develop their own niche.

“When WIIN was conceptualised, I wanted to ensure that there was a comprehensive framework that you

could, on your own take advantage of, so that you can climb every round of that framework, and make sure at the end of it, you are in a better place than you started off. The business clinics are key and crucial to you achieving what you want to achieve for yourself, in other words, armed with all the learning that you have whether it is professional care, whether it is garment construction, whether it is graphic design, whatever you learnt. What do you do with it? And this is where it gets very exciting because it is important to look outside of the norms to find your niche in your community, and in the wider country.”

The workshop ran from May 10- 12, with different groups of participants each day. They will cover a number of topics such as, how

does business planning promote growth, what makes a great business, business plan writing, and what do banks look for in a business plan among others.

Training was provided by partners from the Small Business Bureau (SBB), Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), Demerara Bank, Action Invest Caribbean Incorporated, the Master Class Institute, Guyana Tourism Authority, Nations Inc., Scotia Bank Guyana and Republic Bank.

Due to the overwhelming response during registration, the ministry will be extending the workshop days to facilitate this high demand.

Upon completing the workshop participants will receive a business proposal and certificate from the ministry.

Contracts inked for road upgrades, improved health facilities in Region Five

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housands of residents in Bath Settlement, Region Five will soon be able to travel with ease, as two main access roads are set to be upgraded to the tune of $55.2 million.

Timehri Contracting Services has been awarded a contract valued $37.1 million to rehabilitate the thoroughfare at Referendum, while M&B Construction will upgrade Block D Phase One for $18.1 million.

The contracts for the massive road projects were

signed on May 10, 2022, in the Regional Democratic Council’s (RDC) boardroom.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, M.P., who witnessed the signing ceremony, said the exercise forms part of government’s commitment to being open and transparent with the public.

The minister said Referendum and Block D Phase One are the least developed in the region, hence the need to commence works as soon

as possible. “We are hopeful that despite the rains, we will be able to complete these projects very soon,” he stated. Dharamlall added that, “Hopefully by early next week, we will start mobilising and construction will begin on these roads,” Minister Dharamlall noted. He urged contractors to employ residents within the respective areas so that money could be circulated in the communities, as well as the region.

(Turn to page 20)

Grove/Diamond to get modern recreational facility

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he sum of $20 million will be invested in a modern recreational facility at Section A Block Y, Golden Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) that will include a track for athletes, football/cricket ground, as well as swings, sea-saw and slides.

The facility would be fenced and solar lights installed for security purposes.

The project will be executed by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Water’s, Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

Ministers Charles

Ramson, and Collin Croal, recently, held a consultation with residents of the Grove/ Diamond area on the project, which forms part of the government’s plan to provide safe spaces for citizens to engage in sports and other social activities.

Minister Ramson explained that the initiative marks the first collaboration with the two agencies. He noted that the facility will be used as a model for other safe spaces in areas and housing schemes across the country.

The minister explained that the focus, very early, was to target the development of those community grounds

in highly populated areas, where there was an obvious need for recreational spaces for residents, particularly young people.“Given the number of residents in the housing schemes and how rapidly they are developing, this became an obvious choice for us to start targeting now where we can get the kind of development that we need,” Ramson said. He noted that such initiatives also capture the ‘One Guyana’ concept envisioned by His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali. Meanwhile, Minister Croal spoke of the rapid (Turn to page 20)

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 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 ’ million state of the art Study to utilise Hope $140 building to be constructed at GTI Canal as sustainable I water source begins

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overnment has commenced the feasibility study to determine whether the Hope Canal could be used as a sustainable potable water source to service the East Coast of Demerara.

This was revealed by Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, during an inspection on the ongoing works of the water distribution system at Providence.

“Coincidentally, I have been invited on Friday [May 06], to a consultation with various stakeholders, with the consultant who is on board and who has already started the Hope Canal Study,” the minister said.

The Hope Canal was built

under the PPP/C Administration prior to 2015, to provide drainage from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) into the Atlantic Ocean.

As the country is confronted with climate change, and the growing demands for potable water, particularly along the coast, the administration is exploring utilising surface water from the EDWC for domestic consumption.

Instantaneously, the administration plans to construct approximately 12 water treatment plants in areas identified across the country.

This will add to the existing 27 water treatment plants.

“So, we have started that work already and it has to start with the study and the study will guide us as to what we need to put up in terms of these plants,” Minister Croal explained.

To this end, the minister stated that the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has established a department that will focus primarily on the execution of these projects.

That department will work along with the consultant to do the designs for the treatment plants.

GWI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shaik Baksh explained that the preliminary designs for the (Turn to page 20)

n the next nine months, students attending the Government Technical Institute will benefit from a brand-new state of the art building.

The $140 million project is part of a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Ken Subraj Foundation, a former student of GTI. Once completed the building will boast an oil and gas laboratory, lecture theatres, smart classrooms, Welfare Unit, and an administrative block among many other amenities.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed followed by a sod-turning ceremony at GTI’s Woolford Avenue compound.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr Alfred King reiterated the Ministry’s mission to improve technical and vocational skills training throughout the country. He noted that with the current developmental trajectory the country is on, it is important to modernize education delivery and to equip persons with the necessary skills

needed to take advantage of the opportunities. “The working environment is dynamic and is evolving and for our training to meet the needs of the learners and possible employees and to of course be relevant, then we will have to be at the cutting edge knowing what is required to take us to that next century.”

Avinash Construction and Scrap Metal Company, Inc. has been contracted to undertake the project and has committed to completing it within the stipulated timeframe.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 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 ’

Health Ministry to focus on COVID-19 booster, HPV vaccination drive M

inister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, while commending the work of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI), is urging medical practitioners to do more to ensure persons take the COVID-19 booster shots.

Addressing the Quarterly Maternal and Child Health Expanded Programme of Immunisation on Wednesday, the health minister noted the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. “We have seen over the last two days, cases have started going up gradually, so we have moved from where we were at four

and five cases to now having as of yesterday, over the last 24 hours we have had 42 new cases and today, we have about 52 new cases. We moved from having 0 persons in the hospital to now having 6 persons in the hospital, so what that is telling us, that omicron has not disappeared, that COVID has not gone away,” Dr Anthony said.

The minister is hoping that by June, persons taking the second dose will be at 70 percent which is a target set by the World Health Organisation.

While it has been sig-

nificantly proven that booster doses reduce the risk or severe illness, thus far only 12.3 percent of the adult population has taken the booster doses, while vaccination in the adolescent population remains stable.

Guyana has generally been doing well in its general immunisation programme throughout the years. “We have been doing extremely well, with this vaccination programme, but with Covidwe had various challenges and I think despite of the challenges we have still been able to maintain good num-

bers,” Dr. Anthony said.

Importantly, Dr. Anthony has been given the go ahead by the Cabinet to have the vaccination legislation updated, as it was last updated in 1974 when the country was only vaccinating for six diseases. There are now 16 diseases. “We need to amend the law, and many of the other vaccines that we have been giving, while people have been accepting them, it is not really in the law,” Dr. Anthony said.

One of the challenges hampering the vaccination programme is the unsuc-

cessful attempts to rollout certain vaccines like the HPV jab, which is critical in preventing cervical cancer, the second leading cancer among women in Guyana. “When we had the first launch of it, we didn’t really get a lot of uptake and that was because there were lots of misinformation pertaining to HPV. We want to make sure that we roll this out this year, because just like what we have done with covid, there are going to be people who are skeptical, there are going to be people who are misguided,

there are going to be people who are spreading misinformation, but despite all of that, you understand the science,” Minister Anthony told the gathering.

The minister said that there will be an aggressive campaign to roll out the HPV vaccine in all regions this year. “If we want to eradicate cervical cancer from this country, we have to start now, and I am confident that if we have a very robust programme of vaccination, then in a couple of years’ time we will start seeing the impact,” Dr. Anthony said.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Amerindian Development…

FOCUS ON GUYANA’ S FIRST PEOPLE Lethem solar farm to be commissioned soon R

esidents of Lethem, Region Nine will soon benefit from a one-megawatt solar farm which is expected to provide more reliable and clean energy for the township.

The construction of the solar farm is part of government’s push to move away from the use of fossil fuel, and resort to renewable energy.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Dr. Mahender Sharma made the disclosure during a recent site visit. He was accompanied by Non-Resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Guyana, Odd Magne Ruud, and Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai.

“We anticipate this site will be in a state of readiness for commissioning just about

the end of this month. We have to work out some logistics because this is one of two sites that we are constructing at the same time.

There is a similar site at Bartica 1.5 megawatts and this forms a suite of projects being financed by the IDB,” the CEO stated.

Dr. Sharma said when the project comes on stream, it will displace about 3,000 barrels of diesel or 26 percent of the energy the Lethem Power Company utilises per year. “Government’s programme is following a low carbon development trajectory. You may be familiar with the gas to energy project 300 megawatts, you may be familiar with the 165-megawatt Amaila Fall Hydro Project. Those are two major transformational projects and those projects will be complemented by a suit of solar farms,” he said.

Other solar farms being established include a 0.65 megawatt at Mahdia, Region Eight and a 0.6 megawatt at Leguan in Region Three. A 400-kilowatt farm has been completed in Mabaruma.

Government is actively pursuing the installation of eight solar farms at various locations that will accrue a total 33 megawatts of power. Guyana will at the end of three years have a total of 14 solar farms to service several communities.

The CEO said government is also working on installing 28 solar mini grids that will serve government, community and public buildings in a number of hinterland regions.

He noted that some of those have already been awarded and are under construction.

Dr. Sharma also highlighted that government is working

Solar Photovoltaic system installed at Quebanang Health Centre

T

he Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), during the month of April 2022, installed a 3.16kWp Solar PV system along with a 28.8kWh Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Quebanang Health Centre (Region 7).

The items/equipment for the system were procured under the Sustainable Energy Intervention by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and handed over to the GEA for installation at the Quebanang Health Centre. The GEA also installed the electrical infrastructure of the building to use the energy generated by the system.

Quebanang is a satellite

village of Jawalla located in the Upper Mazaruni. GEA conducted an Energy Needs Assessment during 2022 in the village and the findings revealed the need for a more reliable energy supply at the local Health Centre.

The Guyana Energy Agency, in exercising its mandate, provided support to the Health Centre for the transportation and installation of the Solar PV system.

The installed PV system will provide clean and renewable electricity supply to the Health Centre. Its operation will result in the avoidance of an estimated 2,715 kg of CO2 emissions annually. This initiative will provide a renewable, stable and reliable electricity

supply to the Health Centre for its daily activities, benefiting approximately four hundred and twenty (420) residents and six (6) healthcare officers.

The Healthcare Officers present at the time of the Solar PV System’s installation were effusive in gratitude for the initiative stating that it will allow them to better utilize the Health Centre’s Labour Room, Malaria Office, Preschool and Infant Clinic, Antenatal Clinic, Family Planning Clinic and Chronic Patient Care.

Engineers from the GEA provided training to the health care officers at the facility on the operation and maintenance of the system.

with the Government of India to install 30,000 solar home systems for the hinterland. “This project is out for initial tendering. They need to identify a short list of suppliers after which, we will do a request for proposals to move that forward,” he stated.

Despite Guyana becoming an oil and gas producing nation, government has been taking all necessary steps to move away from the use of fossil fuel and incorporate renewable energy through an energy mix. That energy mix will include solar, wind, hydro and natural gas.

In October 2021, President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali launched the renewed and expanded Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030. The strategy is still in the draft stages as countrywide consultations

are ongoing.

Since the development of Guyana’s first LCDS in 2009, the country has maintained more than 99.5 percent of its 18 million

hectares of forest. Guyana also boasts one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, having the capacity to store about 19.5 billion tonnes of carbon-monoxide.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

POSITIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

$800M in cash grants, $1B in fertiliser for farmers, among new relief measures P

resident, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Monday (May 16, 2022) announced $1.8 billion in relief measures for persons living in hinterland communities, as well as farmers.

The measures, he said, come from the continuous widespread consultation that government has undertaken with Guyanese.

The funds, President Ali said is being utilised from the $5 billion that was budgeted to ease the burden on Guyanese in the face of the rise in cost of living. “In order to bring relief to households facing extreme hardship, my government will be providing a special one-off grant of $25,000 to every single household in riverine and hinterland communities. This will place an additional $800 million at the disposal of these households who have

been particularly affected by recent rises in cost of living,” the Head of State said in an address to the nation.

The announcement of the cash grant follows a slew of previous measures implemented by government to assist Guyanese. Dr. Ali also announced that government will be supporting the country’s agricultural sector with the purchase of fertiliser.

This comes on the heels of the rise in the cost of production, which has in turn affected the production for farmers and has translated to increased prices on the market.

“In order to cushion the impact of the rising cost of fertiliser for farmers and to limit the pass through to food prices, my government will be purchasing $1 billion worth of fertiliser for free distribution to farmers for use in

their planting and replanting activities. Considering that fertiliser account for between 15 to 30 per cent of total operating cost per farmers, this initiative will significantly reduce input cost and help ensure scaled up production and adequate supply of output which is critical to maintaining price stability,” the President stated.

HOME CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE Dr. Ali further announced that government is proposing to launch a home construction assistance facility. The facility will provide Guyanese with the assistance needed to begin home construction.

He said government recognises that many persons, although they have a house lot, encounter challenges managing home construction.

Guyana, Norway to enhance cooperation

G

uyana, like Norway, recognises the importance of the ‘blue economy’ which seeks to balance human well-being, social equality and environmental sustainability, according to President, Dr. Irfaan Ali. The Head of State, consequently, reaffirmed Guyana’s support for the international declaration on transnational organised crime in the global fishing industry, and the Blue Justice Initiative, as he accepted the Letters of Credence from Non-Resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Guyana, Odd Magne Ruud, at the Office of the President on May 13, 2022.

President Ali noted that as much as Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) incorporates a strong commitment to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, the country is not oblivious

to the growing concerns surrounding the harnessing of the ocean’s resources.

He also thanked the Kingdom of Norway for offering its expertise and contributing to Guyana’s transition to a renewable energy mix. He said that he is looking forward to the expansion of cooperation in other areas that would provide the impetus to strengthen relations between the two countries.

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP President Ali also highlighted that Guyana and Norway have forged a “special relationship” that was exemplified by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation on issues related to the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity and the enhancement of sustainable development in 2009. He said, “That momentous occasion was a

watershed in relations between Guyana and Norway.

It remains a model of how States can partner to forge climate and environmental cooperation, and has helped to propel Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.”

The President also added that he was pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Ambassador Ruud this past week, to further advance the two States’ partnership under the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund.

In his remarks, Ambassador Ruud commended Guyana for signing the Copenhagen Declaration to combat transnational organised crime in the global fishing industry. He also acknowledged that the development of a sustainable blue economy is vital for Norway and Guyana, who both depend on the ocean.

Guyana and Norway established diplomatic relations in 1979.

This initiative, he stated will be opened to persons with both government- allocated, and privately owned house lots and is in keeping with the PPP/C Administration’s homeownership drive.

“Persons who have a house lot and wish to receive government help to construct a home on that lot may register their interest with a unit that will be established soon for this purpose.

“At the time of registration, the applicant will also select the preference from among three standard pre-designed model at the cost of $7 million, $9 million and $12 million,” the President explained.

He said further that government will support the applicant through the process of securing finance through the bank and will also look at assisting in the initial phase

of construction by releasing resources to expedite the construction process. Ali said, “Government will also undertake the construction of the home on behalf of the applicant, and deliver to the applicant a complete home in accordance with the options selected. We expect that this measure will help to drastically accelerate the capacity of Guyanese families to own and occupy their own home.”

VAT REMOVAL ON BUILDING MATERIALS The Head of State also announced that government will be removing Value Added Tax on additional construction materials, added to what it has done in previous budgets. This too, is another move by government to make home construction affordable for Guyanese. He said, “We are

now proposing to extend the removal of VAT to sheetrock and concrete board until the market stabilises.

This measure is expected to cost $100 million annually, but will provide critical additional relief to persons constructing their homes, in keeping with our government’s strong commitment to make homeownership affordable to every single Guyanese family.”

Since taking office in August 2020, government has continuously provided assistance to all Guyanese. Some of the measures include COVID-19 cash grant, removal of VAT on water and electricity, the reintroduction of the ‘Because we care’ cash grant, increased tax threshold, increased old age pension and public assistance among others.

President and Opposition Leader hold consultation on constitutional appointments T he Consultations in respect of the appointments of persons to constitutional and statutory commissions, were initiated between President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament, Mr. Aubrey C. Norton by letter under the hand of the Hon. Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance and Member of Parliament, dated April 29, 2022.

This letter fixed last Friday (May 13, 2022) for an in-person consultation.

Present at the meeting at the Office of the President were President Ali, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, Leader of the Opposition, Norton, Member of Parliament accompanied

by Mr. Roysdale Forde.

Prior to the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition by letter dated 9th May 2022, requested details of the appointments to be made. Minister Teixeira re-

sponded on 11th May, 2022 providing the details of the Commissions and the names of the persons who are the subject of the consultations to be appointed to those Commissions.

These are Integrity Commission the Judicial Service Commission, Police Service Commission, and Teaching Service Commission.

The Leader of the Opposition in a letter dated the 12th May, requested further information regarding the names under consideration.

On the same day Minister Teixeira responded re-

questing specificity on the information that is being requested.

At the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition clarified that the information that is being requested are the Curriculum Vitae (CV’s) of the persons under consideration and the President agreed to make those CVs available within two days. It was further agreed that the consultations will be guided by the Constitution and the in-person consultations will resume on a date to be fixed, but within a week.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

POSITIONS FROM FREEDOM HOUSE

PNCR-led Coalition’s wild, unsubstantiated and duplicitous claims exposed T

he Guyanese people were treated to more of the wild, unsubstantiated and duplicitous claims that are synonymous with the PNCRled APNU+AFC Coalition, at its latest news conference on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

CONSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT The PNCR has engaged in an obvious about-turn since the issuance of a joint-statement following a meeting between President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Mr. Aubrey Norton.

In true PNC/APNU/AFC style, contradictory positions remain characteristic of the embattled group. Within an hour of the same activity, the PNCR moved from claiming that the May 13, 2022 engagement was not in accordance with the requirements of “meaningful consultation” because necessary material was not handed over, to admitting that the additional information and documents requested were received.

Mr. Norton was woefully unprepared for the meeting, despite being informed of agenda and despite the fact that his own Coalition was involved in the Parliamentary process to arrive at the recommendations for the persons to be appointed to the Commissions, for example the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Now that additional information has been provided to Mr. Norton, a speedy conclusion to the process that would allow for the appointment of the important constitutional bodies is expected.

ELECTORAL REFORM Further, the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition has failed, over the past six months, to participate in the national process to amend Guyana’s electoral laws to strengthen our electoral system and reduce the scope for the mischief that played out at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections – mischief orchestrated by the PNCR-led Coalition and its elements with the

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM); mischief that included the signature of the Volda Lawrence on the March 5th manipulated declaration by sacked Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

Firstly, the call from the Coalition camp for a comprehensive review of what took place in March 2020 before electoral reforms are addressed is nothing but a delay tactic. Recall that every report from the international Election Observer Missions,

ment Elections. However, the only group contributing to a delay is the Coalition.

Were the increasingly embattled Parliamentary Opposition truly interested in a free, fair and transparent process, they would not continue to undermine the national consultations on proposed amendments that would see electoral reform enacted.

Mr. Norton’s duplicity was exposed when he, himself, said: “We have listened to civil society, we have had, internally, the preparation of

“The PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition is the only party with an interest in keeping our electoral laws vague and ambiguous, hence the delay tactics.” – PPP discrepancies. But we are in possession of a very detailed report.”

The increasingly beleaguered Mr. Norton, in an attempt to justify this position repeated already rubbished claims about a bloated Voters’ List, adding that Nigerians and Haitians who are eligible to register to vote in

“If supporting school children across our country with the return of the cash grant is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If supporting our people, in every community, during the pandemic with financial assistance, is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If helping hinterland communities and thousands of Amerindians, who are among the most affected, offset cost of living increases is enriching people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If helping our farmers, during difficult times, is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so.” – PPP including the CARICOM team, detailed what took place at the March 2020 Elections – every Guyanese is aware of what took place during the March 2020 electoral process, civil society is aware, the international community is aware. It would seem that the only ignorant party, by their own claim, is the PNCR/APNU/AFC. Secondly, Mr. Norton’s call for national consultations, involving the public, civil society and the parliamentary political parties, is disingenuous, since such consultations on proposed amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA) started in November 2021 and are continuing.

The PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition is the only party with an interest in keeping our electoral laws vague and ambiguous, hence the delay tactics.

Also, in duplicitous move, the Coalition claims that “time is of the essence” and electoral reform must be addressed to prevent a postponement of Local Govern-

a document…we believe that at the right time, we will engage and ensure we achieve the objectives we set out.”

CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION Not unexpectedly, PNCR’s General Secretary, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, following Mr. Norton’s lead,

Guyana’s elections are being barred from doing so, while Venezuelans are being allowed to do so. When repeatedly asked for evidence, Mr. Norton said: “I would not say we have actual numbers, because in these things you never know. And even if we had actual numbers, I don't

there is a lack of transparency.

ECONOMIC RELIEF MEASURES The People’s Progressive Party, in contrast, stands ready and willing to defend its positions and will remain accountable to the Guyanese people. The PPP will, unapologetically, continue to implement its manifesto and deliver on the promises made to the Guyanese people.

Unlike the officials of the former APNU+AFC Coalition officials who were content on enriching themselves, while in government for five years, the PPP makes no apologies for enriching Guyanese across the length and breadth of this country.

If supporting school children across our country with the return of the cash grant is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If supporting our people, in every community, during the pandemic with financial assistance, is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If helping hinterland communities and thousands of Amerindians, who are among the most

“Mr. Norton has nothing of substance to address. Instead he remains predictably committed to one misguided line of messaging – the voters’ list is bloated; discrimination is taking place; and there is a lack of transparency.” – PPP proffered allegations about irregularities in GECOM’s Continuous Registration cycle.

Mrs. Chandan-Edmond claimed that persons not eligible to register as voters are being registered. However, as has always been the case with the PNCR, when pressed for evidence, none was provided. Instead, Chandan-Edmond said: “I'm not sure if leadership at this time would want to highlight the specifics of these

know to what advantage to me for us to disclose it at this stage.”

Importantly, the PNCR had no problem with the Voters’ List, which was used for at 2015 Elections that resulted in the Coalition taking office, but now, out of office, the Voters’ List is bloated.

Mr. Norton has nothing of substance to address. Instead he remains predictably committed to one misguided line of messaging – the voters’ list is bloated; discrimination is taking place; and

affected, offset cost of living increases is enriching people, then the PPP will continue to do so. If helping our farmers, during difficult times, is enriching our people, then the PPP will continue to do so.

Further, as has been done with other such relief programmes, the Office of the Auditor General is involved to ensure full accountability and transparency.

Mr. Norton would do well to substantiate his interest in transparency account-

ability before giving voice to wild aspersions. He is encouraged to answer as to: • Why the former Coalition government excluded persons in the Hinterland from its COVID-19 Pandemic Assistance Voucher programme. The report from the Auditor General made clear that not only did the programme see the exclusion of persons in the hinterland regions, but: over 9,000 out of 11,000 qualified applicants did not receive vouchers; of the 11,000 listed as qualified applicants, less than 2,000 applications were listed for verification; and vouchers totalling $56M were not checked before paying supplier.

• Why a performance audit into the procurement, storage and distribution of COVID-19 supplies by the former Coalition government, during the period March 2020 to August 2020, found that there was a lack of accountability for the more than 6,000 hampers.

RACE-CARD Importantly, the continued playing of the race-card by the PNCR/APNU/AFC is condemned in the strongest terms. The race-card has been and continues to be the only card that the Parliamentary Opposition has to play, given that it has no track record of progress and no track record of delivering for Guyanese, on which to stand. Guyanese are urged to be wary of this tactic.

The People’s Progressive Party has been and remains committed to working in the interest of all our people, as we have always done, and will not be distracted by the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition.

People’s Progressive Party May 18, 2022

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

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PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW...

The PPP/C’s legislative agenda, more Industrial hemp bill tabled in parliament G

overnment is keen on achieving its target of providing 50,000 jobs by 2025. With thousands already created in the housing, construction, tourism, manufacturing and agriculture sectors, among others, many more will become available soon with the development of the industrial hemp industry.

The government on Tuesday (May 17, 2022) took the development of that industry one step closer to realisation, with the presentation of the Industrial Hemp Bill in the National Assembly.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, presented the bill in the House, which will be another critical policy of the administration that transforms the lives of Guyanese. Minister Mustapha said the passage of the bill will, “provide for the cultivating and manufacturing of industrial hemp and hemp related products; to provide for the conducting of research and industrial hemp or any other activity concerning or relating to industrial hemp.”

The bill also proposes the establishment of the Guyana

Industrial Hemp Regulatory Authority, which will be the governing body of the hemp industry.

Hemp is often confused with marijuana because it is a member of the cannabis family, but it has significantly lower tetrahydrocannabinol than marijuana. Tetrahydrocannabinol is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that gives users the ‘high feeling’.

However, someone were to consume hemp, it would not affect their mind or body due to the lower level of tetrahydrocannabinol, research states.

Instead, hemp has proven to be a super plant, responsible for the creation of a myriad of products. Some of the products derived from hemp include; rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel.

According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Centre, hemp is rich in protein, unsaturated fats, fibre, minerals and vitamins and it protects the brain, boosts heart health, reduces inflam-

mation, improves skin conditions and relieves rheumatoid arthritis.

The Global Industrial Hemp Markets Report 20212028, published by GlobeNewswire in November 2021, states that the global industrial hemp market size is expected to reach US$12.01 billion by 2028 and to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.2 percent from 2021 to 2028.

This is one of the reasons Government is keen on opening a hemp industry.

President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, in March expressed optimism that Guyana can develop a viable hemp industry. “The hemp industry is not only about hemp production, but it is about having the processing and value-added facilities here in Guyana and these are industries that can generate jobs, these are industries that have high value return.” Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had announced earlier, that licences will be issued to farmers to cultivate hemp in Regions Six and Ten, following the passage of the legislation.

‘Modern’ Condominium Bill passed with full support of National Assembly T

he National Assembly on Tuesday (May 17, 2022) passed the Ministry of Housing and Water’s Condominium Bill, which seeks to ensure a structured and clear policy framework to guide the ownership and management of town houses and condominiums.

Described as a ‘modern piece of legislation’ the Condominium Bill Number 4 of 2022, makes provision for the horizontal and vertical subdivision of land and buildings into units for individual ownership, and the use and management of condominiums and matters connected to it.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal defended the government’s move to put in place the legislation, which he contended will bring major relief to owners of such

homes.

He said the rapid expansion of Guyana’s economy has brought new demands for higher standards, and modern approaches to housing development that address the issue of climate change, along with the growing demands of less expensive units than what the former market offered. “These are critical issues that had to be considered as we deliberated on a raft of legislative changes which must be made on the existing legislation to bring it in conformity with the legal framework that informs the ownership of town houses and condominiums.”

The current law governing condominiums disallows homeowners from approaching banks or other financial institutions with their Certificates of Sale, which should

be treated as a Transport, to obtain loans and other services. They are also unable to obtain insurance to protect their property.

Facing a backlog in application, the former government constructed 46 duplexes for resale to citizens. Minister Croal said 42 flat and two elevated two-storey duplexes were constructed in Perseverance and two flat social duplexes at Prospect, East Bank Demerara.

He said the duplexes were constructed on land where registration is governed by the Land Registry, for which certificates of land titles were issued. He explained that the Miscellaneous Provision Act applies only to registration areas governed by the Deeds Registry, for which transports (Turn to page 16)

Passage of Nurses and Midwives Bill makes way for establishment of council T he Nurses and Midwives Bill 2022 which makes provision for the registration and regulation of nurses, midwives and nursing assistants, was passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday (May 17, 2022).

The new legislation, among other things, seeks to establish the Nurses and Midwives Council, thereby setting out the functions and powers of the body, allowing it to appoint committees.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, said the bill is relevant, especially since the Nurses and Midwives Act of 2019 is “invalid, null and void, and has absolutely no effect.”

Opening the debate, he said the former APNU+AFC Government had claimed to pass the bill in the National Assembly, even though a no-confidence motion was successfully passed against the then administration.

According to the law, with the passing of a no-confidence motion, the government is expected to adopt a caretaker mode and restrain the exercise of its legal authority, the AG pointed out.

And therefore, on January 4, 2019, in the absence of the then opposition in the House, the move to pass the Nurses and Midwives Act of 2019, was a “height of lawlessness,” Minister Nandlall asserted. “So, it was not

even their bill that they were going and put through that bastardised process, it was a bill that they found on their desk when they assumed government in 2015,” the AG said.

Adding to the debate, Dr. Jennifer Westford, emphasised that the new bill is a drastic change from the ordinance of 1953. She noted that the legislation is urgent and recognises each category of nurses and their class of work. “I want to say as we stand here, the PPP/C Government is proud of those categories of nurses that we called specialists that were trained, we saw the necessity of giving them that recognition,” Dr. Westford added.

Meanwhile, a section of the bill creates requirement for registration and licencing before a person practices nursing, including specialist nursing or midwifery.

Registration may be full or temporary.

The bill sets out the application process for licencing, and states clearly that the issuance of a licence may be refused, and a valid licence may be revoked or suspended.

Provision is made for the re-registration and also appeal against a decision on suspension, revocation, or non-renewal of a licence.

Registers will now be kept by the council and the list of nursing, and midwife-

ry personnel who have been licenced will be published in the Gazette yearly.

Further, nurses, midwives and nursing assistants are required to renew their licences. Failure to do so within three months after the expiration date, will result in a fine being imposed.

Meanwhile, a five-member disciplinary committee will be established so that persons aggrieved by a nursing personnel’s act of professional misconduct could make a complaint.

It is clear that disciplinary action may be taken against nursing personnel convicted of an offence.

The bill also creates several offences and penalties including, practicing nursing and midwifery without being registered and licenced, fraudulently procuring or attempting to procure registration using false or fraudulent representation, and directly or indirectly holding oneself out as being a nursing personnel.

Additionally, the bill has provision for the minister to make regulation to give effect to the Act and for other specified matters. Provision is also made for the transitional provisions to deal with the current members of the Council.

Moreover, the bill ensures that the funds of the council are being audited annually.

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PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW...

The PPP/C’s legislative agenda, more New juvenile legislation aims to reduce backlog of cases T he National Assembly on Tuesday (May 17, 2022) concluded debates, and passed the amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, which is expected to significantly reduce the backlog in cases and hefty expenses faced by the judiciary.

The amendments are now expected to see juveniles, for very specific cases, to be charged jointly with adults.

According to the amendments tabled in early April, if a juvenile has

been accused of committing an indictable offence with an adult and, “the offence cannot be disposed of summarily, the juvenile may be charged jointly with the adult.”

Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson, explained that it is important for government to ensure that there is a strong “deterrence” to committing serious crimes that fall under those indictable charges; murder, treason, rape, and manslaughter.

“Those…elements are the

elements that affect deterrence to which every government…among their top priorities, is to protect the society. That has always been a high priority,” he explained.

Rebutting the argument of Opposition Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan, who claimed that the simple amendments tear down the “architecture” of the 177-page legislation, Ramson referred to the insertion of the same proposed amendment which will continue to “employ

such measures…for securing the rights of the juvenile under this Act.” “The amendment is necessary for us to have in the proper administration of justice, not new to the many parts of the world, and it is based on the representations that have been received, having introduced a new form of administration of justice relating to juveniles,” Ramson highlighted.

Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, M.P, noted that there

is no intention to remove or jeopardise the rights of juveniles in the furtherance of this law. “At no point in this amendment are we removing the rights of the juvenile. Would we rather that nothing be done? Would we rather that persons affected by the offences not have justice done? I am pretty sure that as every member would have considered this legislation it would not have escaped them that the juvenile would be bereft of the rights that are enshrined within the entire act,” Dr

Persaud told the House.

According to Section 3 (b) (i) of the principal Act which restricts juveniles from appearing before the Court with an adult, the explanatory memorandum of the amendments highlight that the proposed amendment will create an exception. “The current criminal justice system often results in witnesses testifying twice, leading to a significant increase in judicial time and expense,” the explanatory memorandum states.

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PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW...

The PPP/C’s legislative agenda, more Revenue stamps no longer required on retail receipts B

usiness owners are no longer required to affix revenue stamps to receipts for retail purchases. This change was brought about by the passage of the Tax Amendment Bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday (May 17, 2022), following a debate.

The amendment was brought about following requests from the private sector to alleviate the burden from consumers.

Defending the bill, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh,

said the requirement of revenue stamps on retail receipts has been mostly disregarded by many businesses, over the years. “The removal of the requirement that revenue stamps be affixed to receipts issued for retail transactions, in fact, was a specific representation made by the private sector in one of the consultations that we would have had with them. And so, this act simply seeks to remove that requirement that in relation to revenue stamps, in relation to retail transactions receipts issued for retail transactions,

revenue stamps shall no longer have to be affixed.”

Supporting her colleague, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, MP, expressed the importance of the removal of the stamps. She reminded that the revenue stamps are paid for by consumers, thus the removal will alleviate such burden. “This Government has a duty to ensure that it takes all necessary and appropriate measures to protect consumers, ordinary Guyanese and create a healthy, fair and conducive business

environment. With this bill we seek to do so. Apart from simplification in terms of relief, this measure places an estimated $6 million per year back into the pockets of Guyanese.”

The passage of this bill adds to the litany of measures the PPP/C Government has implemented to ease the burden on taxpayers, especially, in the face of a rise in the cost of living due to the COVID pandemic and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

Some measures implanted are, the removal of VAT

on electricity and water, educational supply, medical supplies, construction materials, fertiliser, agricultural machinery, reversal of increased land rental charges and drainage and irrigation cost, the return of the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant and the extension of the programme to cater for students attending private schools.

The one-month bonus for the disciplined service was also returned and old age pension increased among a slew of measures.

Additionally, President,

Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on Monday announced that persons living in hinterland and riverain communities, will benefit from a $25,000 one-off cash grant to cushion the effects of the increased cost of living. He also revealed that his government will be purchasing $1 billion in fertilisers to be distributed to farmers free of cost. The third measure announced by the Head of State, is the establishment of a Home Construction Assistance Facility, to aid home construction.

‘Modern’ Condominium Bill passed with... (From page 14) were issued and therefore a certificate of sale could not be issued under the current land registration system.

The minister said government has found that the demand for housing is concentrated in urban areas. In addition, expatriates participating in oil and gas and other activities are seeking more first world options for housing. Investors have also expressed interest in constructing condos as housing options and investment. “While we welcome the interest, it was clear to us that we need to amend and or replace the current laws to provide a clear legislative landscape for the establishment and regulation of condominium schemes.

By so doing, we will not only remedy what was done by the previous administration, but will also provide a clear path for new investors,” he told the House.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, said after some 33 years the Bill requires review. The Bill, he explained was first passed in 1989, during a period of stagnated economic growth and social decay.

Minister Nandlall said the only reason for the enactment of the law at that time was to bring commonality and regularity of old structures and give persons occupying those homes some sort of ownership.

Some of those structures still remain today. The AG

said the law was put in place, but was never activated. He said Guyanese want the legislation.

Adding her voice to the debate, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, said the bill does more than just update the legislation to facilitate investment in condominiums. According to her, dozens of families are eagerly awaiting the passage of the bill to acquire title after more than four years of uncertainty. “The APNU/AFC lack finesse in handling the duplexes. As usual they put the horse before the cart. They were out of their league – are with most things. They could not create any new housing schemes, they only allocated about 7000 lots within schemes the PPP/C built.”

She said even with escalating prices and social challenge, the government is still able to make homes affordable for Guyanese.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, stated that the approach forms part of the administration’s visionary and multifaceted housing policy, noting that it demonstrates some of the fundamental tenets of good governance.

The minister stressed that the establishing of condominiums is not a “piece meal ad hoc approach”. The comprehensive bill, she noted, will allow more Guyanese, specifically young professionals, to own their own homes.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Gov’t publishes all information on earnings from oil & gas sector – in keeping with NRF Act G

uyana has received a whopping $150, 021, 165, 894, or US $719, 525, 975.5 earned from its oil resource. This information was presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday, from the Official Gazette of Guyana as garnered from the Bank of Guyana.

This information was mandated, following the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021; a bill that received a whirlwind of criticism from the main Parliamentary Opposition, despite it provides this level of transparency.

The $150.02B represents

payments for the lift of profit oil and royalty for the period January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022.

The data presented, when analysed, revealed that a huge portion of the money Guyana earned from the oil and gas sector came from the sale of oil. Some $133, 131, 536, 503 (US $638, 250, 551.76) was received as profit from the sale of Guyana’s crude, while royalty received accounts for the remaining $16, 889, 629, 391 or US $81, 005, 423.75.

When disaggregated by year, Guyana raked in:

• $31, 058, 253, 225 (US $148, 957, 446.82) in 2020 • $95, 607, 580, 801 (US $458, 552, 548.5) for 2021 • $23, 355, 331, 868 (US $112, 015, 980.18) for January to March 2022 Guyana turned an oil and gas giant following the discovery of quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs and its subsequent extraction of its first one million barrels of oil in February 2020.

That milestone occurred at the time when Guyana celebrated 50 years as a Co-operative Republic.

Since entering office in

August 2020, Government has avowed to use prudently and transparently, the accrued revenues the country receives from the oil and gas sector.

The passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill epitomises the mandate of Government, being transparent and accountable.

To further prove transparency, despite the Natural Resource Fund Act came into operation on January 1, 2022, Government presented information for all the monies received from the sector, despite it was not mandatory.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

‘Woefully unprepared Norton’ must not delay appointment of key Commissions – PPP T

he People’s Progressive Party has made clear that there should be no delay in the engagement between President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, in arriving at a consensus that would allow for the appointment of important constitutional bodies.

The Party’s comment came in response to claims from the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition that the May 13, 2022 engagement was not in accordance with the requirements of “meaningful consultation” because

necessary material was not handed over, to admitting that the additional information and documents requested were received.

At a press conference on Tuesday (May 17, 2022), the Coalition’s Roysdale Forde, who was with Norton for the May 13th meeting with Ali, said, “To date, the material and grounds on which the recommendations of persons for appointments to the Constitutional and Statutory Commissions remain with the President. Hence, the consultation process has not

been in accordance with the requirements of Meaningful Consultation.”

However, the PPP underscored the fact that Norton was “woefully unprepared” for the meeting, despite being informed of agenda and despite the fact that his own Coalition was involved in the Parliamentary process to arrive at the recommendations for the persons to be appointed to the Commissions, for example the Police Service Commission (PSC).

The National Assembly considered by the Parliamen-

tary Committee of Appointments and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for major commissions since April 13, 2022. For example, the House approved were the nominees for the Police Service Commission (PSC), as named by the Parliamentary Committee of Appointments. Those named by the Committee included: Attorney-at-Law Charles Conway; businessman Ernesto Chooa-Fat; businessman Akeem Mohammed; and Pastor Patrick Findlay. The last Police Service Commission expired

in August 2021.

Looking ahead, the PPP said, “Now that additional information has been provided to Mr. Norton, a speedy conclusion to the process that would allow for the appointment of the important constitutional bodies is expected.”

Once the engagement between the two leaders are concluded, appointments of the Integrity Commission, Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Police Service Commission (PSC) and Teaching Service Commission (TSC) are expected to be made.

WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Study to utilise Hope Canal as sustainable... (From page 7) treatment plants commenced three months ago, and by the end of this month, the tenders will be out to commence the construction of at least six of the treatment plants. “So, we have these huge treatment plants apart from smaller systems, which will come onstream also another 10 smaller systems which will fill the gap so that we have complete coverage on the coastal belt,” Baksh said.

The government, through the GWI has crafted a five-

year strategic plan that will see the expansion of coastal treated water coverage from 52 percent to 100 percent.

Since taking office in August 2020, government has invested more than $6.2 billion in the water sector.

These investments are in keeping with the administration’s manifesto and its mandate to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number six- Access to water and sanitation for all.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

GECOM formalizes submissions on... (From page 2) the international community is aware. It would seem that the only ignorant party, by their own claim, is the PNCR/APNU/AFC,” the party said.

It added, “Secondly, Mr. Norton’s call for national consultations, involving the public, civil society and the parliamentary political parties, is disingenuous, since such consultations on proposed amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA) started in November 2021 and are

continuing.”

The PPP made clear that the PNCR-led APNU+AFC Coalition is the only party with an interest in keeping our electoral laws vague and ambiguous, hence the delay tactics.

Amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA), both the substantive act and the regulations, have been in public circulation since November 2021, after being released by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.

Contracts inked for road upgrades, improved... (From page 6) A $25.3 million contract was also signed to construct living quarters at the Mahaicony hospital. This will boost the region’s health sector capacity as medical specialists will be deployed to provide much-needed services.

“Last week, we began doing surgeries at the Mahaicony hospital which forms part of His Excellency, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s intention to have central services be decentralised. So, you will find us upgrading a lot of the regional health facilities,” Dharamlall said.

In addition, the minister handed over the first tranche of subvention to the region’s

10 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).

Each NDC received $2.5 million to execute their work programmes.

Meanwhile, $42.5 million was also handed over to 18 NDCs in Region Four to be distributed as their first tranche of subvention. The exercise was held at the Regional Democratic Council’s boardroom.

“This is the first of tranche or support that you will get, but we want you to use it for the benefit of the people of your respective communities…. spend these monies with the intention of uplifting your communities,” Minister Dharamlall noted.

Grove/Diamond to get... (From page 6) pace at which the East Bank corridor is developing. This is seen with the construction of the four-lane highway which paved the way for the development of new and expanded housing schemes, that will see thousands of citizens having access to house lots. However, part of government’s plan to create wholesome communities is to ensure persons have access to recreational spaces, and as such, the CH&PA is undertaking a number of such projects in housing schemes under its purview.

The CHPA recently handed over a new community ground to the residents

of Block BB Eccles. Similar interventions are being made at Perseverance, Prospect and Herstelling Second and Fourth Bridge. Additionally, Minister Croal stated that the $52 million Sophia multipurpose recreational facility is almost completed.

“This helps to keep the communities closely knitted.

It allows you to have that space to come home and engage in your recreational and social activities… it also allows for more family time and enhances our wellbeing,” the housing minister reiterated.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

Second chance at Tertiary education for persons who did not complete secondary school

T

he Government of Guyana is offering a second chance to resident Guyanese who have not been able to complete their secondary education under a new initiative titled: Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW).

This scholarship programme is being offered to applicants at no cost and will be done under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).

This initiative aims to offer Guyanese, 18 years and over, who never had an opportunity to complete their secondary school education or obtained less than five passes in CSEC/GCE subjects (including Mathematics and English) the opportunity to matriculate to tertiary education.

Applicants can either apply for a Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Levels 5 & 6 diploma or a General Education Development (GED) diploma.

The SCQF diploma is a comprehensive preparatory programme to be delivered within a three (3) to six (6) month period targeting applicants who have at least completed Grade nine of their secondary education or sat the CSEC examination but did not obtain pass in 4 subjects. The students will study seven (7) courses: Communications, Business, Mathematics with Excel, Behavioural Management, Marketing, Introductory Economics, and International Relations. The Diploma is internationally accredited and is offered by the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) in partnership with Jain University, India. The SQA is the national awarding

body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation and certification of qualifications.

SQA was established and constituted by the Education (Scotland) Act in 1996. Upon completing the programme, students will be able to enroll in Bachelor’s Degree programmes in Humanities; Commerce; Business and Management; Computer Science and Information Technology at Jain University or any other University accepting SCQF’s qualifications.

Meanwhile, the General Educational Development (GED) Diploma is offered through Texila American University (Guyana) and other partners. It is an intensive three (3) months programme targeting applicants who were unable to write or who did not attain passes in five (5) subjects at the CXC/CSEC level. The GED is equivalent to the United States of America High School Diploma.

Students who choose the GED Diploma will be exposed to four core areas: Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts.

On successful completion of the GED programme, students will be able to matriculate to four (4) year Bachelor’s degree programmes at Texila University, Guyana or any other University that accepts GED qualifications.

All classes will be conducted online during evening hours to accommodate students who work during the daytime while examinations will also be conducted online at the end of the programme.

These programmes fall under the Government of Guyana’s 20,000 Online Scholarship Initiative.

Interested persons can register on the GOAL website (www.goal.edu.gy) or using the GOAL portal.

For the SCQF programme: https://govofguyana. smapply.io/prog/scqf_registration_form_2022 For the GED programme: https://govofguyana. smapply.io/prog/ged_registration_form_2022 To apply, a copy of an applicant’s CSEC results or Secondary School report card is required along with a copy of photo ID. They must also have access to a laptop, tablet computer and the internet.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

COM M ENTARY

It is one thing to be clueless, it is reprehensible to obfuscate, distort and fabricate

By Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

N

o political party in a democracy is guaranteed to remain in government forever, even if relatively successful. Leaders of political parties must be prepared to lead in the opposition. Bharat Jagdeo defined, during his term as an opposition leader, what a successful and effective opposition leader looks like. One thing is certain in Guyana, his two successors as opposition leaders, Joe Harmon and Aubrey Norton have proven themselves as no equal.

It will be difficult to find anyone in the PNC leadership who could honestly say that Norton today is even close to providing the strong leadership.

In Parliament, Bharat Jagdeo led his MPs with factual, intellectual, well-researched and effective debates. They questioned and moved motions that made it difficult for the then APNU/ AFC MPs to respond. The PPP under the leadership of Bharat Jagdeo held the then government accountable,

such that the government MPs were afraid to hold parliament.

Outside of Parliament, Bharat Jagdeo held weekly press conferences, allowing every media house enough time to ask questions and, in between of conferences, permitted media access to himself and his MPs. There were almost daily multiple press releases and there were community outreaches. The Opposition leader and his MPs between 2015 and 2020 were more visible than the government.

Joe Harmon, between 2020 August and 2021 December, as opposition leader, was rarely available to the media. Norton appears to be morbidly afraid of the media. He knows that this was one of Bharat Jagdeo’s successes – meeting the media in an unlimited way.

This week the PNC held what they promised to be a weekly presser, trying to emulate Bharat Jagdeo when he was leader of the opposition. By any measure, by any standard, the press conference by Norton and

his team was a disaster. If there was any PNC supporter who held out the hope that Norton would be an effective leader, this press conference has shattered that dim hope.

Norton and his team had no real issue to hold the government accountable, made it easy for the government to dismiss the trumped-up issues they raised. Even the PNC-friendly media people were toying with them.

One of the issues raised by the media was electoral reforms. Norton and his team had no sensible answer, nothing of substance to raise and depended entirely on obfuscation and misrepresentation. First, Norton claimed that the PPP government’s proposals have been unanimously rejected by the Guyanese people. There is nothing to suggest that the public has rejected these proposals. They have been out there now for months and very little public criticism have been seen. There has been some criticism by NGOs, such as Article 13 and some other groups. But these cannot be equated to the public. While they have a right to voice their opinion, they remain small groups of dissidents, not the public. Most of their criticisms have been that the reforms proposed have not gone far enough. Some of the criticisms express concerns that GECOM staff could face jail time for attempts to rig the system.

Most important, the PNC, APNU and AFC have not yet sent in any comment.

Instead, Harmon had said at the time, and now Norton has reiterated that the PNC and APNU/AFC are not interested in consultation with the government on the proposed reforms. They claimed they will conduct their own consultations. Political parties have the right to consult on their own. But legislative proposals have been made. If the PNC wants to hold con-

sultations to have a response to the PPP Government’s proposal, when exactly are these consultations to be held? But even when these consultations are held, does not a political party that is more than 65 years old have a view on these proposals?

One area of interest is the voters’ list. GECOM has been carrying out continuous registration. All political parties have scrutineers and represent an important part of the scrutiny and monitoring of the exercise.

Norton and his general secretary claimed that the PNC scrutineers have recorded significant numbers of violations during the exercise.

But he refuses to say how many, insisting that they will present the evidence when they please. The same thing he said when he alleged that the government has been registering Venezuelans, but not Nigerians and Haitians. When asked how many such cases they have evidence for, he again insisted these would be presented when the PNC wants to. This is the same story with the SOPs, the winning” ones, he claims to have.

Two years after the election, the party that claims they have the “winning” SOPs, SOPs that would see them in government, are comfortable receiving salaries in the opposition. None of this makes sense to their own supporters, much less the Guyanese public.

It is now more than six months since proposals for electoral reforms were submitted to the political parties, GECOM itself, civil society and the public. These government proposals have been published and widely circulated and request for comments, changes and additions have been made by the government, through the president, the vice president, the attorney general and other ministers in the cabinet.

Amending and reforming the

electoral system to ensure no one ever repeats the clumsy and brazen attempts to thief the last elections are not the same as constitutional reforms.

Virtually all the “wickedness” that APNU/AFC and their collaborators in GECOM tried between March 3 and August 2, 2020 could be addressed by amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act. While there are other changes to the electoral system that some want that require constitutional reforms, those matters, urgent as they might be, are not what the government has proposed.

All the proposals that have been submitted are linked to prevent a repeat of the March 3 to August 2, 2020 shenanigans and wickedness.

That the PNC and their partners in the APNU coalition, together with the AFC, are clueless is now taken for granted by the vast majority of Guyanese, including a majority of those who voted for then in the 2020 elections and who have been supporters for a long time.

Even a senior member like Volda Lawrence, back in Parliament, after being unceremoniously dumped after the March 2020 elections, is disappointed with the leadership of Aubrey Norton, reluctantly settling for a grade of B minus. Not only has Lawrence scored leadership as barely passing, she basically scolded her colleagues in Parliament that they are not MP material. But Lawrence herself has built a political career indulging in deceit and lies.

On a TV show this week, Lawrence denied that the Granger-led APNU/AFC government ever stopped the “Because We Care” school cash grant to children. The cash grant program was terminated in 2015 when APNU/AFC took over as the government. Not only did they stop it, they are on

record of justifying why they believed that the program was a “waste of money”, was unsustainable, even as they increased their own salaries and benefits by up to 100%.

Dr. Rupert Roopnarine went further when he told the nation that the program was stopped because it had not attained its objectives.

One of the arguments PNC and AFC members now use is that the PPP in 2014 had only introduced the program as a one-off grant. I spoke about this program during the budget debate in 2014. In fact, there was a promise that by 2020, we expect the grant to increase to $50,000 per child. In the 2015 elections campaign, we are on record of promising to continue the program and to increase it to $50,000 per child. Confronted with the stark realization that the cash grant was a popular program and that the people, including their own supporters, believed that it was a mistake by the Granger-led government, Granger himself, as the Presidential candidate of APNU/AFC in the March 2020 elections, promised that the cash grant program will be reintroduced. The fact is that there was no cash grant between 2015 and 2020 under APNU/ AFC and it was resumed immediately when the PPP government came into office and it is now $25,000 per child, with a promise that the grant would be $50,000 by 2025.

Lies and more lies, distortions after distortions, fabrication, after fabrication, obfuscation and more obfuscation – this is the PNC. Aubrey Norton is not making any effort to hide the fact that, besides being clueless, he has decided that obfuscation, misrepresentation, fabrication and just plain lies are going to be what he relies on to build back the PNC.

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WEEKEND MIRROR 21-22 MAY, 2022

WHO recommends highly successful COVID-19 therapy ‒ Calls for wide geographical distribution and transparency from originator

COVID vaccine patents not discussed at G7 health ministers meeting (Reuters) - The question of COVID-19 vaccine patents was not discussed at a meeting of the health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Berlin, German Health Ministers Karl Lauterbach said on Thursday.

"We haven't discussed the release of patents because the question hasn't come up yet, but that can definitely happen," Lauterbach told a joint news conference with German Development Minister Svenja Schulze.

"The problem we currently have is that of middle- and lower-income countries' willingness to use the

vaccine," Lauterbach said, adding that there was more vaccine available than people ready to take it.

Germany is against a planned intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, saying patents are a crucial way of encouraging companies to continue pushing ahead with new research.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday he did not agree with a planned intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines as patents are a crucial way of encouraging companies to continue pushing ahead with new research.

The waiver drafted by

the United States, European Union, India and South Africa earlier in March would need formal approval from the WTO's 164 member countries, including Germany, before being adopted.

The potential waiver deal followed months of negotiations over how to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine production in developing countries, where vaccination rates have lagged wealthy countries.

Scholz, speaking at a news conference, said that a better way of making vaccines accessible in emerging economies would be to transfer vaccine production facilities to Africa.

(WHO) The World Health Organisation (WHO) made a strong recommendation for nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, sold under the name Paxlovid, for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients at highest risk of hospital admission, calling it the best therapeutic choice for high-risk patients to date. However, availability, lack of price transparency in bilateral deals made by the producer, and the need for prompt and accurate testing before administering it, are turning this life-saving medicine into a major challenge for low- and middle-income countries.

Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug (a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets) is strongly recommended for patients with non-severe COVID-19 who are at highest risk of developing severe disease and hospitalization, such as unvaccinated, older, or immunosuppressed patients.

This recommendation is based on new data from two randomized controlled trials involving 3078 patients. The data show that the risk of hospitalization is reduced by 85% following this treatment. In a high-risk group (over 10% risk of hospitalization), that means 84 fewer hospitalizations per 1000 patients.

WHO suggests against its use in patients at lower risk, as the benefits were found to be negligible.

One obstacle for low- and middle-income countries is that the medicine can only

be administered while the disease is at its early stages; prompt and accurate testing is therefore essential for a successful outcome with this therapy. Data collected by FIND show that the average daily testing rate in low-income countries is as low as one-eightieth the rate in high-income countries.

Improving access to early testing and diagnosis in primary health care settings will be key for the global rollout of this treatment.

WHO is extremely concerned that -- as occurred with COVID-19 vaccines -- low- and middle-income countries will again be pushed to the end of the queue when it comes to accessing this treatment.

Lack of transparency on the part of the originator company is making it difficult for public health organizations to obtain an accurate picture of the availability of the medicine, which countries are involved in bilateral deals and what they are paying. In addition, a licensing agreement made by Pfizer with the Medicines Patent Pool limits the number of countries that can benefit from generic production of the medicine.

The originator product, sold under the name Paxlovid, will be included in the WHO prequalification list today, but generic products are not yet available from quality-assured sources.

Several generic companies (many of which are covered by the licensing agreement

between the Medicines Pool and Pfizer) are in discussion with WHO Prequalification but may take some time to comply with international standards so that they can supply the medicine internationally.

WHO therefore strongly recommends that Pfizer make its pricing and deals more transparent and that it enlarge the geographical scope of its licence with the Medicines Patent Pool so that more generic manufacturers may start to produce the medicine and make it available faster at affordable prices.

Along with the strong recommendation for the use of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, WHO has also updated its recommendation on remdesivir, another antiviral medicine.

Previously, WHO had suggested against its use in all COVID-19 patients regardless of disease severity, due to the totality of the evidence at that time showing little or no effect on mortality.

Following publication of new data from a clinical trial looking at the outcome of admission to hospital, WHO has updated its recommendation. WHO now suggests the use of remdesivir in mild or moderate COVID-19 patients who are at high risk of hospitalization.

The recommendation for use of remdesivir in patients with severe or critical COVID-19 is currently under review.

Opposition must substantiate its claims if it hopes to regain any public trust – Jagdeo

T

he ethos of undemocratic behaviour that has been synonymous with the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), has been embraced by the new PNCR leader and Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, Aubrey Norton, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo.

“He has wholly embraced the rigging ethos and the rigging

philosophy of the PNC,” Jagdeo said on ‘The Guyana Dialogue’, a social media forum focused on current issues. The PPP General Secretary reminded that this position is not startling, particularly given Norton’s role during the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Jagdeo added, “It is part of his DNA, the rigging to stay in power….although in the five years of the last administra-

tion, although (David) Granger placed him in a position of insignificance because they did not think he had a contribution to made, yet he was one of the central advocates for the rigging of the 2020 Elections.”

NORTON’S ROLE IN 2020 ELECTIONS The PNCR Leader, himself, was actively at the forefront of the attempt by the PNCR-led

APNU+AFC Coalition to undermine the will of the Guyanese people.

Norton appeared on various platforms, not only in Guyana, but in the Caribbean, including on national television in Trinidad and Tobago, staunchly defending the former APNU+AFC Coalition’s efforts to rig the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. On July 21, 2020, Norton, appearing

on television in Trinidad and Tobago, went as far as saying: “I do not see the government as illegitimate,” when questioned about the no-confidence motion and the Coalition’s caretaker mode at that time.

Further, failing to acknowledge the democratic will of the Guyanese people, evidenced by the results of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, as well as the results of the national recount, Norton had said, “I believe we must stay focused on ensuring the People’s Progressive Party doesn’t come to power.”

Also, Norton has exposed himself as not being one to shy away from peddling misinformation to the Guyanese public.

In May 2020, Norton made wild claims that at a polling station in Bush Lot, Region 5, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) secured 199 votes and the Coalition secured four votes – but there were only 199 registered voters for that polling station. He had said: “I want to point out that in Box number 5083 at Bush Lot, Region Five, the official list of electors had 199 persons.” The polling station in reference was at the Bush Lot Nursery School [Division 52213C (ii)]and the number of registered voters whose ballots would have been placed in Ballot Box number 5083 is 257 – not the 199 that Norton claimed.

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE Jagdeo underscored the fact that Norton continues to persist in his attempts to “defend the indefensible” – an effort that collides with reality. He said, “It has to be someone who is devoid of facts and delusional about the reality, to make a claim that every donor (the international community) report said that APNU won the elections.

One just had to read how scathing the reports that emerged from every international donor agency were about the attempts to steal the elections.”

The PPP General Secretary added too that Norton owned up to what former president David Granger, nor any other of the former senior leaders of the former APNU+AFC Coalition government admitted to – being in possession of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. “None of them said they had the SOPs that showed that the APNU won the elections, as was being claimed… but none of them had these SOPs in their possession….Norton now has said he has those.”

On May 9, 2022, during an exchange between Jagdeo and Norton, Norton queried why the SOPs were of interest. “Why you want to see my statements of poll?” Later, on May 13,

2022, when pressed on the issue of making public the SOPs, Norton said, “Could I say this to you? Could I say this to you?

Could you bring any point in time a piece of clip in which I said I had winning SOPs…I did not. Somebody reported that.

When you provide it, come back.”

According to Jagdeo, for Norton to have any credibility going forward he has to substantiate the claims he insists on perpetuating. “For Norton to have any credibility going forward, and people should not listen to him on any other matter unless he produced these SOPs that shows that the APNU won these elections. It goes to the question of credibility. If he would like about something so significant to our country and so fresh in the minds of our people and so important to the international and national communities, then how can you trust him about anything else in this country?”

The PPP General Secretary noted that, if Norton is unable to substantiate his wild claims, he will most likely continue to operate “on the fringes” of the local political arena. “The likes of Norton will not intimate the People’s Progressive Party,” Jagdeo declared.

Importantly, the report from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) three-person observer team, which witnessed the national recount of votes from the March 2020 Elections, said: “…nothing we witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of the results of the March 2, 2020 elections….the team categorically rejects the concerted public efforts to discredit the polls up to the disastrous Region 4 tabulation…the numerous requests for information on several serial numbers were so bizarre that on one observed occasion, an APNU/AFC agent was prepared to query serial numbers on the OLE (Official List of Electors) in a work station where no one had noted. These challenges were often made on the ground of death and migration…the team viewed much of the exercise as a fishing expedition designed to gather data for a possible election petition and which resulted in considerable time being wasted during the recount.

Furthermore, the net was cast extremely wide in the hope of at least making a small catch and at times the anticipated harvest ended in slim pickings.”

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

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