Hinterland Highlights Newspaper Issue#2 2016 Edition

INSIDE

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Twelve hinterland communities to benefit from sustainable housing...

Issue No: 2 / 2016

$230B Budget Passed

Focus on Hinterland Development

23 years of damage cannot be fixed in eight months...

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2&13

Budget 2016 caters for Indigenous development...

St. Ninian’s Primary in Region one to be extended...

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What’s in it for the Indigenous people?• Over 30,000 hinterland school children will benefit from uniform material• 7,000 more children to benefit from hot meals• 450 hinterland students to gain scholarships• $1 Billion to train youths (HEYS project) • Roads to be upgraded out of a sum of $6.72B• 211 Indigenous communities to get grant to fund eco-tourism projects • Two new radio stations to promote Indigenous languages, culture• $2 B for airstrips and aerodromes’ upgrade• Over $644M to expand housing sector• $80M for hinterland teachers’ accommodation • $4B to support a Plan of Action for Hinterland Development• $2B for physical infrastructure development• $4.2B to assist in advancing township status for four communities• Four mini-hydro power stations to be explored• $598M for agriculture - 4,000 acres of state lands to be developed in Region 9• $195 M for hinterland water supply • $28M for preservation of Indigenous culture

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan

“Budget 2016 represents the beginning of the fulfillment of our vision of transform-ing our national economy and providing a

Good Life to all Guyanese.”

2 Hinterland Highlights

In keeping with Guy-ana’s green economy efforts, the Ministry of

Indigenous Peoples’ Af-fairs and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners As-sociation (GGDMA) signed a Memorandum of Un-derstanding (MOU) with Conservation International Foundation Inc.

This signing, which was done at Conservation International on Robb Street aims to enhance sustainable

development of Indigenous villages, and develop viable practices within the mining industry.

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, and Vice President, Sydney Allico-ck, Minister in the Minis-try, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Minister of Natural Re-sources, Raphael Trotman,

Head of Conservation Inter-national, David Singh and GGDMA’s Chairman Pat-rick Harding were among

those present at the signing. The MOU with the In-

digenous People’s Affairs Ministry seeks to form the framework for collabora-tion between the two enti-ties in areas of mutual inter-est, towards the enabling of green economic growth and development.

Minister Allicock said that he was pleased to be associated with Conserva-tion International, which he described as a distinguished association. “We are now confident that we have a partner that could help us to ensure that we have an en-vironment that will be there for generations to come,” Minister Allicock said.

The Minister explained that the environment is im-portant to the indigenous people, and that they (the indigenous people) have many things to impart when it comes to the natural laws.

“The natural laws are real, and I am happy that we can have an organisation that will allow us that op-portunity to work together to find answers to the many issues that we have out there in the natural world,

and more so for including the Indigenous peoples’ in national development,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the MOU with GGDMA will see some US$5.7M funding from the Norwegian Society being split between Guyana and Peru to tackle the environ-mental challenges that come with mining. Three million dollars (US$3M) of the total amount will be invested in Guyana. Minister Trotman pointed out that apart from

the MOU, the GGDMA has been working with other bodies to improve min-ing practices to better their techniques and ensure that there is less damage to the environment. “At the end of the day, we are looking at preserving that patrimony of Guyana so that generations to come can enjoy the ben-efits in the same way that we are enjoying them,’ the Minister emphasised.

Meanwhile Conserva-tion International’s Head,

David Singh explained that the signing offers the op-portunity for linkages be-tween the private sector and government, which are very important for the execution of the projects catered for under the MOU.

There will also be round table discussions at the local level looking at integrated natural resources management. Subsequently, evidence based solutions will be developed to influ-ence policy.

MOUs signed to boost indigenous villages’ growth, develop viable mining practices

GGDMA’s President Patrick Harding, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock and Conservation International’s Vice-President David Singh sign the MoUs in the presence of Conserva-tion International’s Senior Vice-President for the

Americas Field Division, Sebastiann Troëng

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock and Minister of Nat-ural Resources Raphael Trotman with GGDMA’s President Patrick Harding, Conservation International’s Vice-President David Singh, and Senior Vice-

President for the Americas Field Division, Sebastiann Troëng

Mahdia’s township status to be delayedThe move to clear the

way for the hinter-land community of

Mahdia, Region Eight to become a town, before May 26, 2016 may be delayed by the lack of a functioning lo-cal government system.

The remaining three communities- Lethem, Ma-baruma and Bartica howev-er, remain on target and the Ministry has been visiting and holding consultations as the process progresses.

In an interview with the

Government Information Agency (GINA), Minister within the Ministry of Com-munities Dawn Hastings- Williams explained that the lack of local government or-gans such as Municipalities and Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Councils (NDCs) in Mahdia is hindering the May 26 deadline set out for the community to attain township status.

“We’re putting Mahdia on hold for now because of these challenges,” the Min-

ister told GINA. “It is not that we’re going to leave them out, but they are go-ing to come on board a little later,” she said.

The lack of the Lo-cal Government system for managing and developing the community is hamper-ing the administration in identifying and implement-ing needed projects such as roads, bridges, playgrounds, parks, and sanitary landfills, projects that are critical to the community’s transfor-

mation into a town. She explained that the Ministry is awaiting the formation of such councils to proceed with movement of the com-munity towards township.

Not having the Local government system in place before this happens, will be a setback, as these councils are important to the system, and their operations allow

for the citizens to participate in the decision-making pro-cess. It also allows for iden-tifying the needs of citizens and delivery of services, Minister Hastings-Williams explained.

She noted that in the absence of the systems, any decision made prior to com-pleting the process, would have been made from some other body of persons that probably did not have the same interest or knowledge in the community’s affairs.

Mahdia, Region Eight

Radio Paiwomak now on air 24 hours daily - plans on stream to expand station’s reach

Guyana’s only com-munity radio sta-tion based at Bina

Hill in Region Nine, Radio Paiwomak, is now on air 24 hours a day. This is as a di-rect result of the installation of nine new solar panels with accompanying high-powered batteries.

Over the past 10 years, a failing power supply sys-tem forced the radio station to broadcast for only six hours daily. This had se-verely affected the service to Annai, Wowetta, Rupertee, Surama and surrounding communities. The radio sta-tion serves 65 communities.

Last year, a direct ap-peal was made to Prime Minister Moses Naga-mootoo for his intervention and he responded. This re-sulted in the purchase of the batteries and solar panels.

In the medium- term, this radio station’s signals will be boosted to provide

coverage to more than dou-ble the number of villages it now serves in the Rupununi area.

Prime Minister Naga-mootoo who has respon-sibility for the informa-tion sector explained that specific emphasis will be placed on the far flung inte-

rior communities in the Ru-pununi and the North West District.

The name Paiwomak was derived from the names of the three communities it was set up to serve — the Pakaraimas, Iwokrama and Makrapan. It was man-dated to provide the lo-

cal communities access to national news and current affairs, school broadcasts, programmes on the envi-ronment and sustainable development and other edu-cation and/or training pro-grammes, including public information programmes.

3Hinterland Highlights

Opposition buried in oblivion on Budget 2016 measures, policies - Minister Hastings-Williams

Minister within the Ministry of Com-munities, Dawn

Hastings-Williams has ac-cused the opposition Mem-bers of Parliament of being buried in oblivion with re-gards the budgetary meas-ures and policies that will stimulate production and restore confidence, whilst creating wealth.

Adding her contribu-tion to Budget 2016 debate, Minister Hastings-Williams questioned the opposition members’ shortsightedness for not noticing any of the measures or policies in the budget which will stimu-late production and restore

confidence.“Is it that they are bur-

ied in oblivion?” the Minis-ter asked. “Is the reduction in excise tax and fuel prices not creating wealth through the increase in disposable income? Is the construction of four mini-hydro power stations not creating wealth through reduction in pro-duction costs and increase in disposable income? …is the investment of $40.3 Bil-lion on education, not creat-ing wealth in the future by producing more productive citizens?” she asked.

The Minister pointed out that wealth is created, through a combination of

specialised policies and measures that the Minister of Finance outlined in his Budget speech, and which are geared to stimulate the economy.

“If these measures do not create wealth, then the members of the op-position are saying that money or knowledge is not wealth, something I find very obscure,” the Minister observed.

During her address, the Minister also responded to what she termed other “friv-olous and banal statements” made about Budget 2016, including the budget being ‘“repackaged.’

“I would like to ask the opposition members, “Is the construction of four mini-hydro power stations at Kamaira, Kuma, Tumatu-mari and Tiger Hill repack-aged? Is the construction of the pedestrian overhead crossings at Sherriff Street repackaged?...Is the de-velopment of state-of-the-art water front facilities at Kitty, Kingston, Stabroek, Vreed-en-Hoop, Supenaam and Skeldon repackaged?”

These projects were strategically crafted and are all strategic projects designed to resuscitate and catapult the economy, she stated. The Minister there-

fore posited that when the opposition members spoke of a repackaged budget, they were referring to a budget that has a clear vi-sion, and one that is free from ‘“pork-barrel-politics.’

The Minister also ad-dressed the opposition mem-bers’ accusation of govern-ment ‘witch-hunting’, for initiating the process of recovery of the nation’s as-sets, and investigating cor-ruption. She asked whether the opposition is then saying that government should con-cede to corruption. “The an-swer is a resounding no….persons who are convicted of wrongdoing in our public

sector, should face the full brunt of the law,” Minister Hastings-Williams said.

Minister within the Ministry of

Communities, Dawn Hastings-Williams

Budget 2016 offers much hope for Indigenous peoples

During the 2016 National Budget debate, Minister

within the Ministry of In-digenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe said the budget caters for the long- term growth of all Guyanese. She described it as, ‘exciting’ and one that “speaks to development on a large scale.”

Garrido-Lowe said that contrary to what was be-ing insinuated by opposi-tion Member of Parliament (MP) Yvonne Pearson, the Indigenous peoples have not lost confidence in the Indigenous Ministers. The junior Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister said she was pleased with the 2016 budgetary allotment for In-digenous people.

“At long last the hin-terland, home to our indig-

enous brothers and sisters is getting its fair share of the pie,” Garrido-Lowe said.

She noted that apart from the $776.5M alloca-tion for the Ministry’s cur-rent budget and $1.4B al-location towards the capital budget, the hinterland is further provided for within all five pillars of the budget.

“This budget offers much hope to our indig-enous brothers and sisters, the majority of whom have been living in poverty for too long,” Garrido-Lowe said.

On education, Minister Garrido-Lowe noted that the government is working to bridge the gap between youths on the coastland and those in the hinterland. De-velopment would not focus only on infrastructure such as roads and bridges but

also, on developing human capital.

The Minister stated that youths in all communities are suffering from the lack of jobs, a situation that is of much concern for the government.

Noting the absence of skills in the hinterland, Gar-rido-Lowe pointed to young people not being trained as mechanics to repair the vil-lage tractors when they be-come non-functional, and not having youths trained in carpentry and joinery to help make furniture for schools.

“How can we expect them to become young en-trepreneurs when we do not extend such training to them?” Garrido-Lowe ques-tioned as she referred to what was taking place under the previous administration.

She reminded the House that the previous administration ended the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) in April 2015 and questioned the number of jobs provided for persons who were engaged under that programme.

According to Garrido-Lowe, under the YEAP, officers were receiving $30,000 per month for do-ing nothing, and were being used to push the PPP elec-tions campaign.

To eradicate poverty in the hinterland and avoid wastage of tax dollars, there needs to be training of young people which would prepare them to be entre-preneurs and leaders, she stated. “This is what our government through the Ministry of Indigenous Peo-

ples’ Affairs will be doing,” Garrido-Lowe stated.

Pointing to the Hin-terland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) pro-gramme that was launched on October 1, 2015 in Re-gion Eight, the Minister said it entails six months of classroom training followed by six months of practical training. In addition, train-ees receive $30,000 per month and an additional $10,000 is set aside for them which they would re-ceive on completion of the training.

She said there are also opportunities for them to develop business plans and receive start-up funding for small businesses.

According to Garrido-Lowe, six villages are now involved in the programme; 108 youths are receiving

training in Math and Eng-lish, and entrepreneurship training in areas such as eco-tourism. Computer sci-ence would be added.

Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous

Peoples’ Affairs,Valerie Garrido-Lowe

Budget Debate...

Minister of Indig-enous Peoples’ Affairs and Vice

President Sydney Allicock made a public apology to the members of the opposi-tion for being unable, within the eight months he has been in government, to fix all the damage caused by the oppo-sition during their 23 years

of government. Minister Al-licock was at the time mak-ing his contribution to the 2016 budget debate in the National Assembly.

The Minister rebut-ted statements which he deemed as not factual. He stated that, “I note well the presence of some born again indigenous members on the

other side. These honour-able members may have had their Damascus moment at the end of their journey to the opposition benches.”

Addressing statements purporting that miners were awarded blocks in lands tra-ditionally occupied, utilised and applied for as village lands by the Indigenous

peoples, the minister noted these were matters which his government inherited from the previous adminis-tration that now sits in the opposition benches.

“These awards were made after Kangaruma and Tasserene for example, had applied for these lands to be-come their village lands…

these honourable members of the opposition were part of the team which partici-pated in the handing over of worthless pieces of paper to Kangaruma and Tasserene suggesting to the leaders of these communities that they were being handed land titles,” Vice President Al-licock disclosed.

23 years of damage cannot be fixed in eight months – VP Allicock

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock


Guyanese across the country will ben-efit from the decen-

tralisation of regional and clinical health services as the 2016 National Budget has made allocations for the sector that will ensure this becomes a reality.

Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton informed the National As-sembly that this ‘decen-tralisation’ will ensure that, “consistent and adequate quality health care is pro-vided to all citizens across the 10 administrative re-gions, based on the sound values of equity, solidarity and quality health services as a human right.”

Approximately $13.3B was allotted to this pro-gramme of which $11.9B is current expenditure. This, Dr. Norton said, will em-power the regions, “through

training and increased hu-man resources so that this ministry can be successful in its plan to decentralise the regional system.”

As part of the improve-ments planned, the Health Minister indicated that a standard complement of staff for each region is be-ing put in place to avoid the multi-tasking of the exist-ing staff, “who in the past, under the PPP regime, have been called upon to func-tion in disciplines outside of their mandate. This must be a thing of the past,” Norton stated. He added that each region would also benefit from the continued deploy-ment of medical doctors and other personnel to hin-terland regions. The Public Health Ministry already has a national plan to per-manently place a physician in every health center, the

Health Minister announced. The sum of $1.5B was

also appropriated as capi-tal expenditure to complete all unfinished structures. These include, the Experi-ment Health Centre at Bath (Region 5). “Even though it cost the government $32M to build in 2013, it remains unfinished and un-furnished,” Dr. Norton said. A similar situation exists at Yawong Health Center (Mountain Foot) which re-mains incomplete even af-ter $29M was expended. It was also revealed that the new x-ray unit at the Parika Health Center has not been used for three years and an-other at the Leguan hospital has been there for 10 years and not only unused, but unwrapped as well. Norton said these units would be put into service. “We have only last week put into func-

tion the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the West Dem-erara Regional Hospital with six brand new incuba-tors, the fifth such unit now functioning in the country,” Norton said.

According to the Min-ister, this unit was never used though it was declared open by the previous Min-ister of Health on August 6, 2014. Also, the spacious, air conditioned post- natal ward, which can accommo-date as many as 15 beds has now become functional.

Construction has start-ed at the Leonora Diagnos-tic Centre which would see the maternity section fitted with beds and other facili-ties and equipment.

Renovation work at the Diamond Diagnostic Cen-tre has been allotted $30M; $15M identified for the con-struction of a solid waste

furnace for the Linden Hospital Complex; $20M to refurbish and upgrade a section of the old Linden Hospital building to estab-lish a consultation room, a ten-bed surgical ward and patients’ waiting room, and $15M for the extension and remodelling of Kwakwani Hospital to house an operat-ing suite.

“We are also in the pro-cess of adding new health facilities within the regions such as a health hut in Yakashiba, Region Two and Semonie, Region Nine,” Norton explained. Adequate housing facilities will also be provided for the staff to be deployed to the regions such as a medex house in Fort Island, Region Three and Sand Creek, Region Nine.

The Health Minister announced that for the first

time, $30M has been al-located for the acquisition of a fully equipped state- of- the- art river ambulance with a radio set. An amount of $10.5M has also been al-located for three All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). He prom-ised that the Government will ensure adequate drugs and medical supplies are provided in all facilities.

Minister Bulkan denies Executive usurping role of regional officialsMinister of Com-

munities Ron-ald Bulkan has

labelled as ‘misleading’ claims by Opposition Mem-bers of Parliament (MPs) that the coalition govern-ment is usurping the role and authority of the elected officials in the administra-tive regions. He was refer-ring to statements made by the opposition during the debate of the 2016 budget.

Opposition MPs during their presentations, accused the coalition administration of taking control of the re-gions. The Opposition MPs claimed that the adminis-tration was appointing of-ficials, namely Regional Executive Officers (REO) to usurp the role and func-

tions of elected officials in the regions.

Minister Bulkan noted that as it relates to regional administration, in the past eight months the Region-al Democratic Councils (RDCs) have been ben-eficiaries of the administra-tion’s strategic vision of em-powerment. He explained that, each region is being prepared to accept the chal-lenge by the government, of beginning to take more control of their areas. This challenge is one that would empower them to use the endowments of their respec-tive areas to attract invest-ment, create employment and contribute to improved living standards of their residents.

“Our region must no longer see themselves as administrative regions, as vehicles to soak up the re-sources from central gov-ernment…they must seek to leverage their resources to bring development to their regions,” Bulkan said.

Minister Bulkan noted that this is what the con-stitution provided for, that is, “for each region to craft their own development pro-grammes and this is what has been charged of the re-gional chairmen and vice chairmen by President Da-vid Granger; to craft plans of action for the develop-ment (PARDS) for their respective regions,” he told the House.

“That is the nature of

the engagement that this administration is seeking to have with our RDC. So it is misleading for the Honour-able Members of this House to be peddling a false narra-tive, accusing us of seeking to usurp the authority of the regions,” Minister Bulkan noted.

Another of the Opposi-tion’s lament during the de-bate was that approximately 20 percent of the capital al-location for 2015, for the re-gions was returned. Whilst, Minister Bulkan observed that this was regrettable, he noted that the reality is that a mere four months was available to execute the capital programme of the regions and this was as a re-sult of the prorogation of the

Parliament.“When one consid-

ers the process of inviting public tendering, the evalu-ation and award of contracts and the bottle necks of the tender board and the need for the reconstitution of the regional tender boards, … these were some of the factors that were respon-sible for that unfortunate state of affair…If there is any blame to be cast, that blame belongs to those on the other side of the House,” he added.

The Minister however, noted that for the 2015 cur-rent allocation, 98.5 percent was spent, and if taken as a whole (current and capital allocations for the regions 2015 budget), the sum of 97

percent was spent. He added that the ta-

bling of the 2016 budget this early will allow for timely implementation and execu-tion of the regions’ capital and current programmes.

Regional, clinical services to be decentralised

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan

Minister of Public Health,

Dr. George Norton

Budget Debate...

All of Guyana’s productive forests given out by previous administration - Minister TrotmanMinister of Natural Resources

Raphael Trotman has made it public that the previous

administration had awarded 100 per-cent of Guyana’s productive forest in concessions.

Trotman made this disclosure in his presentation during the 2016 National Budget debate in the National Assembly.

Questioning the rationale for hand-ing out all of Guyana’s productive forests as concessions, Trotman asked whether

future generations of Guyanese are not entitled to share in Guyana’s patrimony.

The Minister informed the House that the coalition government will be ad-dressing this matter.

Minister of Natural Resources,Raphael Trotman


Prime Minister announces plans to pave Linden-Lethem Highway, other initiatives - at Public Day forum in LethemPrime Minister Mo-

ses Nagamootoo an-nounced a number of

ambitious plans, which the Administration has in store for residents of Lethem, Upper Takutu-Upper Esse-quibo (Region Nine). These include plans to pave the Linden/Lethem roadway and launch a radio station for Indigenous communities.

The Prime Minister, at a ‘Public Day’, held at the Tabatinga Community Ground, Lethem announced that works on the Linden to Lethem Highway will soon begin, while an industrial zone will be established in Lethem to facilitate the influx of economic activ-ity that is expected to take place once the road has been completed.

Further, he said, the Ministry of Public Security has already started collabo-rating with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Af-fairs to address the issue of gun licences for Indigenous communities. “I have spo-ken to the Minister of Public

Security and Vice President, Sydney Allicock, for the firearms which were handed in during the amnesty pe-riod to be re-issued once the paperwork is completed... We will also look at the way the fees are charged,” the Prime Minister said.

He also added that the Government has plans in train to set-up offices in the

region to facilitate the appli-cation process for passports or birth certificates.

Prime Minister Naga-mootoo, who was accompa-nied by his wife, Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo, said the meet-ings are being held to help realise the Government’s mission to provide a good life for all Guyanese. “Nine months have not even gone since we took office and in these months this has been a feature of the government; reaching out to the people to establish open Government partnerships,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister led a high-level team of Gov-ernment officials including

Minister of State, Mr. Jo-seph Harmon, Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson; Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Volda Lawrence; Minister of Citizenship, Mr. Winston Felix and Minister within the Ministry of Communi-ties, with responsibility for Housing, Ms. Valerie Shar-pe-Patterson to the region to give residents an oppor-tunity to meet directly with the ministerial team.

Before the start of the meetings, Minister Harmon remarked that the Admin-istration is cognisant of the fact that not every in-dividual has the means to meet with officials to have their matters addressed. As such these ‘Public Day’ ac-tivities are an opportunity to take the Government to the people. “We have brought the Prime Minister and five [other] Ministers to hear what your concerns are. You voted for a change and you are seeing the change. You have a Government that cares,” Minister Harmon said.

House lotsThe issue of hous-

ing, which has been a ma-jor bugbear countrywide, has also been a source of anxiety for Region Nine residents. Residents com-plained bitterly that under the previous Administration there was a lack of respon-siveness to calls to address issues related to housing and land titling. However, Minister Sharpe-Patterson, who had pledged to tackle

the backlog of house lot ap-plications and address the related housing issues upon her assumption to office, brought relief to residents when she announced that the price for land has been reduced. Applications were even processed on the spot and residents were allowed to select their intended house lot numbers.

A pregnant woman who was the first to pull a lot number was too over-whelmed to offer a com-ment. However, another resident, Ms. Madela La-Rose, who had the cost for her land reduced by half said, “Last year I was asked to pay $300,000 for the land, but when I looked at the land I was confused be-cause the price didn’t match the size. I came here this morning to clarify this and I am leaving as a grateful woman.”

Ms. Brenda Camp-

bell, a mother of six, said she applied for a house lot four years ago and never re-

ceived a response. However, yesterday she left the Tabat-inga Community Ground, smiling. “I have six kids and I live in a rented house… I applied for a piece of land and up until today, I couldn’t get any response. But I came and I meet the Minister and now I am get-ting to pick my lot number,” Ms. Campbell said. These women were among the first 47 citizens to benefit from the Government’s revised housing plans.

LabourMeanwhile, Minister

of Social Protection, Ms. Volda Lawrence was able to immediately address a case of violation of labour laws, after a woman complained that she was owed pay in lieu of leave. On hearing the woman’s case, the Minister sent for the errant employer and was able to recover the $120,000, which was due to

the employee. At the close of the weekend outreach, residents were loud in praise

of the activity. Regional Chairman and member of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party, Mr. Brian Allicock, also praised the initiative, noting that such an event with so many Gov-ernment functionaries had never before been held in the Region. “This is the first time we are having some-thing like this in this region. We must thank this Admin-istration; this government, for this. You will be able to share your views and you do not have to be afraid to speak,” he said.

This was the third Pub-lic Day outreach exercise hosted by President David Granger’s Administration. Supporting officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the Department of Public Service, the Ministry of Public Health, the Cen-tral Immigration Office, the General Registrar’s office and other agencies were also on hand to address issues.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

speaking at the Public Day forum

A section of the large crowd at the ‘Public Day’ forum in Tabatinga

Twelve hinterland communities to benefit from sustainable housing projectThe over $644 mil-

lion provided for in Budget 2016, will

be utilised to expand the hinterland housing project, which will result in im-proved living environments for low-income families in 12 communities.

The funding which will provide a housing subsidy for the construction of hous-es and the replacement of roofs in Regions One and Nine will not only support

better access to housing, but to improved potable water and sanitation.

According to Minister within the Ministry of Com-munities Valerie Sharpe-Patterson, four communi-ties in Region One namely, Whitewater, Kamwatta, Haimakabra and Sebai and eight communities in Re-gion 9;Katoka, Kwatamang, Massara, Karaudarnawau, Haiowa, Karasabai, Potar-inau and Sand Creek are

set to benefit under the pro-gramme. It will cater for, either a full house or a roof replacement.

Beneficiaries of the full house replacement in Re-gion One will be presented with a one - storey elevat-ed timber building, whilst those in Region Nine will receive a flat burnt brick building, Minister Sharpe-Patterson said.

Both styles of houses will measure 500 square

feet, she said, and they will comprise four rooms, front and back stairs with zinc roof, guttering, a 400- gal-lon water tank and a pit toi-let, she said.

The roof replacement intervention caters for zinc sheets for a house measur-ing no more than 500 square feet, complete with gutter-ing, fittings and a 400- gal-lon water tank.

The 2016 expansion of the hinterland housing pro-

ject is based on the lessons learnt from the pilot project implemented during 2009 to 2015 under the Second Low Income Settlement Pro-gramme which saw houses being built.

The Ministry of Com-munities will implement this 2016, sustainable housing project through a US$3.1M loan financed by the Inter-American Devel-opment Bank.

A resident of Region Nine raising his concerns with Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

One of the houses built in 2015 under the Sec-ond Low Income Housing programme


Foreign Affairs Min-ister Carl Greenidge has categorically

stated that Guyana totally rejects the backhanded at-tempts of Venezuela to de-spoil Guyana of her rights. Minister Greenidge said that the Coalition Government “repudiated in its entirety a statement made on Febru-ary 4, 2016 by the Venezue-lan Foreign Minister, at the United Nations Headquar-ters in New York.”

During an address to the National Assembly, the Minister said these state-ments, “contained several falsehoods and innuendoes as these relate to the terri-tory of Guyana.”

The Statement to which Minister Greenidge referred was titled “Venezuela rati-fies its rights over the Esse-quibo at the UN”. He said, “That statement is yet an-other example of Venezue-la’s time-worn belief that falsehoods repeated often

enough may eventually lose their basic falsity. They do not.” He said the statement will be brought to the at-tention of the UN Secretary General, the members of the Security Council and the UN’s wider membership.

Guyana’s Foreign Min-ister made it clear that rights over the Essequibo were settled by the Award of the 1899 International Tribu-nal of Arbitration estab-lished under the Treaty of Washington of 1897 whose decision the Government of Venezuela undertook to accept as “a full, perfect and final settlement” of all the questions referred to the Arbitrators. He added, “Venezuela did accept the decision – jointly with the United Kingdom, demar-cating the boundary on the ground and drawing up a definitive map depicting the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela iden-tifying the Essequibo as be-

ing within British Guiana - in accordance with the 1899 Arbitral Award.”

Minister Greenidge further stated that in Ven-ezuela there were always elements who wanted more, and for whom the birth of an independent Guyana seemed to end their impe-rialist crusade, contending that the Arbitral Award of 1899 was ‘null and void.’

From the start, Minister Greenidge explained that Venezuela delayed pursu-ing their nullity contention; pursuing instead a policy of harassment of the new state, impeding its development by threatening investors. “It kept Guyana out of the OAS for 25 years. Contemptuous of international law, it has is-sued decrees asserting mari-time claims progressively more and more outrageous. And it remains one of the few countries of the world to have excluded itself from the United Nations Conven-

tion on the Law of the Sea.”He explained that Ven-

ezuela currently, “seeks to move away from its “nulli-ty” contention and to imply that the Geneva Agreement is about a ‘historical posi-tion’ and a ‘territorial con-troversy’ and to embrace the Agreement as it attempts to rewrite it.

Last year, Guyana’s President, David Granger, called on the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to have Venezuela’s conten-tion that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void and settled with finality by judi-cial process. By the Geneva Agreement, both Guyana and Venezuela have em-powered him to do so.

“Venezuela’s behav-iour towards Guyana is a festering wound to peace and development in our re-gion and an affront to the rule of law in the world,” the Minister told the Nation-al Assembly, “and it must be

healed by a process of law.”Despite, the UN Sec-

retary General’s discus-sions with both Guyana and Venezuela and proposals for “The Way Forward”, the neighbouring country, however, seems prepared to derail the process, Min-ister Greenidge noted. “In this 50th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement which was signed on February 17, 1966, Venezuela should be seeking to fulfill the objec-

tives of that Agreement and not frustrate them under a cloak of righteousness. Guyana will not allow the deceptions being peddled by Venezuela to persist.”

The Minister expressed the Coalition Government’s hope that the National As-sembly will lend its full sup-port to his statement as the nation continues in its col-lective endeavour to defend Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Gov’t rejects Venezuela’s efforts to derail UN resolution process

The signing of the Ge-neva Agreement was the only available op-

tion of resolving peacefully, the conflict of Venezuela’s outrageous claims to Guy-ana. Sir Shridath Ramphal, recalls that with the signing of the agreement Guyana could move forward with its Independence.

Speaking on a recent televised programme on the National Communications Network (NCN), Sir Shri-dath, the Guyanese diplo-mat who was present at the signing of the Agreement on February 17, 1966, said that the agreement was in a sense an essential part of the larger picture of Guyana’s Independence.

He explained that Guy-ana was on the cusp of Inde-pendence, “we were about to be free and Venezuela…basically tried to stall Guy-ana’s Independence by agitating its claim to the Essequibo.”

According to Sir Shri-dath, who today is probably the only person alive who

had witnessed the signing of the Agreement, Britain, Guyana’s then colonial masters, strongly resisted the claims by Venezuela because, “from their stand-point there was no ques-tion about Guyana’s move to become an Independent State.”

He said that the British Government arranged for a meeting of representatives of Britain, Venezuela and the then British Guiana; which took place in Ge-neva, on February 16 and 17, 1966. The agreement was then signed on Febru-ary 17 between Britain and Venezuela.

The new Government, led by Forbes Burnham, had to be at the meeting be-cause the independent Guy-ana would inherit whatever would be the conclusions of the meeting, Sir Shridath recalled.

“It was a madden-ing occasion (the signing), because this (Venezuela’s claim on Guyana) was something so much of the

past, that it should have been of the past and should not have been even in our thoughts as we looked ahead but Venezuela was adamant, was threatening and had to be dealt with and the Ge-neva agreement was the re-sults,” the renowned Guya-nese diplomat explained.

Fifth (50) years later, on the eve of the signing of the agreement and fol-lowing the recent renewal of claims of Venezuela’s historical claims to Guy-ana, Sir Shridath said that the only way for Guyana to rid itself of this controversy is to have the matter settled by the highest international tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“This matter has gone on for 50 years; we have tried all manner of means. They have tried all manner of deeds…they have not produced a shred of evi-dence, or even an argument that that award must be set aside… It is a legal issue, le-gal contention, and must be settled by the ICJ,” he said.

He said that having closure to the controversy would mean a lot, “for the world; for the rule of law; for the sanctity of treaties, which is of importance to the whole world. It would mean everything for rela-tions between Guyana and Venezuela.”

As part of 50th an-niversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement, President David Granger met with United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon in New York, where he further pressed Guyana’s position for a juridical set-tlement of the decades-old border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.

According to the Ge-neva Agreement, which was made between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North-ern Ireland on February 17, 1966, just months before Guyana gained Independ-ence, a Mixed Commis-sion “of Guyanese and Venezuelan representatives would be established to

seek “satisfactory solutions for the practical settlement of the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, which has arisen as the result of the Venezue-lan contention that the Ar-bitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void.”

The agreement also states that if following the report of the Commission, Guyana and Venezuela do not reach an agreement then

the countries must choose “one of the means of peace-ful settlement provided in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations. Guy-ana, on February 17, ob-served the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement. On May 26, Guyana will also celebrate its 50th Anniversary of Independence.

Nowhere in the Agree-ment does it even suggest that the 1899 Arbitral Award had been nullified.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge

Sir Shridath touts juridical resolution to Venezuela’s outrageous claims to Guyana

Sir Shridath Ramphal

Guyana - Venezuela border controversy...


The Ministry of Pub-lic Infrastructure is seeking proposals

from appropriate firms to rehabilitate and operate the Moco- Moco Hydropower plant in Region 9. This is being done in line with the government’s plan to devel-op a ‘Green Economy’.

The Moco- Moco Hy-dropower plant will be oper-

ated under the Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT) arrangement. This aims to supply power to Lethem Power Plant under a negoti-ated and agreed Power Pur-chase Agreement.

This move forms part of the administration’s over-all effort to reduce depend-ence on fossil fuels for en-ergy, and in so doing, the

country can save significant sums that are expended on the purchase and importa-tion of such fuels.

In 2003, the plant was significantly affected by a landslide and since then the project was abandoned.

The coalition govern-ment intends to have hy-dropower generation facili-ties located in several areas

of the country. The Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) is currently in the process of assessing five of 69 possible sites, which are proposed to house these hydropower amenities. The five sites under scrutiny are Tiger Hill, Kamira, Tumatu-mari, Amaila and Kumu. It is expected that their assess-ment will be completed in

May of this year.To promote additional

financial aid for the hydro-power and renewable plan, the coalition government is partnering with the Bra-zilian government. Also, to carry through with this plan of a Green Economy, the government will be us-ing $80M from the Norway fund. This money was allo-

cated to renewable energy development. Interested investors as well are wel-comed in this area.

Because Guyana is a tropical country, there is a high potential to invest in renewable energy. This en-ergy while untapped, will soon be harvested to its maximum and provide Guy-ana with a growing industry.

Moco- Moco hydropower station to be rehabilitated

The indigenous com-munity of Hiawa, North Rupununi, Re-

gion Nine, came in for high praise from the Government for constructing a 340-metre road, which will significant-ly improve movement and trade among communities within that district.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo commissioned the “Perseverance Dam” during his recent visit to the Region, for the third Public Day forum. The road took more than two years to be constructed.

Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Vol-da Lawrence and Minister of Citizenship, Mr. Winston Felix, who participated in the outreach exercise, also attended the commissioning ceremony.

The high-level Minis-terial team commended the

initiative, noting that it was the result of such coopera-tion and community effort and came to fruition just days before the country’s 46th Republic Anniversary and Mashramani.

“With your work in your community; every road you build, every dam you construct, you are send-ing a message to Venezuela that this is our territory, this is our motherland and this is the country. We know and we intend to make it better. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. This initia-tive shows that you want to develop your community, your county, your coun-try,” Prime Minister Naga-mootoo said.

Minister Harmon was particularly pleased with the effort and expressed ad-miration for the community spirit displayed by the resi-dents. “It is a pleasure being

here to be a part of this cere-mony. It truly makes Mash-ramani a celebration after hard work. I am pleased and happy to be here to share this occasion with you,” he said.

Minister Felix also ex-pressed his appreciation for the community’s effort and said that the Government always welcomes and sup-ports initiatives that pro-mote the growth and devel-opment of communities.

“We want to associate and build with you. We want to promote the development of Hiawa. Hiawa must be seen in three years or five years as an area which has grown and that is why we are here. We want to let you know that we are con-cerned [about] the physical development of the area, as well as the development of the people of the area and we want to support your

endeavours. We don’t want you to feel shy [about] your ideas because this Gov-ernment will not only be sympathetic, but will also support developmental ac-tivities that you, the people would like to promote,” he said.

Meanwhile, Toshao of the village, Mr. Ian Da-vid beamed with pride as he described some of the challenges the team of resi-dents had to overcome to complete the project. “The workers will get up and start working at 05:00hrs. We would start work even when it was so dark. We would go for the stones and would encounter snakes in the pile, but we didn’t stop. The prophets of doom said that the project will never happen and many days we wanted to give up, but we didn’t. We persevered and today, it has become a real-

ity,” he said.Regional Executive Of-

ficer, Mr. Carl Parker said the regional administration is proud of the village’s ef-fort and achievement, since what would previously have been 42 miles of travel-ling between villages such as Moco Moco and Kumu, situated at the foot of the mountain, and Lethem, has now been reduced to just

about two miles. The travel-ling time, which was over two hours-long, has now been reduced to less than half an hour, he said. Ac-cording to Mr. Parker, the link is most important since the communities around the foot of the mountain depend on each other for trade and cultural activities.

Region Nine village builds own road - PM, Minister Harmon praise community’s effort

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo commends Hiawa villagers for their spirit of cooperation and

community pride in building their own road

Housing department to correct faulty turn-key houses Home owners are set

to get some relief as the Housing De-

partment’s, Central Hous-ing and Planning Authority (CHPA) is moving to cor-rect the badly constructed houses provided under the turn -key homes project at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Over the years, benefi-ciaries have been complain-ing about the shoddy work which was done on their houses that cost $4.9M each ($4.4M for the house and $500,000 for the land).

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Sharpe-Patterson explained, during an in-

terview with the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) said that the hous-es have major problems. “There is verandah falling off… water coming into the homes, cracks in the walls and floors. Most of it has to do with the poor quality of materials used.”

Minister Sharpe-Pat-terson has assured affected persons that all efforts will be made to correct the faulty work, as she has instructed the project’s team to inves-tigate and provide a detailed report on the condition of the houses. However, from all indications, some per-sons will have to be relocat-ed due to the state and level

of damage to the structures in Providence, while some other houses will be re-paired. “Some of these peo-ple have fallen in love with their homes and they don’t want to be relocated. Even though many of them have been living there for up to four years and the warranty time is over, because it’s structural problems, we will have to do the repairs… it is unfair to those people, and they are paying bank loans,” Minister Sharpe- Patterson

stated. The Ministry will be tracking down the contrac-tors that delivered the poor quality work, she added.

The Housing Depart-ment is projected to build a number of houses under this project this year, in Perseverance, East Bank Demerara and other areas. Minister Sharpe- Patter-son assured Guyanese that, “Any new homes that will be constructed under the APNU+AFC administration will be of high quality.”

$300M budgeted for Jubilee celebrationsThe sum of $300M

has been budgeted for Guyana’s 50th

independence celebra-tions, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan announced during the reading of the 2016 National Budget in the National Assembly. Minister Jordan noted that President David Granger has asked that all mem-bers of the National As-sembly “open avenues of cooperation and agreement so that we can join hearts and hands for the common good.” Guyanese were urged to reminisce on all that Guyana has achieved over the past 50 years as an independent country. “We

call on all Guyanese to re-flect on the journey of the past 50 years, taking into account the people and ex-periences that have shaped our history and the lessons learnt, while mindful of the opportunities we have missed,” the Minister said.

In addition, Minis-ter Jordan noted that dur-ing the reflections, the tools must be in place for young people to continue growing. “This is a time of reflection and celebra-tion, even as we provide inspiration and tools for our young people to dream bigger and reach higher over the next 50 years,” Minister Jordan explained.


National water coverage to increase - hinterland by five percentResidents on the

coast and hinterland can expect a three

and five percent increase in water coverage respec-tively. These are expected outcomes of government’s 2016 investment in the wa-ter sector.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings-Williams, during the 2016 Budget debate explained that gov-ernment expects those out-comes from the $4 B it has allocated to the water sector, as well as the achievement of a five percent reduction in non-revenue water.

The construction of six new potable water wells, three new water treatment plants, installation of 5,000 new water connections and 25 kilometres of transmis-sion and distribution mains are targeted for 2016.

According to Min-ister Hastings-Williams, more than 128,000 people will benefit directly from interventions made under

the Coastal Water Pro-gramme. This programme has been allocated $585M to complete the construc-tion of wells, water treat-ment plants and distribution mains at Esau and Jacob, Port Mourant, Eccles, and Timehri among other loca-tions. Interventions under this programme also include other civil works such as the installation of a water sup-ply system and distribution network at Yarrowkabra and Waikabra and the rehabilita-tion and upgrading of Cot-ton Tree and Bartica water treatment plants among others.

Meanwhile, more than 14,000 citizens will benefit from interventions expected to be executed under the Hinterland Water Supply programme, Minister Hast-ings-Williams explained. This year, approximately $195M will be expended and the administration will be targeting the completion and upgrading of water sup-ply systems at Mahdia, Port

Kaituma, Mabaruma and Paramakatoi.

In Linden, the admin-istration will be focusing on completing the inter-connection at MacKenzie Bridge Crossing and mains on East and West Bank of Linden, the completion of construction of treatment plants at Wisroc and Ame-lia’s Ward and the reduc-tion of non-revenue water among others. The Minister said that the sum of $229M, targeted to be spent on these interventions, is expected to directly benefit 27,200 resi-dents in Region Ten.

In Georgetown, more than 135,000 residents will

benefit from the $226M to be spent on completing the distribution and transmis-sion mains, and well and storage reservoirs at Al-bouystown, West La Peni-tence, and Meadow Bank among other areas.

Approximately $2B will be expended for the commencement of construc-tion of new water treatment plants at Uitvlugt, Diamond and Sheet Anchor, to benefit more than 31,500 people.

Minister Hastings-Williams noted that this is an overall investment per capita of more than $11,915 per person.

In tandem with these

initiatives, another area of critical concern to be ad-dressed this year will be the reduction of non-revenue water, which is essential for the company to break even, the Minister explained.

The National Water Council, along with the National Water Agency, the operational arm of the coun-cil, will be resuscitated. To-gether, these two initiatives will seek to provide policy level advice to the Minis-try of Communities on all matters related to the man-agement of Guyana’s water resources.

Key activities planned for 2016 also include a re-

view of the legal mandate for Integrated Water Re-sources Management, as well as establishing baseline hydrographic basin infor-mation for Regions 9 and 10. The Dakoura Creek Watershed Management Plan will serve as the first real pilot of the implemen-tation of an Integrated Wa-ter Resources Management Plan for Guyana. This creek is the main source of water for the newly built treatment plant at Wisroc, Linden and due to the increase in min-ing, logging and farming ac-tivities; it is becoming more challenging to sustain the creek’s integrity.

A hinterland water system

GWI addresses water issues at Mabaruma Regional Hospital A new arrangement

between the Re-gional Health Au-

thority in Region 1 (Bari-ma- Waini) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has resulted in 8,500 gal-lons of water being pumped daily from a special over-head tank to the Mabaruma Regional Hospital.

The assistance by GWI was made after efforts to rectify the problem by the technical personnel on the ground were unsuccessful, Director of Regional Health Services of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kay Shako explained. She said the hospital well stopped working on December 15, 2015. The pump was dis-charging sediments which caused the water to become contaminated.

The hospital reservoir, which can accommodate approximately 54,000 gal-lons of water, was not full at the time of the breakdown

and the purchase of water for the doctors’ quarters’ commenced on December 18, 2015.

According to Dr. Sha-ko, the purchase of water for the entire hospital complex, which included hospital and staff quarters, commenced on December 19, 2015.

In the meantime, the hospital’s reservoir was washed and prepared for re-filling during the period of December 27 – December 28, 2015. The private ar-rangement for the purchase and transport of water was discontinued as a result of the new arrangement with the GWI.

Dr. Kay Shako

Region 8 youths being equipped with skills Over 100 Indigenous

youths are ben-efitting from skills

training through the Hin-terland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) pro-gramme. These youths hail from Paramakatoi, Moun-tain Foot, Bamboo Creek, Monkey Mountain, Tuse-neng and Taruka.

The students are be-ing trained in areas such as tourism and hospital-ity, mechanical engineering, plumbing, garment con-struction, entrepreneurship, event planning and book-keeping, cake decoration, and agriculture.

The HEYS project was launched in Paramaka-toi, Region 8, by Minister within the Ministry of In-digenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido- Lowe.

During an interview with the Government In-formation Agency (GINA), Minister Garrido-Lowe ex-plained that the programme is being implemented suc-cessfully in those communi-ties. “The children actually learned some skills already

because they produced clothing that can be worn, very decent clothing…They are happy, not only to learn a skill but also to earn money because we know that mon-ey hardly circulates in some of those areas,” Minister Garrido-Lowe explained.

She posited that when these students complete their training, they can se-cure employment within their community; hence the communities must identify their needs before register-ing the youths.

In addition to the skills training, students are under-taking classes in remedial Mathematics and English where they have the oppor-tunity to interact with each other while learning. “We will be pushing eco -tourism and agriculture and these two subjects will come in very handy, because from the eco-tourism will spring a tour guide company then you have some doing ca-tering service, and we will need desk operators,” Min-ister Garrido-Lowe added.

In terms of the skills

training programme, the Minister said she has been in discussion with the Insti-tute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), to de-termine what possible sup-port they can provide in the area of food processing and packaging as the intention is to pursue this aspect.

Paramakatoi, for in-stance, grows a lot of organ-ic food and the freight cost from that area to George-town is very costly.

The Ministry also took a lapidary expert (a per-sons who cuts, polishes or engraves gems) to Monkey Mountain to assist in the crafting of jewellery from semi-precious stones. The Minister said that she was also looking forward to

Information and Commu-nication Technology (ICT) reaching the villages so the residents can readily market some of these products.

The HEYS programme targets 3000 indigenous youths in 100 villages. Minister Garrido - Lowe explained that it will be launched in the remaining communities shortly.

The Indigenous Peo-ples’ Affairs Ministry will collaborate with the village councils to supervise the training. The students will receive a stipend of $30,000 to fulfill their basic needs, and at the end of the train-ing, they will either be em-ployed or will be assisted to create a business.

Two young ladies registering for the programme


First tax concession ‘hearing’ with miners held - activity to continue on a fortnightly basis

The Ministry of Natu-ral Resources in col-laboration with the

Tax Concession Review Committee (TCRC) started its first series of hearings for applicants for duty-free concessions in the mining sector.

Ten miners appeared before the Committee, which comprises Minister of Natural Resources Raph-ael Trotman, Technical Of-ficer-Mining, Euliene Wat-son and two staffers of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC).

During the meeting, the miners were given the opportunity to present their

cases for the concessions, even as they answered ques-tions about their operations. At the close of the reviews, they were assured that a decision would be taken and communicated to them within ten days.

The Ministry’s direc-tive to establish the Tax Concession Review Com-mittee was prompted by complaints by miners about sloth, and allegations of impropriety in the pro-cess for the approval of the concession.

According to Minis-ter Trotman, Government was also concerned that in some instances, the privi-

lege of tax waivers it ex-tended was not always re-spected by miners. To this end, he informed the min-ers that in considering the granting or refusal of the tax concession, much de-liberation would be given to areas such as the amount of gold and diamond de-clared, health and welfare practices, mine construction and safety record, and en-vironmental management, including land reclamation.

On its assumption to office in May 2015, the new Government, through the Minister of Finance, part-nered with the Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Asso-

ciation (GGDMA) to com-pile a list of mining equip-ment and spares that would qualify for tax concessions; while establishing a mecha-nism for consideration and approval to be given.

From this arrangement, the Minister of Natural Re-sources is required to rec-ommend the names of the miners who would be grant-ed the concessions to the Guyana Revenue Authority

(GRA). The Ministry of Natu-

ral Resources will continue to meet with miners apply-ing for tax waivers every fortnight.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and some members of the Tax Concession Review Committee

PM extends olive branch to PPP

Prime Minister and First Vice President Moses Nagamootoo,

continues to call for unity talks with the political oppo-sition, in an effort to achieve a more unified National As-sembly. The Prime Minister, who is also leader of the House, is spearheading the unity talks’ initiative.

The administration believes the National As-sembly should be one where there is less confrontation, less arguments, and less expressions of animosity, hence this olive branch ex-tension to the opposition.

During an interview with the Government Infor-mation Agency (GINA), the

Prime Minister explained that it is envisaged that both the government and op-position benches will work in harmony for the greater good of Guyana and its peo-ples in 2016. Therefore, he has reissued his call to the political opposition.

“Come on board, let us talk, let us make 2016 the year when we put aside our squabbles, when we stop ‘cussing’ each other, and this bickering must stop. I want to say that I will not spare any effort in purs-ing this goal, whether they ‘cuss’ me up today, and they reject me today, I believe that it is unsustainable to do so forever.”

The Prime Minister has advised that the wave of the future for Guyana is one of national unity and one where the nation embraces itself in oneness.

“For me there is no such thing as an opposition in a House. We are all part-ners, and the old concept of our old majesty’s loyal opposition does not work anymore. We are all na-tionalists, we are all driven

by one agenda, the love of our country, the love of our people, the love of our envi-ronment to see that we have a productive and healthy environment, and that we could all be proud,” the Prime Minister said.

He stated that the olive branch which was extended to the PPP, a party which he was associated with for 50 years, is not an idle offer, and it should not be brushed aside. “… if you take that path that Guyana’s future can be realised by confron-tation, then you are inviting others who have their eyes on our country to exploit our division, and it has always been said that division in the face of an enemy is always a poor strategy. It is not even a strategy, it is a blunder, a mistake of monumental pro-portion,” he stated.

The Prime Minister also called on Guyanese to recognise that in harmony and unity, national devel-opment can be achieved at a faster rate, and urged that they make a solemn under-taking to put their country’s image first.

Ituni, Kwakwani loggers to ben-efit from new market, fee waiverSmall loggers in the

Ituni and Kwakwani, riverain bauxite min-

ing and forestry communi-ties in Region Ten will soon benefit from new markets to supply wallaba poles.

Minister of Public In-frastructure, David Patter-son informed residents and small loggers of Kwakwani that the chairman of the Ja-maican Electricity Corpora-tion is currently in Guyana and is looking to source wallaba poles.

“I will notify him that there is a community here with wallaba poles,” Minis-ter Patterson explained.

At the time, Minis-ter Patterson who was ac-companied by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and Permanent Secretary of the Natural Re-sources Ministry, Joslyn Mc Kenzie and team were on an outreach to the Ituni and Kwakwani communities.

This new market has a demand for 30, 40, and 50- foot wallaba poles to be utilised by the Jamaican

Electricity Coporation.Additionally, Minister

Trotman informed small loggers that after an assess-ment is completed, they will be given at least 50% waiver of penalties on wood and fees owing on logging concessions which they have been unable to pay due to the unavailability of mar-kets for their produce.

“ With every bit of re-sponsibility comes an ex-change so as we do the road we expect you to care it, if we waive fees this year, we

do not expect illegal log-ging or to have to waive fees for the same persons next year,” Minister Trot-man emphasised.

“In 2016 we are not looking backwards at who did what wrong, we are looking forward, so if we are going to say you get your release, you get your freedom, you get a new start, we expect you on the other hand to abide by the laws of Guyana,” Minister Trotman emphasised.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

A section of residents gathered to express their concerns in the Ituni Community Centre

Six more hours of electricity daily for Mabaruma and Mazaruni Residents of Mabaru-

ma, Region One and Mazaruni, Region

Seven will now benefit from 14 hours per day electric-ity through the Hinterland Electrification Programme. The disclosure was made

by Minister of Public Infra-structure, David Patterson after he was questioned by opposition Member of Par-liament (MP), Ganga Per-saud about the provision of 24 hours electricity for the said areas.

Minister Patterson, during the recently conclud-ed 2016 budget estimates noted that even though the programme will not pro-vide 24 hours of power, the subvention each of the two areas receives has not been

reduced, even with lowered fuel prices.

“What we have done, the fuel subventions have remained the same level and what that has done is move it from eight to 14 hours a day for Mabaruma, Mah-

dia,” Minister Patterson ex-plained. The Minister point-ed out that the reason for not reducing the subventions is to ensure that the generators can run for longer periods.

Minister Patterson also confirmed that the pro-

gramme caters for Amer-indian villages in Regions Four, Five and Six.

The Hinterland Elec-trification Programme was awarded $110.9M and will benefit over 135 Amerin-dian villages.


Mining firms urged to clean up their camps - as efforts against Zika heighten

Miners and owners of mining camps within Guyana’s

mining districts have been urged to clean up their camps and ensure that they are sprayed to prevent any cases of Zika. This call was issued by Minister of Natural Re-sources, Raphael Trotman.

“We are also calling on mining companies, large and small, to play their

part in ensuring that their mining camps are sprayed and particularly the larger mining companies to take care of their camps and contiguous communities, and mining camps that are nearby,” the Minister stated.

“We are not acting alone,” Minister Trotman advised as he pointed out that a collaborative ef-fort is being employed in

monitoring the Zika virus. The Ministry of Natural

Resources convened a meet-ing with all heads of agen-cies during which emphasis was placed on monitoring the hinterland communities.

“We are working with the Ministry of Public Health to ensure that we play our part as well…there is a shortage of vehicles for example in Region One, so

we will be providing a vehi-cle to the Ministry of Public Health to move around.”

Minister Trotman also reported that, “in some in-

stances we have fogging machines to be used in some mining districts, as old mined out areas are breeding grounds for mosquitoes.”

The Minister explained that all areas are being monitored as all actions taken by Guyana at this stage are consistent with international or regional standards and that include the chemicals used and

the manner of dispersion. The Zika virus infec-

tion is caused by the bite of an infected Aedes Egypti mosquito. The most com-mon symptoms of Zika vi-rus infection are mild fever and skin rash, usually ac-companied by conjunctivi-tis, muscle or joint pain, and general malaise that begins two to seven days after the bite of an infected mosquito.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, addressing

the Conference

Small miners to benefit from higher yielding lands Minister of Natural

Resources, Raph-ael Trotman has

mandated the Guyana Geol-ogy and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Closed Ar-eas Committee (CAC) to ur-gently release higher yield-ing lands to small miners.

The Minister told stakeholders of this devel-opment as he was address-ing the inaugural Small Miners’ Conference held at the Arthur Chung Con-vention Centre. The con-ference, organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the GGMC, provided a forum for small miners to talk to officials about the challenges stymieing their ability to ply their trade, with a view to crafting poli-cies and legislation that will address them holistically.

Minister Trotman noted that mining has been in the spotlight lately for all the wrong reasons and the fo-rum was aimed at remedying the most pressing problems.

“It is for these rea-sons that the Government of Guyana is committed to working closely with all stakeholders in the min-ing sector to ensure that its continued contribution to the local economy is sus-tained. In this regard, the Government intends to ful-fil its mandate in ensuring

that miners - small, medium and large scale, can ply their trade to maintain their livelihoods and secure their fair share of Guyana’s na-tional patrimony,” he said.

To this end, the Min-ister said that he has man-dated the GGMC Board and the CAC to urgently release lands with known occurrences of minerals and accessibility to small scale miners in each of the six mining districts.

“The new administra-tion is cognisant that many persons can acquire lands that are without any miner-als or with occurrences too low to ensure viability. We are also aware of the signifi-cant amount of lands aban-doned by medium-scale miners alone over the last year, for one reason or an-other; these lands are ideal for small-scale miners who are more likely to bear fruit-ful prospects. I, therefore, want to ensure that access to these lands is given to genu-ine small-scale miners who can … make effective use of [it] and more importantly, that this process be com-pleted within three months,” Minister Trotman said.

Additionally, it is ex-pected that with the trans-parent and equitable distri-bution of lands, the agency will also be required to pro-

vide infrastructural devel-opment, make mineral data available to the miners, provide technical support in recovery methods, provide support to ensure mine safe-ty and occupational health, establish demonstration sites to train miners in best practices, provide geotech-nical services and resolu-tions to land tenure disputes within the areas allocated.

“In the past, miners were primarily male, but this is now changing. Today we can find many women actively engaged in mining activities. In the past, the pork-knocker, as the itiner-ant miner was called, has been the pioneer to most major mineral finds. How-ever, he has not had ac-cess to land and resources to develop the finds on a fair and transparent basis. In fact, whenever a significant find is made, the land was generally taken away and given to persons with re-sources to develop the min-eral potential, and the pork-knocker would then have to begin the cycle all over again,” the Minister said.

In this vein, he com-mended the miners who make their declarations at the Guyana Gold Board, noting that while several large-scale mining compa-nies came to Guyana last

year, it was the small and medium- scale miners who accounted for approximate-ly 411,000 ounces of the 451, 490 that was recorded.

Occupational Health and Safety

Meanwhile, Minister Trotman said the Adminis-tration remains concerned about key occupational, health and safety issues, including the incidence of mining pit cave-ins.

“Last year alone, min-ing pit accidents resulted in a number of fatalities, the worst occurring at Mo-wasie, Region Eight, which claimed the lives of 11 min-ers. The Government of Guyana will not condone haphazard mining prac-tices that put people’s lives at risk. One life is one too many, negligence is like suicide. Minister, the Hon-ourable Simona Broomes has been tasked with the specific responsibilities: to oversee aspects of the occu-pational health, safety and protection of the rights of miners, workers and prac-titioners within the mining and forestry sectors; to en-sure compliance by mining workers and practitioners, of the laws and regulations within the mining and for-estry sectors,” he said.

Mining safety and

environmental sustain-ability will, therefore, be a high priority for the regula-tory agencies and the Min-istry, Mr. Trotman said.

“The Mining Industry therefore needs to adhere to proper mining practices, which must be based on knowledge of what is in the ground. Systematic explora-tion allows us to determine the quantity of minerals available for exploitation and gives us a good idea as to what level of investment will allow us to make a profit after mining and rec-lamation work is done. This must become the standard by which the industry op-erates,” the Minister said.

Diversification Minister Trotman

also encouraged the min-ers to explore for other less known minerals and stones, particularly now that gold prices have dropped on the world market.

Some of the issues which were raised by the miners included land ti-tling, tax concessions, landlordism and the sloth of GGMC in dealing with issues under its purview.

The Minister assured the miners that a collective and swift approach will be taken in addressing the is-sues raised to bring relief.

Among those present at the Conference were Min-ister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ms. Simona Broomes, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Af-fairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock, incoming Chairman of the GGMC, Mr. Stanley Ming, acting Commissioner of the Newell Dennison, Com-mander of the Guyana Po-lice Force’s ‘F’ Division, Ravindranauth Budhram, former President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’Association (GG-DMA) Mr. Patrick Hard-ing, representatives from the Ministry of Social Pro-tection, the GGMC and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB).

REPSOL seeking extension to continue work at Kanuku BlockOfficials from global

energy company REPSOL, recently

met with President David Granger to seek an exten-sion to continue exploratory work in the Kanuku Block.

REPSOL’s Latin Amer-

ica Exploration Director, Mikel Erquiaga explained that the company has to drill a well, but had been delayed by several stum-bling blocks, including its legal battle with CGX En-ergy Incorporated in 2012

over exploration activities in the Georgetown Block. This matter was resolved in 2014.

REPSOL needs an ex-tension to complete the nec-essary preparatory work for drilling to begin. “We want

a short extension in order to continue working in the Block and eventually drill a well,” Mr. Erquiaga said.

REPSOL, which is based in Spain, is one of the first oil companies to dis-cover oil in Guyana.

President David Granger and Minister Raphael Trotman with REPSOL officials


Residents of Ituni and Kwakwani, Region 10 de-clared that their villages will turn around for the better as a number of interven-tions are being made which would improve their lives and livelihoods.

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environ-ment Raphael Trotman and Minister of Public Infra-structure David Patterson visited both communities and addressed concerns of residents.

Approximately $100M has been earmarked to ex-ecute critical maintenance work to the Linden- Ituni/Kwakwani corridor. Efforts are also underway to finalise a loan with the Inter-Amer-ican Development Bank which would see the road network being paved.

Additionally, the edu-cation, health and agricul-ture allocations will further see development in those areas.

Ituni meetingAt the meeting held in

Ituni, residents raised many of their concerns including;

no running water from the tap for the past 30 years; the need for assistance with transportation so that chil-dren could get to Linden for secondary schooling; the absence of a Neighbourhood Democratic Council and a Community Development Council to provide leader-ship; the lack of an ambu-lance to transport patients; the sanitary blocks for the primary school in an appall-ing condition; government buildings poorly staffed; the

need for a resident doctor; the need to have house lots allocated to residents of the area; lack of job opportuni-ties; the acceptance of new members into the small log-gers association and; the grant of shotgun licenses to farmers.

Minister Trotman apol-ogised to residents for the undignified life they have had to endure, as a result of the last government not pay-ing attention to their needs.

“Now that we are in government, I sincerely apologise. I’m sorry. The concerns raised says you de-serve better…government

is duty bound to provide a dignified life which you ask for…we are sorry for what you have been through,” Trotman told the residents adding, “As a new govern-ment we will bring you the relief you deserve and do our best for you.”

The Natural Resources and the Environment Minis-ter, who is also responsible for the Forestry sector, com-mitted his ministry to pro-viding more access to viable species for loggers.

Residents who are log-gers with concessions will received at least a 50% waiver of penalties and fees after an assessment is completed.

“This will come with responsibility…care the road you will get, be respon-sible when you log, do away with illegal logging…this is the new start and fresh ap-proach as it is our country’s Jubilee which says it is a re-lease from bondage…don’t look back but look forward to what can be done,” Min-ister Trotman emphasised.

Minister Patterson in-dicated that before the end of 2018 work will be done to deliver an all-weather road as US$5M will be used from a US$63M IDB loan, while simultaneously, an assessment into renewable means of providing electric-ity carried out. He added that his administration will be placing more emphasis on the development of com-munities in the hinterland. “However, when you are given substandard work ob-ject to it since that is your right as taxpayers,” the Min-ister explained.

Patterson noted that

the law directs for 20% of all contracts to be given to small contractors hence the need for the villagers to organise themselves so they can bid for projects which would will bring employment directly to the community.

Kwakwani meetingAt the meeting held

at the Kwakwani Workers’ Club the concerns raised by residents were: having a sta-ble price for wood and the possibility of being awarded government contracts; lack of a logging representative on the Board of Directors for Forestry; a lack of com-munication with George-town as only one television station could be seen and this was not a local station; the state of the road causes dust pollution and it is un-safe for children; clogged drains; lack of hospital fa-cilities and the need to have health care services such as x-ray; the need for street lights; the need for proper drainage and irrigation; transportation assistance for children to get to school in Linden and furniture for the schools in the area; the need for a labour union of-fice to represent the rights of RUSAL workers; the need to have a Berbice River ferry as this would provide another transport system for logs; the need for a domes-tic centre for young girls and; concession for small loggers.

Minister Patterson committed to ensuring that there is a blend for the sup-ply of materials to maintain the Intuni/Kwakwani road which will see some mate-rials being taken from the

community.A Board of Directors

drawn from the community would be installed to man-age the Kwakwani Electric-ity Company which will be given back to government from RUSAL on March 1, 2016.

Small loggers in the area will also benefit from access to a new market which will absorb 30 to 50 feet of wallaba poles.

Additional commit-ments were given to resi-dents by Minister Patterson. These include; an investiga-tion into the operations of the barge by the Maritime Administration; the estab-lishment of the resource centre; a Berbice river ferry and the feasibility of road tolls will be examined.

Residents were also urged to consider having a sawmill as a community project which will add value to their wood.

Minister Trotman re-assured residents that the Forestry Commission has been mandated to review all penalties owed with a view to applying waivers and ex-tensions to those in default.

Residents were in-formed that the Minister of Social Protection will meet with workers to dis-cuss the RUSAL matter and that Prime Minister Moses Nagamoottoo is working to deliver full television sta-tions to the entire Region

10 which will keep resi-dents updated and informed on what is happening in Georgetown.

Minister Trotman fur-ther committed to delivering within two weeks, 10 street-lights funded personally which will be handed over to the village and the resi-dents would decide where to install them.

“This is jubilee year…we will be working to en-sure that you live a much improved life…the works will commence this year to refurbish the worker’s club building …we will be look-ing to ensure the loggers association supply lumber and lesser used species and President David Granger will be notified of the need for transportation assis-tance for school children” Minister Trotman told the residents.

Improved quality of life promised to Kwakwani and Ituni residents

A resident of Kwakwani raising an issue at the meeting with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman interacting with a staff of the Kwakwani Forestry Station, where he gave an undertaking to have

the office fully air-conditioned, providing comfort to workers

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman inspect the unacceptable sanitary block in the

compound of the Ituni Primary school

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, pays keen attention to residents of Region 10


$230B Budget passedFollowing five days of

questions and answers that were preceded by

five days of presentations that formed the national budget debate, the National Assembly at 02:31 hours on Republic Day passed the 2016 National Budget.

Finance Minister Win-ston Jordan rose to report to the Speaker, Dr. Barton Scot-land that the estimates of ex-penditures for the year 2016 were approved as printed.

The $230 bil-lion estimates include the sum of over $17B

in statutory allocations.With quite a few un-

occupied seats in the Op-position side of the House, the Appropriation Bill #1 of 2016 was passed clear-ing the way for the govern-ment to get on with its de-velopmental programmes.

Unlike last year when the examination of the es-timates was concluded in three days, the estimates for 2016 were examined over a period of five days which started on Febru-ary 15 and saw the House taking a three -day break

to February 22, 2016.During the five days that

the Committee of Supply went through the estimates, the Government was called on to provide details for each line of expenditure. In most instances the answers provided were satisfactory.

In a few cases, the Government agreed to pro-vide the answers in a few days or the very next day.

The budget was pre-sented under the theme ‘Stimulating growth, Restoring confidence: the good life beckons’.

Budget 2016 caters for Indigenous DevelopmentMajor develop-

ments are ex-pected in Guy-

ana’s hinterland regions, as significant sums of money have been approved in the 2016 National Budg-et. These developments will see jobs being cre-ated, hope restored and vil-lage economies improved.

Plan of Action for Hinter-land Development Budget 2016 provides

$4billion, in support of a Plan of Action for Hinter-

land Development, with in excess of $280 million allocated to promote eco-nomic prosperity, tour-ism development and pre-serving cultural identity.

The allocation also pro-vides for grants for 211 In-digenous communities that will build village econo-mies and fund eco-tourism projects specifically for the country’s 50th Independ-ence celebration. It also in-cludes support to women’s groups, the construction of community centres and the procurement of mu-sical instruments, sports gear and sewing machines.

EducationBudget 2016 makes

provision for the design of a new dormitory at Liliendaal, to accommodate students

with interest in enrolling in institutions of higher learn-ing. There is also support for the Bina Hill Institute and the procurement of buses for the transporta-tion of school children.

The President’s Three Bs’ (Boats, Buses and Bi-cycles) initiative will be expanded in 2016 to in-clude books and breakfast. Further, to ensure children are adequately outfitted for school, 28,000 pairs of foot-wear will be distributed in the first quarter of this year,

primarily within the hin-terland and riverain areas.

Additionally, nearly $1 billion has been budg-eted for the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) project. In 2016, the project will pro-vide training for more than 1,000 hinterland youths in areas such as garment con-struction, carpentry, join-ery and entrepreneurship.

Education assistance for hinterland students will be fortified with the provi-sion of school uniforms for over 30,000 school children at a cost of over $89 million. Over 450 hin-terland students will ben-efit from the Hinterland Scholarship Programme.

In 2015, a sum of $1.3 billion was expended on the National School Feed-

ing Programme. This year’s programme has been in-creased to $1.9 billion to cater for a hot meal to be given to over 7,000 addi-tional hinterland students.

New schools will be constructed at Tabatinga, Pai Pang and Baishainidrun and Akawini while numer-ous others are to be repaired and living quarters built and or repaired. Solar systems will be provided as well.

Further, additional sat-ellite centres in Kwakwani, Kamarang, Moraikobai

and Charity will be estab-lished to increase the num-ber of trained teachers in the hinterland and riverain areas. Further, in an effort to ensure access to quality education in the hinterland, over $80 million has been allocated for the provision of adequate accommoda-tion for hinterland teachers.

A sum of $4.3 billion has been allocated to con-tinue infrastructure con-struction, rehabilitation and repairs. Included in this pro-gramme is the completion of Kato Secondary complex, which is intended to ease the overcrowding at Param-akatoi and provide full sec-ondary education for many students in primary tops.

Electrification Budget 2016 priori-

tises the construction of four mini-hydro power sta-tions at Kamaira, Kumu, Tumatumari and Tiger Hill.

Government has also invited expressions of in-terest from firms for the rehabilitation and opera-tion of the Moco Moco hydropower, under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) arrangement, to supply power to the Lethem Power Company Inc.

The Tumatumari Hy-dropower Scheme is also being re-developed by a pri-vate company, Tumatumari Hydropower Inc. (THI). The company is seeking to supply Mahdia with elec-tricity through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mahdia Power and Light Inc. The Government is currently in discussions with THI for the completion of a hydropower develop-ment so that consumers at Mahdia can enjoy the low-est possible electricity rates.

Meanwhile, during the year, the electricity sys-tems in St. Cuthbert’s Mis-sion, in Region 4; Orealla and Siparuta, in Region 6; and Culvert City, in Re-gion 9, will be extended.

AgricultureBudget 2016 provides

in excess of $598 mil-lion to enhance diversified agriculture in the hinter-land, riverain communities and the Intermediate and Rupununi savannahs.

Research, training and extension facilities are to be established in such lo-cations as Ebini, Hosororo, Manari and Bina Hill to promote sustainable food production systems that can help maintain the eco-system and strengthen the capacity for adaptation to climate change, drought, flooding and other disasters.

The development of a milk pasteurisation plant is also intended, to re-en-ergise the cattle industry

through the development of a milk pasteurisation plant.

Additionally, plans are underway for the develop-ment of 4,000 acres of state lands, situated in Region 9, for the purpose of construct-ing an agriculture station. This station will serve as a pilot for the sustainable harvesting of surface wa-ter for agriculture in this region. The land will be utilised for rearing of cat-tle and small ruminants; for aquaculture; and plant-ing of rice and vegetables.

RoadsA total of $6.72 billion

has been approved in Budg-et 2016 for the improve-

The Kato Secondary School complex at Region Eight is to be completed

Research, training and extension facilities are to be established in such locations as Bina Hill

Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, First Lady Sandra Granger, and other government of-ficials stand among the students as they proudly display their bicycles received under the Presi-

dent’s Three Bs programme.


Budget 2016 caters...

Remains of the historic Tumatumari Hydro plant. The plant is being re-developed by a private company

Bartica Stelling, which is to be rehabilitated

The Port Kaituma Hospital is to be completed

ment of hinterland, rural and urban community roads in Bartica, Mahdia, Ituni/Kwakwani, Puruni/Itaballi, Mabaruma and Port Kaitu-ma/Baramita among others.

In collaboration with the Inter-American De-

velopment Bank (IDB,) the Government has also proposed to commence ac-tivities to facilitate the com-plete rehabilitation of the 47 year old Soesdyke/Lin-den Highway. In the mean-while, critical works will be undertaken to preserve its upkeep. Concurrently, maintenance works will be undertaken on the Linden/Kwakwani corridor. An al-ternative link to Bartica and other hinterland communi-ties would also be created.

River TransportTo vastly improve

river connections between

the coast and riverain ar-eas and remote regions, the ageing fleet of vessels must be replaced. In this regard, the Government expects to conclude arrangements, soon, with the Government of India, for financing to procure new river transport vessels. In addition, private financing is being explored for the purchase of at least

two, semi-new vessels. To complement spend-

ing on the new fleet of ferries, emphasis will be placed on navigational aids and improving stellings and wharves. To this end, the Government has started

preparations to access the UK–Caribbean Infrastruc-ture Fund (CIF), to upgrade and reconstruct several facil-ities in Georgetown, Parika, Port Kaituma, Kumaka and Bartica, among other areas.

Meanwhile, an amount of $1.3 billion is budg-eted for works to com-mence on the rehabilita-tion of the Bartica stelling.

Airstrips

Earmarked in Budget 2016 is over $2 billion, for hinterland airstrips and aerodromes’ improve-ment. Alongside, Govern-ment will also be pursu-

ing financing, to upgrade hinterland airstrips at Eteringbang, Annai, Para-makatoi, Kurupung, Kato, Kopinang and Monkey Mountain among others.

Sustainable CommunitiesIn keeping with the

philosophy that strong re-gions will lead to a strong nation, the administration in

2015 undertook to prepare a Plan of Action for Regional Development (PARD) in all of the administrative re-gions. In 2015, significant advancement was made in the completion of the pilot draft PARD for Region 10,

which outlines a develop-ment agenda over the next 10 years. In 2016, this pro-cess will be replicated in two additional administra-tive regions drawn from the coastland and hinterland.

WaterBudget 2016 provides

for approximately $195 million to be expended, on improving Hinterland wa-ter supply, this year. This sum provides for the com-pletion and upgrading of water supply systems at Mahdia, Port Kaituma, Ma-baruma and Paramakatoi. Upon completion, these in-

terventions will benefit in excess of 14,000 residents.

HousingGovernment will spend

over $644 million, to ex-pand the Hinterland Hous-ing Project, this year. This project will be financed through an USD$3.1M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank. Under

this project, 12 communities in Regions 1 and 9 will ben-efit from the delivery of Full House Replacement Sub-sidy. Four (4) communities in Region 1 - Whitewater, Kamwatta, Haimakabra and Sebai, and eight in Region 9 – Katoka, Kwatamang,

Massarra, Karaudarnawau, Haiowa, Karasabai, Po-tarinau and Sand Creek).

New townsBudget 2016 has ear-

marked approximately $4.2 billion to assist in developing the four com-munities identified to be upgraded to township, namely Mabaruma, Bar-tica, Mahdia and Lethem. This investment will real-ise the decentralisation of key Government systems into these communities, as well as provide for the es-

tablishment and upgrading of critical infrastructure.

HealthBudget 2016 supports

preparatory works to begin on the modernisation of pri-mary health care facilities including at Bartica, and

Suddie. Money has been ca-tered for the completion of the Port Kaituma Hospital.

ICT in hinterlandBudget 2016 also sup-

ports the hinterland’s, Poor and Remote Communities project and this programme will benefit from about $3.1Billion from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), for the Information Communication Technol-ogy (ICT) Access and E-Services. This will provide infrastructure, equipment, hardware and software to

hinterland regions which will enable access to qual-ity ICT training and e-services. These services include distance learn-ing, with particular fo-cus on vulnerable groups.

Two more radio stations

The provision to the National Communications Network has been increased to cater for the establish-ment of two new commu-nication stations at Lethem and Mabaruma. The intent is to extend the frequency of national radio and televi-sion to target persons in far flung areas. New stations will help to promote Indig-enous languages, culture and way of life while bridg-ing the divide between the coast and the hinterland.

A hinterland airstrip. Several airstrips are to be upgraded or rehabilitated

The Linden-Soesdyke Highway, targeted for interventions


St. Cuthbert’s Mis-sion or Pakuri was formally estab-

lished on March 21, 1889 by British Missionaries of the Anglican Church.

Prior to being officially recognised as an Indigenous community, Arawaks had lived along the Mahoca, Mahoca-kani and Abaro area for what is estimated

at over five thousand years.Mahaica is derived

from the Arawak word given to a specific plant that stains the river a dark colour. Kani means like in Arawak and thus Mahoca-kani became Mahaicony.

St. Cuthbert’s Mission is the third largest indige-nous community in Guyana, accounting for 242 square

miles in area. Geographi-cally, it is larger than many island nations. It is found 65 miles up the Mahaica River to the main landing.

The population is roughly 1500 and well over 99% are of Arawak origin. Up until the early 1970s, it was always gov-

erned by Chieftaincy be-fore it became a demo-cratically elected council.

The main source of income is logging, but some people are engaged in small scale farming, and some are working in various parts of Guyana in mining, and forestry.

Having been chosen as the Heritage Village for 2016, it will be the second time in history having this honour. St Cuthbert’s has always been the first village where Amerindian Heritage was formally celebrated on a larger than community scale.

The village has made a standing petition to the Min-istry of Indigenous Peoples’

Affairs and Parliament to re-vert to their traditional name, Pakuri, and a formal request for their land to be titled.

Pakuri - St. Cuthbert’s Mission, will be celebrat-ing its 137th anniversary this year on March 19 and 20 even though it is sig-nificantly older than that. It will mark the first indig-enous community to do so.

Village spotlight - St. Cuthbert’s Mission

A benab in St. Cuthbert’s Mission

Region One students get bicycles, shoes and books to boost access to educationThirty students (30) of

Region One (Bari-ma-Waini) received

bicycles, while more than 500 received shoes and other school gear, under President David Granger’s ‘Boats, Buses and Bicy-cles’ (‘Three Bs’) initia-tive aimed at ensuring that all school age children are able to attend school.

Minister of Social Co-hesion, Ms. Amna Ally and First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger presented the bicy-cles to students of the North West Secondary School.

The bicycles were donated by an Essequibo resident.

Meanwhile, students from the Mabaruma, Ho-sororo and Barabina Pri-mary Schools and the Koberimo Annex, along with children in the sur-rounding areas of Wain-aina, Coomacka and Maba-ruma Settlement, received shoes, books and clothing.

Additionally, in ful-filling a promise, which was made to the residents of Wainaina late last year, Minister Ally handed over a brush-cutter to the

residents to assist them in ensuring that their sur-roundings are well kept.

The Three Bs initiative started in July 2015 when President David Granger celebrated his 70th birthday and made a call for support for the initiative that aims to ensure that transportation is provided so that children can get to school safely and comfortably. Since then, there has been a tremen-dous national response, with private citizens and businesses donating buses, boats and engines and bi-cycles to the programme.

First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, in brief comments, charged the students to take care of the bicycles, noting

that it must serve to strength-en their resolve and drive to pursue their education.

“This is to ensure that children get to school, that you don’t get to school tired, that you can access an education because Guyana needs educated, enlight-ened persons to take it for-ward,” Mrs. Granger said.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, Mr. Brentnol Ashley, thanked the Gov-ernment on behalf of the region, noting that educa-tion is indeed the key to de-velopment and that the ges-ture will help to ensure that the students can perform to the best of their ability.

Meanwhile, the shoes, which were donated under

the ‘Rethink Initiative – Kind Soles Project’ started by Mr. Ernie Ross, Guyana’s Honorary Consul in Trini-dad and Tobago, in support of the President’s efforts to ensure that all children are able to attend school, were given to more than 500 stu-dents, many of whom had been going to school bare feet or wearing slippers.

This is the second col-lection of shoes that has been distributed, from an ex-pected total of 30,000 pairs that will be given to students over the coming months.

The shoes, referred to as “the shoes that grow” are specially designed to en-sure that they can still fit the children as they age, since

it is expandable. The shoes are estimated to be able to fit each child for a period of about four to five years.

To date, five boats, a number of bicycles and hundreds of pairs of shoes have been handed over to school children in several communities across the country. Buses were also commissioned.

Recently, twenty-one students of Bartica, Region Seven received bicycles from the Government. Two boats and a 30-seater bus are also expected to be added to this complement before the end of the year, to provide transportation assistance to the children of the Region.

This shy First Former of the North West Second-ary School holds on to her new bicycle as First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, places a comforting

hand on her shoulder

Students of the Barabina Hill Primary School display their new shoes

Students of the Mabaruma Primary School who received shoes.

A resident of St. Cuthbert’s Mission using a matapee

Bathing in the river at St. Cuthbert’s Mission


Public Security Ministry launches US$15M crime fighting project The US$15M Citizen

Security Strength-ening Programme

(CSSP), a project that will target the reduction of crimes and violence in Guy-ana was launched by the Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with the In-ter-American Development Bank (IDB). This project aims at bringing crime and violence to a minimum, and will be executed under the theme “Building Capacities, Strengthening Security”.

Minister of Public Se-curity, Khemraj Ramjattan at the programme’s launch at the Marriott Hotel, ex-pressed his gratitude to-wards the IDB for its com-mitment towards aiding Guyana’s crime prevention efforts. He noted that the CSSP has come at an “op-portune moment” that will certainly help bring a re-duction to crime in Guyana.

With crime on the rise over the last decade,

Minister Ramjattan recog-nises that it has become a major concern for every-one. He noted that there is a need for citizens to play their role in government’s crime fighting efforts.

“While it is obligatory for government to address problems related to pub-lic security, in an effort to safeguard their rights and wellbeing of their citizens, the emerging trend in suc-cessful crime prevention show that government-citizen partnerships are most effective in tackling crime and violence,” ex-plained Minister Ramjattan.

One of the causes for the rapid rise in crimes over the years is linked to the fact that there is “low level of trust in law enforcement agencies,” Minister Ramjat-tan pointed out. However, he noted that it is improving.

He stated that gov’t will continue to work with Non-Governmental Organi-

sations, community groups, international organisations and government ministries to help supplement the IDB-funded programme. He said the strength of combined efforts will tack-le and help solve crime.

IDB Representative,

Ms. Sophie Makonnen noted that the bank re-mains committed to pro-viding financial and tech-nical assistance to Guyana in the battle against crime.

Specific objectives of the programme are: to im-prove behaviours for non-

violent conflict resolution in target communities, in-crease the Guyana Police Force’s effectiveness in crime prevention and crime investigation nationally, and improve the Guyana Prison Service’s effectiveness in reducing offenders’ recidi-

vism at the national level.The five-year Citizen

Security Strengthening Programme will be imple-mented by the Ministry of Public Security Project Im-plementation Unit, and will be managed by the IDB through direct supervision.

St. Ninian’s Primary in Region One to be extendedOne hundred and

eighteen (118) stu-dents and teachers of

St. Ninian’s Primary school in Region One will benefit from a new teaching block within the next six months.

The fully furnished block will be made possi-ble through a grant agree-ment of US$154,768 from the Caribbean Develop-ment Bank (CDB). This agreement was signed, at the Ministry of Finance.

Basic Needs Trust Fund’s (BNTF) Project Manager Michael Singh signed on behalf of the Ministry. He advised the contractor, Builders Hard-ware and General Supplies to ensure that keen attention is paid to quality, adherence

to environmental manage-ment guidelines, adequate planning and procurement to avoid time delays. Singh also urged the contractor, to engage local workers and support local businesses.

The contractor is re-sponsible for the construc-tion and furnishing of a single storey teaching block and external sanitary block which will include male and female bathrooms, with facilities for the disabled.

Additionally, the con-tractor will provide benches, desks, teachers’ tables, and chairs and cupboards to ad-equately furnish the teach-ing block. The proposed structure will be linked to the existing one by a cov-ered reinforced concrete

walkway. The total sum of the contract is $31,727,325. With the construction of the new block, it is pro-jected that student popula-

tion can increase to 150.The project’s duration

is six months and is sched-uled for completion on July 26, 2016. The CDB has en-

gaged the services of E&A Consultants Inc., to provide architectural and engineer-ing services for design and construction supervision.

St Ninian’s Prima-ry School, was initially constructed in 1961 at Red Hill, Barima River.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan (4th from left) with IDB Representative Sophie Makonnen (4th from right) with other officials at launch of the crime fighting project

Basic Needs Trust Fund’s (BNTF) Project Manager, Michael Singh, the contractors and officials of the CDB

Sport gear to be procured for hinterland communities Indigenous youths from

11 communities in Regions One, Eight

and Nine, are to benefit from sport gear. This will aid sport development in hinterland communities. The sum of $2.5M was allocated in the budget to support this venture.

During the 2016 Na-tional Budget Debate, Min-ister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe ex-plained that the Ministry has been collaborating with the Education Ministry’s Department of Culture Youth and Sport to pro-

mote sport in communities, including in the schools.

Last year, for the first time, the Ministry in collaboration with pri-vate sponsors supported three Indigenous swim-mers to attend the Good Will Games in Trinidad.

Swimming and ar-

chery were also introduced to the Indigenous Heritage Sports and this Jubilee year, Minister Garrido-Lowe said that the Ministry is looking forward to add-ing athletics to the games.

In 2015, the Ministry collaborated with the Guy-ana Football Federation

(GFF) to promote football in Region Nine. Thus far, that region has benefitted from a Regional Football Conference that was held in Lethem at which four young men, representing the four districts in the region were chosen to become coaches.

Among other sport dis-

ciplines, are football, vol-leyball and cricket, strong points among hinterland youths. The Ministry of In-digenous Peoples’ Affairs is in the process of develop-ing a plan which will see qualified Indigenous youths participating in sports na-tionally and internationally.


ExxonMobil likely to have growing presence in Guyana - President Granger President David Grang-

er has expressed Gov-ernment’s full support

for the United States oil and gas giant, ExxonMobil, af-ter the company reported that it will continue ex-ploratory work in Guyana.

The President made these comments follow-ing a meeting at the Minis-try of the Presidency with President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Ste-phen Greenlee and other top executives. Minis-ter of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge also attended the meeting.

President Granger said that ExxonMobil’s Presi-dent provided him with an overview of the company’s operations in Guyana.

“Exxon continues to be optimistic and positive. It is too soon to make pre-

dictions. They are still in exploratory stages, but what I can say is, so far, the re-sults have been very favour-able,” the President said.

Meanwhile, Greenlee said that with the expansion of the company’s operations in Guyana, it was neces-sary to provide an update to President Granger. He added that the company is likely to have a grow-ing presence in Guyana in the coming months, and indicated that he is con-fident in their ability to bring value to the country.

“I wanted to talk to the President about our progress on the (Stabroek) Block as we have gone out and ac-quired seismic data and are preparing for a second drill-ing campaign. We wanted to share with the President, our commitment to the project. We also wanted to update him on our future activities both on the discovery that

we made and future explo-ration. Finally, I wanted to talk to him about some of the work that is getting underway on our commu-nity programs and socio-economic development op-portunities,” Greenlee said.

According to him, the company was espe-cially happy with the dis-covery made in Guyana and as such it remains committed to advancing exploratory work here.

“Last year, we made a discovery offshore Guyana and it is very promising… so we want to follow up with data collection, to un-derstand the size and the commerciality of the dis-covery. We want to acquire new data so that we can ful-ly assess the potential of the Block offshore Guyana for the value that it will bring to Guyana and ExxonMo-bil in the future,” he said.

ExxonMobil began oil

and gas exploration in Guy-ana on March 5, 2015, drill-ing offshore in the Liza-1 well in the Stabroek Block. On May 20, the company announced that its explora-tion drill ship, the Deep-

water Champion had made a significant oil find in the Block, about 120 nauti-cal miles offshore Guyana.

Last month the com-pany contracted the Fugro Americas, a multi-purpose

vessel designed to conduct high resolution geophysical surveys and sea floor map-ping. This is expected to continue until March 2016.

All miners to be certifiedAs part of on-going

efforts to improve the safety and sus-

tainability of miners, a programme will launched to have them certified. Minister of Natural Re-sources Raphael Trotman said, that this move aims to improve the safety of those who earn a living through mining activities.

The loss of lives by those in the mining sector is of major concern to the Coalition Government, he said. He recalled the mine

collapse which claimed the lives of 11 miners at Mo-wasie Creek. This incident which occurred soon after the Coalition Government took office raised serious concerns about the sector.

Minister Trotman ex-plained that the aim is to have the Guyana Geol-ogy and Mines Commission (GGMC) develop a manda-tory training programme for those already involved, and for those entering the min-ing sector. All persons will be certified, according to

Minister Trotman. “Before they are allowed to mine, they will be trained in first aid, as first responders”. In nine out of 10 times where these mining pits collapse or accidents occur, the Min-ister noted that there is not any ambulance or medical facility nearby, “and so just the recovery of these per-sons could be the difference between life and death.”

The aim of the Ministry is to make it mandatory for these persons to be certified in the maintenance and con-

struction of mining pits, the Minister added. “Of course in case of an accident which we hope there are few to none, that they (the miners) are trained in the recovery of the bodies or the person. At that time it is still a res-cue and recovery operation, and stablising and transport-ing them to either a health hut or regional hospital.”

Mining operators will also be given training in the financial aspects in manag-ing mining operations. Min-ister Trotman said that too

often, miners borrow financ-ing from banks or institu-tions such as the Institute of Private Enterprise Develop-ment (IPED) and are unable to repay their debts. “They will take an excavator and after four or five payments, they are unable to continue payments”. He emphasised that while some of difficul-ties were as a result of the downturn in mineral prices, many were as a result of poor financial management.

A compliance unit is being set up to ensure min-

ers are certified, it was ex-plained. The unit will oper-ate in conjunction with the Inspectorate Division and assist all the agencies within the Ministry, the Minister said. “These include the Protected Areas, the Wild-life Division, and Forestry etc. This will be a minis-terial function and they will go to check all areas.”

The incoming Board of the GGMC will be man-dated to make this certi-fication training a prior-ity before the end of 2016.

Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton ad-dressing the press conference in the presence of

CMO, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman; Minister of State, Jo-seph Harmon; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; President David Granger and Stephen Greenlee, President of ExxonMobil and other officials

following the meeting

New drug procurement system to address shortages and wastageDrugs and medical

supplies will be centrally procured

and distributed to the re-spective regions in order to have a more efficient system with less wastage. The new system will also allow more bidders to ten-der. This was announced by Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton.

The Minister, speak-ing at a press conference at the Ministry of Public Health, Brickdam, ex-plained that each region will be given an alloca-

tion for the procurement of drugs and medical sup-plies. However, an agreed sum will be sent back to the Ministry along with a list of needed drugs, which will then be pooled together and used for their procurement.

“The allocations have been distributed across the regions as a first step in improving the programme budgeting of health costs at a regional level even as work is advancing on a costing exercise to de-termine the total costs of drugs expended in each re-

gion to address the disease profiles of the particular region…procedurally, the monies will be warranted back to the Ministry…, to facilitate centralised pro-curement and the benefits of economies of scale and requisite quality control,” Minister Norton explained.

Further, he noted that, “the drug supply system is far from perfect and to date there has been no adminis-tration that has had a situa-tion free from shortages of drugs and medical supplies in some parts of the country.”

In addition, the Public Health Ministry is working to create a more transpar-ent procurement system which will allow individu-als to bid on portions of the tenders since the sup-plies will be separated by lots and tendered as such.

Over $280M worth of medication expired in 2014. The Ministry is determined to ensure this situation is not repeated. Hence, in Decem-ber a large cross-section of medical suppliers benefited from a workshop which was held in light of efforts

by Government to have more transparency within the procurement process. It entailed a session on the ba-sic requirements and proce-

dures necessary for bidders, for the supply of medical drugs to the local system.


US DEA office opens - aims to destroy crime networks

Work to achieve social cohesion - Minister Ally urges at Supenaam/Good Hope ‘Unity Fest’

Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally called on

residents of Region Two, Pomeroon-Supenaam to renew their resolve to fight inequality and division, even as she reiterated Gov-ernment’s commitment to ensuring that every citi-zen is afforded a good life.

The Minister was at the time speaking at the first ever ‘Supenaam/Good Hope Unity Fest’. She praised the initiative, saying that such activities are needed for the development of the young people of Guyana.

“You have demonstrat-

ed a will to be organised because in many commu-nities we have young peo-ple who are not organised. Guyana is in good hands, the hands of the young peo-ple because you are the ones who are going to help to chart our destiny,” she said.

Minister Ally noted that while the Ministry of Social Cohesion will be playing its role to ensure that the lives of all Guya-nese are improved and division and segregation become a thing of the past, every citizen must also en-sure that they participate in rebuilding the nation.

“In our country, we have a lot of differences; we have ethnic differences, we have a lot of inequali-ties, poverty, and some people enjoying a better life than others and so this ministry was established to bridge the gaps between the rich and the poor, to re-duce inequalities, to reduce poverty, to give you a bet-ter life. You must be able to enjoy what people in Georgetown are enjoying and this Ministry if going to work with you to bridge those gaps…. Regardless of your race, your religion, your gender, learn to live

together, to work together so that you can build your-selves and your communi-ties,” Minister Ally said.

To this end, she said that her Ministry has al-ready begun implement-ing tangible programmes that will vastly improve the lives of those in the region, especially the children.

“To date, through the Ministry of Social Co-hesion, President David Granger has been able to put boats on the Pomeroon River for children to go to school… It is the Presi-dent’s initiative to have the ‘Three Bs’ Programme

(Boats, Buses and Bicy-cles) and that is to ensure that our young people go to school because he believes that every child must be in school and every child must have a proper education. We are a young Govern-ment, but we will do more,” the Minister promised.

According to Manager of Cosmos Promotions, Jen-nifer Jeffrey, the Unity Fest was organised with the aim of fostering unity among the young people and communities in the area.

“This event seeks to bring together persons from various ethnic groups

and not ruling out religion, since my community is a diverse one, in the exhibi-tion of cultures and talent, local produce and more. I believe this is a tangi-ble way to reduce divi-sion among the people and to restore the pride of my community,” Jeffrey said.

The coalition govern-ment has tangibly demonstrated the

much canvassed hardline ap-proach being taken to tackle the scourge of crime; cor-ruption and all other related ills, as the United States’ Drug Enforcement Agen-cy’s (DEA) office was de-clared open on February 10.

Prior to the opening, the US DEA agents were working closely with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Customs Anti-Nar-cotic Unit (CANU) from its office in Trinidad and Toba-go. However, after lengthy overtures were made over the years to have such an of-fice set up, it was discovered that better support could be given to Guyana with the presence of a local office.

Whilst the presence of a DEA office locally is expected to have a deter-ring effect, information will also be shared with lo-cal authorities on other ar-eas such as gold smuggling

and money laundering. It is therefore expected that this will be used to disrupt and dismantle crime net-works with the vast array of information that will now be available to local law enforcement agencies.

Speaking at the opening of the office at the US Em-bassy in Kingston, George-town, US Ambassador Per-ry Holloway indicated that the private sector and the public have to both commit to helping the process for it to work as intended. He ex-plained that the DEA agents that will be based locally do not have the authority to ar-rest, more so they will not be kicking down doors or drag-ging people into their cars.

“They are here to ad-vise and assist. Their pri-mary focus is on cases with a US nexus that has some-thing to do with a crime that is happening or will happen in the US…in the course of doing their work they may come across lots

of information that may not have a US nexus, but may speak to a crime going on locally and that information will be shared,” Ambas-sador Holloway explained.

Ambassador Holloway informed media operatives that the US Embassy will be hosting future training sessions for them on how to report on narcotics is-sues and crimes since they are of a sensitive nature and police officers, judges and prosecutors cannot share critical information for cases being worked on.

DEA is known globally for conducting investiga-tive works on cases which involve financial crimes, smuggling, tax evasion and those that include drugs and weapons. Hence this move by the APNU+AFC administration will see agencies beyond CANU and the GPF being in-volved in the fight against corruption and crime.

Minister of Public Secu-

rity Khemraj Ramjattan said having a local DEA office in Guyana will bolster and be an asset to the Guyana Po-lice Force, CANU and the Guyana Revenue Author-ity’s (GRA) enforcement and drug interdiction unit.

He added that the DEA’s presence in Guyana will also provide additional benefits in the form of train-ing programmes which will reinforce the operation ca-pacity of crime fighting in-stitutions and the judiciary.

Speaking of training under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), he stated, “Guyana now has the equipment at the police academy…we can now have video conferenc-ing and teleconferencing for purposes of training.” There are also a number of train-ing programmes out of El Salvador which offer skills in leadership and training in drug interdiction. Mag-istrates and judges will be

trained, as well as Prison officers will also be under-taking training in Maryland, so all parties can work in unity of purpose, Minis-ter Ramjattan explained.

The tightening of measures, the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financ-ing of Terrorism (amend-ment) Bill along with the establishment of the local DEA office, are measures put in place by the coalition government to bring crime and corruption to an end.

DEA’s Regional Direc-tor, Matthew Donahue said that the agency has offices in Puerto Rico, Haiti, Do-minican Republic, Guyana, all the Islands and soon Cuba and the Bahamas. The opening of a local office will see Guyana benefitting from coordinating activities for upcoming investiga-tions which will see a host of information being shared.

Donahue emphasised

that the DEA will bring an international perspective to Guyana’s operations which will serve as an opportunity to demonstrate what can be accomplished with Guyana and the DEA working to-gether. “We don’t focus on just a small time drug traf-ficker, but on an interna-tional trafficker who is go-ing to be bringing the drugs into the country and who is taking the drugs out… We’re not just coming here to support the police, we’re going to bring a lot of train-ing and experience, histori-cal knowledge, and people who have been around the world and worked every-where,” Donahue explained.

The DEA’s office will focus on organisations that are not just drug traf-fickers as those who traf-fic drugs are the same who traffic humans, engage in illegal gold and mineral mining and assassinations.A section of the high-profile gathering at the opening of the DEA office in

Guyana at the US Embassy

Minister Amna Ally

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, US Ambassador Perry Hol-loway and DEA’s Matthew Donahue share a photographic moment after

unveiling the DEA Emblem in the US Embassy


The Little Gingerbread

ManWritten and

Illustrated by Carol Moore

Once upon a time there was an old woman who

loved baking ginger-bread. She would bake gingerbread cookies, cakes, houses and gin-gerbread people, all decorated with choco-late and peppermint,

caramel candies and coloured frosting.

She lived with her husband on a farm at the edge of town. The sweet spicy smell of gingerbread brought children skipping and running to see what would be offered that

day.Unfortunately the chil-dren gobbled up the treats so fast that the old woman had a hard time keeping her sup-ply of flour and spices to continue making the batches of ginger-bread. Sometimes she

suspected little hands of having reached through her kitchen window because gin-gerbread pieces and cookies would disap-pear. One time a whole gingerbread house vanished mysteriously. She told her husband, “Those naughty chil-dren are at it again. They don’t understand all they have to do is knock on the door and I’ll give them my gin-

gerbread treats.”One day she made a special batch of gin-gerbread men because

they were extra big. Unfortunately for the last gingerbread man she ran out of batter and he was half the

size of the others.She decorated the gin-gerbread men with care, each having socks, shirt and pants of different colours. When it came to the little gingerbread man she felt sorry for him and gave him more colour than the others. “It doesn’t matter he’s small,” she thought, “He’ll still be tasty.”

Kids’ Corner

Colour the PICTUREConnect the Dots


Indigenous women in Regions One and Eight will be support-

ed to create viable busi-ness ventures, through the Indigenous Women’s Small Business Initiative under the Ministry of In-digenous Peoples’ Affairs.

Two women’s groups in Regions One and Eight will benefit from $4M to fund their projects. Addition-ally, 20 women in Monkey Mountain will be supported with small grants, from the Small Business Bureau for starting kitchen gardens.

These projects will be executed in support of green and sustainable initiatives, and will support the schools’ hot meal programme by providing fresh vegetables

and fruits and other food items on a daily basis.

Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, explained that besides earning an in-come for their families,

these women will also profit from cookery and nutrition classes. Consequently, their families will also benefit from flavourful and nutri-tious homegrown food.

She further noted that scoping missions will be

carried out to assess the re-sources available in Regions One, Seven and Nine that can be turned into business ven-tures headed by the women.

A Situation Analysis for Indigenous women and children will be carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the first time. The results will pro-vide valuable information, which will influence the de-sign of better programmes for the empowerment of women and girls, Min-ister Garrido-Lowe said.

During 2015, under the Indigenous Women’s Small Business Initiative, the Min-istry of Indigenous Peo-ples’ Affairs supported 14 small businesses in Regions

One, Two, Three, Four, Seven, Eight and Nine.

Additionally, through the Women of Worth (WOW) programme un-der the Ministry of Social

Protection, single parent women in Regions One and Nine will have access to funding to support in-come generating projects and to sustain livelihood.

Gov’t to support Indigenous women to start business ventures

An Amerindian woman selling her jewellery

Amerindian handmade craft

Region Nine communities to get GWI assistance - as El Niño conditions continue

The Guyana Water In-corporated (GWI) re-cently wrapped up a

six- day visit to Region Nine to analyse the effects of El Niño weather condition with a view to determining the necessary interventions.

According to GWI’s Hinterland Engineer, Cleon French, the team visited 18

communities in the North Rupununi, Deep South and South Central Rupununi.

The team met with toshaos and residents of the various communities and visited water wells and sources to get a firsthand look at the situation.

“Some of the areas, they have low levels of wa-

ter, and we made a commit-ment to have our regional engineer and technician Mark Jeffrey, along with the other crew members as-sist in the course of the next week to lower some of the wells that have to be low-ered and also to give various forms of assistance where possible,” French reported.

The team has advised that residents still have ac-cess to water in some areas, but in the areas where wa-ter is not accessible, GWI is working to resolve this issue.

“We are asking persons to conserve water as much as you can, you cannot use water indiscriminately. The dry weather is causing an adverse effect on our aqui-fers; we observed that the static level has dropped

so we are asking persons not only in affected areas, but particularly in central Lethem to conserve on the use of water,” the engineer

stated.GWI continues to work

with the Ministry of Indig-enous Peoples’ Affairs, the Civil Defence Commission

(CDC) and all other relevant stakeholders to bring relief to the affected hinterland regions.Officials of the Guyana Water Incorporated

speaking with residents of Wowetta, Region Nine

Low water level in one of the channels in Region Nine

Gastro outbreak under control in Baramita - no new casesThe Ministry of Public

Health has reported that there are no new

cases of gastroenteritis in the Region One community of Baramita. This was re-lated to the Government In-formation Agency (GINA) by Coordinator of Indig-enous Peoples’ Communi-ties at the Ministry, Michael

Gouveia. Gouveia told GINA in

an invited comment on Feb-ruary 24, that the Ministry and the health workers in the region continue to moni-tor the situation. He stated that all the reports thus far indicate that the situation is under control.

Earlier in the year, Min-

ister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton reported that the community was affected by an outbreak of gastro-enteritis which claimed the life of a child. Since then, the Ministry has put preven-tative measures in place to avoid a recurrence or cross infection.

Community Radio Stations for Mabaruma and Lethem Two new community

radio stations will soon to be estab-

lished, on in Mabaruma, Region One and the other in Lethem, Region Nine. This comes as the administration moves to bridge the com-munication gap between hinterland and coastal.

This was disclosed by

Prime Minister Moses Nag-amootoo, in the National Assembly as he rose to de-fend the 2016 current and capital expenditure for the Office of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Naga-mootoo who holds min-isterial responsibility for the public information and communication sector, ex-

plained that the two com-munity radio stations will boost Radio Paiwomak which serves mainly com-munities in the Rupununi.

Currently, Radio Pai-womak is Guyana’s only community radio station broadcasting in the Rupu-nuni. It serves over 65 In-digenous communities.


Renowned Worldfolio highlights: Guyana is open for business!The Guyana Govern-

ment has issued a pel-lucid message to resi-

dents of the United States; this English-speaking South American nation, ideally located and suited to inves-tors, is open for business!

Worldfolio: World News, a globally renowned content provider, recently published an interview ti-tled ‘ Fresh approach to Governance, Resource-rich Guyana ushers in new in-vestment incentive push’, with Guyana’s Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. In that interview, his mes-sage was unequivocal.

The Worldfolio in its introduction to the interview published, said ‘Guyana is facing a historical year and its people have elected a new government after a 23-year grip on power by the PPP.’ It said the Government is moving away from tradi-tional industries and is initi-ating a programme of diver-sification and value-added.

Minister Jordan, was asked how he would like Americans to perceive Guy-ana. He responded thus; “What I want Americans to know is that Guyana is open for business.” The impres-sion the Minister said that he wants Americans to have is that the new APNU-AFC government is a friendlier one that is a friend of the United States and all peace-

loving people of the world. “I would like to en-

courage all American in-vestors, non-investors, whether they are coming for tourism and so on to come see what they have been missing,” he urged. The interview with Jordan also appeared in US Today.

Following on the same question, the Finance Min-ister was asked to highlight some of the opportunities for Americans in the coun-try. Dubbing Guyana a ‘mini United States’, he explained that this nation has almost every resource that one can think about, “Whether it’s oil, bauxite, manganese, rare earth metals, gold, dia-mond, extensive forest, rich agricultural land, or warm people who speak English as their first language.”

Apart from Guyana being bestowed with nu-merous natural resources, another factor in its favour is that it is critically linked to other countries. “… we might be small relative to most of the other countries in South America, but we are an important bridge between the Caribbean and South America. Add to that our historical links to North America, and we have a country that is ide-ally situated and suited for investors,” the Minister as-serted during the interview.

He said, “We wel-

come investment of all kinds to help us develop these resources, and ul-timately, our country.”

Attractive sectors He identified sectors

such as Information Com-munication Technology (ICT) eco-tourism, minerals, alternative energy and agri-culture as some of the areas that investors can tap into.

There is a wealth of land for agricultural purpos-es, and on which any type of exotic crop can be grown. Plantation agriculture could be done utilising crops such as oranges, corn, and soya bean, he explained.

The mineral sector, Jordan underscored holds an ‘abundance’ of oppor-tunities, and while there is heightened interest in gold, diamonds and baux-ite, other minerals could be exploited including manga-

nese and rare earth metals. Speaking about the

country’s fiscal incentive regime, Jordan told the Worldfolio that it is highly competitive and attractive.

Jordan admitted that the country’s infrastructure still needs to be upgraded and transformed, but this does not take away from what the country has to offer. In fact, he noted the country offers as compensation friendly people, non-hostile cli-mate, and easy accessibility.

Ease of doing businessThe Worldfolio in-

terviewer asked Minister Jordan about how Guyana can improve with regards ease of doing business, and in so doing raise the bar on international investors’ con-fidence. He acknowledged that the state of the country’s infrastructure, the level of bureaucracy and corruption

and governance issues have affected the country’s image.

He cited that what is required is “another gen-eration of reforms to mod-ernise the financial sector, improve our laws relating to, for example, acquiring and transferring land invest-ment promotion. In other words trying to give the investors the confidence ….based purely on a trans-parent incentive invest-ment legislative regime. These are some of the ac-tivities we will be pursuing to improve the ranking.”

The interview, in a pre-amble to another question on what were the contribu-tory factors for the slide in economic growth in 2015, said that Guyana is one of the fastest growing econo-mies in Latin America and the Caribbean with an annu-al growth rate of over 4 per-cent in the last eight years.

Jordan cited tum-bling oil prices, political uncertainty brought on as a result of the closure of Guyana’s Parliament, fall-ing remittances and Guy-ana’s dependence on pri-mary products with little value-added among the factors that affected the 2015 growth. He further expounded that around elec-tions, investors tend to with-hold investment decisions.

Economic diversification

Economic diversifica-tion is the government’s vision and to achieve that goal, he said over the next few years, the government will focus on diversifica-tion to lessen its vulner-ability to external shocks.

“There are existen-tial challenges, including the poor state of the in-frastructure and the high cost of fossil fuels that we use to generate electric-ity,” he stated, even as he explained that Guyana will begin exploitation of oil in another few years. This will significantly boost the country’s economy, and aid the diversification process.

Some of the oil pro-ceeds, he said will be used to modernise the country’s infrastructure- roads, trans-portation system and build-ing of a deep water harbour.

Water resources will be used to develop small to medium hydro-power facili-ties, solar farms and other forms of clean energy that include wind and bagasse.

“For too long we have depended on the pri-mary sector. We need to get rid of some of the im-pediments to investment and growth in the econ-omy,” he acknowledged.

In concluding, Min-ister Jordan expressed that Guyana still remains “an undiscovered gem, a paradise in the making.”

Minister of Finance,Winston Jordan

Workers, employers’ rights to be upheld - Minister ScottWorkers in both

the public and private sectors

are assured that their rights will be upheld, conditions of work improved and their re-muneration fair. This is the foundation on which Min-ister Keith Scott is working to overhaul the labour sec-tor in Guyana to the ben-efit of both employees and employers.

In a recent interview with GINA, Minister Scott explained that the Ministry intends to promote a bal-ance between employer and employees. “My overall vision for labour is for Guy-ana to be seen as a place

where business can be done, where there is a stable la-bour force, where there is no problem of industrial un-rest at the same time work-ers must be able to feel that they don’t have to go to the stage of arbitration.”

He added that his de-partment is focusing on en-suring that workers, as well as employers’ rights are upheld.

The Minister is of the view that Guyana has al-ways been plagued by a number of strikes, as well as a certain amount of un-certainty in terms of labour relations.

It is the intention of the

Minister to move the depart-ment of labour into a more progressive mode, “as we feel that we are properly positioned to pursue that goal.”

Minister within the Min-istry of Social Protec-

tion, Keith Scott

Minister Broomes in charge of mining sector workers’ rightsSignalling his support

for the appointment of his Cabinet colleague,

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman stated that Minister within the Ministry Simona Broomes,“a recog-nised champion for work-ers’ rights”, brings with her a wealth of knowledge of the natural resources sector particularly, mining.

Minister Trotman add-ed that it is the intention of this Ministry to fully utilise Minister Broomes’ passion in areas, “that require active attention to curtail abuses within the mining sector and ensure the enforcement of regulations”.

Cabinet, he said has ap-proved the role of Minister Broomes’ portfolio to be as follows; to oversee aspects of the occupational safety, health and protection of the rights of mining workers and practitioners within the mining and forestry sectors; to ensure compliance by mining workers and prac-titioners, of the laws and regulations within the min-ing and forestry sectors; and carry out such other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Minister of Natural Resources.

Minister Trotman de-scribed the task ahead, for the Natural Resources Min-

istry as tremendous and expressed his confidence that his“team with its addi-tional support is more than capable of addressing the issues within the sector, and creating an environment of which we can all benefit and be proud”.

Minister within the Ministry of Nautral Resources, Simona

Broomes


The Regional Mem-bers of Parliament (MP) for the Gov-

ernment side all agree; the 2016 National Budget is one which will see all Guyanese benefiting, as the Coalition Government implements its manifesto promises.

“Budget 2016 needs no selling…it brings vision, where ignorance and arro-gance looms,” Region Ten and Government Member of Parliament (MP) Audwin Rutherford said as he stood in support of Budget 2016 in the House.

Rutherford said he has every confidence that together with the Plan for Regional Development (PARD) that is being piloted in Region Ten, the region would strive and lead the way in the good life for all Guyanese.

“Without Region Ten what would Guyana be? A land without a middle, and limited access to our inte-rior?” Yet the Regional MP noted that the region was singled out for hardships under the previous govern-ment. “It is this government that made budgetary allo-cations to give us the good

life,” Rutherford noted.Also from Region Ten,

MP Jermaine Figueira is of the view that the 2016 fi-nancial allocations “contain all the ingredients needed to propel us as a people and a nation, to achieve our true developmental apex.”

Addressing the House, he challenged that no hon-est, fair and true Guyanese, will deny that “Guyana for consecutive years has yet another budget that meets the expectations of count-less Guyanese...”

The regional repre-sentative sought to substan-tiate his claims by citing several extracts from the print media. He put to his fellow Parliamentarians that he was in ‘utter dismay’ as he listened to the contribu-tions of members from the opposition. “Their contribu-tions took my intellectual being and my spirit to an abject low and had I been prone to the phenomenon of depression, I would have been depressed today, Sir. But you see Mr. Speaker I am a product of the commu-nity of Linden, blessed with resilient people. Hence, we are built with a certain

mental buffer to reject con-founded statements.”

“We shall create devel-opment with this budget,” Michael Carrington stated, refuting claims of there be-ing nothing in Budget 2016.

The Region Four, MP assured that the 2016 na-tional budget will drive de-velopment. He argued that the now opposition while in Government for the past 23 years, failed to create any firm and sound economic plan to sustain the country’s development, as he con-tended that the measures outlined in the 2016 national budget will definitely create and stimulate development in Guyana.

MP Charrandas Per-saud also pointed out that the budget will see all Guy-anese benefitting, regardless of their race or background. Persaud, who is represent-ing Region Six, noted that significant allocations were included in the budget to further the advancement of the lives of residents and communities in Berbice.

Meanwhile, Regional One, MP Richard Allen fur-thered that the Government is showing the people that

it cares for them, not only by talking, but also with the plans and programmes out-lined in the budget. Refer-ence was made to the $2B allocated in the budget for the upgrading and devel-opment of airstrips in the hinterland. This, Allen ex-plained is a critical aspect that will aid in the improve-ment of the lives of Re-gion One (Barima-Waini) residents.

Also speaking in sup-port of Budget 2016 was Region Five Parliamentar-ian Jennifer Wade, who told the National Assembly that the government will clean up the mess it inherited from the former administra-tion, as it strives to bring a better life for the people of Guyana. The MP criticised the former administration for neglecting Region Five residents.

Region Three, MP John Adams noted the growth experienced in every sector in the past eight months of the Coalition Government, and the fact that this will continue with the measures provided for in the 2016 Na-tional Budget.

Regional MPs agree - Budget 2016 will benefit all Guyanese

Region 4 MP, Michael Carrington

Region 6 MP, Charrandas Persaud

Region 10 MP, Audwin Rutherford

Region 10 MP, Jermaine Figueira

Region 5 MP, Jennifer Wade

Region 3 MP, John Adams

Region 1 MP, Richard Allen

Social Cohesion will be achieved- Minister Ally promisesDivision, disharmony

and disunity will be curbed as the

Coalition Government will work towards the achieve-ment of social cohesion, even though it will be a long process, Subject Minister Amna Ally reiterated in the National Assembly, during the Budget 2016 debate.

“Our diversities as well as experiences from our colonial past have caused some fractions in relations and mistrust amongst us,” the Minister of Social Cohe-sion stated.

Current initiativesPublic education will

allow the Ministry of Social Cohesion to prepare and disseminate advocacy and strategic communications products. These include bro-chures, posters, fact sheets and information on social

cohesion and related issues, Ally explained. There will be further meetings and con-sultations with communities in all 10 administrative re-gions, to lay the foundation and sustain the momentum to allow longer term social programming. Organis-ing additional sensitisa-tion networking meetings with strategic stakeholders will also be done. Train-ing and capacity building programmes will be dedi-cated towards advancing so-cial cohesion countrywide through training of trainers’ initiatives, core government officials and training of staff in regional administration among others.

Furthermore this “would assist to achieve the objective of formulating and implementing a strate-gic framework for more ef-fective advocacy, strategic

communications and out-reach programme on social cohesion,” Ally explained.

Past initiativesDuring the past eight

months of governance, there were several programmes to push social cohesion. To date, over 300 bicycles have been distributed in Regions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 to children who travel long distances to and from school. Six boats have been distributed in Region 2, in the upper and lower Pomeroon, Morai-kobai (Region 5), and Bara-cara, Berbice and Demerara Rivers. Six buses have also been earmarked to provide service in Regions 4, 5, 6 and 7. International bod-ies have reached out to the Ministry to support and foster social cohesion. Ally further explained that, “they have provided financial and

technical support to the Ministry, particularly as it relates to the holding of the social cohesion round table on September 3 to 4. From the roundtable, main con-tributions for developing the Ministry’s strategic plan were compiled and the de-velopment of that document has begun. The Institute of Applied Science and Tech-nology (IAST) has collabo-rated with the Ministry in the soap production project in North Rupununi, Region 9. This project is picking up speed.

Additionally, Ally stated that the Ministry as-sisted the communities of Aranaputa and Parishara to expand their use of peanuts and this would continue. “At Parishara, we have been able to refurbish the mill and the entire building of that peanut factory.”

Minister Allicock delivers keynote

address at Int’l Conference

Vice President and Minister of Indig-enous Peoples’

Affairs, Sydney Allicock delivered the keynote ad-dress at the 40th Annual Elders and Traditional Peoples Gathering at Trent University, Canada on Sunday, February 28, 2016.

The Annual Elders and Traditional Peoples Gathering was held under the theme: “Rekindling the Fire: Reconciliation and the Way Forward.” The Minister spoke on: “The Developmental Trajectory of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples and their Indis-pensable Role in Nation Building.”

Whilst there, Minister Allicock also visited the Trent University’s multi-ple centers of excellence with a view to further deepening the relationship that already exists between the university and Guyana.

The Minister also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Indigenous Studies and the Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research for the establish-ment of a new institute fo-cused on the development of personal care, and nutra-ceuticals (specially treated foods, vitamins, herbs etc that are used to improve health) and pharmaceutical products inspired by Indig-enous knowledge.


Twelve groups were, on Guyana’s 46th Republic Anniversa-

ry, conferred with the insig-nia of the Medal of Service by President David Granger at the 2016 Investiture cer-emony, held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.

It was the first time that an Investiture ceremony has been organised to specifical-ly honour organisations and groups for their outstanding service to the nation.

Delivering his address, President Granger, who is the Chancellor of the Orders of Guyana, said that a bet-ter day could not have been chosen to confer the awards, since it is this date, 46 years ago that Guyana ended the incongruity of having the Queen of Great Britain as the Queen of independent Guyana.

He noted that the ter-

mination of the imperial system provided the oppor-tunity for the initiation of a national system and national awards serve as the supreme symbol of that statehood.

“It is fitting, therefore, that this day – the anniversa-ry of our Republic – should be selected as the day on which the State honours cit-izens and groups of distinc-

tion... They are the greatest gift that a grateful nation can offer. Awards are the embodiment of the spirit of our people; a spirit, which is manifested, similarly, in our National Anthem, our Na-tional Flag and our inspira-tional National Motto – One People, One Nation, One Destiny,” he said.

President Granger not-ed that national symbols, like national awards, are or-dained by the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and these should be cherished and never de-valued or taken for granted.

“The Medals of Ser-vice, which you received, will not depreciate with the balance of trade. The parch-ment with which you have been presented will not

disintegrate with age. The acclaim of this congrega-tion is not to be discredited. National awards constitute an important institution of the state. It is my personal obligation, as Chancellor of the Orders of Guyana, to discharge my duty to our de-serving citizens and to pay respect to those to whom respect is due,” he said.

However, the President noted that while receiving an award is a prestigious national honour, it is merely a token that cannot measure the magnitude of selfless-ness and dedicated service that citizens have given to their country.

“National awards, it must be iterated, have not been conferred capriciously. They have been ordained by the Constitution of the Or-ders of Guyana. The Medal of Service, the award of which this investiture cer-emony celebrates, acknowl-edges the achievements of groups – that is, of col-lectives, cooperatives and communities. The Medal of Service honours associa-tions, corporations, organi-sations and other groups. Their sacrifice, selflessness, success and service to their communities, country and society have been consistent and of a high quality. The Medal is an acknowledge-ment of your service,” he said.

The President told the groups that the National

Awards serve as a reflection of the respect and reverence of a grateful nation, stating that their years of labour and hard work have been noted and recognised.

“We know that you have laboured over a long period of time. These Awards, indeed, were re-served for those who have distinguished themselves in the service of the nation. We applaud your accomplish-ments. We appreciate the outstanding service that you have rendered. We com-mend you for your commit-ment to the common good. Guyana encourages you to continue, through precept and example, to serve your country and community,” President Granger said.

The groups, which received awards were the African Cultural and De-velopment Association (ACDA), the Central As-sembly of God Church, the E.R.Burrowes School of Art, the Guyana Islamic Trust, the Guyana Veterans Legion, the Makushi Re-search Unit, Mings Products and Services Limited, the National Dance Company of Guyana, Roadside Bap-tist Church Skills Training Centre Inc., the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, South Central Peoples Development Association and the Theatre Guild of Guyana.

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock (second from right) receives the drone from Dr. Anthony Cummings (first from right).

Ms. Bernadette Allicock from the Makushi Research Unit receiving the Medal of Service from President David Granger at the Investiture cer-

emony. The group was awarded for its efforts in reviving the culture of the Makushis.

Makushi Research Unit among 12 groups awarded for outstanding service to Guyana

Mangroves, carbon levels to be monitored - Gov’t gets drone from Texas University The Ministry of Agri-

culture has received a drone which will

be used to help combat cli-mate change. The drone was donated by Dr. Anthony Cummings on behalf of the University of Texas, Dallas, U.S.A.

This handing over pre-ceded the signing of a Mem-orandum of Understanding (MoU) between the univer-sity and Guyana.

The drone will be used to manage the growth of mangroves along the coast, measure the amount of rain-fall in Guyana’s forest while

at the same time gauging the amount of carbon in those areas.

The drone is to be uti-lised by the National Agri-culture Research and Exten-sion Institute (NAREI) for their Restoration of Man-groves project, and also by the Hydro-Metrological Department of the Minis-try of Agriculture for rain measurement.

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock who received the equipment, applauded the efforts that are being made to bridge the gap between

the coast and the hinterland. “Mangrove coverage and being in the interior is the way to go. This programme will also be able to give the hinterland communi-ties the ability to plan bet-ter in terms of cultivation,” the Minister said. During the handing over, NAREI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Oudho Homenauth noted that monitoring of man-groves is a very tedious pro-cess, but with the use of the drone, it will become easier.

Dr. Homenauth also pointed out that the use of the equipment will not only

be limited to the monitoring of mangroves, but also will soon be used to observe rice fields and fishery.

Training will be done to help officers using the drone to understand and interpret the data collected. The project is set to com-mence at Greenfield on the East Coast, and Surama and Wowetta in Region Nine.

The drone costs an es-timated US $1,200 to be assembled. Dr. Cummings noted that government can expect more drones in the future as they are ‘definitely needed’.

Theatre Guild’s oldest surviving member, Ms. Daphne Rogers is all smiles as the organisation is awarded for its work in the Theatre Arts field


Scenes from the 46th Republic Anniversary Flag Raising Ceremony

Ranks of the Guyana Defence Force during the parade

The Golden Arrowhead hoisted on the country’s tallest flagpole, which stands at 180 feet above

ground

Students of the Music School playing ‘Oh beautiful Guyana’ The crowd at D’urban Park

The Woodside Choir singing ‘Hymn for Guyana’s Children’

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Reconstruction of the Umana Yana progressing nicely. An estimated 500,000 leaves are to be used on the benab.

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Guyanese impressed with Republic Day celebrations The newly developed

D’urban Park in Georgetown came

alive on the afternoon of February 23 as Guyanese turned out in their numbers for the 46th Republic An-niversary Flag Raising Cer-emony, greeting the arrival of President David Granger and First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger with thunderous applause and loud cheers.

The President and First Lady joined Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and

his wife, Mrs. Sita Naga-mootoo, Government Min-isters and members of the diplomatic corps to witness the military parade by the Joint Services officers. The officers marched to melo-dies of Guyana’s national songs in a brilliant display that was cheered on by the large crowd.

A hush descended over the crowd as the 65 × 35- foot Golden Arrowhead, the largest one ever created, was hoisted on the coun-

try’s tallest flagpole, which stands at about 180 feet above ground. As the flag billowed in the breeze, loud applause arose from the packed venue as the crowd was very impressed by the skills displayed by the mili-tary officers and the overall tone of the ceremony. As the flag neared the top of the pole the crown began to chant, “Go Guyana, go!”

Ms. Wendy Thomas, an overseas-based Guyanese, said that watching the Gold-

en Arrowhead being hoisted and listening to the National Anthem were enough to awaken the spirit of patriot-ism in anyone.

“It was real touching. I felt very moved, not being here for such a long time and witnessing the flag-rais-ing ceremony. It was really heartening to see so many Guyanese in attendance and to see both the President and Prime Minister. I will never forget this feeling,” she said.

Similar sentiments

were expressed by Mr. Al Grimmond, a Guyanese who resides in Canada. He commended the Govern-ment for transforming the D’urban Park area into a recreational facility where citizens can exercise or just relax with their families.

For Ms. Michelyn Wil-son, the scenes at D’urban Park evoked nostalgic memories of her teenage years when she first wit-nessed the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead about

50 years ago at the National Park. “It brought back those feelings of national pride and it is very fabulous to see all these people come out in support of this national ef-fort,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Thom-as Daniels said he was overwhelmed by the large crowd. “This is one of the largest crowds I have seen for a very long time and this is the first time I’ve seen a flag as big as this,” he said.

See pictures on Page 23

Hinterland Highlights Newspaper Issue#2 2016 Edition

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