ARCHIVES FOR JUNE 06 2008
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Investment Forum on Agriculture begins today
SOME 150 participants from the region and further afield are scheduled to gather today at the Guyana International Conference Centre for the Investment Forum on Agriculture.

Among the participants will be bankers, agribusiness representatives and farmers.

Over the next two days participants will interact with each other exploring the opportunities available for investment in agriculture.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, who has lead responsibility for agriculture within CARICOM, has expressed high expectations that the Forum would yield tangible results.

CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Edwin Carrington disclosed that the CARICOM Community Council meeting will be held simultaneously with the Regional Agriculture Investment Forum slated for Guyana on June 6 and 7.

He expressed hope that participants at meeting will attend the opening session of the forum and will interact on other areas of activities outside the latter.

The Secretary General said the Secretariat has received full support from the regional governments and investors and to date the Argentine, Brazilian and one regional heads of state have confirmed participation along with several regional bodies and investors.

According the Dr. Carrington Argentina will participate at the policy levels of the discussions while Brazil will contribute in that area as well as in the areas of technical assistance and finance.

“We are looking forward to a very productive and creative discussion …in the next couple of days ahead of us to enhance the region’s agriculture sector.

President meets with bankers
-- urges participation in Agri forum, cites need for insurance for sector
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday met with representatives of the banking sector in the country at the Office of the President to discuss and confirm their participation in the Regional Agricultural Investment forum which begins today at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

According to the Guyanese leader, he urged bankers to fully participate in the forum and later pointed out that they all confirmed that they will be participating in the event.

The banks represented included the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and Demerara Bank.

The President explained that some of the banks may have issues as it relates to loans for the agriculture sector and these were outlined and discussed.

“They may have issues of lending to the sector as most bankers would do in the region. Agriculture is a little bit different than other sectors, subjected often to weather, adverse weather conditions, drought, floods etc., and therefore could be a bit more unpredictable than other areas. I am speaking purely about agriculture, not agro processing and the other sectors that are part of the agri-business continuum,” the President later told the media during a press conference yesterday at the CARICOM Secretariat, Liliendaal.

“If that’s the legitimate concern of the bankers and that has reflected itself into limited money in their portfolio assigned to the agricultural sector for lending, or in higher interest rates for the borrowers, then we have to do something at the level of government if we’re interested in the agricultural sector, to help to mitigate those risks that would allow more money to flow to the agricultural sector and that will bring down the interest rates,” he said.

On this note, the Head of State pointed to the need for insurance in the sector.

“I asked our bankers and they said, one of the several banks, just one of them now insures their loans. Maybe we would have to create a facility in the region for insuring loans to this sector. We need crop insurance, we need to talk to the insurance sector people and I hope that we’d be able to get them to come to the conference too,” President Jagdeo said.

He was subsequently told by CARICOM officials that insurance representatives would also be attending the upcoming forum and he thus, expressed his satisfaction.

“We need to sit around a table and say how we’re going to respond,” the President stated as he pointed to the need for discussions to also be made at the forum on infrastructure and drainage and irrigation which are critical to the sector.

“I would be prepared in Guyana’s case to maybe to waive the corporate tax for infrastructure associated with agriculture projects.

So, if you have to, for example, develop a scheme for 5,000 acres of land and you have the infrastructure to develop that and put it under cultivation and it will be $1B and you have to borrow that from the banking system for that loan, we will waive the corporate tax,” he posited.

He contended that the investment forum is what is needed for such discussions and expressed the hope that governments will participate at a sufficiently high level and will see the need to invest in agriculture.

“They’ve been making the rhetorical statements…so that’s how I hope the seminar will evolve, in a very interactive way and as I said before don’t judge us based on how many papers emerge from this forum. It’s not designed to produce another set of papers, it’s designed to bring people together even if it’s just the first attempts to do so,” President Jagdeo concluded, as he expressed the hope that the forum will evolve into a regular networking forum in the future. (GINA)

GPL to introduce new customer information system
- prepaid meters for last quarter of the year
By Wendella Davidson
THE Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in its ongoing efforts to reduce the extremely high losses in the system, will soon be implementing a new customer information system.

The system will be a combination of hardware and software and would allow for GPL to effectively conduct more checks and expose corrupt employees.

In addition, GPL is moving to introduce prepaid meters during the last quarter of this year.

GPL’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bharat Dindyal, said in the first phase some 2,000 of the new meters would be installed in areas which have been found to be at high risk for staff and where GPL has found difficulty in accessing some meters for actual readings.

There are numerous instances where GPL because of being unable to access the meter have had to resort to estimating the consumption of those consumers.

GPL in its announcement last year about its plans to introduce prepaid meters, said persons would be able to buy electricity and then use from the amount bought, in which case they cannot then complain about wrong billings.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds told members of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee that the loss the company is experiencing is from both the technical and commercial areas, with the latter being more significant. In the technical area involving equipment, cables and transformers, the losses are remedied mainly through investment.

The Prime Minister along with Dindyal, Chairman Winston Brassington; Acting Head of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Mahender Sharma and Programme Coordinator in the Electricity Regulatory Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister met on Wednesday to clarify issues relating to GPL.

However, in the commercial stream where the loss was in the range of 33 per cent, Prime Minister Sam Hinds who has overall responsibility for energy sector, said it is through the theft of electricity by consumers. He noted that between one and three customers “are into something.”

He mentioned the issue of scams in which some current and even previous employees of the electricity company have been involved.

But, the Prime Minister assured that GPL is making every effort to get “ a handle” of the situation, pointing out that the loss reduction is now down to about 22.6 per cent.

Acknowledging the need to strengthen and expand the Transmission and Distribution area, he said development on the grid is constrained by money, however, the company is hoping to do some significant work over the next three years.

As it relates to the Hinterland Electrification Programme, the Prime Minister said electrification work is almost complete on four villages. The project involves electrification of some 315 homes through funding from the IDB. The homes are being equipped with solar home systems, consisting of a collector, a panel of about 100 watts and about three bulbs.

It was noted that the use of solar power in hinterland was first introduced at health posts to aid in the refrigeration and preservations of drugs and other things, the Prime Minister said, adding that he expects more persons to start using the solar electricity systems.

Guyanese fishermen to face charges
- five seized fishing vessels likely to be confiscated
TWENTY-SEVEN Guyanese fishermen who were allegedly caught by Suriname authorities fishing illegally in Suriname waters will be charged shortly, Prosecutor-General Subhas Punwasi has confirmed.

The authorities would also mostly likely confiscate five fishing vessels which were seized when two raids were conducted, a source told the Guyana Chronicle.

Nineteen of the men and three boats were nabbed during a first raid and the remaining eight men and two boats on Monday.

Reports out of Suriname state that the men were nabbed in the fishing crafts, which resemble the Venezuelan type, following complaints to authorities there by Surinamese fishermen that they are being harassed and chased from their fishing zone by Guyanese fishermen carrying out illegal activities.

A sting operation involving the Ministries of Defence, Justice and Police, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism, saw several Navy vessels being were dispatched to the sea area where illegal fishing activities, Derrick Beeldsnijder, Press Officer at the Ministry of Defence said, noting that the men were caught red-handed.

Last week fishermen in Suriname protested against alleged harassment from Guyanese fishermen who they said were fishing illegally in Suriname waters, and they demanded that the authorities take action to protect them and to prevent further incidents or escalation.

Prahlad Sewdien, president of the Suriname Seafood Association said the fishermen reported that the Guyanese fishermen had surrounded them and chased them an area close to the Suriname/French-Guiana maritime border.

Meanwhile, six other Guyanese fishermen, branded as sea-pirates, and are languishing in Suriname jails on remand, are to be back shortly.

The men were arrested in early April for alleged piracy and hijacking of fishing boats in Surinamese waters, police authorities there said.

They reportedly had been targeting fishing boats but managed to elude police by hiding here in Guyana after their attacks for over a month prior to their capture, the authorities added.

Under the justice system in Suriname, a suspect could be held for as much as 120 days before facing prosecution, the source reminded the Guyana Chronicle. (Wendella Davidson)

At 23rd ACCP meeting…
Caribbean regional Police Commissioners agree to 20-point strategy
THE just concluded 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) has agreed on a 20-point strategy after discussing a wide range of current crime issues in Jamaica, from May 14 to 20.

A release said the discussions at Ocho Rios were themed ‘Managing emerging challenges to Regional law enforcement’ and took place under the Chairmanship of ACCP President, Commissioner of the Royal Barbados Police Force, Mr. Darwin Dottin.

The release said the forum also drew participants from the academic community, regional and international law enforcement agencies, members of the legal fraternity, the diplomatic corps, social workers, regional security and civil society.

The conference noted the deleterious effect that crime and violence is having on several facets of development in the region and that, without security, there can be no social, political or economic development, the release said.

“There was general agreement that much of the current crime and violence in the region was driven by drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and the use of illegal firearms,” it added.

The participants acknowledged the growing evidence of persons being left behind in the social, political, educational and economic landscapes and that, in some countries, this has led to a population shift from the country area to the city, where there is the offer of more opportunities.

The release said it has been predicted that some of the fallout from this pattern of behaviour will be high unemployment, the formation of gangs and increase in both poverty and violent crime.

Participants agreed that, due to the multifaceted nature of crime, there was a commensurate need for a range of multi-dimensional responses and some of those identified suggested a mix of law enforcement, economic support and social interventions.

“It was further determined that there was a greater role for the ACCP to play in articulating the current concerns within law enforcement, as well as being a more visible actor in the development and application of solutions to the current situation within the region.

“The conference was in agreement that an arrangement must be introduced, whereby the ACCP will be afforded direct access to the CARICOM Heads as this interaction is critical to a fuller understanding of the issues that impact national and regional security,” the release said.

It said the conference agreed the Caribbean is still being used as a transshipment point for drugs from South America to North America and Europe and that a noticeable change in the trend is the increasing use of fishing boats to transport illegal drugs within the Caribbean maritime space and the shift in drug routes from South America to Western Africa, with Europe as the final destination.

There was agreement, as well, that success in dismantling established drug networks was being hindered by an inadequate legislative framework that limits the ability to pursue the confiscation of assets without a predicate offence being established and the use of a legislative basis to intercept communications.

Agreements were also reached on firearms crimes, maintaining ethical standards in law enforcement, recruitment and retention, training, gender issues, use of technology in investigations, DNA capacity, research, school based violence, Police Associations and issues of law enforcement and human rights.

The conference considered and agreed:
* there is immediate need for the development of protocols and other arrangements that will facilitate direct interaction between ACCP and CARICOM Heads;

* Commissioners of Police will continue their commitment to the implementation of the Plan of Action as agreed to at the April 2008 Extraordinary General Meeting in Guyana, to the extent as supported by available funds and resources;

* there is an immediate need for the development of functional cooperation between Police Forces within the Caribbean;

* there is need for the immediate restoration of the criminal justice system to the process of regional development;

* all Police Forces in the region will pursue the development of sexual harassment policies;

* all Police Forces in the region will pursue the development of firearms reduction strategies;

* the Bermuda Police Service’s strategy on ethical conduct will be adapted as a template for the development of similar policies in other Caribbean Police Forces;

* ACCP will develop a business plan to facilitate access to funding for training as offered, by the Canadian High Commission, for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean;

* there is need for urgent improvement of the current stock of physical accommodation for Police officers, as the poor state of most Police stations constrains the ability of the region to recruit female officers in greater numbers;

*there is need to enhance security at ports of entry by using modern technology that includes electronic container scanners;

* there is significant deficit in the research capacity in regional law enforcement;

* there must be the development of capacity to trace firearms and identify ballistics through the acquisition of a Regional Integrated Ballistics Identification System;

* there must be the harmonisation of current DNA and forensic capacity in the region, such that there will be greater economies of scale and improvement in investigative output through a more timely access to analysts’ reports;

* there must be establishment of an accredited regional training institution and the further development of research capacity which are critical to the enhancement of regional law enforcement;

* ACCP will continue to collaborate with INTERPOL for the delivery of training that will further develop the intelligence management capability of the region;

* there must be the immediate development of intervention strategies to respond to the growing culture of violence in schools;

* ACCP will continue to collaborate with the International Red Cross Society for the further development of training of Police officers in matters pertaining to human rights;

* being cognisant of the threat of climate change and the inherent threat of other disasters, ACCP will undertake to continue training its members in critical areas such as disaster management (response and recovery);

* ACCP will continue to maintain alliances with international agencies for the purpose of sharing information on matters pertaining to the development of best practices in general and law enforcement in particular and
* the issues of recruitment and retention of Police officers must be afforded greater priority, as it holds significant implications for the regional security agenda.
NEWS

Housty new GBA president
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW and partner in the law firm of Fraser and Housty, Mr. Teni Housty, has been elected as the President of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA).

Mr. Housty, who now heads the new twelve member executive council, was elected when the GBA held its annual general meeting on May 30 last.

A release from the GBA stated that Mr. Housty was admitted to practice at the Guyana Bar in 1996 and in 2002, he obtained the Master of Laws degree (LLM) while pursuing post-graduate studies in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The release said the new President combines his private practice with the teaching of courses in Intellectual Property Law and Human Rights Law in the LLB programme at the University of Guyana and has also served for the past three years as a vice-president of the GBA.

According to the GBA, Attorneys-at-Law Mrs. Gem Sanford-Johnson and Mr. Mohammed Khan have been elected as GBA vice-presidents.

GBA said Mrs. Sanford-Johnson was recently re-elected as President of the sister organisation, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL).

The release continued that Attorney-at-Law Mr. Gregory Gaskin, who is a former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Lieutenant-colonel, has been newly elected as the secretary of the Association while other attorney Mr. Ronald Burch-Smith has been returned unopposed as its Treasurer.

Attorney-at-law Ms. Jaya Manickchand is the new assistant secretary/treasurer, the release said.

It stated further that the other six persons elected to serve as members of the Council are attorneys-at-law Mr. Kashir Khan, Ms. Sharon Small, Mr. Nigel Niles, Mr. K. Juman Yassin, Mrs. Kim Kyte-John and Ms. Emily Dodson.

Mr. Khan is the immediate past president of the Association and Mr. Juman Yassin is a former Chief Magistrate, it said.

According to the GBA, the incoming President has outlined particular areas of focus for the new Council and these include a return to the Association’s core mandate, the lifting of professional standards and conduct of practitioners, the involvement of the Inner Bar (Senior Counsel) in the working of the Association, and the strategic intervention in the public domain on matters of significant legal importance.

National Library receives computer from PAHO
- to enhance its Environment Corner
THE Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) handed over a computer to the National Library, Church Street, Georgetown, yesterday on World Environment Day to enhance its Environmental Corner.

World Environment Day was observed internationally under the theme ‘CO2– Kick the Habit! – Towards a Low Carbon Economy” however, it was observed locally under the theme, “Kick the Carbon Habit – Promoting the energy conservation habit in Guyana’.

PAHO/WHO Environmental Health Adviser, Dr Teofilo Monteiro, said that the presentation is part of efforts to enhance the capacity of the centre and access environmental health documents and other related information.

The environmental resource corner in the library was established three years ago by the ministries of Health and Housing and Water in collaboration with PAHO/WHO.

He said that this is the second stage of that intervention.

Dr. Monteiro said along with the computer, the library also received several DVDs produced by the organisation on environmental issues and the library will also be able to directly access information relating to environmental health issues from the organisation.

He said the materials deals with issues of climate change which is important these days.

“We see the effects of climate change everywhere in the world and Guyana although it is not a country that has produced a lot of impact in climate change but it is a country that suffers a lot from impact of the climate change,” he noted.

“We are located in the low land so every increase in rainfall affects us here so we have to be very vigilant and very knowledgeable about how to protect ourselves from climate change and that is one of the objectives of the initiative here,” Dr. Monteiro said.

Chairman of the National Library Committee, Mr. Dudley Kishore, thanking the organisation for the gesture on behalf of the National Library, noted that there is a great need for application of information technology to serve the growing needs in the library and automating of cataloging and current acquisitions.

Kishore also pointed out that the library will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.

“…environmental issues are important for our world health and it is something that everyone should get involved in,” he urged. (Priya Nauth)

Direct London/Guyana flights can boost local tourism
- charterer
By Priya Nauth
MANAGING Director, Mr. Robert Sarran, of United Kingdom (UK) based Club Caribbee, which is chartering Zoom Airlines for direct flights from London to Guyana from November 20, has described this country as possibly one of the best eco-tourism destinations.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, he explained that the charterer, one of the largest in the UK, was born out of ‘Travel Shop’, a 27-year-old company.

Sarran said Travel Shop mainly sells flights to the Caribbean from London and, 10 years ago, Club Caribbee was established to take care of the package arrangements.

“But, today, we feel Club Caribbee is a much better vehicle to launch our charter flights, because it has got a more Caribbean appeal,” he said.

Sarran said it will be the first time the company has chartered a whole aircraft but it had previously booked hundreds of seats for large groups, including around Carnival, Christmas and Easter times.

According to him, “The market that we are appealing to today is the first generation Guyanese who went to London back in the 1960s and 1970s. But that market would not be there for the next ten years.

“What we are hoping to do is, whilst we introduce the direct flights now, build proper tourism into that and bring tourists from Europe who will come to our interior and that is from where we see our potential tourism growth coming.”

He continued: “We have already joined forces with Wilderness Explorers and they are promoting our flights to their tour operators and partners in the UK and Europe.”

In addition, Sarran said the company has started networking with other tour promoters in Europe to solicit passengers to Guyana and he hopes that, in a year or two, they will get enough traffic to double the flights to two per week.

While the venture here will be the biggest for Club Caribbee, it also arranges packaged holidays to Barbados, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, he said.

Sarran recalled that, a few years ago, together with Wilderness Explorer, his company, with British West Indian Airways (BWIA) as a partner then, had conducted joint tours to various parts of Guyana and the UK press thoroughly enjoyed what this country had to offer.

“Their words were that this was the best holiday they ever had,” he remembered.

“I think that Guyana is on the verge of breaking through where tourism is concerned and getting a more stable footing,” Sarran remarked, comparing now to past haphazard journeys by people in a few small groups.

He feels “Guyana has a great product and that is what we want to show…it is real… it is genuine and that is going to be the differentiating factor for Guyana.”

Viewpoint by David de Groot
“Where there is frustration because no obvious avenue change presents itself, impatience becomes the driving sentiment and inevitably people look for shortcuts.”

The foregoing words can be found in the second paragraph of the Sunday Stabroek Editorial of June 1, 2008, and any clear thinking reader will conclude that they represent a high degree of dubious presumption and in the final analysis is provocative, which may be interpreted as a gist for national discord. They are plainly words of wickedness and sinister intent.

I am particularly disturbed by the opening four words “Where there is frustration” and it is compelling to ask: Where is this frustration taking place and what is the frustration all about? Similarly I ask: What is the change that the editorial is referring? Is it a change from the status quo of a practicing democracy to the pre-1992 dictatorship? More is needed to be said of the impatience and people looking for shortcuts. Clearly the Stabroek News people are privy to some sinister move that is afoot for them to suggest that impatience is abroad and inevitably people will look for shortcuts, really a sinister perceived scenario including anarchy, suffering, bloodshed and bitterness. These people at Stabroek News have me quivering as they see Guyana as a Ravaged Nation existing at the moment.

Alas, there is yet hope for the Stabroek News to come face to face with reality. Is has deliberately chosen not to accuse neither of the two major political parties of being racist, instead adopted to palliate and wrote: “The lesson is, however, That any government which is associated primarily with ethnic group will be seen as lacking legitimacy by a significant portion of the opposition.” But surely the Stabroek News must be aware which of the two major political parties embrace the kith and kin philosophy. Its credibility will of necessity attract intense security. Palliation is not the answer; the guilty party to racism must be boldly identified and condemned. The consistent action of patronizing the PNCR by deliberately associating the PPP with whatever violation is being established in support of a completely indefensible accusation is most reprehensible and instead shows bias against the PPP. There is indeed resentment, impatience and frustration taking place in Guyana, but it is directed towards the PNCR. The policy of creating disaffection and generally trying to promote unrest in the country is clearly going against the grain of the majority of straight thinking Guyanese.

The policy of the Stabroek News to refuse to openly condemn these anti-national ploys of the PNCR, cannot help in creating the desired stability.

President meets television station owners/representatives
-- CARIFESTA coverage discussed
OWNERS and representatives of several television stations around the country yesterday met with President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President to discuss aspects of the upcoming Caribbean Festival of Arts X (CARIFESTA) and coverage of the numerous events to take place under its umbrella during the period August 22-31, 2008.

The stations represented included VCT Channel 28, HBTV Channel 9, HJTV Channel 72, Channel 11 (NCN) Linden and Georgetown and stations in Berbice and Essequibo.

Preparations for the major event have been heightening and Guyana is preparing to welcome contingents from various Caribbean countries as well as extra regional areas who will be coming to Guyana to participate in the festival.

Some of the venues where activities will be taking place include museums, the Umana Yana, the National Cultural Centre, Theatre Guild, Buddy’s International Hotel and other areas in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six and Ten. (GINA)

Georgetown railway line squatters have to remove
-- PM Hinds
SQUATTERS, who have been living along the old railway line between Main Street, Kingston and Sophia since about 1976, will have to remove to make way for the laying of new transmission lines by Guyana Power & Light (GPL).

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds made the announcement Wednesday during a presentation to a Parliamentary Oversight Committee at Public Buildings, Brickdam, also in Georgetown.

He said GPL will be establishing a new 20 megawatts power station at its Kingston site, by May next year, to house three ‘Wartsila’ generating units and the cables that are to be run would link to GPL’s Sophia site.

Mr. Hinds was responding to a question about Government policy for fossil fuel generation of energy over the next five to 10 years.

According to him, Guyana has been changing from diesel to heavy fuel oil and looking for opportunities beyond fossils, with hydro-electricity being the first priority.

He alluded to efforts at developing the Amalia Falls project that is expected to generate between 100 and 140 megawatts and said GPL currently generates with 60 per cent diesel and about 50 per cent heavy fuel oil, the latter about 70 per cent the cost of the former.

Hinds said, previously, electricity generation was with diesel and the concentration on heavy fuel oil started sometime in 1994, with the introduction of Wartsila.

He said now there is need for an additional 22 per cent generation to adequately satisfy demands but this has been constrained by cost and prices.

COURTS introduces ‘Go Digital’ promotion
COURTS (Guyana) Inc. introduced a new promotion on Monday, under the theme ‘Go Digital’, with the focus on the extensive product range for sale at its various outlets countrywide.

The competition, ending June 20 , is to showcase the authority of the digital category products.

Customers who make purchases of $5,000 and more during the rivalry will benefit from no down payments, three free installments and get a chance to win more than half a million dollars in prizes.

Apart from those opportunities, two customers will be chosen on a weekly basis to play a game of lawn tennis on a large screen television, using the ‘Nintendo Wii’ console.

This week Ivan Humphrey and Sheik Habid will battle for a prize at COURTS in Main Street, Georgetown, beginning 10 a.m.

Last week Shuela Yearwood and Nankishore Persaud did similarly and Persaud won.

GT&T installs free Internet service at PRRC
GUYANA Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) yesterday established free DSL wireless Internet service at Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre (PRRC), situated at Lot 131 Carmichael and Church Streets, Georgetown.

GT&T Public Relations Officer, Ms. Alison Parker said, at the introductory ceremony, that the utility did it to help people with disability stay connected.

She said GT&T wants to bridge the digital gap and saw it fit to provide the much needed facility at PRRC.

Head of the Special Education Unit at PRRC, Mr. Anand Mangru thanked GT&T for the assistance and said the hospice thrives on donations from citizens and business entities.

He said, with the installation, students will benefit immensely by developing their skills and their teachers would also be able to widen their technological knowledge.

With another donation…
Food for the Poor continues supporting Education Ministry
FOOD for the Poor (Guyana) Inc yesterday donated a quantity of materials to the Ministry of Education for distribution to schools in the hinterland.

The donation, including books, pencils, haversacks and nutritional supplements, were handed over by the donor’s Executive Director, Mr. Leon Davis, to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Phulander Kandai, at the benefactor’s Blue Mountain Road, Festival City, Georgetown premises.

Davis told the Guyana Chronicle his charitable entity recognises that education is the key to success and has spent millions of dollars on it.

He said the non-governmental organisation (NGO) also provides furniture and runs several nutritional feeding programmes at schools for the benefit mainly of less fortunate children.

Davis said the latest intervention has been to spruce up of the sanitary facilities at Wales Primary School, West Bank Demerara.

Kandai expressed gratitude to Davis for the kind gesture, especially the exercise books, which will be of great assistance to a number of hinterland schoolchildren who do not enjoy the same privileges as those in the city.

Kandai lauded the unstinting support given the ministry, over a decade and a half years, in several critical areas, notably school feeding.

Noting that the milk component is no longer given, the Permanent Secretary said the resumption would not be immediate because of lack of resources but the ministry is looking at alternative ways of feeding children to keep them in school and lessen the expense on their parents.

He said the ministry still runs the cassava bread and hot meal programme in hinterland schools and discussions are ongoing for the continuation.

Kandai told the Guyana Chronicle that, since the project was implemented, the attendance rate of schoolchildren has increased and their academic performance improved.

First Guyanese photographer honoured by IFPO
LOCAL photographer, Mr. Winston Ewing, is the first Guyanese to be honoured by the International Freelance Photographers Hall of Fame (IFPO).

Mr. Ewing is an IFPO member and was given an Honorary Degree of Distinction (H.D.D) in the Photographic Arts and Science in January 2, 2008, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of American Image Press which was established in 1983.

The IFPO founded in 1984 in the United States of America (USA).

He is self-employed and is the proprietor of Brainchild Photo Studio located at the corner of Church and Carmichael Streets, Georgetown.

Mr. Ewing is also a model consultant for IFPO and has been a member for the past 22 years.

“I feel very honoured and pleased to be recognized for my work and it is a great feeling of accomplishment for me,” he told the Guyana Chronicle during an interview.

The 66-year-old man pointed out that since he was 12 years old he had his first photograph taken and thought it was so fascinating and developed quite an interest in photography.

He applied for membership through a magazine 22 years ago at IFPO and was accepted and even has his own website and sold some photographs to the organization.

National Park tree planting marks World Environment Day
THE National Parks Commission (NPC) hosted a tree planting exercise yesterday, in observance of World Environment Day.

It involved participants from various sectors and was done in the National Park, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, where approximately 25 trees were put in the ground.

The planters were, among others, representatives of city schools, the CARICOM Secretariat, Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown, Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T), Horticultural Society of Guyana and Rotary Club of Stabroek.

The planting was in an effort to put back green cover in society and leave indelible marks for future generations, the organisers said.

Local fast growing species, produced in the Botanical Gardens where several others are being developed in its nursery, were planted to serve multiple purposes.

General Manager of NPC, Ms. Yolanda Vasconcellos said it will contribute to reducing carbon emissions and make Guyana and the rest of the world greener, cooler and better.
She said the replication will be annual.

Public lecture on Vidia Naipaul and Caribbean Literature
THE Office of the Pro-Chancellor and the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin Guyana Chapter (GOPIO) will host a lecture at the National Library one June 10 entitled: Nobel Prize winner Vidia Naipaul and Caribbean Literature.

The lecture will be delivered by Professor of English at the University of Calgary, Canada Victor Ramraj.
The event begins at 16:30 h.

Petrol pumps delivering short to be closed --GNBS
THE Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has said it has received numerous complaints regarding the delivery of short petrol at gas stations.

GNBS Executive Director, Dr. Chatterpaul Ramcharran said that pumps which are found to deliver short petrol will be sealed off and would not be allowed to operate.

He added that during the week complaints were received from vehicles owners in the city and outlying areas about short changing at fuel pumps.

GNBS pointed out that they have completed the first round of calibrations of the petrol pumps for the first half of the year countrywide.

As a result, pumps are supposed to operate accurately within the tolerance limits.

GNBS said they are investigating and if any seal is found tampered with at pumps, defaulters will be prosecuted and pumps will be shut down.

CLOUSSEAU
Whichever way you choose to view the measures being announced and implemented by President Jagdeo, specifically designed to confront the ill effects of the worldwide spiralling food prices, the inescapable conclusion is the tremendous cost that will have to be borne by the government. The other world phenomenon of climate change is also a major cause impacting on the prices crisis affecting every country in the world. The rising food prices and climate change are most certainly not the making of the government and for anyone to attribute incompetence, like the PNCR is saying of the ruling administration, is really the height of stupidity or outright dishonesty.

Every country in the world is currently involved in developing strategies to combat the problem of rising food prices and Guyana’s policies as announced by the President have come in for favourable review. The consideration of the fact that we are regarded as a relatively poor nation and therefore cannot be expected to satisfy all the needs of the people, but the reality of the effort to cushion the impact on the most vulnerable has been described as admirable. In exercises of this nature, it is vitally important that full consideration be extended to the ramifications that the measures will have on the economic stability of the country.

It is easy for the leader of PNCR to shout that the people need more pay and enough is not being done, but he is well aware of the compelling constraints of any responsible government in trying to meet every demand of its people. As an opposition leader he can afford to make irresponsible and extravagant statements that appeal to the equally irresponsible section of the population and to play politics with the seriousness of devising a plan that provides some measure of equity.

This government is not afraid to take its people into their confidence and tell them the truth of any given crisis that has to be faced. The people have always responded with desirable maturity and understanding. Irresponsibility just cannot be considered as rational or nationalistic. We are all involved in confronting a common world phenomenon and it will require a high degree of good sense and maturity to survive.
EDITORIAL

Investment Forum on Agriculture opens
All eyes are glued to Guyana over the next two days as the Forum on Investment for Agriculture begins today and ends tomorrow right here in Guyana. The two-day Forum brings together bankers, agri-businesses, farmers, government officials from CARICOM Member-States, and representatives from Brazil and Argentina from the South American continent.