ARCHIVES FOR MAY 18 2008
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CARIFESTA ‘X’ will go on – Minister Anthony
- attack on Ministry will not stop event
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, is calling on law enforcement officials to speedily apprehend the perpetrators of Friday night’s channa bomb and shooting attack on his Ministry.

He was adamant that the Ministry’s work, which includes, among other things, spearheading preparations to host the Caribbean Festival of Arts, (CARIFESTA) X, will continue.

The Ministry came under attack at around 21:30 h after a channa bomb was hurled into its compound on Main Street, scorching one of the window curtains.

Two men armed with firearms also exited the vehicle and discharged a number of rounds at the northern side of the Ministry, shattering windows and damaging the walls, a police release said.

The attack, if intended to discourage Guyana from hosting CARIFESTA X, has failed, Minister Anthony said.

He recently expressed confidence that, despite the prevailing circumstances in Guyana, the festival will go on, and a large number of visitors are expected.

“If we are going to just shut down everything we do and say, we are not going to have anything because of crime…that will be the wrong approach… We have to use these stumbling blocks as stepping stones,” Minister Anthony said.

Only recently Minister Anthony condemned the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Robert Corbin’s unwillingness to cooperate so that Guyana will successfully host CARIFESTA X.

He noted that it is disrupting to public life, and is an attempt to sabotage an international event in Guyana.

“To threaten an international event full of socio-economic and cultural benefits for the nation is a virtual abuse of the freedoms guaranteed by this government,” Minister Anthony had said.

On April 18, Corbin vowed that if the suspension of the Channel Six licence was not lifted, there would be serious protests to make CARIFESTA “unmanageable.” During a protest that same day, protestors chanted ‘No Sharma, No CARIFESTA’.

Corbin said, too, that the party would have a ‘difficulty cooperating’ with CARIFESTA. (GINA)

More action than talk needed to address climate change says Agriculture Misnister Robert Persaud
By Tajeram Mohabir
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud yesterday implored that the time has come for more action instead of talk to address the problems of global climate change.

He made the appeal against the backdrop of the United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth assessment on the phenomenon which concluded, inter-alia , that:

* the temperature for the last decade has been highest since the 1950s;

* sea level is increasing about 1.8 meters annually;

* sea ice is shrinking about 2.5 per cent per decade and there has been an

* there is an increase in precipitations and droughts from 1900 to 2005 in certain key production areas of the planet.

Locally, the minister pointed out, temperature has increased by one degree Celsius; and in 2005, the worst floods were experienced which resulted in about a 60 per loss in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

With these realities in mind, he reminded a gathering of environmental enthusiasts at a breakfast hosted by the Environmental Community Health Organization (ECHO) at Le Meridian Pegasus, that the effects of climate change are not an invalid assertion.

The occasion to promote the awareness of the global problem was attended also by Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Charles Court.

Persaud stressed that even though Guyana is not one of the gross contributors to the green house gases problem, , it will not escape the consequences of the rapidly changing global temperature.

More so, he pointed out the country’s coastal population is most vulnerable because it is below sea level, and accounts for 90 per cent of the populace, and some 75 per cent of total economic activities.

The minister disclosed that the weather crisis, if not properly managed, will result in more dry land, reduction of tropical forests to savannahs, decline in crops and livestock production, depletion of fresh water supply, and pest invasion.

However, Persaud underscored that though Guyana is committed to balancing the use of natural resources to ensure sustainability and compliance with international guidelines, it has received little recognition.

“ We can boost that we are net sinc for carbon, in fact we make a high contribution to absorbing carbon through our dense rainforests and the sad reality is while we have to plan in terms of adapting…there is little compensation for the global environmental services that countries such as Guyana provide,” he lamented.

“Guyana has even gone further; in recent months we have offered to the world to deploy our rain forest to play a much more significant role in mitigating climate change, we are still awaiting real positive response,” he said.

Government has established a Climate Change Committee and a National Climate Change Unit to advance the local agenda to address the problem.

Persaud disclosed that since the initiation of these bodies, a climate change action plan and adaptation plan have been devised and are guiding government’s intervention to mitigate adverse weather conditions.

He stressed that the strategy documents are regularly revised, and noted that last year, government, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), signed an agreement which will allow Guyana to prepare the Second National Communication for the United Nations panel for climate change.

The minister disclosed that the Second National Communication will include detailed measures to facilitate adaptation and mitigation interventions in the context of climate change as well as building capacity.

He said government is placing a lot of emphasis on adoption and has spent huge sums to expand, modernize and develop the drainage and irrigation systems and sea defenses to mitigate floods and devastation of agriculture on the coastal areas.

Persaud declared that a collaborative effort is needed to address the problem and lauded the efforts of ECHO in raising awareness of the phenomenon. He challenged the organization to encourage all Guyanese to get on board the fight against the effects of climate change by properly disposing their refuse, adhering to the national building codes and observing other imperative requirements.

The rapidly changing global temperature has been blamed as one of the causes for the increase in global food crises.

Court said in Guyana and the Caribbean, Canada has already contributed C’dian$100M under the Canada Climate Change Fund to protect the environment and to address climate change.

“Canada supports partner countries’s efforts to meet their commitments under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change through supporting projects that promote clean energy, carbon sinks, increase national capacity and reduce vulnerability,” he stressed.

The Canadian High Commissioner pointed out that the assistance is particularly important in the Caribbean where weather modeling and hazard risk assessment techniques are helping countries adapt to rising sea level and temperatures.

Apart from that assistance, Mr. Court noted that Canada has committed nearly C’dian

$17M to a Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Programme aimed at increasing capacities of regional organizations, governments and communities to respond to and mange natural disasters, including supporting the implementation of the CARICOM disaster risk management framework.

He said that a further C’dian$3M has been devoted to the health sector risk management, C’dian$20M to the World Bank’s Natural Disaster Risk Insurance Fund. Canada also supports the work of the Caribbean Centre for Climate Change Research.

Mr. Court pointed out that Guyana participates and benefits from many of these programmes.

GDF, Police destroy marijuana fields
Six fields of cannabis sativa plants, covering an area of over four and a half acres, were destroyed by ranks of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force yesterday.

The operation took place in the Wisroc, Linden area, and the fields comprised approximately 8,700 plants between one and ten feet high, with an estimated weight of 2,250 kgs.

Also, 200 kgs. of dried marijuana, six nurseries containing about 3,250 seedlings and four camps were found and destroyed.

A GOBELS CULTURE HELD ALOFT BY THE OPPOSITION
BY DONALD RAMOTAR
THE fascist Minister of Propaganda in Hitlerite Germany Herr Gobels is on record as having said that a lie is more believed when it is a big lie. He is further reported to have said that the more often a lie is repeated the more it tends to be believed.

That seems to be the tactics of the political opposition in dealing with the PPP and the PPP/Civic government. Another glaring example appeared in the “Kaieteur News” of April 27 in an article by Khemraj Ramjattan of the AFC.

In that article he once again implied that our constitution was the “Burnham Constitution,” meaning that it was the product of the Forbes Burnham regime. He has made such statements regularly, sometimes even in Parliament.

This, however, is not true.
When the PPP/Civic took office in 1992 efforts were made to have a new constitution. A commission of the Parliament was established to carry out the task. A lot of work was done but it did not conclude its work before the Parliament ended in 1997.

QUOTE: ‘Despite all of these changes we have the opposition shamelessly describing our constitution as a Burnham Constitution. Again they are working to mislead our people by repeating the lie, Gobels like, over and over again’

The delay was due mainly to the fact that the PNC had refused to participate in the work of that body for a protracted period. The PPP/Civic government displayed great patience in working to get the main opposition on board to deal with such a fundamental issue.

Even though the De Santos (Bernard De Santos was the then Attorney General and chaired the commission) Commission did not complete its work before the 1997 elections, the effort did not go in vain. It was used by the commission established by the new Parliament, based on the Herdmanson Accord.

The new commission had very broad representation from political parties and from civil society. The Commission travelled extensively throughout Guyana taking evidence from organizations and individuals. It also drew on international experiences. Several constitutional experts from abroad, facilitated by the National Development Institute (NDI) of the US, came to Guyana during this period to advise the Commission.

The cost of this work was also very substantial. Based on all the above work a new constitution was drafted. It was laid in Parliament and was passed unanimously. Mr Ramjattan was a member of parliament and also voted for this constitution.

After all of this I find it baffling that anyone can continue to describe the constitution as “Burnham’s Constitution.” This constitution is truly a people’s constitution. Clearly the only motive was to repeat the lie often enough in the hope that people would believe it. It is designed to discredit the PPP which was the main force fighting for democracy and change in Guyana during the period of rigged elections.

Whenever the opposition wants to attack the President they refer to the immunity that the constitution gives to the head of state. Mr Ramjattan in particular tries to create the impression that all the immunities that were enjoyed by Presidents Burnham and Hoyte are still applicable today. The impression is also often given that when in opposition the PPP opposed the immunities of the PNC’s presidents, but now we are enjoying the same.

This is also untrue.
From the time that the 1980 constitution was promulgated the PPP expressed the view that the power of the president to prorogue or dissolve parliament even if he was being impeached was improper and in effect made it impossible to impeach the President even if the President grossly violated the constitution.

Other opposition forces expressed similar views at that time. Some said that this clause was creating a president for life. The WPA was the main proponent of this position.

The PPP promised to remove that power from the President whenever it took office.

The record would show that on both occasions when the PPP made presentations to the Constitutional Reform Commissions it recommended the removal of such powers. The resulting Constitution does not have that provision!

Moreover many other powers that the President had have now been changed or modified. Before 2001 a President of Guyana, could have appointed the chairpersons of all the Constitutional Commissions including Police, Public, Judicial and Teaching Service Commissions by just consulting the Opposition. Today the Appointive Committee of Parliament makes recommendations to the Parliament. When these are approved they are forwarded to the President for ratification.

In some areas the President must obtain the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition before he can appoint persons to certain key positions.

Despite all of these changes we have the opposition shamelessly describing our constitution as a Burnham Constitution. Again they are working to mislead our people by repeating the lie, Gobels like, over and over again.

Let us now deal with the immunities that the President has and ask ourselves are they unreasonable?

To determine this we should look at the immunities that heads of state have in the countries that are often upheld as bastions of democracy.

Any such examination will show that the immunities of the President of Guyana are generally the same or less then those enjoyed by other heads of states.

Let us begin by looking at the United Kingdom, the country that is described as the oldest democracy. The head of state is the ruling monarch. The head of state here is exempt from the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. The monarch is personally immune from civil lawsuits as well.

In the US according to a study done by the Legislative Council Secretariat, Research and Library Services Division, done in 2007, while there are no legal provisions of immunity for the President, “…the courts have developed a doctrine of official immunity for the President. The President is entitled to absolute immunity in civil suits regarding all of his official acts…”

The study went on to say in regard to the President’s immunity from criminal proceedings the matter is unsettled. “…However, no sitting President has been prosecuted for criminal charges…”

In France the President has great immunities and power. It was only in 2007 that a law was passed to make it possible to impeach the President. He or she cannot be prosecuted. The study found that the French President has more powers and immunities than all others in Europe.

In Germany the President enjoys immunity from prosecution. He/she has the power to appoint and dismiss federal judges, the federal civil servants, the officers and non-commissioned officers etc.

In India the President also has immunity from prosecution from both criminal and civil courts.

We can therefore conclude from the examples above that it has been internationally recognized that the immunities for a head of state are considered not as a privilege but as an essential tool for carrying out the functions of such a high office.

In relation to Guyana, in a general sense, the immunity of the President as given to the post by the framers of our constitution is no more than, and in some instances less than those bestowed on other heads of state.

To say that a President of Guyana has excessive powers is at best unobjective and more often than not; it is down right political dishonesty with the hope of misleading people.

Such behaviour is in the culture of Gobels repeating the lie to make it believable.

Preparations for Agricultural Investment heighten
-- Guyana to present several investment proposals
GUYANA is maintaining its leadership role in agricultural advancement in the region and is currently set to present several proposals for investments in various areas of the sector at the upcoming Regional Agri-Business Investment Forum to be held on June 6 and 7.

The forum to be held in Guyana under the theme ‘Investing in our future: Agri Business is good business”, seeks to stimulate enhanced business opportunities for the Caribbean through the convergence of potential investors and financial institutions. It will provide investors and other stakeholders an opportunity to engage in dialogue to open investment potential that will boost agricultural production in the region.

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said the proposals target a wide range of investment opportunities in areas such as vegetables, fruits, processing, energy and sugar particularly the establishment of a refinery.

“We will use the opportunity to showcase our possibilities and where the investment opportunities exist. So we do hope at the end of the event we will see significance both in terms of local and foreign investment within the agricultural sector, so we can capitalise on the opportunities arising out of the current food price increases,” the Minister said.

Reference was made to the fact that President Bharrat Jagdeo is the Lead Head responsible for agriculture in the region, and therefore there may be expectations for Guyana to articulate the vision for advancing investment in the sector, thus presentation of the various proposals.

The Minister noted that it is coincidental that the conference, which will be held within the framework of the Jagdeo Initiative (JI), is taking place at a time when the environment is ripe for investments in agriculture.

President Jagdeo, at the unveiling of a banner to herald in the Investment Forum last month at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, had also pointed out that the event will create awareness among political leaders and private sector institutions, and is not summoned because of the recent surge in food prices.

He further stated that the objectives are two-fold, one is regional food security to replace as many as possible food imports, and this represents a good opportunity, and secondly to transform agriculture into a competitive export industry.

Limited financing and inadequate new investment is the number one key binding constraint outlined in the JI. The others include outdated/inefficient Agricultural Health and Food Safety (AHFS) systems; inadequate research and development, and a fragmented and disorganized private sector.

Inefficient land and water distribution and management systems; deficient and uncoordinated risk management measures; inadequate transportation (especially for perishables); weak and non-integrated information/intelligence systems; weak linkages/participation in markets, and lack of skilled human resources are the remaining Key Binding Constraints.

Guyana has over the years played a headship role in agricultural development in the region, but more significant steps were made in 2003, when President Jagdeo requested the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to assist in the development of a framework for a regional agricultural repositioning strategy.

This was followed by a situation and outlook report in May 2003 and a Ministers of Agriculture forum in June of the same year. Subsequently, at the 25th CARICOM Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in July 2004, Heads endorsed the first proposal, which contained the Initiative’s vision, scope, focus and process.

From its inception, the JI was viewed as a practical mechanism to give effect to the Regional Transformation Programme (1996) and its successor, the Community Agricultural Policy (CAP) Revised Treaty 2001).
NEWS

Gunmen shoot at Culture Ministry, Water Chris Hotel
POLICE reported that about 21:20h Friday night gunmen in a dark coloured motor car drove south along the eastern carriageway of Waterloo and Quamina Streets, in the vicinity of Water Chris Hotel and Bar, and discharged a number of rounds at motor car PGG 8912 which was parked along the street, and sped away.

The vehicle, owned by a member of the Guyana Police Force, was damaged by the gunfire.

No report has been received of anyone being injured.

Meanwhile, Police said that they are also investigating a report that about 21:30h Friday night, an AT 192 Toyota Carina motor car pulled up in Quamina Street on the northern side of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Two gunmen exited the vehicle and discharged a number of rounds at the northern side of the building, shattering windows and damaging the wall. They also threw two channa bombs at the building, one of which exploded scorching a curtain at one of the windows.

Police responded promptly to the reports and roadblocks/cutoffs were thrown up at strategic points, while mobile patrols scoured the area.

Minister Anthony urges more private sector investment in gyms
MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony is eager to see more private sector involvement in resources to motivate Guyanese to be fit and adopt positive, healthy lifestyles.

He made these remarks while visiting the new gym which opened Friday evening at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC) at Albert Street, Thomas Lands.

The club’s President, Vishok Persaud, said the investment, including equipment and building, is worth $7.5M. The association will be offering the gym service to its 40-odd membership.

Minister Anthony was impressed and said it is a leading example for others to follow, as he toured the new facility and got a first-hand feel of the new equipment.

In an invited comment, he said more private sector investment in gyms coincides with the Ministry’s ‘Fit for Life’ programme which encourages Guyanese to exercise for at least 30 minutes daily.

“This shows what other associations can do. We have about 30-odd associations in Guyana and if each one of them can provide a similar facility we can have about 30 gyms and that is the kind of thing we have to promote,” Minister Anthony said.

Companies in Guyana should also consider making such an investment for the benefit of employees, he said.

Green kicks off China tour in Fuzhou
Mayor of Georgetown, Mr. Hamilton Green, yesterday commenced a working trip to the People’s Republic of China, with his first port of call being Fuzhou City, in the Fujian Province, which shares a twinning relationship with Georgetown.

Mayor Green’s first day was spent first touring the Minjiang University where he met the President of that university, Mr. Bin Yang, and held extensive discussions pertaining to the possibilities of exchange and cooperation between the Universities of Minjiang and Guyana.

The Mayor also used the first day of his visit to meet with Mr. Fang Quinghai Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Fuzhou Committee and to attend a Charity Performance for the earthquake-stricken central China area.

Fuzhou City, located in the lower reaches of the Min River, is the capital city of the Fujian Province, and is situated in the eastern part of the Province.

Fuzhou, the centre of economic, political, cultural and transportation of Fujian Province, was so named after a mountain situated in the north called Mt. Fu.

During a state visit undertaken by President Bharrat Jagdeo and a delegation that included Mayor Hamilton Green, in March 2003 to the People’s Republic of China, the opportunity was taken by Mayor Green to establish Friendly Exchange Relations between the cities of Georgetown and Fuzhou.

At the commencement of 2006, the Mayor of Fuzhou, Zheng Songyan, had expressed an interest in seeing this municipal relationship strengthened and upgraded from a Friendly Exchange to a Friendship City Relationship, a proposal that was endorsed by the Georgetown Municipality and subsequently consummated.

On this occasion Mayor Songyan, has invited Mayor Green to visit Fuzhou, to pursue bilateral discussions to examine possible ways of strengthening the friendship city relations, to attend the 10th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade, and to pay attention to other municipal matters of mutual interest to the two cities.

Debt servicing down to four percent
President Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday, said Guyana has reached a maximum of debt relief; and that debt servicing has come down significantly, from about 94 percent of revenue to four percent.

President Jagdeo has been instrumental in negotiating debt write-offs for Guyana. His efforts have seen Guyana’s debt move from US$2.1 B to less than US$700M. The stable macro-economic environment which Government has been able to create and maintain has removed the ‘highly indebted’ status from the country.

“We have been fortunate and we have been working hard and we have managed to get this down, but unfortunately many countries in Africa have not been so successful,” he said.

The Guyanese Leader said he was fasting in solidarity with the movement and its countless supporters and urged those international institutions to deal with Africa’s debt faster.

Guyana has benefitted from several debt write-offs which have been used for infrastructural development.

President Jagdeo had defined debt relief as “Better education, health care, providing better water supply, better infrastructure generally, social and economic infrastructure, helping to generate more jobs for our young people, getting more of them connected to the internet through the Information Communications Technology (ICT) revolution so our children could learn differently.” (GINA)

Deployment of helicopters depend on situation – President Jagdeo
Responding to questions posed by the media on the operational deployment of the Guyana Defence Force Bell helicopters, President Bharrat Jagdeo said, “We bought the helicopters to increase the capability of the security agencies, but the deployment of the helicopters will depend on their assessment of the situation… These are operational issues and I am very reluctant, as you can see, for us at the political level to deal with operational issues.”

Government recently acquired two Bell 206 to boost the operational capability of the security forces as part of its efforts to improve the response capability.

Questioned about information revealed in the Roger Khan trial in the USA and efforts being made by Guyana to obtain this information, President Jagdeo said, “If the murders are unsolved here in Guyana, then it will make a big difference because they will be solved, we will have 200 cases solved by just one interaction or this one investigation, and that would make a big difference here... But I want to repeat they have not, as far as I know, shared any information about any of these matters or any details.”

President Jagdeo said that the police have an obligation to investigate any evidence that they find linking Roger Khan or any other criminal or crime here. But he is hopeful that the US government will assist the Police Force in getting to the bottom of the murders.

Roger Khan, a Guyanese businessman, was arrested last year in Suriname while on the run from local law enforcement officers, and taken to the USA where he was wanted for drug trafficking. (GINA)

President, religious bodies, other stakeholders meet on food prices
As Government continues to look for ways to cushion the effects of the rising food prices, President Bharrat Jagdeo said that his meetings with the religious bodies, private sector and some labour unions last week addressed the food prices situation in the country.

Responding to questions posed by the media at the Office of the President Friday, President Jagdeo said that the meetings also discussed the “opportunities… how we can mitigate some of the problems whilst at the same time making full use of the opportunities to create better living standards for our people.”

Speaking about his administration’s approach and that taken by the People’s National Congress (PNC) during the 1970 fuel crisis, he said, “They prohibited travel allowances, taking money out of the country for vacation travel overseas, to send for students who were studying abroad, they prohibited a whole range of items… there were other things, there was an import licence system, so you had to get a licence to import anything that you wanted to, and sometimes they didn’t issue licences for many things, and they also insisted that all foreign companies working in Guyana had to bring in capital from abroad for much of their needs, including working capital.”

Referring to the measures taken by his administration, President Jagdeo said, “Our approach is different. It’s not one of banning and controlling, but it’s a very measured approach and we plan to continue in this regard.”

Government has instituted several initiatives to cushion the effects of rising food prices on the most vulnerable in Guyana. Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture has launched a ‘Grow More’ campaign to achieve self sufficiency in food.

Outlining the scope for persons to be involved in agriculture, the President said, “Many times people think that agriculture is just turning the soil: agriculture has a wide range of opportunities for research and development, to market the supply and pesticides and other inputs in the industry. It has scope for technicians to fix the tractors and everything else, as well as in manufacturing, agro-processing. So it’s a whole range of activities. We can encourage our young people who don’t want to go into the actual cultivation of the plants to get into some of them.” (GINA)
EDITORIAL

CHECK WARNING SIGNALS
FOLLOWING REPORTS on the internet of the current mix of anti-government illegal demonstrations in Georgetown; drive-by shootings at police and police stations; plus this past Friday night's hurling of channa bombs at the Ministry of Culture, with the later repeated fire by gunmen at the WaterChris Hotel, a well known adage came to mind: "What you see by day, you do not wait to light a candlestick to see at night".

If the captains of industry and commerce in this nation, as well as the print and electronic media, are waiting to witness the end results of the current extra-parliamentary street politics of the main opposition PNCR's so-called "cost of living protests", before sounding their own warnings to an orchestrated threat to the rule of law, then they may have to light the proverbial candlestick to see the consequences.

First, there was the unsubstantiated and quite alarming claim by the PNCR leader, Robert Corbin, of the police having received instructions to use fire power and tear gas to prevent or quell a protest demonstration on the day his party supporters broke through police barricades in the city while Parliament was hoping to debate the cost of living situation.

Both the Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee and, more significantly, the high command of the Guyana Police Force, separately challenged the PNCR leader to provide the EVIDENCE in support of his allegation.

It is an allegation that carried the unmistakable potential for igniting political/ethnic passions in a society that continues to suffer the consequences when either of the two major political parties resorts to the weapon of race, however subtle the masking.

Mr. Corbin is yet to produce the requested evidence. Subsequently, having been firmly criticised by the police for violating the agreed routes for that same controversial protest march, the PNCR leader was to be involved in what the police first deemed an unlawful march last Thursday for which permission was not granted.

The PNCR leader was reported in the local media as explaining that having learnt that no permission was forthcoming for the originally planned "cost of living" protest march, he chose to walk back to his office since he had turned up without his car for the start of the event. What then reportedly happened, as claimed, was that those who had assembled to await Corbin's arrival, decided to follow him as he set about returning to his office.

The ensuing disorderly behaviour, including mocking of the police as the so-called "walk" turned out to be another not-so-clever political device, reminded me of that time of the Wynn Parry-headed Commission of Inquiry into the February1962 "disturbances in British Guiana" against the then PPP administration of Cheddi Jagan.

In addressing a response from then PNC leader, Forbes Burnham, why he had failed to respond to a request from the Governor to appeal to his demonstrating supporters in Georgetown to desist from acts of violence and cooperate with the security forces, he was to adopt the position that "the man who calls off the dog owns the dog."

The Commission's reaction to that very cynical contention by Burnham, was: "This callous and remorseless attitude is reminiscent of Mark Anthony's observation: 'Mischief thou art afoot. Take thou what course thou wilt'..."

Playing hide and seek with the police as they opted to make a farce of the rule of law in Georgetown last Thursday when the PNCR chose to continue its anti-government cost of living protest, may have been satisfying for those seeking to resort to some of the old tactics and strategies of now deceased mentors.

If Mr. Corbin's "walk back" to his office was amusing in the context of what ensued on the streets last Thursday, including the harrowing experience by the police to maintain law and order, then the statement issued later in the day that the police "will seek legal advice" on the unlawful protest, was even more amusing.

The law enforcement agencies would, of course, be aware that this is not a time for amusement; not with the signs pointing to "danger ahead". If the politics of "slow fire", of an earlier period is recalled and effectively doused by the politics of mature dialogue, then there should be no need to light a candlestick to see in the night what is so clearly viewed by day.

Question is: Will the representatives of the business community, the religious communities and other non-government organisations that claim to be committed to the rule of law and unity among all races, now step up to the challenge to remind the PNCR that there are other ways to respond to the cost of living problem -- a worldwide challenge -- than to engaging in politics that could provoke incitement to disorder and made worse by fomenting animosity with the police themselves?
FEATURES

GRENADA--'BRIBERY' PROBE
REPORT IN ELECTION POLITICS
By Rickey Singh
THE JUST-RELEASED report of a Commission of Inquiry into bribery allegations against Prime Minister Keth Mitchell seems set to compete with election manifestos for voters' attention at a now expected snap national poll in Grenada, possibly before the end of July.

Already, while Mitchell, currently in his third-term as Prime Minister, was enthusiastically quoting at a public meeting last weekend selective portions of the 83-page commission of inquiry report, leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Tilman Thomas, was referencing aspects of the document critical of how the government in St George's had conducted transactions with non-Grenadians.

Mitchell, leader of the ruling New National Party (NNP), was cleared by the Commission of published allegations that he had received half a million US dollars in bribery payment for appointing a controversial American businessman, Eric Resteiner, as Grenada's ambassador-at-large.

Resteiner, who was at the time a fugitive from US justice, has since been convicted on fraud charges and imprisoned. But the Commission's report went beyond the central question of its inquiry--namely the bribery allegations against Mitchell.

It also considered the necessity for the NNP administration to avoid recurrence of practices in dealing with foreigners and overseas travels that could have a negative impact on Grenada's reputation.

Lone Commissioner of the public inquiry was Sir Richard Cheltenham, prominent Barbadian Queen's Counsel, and former cabinet minister of a Barbados Labour Party administration, who was previously involved in state-established public probes in other CARICOM countries.

Among his legal advisers was Dr Fenton Ramsahoye, also a prominent Queen's Counsel of the region and former Attorney General of Guyana; while Senior Counsel and former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, Lawrence Maharaj, was counsel for Prime Minister Mitchell.

As noted in the report submitted by Cheltenham to Grenada's Governor General Daniel Williams, the "central question" of the public inquiry was to determine "the truth or otherwise of allegations published in 'The Offshore Alert' of April 30, 2004" pertaining to claims that Prime Minister had been bribed by Resteiner.

The bribe money was allegedly given in a briefcase to Mitchell in 2002 in Switzerland by Resteiner, to facilitate him to function as an ambassador-at-large, armed with a Grenada diplomatic passport. It coincided with a period when Resteiner was being sought on fraud charges by US law enforcement agents.

Clearance and rebuke
Mitchell had repeatedly denied the bribery allegations and claimed to have received only US$15,000 which, he explained, was money owed him by Resteiner as expenses incurred during official travels abroad as Prime Minister.

The Cheltenham-led probe concluded on page 44 that "there is not a shred of evidence implicating him (Mitchell). The allegations have no support whatever in the evidence given..."

Nevertheless, there are some significant criticisms by the Commissioner on how the Mitchell administration conducted business with a non-Grenadian like Resteiner. He made it clear, for example, that "under no circumstances should the Prime Minister have been receiving cash from Resteiner or from any other person for reimbursement..."

Further, Commissioner Cheltenham considered it relevant to also record that cabinet ministers and officials of the Mitchell administrations "who serve at all levels of the public service”, ought properly to be concerned with one objective, namely, the promotion of the best interests of the country. Their loyalty should be at all times to the country and to no one else...

"As soon as individuals are responsible for funding the travel, accommodation, food etc of Ministers, senior public servants, security guards attached to the Prime Minister and others", stressed Cheltenham, "they in turn may feel a sense of beholden to their source of funding..."

In contrast to Cheltenham's concluding observations, Mitchell, who had personally admitted in a national broadcast in May 2004 to accepting the US$15,000 from Resteiner, was to subsequently tell a meeting of his NNP in September 2007 about the prevailing bribery allegations:

"The cabinet made a decision (on the particular overseas visit); the gentleman (concerned) agreed to pay my bills. I spent the money; he agreed to pay me back. I collected my money so if he taped it and has the tape..it's my damn money...I only sorry he didn't give me more..."

Last weekend, as copies of the inquiry report were being made available to parliamentarians and others by the Office of Governor General, the opposition NDC was recalling that particular statement last year by Mitchell. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, was quoting selected portions of Cheltenham's report to castigate his opponents for what he said were their "concoctions" against him.

Opposition Leader Thomas's latest response was one of outrage and recalled how he had been refused by the Commission to ask questions at the inquiry.

He told the media last week that while he and his party have "serious problems" with the functioning of the Cheltenham Commission, and in particular its "core conclusion" (exonerating Mitchell from a criminal offence), they intend to inform Grenadians of other aspects of the report.

But Mitchell's focus right now is on general election 2008. Prime Minister since 1995, he is looking optimistically to a fourth consecutive term, having managed to maintain power with a slender one-seat majority in the 15-member parliament since the November 2003 general election.

The NDC's Thomas had declared, with much confidence, that "this (coming) election is our time...Grenadian voters have had enough of NNP's corruption in office and poor governance..."

When the two clashed at the November 2003 poll, the NNP had managed to retain power with a one-seat majority based on eight seats secured with 48 percent of the 47,488 votes cast, representing a 52 percent response by the eligible electorate.

The NDC secured its seven seats with 45.06 percent. The disputed one-seat majority resulted from the Carriacou constituency being allocated to the NNP with a margin of six votes, unsuccessfully challenged by the NDC.

Now, in 2008, the stage is being set for the "Cheltenham Report" on a bribery probe against Prime Minister Mitchell, to be a much referenced document, along with the manifestos being prepared by the NNP and NDC for their coming electoral duel for which unofficial campaigning is very much underway

Revenge of agriculture's neglect
by Linda Hutchinson-Jafar
(hutchlin@gmail.com)
Isn't it just amazing how most countries in the region are belly-aching about the increase in the price of food, mainly imported, after years of rhetoric about kick-starting agriculture, which sadly never came.

It might be true to say our leaders were probably still talking about resuscitating this important sector of our economy while the high food prices crisis crept up on them.

I asked CARICOM newcomer prime minister, David Thompson, the head of the Barbadian government, during a recent visit to Port of Spain, whether our leaders should partly shoulder some of the blame for the food price crisis that are affecting consumers, from the middle class to the poor and the disadvantaged in our societies.

Instead of getting a straight-forward answer, I got more rhetoric about CARICOM trying its best to put plans in place to breathe life in food production.

I may not be privy to these plans, but what I know is that over the years, committee after committee has been set up to look at food production. More sub-committees were set up, one on top of the other.

But have we gotten anywhere with it?

Doesn't seem so, as the CARICOM food bill, currently over US$3.5 billion annually, continues to climb as we depend more and more on imported vegetables and supermarket items.

Dr. Ralph Henry, a well-respected economist in Trinidad and one of the consultants on a recent report on the state of food for CARICOM, said the Caribbean's food consumption is heavily weighed towards imported products.

It's having a major impact and it will force the Caribbean to talk about diversification and how to feed ourselves. It will take time, said Dr Henry, since the whole structure is not geared to produce for domestic consumption.

I can also understand the frustrations of Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo who has lead responsibility for Agriculture in the region, lamenting the small funding that has gone into the agricultural sector and few requests that went to the multilateral financing institutions for agriculture, since many regional countries preferred to focus on tourism.

His own wide-ranging and in-depth proposal, titled the Jagdeo Initiative ,`Strengthening Agriculture for Sustainable Development' , a strategy to alleviate some of the binding constraints to the development of the sector and creating the enabling environment to encourage a resurgence of investment in agriculture to facilitate the transformation process, has not really gone anywhere.

Now there seems to be an urgency by the rest of our leaders to get the very neglected agriculture sector on the front burner.

Next week, the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) will meet in a special session to deal with agriculture. The meeting will discuss the Agriculture Investment Forum carded for June, and follow up action from the Agriculture Donor Conference held in Port of Spain last year.

The Forum, being held against the background of `The Jagdeo Initiative’, will provide a platform for Caribbean and international parties with an interest in investing in the agriculture sector to seek business alliances with existing and potential agriculture entrepreneurs.

The two-day Forum, according to the CARICOM Secretariat, will provide an un-paralleled and unprecedented opportunity for governments, farmers, entrepreneurs and investment bankers to meet in one place and discuss issues ranging from the setting up of mega farms, using the vast tracts of uncultivated land in the Caribbean, to the need for technological improvements in the agriculture sector, making the Caribbean a net exporter and user of food produced in the region.

It sounds all good and positive; but will any action come out of it? Is the private sector, for instance, willing to invest their money in agricultural development? Are they seeing it as a good business investment with real value - and yes, profitable for them?

One of the background documents, Agriculture in the Caribbean in 2006, for the agriculture donor conference in Trinidad last year, noted the growing need for the private sector to get more proactive and involved in agriculture repositioning, particularly in terms of generating investment funds, prioritising R&D and other development imperatives.

Apart from the few large conglomerates, such as the food and beverage manufactures of Grace Kennedy of Jamaica, Ansa McAl and S. M. Jaleel of Trinidad, the agribusiness sector is still relatively fragmented, under-resourced and dependent on public sector programmes.

According to the general conclusion of the document, increased private sector participation in agriculture, from both leadership and business perspectives,will go a long way in securing regional food supplies.

With regard to the burgeoning tourism sector in many of our countries, field research found that most of the food consumed by tourists was imported, a trend which has also become prevalent among domestic consumers.

It said if Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are to maximise the