By Rabindra Rooplall
CHINA, which was a poor, underdeveloped country is now the envy of the world as it has leapfrogged into being one of the fastest-growing economies with its embrace of education, says Prime Minister and First Vice-President, Moses Nagamootoo.The Prime Minister, who was accompanied by his wife Sita Nagamootoo, made these remarks on Wednesday evening at a reception hosted by the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Zhang Limin at the Chinese Embassy.
The event was in honour of all the participants of the Chinese training programmes and scholarships, most notably media officials and journalists from across the state and private entities who recently benefited from a three-week training course hosted by the government in the People’s Republic of China.
Other sectors such as health and security also benefited from their officials being granted similar opportunities.
At the event, Director of the Government Information Agency, Beverly Alert, related the experience she gained along with 17 other media operatives who attended the three-week course in China. In expressing her gratitude, two frames of photographs of the team at different sites in China were presented to Ambassador Zhang Limin and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
ICT SEMINAR IN CHINA
The Prime Minister disclosed that government recently approved a memorandum for Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes and another batch of Guyanese to attend a seminar on ICT in China, which is leading the way into the digital future.
Minister Hughes will be exposed to technology that will be of benefit to Guyana, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said, adding that with determination and sacrifice any country can hit the high road of development and prosperity.
“We need to retrace our steps and re-invent our relationships. The Ambassador addressed the issue of the media giving coverage to Chinese companies in Guyana and I must say things are quite different now than they were in the past,” the First Vice-President noted.
He explained that it is expected that all Chinese companies conform to the laws of Guyana. “When you open the doors for investment you must make sure you bring in the pure and uncorrupted investors and it must not be seen as anti-Chinese or anti-Indian or anti-African, when criticisms are made of the way companies do business.”
FRIEND OF GUYANA
Underscoring that China is a friend of Guyana, the Prime Minister noted that all investors must have a fair return and be treated fairly. “They must have an open playing field as everyone else would enjoy and there should be no selective treatment of Chinese companies in the same way there should not be any focus of the media unfairly against Chinese companies. Deal with the facts and not sensationalism.” He said the press is not there to persecute, only to present verifiable and credible facts.
Meanwhile, Reginald Brotherson, Permanent Secretary, Department of the Public Service, Ministry of the Presidency, said all of the scholarships, whether short or long, have financial implications.
He said Guyana has benefited from several disciplines in training, including technology, communication, medicine and finance among others.
“We expect you the beneficiaries of the training would ensure that you utilize such training for the development of Guyana…” he noted.
Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Zhang Limin, noted that although the two countries are separated by vast oceans, the first group of Chinese arrived in Guyana as early as 1863 and a monument was erected in Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, for the Chinese.
He explained that the Chinese people have been living in harmony with the local people and gradually integrated into the local society and became one of the six groups in Guyana.
Ambassador Limin said China has assisted Guyana in its development through grants and donations to the Government of Guyana, as well as through scholarships. He said the China/Guyana friendship has evolved while he has been working here for over three years. However, some sections of the media have been peddling untruths about some Chinese companies in Guyana.
“I know the reports of the media are trying to get the attention of the public so it’s natural to have some exaggeration, but I think journalists should have their professional ethics and these should be based on the facts and should not be fabricated,” the envoy declared.
He said the Chinese companies are willing to make more investments in Guyana and more contributions to the economic and social development of the country.
It is good when the media point out things that are done wrongly by Chinese companies, the Ambassador said, as all Chinese companies are required to abide by the legal requirements in Guyana.
MEDIA INPUTS
“If the media can point out the wrongdoings, then it can be helpful for the company to develop themselves. I think the reports should be objective and respect the facts… I hope that journalists and friends from the media can do more work to assist with [the] China/Guyana friendship,” the ambassador noted.
In 1972, Guyana was the first English-speaking Caribbean country to recognise the People’s Republic of China, and after more than 42 years of friendship and cooperation, the bilateral relationship between these two countries continues to flourish.