Continued efforts to boost livestock industry
- more breeds to be available to farmers
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2007.
Government is continuing its programme to expand and fully develop the potential of the livestock industry in keeping with its diversification thrust. Various activities will intensify during this year, including making more improved breeds available to farmers.
At present, breeding stocks imported for the swine industry which are being bred at the Army’s farm, East Bank Demerara, are expected to give birth during the first quarter of this year.
Additionally, the animals being bred at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) are in good health, acclimatizing well and gaining at least one pound per day. It is expected that these animals should be ready from breeding later this year.
There are plans through the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) to double the amount of breeding rams available to farmers in 2007 and to provide farmers with breeding ewes.
Previous initiatives have proven successful with breeds such as Boer Goats which were bred through NARI and a private investor and made available to farmers from various communities.
There are other breeds of sheep being developed at NARI including the Barbados black belly sheep, Virgin Island white and Corentyne white. During last year, the institute acquired another sheep breed, Dorper, which was imported from Texas.
An additional $12M was spent during 2007 at NARI to carry out livestock activities geared towards promoting diversification of the agricultural sector. The institute’s main focus has been duck and sheep breeding and forage production.
The resources were expended to stabilize the fluctuating current supply to the Multistage Jamesway incubator which produces more than 23 000 ducklings for the farming community and to construct an 8000 capacity duckling holding area.
Additionally, five of ten duckling pens to triple production in 2008 were built while the importation of Pekin and Muscovy duck breeding stock from USA and France, respectively, was finalized.
Focus was also placed on expansion of pasture acreage from 15 acres to 50 acres to cater for an increased sheep breeding programme while an evaluation was conducted for the introduction of two new grass species, Tiflon Bahia grass and millet on the coastal plain of Guyana.
The livestock sector contributes an average of 2.2 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it has been steadily expanding. It is expected that further development of this sector will provide more farmers and rural residents with the means to further improve their living standards and the national economy.
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Major focus on prisoners’ reform for 2008
-Prisons Director
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
Major emphasis on reforming prisoners to prepare them for re-integration into society is the main focus of the Prison Service for this year.
Director of Prisons Dale Erskine said the GPS, with assistance from government, will be working on improving the efforts to rehabilitate prisoners.
“For 2008 we are expanding on our platform what we did last year. We did receive a good allocation of funds to enhance our classrooms in a manner to make learning more conducive, and this year we intend to have much more prisoners involved in more programmes that will allow them to return to society with employment,” Erskine said.
“There will be things like electrical engineering, barbering, music as you know it’s a striving industry in Guyana. There will also be the basic art and craft and literacy. We also have our agriculture programme that will be on stream this year...Our motto is from prisons to employment,” Erskine emphasised.
The GPS currently has a Caribbean Certificate Examination (CSEC) programme where a number of prisoners are benefiting.
In 2006, a two-year Prisoner Rehabilitation Programme was launched at the Camp Street Prison Chapel to provide training in masonry, carpentry, tailoring, music, shoe-making, barbering and electrical technology.
Government has been making several interventions to improve the prisons. Last year, $30M was spent to procure equipment, $11M for land and water transportation and $8.2M for agricultural equipment for the Prisons. Every prisoner costs the State approximately $19,000 per month.
During this year, the institution will continue to develop the capabilities of prisons through effective training of ranks to deal with the multi-dimensional challenges in the prison environment, developing security capabilities at each prison location and reducing dietary expenditure through self-sufficiency.
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Speaker elected to Standing Committee of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Hari Ramkarran SC was elected to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) earlier this month when he attended the last meeting at the Royal Gallery of the Westminster, London.
The speaker was the main presenter on the topic ‘Parliament’s Relations with the Public’. Contributions to the discussions were also made by General Secretary of the Association Dr William Shija and the Speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness Helene Hayman.
The Speaker will serve on the Standing Committee which directs the work of the conference until the 20th session scheduled to be held in 2010.
The Association, founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association and renamed the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1949 serves to ‘provide more ready exchange of information and to facilitate closer understanding and more frequent intercourse between those engaged in the parliamentary government of the component parts of the Commonwealth.
The CPA consists of the national, provincial, state and territorial Parliaments and Legislatures of the countries of the Commonwealth.
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Heightened evaluation, monitoring of malaria, TB programmes
Government, GINA, January 15, 2007
Malaria and tuberculosis (TB) are two curable diseases and the Ministry of Health has moved to boost the national malaria and TB control plan to ensure effective quality treatment for affected persons in a timely manner. Treatment plans are also to be enhanced by the support of health-care workers.
Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy during the opening of a two-day workshop on evaluation and monitoring of malaria and tuberculosis at the Regency Suites, today, stressed that the need to control these diseases which have been posing a challenge for the Ministry.
Minister Ramsammy noted that Guyana has progressed in the fight against malaria and TB and expressed his gratitude to partners such as the Global Fund, the Pan- American Health Organisation (PAHO), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the World Bank and several Governments including the United States of America and Canada.
A section of the workshop being addressed by Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.
He said that due to the contributions of these partners Guyana is a step closer to eliminating these two infectious diseases.
“I am proud to say that we have exceeded our targets for malaria during 2007 as was set at the beginning of the year but while we have come a long way, there are still significant numbers of persons infected with malaria and TB. Our goal is that we should not have to deal with malaria so this workshop will also serve to increase awareness and response,” Minister Ramsammy said.
He added that Guyana will in 2008 be joining the rest of the world to observe malaria and tuberculosis day under similar themes, ‘I am stopping malaria’, and ‘I am stopping tuberculosis’.
The Health Ministry at the beginning of 2007 had set a target to achieve less than 15,000 cases of malaria. The target has been achieved as 10, 829 cases were recorded at the end of the fiftieth epidemiological week ending December 16, 2007. There were 20,519 cases reported for the corresponding period last year.
According to the Health Minister, “this is no result that we should be celebrating because it means that over 10,000 persons are still infected with malaria and this should serve as an impetus so that Guyana would not have to deal with malaria at all.” 
Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and others at and head table.
For 2008, the Ministry of Health and its partners are aiming to achieve less than 8,000 cases of malaria with significant reduction in Regions Seven and Eight which are the two most vulnerable areas.
Additionally, projections from the World Health Organisation (WHO) have indicated that Guyana is recording approximately 850 cases of TB cases annually. In 2007, 701 cases were recorded.
The Ministry of Health is calling for greater participation from all stakeholders including teachers, parents, Non- Governmental Organisations, religious leaders and the private sector in heightening awareness of these diseases and prevention.
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Education, safety focus of Labour Ministry
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
The Ministry of Labour continued to make strides during 2007 to protect the 240,000 local workforce amidst several challenges.
A number of initiatives were undertaken to improve conditions of work for employees with the major ones being the reorganization of the Labour and Occupational Safety and Health Departments, and an education programme for employers.
Industrial climate
Guyana experienced a relatively calm industrial climate last year, attributed to the signing of 15 new collective agreements, adding to the 40 multi-year agreements signed the previous year. Fifty-five matters were taken to conciliation and two to arbitration. There were 170 strikes resulting in the loss of about 64,000 man-days. This however, was an improvement over 2006 which saw 208 strikes and a loss of over 120,000 man-days.
Education seminars for workers
Thirty-six educational seminars were held for employers including seminars in Regions Nine and Ten to heighten their awareness of safe workplaces for their employees and to identify employees’ benefits.
More inspections
The reorganization of the Labour, and Occupational Safety and Health Departments was completed in September. This change resulted in an increase of workplace inspections with 2278 completed as compared to 650 the previous year.
Industrial accidents accounted for five deaths while there were 997 non-fatal accidents. This was an improvement over 2006 which recorded 1183 accidents with seven fatalities.
Of the 1016 complaints received from employees, 921 were resolved by the end of the year leading to the recovery of over $17.6M in benefits for dismissed workers.
HIV/AIDS education programme
The Ministry’s HIV/AIDS Workplace Prevention and Control project began in July. There were 15 workshops conducted in Regions Three, Four Six, Nine and Ten.
The Government of Guyana/International Labour Organisation/United States Department of Labour sponsored HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Programme which commenced in October 2003, to run for three years, received additional funding and was extended for a further two years.
These programmes are aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS risk behaviour among workers and the level of employment-related stigma and discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS. Nineteen enterprises are collaborating with the Project with 17 of them having already signed HIV/AIDS workplace policies.
Additionally, Behaviour Change Communication Strategy Development Workshops were held for 147 employees from different agencies while 47 tutors from the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education of the University of Guyana and Critchlow Labour College received training to provide them with the information and skills to integrate HIV/AIDS activities in courses offered by the institutions.
Staff training/job placements
Training for the Ministry’s staff was also undertaken with 50 percent of the staff attending overseas training sponsored by various institutions, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Inter American Conference of Ministers of Labour.
The Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency continued to provide service to employers and persons seeking employments. The Department received request to fill 1637 vacancies during the year. Of the 2356 unemployed persons who registered with the Agency, 1443 were placed in jobs, a 45 percent increase over the previous year.
The Agency participated in several exhibitions and other outreach activities to heighten public awareness of the services offered by the Agency.
BIT programmes
The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) certified 94 apprentices who had completed training during the year. This makes them eligible to enter the work force as skilled artisans. One hundred and forty five training site inspections were conducted resulting in 14 investigations to settle disputes between apprentices and trainers.
Additionally 487 youths received certification after completing the National Training Project for youth Empowerment. This three-year project aimed at providing early school leavers with an employable skill is being conducted in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Six and Ten. Two hundred and forty one of these graduates have already gained employment while 14 have been accepted in formal technical institutions to pursue further studies.
Graduation of 144 students who completed the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment in Berbice
Revitalising cooperatives
The Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies saw the registration of three and 56 new organisations respectively during the year. Constitutional checks were done for 107 Friendly Societies while 81 had their constitution reviewed. Fifty three field visits were conducted by Officers of the Ministry while audits 58 audits were completed for co-operatives and 13 for Friendly Societies.
Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir meets members of Region 2 Cooperatives
January 14 2007 Parika Fishermen Cooperative.
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Caribbean films to be showcased publicly in late January
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
A number of films produced in the Caribbean will be showcased publicly by the end of January via a mobile film festival. The initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport is part of efforts to heighten awareness for the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA).
The display will be executed by the National Communications Network (NCN) and will be taken to several parts of the county.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony said the film festival is among many awareness campaigns in the lead-up to CARIFESTA to stimulate the festival’s spirit among Guyanese.
The initiative will be undertaken with support from Cuba which formerly hosted a Caribbean Film Festival. Cuba has in its collection more than 80 films produced in the Caribbean.
“When people hear films they usually think about Hollywood, but here in the region there are good films that are being produced and I think we should be proud of that,” Minister Anthony said.
In February 2007, the Latin American Film Festival held in Havana featured a selection of recent films by Caribbean film and video directors. Films from various parts of Latin America including Aruba, Belize, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Puerto Rico and Suriname among others were on display.
The Latin American Film Festival was an initiative undertaken with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and was shown simultaneously in various Caribbean countries.
The film festival is one of the prominent features of CARIFESTA that will be highlighted in Guyana during the period August 22 to 31. More than 100 events will be hosted including the performing, culinary, literary and visual arts, community festivals, grand market, fashion focus, single events, super concerts, symposia on youth and indigenous people among others.
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Army list reveals over 200 weapons issued between 1976-1979
President discloses-full investigation to be launched
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
Addressing the media today during a Press Conference to deal with the issue of two Guyana Defense Force (GDF) weapons being recovered following a shootout between criminals and the Police at Mahaicony on January 9, Commander-in-Chief, President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed the number of weapons issued by the Army between the period 1976-1979.
President Jagdeo noted that following the shootout, the Police recovered three weapons with two being a Beretta submachine gun, serial number 20125 and an M72 gun, number 27589 belonging to the Army.
“The question that we should ask ourselves today is how these weapons that were issued to a Government Ministry several decades ago, would find themselves in the hands of criminal elements, and whether there are more of these weapons out there,” the President queried during the press conference.
He said immediately following the discovery, Government decided that a full investigation should be launched into the matter that would ensure that checks were made to determine the weapons issued at various points in time to Ministries.
“The Army subsequently provided a list of the weapons that were issued some time in the past and they sent that list to me. I chose not to reveal the list because I thought that a full internal investigation is important before we needed to go public on this matter,” President Jagdeo explained.
He noted however, that as a result of recent comments made by the Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin that Government was suddenly coming up with the issue to divert attention from torture allegations being levelled against the Army and other comments in sections of the media, he was forced to reveal the extent of the weapons issue.
“I think the Kaieteur News is attempting to minimise this problem which I feel is a substantial one and needs full investigation,” the Commander-in-Chief stated and on this noted proceeded to list the number of weapons issued to the then Ministry of National Development between the period 1976-1979.
The following weapons were issued at various times during the period 1976-1979:
Seven (7) Smith and Wesson Pistols
Four (4) HK 11 Light Machine Guns
Eight (8) G3 Rifles
Four (4) General Purpose Machine Guns
Twenty (20) Berretta Submachine Guns
Fifteen (15) Self Loading Rifles
Fifty (50) M10Pistols
Six (6) .22 Rifles
Six (6) .30 Carbines
Six (6) .303 Rifles
Fifteen (15) Self Loading Rifles
Six (6) G3 Rifles
Fifty (50) M10 Pistols
Twenty (20) Berretta Submachine Guns
Fifteen (15) M70 Rifles
Five (5) M72 Rifles
The President said a substantial number of weapons were issued and that he is bothered that the Opposition Leader would say that Government is raising the matter as a smokescreen to divert attention from torture allegations against the Army.
“It is casting aspersions on the Army basically saying that because the Army is engaging in torture that they chose to, or we chose to reveal this information. This all arose because as I said before, on Wednesday, January 9, the Police recovered these weapons. It just so happens that these weapons were recently recovered and it’s only through a routine check to see whether these weapons belonged to the Army, that this was discovered and the Army came clean,” the Head of State explained.
He lamented that he could not see how this could be a diversion from the torture allegations which the Army is already addressing through a Board of Inquiry, labelling the Opposition Leader’s comments as ‘very premature’ and the attempt by one section of the media to minimise the issue as ‘unwarranted’.
“Because it requires at this time a full investigation and I’m committing my Government to having a full investigation of all weapons that were issued at various points in our history by the Police Force, the Army and other paramilitary agencies to ensure that when these weapons were returned, whether they were properly returned or whether they are still outstanding,” the Commander-in-Chief contended.
President Jagdeo said he does not want the issue to become a political one and that his main concern is for a full, transparent investigation to be completed so that it could be determined that all weapons are returned to where they belong.
“And that is with the Police and with the Army and if any is outstanding that they be returned to them. So, I don’t want us to be caught up in a political issue of creating smoke screens. We should all cooperate in getting to the bottom of this issue and more importantly, we should all try to establish how these weapons from 1976 would in 2007, get in the hands of criminal elements,” he added.
Asked whether he is concerned that the weapons find was made by accident and why his Administration did not make an inventory when it entered office in 1992, President Jagdeo said his Party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) made it clear that it considered the Army and Police to be professional bodies.
“I’m not going to say whether we made an error in not doing a full inventory in 1992, or not but what bothers me more is that the criminals had these weapons.”
He concluded that it is undecided whether the investigation will take the form of a Board of Inquiry or an internal investigation but that as soon as this decision was made, the investigation should commence immediately after.
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Guyana’s hosting of CWC matches-excellent investment-President
-upset that country still has not received its dues from CWC
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
President Jagdeo noted that Guyana gained much recognition worldwide from its hosting of Cricket World Cup (CWC) matches in 2007. This was in addition to investment in terms of hotels construction and a tourism boost when a large number of overseas Guyanese returned to the country’s shores for the event as well as in August and December.
The President was speaking at a Press Conference he hosted at the Office of the President today and responding to a question by one media practitioner as to whether Guyana regrets the large investment made with regard to hosting the event when the country has not even received its finances as it relates to tickets purchased from the West Indies Cricket Board.
“I’ve written to them and if they don’t pay us, we’re going to file a lawsuit against them. They owe us a large sum of money. We want our money that we earned. They’re sitting on our money. This is money that’s supposed to come to use from the gate proceeds,” the Head of State explained.
He said he does not for one bit regret that Guyana was a host as the country benefitted greatly. He added that Guyana needed a new stadium as the Georgetown Cricket Club Ground at Bourda would soon have not been fit to hold large matches and the country’s hosting of Test cricket matches would have been jeopardized.
President Jagdeo emphasised that with the new stadium, there needs to be maintenance and more matches organised for the edifice to be fully utilised.
He said that Guyana now has the experience to host international events and there is a number of large hotels constructed for the event which lent support to the tourism and hospitality sector.
“We all now recognise our hotel capacity has been greatly enhanced,” the President reiterated.
As it relates to the proceeds from CWC, the President said it is quite upsetting that this has not been received yet and Guyana will have no choice but to resort to the Courts if it is not paid the over US $1M it is owed.
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Gov’t, Opposition need to work together for country to move forward
-President Jagdeo
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
“For us to move forward we need the Government and Opposition working together for the good of our country and its people. Before we can enter into any formal type of arrangement for the governance of the country, we need to be able to trust each other.”
This was one of the statements made by Head of State, Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference today he hosted at the Office of the President to address the issue of the weapons belonging to the Guyana Defense Force (GDF), two of which were recovered during a shootout between the Police and criminals at Mahaicony, on Wednesday last.
“I am hopeful that we can build on goodwill that existed because the Opposition is serious about moving forward and Government is serious too,” the President said.
He expressed the hope that the two Parties can continue to work at building an arrangement that all would be comfortable with, whether it’s power-sharing or enhanced cooperation.
“I’m prepared to work with the Opposition on all of these areas to build that trust,” the Head of State said.
He however noted that in several instances when Party Leaders decide to work cohesively, there are criticisms by their Parties’ support base that they are ‘selling out’. “But you need on the other side to have someone to stand up, and when a few elements within the Party say you are selling out…you would say ‘no we are not doing that, we are working on a framework that’ll be good for Guyana and ultimately our support base as Guyanese’ and not to try every time there is a criticism to retreat,” the President explained.
President Jagdeo noted that prior to the People’s National Congress (PNC’s) Congress last year there was good progress between the two Leaders, but that after accusations at Congress, he believed that the Opposition Leader started “playing it safe”.
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GPOC transportation problem to be resolved in 30 days
Georgetown, GINA, January 15, 2008
The difficulties being experienced by the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) with the timely delivery of mail is due to problems with their fleet of vehicles used to transport the mail. This was disclosed yesterday by the Corporation’s Board Chairman Bishop Juan Edghill.
The Corporation, he said, has a “universal service obligation to deliver the mail to everybody, everywhere, every time.” The problem was getting the mail delivered on time since the fleet of vehicles in use by the Corporation was very old. This problem he said would be resolved within the next 30 days during which relevant concessions would be approved paving the way for new vehicles to be purchased.
The Chairman said that ideally a mail that is posted around Georgetown before 10:00 h on any given day should be delivered by 16:00 h the same day and to an interior location by the next day.
The prompt delivery of the mail is also dependent on the transportation network in Guyana. Residents of East Berbice will be able to receive their mail in a more timely manner when the Berbice Bridge is completed the Chairman said. The Corporation at present depends on the Ferry service to deliver mail to that area, while for Essequibo and Bartica the “speed boat” service is utilized.
Unlike other companies the mandate of the corporation does not allow it to choose only economically viable areas to operate. Their services extend to the Berbice River area, the Mahaica and Mahaicony creeks and all hinterland locations. The service schedule for hinterland areas however, varies, based on the needs of the community.
The Chairman said that he would encourage large businesses with a high volume of mail to utilize the mailbox service offered at the Post Offices to ensure prompt delivery. Most of the recent problems experienced by the corporation affected some residents along the Coastland where there is a greater demand for its service.
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