Prime Minister meets new Mexican Ambassador
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
Ambassador of the United Mexican States His Excellency Ricardo Villanueva Hallal today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Samuel Hinds one day after presenting his Letters of Cridence to Head of State President Bharrat Jagdeo.
He previously served as Ambassador to Peru, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Finland and held other diplomatic appointments such as Mexico’s Permanent Delegation to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds meeting new Mexican Ambassador His Excellency Ricardo Villanueva Hallal
He replaces his predecessor Lue Elena Bueno who completed her three-and-a-half-year tenure in 2007.
During Bueno’s term several aspects of cooperation were undertaken including a scholarship programme in 2005 which allowed more than 20 Guyanese to attain higher education in various disciplines at Mexico’s tertiary institutions.
The Mexican government also supported Guyana’s education system with a donation of literary and other materials to aid the Spanish curriculum in schools across the country.
Mexico was also represented at the Rio Summit which was held in February 2007 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC).
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President Jagdeo visits East Coast Demerara
-as unusual prolonged rainfalls continue
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
President Bharrat Jagdeo visited the East Coast Demerara today and inspected several pumps including at Good Hope and Lusignan.
The Head of State after the inspection said government has made several interventions to alleviate the flooding which is caused by the unusual rainfall.
“We checked, all the pumps are working, they are doing more work, excavating, cleaning some areas hopefully to give faster passage to water but it’s very unusual level of precipitation for this time of the year. It is unexpected and we have to deal with it,” the President said.
Forty-two pumps have been deployed and are functional along the coastland especially in the most vulnerable low-lying areas to supplement the drainage systems.
The Meteorological Office has since informed the Head of the State that the pattern of rainfall will continue for a while.
President Bharrat Jagdeo along with Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud inspects the pumps on the East Coast of Demerara as unusual heavy rainfall continue across the country.
“But we are hoping that there will be breaks in the weather so that it will allow the pumps to work and also the gravity flow to bring relief to the residential areas. Unfortunately it’s a little more difficult in the riverain areas in some of the hinterland areas where it is harder for them to get immediate relief. That is from the water,” the President asserted.
The intensive rainfall is as a result of the natural phenomenon ‘La Nina’ which is expected to continue over the coastal and inland regions of Guyana until March, 2008.
The President noted that it’s not only the discomfort caused by the flooding but negative impact of sugar production in Region Six.
“Now they (Region Six) had to close some of the factories because they cannot burn their cane to harvest, so it would have a major impact on production apart from the loss and discomfort that it brings to residents.”
Other areas being affected are in Regions Two, Three, Four and Five. The Mahaica/Mahaicony creeks are very high and some areas have already flooded.
The Head of State said efforts are being made to render the necessary assistance to persons who have been affected by the unusual level of precipitation for this time of the year.
“We are going to be working with people. We will be setting aside some money to ensure that we can assist with some of the communities to do additional infrastructural work to alleviate some of the flooding problems and also to assist people with their livestock and a whole range of things to move them if they are threatened,” President Jagdeo asserted.
In preparation for the anticipated increase in rainfall over the next few days in the inland areas of Guyana, there is a 24-hour monitoring of drainage systems and facilities along the coastland by engineers from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
These agencies are collaborating to ensure maximum efficiency and timely interventions to alleviate the effects of flooding.
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President Jagdeo receives Romanian Ambassador
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
President Bharrat Jagdeo today received Letters of Credence from His Excellency Marinel Ioana, Ambassador of Romania to Guyana.
Ambassador Ioana, a graduate of the University of Bucharest, is a mathematician by profession. He completed post graduate studies in France, China and Israel and speaks four languages namely English, French, Spanish and Russian.
President Bharrat Jagdeo today received letters of Credence from Romanian Ambassador,
Mr. Marinel Ioan
His academic achievement includes: author and coauthored of more than 90 scientific books and papers of mathematics applied to meteorology, over 200 software applications in meteorology and astrophysics. He served as a Lecturer and Initiator and Coordinator of post-university training programmes at the Bucharest University prior to his diplomatic appointments which included Ambassador to Venezuela and Permanent representative of Romania with the World Meteorological Organisation and National System of Meteorological Support for NATO.
His objective during his tenure as Ambassador to Guyana is to develop closer ties between the peoples of the two countries in the fields of Education, health and Culture among others.
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Minister Baksh meets with Teaching Service Commission
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh today at the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) met with members of the commission to formally apprise them of the changes that will be taking place within the education sector.
Present at the meeting were the Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr. Desrey Fox, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Pulandar Kandhi, Principal Personnel Officer, Dorothy Dey, Chairperson of the TSC, Leila Ramson, Deputy Chairperson, Mohamed Khan, Secretary, Francesca Vieira, and Commissioners Anoopwattie Veeren, George Cave, and Ethel Britton.
Issues discussed were staffing within the school system, the training of more teachers for the education system, and the performance based evaluation systems for teachers.
Disciplinary procedures for teachers was also on the agenda. “We have now worked out new procedures, with time frames, to take action against teachers who breach the rules,” said Minister Baksh.
These discussions were held with the TSC to ensure improvements within the education system as a whole. Minister Baksh pledged the support of the Ministry to work with the TSC as the outlined changes take place.
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Meetings with Opposition parties, civil society favourable
-President Jagdeo
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
The recent meetings held with President Bharrat Jagdeo, civil society and Opposition Parliamentary Parties to work out ways to arrest the current crime situation facing the country were favourable and resulted with pledge of support for the work of the joint services and a condemnation of the recent brutal killings.
This was related by President Jagdeo who had called the meetings after the recent massacres in Lusginan and Bartica left 23 persons dead.
“I am must say that we had an excellent meeting with civil society, a large representative group of civil society and they issued a very strong statement condemning these senseless killings that we have had and also pledging full support, unequivocal support to the joint services.”
He said, “We have also had a good meeting with the opposition parties; all the opposition parties including the ruling party signed an agreement to work together on trying to resolve this situation.”
The Alliance for Change (AFC), Guyana Action Party/ROAR, The United Force (TUF), People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the government following the meetings signed the agreement. The main opposition party the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) has refused to sign on to the agreement citing some shortcomings.
“It is very unfortunate that the People’s National Congress did not sign the agreement…I think this is a national task, I made that clear, this is the decent people of the country against a band of criminals,” the Head of State said.
Since the Lusignan killings the international community has come forward and offered remarkable assistance.
“I made some earlier statements about the assistance from the international community because we have had difficulties before Lusignan, but since the Lusignan massacre took place I must say that the international community has been assisting us tremendously… the political parties in Parliament had called on the international community to respond urgently to our further request because we had already made request of them,” the President emphasized.
Meanwhile, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon in a statement today said government and stakeholders will be moving ahead with preparations for the promised review of the national security plan.
To this end, on February 27 the Office of President will be hosting an activity which will entail presentations by government ministers on the major component of the security plan after which participants from the parliamentary political parties, the social partners would be given an opportunity to discuss elements of the plan.
“OP would be circulating documents concerning the major components of the plan to those entities that would be participating in the review and they, over the next few days, would be organizing themselves; identifying their presenters and arriving at positions to be raised to be addressed at the consultation,” Dr. Luncheon said.
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Trinidad assistance only temporary- President Jagdeo
-gov’t in process of purchasing similar equipment
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
The security assistance being provided by Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to Guyana to assist in the current crime situation is only temporary as government is in the course of buying similar equipment.
“We had sought import permit for some of the specialized weapons that we needed, we have not received those import permits as yet from the industrialized countries. So in the short-term these specialized equipment will be provided by Trinidad and Tobago and as soon as we get the import permits from the developed countries we are going to be buying them ourselves,” President Bharrat Jagdeo assured.
Following the offer by the Trinidad government to render assistance to Guyana in the pursuit of criminal gangs which have been carrying out ruthless killings and robberies, the Government of Guyana accepted the offered.
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee held discussions with that country’s Minister of National Security Martin Joseph on the level of assistance that will be provided. It was agreed that the Government of Trinidad will provide the Government of Guyana with specialized weapons and a helicopter.
President Jagdeo said some of the equipment are already in the country.
Minister Rohee on behalf of the government expressed deepest gratitude to the Government of T&T for its timely assistance.
President Jagdeo recently announced that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will receive $1B this year to retool the army. Included in this would be the purchase of helicopters to improve air patrols which will aid in the fight against transnational crime and serve as a deterrent to the establishment of illegal airstrips.
The President said the funds will be facilitated in the 2008 National Budget which will be presented on February 22 in the National Assembly.
Government has explained that the National Budget will reflect provisions for other areas which the United Kingdom/Government of Guyana security action plan and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Citizens’ Security programmes would not cover.
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February 25 is National Day of Mourning
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
In a Government statement today, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon announced that Monday, February 25 will be a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of the victims of the Bartica killings.
Twelve persons including three policemen lost their lives in the brutal killings which took place on February 17.
There was also a National Day of Mourning on January 31 for the victims of the Lusignan massacre which left 11 persons dead.
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Mashramani celebrations will be constrained
- Dr. Roger Luncheon
Georgetown, GINA, February 21, 2008
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon today announced in a Government statement that Mashramani celebrations will be constrained this year.
“Government agencies, ministries, regions and departments will not be participating in Mashramani in the standard way,” Dr. Luncheon said. This decision was taken in wake of the Lusignan and Bartica massacres where 23 persons including three police officers and five children lost their lives.
This year Mash will be celebrated with at least 20 costume bands. Mashramani Coordinator, Lennox Canterbury in a statement yesterday noted, “It’s not that we aren’t conscious of the terrible activities that unfolded within the last month in Guyana but we will not give up our national plans and activities that normally bring everyone together.”
Mashramani is celebrated every year on February 23 in honour of the country’s Republican status.
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