PRCSSP continues to aid farmers
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006.
Farmers in Lanaballi and Beribisiballi, Region Thee (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) are being further aided in their activities through improved drainage and irrigation (D&I) under government’s scheme to provide efficient and sustainable support services to rural communities.
The US$ 16.5M Poor Rural Community Support Service Programme (PRCSSP) has catered for over 950 acres of farmlands at Beribisiballi which now have effective D&I. The sum of $28.5M was spent to excavate drains and construct structures in the area, according to PRCSSP Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Anya Mahaica.
Another project valued $26M was undertaken at Lanaballi and is serving an area of 684 acres. At present, farmers are cultivating produce such as bananas and plantains in both areas.
Other D&I projects are ongoing in areas such as Free and Easy/Maria Lodge, where $74.4M is being spent to repair D&I structures and excavate drains while at Middlesex/Pomona, another project is ongoing at a cost of $27M.
Vilvoorden/Fairfield will also benefit from improved D&I at a cost of $19.6M as well as Mainstay/Whyaka under a $12M project.
Other PRCSSP projects that were delayed by the shortage of cement and stones, are now progressing.
These include construction of a multi-purpose centre, boat-house and stelling at Aliki at a cost of $21.1M, an all-weather road at Hubu that costs $43.7M and another at Ruby/Good Hope under a $51.3M project.
Additionally, furniture for the Siriki multi-purpose building has been supplied at a cost of $3.7M. Construction of this centre for residents of the upper Pomeroon communities was executed at a cost of $16.8M and was completed in 2005.
Mahaica noted that another component of the PRCSSP, which is a Technical Training Programme for farmers has commenced. It was launched on March 20 at Parika by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, Satyadeow Sawh. Farmer are responding favourably to this initiative.
It aims to develop farmers’ capacity to adapt to new technology with a view to accessing overseas markets with non-traditional crops.
Under this programme, topics such as good agricultural practices, sanitary conditions and management are being addressed.
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Government’s School uniform programme- benefiting thousands
Satff of the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Security distributing Schoolo Uniform vouchers to parents of Sophia Greater, Georgetown.
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006
A GINA Feature by Azeem Khan
Support for the needy and the disadvantaged is a policy inspired by President Bharrat Jagdeo and has been articulated in annual budgetary allocations as government continues to extend a helping hand to the vulnerable with emphasis on senior citizens and children.
The latter group whose parents find it difficult to provide for their school needs has been given a chance to earn an education.
Initiated in 2001, government’s school uniform assistance programme has been benefiting thousands of children nationwide including those from hinterland communities.
President Jagdeo on his outreaches across the country found that school-age children were not attending school because their parents could not afford school uniform and food and this formed the genesis of the School Feeding and School uniform programmes.
Children of Aishalton meeting President Bharrat Jagdeo on one of his visits.
Secondary School students are entitled to a voucher worth $3,000, Primary School Students- $2500 and Nursery School Children- $1500. With these vouchers recipients can redeem school supplies except text books.
The Ministry of Education previously assisted parents with uniforms, however the programme was subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security.
The Difficult Circumstances Unit (DCU) of the Ministry was also involved in granting assistance to families in need of uniform assistance.
In 2002, the Ministry of Education presented before Cabinet a paper seeking allocations for school feeding and uniform assistance. This was approved the first allocation of $31M was made.
Year |
Allocation |
Beneficiaries |
2002 |
$31M |
10,000 |
2003 |
$34M |
12,000 |
2004 |
$40M |
13,000 |
2005 |
$40M |
14,000 |
2006 |
$77M |
20,000 (expected) |
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is granted part of the annual allocation to provide for the children of hinterland communities.
Unlike the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs purchases the school uniform material and supplies it to Amerindian communities in Region Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten.
To date government has spent over $100M to assist the needy children, in its continued drive to ensure that all who are in need are catered for.
Some uniforms are purchased while others are sewn by sewing groups in some of the targeted hinterland and Coastal areas, assisting in income-generation and job creation.
Patricia Bailey of Sophia, Greater Georgetown who is a parent of three said, “I am thankful for the assistance.”
Rukmini King is caring for several grandchildren, “I am very contented with this, at least it is going to brace me up.”
Another resident Nicola Brown said, “It is a good idea they are sharing the vouchers at least it could help parents who cannot afford to buy uniform for their children.”
A group of Aishalton children posing with Minister of Locla Government and Regional development Harripersaud Nokta .
On March 23, Acting Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul announced that Government has increased its allocation to procure school uniforms for hinterland children and less-fortunate coastlanders.
“Approval was granted for the sum of $37M to be released from the Poverty programme to meet that expenditure. A further $40M was approved at the last Cabinet meeting to assist children in need from other communities in the country,” he explained.
President Jagdeo, during a visit to Region Nine in 2004, promised every hinterland child a school uniform, as well as under privileged children on the Coastland. However, in the past some persons who received school uniform vouchers have misused them and some of these cases were unearthed by the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security in 2005 when stores sought to cash the vouchers at the Ministry. Some recipients too, have either sold their vouchers.
Government recently indicated that measures are being taken to ensure effective distribution of the assistance.
To curtail instances of materials arriving late in some hinterland communities, this year the allocation has been made earlier to ensure timely delivery.
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President Jagdeo meets CEO of GT&T’s parent company
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006
Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Tele Network (ATN) Michael Prior Jnr. today paid a courtesy call on President Bharrat Jagdeo at State House.
ATN, a United States telecommunications company is the parent body of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), which operates in Guyana.
Accompanying Prior Jnr. to the meeting was Chief Executive Officer of GT&T Major General (rtd) Joe Singh.
Recently, the Government of Guyana raised serious concerns about the quality of service provided by GT&T, particularly since the switch to Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular service.
Government has argued that even though GT&T has made huge gains, the company has not invested adequately to keep up with the shift to GSM from Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). GT&T’s response has been that reduction in allocation of the frequency spectrum was responsible for congestion of the cellular platform. However, government does not share this view.
GT&T was granted a 40-year monopoly by the previous administration on Local Area Network (LAN) service in 1991.
The President recently signalled his intention to allow entry of an additional cellular service provider (Digicel) to increase competitiveness in the sector and develop the quality of service offered in Guyana.
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Mahaicony Creek farmers to get planting material on April 1
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006.
Planting material and fertiliser will be distributed to cash-crop farmers in the Mahaicony Creek who were severely affected by the flood earlier this year.
This assistance, is one of the many initiatives being pursued by government to help farmers rebuild and is being undertaken at a cost of $8M. The distribution started in the Mahaica Creek on March 25 where some 250 households benefited.
This venture is being coordinated by the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).
Director of NARI, Dr. Odhu Homenauth said distribution will be done in the Mahaicony Creek on Saturday, April 1 and it is expected that some 186 farmers will be provided with seedlings and fertilisers.
Earlier in the week, distribution was done in several coastal villages in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) including Maida, Whim, Bush Lot and Adventure.
Other areas to benefit are Black Bush Polder, West Coast Berbice, Canals Number 1 & 2 and the Pomeroon River. The Regional Administration of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) will conduct the distribution exercise in the Pomeroon River, as some 3000 seedlings and 150 packets of vegetable seeds have been provided for this area.
Earlier this month, farmers and residents of Regions One and Two, who were also affected by flooding received financial assistance from government.
The communities that received this assistance in Region One are: Hobodeia, Hotoquai, Sacred Heart, St. Dominic, Kumaka, Yarakita, Arukamai, Lower Koriabo, Blackwater, Lower Kaituma, Sebai. Those that benefited in Region Two are: St. Anselm and Mashabo, Capoey, Bethany, Kabakaburi, Tapakuma, Wakapao, St. Monica’s Mission and Karawab.
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Teachers’ lateness, absenteeism affecting Region Ten schools
- Minister Jeffrey
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006
Teachers’ absenteeism and lack of punctuality have been affecting the quality of education delivery in Region Ten schools and government has begun an analysis of the situation.
This is according to Minister of Education Dr. Henry Jeffrey who recently visited several schools in the Region and met members of School Boards, and Regional Officials as he continued monitoring the education system to ascertain areas that require improvement.
The Minister observed that teachers’ late coming and absenteeism are prevalent and that there are problems with record keeping.
Among the schools visited by the Minister were the Linden Foundation Secondary, One Mile Primary, Kwakwani Secondary and Primary Schools and Hururu Primary School. Region Ten has 58 schools.
The Minister was informed that two schools in the region were under threat of closure due to a shortage of teachers. Other residents reported that schools were affected because of senior teachers being absent on several occasions, while in other cases teachers failed to adhere to rules relating to punctuality and dress code.
Minister Jeffrey noted that these problems are serious distractions in education policies and pointed out that the inequity is not unavoidable since other schools are overstaffed. Currently the Region has about 80 teachers, more than the required number, the Minister said.
He said that one school has sent seven staff members to the Teachers’ Training College and the University of Guyana, contrary to the laws that only four can be sent at one time.
The monitoring exercise is part of a management system that was crafted by the Ministry of Education which allows Regional Chairmen and educational officials in their respective districts to oversee performance and pay specific attention to the level of enrolment, staffing, physical conditions, teacher attendance and record-keeping in schools.
Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo said that the problem of staffing was brought to the attention of the Regional Administration three years ago and an Education Committee was established to examine the issue. One of the recommendations proffered was that teachers from the overstaffed schools be relocated to those which are understaffed to create a balance.
The problem of teachers’ indiscipline was highlighted by committee members. To curtail this problem, Minister Jeffrey advised that regional officials take necessary actions against teachers for their failure to obey rules.
The inequities in the system were identified as major contributors to the overall decline in school standards and the Education Minister suggested that School Boards be introduced as this is one way of fostering greater performance levels.
Schools in various parts of the country have been performing outstandingly because of the establishment of a School Board run by teacher, alumni and parents.
In November last year, Minister Jeffrey visited Region Ten where he lamented the lack of an inspection plan for schools. He said then that every school should undergo inspection, in addition to having a continuous teachers’ assessment plan, and a school’s improvement plan.
During last year, Minister Jeffrey visited schools in Region One, Two, Three, Five, Ten and Nine.
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CWC stadium construction not affected by cement shortage
- Karan Singh
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006
Reassurance came today from the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Local Organising Committee for International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, Karan Singh, that the present shortage of cement has not affected the construction of the Stadium at Providence.
In a release issued on March 30 by the LOC, Singh reiterated “this shortage is not affecting major projects. Providence Stadium has more than 190 tonnes of cement in stock, the contractors have enough cement on order from their suppliers to complete the work that they are doing.”
In recent weeks, several concerns were raised about the lack of cement and its effect on the progress of the stadium and other projects.
Venue Manager, Walter Willis, has disclosed that a shipment of cement arrived earlier today from Trinidad and Tobago and that another shipment is expected later this evening. Guyana is scheduled to host the Second Stage of the Super Eight matches of CWC 2007.
In an attempt to alleviate the shortage, the Government of Guyana has been monitoring the situation while simultaneously seeking alternative suppliers.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary (ag) Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul, at his last Post-cabinet media briefing reiterated Government’s concerns over the perpetual shortage of cement in the country and the high price being charged for this product.
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President for United States visit
Georgetown, GINA, March 30, 2006
President Bharrat Jagdeo today departed for an official visit to the United States of America.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds will be performing the duties of Head of State, and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Reepu Deman Persaud, will be performing the duties of Prime Minister, pending the return of President Jagdeo.
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