Government fulfills commitment to Orealla/Siparuta
Georgetown, GINA, December 16, 2006
Living up to its commitment to develop Amerindian communities countrywide and improve the lives of residents, the administration has provided a motor vessel to the community of Orealla/Siparuta, Corentyne Coast, Region Six, that will benefit over 1600 residents.
Handing over the vessel to the Captain, Councillors and residents of the community yesterday, Amerindian Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues pledged government’s continued support for the development of the community.
The request for the vessel was made by residents to President Jagdeo when he visited the community in June on a Cabinet outreach.
The vessel MV Epira will be used to transport goods and services to the market on the Corentyne Coast as well as to undertake economic activities in an effort to develop the community.
Several months ago, the Head of State had said that during the next five years of his government, significant emphasis will be placed on enhancing income in Amerindian communities through the provision of transportation, more roadways and facilities.
Minister Rodrigues told residents of government’s concern about the development of Amerindian communities and as such it is working with every organisation and stakeholder to improve their lives.
“Today I can stand as an Amerindian and say that we have come a far way, and I know that all of you are proud too, but we must always want better and we in the government are committed to this,” Minister Rodrigues said.
The construction of the vessel was a partnership project between government and the residents since they decided what materials would be used and who would build it.
Minister Rodrigues urged residents to take good care of the vessel, urging that it be used to provide maximum benefits for all residents.
According to village Captain, Mc Lean Devair, the occasion is a very memorable one for the community, as he expressed heartfelt gratitude to government.
“We the people of Orealla/Siparuta are very pleased and thankful to the government for fulfilling its promise to us. This boat will significantly assist us in the transportation of our goods to the coast, it will also take our people when they need to go,” Mc Lean said. The vessel has the capacity to accommodate 200 persons.
The Captain noted too the community’s dependence on logging, but this has been exhausted.
“We were trying to divert to agriculture and we did not know how to do it, but thanks to the government again for educating us. This is the only way that we could improve the standard of living of this community and now we have the boat it is even better,” he said.
Mc Lean noted that it is evident through its many programmes the government is leaving no stone unturned in bringing development to over 125 existing Amerindian communities in the country.
The vessel is named after Epira, the first Amerindian reservation in the Orealla/Siparuta area.
According to Representative of the Regional Democratic Council Region Six, Jafar Ally, that the handing over of the vessel to the people of the community is an indication of the administration’s commitment to the people as he enumerated the many investments that have been made for them through the provision of quality health care delivery, free education, the scholarship and school uniform programmes.
“Amerindians in this country are far better off today that they were years ago for the simple reason there is a government that cares about the welfare and living conditions of its people,” Ally said.
Minister Rodrigues presented the keys and all legal documents to the captain in the presence of councillors and residents after which she joined scores of residents and children for a ride on the boat.
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We don’t need complicated monitoring & evaluation schemes-President
-refuses IADB model for diversification programme at Agri Summit
Georgetown, GINA, December 16, 2006
President Bharrat Jagdeo today told Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Representative Geoffrey Cannock that Guyana will not be using the IADB Agriculture Exports Diversification Framework model for its diversification programme since the model’s systems would make the initiative slower and Guyana needs to implement several strategies and programmes simultaneously to move the process faster.
“I can’t see clear output. At the end of spending this money, what are we going to achieve? The model that we’re going to use is the model similar to the GTIS (Guyana Trade and Investment Support) model. We don’t need complicated monitoring and evaluation schemes. They (GTIS) monitor and evaluate every week because of the way they’ve organised the work.”
This was the Head of State’s conclusion following the presentation of the Diversification Framework by the IADB Representative at the International Convention Centre, Liliendaal. The forum was Guyana’s Agricultural Diversification Summit, which was deeply informative and featured presentations by international representatives who related the diversification experiences of their countries. Various international agencies’ representatives also made presentations as they advised on models and approaches in order for Guyana to have a successful agriculture diversification programme.
The President said that Government has been negotiating with the IADB for some time on an Agri-diversification loan, and a few weeks ago the loan document was prepared and he perused it.
“I must commend the good work that was done in the document but yet, I thought something was missing. I thought it was a bit mechanical, and I thought that it did not (maybe) answer all the questions that we need to ask….but I think that we need to ask those questions and have them answered in a collective way before we start building a loan programme which support the strategy,” the President said.
“We have to agree first of all on what that strategy will be and what its primary focus will be and that is why we’re here today,” he added.
Following the IADB Representative’s presentation President Jagdeo informed that every week the GTIS team meets with representatives in the agriculture sector where feedback is given.
Unlike the model outlined by the IADB, Mr. Jagdeo said Guyana needs a monitoring and evaluation programme that runs concurrently with the implementation of the programme in order for it to be fully useful with feedback on a daily basis.
The President received loud applause from the participants on this note.
“In spite of all the difficulties, there are sectors that we can work with now. We don’t have to wait on capacity-building in the public or private institutions…..as we go along we will address the constraints.”
Earlier, the Head of State pointed to Guyana’s National Development Strategy Programme and said no national development programme could have been reasonably successful without government tackling one of the most fundamental issues which has a bearing factor on every sector including agriculture. This, he said was ‘the sorry state that our macro-economy was in some years ago’.
He however posited that over the years, through a right mix of policy, help from abroad and through the hard work of Guyanese, Guyana moved to a very stable, sound and predictable macro-economic environment.
“Because that is so, because we have tackled some of the key variables including the balance of payment deficit, fiscal deficit and we have sent a strong signal that the government will not be borrowing excessively from the local market that that sends a strong signal to the other variables. And we’ve had stable inflation rate, we’ve had interest rates coming down, in fact dramatically, from something like 35 percent and today on average, at 15 percent.”
He said that this has created the incentive for many sectors including the agricultural sector.
President Jagdeo advised the participants at the summit to examine the kind of trade regime suitable for Guyana’s agriculture sector, the type of products that could be grown in the country and the suitability of Guyana’s soil among other factors.
One of the areas the Head of State asked the participants to examine is Guyana’s vast hinterland and what could be done with it in the diversification process.
“What are we going to do with our Amerindian people? What are we going to offer to them?” the President asked.
Following the President’s remarks, representatives of Chile, Brazil and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) in El Salvador made presentations on their countries’ agricultural diversification successes and how some of these can apply in Guyana’s case.
The Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) Project and USAID’s Carl Larkins also made a presentation on the work being done by his body to assist in marketing Guyana’s agricultural, aquaculture and forestry products. The programme’s successes thus far, resulted in loud applause by the Summit’s participants as Larkins noted that through regular meetings and the collaborative efforts of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC), the National Aquaculture Association of Guyana, Forest Products Marketing Council, the Private Sector and other individuals, markets have been sourced in the United States for tilapia exports.
Larkins noted too that an international company has also expressed interest in organic aquaculture in Guyana.
It was disclosed too that the North American market has also been targeted for the export of fresh produce, including peppers and pumpkins.
Larkins said Guyana has the potential for other products to be grown and exported on a large scale and these are being considered as the group meets every week. During the summit, other small farmers expressed interest in joining the initiative.
Following the various presentations, participants split up into teams to discuss and later advise on some of the best steps to be taken in the diversification drive.
Delivering the closing remarks at the forum was Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who advised the participants to keep in touch in order to communicate on available opportunities.
“We could be on a road that could bring prosperity to our farmers and families,” the Prime Minister said.
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Kumaka hospital rehabilitated – to offer more services next year
Georgetown, GINA, December 16, 2006
The Kumaka hospital, in Moruca, Region One has been rehabilitated under a $17.5M project, in preparation of widening its range of services offered.
The hospital’s roof, walls and pharmacy were done over and the entire structure repainted and a Cuban doctor Dachiel Enriquez, who arrived in the country in May is providing services.
The administration’s thrust to propel development to create a modern country and to better the delivery of services is reflected in the numerous health institutions under construction or rehabilitation including the ophthalmology centre at Port Mourant, diagnostic centres at the Mahaicony, Leonora and Suddie Hospitals and at Diamond, and new hospitals in Linden, Lethem in Region Nine and Mabaruma in Region One.
The Kumaka hospital currently serves more than 10,000 people, mainly Amerindians from Moruca and nearby communities such as Santa Rosa, Manawarin, Waramuri and Kamwatta. It facilitates improved services in the areas of general medicine, vector control and dentistry.
The Region’s Community Health Workers also undergo their training at the hospital.
Under another phase of the hospital’s upgrading to be done in 2007, x-ray services will be installed.
The Health Ministry will be looking at putting in a new well when the entire plumbing system is revamped.
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Summit takes agricultural diversification a step further
Georgetown, GINA, December 16, 2006
Guyana’s diversification drive must be a ‘market-oriented one’ with market intelligence services playing a key role in order that there be increased production.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, speaking at the Agricultural Diversification Summit, today at the Guyana International Convention Centre, Lilendaal.
Agricultural diversification is pertinent to the expansion and development of this sector, but the optimum conditions must be instituted for the programme to be effective and relevant.
“Transformation of the sector must be complemented by appropriate research, technical training, improved production, post-harvest expertise, efficient marketing structures and investment. We must not limit our productive and marketing potentials to mere domestic levels, but must put in place, new systems which enable us to be competitive exporters of quality food and goods,” Minister Persaud said.
He said the agricultural sector “ faces challenges which demand increased focus geared towards ensuring the expansion of our non-traditional sub-sectors into one that is more sustainable and competitive.”
The summit was coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
An international delegation comprising representatives from Brazil, Chile and El Salvador made presentations on the successes of diversification programmes in their countries. Recommendations were made by members of this delegation on how their research and experience can be applied to the Guyana’s situation.
Participants at the summit were placed into advisory working groups to engage discussions, deliberations and solutions on production, post-harvest, processing, export marketing, agricultural finance and technical aspects.
The Agriculture Minister also indicated that through this venture Guyana is seeking to secure and maintain market both regionally and internationally.
Agriculture diversification must include the development and transformation of traditional and non-traditional agricultural sub-sectors and Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and supporting agencies, has intensified efforts with focus on all elements of the market-oriented value chain.
“ Today, there are specific working groups looking at each of these components, including agro-financing to support our diversification strategy, The Caribbean Region too has recognized these new approaches in agriculture,” the Agriculture Minister said.
Guyana has taken the lead in agricultural diversification regionally with the formulation of the Jagdeo Initiative which calls for modernisation of the agricultural sector in the CARICOM region to guarantee sustainability and competitiveness.
However, this can only be achieved if the stakeholders are assisted with the relevant and efficient mechanisms to attain the success of the plan.
Marketing for the diversification plan has been undertaken with the assistance of the Guyana Trade and Investment Support Project (GTIS). Carl Larkin, a representative from the programme disclosed that markets have already been located in the United States of America for peppers, pumpkins and tilapia on a large scale.
Minister Persaud deemed the summit successful, especially after the plenary working group reports. These, he said, will be instrumental in the formulation of the strategy and subsequent implementation of the plan.
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Labour Minister, LUSCSL members discuss way forward for coop
Georgetown, GINA, December 16, 2006.
Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir today returned to Linden to participate in the discussions on the management report of the Linden Utility Services Coop Society Limited (LUSCSL) over the period August 1, 2005 to August 31, 2006.
The report was presented by Gregory Parkinson, Chairman of an Interim Management Committee that was set up by Chief Coop Development Officer Clive Nurse in August 2005 as a result of government’s intervention to assist with the coop’s management.
Several persons were appointed to manage the society and work with LUSCSL’s staff. They were given an eight point mandate. The IMC was required to complete updated financial records for auditing, investigate all persons operating at the Society’s Concession with a view to regularizing same and to prepare a five - year strategic plan for the period 2006 – 2010.
It was also intended that the books and records be audited up to 2004, that the members’ register be updated and that all matters pending against or in favour of the society be finalized.
Minister Nadir said the meeting, held at the Wisburg Secondary School was to have an update on the current management of the society, have discussions with members and solicit their views on the affairs of the coop.
He noted that government is committed to revitalising the coop which has been in existence for the past 46 years taking into consideration that there have been serious management and financial issues.
Parkinson, in his report said all the society’s books and records have been audited up to the year 2004 while those for 2005 are in the final stages of being vetted internally and it is expected that the external audit for 2005 records will be completed before March 2007. Records of 2006 will be completed by the second quarter of 2007.
With regard to the concession, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was satisfied with LUSCSL’s intention to work along with the Commission and subsequently gave back control of the concession to the coop. GFC had ordered that all operations cease since there were illegal activities taking place on the concession.
At present, the lumber that was felled on the concession is being processed and it is expected that with careful management the current operation will earn $6M in revenues.
The Chairman further reported that 96 percent of work on the members’ register has been completed while lawyers were contacted to deal with the legal matters pending. A draft of the five-year plan is underway with assistance from the Kuru-Kuru Co-op Society.
Issues were raised about members’ involvement in development of the five - year plan and Minister Nadir assured that this will be done before the final document is released.
LUCSL was founded in 1960 and has the responsibility of providing electricity to the residents of Linden with a customer base of approximately 6,000 and a membership of over 5,000 shareholders.
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