Berbice youths complete skills training
- Government’s commitment to youth development assured
Georgetown, GINA, March 17, 2007
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh has again assured youths of Government’s commitment to assist in equipping them with the necessary technical and vocational skills which are in demand on the labour market.
Vocational and technical education allow students not academically inclined an opportunity to choose a career - oriented path.
On March 16, Minister Baksh told 33 graduating students, their parents and teachers who were gathered at the Kildonan multi-purpose community development centre, Corentyne, Berbice of the administration’s commitment to continue supporting programmes that ensure youths are gainfully employed.
Students were trained in areas such as masonry, electrical installation, computer repairs and Information Technology (IT) during the one-year programme that was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). It was facilitated by the Concerned Citizens Development Group (CCDG) which has a mandate to reduce poverty and uplift the lives of residents of No. 28 Bushlot/Adventure communities.
The programme received support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Berbice Chamber of Commerce, the Regional Administration and the Adult Education Association of Guyana among other groups.
Government has recognised the importance of technical and vocational education to ensure youths acquire relevant skills to fill the many vacancies which keep opening up.
President Bharrat Jagdeo is very passionate about youth development, and in 2005 he unveiled a $350M National Youth Empowerment programme that would train more than 1700 ‘out of school’ youths and school drop-outs in technical skills. This programme is ongoing with scores of them attached to agencies and private business.
Additionally the administration continues to build skills training centres around the country. Early in February two centres were commissioned at Port Kaituma and Matthews Ridge in Region One. There are plans for other centres at Mahdia, Ituni and Kwakwani.
Region Two, Six and Ten also have institutions to cater for skills training.
Minister Baksh charged the students to further their education in different areas to cater to the changing needs of societies. He said the administration appreciates the work done by the Canadian Government through CIDA, and he is hopeful that the partnership would be strengthened.
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President Jagdeo’s consistent debt lobby efforts prove fruitful
- US$467M debt erased
Georgetown, GINA, March 17, 2007
Consistent and targeted lobbying efforts of Head of State President Bharrat Jagdeo have proved to be a useful impetus for Guyana’s debt write-off from international financial institutions and US$467M has been erased by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) freeing up more state resources for development initiatives.
The good news was revealed to those present at the Ogle Terminal Building yesterday for the official opening of the aviation facility.
“I am very pleased to say that today we can pay our way. We are funding more of our programmes from our own resources and we are spending less on servicing debt. Just yesterday (March 15) at 5:00pm the vote for the Inter American Development Bank debt relief was closed and that resolution was approved which means US$467M of our debt will be cancelled and that will bring tremendous benefits for this country.”
The President however, noted that with the debt write-off, access to the soft resources of the institution would be restricted which brings additional challenges for countries such as Guyana.
IDB’s Resident Representative Sergio Varas Olea, aside of the opening ceremony for the new enhanced airport at Ogle, said the debt write-off is positive news for all those Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPIC).
He said the debt relief was not only extended to Guyana but also Nicaragua, Bolivia and Haiti.
“We worked on a very significant proposal in which the Bank is giving a debt write-off to all these countries for around US$4B. This is a historical event, the President of the bank has been working with the shareholders to accomplish this and yesterday the final decision made and approved this motion,” Olea told the media.
The IDB has approved complete debt relief to the countries totalling US$3.4B in principal payments, in addition to US$1B in future interest payments.
The debt write-off represents 100 percent of what was borrowed until December 2004. “This enables the country to start from now on with practically no debt from our side and also allows the country to have a fiscal policy that is more autonomous. The service debt Guyana was going to pay was a very heavy burden on the budget. This year they will be saving $7M next and further down the road even more,” Varas Olea said.
"This decision represents a historic opportunity for a fresh start for Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua," said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. "The agreement backed by our membership will help these countries free up resources to invest in quality education, health and other social services their citizens need to overcome poverty."
President Bharrat Jagdeo strongly lobbied on his country’s behalf at the July 17, 2006, 91st meeting of the IDB Committee of Governors in Washington.
In June 2005 the Group of Eight (G8) announced its decision to write-off impoverished nations’ debt which resulted in Guyana saving US$336.6M. This write-off covered Guyana's debt owed to some multilateral financial institutions including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Fund/Bank and IDA, the soft loan arm of the World Bank.
At the Cochabamba Summit in Bolivia in December 2006, President Jagdeo was able to secure the South American Community of Nations’ (SACN) endorsement of a debt relief resolution for 100 percent debt relief as Brazil and the United States (US) holds close to 60 percent of the bank’s shareholdings.
In December 2005, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the assessment of the first group of countries eligible for relief under the historic Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and subsequently it was announced that the IMF will grant 100 percent debt relief to 19 countries under the MDRI (including remaining HIPC assistance) amounting to about US$ 3.3B.
The debt write-off would serve as an impetus for poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty, enhancing education and improving access to basic human services among other goals.
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Ituni and Kwakwani get forestry boost
Georgetown, GINA, March 17, 2007
Forestry activities will be boosted in Ituni and Kwakwani, with the acquisition of machinery and equipment to push value-added activities and aid in transporting forest products.
Today, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud were in the two Region Ten communities, once dependent on mining, to commission the equipment.
The Ituni Forestry Organisation has responsibility for the portable hydraulic mill while Kwakwani received a tractor and trailer. The latter will be used to transport forest products from the concession of the Upper Berbice Forest Producers’ Association to markets.
The assistance was granted thought the Guyana Micro Projects Programme (GMPP), an initiative of the Government of Guyana and the European Union. The GMPP targets alleviation of poverty and socio-economic development of vulnerable communities and is effected with a 75 percent contribution by Government and the European Union, and 25 percent from the community.
The portable mill costs $11.6M while the tractor and trailer cost $8M.
Prime Minister Hinds told the beneficiaries of Ituni that the portable mill is in keeping with government’s thrust for sustainable forestry development and for the promotion of value-added activities. Ituni Small Loggers Association was granted a Timber Sales Agreement in 2003 for 33,000 hectares.
He told them of government’s focus on developing new and emerging sectors and of international agencies’ support for these sectors, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
Residents of both communities depended on bauxite mining and when the operations closed, they were forced to seek other means of income, hence their attention on forestry activities.
The community was urged to focus on reducing costs to gain more income, and to ensure accountability of the mill’s operations and its maintenance.
The Upper Berbice Forest Producers Association in Kwakwani, contributes to the Community Development Programme of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
Minister Persaud said the mill ‘is a catalyst for progress’, and assured the residents that GFC will continue to build capacity of small loggers associations to maximize benefits for all involved. He pointed out that Government is committed to initiatives that will promote sustainable forestry development, value-added and downstream activities.
Recently, a National Consultation was held to solicit the views of all forestry stakeholders in developing a policy paper on the export of logs. There has been growing concern that there is a need for more value- added activities in the forestry sector.
Chairman of the GFC Board of Directors Tarchand Balgobin, other officials of the GFC, GMMP and Region Ten were present at the commissioning today.
There are approximately 20 small loggers associations across the country which is established under the Social Development Programme initiated by the GFC.
The programme began three years ago and has four main objectives – attainment of economic growth, alleviation of poverty, equitable geographical distribution of economic activities and diversification of the economy.
Under the programme, State Forests Permits are granted to communities to enable them to utilise the forest resources within their area in a sustainable and economic way.
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