Acting President swears in two new acting magistrates
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
Two new acting magistrates have been inducted to serve in the judicial system following a process of careful selection by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
Magistrates Dale Kingston and Judy Latchman were officially sworn in at the Office of the Prime Minister, before acting President Samuel Hinds, Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Carl Singh, representatives of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and family members.
Acting Magistrate Judy Latchman receiving her certificate from Acting President
Samuel Hinds
Magistrate Kingston is an Attorney at Law who was admitted to the bar in October 2000. She has worked in private practice and served as a legal assistant to the then Chancellor of the Judiciary Hon. Desiree Bernard during the period 2001 to 2004 before she proceeded to study for her Masters degree in Dispute Resolution.
After studying she continued in private practice which included working as a legal officer for the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
She describes her new appointment as an accomplishment and pledged to work to the best of her abilities to administer justice fairly and make a meaningful contribution to the justice system in Guyana.
Magistrate Latchman graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 2004 and proceeded to the chambers of the DPP and has served as a prosecutor for over four years.
Acting Magistrate Dale Kingston taking to oath before Acting President Samuel Hinds
The acting President welcomed the two new appointees and highlighted the importance of the society take up such tasks. He urged them to live up to the oath that they swore to; to execute their tasks without fair of favour, affection or ill will.
“It is extremely demanding because in all society people expect that they will be favoured by people they know and related to. It is a vary difficult task to be in a public job and not be responsive or seem to be not conscious of relationships in the society that is important for people who are taking up practice in society not have their judgment,” the Acting President said.
Chancellor Singh also joined in welcoming the two new temporary magistrates noting that they were selected from lengthy list of individuals interviewed for the post. This, he noted, is a symbol of the commission’s confidence in their abilities and capabilities.
 Carl Singh with the newly appointed Temporary Magistrates.JPG)
Acting President Samuel Hind and Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Carl Singh with the newly appointed Acting Magistrates
“What faces you is hard work and I would expect that you are going to apply yourselves in the same measure of diligence that you have come to be known for,” Chancellor Singh said.
He used the occasion to highlight the challenges faced by taking away the human resources from the DPP, as in the case with Magistrate Latchman, and the salary structure concerns of people in the Magisterial discipline.
Members of the DPP and the family members present also joined in congratulating the two new appointees.
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MMA priority areas – Minister Persaud
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud and his team yesterday visited Strath Campbell, Mahaicony Branch Road and Gordon Table in the Mahaicony River to meet with residents to listen to their concerns and to determine how best they can be further assisted.
Minister Persaud said that while the water has been receding in other parts of the country, the situation in the rivers is not the same, noting that, these are the “critical” areas and that is why more attention is being placed on them in terms of providing support including humanitarian. Many of the residents depend on agriculture which has been severely affected.
The Minister who has been visiting affected communities in many areas, assured that the aim is to minimise damages and to effectively restore some normalcy.
Minister Persaud addressing concerns of residents at Stath Campbell, Mahaicony
Branch Road.
“Whatever resources we have, we want to keep it on the permanent solution, such as spending $3B on the other relief project (Hope Channel) so you don’t have to use the Maduni sluice or Lama,” he said.
He noted that they will also be moving ahead with the project (a channel) on the right bank of the Mahaicony River from Hyde Park to Retrieve. “The bigger solution lies with the continuation of the MMA project which would cost about US $60 M.”
While on this, his fourth visit to the area, the Minister noted the harsh conditions that the residents are faced with as he said that, “It is unfair that for decades communities such as yours have to go through these types of difficulties and even if there are other alternatives like cutting expenditure in other areas then it will be worth it to assist these communities.”
Government allocated $100 M to assist farmers who have been severely affected by the rainfall, further, $5 M was allocated from this amount to the Civil Defence Commission to promise humanitarian aid.
A section of the gathering
“I know that it is a very hard period but just be assured that we are with you and looking at what can be done now and in the long-term despite the shortage of resources that we have,” Minister Persaud assured residents.
He further advised residents of these areas to ensure that crops, livestock and rice farmers make contact with the relevant authorities so that they can receive assistance within two to three weeks. Rice farmers as asked to contact the Guyana Rice Development Board and an agreement will be worked out.
At present, agriculture officers are in the Wash Clothes to Providence areas, assessing the situation with livestock and crops.
Additionally, every Tuesday and Friday vets and livestock officers will be in the area and residents are asked to indicate those who need help by placing a white bag in their yards.
The East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) was forced to release water into the creeks after the conservancy rose to a threatening level earlier this month.
 listening to residents' suggestions and concerns.jpg)
Minister Persaud (left) listening to residents' suggestions and concerns
Prior to the rainy season the conservancy was lowered to 52 GD (Georgetown Datum) but because of the amount of rainfall experienced it had increased to 59 GD and this had endangered the conservancy dam. This made it inevitable that the discharge was done because, had the water from the conservancy not been released, it could have caused the conservancy dam to break, emptying over 100 billion gallons of water onto the coastland creating devastation.
Guyana has been experiencing heavy rainfall since early December which has led to several low-lying communities in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six becoming inundated.
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President meets Libyan Leader
…..advances Guyana’s investment opportunities
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday received a warm welcome from Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafion his arrival to that country.
The Guyanese Leader and a contingent including Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad, Ambassador to the Middle East and Greece George Hallaq and President of the Central Islamic Organisation (CIOG) Fazeel Ferouz are on an official visit to Libya to hold meetings with the Libyan authorities to discuss the promotion of cooperation between Africa and Latin America and the development of international political and economic issues of common concern.
The meetings commenced on Sunday and continued today with Libyan Government officials and other representatives, experts and specialists from that country’s banking sector.
According to the Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (LJBC), President Jagdeo, during the meeting, expressed appreciation for the leading role played by the Leader of the Consolidation of Relations of Cooperation between the African and Latin American countries. He stressed that the meeting is important for its dialogue and exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern and to further develop relations between the two countries and strengthen cooperation with CARICOM countries.
President Jagdeo in discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Qaddafi
During the discussions, various areas of cooperation between Libya and Guyana were reviewed, aimed at enhancing research opportunities for Libyan investments in Guyana and the Caribbean.
It was agreed at the talks that a Libyan investment delegation would visit Guyana before the end of this month to view and study the investment opportunities available in the country.
According to the LJBC, the Guyanese Leader said that he looks forward to the success of the Africa, South America Summit to be held in February during the next meeting in Caracas. He stated that Guyana is keen to activate cooperation with Libya in various fields so as to further the common interest of the people of Libya and Guyana.
President Jagdeo and his entourage were also guests at a dinner hosted by the Libyan Leader which was also attended by the General People's Committee Secretary and the Secretary of the General People's Committee for Industry and Minerals and the Secretary for European Affairs of the Arab and the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, Secretary of the Libyan People's Bureau in Brazil and the Libyan People's Bureau in the non-resident French Guiana.
President Jagdeo lays wreath at the tomb of Hamid Abdul Salam Mohammed Oboumnyar Gadaffi in Libya
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Schools’ welfare services department strengthened
-EDUCARE donates computers
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
The Ministry of Education’s Schools’ Welfare Services will be further strengthened through the use of five completely stand alone computers, donated by EDUCARE (Guyana) Inc today in the Ministry’s Boardroom, Brickdam.
Last year many units and departments of the Ministry were strengthened including the School’s Welfare Services by the addition of 26 new Welfare Officers to better address the welfare of children throughout the country. Welfare Officers are present in all Regions.
EDUCARE Guyana is funded by the United States Department of Labour and is executed by Partners of the Americas International with the objective of supporting the eradication of child labour in Guyana through education.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education Pulandar Kandhi, noted that the Ministry’s mandate is to provide each child with basic education and that the School’s Welfare Services was restructured to embrace the challenges currently faced by the department.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Pulandar Kandhi receiving donation from Project Coordinator EDUCARE, Ed Denham. Also in photo is President of Partners of Americas, Guyana Chapter, Collin Beaton
Kandhi expressed gratitude to EDUCARE for collaborating with the Ministry by making such a donation and noted that the computers will make a great impact in terms of meeting challenges by boosting data information of the welfare department.
He said that the Ministry is committed to ensuring that each child is accounted for and that there has been collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in addressing issues of child labour and non-attendance at school.
President of Partners of Americas, Guyana Chapter, Collin Beaton, said that, “we have worked with EDUCARE to make sure that the Ministry benefits from cutting edge technology and this is one of the results.”
Beaton said that he trusts that the welfare department will use the computers for the betterment and better monitoring of children across the country.
EDUCARE’s Project Coordinator, Ed Denham noted that the programme seeks to ensure that every child in Guyana has quality education and as a result it is pleased to be part of improving the works of the welfare department.
Denham said that it is important to give good records on vulnerable children and to manage a good data base because development is driven by quality information.
Chief Schools Welfare Officer, Banwattie Ram noted that EDUCARE approached the welfare department last year to discuss how it could assist in meeting challenges.
Ram said the need for computers in the different school welfare units in Guyana was highlighted and that EDUCARE pursued the idea.
Chief Schools’ Welfare Officer, Banwattie Ram receiving donation from Project Coordinator EDUCARE, Ed Denham. Also in photo is President of Partners of Americas, Guyana Chapter, Collin Beaton
Ram said that a lot of information has to be processed on a daily basis and as such the computers will assist her officers in producing timely reports for better success.
She said that more new officers will be added to the welfare services and that the focus for the department this year are reintegration programmes for teenagers into the school system, training for new officers, and several workshops.
The Schools Welfare Services Department launched the ‘Operation CARE’ campaign in 2001 and it has since proven to be successful as more children are taken off the streets and are attending school.
Several areas of the child’s welfare including care, assessment, respect and education are the main focus of the campaign.
It is a collaborative effort among several agencies as welfare officers from the Ministry of Education, probation officers from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, police officers and trained volunteers are involved.
The US $2M EDUCARE project was launched in October 2005 and will run until March of this year.
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NDIA intervenes to prevent overtopping at Mahaica Creek
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
Subsequent to the current spring tide and heavy rainfall, water from the Mahaica Creek has been overtopping at Supply, Mahaica.
In anticipation of the heavy rains and spring tides, the Ministry of Agriculture had alerted the Sea Defence Department to take corrective action to raise the river embankment in this area, Farmers’ Relations Specialist in the Ministry of Agriculture Parmanand Persaud said today.
However, in an interest to expedite these critical works, the Ministry's National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has been instructed to undertake necessary works to prevent overtopping and avoid additional stress to the drainage system.
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Newly appointed housing and water minister inspects Tuschen well station
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2008
Newly appointed Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, accompanied by several officials from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), along with Region Three Chairman, Julius Faerber and other Regional Officials yesterday visited Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, Region Three where the Minister inspected the well station which has recently been experiencing some problems.
The Minister spoke with residents of the affected area and made stops at the Tuschen housing scheme where the team discovered many practices which were not in keeping with the Act and Regulations governing the water sector.
Newly appointed Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, GWI’s Chief Executive Officer Karan Singh, (checked shirt) Director of Operations, Yuri Chandisingh, Director of Capital Planning (ag) Altaf Gafoor at Tuschen, Region Three
Minister Ali told residents that standards must be met by contractors who work with GWI while pointing out that customers have to be equally responsible when they use the water system.
He noted that many residents were receiving a poor supply of water at the end of the distribution network due to the manner in which the supply is used.
The Minister asserted that residents who are in the habit of pumping water from the main will have to desist in order that adequate pressure reaches customers at the end of the system.
GWI and residents, he said, must work together to solve the problems in the area and the Minister encouraged them to be proactive in their conservation efforts and to be aware of global warming and its impact on the country’s water supply.
“We have to make an active commitment to conserve so that future generations can benefit,” Minister Ali said.
He further pointed out that the sector is faced with many challenges and his Ministry will be working confronting them.
Minister Ali interacts with Tuschen Residents. Included in photo also is Region Three Chairman Julius Faerber
The Minister also noted that the GWI database is in the process of being cleansed to ensure that all customers receive accurate bills.
It was agreed that the area will immediately begin receiving water via delivery trucks, which will be supported by sectionalized delivery to the area from Vergenoegen. In the medium-term, a well will be drilled at Vergenoegen to enhance the area’s water supply.
A decision was taken for the Regional and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils to immediately commence activities to determine an appropriate area for the drilling of a new well to cater for the long-term needs of the Tuschen community.
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Total rehabilitation of Canals Polder to begin by March
- additional outlet to be built
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
The effects of climate change are being felt around the world, forcing leaders to come up with ways to mitigate the effects. Here in Guyana, while the Government has made some interventions that would positively impact on the drainage and irrigation system more initiatives are on the cards that would bring relief for heavily affected areas.
Two large farming areas, Canals Polder One and Two in Region Three which are usually affected during the rainy seasons have been identified for the construction of another outlet.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud speaking to a resident of Canal No. 1 Polder, Region 3
During a visit to assess the areas today, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said that there would be a total rehabilitation of the area, part of the Agricultural Diversification Project under the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). This will be focusing on the major waterways and will be done as soon as the weather changes, he said.
By March, he remarked, a total rehabilitation of the drainage infrastructure is expected to begin, as well as a new pump station would be installed in Canal No. 2 polder.
Aback of Canal No.2 Polder, the additional outlet would be built that will cost in excess of $100M. This is necessary because of increased farming and other activities in those areas where the drainage capacity is exhausted.
Minister Persaud speaking with residents of Canal No. 2 Polder
The outlet will create an additional relief internally for a better discharge of water into the Demerara River.
Minister Persaud said that the Agriculture Ministry would be utilizing its own equipment for the project and that it is working with the farmers to have the area empoldered.
Minister Persaud also said that persons were committing breaches on the ‘B’ Line and the ‘C’ Line dams that lead water into the farming areas. However, he stated that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will be sealing those areas where persons might have interfered with the dams.
The Agriculture Minister said that there was a problem with weeds in the Canals No. 1 and 2 areas which were pulled several times. A chemical application is now being contemplated to tackle the weeds which have a rapid growth rate.
Minister Persaud, NDIA CEO Lionel Wordsworth in discussion with residents of Canal No. 1, Region 3
The revamping of the drainage and irrigation system, and the opening of additional outlets including the outlet aback of Canal No 2 Polder, the proposed outlet at Hope leading from the East Demerara Water Conservancy to the Atlantic Ocean and the construction of a channel on the right bank of the Mahaicony River from Hyde Park to Retrieve are in keeping with the country’s drive to adapt to the effects of climate change.
At present, the Conservancy Adaptation Project is in progress that will see among other things the building and buttressing of dams.
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Verification process continues to assist farmers
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
The Ministry of Agriculture has dispatched 12 teams to various regions affected by heavy rainfall to conduct a verification exercise to assess the extent of losses suffered by farmers.
During a visit to Region 3 today, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said that the verification process is still ongoing. Teams are in areas where the water level had decreased and farmers had indicated that they want to return quickly to their fields and some had asked for technical advice and assessments be made.
Areas in the Pomeroon, he stated, along with Charity continue to be affected and added that the rice growing areas were monitored closely.
In Region 3, the vulnerable areas are Canals No.1 and 2 Polder. Minister Persaud said that in Windsor Forest, a rice growing area, the Guyana Rice Development Board’s teams have been working with farmers since a lot of effort has been put into minimizing damage. He added that in the next crop season, crop assistance would be given to affected farmers.
Minister Persaud said that in Region 4 many communities have dried out and those affected were mainly persons with kitchen gardens. Some form of plant material and support would be given to them, he said.
In Region 5, he said the President has allocated $5M through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to assist farmers. Some feed nutrients, he stated, for livestock farmers would also be provided.
Minister Persaud said that these visits are intended to ensure that the drainage interventions are implemented and also listen to suggestions and recommendations.
The Agriculture Minister said that the country is dealing with a much heavier weather system but no catastrophic effect was seen.
Minister Persaud said that a strategic approach would be taken whereby resources would be moved from other areas and put into the drainage and irrigation systems so that it could adapt to climate change effects.
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President approves promotions for 494 GDF Officers and ranks
Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2009
Commander in Chief of the Armed forces President Bharrat Jagdeo has approved promotions and confirmation for 494 members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) with effect from January 1, 2009.
According to a GDF release 52 officers and 254 other ranks have been promoted while 26 officers and 162 other ranks have been confirmed in their rank.
Among those promoted were Substantive Lieutenant Colonel S.C James and Acting Lieutenant Colonel G. Beaton while four Majors have been confirmed.
Four Acting Captains and one Substantive Lieutenant have been promoted to Substantive Captain while eight Substantive Lieutenants, including one female, are now Acting Captains.
Substantive Captains C. Byrne, L. Souvenir, M. Ramjag, C. Welch and Woman Substantive Captain L. Foster have been promoted to Acting Majors.
Eleven Acting Lieutenants have been promoted to Substantive Lieutenants while 17 Second Lieutenants including two females were promoted to Acting Lieutenants.
Coast Guard promotions include Acting Lieutenant Commanders S. Harmon, V. Burnette and R. Charles. Three other officers have been confirmed in the rank of Substantive Lieutenant while three others have been promoted to the rank of Acting Lieutenant.
In the GDF Reserve, Substantive Majors L. Sobers, T. Stuart and M. Nezamudeen have been promoted to the position of Acting Lieutenant Colonel while Substantive Captain I. Alli has been promoted to Acting Major. One Acting Captain and 10 Substantive Lieutenants including three females are now Acting Captain while one Second Lieutenant is now Acting Lieutenant.
There were 416 other promotions of which 162 have been confirmed in their rank while 254 have been elevated in rank ranging from Acting Warrant Officer Class One to Acting Lance Corporal.
Other promotions in the Coast Guard include Chief Petty Officers, Petty Officers, Acting Petty Officers, Acting Able Ratings and Acting Leading Ratings.
Soldiers who were appointed to Substantive rank have been confirmed after holding the ‘Acting’ rank.
The GDF release said President Jagdeo and Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best extended congratulations to all the promoted soldiers.
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