PM attends Grand Gala Fete for ACCP members
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds performing the duties of President on May 15 attended a Grand Gala Fete at the Police officers’ Mess, Eve Leary for the 21 members of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP), who were in Guyana to attend the Association’s 24th Annual General Meeting and Conference.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds interacting with invitees at the Gala fete, Eve Leary
The successful meeting concluded with the Fete hosted for the Commissioners at which the Prime Minister used the opportunity to greet and interact with the Commissioners and invitees.
During their five- day meeting, police reform, illegal firearms, drugs and violent crimes were among issues discussed.
This is the second meeting of the top law enforcement officers in Guyana since the Association of Caribbean Commissioners was formed 22 years ago.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds enjoying a light moment
Also attending the event was Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and Crime Chief Seelall Persaud.
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NCS aims to boost business climate in Guyana
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
The Commerce Ministry is working diligently to develop the business sector through the implementation of the National Competitiveness Strategy (NCS) which has three main aims; to increase export production, encourage greater foreign investments in the country and to facilitate more job creation.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad said that, “The current crisis has reinforced the belief that the dual focus of our strategy to maintain sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction is on the right track… The thrust here is to increase production and reduce costs and create additional value added lines of products in order to expand employment and income at home and boost our export competitiveness abroad.”
The NCS is a component of the Support for Competitiveness Strategy (SCP) which has received $501.5M from this year’s National Budget and is a public/private partnership.
Government has other key focus areas which will complement the NSC and its impact on the business sector. These initiatives include:
- Establishing a unit to carry out this strategy.
- Modernising the Deeds Registry which will improve the turnaround time and to introduce reforms to enhance efficiency of trade transactions. In addition, the establishment of a Consumer Protection and Competition Commission secretariat is planned.
- Enhancing investment attraction, export promotion and raising production standards. This was done through the institutional strengthening of Go-Invest and Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) which were specifically targeted and
- Supporting private enterprise competitiveness for export development. This aspect will provide matching grants for training and technical assistance to firms which are in the process of accessing international markets for exports.
Government reaffirmed its commitment to the development of this sector as the NCS Council is chaired by President Bharrat Jagdeo and includes members of government, Go-Invest’s CEO, and representatives of various private sector bodies including the Private Sector Commission and labour unions.
The NCS was launched two years ago by the President. It has as the principal aim institutional and structural dialogue between private sector bodies and the various agencies in the public realm.
Minister Prashad informed that this strategy seeks to widen and deepen the role of the private sector in policy design and programme/project implementation. As such its focus is on private firms playing a more in-depth and extended role in the development of the country, to this end there is a US $27.5M facility through the Inter-American Development Bank.
Minister Prashad explained that it is a known fact that Government has made “notable progress in promoting dynamic changes in both the traditional and non-traditional sectors and by boosting our export drive.”
However, he posited that the global economic down-turn has impacted adversely in the last six months on Guyana’s exports and this highlights that despite the government’s best efforts, being a small open economy it has no immunity against global shocks.
Nevertheless, government has taken steps to counteract this to deal with the aftermath of such events, and is also being supported by international donor agencies which support the government’s economic strategy.
Recently, the Matching Grants Initiative (MGI), a component of the NCS was launched. It is hoped that this initiative will provide the necessary assistance needed to ensure the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Guyana.
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Rural communities to benefit from trade, investment workshops
-hosted by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade Ministry
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Eight rural communities during May and June will benefit from stakeholders’ awareness workshops that would focus on trade and building capacity on exploiting business opportunities.
The Ministry of Foreign said the workshops will target women’s groups and other non-state actors in Berbice, Linden, Essequibo and Amerindian communities in Regions 1, 2 and 9.
The workshops are part of the continuing dialogue between the Government and the private sector to highlight trade opportunities evolving from the recently concluded CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The aim and purpose of the workshop is to contribute to the growth and the mainstreaming of the people living in those selected communities.
Three workshops are targeted for each area; the first will focus on awareness building on the provision of the trade agreements, followed by a round table discussion to identify potential business opportunities from the provision of the new trading agreement.
The final of the three will focus on business/investment planning of sources of technical assistance.
The Ministry said that each community will be informed about workshop dates and anyone seeking more information can contact it for additional information.
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Police officers to participate in child protection workshop
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be participating in a Child Protection Workshop which aims to educate officers of their role in the new child protection legislation.
Some of these legislation include the Child Care and Protection Agency Bill, the Protection of Children Bill, the Status of Children Bill, the Adoption of Children Bill, Child Care and Development Services Bill and the Custody Guardianship Maintenance and Access Bill.
Attesting to Government’s commitment on the eradication of abuse against children, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand will be delivering the feature address while Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene will be declare the workshop open.
Recently, Force Training Officer at the Felix Austin Police College and Assistant Commissioner, Clinton Conway had informed that there is ongoing training of members of in Force on the topic of domestic violence. This workshop will complement Force’s the efforts in curbing all forms of abuse.
The workshop is an initiative of the “Pickney Project” of the Help & Shelter and EveryChild Guyana, non-Governmental organisations which are advocates against all form of abuse.
The event will be held on May 18 at the Pattensen Community Centre, ‘B’ Field, Sophia.
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Bartica’s fire station nearing completion
- for July commissioning
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Residents of Bartica will for the first time benefit from the services of the Guyana Fire Service following the completion of a fire station and the recruitment and training of volunteer firemen from that community.
The fire station was constructed based on the request of residents and in keeping with the commitment of Government to provide better services to all communities.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee today visited the facility during his visit to the Region to hand-over vehicles and speedboats to the Bartica /Mazaruni Community Policing Groups.
Minister Rohee during his visit to the soon to be completed fire station at Bartica
The Minister said that a fire tender and firemen have already been identified for the community. He said that the ranks from the fire service will be assisted by volunteers from the community, 12 of whom are to undergo a three-week training programme before the official opening of the station in July.
Residents of the community expressed appreciation for the new facility as they said that when a building is on fire there is no one to put out the fire.
Bartica is a growing community in the Essequibo River that has seen steady growth in recent years. Recently it was designated a port of entry to Guyana to facilitate the entry of yachts as part of the growing tourism industry of Guyana.
It is one of several areas identified for township and work to establish it as such is ongoing.
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Gov’t committed to humane treatment of prisoners- Minister Rohee
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee today reiterated Government’s commitment to the humane treatment of prisoners but while this is so security must not be compromised. The Minister made this remark in an invited comment at the end of a visit to the Mazaruni Prison, Region Seven, where he inspected the conditions under which prisoners at that facility are housed.
Minister Rohee met with and had discussions with a number of prisoners and the administrative staff of the facility.
Prisoners spoke openly with the Minister during which several issues were raised including a request by prisoners to be allowed to participate in remedial classes as they had entered prison illiterate and were concerned that they would be unable to find productive employment upon release.
The arrangement for managing the prison population which exceeds 200 was explained and other issues affecting the administration of the facility discussed between the Minister and the administrative staff. It was also pointed out that there was difficulty in attracting academic staff to conduct remedial training at that facility because of its location.
The Minister pointed out that the successes of the police result in a larger prison population, which necessitates increase vigilance by the prison authorities.
He explained that prisons house the most violent persons in society and those who seek to enrich themselves through illegal activity. Assemblying them in one place calls for good management to ensure that they are kept there.
The Minister was in Region Seven to hand over vehicles and speed boats recently acquired by his Ministry for the Community Policing Groups.
The Minister also visited the recently constructed Fire Station at Bartica.
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Bartica/Mazaruni CPGs receive 4X4 pick ups, speed boats
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee today handed over two Nissan 4X4 pick ups and five boats fitted with 40hp Yamaha engines to Community Policing Groups (CPGs) in E & F Division (Bartica/ Mazaruni) to assist in policing the community.
The handing over of the equipment was in keeping with the promise made by President Bharrat Jagdeo in February 2008 following the attack on the community by armed gun men which left 12 persons dead including three policemen.
These items were purchased from the $25M budgeted by Government this year to support the work of CPGs. Last year $50M was expended to purchase vehicles and equipment for groups to combat the upsurge in crime.
 to E & F CPG Chairman Andrew Forsythe.JPG)
Minister Rohee handing over the keys to the two vehicles (in background) to E & F CPG Chairman Andrew Forsythe
At a meeting with representatives of the 10 CPGs in the community, the Minister said that he was happy to be informed that the security situation was back to normal. He expressed his appreciation to the CPGs for giving voluntary service to ensure the safety of the community.
He encouraged the members to be good examples in the community as community policing was serious business and told them that for them to be taken seriously, persons must respect them.
Addressing the issue of domestic violence, the Minister urged the groups to get involved in the affairs of the community. He said that they should not turn a blind eye to that activity as it leads to more serious acts which would eventually affect the entire community.
The handing over of the equipment the Minister said, was indicative of Government’s commitment to community policing as it is viewed as a vital part of the crime fighting strategy.
Minister Rohee said that members should ensure that the vehicles and boats, handed over, are used to assist in policing the area and they be watchful to prevent misuse.
The five speed boats handed over by Minister Rohee to E&F Division CPGs
The members also raised several issues that were affecting them. These included the area housing the Bartica Arcade on First Avenue being used to conduct illegal activities, pollution of the river by mining consessions, noise nuisance in particular areas, individuals using cars registered for private use to transport passengers and the congestion on the roadway to the stelling on ‘Boat days’.
The Minister promised to address these issues with the relevant authorities to bring some relief to residents. He told residents that they would have to work with the police to put an end to the undesirable activities in the community.
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GAPA to aid in realizing Jagdeo Initiative – IICA’s Representative
Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2009
The newly re-launched Guyana Agricultural Producers Association (GAPA) will aid in addressing some of the key constraints of the Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) representative, Ignatius Jean said yesterday at GAPA’s re-launch at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC).
The Jagdeo Initiative is a strategy to revitalize agriculture in the Caribbean by removing key binding constraints to the sector’s development. President Bharrat Jagdeo had presented his vision for the region’s agriculture to the CARICOM Heads of Government in 2005, where it was endorsed.
President Jagdeo in his address recently at the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development, said the common actions that have been identified to strategically reposition regional agriculture include – the establishment of an Agricultural Modernization Fund, improving land policy and administration, expanding research, developing the physical infrastructure – especially in drainage and irrigation, disaster preparedness programmes specific to agriculture, and the regional coordination of marketing activities to enhance our trade in agriculture.
According to the IICA representative, the Jagdeo initiative will address the fragmented and disorganized private sector, the weak marketing systems, linkages and participation in growth markets and weak and non integrated information and intelligence systems.
The goals and objectives of GAPA include to promote and assist in the development of agriculture in Guyana, organize farmers for united action, co-ordinate the efforts of farmers, render services to advance their social and economic conditions, assist in formulating policies to meet existing and new challenges, negotiate with government for policies and programmes aimed at agricultural development, make representations on behalf of farmers, keep the farming community informed about the industry and administer funds provided through its own efforts, donors and government.
Jean noted that GAPA is being launched during a very exciting period for agriculture in Guyana because major programmes had been initiated in the agriculture sector including the US$6.7M Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development (READ) Programme and the US$21M Agriculture Diversification Programme.
He noted that this initiative was very significant and non-traditional producers must take the opportunity to position themselves to actively participate in these programmes. IICA’s representative said as an organized body, non-traditional producers could take the opportunity to help in the development of policy.
Government has pledged its support for GAPA and it continues to intensify its efforts in involving all stakeholders in decision making throughout the agriculture sector.
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