|
Fogging activity begins in city…As emergency plan of action to arrest solid waste crisis begins
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
The joint emergency work plan between the Ministry of Health and the Mayor and City Council to address the Solid Waste Management crisis in Georgetown and its environs kicked into gear on Thursday evening with a fogging exercise on the East Bank of Demerara.
The fogging activity is part of a multi- pronged plan of action spearheaded by the Health Ministry to address the solid waste problem which at present exists in Georgetown and its environs.
Joint Task Force meeting held at the Ministry of Health on January 26
In recognition of the potential public health hazard that the present sanitary conditions in the city present for the residents, the Ministry of Health summoned the City Council for a meeting on January 16 to begin devising a plan to reduce the prevalence and incidence of mosquitoes and the diseases they cause through the implementation of an integrated vector management programme by all relevant stakeholders with full participation of the community.
The meeting included senior functionaries of the City Council including Deputy Mayor Mrs. Patricia Chase Green.
This first phase of fogging will continue until the end of March and will encompass the entire Georgetown and bordering wards.
The objective of the joint task force is to provide a holistic release to residents of Georgetown within six months, and, apart from garbage collection will also include arresting the clogged drains and overgrown parapets.
Cognisant of the fact that the efficacy of the initiative is dependent on multi stakeholder participation, the Ministry of Health has invited the Ministries of Works, Local Government, Tourism, as well as National Parks Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Private Sector Commission and Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana to participate in its third meeting on January 30 in the Ministry’s Boardroom.
TOP
Suriname Gov’t media corps visits local counterpart – part of background work for coverage of Caricom issues during Suriname’s chairmanship
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
A delegation of approximately 20 Communication Officers representing various ministries in Suriname, including the Cabinets of the President and Vice president made a brief visit to the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Homestretch Avenue today.
From left to right: Director of the Government Information Agency Neaz Subhan; Permanent Secretary of the Suriname Government Information Service Vivian Gordon; members of the visiting delegation; and on the far right, Head of the Government Information Service of Suriname, Daniella Tauwnaar.
The team’s visit to Guyana was partly for background and information gathering and partly to set up a network of communication between themselves and CARICOM member countries for the duration of Surinam’s Chairmanship of the Regional body.
The visit to Guyana was arranged by the Government of Suriname for just this reason, since regional issues were normally covered by the Current Affairs media rather than the Government specialist media corps.
Video Editor/Cameraman Kawise Wishart explains the editing process to his Surinamese counterparts.
The team was welcomed to GINA by its Director Neaz Subhan and was enlightened on the Agency’s operations and mandate. Subhan answered questions posed to him by the visitors who were very impressed with the agency’s work.
Coordinator of the visit Pete Ninvalle, Member of Parliament in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, noted that the interaction between GINA officers and their Dutch counterparts was ideal, since the delegation consisted of Communications Officers from various ministries and cabinets, and are all seasoned persons. He added that it is a critical move to establish this network and suggested that it would be good if Guyana could reciprocate.
Members of the Suriname Government Information Service pay keen attention as GINA’s Editor-in-Chief Shanta Gobardhan (5th right) explains how Communications Officers in Guyana carry out their functions.
The delegation also spent several hours at the CARICOM Headquarters in Turkeyen in a briefing session.
Members of the visiting delegation also included Permanent Secretary of the Suriname Government Information Service Vivian Gordon and Head of the Government Information Service of Suriname, Daniella Tauwnaar.
TOP
President swears in new RDC Chairmen – extends partnership hand
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
President Donald Ramotar today congratulated the 10 Regional Chairmen and their deputies, and expressed his willingness to work along very closely with them in the interest of the country and the populace.
The Chairmen and their deputies took the oath of office before the Head of State at the Office of the President in the presence of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud, government and opposition members, family and relatives.
President Donald Ramotar and the newly sworn-in Regional Democratic Council Chairmen
Julius Faerber of Region Three and Clement Corlette, Region Four were the only two in the group of Regional Chairmen that retained their previously held positions. They now join Paul Pierre of Region One, Parmanand Persaud of Region Two, Bindrabhan Bisnauth, Region Five, Permaul Armogan, Region Six, Gordon Bradford, Region Seven, Mark Crawford, Region Eight, Wilson Lorentio, Region Nine and Kuice Sharma Solomon, Region Ten.
Using his presidential powers, in accordance with Article 73 (2) of the Constitution of Guyana, the Head of State issued the proclamation that January 25 be the date for election of members of the 10 Regional Democratic Councils in their respective boardrooms.
President Donald Ramotar addressing the newly sworn in Regional Democratic Council Chairmen in the presence of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud, government and opposition members, family and relatives of the new appointees.
Following the 2011 General and Regional Elections, 205 regional seats were apportioned, with the People’s Progressive Party Civic with 102, A Partnership For Unity (APNU) with 73, Alliance For Change (AFC) 28 and The United Force (TUF) 2.
The PPPC controls governance of six regions; 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 while the APNU controls three; 4, 7 and 10 and the AFC, Region 8.
TOP
GRA a major contributor to national budget- has significantly expanded revenue collection over its 12 years
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has a number of major events planned for this year aimed at bringing about a higher level of awareness among the public because when tax collection increases, the country will be better able to garner the necessary resources to propel further development and to pay improved salaries to public servants thereby improving to a great extent, the social sector.
With the creation of the GRA and with funding provided by international agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Millennium Challenge, the agency’s operations have been significantly enhanced as it has been able to acquire patrol boats, establish warehouses, build human resource capacity and target tax evaders.
Revenue
As the agency observes its twelfth year in existence, its Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur highlighted the successes and challenges of the agency. Among the most notable successes has been in the area of revenue collection. In 2000, revenue garnered amounted to approximately $32B; last year on the other hand, this vital agency surpassed its $104B target.
“The GRA has done immensely well as it relates to weeding out, to a large extent, the corrupt practices that were occurring, suppressing the revenues and making this agency one that was grappling with a lot of difficulties,” the Commissioner General said.
The GRA is a major contributor to the financing of the country’s budget. Last year, while the budget was $161.4B, the largest in Guyana’s history, the Commission’s contribution accounted for $101.4B.
Going forward, Sattaur said that the GRA will have to continue to play a very vital role in sustaining Government’s expenditure.
He explained that there has been two phases of revenue collection in Guyana, one when the Commission was a semi-autonomous agency and the other was the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT). He noted that with the implementation of VAT came a significant improvement in revenue collection.
VAT
Between 2000 and 2007 when VAT was introduced, revenue more than doubled from $32B to $75B.
Sattaur e noted too, that despite many varying views and criticisms with regards to VAT, it is far more efficient than the systems that it has replaced. In Guyana, VAT has replaced six taxes that were not very proficient including the consumption tax.
“VAT is not a new tax that we have introduced, what we did was to put in place a more efficient system to collect taxes,” he said.
Additionally, there has been a significant increase in the number of taxpayers that came into the tax role as a result of VAT.
According to the GRA’s database, the tax roll in 2007 was about 95,000 today there are over 212,000 taxpayers.
This he said, shows a true reflection of how efficient the new tax system has been in bringing about a higher level of compliance among taxpayers, particularly in the category of self-employed.
Tax evaders
The self employed category, which prior to this system, was proving to be quite a challenge for the Commission as it was contributing less than two percent to the revenues of the State; today however, this has increased to almost five percent of revenue.
The number of taxpayers has also increased tremendously in this category including stall holders, shop owners, hucksters, minibus and taxi owners, vendors and even professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers among others).
Sattaur pointed out that while there have been marked improvements in this category, much more can and needs to be done and called on the public at large to support the GRA’s drive to improve revenue collection in this category.
“If there is going to be any remarkable improvement in revenue for the State, it definitely has to come from those people who have and continue to evade taxes…this is the area that we have to target,” he said.
Moreover, the GRA has been able to establish a debt management unit in the area of revenue collection.
Intelligence
The intelligence unit, which has also been implemented, is tasked with garnering information on various taxpayers and using it very selectively to conduct special investigations, audit of taxpayers’ affairs and engaging in various enforcement activities.
“The fact that we have been more aligned to deal with these difficulties and we are now able to effectively utilise our resources, has brought about the positive results that we have seen today in terms of increased revenue collection,” Sattaur said.
TOP
New Regional Chairmen to mostly focus on health, education and agriculture
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
Over the years Government’s input has seen progressive growth and improvement in infrastructure, access to education, healthcare and increased agriculture production across the administrative regions and, with the swearing in of eight new chairmen and two returning officials, the regions are expected to continue benefiting from massive investment and major advancement to better the lives of the people.
The newly sworn in Chairmen of the 10 administrative regions today outlined to the Government Information Agency (GINA) some of the priority areas and projects that they will address to ensure the development continuum.
Region One-Barima-Waini
Region One Chairman, Paul Pierre
Chairman, Paul Pierre said that emphasis will be placed on the strengthening of the all sectors and on working in the framework of government’s policy to ensure that all of the region’s programmes are done in a timely manner.
“We have the solar system project which is very important for our region… we intend working very closely with the ministries to have that come off. My intention also is to work closer with the manganese company (Reunion Manganese) as they are making significant contributions in the Matthews Ridge area, so that development can occur at various locations.”
Region 2-Pomeroon-Supenaam
Region Two Chairman, Parmanand Persaud
Parmanand Persaud indicated that he will continue in the areas where his predecessor Alli Baksh left off. “He did an excellent job in Region 2, and I promise to continue all these various works… I intend to work with the youths of the region to make sure that things are better, especially in the area of sports and education.”
Support for rice farmers in the region is also on Persaud’s agenda. “The region enjoys an agricultural based economy and rice is one of the major crops growing in my region, I will work hard with rice farmers to make sure things go better for them.”
Region 3-Esseequibo Islands/West Demerara
Region Three Chairman, Julius Faerber
Julius Faeber who retained his post as Chairman said his efforts will be directed at extending the region’s social development.
“ There are a few issues pertaining to social aspects, truancy, and domestic violence and we in the region will be working with agencies in ensuring we minimise some of those instances that are happening across the region,” Faerber said.
“We will be working very closely with farmers in ensuring that we upgrade their access to farm lands as well as having proper D&I areas so that they can have better crops,” he said.
Other focus areas are education and health and these will be brought up to acceptable standards, the Chairman promised.
Region 4-Demerara -Mahaica
Region Four Chairman, Clement Corlette
Like Faerber, Clement Corlette retained his post, as Regional Chairman of Region Four and he expressed pleasure at the opportunity to continue the region’s work.
“We are anxious to have our budgetary releases, the priority would be to get the D&I work on the ball,” Corlette said.
The RDC will work with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to support and guide the functioning of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) in the region, the Chairman said.
Region Five-Mahaica-Berbice
Region Five Chairman Bindrabhan Bisnauth
“Region 5 is an agricultural based region, the economy is about 70% agriculture related, so our priorities would be looking at the D&I structures,” newly elected Chairman, Bindrabhan Bisnauth said.
Education and health, he said will not be left behind as those will be priorities along with helping the NDCs to move along with their programme.”
Region 6-East Berbice-Corentyne
Region Six Chairman, David Permaul Armogan
Region Six’s Permaul Armogan said he will emphasise the need for supportive programmes to advance agriculture in his region and drainage and irrigation will be a key area
“We have problems at our NDCs so very quickly we have to be able to resuscitate those NDCs so to ensure they are working again as quite a number of them have gotten defunct so unless these NDCs function, the residents would not benefit the way they are expected to,” he continued.
Armogan also said that education and health will also be priority areas and while work was ongoing through the years, a lot more can be done. The region has been doing well in education, but, “we want to bring it back to what it used to be in the 1960s and 80s, we used to be a region that was highly recognized for very high levels of literacy so we want to come back to that again,” the Chairman explained.
Region 7-Cuyuni-Mazaruni
Region Seven Chairman, Gordon Bradford
Gordon Bradford is back as chairman for the region, after serving from 2001 to 2006. “One of my visions is to have the community of Bartica cleaned up because it is not in a state that we would like to see Bartica,” Bradford said.
Listing other areas to be addressed he said, “We have to look at mining issues, we have to create avenues for the sustainability of our region...health also, I don’t think we can be satisfied with the state of our health services within the region, also education, the lack of qualified teachers.”
Region 8-Potaro-Siparuni
Region Eight Chairman, Mark Crawford
Mark Crawford is the Chairman for the only Alliance For Change controlled Region, Eight.
“I’m humbled to be elected as RC and as you know Mahdia, Region 8 is a mining industry, mining actually sustains the economy of Region 8, so one of my first priorities is to ensure that proper mining procedures are practiced at all times, according to GGMC’s specifications,” Crawford said.
He said he looks forward to working with the government and the other parties to ensure that the region plays an important part in Guyana’s development.
Region 9-Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Region Nine Chairman, Wilson Lorentino
Region 9, Chairman Wilson Lorentio said that he would effect his work effortlessly to the satisfaction of the people of Region 9 as he was elected to do.
Region 10-Upper Demerara- Berbice
Region TenChairman, Kuice Sharma Solomon
Kuice Sharma Solomon who replaced Mortimer Mingo said that among some of Region 10 priority areas will be addressing employment and agricultural expansion. He also said emphasis will be placed on more involvement in developing the region.
“We need to have the people upgrade and, upgrade in the interest of bringing the region together.”
TOP
Prime Minister lauds Dramatic Arts Academy for staging legendary Tagore plays
Georgetown, GINA, January 27, 2012
This evening the National Cultural Centre came alive with rich performances from the Dramatic Arts Academy whose members showcased their talents in dance, poetry and dramatic performances to hundreds of spectators who turned out to witness some of the work produced by Rabindranath Tagore as part of the celebrations to mark his 150th birth anniversary.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds extended appreciation to the Dramatic Arts Academy and the Indian High Commission for putting to stage the plays; Raja aur Rani and Pariksha.
Indian High Commissioner Subit Kumar Mandal delivering brief remarks at “An Evening of Drama” at the National Cultural Centre
The Prime Minister said that Tagore was an Indian National whom the government and people of India are proud of as he has made outstanding achievements to the dramatic arts with the work he produced.
“His productions sought to speak to all mankind and reflect the issues that appear in all societies…although he wrote successfully in many literary genres, he was first of all a poet…he has also been the author of several volumes of short story episodes and a number of novels…he left behind volumes of paintings and songs…indeed it is recognised that Tagore reshaped his region’s literature and music as he was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature and to be knighted,” Mr. Hinds said.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at “An Evening of Drama” held at the National Cultural Centre in honour of Rabindranath Tagore
Indian High Commissioner, Subit Kumar Mandal said that the Indian Government has proudly noted that Guyana has joined the world wide celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Tagore, ‘someone who chartered a course for Indian literature and music’.
“We are also thankful for the Dramatic Arts Academy for presenting this evening two of Tagore’s plays which are being staged for the first time in history…his plays are not easy to stage, in fact it was only 20 years after his death his plays were introduced with new interpretations and powerful creative actors who captured the imagination of the audience,” Mandal said.
Chris Gopaul reciting one of Rabindranath Tagore’s famous poems “The Hero”
Towards this end, staging one of Tagore’s plays reflect the director’s interpretation of the text and as such the audience would truly witness how Tagore has been interpreted in Guyana by the Dramatic Arts Academy. “This brave and bold attempt is complimentary,” Mandal said.
Director of the plays, Neaz Subhan said that it is his fervent hope that their staging will serve to rekindle that passion that is seemingly stuck in the past.
Students of the Indian Cultural Centre performing an item at “An Evening of Drama” held at the National Cultural Centre in honour of Rabindranath Tagore
“There was a time in the performing fraternity when such writings were aggressively sought after and actors clamoured and competed to be associated with such poetic delivery…for some reading Tagore, self proclamation of literary wizardry can dissipate upon realisation of the delusionary glorification one may have attached to his or her vocabulary,” Subhan said.
Rabindranath Tagore, who died during World War 11, impacted and influenced many as novelist, a playwright, a composer, a painter and as a humanist as his metaphoric and poetic penmanship infused a sweet addiction inflicted by one’s hankering for his hypnotic and intensely provocative literature.
In 1913 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature which followed his knighting by King George V in 1915.
 A section of attendees at “An Evening of Drama” held at the National Cultural Centre in honour of Rabindranath Tagore
TOP
|
