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‘Everything will not be alright if we don’t struggle for it’
--President tells gathering at Babu John
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, alluding to the famous Bob Marley words ‘everything will be alright’, said everything will not be alright if Guyanese do not struggle for this to be so.

The Guyanese Head of State made this declaration to a large gathering yesterday at Babu John, Port Mourant during the annual wreath-laying ceremony in memory of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, founder of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and former President.

This year marked eleven years since the former President died on March 6, 1997.

Dr. Jagan was noted for using the words of the late Bob Marley that ‘everything will be alright’ before he passed away.

“Last year when we met here, we had just come off the high of hosting the Rio group meeting. It was the largest gathering of Latin American Heads of State and CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries, and we were teeming with the decision of hosting World Cup Cricket.”

&Today, meeting here, we do so with a dark cloud hanging over our country. We have to work aggressively and in a sustained way, and spare no effort to ensure that this dark cloud is dissipated from our nation,” the President told the gathering.

He pointed out that the late leader’s life was an embodiment of struggle and he committed himself to freeing Guyana.

“He walked a difficult and dangerous path but he never swerved. He stood, he walked that path and he achieved for the people of this land. He had good times and he had bad times. The path was wide sometimes and it was narrow sometimes but he never lost faith,” Mr. Jagdeo posited.

He also noted that Guyana is now facing a tough time, but like the late leader, people should not lose faith.

“We have much more to do until we hang our hats up, until the day we can rest because the day when we can rest is the day when all of the people of this country have a decent standard of living, when they live in harmony with each other, when no child goes to bed hungry and when every child has the best quality of education and health care, and when people can live securely in their homes. Only then will the struggle end,” President Jagdeo said.

The Head of State reiterated that Guyanese need to prepare themselves for the struggle too, underscoring that it makes no sense every year that they speak about democracy and how Cheddi Jagan is loved and they are not prepared to face hard times in the country when they come.

“This struggle will go on for many, many years to come. It will not end with this generation but it’s a struggle that is essential. It is a struggle that has to be waged. It is a struggle that we all must commit ourselves to because only with that struggle will the people of this land achieve their real potential.”

Turning his attention to the international arena and reminding the gathering of struggles of other nations to gain independence and to fight against inhumane systems, President Jagdeo pointed to the difference between the generations in those days and the generation currently which does not seem to have any strong ideals.

“I see people, young people waiting for the next hundred dollars coming from the States, not wanting to work. The work ethic is gone -- drinking every single day, domestic violence, beating up their women in the family and then we say we are ready for this struggle? How can we say that we will respect others, if we can’t respect ourselves,” he queried.

President Jagdeo also urged that when Guyanese gather to reminisce on Cheddi Jagan, that they should remember his ideals and share his memories, reminiscing on his works and learn from his strength and resilience.

“What is our ideal today? Where is the ideal of this generation? Every time someone threatens us, we’re prepared to cower in our homes and not prepare to respond. We have to commit ourselves. This generation has to do so if this country is going to continue to achieve the progress that it deserves,” he declared.

The remembrance ceremony saw the Head of State, other Government officials and citizens laying wreaths at Dr. Jagan’s gravesite. The programme also included recital of quotes from some of Dr. Jagan’s works by school children from Region Six and a memorable song by calypso singer Sweet Kendingo.

Man killed in gruesome road accident
- involving CBR motorcycle, truck
By Michel Outridge
A FATHER of two was killed yesterday afternoon when the CBR motorcycle on which he was the pillion rider, lost control on a turn at Colombia, East Coast Demerara.

Dead is Lloyd Syfox, 27, of Lot 61 Foulis Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara.

The rider of the CBR motorcycle, Doren Holder, 25, of Golden Grove, also on the East Coast Demerara, lost his right leg in the accident.

He was in an unconscious condition up to pres time last night at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

About 15:30 hrs yesterday, Syfox and Holder were part of a group who were on CBR motorcycles on their way to Berbice Mashramani celebrations when Holder lost control of the motorcycle he was riding while negotiating a turn at Colombia, some 28 miles from the city.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the speeding CBR motorcycle slammed into a truck, GGG 6367, which was heading in the opposite direction at a moderate speed.
They added that the CBR careened into the side of the truck, in the process severing the head of Syfox - the pillion rider.
Syfox’s body parts including his teeth, tongue, brain matter and even bones were scattered on the roadway.

Holder was flung from the motorcycle and dragged several feet away. In the process, he lost his right leg which was left lying on the middle of the road.

A long trail of thick blood was evident yesterday after the horrific accident attracted a large group of residents who were too shocked to even explain what happened.

The mangled CBR motorcycle was later lifted by a group of men into the ill-fated truck and taken to the Mahaica Police Station where family members, including Syfox’s grief-stricken mother, Carol Cox, had showed up after receiving the tragic news of the accident.

Cox told the Guyana Chronicle that she saw her son a short time before he left home and asked him where he was going. The grief-stricken woman said Syfox told her he would return home shortly.

“He said that he going to Berbice for the Mash with friends and they borrowed the CBR from a friend and went with other friends also on CBRs and I warned him not to go because he did not have a motorcycle licence,” she cried.

A group of relatives and friends who said that Syfox left a few hours and promised to return to a cook-out, wept openly when ranks told them that he was dead.

His cellular phone was then handed over to his mother who broke down into loud wails as she displayed her son’s photograph.

His best friend of school days, Horace Brown, was inconsolable and had to be assisted to sit as he cried uncontrollably.

“I saw him before he left and I asked him to stay with us for the cook-out and look how he died,” said the weeping friend.

Eyewitnesses said when the smashup occurred, the group of friends on CBRs rode away from the scene and left Syfox and Holder behind.

U.S. State Department Report says -
Govt, law enforcement agencies have improved efforts in drug fight
“There are no reliable estimates regarding the amount of cocaine and cannabis that transits Guyana…”
THE United States (U.S.) Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released last Friday, has clearly stated that the Government of Guyana and the law enforcement agencies made some improvement in 2007 to tackle the illicit drug trade.

The report outlined government’s interventions in the fight which included the launching of the Machine Readable Passports, the Government of Guyana/United Kingdom security plan and the tabling of the Anti-Money Laundering legislation.

The report stated, “In 2007, the Government of Guyana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Great Britain to implement a $5 million, multi-year programme for reform of the security sector, which includes enhancing the investigative capacity of law enforcement agencies.

The GOG requested and received $500,000 in U.S. Department of Defence funds to refurbish its only seaworthy Coast Guard vessel…Guyana commenced issuance of machine-readable passports, in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) standards, which will help thwart the use of identity fraud and cross-border criminal activities.”

In July last year, government launched the Machine Readable Passport system to protect against multiple issuance of the travel document. This system has further strengthened strategic alliances against illegal immigration and smuggling, improve management of the nation’s borders and ports of entry and also assist in the fight against terrorism, immigrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.

The report noted that while Guyana is seen as a transit point for cocaine, the quantities are not sufficient to impact the US market.

The report noted that improved counter narcotics measures at the working level led to more domestic seizures in 2007.

&2007 saw modest improvements in enforcement at the working level. In 2007, Guyanese law enforcement agencies seized 167 kilogrammes (kgs) of cocaine, a nearly three-fold increase over the amount seized in 2006.”

The report pointed out that in May, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) seized 106 kgs of cocaine hidden in dried fish glue at a home near Georgetown, and arrested four men in connection with the operation. One of the individuals was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison and fined $1.2 million.

It noted, too, that in July, police arrested Terrence Sugrim, an accused drug trafficker who had been indicted in a New York federal court.

With respect to the amount of narcotics leaving Guyana, the report stated, “There are no reliable estimates regarding the amount of cocaine and cannabis that transits Guyana.”

It pointed to the work of the law enforcement agencies when it stated that several drug mules were arrested.

The report went on to say that, “there was a surge in law enforcement seizures at the airport of suitcases carrying drugs that had been added to the baggage queue after check-in, and tagged in the names of unsuspecting passengers. Police officials also witnessed a notable upward trend in the use of the Guyana Post Office as an avenue for the trafficking of cocaine in small quantities, further demonstrating the malleable tactics of trafficking organisations.”

Government has been working to implement several aspects of its National Drug Strategy Master Plan (NDSMP) which is scheduled for review this month.

The administration launched the plan to foster institutional, participatory and democratic approaches towards the achievement of a crime-free and healthy society, founded on the principles of social justice, rule of law and respect for authority.

The report stated, “The government has tabled legislation that would augment the tools currently available to it in fighting money laundering, including regulations to allow for the seizure of assets.”

This administration has demonstrated zero-tolerance towards drug trafficking and money laundering and against this backdrop several interventions have been made over the years.

In June 2007, government’s Anti-Money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill 2007 was sent to a Special Select Parliamentary Committee for recommendations for the necessary adjustments.

The new legislation proposes to help with tracking money transfers, activities of commercial banks and other financial institutions, illicit trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud, counterfeiting, and forgery.

Under the proposed legislation, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will have the power to freeze, seize and eventually forfeit all proceeds of all serious offences identified and traced. The unit will also provide for comprehensive powers for the prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing and other financial crimes.

Only recently, the Government of Guyana and the local law enforcement agencies were praised by United States Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. David Robinson, for the efforts being made to tackle drug trafficking.

As part of its commitment to arrest drug trafficking, government has signed on to several international conventions including the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

In relation to corruption, the report like previous ones stated, “there is no evidence that the GOG or senior GOG officials encourage or facilitate the illicit production, processing, shipment or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.”

Gunman killed by Police on Saturday identified as Kevin Dillon
The previously unidentified gunman who was fatally shot during an armed confrontation with the police on Saturday at Russell and Princes Streets, Georgetown, has been positively identified as Kevin Dillon, 25, of Plum Park, Sophia.

The Police, in a statement, said about 11:30 hrs Saturday, two men armed with handguns held the female cashier at the Western Union Outlet at Lamaha Street, Georgetown, at gunpoint and took away $300,000 in cash belonging to the Company, along with $5,000 in cash and a cell phone from the cashier and escaped.

They are suspected to have escaped in a waiting motor car.

The Police noted that less than an hour later, at about 12:25 hrs, a female accountant attached to Toolsie Persaud Ltd on Lombard Street, Georgetown, was taking $3M in cash and cheques from one building to another - escorted by an unarmed guard, when two men armed with handguns held them at gun-point and took away the monies. They escaped in a waiting white motor car.

Following both robberies, police patrols were informed and investigations launched.

The Police said about 13:25 hrs, ranks of a police mobile patrol saw a white AT 212 Carina motor car, HB 3505, parked at the junction of Princes and Russell Streets, also in the city, with the driver and two other men inside.

&The police challenged the occupants, whereupon the two men exited and one of them opened fire on the police while the driver drove away in the motor car,” the Police statement said.

The police returned fire hitting one of the men who was later identified as Kevin Dillon.

An unlicensed .38 revolver with one spent shell and two live rounds were recovered from Dillon. The other man, who is said to be ‘a known character’ from North Sophia, who has been charged with robbery on a number of occasions, was arrested and an unlicensed .38 revolver with six matching rounds was recovered from him.

The arrested man is in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Prime Minister encourages Guyanese to ‘GET REGISTERED!’
- as House-to-House exercise continues
PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds is urging all Guyanese to support the ongoing house-to- house registration exercise by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by getting registered.

The Prime Minister made the appeal during an invited comment to the Government Information Agency (GINA), shortly after he and his wife, Mrs. Yvonne Hinds, were themselves registered on Saturday.

The reintroduction of the national house-to-house registration became a reality after an amendment bill was passed in the National Assembly on December 27. The process subsequently commenced in early January.

On June 14 last year, Head of State President Bharrat Jagdeo met representatives of the Parliamentary Political Parties, GECOM, the United States Embassy, British and Canadian High Commissions and the International Donor community where an historic agreement was reached for a new National Register of Registrants through house-to-house registration.

Continuous registration will be used by GECOM to update the National Register of Registrants (NRR), to ensure that a voters’ list is readily available for the holding of future elections.

TRAFFIC CLAMP-DOWN CONTINUES
5,366 cases against defaulting motorists for February
A TOTAL of 5,366 cases have been made against defaulting motorists for the month of February, 2008 during the ongoing zero-tolerance traffic enforcement ‘Operation Safeway’, the Police reported in a statement yesterday.

The Police said the more prevalent traffic offences and cases made are as follows:-

Breach of Traffic Lights - 81
Speeding                    - 818
Overloaded Minibus      - 544
Failed to wear seat belt - 349
Dangerous Driving                   -           82
Tinted Vehicle                          -           38
Obstruction                             -          693
Failed to conform to sign        -          638
Failed to wear safety helmet -          268
Breach of road service licence   -      357
Unlicensed driver                       -    396

The Police also indicated that the enforcement efforts of its ranks have resulted in a significant decrease in road fatalities for the period January 1 to February 29, 2008.

It said thirty persons died on the roads as a result of accidents for that period in 2007, while twelve persons have lost their lives so far this year as a result of accidents.

Hiccup in system at Passport Office rectified
- acceptance of applications for new passports will resume today
THE central Immigration and Passport Office on Camp Street, Georgetown, was unable to process applications for new passports on Friday last due to a problem experienced by the system but this problem has since been rectified, according to a statement from the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

It noted that other transactions such as the renewal and delivery of travel documents were not affected last Friday.

The Police assured that this problem has since been rectified and the general public is advised that the acceptance of applications for new passports will resume today.

Two men found with unlicensed .38 revolver arrested
TWO men found with an unlicensed .38 revolver along with a live matching round have been arrested by ranks of a mobile police patrol on Saturday.

The Police said the men, who were on a motor cycle at Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, were arrested around 02:00 h Saturday after they were stopped and searched by ranks of a mobile police patrol.

The Police said an unlicensed .38 revolver along with a live round was found in their possession.

The two men are in custody assisting with the investigations

Police investigating murder at Sandhills
THE police in Berbice are investigating the murder of thirty-one-year-old Rakesh Rajaram, of Sandhills, Berbice River, which occurred about 18:45 h Saturday.

Investigations so far revealed that Rajaram and a female with whom he had a relationship were in a camp at Sandhills when he was attacked by two men, one of whom is suspected to be a relative of the female.

The Police said Rajaram was chopped about the body and also beaten with a piece of wood.

He was later taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Two persons have been arrested and are in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Special Interfaith Service in U.S. for slaughtered Guyanese
GUYANESE living in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have expressed anger and bitterness at the recent massacres at Lusignan on the East Coast Demerara and at Bartica , a mining town on the Essequibo river in which innocent men, women and children were ruthlessly murdered.

To give vent to their feeling and out of concern for the security of the State and safety of Guyanese, leaders of the Christian, Hindu and Muslim religions living in the United States organised and held a successful Interfaith Prayer Service last Saturday in New York, in which they prayed for all those who lost their loved ones in the massacre, the injured and those who care for them.

Following the Prayer Service, the three religious bodies issued a joint statement in which they recognise the huge public outcry as Guyanese try to come to grips with the recent events.

The leaders said that their first concern in planning for the Interfaith Prayer Service was for the families who suffered so dreadfully as a result of the unprovoked and heinous attacks.

They also expressed the hope that in God’s eternal love and mercy, the families of those slaughtered will discover the strength and resource to continue life in a meaningful manner.

The Clergymen also prayed for the entire Guyanese people, and urged the nation not to feel trapped or paralyzed by fear, but rather be free to affirm life and the bond of friendship and independence among all Guyanese.

The release concluded that the event was not a ‘Preaching Service’, nor was it a time for leaders, whether religious or political to make speeches, but rather ‘a Prayer Service’ and a time for the Guyanese people in the US and Guyana to come boldly before God’s throne and find help in the time of need.

Guyana leading the way in proposing mitigation, adaptation strategies on Climate Change
By Tajeram Mohabir
GUYANA today is earning the reputation of being a leader in terms of proposing mitigation as well as adaptation strategies and approaches to deal with the global climate change phenomenon, according to Minister of Agriculture Mr. Robert Persaud.

This declaration by the minister was made on Thursday last in the National Assembly during the debate on the 2008 national budget, and in direct response to remarks made earlier by People’s National Congress Reform One Guyana (PNCR-1G) Chairman and parliamentarian, Mr. Winston Murray, that government needs to take urgent action on climate change.

&We must, we believe, begin seriously to weigh and study the options we may pursue in the face of the apparently unrelenting march and impact of global warming and climate change,” Murray had said earlier in the budget debate.

But minister Persaud contended that considerable efforts have already been made in this regard and pointed out that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) administration in April last year established a National Climate Unit (NCU) to address climate related issues.

The minister, whose port folio includes the assessment of the global Climate Change impact on the local front, also pointed out that government has long recognised the impact the global phenomenon could have on Guyana.

The NCU has been doing an enormous amount of work with he National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) to bring all the stakeholders together and coordinating the different policy and other interventions which are necessary,” Minister Persaud contended.

Guyana has also been able to participate in a number of international fora including the much lauded Bali Summit in Indonesia on the way forward on the Kyoto Protocol…even before that work has started last year we have been making progress through the United Nations (UN); we were able to complete the second communication,” he added.

The minister disclosed that the climate change project was completed to the tune of US$400,000 and prepares Guyana to meet its commitment to the UN in this regard.

&Guyana today is earning the reputation of being a leader in terms of proposing mitigation as well as adaptation strategies and approaches to deal with climate change,” Persaud declared.

He stressed that Guyana is not a major emitter of green house gasses and the service the rain forest provides as a major sponge for carbon dioxide is of immense value.

This was well articulated in the Jagdeo Initiative on Climate Change where he proposed the development of a market based mechanism to compensate Guyana for that service.

The minister lamented the fact that while Guyana does not contribute to the negative effects of climate change, it still suffers, especially in the agriculture sector.

In this regard, he pointed out that an agricultural adaptation strategy is being developed to mitigate those effects.

&We have revised the designs and layouts for infrastructural works…the sea defence…drainage and irrigation programmes…many of the sluices which were abandoned in the 70s and the 80s are now being re-activated. Pumps which were shut down, we now have to invest to get these going or get additional capacity and that is what we have to do in terms of approaching this issue”, Persaud told the National Assembly.

He also appealed for national consensus on the subject and acknowledged that the question of how long people will survive living along the coast remains a tough issue but government is thinking in that direction.

Persaud also noted that Government this year will re-install the Doppler Radar near the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CJIA), provide staff at the CJIA Meteorological station with an operational office and enhance the current observation, data collection and data-base operations.

He added that a standard national network will be maintained and stations established under the El Nino Emergency Response Assistance Project will be rehabilitated.

He said, too, that all meteorological and hydrological stations will be upgraded to reduce the dependency on human operators and Guyana will continue to comply with the World Meteorological and International Hydrological Programmes.

Many positive changes in Region One
– Norman Whittaker
PEOPLE’S Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Region One Member of Parliament, Mr. Norman Whittaker, in giving support to the 2008 Budget during last Friday’s debate in the National Assembly, used the opportunity to highlight the many positive changes in that outlying Region (Barima/Waini).

He noted, for instance, that in the education sector, over $34.1M has been expended to rehabilitate and build schools and dormitories in that Region to create a better environment in which teaching and learning could take place.

Additionally, assistance was given to students in the form of providing text books, uniforms and through the school-feeding programme.

Teacher training is another intervention which has succeeded in improving the schools’ environment, with the implementation of the Hinterland Teacher Training Programme. Twenty-eight teachers completed training last year and 46 others are pursuing training.

These interventions, he said, have resulted in higher achievements for the region’s students as one student achieved nine subjects with six grade ones, three students achieved nine subjects and 17 students passed five subjects or more at the last Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations.

There has also been a greater involvement of parents in the school system with the formation of the school improvement committees, Whittaker said.

Greater emphasis is being placed on literacy and numeracy with more master trainers being trained under the Basic Education Access and Management Support (BEAMS) programme.

The Health sector has benefitted from the construction of the Mabaruma Hospital valued at over $100M, the rehabilitation of several District Hospitals and the construction of Health Centres. There has also been continuous training for health workers and better systems to source, transport and distribute drugs.

The immunization coverage has improved especially in the Barama River area and there are regular outreach visits by health teams to areas as far as Baramita.

There has been an increase in training of Microscopists and additional microscopes have been sent to the Region along with 2,000 treated bed nets to assist in the fight against malaria.

The Region has achieved successes in the agriculture sector as farmers have adapted to the vulnerable markets and have diversified their crops to produce poultry and vegetables, cocoa and peanuts.

According to Whittaker, the improvements in the road network have also seen more persons owning vehicles in the Region.