Minister Fox impressed with exhibits at National Science Fair
Minister within the Ministry of Education, Ms. Desrey Fox is impressed with what she has seen through her visits to the primary booths at this year’s National Science, Mathematics and Technology Fair at the Wisburg Secondary School in Linden.
Shortly after cutting the ribbon to open the activity where she was assisted by 11 year-old, Aquasi Alfred of Amelia’s Ward Primary School, who later escorted her around the exhibition; the Minister expressed her appreciation for what the children have done at this year’s fair.
“I am always impressed with the science fairs that have seen since I became minister, particularly as to how as it relates to children react to things around them,” Ms. Fox declared.
She told this newspaper: “I have seen in this fair, half way through it, stuff from Region 1, stuff from here in Region 10 in Anarika, and two different things strike me as being very culturally related. That is, using herbal stuff to make juices and herbal medicine. And the young child, about ten or nine years old was able to explain exactly how to make the medicine, and how to do the drinks. It’s all made from plants within the forest and the child knows the names, the child knows all these different procedures.”
Another aspect she touched on was where a child from Region 1, an agricultural oriented region, spoke about producing compost. “This child was talking to me about how to create compost to use as fertiliser for plants that are growing and they know all the different ways and the different processes of how they get the compost and how it is used and how that is again relevant to the farmers within the region they came from. And that is really something that is exciting me at this fair.”
Looking at another feature among the primary schools Ms Fox commented:
“Like for example learning the metric system, explaining that to big people like me who had a hard time understanding the metric system and even know how to tell the time and stuff like that. And kids are very articulate here, they have taken a lot of time to do it and their teachers have made a lot of sacrifices. I am very impressed.”
(JOE CHAPMAN)
National science, mathematics, technology underway at Wisburg Secondary
“Projects on display are good examples of real practice”-Dr. Hunte.
By Joe Chapman.
THE National Science, Mathematics and Technology Fair opened on Tuesday last at the Wisburg Secondary School in Linden.
Delivering the feature address at the opening of the Fair, Dr Kenneth Hunte declared that “this year’s exhibition and competition highlights the role of science, mathematics and technology in national development which is very relevant for any country that is seriously thinking about improving the quality of life for its citizens.
Addressing the participating children from Regions 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 10 Along with their various teachers, education officials, which included Chief education Officer Mrs. Genevieve Whyte-Nedd and Minister within the Ministry of Education Ms Desrey Fox, Dr Hunte said: “ I do sincerely believe that we can do much better if we get our priorities for national development right.”
He noted that China has placed a high value on science, mathematics and technology in its education system and this has enabled China to get foreign investors to take their advanced technology to China.“That is to say, China has prepared its people for living and competing within the global knowledge-based market economy that we all now live in,” Dr. Hunte declared He added that one becomes aware of the rapid development in China when one realises that many tools and equipment that we use in our everyday lives are manufactured in China.”
He asserted also that “the current developments being undertaken to create the world’s most developed city, in Dubai, is an acknowledgement of the importance of scientific knowledge to national development.”
Looking at our local situation Dr. Hunte offered that Guyana cannot expect investors to come here if our small work force is not educated about science, mathematics and technology and we are unable to use the available modern resources to provide goods and services for the global market. He also exhorted the students attending the event that the future was in their hands. ”You have to start finding out about what challenges science, mathematics and technology have to offer either individually or combined,” he reiterated.
“I am pleased to see the evidence at this fair that you have made a giant step forward for Guyana. Congratulations on a job well done, I hope that you continue with this high level commitment to succeed and go on to make a positive contribution to finding the best solutions to some of our nation’s problems,” Dr. Hunte declared Commending the teachers he said that they have a key and critical role in promoting the development of science, mathematics and technology in schools and he felt that the projects on display are real examples of good practice as he lauded the teachers for their guidance and support in establishing a positive student-teacher partnerships that will help the young people and it is by these aspects he looked for when he visits schools to assess the competence of science teachers.
In her brief remarks the Chief Education Officer Mrs. Whyte-Nedd said it was known that Guyanese are brilliant people and over the next days of the fair “we will have a synergy of minds, a synergy of brilliance.” as she commended all those persons who worked behind the children to ensure that “their pieces and projects are here today to be on display, as it was a lot of hard work.”
The opening ceremony was interspersed with poems, dances and songs by students from a number of the schools which have converged for the fair. Following the cultural programme the ribbon to officially declare the event open was cut by Minister within the Ministry of Education, Ms. Desrey Fox.
Insanally one of Guyana’s finest diplomats -Nagamootoo
FORMER Information Minister and currently a People’s Progressive Party (PPP) parliamentarian and Attorney-at-Law, Moses Nagamootoo has lauded outgoing Foreign Minister, Dr. Rudy Insanally, describing him as one of the finest diplomats of this country.
I think that Mr. Rudy Insanally is one of the finest diplomats this country has ever produced. He has worked well as a diplomat in Caracas and elsewhere in various forums, in regional and international fora, at the United Nations as Guyana’s permanent representative, and he has served as the country’s Foreign Minister. He has done all of these functions both under the previous and present Government and it is a hallmark to his ability and to his diplomatic credence that he could do so without showing bias or partisanism and his leaving will in fact create a tremendous vacuum. He has left a void because he was such a multi-dimensional personality with all the talents and virtues of a country’s diplomat and peacemaker,” Nagamootoo posited.
He asserted that whoever succeeds Rudy Insanally will have a very heavy task to carry forward.
“It is at a time when Human Rights is under threat in Guyana in a sense that there are challenges to issues of Human Rights and Governance. Right now I see the Opposition Party tabling a motion in Parliament to deal with allegations of torture. And so for all the things that have happened, intentionally and unintentionally, the Lusignan and the Bartica massacres, the crime and so on, it tends to put a pall on international view of what Guyana is,” Nagamootoo opined.
Responding to suggestions that he may be offered the job to replace Insanally, he said: “If I am asked on this occasion, now that there is a vacancy to be filled, I will not find an excuse. But I can say this, that if I am given an opportunity, it will be a monumental task to fit into the shoes of Rudy Insanally and to perform those functions as he did so well and in the professional way he did them.”
Touching on what the successor to Insanally should focus on he said there is need to have the best image of Guyana projected on the international scene.
“You need to re-image Guyana, to re-position Guyana in this current situation, a very difficult situation, to be able to continue to attract investors, to be able to continue to gain the confidence of the international community and to learn as much as we can and to implement as much as we can, those treaties and international conventions and all the obligations that go with them, to make our practices here better and healthier,” Nagamootoo exhorted during a recent interview with a reporter from the Evening News.
Growing Health Care Services in Guyana (Part 1)
By Catherine Martin
THE Health Sector, today, has improved health standards for all Guyanese.However, to have a clear understanding and appreciation of how far the Health Sector has evolved in Guyana, we must examine the pre-1992 health care system.
Pre-1992 services
In 1992, 12.5 percent of the country’s population had no access to health services.A report emanating from the PAHO/WHO Regional Plan in 1994 for Investment in the Environment and Health ‘starkly summed-up’ the condition of the health system pre-1992 in Guyana: “The quality of services and care provided is poor and the coverage of services and care offered is limited. The national hospital no longer offers preventive health care and nutrition education. Also, preventive dental care is no longer emphasized”.
The report recognized the Ministry’s inadequate capacity to plan and programme activities in the sector, which resulted in gaps in several areas, including shortage of skilled personnel, low salaries, poor working conditions, emigration, insufficient training facilities, meager budgetary allocations, persistent shortage of drugs and other critical supplies, inadequate facilities, and lack of responsive management.
Health Expenditure
The per capita health expenditure in 1964 was US$16; which took a turn for the worse by 1992 to less than US$9. The total health budget for 1992 was about $1B, a far cry from today’s budgetary estimates of $12B, making health one of the sectors with the largest spending allocation.
Table: Budgetary Allocations to Health Sector.
Year
2008
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Percentage %
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2007
|
5.1
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2006
|
4.9
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2005
|
4.9
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2004
|
4.2
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2003
|
4.1
|
2002
|
4.6
|
2001
|
4.4
|
2000
|
3.8
|
Source: Budget speech, 2005 & 2006
The pre-1992 health infrastructure was in such a terrible state that it took more than 12 years to effect infrastructural transformation through rehabilitation of dilapidated facilities and the construction of new entities.
Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation
The Government has taken the challenge of rehabilitating and constructing hospitals and health centres across Guyana, including the national referral hospital – Georgetown Public Hospital.
The GPHC has improved significantly over the past 15 years, while at the same time ensuring the continual provision of free health care to all. But the Ministry of Health has not been the lone soldier in this battle, there are partners, which has greatly assisted local programmes. These include help to build the New Amsterdam Hospital and blood bank, renovation of the NBTS, new diagnostic centres and to establish new programmes for HIV, safer Injection, Malaria, TB and eye care.
As a result, the hospital and even regional facilities now have improved capacities, including the ability to conduct Pap smears or testing to detect Human Pamplona Virus (HPV) or the VIA test to detect cancerous signs.
The GPHC preformed its first ever open heart surgery in Guyana, five more of which were done since.
Other new services include, hip replacement, expanded eye care services, laparoscopic, diabetic foot care and cancer treatment. At present, a project has started to build a new inpatient facility at the hospital.
Diagnostic Centres
Diagnostic Centres are now operating at Diamond, Suddie, Mahaicony, and Leonora. Health Centres have been built in communities, such as Philipai, Belle West, and Kabakaburi.
The current Administration also built the Kamarang Hospital, Kamwatta Health Centre in Region 1, and the reconstructed Lethem and Mabaruma Hospitals.
The Parika Cottage Hospital was also rehabilitated and new hospitals are being built at Mabaruma, Linden and Lethem.
The construction of the Ophthalmology Centre at Port Mourant is underway. At present, there is also the construction of a new modern Laboratory, scheduled to be completed by June 2008 at the GPHC.
The facility was established in collaboration with the Government of Guyana and the United States under President George Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The Laboratory will open it doors to other countries.
Child Immunization
Guyana ranks high among developing countries with excellent immunization coverage and has been honored globally for this achievement. Guyana was one of the first countries that introduced the polio vaccine in the Americas in the late 1950s and early 1960s and Guyana is now rid of polio.
In the 1960s and 1990s, the coverage rate varied between 50 percent to 75 percent. Since 2004, the immunization rate has reached to 94 percent.
The variety of vaccines has increased, and includes every important vaccine available today, with a 90 percent availability rate.
HOYTE REVISITED
By Hydar Ally
THE People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), in commemoration of the birth anniversary of the late Hugh Desmond Hoyte, former President of Guyana sponsored a public lecture at the Le Meridian Hotel, Georgetown which had as its guest speaker Sir James Mitchell, former President of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
‘The wounds of our past created by feelings of mistrust are still to be fully healed’
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It would be recalled that Hoyte succeeded Forbes Burnham, founder member of the PNC, the party which ruled this country for some twenty-eight years, from 1964 to 1992 when democracy was finally restored. Of those twenty-eight years, Hoyte presided for just about seven years, from August 1985 to October 1992.
Hoyte is often credited with the restoration of democracy to Guyana and other rights which were denied to the people of Guyana including freedom of expression and the lifting of bans on a number of essential food items in particular those that could be considered an essential part of the food culture of the Indo-Guyanese segment of the population. This fact was highlighted by Sir Mitchell when he took his audience back to the years immediately following the elections of 1985, which despite assurances to the contrary, turned out to be the most heavily rigged election ever held.
According to Sir James, because of the scale and magnitude of the rigging which took place, CARICOM leaders summoned a meeting in the Vincentian island of Mustique where Hoyte was “lectured” on the issue of free and fair elections.
He recalled some strong positions being taken by leaders to remove the CARICOM Secretariat from Guyana because of fraudulent elections which have rendered the country a laughing stock among Caribbean countries.
According to Sir Mitchell, he opposed a proposal from the late Prime Minister of Dominica, Eugenia Charles to throw Guyana out of CARICOM over rigged elections and move the CARICOM Secretariat out of Georgetown.
For someone who was invited by the PNCR to speak on the life and work of Desmond Hoyte, it must have been a rather uncomfortable feeling for the Guest Speaker to expound on those unsavory aspects of the Hoyte Presidency’
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It was this that prompted the convening of the Mustique meeting shortly after Hoyte was “elected” President of the country in elections which were highly flawed.
The former St. Vincentian Prime Minister disclosed that leaders of CARICOM had heard of the irregularities in Guyanese elections and knew that overseas voting in many of the islands was fraudulent since there was simply not the number of Guyanese then in the islands that the vote indicated.
“We read of the analysis in England and the United States where certain addresses of voters did not exist. We learnt of skewed results in certain villages in Guyana”.
For someone who was invited by the PNCR to speak on the life and work of Desmond Hoyte, it must have been a rather uncomfortable feeling for the Guest Speaker to expound on those unsavory aspects of the Hoyte Presidency.
