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Kenya: Hope and Betrayal
By Gwynne Dyer
More than two years ago, when Kenya's current opposition leader, Raila Odinga, quit President Mwai Kibaki's government, I wrote the following: "The trick will be to get Kibaki out without triggering a wave of violence that would do the country grave and permanent damage...Bad times are coming to Kenya."

The bad times have arrived, but the violence that has swept Kenya since the stolen election on 27 December is not just African "tribalism".

Kikuyus have been the main target of popular wrath and non-Kikuyu protesters have been the principal victims of the security forces, but this confrontation is about trust betrayed, hopes dashed, and patience strained to the breaking point.

Nobody wants a civil war in Kenya, but it's easy to see why Raila Odinga rejects calls from abroad to accept the figures for the national vote that were announced last Sunday. If Odinga enters a "government of national unity" under Kibaki, as the African Union and the United States want, then he's back in the untenable situation that he was in until 2005, and Kibaki will run Kenya for another five years.

If Odinga leaves it to Kenya's courts to settle, the result will be the same: there have been no verdicts yet on disputed results that went to the courts after the 2002 election. So when the opposition leader was asked by the BBC if he would urge his supporters to calm down, he replied: "I refuse to be asked to give the Kenyan people an anaesthetic so that they can be raped."

Despite the ugly scenes of recent days, Kenya is not an ethnic tinderbox where people automatically back their own tribe and hate everyone else. For example, it is clear that more than half the people who voted Mwai Kibaki into the presidency in the 2002 election were not of his own Kikuyu tribe, because the Kikuyu, although they are the biggest tribe, only account for 22 percent of the population.

Kibaki's appeal was the promise of honest government after 24 years of oppressive rule, rigged elections and massive corruption under the former president, Daniel arap Moi. If he had been just another thug in a suit, most Kenyans would have put up with Kibaki's subsequent behaviour in the same old cynical way, but his victory was seen as the dawn of a new Kenya where the bad old ways no longer reigned. It is his abuse of their high hopes that makes the current situation so emotional.

By 2005, Kibaki's dependence on an inner circle of fellow Kikuyu politicians was almost total and the corruption was almost as bad as it had been under Moi. The British ambassador, Sir Edward Clay, accused Kibaki's ministers of arrogance and greed which led them to "eat like gluttons" and "vomit on the shoes" of foreign donors and the Kenyan people. The biggest foreign donors, the United States, Britain and Germany, suspended their aid to the country in protest against the corruption.

Most of the leading reformers quit Kibaki's government in 2005, and in the weeks before last month's election their main political vehicle, the Orange Democratic Movement, had a clear lead in the polls. That lead was confirmed in the parliamentary vote on 27 December, which saw half of Kibaki's cabinet ministers lose their seats and gave the opposition a clear majority in parliament. But the presidential vote was another matter.

Raila Odinga won an easy majority in six of Kenya's eight provinces, but in Central, the Kikuyu heartland, the results were withheld until long after the vote had been announced for more remote regions.

Observers were banned from the counting stations in Central and the central tallying room in Nairobi -- and on 30 December Samuel Kivuitu, the chairman of the electoral commission, declared that Kibaki had won the national vote by just 232,000 votes in a nation of 34 million.

It stank to high heaven. Ridiculously high turnouts were claimed for polling stations in Central -- larger than the total of eligible voters, in some cases -- and 97.3 percent of the votes there allegedly went to Kibaki. It was an operation designed to return Kibaki to office while preserving a facade of democratic credibility, but no foreign government except the United States congratulated Kibaki on his "victory", not even African ones, and local people were not fooled.

Within two days Samuel Kivuitu retracted his declaration of a Kibaki victory, saying that the electoral commission had come under unbearable pressure from the government: "I do not know who won the election...We are culprits as a commission. We have to leave it to an independent group to investigate what actually went wrong."

But Kibaki is digging in, and innocent Kikuyus -- many of whom did NOT vote for Kibaki, despite the announced results -- are being attacked by furious people from other tribes. Meanwhile, the police and army obey Kibaki's orders and attack non-Kikuyu protesters. It is not Odinga who needs to accept the "result" in order to save Kenya from calamity; it is Kibaki who needs to step down.

He probably won't, in which case violence may claim yet another African country. But don't blame it on mere "tribalism". Kenyans are not fools, and they know they have been betrayed.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.

WELCOME & BAFFLING SURPRISES
Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados
By Rickey Singh
THE DAWN OF a new year normally brings its quota of surprises in public life, pleasant and otherwise. More often they pertain to politics and governance.

The start of 2008 is no different; and in the case of Guyana, the wait continues for President Bharrat Jagdeo to make his expected cabinet reshuffle with new appointments.

In Barbados, currently immersed in election politics for voting day January 15, the competitors for state power are offering surprises of their own, with one of much significance coming from Prime Minister Owen Arthur himself.

In Jamaica, a welcome surprise on the governance issue is the announcement on Thursday by Opposition Leader Portia Simspon-Miller for the resumption of bi-partisan talks with Prime Minister Bruce Golding's administration to address issues of national importance on the "way forward".

The agreement to resume the dialogue, interrupted by a most unfortunate verbal salvo from Golding, came as a surprise; because on the previous day the impression was clearly conveyed that their holding of hands and praying together at a prayer event at the National Arena in Kingston was not enough to influence a spirit of reconciliation between them for talks to continue.

However, before returning to the 'surprises' provided last week by Prime Minister Arthur, leader of the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP), or that of Prime Minister Golding and Opposition Leader Simpson-Miller, I wish to reflect on an entirely different and appealing surprise that came from the daughter of the murdered ex-Prime Minister of Grenada, Maurice Bishop 23 years ago.

FORGIVENESS IN GRENADA
Now a lawyer, Nadia Bishop returned to her "Isle of Spice" homeland for the Christmas holiday season. She commendably visited in prison the remaining 10 Grenadians who, along with an already freed six, were convicted of the execution of her father and a number of his leading cabinet and New Jewel Movement colleagues on October 19, 1983.

I recall Nadia seeking the cooperation of authorities in both Grenada and the United States of America, which had invaded her tiny homeland on October 25, 1983, to help locate the remains of her slain dad.

Now, in keeping with the "goodwill" spirit of Christmas, she had returned to Grenada, visited ex-Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard and nine other prisoners convicted for her father's murder.

She then followed up that visit with an appeal, televised and otherwise reported by national/regional media, to all Grenadians to join her in "forgiveness and reconciliation" for the convicted killers in order to bring closure to that nightmare chapter in Grenada's political history.

How inspiring, in my view, this triumph of the human spirit. Let's hope that those who continue to nurse hatred for the killers of Maurice Bishop and others respond to the cry for 'forgiveness' from a daughter whose father was so terribly wronged, politically, by superpower USA, while he led a government in St. George's and ultimately fell victim to the guns of colleagues with whom he had struggled for meaningful change.

BARBADOS' PUZZLING SURPRISE
The puzzling political surprise came from Prime Minister Owen Arthur on New Year's Day with his announcement that he had identified Clyde Mascoll as "co-leader" of the governing Barbados Labour Party, one of the oldest parties in the Caribbean.

The defection of almost a year ago by the economist Mascoll, former president of the Democratic Labour Party and its parliamentary Opposition Leader, to become a cabinet minister in the BLP's third-term government, was unprecedented for Barbados and the entire Caribbean.

But Prime Minister Arthur may well have shocked more than those within the decision-making councils of his own party with the announced elevation of the incumbent candidate for St.Michael North West as "co-leader, when the BLP secures its anticipated "fourth term victory" on January 15.

I do not know if a perceived maximum leadership role in the BLP permits what the Barbados Nation had headlined last Tuesday as Arthur's "anointing" of Mascoll as "co-leader". Or, whether the announcement was based on prior consultation and approval of a party that likes to point to its "democratic" tradition.

It is certainly an unprecedented development in multi-party politics in our region. A question of immediate relevance that would be of concern--for different reasons--to those within the BLP's fold, as well as the party's opponents, is what would become of potential aspirants for leadership--for instance current Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley--with Mascoll as "anointed co-leader", alongside Prime Minister Arthur who the BLPites keep declaring they "need now more than ever"?

As a journalist of our Caribbean Community, I have long come to recognise the leadership qualities of Mr Arthur. I am, however, currently trying to figure out what precise factor or factors could have influenced him into his shock announcement of Mascoll as "co-leader" within two weeks of a general election, the outcome of which remains uncertain at this stage?

Though his Democratic Labour Party's opponents would be inclined to exploit this political development for the rest of the election campaign, they should not expect--before January 15 for sure--any help from leading figures in the BLP who may justifiably feel hurt by Mascoll's announced "co-leader" role.

Nevertheless, win or lose, I would be surprised if this elevation of Mascoll does not prove much more than an election campaign irritant for party stalwarts whose own contributions have helped to sustain the BLP since its return to power in May 1994. Hectic days are clearly ahead for election campaign '08 with Arthur's showing of how much he personally seems to need Mascoll.

If it is a gamble to impress constituents in the sharply divided St.Michael North West riding that Mascoll won on the DLP ticket at the last election, then Arthur probably feels that it is a worthwhile political investment, and one that could only further embitter his opponents and confuse their strategy for victory.

Golding-Miller talks
IN the case of the political disagreement between government and opposition in Jamaica, it is more to the credit of Simpson-Miller and her PNP decision-making colleagues for the 'way forward' dialogue to resume, in the absence of any regret exhibited by Prime Minister Golding for his recent emotional outburst in which he had accused his opponents as suffering from "intellectual depravity" with their brains being "infected by termites".

Objectively, why then would Golding wish to have dialogue with such "depraved" people from the political opposition. Or, to say it differently, why those accused of having "termite-infected brains" be anxious to talk with him about Jamaica's future?

Verbal abuse is not uncommon in party politics. But those in leadership positions, and moreso in heading governments, have a responsibility to set exemplary standards of behaviour by what they say and do in public.

Similarly, those of the opposition could better humour their accusers than betraying emotional, thin-skin responses that could derail opportunities for cooperation in the national interest..

In the current circumstances, Jamaica--a most important member state of CARICOM--is the winner with the resumption of government/opposition dialogue on matters of national importance, not the least being the crime epidemic and escalating cost-of-living also affecting other regional jurisdictions.

Whatever behind-the-scenes damage control may yet to be pursued, it is good to know that the imbroglio that had developed between Golding and Simspon-Miller is now over and a delayed surfacing of the spirit of reconciliation is to translate, immediately, to the resumption of dialogue in Jamaica's best interest.

A pleasant, peaceful and profitable New Year to all readers.

New Year: New Attitude
By Rev. Kwame Gilbert
One of the good things about beginning a new year is that it affords us all opportunities to self-evaluate and make requisite adjustments to our lifestyles. For many of us, as we begin this New Year, there is the feeling of apprehension and maybe even trepidation at the prospects of what may be ahead. We all have great expectations that this year will be kinder to us than last year was. Well, I can tell you that many of the things that happened in your life last year, and that will happen this year, and will continue to happen every year, for the rest of your life, did not just happen.

Most of it occurred because of the choices we make, and the attitudes we have. I want to suggest that a good approach for this year, to change the circumstances of your life, would be to have a deliberate attitude adjustment.

Firstly, you need to design your environment on purpose. We are all affected one way or another by our environment. The influences, the norms, the personalities around us, all contribute to how we think and act.

It is of absolute importance that you re-evaluate some of the relationships you have. Negativism is infectious; hence negative people are a threat to your progress. Avoid people who are always negative and judgmental. Avoid reading material that is negative and depressive. There are some people who, in their writings, have already consigned Guyana’s future to the abyss of abject poverty and economical paucity. They see no good in the country, the people or the government of the country. I often wonder why these people remain here, if this is such a terrible place. Avoid such people like the plague; their negativism is infectious. Get rid of pessimism. You can’t get yourself up by talking yourself down. By extension, we cannot expect to get our country out of whatever state it is in by talking it down. I implore you to change your attitude towards your country. Become a patriot again. This may not be the best country on the planet, but it is ours, it is home.

Secondly, we must be aware that success is deliberate. We do not wake up and find ourselves successful. Success is arriving at a predetermined destination, hence you must have a plan as to where you are going, and diligently pursue that plan. Many of us very foolishly blame others for our financial lack or condition of poverty, when the truth be told, we have brought ourselves to that state .

I want to insist that poverty is not a lack of money. Poverty is a state of the mind; a mind void of ambition, drive and determination.

One very brilliant sociologist once pointed out that poverty cannot be understood from an economical perspective, but from a social perspective. With this, I totally concur.

Let me illustrate quickly my point. The average youth working for the minimum wage of an average of thirty thousand dollars owns a razor cell phone valued at fifty thousand dollars, spends an average of three thousand dollars per week on phone cards, just in an attempt to create an impression on his significant others. That attitude is what creates poverty. Buying name brand sneakers for your children when they are in need of text books is what creates poverty. Living in a rented apartment, and spending Friday evening down by the beer garden ‘keeping the beers coming’, is what produces poverty. So there is a level of poverty that has nothing to do with the economy, but with our attitude to life.

I wish to challenge you to change your attitude to life and how you manage your finances in this New Year. A new year should produce new attitudes.

Finally, I encourage you to become relentless in your pursuits. We give up so easily on the things we claim to be important to us. There are some things that are worth fighting for, and we must be relentless in our fight to protect, preserve and establish those things.

Let us as a nation, inculcate the attitude of love for fellowmen and love for country. No nation can long survive without the spirit of patriotism.

For this year, commit to pleasing God, and building your nation. That's a good attitude to have.

Caribbean companies should gird up their loins
By Sir Ronald Sanders
(The writer is a business executive and former Caribbean diplomat)
Caribbean governments should move swiftly to set up national and regional working parties to study the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) that was initialled by negotiators on December 16th.

When I discussed this matter in a previous commentary, I had not yet read the full text of the EPA. I have now done so. It is a highly complex document and I remain convinced that early national and regional consultation on all its aspects are vital if the Caribbean is to prepare itself for the coming onslaught from Europe.

The EPA document is so complex in parts and so vague in others that none but the negotiators could possibly understand it to the point of being sure that they have overcome all its ambiguities.

The government of Guyana has indicated that it will inaugurate a consultation with its private sector on the EPA.

This is a necessary initiative. But, it should not be limited to the private sector; trade unions and government agencies, such as customs and labour departments, also need to be involved. And, the Guyana initiative should be replicated in every Caribbean country.

In a real sense, this process is one of putting the cart before the horse.

The private sector, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and the Caribbean people should have been involved in the negotiations every step of the way. Adding them at the end is really only an exercise in damage limitation.

The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) did make efforts to keep private sector organisations informed, but only few Caribbean governments actually organised full and meaningful consultations with other stakeholders in their communities.

The implications of commitments by Caribbean countries to remove duties on 82.7% from European imports within 15 years; and open 75% of their service sectors to European firms and individuals providing services should have been publicly explained.

Many questions arise: what are the products that are being allowed entry with no duty? Will these products compete with production from local farmers and manufacturers, and, given the economies of scale, will the local producers be able to compete in their own markets?

In the services sector, the Caribbean will be wide open to telecommunications, computer services and financial services.

Inevitably this will mean that indigenous institutions will face competition from European firms with far greater resources. Over time, they will swallow-up indigenous companies or put them out of business.

It will be argued that since the EPA is reciprocal, Caribbean companies can set up business in Europe.

But, the agreement is replete with clauses that would stop them doing so. Among these are: a proviso that individual EU countries have the right to specify “the necessary qualifications and/or professional experience” required; and the right of an EU country to “adopt or maintain measures for prudential reasons” in the financial services sector.

In other words, the EPA may allow access, but it also reserves the right for individual countries to disallow such access through non-tariff barriers.

The Tourism Services section of the EPA is woefully inadequate for an industry that is of such crucial importance to a majority of Caribbean countries.

For instance, with regard to technology, the agreement does no more than commit the parties “to endeavour” to facilitate the transfer of technology on a “commercial” basis. In other words, no official development assistance will be forthcoming, and even on commercial terms (read that as high cost) the parties have committed only to try to achieve them.

Even worse is the absence of a commitment to actively promote small and medium sized enterprises which is where some hope for local participation in the benefits of the tourism industry still resides. In this connection, the EPA makes no greater commitment than to “endeavour to facilitate the participation” of such businesses in the tourism services sector.

As for exporting Caribbean manufactured goods into Europe, the Protocol on the Rules of Origin defies ordinary understanding. The Annex to the protocol which tries to establish the processing that is required to determine originating status is even worse. Caribbean manufacturers will be hard pressed to even begin to decipher it.

But, as I said in my previous commentary on the Caribbean EPA with the EU, it is a done deal. Our negotiators did their best and an agreement of indefinite duration now exists. It has to be worked.

Working it requires a full understanding of it by all the parties in the Caribbean if the region is not to be overwhelmed by it. No useful purpose will be served by simply declaring the EPA to be a triumph and then expressing surprise or crying foul when, in its implementation, Caribbean countries find themselves overrun by European companies.

The EPA, as it stands now, requires the parties to give “treatment no less favourable than they accord to their own like commercial presences and investors”. In other words, local companies can not rely on any special considerations in their own domestic market; such treatment will have to be applied automatically to European firms.

It should be noted that the EPA requires the Caribbean to be ready in five years time for competition and to open government contracts to European firms. Five years is a very short time for Caribbean contractors in a range of services, including road and building construction, to be ready to take on an onslaught of competition from European firms, but they need to get ready now.

Worryingly, the Caribbean has other free trade agreements to be negotiated. Canada is next, and, undoubtedly, the Canadians will expect no less favourable treatment than the Caribbean has given the EU. And, the same principle will be applied by other countries and regions with which the Caribbean negotiates.

Caribbean companies had better gird up their loins.

Responses to: ronaldsanders29@hotmail.com

EXTERNAL ECONOMIC SHOCKS
COMPLACENCY UNACCEPTABLE
BY PREM MISIR
Significant adverse external economic shocks over the last few decades have retarded economic and social development in the Caribbean. For many of the Caribbean countries, robust responses in alleviating the impact of these shocks have been slow and untimely.

We have no choice, but to understand and address the impact of market fundamentals of the developed world on small poor, and vulnerable economies

And as if these shocks were not enough, on Wednesday of last week, oil prices topped the $100 per barrel mark in commodities trading. This development has to be a concern, as rising oil prices affect everyone, in the developing and the developed world. The Caribbean already is reeling from a high food import bill, and food prices are expected to soar even further. Food security has to be the watchword; and so the Jagdeo Initiative in Agriculture now carries greater meaning for all Caribbeanists.

But how did we get where we are today with fluctuating oil prices over last few decades? The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents five reasons for this state of affairs: (1) Strong economies, as China, USA, and the Middle East, require strong demand for oil, and this demand will continue to increase in 2008; (2) there is a limited supply of oil; OPEC reduced production in 2006 and 2007; and production outside of OPEC failed to meet the increasing demand for oil; the EIA believes that demand will outstrip supply in the first few months of 2008; (3) the Middle East with its huge oil reserves faces tensions that create uneasiness over the reliability of oil supplies; and so a risk premium is added into the price; (4) the falling dollar - the dollar is the currency of choice for trading in oil; rising prices would not have such an impact for countries with currencies that appreciate against the dollar, and so high demand would be sustained; but for countries producing oil, the falling dollar translates into less purchasing power; and, therefore, may be inclined to reduce their supplies, in order to maintain the existing high prices; (5) speculation, too, has aided the price fluctuations.

You may recall there were the two oil price increases in the latter part of the 20th Century; these huge increases induced some countries to raise taxation, conduct experiments with the exchange rate, and intensify borrowing.

Another external shock came in the 1980s manifested through a deceleration in the global economy and the debt crisis. Guyana's response was to seek multilateral adjustment assistance from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in 1992 inherited an external US$2.1B debt (now about US$700M); it took Guyana about 10 years to reach financial viability. And so clearly in the early 1990s, balancing debt service payments and meeting the needs of the poor constituted a great challenge.

And now there is the credit crisis in the U.S. where significant problems of liquidity, credit availability, and risk spreads exist. Roderigo Rato, outgoing Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believes that the U.S. credit crisis will have global impact, forcing many countries to further review their budgets. Rato argues that notwithstanding the fact that the credit crisis originated in the financial markets of the developed world, its impact will affect the developing world, too.

The world economy, too, currently is in bad shape, fairly parallel to the global economy's deceleration in the 1980s, with an emasculating impact on developing countries. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Social and Economic Council Jose Antonio Ocampo launched the report “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2006.”

Ocampo asserted that the world economy experienced an economic slow down since 2004: global investment anemia disrupting global economic growth rate, creating a disorderly adjustment of macroeconomic imbalances; higher oil prices of about $60 per barrel; the crash of house prices, especially in the U.S. negatively impacting global consumption and demand; high unemployment growth; and many developing countries’ experience of structural unemployment and underemployment impacting poverty reduction. The U.S. factory activity is at an all-time low, and may be heading for a recession; the European Union also is experiencing a slowdown in its economic activity. Surely, these factors will impose a greater impact on small, poor, and vulnerable economies.

And of course, we can speak of another shock manifested through globalization, bringing the following: increasing pressures to liberalize multilateral trade; the economic stranglehold that the World Trade Organization has on poor, small, and vulnerable economies; constant migration of skilled professionals; and the liberalization of the European sugar regime with drastic sugar price cuts, effectively general erosion of long-standing trade preferences of the European Union (EU). For Guyana, this drastic price cut may produce a yearly loss corresponding to 5.1 percent of GDP and 5.4 of merchandize exports.

We have no choice, but to understand and address the impact of market fundamentals of the developed world on small poor, and vulnerable economies.

Critical Perspectives
Supporting Single Mothers
By Keith Burrowes
Of course I would like to start off my first column of 2008 by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. First order of business is to announce one of my resolutions with regard to this column. When I began writing late last year, it was with the conscious decision not to deal with issues that could be seen as overly sensitive.

This is the sort of caution informed by operating in an environment where almost everything you say is automatically inspected and branded as being in support of, or in opposition to, one side or the other. However, even being cautious attracts its own accusations, as I’ve learnt from one particular e-mail sent to me on something I wrote.

My resolution for this year is that once my perspective on a topic that I am interested in does not conflict with my official position, I intend to write on it. To remain shackled by an environment which tends at times to remove the objectivity from even the most sincere propositions is to sacrifice one’s personal and professional credibility.

Now we get to the first topic for 2008.

In President Bharrat Jagdeo’s New Year’s Day message, he referred to the government’s intention this year to create a special fund “to help single-parent households.” I’m interpreting “single parents” for the purposes of this article as ‘single mothers’. The issue of single mothers was also part of the New Year’s Day message by the PNC/R Head, Mr. Robert Corbin, if in a different context.

The identification of this group as vulnerable by both Guyana’s President and the Leader of the Opposition underscores the urgency of focusing on single mothers as a distinctly identifiable group. The economic and other vulnerability of single mothers is an issue the world over, the Caribbean in particular. For example, while on vacation recently, I was fascinated and greatly enlightened by a documentary on the plight of single mothers in North America.

Of course, we have exemplary cases of single mothers excelling in their respective fields, despite what some view as a parental handicap. Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, is one good example, though not as famous as author J.K. Rowling, whose rags to riches story is too well known to be repeated here. One strong single mother locally is designer, Sonia Noel, who should be congratulated for her recent charity show and her own fund, both specifically dedicated to the support of single mothers in need.

However, single mother success stories like Bachelet’s, Rowling’s and Noel’s are really exceptions to the rule.

There is no hard data available in Guyana to support any pronouncement on the difficulties faced by single mothers, something that should be considered in the government’s addressing of this issue this year. That said, there is enough circumstantial evidence to warrant their status as a vulnerable group.

Firstly, the Caribbean-wide phenomenon of the single parent household headed by a woman has presumably not escaped Guyana, since the major underlying factors – machismo and migration – do impact upon our society. And not just at home, but abroad as well.

According to a 2002 article published in the UK Guardian, the 1991 census showed that “49% of Afro-Caribbean families are headed by a lone mother, compared with 14% in the general population.”

More circumstantial evidence from the UK, which is a useful sampling ground for Caribbean social trends, alludes to the fact that the single mother household has become so ingrained in the Caribbean psyche that it is not, or no longer, psychologically disruptive. A study published in the British Medical Journal shows that:

“White and South Asian single mothers had particularly high rates of mental illness, with a 10% prevalence of depression. Those who were married or cohabiting had the lowest rates. Caribbean single mothers did not, however, have higher rates and the lowest rates were found among single women without young children.”

In plain language, the research shows that Caribbean women are more psychologically comfortable as single mothers. While this may be good news in a sense, the single parent household does not end at the parent. The financial constraints, the lack of leisure time, the lack of parenting time and a whole host of other factors determine how a significant section of the general population develops, educationally, economically, emotionally.

The establishment of a Single Parent Fund is a good initiative, and one which will presumably focus more on empowerment and enablement than it does on charity. Giving a single mother a fish is one thing, but teaching her to fish is ultimately more important.

First of all, one of the key obstacles to empowering single women is stigma. The single mothers in Guyana are still seen in some quarters as irresponsible or promiscuous. It doesn’t matter the circumstances behind her status, whether it is escape from emotional and physical abuse, the need to protect herself from STIs, the succumbing to economic pressures, or abandonment as is so often the case.

The reality is that while a properly functioning nuclear family might be the ideal environment to raise children, a strong single mother bringing up her own kids is a far better alternative to a dysfunctional nuclear family situation. We are still very much a morally conservative society, but we need to broaden our perspective to accept the validity of other types of families.

Just as there is much circumstantial evidence but a lack of hard facts to support the notion that single mothers need help in raising a large section of the future generation of Guyanese, we can safely presume that a focus on and an investment in this vulnerable group is going to see rewards for our society as a whole in the medium to long term.

It seems to me the government’s moving on this initiative – the first direct intervention of this kind that I can recall – can perhaps, depending on how it’s implemented, be used as model for working with other stakeholders, especially the corporate community.

If President Jagdeo’s and Mr. Corbin’s New Year’s messages are anything to go by, we have, at the very least, an implied political consensus on the need to move forward on this.

The public war between Kurshid and Edgehill
Such a simplistic problem as I see it, being fought in a public gallery, one which could easily be mediated by a trained court mediator, without recourse to the courts of course, or one trained in Conflict Transformation and the problem would just disappear.

These are two greatly respected, professional and dynamic patriots we are blessed with. These are also powerful personalities.

The constant criticisms of each other and the disagreements, being done so public is not proper. Therefore, I call upon these mighty citizens of Guyana to sit and talk. All problems could end with dialogue, and having a trained mediator could help, or even the two sitting alone over a nice cup of tea or coffee or drink (non-alcoholic of course) and talk the matter out. The understanding should be also that letter writing campaign to the press with fictitious names should also cease. Anyone with sense could easily note the fictitious names that crop up in letters when a certain department is usually criticized.

I believe both departments would have people who do not want cameras at the GPOC, and both departments would have individuals who are honest and some who are dishonest. Find out who are really objecting to the cameras, and you may find the culprit involved in the skullduggery.

As a trained Court Mediator, and Conflict Transformation specialist trained by the United Nations, I am volunteering my services to mediate peace between these two fine and loyal Guyanese. I can also recommend others to do the mediation. I am a great respecter of Mr. Sattaur and the Bishop. Guyana cannot afford to have its great sons wasting energy on petty matters.

Let sense and maturity prevail.
Roshan Khan

Mr. Suseran is historically inaccurate
All of the statements made by Mr. Leon Jameson Suseran in his letter of January 5, 2008 are historically verifiable except for the last that Jesus-the-Christ founded the Catholic Church in 33 CE. Of course, this statement is a creedal and traditional affirmation of faith, but it is historically inaccurate (the Lord is forgiving). We must distinguish between heart-warming affirmations of faith and cold facts of history.

For the first 70 years or more after the crucifixion of Yeshua, his followers did not call themselves Christians, Catholics, Pentecostals, Baptists, Nazarenes, etc. Perhaps they did have a name for themselves – Followers of the Way, Disciples and Believers are some suggestions, but none is definitely known. While it may be an acceptable church tradition for us to give them a particular name, in reality we are committing a historical travesty (the Lord is merciful) when we do so. A good name we can adopt is the ungainly but technically-correct ‘proto-Christians’, with the clear understanding it is only a name for our convenience, not one that they called themselves. At what exact point in time Yeshua followers fully accepted the name ‘Christian’ is one of the enigmas of history, but it was certainly by 313 CE when the Edict of Milan ended the persecution of Christians.

The name ‘Catholic’ is not found in the canonical New Testament. Its first known historical use with reference to Yeshua followers was by Ignatius in a letter to the Smyrnaeans (about 110 CE), who used it in a generic, nonspecific way as the Greek katholikos, ‘universal,’ from katholou, ‘in general’. Ignatius did not coin or invent the word, as it had existed in the Greek language long before its arbitrary adjectival attachment to the Greek ekklesia, ‘church.’

The technical use of the word in reference to the historical Holy Apostolic Catholic Church seems to have been established by 200 CE. Hence, the followers of Yeshua may have called themselves ‘Catholics’ before the term ‘Christians’ became acceptable. Moreover, there were Yeshua churches with non-Roman doctrines in existence long before the historical appearance of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church. These non-Roman doctrines (no less valid than the Roman ones) were expurgated by the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. A description of the disputations and tumult that preceded and succeeded the Council of Nicaea would fill a library. Sufficient to say, it was several centuries before many of the conclusions of Nicaea (including the doctrine of the Trinity) were firmly established as generally accepted Christian doctrines.

While it is our very human desire to fill the gaps in our knowledge with conventions, traditions, creeds and dogmas, the cold hard fact is that many historical details about the early Yeshua followers might forever remain unknown. There is more than the pestle of religious exclusivity in the mortar of the history of Christianity.
M. Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett

Christianity is a religion
In a letter to the editor in today's Chronicle (January 5th 2008) by Leon Jameson Suseran, the dates of those changes are correct. However they are denominations of Christianity, and not religions.

Christianity is a religion, like Islam and Hindu, for example. The Catholic Church, Congregationalist, Methodist, Baptist, etc, are all denominations of Christianity.

The Catholic Church is the root of all the European Denominations, but the Greek Orthodox Church, Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Christian Church are different. The European Denominations are as a result of the disagreements made by various European persons, like Henry 8th for instance. and the Pope. The separation caused by Henery 8th created the Church of England or the Protestant Church and from there the splits came.

One other note of interest. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, was officially formed in 1821 but operated for a number years before then. (In 1796 Peter Williams forms the basic structure of the AME Zion Church in New York and in 1801 Zion Chapel began.)

The church can be traced back to the John Street Methodist Church of New York City. Following acts of overt discrimination (such as Black parishioners being forced to leave worship), many Black Christians left to form their own churches. The first church founded by the AME Zion Church was built in 1800 and was named Zion. These early churches were still part of the Methodist Episcopal church, although the congregations remained separate.
Roger Moore

Kaieteur, an unforgettable experience
I was fortunate to be among a group of persons lined up for a Kaieteur Orinduik day tour on Sunday, December16, 2007. There were 11 of us on the Trans- Guyana flight which departed ogle at around 9 am. On the flight were eight VSOs, myself, the tour guide and the pilot.

Our tour guide has been touring the falls over the past nineteen years, so he was filled with all the knowledge that was to be shared. As we flew for the first 40 minutes or so the pilot had to make a diversion to Orinduik first because of poor visibility over Kaieteur due to the weather.

We landed smoothly and in no time we were on our way climbing down to see first hand the beauty of Orinduik was here that we had a chance to be intimate with the falls as we bathed and swam in the cool black water. It was like a fountain of youth as the sun shone in all its glory on the beautiful jasper rocks that lined the base of the falls.

We spent over an hour then departed for our ultimate destination--Kaieteur. This time the weather had improved and there before us was our pride and joy--Kaieteur Falls. Looking at this wonder from the air made me remember the many photographs and pictures that ever so often fill our souvenir shops and stores. After landing our tour guide gave us five different views of the falls. They were all great but my favourite was Boys’ Scouts view which to me give a true picture of Kaieteur in all its glory. We then spent over an hour just gazing at the falls admiring the power and beauty of this falls as it thundered thousands of gallons of water over the rocks. I encourage Guyanese to make the sacrifice in experiencing this wonder for themselves.

Kaieteur is our falls, our pride, our joy found in our own backyard. While many may argue that going to Trinidad is cheaper. Those who have been to Kaieteur would agree with me that the trip is worth every single dollar. For me, Kaieteur will be an unforgettable experience.
QUADO VANCOOTEN,
MASHABO MISSION.

City Hall expresses gratitude for cooperation
THE Mayor and City Council would like to express sincere thanks to your organisation for the good cooperation to its programmes and projects in 2007. Honestly, this kind of assistance is absolutely necessary to advance the interest of the city and its populace.

In this year, we look forward to strengthening our relationship to modernise this beloved city of ours. Therefore, we trust that you would be very pleased to provide coverage of our collective effort to make Georgetown a better place for all of our citizens.

Once again, happy New Year!
ROYSTON KING
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL

Seeking a response from Guyana Watch Inc.
THIS is my second installation seeking a response from Guyana Watch Inc. about a monetary pledge which has not been palpable since August 2007.

I seek not to berate this organisation as its philantrophic contributions to Guyana are truly magnanimous. In fact it is for this very attribute that I am puzzled about the non- manifestation of the "donation".

As stated in a previous letter, the Guyana Watch Inc. had assured Mohamed Wahid Khan of financial assistance to facilitate the aforementioned in a spinal surgery in India. This guarantee was even published in Kaieteur News in a press release issued by the organisation after its trip to the Essequibo Coast.

The organization had requested frequent communication with the aforementioned and me, the guardian, to which I complied unwaveringly. From the stage of consulting overseas hospitals to actually selecting and confirming a surgeon and hospital, I kept Guyana Watch Inc. apprised. Now that the surgeons and hospital are on standby, I am kindly imploring this benevolent organization to honour its covenant.

Mr. Khan has received help from various individuals and organisations to date, but this particular promise has been unfulfilled.

It should also be noted that attempts to physically contact the hierarchy of the organisation both in Queen's, New York and Guyana have proved futile. There is no established branch of the organization both in the United States and Guyana, so contacting the administrators or even well wishers is unrealizable.

As a consequence, I am hoping that my letter can evoke a response at least through this same medium.
ROMAIN KHAN

Bhutto was leader but not patriot
I refer to Visnu Bisram's letter dated Jan 4/08 in the Stabroek News, portraying Benazir Bhutto as a patriot and leader.

Yes, leader she was, but I do not know about patriot. Which patriot would steal billions of dollars from their loving country, especially when most of the people are poor and there is very high illiteracy rate. Perhaps that is why she was able to do such looting.

I compare her is many respects to Burnham. She appointed herself as "Chairperson for life" of her political party and she was the sole person who could appoint a successor. As Bisram stated, she was indeed a brilliant person. Burnham was very brilliant too, sir.

Bisram continues his careful, but indirect attack against Islam by stating "her senseless killing by Islamic fundamentalists has plunged the country into yet another political turmoil". How does Bisram know who killed Ms. Bhutto? May she rest in peace.

Bisram in his folly also stated that "she gave up this luxury to return to Pakistan to face arrest and death threats". No my good man, she made a deal with her supposed arch-enemy (Musharraf) to have all charges dismissed before she returned home, and the deal was that she would work with the dictator in some form of alliance that was lauded in Washington. If Washington was the broker of this deal, Bisram should know. To the unsuspecting public, Bhutto and Musharraf were playing a game of cat and mouse, but they had their secret deal which was sanctioned by their bosses in D.C.

Please Mr. Bisram, stop your personal attacks against another religion. Furthermore, Guyanese are much aware of news from around the world, so you do not have to send letter to local newspapers with anti-Islamic news as you have regularly done.
R. KHAN

Lawlessness on King Street must be addressed
I wish to alert the relevant authorities of the uncontrollable lawless situation on King Street. There is a new shanty town being constructed on the road (King Street) between Regent and Robb Streets. There seems to be different laws for different folks. It is amazing that the City Council is a stone throw away and this situation has been escaping their attention while a fruit vendor at John Ford Car Park (not on the road) comes under their hammer.

The police on a daily basis charge motorists who park diagonally in the corner of the Street yet nothing is done to people erecting tents and placing coconut carts. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that they along with the Ministry of Local government and the Ministry of Works will be removing illegal structures and here this nonsense on King Street is allowed to grow. Almost all the Judges and Magistrates traverse this street on a daily basis.

I must mention that these lawless people are all tenants of a popular businessman who should know better as he is a qualified civil engineer. These people are paying a rent to him and as their businesses expand, they occupy the street where motorists should be using.

I have seen the City Constables chase down people and arrest them and they completely ignore this permanent illegality. I was charged for obstructing the free flow of traffic although my parked car was much more off the street than that of the two illegal structures. One of the structures is a mini bus converted to a store with a pop corn machine placed next to it.

I explained to the policeman and he promptly informed me that his job is to deal with vehicles on the road and not shops on the road. How can one convert a mini bus to a store and park it on the road? Whatever happened to Chapter 51:02 (Traffic Act) the section governing road service and goods transportation license? This nonsense is absolutely illegal. Both Chapter 28:01 (Municipal Act) and 51:02 (Road Traffic Act) will tell you that what is happening there is illegal, so why is this being allowed?

In 2007 after hosting a major event at the National Stadium where all the Caribbean countries are fixing their capitals so that they will be in a position to taste a piece of the tourism pie, Guyana is doing exactly the opposite. Honourable President of Guyana Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister Kellawan Lall, Minister Benn, Mayor Hamilton Green and Ms. Williams, how can we allow a few lawless people to further damage the image of our dear capital? Why some vendors who vend for years on minor streets and avenues are being removed/prosecuted and now structures are erected on major streets in the full view of those in authority and nothing is being done? Minister Maniram Prashad frequently traverses this street on his way to Freedom House and it is amazing how his eyes could escape this national sore.

The names mentioned above are all people who are charged with the responsibility to develop this country in a positive way, to place Guyana on the world market and to enforce the laws to Guyana in a fair manner.

They must not allow a few corrupt officers at City Hall to tarnish the image of the city. There must be an investigation to ascertain who gave the permission to legitimise this illegality and then these culprits must be removed from office immediately. Ultimately, these corrupt officers are the city’s real problem. This cock-eyed law enforcement must come to an end.

Having said all of the above, I am now looking forward to my next visit to King Street with my car. I am hoping that I will not have to be competing with shops and stores on the street.

Justice must not only be done, it must appear to be done.
DAVID ROBERTSON PHD

Increased electricity charges will bring greater profitability
SOME Guyanese may be wondering "Why is Sean Brignandan saying that GPL should increase electricity charges and be privatised?"

Pushing up electricity rates will result in better profits (in the order of G$4Bn to G$5Bn) at GPL meaning taxpayers would not need to

subsidise GPL and its customers.

Then when it is achieving reasonable profits it can be privatized.

There is enough finance in Guyana’s banking system to fund this.

At the moment, a new investor would pay maybe G$5Bn for GPL. But if GPL’s profitability was improved to G$4Bn, it will result in attracting a better price for GPL of about G$80B.

That G$80B would mean a potential Tax cut or more development in Guyana through greater government spending.

So Guyanese need to make GPL profitable, then privatise GPL (this means the investor would be paying for GPL saving taxpayers monies).
SEAN BRIGNANDAN