Traffic lights a symbol of South-South cooperation
Months after the completion of Guyana’s National Stadium at Providence another project, the new traffic lights system, has been completed, enhancing relations between Guyana and India.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds yesterday morning, at a formal commissioning ceremony, flicked the switch of the traffic lights at the junction of Main Street and Avenue of the Republic.

He said, “The accomplishment of these projects resides not only in their presence and effective functioning for the use intended, but also in the representation of the significance of south-south co-operation between the Government and people of India and the Government and people of Guyana.”

The Prime Minister said the proper working and maintenance of the new and modern traffic signal system will undoubtedly, improve traffic management and safety. It is also expected to prevent accidents, injury, deaths and property loss.

“In committing to and executing this project, Government is fulfilling its vision for enhancing the lives of all citizens by improving public safety and security, and providing an enabling environment for the growth of Guyana’s economy that is unfolding, while regularising the way we commute and conduct ourselves daily,” he posited.

The Prime Minister expressed Government’s gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of India for extending monetary support and service in realising for Guyana, the accomplishment of another significant project

India’s High Commissioner to Guyana Avinash Gupta, in his remarks, said the ceremony is the culmination of events initiated with the visit of Vice President of CMS Traffic Systems Limited Krishna Kumar to Guyana in September 2006, when a presentation of the state-of-the-art traffic signal system was made to the government.

The project was later given impetus with the signing of an agreement for installation of modem traffic signal systems during the visit of the Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to Guyana in November last year.

High Commissioner Gupta said, “CMS Traffic Systems Limited is a well-known company in India and is responsible for installing more than 60 percent of traffic lights in the country. This was their first international project, but they came with wide experience of executing similar projects in India.

He explained that CMS is the only organisation in India that has ISO 9001:2000 certification for its complete operation, including installation, commissioning and maintenance of traffic signal systems 

The High Commissioner said, “The successful conclusion of this project demonstrates, beyond doubt, our strong intention of becoming a reliable partner in the economic development of Guyana.”

The High Commissioner said his remarks would be incomplete if no mention is made about the growing relations between Guyana and India.

He said, “Since the two state visits of President Bharrat Jagdeo to India in August 2003 and January 2004, the relations between our two countries have been put on a smooth road which does not have any traffic signals; if there is one, it always remain green.”

Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn, in addressing the gathering, said the new traffic light system replaces the collapsed Eagle 30-year old traffic light system in Georgetown and its suburbs, with a new system connecting 50 modern controlled intersections.

Minister Benn elaborated on the status of the project, “Forty-eight of the intended fifty intersections have been activated, and 45 of these have been put in service. Two intersections – one at High and Croal Streets and the other at High and Regent Streets await the relocation of the two minibus parks.”

He said the light was not installed at one of the intended location because of the continuing presence of encroaching structures at the Brickdam and Water Street intersections. Diamond on the East Bank Demerara is being considered as an alternative site.

The Minister said the new system, installed by CMS Technologies, a world leader in traffic system management and instrumentation, boasts significant features which include solar powered backup to main electricity supply, digital, remote programmable electronic circuitry, route and intersection synchronisation, large light emitting diode and digital countdown displays, directional arrows and pedestrian sequences.

The Ministry of Public Works and Communications has established a traffic management unit which has been trained by CMS Engineers in the maintenance, upkeep and operation of the new system.

He called on motorists and road users to exercise patience and responsibility and to accept that “the law of averages” still exists and that with judicious use of the system, unnecessary fears, anxieties and intimidation at major intersections of the city are now things largely of the past.

The project was made possible through a US$2.1M Line of Credit from the Indian EXIM Bank. Physical work on the project commenced on January 21, 2007 and was completed on July 11.

CMS Traffic Systems Limited of India, engaged the services of local Sub-contractors Gaico Construction Inc, Civ-Tech Construction & Contracting Services, Godfrey Bovell Construction Services, and Novad Consultants & General Contractors for the execution of the project.

The lights also feature a pedestrian push button feature which allows pedestrians to make a demand on the system to cross the street. Vehicle Activated Signals are located at the following intersections:

* Rupert Craig Highway and Courida Street

* Rupert Craig Highway and UG access Road

* Rupert Craig Highway and Conversation Tree

* Rupert Craig Highway and Sheriff Street

* Vlissengen Road, Carifesta Avenue and Clive Lloyd Drive

* Vlissengen and Thomas Road

* Lamaha and Albert Streets

* Brickdam and Louisa Row

* D' Urban and Haley Streets

* Eccles and East Bank Public Road

All other intersections have fixed time signals most of which were placed along particular corridors namely: Camp Street, Main Street/ Avenue of the Republic/High Street, Vlissengen Road  and Mandela Avenue / Sheriff Street.

Also present at the ceremony yesterday were Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green, Commissioner of Police Henry Greene, and Traffic Chief Roland Alleyne.  (GINA)

Police incinerate 99 kilos marijuana
Police destroyed 99 kilos 45 grams of cannabis sativa (marijuana), worth $7M yesterday morning at the municipal incinerator on Princes Street, Georgetown.

The marijuana was found in several areas in Berbice and on the East Coast Demerara. In picture, ranks prepare to incinerate the marijuana.

Global pressures impacting on prices of local commodities
Guyana, like other countries in the Caribbean and other parts of the world, has been experiencing price increases for certain commodities which is a direct result of global changes. 

The price increase for certain local commodities is being blamed on the Value Added Tax (VAT) which became operational in January this year. However, many of the items which have had price changes are zero-rated and hence do not attract the 16 percent VAT. This is a global phenomenon as countries are being affected and Governments are working to find ways of ensuring that consumers do not feel the full brunt of the problem.

This situation is not unique to Guyana, since other countries are facing price increases for various essential food items, including flour. Consumers in Caribbean countries have been affected by the rising flour prices due to the increased cost for wheat on the international market. This has led to Government exploring ways of reducing the burden on consumers.

Prior to the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT), bakeries had to absorb a 10 percent consumption tax which was passed on to them by their suppliers. However, with VAT at 16 percent, bakeries that are VAT-registered and compliant are able to recover the additional cost which was not possible prior to the introduction of VAT.

Some of the zero rated items are:- plain bread made with white or whole wheat flour and tennis rolls, raw white or brown rice, raw brown sugar, cooking oil, cow’s milk and milk powder, cooking salt, fresh fruits but not including apples, grapes, dates, prunes, peaches, plums and strawberries; fresh vegetables including onions, garlic, potatoes but not including olives, carrots, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower, dried split peas, uncooked fresh, chilled or frozen chicken; locally produced uncooked fresh, chilled or frozen pork, beef, shrimp, mutton, fish and salted fish, but not including canned products.

The Value Added Tax (VAT) was instituted from January this year and involves a cycle of different transactions including payment of tax, claiming of input credit, and payment of refunds.

In May this year, there were complaints that the price for milk and potatoes had risen but this was due to world market changes. Milk is a zero-rated item. A shortage in Australia and Argentina, due to a prolonged period of drought, caused the price for this item to increase.

The price of wheat has hit an 11-year high on the world market amid tightening world supplies, and this has led to increases in the price of flour, not only in Guyana, but in other parts of the Caribbean. Consumers in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica are facing greater increases for flour and associated products when compared to Guyana.

Consumers in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this week complained that the price of bread and baked products had increased, since there was a 15 percent rise in the price of flour. Milk prices in those islands have also risen due to international factors.

Barbados also reported that the price of flour is likely to be increased for the second time this year, while in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there are changes in the prices as well. Also, last month in Dominica, consumers were grappling with an increase in the cost of food and other goods.

Corn prices in other countries have also risen, and doubled in some places. The food price index in India has risen 11 per cent in one year, and in Mexico in January there were riots after the price of corn flour went up four-fold.

Corn, a staple animal feed, is also in demand as an ethanol base in Canada, but the price increase for this commodity has helped fuel a 4.6-per-cent rise in the price of meat and a jump of 3.7 per cent in the price of milk, ice cream and cheese.

The price of corn in the United States of America has doubled over the past year. This is attributed to the promotion of bio-fuel in that country, as corn plays a greater role in this industry.

In China, the price of eggs and meat has quadrupled in the middle of a sharp shortage while there is an acute shortage of milk and drinking water in India.

Indonesians are eating their rice boiled instead of fried in oil because high biofuel demand has made palm oil unaffordable. Palm oil prices in the region have surged 80 per cent since the beginning of last year.

Italian pasta makers fear that the industry is on the brink of a crisis with a rise in the price of durum wheat which rose 30 to 40 per cent this year. Drought and the demand for wheat for use in biofuels have pushed international prices to their highest in a decade.

Also, Germans are paying more for their favourite beverage, since barley prices have doubled in two years, as German farmers abandon the grain in favour of crops that can be used in biofuels.

The fast-growing corn-based ethanol sector has caused the price of corn to double in the past year as more of the grain is diverted from food and into biofuel. The cost of fuel has been rising in the past few years and this has a heavy impact on the cost of other goods and services.

The Government of Guyana, in the face of these global pressures and development, continues to be proactive in exploring ways of mitigating the impact of these changes on domestic consumers. This is reflected in the recent moves to open the market to the importation of flour and chicken to force prices down.(GINA)

Racism has no place in the party…
Leader Robert Corbin tells PNCR Congress
By Chamanlall Naipaul
The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) must make a realistic assessment of itself, and retool, if it is to achieve its goal of returning to government, Leader of the party, Mr. Robert Corbin told members at the opening of the 15th biennial congress last Friday at its Congress Place headquarters in Sophia.

He observed that while the party has made impressive achievements, it would be unwise to bask in the past.

“It is all well and good to reflect on our past achievements, but life moves on and times change. Whilst we need to take strength from our past successes over 50 years, we must make a realistic assessment of our present condition lest we become irrelevant to the trials and challenges of the current times. We must be realistic. The PNCR, despite its abundance of talent, the eminent superiority of our capacity to manage and our development programmes, is out of office. The working classes are, in many places, suffering under the burden of incompetence, underdevelopment, injustice and marginalisation, and the PPP/C government has shown no increased capacity for reconciliation, institution building or international vision. Thus, we cannot afford to spend all of our time, in 2007, basking in the glories of the past successes. The challenge is now, the battle is in 2007. The issues at stake are nothing less than the survival of Guyana as a coherent nation and the turnaround of economic fortunes to sustained viable growth,” Corbin posited.

He implored party members that the party’s machinery, structure, ideology, tactics, policies and manifesto must be brought under close scrutiny during the deliberations of the congress.

He added that the leadership, at all levels, must also bear scrutiny, and standards of performance before, and during and in the course of regular party work must be examined fearlessly and honestly.

“Inappropriate and outmoded practices must be identified and modified in radical ways. All of us, from the highest office holders to the newest members of the party, must be prepared to do the self-examination that is necessary to bring this party back to its full glory. None of us should leave here content unless we have made a commitment to the people of Guyana. We are at the crossroads and we must seize the moment,” the PNCR leader declared.

On the issue of ethnic diversity, Corbin unambiguously stated that the party opposes all forms of racism, discrimination, intolerance and oppression.

“The PNCR is not, has never been, and will never become an ethnic enclave or pressure group. It is for this reason that we feel so keenly the assertion by our comrade, Sir Shridath Ramphal, when he wondered in 1988, whether we have not travelled far enough to become simply Guyanese. Guyanese, it is true, whose ancestors came at different times from different places and in different boats, but Guyanese who share an indispensable identity. Today, whatever the ships we came in, we are in one boat,” the party leader offered.

He reiterated that racism, crude or subtle, has no place in the party, and that will be one of the important pillars in the PNCR’s indoctrination and orientation over the next two years.

Treatment of Mocha young girls cruel and inhuman
....says GHRA
The cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment experienced by the two girl children in Mocha, East Bank Demerara, reinforces once again the unpalatable truth that this country remains a dangerous place for children, particularly poor children, according to a statement from the Guyana Human Rights Association.

The statement continues: The condition of their lives and the treatment they have received virtually violated  every Article in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that the Government of Guyana and the administration of justice is committed to uphold. In particular Article 40 recognises the right of “every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with promoting the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child assuming a constructive role in society”.

“The vision embodied in this Article is so far removed from our reality that adult society in Guyana needs to take a swift reality check as to which century it wants to inhabit. At present the society abounds with threats to the moral, physical and sexual integrity of girls and young women. The adult world finds sexually saturated television completely acceptable. Every commercial for a concert or fete, virtually every music video out of Jamaica projects the idea that girls and women are gagging for sex 24 hours a day. Our conviction rate for rape offences is less than one percent. Yet when two poor and impressionable teenagers, lured by men, go off the rails, the institution society is so indignant it heaps medieval forms of abuse on them. 

“How a policewoman could believe that parading 13 and 14 year girls around the village in handcuffs with heads shaven is in any way excusable, defies belief. What can charging them with ‘wandering’ achieve, other than deflect from the comprehensive negligence of individuals and institutions responsible for the care and welfare of  children. ‘Wandering’ was rendered obsolete by the CRC on the grounds of discrimination, being a crime only applied against children – the onus nowadays is on the other side of the coin - adults and institutions not exercising their obligations of care

“The two girls apparently lived in an environment in which they had no benefit of love, care or parental guidance. Quite the opposite, they claim to have been raped by in-laws and more recently by other men/boys. Their failure to name the sexual predators is being turned into further condemnation of the girls.

“Guyanese adult society is deeply ambivalent. On the one hand we yearn to live in a modern progressive society which our children feel safe and could build a future. On the other we persist with cultural prejudice and ignorance, fuelled by dogmatic religious backwardness. The price of this irresponsibility is the continuous drain, not only of the brightest and the best of our young people, but of any of them who can find an exit strategy.

Three injured in West Berbice accident
Three family members were injured when the car they were travelling  in turned turtle on the West Berbice Highway at Onverwagt yesterday afternoon. Driver of the car Richard Semple, 31, his reputed wife Julie Harris, 30, and their five year old daughter Tonya, all of Manchester Village, Corentyne, were pulled out of the badly damaged motor car by passersby.

Julie Harris and her daughter were rushed to the Georgetown Hospital for multiple body and head injuries after receiving  emergency treatment at Fort Wellington Hospital.

The condition of the five-year-old was said to be critical .

Richard Semple escaped with minor injuries.

Eyewitnesses stated that the vehicle, a white AT 192 Carina PJJ 853, was proceeding along the highway heading for Rosignol and was just coming off the bridge between No.28 village and Onverwagt, when the driver lost control.

Chicken exports to T&T soon
By Chamanlall Naipaul
A local company could begin exporting chicken to Trinidad and Tobago in a couple of months following a visit by health officials from the government of that country here scheduled for next month end to verify that health requirements are in place.

This was disclosed by Managing Director of DIDCO Trading Company Ltd Deo Singh at a news conference yesterday at its Friendship site on the East Bank Demerara.

According to Singh, Trinidad could import as much as one million pounds of chicken per month, and his company has put in place all the health requirements requested by Trinidad health officials.

He assured though that only excess chicken, after the local demands have been met, will be exported so as to ensure that there is no shortage on the local market.

He recalled too that exports could have started already, but a fire at the Friendship processing site in February this year resulted in its power plant being put out of operation and this stalled plans.

If everything goes according to plan, the exports will be history-making because it will be the first time that poultry meat will be exported from Guyana.

However, Singh said a new power plant is expected to arrive in another two weeks and processing operations and production of poultry meat would begin next month.

This, he said will boost production and improve supply on the local market, and also reduce the current prices of chicken which have been showing an upward climb in recent months.

The businessman dispelled the notion that the recent upward trend in prices for poultry products is related to the implementation of the value added tax (VAT), and instead offered that it is part of the international market trend of rising prices for agricultural commodities stemming from rise in prices for agricultural inputs which are by-products of the fuel industry and oil prices have been soaring for quite some time now.

Coupled with this, Singh explained is the move towards bio-fuel production and corn, which is a major input in poultry feeds, is being diverted towards ethanol production thus causing a scarcity and increased prices for the commodity.

Another factor with respect to increased prices for poultry products is economics related whereby in a free market prices are determined by demand and supply.

Singh provided figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which shows a continuous increase for poultry products there during this year, with prices actually exceeding those in Guyana.

The businessman is predicting that when his plant begins production next month prices for poultry products would go down, with poultry meat coming down to about $200 per pound.

On the issue of plans by the government to import about 500,000 pounds of chicken at a lower tariff, Singh opined that if this were done a month ago, when there was reduced supply on the local market, it would have “made good sense.”

He disclosed that his plant will be producing some 800, 000 pounds of chicken from next month and from then on a similar production figure every fortnight, and moves are already underway to facilitate this with a shipment of 3,100 tonnes of corn and soya bean unloaded yesterday for stock feed production.

In addition, Singh revealed that farmers contracted by his company will be given free baby chicks and will only pay for feed, in effort to boost chicken production and reduce production costs for them.

He also expressed satisfaction with the move by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud to implement legislation making it mandatory for chickens to be vaccinated, as this will reduce the mortality rate at chicken farms and improve production.

However, he called for firm measures to end smuggling of chicken from neighbouring Suriname which is providing unfair competition for the local poultry industry.

He explained that smugglers are repackaging chicken from Suriname in unlabelled bags and then selling it on the market as locally produced chicken.

In this regard, he announced that his company is offering one million dollars for persons providing information leading to the conviction of smugglers.

He noted that whenever there is glut on the local market it is because of the smuggled chickens.

Singh firmly believes that the long term solution to combat the trend of increasing prices for agricultural commodities and products lies in the expansion of cultivation and getting more people involved in agriculture. This, he added, will also create increased opportunities for increased employment.

He said he does not see why Guyana should be importing so much milk, some US$21M annually, as it could be self-sufficient in this product through the establishment of mini-milk plants throughout the country.

U.G. launches Anthropology summer school
By Shirley Thomas
The University of Guyana last week launched its Denis Williams Summer School of Anthropology, amidst glowing tributes to the life of the late Dr. Denis Williams (1923-1998), renowned Guyanese archaeologist, historian and award winning artist.

Dr. Williams, who was eventually to become the Director of the Walter Roth Museum, produced several publications, including Archaeology and Anthropology, the journal of the Walter Roth Museum in 1978, and received several national awards, and an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies in 1989.

Among the distinguished persons commending the initiative to launch the Denis Williams Summer School of Anthropology, and acknowledging his works, were: Dean of the School of Education and Humanities, University of Guyana – Mr. Tota Mangar; Dr. Mark Plew of Boise State University; Dr. George Mentore of the University of Virginia; Ms. Jennifer Wishart – a member of the Amerindian Research Unit, and previously Coordinator of the Amerindian Research Unit; Mr. Al Creighton – Senior Lecturer of the University’s School of Education and Humanities and Aviation Captain Gerald Perreira, a local anthropologist at the Walter Roth Museum.

The vote of thanks was delivered by an elated, but very modest Ms. Eve Williams, daughter of Dr. Dennis Williams, who, on behalf of the Williams’ family, expressed appreciation for the honour bestowed upon her father.

Mr. Creighton said that the Summer School of Anthropology is a training programme to be run in the summer of each year. It will entail training in Social Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology. The project is funded by the University of Virginia and the students themselves.

The first part of the curriculum he said, is a sub-programme in Anthropology which is already on stream. The programme in Anthropology is being run through the collaborative efforts of the University of Guyana and the University of Virginia. There are eleven students pursuing the programme at this time, drawn from various Departments of the University of Guyana, including Environmental Studies; and Forestry. There are as well persons from Regions Two and Nine, sponsored by the Iwokrama Rainforest Research Project; and two Touchaus from Kabakaburi.

Noting that the collaboration began in 2002 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Guyana and the University of Virginia, Creighton said that this paved the way for the specific programme in Anthropology. He credited Dr. George Mentore of the University of Virginia, as the main person behind this initiative.

Creighton said the activities of the summer School are currently progressing within the University’s Amerindian Research Unit of the Department of Language and Cultural Studies.

Meanwhile, the second programme being offered by the Denis Williams Summer School, is Archaeology. That programme, funded by Boise State University, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and the University of Guyana, is headed by Dr. Mark Plew of Boise State University, and assisted by Mr. George Simon and Gerald Perriera of the Walter Roth Museum. It is being run through the collaborative efforts of the University of Guyana and the Boise State University.

Ms. Jennifer Wishart of the Amerindian Research Unit said that the Archaeology Programme, introduced at the University of Guyana for the first time this year, will kick off with a field trip to the hinterland village of Kabakaburi on Wednesday. Ten persons so far have been enrolled into that programme: Six from the University of Virginia, and three Guyanese, namely: Jentian Miller - one of the Lecturers from UG’s School of Education and Humanities; Ms. Shabana Daniels, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; and Mr. Mohamed Khan – a student of the Social Sciences Department.

President meets Scouts ahead of trip for 21st Jamboree in UK
A contingent of youths from the Scouts Association of Guyana will join over 40,000 other scouts from almost every country in the world at the biggest ever World Scout Jamboree.

Friday, ahead of their trip to the United Kingdom for the 11-day event which begins on July 28, the scouts, led by Gary Mendonca, met President Bharrat Jagdeo at State House.

“We paid a visit to the President this morning to introduce him to the delegates of the contingent and to explain the programme of activities that we will be experiencing at the Jamboree for 11 days. The President is the patron of the Scouts Association of Guyana and we were privileged to have the opportunity to spend some time with him explaining our coming adventure,” Mendoza said after the meeting.

At the Jamboree, there will be 16 sub-camps, each designed to become the home for up to 1,800 young people.

SPEND THE MONEY!
- Global AIDS Programme boss says spend the AIDS money
From Neil Marks in Australia
THE Director of the Global AIDS Programme for the World Bank, Dr. Debrework Zewdie, says Guyana and countries in the Caribbean are guilty of a "moral hazard" in having money to fight the epidemic but failing to utilise it fully when some of it could be plugged into research.

Guyana is part of the World Bank's US$155 Caribbean multi-country initiative. She said this was so, even though one of the realities of Guyana is that the true extent of the problem is unknown and worse yet there is hardly, if any research to test the effectiveness of the antiretrovital (ARV) therapy given to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Dr Zewdie is presenting her thoughts on ARV rollout and research issues in the developing world for the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention which opens today in Sydney, Australia.

Scientists and global policy makers meeting in Sydney for the AIDS conference say ten per cent of all resources dedicated to HIV programming should be used for research towards optimizing interventions utilized and health outcomes achieved.

"We must identify which approaches are effective in the field, which are not, and why. We must also learn how to integrate HIV-specific services with primary tuberculosis, malaria, prenatal and postnatal and sexual and reproductive health services," IAS says in the "Sydney Declaration" for this week's conference.

Unfortunately, the conference organizers say, few granting agencies or national health budgets commit designated funds to operations research, and where such funding is available, it is often underused.

Speaking with reporters at the Macquarie University in Sydney, Dr Zewdie said that while the Bank does not dictate for countries what they do with the non-repayable money the Bank provides, she wants to see some of that money pushed into research. This is because, she said, the dynamics of the transmission of HIV/AIDS in Guyana is unknown, as much as about the effectiveness of the ARV.

Because of failings on the part of the Caribbean programme, she said the World Bank has had caused to review its programme and have refocused its initiative here in the Caribbean. She said this was done six months ago.

The government has repeatedly stated that everyone who needs ARVS in Guyana have access free of charge.

In 2003, the World Bank approved the Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control APL to support the Caribbean Regional Strategic Plan of Action for HIV/AIDS. Under this programme, support is provided to National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plans of individual countries, which are based on the Caribbean Regional Strategic Plan. Guyana is supported through the Guyana HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project.

In Guyana, it is thought that heterosexual (male to female) transmission accounts for about 80% of those infected with the disease. Additionally, transmission through men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) is estimated to be about 18%.

The organizers of IAS 2007 say the evolution of HIV prevention, treatment, and care over the past quarter century is one of the great successes of medical science. Committed and sustained research efforts have provided the evidence on which approaches to programming are based.

According to the IAS, these same scientific efforts are now resulting in new prevention technologies and drugs, and new strategies to manage and deliver both. Good research drives good policy.

However, more money needs to go into research. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, for example, allows up to 10% of each grant to be allocated for operations research, but this provision is rarely used by countries and the research community is rarely represented on Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs).

IAS is calling on individuals and organisatons to sign the Sydney Declaration to  make national governments and bilateral, multilateral, and private donors allocate 10% of all resources for HIV programming to research.

"We believe that without such funding, we will fail to maintain a sustained and effective response to the AIDS pandemic."

Labourer commits suicide
A 36-year-old labourer of Cullen Sand Top on the Essequibo Coast, late Thursday afternoon committed suicide by slitting his throat with a cutlass, allegedly after brutally chopping his wife.

Reports reaching the Sunday Chronicle said that Jageshwar, also known as “Mutt”, and his wife Shamdai Jageshwar, were involved in a heated argument at their home when he grabbed a cutlass and chopped her several times about the body.

Reports said that the woman – the mother of Jageshwar’s two children, began screaming for help before collapsing on the floor.

Thinking her to be dead, the man allegedly turned the cutlass on himself, slashing his throat, then collapsed on the floor.

Neighbours, on hearing the screams, rushed over to the couple’s house, where they found both of them bleeding on the floor. They rushed them to the Suddie Hospital, but Jageshwar was pronounced dead on arrival there. His wife was treated for wounds, and later held by the police for questioning.

Motorcyclist hurt in crash
A 32-year-old motorcyclist was yesterday rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, after being involved in an accident at the corner of Middleton and Garnet Streets, Kitty.

Eston Williams of West Ruimveldt arrived at the institution bleeding, and suffering multiple injuries to his head and face, as well as a suspected broken right arm.

The accident occurred around 14:45 h, when Williams on his CJ motor cycle travelling north along Middleton Street, crashed into a motor car driving west along Garnett Street. On impact the motorcyclist was flung off his cycle and landed on the roadway. He was transported to the hospital by the driver of the motor car involved in the accident.

The driver of the car emerged unhurt, but both his vehicle and the motor cycle were badly damaged.

Jagdesh fears he is paralysed
A man who fell from a tree whilst picking genips two Sundays ago, fears he might have been paralysed from his waist down, but is unable to afford a Machine Readable Imaging (MRI) scan.

Jagdesh Naraine, 38, of Number 64 Village, Corentyne who works on a beverage delivery truck for B. Parsram and Sons at Number 62, Village, was off duty at the time of the accident.

Naraine said he would normally pick genips which he would sell to augment his income. On that Sunday he was up in the tree when he stepped onto a limb which broke, and he fell several feet to the ground. He was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to hospital.

Naraine said he has lost feeling in his legs, and has been lying in bed for the last two weeks, unable to use his limbs. He fears he might have suffered a spinal injury, and is now grieving over the fact that he might be unable to work to earn a living even after leaving hospital.

IICA Agriculture Ministers meet in Guatemala
In Guatemala, the stage is set for the week of Agriculture and Rural Life of the Americas.

Thirty-four countries will be taking part, most of them represented by their respective minister of agriculture.

The Guatemalan colonial city of Antigua Guatemala will provide the backdrop for the week of Agriculture and Rural Life of the Americas from today to 27th July 2007, which will bring together ministers of agriculture , other high-level government representatives, senior officials of international agencies and other stakeholders of the hemisphere’s agriculture sector.

Delegates from the 34 member countries of the inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) are meeting in Guatemala to discuss important issues related to the sector and take strategic decisions, under the slogan of “Working together for the agriculture sector of the Americas”.

This important hemispheric event, which is held every two years, was organised by the Government of Guatemala, through its Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), with technical and logistical support from IICA.

Several events will take place during the week: the fourth Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life within the framework of the Summit of the Americas process; the Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA); the forum of Ministerial Delegates of Agriculture and Rural Life and two other forums involving stakeholders of the agriculture sector.

Guatemala’s Minister of Agriculture, Bernardo Lopez, will be hosting the event. In a letter to the delegates, he urged them to consolidate strategies that would make it possible to realize the Shared Vision of Agriculture for 2010, in a spirit of democratic cooperation.

Minister Lopez said the countries needed to “promote the sustainable development of the sector to generate a new dynamic of shared responsibility to enhance the positioning of agriculture and rural life on the agendas of our nations”.

The Director General of IICA, Chelston Brathwaite, said “the contributions and proposals will make it possible to move forward with the joint and collective effort of building up agriculture and a rural milieu that are prosperous, modern, competitive and sustainable, and of achieving a better standard of living for rural communities”.

Brathwaite stressed that Guatemala would be “an excellent opportunity to hold a strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture and to make progress on specific issues”.

Berbice Expo 2007 surpasses expectations
-attracts thousands
Expositions and trade fairs and similar events were introduced by the Government to celebrate and promote pride in industry and entrepreneurship, and over the past few years, they have served to boost the tourism sector.

The first major event for this year, the Berbice Expo, opened Friday evening at the Albion Community Centre Ground, under the theme ˜The ancient county where opportunities beckon.

Minister Prashad congratulated the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) and the planning committee for the outstanding work to successfully host the event that has been gaining momentum since it was first staged in 2005.

This exposition will afford the business community in Berbice the splendid opportunity to showcase their talents, innovations, entrepreneurship and industry. “Your fervent response is a demonstration of your commitment to showcase what Berbice, and more so, what Guyana has to offer while it assures that the private sector has the ability to grow and prosper,” the Tourism Minister said.

A number of entities participated in the exhibition including businesses that were there for the very first time.

He said such activities are looked forward to not only by Berbicians and the business community, but by tourists as well.

The purpose of any trade fair is to promote local products and services not just locally, but also regionally and globally, the Minister said. Trade fairs do this by bringing together manufacturers, traders and buyers. In addition, they generate new ideas, new markets and new opportunities, Minister Prashad noted.

The Berbice Expo and Trade fair is now a calendar event of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and part of Government plans to boost the tourism sector while creating a more vibrant trade industry.

Acting President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Adrian Anamayah, expressed his gratitude to the government for the tremendous support that is being given for hosting such events.

He noted that the Berbice Expo is becoming self sufficient and requires little help from Central Government.

There were approximately 200 exhibitors and this number is expected to grow in the years ahead. The three -day event will today.

Some of the participating businesses are Edward. B. Beharry and Company, Banks DIH Ltd, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and  several government agencies including various ministries, the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO).(GINA)

Health Ministry donates wheelchairs to NGO
The Central Islamic Organisation yesterday received a timely donation of five wheel chairs from the Ministry of Health.

The donation is part of the Ministry’s mission to assist persons who are in need of the chairs. The organisation will identify the persons who will receive the chairs.

Shaik Hussain of No. 78 village Corentyne, who has a spinal problem, has been identified as one of the recipients. Hussain was shot by bandits last month.

The donation is part of the 250 wheel chairs the Health Ministry received from the Church of Latter Day Saints of the United States on June 15 last.

Plastic City residents get school uniform vouchers
- 17,000 already handed out
Approximately 17,000 uniform vouchers have already been distributed to beneficiaries in several communities across the country, as well as orphanages and other homes where children are housed.

Last week, residents of Plastic City/Best Foreshore, Region Three received their vouchers from Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand and officers of the Ministry.

The programme forms part of Government’s effort to assist parents to ensure their children stay in school.

The Ministry was allocated $30M for the provision of uniforms for over 20,000 children. The Amerindian Affairs Ministry was also allotted $10M to provide for Amerindian children. The vouchers are valued at $1,500 each.    

Minister Manickchand, who toured the Plastic City community and interacted with residents, urged parents to ensure that their children attend school since the Government has recognised that the only way out of poverty is through education.

The Minister and officers also visited the David Rose Special School in Georgetown where vouchers were distributed. While offering words of advice to parents, the Minister called for their continued partnership with the Ministry and the Government in providing the necessary environment and making sacrifices for their children to attend school.

Residents praised the Government for taking special interest in assisting them in providing for their children. They also commended the work of Minister Manickchand and her Ministry.

Last year’s $77M allocation benefited over 13,000 children. The programme is being executed through a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Human Services and Social Security and Amerindian Affairs, with the latter being responsible for over 120 Amerindian villages countrywide.

From an initial allocation of $31M in 2002, the sum was increased to $34M in 2003 which benefited 7,545 children. A sum of $750,000 was given to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to assist children in the hinterland communities.

In 2004, Cabinet approved an allocation of $40M of which the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs was granted $20M to provide uniforms for Amerindian children countrywide, while $20M was allocated to the Human Services Ministry which benefitted 13,028 children.  

Of the $40M approved for the programme in 2005, of which the Ministry of Labour Human Services and Social Security received $30M and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs $10M to complete distribution in the regions which did not benefit in 2004. Approximately 13,500 children benefited from the $30M allocation.

The school uniform programme is being executed by the Difficult Circumstances Unit (DCU) of the Human Services Ministry. This unit over a five-year period expended approximately $150M in providing needy persons with prostheses, hearing aids, braces, wheel-chairs, funeral expenses, spectacles and medication.

THE CANADA/CARICOM 'PARTNERSHIP'
Editorial Viewpoint
By RICKEY SINGH
IT MAY not have been given the attention the region's media had attracted to last month's Washington Conference between President George Bush and CARICOM Heads of Government.

But let there be no doubt about the optimism that has emerged for a new economic parnership and positive relations in general between our Caribbean Community and Canada, following last Thursday's working visit to Barbados by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

His young, fresh-face personality and readiness to openly acknowledge "neglect over the years" of the Caribbean by successive administrations in Ottawa, may have contributed to prevailing optimism among CARICOM Governments that are understandably anxious to go beyond a now expiring and very limited one-way free trade pact in the form of 'CaribCan'---Canada's version of the also expiring US-created Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).

The 48-year-old Harper, who heads an 18-month old New Conservative Party administration, was in Barbados for bilateral talks with the government of Prime Minister Owen Arthur and later with a group of CARICOM Heads of Government comprising:

President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Ministers Arthur (current CARICOM chairman); Trinidad and Tobago's Patrick Manning; St.Vincent and the Grenadines' Ralph Gonsalves; St. Lucia's Stephenson King (ag); Antigua and Barbuda's Baldwin Spencer; Dominica"s Roosevelt Skerrit, The Bahamas' Hubert Ingraham, and St. Kitts and Nevis' Denzil Douglas

The government leaders of Jamaica (currently locked in national election campaigning); Belize, Suriname and Grenada had excused their absence.

Unlike the meeting with President Bush last month, no "joint statement" was released to the media following the working lunch meeting between Harper and CARICOM leaders.

But in separate statements, both the Canadian Prime Minister and Prime Minister Arthur, speaking on behalf of CARICOM, were to emphasise a new determination to forge a more imaginative relationship for mutual benefits.

While Arthur kept emphasising the difference between having even a revised trade agreement and a desirable "economic partnership", inclusive of provisions for free and fair trade; services and investment, as well as dispute-resolving procedures, his Canadian counterpart was emphatic in what's envisaged. He told a media briefing:

"We accept criticism that there has been some negligence over the years, but we are moving forward, full throttle, on the development of a new economic partnership for this region...

"Canada" he pledged, "will have a sustained high-level presence in the region, will engage more with key regional partners and will display leadership within the regional organisations and institutions..."

Involved in the proposed "new partnership" to take shape following the launch of structured new negotiations for the envisaged "modern relationship", would be projects that embrace education, capacity-building; security and democratic governance; trade and investments, the environment and climate change.

One of the distinguishing features of this region's relations with Canada--where there is an expanding Caribbean diaspora, including many thousands of Guyanese--has been the consistency on the part of successive administrations in Ottawa to avoid the arrogance and meddling that has been experienced in dealing with other trade and aid partners of our Caribbean Community.

Let, therefore, the negotiations begin for the promised "new partnership" for the next 10 years that could make a qualitative difference to previous aid and trade agreements with Canada.

After all, as Prime Minister Harper himself was to observe when he addressed a business forum before leaving Barbados to conclude a five-day four-nation visit to Haiti:

"From Canadian direct investment in excess of sixty billion dollars to billions more in the import and export of products and commercial and travel services, Canada and CARICOM and its associates certainly have a trade foundation upon which to build..."

BEYOND PNC'S 15th CONGRESS
The challenges yet to come for both major parties
By Rickey Singh
THIS COLUMN was being written while the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR), was engaged in Friday's opening session of its 15th biennial congress that concludes today.

For the first time in its some 50-year history, the party, the traditional arch rival of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) for state power, has had to contend with an open leadership challenge prior to the start of a congress, its highest decision-making forum.

Not since Hamilton Green, the once most powerful elected General Secretary of the PNC under founder-leader Forbes Burnham--who died in August 1985--signalled in 1991 his interest in contesting the leadership against then holder and Head of State Desmond Hoyte, has so much interest been generated in a threatened leadership challenge..

What had prevented the leadership contest between then Prime Minister Green and Hoyte---who died five years ago, and was succeeded by Robert Corbin---was the prospect of its negative impact on the PNC for the scheduled 1992 national elections. 

The elections were to be held under arrangements with the Carter Centre under entirely different and internationally supervised rules to those that had always ensured electoral "victories" (sic) for the PNC.

In the interest of "party unity", he said then, Green chose to withdraw from the leadership challenge against Hoyte with the understanding--as was reported at the time--that he would be chosen as deputy leader with regular consultation being the norm between them.

Mysteriously, that expected development never happend; and the PNC went into the 1992 elections with its "reform" wing.

It was to discover that not even Green's goodwill gesture or expedient decision to withdraw from the leadership contest, nor even the "reform" component could have prevented the party's loss of the state power it had so firmly controlled, and terribly abused, for some 28 years.

Now, in 2007, for the current 15th biennial congress, Corbin--the once controversial National Mobilisation Minister of the late President Burnham, and an earlier militant of the party's youth arm, Young Socialist Movement (YSM), found himself facing what never previously occured in the history of the PNC--a real open competitive campaign for leadership.

His challenger, Vincent Alexander, recognised as one of the party's intellectuals with a commitment for research and policy formulation, was to discover, to his deep chagrin, that the cards were heavily stacked against him, in the form of the voter-registration process, to unseat the old political trench fighter Corbin.

As the internal rows became fierce and overspilled into the pubic domain over credibility of the electoral process, including lack of verification of the register of voting delegates, there emerged the threat up to Friday of likely legal action to force a postponement of the party's scheduled elections of office bearers, including the leader.

Alexander's Options            
However, by yesterday--following a mix of "cheers" and "booings" at Friday's opening ceremony, there were clear indications of Alexander and his supporters backing away from the leadership duel and considering new post-congress initiatives, including a likely legal challenge on the conduct of the elections, while keeping his options open for the future.

There was no doubt, from the information released by Congress Place ahead of the biennial conference, that Corbin was going to retain the leadership of the party.

Open, competitive contest for leadership and other significant decision-making positions in a party is good for enhancing governance in a multi-party parliamentary democracy.

In this context, there are aspects of the governance structures of both the PNC and PPP that should perhaps be subjected to critical reviews now that they are without their legendary founder leaders, and functioning in a world fundamentally different to the era when political  battles fought at home were often strongly influenced and driven by external factors and forces that kept the "race pot" boiling.

One significant contradiction highlighted by Alexander's expressed discontent with the election arrangements for the 15th biennial congress could well influence a new approach in how the PNC manages its affairs and conducts future biennial congresses.

It is the contradiction that the PNC cannot strenuously argue in favour of verification of an electoral register for national elections but expediently duck for cover with conflicting positions when it comes to verification also for internal party elections, including the leadership.

So-called "surge of voters"--a euphemism for political chicanery--is something that has reportedly taken place at previous congresses of both the PNC and PPP, though not involving the leadership. There have been more than the proverbial political "cobwebs" on the respective "congress doors" of both parties.  

While the leadership challenge posed by Alexander may yet prove a positive development in a politically cleansing process at the top for the PNC, or the "retooling" of the party--as Corbin has called for--overall the campaign seemed largely a negative quarrel between the incumbent and challenger that offered NO fresh ideas for NEW directions for party and country.

Elections 2011
As it has been for many previous congresses, the focus for rallying the troops for the 15th biennial event that concludes today, was cast in a characteristic anti-PPP, anti-government mould---or classic scapegoating for lack of alternative ideas outside the box.

From the reports, nothing has really stood out among the traditional complaints and allegations about governance under the PPP that points to raise hopes for initiatives for forging new directions that could well influence the governing party itself to also reflect, with some humility, on where it and this nation should be going beyond "Elections 2011".

It is normal for a governing party to do a better job in cleverly concealing its internal disagreements/conflicts than its primary challenger for power.

This applies quite correctly today to both the PNC and PPP (never mind their expedient appendages that should now be simply absorbed in the whole and avoid the unnecessary hyphens or slashes).

If in two years time the PNC could well be facing a decisive leaderhsip challenge, the PPP has the even greater challenge to contemplate its best choices as Presidential candidate for 2011, now that the incumbent Bharrat Jagdeo is serving his final term as Head of State.

Perhaps the first significant signal of the PPP's thinking along those lines could come with its next congress, scheduled for 2008, but which could well be deferred to 2009 due to current plans for local government elections next year.

It is a very major decision for the party and the country's future and one that may well require serious consultation with, among others, that old, very experienced and tough political battle axe, Janet Jagan, matriarch of the party. To do otherwise, could prove quite problematic, to say the least,for the party..

It is never too early for any major political party or movement to discuss alternative leadership structures, policies and strategies to maintain not just its own relevance, but in being better placed for charting a more promising, enlightened future for the nation it seeks to serve. 

This holds good for both the PPP and PNC--beyond 2008/9. In the meantime, let's look forward to more mature political leadership and less of the traditional rancour and self-serving divisions that only diminish hopes for a better future for Guyana.

BRAIN DRAIN OR EXPORT EARNINGS?
By Sir Ronald Sanders
(The writer is a business consultant and former Caribbean diplomat)
The United States has become the principal beneficiary of the migration from Caribbean countries of its best educated people.  But the US is not the only developed country that has benefited from the Caribbean’s investment in the education of its people: Canada, Holland and the United Kingdom are also beneficiaries.

The figures for migration of secondary and tertiary educated people are high for every Caribbean country.  The most recent study shows that Suriname led the field for migration of tertiary educated people at 89.9% followed by Guyana at 85.9%, Jamaica at 82.5%, Haiti at 81.6%, St Kitts-Nevis at 71.6% and Antigua and Barbuda at 70%. 

Of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries, only the Bahamas and St Lucia were below 40%.

By the same token, many Caribbean countries profit from large remittances sent back to the region by its people who live abroad.  In fact, in relation to its Gross National Product (GNP), the Caribbean area is the largest recipient in the world of remittances. The largest single source of such remittances is the United States.

Of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Jamaica gains most from remittances.  In 2003, remittances to Jamaica represented a wapping 18% of its GNP, higher than aid and higher than foreign investment.   Guyana, Grenada and Barbados followed with contributions to their GNP of 8.1%, 5.3% and 4.5% respectively.

These remittances are vitally important to every Caribbean country.  They help to keep the country stable by ensuring the survival of unemployed or low-paid workers, paying for housing of persons who might otherwise be homeless, circulating capital in the economy and in some cases buying food and medicines. 

No country could afford not to receive these remittances which may be even higher than official calculations since remittances are often not sent through the banking system or even through the money transfer companies; some are hand delivered by friends and relatives travelling between countries.

If remittances were not being received the level of poverty, crime and social instability in many Caribbean countries would be worse than it is.  Therefore, governments, undoubtedly, welcome the remittances.

Nonetheless, Caribbean countries are facing a dilemma over the migration of their best trained and educated people. 

Simply put, it is this: while countries welcome the significant and irreplaceable contribution that remittances make to their social welfare and political stability, they devote large sums of money on the education of their people only to see a large number of them migrate to developed countries, and they lose people who are needed to help make businesses more productive and profitable.   Even governments suffer from the loss of skilled and qualified people whose technical skills are needed in a range of areas including in formulating and implementing fiscal and trade policy.

And a solution does not boil down to restricting the migration of qualified and skilled people.  Any such decision by a government would be an infringement of basic human rights.  It would fuel social discontent within countries, and probably lead to a host of illegal activities for migration.

The Caribbean could take the view that the ‘brain drain’ is simply another export industry.  Just as rice, sugar, bananas are exported in return for foreign exchange earnings and economic growth, a reality would be that people are trained for export to the work force of industrialised nations and their remittances would constitute the earnings that Caribbean countries receive.

Indeed, Caribbean countries are accustomed to exporting people to jobs.  When the Panama Canal was being painstakingly dug, much of the back-breaking and often fatal labour was performed by Caribbean people who migrated to the job opportunity.  There were other significant movements of people to the United States Virgin Islands when a refinery was built there, and, of course, after the Second World War, large numbers of Caribbean people went to Britain to fill the breach for able-bodied people to carry out a range of tasks in transportation, construction and health services.    In all cases, the migrant workers sent money back home.

The difference with the present problem is whereas in the past the labour that was being exported was largely unskilled, the current migrants are highly trained at great cost to their Caribbean countries of origin, and the loss of their knowledge reduces the capacity of the Caribbean to compete in the global economy.

So, the economists would question whether the cost of production – the amount of money spent educating people for work in the developed nations – is justified by the amount of money received in remittances. 

Whatever the Economists conclude, the fact of life is that people move away from economic, social and political conditions that trouble them.  In part, these conditions across Caribbean countries are pushing skilled people away from their homelands.

It is also a reality that people are pulled to industrialised nations by better circumstances such as well-paid jobs, employment that matches their skills and training, and good social conditions such as health care.

Clearly Caribbean countries have to come to terms with two realities.

First, every country in the region has to improve conditions to keep more of its skilled people at home. This means health and modern education facilities have to be improved and the environment for investment and business has to be strengthened. 

And, second, it has to be accepted that some skilled people will continue to migrate however much conditions in their home countries get better.  Of course, many more will migrate if the domestic conditions do not improve or if they worsen.

If the brain drain is regarded as a reality, then there may be merit in seeing it as an export industry, and a case should be made to the industrialised countries who gain to contribute meaningfully to education and training in the Caribbean.

This would take the full burden of education off the shoulders of Caribbean countries and share it with the countries who are also its beneficiaries.

NGMC Feature
Strength in numbers – farmers unite
The old adage - ‘united we stand divided we fall’ has far-reaching consequences for the further growth and development of Guyana’s agriculture sector, particularly the producers and exporters of non traditional crops, which because of the relatively new emergence of this sector, is less organized and unified in its approach to trade.

Traditional crops such as rice and sugar have progressed over the years, notwithstanding the advent of severe and unpredictable weather patterns and rapidly changing trade and economic policies fuelled by globalization and an increase in free trade. As a result of these developments, competitiveness has become critical since markets that were once guaranteed and protected are slowly eroding.

Nevertheless, the export of rice and sugar continues to be major contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The organized and professional approach of entities such as the Rice Producers Association (RPA), which represents rice farmers nationwide, plays a critical role in protecting the rights of its members, providing effective representation and support. It is not an exaggeration to say that rice farmers, and by extension the rice industry, may well have been less successful without the support of the RPA and similar entities.

Some of the major accomplishments the RPA has made on behalf of rice farmers include adequate drainage and irrigation systems, high quality seed paddy, enhanced access roads from fields to mills, tax concessions on machinery and some basic inputs such as fertilizer & fuel, access to modern farming techniques and technology, and fair prices for paddy.

Clearly, no one farmer standing alone is likely to garner such accomplishments in the interest of maximizing production and improving his standard of living. Only as a group can such achievements be attained.

The benefits and importance of farmers in the non-traditional agro-products sector establishing organs which can address their interest collectively, is therefore critical to meaningful progress.

Agricultural cooperatives or associations play an important role in marketing agricultural crops. A cooperative structure serves to provide agricultural producers with the opportunity to process and market their crops in a joint business venture with other producers.

Uniform preparation of a commodity for a buyer can also be achieved, as can minimization of the numbers of farmers with whom a commodity purchaser must do business. This has its obvious advantages, since no buyer would prefer doing business with twenty farmers separately, as against one organized entity.

Agricultural cooperatives are formed to solve market failure. Market failure occurs when goods are not distributed to the benefit of all persons involved in markets. In particular, two instances characterize market failure. First, large numbers of buyers and sellers may fail to enter the market. Second, equilibrium prices may never be reached because market prices are too low or too high, which may adversely affect the sellers or buyers, respectively. By solving market failure, farming and commodity systems become more economically efficient.

These associations are also formed to achieve market power, or to influence terms of trade. This trade may take the form of domestic or international markets. Terms of trade relate to price, timing, form, and other quality or quantity specifications.

The Government, through agencies such as the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC) has been consistently encouraging farmers to establish organized groups but little progress has been made in this regard. Some degree of distrust seems to exist among farmers, creating a barrier to genuine cooperation, and providing an incentive for the ‘every man for himself’ approach.

However, no benefits are to be derived from this approach. An examination of the agriculture industry in developed countries indicates that there exist both marketing and supply cooperatives. Agricultural marketing cooperatives, some of which are government-sponsored, promote and may actually distribute specific commodities. There are also agricultural supply cooperatives, which provide inputs into the agricultural process. In Europe, there are also strong agricultural / agribusiness cooperatives, and agricultural cooperative banks.

To engage in any meaningful dialogue with the rest of society, farmers need their representative organisations, the farmers’ organisations, structured from grassroots to the international level, as their legitimate voice. This is why farmers’ movement gives a lot of importance to farmers’ organisations, organisations by farmers and for farmers, as an important pillar of today’s society.

Dozens of vibrant and effective farmers’ associations exist throughout the world in countries such as the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and Brazil.

The onus is therefore on farmers in Guyana to envision both the medium and long-term advantages of establishing associations which can only serve to benefit them both individually and as a group, and also successfully propel the industry into the new global economy.

Bangladesh:
When Democracy Goes Bad
By Gwynne Dyer
"We do not want to go back to an elective democracy where corruption becomes all pervasive," Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed, the chief of the Bangladesh army, told a conference in Dhaka in April. Typical talk from a soldier who has thrust the civilian political leaders of his country aside -- but he does have a point, for the leaders in question are a pair of obsessives whose rivalry has poisoned Bangladesh's politics for decades.

Two political dynasties, alternating in power, have ruled Bangladesh ever since 1991. Among the larger democracies, only in the United States have two families, the Bushes and the Clintons, monopolised executive power for a longer time. But whereas the Bush-Clinton rivalry still continues -- if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency next year and goes on to win a second term in 2012, the two American families will have been alternating in power for 28 years -- the Bangladeshi rivalry is coming to an end. So, unfortunately, is democracy in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's democracy was never much to write home about.  It won its independence from Pakistan in 1971, but there were twenty years of tyranny and military rule before the first genuinely democratic government was elected in 1991. This change had domestic roots, of course, but it was also part of the wave of non-violent democratic revolutions that began in the Philippines in 1986 and swept through Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea.

Two steps forward, one step back. Thailand's democracy has now given way to military rule, and democracy in the Philippines isn't looking too healthy either. But nothing compares with the fall from grace of Bangladesh, which is usually ranked among the five most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. The credit for the disaster goes largely to the two women who have alternated in power there for the
past sixteen years.

Sheikh Hasina, prime minister from 1996 to 2001, is the daughter of Mujibur Rahman, the "Father of Bangladesh," a former student agitator who led the movement for separation from Pakistan and then became the first leader of independent Bangladesh. He was an instinctive autocrat without a single democratic bone in his body, and he died in 1975 in a bloody coup by junior army officers that also killed his wife and all of his children except Hasina and one other daughter who were abroad at the time.  So Hasina has a chip on her shoulder.

Khaleda Zia, her bitterest rival, is the widow of General Ziaur Rahman, the army officer who succeeded Mujib after a chaotic interval. He reversed most of Mujib's policies, including socialism and a strictly secular state -- and then Zia also died in a hail of bullets in another military coup in 1981. So Khaleda also has a chip on her shoulder. She became Zia's political heir, and prime minister from 1991-96 and again from 2001-06. Corruption flourished even more vigorously under her rule than under that of Sheikh Hasina.

Neither woman chose politics as a profession; both were driven into it by family tragedy. Neither woman is a monster: each would probably offer up her own life if it would guarantee a safe and prosperous future for her 150 million fellow-countrymen and women. But each loathes the other, and would rather die than compromise or cooperate. Too many of their supporters have the same attitude.

The view of General Ahmed, who has effectively been running the country since elections were cancelled in January, is essentially that democracy is to blame. Sheikh Hasina, out of power, declared a boycott of this year's elections because she believed that the incumbent, Khaleda Zia, was going to rig them. In those circumstances, the election result would be meaningless, so the army intervened. And the general just doesn't think democracy is right for Bangladesh.

But if it isn't right for Bengalis, one of the most politicised, argumentative populations on the planet, then just who is it right for?

Democracy in Bangladesh has gone horribly wrong because of the bitter heritage from the war of independence -- which, like most such struggles, was partly a civil war -- but the solution is to fix it, not to cancel it.

At the moment, General Ahmed is arresting hundreds of prominent political figures on corruption charges. Doubtless many of them are guilty, for that is how politics has been played in Bangladesh for decades.  If they are found guilty by properly constituted courts and banned from further participation in politics, no great harm will be done.

If Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia themselves were among those excluded from politics on the grounds that they engaged in corrupt practices, that would not be a bad thing, either. But politics -- DEMOCRATIC politics -- needs to continue. It also needs to continue (or rather, resume) in Thailand, and Pakistan, and all the other places where the voters were "deceived by the politicians," or "made the wrong choices," or whatever other formula the saviours in uniform use when they grab power for themselves.

People get things wrong. Politics is a messy business. As Winston Churchill said, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." But he also said: "Democracy is the worst form of government -- except all the others that have been tried from time to time."

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

Suicide
A real problem .
By. Rev. Kwame Gilbert
Recently the Minister of Health, Dr. Ramsammy , met with a group of individuals representing various interest groups , to discuss the need to establish a National Suicide Prevention Unit .

This move was applauded by all of us who were present, since it was widely expressed that suicide is a very real issue that is affecting our country at this time.

Recently Region Six has seen an alarming increase in the number of suicides among young people .This troubling issue needs to be urgently addressed and again it is very heartening that our Health Ministry has undertaken a national effort . To quote Dr. Ramsammy who said “My desire though lofty, is possible, and that is to stop the next suicide from happening” echoes the very heart of many parents and families who lost loved ones to suicide.

It is proven that over 90 percent of people that die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. Having earned a degree in professional counselling myself and studied behavioral analysis and crisis intervention, and also with almost sixteen years as a counsellor, I would want to suggest that one cannot conclusively say that all suicide is as a result of mental illness. While untreated mental illnesses, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and many others, cause the vast majority of suicides, persons sometimes who have had no history of any of these conditions also sometimes are the victims of suicide.

What is of the greatest importance in this whole drive is for us all to be aware of warning signs that can put us on the alert and save lives.

People who appear depressed or sad most of the time very likely are candidates for suicide.

Feeling and expressing hopelessness, withdrawing from friends and family, feeling tired most of the times, making statements like -:

“I can’t go on any longer, I hate this Life, I don’t care anymore, and I will end it all”. These are critical warning signals that can help you spot a person who might be suicidal. However it must be noted that some people who die by suicide do not show any warning signs. Many people hide their depression because there is still a strong social stigma against mental illness. When people hear that you are going to the psychiatric clinic, the reaction almost always is “you mad”.

But most persons do show some warning signs, so we need to be aware of what those signs are and try to stop the next suicide from happening.

Now it must not be construed that because a person is depressed for a day or two, that he is suicidal. Depression is usually a prolonged period of sadness that interferes with your ability to function. One cause of depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain and as such it can be treated medically. On the other hand, from a spiritual perspective, some depressions require more than medical treatment. That is where people like me come in. All in all suicide cannot be tackled only from a clinical perspective. This fight requires a collective effort by all of us.

One might be wondering, what do I do if I see these signs? Well firstly we must always take suicidal comments seriously. Never assume that the person is joking or just seeking attention .Secondly get help immediately. Do not leave a suicidal person alone. Get other friends and family involved. Never swear to secrecy with a suicidal person. Tell someone who you believe can help.

The human mind is a very private place, and as such it is hard to really know what people are thinking. But once they have expressed their thoughts, take them seriously. Show an interest in the persons living around you The child in your class that hardly speaks, the little boy in your neighborhood who never plays. The girl that is always talking about being fed up. Pay attention, you may be able to stop the next suicide from happening. Hats off to the Minister of Health for his commitment to saving lives.

Maccarinelli retains WBO world title
… with unanimous points victory over the ‘Big Truck’
WELSHMAN Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight title with a bruising but unanimous points victory over Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite in Cardiff.

With 38 knockouts on the records of the two fighters, an early finish was anticipated between two big punchers.

But the Swansea man, making the third defence of his title, adopted a patient approach in a mature performance.

He floored the ex-WBC champion in the fifth round and finished well ahead on all three judges' scorecards.

The 119-108, 118-109 and 120-107 verdicts were testimony to Maccarinelli's dominance, a couple of final-round scares apart.

The 26-year-old, who took his record to 27 wins from 28 fights, with 20 KOs, imposed himself well in the early stages, working his jab well.

Urged on by fellow Welsh world champion Joe Calzaghe, sitting at ringside, he connected with a couple of clubbing left hands in the second round and unloaded a barrage of blows in the third, wobbling Braithwaite.

But the New York-based Guyanese fighter, nicknamed ‘Big Truck’ for his own punching power, retained his composure despite finding himself out-boxed.

The 31-year-old struggled to land any effective blows of his own, and Maccarinelli worked his man well on the inside during the fifth.

He had already landed two good shots when Braithwaite advanced, only to be caught flush on the chin by Maccarinelli's counter off the ropes, a great follow-up left hand sending Braithwaite to the canvas.

Maccarinelli's intensity appeared to drop a touch in the seventh but he still ended it on a high, sending Braithwaite's gum-shield flying into the crowd with a stinging upper-cut.

Another good one followed in the eighth before a sustained attack in the next left Braithwaite bleeding from his mouth.

The challenger, who had won 22 of his 24 previous fights, 18 by knockout, enjoyed his best round in the 10th to retain a glimmer of hope.

Maccarinelli was forced to take two good left hands from Braithwaite in the final round, and a right hand over the top also shook the Welshman, but he kept things tight thereafter to seal a deserved success.

"It was a tough match-up against a WBC world champion, and he is one of the top fighters in the world," Maccarinelli said afterwards.

"He took some great shots; I dominated behind my jab. I neglected the right hand a bit, but I hurt it early on and it was painful every time I threw it.

"But my jab kept him at bay. I showed I could take a shot on the chin, I showed I can box and I have great stamina. It was a good performance.

"He took some tremendous body shots that would have crippled most people."

Victory could now set up a potential clash with IBF champion Steve Cunningham on November 3, on the undercard of Calzaghe's date with Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium. (BBC Sport)

Twenty-two nations to battle for CFU’s Under-15 football title
… Guyana intensifies preparations from today
By Allan La Rose
TWENTY countries affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) together with, specially invited El Salvador of Central America and CONCACAF’s top nation, Mexico, will vie for top honours when the third edition of the Biennial Under-15 football tournament gets under way in the Twin Island Republic of T&T next month.

The CFU’s showpiece event will be contested among five groups of four teams each in the preliminary competition and will kick-off on August 18 with a group ‘A’ match-up between hosts, T&T and Aruba at the Hasely Crawford Stadium (HCS). The other two teams in the group, USVI and Bahamas will meet the next day at the same venue.

The make-up of the rest of the groups are; ‘B’ – Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Haiti and The Cayman Islands, ‘C’ – Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Cuba and Bermuda, ‘D’ – Suriname, St Kitts, BVI and St Vincent and the Grenadines and ‘E’ – Guyana, Jamaica, Dominica and St Maarten.

The top team in each group along with the best second-placed side, overall, at the end of the preliminary competition on August 23 will then join the two specially invited teams for the quarterfinals, to be staged on August 26 at two different venues.