Health Ministry announces HIV/AIDS art competition winners
By Nathalene DeFreitas
THE Ministry of Health through the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) yesterday announced the winners of the HIV/AIDS art competition and also launched the HIV/AIDS jingle videos.

According to the Community Mobilisation Coordinator of NAPS, Mr. Nazim Hussain, the art competition was aimed at raising awareness and to highlight the need for greater involvement of children in primary and secondary schools as it relates to HIV/AIDS.

He said this year it has been recognised that there is a generation of Guyanese who are living in an era of HIV/AIDS and it is anticipated that after the participation of such competitions a stage will be set for children to be more aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Hussain disclosed that the main objective of the competition was to encourage participants on their thinking and their role in response to HIV/AIDS and to also empower young people to make a difference in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their schools and their communities.

Director of NAPS, Dr. Shanti Singh said the challenge globally is to promote effective programmes that can engage young people in all aspects in response to HIV/AIDS.

“These drawings will be for us not simply as decorative products, but will serve as a medium for discussions, for understanding new concept, for revealing insights of the environment in which we operate and for recognizing the role each one can play in making our society a better place,” said Dr. Singh.

Present at the award ceremony was the Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy who expressed his delight in the increased interest of children that have been generated in this year’s competition. He challenged the coordinators of the programme to ensure that in next year’s competition there is participation by each school in every region with at least 100 schools participating in the competition.

The minister said that the Ministry of Education will also be playing a more active role and teachers must also work with the students to ensure greater participation.

“These are activities that we must see as important in our lives; it’s a vehicle through which children could put on paper what is on their mind. These art works demonstrate what is on children’s mind. I hope that we will be able to take these throughout the country so that the people will learn from them. What these work demonstrates, is that our children have knowledge and talent and it is time as a country we begin to pay greater attention and placed greater values on these talents,” Dr Ramsammy emphasised.

The art competition was divided into two categories, the topic for the primary category was “Our children a future without HIV” and the secondary category topic was “Don’t let HIV ruin your life”. Entries came from seven regions across the country and 42 schools placed 235 entries in the competition.

In the primary category there were four winners from Mae’s School and two from Clonbrook Primary School. Two computer systems were given to Mae’s School and one to Clonbrook Primary.

In the secondary category there were five winners from Annai Secondary School and one winner from North Georgetown Secondary. Annai Secondary received the prize of three computer systems.

The winners of the competition also received cheques and all the children who participated in the competition received text books.

The drawings of this year and last year will be on a mobile exhibition to schools across Guyana so as to motivate other school children to participate in the competition and to join in the fight and to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The jingle competition saw more than 80 entries and 10 jingles were recorded. The HIV/AIDS jingles are expected to air soon on both radio and television.

Wildfire Productions all set for Ignition Concert
By Michel Outridge
DIRECTOR of Wildfire Productions, Mr. Jonathan Beepat yesterday told a press conference held at Lot 47-48 Bel Air Gardens, that the much anticipated Ignition Concert is billed for April 19 at the National Park, Georgetown.

He said that Wildfire Productions is committed to the role in developing the entertainment industry and they are set to ignite with their first concert for 2008 with other shows to follow.

“This being our first concert in 2008 we chose the name Ignition as it is our startup concert, so to speak, for other concerts we have planned for the year,” he explained.

Mr. Beepat added that people are familiar with their last concert of 2007 the Inferno Concert and can expect just the same quality and better planning and promotions surrounding the Ignition Concert from Wildfire Productions.

He pointed out that the Ignition will be featuring some of the best artists in the business such as the legendary Bounty Killer; the ladies man Wayne Wonder, and the youngest dancehall superstar, QQ.

Meanwhile, Promoter of Wildfire Productions, Mr. Jermaine Softley encouraged people to get into the party mood in 2008 and ignite in their upcoming concert.

“We have chosen artists we feel will give high quality and entertaining performances for the different likes of reggae music,” he remarked.

Mr. Softley pointed out that QQ being the youngest can deliver to an audience with his latest songs like “Stukie and Tek it to dem” and is known for his own dance hall style.

He noted that Wayne Wonder’s Lover’s Rock will definitely have the ladies crooning down memory lane and the fellas going back to the good ole days but Wayne, being a veteran in the music industry, has maintained with his dancehall scene.

He said that Wayne is known for his classic songs such as Saddest Day, Live and Learn, Excess Amount of Loving, and newer hits such as Anything Goes, Hold Me Now, Exposed, Bounce Along, and No Letting Go.

Mr. Softley pointed out then there is the legendary Bounty Killer who is known by name and reputation.

He added that Bounty Killer is a seasoned veteran performer with many hits and international collaborations with artists such as Damian Marley, No Doubt, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and others.

Bounty Killer was nominated for Grammies and acquired four star ratings by Rolling Stone, he said.

As for sponsors, Promoter, Mr. Warren Williams said that even though the economy is challenging right now and not many sponsors are on board, they recognize the need for consistent high quality entertainment.

He acknowledged that with Carifesta not too far off, they feel that the timing for the concert is just right so that people can come out and have a great night of entertainment.

Mr. Williams said the sponsors on board with them are Ansa Mcal through their product Carib Beer, F&H Printing who did all their fliers and posters, Caribbean Airlines, White Castle Fish Shop and Facts N Roses who designed the jerseys.

However, Promoter, Mr. Vijay Panday pointed out that they have sound systems such as Lion Heart, Slingerz, Stereo Sonics, and Fusion.

He said that they also have promotions where people can win prizes such as CDs and tickets during radio call-in programs which will be aired live.

Mr. Panday noted that no firearms will be allowed and parking will be provided at the Malteenoes Sports Club Ground and security will not be a problem because people will be subjected to strict security searches before they enter the National Park.

Tickets for the Ignition Concert will be on sale in a week’s time and advance tickets are $3,000 while VIP will be on sale for $10,000 which includes snacks, seating, and free parking.

A limited number of early bird tickets will be available for a cost of $2,500 and will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

For more information the numbers to telephone are 623-8675 and 642-8990 or email wildfiregy@gmail.com or visit the website at www.wildfiregy.com.

GPHC expresses concern on verbal abuse levelled against medical staff
THE Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) notes with grave concern, the allegations of physical and verbal abuse levelled against members of its medical staff which aired on the Thursday, March 27 edition of Prime News.

The allegations were made by an accident victim who was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) Unit on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

The matter involves issues which the GPHC takes seriously and an internal investigation with all parties involved, including the complainant and the doctors was conducted.

The findings of this investigation will be released in full on Monday, March 31, 2008.

Licence waiver, CET removal to assist consumers - HPS
TEMPORARY waiver of the licensing requirement to import flour and implementation of the reduction/removal of the Common External Tariff (CET) for certain basic items are expected to provide some assistance to consumers in light of the price increases affecting the entire Caribbean Region.

Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday, noted that the move to promote importation of poultry products was taken since falling domestic production was identified as one of the factors contributing to price increases for such products.

On Thursday, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad announced that with immediate effect Government will be allowing the importation of flour and wheat, minus the licencing process.

Earlier this month, Minister Prashad had indicated that Government took a decision to grant licences to import chicken in the short-term to alleviate the shortage being experienced locally.

The decision was made after meetings with members of the Guyana Poultry Producers Association and representatives of the Guyana Stockfeed Limited, hatcheries and other stakeholders, who assured that there will be an adequate supply of chicken by mid-April.

The global price increase for food items facing the world especially the Caribbean is attributed to ethanol production being pursued by several major countries including the United States where grains are being used as feed-stock.

Cabinet rejects PNCR debt ceiling motion
CABINET has asserted that the Peoples’ National Congress Reform One Guyana (PNCR -1G) motion on the cancellation of the Debt Ceiling should be rejected.

Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon made the disclosure yesterday at his weekly press briefing on decisions made by Cabinet Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Wednesday was prevented by the Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Ralph Ramkarran from contributing to the debate after he attempted to question the speaker’s decision on allowing a motion proposing a limit on the aggregate amount of debt obligations by the opposition member of parliament Winston Murray.

“The Hon. Member (Dr Singh), otherwise a brilliant scholar, and I might add, a gentleman, is not a lawyer; I am, and do have a nodding acquaintance with the Constitution,” the Speaker had argued.

“One of the best known rules of Parliamentary procedures, familiar to Parliamentarians worldwide is that the conduct of certain officials cannot be questioned except by way of a motion tabled for that purpose. This rule applies to Speakers and is, or ought to be known to every Parliamentarian,” Mr. Ramkarran stated.

But the Cabinet Secretary contended that the motion was successfully opposed by the government.

“The opposition to the motion was not an opposition to a feeling being set or parliament being the authority within which that would be done. The point that the minister made was that our constitution, law, parliamentary democracies, custom and practice exclusively provided for the government to introduce such legislation and not any member or parties in parliament,” he said.

That is sole reason government rejected the PNCR-1G motion he pointed out and noted that cabinet was taken aback by the speaker’s fundamentally flawed decision.

“Cabinet reiterated its resolute commitment to the principle of Executive Prerogative in presenting legislation on financial matters to parliament and fully supported the argumentation of the Minister of Finance, the presentation which was stifled by the speaker… cabinet resolve that the exercise of its Executive Prerogative in these matters would not be stayed nor shared,” he highlighted.

Singh’s intended presentation was published in Friday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle.

Candidates optimistic about placements after NGSA exams
By Tajeram Mohabir
SEVERAL pupils who sat the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations in Georgetown, over two days this week, on Thursday expressed optimism that they have done well.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, aspiring lawyer and candidate from St. Margaret’s Primary, Ashley Griffith said the tests were relatively straightforward because she had previously worked on most of the questions set.

Relaxed and with a beaming smile, she hopes to secure a place at either Bishops’ High School or Saint Stanislaus College, acknowledging the support gained from her teachers and parents.

Her colleague, Stennard George also told this newspaper he is confident of being placed at one of those same schools. He said the exams were not difficult, except for Mathematics and the English Paper 1 which posed some challenge.

Amit Singh, of Dharmic Rada Krishna Primary, agreed that the Mathematics questions were challenging but maintained he is optimistic of getting into Bishops’ or Queen’s College (QC).

His classmates, Manisha Dindial and Kavita Shaw differed with him on the Mathematics papers but said they, too, prefer placement at either of the institutions he named.

According to Rada Krishna Primary pupil Jason Rowe, who also has a preference for Bishops’ or QC, the overall testing was relatively easy, as his teacher taught him all about the required answers.

National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) Director, Mr. Mohandatt Goolsarran had explained that the NGSA exams account for 85 per cent of the total marks available to the candidates, who were already evaluated in grades two and four, for five and ten per cent of the marks, respectively.

The answers submitted this week will be marked by trained teachers recruited by NCERD and overseen by a pool of specialists from the same institution, University of Guyana (UG) and Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), Goolsarran said.

He said the results will be centrally computerised to ensure smooth access by regional education officials.

The NGSA, which replaced the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE), formerly Common Entrance, gives teachers a better opportunity of assessing the pupils’ ability.

It also offers the potential secondary students a fairer chance to excel at the primary level, through more than one evaluation, unlike with the SSEE, which was the only way for them to enter secondary schools.

Baksh reports…
No classes at LTI since January industrial action
By Tajeram Mohabir
MINISTER of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that no classes have been held at Linden Technical Institute (LTI), since January this year, because of industrial unrest there.

He made the disclosure in response to a question by People’s National Congress Reform-One Guyana (PNCR-1G) Parliamentarian, Ms. Amna Ally.

The LTI lecturers, early in the year, staged a sit-in, protesting several grievances they claimed were raised, with the Ministry and other key stakeholders, to no avail.

These include, retroactive appointment of staff, allowing staffers to continue beyond the statutory retirement age of 65, non-payment for acting appointments in the Business Department and delay in payment of part-time employees.

Baksh told the House that his ministry is particularly dissatisfied with the lecturers’ action as they did not adhere to the established grievance procedures.

“The union only informed management (the Ministry of Education) of their intention to take industrial action by a letter dated January 14, 2008, which was received January 17,” he explained.

Touching on the appointment of teachers who have been acting since 1996, Baksh pointed out that 10 teachers, temporarily appointed between 1999 and 2005, should be confirmed in their posts retroactively from the date they assumed duty.

“In keeping with the practice in the teaching and public service, the Board of Governors of LTI appointed these teachers with permanent positions with effect from January 1, 2006 and, in 1996, seven employees were confirmed by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC),” he said.

The minister said, of those, two teachers requested that they stay on the job until the retirement age of 65, in keeping with their conditions of service with BIDCO Training Complex, which is now closed.

“All employees with BIDCO were given severance payment and offered new conditions of employment which required them to retire at age 55. This resulted in only two employees being entitled to a gratuity which they received and not to a pension, since they did not serve for 10 consecutive years,” the minister stated.

He said that position was firmly upheld by his ministry.

Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, in a supplementary question, asked whether, at this point, the industrial action was a mechanism used by the lecturers to get the ministry to address their problems.

Baksh replied: “The ministry was only informed about a grievance in appointments in April 2007… that is over one year after appointments were confirmed by the LTI Board of Governors. We have a board of governors and we have a principal and the grievance procedures should be followed.”

Construction workers at Linden Hospital down tools
-to protest anticipated cut in number of masons
By Joe Chapman
WORKERS attached to the construction project of the Linden Hospital Complex have downed tools to protest an anticipated cut in the number of masons by the contracting firm.

The majority of the nearly 50 Linden-based workers from R. Bassoo and Sons, contractors for the construction of the state of the art new $1.2B Linden Hospital Complex, in anticipation of a cut in the number of masons presently on the job, staged a sit-in -- withdrawing their services and demanding a fulfillment of agreement following a strike late last year.

However, Senior Project Engineer Ms. Heidi Gillett told this newspaper that the replacement of local masons may not be necessary, but admitted there will be need for more special skills to deal with such areas as air conditioning, electrical installation and specialised systems are to be installed at the modern complex.

According to reports workers were told that there is to be a cut in the number of masons from 25 to 12 as the major portion of work has been completed.

But the Linden workers fear that when they are cut off, masons from out of town will be taken on to complete the very work they are capable of doing.

The striking workers said last week that the project engineer told them that the site is grossly overstaffed and as of this week, there would only be need for twelve masons, meaning that almost half the number of masons would be sent home.

However, the workers agreed that there will be a time when this will be necessary and a cut in the number of masons and workforce in general will be in order, but are contending that presently there is massive work still to be done and are claiming that their services will be needed at this time as they speculate that the work will last until the end of this year.

“We decided that we really cannot tolerate that because it is not a case whereby there is no work for the masons. It is just that they want to bring in their own people from Georgetown.”

In light if this, the workers have moved to have officers from the Ministry of Labour address their concerns.

They, however, admitted:  “We the workers are aware that in construction when work is coming down to a close definitely some people have got to go. But this a different case whereby the building on the outside it is only looking as though it is complete, when you go inside it is massive work inside. The building is no way near completion. As a matter of fact it may be close to December before you can say it is complete.”

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Linden Hospital Complex Mr. Gordon Gumbs told this newspaper that while the contractor has fallen back on the scheduled completion of the new complex which was February 17, this year, steps were taken to extend the deadline. He opined that the contractor from reports had reached a point where he wanted to reduce the amount of staff on the job.

Banks DIH helps establish Linden Early Learning centre
BEVERAGE GIANT Banks DIH has come to the rescue of the Good Shepherd Academy of  Mackenzie, Linden as they gave timely assistance to help the organization establish a modern Early Learning Centre in the mining town.

Founder of the Early Learning Centre Ms. Dott Yearwood was handed a set of building materials which included windows and Purple-Heart wood doors recently.

Making the presentation was Banks DIH Human Resources Director Mr. Andrew Carto and Linden Branch Manager Ms. Shaundell Easton. Also present was Mr. Curtis Vanvier, Banks DIH Properties Engineer.

In accepting the donation, Ms. Yearwood expressed gratitude to Banks DIH for the timely contribution to the Academy stating: “I decided to approach Banks DIH for assistance and the company readily responded, my heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Clifford Reis and all those who were involved in making the items possible.”

According to Ms. Yearwood, the Early Learning Centre now under construction is expected to be opened by the end of April.

The two-storeyed building situated at 256 Bullet Wood Street will have several departments including a Nursery, Play School, Kindergarten and an After School Club.

There will also be a library, computer room and an Auditorium with seating capacity for over 100 persons.

In addition, there are adequate outdoor playing facilities which are necessary for the growth and development of young bodies and minds, Ms. Yearwood said.

The former senior mistress of Watooka Day School disclosed that the Centre will cater for children as young as three months while the After School Club will cater for children whose parents work late.
(JOE CHAPMAN)

CYP Regional Director urges greater youth involvement in development process
REGIONAL Director of the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre (CYPCC), Mr. Henry Charles has issued a call for political organizations, their leadership and functionaries to become better role models for Caribbean young people.

Addressing the opening ceremony of a Regional Capacity Building Workshop for Caribbean Youth Leaders in Roseau, Dominica on April 26, 2008, the Regional Director expressed his concerns regarding the increasing adoption of aggressive language and other forms of virulent expressions as part of the regions political culture.

According to the Regional Director, the magnitude of development challenges facing Caribbean countries necessitated the cultivation of a spirit of civility, respect, understanding and inclusiveness in the regions political ethos. He also cautioned that a virulent political culture combined with economic and social policies, which facilitate economic marginalization and social exclusion of significant sections of the population, was counter-productive and may be a principal contributing factor in the current climate of hopelessness, despair, crime and violence and other manifestations of social deviances.

Mr. Charles contends that if Caribbean countries are to effectively manage the current and emerging challenges of Globalization there is urgent need for the transformation of the regions social, economic and political agenda. A critical success factor in this transformation process, he argues, is the empowerment and more effective engagement o