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29-30 May, 2009
   
 

Consultations begin to chart way forward for agri-business - Minister Persaud  reiterates President Jagdeo’s call to reposition agriculture

  
 

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud on Wednesday reiterated President Bharrat Jagdeo’s initiative to reposition agriculture in the Caribbean as Caribbean nations met to chart the way forward to expand agri-business in the region.
        Speaking at the opening of the two-day public- private Sector consultation on Agri-business, which was hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat at the Pegasus Hotel, the minister, in quoting President Jagdeo, said that a policy and strategy was needed to decide on what sort of institutions and mechanisms are needed to rep Article 56 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas also states that the goal of the Community Agricultural Policy shall be: "the fundamental transformation of the Agricultural sector towards market oriented, internationally competitive and environmentally sound production of agricultural products; increased production and diversification of processed agricultural products; and an enlarged share of the markets for primary and processed agricultural products."
            At a workshop on formulating draft proposals in respect of the Jagdeo Initiative, it was recommended, in relation to the key binding constraint of "lack of entrepreneurship and investment in the Agri-Business Sector", that interventions by the private sector should be to promote and invest more in agriculture so that agribusiness can develop and grow; thus enhancing employment at national and regional levels.
       It was also recommended that within the public sector there should be institutional reform of public agricultural and agri-business support agencies with a view to changing the institutional culture for business support.
      Minister Persaud noted that the Jagdeo Initiative represents the first practical regional roadmap to achieve the transformation of regional agriculture and if quickly implemented, the regional agriculture sector will be poised for a faster take-off. He added that these consultations will aid in quickening the pace of implementation of agriculture in the Caribbean region.
       He advised that the private sector must not be too overly dependent on the public sector nor must the public sector be lagging behind in providing the required institutional support and policy environment for the agri-business sector.
       With the global crises on finance, food supply, climate change and constant new threats, Minister Persaud said the Caribbean Community has to be prepared to meet these challenges to mitigate and cushion the negative impact on economies. These consultations are aimed at weathering these effects through effective public-private collaboration.
       He noted that the expectation arising out of these consultations is that a framework will be created for strong collaboration between both sectors to bring about improvement in the economies of the region, particularly in the area of agri-business.
      A critical task of the consultations will be to identify the building blocks required for a viable agri-business sector. The consultations will focus on what resources are available and how efficiently these can be allocated.
         Minister Persaud stated that for too long, Caribbean nations have been dependent on the production of a few primary commodities, such as sugar and bananas, subject to trade agreements that were termed "of indefinite duration" only to see these unilaterally terminated by the European Union.
        The EU has shown little sign of remorse for its unfair, abrupt changes to the trading arrangements as it now seems bent on using the promised package of assistance as a device for us to tow-the-line. In Guyana's case, there is a feeling that the recent abrupt and inflexible action by the Commission regarding the sugar accompanying measures might be related to our principled objections to the Economic Partnership Agreements, Minister Persaud said.
        These types of situations, he said, demand that the region put their houses in order very early. He stated that now is the time for them to take their activities beyond the usual talk-shop level and into an enhanced action mode.
        Minister Persaud said the region has several unique agricultural products that need to be branded and marketed worldwide including Guyana's El Dorado rum and Demerara Gold sugar are fine examples of what can be achieved. He added that more needed to be identified and aggressively marketed.
         This approach has been adopted in Guyana via the new public sector-financed US$30M agriculture diversification programme whereby marketing studies were done to identify the most competitive products resulting in the selection of about six which will be focused on initially. 

 
 

Luncheon refutes British paramountcy - of Guyana’s Security Sector

After 43 years of independence, the British are still trying their best to have their way in the management of the Guyanese affairs. The recent dispute with the Guyana government on the security sector reform project is the chief example. British High Commissioner, Fraser Wheeler, has said that the British government wants very tight management of the British taxpayers’ money.
        Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr. Roger Luncheon, explained that what is essence the British wanted was to have complete control of the management of the programme, which is in complete contravention to what was agreed to.
       According to Dr. Luncheon, during the entire negotiation process, the point, which remained critical was the Guyanese ownership of the project. However, what the British retuned with in April of this year was a proposal to have a four tier “outside” management of the programme before getting to the level of the Guyana government.  
       This, Dr. Luncheon said, is offensive and will not be tolerated by the Guyana government. He said that the British are attempting to convince Guyana that it is suffering from a capacity constraint in the area of project implementation, something of which the government is in total disagreement with.
       Dr Luncheon maintains that the Guyanese ownership of the programme will be maintained and that the government “will not relent one bit on this,” adding that Guyana has been honourable in the entire process and that from the time the interim agreement was signed in 2007, they have been taking steps to implement security reforms.
      He stated that they have gone to Parliament to set up constitutional oversight of the security sector and to establish the National Security Secretariat. However, he is obdurate that Guyana will not be a passenger in this process to be led by the British.  
       Meanwhile, despite this problem the government does not anticipate any deterioration in the relationship with the British.
        In fact, Dr. Luncheon pointed out that this is not the first time they had differences in negotiation this reform project support. He said that while they have not been able to meet as yet to discuss the problem, he is expecting a meeting with the High Commissioner sometime soon.
         In the meantime, Dr. Luncheon remains the chief negotiator for Guyana as the President has rejected his request to be relieved of the responsibility to engage the high commission on the project.
        Dr. Luncheon also assured that “the security sector reform will go on with or without the Brits”.  He added that the implementation of the reforms would indeed be facilitated by the British involvement, but that he is “not going to give up one our dignity - our sovereignty for the contribution that could come from this engagement”.
        He says no sum of money being offered will be adequate to desecrate the principle of Guyanese ownership.

 

Amerindian communities continue to benefit from development drive - chainsaws donated

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, during a recent visit to Region 9, handed over five chainsaws to several communities, including Massara, Wowetta, Pai Pang, Taushida, and Apoteri.
       The donation was made following requests made by the communities.
        Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall, Regional Chairman Clarindo Lucas, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Donald Gajraj and Toshaos from the villages and other residents were present at the handing over ceremony.
        Minister Sukhai said that she was very pleased to be present to hand over the items, pointing that it will help to boost the communities’ development and at the same time complement the government’s effort to improve the lives of its indigenous people. She encouraged the Toshaos to use the equipment in the best interests of the community.
            The communities’ Toshaos expressed their gratitude to the Minister and the government for granting their requests and pledged to use the equipment to enhance their communities’ development.
            Toashao Bertie Xavier of Wowetta village said the equipment will support them in their work, especially in the area of logging, and will go a far way in helping them in their quest to improve their standard of living. 
        The overnment has been making donations to several Amerindian communities throughout the 10 administrative regions. Recently, Minister Sukhai and a team of government officials visited Region 1, where a tractor was donated to residents of Kamwatta and White Water, and an outboard engine was given to residents of Three Brothers.
 

Pegasus will promote Guyana, boost tourism - Minister Prashad

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad has expressed confidence that under new ownership, the Pegasus Hotel will keep promoting Guyana, boost its tourism and improve its services.
            Speaking at the re-launch ceremony of the hotel, Minister Prashad said he was very pleased that for the first time the hotel is owned by Guyanese. “Ninety Five percent of hotels are owned by foreigners and it shows much confidence in the government; we have a unique tourism and we need much more investors.”
          To mark its re-launch and to show its appreciation, the hotel will offer a special weekend package of US $100.
          Commenting on this issue, said that his Ministry has been calling for such packages to encourage local tourism. He said that there is vast investment in Guyana in the tourism sector and that Guyana is well recognized for its development as well as its birding destination.  
         Chairman of the Hotel, Robert Badal said that there will be changes in the service that the hotel will offer to patrons. He said that it will create jobs for many.
        “My company is very satisfied in the investment of the hotel and intends to build on the strength over the years; we have made a great choice in investing in this hotel and can assure you that with the US$3 M will reflect the standard of the hotel as a Five Star one.”
         Badal said that he is confident that he will succeed. He said that one year ago he would have never dreamed of owning a hotel. According to Badal, the hotel’s management seeks to improve and remodel its services which include, a new sports bar, gym and spa, upgrades to the lobby, pool area and Café.

 

Education Ministry’s drive to computerise schools gets boost

The Ministry of Education’s goal to fully computerize all secondary schools and 50% of primary schools was taken a step further on Wednesday when Food for the Poor (FFTP) Guyana Inc. donated complete computer systems to the Ministry to be used as training tools in the area of Information Technology for Regions 3, 4, 5 and 6.
            The schools benefiting from the donation of more than 20 computer systems are in depressed communities which have been targeted for skills development in keeping with the Ministry’s five-year strategic plan for 2008-2013.
         Among the beneficiaries are Supply and Plaisance Primary Schools, St.Winefride’s Secondary and Ascension and Wales Community High schools.  
        Minister of Education Shaik Baksh, who received the systems on behalf of the Ministry, said in setting this challenging goal, the Ministry assumed in the plan that it would receive donations from the Diaspora.
         “Last year we received about 500 computers in Canada and the USA, this year we expect to surpass that number. We will be working with a number of NGOs overseas so I’m happy that Food for the Poor has now become a part of the donor group to assist the Ministry in achieving this goal,” the Minister said.