Is it not safe even in the US to drink tap water?

Has it ever dawned on you folks that even in the great US of A most folks prefer to use bottled water instead of drink from taps?

How come?

Was Corbin at Freedom House recently?

Was Corbin at Freedom House recently? If so, what was his business there?

Guyana pays tribute to valiant heroes of World War I and II at 2009 Remembrance Day ceremony

As Guyana joined the rest of the world in honouring the heroic soldiers of World Wars I and II, who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, President Bharrat Jagdeo, other Government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, the Disciplined Services and civil society, yesterday paid tribute at a solemn ceremony at the Cenotaph, bordered by the Bank of Guyana, the National Library, Guyana Stores Limited and Main Street.

The occasion, which consisted of a poignant moment of silence, traditional wreath-laying, primary statements and prayers, commenced at 8:00 hrs. Officials, starting with President Jagdeo, laid wreaths at the monument site while prayers were thereafter said by representatives of the three major religions in Guyana. All four stanzas of the National Anthem were then sung by the Disciplined Services and everyone in attendance.

Diplomats present included representatives of the United Nations and its particular organizations, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and resident ambassadors and high commissioners, of various countries including, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Venezuela, India, Russia and Mexico.

Ministry of Agriculture responds to PNC/R inaccuracies.

The Ministry of Agriculture has responded to the Peoples National Congress Reform's recent press statement describing it as an attempt to discredit the work done by the Peoples Progressive Party Civic government since 1992 in resuscitating both the sugar and rice industries.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the records illustrate the mismanagement and neglect by the PNC regime of both the rice and sugar industries.

It was stated that when the PNCR left office, the performance of rice and sugar as well as the wider agriculture sector had reached their lowest point ever.

In 1990, rice production was 93,444 tonnes and exports had been reduced to 50,943 tonnes, while in the sugar industry, 129, 920 tonnes were produced in 1991. According to the Ministry, farmers can recall the time when no infrastructure and inputs were available for their activities.

“If the PNCR was serious about contributing to policy and programme ideas it would have used every opportunity it had in the National Assembly to participate, rather it stays away when important issues in the Agriculture Sector and other national matters are being debated, but then subsequently at a press conference it voices false, spurious and unconstructive statements.”

The Ministry noted that the entire country recognises that there will be a period of belt-tightening in the sugar industry as it makes the transition to a more efficient industry in the face of the impact of the EU price cuts and the impact of climate change among other factors.

“It is unfortunate that when the PNC has the opportunity to contribute to the debate in the National Assembly on the amendment to the Rice Factories Act, it again stayed away; but it now makes loud pronouncements on the efforts of the government without making any serious suggestions or recommendations on what should be done instead.”

The Agriculture Ministry stated that the bill to amend the Rice Factories Act was never intended to increase production or to allow for better prices for farmers.

“On the other hand it was designed to protect farmers from the few unscrupulous millers who continued to violate the trust that farmers placed in them.”

It was pointed out that, “Obliviously, the sector was enjoying increased production before the tabling of the bill. Therefore it is ridiculous for the opposition to relate the bill to direct production.” The Agriculture Ministry stated that the opposition would have been better informed if they had attended Parliament. It was explained that the Bill cannot be seen as a punitive measure but rather one that serves to ensure that equity is achieved in the industry.

“The amendment to the legislation was not done in isolation but through countrywide consultations and received the overwhelming support of the majority of the millers.”

In what it called setting the facts straight, the Ministry stated that prior to 1992 there were few varieties of rice available for farmers to cultivate. The varieties were low yielding and farmers only received 20 to 25 bags per acre. Since 1992, Guyana Rice Development Board has released 10 high yielding rice varieties with excellent milling and cooking qualities.

“It is imperative to note that blast resistant genes were incorporated in all these varieties to combat the most destructive rice diseases which caused farmers tremendous loss during PNC regime. Using the high yielding varieties produced by GRDB, farmers across the country are now harvesting in excess of 40 bags per acre.”

The statement added that some farmers have already harvested over 50 bags per acre. It was pointed out also that farmers are currently benefiting from genetically pure seeds produced via the maintenance breeding programme of the Rice Research Station, Burma.

“This programme is comparable to similar programmes around the world. Through the initiative of the Minister of Agriculture, collaborative rice research programmes are in place with international institutes in various countries such as Suriname, Colombia, India, Philippines. Further, Guyana currently possesses one of the most organised rice breeding programmes in South America.”

The Ministry argued that the general public could judge the integrity and sincerity of the concerns of the PNCR when it questions whether the new Venezuela market has benefited rice farmers in the manner promised by the administration.

“It is indeed mind-boggling when such a question is asked and the agreement has only been signed a few days ago and the officials from Venezuela are in Guyana finalising pre- loading/shipping arrangements. Is the PNCR serious or should its statements be seen in the wider ongoing vicious competition with the AFC to criticise and misrepresent government policies, programmes and achievements?”

Terrorist actions political

Prem Misir: Terrorism struck again last Wednesday morning (04-10-09), when an armed gang camouflaged as policemen with AK-47s, shotguns, channa bombs, and grenades, inflicted a series of attacks on the Brickdam Police Station; East Ruimveldt Police Outpost; the High Court Registry, and Richard Ishmael Secondary School; including hijacking a vehicle on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. The incidents resulted in one civilian fatality and injuries to two police officers.

Domestic terrorism picked up where it left off last Wednesday morning, unleashing a reign of terror on a non-combatant and peaceful nation; the Guyanese people here feel the pain from this evil; to be sure now, with this new resurgence of violence and intimidation, previous efforts at total annihilation of domestic terrorism over the last few years failed.

And so, the real story, however, must be that for some time now domestic terrorism wallowed in camouflaged impotence in Guyana; long awaiting some international energizer to expurgate this impotence. Nonetheless, this purging exercise not only failed to provide the required energy to the long-dormant domestic terrorism in Guyana, but the energizing effort was so slipshod that it left a trail of evidence.

However, notwithstanding the appearance of such clues, albeit some cryptic, the jury is still out as to whether the security forces can now make domestic terrorism a thing of the past; perhaps, this time with assistance from the U.S. anti-terrorism network; note the possible international solidarity connection to release terror in this latest spate of incidents in this country.

A few weeks ago I alluded to a criminality that stalks the entire Caribbean, saying, “Politicians have a lot for which to answer when you think of stoking the fire for the purpose of promoting this unsavory criminality…Indeed, integral to this criminality is domestic terrorism that gains momentum as a strategy for political destabilisation when economic conditions seem to make a turn for the better. But any government has to spare no quarters to remove this nastiness of domestic terrorism.”

The recent re-booting of terror mechanisms to sensationalize and popularize insecurity, retard economic progress, and besmirch this country’s local and international image, has become a constant in Guyana’s politics.

And so, these morally offensive acts do not surprise me because the Guyana economy continues to demonstrate resilience against several recent external shocks. Think about two such shocks: the rising global food and fuel prices and the international financial meltdown; these shocks failed to compromise the integrity of the Guyana economy. Read more........

Opposition should urge the U.S to provide assistance in tackling terror masterminds.

The political Opposition and their extensions in the media and civil society should urge the U.S authorities to help Guyana in tracking down the masterminds of the Ministry of Health Fire and recent terror attacks, who, by information gathered are located in the US, in the same way they have been calling for international intervention in relation to the issue of torture by rogue elements in the Guyana Police Force and the alleged atrocities committed by Roger Khan and his gang.

Region Three mourns Bisram, calls for justice

Stabroek News:The Region Three RDC remembers former Vice Chairman Ramenaught Bisram as a tireless and committed worker even as it calls for the perpetrators of his murder to be brought to swift justice.

Ramenaught Bisram

In a press release the Council said it paid tribute to Bisram at its statutory meeting held on Wednesday. The councillors noted that during his tenure Bisram was dedicated and at all times endeavoured to serve the public with pride.

The release also said he served the People’s Progressive Party faithfully over a number of years. The RDC extended condolences to Bisram’s wife, children and other relatives.

The RDC also said it will observe Remembrance Day with a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument site on Sunday. The ceremony will start at 4am and the public is invited.

Who goes to a remembrance ceremony at 4 in the morning?

$2B housing loans for the ‘vulnerable’

President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that his administration will soon make $2 billion available to assist “vulnerable groups” to acquire loans to build homes.

He also announced the lifting of the ceiling of non-taxable housing loans from $3 million to $8 million to satisfy the great demand of persons who are attempting to have their own homes.

Speaking at a press conference at the Office of the President, the President said his administration would set aside some $2 billion to assist vulnerable groups such as the aged, single parents “and other groups who find it very hard to get loans from the banking sector because of their particular vulnerability and not satisfying the requirements of the banks.”

In addition, he said that for some time his administration has been focused on housing and it is expected that $6 billion would be spent in the next few years on infrastructure to develop some 20,000 house lots so that the demand for housing would be substantially reduced.

The President said yesterday he met members of the Bankers Association during which the provision of affordable housing loans to persons was discussed.

“We have a huge demand for housing financing because everyone wants to build and therefore New Building Society which has almost reached its limit and has played a very critical role in mortgage financing for many years cannot continue to serve the great demand out there,” the President said.

Jagdeo said government had extended the loan ceiling of $3 million that existed at NBS to other banks so that once these loans were granted in the housing sector they would not be taxable. As such they were able to lower the interest rate offered to borrowers. He said the ceiling has been raised to $8 million and it is hoped that the commercial banks would be aggressive in getting persons to borrow so that many more persons can own their own homes.

He said the bankers expressed great appreciation for this move and have indicated that it is something they could work with.

He hopes that this would see the commercial banks offering loans with the same interest or close to that offered by NBS.

Jagdeo produces a beauty to bowl Kaieteur News for duck!

At a press conference yesterday Kaieteur News reporter Gary Eleazar attempted to solicit an exclusive interview with the President who in turn retorted “No, because Kaieteur News is not interested in the truth most of the times, because you will distort what I say".

He also questioned why the Kaieteur News would want an exclusive interview when the questions could be dealt with at his press conferences.
“Why would I want to sit one-on-one when I can do something like this (have a press conference) and have all of the media here…and you go ahead and ask me all of the questions?”

He went on to say that, “On Lindo Creek, you said the security forces were just behind ‘Fine Man’ when they went into the Christmas Falls area…it was a lie.”
"Two days running you were giving a ball-by-ball commentary. The men were already back in the Ituni area…we knew it, we knew it was a lie.”

The President said that, “You published a whole range of issues about Lindo Creek, accusing the security forces… got the father of the guy who was killed…Arokium…most of it, in fact all of it is being substantiated now… I can name the cases.”

“You published a bridge; you put a bridge in the newspaper… you said we built with funds recently procured…It was built ten years ago…It was a lie.
All of these things and you never had the decency to correct these things…you are not interested in the truth… You are not interested in the truth…you take the high moral ground and then the paper doesn’t subscribe to it itself.”

He continued by saying, “And then you have ghost writers who can malign people…but they don’t have the courage…I would say something else… to put their names.”
“You have some really crazy people there too…I don’t want to mention who…but you know moralizing and stealing all the time…a convicted thief…writing everyday for your paper…a convicted thief and a self-confessed man kisser and you don’t see anything wrong…everyday.”

The President reiterated that, “I said before that I will defend Kaieteur News’ right to publish…I will always defend that because it is a free country and I believe in a free media, but that doesn’t mean that I agree to all the lies that you portray there…There are good articles in the newspapers and I am sure that you have decent writers and staff among you, but there are some who are hell bent on just creating confusion.”

Why no condemnations from the Opposition?

In what could be seen as a show of tacit approval, we are yet to hear public condemnations of the terrorist acts perpetrated by a group of well armed gunmen in the City recently from the ever-so-often very vocal opposition.

So far we have only seen and heard attempts aimed at deflecting by their surrogates and advocates in the media.