admin

Creek and waterways taskforce conduct risk assessment along Linden/ Soesdyke Highway Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The government-appointed creeks and waterways task force aimed at evaluating potential hazards on Saturday conducted a “comprehensive risk assessment” at creeks along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway. A task force representative handing over a life ring to a creek operator In a statement posted on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Facebook page, it was said that the purpose of the visit was to carry out “a thorough risk assessment of local creeks and waterways as part of ongoing efforts to enhance public safety and environmental protection”. The risk assessment follows the death of 10-year-old Akira La Rose and 11-year-old Joylyn Jack on September 8, 2024 at the Enchanter Creek located on the Highway. The ministry said the task force included representatives from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sports and Labour and, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)). During the visits, creek operators were provided with life rings to strengthen their emergency response capabilities. The Ministry of Home Affairs assured that, “The data collected during this assessment will be used to develop targeted strategies for risk mitigation and inform future policy decisions.” Related Similar Articles

Exclusive tourism operator Abercrombie & Kent set to enter Guyana’s market Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Guyana’s tourism sector is set to receive yet another boost with the addition of exclusive tourism operator Abercrombie & Kent to the local market. President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali met with Geoffrey Kent, the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the exclusive tourism operator Abercrombie & Kent This was announced by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on his Facebook page. The president met with the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Abercrombie & Kent, Geoffrey Kent on Saturday. Kent was joined by local Wilderness Explorer Toney Thorne, while President Ali was accompanied by Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, Guyana’s High Commissioner to London, Rajendra Singh, and Director of Presidential Affairs Marcia Nadir-Sharma. Abercrombie and Kent is a renowned luxury travel company that specialises in crafting unique and enjoyable travel experiences. They offer a wide range of high-end travel options, emphasising a commitment to sustainable tourism. The introduction of this renowned operator into Guyana’s market highlights the country’s growing tourism appeal and underscores the confidence that international businesses have in the stability and growth potential of the economy. President Ali has been a consistent advocate for the advancement of Guyana’s tourism sector, urging large-scale tourism investors and operators to seize the opportunities it presents. The government has also been investing in boosting Guyana’s eco-tourism industry, combining modern amenities with natural beauty. These investments help to build the country’s already impressive repertoire of distinctive sights and tourism experiences. The president has emphasised that increased private sector investment will further propel this growth. A premium opportunity for expanded partnerships presents itself in the upcoming International Business Conference (IBC), which is focused on streamlining the ease of doing business and facilitating investments between international companies and Guyana. The conference will be held from October 15 to 17, and will be co-hosted by the Suriname- Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC) and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). Related Similar Articles

GWI presents $1.4M in bursary awards to NGSA pupils Oct 01, 2024 News Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal and the awardees Kaieteur News – The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) on Wednesday last presented bursary awards totalling $1.4 million to 32 children who excelled in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). Several top performers also received additional prizes during the ceremony. The recipients are the children of the company’s employees. The award ceremony, held at the GWI’s head office on Vlissengen Road and Church Street, saw the largest group of pupils receiving awards since the initiative was launched five years ago. Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, encouraged the pupils to remain dedicated to their studies in order to excel and contribute to Guyana’s development in the future. “It doesn’t matter which school you go to, but it is how you apply yourself…We want more of you to get into fields relating to technology, science and mathematics. It is okay to ask questions because that is how the mind will develop,” he added. Minister Coral commended GWI for recognising the hard work and achievements of the students over the years. “It is much more than coming here to collect a bursary award.  It is to show an appreciation, serving as an encouragement to let you know that the world is abound with unlimited opportunities for you…You must not limit yourself,” Minister Croal told the students.  The event was also attended by GWI’s Executive Director of Commercial Services and Customer Relations, Marlon Daniels, as well as the Executive Director of Human Resources Management and Development, Elvis Jordon, along with other staff members. (DPI) Related Similar Articles

Guyana of yore, Guyana offshore Oct 01, 2024 News, The GHK Lall Column Hard Truths… Kaieteur News – In days of old, when Guyanese had little money, they had plenty of dignity. They were never far from empty, but they were happy.  This was in that quaint time long when there was no oil, no Exxon and Chevron, no Ali, no Jagdeo, no Norton and no Hughes. All those beauties came, and Guyanese are now worse for wear.  All the money per head in the world, all the world looking enviously at country and citizen, and there is this palpably piteous state: the richest hungry belly people on the planet.  Not to be left out of the excitement, American entertainer Alistair Routledge took up permanent residence here; he gave himself a green card that was stamped with US$ signs all over.  He spoke in grand tones about the greatest revenue stream flowing from Exxon to the poor Guyanese people.  That was the beginning, the first stream of balderdash, hogwash and trash.  It has never stopped. Some of the best academics in the world took one look at Guyana and it was enough.  Guyana is the best of the best, head and shoulder on top of the rest.  One of Charles Darwin’s greatest evolutionary proofs, world-class PPP statisticians, calculate that Guyanese have it so good that when they can’t get enough stew fish, the PPP Government could always be depended on to deliver stewed farces.  They call those indexes.  If such were a measurement of the government’s intelligence quotient, there would be one consistent result. Dumber than a dog without a bark and totally lacking in a sense of smell to complete an altogether wretched picture. The irony is that there is more than enough to go around, but not everyone gets anything close to their fair share.  It is that kind of mathematics and civis that dominate in this environment.  When the people had nothing, they somehow found the spiritual conviction to believe that they had everything that mattered.  Belief is relief.  Now that they hear that they have everything, they are looking and looking for any glimpse that they can get of what looks like something.  They end with an earful.  President Ali is pleased to give his best imitation of a jack-in-the box. A man and leader who operates on a coiled spring (ask at own risk, persist and be prepared to lose head).  If ever there was a leader who is a walking guillotine, it is Mohamed Irfaan Ali.  Vice President Jagdeo thinks it best to function in a hide-and-seek fashion (tomorrow will come and it will be something to talk about).  He tried that one before and Guyanese are still talking about the peculiar skills that have come to define him: his fire doesn’t exist and the chestnuts he promises to pullout and deliver always seem to be of the poisonous variety.  On the opposition side of the new Guyana equation, there is Mr. Norton, whose claim to fame is catch me if you can.  Guyanese can and did, only for them to come to this most uncomfortable of positions: They don’t like what they caught. They cast their eyes to the hills and then to heaven in the hope of some revelation, and they got one.  His name is C.A. Nigel Hughes, Esq.  His pedigree is both exhaustive and illuminating.  Guyanese by extraction and Texan by one hell of a sturdy legal contraption.  Whereas Ali and Jagdeo boast many heads, which means that they have many mouths from which to speak, Mr. Hughes is a breath of air straight out of the Texas prairie.  Whoever can separate Nigel from Alistair just won the runoff for president of Guyana.  It is not the Gordian knot; it is the Guyanese conundrum.  Who is who, and who is for whom? In this the glittering oil age of Guyana, citizens are groaning.  Everything is going up and they are going down.  Over in Persia, Alladin had his genie; over here in Guyana, Ali has his ‘Open Sesame’ hallucinations.  Look at who is welcomed with open arms.  There is Jet Blue, Jesus Bronchalo, and Joe Biden’s agents (some secret), among an ever-expanding pantheon in what is now a full-fledged foreign invasion.  For sure, it is not the British Invasion powered by those four boys from the Merseyside, the Beatles.  It is the day of the locusts, and they are like leeches draining the lifeblood out of Guyana.  While all this fun and frolic is going on, Guyanese are still starving.  For the truth about where they really are.  For the real story about where their leaders are taking them, intend to do about them.  About them, not for them.  The gods gave the Greeks Helen and look what became of Troy.  The same Gods gave Africans a continent, and remember whose eyes lit up in faraway places.  It is an ugly story that goes on to this day.  It is said that Africa is the heart of darkness.  But whose heart turned out to be the darkest.  Guyanese should take note.  The Guyanese tribalists with traces from close to China pretend to forget what was meted out to their own people by the Bay of Bengal for centuries.  They rub shoulders with certain new people, and they believe that they are whiter than white. Just as tricky, sneaky, and slippery also. Like all those places that God wanted to see what they were made of, how they would manage, he gave Guyana oil.  Same story.  Point made.  Case closed.  Farces and foolishness are alike, no matter the time, place. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Human resource development key to business development Oct 01, 2024 News …as WTC Georgetown outlines collaboration with Latin American Centers Officials during the World Trade Centers’ Association (WTCA) Latin America Regional meeting Kaieteur News – The World Trade Centers’ Association (WTCA) Latin America Regional meeting wrapped up in Dominican Republic over the weekend with consensus that greater emphasis on human resource development and capacity building remain key requirements for the expansion of effective business development and increased trade within Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting also agreed on the importance of the effective utilisation of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for improving the efficiency and competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises, noting that AI is integral to data accessibility but required verification and editing. According to a press release from WTC Georgetown, there is to be follow-up discussion on the challenges and opportunities which AI present at the WTCA Members Forum in New York in late October. WTC Georgetown Executive Chairman Komal Samaroo says the meeting in addition to addressing key issues of importance to the work of the Guyana WTC, also provided for bilateral conversations with, inter alia, Edmundo Gil-Tavarez-Vice President of the Dominican Republic/Guyana Chamber of Commerce; Ivan Berrios-President of WTC Miami, Dr. Carlos Ronderos-former Colombia Trade Minister and current Regional Director of the WTCA; and Luis Emillio Velutini-Owner/President of World Trade Center Santo Domingo which encompasses a Marriott Hotel, multi-level shopping mall, offices and apartments and condominiums. Arising out of these discussions, plans are being put in place for a trade and investment mission from the WTC Miami to Guyana next year and a trade mission from Guyana to Panama. An MOU has been drafted for future collaboration between the WTC Santo Domingo and Georgetown and is currently being reviewed. In his presentation to the meeting, WTCG Executive Director Wesley Kirton said, “We also heard of the importance of nearshoring and free zones. Guyana’s strategic location as a gateway to and from the Caribbean and Latin America positions WTC Georgetown to be that crucial link to enhance trade and investment, particularly at this time as Guyana is experiencing unprecedented growth and development driven by its ongoing oil and gas discoveries and reserves. There are trade and partial scope agreements in place between Guyana and some Latin American nations which our WTC’s must utilize to explore feasible business opportunities and increase two-way trade.” Kirton told the meeting that “WTC Georgetown is open to other areas of collaboration with our sister WTC’s in Latin America such as navigating complex laws; trade counselling; market research; hosting trade forums, trade missions and trade shows; advocating for policies that provide for easier market access, exchange of information and education about market trends; logistics support; and training on export readiness, compliance and international marketing.” He added that while the WTCG building was still being retrofitted, its completion delayed by supply chain issues, skilled labour unavailability and extended rainy seasons, the Center has embarked on a vigorous work programme that has resulted in the signing of several MOU’s, hosting and/or participating in several events at home and overseas and commissioning a study on updating trademarks and intellectual property rights laws in Guyana. Earlier this month Guyana, for the first time exhibited at the Food and Beverage Show and Conference of the Americas in Miami, Florida resulting from an MOU signed earlier this year between WTC Miami and WTC Georgetown. Related Similar Articles

PAHO director talks up efforts to strengthen regional preparedness for future health challenges       Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – At Monday’s opening of the 61st Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director, reflected on continued efforts towards restoring services following the COVID-19 pandemic, and committed to strengthening emergency and pandemic preparedness in the region. In a press release, PAHO said the director underscored that this November marks the 100th anniversary of the Pan American Sanitary Code, which set out to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, encourage information sharing among countries, and standardize health approaches to prevent disease transmission across borders. And with World Health Organization (WHO) Member States now finalizing the negotiations of a new Pandemic Accord, “one-hundred years later, these themes still resonate,” Dr. Barbosa said. “The COVID-19 pandemic revealed Latin America and the Caribbean’s structural dependence on imported vaccines and other health technologies, geographic concentration in innovation and production capacities, and vulnerable global supply chains,” the Director added. To ensure the health interests of the region are taken into account in the Pandemic Accord, PAHO has convened four face-to-face regional meetings to enable Member States of the Americas to better understand the national and regional implications and to agree on key issues. The PAHO Director also underscored the Organization’s Innovation and Regional Production Platform of Medicines and Health technologies, “which will work in hand with our Regional Revolving Funds to promote the generation of regional ecosystems and initiatives to strengthen capacities for innovation, development, and production of health technologies.” As part of this, PAHO is currently in negotiations with Pfizer to localise and provide early access to one of the most advanced vaccines in Pfizer’s pipeline. This initiative “would be a concrete example of PAHO’s efforts to leverage the Revolving Fund to strengthen the regional production of vaccines and build capacity to foster and develop pandemic preparedness in the Region,” Dr. Barbosa said. When it comes to pandemic recovery, the PAHO Director highlighted several areas of progress in the Region, including a halt in the decline of routine vaccination coverage, the relaunch of the Elimination Initiative – an effort to eliminate more than thirty communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030 – and collaborations with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on digital health, among others. To further this recovery, the Director highlighted several policies that will be discussed at the Directing Council over the next week, including the Strategy and Plan of Action to Decrease the Burden of Sepsis; the Policy for Strengthening Equity-Oriented Health Sector Action on Climate Change and Health; the Plan of Action for Strengthening Information Systems for Health; the Strategy and Plan of Action to Strengthen Tobacco Control in the Region of the Americas; and the Strategy on Epidemic Intelligence for Strengthening Early Warning of Health Emergencies. At the core of these initiatives is primary care: the backbone of every health system, Dr. Barbosa said. “Primary care is an instrument for equity, our first line of defense against outbreaks, our best investment in improving health indicators.” During his remarks, Dr. Barbosa also expressed his solidarity with the people of the countries affected by Hurricane Beryl in July and underscored that the organisation “will continue to stand with you to restore services, build resilient health systems, and protect the health of your communities.” Concluding his speech, the PAHO Director said that “we have the opportunity to change the lives of millions of people. I pledge to use the full strength of our Organization to achieve the goals and commitments we have made today.” “This strength comes from every Member State, from every professional on our team, from every partner. Together we share a great ambition that drives us forward: the ambition to improve the health of all people in the Americas.” Related Similar Articles

Omai seeking EPA approval to conduct gold mining Oct 01, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that Canadian mining company Omai Gold Mines Corp. has submitted an application for approval to conduct gold mining. Omai Omai through its wholly owned subsidiary Avalon Gold Exploration Inc., holds a 100% interest in the Omai Prospecting License, covering some 4,590 acres or 18.575 square kilometres including the past producing Omai gold mine. Omai’s gold project encompasses two gold deposits: the shear-hosted Wenot Deposit and the adjacent intrusive-hosted Gilt Creek Deposit. Earlier this year, Omai unveiled an enhanced Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its gold project. Avalon submitted an application for environmental authorization to conduct gold mining and processing operations in Region Seven, at the confluence of the Essequibo and Seballi Rivers, Omai, Potaro Mining District 2. The project aims to sustainably extract and process gold from the area. As part of the legal requirements outlined in the Environmental Protection Act, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is necessary due to the potential significant environmental effects of the proposed mining activity. The EPA said it will only decide on the approval or rejection of the project after the EIA is completed. As such, the public is invited to participate in the process by submitting questions and concerns they would like to see addressed in the EIA. These submissions must be made in writing to the EPA within 28 days of the notice issued on September 17, 2024. Kaieteur News had reported that the results from its first Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Wenot Project revealed that the project is slated to yield over 142,000 ounces of gold annually over a 13-year mine life. At its peak, production is anticipated to soar to 184,000 ounces in a single year, with a total estimated production of 1,840,000 ounces of payable gold. Recently, Omai announced that it is advancing its expansion plans for its gold project in Guyana, with newly released drill results showing potential to increase gold production and extend the life of the Wenot mining pit. Omai’s planned drill programme for 2024-25 will test several areas, including extensions to Wenot to the east and west.  Additional targets on the Omai property will also be drilled as some are near surface and high grade that could bolster the grade profile in the early years of a production scenario. Moreover, the company disclosed that relative to the other deposits in Guyana, the Wenot MRE of 834,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 1.48 g/t Au and 1,614,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 1.99 g/t Au is quite shallow, with 81% of the 1.9 million ounces within the PEA pit lying above a 330m depth. For the adjacent Gilt Creek deposit, the NI 43-101 MRE is 1,151,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 3.22 g/t Au and 665,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 3.35 g/t Au. Notably, drilling at Omai’s project is expected to continue until early December at which time the company expects to commence work towards an updated MRE. In 2020, Omai re-entered Guyana’s mining industry. The company had said that their work completed thus far, has put them on track to become the next large-scale gold mine to open in Guyana. Notably, the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) had announced that it has granted Omai, a new Prospecting Licence providing the exclusive right of occupation and exploration for gold, base metals, precious metals and precious stones. Notably, the licence has an initial three-year term until April 29, 2027 that can be extended to 2029. This licence gives Omai the exclusive rights to apply for a Mining Licence and the company has commenced meetings with government officials that have provided guidance on the process. Moreover, Project details are available on the EPA’s website or can be obtained from the EPA’s office at a nominal photocopying cost. Public comments and concerns should be sent to the Environmental Assessment Board via email at [email protected]. Related Similar Articles